> Golden Shadows
>  by Sylif Daring Doo
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> A strange newcomer.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_____*Ponyville, Night Frenzy and Roxanne's house, two days after signing Shadowbolt contract, 10:00 AM*_____

Night Frenzy sat with Roxanne and Umbrea in the living room, they were currently in the middle of a card game, but they were still talking. "So, Night Frenzy is the new captain, and Roxanne is the second in command?" Umbrea asked.

Night Frenzy nodded. "Pretty much." She said.

Umbrea snickered. "Well that's great." She said out of amusement.

Roxanne's eye twitched. "What does it matter to you who is in charge?" She asked with a growl.

Umbrea grinned and looked at the two. "Because you two will NEVER stop arguing now!" She teased.

Night Frenzy stifled a laugh while Roxanne growled. "Why is that funny?" Asked the half fox. 

"Your arguments are hilarious!" Umbrea explained, Roxanne was about to jump over and strangle Umbrea, but she soon found herself laughing instead.

Umbrea joined her friend and Night Frenzy soon followed, the three of them just enjoying the joke.

A knock at the door interrupted the three, Roxanne stopped herself from laughing and walked to the door. 

Roxanne opened the door and saw Gem standing there. "Hey Gem." She said.

Gem nodded. "Hey Rox." She replied, walking inside after Roxanne let her in. 

"What's up Gem?" Night Frenzy asked.

Gem looked over and shrugged. "I was going to ask you if you've seen Sapphire lately." She said.

Night Frenzy shook her head. "No, me and Rox have been getting ready for our training." She said, she then looked at Umbrea.

Umbrea rolled her eyes. "Why would I have seen her?...we got into an argument remember?...we aren't on speaking terms." She reminded.

Gem nodded. "Well, if any of you see her, let her know I'm looking for her, I need to talk to her." She said. Heading for the door.

"Will do." Roxanne said.

After Gem left, Roxanne closed the door, she looked at Umbrea. "What was that argument about again?" She asked.

Umbrea groaned. "She was angry that I missed Shard's birthday, I told her that I wasn't able to go, and she still went off on me." She replied.

Night Frenzy grinned. "So, who was the mare?" She asked.

Umbrea scoffed. "First off, none of your damn business, second, it wasn't like that, I had a VERY important assignment, and I wasn't able to make it." She replied crossly.

Roxanne sat down. "Frenzy, why do you always tease Umbrea about that?.....we caught her in bed with a mare ONE time, and that was her marefriend!" She said.

Frenzy chuckled. "I know, but it's fun to tease her about that." She replied.

Umbrea grumbled. "You are so lucky I love you." She muttered.

"What was that?" Roxanne asked.

"Nothing!" Umbrea replied.

Night Frenzy crossed her arms. "If you don't mind me asking, what happened between you two?....you were a great couple." She asked.

Umbrea leaned back. "Rose and I grew apart, we just didn't love each other like we used too, that and she got tired of my shit." She answered calmly.

"Oh, right." Night Frenzy then quietly looked away.

______*a week later, Ponyville, 10:00 PM*_______

Umbrea and Night Frenzy were enjoying the evening together, they were also quite happy with what they did.

A showmare called Trixie showed up, she was simply going through her act and the crowd was enjoying it, however, three ponies and a dragon weren't too happy about the boasting.

Specifically, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Rarity, however, Umbrea managed to grab them in her magical grip and teleport them and Night Frenzy away.

Together, the two explained in great detail to the mares just how out of line they were, saying that they had no right to interfere with a mares livelihood.

The three were still bitter, but when they were all teleported back, they didn't do anything.

And then later in the night, an Ursa Minor appeared, brought into town by two colts by the names of Snips and Snails, who truly believed that Trixie could defeat the beast.

As Trixie took cover, she happened to do so next to Twilight and Umbrea, she then confessed that she couldn't defeat it.

Thankfully, Star Shifter showed up and used his Magic, speeding up time for the beast until it fell asleep, he then had Trixie and Twilight help him to teleport it back to its home.

Apparently Trixie knew Star, they were old friends from years ago, in fact, it was Trixie who gave Apache the idea to perform a mind swap with her brother, and it was Star that helped Trixie get set on the road as a traveling showmare.

Trixie would have run off, had Star not offered to let her stay at his house until she was ready to leave town, she reluctantly accepted.

Umbrea smiled as she looked to her right, seeing the fruits of hers and Night Frenzy's labor, a fully repaired stage wagon, complete with protection wards and a weightlessness spell, so that it would be easy to pull, but it would not fly off in the wind.

Night Frenzy rolled over on the grass and looked at Umbrea. "Well that was fun." She said.

Umbrea looked at her friend and nodded. "Yea, it was." She rolled to her side and looked deep into the Thestrals eyes. "You know, there is a rumor about us." She mentioned.

Frenzy grinned. "What?" She asked.

"Someone started a rumor that me and you are an item." Umbrea replied quietly.

Frenzy winked. "Is that so bad?" She asked.

Umbrea thought on it for a moment, she smiled. "Na.....it isn't." She said.

The two then laid on their backs and looked up at the night sky, Umbrea laid her head right next to Night Frenzy's shoulder. "If you get any closer, we might just need a room." Frenzy said.

The two laid there for a few moments......then a couple of minutes past, and they started to chuckle, then stifle full on laughs, then all out laughter.

After the laughter subsided, Umbrea teleported them elsewhere, out of sight, and together.

______*a few days later*______

Umbrea walked through the town, it was oddly quiet in town as she walked, the most notable thing was that the streets were vacant, she raised an eyebrow at this, she noticed Twilight walking along, only to be brought over to a nearby building, by Pinkie.

Umbrea raised an eyebrow at this, she used to spell to turn invisible and used another spell to eavesdrop.

Through her spell, Umbrea learned that they were hiding from a cloaked figure called Zecora, who lives in the Everfree.

Umbrea rolled her eyes and uncloaked, she kept on walking and teleported across the street, going to speak with Zecora.

_____*inside the building*_____

Twilight could not believe what she was hearing from her friends and the townsfolk, she found herself wondering how this started, and if any of them had real evidence to base their suspicions on.

But once Applejack noticed that Apple Bloom was gone and that Umbrea was walking with Zecora, panic spread along with the fear that Umbrea was under a trance.

Twilight and her friends gave chase, trying to get Apple Bloom before something happened to her, all the while, Twilight to convince her friends that there was no such thing as a curse.

______*the Everfree Forest.*______

Twilight and her friends stood on the other end of a field of blue flowers, where Zecora gave them a warning before walking off with Umbrea, who simply waved to them.

"She doesn't look like she's in a trance." Twilight noted.

"Maybe that's what Zecora WANTS us to think!" Pinkie stated.

Twilight groaned as they started to leave, having retrieved Apple Bloom, deciding to go after Umbrea the next day.

______*The next day, The Everfree Forest*______

Umbrea was helping Zecora with her brew along with Apple Bloom who had arrived not long ago.

They were working on a cure for the poison joke, which the six mares had stepped in. "Do you think any of them aren't affected?" Umbrea asked.

Apple Bloom shook her head. "Unless Fluttershy could always speak in a deep bass voice on command, no." She replied.

Umbrea shrugged and walked up to the cauldron throwing some herbs in for Zecora. "I'm sorry that the town hides when you show up, I have no idea why they do that." She said.

Zecora shrugged. "It is alright, their fear is understandable." She replied. [1] 

"So, how far behind were they?" Umbrea asked.

Apple Bloom blinked. "About a minute." She said.

Umbrea quickly threw up a barrier shielding the ingredients. "Three, two, one." 

At the exact moment that Umbrea said one, the door was thrown open and the six mares were on the other side. 

Umbrea walked up to the edge of the barrier and waited as Twilight tried to take it down.

Eventually, Umbrea rolled her eyes and lowered a small part of the barrier and suddenly she could hear the six mares. "Shut up!" She snapped.

Umbrea sighed. "Thank you." She looked at the mares and stifled a laugh at some of their appearances. "Ok, while this situation is bad for you girls, it's absolutely hilarious for me." She wiped a tear from her eye and calmed down. "Now look, we are getting a cure ready for the poison joke, those blue flowers you walked on, I would appreciate it if you remained calm and didn't tear the house down." She said as she lowered the barrier.

Twilight looked around Zecora's hut as the others did the same, she looked at Umbrea with an irritated expression. "Anything to get these five to be quiet." She muttered.

_____*a day later, Umbrea's house, 9:59 PM*_____

Umbrea sighed to herself as she looked outside to the night sky, while Zecora recieved an apology from the entire town, and Trixie had gotten herself settled in for a while in town, much to the annoyance of a few specific mares, Umbrea found herself missing her friends.

Since Roxanne and Night Frenzy were busy training and learning everything they needed to know, Umbrea had little company, especially with her mother out in Manehatten making a new life for herself, and with Grandpa Jotun dead, life was.....boring, sure Gem was around, but she barely ever saw her, and Sapphire wasn't talking to her.

"Man this town is boring." Umbrea said to herself as she looked away from the window.

Umbrea walked over to her desk and sat down, she began to work a little on her samples to pass the time.

It wasn't very well known, but Umbrea had a side job studying samples of flora, fauna and different soils, she then reported any findings from her experiments to the royal scientists in Canterlot, they then paid her a varying amount based on her findings.

Her public job was the chief of police, but there was rarely any crime in town, so she was more or less on her own other than one other officer and the jailor, besides, the townsfolk usually resolved things themselves, so it was rare for there to be an incident unless it involved complaints about Pinkie's party cannon. 

Umbrea kept on working for a couple hours, around midnight, Umbrea leaned back in her chair and sighed as she rubbed her eyes, she looked to her right and saw a photo, she reached over and grabbed it, she smiled as she looked at the picture.

It was from five years ago, when they all were best friends, when nothing seperated them aside from where they lived, no cares, no ties, no responsibility.

Gem and Roxanne were on the left, Sapphire was sitting in front of them, Night Frenzy was off to the right, away from everyone else, and Umbrea was standing next to Roxanne.

"Ahh.....those were the days." She whispered.

Umbrea put the picture back, and then she lost herself in thought for a few moments, she looked down at a drawer, it was covered in dust from neglect, and it had a padlock on it, she often thought about that drawer, and what was inside, she took the key from a hidden compartment in the wall behind her lamp, and unlocked the padlock, she looked inside the drawer and saw only two items, a dark red stone with black lines, it was hot to the touch, but it did not burn, and another photo.

Umbrea took the photo and cleared the dust off, she then looked at the photo intently.

There were six complete strangers on the photo, and four were of a species Umbrea did not know, two of them resembled wolves, one resembled a bear, and one resembled a fox, but they stood upright like Minotaurs, there was also a Pegasus filly and a dragon baby.

The wolf on the far right was black and white, with piercing green eyes, it had no weapons and seemed bored.

The bear next to it held a massive hammer, and was golden brown in color, it had black pits for eyes and had a blank expression.

The fox was white with faded red patches along its body, it held two swords in its claws and had bright Amber eyes, it appeared to be grinning.

The pegasus filly was pink furred and had blue hair, her body seemed to be sparking with lightning and her eyes were blue, the strangest thing was that she seemed to have canine features, like a dog tail, fangs and ears.

The dragon was strangely similar to Spike, it's scales were orange, it's spines were dark blue but were jagged, it's eyes were light blue and it was grinning.

The wolf at the end was by far the creepiest, as it was incredibly familiar, it was pure white, it's eyes were cyan with red sclera, it had two swords on its back and held a sword that was similar in color to the stone in her drawer, it's expression with that of a smirk.

Umbrea found the white wolf the creepiest, for one reason in particular, it resembled her with such accuracy, that the only difference was species.

Umbrea shivered and quickly locked the photo and the stone back up, she got up from her desk, and walked to her bed, she laid back and sighed. "Where did those things even come from?" She asked herself.

______*meanwhile*_______

Night Frenzy looked out into the night sky and sighed, she looked back and saw Spitfire standing behind her. "Captain, what's up?" She asked.

Spitfire walked up, for once, she wasn't in uniform, which was rare on base, even rarer when in town or in city's. "I could ask you the same thing.....captain." She replied, with some not so subtle barbs in there.

Frenzy chuckled and looked back to the sky. "You can calm down with the hatred Spitfire, I'm not your enemy, if anything, I'm basically just a nocturnal version of you." She joked.

Spitfire looked out to the sky. "We are nothing alike." She replied.

"Aren't we?" Frenzy looked at Spitfire. "We're both orphans, we both fly, we both lead a team, and we were both chosen over dozens of others for our jobs." She finished.

Spitfire gave Night Frenzy an angered glare. "How the hell do you know about that?" She asked quietly.

Night Frenzy grinned and walked up to Spitfire's side. "Don't give me that shit, you know as well as I do that you and I, as well as the other military leaders, have full access to the personnel files, I wouldn't doubt it if you knew the story of every single Wonderbolt, and mine, as well as Roxanne." She looked at Spitfire with a grin. "Besides, I only read your file just tonight, and I kept it to myself, but if me and you are going to work together, we need to know the other." She started to walk off. 

Spitfire watched as the Shadowbolt left. "Another thing we have in common captain, is that we look good in those suits, and we don't take shit from politicians." The Thestral joked before flying off.

Spitfire shook her head and sighed. "Annoying." She muttered before flying away.

_____*somewhere else entirely.*_____

"Reality bending, fabric of time and space seperating, form materializing, adjusting to climate, adjusting to light, calculating trajectory, landing site designated, lesser life forms detected in a five mile radius, translating language, activating stealth, scanning for settlements and cities......scanning.......five minor settlements detected, three cities detected, translating names, discovered primary routes to locations, scanning for currency, currency identified, scanning for weapons, weapons detected, no danger, cannot pierce armor, landing in 5.....4.....3....2....1."

Unbeknownst to the population of Equestria, an invisible vessel landed in the open plains, piloted by an unknown lifeform.

A ramp lowered from the vessel, and a figure stepped out, it was made entirely out of a strange substance that appeared to be metal, it was at least eight feet tall, with a moderate build.

"Scan for anomaly, S class." A deep mechanical voice ordered.

"Scanning, please stand by." A lighter mechanical voice said.

The figure stopped moving and the front of it opened to reveal a brown wolf like creature with golden mist in place of eyes, it looked at its figure and scowled. "I cannot believe that I have to stoop so low as to become this......thing, to search for her, she will pay for this." It said, clearly female in tone.

"Scanning......eight anomalies detected, extreme caution is advised." The voice said.

The creature eyes went wide, then they calmed down. "It must be residue, leftover power, scan for larger anomalies, leave anything with less then ten S particals out." It ordered.

"Scanning......two anomalies detected." The voice stated.

The creature then stood still as something materialized on its back, it looked like a regular travel pack, but it was much heavier, then a vizor appeared on its face, covering it's eyes. "Displaying route to anomalies." The voice said.

The creature examined the routes and noticed immediately that there were only two, and that each path led to one of the anomalies.

The creature began to walk along one of the routes, turning invisible as it did so. "Current course destination.....Canterlot, capital of the Equestrain nation." The voice said.

"Continue to provide information and remain discreet, keep this line of communication open regardless if I tell you to leave the planet." The creature ordered.

"Yes ma'am." The voice said.

The creature continued walking, caring little of anything other than its mission. "If you thought you could just leave, you were wrong Lyaroa." It thought to itself.
> Broken mind, broken past.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

______*Ponyville, Star Shifter's house, 2:00 PM*______

The house was quiet, it was unusual, but it could happen, and this made Apache absolutely crazy.

Apache was sitting in her room, fidgeting and sporadically moving around trying to find something to do, but to no avail.

Spark was out with Star, working on a project that was supposed to be for brotherly bonding, Apache wasn't allowed to come along and Snowdrift wasn't in the mood for playing, leaving the energetic ball of energy that was also a Pegasus alone to her thought.

So when Apache looked out her window and saw a large flying object fly over the town, she blinked, believing that it was her imagination, but when the room shook and her lamp broke, she knew it wasn't, so she quickly threw the window open and fly out as fast as she could go.

Apache looked around and saw no sign of what she had seen, she rubbed her eyes and sighed, she flew back inside and closed the window.

Apache looked at a picture on the wall and chuckled, it was her and Spark completely soaked and looking away from an angry Star, she remembered the memory clearly, it was just her and Spark, the two decided to go out and have some fun, unfortunately for the town, the two had stumbled across some strangely placed fireworks, they lit them, and when they fired, the two were covered in so much dust and powder, that when Star found them, they had to get the hose and wash off completely just so they could open their eyes, and when Star began to scold them, a picture was taken by Pinkie Pie, who had a camera and was nearby for reasons unknown.

Apache sighed and laid back on the bed. "Nothing interesting happens anymore." She mumbled.

_____*Cloudsdale, the next week, 11:00 PM*______

It was a dark night in the city of clouds, Pegasi were fast asleep by now, and only the blaring alarms of the towns asylum interrupted these thoughts.

Why were the sirens going off?.....because a patient escaped of course, and not just any patient, the most volatile individual there, as the guards searched the city and flew around the neighboring areas searching the escapee, a dark figure approached an alleyway near the cloud production plant.

The figure was tall and stood on two legs, it was covered in a mask of shadows, as well as the cover of night, it walked calmly into the alleyway and approached a shivering figure. "These memories are not real, I am not real, I was made, not born, I exist only as a means to an end." A female voice muttered, it's voice broken and weak.

The figure examined the shivering Pegasus and removed its cover of darkness allowing itself to be seen, but only to the mare, it was very slender, it had sharp retractable claws, it had a long reptilian tail and had light green scales, it's head was similar to that of a raptor, and it's eyes were red and yellow. "Look at you." It said flatly. 

The mare flinched and looked up, her fur was pink and her hair was blue, her eyes were blue as well. "Look at what you've become.....a cowering wretch, who doesn't even know which world is real." The figure stated calmly.

The figure knelt. "And now you have left the one place that kept you safe........and you have removed the bonds that held you back." It continued.

The mare shivered and shook with fear. "You made me.....i would never....." It started.

"You left because I gave you an offer.......assist me, and I will heal your mind, restoring it to how it should be, and as a sign of good faith, I will give you a portion of your mind back." The figure placed a claw on the mare's head and a soft light covered her.

The mare gasped as she recalled more of the fractured memories much more clearly. "I......I remember, my friend?" A tear went down the mares cheek as the memory replayed in her mind.

"You don't have to leave.....you can stay here." Her memory continued.

"You know, I had fun yesterday, but I need to go back, my mom, she does care about me, and I owe it to her to try and move on from my past." A male voice said.

"I just hope you learned something from our world." Her memory muttered.

A chuckle was heard, followed by a voice. "Yes I did, I learned that sometimes.......moving on might just be the best thing to do......and that someone out there doesn't think I'm a jerk." The voice replied.

A small necklace appeared around the mare's neck and she clutched it unconsciously, it was a small wolves claw, but it was slightly chipped. "Who.....were you?" She asked herself.

The figure then stood up. "Snap out of it." She said.

The mare looked up at the creature and gulped, she stood up shakily. "What......what do you need me to do?" She asked.

The creature blinked and the two were teleported to the edge of the city. "I need you to make your way to a town called Ponyville, you are to keep an eye on the town, and report anyone who displays unusual abilities." It said.

The mare looked at the creature. "How.....will we stay in touch?" She asked.

The creature held up three of its talons on its right claw. "I will arrive in three days, when I do, you will introduce me as an old friend that you met years ago when visiting the city called Manehatten, should anyone ask of course, if they ask for my name, you tell them that it is Estalli." It then blinked and the Mare had a pair of saddlebags on its back. "Inside those bags are what you need to survive, nothing more, find a hotel, ask for a two person room, and give my description to the clerk after telling them I'm coming." It then crosses its arms. 

The Mare nodded and looked around. "How will I get away?.....the guards are looking for me." She asked.

The creature smirked. "Did you really think I would have this all ready, and NOT have a backup plan?" 

Suddenly, a building could be heard collapsing in the distance, and the sirens were blaring more than ever. "I would get going, if I were you." The creature said.

The mare quickly flew off, taking care to not draw attention as she flew towards Ponyville, a mental map showing her where to go.

______*Ponyville, the next day, 3:13 PM*______

Star walked with Twilight through the town, they were discussing magical theories for a while, but now they were talking about the Elements Of Harmony. "I just don't understand how they work, I mean, if they work by us being true to our elements, then they would have to be sentient on some level, right?" Twilight asked.

Star shrugged. "Perhaps this is one of those things that cannot be explained by science or magical theory?" He offered.

Twilight groaned. "Oh I hope not, that would be so annoying!" She complained.

Star chuckled as he looked up at the sky. "So.....you heard the news right?" He asked.

Twilight looked at her friend. "About the disaster at Cloudsdale?" She wondered.

Star nodded. "Yea." He replied.

Twilight looked around and noticed Rainbow Dash hovering nearby, so she lowered her voice. "How bad was it?" She asked.

Star sighed. "Really bad, a ton of psychiatric patients escaped, some of them dangerous, five building were destroyed, and there were at least ten confirmed casualties." He replied.

"So you two heard too huh?" Rainbow Dash's voice said.

Twilight's ears dropped. "I'm sorry, I know you came from there." She said.

Rainbow Dash sighed. "It's alright, I'm fine, but it seems to be the talk of the town." She said.

Star pondered this as the three walked. "It is the only real disaster that happened lately, the guards and police are still trying to figure out what happened." He added.

Star then stopped walking suddenly and he looked behind him. "What the?" He muttered.

Twilight and Rainbow Dash looked back. "Star, you alright?" Twilight asked.

Star looked at the two mares and nodded. "Yea, I just feel like I'm being watched." He whispered when he caught up. 

"Why would anypony watch you?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Star blinked and kept on walking. "I wish I knew." He replied.

______*meanwhile*______

Umbrea sighed as she examined the crime scene, for once, there was a serious crime, and it was a rare one, Armed robbery, the local jewelry store was held up as a masked pony robbed all of the bits and smashed tons of the glass.

The only witnesses were the cashier and manager, and neither of them could confirm the identity, they claimed that the thief was completely cloaked and masked, and had what they thought was a fake horn, but they weren't sure, the only thing that they were able to confirm, was that the thief was male.

Umbrea sighed as she stepped away from the crime scene for a moment. 'First the Cloudsdale asylum has an outbreak of escaped patients, now we have a robbery in town, I just hope these are isolated incidents.' She then looked at one of her officers who walked up. "Chief, we just got a report of an armed figure assaulting a general goods store by Barnyard bargains." He whispered.

"Right." Umbrea then looked at him. "Coal, go get the others." She ordered.

"Yes chief." Coal then ran off.

Umbrea sighed, they had gotten some new recruits lately, and things were pretty hectic right now.

Coal was one such recruit, he was good at his job, and he knew enough to go on his own.....at least to investigate a minor disturbance anyway.

As the other officers gathered around, Umbrea spoke. "We're moving out, Coal, stay with Ferrus and manage this scene, Koop, Grant, your coming with me, there's reports of another assault, and Larry." She looked at Larry. "Stay with Coal and Ferrus." She then started walking off.

As Umbrea, Koop and Grant headed off, Umbrea was dreading her life right now. "This is going to be a bad week." she thought.

______*elsewhere in town, a few hours later.*______

Near a small hotel, a pink furred Pegasus mare with a blue mane and tail walked up to the office building, she took a breath and stepped inside, attempting to keep it cool.

"Oh, hello!" A young voice greeted.

The mare looked in the direction of the voice and saw a brown furred Earth Pony with black hair tied into a ponytail, she walked up to the desk and waved her over. "Welcome to the Shady Wood hotel, I take it your looking for a room?" The mare asked.

The Pegasus nodded. "Yea, I am." She said as she walked up. 

The mare opened a nearby book and flipped through it, she then looked up. "What kind of room are you looking for, a single, a double?" She asked.

"Double, I have a friend on the way, we agreed to share a room." The Pegasus replied.

The mare looked through and smiled. "Well, lucky for you, a room opened up just yesterday." She handed the Pegasus a paper. "Sign here please." 

As the Pegasus signed the paper, she told herself that it would be alright, that nothing was going to happen.

The mare took the paper and put it down somewhere in the desk. "I hope you enjoy your stay miss Firefly, and your room number is seven." She then handed Firefly a key with the number seven.

Firefly nodded and started to walk out, she paused and looked back. "Hey, do you know somewhere I can get some food?" She asked.

The mare nodded. "There's a small deli called Marigolds in town, it's walls are light green with a blue overhang." She replied.

"Thanks." Firefly then left the office building and headed to find her room.

Once Firefly found her room, she went inside and locked the door, the walls were a soft green, the carpet was brown and soft, the ceiling was white, thankfully, there was a small bathroom, it wasn't anything special, but it would suffice.

After relieving herself and washing off, Firefly sat down on the bed and sighed, she could finally relax a little.

As Firefly laid back on the bed, she felt most of her headache go away, which was a plus, but her mind was wracked with questions, mostly about her memories, she still had trouble picking apart the true memories, or if any of them WERE real, or if they were all real and she was just going mad because of it.

She heard her stomach growl and she managed to get up, she then walked up to the door and unlocked it, thankfully, she had bits on her to pay for food and the hotel, strangely enough, she had accidentally tripped at some point while walking, and bits spilled out, what was weird however, was the fact that her bags had apparently infinite bits, but Firefly wasn't going to question it, but she also wasn't going to use the money selfishly, she was going to use it as was necessary, and not mention it to anyone.

_____*in town, forty minutes later.*______

Firefly slightly regretted entering town, for as soon as she neared a fountain in the center of town, her memory spikes went off, causing her to gain a massive headache, thankfully, she was able to control herself. 'Okay, this town is definitely where a bunch of these memories came from, but still.......why?....I never came here before, or did i?' She asked herself.

Firefly pondered this as she looked around the town, she remained casual, and didn't prod anyone for information on anything, unless she needed directions.

At some point however, when asking for directions to a food store or stand, a mare by the name of Bon Bon gave her directions for the library, and to ask the librarian Twilight Sparkle for a map of the town.

Firefly had to admit, that was much more appealing than asking everyone for directions.

So as Firefly neared the library which was also a tree, she spotted a black furred Unicorn stallion exit with a small orange baby dragon on his back. 

Firefly didn't say anything nor react strangely, she just kept on walking towards the library, but when the dragon spotted her, it's eyes widened. "Hey!" It said suddenly before jumping off the unicorn's back. 

Firefly stopped and looked at the dragon. "Uh......hi?" She said out of confusion.

"Do I know you?.....I swear I know you." The dragon asked curiously.

The unicorn stallion walked over and looked at Firefly. "I'm sorry about him, he's a little excitable around new people." He said.

Firefly raised an eyebrow. "How do you know I'm new?" She asked cautiously.

The stallion chuckled. "You have a look in your eye, you look as though you've seen strange things but have no way of processing it.....trust me, everyone new to town has that look." He said.

Firefly blinked, that was.....odd. "Uh.....ok, I uh, im Firefly, and yes, I am new in town, im just trying to get my bearings." She said.

The stallion nodded and pointed at the library. "Then this is the right place, Twilight can give you a map of town, their enchanted to constantly change if anything is removed or added, so don't worry about getting a new one, oh, I'm Star Shifter, just call me Star." He said before picking the dragon back up and placing it on his back. "And this is my little brother Spark." He said.

Spark blinked and continued to stare.

Firefly was creeped out by the dragon.....but her memories told her that she......knew, the dragon, but she wasn't sure how. "It was nice to meet you." She said simply.

Star nodded. "Maybe I'll see you around, never know, it's a small town." He said before heading off.

Firefly walked up to the library door and opened it. "Please tell me the librarian is normal." She prayed.

______*Golden Oaks Library*______

Firefly stepped inside and looked around, the books lined the many bookshelves built into the tree's interior, there was also another baby dragon with rounded green spines and purple scales, it was currently walking around the room, placing books on the shelves.

Then there was the purple unicorn mare walking around, randomly pulling out books and examining them, as if searching for something specific. "Uh.....hello?" Firefly said.

The mare looked over and saw Firefly, she walked over and spoke. "Oh, hi, sorry, cleaning up......I'm Twilight Sparkle, what can I do for you?" She asked.

"I'm looking for a map of town, I'm new, and i want to know the area a little better." Firefly said.

Twilight nodded and her horn lit up, soon, a map with black bindings floated over and Twilight handed it over. "I'm glad somepony is finally interested in using one of those, apparently your the first one to actually WANT a map in over fifty years." She then looked over at the baby dragon. "Spike! be careful with those, I don't want those times open again!" She called out. 

"I know!" The young dragon replied.

Firefly blinked and looked at Twilight. "Thank you, I should get going." She said.

Twilight nodded. "Hey." She said.

Firefly looked back. "Hmm?" 

"What's your name?" Twilight asked, making Firefly's heart skip a beat.

"Firefly, I'm Firefly." She replied, calming down slightly.

Twilight smiled. "It was nice to meet you Firefly, welcome to Ponyville." She said.

Firefly nodded and walked out.

______*on the way to the hotel.*______

Firefly was walking home from a mostly busy day of exploring the town, she had passed a nearby building when she heard a throat being cleared behind her, followed by a voice.

Firefly stopped and flipped around quickly and came face to face with a cyan furred mare with white hair and cyan streaks, her eyes were very intimidating yet alluring as they were bright red with cyan sclera and black pupils. "Uh......hi?" She said carefully.

"What made you think you could hide in my town?" The mare asked quietly.

Firefly gulped and shrugged, feigning innocence. "I don't know what you mean." She said.

The mare chuckled and gave Firefly an intimidating glare. "I know who you are....Firefly, escaped asylum patient, murderer of five weather factory workers, so tell me, why my town?" She asked again.

Firefly backed up slowly and clutched her talisman unknowingly. "I......I." She could not find her words, this mysterious mare just......knew, who she was. 

The mare walked up. "Allow me to introduce myself, I am chief of Ponyville Police, Umbrea, and I have every right to place you under arrest for assault." Umbrea said calmly.

Firefly blinked at that last part. "......I, never hurt anyone......after, I escaped." She muttered.

Umbrea sighed. "Let me give you an offer, it's one time only, so I suggest you pay attention." She said.

Firefly shivered a little, but decided to listen. 

"Come quietly, answer my questions, and harm no one, and I won't have to reveal your location to anyone, in other words, you cooperate, you get left alone." Umbrea said.

Firefly wasn't in a hurry to go back to the asylum, but she couldn't trust this mare at all, but then again, she didn't have a choice. "What do you want to know?" She asked.

Umbrea's horn lit and her eyes glowed for a brief second, and the two were teleported away.

_____*Umbrea's house*______

Firefly found her wings were bound but otherwise she was alright, she looked and saw that Umbrea was pulling something out of a drawer, and upon closer inspection it was a photograph. "First things first." Umbrea said.

Firefly watched as Umbrea pulled a chair out of nowhere and sat down, she looked right at Firefly. "Why did you come here?" She asked.

"I.....was told to come here." Firefly said.

"By who?" She asked.

Firefly gulped, praying that she wouldn't get punished for answering these questions. "My friend Estalli, she's a reptile of some kind with light green scales, red and yellow eyes." She answered.

"Why?" Umbrea asked.

"......We were coming to keep an eye on the townspeople." She immediately clamped her mouth shut, she did NOT mean to say that.

Umbrea's gaze hardened. "Do you know why?" She questioned.

"No." Firefly answered immediately.

Umbrea chuckled. "I see, you don't know." She then crossed her arms and looked at Firefly, she then used her magic and showed her the photo. 

"I know that's you in the photo, you match that kid in every aspect, so tell me." She then pointed at the photo. "Who are they, and why did this show up at my doorstep!?" She questioned.

Firefly seemed to be in comeplete shock as she stared at the photo, she immediately recognized the little dragon, and the filly was most definitely her. "I......I recognize them, but I can't place the time, place, or the names of any of them." She answered, she then looked at Umbrea. "Except the dragon." She said.

Umbrea looked at the photo and noticed a small orange baby dragon. "That's Star's brother!......but why is he here without Star?" She asked herself quietly.

Firefly tried so hard to remember.....but try as she might, it as was as though something was.....interfering, with her memory once again. "I don't know.......what do you want from me already?" She asked, wanting to get out of there quickly.

Umbrea blinked and walked to the desk and locked the photo up. "I want you to introduce me to your friend, I need to know this, Estalli's, intentions." She said.

Umbrea then removed the rope on Firefly's wings. "You help me find out why she wants to keep an eye on the town, I get you a pardon, deal?" She said.

Firefly thought on this, on one hoof, Estalli was incredibly powerful, and going against her was probably a bad idea, as she could control her memory, on the other hoof, Umbrea was in a position to pardon her, which would be invaluable in getting her life back.

"I.....can't promise anything, but if possible, I can try to discreetly find it out, but I'm not placing myself in any more risk." Firefly answered.

Umbrea nodded. "Good enough." She said, her horn lit, and Firefly was teleported.

______*the hotel, Firefly's room, hours later.*______

Firefly sighed, she laid back on the bed as she got ready to sleep, she was still trying to wrap her head around what was happening to her.

In a matter of days, she escaped the asylum, she got recruited by a mysterious creature, she fled her home city, she became a fugitive, she recieved an offer from the local police chief, and now she was awaiting the arrival of Estalli.

"What the hell is going on?" She asked herself quietly.

And to make matters worse, Firefly still had trouble telling the worlds apart, she could barely remember which memory was most recent, let alone if it was real.

"Maybe things will be better in the morning." She whispered to herself.

______*Canterlot*______

Roxanne sighed as she breathed in the cool night air, she was on temporary leave right now, as her and Night Frenzy were requested in the capital, but they weren't sure why.

Right now Night Frenzy was annoying Roxanne to no end, and the mare just needed some air to clear her head slowly building anger.

Roxanne looked off at the city and raised an eyebrow at a peculiar sight, there was a strange creature standing on the roof of one of the buildings, and it seemed to be looking her way.

Rather than acknowledging its presence, Roxanne turned around and headed inside.

It was strange, but it was probably just coincidence or a trick of the mind, at least.....that was the hope.

_____*A short while ago.*______

"Female organisms detected, class S anomalies detected in both." A quiet mechanical voice said.

A tall wolf like creature stood in perfect invisibility on the roof of a structure, scanning the city. "Samples?" She asked mentally.

"Samples taken two days ago reveal that the subjects are of two different variants of equine, one is known as a 'Pegasus', with Fox like attributes, it also holds power that it known commonly as 'magic'......ninety percent S class anomaly contaminant, proceed with caution." The voice said.

The wolf creature moved to another roof silently and scanning around. "And the second sample?" She asked.

"Second sample shows that the other subject is a rare variant known as 'Thestral' possessing enormous phyiscal atributes, primarily in agility and speed, ninety nine point seven percent S class anomaly contaminant." The voice replied.

The wolf creature was honestly surprised at the numbers, but refused to let it show. "They could be decoys, either that or children of Lyaroa, computer, scan for DNA using the sample taken from Lyaroa." She

"Scanning, please stand by." The voice said.

The creature quickly jumped to another roof and spotted a mare looking outside from a balcony. "Scan complete.....no traces of subject, Lyaroa, in the DNA taken from subjects." The voice said.

The creature blinked. "Ok, so they must be decoys." She said.

Just after it spoke, the mare on the balcony looked in the creature's direction. "Warning, subject, Roxanne, alerted to presence, cloak, ineffective against subject." The voice said.

The creature froze in place, completely shocked that her cloaking failed, she watched as the mare headed inside, seemingly unfazed by this. "Computer, scan for Sentinel DNA in subjects, Night Frenzy and Roxanne." She said.

"Scanning.......scan complete, zero point two percent Sentinel DNA, subjects may have come into contact with another Sentinel, but they are not of your race." The computer stated clearly.

The creature moved a little closer and hid by a window that was cracked open. "Why did we stop our training to come here in the first place Frenzy?.....we had no reason whatsoever." Said a female voice.

"Voice identified as belonging to subject, Roxanne." The computer said.

"Look Roxanne, we came here because we were summoned, I don't know why, but I'm not about to piss anyone off, especially if they can screw us over." Another female voice said, much more confident sounding than Roxanne's.

"Voice identified as belonging to subject, Night Frenzy." The computer said.

"We were getting torn apart in our training, you just won't admit it, we never should have signed that contract." Roxanne said.

"Then we would be stuck in Ponyville doing absolutely nothing as we aged, at least this way we have something to do." Night Frenzy replied

The creature peaked into the room with its vizor, allowing her to see inside it clearly.

Roxanne then paused and looked at her sister. "Frenzy......are you avoiding something?" She asked.

Night Frenzy scoffed. "Me?....avoiding something? No way!" She snapped.

"Then are you avoiding SomeONE?" Roxanne asked.

Frenzy paused and then sighed, she paced irritably. "Yes." She responded, after a minute.

"It's Umbrea, isn't it? Ever since that incident with Trixie and the Ursa, you've been on edge, like you're looking over your shoulder for something, why?" Roxanne asked.

Night Frenzy grumbled and sat back down. "I'm not sure why, but being with her felt......wrong, like I shouldn't have done it, I felt guilty and disgusted with myself for some reason, but I can't understand why." She said.

The creature had heard enough, she teleported away and sat down on the roof. "Computer, scan for Estalli." She said.

"Scanning, madam, if I might ask.....do you not trust your daughter to be able to complete this task alone?" The computer asked.

"I have no doubts about her ability computer, but I would like to know her progress." She replied.

"Lady Estalli discovered, nearing the town called, Ponyville, will arrive in the morning at her current pace." The computer said.

The creature blinked. "I thought she would have arrived there by now.....open a channel." She said.

"Stand by for communication." The computer said.

Suddenly, an image of Estalli appeared before the wolf like creature. "Mother......why are you calling?" Estalli asked.

"Why are you not in Ponyville yet?.....you should have been there a week ago!" The creature asked.

Estalli rubbed her eye and sighed. "I told you, I have a plan, I needed time to get everything ready, I'm arriving at the town tomorrow, a little ahead of time, but it will be just fine." She replied.

"Would you care to share this plan?" The creature asked.

"I recruited the help of a local, she has the S class anomaly and has a broken memory, in exchange for healing her mind, she will report anything strange in the town." Estalli said.

"You recruited one those.......inferior creatures?" The creature said,

Estalli blinked. "I'm surprised that you haven't thought of the idea first, they can move around unnoticed, they can blend in perfectly, no one questions one of their kind moving in, they are the perfect spies." She replied,

The creature frowned. "They are also inferior beings, who we cannot trust." She countered.

Estalli shook her head. "I don't have the energy to argue with you mother, just let me carry out my plan, and you carry out your own." She said before the image disappear.

The wolf sighed and walked around a little. "Computer, scan Ponyville for S class Anomalies." She said.

"Scanning.......three S class Anomalies detected, one anomaly is thirteen percent, another is seventy percent, the last one is one hundred percent." The computer said.

The wolf looked in the direction of the building that Roxanne and Night Frenzy were at. "It would seem that these creatures might just have a use after all." She said to herself quietly.

The wolf creature teleported to the building's roof and looked inside with her special vision. "It's time for my own plan to take place, starting with these two." She muttered as she watched the two sisters go to sleep.

______*Ponyville, the next day, 11:00 AM*______

Firefly was walking back to the hotel from the town, she just had breakfast and had decided to simply sit around for a while, seeing as she had nothing to do.

As she walked, Firefly had a strange feeling, as though she were being watched, she looked around and saw nothing.

Firefly continued to walk, and eventually, when she entered the hotel room, she was greeted by a familiar reptilian face. "Estalli!?" She exclaimed in shock.

Estalli looked at Firelfy crossed her arms, and with a stern glare, spoke. "Do you have anything to report?" 

Firefly just stood there in shock. "Wh.....what, why are you?" She asked.

"Early?" Estalli finished. "Because I feel like we're running out of time, so, anything to tell me?" She asked.

Firefly gulped and looked at Estalli. "Um.......y-y-yes, there's an......Alicorn, the chief of police, Umbrea, she has some very strange magic." She explained in shock.

Estalli walked up and chuckled. "Thank you, now then, as was our agreement, I will restore more of your mind." She placed a claw on Firefly's right shoulder and she glowed softly.

Almost immediately, Firefly saw a vision of the past. "Mom, are you angry at Fang?" The memory of Firefly said.

In her minds eye, Firefly saw the tall white furred fox smiling as she kneeled down to look at a filly version of Firefly. "No, I'm not, it's just complicated, I'm angry at someone else." She said quietly, yet truthfully.

"Who?" The memory continued.

"Both myself and Lyaroa." The fox answered as she picked up Firefly and placed her on her head. "Like I said, it's complicated, for now, just let it be, and enjoy yourself, it's a celebration after all." The fox said with a smile.

The filly had one last thing to ask however. "The nice wolf lady?.....why are you mad at her?" The young Firefly asked curiously.

The fox frowned and continued walking, leaving the question unanswered.

Estalli looked at Firelfy curiously as the mare recovered from the visions. 'How much did this girl witness? In the other world?' She wondered.

______*Elsewhere in Ponyville*______

Apache ran home as quickly as she could, she had found something very interesting at school, and couldn't wait to show Star.

As she got closer to the house, she felt her saddlebags grow heavy, she slowed down and stopped to rest by a tree, she collected her breath, looked around to make sure no one was watching, and opened her saddlebag, she then pulled out a small translucent crystal that glowed red and black, she quickly stuffed it into her bags and ran off again, but the crystal seemed to get heavier with each step, as though it did not want to go that way.

'I can't wait to see the look on his face when he sees this!' She thought with excitement, as she continued to run.

______*Ponyville, Umbrea's house, the next day, 3:00 PM.*______

Umbrea sighed to herself as she worked, she appeared to be busy, but in truth, she was conflicted, on one hoof, it was her duty to arrest Firefly, on the other, she was the only lead she had to discover who the people in the photograph were.

"The world truly hates me, I know it." She muttered.

She was only brought away from her work when the doorbell rang, she sighed in relief as she stood up to get the door.

As Umbrea left the room and headed for the door, she sensed a strange power in the air, getting stronger the closer that she got to it.

Umbrea unlocked and opened the door, and saw Apache standing at the door with Star behind her.

"Oh hey Star, what's up?" Umbrea asked.

"I was called away on business." Star started. "I was wondering if you could watch Spark and Apache?" He asked.

Umbrea took a breath, she then chuckled a little. "Sure, I could use a break from work anyway, come on in." She said.

"I can't, I need to get going." Star looked back, revealing Spark next to Firefly. "Go on inside you two." He said.

Apache and Spark walked up to the door and entered the house, Umbrea then shut the door after seeing Star off.

Umbrea was actually glad to have a distraction from everything, and the kids provided that easily.

"Hey Umbrea, wanna see something cool?" Apache asked.

Umbrea chuckled, knowing it would probably be another drawing of some kind. "Sure kid, what is it?" She asked.

Apache reached into her saddles bags and pulled out.......a crystal? 

Umbrea blinked as she stared at the crystal. "That's......weird." She said as the crystal glowed red and black.

Perhaps the strangest thing about the crystal, was that it obviously has power inside of it, but there was just a void where it should be, almost as if it shouldn't exist.

Another ring of the doorbell a few minutes later made Umbrea get up and go to the door.

As Umbrea, opened it, she was greeted by familiar faces. "Sapphire?" She asked curiously.

Sapphire was with Gem and they looked very tired. "Are you two alright?" Umbrea asked out of concern.

Sapphire nodded. "Yea, I just haven't slept much these last few days." She answered.

"So uh......what can I do for you?" Umbrea asked.

"I'm here to apologize Umbrea." Sapphire said as Gem looked around, for all the good that did. "The way I treated you.......it was unfair, your right, you couldn't make it to the wedding, and I overreacted, I'm sorry." She said.

Umbrea smiled. "Apology accepted, I was tired of the stupid arguments anyway." She said.

Gem scoffed. "You!? Tired of arguing? please, when Twilight burns a book, I'll believe you." She commented.

Umbrea laughed a little at that. "Oh.....if only you weren't blind." She muttered.

"I heard that." Gem stated.

"Fuck off Gem, stop eavesdropping." Umbrea retorted.

After that, the two sisters left, leaving Umbrea with the kids once again. "Umbrea, do you still have snakes and ladders?" Spark asked.

"Yea, why wouldn't i?" She wondered.

______*Unknown, 5:00 PM, a few days later.*______

The wolf creature crossed her arms as she walked around the room, she looked to her left and sighed. "How long Computer?" She asked.

"One week, three days, and four hours remain for recovery." The computer said.

The wolf creature looked into the small containment cells and saw her captives, the immobile bodies of Roxanne and Night Frenzy, they were being suspended by an invisible force, and being kept conscious by a strange device on their heads, it was metallic and golden, it was shaped like a helmet, but it had a thick black wire in the back.

The wolf walked up to them and looked at Roxanne. "I can tell that you are beginning to remember the past, tell me, what is it you remember?" She asked calmly, as though a scientist were asking.

Roxanne struggled, but managed to look at her captor. ".........Pain." She said weakly.

The wolf then walked up to Night Frenzy. "And you?....what is it you remember?" She asked.

".......fuck off." Night Frenzy said defiantly, refusing to look at the creature.

The wolf pushed a button on the nearby wall, suddenly, Night Frenzy felt her body being electrocuted so much, that she almost passed out, were it not for the device. "Show some respect for your elders girl, if I wanted to, I could easily turn you into dust, so you may as well start to listen." The wolf said threateningly.

Night Frenzy laughed quietly, though she was in excruciating pain, she struggled and looked at the wolf creature with a grin. "If your so mighty.......why do you need two misfits like us huh?" She taunted.

The wolf smirked and turned around. "Do you think that old trick will work on me?....I invented it after all, so I would know, but if you must know.....it isn't YOU I need, it's who you WERE that I need." She walked up and twisted a valve on Night Frenzy's cell. "For now however, I need silence." She said.

Soon after, both Night Frenzy and Roxanne fell unconscious, as the wolf continued to work.

"If this doesn't work, Estalli and myself will finish the job." The creature said to herself with a confident smirk.
> A battle for life.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

______*unknown time*______

Fire......so much fire, my life is hanging by a thread, and I don't know what to do.

How could I have known this would happen?......I thought I was free? 

But she found me, determined to destroy me in her own twisted demented way, she did this, and I hate her for that.

As I face my opponent, I stand frozen in complete silence and shock as I am assaulted, only rage is remembered, no longer tethered by reason, only seeking revenge.......I can't fight back, not against her.

As another wave of flames approached me, I uttered two words under my breath. "I......I'm sorry." 

_____*the present, two day's later, Umbrea's house, 8:54 AM*_____

"Ahhh!" Umbrea screamed as she shot up out of bed, her breathing was ragged, her fur was covered in sweat, she felt fear overwhelming her thoughts.

Umbrea kept reminding herself that it was just a dream, that she was alright, soon, she calmed down, she slowly got off the bed and stood up. "What in the hell was that?.....a nightmare? a vision?.....a memory?" She asked herself in confusion, the memory of the fire as clear as day.

Umbrea rubbed her eyes and walked to her door, she opened it and walked out.

As she walked through the house, she was released to hear that it was silent, she was thankful that she had thrown up a sound barrier over the room now.

Umbrea sat down on her couch and sighed, she held her forehead and closed her eyes as she leaned back. "Maybe I should just take the day off?" She pondered. 'I've been working too hard anyway, I need some time away to clear my mind.' She told herself.

Umbrea stood up slowly and walked to the kitchen, she pulled out everything she needed to make breakfast for three, once she had it going, she walked upstairs to the room Spark and Apache were staying in.

Umbrea opened the door and turned ok the dim light. "Hey kids, wake up!" She said.

Surprisingly, the kids actually woke up, which was odd considering Star told her that they were impossible to wake up at times. "I'm making breakfast, then you two have school.....I think." She said before leaving the room.

Umbrea teleported to the kitchen and proceeded to continue making breakfast, it was eggs and fried potatoes, one of the few things Umbrea could make without fear of burning.

Of course, she would never admit that.

______*Two days later, Ponyville, 2:00 PM*______

Firefly was walking with Estalli as they explored the town, even though Firefly was positive that Estalli knew the entire layout of the town, she insisted that they explore the town in person.

Even though most of the townsponies avoided Estalli, the reptilian did not seem to mind.

"So, what does Umbrea look like?" Estalli asked.

Firefly shrugged. "Cyan fur, white mane and tail, bright red eyes, red web cutie mark." She answered.

Estalli did not reply, she simply continued to look around. "So uh.......what are we doing, exactly?" Firefly asked.

"Exploring." Estalli replied.

The simple answer was enough to make Firefly silent, and they were now walking around without speaking.

After what felt like an hour, Estalli spoke. "Anything interesting to say about your memories?" She asked curiously.

Firefly blinked, surprised by the question. "Well, I think I've lived two lives......I have memories of me talking to a fox like creature, and I called, her?.....mother?" She said, not entirely sure of what she was saying.

Estalli shrugged her head. 'Your closer than you think.' She thought.

It was not long however, until the two found their way to the park, and there, Firefly noticed someone familiar, she lightly bumped Estalli's arm. "Over there." She whispered.

Estalli looked at where Firefly was talking about, and she saw a mare that could only be Umbrea, cyan fur, white hair, red web cutie mark, red eyes. "I see." She then looked at Firefly. "Shall we go say hello?" She wondered.

Firefly sighed, she was hoping that it would take longer, but now, she was left no choice. "Alright, I'll introduce you." She said.

They walked up to Umbrea who was sitting on a bench relaxing. "Umbrea?" Firefly started.

Umbrea looked over her shoulder and blinked. "Oh, Firefly.....and friend." She stood up and walked to the side of the bench. "I'm guessing your Estalli?" She asked.

Estalli nodded. "I didn't know you two met." She replied.

Firefly laughed nervously. "It might have slipped my mind." She said nervously.

Estalli rolled her eyes and looked at Umbrea. "Sorry about my friends odd behavior, she has a lot on her mind right now." She said calmly.

Umbrea nodded. "It's fine, I know a bit about being stressed out after all." She replied.

Estalli crossed her arms and looked around. "As do I, I suppose we all have stress in our own rights." She then looked at Umbrea. "Then again, take my brother for example, he doesn't have any responsibility, he's lucky." She mentioned.

Umbrea chuckled. "What's his name? I'll send him some hate mail." She teased.

Estalli shook her head. "He doesn't really like it when I give out his real name, but he likes going by Sonic.....at least, I think." She replied, with confusion.

Umbrea chuckled. "Well, anyway, I need to get going, perhaps I'll see you some other time." She said before walking off.

Estalli looked at Firefly. "We're heading back." She said before blinking.

______*the hotel*______

Firefly shook her head rapidly. "I'm never going to get used to that." She said to herself.

Estalli's eyes glowed golden and the room sealed with powerful magic, she looked at Firefly. "Our business is concluded." She stated calmly.

Firefly felt a wave of emotions swarm over her, mostly, it was relief, and anger. "What......no, no! we had a deal!" She snapped.

Estalli blinked and walked up to Firefly. "Yes, we did, and I shall honor that deal, as promised, I will return all your memories to you." She then placed her hand on Firefly's head. 

A soft golden glow filled the room, soon, Firefly fell unconscious as Estalli picked her up with her mind, and placed her on the bed.

Estalli witnessed all of Firefly's memories as she restored them, but for now, she had a transmission to send. 

______*Firefly's mind.*______

Firefly gasped as she opened her eyes to the familiar sight of Cloudsdale, she blinked and looked around, she recognized the area, she used to play here with her sister Gwen and the Black Cloud gang, as they called themselves.

She blinked at the unusual recollection. "What in the world?" She asked herself.

Firefly watched as the world shifted to an all too familiar temple. "Jandoka's temple?" She muttered.

"Miss me?" She heard her past self say quietly.

"If you mean your annoying grin, then no, if you mean you in person......ehh give it time." Roxanne teased.

Firefly then heard fighting nearby, she looked and saw her past self fighting alongside Roxanne against a dragon, she blinked as she watched the memory shift.

She was now watching as a kid version of herself was fast asleep on Roxanne, she was confused but was beginning to remember why this was.

Emerald, The Judge, had placed her inside a magical prison of sorts, to judge if she was worthy of being the Corrupted Element Of Lightning, she was not, as such, she was reverted to a state, where she would be.

Firefly watched as her younger self awoke, and how she eventually spoke to Roxanne after reuniting with the others. "Hu Koni." She said at the same time as her younger self.

The memory shifted once more, as more of her memory returned, she found herself feeling unwell.

"Hey Mom." Firefly heard voices say.

She looked and saw herself, she was in bed talking with a white furred Pegasus mare with a fox tail and ears, she knew in her mind that it was Roxanne. "What is it Firefly?" Roxanne asked quietly.

The younger Firefly smiled as she looked up at her mother. "Are you sure you don't me to teach you how to fly? it can be very fun?" She offered.

Roxanne chuckled. "Sorry Firefly, but I'm going back to normal tomorrow, maybe I can ask Lyaroa if I can switch at will?" She suggested.

Firefly shook her head. "I don't want to bother her with this, she has a lot on her mind right now anyway." She replied.

The memory shifted again, and now she was in the Ponyville park, she looked around and saw her younger self running around with a familiar baby dragon. "Brother?" She said quietly.

The two kept running and playing as Firefly watched, but at one point, the world shifted once again.

The world shifted from the bright atmosphere, to a gloomy one.

Firefly watched as her younger self came out to the main room, she watched as she approached an all too familiar colt in a wheelchair. "Do us both a favor, and forget I exist." He said.

Firefly's younger self sighed. "Goodnight." She said quietly.

"Whatever." The colt said.

The memory shifted once more, this time, it was inside the training yard, in Lyaroa's house, and she watched as her younger self slapped Storm. "Your a jerk." She said. 

"Thanks!.....I have no issues with that!" Storm replied happily.

"You like being insulted?" The young Firefly asked.

Storm chuckled. "What did I tell you the one day?......I'm completely insane!" The colt replied.

"You could stay you know, I would love to have you around." She heard her younger self say, as she grabbed the wheelchair, ready to send him home.

"Here." Storm said to her younger self as he handed her a broken claw with a chain. "That's mine, I gave it a small charm, it'll let you remember any moment from your life." He said.

The memory shifted as Firefly unconsciously clutched the claw. 

She was now inside Sugurcube corner, and she immediately remembered this, this was when she turned into a Werewolf, where she not only killed her captor, but tore him apart.

Firefly clutched her head as she watched the world shifted to one of destruction, and she remembered it, the fall of the world.

As the Centaur Tirek battled Twilight Sparkle over the fate of Equestria, Lyaroa had gathered as many as she could safely transport away, and once, they were gone, she watched as Lyaroa and Roxanne kissed one last time, then left the world that was being destroyed.

Firefly dropped to her knees as she tried to breathe, she felt as though her mind was being torn apart, then she blacked out, seeing nothing but darkness.

_____*Unknown.*_____

"Computer, awaken Subject One." The creature ordered.

"Subject One awakening." The computer replied.

The wolf creature walked over to Roxanne and crossed her arms, the Pegasus certainly had a different air about her, as though something had changed. "Computer, revise recovery time." The creature ordered.

"Analyzing.......recovery time, three days, apologies for the inaccurate results from before." The computer apologized.

The creature looked up at Roxanne and looked into her mind. "Computer, cease recovery on Subject One, she is ready." She ordered.

"Warning, halting recovery of Subject will result in unpredictable behavior and actions.....confirm?" The computer asked.

The creature nodded. "Confirmed......Roxanne, what is it you feel?" She asked.

Roxanne's eyes were burning Amber, she looked at the creature. "Hatred......a desire for revenge." She replied in a dangerous tone. 

The creature nodded. "Good, you will be free to enact that revenge soon, for now, rest, and recover your strength." It said as Roxanne was forced into unconsciousness by the machine.

"Computer, awaken Subject Two and revise recovery time." The creature ordered.

"Awakening Subject Two.....scan complete, five day recovery." The computer replied.

"Night Frenzy.....or should I call you Nightmare?.....what do you feel?" The creature asked.

Night Frenzy looked at the creature with disgust. "Hatred for you, for imprisoning me." She replied weakly as she fought against the stasis.

The creature would not have cared for the Thestrals struggling, were it not for the fact that it seemed to be working. "Computer, increase sedative levels on Subject Two." She ordered.

Night Frenzy immediately felt her strength leave her as she grew drowsy, only the machine kept her awake. "When i get out of here.....your dead." She threatened.

The creature blinked and Night Frenzy was asleep. "Computer, cease recovery on Subject Two, add anger enzymes to her tank, and be ready to direct them to Lyaroa." She ordered.

The computer processed this, and soon the stasis tank holding Night Frenzy glowed red as the enzymes were absorbed into her. "Subject is now completely unpredictable, targeting program will only be sixty percent effective, caution is advised." The computer replied.

The creature then heard her communication device go off, she walked to it and activated it, seeing Estalli on the other end. "Report." She ordered.

Estalli nodded, she checked behind her for something and then spoke. "I have located Lyaroa, she is hiding as Umbrea, chief of Ponyville Police, orders?" She asked.

The creature pondered her next move as she looked to the stasis tanks. "I want you to make Lyaroa remember who she truly is, I am putting my own plan into motion, if this works like I think it will, she will not know what hit her." She replied before cutting the transmission.

_____*Ponyville*_____

Estalli sighed. "This is not going to go well." She muttered.

She walked over to the bed where Firefly appeared to be stirring from her slumber, she waited a few moments and Firefly awoke.

Estalli noticed something wrong with Firefly almost immediately, she could feel the mares mind being torn apart, so she did the best thing she could, she forced the mare to be completely awake then spoke. "Now that you have seen your memories, you must make a choice." She stated quickly.

Firefly looked at Estalli in shock, she had just received these memories, but now she had to lose them?......she would have begun to argue but she felt a massive headache suddenly appear. "What.....do you.....mean?" She asked through the pain.

Estalli waved her hand and the two were suddenly inside of a chamber made entirely of stone. "The mortal mind cannot handle the amount of memories you contain, they will compete, and if you don't not forget them, you will revert to how you were previously, an unstable mess unable to tell reality from fiction." She then made three doors appear on a wall.

Firefly felt her headache fade as the doors appeared. "What is this?" She asked.

Estalli motioned to the doors. "These doors represent your memories, when you walk through one of the doors, you will remember only those, no others." She walked to the center of the three doors.

Firefly walked to Estalli. "How will I know the memories, and how do I make my decision?" She asked.

Estalli pointed at each door. "The door to your left contains the original memories, you will hold every memory until that moment when you were made a child once more." She explained.

"The door behind me contains the memories after the change, and before the fall of that world, and the one to your right, contains the memories of this world alone, as for your decision, you merely must walk through the door." She explained.

Firefly looked to all three doors, she then looked at Estalli. "And.....how will I cope with this world? after all, no matter what I choose, I will be dooming myself in some way." She wondered.

Estalli blinked. "You.......are correct, i will assist you how I can no matter the decision, but I need to know what you choose." She said.

Firefly looked between the doors once more, she sighed as she looked at Estalli. "Can you give me some time to think on this?" She asked.

Estalli nodded. "This form you see before you is simply a conduit, whatever you choose, it shall inform Estalli, be warned however, the decision is final, there is no way to reverse it." She explained.

Firefly then sat down, thinking upon her options. "This will take a while." She muttered.

_____*Ponyville, later that day, 9:00 PM.*_____

Apache quietly made her way to her home, she looked around for anyone following her, seeing no one, she grinned and continued moving.

When she eventually reached the house, she made her way to the basement after unlocking and locking the back door with her lock picking skills.

Apache moved to the center of the basement, she then reached down and pulled up the fake floor boards, she set them aside and kneeled down, she examined her secret for a moment.

What Apache was looking at was a circular rune made out of dirt, mud and sticks, it had the appearance of a glaive and had jagged edges as it spiraled inward, in the center was a shed dragon scale that Spark had lost. 

Apache replaced the scale with a new one and hid the old one in a small pouch, she then spoke quietly. "Ukhan Lomaj Infae." She chanted twice.

"Apache, it's good to see you once again." Said a voice familiar to Apache.

The young filly looked up and saw a small ghostly figure hovering above the scale. "Hey Estalli, you busy right now?" She asked.

Estalli nodded. "I am, but I can spare a moment, what's bothering you my friend?" She asked.

Apache pulled out the crystal from before and showed it to Estalli. "I was hoping that you would know what this was, since you know everything else?" She asked.

Estalli tilted her head and then smiled. "You have been blessed my friend, what you are holding is part of something wonderful, keep it with you, do not part with it." She replied.

"But.....what is it part of?" She asked.

Estalli shook her head. "It is not my place to say, suffice to say, that Crystal is infused with great power, treat it carefully." She said before vanishing.

Apache looked at the crystal with curiosity, she then sighed and put it back into her bags, she had hoped to find out what it was, but instead she got more questions.

______*Umbrea's house,*______

Umbrea whispered to herself as she slept, she fidgeted as she felt her dreams be consumed by nightmares, terrible visions of the past, and the future.

Little did she know of what fate had in store for her, or of her friends......and of friends lost.

Suddenly however, Umbrea awoke and was sweating all over, she looked around and saw that everything was fine, she sighed in relief as she rubbed her forehead.

Suddenly however, Umbrea heard glass shattering downstairs, she quickly rushed out of the room to see what was wrong, but as she opened the door, a torrent of flames burst into the room, engulfing everything.

Umbrea could do nothing but recover and put the flames out on her body as her vision was consumed by the flame, she coughed as she weakly walked through the collapsing building, she didn't know why, but her house had caught on fire, and she was going to make sure the kids were not harmed.

Umbrea made her way to the guest room as quickly as she was able, her movement and vision impaired by the relentless fire, she turned the corner to the hallway where the kids room was, only to find that a wooden beam had fallen down, using her magic, Umbrea lifted it out of the way, using whatever muscle strength she could to help.

The beam crashed onto the floor as it ignited, and now with the pathway clear, Umbrea pressed on, she reached the kids room and tried to open it, only to discover it was jammed, she banged on it as hard as she could, but it did not budge.

Umbrea then backed up, she then charged at full speed to the door, and it broke down as she collided with it, she coughed as she looked around for any sign of the kids, but she found none, panicked, Umbrea quickly got up and looked under that beds for them, she did not see them.

As Umbrea looked away from the beds, she was startled by a tall figure standing over her, she backed up only for it grip her with some unknown power. "Why did I give up my life for YOU to take it!?.....clearly I made a mistake, one that I shall rectify right now!" The tall creature was covered in darkness, but Umbrea watched as a white claw swung towards her.

Her eyes widened as the claw reached her throat.

______*Umbrea's house, 1:00 AM*______

Umbrea screamed as she shot up out of bed, sweat was dripping from her brow, and she could see scorch marks on her hooves, she looked to her right and saw that her window was cracked, she got up and walked over to it, she placed her hoof on it and felt the sharp glass pierce her hoof. "Ah!" She exclaimed.

She looked at it and saw that her hoof was now stained in blood. "What.........was that?" She asked herself.

_______*Ponyville, later that day, 8:00 AM*______

Umbrea wandered aimlessly through town, still shaken by the previous events, she didn't even notice that she left town and ended up on an open field, she blinked and she soon realized something. "Where's the town?" She asked herself.

"About a mile away." Said a familiar voice.

Umbrea felt her head stinging as she looked to see Estalli. "You?.....your giving me these nightmares!" She accused.

Estalli walked until she was five feet from Umbrea. "I gave you nothing, those nightmares are your own, your own mind is creating them." She replied calmly.

Umbrea growled as she ignited her horn, only for her to feel a sharp pain in her mind, she clutched her head and screamed in agony. "AAAAHHHHH!.......WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME!?" She screamed.

Estalli raised her hand and a golden orb appeared in her hand. "I am fixing you, you shall be whole again." She said as the orb flew straight into Umbrea.

Umbrea did not notice the orb, but once it went inside of her, she dropped to the ground, writhing in agony, and she began to experience memories, memories of another world beyond imagining. "No......no, I don't want to leave." She cried as the pain became unbearable.

Estalli watched calmly as Umbrea began to experience memory after memory, she then recieved a transmission. "Estalli, fall back, now, that is an order." The wolf creature said briefly. "Why?" Estalli asked.

The wolf creature narrowed her eyes and Estalli bit her lip. "As you wish mother." She said quietly before vanishing.

As Estalli screamed in pain, she felt her body changing, but worst of all, worse than even the mind splitting pain, she felt herself dying. "PLEASE!......MAKE IT STOP!" She pleaded in vain.

Soon enough, Umbrea's struggles ceased, as her body ceased to change, no longer was she the cyan furred Alicorn, no longer was she the wise cracking chief of police, she was something different now.

Umbrea's body was replaced, by a white furred wolf that stood upright, her irises were cyan with black pupils and blood red sclera. 

Umbrea blinked as she slowly sat up, she shakily looked at her hand and her eyes went wide and her breathing sped up.

She stood up shakily as she processed everything, she remembered it all, Jandoka, Firefly, Fang, Golden........Roxanne. "No........no." She muttered.

Umbrea felt a change in the air, as though it were burning, she froze as she felt something powerful nearby......and something else as well, but this other power was fueled by pure rage.

Umbrea turned around slowly and saw a brown furred wolf walked up to her. "You?....." Umbrea asked quietly.

The wolf creature stopped three feet from Umbrea. "Ah, Lyaroa, returned to that disgusting disguise after all this time, did you really think you could just escape justice?" She asked calmly, but with barely contained digust clear in her voice.

Lyaroa recognized that tone of voice, only one person could hate her that much. "......Mother?" She asked weakly.

The wolf creature chuckled. "You cling to that word like a child, you are better then that Lyaroa......or at least, you were." She replied.

Lyoara watched as her mother walked away and snapped her fingers, revealing two stasis cells holding two very familiar faces. "Your actions have made you many enemies Lyaroa, and now, you will face the consequences of your actions." She said she and the cells vanished and the two awoke.

"Roxanne?.....Nightmare?........" She asked shakily.

Lyaroa watched as Roxanne opened her eyes, they were burning Amber and her arms ignited immediately, she could see only rage in the fox's eyes.

Nightmare however, had her dark green eyes and bloodied fur, unlike Roxanne, Nightmare's rage seemed artificial, as though someone forced it onto her.

Lyaroa stood, frozen in fear as the two charged to her. "Please......don't make me fight you." She whispered.

To avoid hurting her friends, Lyaroa resorted to evasion, even though her mind was broken and she was in shock, she was able to dodge. "Roxanne! Nightmare! I'm not your enemy!" She pleaded.

Roxanne however did not believe it, she unleashed a nova of flames towards Lyaroa. "You took everything from me!......you robbed Fang of his life! I'll tear you apart before I believe you!" She snapped angrily as she charged up her fire.

Lyaroa just barely dodged a frenzied strike from Nightmare, when a massive stream of white flame engulfed her, she screamed and teleported away as Roxanne prepared for another. "I never killed Fang!......I tried to make amends! Don't you remember!?" She cried out.

Nightmare wordlessly charged to Lyaroa, she threw a wild punch at the Sentinel's stomach but it was dodged. "Liar!......you used him like the rest of us!......puppets to string along for your amusement!" Roxanne shouted.

Lyaroa dodged another stream of flames and then Nightmare, she bit her lip. "Nightmare! do you remember Dalcorus? We fought together to against Fang!.....please say something!" She pleaded, tears dropping from her eyes.

Nightmare blinked but continued her attack, but once she was close, she gripped Lyaroa's arm. ".......Free..........Me." She said, as though fighting to speak.

Lyaroa gasped at that, but she was forced to let go as another wave of fire was released.

When Nightmare was close, she latched onto her body and released a red glow that enveloped Nightmare, she let go and then yet dodged another torrent of fire. "Roxanne!....don't you remember what we went through together?....we fought through Tartarus itself to save Fang!....you have to remember that!" She pleaded.

Roxanne charged her fire in both hands. "You put him there you bitch!......if it wasn't for you, he would have lived!" She shouted as she unleashed two enormous waves of fire from each hand, intent on burning Lyaroa to a crisp.

Nightmare blinked as she looked between the two, she felt her mind repairing itself, she felt a wave of emotions flood her as Lyaroa pleaded with Roxanne to see reason, but she also felt pain and weakness within herself, since she was severed from her host, Nightmare's power was steadily draining, so she could only watch helplessly as Lyaroa tried to avoid Roxanne's rage driven assault.

Lyaroa dodged another massive nova of fire as she tried to plead with Roxanne. "Roxanne! please! think of Firefly!.......she wouldn't want you to be a killer!" She shouted.

Roxanne paused for a moment, her eyes and limbs twitched and she growled, she felt her anger rise to incredible proportions. "DON'T YOU DARE SPEAK HER NAME!......YOUR.WEAKNESS.LOST.ME.MY.DAUGHTER!" She screamed out, every time she said a word, she threw a fireball the size of a house at Lyaroa, and she still showed no signs of tiring.

Lyaroa's eyes widened and she attempted to evade, most managed to hit directly, the rest she was able to avoid, she prepared herself soon after, ready to dodge more of the fire.

Roxanne however seemed to be done with her firey assault, she ignited her arms and formed her crystal armor, she then materialized two very familiar swords. "Life and Death?" Lyaroa said in shock.

Roxanne charged wildly, swinging the swords with incredible ferocity and precision. "FIGHT BACK YOU COWARD!" She damanded.

Lyaroa was not able to dodge these strikes in her current state, she could only attempt to lessen the damage, she used her arms as shields as the blades tore them apart. "FIGHT.....BACK!" Roxanne screamed as she threw Lyaroa to the ground with a powerful kick to the waist.

Lyaroa watched with her eyes wide open as Roxanne went to swing down at her head, but just before she swung, Lyaroa saw.....a tear?

Roxanne's blade was just about to touch Lyaroa's neck when a bloodied claw grabbed her hand and stopped her. "Nightmare?......how are you-?" She didn't have time to finish before Nightmare shoved Roxanne back. "You want someone to fight back Love?, then fight me." Nightmare demanded, her voice eerily calm.

Roxanne growled as her anger soon returned as she discarded her armor and blades, throwing them aside. "You forced me to suffer!.....now it's your turn!" She swore as she charged.

Nightmare closed her eyes. "It hurt me more than it hurt you Love, you just don't realize It."

Just as Nightmare opened her eyes, she was able to block Roxanne's wild punch and follow up kick, she then punched her in the face then grabbed her arm, spun her around quickly then threw her back. "See reason Roxanne, you don't have the full story in your mind, you remember only the hatred, but you must remember the rest, the good, and the bad." She said calmly.

Roxanne recovered and charged up her fire once more. "I will NOT hear more lies! you were born of darkness!.....why should I believe you!" She snapped.

Nightmare walked up to Roxanne calmly, she completely ignored the flames Roxanne threw at her, and the flames themselves seemed to part. "Stay back!" Roxanne shouted.

Roxanne tried everything, she even called on a crystal wolf, but it just ignored Nightmare. "Don't come any closer!" She shouted, her voice starting to crack, she then threw a fireball at the injured  Lyaroa, attempting to make Nightmare leave, but the fireball did nothing.

Nightmare stood in front of Roxanne and looked her in the eye. "I was made as a conduit for you, I was created to absorb and mitigate the negative emotions and pain, I am a part of you, the part of you that you renounced, you tried to forget about me, and for that." She held out her arms.

.......And hugged Roxanne, the fox's eyes widened as she was stunned by this unexpected act. "......wh......what are you doing?....let go!" She snapped.

Nightmare released the fox and crossed her arms. "I forgive you Roxanne, but as I said, you don't know everything." She then placed a hand on Roxanne's shoulders. "You must remember the rest, and stop fighting the wrong person." She said calmly.

Roxanne growled and forced Nightmare's hand off. "I'm not fighting the wrong person!" She insisted.

Nightmare then stepped aside and grabbed Roxanne's head, she forced her to look upon the sentinel. "Look at Lyaroa!......look at her and tell me!" She said angrily. "She did not fight back against you!....even as you tore her apart, she did not fight back!" She then let go and stood between Roxanne and Lyaroa. "If you want her dead, you will have to kill me, and trust me, you won't." She stated.

Roxanne growled as she balled a fist in anger as she tried to look away, she then found herself looking at Lyaroa for a moment, she felt immediate anger, and a desire to kill.......but then she felt something different, regret, then sorrow, she felt, sorry? "I........I......." Roxanne's fire extinguished, and her eyes dimmed as she fell to the ground. 

Nightmare soon felt the pain kick in, she coughed up blood and fell to the ground, she grunted and groaned in pain as she lay on the ground. "Fucking.......hell, this hurts." She said to herself as she collapsed.

_____*a few moments later*______

Estalli and her mother looked at the three. "I have to admit it Estalli, those pathetic creatures were worth something after all." The creature then approached the bodies of the three. "Computer, prepare Lyaroa for transportation." She ordered.

Estalli then sensed something nearby. "Wait, we have company." She said.

The creature looked at Estalli. "Well then, what are you waiting for?" She asked.

Estalli then summoned a long sword, resembling a katana. "Alright! come on out, and you will not be harmed!" She commanded.

No response, Estalli grumbled to herself and then teleported away to find the intruders.

The creature then looked at the three, she then noticed Lyaroa getting up slowly. "It would seem that you can't even defeat these two weaklings because of those foolish emotions." She taunted. "That will be your last mistake." The creature said.

Lyaroa looked at the creature with confusion and anger. "Why?......I finally found peace! you couldn't just leave me alone could you!?" She snapped as she stood weakly.

The creature shook her head. "Poor deluded child, you don't deserve peace for what you did, I have my duties to uphold, not even YOU can avoid justice." She said as she raised her hand. "But if you won't come quietly....." Her voice trailed off as her body changed.

_____*Estalli's point of view*_____

Estalli had just found the intruders as her mother began to change, they were hiding behind a small hill. "You?" She said in confusion.

A young filly looked up at Estalli, along with a stallion and another filly. "Estalli?" Apache's voice asked,

The three intruders were Apache, Star, and the now young Firefly, Estalli however, would not tolerate intrusion. "What are you doing here?" She demanded as she put a blade to Star's throat.

Star blinked. "To be honest, me and Apache were walking by when we saw her running out this way, so we caught up to see what was wrong, and we ended up here." He answered quickly.

Estalli narrowed her eyes. "You must leave, now! leave and forget everything you've seen and heard here!" She said with anger.

"Estalli........what's going on?" Apache asked out of fear.

Star and Firefly looked at Apache. "You know that thing?" Star asked out of shock.

Apache laughed nervously. "Um.....yea, I MAY have accidentally summoned almighty beings to our planet?" She then laughed nervously.

Estalli then looked at where her mother and the others were. "Leave now." She ordered before teleporting.

Star and the others looked over the little hill and watched as the creatures stood off, Star had a strange sense of familiarity with three of them, but the others he did not recognize. "We should do what......Estalli?......said, and just leave." Star said as he started to sneak away.

Firefly looked at Star with a shocked expression. "You can't leave!......my mom is out there!" She argued.

That sentence made Star stop, he bit his lip and looked back at the site of the previous battle, he closed his eyes and shook his head. "I'm not risking Apache's life, I'm sorry kid, but i..." He opened his eyes just to see Apache and Firefly running into the impending fight.

Star groaned and started to run after them. "Get back here you little shits!" He shouted as he chased the fillies.

______*meanwhile.*______

Lyaroa clutched her side as she struggled to breathe and stay focused, Roxanne did a massive amount of damage to her due to her weakened state, she watched as her mother revealed her true form and stood before her......floating would be more accurate.

The body of a Sentinel is slender, they have long legs that are similar to a human skeleton, they end in three pronged toes, the bodies are smooth and usually only differ by slight variants of shoulders, the arms are similar to the legs but they have four fingers, the shoulders are usually rounded, but they sometimes have small spines surrounding the shoulder blades, the head is rounded, the face is always expressionless, no mouths or noses, they don't even have ears or hair, instead, their heads vary by eye shape, the body of a Sentinel is made out of a unique crystalline metal, that is also organic so they can grow, regenerate, and repopulate.

The Sentinel's all share the same fundamental body structure, the only true way to determine the difference, are the patterns covering the bodies, the patterns are nothing special, merely a way to tell who is who, and the color of their bodies.

Lyaroa's mother has no spines on her shoulder blades, and her body pattern is very reminiscent of DNA strands, her eyes were oval shaped, and her body color was golden brown, the pattern was golden in color.

Lyaroa chuckled to herself as she stood. "Well mother, you have another sentinel, and your in your true form, I guess I really don't have much of a chance." She joked.

Her mother simply waved her hand and multiple pillars of steel surrounded Lyaroa. "If you do not resist, it will be over quickly.

Lyaroa grinned. "Now where is the fun in NOT resisting?" She asked as she slammed her fist into the ground and the pillars shattered.

Lyaroa took a quick breath and looked behind her, Estalli stood there, waiting to strike, she quickly thought on her options. 'I don't have my full power, clearly the majority of it was missing from the orb, but I am not alone, if I can heal Roxanne and Nightmare, they might even the odds.....if only slightly.' She threw her hand back and aimed at Estalli, who readied herself to dodge.

Lyaroa winked and fired a nova of red energy, Estalli and her mother were unaffected by it. "A healing wave?" Estalli asked curiously.

Lyaroa's mother quickly shouted. "Estalli! kill those two! Now!" She ordered.

Lyaroa tried to intervene, but her mother appeared in front of her and fired a beam of pure energy, forcing Lyaroa to block with her own, weaker beam.

Estalli quickly moved to Roxanne and swung down while the fox was still recovering, she was surprised however, when the fox vanished from her sight, as did Nightmare. "What the?" She asked herself.

"Sorry, but it won't be that easy." A male voice said calmly.

Estalli looked in the direction of the voice and saw a male unicorn stallion kneeling over two very confused foxes. "Who are.......wait, I know you." Estalli said as she readied her blade.

Star looked at Estalli with a grin. "Attacking a woman while she isn't in a condition to fight back.....wow." He joked as he stood up. "And here I thought you had some decency about you." He taunted.

Estalli narrowed her eyes and watched as the two fillies rushed to the others. "This is not your fight, why would you interfere?" She asked.

Star shrugged. "My idiotic sister and the other girl wanted to save these three, I didn't have a choice." He said.

Estalli then tightened her grip. "Then you will die fighting for strangers?" She asked.

Star grinned. "Heroes do stupid things, this is no different." He replied.

Lyaroa meanwhile, was losing horribly, her mother was completely overwhelming her with sheer power, she grunted as she forced out more power, barely holding on to what little power she had. "Give up you foolish girl, you are weaker than ever!" Her mother said.

"Your right on that, Butcher, but I'm not just giving up!" She shouted defiantly.

Estalli had heard enough talk, she quickly dashed forward and swung her blade at Star, to her surprise, he dodged it with ease, as though he just sidestepped it. "Missed." He taunted.

Aiming her strike once more, Estalli swung, only for the stallion to dodge again. "Close one." He taunted.

Estalli then felt an explosion on her back and she was flung forward, she recovered mid air, only to be threw to the ground by a powerful blast, she grunted and stood up, she saw Star standing there, between her and the fillies, as though he did nothing. "Are you alright? you seem to be having trouble getting up?" He asked.

Estalli focused her vision on Star. "Ah......so that's how you fight." She muttered.

Star shrugged. "Well, if anything, I don't recommend fighting me, it'll just frustrate you." He taunted.

Estalli smirked, a sight that unsettled Star. "I see your trick unicorn.......you aren't moving quickly at all, your just manipulating time to make it seem as though you were." She stated.

Star did not allow his surprise and shock show. 'Shit, this isn't good.' He then charged his horn and summoned multiple orbs of magic. "I have other methods to fight you with, I don't need time manipulation to kick your ass." He stated calmly.

Estalli took her stance once more and charged her power. "Neither do I." She stated as she charged at Star.

Star threw one orb at Estalli, sent one above then threw it, but saved the last one.

Estalli's swords sliced through the orb with ease, she sliced upwards and removed the second, anticipating the last one she swung down, destroying the third while it was underground......only to be hit with a large explosion that struck directly in front of her.

Star grinned as he stood still. "Like I said, I have many ways to fight." He said calmly.

Estalli clearly had enough as she recovered from the explosion, she teleported behind Star and swung her blade Down at Nightmare.

Star's eyes widened as he manipulated time and moved between Nightmare and Estalli, the blade cutting into him.

Estalli was shocked at this as well, she quickly grabbed Star by the throat and looked into his mind. "Star!" Apache screamed out, Estalli ignored the fillies futile attempts to strike her as she spoke. "Your mind.......it is fractured, broken, fragile, you hide behind this façade of a fearless hero, but you are the most frightened of all." She stated calmly.

Star struggled to breathe as he tried to free himself from Estalli's grip. "I.....am.....not......afraid of.......you." He defiantly declared.

Estalli stuck her blade in the ground and forced Star to kneel in front of her, she placed her left hand on his head and it glowed gold. "For your noble act.......you will be healed." She stated as she released him.

As Estalli retrieved her blade, Apache ran up to her brother, who was now motionless on the ground.  "Star! big brother?.....get up!" She pleaded.

Firefly watched in shock as she witnessed the exchange, she quickly looked at Roxanne and shook her violently, trying to wake her from her trance. "Mom!.....snap out of it!" She screamed.

Estalli calmly approached Roxanne and Nightmare. "Orders are orders.......I am sorry." She said as she raised her blade.

______*meanwhile*_______

Lyaroa collapsed to the ground as her mother stood above her. "Your defiance is just as annoying as I remember, but your hubris, to assume your inferior creations could stand against a Sentinel?......that is new." She stated.

Lyaroa growled as she looked up at her mother. "They are not inferior......monster!" She attempted to punch her mother with a strong blast of energy, only to scream in pain as she felt herself be electrocuted by thousands of volts.

Lyaroa's mother sighed to herself as she placed her daughter in a thunder trap, effectively neutralizing her. "You are a fool, you fight like a child, you were taught better than that." She said.

"Wow......you really are a bitch." Said a new voice. 

Lyaroa's mother sighed. "Now what?" She asked, her voice revealing her annoyance.

She looked and saw an orange unicorn mare with white and orange hair. "Let me guess.....you decided to see what was going on, even though it didn't concern you?" Asked the annoyed sentinel.

Gem, the unicorn mare, narrowed her eyes in the direction of the voice. "Hearing my best friend screaming for help Does concern me." She replied, her voice oddly dark in tone.

Lyaroa's mother's simply snapped her fingers, seeking to send the unicorn away, but it did not work. "What trickery is this?" She asked herself.

Gem grinned as her body engulfed in green flame, revealing a changeling. "Clearly, you've never dealt with my kind before." She said as her body vanished.

Lyaroa's mother looked around for signs of the changeling, but saw none, she used her powers, and saw her over by her daughter. "You were a fool to come here." She stated as she raised her left hand, energy beginning to build up.

Gem shrugged. "Maybe, but it beats watching the kids." She said as she charged her horn, and cast a spell.

Lyaroa managed to look at Gem, fighting to intense pain. "Skitter?.....how.......are you....." She tried to say.

Skitter grinned as she summoned multiple crystal bears. "Let's just say you suck at removing memories and changing species." She said as she focused on the fight.

_______*meanwhile.*_______

Firefly saw Estalli's blade swing down at Nightmare, her eyes widened as she reacted. "NOOOOO!" She screamed out.

Estalli was stunned and forced to abandon her attack as Firefly exploded into a practical thunderstorm, lightning surged around the filly and threatened to electrocute Estalli to death.

Estalli jumped away and watched as the Lightning surged and shot out towards her, she used her blade to block the Lightning, thankfully, it soon passed. "How is this possible?" She asked herself, completely unaware of that power.

Firefly breathed heavily as she looked at Estalli. "If you so much as lay a finger on my family.....I will rip your limbs off!" She shouted out with a newfound ferocity and anger.

Estalli wouldn't normally be concerned, but the filly's incredible power spike had her worried, especially as Firefly changed, her hooves turned into claws, and her teeth grew sharp, her eyes changed to slits, they gave the impression of a rabid animal.

Firefly remembered this power, but this time, instead of running away from it, she embraced it, driven to protect her mom and Nightmare. 

Estalli drew her blade once again as she readied herself for Firefly's attacks. "As I said, I have orders, not even you shall stand in my way." She said as she approached, blade in hand.

Firefly growled and charged forward at surprising speed, as she got close to Estalli, she released a small lightning surge ahead of her, but also roared, shooting lightning from her mouth.

Estalli was able to dodge the initial surge, but the Lightning breath caught her by surprise, thankfully for her, she was able to surround herself with a shield that guarded against electricity.

Firefly once again stood between her family, Apache and Star, who was unconscious on the ground, and Estalli, who was ready to fight once more. 

Apache was by her brothers side, watching as Firefly and Estalli fought, her mind was overwhelmed, she had thought Estalli was a good person, but she had attacked defenseless people, and even struck her brother in cold blood, but, then she said she would.......fix him? 

Apache looked at her brother and shook him. "Star........please get up." She begged as a tear began to fall down her face.

A savage roar was heard, and Firefly charged wildly at Estalli, who threw a blast of energy at Firefly, who dodged by jumping over it.

Firefly swung her claws wildly trying to strike Estalli again and again, but the sentinel continued to evade her. 

Estalli focused on dodging, but her thoughts were elsewhere. 'I need to get to those two before that damned healing wave finishes, but I can't do that because of this damn girl.'

Firefly noticed a weakness in Estalli's defense, a mistake where she left her side vulnerable, she took the opportunity and charged her claw with her lightning and struck, her strike connected and Estalli was soon pinned to the ground as Firefly constantly snapped her jaws at her, trying to take her throat out.

Estalli was certain that she would be taken out of the fight as Firefly managed to actually sever her arm, but as the filly pulled her claw back to strike, a white clawed hand grabbed her and stopped the attack, making Estalli very concerned yet relieved at the same time.

Firefly tried to free her arm to no avail, she reluctantly looked up and saw Roxanne standing over her and Estalli, her eyes widened and she began to breathe heavily as her eyes returned to normal. "Mom?" She said in disbelief.

Roxanne released Firefly's claw and the girl quickly jumped up to her, hugging her as tightly as she could. "It's alright Firecracker......I'm here." She said quietly.

Firefly's body returned to normal and Roxanne set her down. "Mom.....I......I." Firefly stuttered, trying to find what she wanted to say.

Roxanne smiled and knelt down, she shook Firefly's mane and stood back up. "Do me a favor, keep out of trouble." She said as she walked to where Lyaroa's mother and Skitter were fighting.

"Mom?.....what are you doing?" Firefly asked with a breaking voice.

Roxanne looked at her daughter as she paused. "Someone has to save those idiots over there......might as well be me." She said.

Firefly felt relief wash over her, she felt her doubt and fear vanish, so she smiled. "Go get em!" Firefly shouted as her mother was halfway over.

Roxanne simply gave her daughter a nod and rushed over to the fight.

Estalli meanwhile, was busy putting her arm back into its socket.

______*meanwhile*______

Skitter breathed heavily as she summoned more Crystal minions to defend herself.

Lyaroa's mother was getting tired of this by now, the changeling had already sent a small army at her, but it did little. "You cannot keep this up, your energy reserves will not last forever." She stated as she waved her hand, destroying the minions.

Skitter grunted as she fell to the ground, exhausted from constant summoning. "You are so lucky I didn't go into combat training." She said in between breaths.

Lyaroa's mother scoffed. "It matters little, I have expended little to no power and I have defeated both you and my daughter, no amount of training would have saved you." She summoned a large blade and threw it at Skitter, only for it to be blocked by a crystal covered claw.

"Now what!?" Lyaroa's mother asked out of pure frustration.

Roxanne stood between Skitter and Lyaroa, and the angered sentinel. "Miss me bitch?" She replied with a frown.

"Why do you defend that weakling?.....you have every reason to tear her apart for what she has done to you." The sentinel asked.

Roxanne looked at Lyaroa, who was barely fighting her urge to scream in pain. "Hey Migraine......hey Skittle." She teased.

Skitter would have complained about the nickname, but right now, she didn't care. "Give her hell." 

"Skitter, go to Nightmare, she will need your help while she heals." Roxanne said before walking closer to Lyaroa's mother. 

"Let's see how you handle someone closer to your strength." Roxanne said before calling on her Crystal armor for her arms.

Lyaroa's mother scoffed. "You are nothing more than an insignificant spec of dust, you are nowhere close to my power." She stated confidently.

Roxanne grinned. "Then why haven't you won yet?........whatever your name is." She taunted.

"An inferior creature such as you does not deserve to know my name." Lyaroa's mother stated arrogantly before summoning multiple steel blades and throwing them at Roxanne with her powers.

Not only did Roxanne deflect the blades, but she managed to throw some back, all the while advancing forward.

Lyaroa's mother continued to throw blade after blade at Roxanne, but nothing seemed to halt the fox, she then summoned walls of spikes and unleashed novas of energy.

Roxanne's armor easily defended against the spikes, and the novas were dealt with just by leaping over them.

Soon enough, Roxanne reached her target, and threw a strong punch at Lyaroa's mother, who did not seem bothered or even concerned by the action.

Roxanne's punch collided and staggered the sentinel, even drawing some blood, she quickly lept back and braced for a counterattack.

Lyaroa's mother seemed to be stunned, she reached her hand up and pulled it back, her anger grew as she saw the bluish blood. "How is this possible?" She asked herself as she looked at Roxanne. 

"What a shock, you get hit hard enough, you bleed." Roxanne taunted as she ignited her legs and arms. 

Lyaroa's mother's eyes glew golden and she rose into the air. "I know not how you can harm a sentinel you impudent mortal!......but you shall pay for your actions in blood!" Her voice boomed as her hand glowed brightly.

Roxanne looked around in shock as they were all transported to a seemingly different dimension. "You should be honored to even see this place!" Lyaroa's mother shouted.

The area they were in was a large circular chamber with multiple floors and low walls, they appeared to be in outer space, but it was different, there were no stars, just the empty blackness with golden mist filling the void, Lyaroa's mother waved her hands and blades were summoned, they were enormous, they were over fifty feet large, and were twenty feet wide, they surrounded the area like a wall, partially obscuring their view of the outside.

Lyaroa's mother clenched her hand into a fist and Lyaroa screamed as she was thrown into a wall near the apparent ceiling, she screamed as the Lightning intensified immensely.

Skitter blinked as she and the others were teleported to a small dome like area, she watched as Estalli got back up and started to approach them with her blade drawn.

In one swift motion, Skitter threw up a defensive magic dome around the group with all of her remaining strength. "Do you think that shield will stop me?" Estalli asked.

Skitter breathed heavily as the dark green dome shimmered, she collapsed as the barrier took its toll. "It.......will hold." She said with little to no breath.

Roxanne looked back at the group, seeing Estalli approach made her blood boil, but Lyaroa's mother would instantly strike if she ran to help them, she turned her focus back as a series of blades were sent after her, she dodged them in the nick of time and threw a quick fireball at the sentinel.

Estalli swung her blade at the barrier, the shield fell apart instantly as she approached the downed changeling. "You should not have interfered." She said as she raised her blade.

Skitter grit her teeth as she looked up at Estalli, in one last defiant act, she cast a spell, it was weak, but for a small blinding spell, it did surprise Estalli long enough for her to back away.

Estalli however, recovered immediately, she quickly charged forward and held onto Skitter's throat, she readied her blade to plunge deep into the changeling.

Skitter grunted as she felt Estalli grip her neck, she then screamed in agony as the blade penetrated her carapace, she no longer had the strength to fight back.

Estalli was about to twist the blade when she was punched hard in the face and then she felt a strong kick to her lower chest.

Estalli slid across the floor and she got up, she saw who attacked her.

Nightmare breathed calmly as she removed the blade from Skitter, the changeling screamed and clutched at her wound helplessly as she cried in pain. "Sorry.......not good at healing." Nightmare said quietly.

Nightmare walked forward and stood against Estalli, she looked down at the floor. "What kind of monster are you?.......you attack those who cannot fight back, you try to take a mother away from her child." She clenched her left hand into a fist. "You will be lucky if I let you keep a limb, let alone live." She said as she looked up.

Estalli summoned her blade once again as she faced off against Nightmare. "Orders are orders, I will obey them before my personal honor." She replied as Nightmare threw a stone shard into her chest.

Estalli removed the shard without a fuss. "You cannot kill me, I know that for a fact, you are weak from your ordeal, and you have been seperated from your host for too long." She stated.

Nightmare breathed and looked at her left hand, she looked back at Star, Apache, Skitter and Firefly, she then looked at Estalli. "You don't know anything about me." She said as she felt a surge of power and life course through her veins.

Estalli looked on in confusion and surprise as she felt her oppenent become empowered. "Intriguing, you revitalized yourself." She said as she began to charge.

Nightmare's green eyes shone for a moment as she grinned, she suddenly felt her old strength return to her, and as Estalli went to swing her blade, she threw more strength into her jump, she lept up and as she evaded the strike, she threw a powerful blast of energy at Estalli.

The sentinel dodged the blast by rolling to the side, but Nightmare had anticipated this, she already had a blast on the way.

Estalli threw her blade up and she sliced the blast in half. "That tactic will not work on me." She stated.

Nightmare landed and stood up calmly, she and Estalli stood off once more. "We will be fighting for some time it would seem." She said.

Estalli readied her blade. "A worthy opponent, one who can fight me on equal terms, I have been waiting for this." She said as she felt a tinge of excitement.

Roxanne removed her Crystal armor as she readied herself for another charge, so far, her attacks had little effect, as she could not get close, but she had an idea that may turn the tide in her favor.

After Lyaroa's mother threw another barrage of blades towards Roxanne, the fox unleashed a massive stream of flames before charging once again.

Lyaroa's mother sighed, Roxanne had done this before, but it had not worked before. "You should just accept judgement, and stop delaying the inevitable." She said as she threw up walls of blades and threw more blades to defend herself.

Roxanne did not stop, as the swords missed her, they vanished, just before Roxanme got close to Lyaroa's mother, she grabbed one of the blades, and threw it at the sentinel.

Lyaora's mother simply floated, unconcerned as the blade evaporated before it got close. "My own attacks cannot harm me, but by all means, go ahead and attempt it you ignorant mortal." She said as she threw another barrage.

Roxanne grinned as she channeled a massive amount of power into her right arm, she dodged and reflected the blades as best she could, she got cuts and gashes each barrage, but she simply ignored the pain. "I'll do better than attempt to harm you.....I'll injure you to the point you need more power to defeat me." She declared as she unleashed her attack.

Lyaroa's mother was surprised at first, but unimpressed all the same, she watched as a massive dragon formed entirely of flame charged for her.

Roxanne quickly moved as she guided the dragon, having it put as much pressure on as it could.

When Lyaroa's mother defeated the dragon a few moments later, she was caught off guard as Roxanne assaulted her from behind with Life and Death.

Lyaroa's mother soon released a nova of dangerous energy, Roxanne was able to dodge it as the sentinel looked at her, rage clear in her eyes. "You arrogant creature!.......you will suffer for even thinking to harm my kind!" She shouted.

Roxanne simply grinned as she readied her swords. "I am not arrogant, I know when I cannot defeat someone In battle, but I have angered you, and that will be enough." She countered.

Lyaroa's mother raised her hand and summoned hundreds of blades, they all sparked with golden electricity, the power radiating from them was strong.

Roxanne prepared to dodge as the blades were soon thrown rapidly towards her, she managed to deflect one with her blades, but they rest got close......and promptly exploded, sending metal shards everywhere, she screamed in pain as the shards impaled her body and tore her arms apart so much that she was forced to lose her swords.

Lyaroa's mother seemed to calm down as Roxanne fell to the ground, her body torn apart beyond belief, she summoned one more blade and aimed it. "Perhaps now you will learn, you cannot stand against me, nor any Sentinel." She stated.

Roxanne coughed up blood as she slowly looked up at Lyaroa's mother. "Go on......finish it." She said through the pain.

Lyaroa's mother then threw the blade, aiming directly at the fox's heart, she then looked to Lyaroa, and began to float closer.

Roxanne looked down at the floor, her vision hazy and her strength failing, she smiled as she closed her eyes. 'Firefly, I'm sorry, I tried my best.' She thought as the blade neared her.

The blade began to pierce Roxanne's skin, and just as it began to go deeper, time seemed to slow down, and a clawed hand removed the blade and threw it back.

Lyaroa's mother appeared to be confused as the blade disintegrated in front of her, she looked back and saw an unfamiliar wolf standing in front of Roxanne. "And who are you?" She asked as she floated back to her previous location.

The wolf took up a defensive stance and let his gaze wander to stare at her. "I am Fang, and I'm not going to let you kill my daughter." He declared. "Who are you?" He asked in turn.

Lyaroa's mother scoffed. "There is no reason for you to know my name, you shall be dead soon regardless." He said as she once again summoned her blades.

Fang looked to Lyaroa, the sentinel completely trapped by the Lightning trap. "Lyaroa, tell me her name." He said calmly.

Lyaroa screamed in pain and fought to look at Fang, she could not believe the stupidity of the question, but chose to answer. "Galesh." She forced out.

Fang watched as Galesh clenched her hand into a fist, and Lyaroa's bindings intensified, causing her to scream loudly in pain.

Fang looked at Roxanne. "Get to Firefly, your just going to get in my way." He ordered.

Roxanne coughed and spat out blood, she shakily stood up and clutched one of her wounds, she forced herself to walk away, pain shooting through her legs. "Kick her ass." She said, forcing herself to speak.

______*meanwhile*______

Nightmare lept back and threw a blast of energy at Estalli, who then sliced it in half with her blade, the two stood off once more, neither one had budged in the entire time they had battled.

Nightmare took a breath and grinned. "We seemed to be evenly matched love." She pointed out.

Estalli nodded slowly, her gaze never leaving the fox. "Agreed.......but neither one of us shall relent." She added.

Nightmare relaxed her stance and held her left hand out. "You seem to understand honor, to some degree.......as such, the winner shall determine the fate of the other, do you agree?" She asked.

Estalli gripped her blade tightly, and a subtle smile formed. "Agreed.....your terms?" She asked.

Nightmare's eyes glowed dark green and she summoned a dark red and dark green steel blade, it was long and could be considered demonic. "The first one to yield or die loses." She challenged.

Estalli took a different stance, and her smile grew slightly. "I accept." She said.

The two charged at eachother and their blades clashed, much to Estalli's surprise, Nightmare's sword did not split in two, instead, it released a powerful nova of shadowy energy, blowing Estalli back, and giving Nightmare the chance she needed.

Estalli's eyes widened as Nightmare vanished before her eyes, she quickly shoved her blade into the ground and spun around, she spotted Nightmare swinging her blade, she swung her own blade at an angle, expecting to slice Nightmare in half, she also unleashed a sudden blast of powerful energies at the fox, intent on annihilating her.

Instead, she was greeted with thin air as Nightmare vanished completely, Estalli was too late to react as she heard a shift in the floor behind her, she tried to swing, but was greeted by a powerful explosion and a strong kick to the head, sending her tumbling.

Nightmare breathed calmly as she walked forward, Estalli had lost her grip on her blade, and was now trying to stand, she threw a punch at Estalli's chest, forcing the sentinel to the ground, she held the blade to her throat. "Yield!" She demanded.

Estalli blinked as she stared at Nightmare in astonishment. "How.......how did you?-"

"Yield!" Nightmare insisted as she pressed the blade even closer.

Estalli closed her eyes and looked away, she grit her teeth, but she relented. "I......I yield." She said.

Nightmare withdrew her blade and stared down at Estalli. "Then I shall decide your fate.......you will assist us in forcing the other sentinel from this world, back to where she came from, and you shall never harm us again." She stated.

Estalli recovered her blade silently. "I.......cannot, I cannot harm my mother." She said.

Nightmare narrowed her eyes. "Then you will assist in another way, you will aid me in freeing my friend, that will be enough." She stated.

Estalli sighed as she dispelled her blade. "What......would you have of me?" She asked.

Nightmare looked up at the battle above, Fang was holding the line effectively, but she knew they would need Lyaroa for this fight, she then looked back at the protective dome, Skitter was still unconscious, Roxanne was badly injured, Firefly was busy caring for her mother and friend, and Apache was frozen in shock.

"I have a plan." She looked at Estalli. "How effective are you at hiding your presence?" She asked.

Estalli blinked at the unusual question, but she answered. "I am a sword wraith, an elite assassin, I am supposed to be stealthy." She replied.

Nightmare looked at Lyaroa. "You are going to free Lyaroa, so she can fight your mother." She said.

Estalli looked at the protective barrier, which was falling. "Lyaroa is not at full strength, she is missing of piece of herself, if you wish for her to win this fight.....she will need to be whole." She stated.

Nightmare looked at Estalli. "What is she missing?" She asked,

Estalli placed a hand over her heart. "A piece of her heart, I......hid it away, not wishing for her to be full strength should she return......until she has that piece of herself, her power will be diminished." She replied.

"And......how will we return her heart to her?" She asked.

Estalli looked at Apache. "The girl, she has the piece, but she doesn't know it yet." She stated.

Nightmare looked at the sentinel. "Estalli, this is your part of the plan, follow my instructions to the letter, and you and your mother may survive, you are to free Lyaroa and return her heart to her, afterwards, you are to take no action against myself, Roxanne, Fang, Lyaroa, or the others, in short, you are to do nothing." She stated before walking to the failing barrier.

Estalli looked away and grit her teeth, she mentally berated herself for failing her mother, and for losing in battle to Nightmare. 'I am a sentinel, the same species as Lyaroa, the one who created them all, how could I lose?' She pondered.

As Estalli was left with her thoughts, Nightmare approached the group and knelt down. "Roxanne, how are you?" She asked. 

Roxanne grunted and looked at her, she pulled a shard out of her arm and exclaimed in pain. "Horrible......tending my wounds.......you?" She asked through the pain.

Nightmare looked at Estalli, then at Apache. "I have a plan to end this, but I need Apache." She said before standing and walking over to the girl.

Apache noticed Nightmare approaching and back up on reflex. "Stay away from me!" She said in a panic.

Nightmare sighed as she set Guardian aside, not noticing that the blade vanished immediately, she knelt down close to Apache. "Apache........you may not recognize me, but I am Night Frenzy, and I'm a friend to your brother." She said.

Apache shivered as she held her arms. "No......your not Frenzy, she was a Thestral, your one of those monsters." She muttered.

Nightmare shook her head. "Only two people know this Apache.......but you once told me of something you and Star Shifter did, years back, you and he switched bodies, and when you did, you used your newfound power to set up a massive prank in his room." She said, causing Apache's eyes to widen in realization.

Apache let tears out as she shivered. "I......I wasn't meant to see this kind of stuff, I just wanted to spend time with my brother today........and now he's gone." She choked out.

Nightmare sighed to herself. "Apache, Fang......the wolf fighting out there? he IS your brother, they are the same person, the only difference being species." She tried to reason.

Apache looked out to Fang, she watched as he dodged blades and threw some back, she did notice something familiar though, a look in his eye, one that screamed confidence, it was the same look that Star always had, she looked at Nightmare. "What do you want?" She asked, now just wishing all of this to end, praying it was just a nightmare.

"You found a rock, did you not?.....that rock is part of my friend Lyaroa, part of her heart, that is.......I need it to help her." Nightmare said.

Apache looked to her side, she didn't know why, but she was still holding onto it, she blinked and looked at Nightmare. "How do I know I can trust you?.......your all probably just going to leave me to die anyway." She asked, her mind going to a dark place.

Nightmare shook her head. "We may not be the same species Apache, but that doesn't define a person, we changed and lost our memories so we could start fresh, so that we would be free to act as we saw fit, while not having the burden of the past on our minds." She explained.

Apache wordlessly passed the heart piece over. "Do what you want, my brother's gone, I don't care anymore." She said blankly, fighting back more tears.

Nightmare carefully took the heart piece. "When this is over, you need to talk with Fang, he may look different, but he is still your brother." She stated before standing and walking away.

______*meanwhile*______

Fang dodged another volley, and due to his innate abilities, he was able to dodge the explosions from the swords, he looked at Galesh and spoke. "Call me curious, but why are you here?.....what is this justice that your going on about?" He asked.

Galesh paused as she surrounded herself with a barrier and summoned more blades. "Lyaroa committed an atrocious crime back home, she murdered a sentinel, and then fled her own home." She answered easily.

Fang narrowed his eyes. "Then why send you? her own mother to capture her.........unless it's to make up for a mistake?" He prodded as he breathed.

Galesh seemed to be disturbed by the question as she summoned more blades. "I have made no mistake, she slew a sentinel in cold blood, and I know her powers, it is simple logic." She replied.

Fang noticed something odd, a pause in the Lightning snare, he was able to catch a glimpse of Lyaroa's eyes, they appeared to be, sad?

Fang looked at Galesh. "Who did she kill?" He asked.

Galesh narrowed her eyes and filled the chamber with blades that crackled with power. "........She is attempting to free herself, she will do anything to silence my next words." She spoke.

Fang watched as Galesh moved and gripped Lyaroa's head, forcing her daughter to look at her. "Lyaroa, former sword wraith, is guilty of murdering Huralo Juzor........her father." She stated, enhancing her voice so all could hear.

Fang's eyes widened as he looked at Lyaroa, he saw the tears forming in her eyes, he could sense the sorrow, from these, he knew that this was the truth. 

______*Meanwhile*______

Nightmare looked at Estalli and took a breath. "Is she correct?" She asked.

Estalli shrugged solemnly. "I.....don't know, I wasn't old enough to remember things accurately at the time, but that was how I heard it from everyone, they all said the same thing." She answered.

Nightmare sighed and looked at the heart piece, she then looked at Estalli. "What Lyaroa did in the past is of no consequence to me, she is my friend, her past is her business." She handed the piece over. "I care not for your reasons,  you were following orders, but now, you will follow this order, free Lyaroa from her bonds and return the last piece of her heart, when this is done, you are to take no further action in this fight." She stated.

Estalli looked at Nightmare with a curious expression. "Why not do this yourself?.......you have no reason to suspect that I will assist you, yet here you are." She asked.

Nightmare crossed her arms. "I am wagering that your survival instinct is stronger than your obedience, I have proven I can kill you.....do you truly think you could survive Lyaroa?" She countered.

Estalli sighed to herself as she looked to her mother, seeing her battle Fang. "I never thought I would be forced to betray my mother, of every scenario, this was not one I had foreseen." She said as she vanished from sight.

At this, Nightmare quickly ran to Fang, seeking to assist him.

_______*meanwhile*_______

Galesh was growing impatient as her fight against Fang went on. 'These mortals are pests, no matter what I do, another seems to take their place, and where is Estalli?....she should have slain those pests by now.'

Fang was able to slip past her defenses every now and then, but unlike Roxanne, he was unable to harm her with his strikes.

Galesh was able to finally injure Fang, or so she thought, the blade that had impaled him was pulled out quickly, revealing no damage.

Seeing that her current tactic led to a stalemate, Galesh waved her hand and summoned orbs of energy that surrounded her. "If physical damage will not injure you, then I shall fight differently." She stated calmly as she unleashed barrages of energy.

Fang was completely caught off guard as the energy was able to hit him instantly, not even his time manipulation worked, so he just had to bear the pain as long as he could.

Galesh fired wave after wave at Fang as the wolf tried and failed to dodge, it was almost saddening at how pathetic it was.

Galesh watched as Fang shakily stood up after a particularly nasty blast, she clenched her fist and the orbs started spinning rapidly around her, the wolf would not be able to force himself to stand after this attack.

Then came the other fox, she did not jump in, she did not make a surprise attack, she simply walked up calmly, holding something in her hand. "You would abandon your friends to Estalli's wrath?" Galesh said in surprise.

Nightmare held out the object she held, she then dropped it on the ground, where Galesh spotted it, and she felt overwhelming rage overwhelm her.

It was Estalli's severed head, it was bloody and battered, but it was her.

Galesh roared and hundreds if not thousands of orbs appeared in the room, they were all spinning faster and faster, and in one swift motion, Galesh threw them at the fox and the wolf, they all detonated and completely obliterated the nearby walls.

Galesh simply floated, sne formed a fist in her right hand and felt despair take hold, but she stopped it, she felt life in front of her, she looked at where Fang and Nightmare had been, and she was shocked to discover they were unharmed

Nightmare raised an eyebrow. "Wow......anger issues?" She said as the severed head in front of her turned into a rock. "I thought you would see through the illusion, but I guess not." She said as she gathered energy in her hands.

Galesh realized that she was simply tricked by an illusion, but she recognized the attack immediately, Nightmare was preparing a powerful beam of energy, she countered by quickly firing her own, seeking to annihilate the fox quickly.

Nightmare however, was able to fire her beam at Galesh, the beams collided and powerful shockwaves erupted from the center.

Fang braced as he felt powerful winds threatening to throw him away from the battle. "Nightmare! are you insane!? she'll overpower you in an instant!" He shouted.

To his surprise, Nightmare simply looked over at him and winked, her eyes telling him that she had a plan.

As Galesh poured more power into the beam, it moved closer and closer to Nightmare, eventually it reached her, and Nightmare vanished into thin air.

Galesh ceased her assault and let her power return for a moment. "Foolish fox, if a sentinel could not defeat me, what hope could she have had?" She asked no one in particular.

Fang looked at Galesh, ready to fight her once again, but he was soon thrown aside with a wave of a hand, he crashed into a wall and was soon bound by a lightning trap.

Galesh spoke calmly, though her voice was one of annoyance. "You inferior beings......so overconfident, so sure of your power, believing nothing is above you." She narrowed her eyes as she summoned an orb right in front of Fang. "But then you come face to face with a God, and you fall apart in an instant." She said as the orb began to spin.

Fang looked at the orb and then at Galesh out of defiance. "If nothing else, you did better than I expected." Galesh said calmly.

Galesh detonated the orb, obliterating Fang in an instant, she turned her attention to the group that was still recovering, she summoned more orbs and prepared to annihilate them just as easily.

But she soon felt something, a sudden power spike from nearby, Galesh looked to her daughter, expecting to see her still caught in the trap, but her eyes widened as she felt the sheer power eminating from her.

Lyaroa was free, and she looked angry. "How are you free?.....nothing could break those bonds!" Galesh questioned.

Lyaroa looked up at her mother as she let out a calm breath. "I am going to give you ONE chance, to leave, leave this place, never come looking for me again." She stated calmly, surprising her mother.

Galesh scoffed as she looked down upon her daughter. "You forget your place Lyaroa, you forget who gave you that power." She replied.

Lyaroa's narrowed her eyes. "Oh yes, I had almost forgotten that torture, the pain, the agony, the despair." She spoke with clear hatred for the next word. "The betrayal." She growled as she raised her hand, clenched it into a fist, and threw it down, slamming the ground.

Galesh was shocked as she was violently forced to the ground, as she stood up, she attempted to float, but was unable, she looked at Lyaroa and fired a powerful beam of energy, in retaliation.

Lyaroa simply fired one back and spoke. "You are not welcome in my world, butcher." She spoke out of hatred. "You have no power here!" She stated as her beam easily forced Galesh back, she moved incredibly quickly and uppercut her mother on her chin, she followed up by kicking her in the back, and then slamming her to the ground with her fist.

Galesh coughed, Lyaroa took a few steps away, she forced herself to stand and she spoke. "Until now, I had no reason to reveal my true power." Galesh said.

Lyaroa and her mother once again fired beams of energy at each other, the sheer power thrown in was enough to disintegrate an entire city.

Lyaroa once again struggled as her mother poured her power into the beam, seeking to comepletly destroy her, but instead of considering the possibilities, Lyaroa began to laugh.

Galesh was confused as Lyaroa laughed, she threw more power into her beam to try and defeat Lyaroa, but it only served to make Lyaroa laugh even more. "What is so funny!?.....I am going to destroy you!" She shouted.

Lyaroa grinned as she stared at her mother. "Tell me butcher, have you noticed how powerful my friends are?" She asked calmly, the beam then reached a sudden stalemate.

Galesh scoffed. "They are weaklings, not even fit to lay eyes upon us." She replied arrogantly.

"And yet......they managed to overpower Estalli,  your daughter in battle........now put this in your mind, they are only six people, on a planet of billions." She started as she equalized the beam. 

Galesh tried but was unable to push the beam forward, she needed to call on the rest of her power. "Silence!......you are going to face justice for your crimes, and that is final!" She screamed out as she forced almost all of her power into the beam.

"Take this into account butcher." Lyaroa said easily. "You are on ONE planet, there are millions out there.......and I have created thousands upon thousands of worlds, each with millions of planets." She continued.

Galesh's eyes widened as Lyaroa casually pushed the beam towards her. "So, let's see how much power I get for reclaiming all that was mine from the dead worlds......more than enough to knock you out of your, 'inferior beings' power level." She commented as the beam slowly moved to Galesh.

"Now, let's take power from all of the dead planets on every world." Lyaroa said, closing her eyes.

Galesh groaned as the strain grew immensely. "No......no!" She strained to say.

Lyaroa then opened her eyes. "Now, I will take power from EVERY living thing on every world I have created." She said calmly.

And just like that, the beam collided with Galesh, sending her flying into a wall, she looked up and watched as Lyaroa walked forward, all of her injuries healing themselves, and soon, she had no scars, no burn marks, no scratches or cuts, she was completely healed. "How......how is this possible?" Galesh asked as she struggled to stay awake.

Lyaroa spoke calmly. "You called us world builders weak, pointless, but I saw the truth, we create life, we create beings that surprise even ourselves, I have lived among them, I know what it is like to see the world through their eyes, but not you......you never felt the hardships they face, nor the strength they obtain when it matters." Lyaroa said as she held a hand out from her side.

Galesh spat as she spoke. "Go ahead then......finish it, go and live among your barbaric 'friends' more Sentinel's will come, and they will not be as lenient as I was." She forced out before falling unconscious.

Lyaroa snapped her fingers and Guardian was in her hands, she held the blade to Galesh's throat and moved to finish the job with one quick thrust.

"Sister no!" Shouted a voice.

Lyaroa looked behind her and saw Estalli holding her blade to Lyaroa's back. "I am not your sister Estalli, this butcher lost the right to call herself my mother when she turned me into a sword wraith......so put that toothpick away and step back." She warned.

Estalli gulped and tightened her grip. "If you kill her, you will never be free, killing a council member is one of the greatest crimes, don't give the Sentinel's a reason to send an army after you, our brother as well, he will never stop hunting you." She said.

Lyaroa raised an eyebrow at that, she then looked at Galesh, she stared for a few moments before huffing. "Whatever, she can rot for all I care." She said as she sent Guardian away.

Estalli lowered her blade and walked to Galesh. "I......I will send her home, the ship is ready as it is." She said.

Lyaroa waved her hand and they were all back in Equestria, she looked at Estalli. "Get that butcher off of my world." She ordered.

Lyaroa looked over at the others, Roxanne was fully healed and Firefly seemed happy, Apache was busy talking with Fang, who Lyaroa had saved at the last second, Nightmare was talking with Skitter, at the sight of it all, Lyaroa smiled. "The gang is back together." She muttered.

______*meanwhile*_______

Estalli sighed. "Computer, set a course for the Forge, mother will need the med bay until she arrives." She said.

"Forgive me for being so rude as to ask lady Estalli.......but you sound as though you are not coming with?" The computer asked.

Estalli looked out from the ship and into Equestria. "I.......I have something I need to do, I will get back my own way." She replied before leaving the ship.

"Destination, Forge of the Void, time to arrive, twelve days." The computer said before flying off.

Estalli looked to the others and took a breath, she walked over, hoping this wasn't a bad idea.

______*a few minutes later*______

Lyaroa sighed as she looked out into the fields, she had a lot on her mind right now, but the most prominent concern she had right now, was that Estalli was approaching her. "Why are you still here?" Lyaroa asked calmly.

Estalli stopped approaching when she was four feet away. "I......I want to apologize for my part in this, I thought this would be a simple retrieval mission, I didn't think mother would let this get out of hand." She said.

Lyaroa looked at Estalli. "Let me get one thing straight, that butcher is not my mother, you are not my sister, I have no siblings." She started, before Estalli could speak, she continued. "Furthermore, if you truly are sorry for what you did, I am not the one you need to speak too." She said flatly.

Estalli winced at Lyaroa's harsh words, but she also knew she was correct. "I........I'll leave you alone." She said before vanishing.

Lyaroa sighed to herself as she placed her hand over her chest, feeling a sharp pain growing. "What the hell is this?" She asked herself quietly.

______*some time later, 4:00 PM*_______

Roxanne looked over at Estalli, who was sitting on a hill by herself, lost in thought, she had been like this for hours, she shook her head and walked up.

Roxanne walked up and sat down next to Estalli. "I'm surprised your here, you have every reason to want to kill me." Estalli said.

Roxanne shrugged. "And you had every reason to try and kill me, besides, you looked like you needed someone to talk to." She replied.

Estalli sighed as she looked at Roxanne. "I'm sorry for trying to kill you, I had my orders, even though I didn't approve." She said apologetically.

Roxanne said nothing at first as the two looked out to the fields, a few minutes later though, Roxanne spoke. "She didn't mean it you know." She said.

Estalli looked at Roxanne. "What are you talking about?" She asked.

"Lyaroa......she didn't truly mean what she said." Roxanne answered.

"How would you know?" Estalli asked.

Roxanne chuckled. "I was in love with the Migraine for years, I think I know her by now......she just needs time to sort things out." She replied.

Estalli blinked in confusion. "Migraine?" She asked curiously.

Roxanne shrugged. "The first thing she ever did with me was give me a migraine, hence the name." She replied.

Estalli looked and saw Lyaroa talking with Skitter, she blinked in confusion. "When I came along for this mission, I had hoped to learn about her, to know and understand my lost sister, but now that I'm here, I can't help but wonder If I made a mistake." She said.

Roxanne reached her left hand out and slapped Estalli in the back of the head. "Ah!" Estalli rubbed the back of her head and looked at Roxanne in confusion. "What was that for?" She asked.

"Dont think like that, the only mistake you made was pissing Nightmare off." Roxanne stated as she placed her hand on her leg. 

"She's part of you, isn't she?" Estalli asked.

Roxanne nodded. "Yea, Nightmare used to be part of me, the being I created in my mind to act like a lightning rod, she was supposed to block out the negative, specifically my old nightmares." She replied easily,

Estalli looked at Nightmare. "How did she become sentient?......it seems like she is a seperate entity, not just a mental barrier." She asked.

Roxanne shrugged and shifted her posture to a kneel as she looked out to the vast fields. "I have no clue how Nightmare became what she is, it just happened, oh well, nothing I can do about it." She said.

Estalli looked at Roxanne. "You think they're pissed?" She asked.

Roxanne nodded. "Nightmare?......probably not, Fang?........most likely.......Firefly? Definitely." She answered.

"You think any of them will try to kill me?" Estalli asked curiously.

Roxanne chuckled as she patted Estalli on the back. "I wish I knew, but I wouldn't worry about it, we mostly fight in self defense, so you shouldn't be too concerned." She said as she stood up and walked off.

What Roxanne did not notice as she walked away however, was that Estalli had clutched her chest due to a throbbing pain.

______*by the group*______

Fang looked at Skitter who was busy pacing. "So how did you avoid getting the memory wipe and race change?" He asked.

Skitter shrugged. "Like I told Lyaroa, she is bad at that stuff, when she tried to change me, it didn't really work, guess she didn't know enough to change me." She replied.

Nightmare looked at Skitter. "So, you remember everything?" She asked.

Skitter nodded. "Yes, sadly." She replied.

They heard footsteps approaching, they saw Lyaroa walking up to them. "Can we go home now?" Skitter asked irritably. 

Lyaora grinned. "Just as irritable as before I see......and I'm not stopping you." She replied.

Skitter huffed and locked eyes with the Sentinel. "And my son?.....what about Garth?" She asked.

Lyaroa breathed and rubbed her eyes. "Skitter, how about we get settled back in, THEN we get Garth back?" She suggested.

Skitter muttered something under her breath and went back to pacing. 

Fang looked at Apache, and then at Lyaroa. "If I may, can you do something for me?" He started.

Lyaroa nodded. "Of course, name it." She said.

"Can you give me the ability to change between this body and my unicorn body?.....it'll be easier to get things back to some semblance of normal that way." Fang asked.

Lyaroa snapped her fingers. "Done......it works by your will, whenever you wish to change, just say so in your mind." She replied.

Fang looked at Apache. "Come on, let's get back to Ponyville, I don't want Spark to think something bad happened to us." He said before starting to walk.

Apache just nodded silently and followed Fang back home.

Lyaroa looked at Nightmare. "Ok Nightmare, your turn." She said.

Nightmare crossed her arms. "As pleasant as Roxie's mind is to live in, I happen to like being free." She stated.

"Then what do you want me to do?" Lyaora asked.

Nightmare held up three fingers. "First, I want you to make it so I don't need to fuse back with Roxie to survive, second, I would like to go back to being Night Frenzy, that was far more enjoyable than this." She then held only one finger up. "Lastly, I want you to heal me." She stated.

Lyaroa blinked and raised an eyebrow, the first two requests were simple, but the third one confused her. "What do you mean?.....heal you?" She asked curiously.

Nightmare sighed sadly. "Have you ever stopped to ask yourself why Night Frenzy was so enthusiastic about kids?" She asked.

Lyaroa bit her tongue before answering. "You can't have kids......am I right?" She asked.

Nightmare nodded. "I found out several years ago, during a visit to the hospital.....so, can you fix it?" She asked.

Lyaroa nodded and snapped her fingers, changing Nightmare back into Night Frenzy. "Stay her for a moment alright?" She asked before looking at Firefly. "Do you want anything?" She asked.

Firefly looked at her necklace and smiled. "Na.....I'm fine." She said.

Lyaora nodded and noticed Roxanne walking over. "Hey Firecracker." She greeted after meeting her halfway.

Roxanne nodded. "Migraine." She replied.

Lyaroa walked with Roxanne back to the group. "Do you want me to make any changes for you Roxie?" She asked.

Roxanne tapped her chin I'm thought. "Well......not really, I mean, I'm pretty sure Nightmare and me need to get back to Canterlot for whatever crap we need to deal with there." She said.

Lyaroa grinned. "Not to worry, I can send the two of you back, making it as though you never left." She said.

Roxanne smirked. "Well, I guess I wouldn't mind fooling around with you a little bit." She teased.

Lyaora laughed and ruffled Roxxane's hair playfully. "Slow it down would you, no need to rush things." She replied.

Roxanne rolled her eyes. "So, I'm assuming that you gave up on that rule you made a while back?" She asked.

Lyaroa shrugged. "Not quite, after all of this is said and done, I'll be leaving things alone, but I'm not going to just let a world ending event occur again, that's for sure." She replied.

Roxxane looked up at the sky. "Hey Lyaroa." She said.

"Hmm?" 

Roxanne grinned and looked at Lyaroa rather suggestively. "Maybe we could.......get together somewhere alone, have some fun?" She offered.

Lyaroa looked at Roxanne and tapped her forehead. "Don't go teasing me Roxie, it's rude, besides, you usually just ask for sex, or have you forgotten?" She asked.

Roxanne wordlessly looked away and said nothing out of embarrassment. "You've gone soft on me Roxie." Lyaroa teased.

"Shut up Migraine." The fox said, elbowing Lyaroa's side.

______*a few minutes later*______

Lyaroa approached Estalli, who was still keeping her distance from the others, not that Lyaroa blamed her. "Estalli." She said calmly.

Estalli looked at Lyaroa. "What is it?" She asked.

Lyaroa motioned to the others. "We are heading home, you should probably do that as well." She stated.

After a few moments of silence, Estalli spoke. "I'm sorry for my part in all of this, I know you said that you aren't the one I should apologize too, but still." She paused and then continued, as Lyaroa listened.

"When I volunteered for this mission, it was so that i could learn about my sister......what she was like, if the rumors were true, that sort of stuff." Estalli explained.

Lyaroa turned to face the others. "Well, you have your chance to learn, and maybe, one day, we can be sisters, but for now, acquaintances will suffice." She stated before walking back.

Estalli thought on Lyaroa's words for a moment before teleporting away.

Lyaroa however, had a small grin on her face as she walked to her friends. "This time, things will be different." She said in her mind.

_______*later that night, Ponyville, Night Frenzy and Roxanne's house.*_______

Roxanne was once again in her Pegasus body, like Fang, she had asked for the ability to change at will.

Right now, she was in her bed, deep in thought, at hers and Night Frenzy's request, Lyaora had altered the timeline, she had made it as though the Celestia had never considered bringing the Shadowbolts back.

She felt happy, she truly did, she had Firefly back, even though she was staying with her psychotic girlfriend at the moment, she was her old self again, which was awesome, she had Night Frenzy as a sister, which was great on its own.

However, she still held doubts in her mind, she was skeptical about Estalli, she also felt a ridiculous fear that Firefly would hate her, but that was probably just the parental fear returning.

Roxanne closed her eyes as she slowly drifted off to sleep, hoping that these thoughts would be gone by morning.

______*meanwhile*_______

Lyaroa stood in the room of Umbrea, the persona she had taken on for over twenty years, and she found herself......sad.

While Umbrea was simply an extension of herself, Lyaroa truly did like her, she was strong, beautiful, confident and caring.

Lyaroa sighed as she snapped her fingers, a mirror appeared in front of her, she saw Umbrea staring back at her, she smiled as she dismissed the mirror. "I only wish that none of this had happened." She muttered to herself.

Lyaroa walked to the bed and sat down, she looked out the window and saw the moon shining bright, she smiled as she laid down. "I'm just glad to be back.....I don't know why I ever wiped our memories in the first place." She said as she closed her eyes.

______*meanwhile*______

Fang had his arms crossed as he looked outside, earlier, Spark had revealed that he remembered everything from the beginning, and that he knew that Star Shifter was Fang immediately.

Fang also had a long talk with Apache, the filly was conflicted, she claimed that while her heart knew that Fang really was her brother, she could not comprehend the situation at all.

Fang was unable to provide solace for the filly, instead, he had said that he would try to help her through this however he could.

Fang sighed to himself as he looked out into the night, it was peaceful, quiet, but that didn't help his confused state, even though he knew that he wanted to keep his friends safe, he was still confused, now more than ever. "I should just get some sleep, it's been a long day." He said to himself.

______*Night Frenzy's room*______

"So, what now?" Skitter asked.

Night Frenzy sighed to herself as she laid back on her bed. "I have no clue, I guess I try to get a life here in Ponyville." She muttered.

Skitter looked up at her friend, even though Lyaroa altered the timeline, Night Frenzy was wearing the Shadowbolt uniform. "No one will blame you for wanting to leave Ponyville Frenzy." She said.

Night Frenzy laughed silently. "It's not that, it's just........im not the type to settle down, that's all." She replied.

Skitter nodded as she laid down on the cot that Night Frenzy pulled out. "No one is asking you to do anything, take your time to find out what you want to do." She said.

Night Frenzy nodded. "Good advice, I'll think on it a little.......good night Skitter." She said as she rolled over and closed her eyes.

'Maybe I can have some fun......my way, tomorrow.'
> Learning a troubled past.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_______*Ponyville, two days later, Umbrea's house, 10:00 AM*______

Firefly lay wide awake in the bed that Lyaroa had arranged for her, she had woken up an hour ago but had been unable to go back to sleep.

She sighed to herself as she rolled to her side and looked at her necklace, the broken claw was in remarkable condition, she slowly sat up and clutched it.

Firefly closed her eyes and concentrated, while she knew that the claw allowed her to relive her memories, she had discovered some time before they had to flee the old world, that it also had to the ability to link minds temporarily.

She originally used this link to talk with Storm, mostly for advice and easing her mind, lately however she noticed that he was no longer answering her.

Firefly sighed to herself and got off the bed and looked over her shoulder, Apache was in the bed next to her's, and on the other side of the room was Spark, who was asleep in a cot, at his own request, for whatever reason.

Firefly yawned quietly and walked to the door, she opened it and carefully closed the door behind her as she left the room.

She sighed in relief and walked to the stairs, she soon found them and headed down, she heard someone using the sink in the kitchen as she walked into the living room, she took a seat on the comfy brown couch, content to never move if she could get away with it.

She looked over her shoulder and saw Lyaroa in the kitchen, staring at the sink as it ran the water, she raised an eyebrow at this and spoke. "Why are you just staring at the sink?" She asked curiously.

Lyaroa visibly stiffened and looked at Firefly. "It's......complicated." She said as the sink shut itself off.

Firefly watched as the Sentinel walked around the kitchen, grabbing cooking supplies and getting things ready for breakfast. "If you don't mind, can you wake the others up? I need to get breakfast started." She asked as she moved around the kitchen in an apparent daze. 

Firefly got off the couch and walked over to Lyaroa, while making sure she wasn't in the way of course. "What's wrong?" She asked out of concern.

Lyaroa set the frying pan down and looked at Firefly. "Like I said, it's complicated, and it isn't something you need to worry about, go on, I'll get breakfast made up." The Sentinel said dismissively as she went back to work.

Firefly reluctantly headed upstairs to wake the others up. 'I guess her mother showing up rattled her more than she thought.' She guessed mentally.

______*Later that day, Night Frenzy and Roxanne's house, 3:00 PM*______

Night Frenzy looked out the window and sighed to herself, even though she was free and completely her own entity, she still felt unhappy for some reason, she watched with a small smile as she watched some kids playing, she heart a footstep behind her. "Makes me miss my childhood." She remarked.

"Not me, I'm happy to be back to normal." Roxanne said as she sat down on the nearby chair. "What's eating at you Nightmare........sorry, Night Frenzy?" She asked with concern.

Frenzy chuckled and looked at the fox. "Don't apologize to me about my old name love, as for what's wrong......it's nothing you can help with." She dismissed as she looked outside. 

Roxanne walked over and placed a calming hand on Frenzy's shoulder. "I may have created you as a barrier, but you ARE my sister now, come on, tell me what's wrong." She said firmly.

Frenzy smiled and looked at Roxanne. "Ok ok, I'm just down alright, I'm not feeling like myself anymore and I need time to adjust, it's as simple as that alright?" She replied calmly.

Roxanne crossed her arms as she stared at Night Frenzy. "Your depressed." She stated seriously.

Frenzy then lost her smile and closed the blinds, she walked away from the window and then looked at Roxanne. "Alright, I am depressed, I lost my friend Roxie, the girl I loved is gone, and Lyaroa......she hasn't even considered bringing her back!" She snapped.

Roxanne closed her eyes and sighed. "I.....I don't know what's going on with Lyaroa, she's not left the house and won't even talk to me, I think Gelesh did more damage to her than we thought, we don't even know what Lyaroa's past was like, so how could we know?" She said to herself, rambling just a little.

Frenzy sat down on the couch and looked at Roxanne. "We should ask her, she knows everything about us, but we don't know anything about her." She suggested.

"That was the original idea." A voice suddenly said.

Roxanne and Night Frenzy jumped out of surprise. "Lyaroa, don't do that." Roxanne snapped.

Lyaroa looked terrible, her eyes were bloodshot, she was shaking and was covered in dirt. "Sorry, didn't want to go out in public." She apologized.

As Lyaroa and Roxanne took seats, Night Frenzy spoke. "Why hide your past? it isn't fair to us at all when you can literally know everything about us just by looking at us." She asked.

Lyaroa took a shaky breath. "I.....I didn't want you to get caught up in it, my past isn't a good one and I would prefer to keep it a secret." She replied.

Roxanne reached and placed a hand on Lyaroa's knee, she gave her a calming smile. "You can't bottle this up, we won't judge you for your past Lyaroa, we just want to understand." She said quietly.

Night Frenzy cleared her throat. "Also, if we are going to be attacked because of it, we would like to know why." She added.

Lyaroa sat still for what felt like an hour to her, but she eventually nodded. "Ok, I'll tell you." She took a deep breath and began.

______*Forge of the Void, back when Lyaroa was very young.*______

A small white wolf ran through the streets of the city, her fluffy tail wrapped around her waist as she ran quickly, she wasn't running away, she was simply running because it was fun.

Adult Sentinel's moved out of the way as the small girl ran and laughed happily as she jumped at a building and then leaped off of it.

This wolf was Lyaroa, and she had discovered how to permanently change her form, if only for one obstacle. 

As Lyaroa turned the corner past a bakery, she came face to face with the one person she was not hoping to see. "M....mom!?" She said out of surprise.

The older Sentinel woman glared at her daughter in disappointment. "Lyaroa Pioax Juzor, how many times must I tell you to not hide who you are?" Gelesh asked in an annoyed tone.

Lyaroa clutched her right arm and looked down. "Only one......but mom!" She pointed at her fur. "I like this body! it feels right!" She argued futilely.

Galesh grabbed Lyaroa and began heading home. "Your father spoiled you Lyaroa, that ends now." She stated firmly.

"Dad doesn't spoil me mom! he says i shouldn't be ashamed of who I am." Lyaroa said in defense of her father.

Galesh sighed. "I have said the same thing Lyaroa, but you hide your true self as though it were a dark secret." She pointed out,

Lyaroa crossed her arms. "I just don't like my Sentinel body, it creeps me out." She said.

Galesh waited on the sidewalk of the streets for the road to clear. "Do I creep you out Lyaroa?" She asked.

Lyaroa's eyes went wide and she frantically shook her head. "No no no no no! MY Sentinel body creeps me out, it doesn't feel like it's me is all!" She adamantly stated.

Galesh looked at her daughter and set her down next to her. "You must get used to it Lyaroa, it is your true self, and it will be like that forever." She said calmly.

Lyaroa rubbed her arm as she walked home with her mother. "Have.....have you ever changed your body, just to try something new?" She asked curiously.

Galesh nodded. "I have, there was a time when I was I took the form of a falcon, it was an enlightening experience." She replied.

Lyaroa looked at her mother with a curious look. "What was it like?" She asked.

"It was liberating, for those short few days, I was able to relax, however, as I did so I began to lose sight of who I really was, so I returned home and have not changed my form since." Galesh replied.

Lyaroa looked at her claw and rubbed it slowly. "It can't be all bad, if it let you relax for a time, there has to be an upside." She said as she smiled.

Galesh sighed. "Lyaroa, your obsession with shapeshifting is unhealthy, you have been in that form for a week now and won't stop admiring your own fur." She pointed out.

"I just feel better like this, i don't feel constipated like when I was a bear, and I'm not accidentally stinging anyone like when I was a scorpion." Lyaroa replied, she then flinched at that memory.

Galesh looked at her daughter as they walked. "So that WAS you who sent old man Harvey to the hospital." She said.

Lyaroa rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. "I.....I did tell him I went for realism." She argued pathetically.

____*the present*_____

Roxanne and Night Frenzy blinked at Lyaroa. "Your mother actually had a moment where she wasn't heartless?" Frenzy asked.

Lyaroa bit her lip. "She isn't my mother anymore, and yes she did, she was actually a good mother for a while.....and then the fighting started." She said ominously as she continued her story.

_____*Forge of the Void, The past*______

Lyaroa sighed sadly to herself as she heard her parents arguing, it had been four years since she went on a walk with her mother, and their relationship went downhill from there.

Her mother had gotten more strict in the last few years, and she couldn't even have a quiet talk with her anymore.

Her father had also gotten fed up with her mother, as they were always arguing now, Lyaroa walked away from the door and looked out the window, she was not in the mood to play, and she didn't dare interrupt her parents argument, she looked outside and saw her only friend outside talking with his cousin, they appeared to be in good spirits.

Lyaroa's eyes shone red and she saw the 'Web of Life' as her mother called it, she claimed that not many Sentinel's had this rare ability, in Lyaroa's eyes it was beautiful, but according to her mother, it was a burden and a nuisance.

Lyaroa smiled as she looked around the outside of her home, the web was everywhere, it's red shine shined like a star as it spread around the city.

Rapidly paced footsteps by the door caught Lyaroa's attention, she looked over her shoulder and sighed, her sister was awake, and she was already running about. "Whatever." She said quietly as she looked outside.

______*The present.*_______

Roxanne leaned back against the couch. "I thought you said you didn't have any siblings?" She asked.

Lyaroa looked at Roxanne. "Not anymore Rox, she vanished and is presumed dead." She said as she looked at the ceiling. 

"Estalli would probably be my sister, if it wasn't for what happened the next week." She said as she continued her story.

______*The Forge of the Void, one week later*______

Lyaroa and her mother were on a walk, they were invited to visit a sacred temple, one that not many Sentinel's had the privilege of seeing. "What temple is this again?" Lyaroa asked eagerly, as they approached it, the temple was massive, almost as big as the city hall, the walls were made of abyss iron, black and purple metal that was nearly impervious to damage, the roof was that of void steel, the classical black and gold metal that almost every Sentinel structure was made out of.

Galesh chuckled. "It's the Temple of the Sword Wraiths, it is a sacred place, not even the council can go in whenever they want." She answered as they entered the temple.

Lyaroa rushed in and looked around in absolute awe, the interior was gorgeous, paintings and pottery with incredibly accurate art adorned the walls and small tables, while a large fountain made of abyss iron sat in the center of the chamber, she looked up and her eyes widened, statues built out of Hellion marble were in a circle around a large stained glass ceiling, the colors were vibrant and the statues were of some of the greatest Sentinel's to ever live.

And above the door ahead of them, a statue of Invalom Deactus, the oldest Sentinel alive, was proudly displayed above the door, carved out of Hellion marble, dark red and gray marble that never decays or crumbles in the face of time.

Lyaroa looked at her mother. "This is incredible mom!" She stated out of joy,

Galesh smiled as she watched her daughter look around the room, the door ahead eventually opened and an old Sentinel with a well built body emerged from the doorway. "Ah, council woman Galesh, we have been expecting you." He said calmly, he seemed to radiate wisdom.

Lyaroa looked at the Sentinel curiously, he was dressed in an elegant robe, it was gold with Crimson trim and was loosely fitted, clearly not made for him.

The door closed and the elderly Sentinel looked at Lyaroa. "And this must be young Lyaroa, i am pleased to meet you young one." He said.

Lyaroa nodded with a smile. "Thanks! this temple is amazing!" She said, pointing around the room.

The Sentinel nodded and looked at Galesh. "Come with me miss Galesh, we have much to discuss." He said as he opened the door again.

Galesh looked at Lyaroa. "I'm sorry Lyaroa, but you need to wait here, I won't be long." She said.

Lyaroa nodded and went back to looking around the room.

As Galesh turned to follow the elderly Sentinel, she mentally frowned as she walked.

_____*A few minutes later.*______

Lyaroa sighed to herself as she sat on the floor, her tail idly swishing around behind her, she rubbed her arm slowly and smiled as she watched her fur get pushed down, then go back to place as though nothing happened.

She looked at the door and groaned as she laid back on the floor, wrapping her tail around her waist. "Where is she?" She muttered to herself.

As she closed her eyes, she felt an unfamiliar presence enter her mind, she opened her eyes and looked around for other people, seeing nothing, and feeling the presence leave, she closed her eyes again.

The very moment that Lyaroa closed her eyes, the presence returned with a vengeance and Lyaroa felt herself lose consciousness, all in an instant.

_____*the present*______

"So, your mom just left you there for you to be kidnapped?" Night Frenzy asked.

Lyaroa nodded slowly. "And more, after a time, I learned that she got rid of everything I owned, and practically forgot about who i was, she only wanted me to be a weapon." She replied.

Roxanne shook her head and looked at Lyaroa. "What happened next?" She asked.

_____*Forge of the Void.*_____

Lyaroa's eyes opened slowly as she groaned, she felt weak, hungry and thirsty, she could see nothing but blackness as she tried to force herself to get up, her hand slipped and she heard the sounds of chains rattling, she groaned in pain as her chest hit the floor.

She gritted her teeth and attempted it again, she was unable to fully stand right away, and fell over quite a few times, but she eventually stood, she diverted a little of power to her eyes and soon she could see clearly, she was inside a cell with void steel bars, she looked at her hands and saw that she was in her Sentinel form, she growled mentally and then noticed the Abyss iron shackles around her wrists, she attempted to pry them off but found that she couldn't after a few minutes of attempts.

Lyaroa dropped to the floor and cried silently to herself, she huddled into a ball as best she could and cried in the dark.

Footsteps nearby however, made Lyaroa stop as she looked up, she attempted to change her form, but the shackles sent sharp pain through her body, causing her to yelp in pain.

Lyaroa looked and saw a large Sentinel approach the bars and look at her. "Pathetic, this is who they gave us? a little girl who breaks down and hides behind a false body?.....and they wonder why the order is dying." He said in a gruff voice.

The cell door opened and Lyaroa backed up to the wall in a feeble attempt to stay away from the large Sentinel.

The Sentinel raised its hands and the shackles around Lyaroa's wrists broke off the wall and bound themselves together, the chains on the wall then shot out and latched onto the shackles before the large Sentinel grabbed them and tugged, forcing Lyaroa to the ground. "Ahh!" Lyaroa yelped as she was on the ground again.

"Get up, or I will drag you." The large Sentinel ordered in a commanding voice.

Lyaroa felt a chill go down her spine as she got up and followed the large Sentinel wordlessly.

They walked for what felt like an hour, but eventually, Lyaroa was thrown into a small room with a slimly built Sentinel who held a long and sharp metal rod. "Please let me go." She pleaded, her eyes watering as she lay on the ground.

"Silence!" The angry voice of the slim Sentinel snapped as she struck Lyaroa with the pole.

If it were just a regular metal pole, Lyaroa would have been alright, but whatever it was, it sent so much pain through her system she almost passed out. "AAAAAHHHHH!!" She screamed.

The slim Sentinel struck Lyaroa again, and again, and again, but no matter how much pain she suffered, Lyaroa would not pass out.

_____*the present.*_____

"That's horrible." Night Frenzy said.

Roxanne nodded. "Why didn't your mom do anything?" She asked.

Lyaroa looked at Roxanne. "She gave me to these people Roxie, she allowed this." She looked at Night Frenzy who had a look of disgust. "To be a Sword Wraith, one must feel no pain, no emotion, so that nothing can stop them, to that end, the Order of the Sword Wraiths work to remove Pain, by inflicting so much pain, they cannot feel it, and to remove emotion, they break their spirits, their will to survive, to love and laugh, everything." She looked at Roxanne again. "Most that become Sword Wraiths are tortured for at least one hundred years." She stated.

"How......how long were you tortured?" Roxanne asked.

Lyaroa sighed and looked at the ceiling as she laid back. "Six thousand years." She said quietly.

Both Night Frenzy and Roxanne's eyes widened as they did a double take on that. "Six thousand years!?" Night Frenzy asked out of disbelief.

Roxanne shook her head as she took in this information. "But Lyaroa.....that's about eighty percent of your life!" She said.

Night Frenzy sighed. "How old were you when you were taken." She asked.

Lyaroa nodded. "I was taken when I was six, and trust me, it was......horrible, I know I said I came to Equestria three thousand years ago, but obviously I lied, i didn't want to tell the entire truth for a good reason, in truth, it was only a thousand years, the rest of those years I lived my life, it wasn't perfect, but it was better than my old one." She explained as her hands shook.

"I'm going to skip ahead, no one needs to know the atrocities I suffered there." She said as she continued her story.

______*Forge of the Void, six thousand years later.*______

Lyaroa sat in the center of a dimly lit room, the elderly Sentinel from six thousand years ago, Kornas, walked around her in a circle, as a few other Sword Wraiths observed. "Lyaroa Pioax Juzor, daughter of Galesh Juzor and Huralo Juzor, you have been deemed worthy to ascend, and be named, Sword Wraith, you are here now, before your peers, ready to stand up and become equal." He said calmly and with conviction.

Lyaroa looked at Kornas as he reached his arm out and motioned to a sword sitting on an altar, sheathed in its black casing. "Rise, Lyaroa, and claim your weapon, rise, and become one of us." Kornas said.

Lyaroa rose from her seated position and walked to the sword slowly, it hummed with power and whispered to her, as she reached the altar, she reached out and gripped her blade, she felt it link to her and she knew for certain, this was HER blade. 

She turned around and saw the other Sword Wraiths watching her intently, she knew what she was supposed to say, and she could have easily done so, but she felt something she hadn't felt in years......anger, as she felt her mind break free of the illusions she was taught, she formed a plan.

Lyaroa put her sword in front of her, and slowly drew it, as was tradition, she held it in front of her face and examined it, the blade was dark red and had violet streaks in the metal, she knew this metal well, it was an extremely rare metal known as Abyonhelion, impervious to almost anything, and it can never dull, rust, corrode or break. [1]

Lyaroa discarded the sheathe and it vanished into thin air, she then spoke, following her plan with ease. "I, Lyaroa Pioax Juzor, daughter of Galesh Juzor and Huralo Juzor.......denounce the Sword Wraiths and declare vengeance on them all." She said, surprising everyone the room.

The other Sword Wraiths in the room called their respective blades to their sides but were swiftly annihilated by a swift blast of power to the head.

Lyaroa quickly dispatched Kornas with a strike to his heart as she took on the form of a white wolf. "You.....traitor!" Kornas coughed up blood.

"I cannot betray those I held no Loyalty towards, you tortured me, and now I will take my revenge." She said before she removed her blade and beheaded Kornas.

Lyaroa then wiped her blade clean and walked out the room, she was on one of the upper floors, she looked down one of the halls and then to a nearby window. 'You know what, losing its grandmaster it's a large enough loss, no point going on a killing spree.' She walked over to the window and charged up her power.

Lyaroa threw her hand out and blasted a large hole in the wall, sending iron and glass everywhere, she jumped out the hole and slid down an angled roof as she headed down.

It wasn't long before a loud alarm began throughout the city, Lyaroa simply focused as she landed on the ground, cracking the road with her blade, she took a breath and began running, her blade now dismissed.

Lyaroa sped up and ran past many Sentinel's who jumped back in surprise, she ran into the town square and stopped as enormous blades surrounded the area, she growled and turned around to face the source, she was surprised to see who it was. "Mother?" She asked curiously.

Sure enough, Galesh held her hand up, it was crackling in power, any Sentinel's that were unlucky enough to be caught in the area were forced to watch the showdown. "Lyaroa, what have you done?" She said in an angry voice.

Lyaroa looked at the blades. "Mom......what are you doing?" She asked curiously.

Galesh lowered her hand and began to float. "You cling to that word like a child, you are a Sword Wraith now, show some dignity." She snapped.

Lyaroa blinked as she quickly put two and two together. "You gave me to them?" She asked as her hands trembled in anger.

Galesh slowly clapped patronizingly. "Good, you figured that out, now make this easy for yourself, surrender and I will ensure you are not executed." She ordered.

Lyaroa summoned her blade, shocking the nearby Sentinel's as they backed away. "No......you gave me to those monsters.......you are no mother of mine!" She looked at her mother with eyes that sparked with anger. "You are nothing more than a butcher!" She snapped as she readied her blade.

Galesh seemed surprised, but her shock was overtaken by anger. "You dare to raise your blade against your own mother!?" She shouted as she summoned several blades that sparked with power. 

Lyaroa charged forward as Galesh sent the blades after her, she sliced them in half and unleashed a powerful blast at Galesh, fueled purely by anger.

Galesh threw up a barrier but the blast impacted her anyway, she then summoned a wall of blades and detonated them.

Lyaroa saw the attack coming and teleported behind Galesh and immediately blasted her with a mighty explosion of power.

Galesh flew into a nearby wall and the entire building collapsed down on her, Lyaroa walked up and looked down at the rubble.

Lyaroa watched as her mother forced her way out of the rubble and looked at Lyaroa, she was already beaten to a pulp, she was bruised and battered, and her left arm looked dislocated. "Lower the barrier." She demanded.

Galesh's breathing was ragged and she couldn't move her right arm. "I will not allow you to go free...." She said.

Lyaroa tightened her grip and raised her sword. "This was your doing, this could have been avoided." She said as she swung her blade.

Just as Lyaroa swung, a hand gripped her shoulder and she reacted quickly, she moved her sword and thrust her blade into the heart of the newcomer.

Lyaroa gasped in shock as she realized who she just stabbed. "No....no no no!" She said in panic as her eyes widened.

Huralo Juzor had grabbed Lyaroa, he gasped for air and clutched at the blade. "Ly.....Lyaroa, w-why?" He said before he fell to the ground, his body not moving anymore.

Galesh screamed in agony, the barrier dropped and Lyaroa quickly ran away from the scene.

Lyaroa did not look back, her face was riddled in tears, she ran until she could run no more, and then she teleported away from the Forge of the Void, she refused to go back, and from that day forward, she vowed to never use the blade as she named it.....Bane.

______*The present.*______

Lyaroa sighed to herself as she looked at Night Frenzy. "I feel better....thanks for listening to my story, when you see Skitter.......tell her I'll get Garth back when she's ready, and Night Frenzy, I'll see about getting Umbrea back." She said quietly before teleporting away.

Roxanne looked at Night Frenzy. "I.....I feel like she's missing something, dont you?" She asked.

Night Frenzy nodded. "Yea, but for now, I don't think she needs us making her doubt herself." She replied.

Roxanne looked out the window and saw Firefly playing with Spark and Apache. "I can't wait for things to go back to normal." She said.

Night Frenzy nodded as she looked at a picture of her, Roxanne and Umbrea all covered in mud with grins on their faces. "Agreed." She added silently.
> Reconnecting.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

______*Ponyville, Night Frenzy and Roxanne's house, two days later, 1:20 PM*______

The day was sunny, the air was cooling and the town was busy, and Roxanne was still inside, she sighed to herself as she looked over her shoulder. "I can't just stay inside." She muttered.

Roxanne had discovered that an old picture of Firefly and herself was on the bookcase in the living room, she walked over to it and picked it up. 

"Lyaroa." She chuckled as she examined the photo, it was taken in the Crystal Empire, they were spending time together and for one of few times, Roxanne was truly happy, she set the photo back and walked up to the front door and reached for the handle.

"Are you sure you want that?" Night Frenzy asked calmly.

Lyaroa looked at the Thestral, her hand unmoving. "I can't stay inside everyday." She argued.

Night Frenzy leaned against the doorway. "That's not what I asked." She countered as she looked at the door. "You told Lyaroa not to allow you to shift forms at will, and with your girlfriend out of commission for a while, your stuck as a fox." She then looked at Roxanne's eyes. "Are you positive you want to risk going outside?" Night Frenzy asked calmly.

Roxanne sighed to herself and looked at her hand that was touching the doorknob, her eyes lost in thought, she then spoke. "I'll risk it." She eventually said.

Night Frenzy walked to the stairs and sat down on the first one. "You said that yesterday Love, and your hand never turned that knob." She pointed out flatly.

Roxanne bit her lip and looked at Night Frenzy. "Is there a point to this?" She asked.

"I can only repeat my last answer, yes......I want to know that you can handle the possible backlash from you going outside." Night Frenzy replied calmly.

Roxanne looked at the knob and gripped it, she slowly turned it and then opened the door. "I'll be back." She said.

Night Frenzy nodded and headed upstairs.

______*Outside.*______

Roxanne took a deep breath and started to walk, she had an idea of where to go, and went in that direction, she noticed along the way that she was getting some peculiar stares from the locals, but they didn't seem to do anything.

She noticed the differences in glares from some of the ponies however, some were curious while others cautious, some were concerned while others frightened.

But Roxanne paid them no mind as she walked, and after several minutes she arrived at her destination.

She walked up the stairs and knocked on the door, she waited patiently and soon enough, the door opened to reveal Star Shifter. "Oh hey Rox, come on in." Star said.

Roxanne stepped inside and after Star closed the door, he shifted into Fang, sighing in relief. "Sorry, but it's easier to answer the door as Star." He stated.

"It's fine." She replied, understanding him perfectly.

"Hey Fang! we are running low on ink!" A female voice called out.

Roxanne looked at Fang with an amused expression. "It's Trixie, I told her my true identity and she doesn't mind." Fang answered before ushering Roxanne and himself to the living room. "Alright!" He replied to Trixie.

"Who are you talking to anyway?" Trixie's voice asked as she entered the room, she looked at Roxanne and then at Fang, she sighed. "Boys." She muttered before heading towards the study.

Fang groaned and rested his right arm on the back of the couch as he looked at where Trixie went. "It's not what you think! Roxanne is my daughter Trixie, I've already explained that to you." Fang called out.

"Of course she is!" Trixie teased.

Roxanne looked at Fang with a chuckle. "So I suppose that really is how you see me?" She asked with a smile smile.

Fang went to answer but Roxanne stopped him by patting him on the shoulder. "That's actually pretty damn awesome, but not why I came over." She answered.

"I'm surprised you aren't annoyed." Fang said.

Roxanne smiled. "Why would I be annoyed? you did teach me almost everything i know for nothing in return, and you are family to me, so I can live with this." She then grinned deviously. "Also think about this, if me and Lyaroa get hitched....emphasis on if, she'll have to call you dad." She replied.

Fang chuckled at the joke and leaned back on the couch. "You're forgetting, she could just call me Fang regardless." He pointed out.

They shared a laugh at that, afterwards, Fang spoke up again. "So, since this clearly isn't a social visit, what brings you here Rox?" He asked.

Roxanne sighed to herself as she leaned back on the couch. "It's been tough for me lately, I want to reconnect with everyone, but not all of us remember the past." She replied.

Fang nodded. "I know what you mean, I almost called Rainbow Dash Gwen yesterday." He said.

Roxanne looked at Fang. "I haven't left the house since that day Fang, it took almost all of my strength just to leave the house today." She said worryingly.

"It's......difficult for me as well. Inside I am Fang, outside I'm Star Shifter, the strange yet friendly unicorn." He shook his head. "One of these days I'll just walk outside as myself, as nice as it is to change up from time to time, it can get annoying." He replied.

"I mostly want to be able to get Firefly back, and I know Skitter wants to get Garth back, but the main difference is that i'm stopping myself from being with her." She looked up at the ceiling. "Do you remember the temple of Jandoka?" Roxanne asked.

Fang nodded. "Yea, a little bit, my memories weren't my own there, and Lyaroa's memory restoration makes some details blurry." He answered.

Roxanne smiled at the memories she had of Firefly. "I remember with vivid detail how Firefly called me mom in Changish, and then Skitter's translation of it, I was so shocked about that." Roxanne shook her head. "It's those little moments that you miss, and that you can't get back." She then looked at Fang.

"I don't want to screw up, but i'm going crazy in that house, and Nightmare can only do so much." She said as she looked at the ceiling.

Fang sat up straight and looked at the coffee table. "You might just need a distraction, dwelling on those thoughts will only make it worse." He warned.

Roxanne nodded as she sat up straight and looked at Fang. "How is Apache doing?" She asked.

Fang sighed. "She's been better, but I think she's handling this very well all things considered." He replied.

"I need to get back, thanks for talking with me." Roxanne said, standing up.

Fang nodded. "No problem, and Rox?" 

Roxanne looked at Fang. "Sorry I took my anger out on you all those years ago, you didn't deserve it." Fang said apologetically.

"Don't worry about it, I'll see you later." Roxanne replied before walked to the front door.

______*later that night, the dreamscape, 12:29 AM*______

Night Frenzy looked around the unfamiliar area with curiosity, it was a park of some kind, but there were strange plants and the grass was dying, the trees seemed to be alive and the water was clear but with some leaves in them, she looked around some more and saw large city buildings surrounding the park, it was overwhelming to her.

"What the hell?" Asked a familiar voice.

Night Frenzy turned around and saw a familiar Night Wolf standing by a bench with a surprised expression on his face.

"Shade?" She asked curiously.

Shade seemed caught off guard at the word, but spoke anyway. "Um.....yes, how do you know me? who are you?" He asked.

Night Frenzy looked at her hoof and sighed, she then reverted to her old self. "I'm surprised you didn't recognize me love." She said.

Shade's eyes widened. "Nightmare?" He asked out of shock.

Nightmare nodded and approached calmly. "Yes, it's me......so tell me love, why are you inside my dream?....and where am I?" She asked as she looked around.

Shade seemed to be perplexed now instead of confused. "You.....you aren't dreaming, because I'm wide awake." He answered.

Nightmare chuckled. "Come on now, don't mess with me, I fell asleep and now I'm here." She said adamantly.

Shade crossed his arms and looked at Nightmare with a serious expression. "Nightmare.....I didn't fall asleep, I'm wide awake, I came here to get some air, now your here." He stated flatly.

With this, Nightmare blinked and soon she looked at her hand, she looked at Shade and then at the surrounding city. "Oh no......what the hell happened to me?" She asked quietly.

"I don't know, but Lyaroa should find you here, we should get out of here though, if you are trapped here, things may get messy quickly." Shade said as he pointed to an entrance behind him. "Let's go." He said.

Nightmare sighed to herself, as much as she would prefer to simply hide and wait it out, she didn't know when Lyaroa would be able to find her, so she begrudgingly began to follow Shade.

"You mind if I ask you something Shade?" Nightmare asked.

Shade shrugged. "Why not, go ahead." He replied.

"Can you tell me about yourself?......I don't really know much about you, even when you were with us back at Equestria." Nightmare asked.

Shade sighed as he paused, he looked at Nightmare and soon nodded. "Very well." He resumed walking. "I have nothing to hide anyway." He said.

______*years ago, the World of Oglan, Ashlock city, two days later*______

Nocturne looked around nervously as he took in his surroundings, so far the apartment wasn't too bad, it had everything that was needed to survive, it was sparsely decorated but that wasn't important to him, he had recently become more emotional in the past two days, according to Sonya, it was because the drugs that were injected into him before he was released from his pod had numbed his mind and body, which accounted for his inability to walk initially.

No, what was concerning was that Sonya had mentioned something about basic education, and since her job kept her so busy, meant that he would be attending public school, which Sonya had explained also meant social interaction with other kids, which was horrifying.

Soon enough, Nocturne heard Sonya walking out of the bathroom, he looked at her with a worried expression. "A-are you s-s-sure about this?" He asked nervously.

Sonya gave a soft smile as she kneeled down to look at Nocturne. "Don't worry, I'm sure once your there and get used to it, you may end up liking it." She said reassuringly.

Nocturne shakily nodded and walked over to the couch, he grabbed the backpack that Sonya got for him and looked at her. "I-if this making you hurt for money, I-I-i could not go." He stammered.

Sonya giggled, her voice soft and happy, she stood up. "Nocturne, education hasn't costed anything for centuries, same with medical." She said.

Nocturne blinked at the news, he gulped and walked forward to the door.

Sonya, noticing Nocturne's nervousness, ruffled his fur on his head playfully. "You'll be fine Nocturne, come on." She said encouragingly.

With that, Nocturne left the apartment with Sonya and headed for the car.

_____*the school, eight minutes later*______

Nocturne looked back at Sonya nervously as she walked to the entrance of the school, he gulped and walked towards the school, it was a large building on a grassy plot of land, it had the words Ashlock City School on a sign near the walkway to the front doors of the school.

As he approached the doorway, Sonya opened the door and let him inside, she closed the door as she followed him inside. 

Nocturne noticed that the hallway was mostly empty save for gray lockers against the walls, he looked at Sonya. "Where do we go now?" He asked quietly.

Sonya motioned him to follow and started walking, he followed closely behind, taking in the sights as they walked.

Soon they reached a room that was filled with other children of various species and an adult Minotaur male. "Wait here for a second ok?" Sonya whispered.

Nocturne nodded and waited in the hall as Sonya walked into the classroom, as he waited for her to return, he looked around the hallway with curiosity, made a mental note of the lockers, and of the branching hallways, he heard footsteps behind him and he turned around.

Nocturne blinked as he saw an adult Night Wolf cleaning the floors with a mop, he tilted his head as the adult looked at him.....and then returned to its work without a sound.

Nocturne went to say something but a voice next to him stopped him. "Alright Nocturne, go on in, I'll pick you up after school." Sonya said.

"Oh.....ok." Nocturne said blankly before she walked off.

He walked into the classroom and the teacher gave him a warm smile as he looked at the class. "Class, we have a new student, say hello to Nocturne." He said.

"Hi Nocturne!" The children greeted, though to Nocturne, it was concerning.

The teacher looked at Nocturne who seemed stunned. "Go on and take a seat." He said calmly.

Nocturne kept himself quiet as he walked through the desks, eventually finding one in the fourth row next to a lion, he set his backpack under the desk and sat on the chair as the teacher resumed the lesson.

The lesson was actually enlightening for Nocturne, as it was based on math, which would be helpful later on, he payed attention, ignoring the whispers that he was hearing nearby.

Eventually the school bell rung and the teacher announced a short recess, he stepped out of the room after encouraging the students to study.

Nocturne took a breath and looked around the room, most his classmates were talking amongst themselves while some studied quietly, he scratched his chin and set his hands on the desk. 

"Hey." An energetic voice said, it came from the desk next to his.

Nocturne looked to his left and saw the lion looking at him, it's features were slim and the mane was short, defining features of a female lion. "Um.....hi." He replied.

The lion held her paw out to Nocturne. "I'm Shay." She introduced, her demeanor was friendly but her fierce yellow eyes seemed to betray that.

Nocturne shook her paw with his. "Nocturne." He replied.

Shay nodded. "I know." Her eyes shifted and looked around the room for a moment before returning to Nocturne. "Your one of those Night Wolves right?" She whispered.

Nocturne raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "Yea, why?" He asked.

Shay pointed to an alligator and an eagle in the front row corner. "Try to avoid those two, they're jerks." She warned.

Nocturne looked at them and focused on their features, the alligator was green scaled with dark yellow eyes and was easily taller than Nocturne, it's face seemed to always be in a permanent scowl, while the eagle was brown and black with green eyes and a confident smirk.

"The school bullies?" Nocturne asked quietly.

Shay nodded and looked at the front row again, this time pointing at the seat closest to the door. "See that owl?" She asked.

Nocturne saw a gray owl reading some kind of book on its desk. "That's Douglas, if you need help searching the library, or with homework, he's the one to go to, he won't do it for you, but he'll help you out to an extent." She advised.

Nocturne looked at Shay. "Thanks." He said.

Shay nodded. "Don't mention it, just be glad you sat here, the desk next to Derick is open." She said, pointing to the eagle.

Nocturne looked again and saw that Shay was right, the desk next to the eagle was vacant, he looked at her. "I take it there aren't many Night Wolf students?" He asked.

Shay gave Nocturne a look of disbelief, her stare remained for a few moments until she blinked. "Nocturne, you are the first Night Wolf student.....ever! that I know of." She replied quietly.

Nocturne went silent as he looked forward blankly, his mind processing this news, he continued to mull it over in his mind as teacher returned and soon resumed the lesson.

_____*the present.*_____

"Shade, why are we talking about a Night Wolf called Nocturne? I asked about you." Nightmare asked.

The Night Wolf in question led her through multiple sidewalks, side alleys, buildings and even an underground train. "If you let me tell you the story, this won't take as long." Shade answered sarcastically.

______*The past, three days after first day of school*______

Nocturne and Sonya walked through the city and soon approached their destination, the national bank, or at least one of them.

Nocturne had gotten used to the school just like Sonya said, and he even managed to avoid Derick and Jonas, the alligator and eagle, and according to the rest of his classmates, they really were the bullies around there.

He had also learned quite a few things about the world, and of his species, and true to what Sonya had said, Night Wolves were in fact a worker race, bordering on slaves.

Sonya had Nocturne stay close as they slowly moved through the line to reach the tellers.

Nocturne looked and noticed about eight groups ahead of theirs, he blinked and looked over his shoulder, seeing that there were two more groups behind them, and about nine groups for the other tellers. "How many people usually come to the banks?" He asked curiously.

Sonya shrugged. "Never bothered to count" she replied easily.

It took several minutes for one group to finish their business, and then it took even longer for another because there was an error in the systems. "How often are there errors?" He asked quietly.

Sonya looked at Nocturne curiously. "Um, never." She replied, worry concealed in her tone.

After the second group finished up, the line moved up, as the third group did their business, Nocturne heard the doors open, he looked curiously and saw five adult sharks, all various species of shark, they were all male and looked hostile just from their expressions, the fact that they wore masks over their faces and had large metal gauntlet type things over their arms didn't help. "Um, Sonya?" He asked.

"Yea?" Sonya asked.

Nocturne tugged at her pant leg and she turned around, she saw what he was talking about and her eyes widened as she looked forward. "Nocturne, don't say anything alright, this is bad but we need to be quiet." She whispered, worry and fear filled her words.

Nocturne nodded and said nothing, though his hands shook from her tone, he closed his eyes and tried to calm down, but a loud crash and bang by the door prevented this.

Everyone in the bank immediately ducked down and looked at the door.

There were two tiger sharks, one hammerhead, and two great whites, one of the tiger sharks had smashed a desk while the other locked the door.

The hammerhead held what appeared to be a rifle of some kind in his hand, it was long and had a huge barrel, it aimed at the room and spoke in a loud distorted voice. "Nobody move!" It ordered.

The great whites immediately began herding the occupants of the bank to an isolated corner of the room. "Cooperate and everyone here gets to live, if you don't, you die." One of the great whites said as it shoved a yak into the corner.

The hammerhead walked to the center of the room and a door burst open near the teller booths, it quickly shot a few rounds on the direction of the door, making large holes in the iron door itself, and the bear that fell down on the ground dead, the shark faced the tiger sharks. "Secure the tellers!" It ordered loudly.

The great whites backed away from the large group of people and aimed their weapons at them. "Keep quiet!" They shouted.

Nocturne held his head with both of his hands and breathed rapidly and loudly, slightly hyperventilating. 

Apparently one of the great whites noticed and aimed it's gun at him. "Hey freak! shut up!" It ordered.

Nocturne felt Sonya place a hand on his shoulder as she spoke. "Please, he's just scared, he can't help it." She pleaded.

Nocturne managed to look at the great white as it smacked Sonya in the face with the butt of its, he heard her scream as she hit the floor hard, Nocturne winced at and his breathing quickened. "Shut up halfbreed! I wasn't talking to you!" It shouted.

Loud footsteps approached Nocturne. "Keep quiet you little freak! or I'll make you!" The shark ordered.

Nocturne watched in paralyzed fear as the shark clearly grew fed up with him and threw a punch towards him with its metal gauntlet.

With a loud scream, Nocturne closed his eyes as the world went white, a few moments passed with Nocturne waiting for the inevitable, but it never came, when he opened his eyes he was looking at the ground and he could hear creaking metal.

Looking up, Nocturne was surprised to see a grown Night Wolf holding the metal arm with one hand, he blinked and the Night Wolf spoke. "I think it's time to end this." He said calmly

In an instant, the metal arm, was disintegrated and the shark screamed in pain before he met the same fate as his arm.

The other great white quickly fired on the Night Wolf, only for the bullets to do nothing as it simply waved its hand and he was vaporized instantly.

The hammerhead and the tiger sharks quickly fired on him, he simply took all of the bullets without even screaming. "Is that all you can do? even your mech arms can't hurt me." The Night Wolf taunted as it slowly walked forward.

The hammerhead quickly threw its gun at the Night Wolf and charged, throwing a punch at him, to Nocturne's surprise he simply punched the arm and the metal arm twisted and caved in to shear strength.

The hammerhead screamed in pain as the metal pierced his body, but his suffering did not last as he was soon disintegrated, the two tiger shark quickly grabbed two of the bank tellers and used them as shields. "Don't even try it you freak!" One of them shouted, fear was plain in his voice as he spoke, the distortion from before was gone.

The Night Wolf blinked and walked forward, clearly not caring about the tellers. "If you kill those tellers nothing will stop me from killing you." He stated calmly. "You cannot kill me, you saw that yourself, your only hope in this instance, is to surrender, after all, you two have killed no one in this bank." He said.

The two sharks looked between themselves and aimed their guns at the Night Wolf. "We'll take our chances." The one on the left said as they unloaded their guns at the Night Wolf.

To Nocturne surprise, none of the bullets touched the older Night Wolf, in fact, he could see piles of ash forming to his sides, they were aiming at the prisoners!

The Night Wolf immediately threw two orbs out, one going for each shark, he walked forward and spoke. "Those orbs will track you down until I tell them to stop, and since you tried to kill innocent people, I won't call them off." He said.

The two sharks tried to throw their meat shields at the orbs to take the hit, but to their shock and horror, the orbs dodged the tellers and rocketed into them, disintegrating them instantly

The Night Wolf looked at the large group and spoke. "It's clear." He said flatly.

With that, everyone started to quickly leave the bank as the authorities arrived.

Nocturne helped Sonya up and looked up at the older Night Wolf. "T-thanks for saving us." He said nervously.

The Night Wolf nodded. "You called me Nocturne, that's why I came." He replied cryptically.

"What?" Nocturne asked out of confusion.

Sonya looked at the older Night Wolf with surprise in her eyes and voice. "Who are you anyway?" She asked.

The Night Wolf looked at Sonya. "I am Shade, I have been called as Nocturne's guardian." He replied.

Sonya blinked and shook her head. "I.....who called you?" She asked out of curiosity.

Shade pointed at Nocturne. "He did." He said simply.

Nocturne quickly shook his head. "No I didn't!" He replied adamantly.

"In your fear, you summoned me to protect you and everyone here." Shade said. "Now, we had best leave, otherwise the authorities may seek to question you, which will lead to a long discussion where you need to have someone higher up explain this......classified circumstance." He stated all knowingly.

Nocturne noticed Sonya's expression became panicked. "How do you?" She was cut off as the police entered the building, when she looked back to Shade, he was gone.

Sonya and Nocturne quickly left the bank as the police searched the area and questioned witnesses, thankfully they had managed to remain unnoticed.

_____*on the way back to the hotel*_____

Sonya and Nocturne were far from the bank by now, and they heard footsteps behind them, Nocturne and Sonya looked back and saw Shade following them. "Stop following us!" Sonya ordered angrily.

Shade simply approached. "I cannot, as I said, Nocturne called me to protect him, which means I am bound to him, besides." He narrowed his eyes at Sonya, her anger subsiding as he spoke. "You have shown that you cannot protect him when he needs it, and with your work, he is alone almost all the time, as such." He was cut off as Sonya held her hand up at him. 

"Fine! I get it, you aren't going anywhere, just get out of here and stop following us before I.......well, I think you know." Sonya stated.

Shade took a breath and looked at Nocturne. "As you wish." He vanished into the ground, became a shadow and merged with Nocturne's.

Nocturne's eyes went wide as he felt a presence in his mind. "Let's get back home." Sonya said.

"Later, we will talk." Shade's voice said.

Nocturne looked at Sonya, she seemed to be distressed and anxious to get back home.

"Is there a reason she is so.....distressed?" Nocturne asked Shade.

When he got no reply, Nocturne was disappointed, but he could feel that Shade had a reason, he couldn't explain how, but he could feel it.

______*the present.*______

Nightmare and Shade left the train and she looked at him. "So, how did you go from cryptic shadow badass, to gloomy asshole in Equestria?" She asked.

Shade motioned her to follow, the station filled with people. "That......is a complicated and long story." He replied.

Nightmare wasn't sure of their destination, but she wanted to hear this story, since Shade never talked about it before, this was probably the only chance she would have to learn about him.

"But before I tell you more......how are things with you guys?" Shade asked.

Nightmare sighed and began to tell Shade of what happened back in Equestria, only leaving out the personal details.
> A shattered heart.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_______*Inside the Void space.*_______

Two eyes opened to reveal golden mist flowing from their sockets in place of eyeballs, the owner of the eyes groaned and placed a clawed hand on her head before rolling to her side, unfortunately for her, she happened to roll off the bed and onto the cold hard floor.

A yelp of pain awoke all of her other senses as she blinked, her eyes changing from golden mist to dark blue eyeballs as she quickly stood up, she looked around at her surroundings and saw a small room with a few beds, lights that could change brightness and multiple medical cabinets.

"I must be in the infirmary." She muttered.

As soon as she talked, Galesh noticed that something was off, she looked at her arms and legs and saw that she was her brown wolf disguise, with a growl, she spoke. "Computer, report." She ordered angrily.

"All systems are functioning at one hundred percent Councilwoman, and I am glad that you are awake." The computer replied.

Galesh walked out of the infirmary and into the hallway connecting it to the main room, she walked towards the main room with annoyance. "Computer, why am I in this body?" She asked.

"Your true form sustained incredible damage madam, this body however has not, as such it was best suited for your needs until your real body fully healed." The computer explained.

Galesh looked around and walked to the center of the room. "Where is Estalli? what happened while I was out?" She asked.

"After your defeat, lady Estalli carried you to the ship and placed you in the infirmary, she stayed behind madam, to learn about Lyaroa." The computer stated.

"WHAT!?" Galesh threw her fist down on the holographic table in front of her and sparks flew as the device broke, she took a few deep breaths as the computer repaired the damage in seconds. "Get on her on comms." She ordered.

After a few seconds, an image appeared over the table, it was Estalli, and she looked concerned. "Mother?" She asked out of disbelief, she regained her composure and spoke. "I'm glad that your awake." She said.

Galesh gave Estalli a cross stare and spoke. "What in the hell are you doing Estalli? I warned you that Lyaroa is dangerous, so you stay behind on your own?" She shook her head. "You had best have a good reason for something so stupid." She muttered.

"Mother I......I know what you told me, and I trust you with my life, but I need to know what she is like, if anything I can at least learn why she won't face justice." She replied.

"Naïve child!" Galesh snapped, making Estalli flinch. "She won't face justice because in her eyes, she wasn't in the wrong! she acted on an instinct in the heat of battle." She sighed. "Despite what she did, I cannot blame her for it, the only one to blame for Huralo's death was himself." 

Estalli looked down in thought as Galesh spoke. "Estalli......if you won't come back, then at least be careful down there, there's only so much I can do to protect you in my current state." She said calmly.

"I'll be careful, just don't take any action against them mother, they tend to fight mainly in self defense." She said before cutting the connection.

Galesh sighed to herself as she walked to a nearby bench and sat down. "Computer, chart a course for-Aaaahhhh!"

Without warning, Galesh felt an incredible amount of intense pain pass through her body, she collapsed to the floor as it enveloped her, it only lasted a few moments, but the after effects lingered, a sharp pain in her chest that wouldn't leave. "Councilwoman?" The computer asked, it's tone indicated concern.

Galesh breathed heavily as she slowly sat back up, she grunted as she leaned against the holographic table. "Computer, run a scan for my family, check for lifesigns." She ordered as she tried to catch her breath.

The computer took a few moments, and then spoke. "There appear to be no new developments, your parents and other relatives are alive or dead, depending on who you ask about." The computer stated.

"My children then." Galesh ordered.

"Estalli and Lyaroa are alive and well madam, Wilhelm is overworking as usual." The computer stated.

Galesh sighed. "What about their children?" She asked curiously.

"Madam, as you know Estalli never had a child, and Wilhelm adopted a child, who is still alive, Lyaroa had two children however, one is a creature known as a Velociraptor, and the other is a young female bat that has arms and legs, both are alive." It explained.

Galesh sighed as she stood up, she stared at the table. "Computer, scan for Anseri." She ordered quietly, her voice had a sad tone.

"Madam......you know as well as I do, that nothing will change the result from last time, little Anseri is either dead, or does not want to be found." It said.

Galesh grit her teeth, knowing the computer was right. "Scan anyway." She ordered.

After a few moments,  the computer replied. "Nothing madam, I cannot locate Anseri, but I can tell you that she is alive." It stated.

"Then she must have had a child, and that child must be dead." Galesh sighed sadly. "Nothing we can do about it right now though, for now set a course for the Karne system." She ordered.

"As you wish madam council woman, but just like you said, there isn't much you can do in your current state." The computer reminded.

Galesh nodded. "I know, but I would rather be close by in case Estalli needs help, I won't lose another daughter if I can avoid it." She said the last part quietly.

______*The world of Oglan, Ashlock city.*______

Nightmare and Shade walked out of the train station and were out in the streets once more, as they walked, Nightmare noticed that there were many different species, but not many Night Wolves. "So Shade, how come there aren't many Night Wolves?" She asked quietly.

Shade looked around as they walked. "My kind were shipped out across the planet as slave labor, we only recently freed ourselves from those shackles and it will be a long time before we can be in one place without fear of death." He explained.

Nightmare watched as a large airship flew over the city, it was very large and had what appeared to be cannons on the underside. "Why do I get the feeling that that airship isn't here for show?" She asked.

Shade chuckled. "You wouldn't be wrong, I caused quite a bit of trouble here in Ashlock, the military doesn't really like me." He said.

Nightmare looked at Shade. "So, what happened next?" She asked.

"As you might recall, Sonya didn't like me one bit, and Nocturne wasn't sure what was going on." He reminded.

_____*some time ago, one day after failed bank robbery.*_____

Nocturne walked through the school to the classroom quietly, he had insisted that he go to school anyway, even though he was still shaken up. 

As he neared the classroom, Nocturne was breathing shakily, and Shade spoke up. 'Perhaps you shouldn't have come, your barely holding it together.' He stated.

Nocturne gulped and stopped walking as the room started to spin. "No, I can't back down now, I came this far." He stated as he took a few deep breaths and the room stopped spinning. 

Once he was feeling better, Nocturne headed to the classroom and walked inside, he walked to his seat and sat down. "Hey Nocturne......you alright?" Shay asked.

Nocturne stiffened, but he calmed down once he remembered who was talking to him. "I......I just need some time to think." He replied quietly.

Shay looked at Nocturne with concern. "Well, if you need to talk, let me know ok?" She said.

Nocturne nodded as the teacher entered the classroom, he started class as normal, allowing Nocturne to focus on something other than the bank robbery.

The class went on normally until it was over, and once it was over the students went to their next classes, Nocturne was silent as he walked to his next class. "Hey Noc!" Shay called out as she walked up to him. "Hey Shay." He replied quietly.

"How are you holding up?" She asked out of concern.

Nocturne looked at Shay and blinked. "I've been better, but I'll be alright." He replied, his voice still somewhat shaky,

While they were busy talking, Nocturne bumped into someone and fell to the ground. "Watch where you're walking freak!" Said an agressive voice.

Nocturne rubbed his head as Shay spoke out angrily. "Don't give us that crap Jonas! you intentionally stood in his way!" She snapped.

"Stay out of this Gearbox!" Jonas shouted as his grabbed Nocturne by his chest, bringing the Night Wolf cub to his feet, so he could stare the eagle straight in his eyes. "You made me drop my stuff freak, pick it up like a good little Night Wolf." He demanded smugly.

Nocturne managed to force Jonas off and glared at him. "No." He stated defiantly.

Jonas smirked. "Since when can a Night Wolf say no?....then again, when is a Night Wolf ever a kid? you really are a freak! even for your race!" He taunted as he grabbed Nocturne again with an even stronger grip.

Shay's left hand balled into a fist and it trembled violently. "Let him go Jonas." She demanded.

Jonas looked at Shay and then at Nocturne. "What, you have to let your girlfriend fight for you? or are you too scared because of the robbery?" He asked snidely, his grin was vicious.

"We're just friends Jonas, now let me go already!" Nocturne snapped.

Before the situation could escalate any further, a large pair of hands forced Nocturne and Jonas apart. "Break it up you two!" Demanded the teacher.

The teacher in question was Grell, a large rhino who was also the school coach, he was known for his strict nature, and his hatred of senseless violence. "Jonas, get to practice now! your already on thin ice!" He ordered.

The eagle grunted and walked off without a word, leaving Nocturne and Shay with Grell. "Get to class you two, before you run late." He ordered, and just as quickly, the two hurried to class.

After they were in history class and sitting down, Nocturne worked hard to calm down. 'Why did you stop me?' Shade asked.

"Because Jonas isnt worth it, he's just a bully." Nocturne replied mentally.

The teacher spoke soon after she finished writing down some words on the blackboard. "Today's lesson is on the fourteenth dynasty, when Lo Wind the last Emperor of Oglan ruled." The teacher stated. [1]

______*after school.*______

Both Nocturne and Shay sat outside the school, waiting on their rides home, and they were passing time their own way. 

"Favorite color?" Nocturne asked. 

"Already told you buddy, yellow." Shay replied.

Nocturne tapped his chin. "Favorite food?" He asked, knowing he was out of ideas. 

Shay looked at Nocturne with a serious expression. "Blood." She stated creepily.

At this, Nocturne stiffened, but quickly calmed down. "Yea, crappy question." He muttered.

Shay put her arms behind her head as she lay in the grass. "I got one for you." She stated.

"Oh yea, what?" Nocturne asked.

Shay looked at Nocturne. "What do you think about Night Wolves?......other ones, not you." She asked seriously.

Nocturne stiffened instantly, Shay was usually careful about that topic around him, with a deep breath, Nocturne answered. "I'm......not sure what to think about them." He replied honestly. "I haven't known many of them, we don't really have family, since we're made and not born." He continued. "If i'm being honest here? I don't think it matters what I think." He said finally.

Shay sighed and say up. "Well, doesn't seem like my parents are showing up, I'll just walk back." She said.

Nocturne stood up. "Guess I should do the same, but isn't it dangerous in the city when your alone?" He asked.

Shay tapped her head. "Not when you have shortcuts like mine." She grinned. "Come on, I'll show you one." She offered as she walked.

Nocturne began following Shay away from the school. 'This is a bad idea.' Shade said.

'Its better than sitting around.' Nocturne countered.

The two classmates walked together as they neared the city.

______*some time later*______

Shay and Nocturne walked out from a small wooden hut in an alley and found themselves near Sonya's apartment. "This is my favorite shortcut, it takes me very close to home, it's a secret but I figured you deserved to know." She stated.

Nocturne walked out onto the street with Shay, and he spotted Caravan heights. "Oh hey, that's where I live." He stated as he pointed at the building.

Shay blinked. "Huh, small world." She muttered.

"You live there too?" Nocturne asked.

Shay shrugged. "Meh, I sneak out all the time, a hotel is cramped and boring, at least outside I can be myself more freely." She replied.

Nocturne smiled and walked quickly, he checked both sides of the street before quickly running across with Shay, the two friends walked to the hotel and talked. "Have you ever considered that maybe you need to fight back more often?" Shay asked.

With a sigh, Nocturne answered. "I can't, if a Night Wolf attacks someone, that's grounds to be killed." He replied grimly. 

Shay watched as Nocturne kicked a can on the sidewalk. "So that explains why you didn't hit Jonas." She muttered.

As they reached the hotel, the two of them started to walk to their respective apartments. "Where is everyone?" Nocturne wondered, as the hotel was oddly empty.

Shay looked around curiously, there was trash littered about, belongings all over the floor, and even some hats and jackets on the floor.

"I don't know." She said quietly.

Nocturne shrugged. "Oh well, I'll be right back." He said as he walked down the stairs that led to the basement.

"What are you doing?" Shay asked.

Nocturne pointed downstairs. "The lost and found container is down there, anyone can take anything from it." He said as he walked down the steps.

Shrugging, Shay followed her friend down the stairs. "You go down here a lot?" She asked.

"I check down here every other day." Nocturne replied easily.

The two of them quickly found the lost and found container, and Nocturne sifted through it.

As the Night Wolf looked through the lost and found, Shay spotted something. "Hold on." She said, she reached her hand in and pulled out an expensive looking camera. "Ooh, nice." She grinned as she examined it.

Nocturne then spotted something that caught his eye, he grabbed it and pulled out a cool looking black jacket with dark gray fur trim, the best part was that it was his size. "This is definitely mine." He said as he held it in his right hand.

With their new possessions in hand, Shay and Nocturne walked back upstairs.

Seeking a topic for discussion, Nocturne looked at Shay's camera "How's the camera?" He asked.

"It's missing a few parts, but I actually have some of those, it shouldn't be hard to find what I need." Shay replied.

As they reached the second floor, Shay quickly walked to the third door on the left and tried to open it, but to her dismay, it was locked. "Great." She muttered.

Nocturne blinked. "If you want, you can hang out with me until your parents get back?" He offered.

Shay sighed and then nodded. "Alright, let's go then." She replied as she followed her friend.

Nocturne and Shay stepped onto the third floor, where he lived, they walked down the long hallway and neared Nocturne's apartment.

For some reason, a very foul smell filled the air making Nocturne and Shay cover their noses, as well as fight the urge to gag.

Nocturne walked to his apartment with Shay following, as they neared the apartment, they saw that the door was destroyed.

In a worried panic, Nocturne lowered his arm and charged into the apartment, the entire place was trashed and a few windows were broken or cracked.

Shay entered the apartment and blinked. "Wow, nice lifestyle." She commented dryly.

"What is that smell?" Nocturne asked as he looked around, seeing no sign of anything that could cause the horrid smell.

Shay walked in cautiously, being careful not to step on anything, or at least nothing that wasn't broken. "Maybe a different room?" She suggested.

Nocturne nodded and walked to the bathroom, he slowly opened the door and peeked inside, there were signs of a struggle in there, as was evident by the smashed mirror.

Otherwise the bathroom was intact, Nocturne slowly moved to the bedroom and held his nose as he neared the door, as the smell was very potent near the door.

Shay stood behind Nocturne, who gulped and gripped the doorknob, with a shaky breath, Nocturne opened the door and his eyes widened at the sight behind the door.

Nocturne and Shay screamed in terror at the sight of Sonya's broken and lifeless body, her head was bloodied and her tail was cracked, her face was one of fear as her once life filled eyes stared blankly at the ceiling.

_______*later that day.*_______

Nocturne blinked as he sat on the bench outside the hotel, the police were here in force as they examined the crime scene and interrogated witnesses, who were locked in various rooms in the hotel.

A detective finished speaking to another officer as a gurney transported bodies to the medical examiners vehicle, he looked and saw Nocturne frozen in shock on a nearby bench with Shay, he walked over to speak to him.

"Hey......you alright?" Asked the detective when he got closer.

Nocturne looked up at the owner of the voice, it was an alligator wearing the traditional blue garb of the force. "No.....I'm not, she cared about me, took me in when no one else would." His hands shook as he spoke. "Look kid, I know your in pain, I understand that, but I need to know what happened." The detective stated calmly.

With a deep breath and a few gulps to keep vomit down, Nocturne answered. "Shay's family didn't show up to take her home, but me?.......I waited a pretty long time for Sonya, but she never showed."  He shivered.

"We went home on foot after a while, when we got inside there was no one around, at first I thought that maybe it was just a quiet day, so I went downstairs to look through the lost and found like I usually do, after that, we went upstairs." 

Nocturne took a breath and continued. "Shay couldn't get in because the door was locked, so we went to the apartment I stayed in, there was a horrible smell coming from the apartment but we pushed past it, we went looking for the source and that's when we saw......." At this, Nocturne drew a blank and he retreated to his own mind.

Shay placed a hand on Nocturne's shoulder. "We saw her dead on the floor." She looked at the detective. "We need to be alone right now." She stated, her hands trembling and her voice cracking.

With a sigh, the detective wrote something down on a tablet and looked at the kids. "Is there someone you want me to call?" He asked.

Shay looked at Nocturne who was still frozen in fear. "My parents, last name Greenfield, first names are Doug and Judy." She said as she tried to comfort Nocturne.

"It's going to take time, but he will heal eventually." Said a male voice from behind them.

Shay looked in the direction of the voice and saw a tall Night Wolf with gray fur and red eyes. "Who are you?" She asked as she clutched Nocturne protectively.

"My name is Shade, and I'm Nocturne's protector." He stated as he walked around the bench and kneeled down. "Nocturne, what are you thinking right now?" He asked.

With a slow turn of his head, Nocturne looked at Shade. "Why didn't you protect her?" He asked, with a hint of anger in his voice.

Shade placed a hand on Nocturne's knee. "I am bound to you, I can't go far from you." He then stood up. "We can't stay here anymore Nocturne, with Sonya gone, there is nothing stopping the government from going after you." He stated.

"You could stay the night at my place?" Shay offered. "My parents won't mind that." She added.

Nocturne nodded slowly. "Yea.........ok." He replied blankly.

Shade looked at Shay. "You do realize that Nocturne is technically an illegal experiment? if you are found with him in your apartment, it could spell disaster." He said.

"Unless you plan on living on the street, I suggest you listened to me." Shay replied.

Shade blinked and then chuckled. "Even with everything going on, your still holding it together, fine, I agree." He relented.

Shay let out a sigh of relief, but when she looked up Shade was gone. "Where did he go?" She asked curiously.

"He's my shadow." Nocturne said blankly as they looked at his shadow, it was Nocturne's size, but it looked like Shade. 

Shay blinked. 'How did I never notice that?' She wondered.

Soon, Shay's parents showed up and they both were extremely concerned. "Shay! are you alright?" Judy asked.

Judy was a lion just like Shay, the only difference was that she was more of a pale yellow where Shay was more of a pale orange close to her fathers color, her eyes were brown.

Doug was large and his mane was thick and brown, he was orange and had green eyes. "I'm fine Mom." Shay said as she held Nocturne's hand in an attempt to comfort him. 

"And who's this then?" Doug asked.

"Nocturne, he's a friend from school." Shay answered.

As if coming out of a trance, Nocturne stiffened and let out a breath. "I lived here with Sonya before she......" He stopped himself before he put himself into another state of shock.

Judy knelt down and looked at Nocturne's eyes, she examined them closely and sighed, she then whispered something to Doug.

Shay watched with concern as her parents spoke quietly, they soon looked at the kids. "Nocturne, do you have anyone to take care of you?" Doug asked.

Nocturne shook his head. "Not anymore." He replied. 

'What am i? chopped liver or something?' Shade asked mentally.

"Well, you can stay the night I suppose." Doug said. 

Shay stood up and sighed. "Why can't we just let him stay? one night won't be enough time for him to recover." She said, her voice had an annoyed tone to it.

"It's fine, thanks." Nocturne said quietly.

______*later that day, 11:00 PM*_______

Nocturne stood by the window of the apartment, his mind was a complete mess as he stared outside. 

'Nocturne, I'm sorry about Sonya, I know how much you cared about her.' Shade said.

With a sigh, Nocturne turned around and walked to the couch. 'Shade, I want you to promise me something.' He replied.

Shade appeared as an image in the nearby mirror. "What is it?" He asked quietly.

Nocturne looked at Shade with a fire in his eyes. "I want you to help me find the person who did this, and we will make them pay." He replied angrily.

"Are you sure about this?" Shade asked quietly. "Your safety is more important, and this will take you on a dangerous path." He added.

Nocturne growled. "Sonya was one of the few people I cared about, and now she's gone, her killer is still out there, and I will find him, with or without you." He replied.

Shade disappeared from the mirror. 'Then I will help you, but this won't end well for you.' He said grimly.

Unbeknownst to Shade or Nocturne, Shay had seen the entire thing, she sighed to herself and sat on her bed, she rubbed her eyes. "What have you gotten yourself into this time?" She asked herself quietly.

_______*Ashlock City, present day.*_______

Shade walked with Nightmare into an alleyway, he stopped near a peculiarly colored wall and looked around for anyone watching. "Keep an eye out." He said.

Nightmare kept watch as Shade tapped the wall, a small hiss was heard and Shade spoke. "Come on." He said.

Walking through the now open secret passage, Nightmare followed Shade as he led her through a strange series of pathways leading down, soon though, they reached a wooden door with a yellow omega symbol and a purple moon just above it.

Shade knocked on the door seven times, five in a row, and then two three seconds later.

The door opened ever so slightly and a distorted voice replied. "Name?" It asked.

"Shade." Replied the Night Wolf with a knowing smile.

The door closed and then five seconds later, it opened and a small pale yellow cheetah girl that was a foot shorter than Shade stood, she was wearing blue jeans and a gray shirt, her eyes were a dark blue and she was grinning.

To Nightmare's surprise, the cheetah jumped up at Shade and kissed him, when she was done, she spoke. "Welcome home." She said.

The cheetah saw Nightmare and blinked, she then looked at Shade after getting down. "Who's this?" She asked with fake jealousy.

Shade rolled his eyes and chuckled. "This is Nightmare, a friend of mine, Nightmare this is Amelia, my girlfriend." He introduced.

Nightmare looked at Shade in disbelief. "Didn't know you had it in you buddy." She commented.

"Let's not leave the door open, come on in." Amelia said as she walked through the open door.

Nightmare followed Shade and whistled in amazement.

They were in what appeared to be some kind of underground civilization, or at least part of it, the room they were in now was some kind of observation deck. "Whoa." Nightmare said as she approached the glass.

Looking down at the underground city was breathtaking, the lights of the city shined dimly giving it a very beautiful appearance, and on the streets there were many Night Wolves but few of other species. "Really is something ain't it?" Amelia asked.

Nightmare nodded. "It's amazing." She replied.

"It took us four years to carve the caves out and put up the proper supports, and then three years to build the city to what it is now." Shade replied.

"Wait, three years? that doesn't seem possible." Nightmare replied.

Shade chuckled. "It is when we have technology and stolen resources, remember Nightmare, we aren't exactly welcome on the surface." He said as he walked to the door to head to the city. "Hey Amy, where's Nocturne?" He asked.

"He's at home, probably making out or being lovey dovey with his girlfriend." She replied, winking at Shade.

Nightmare and Shade walked through the door and headed to the city. "So, when did you meet Amelia?" Nightmare asked.

"A month after I got back, she's sort of the guardian of the secret entrance." Shade replied.

Nightmare nodded. "It seems like things worked out for you all here, or am I wrong?" She asked.

Shade chuckled. "Things have worked out here, hell I can't even remember what the actual reason was for me not coming back." He replied jokingly.

As they walked in silence, Nightmare had one more question. "How long has it been since we seperated?" She asked curiously.

"Eight years." Shade replied. 

Nightmare stopped. "That's not good." She said quietly.

Shade stopped walking and looked at Nightmare. "What's wrong?" He asked.

Nightmare sighed. "It's been around twenty four for us." She replied.

Shade blinked and shrugged. "It's just a time difference, Lyaroa will notice sooner or later." He said calmly.

Nightmare followed Shade. "That's assuming Lyaroa isn't still traumatized." She whispered.

The two walked until they were in the city, at which point Shade spoke. "Welcome to Alabaster, second city of the Night Wolf Confederation." He stated.

Nightmare and Shade walked through the streets, and as they walked, Shade was welcomed back by many of the people, but one thing that she did notice was that there were no foxes, but there was just about everything else.

"So uh Shade, are there any foxes on this world?" Nightmare asked.

Shade shook his head. "Nope, that's one of the reasons why your getting confused glances." He replied.

The two walked for a while, Nightmare was taking in the sights of the city, there were many shops or restaurants, and even a bunch of apartments and houses, there were business buildings and what appeared to be an arcade. 

"So where are we going exactly?" Nightmare asked.

Shade stopped and picked up a newspaper. "We are going to see Nocturne." He replied.

Nightmare followed Shade as he read the paper and walked, to her surprise he didn't hit anything on the sidewalk and he was easily staying out of other people's way, as though he did it commonly.

It didn't take long before Shade stopped at a walled off house, it was a two story house, with brown walls, what appeared to be a window a room at least and a black front door, the yard was well kept and the grass was green, given life by the artificial sun at the top of the vast cavern.

"Nocturne's place." Shade said as he walked to the front door, pushing the gate open.

Nightmare followed and Shade rang the doorbell.

Around ten to eighteen seconds later, a brown Night Wolf with orange eyes opened the door, he wore a purple hoodie and had dark blue pants on, he was easily two feet shorter than Shade and seemed much more.......alive, then other Night Wolves. "Hey Shade." He said, he stepped aside and let them come inside.

"Who's your friend?" The Night Wolf asked.

Nightmare sighed. "I'm Nightmare, and you?" She asked.

The Night Wolf walked over to a blue chair and sat down. "I'm Nocturne." He then pointed at the sleeping lion on the dark green couch. "That's Shay." He continued.

"I was telling Nightmare here our story." Shade stated as he leaned against a wall.

Nocturne scoffed. "Which part? the bad one or the bad one?" He asked.

"I left off on the promise I made to you, to find Sonya's killer." Shade replied.

Nocturne sighed and rubbed his eyes. "That.......was a tough time." He said quietly.
> Realization.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_______*Ponyville, 3:00 PM, Lyaroa's house.*_______

Lyaroa paced back and forth in her living room, she stared at the wall angrily before waving her hand.

The wall then shifted and became a large room with a table and chairs, as well as some cabinets and shelves. "Have you ever considered that you shouldn't try to replicate things exactly?" Asked a voice.

Lyaroa sighed and looked at the source of the voice. "Sorry Rox, but I'm trying to decide on whether or not I want it to be calming or welcoming, I loved my old place but it lacked charm, I like this place but it doesn't feel like home." She replied.

Roxanne nodded and walked over to Lyaroa who looked at the wall again, she placed her hands around Lyaroa's head and made the Sentinel look at her. "You know what I think Migraine? I think your lonely." She said softly.

Lyaroa scoffed and tapped her head. "Yea right, I see the Web of Life all the time, it's hard to be alone." She stated with annoyance.

Roxanne leaned in and kissed Lyaroa on the lips, while the Sentinel was surprised, she didn't fight it, after they stopped, she placed her hands behind her head. "You know what I mean, you miss living with people, having us living here brought life to this place." Roxanne said.

Lyaroa sighed and crossed her arms before walking to one of the chairs. "Yea, that's true I suppose." She looked at Roxanne. "I guess I miss the passion we had back then." 

Roxanne grinned and walked over. "We HAD?.......well I never lost it Migraine, maybe we need to reignite your fire?" She suggested.

Lyaroa rolled her eyes and sat down. "Not right now, I've got things I need to do." She replied.

Roxanne knelt down next to Lyaroa and looked at her with a soft expression. "What's really bothering you?" She asked quietly.

Lyaroa looked at Roxanne with an annoyed expression. "First, don't talk to me like I'm a child, second.......I'm not sure." She stood up and looked at the photo on the mantelpiece, it was of Lyaroa, Fang and Roxanne, back in the other world. "I guess mothe......Gelesh got to me." She replied.

Roxanne walked up in front of Lyaroa, she gave the Sentinel a hug and spoke. "Stop worrying about every single thing, the only thing you are going to do is stress yourself out." She said.

Lyaroa took a breath and gently returned the hug. "Well I-" She sighed. "Just, thanks I guess." 

They broke up the hug and Lyaroa took a breath. "Alright, let's do this." She said as she snapped her fingers.

All entrances and view ports into the house sealed and a bright purple sphere of light appeared in the center of the room. "First order of business." Lyaroa stated. "Let's get Garth back." 

Roxanne watched in amazement as Lyaroa put her hands into the sphere and closed her eyes, she watched as power flowed from Lyaroa's arms and into the sphere, it was like this for a minute until Lyaroa pulled her arms out, holding a very familiar Changeling. 

In a flash, Garth was transported someplace else, and Lyaroa looked at Roxanne. "Next order of business, Umbrea." She stated.

"Why are you asking me?" Roxanne asked.

Lyaroa sighed. "Because I need to know how you feel about this, if I bring Umbrea back......should she keep the memory of what happened? or should I erase it?" She asked.

Roxanne crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. "You know I'm not the right person to ask, Night Frenzy is." She reminded the Sentinel.

Lyaroa nodded, she was about to look at the sphere when she paused. "That's odd." She muttered.

"What is It?" Roxanne asked.

Lyaroa blinked and waved her hand. "I don't know how, but Nightmare is in Shade's world!" She stated as a projection of Nightmare appeared inside a house with Shade and two others. 

"Can we talk to her?" Roxanne asked.

Lyaroa shook her head. "Not a good idea, I don't have full control just yet, I could accidentally blow up the house." She stated.

Roxanne looked at Lyaroa. "And you used that power to bring Garth back?" She asked with disbelief.

"Different energy, different control, give me some time, for now Nightmare is on her own." Lyaroa dismissed the projection.

"Well what about?-" Roxanne's question was cut off as the door opened, in spite of the seals. "Can this wait Estalli?" Lyaroa asked with a growl.

Estalli blinked, she remained frozen fora moment until she saw that the lights were dim, and that the two of them were alone in a sealed house. "Am I interrupting something private?" She asked non invasively.

"No." Said Roxanne "Yes." Said Lyaroa at the same time.

Lyaroa groaned. "What is it Estalli?" She asked.

"I uh.....I wanted to ask you something." Estalli said.

Lyaroa crossed her arms. "I'm all ears." She stated.

"Why is it you won't go home?" Estalli asked.

Silence then dominated the room, it was silent enough that a blunt pin could pierce it.

Lyaroa took a shaky breath and walked over to a chair that she summoned, after sitting down she spoke. "Estalli, im certain you know the answer." She said as she looked at the Sentinel.

Roxanne sat down and motioned Estalli to do the same. "Is it just your mother? or something else?" Roxanne asked.

Lyaroa tensed up instantly, but her expression changed to anger as she stood up. "SHE IS NOT MY MOTHER!" She snapped angrily, her anger caused all the windows to explode and made the floor tear itself up along with the walls and ceiling, the furniture was torn apart but Roxanne was left unharmed as Estalli raised a shield.

Estalli's eyes widened in shock as Lyaroa breathed heavily, her body sparking with golden lightning. "Your an Empath?" She asked in amazement.

Lyaroa looked at Estalli and grunted.

Roxanne raised an eyebrow as she recovered from the blast. "What does reading emotions have to do with anything?" She asked.

Lyaroa took a deep breath and spoke. "Empath's are different for Sentinel's, our power tends to be deeply connected to our emotional state, as such it's unstable." She answered as she calmed down, the sparks vanished soon after.

"To answer your question Estalli, The Forge isn't my home anymore, it hasn't been for most of my life, if I go back there I'm dead, that's why I'm here in exile." Lyaroa said before repairing the damage.

Estalli stood up and looked at Lyaroa, watching as she fixed everything back up, no detail left out. "Lyaroa.....I know you won't forgive her, but in the years I've lived, mother has talked about you a lot, she won't admit it but she does miss you." She stated before leaving.

After Estalli left and the repairs were complete, Lyaroa looked at Roxanne who had stood up. "You know, I think your right Roxie, people do make this place more lively." She stated.

Roxanne nodded and leaned against the nearby wall. "You know, Night Frenzy has been talking about moving out of our parents old house, and we do need the extra room for Firefly." She said.

Lyaroa smiled. "Your always welcome here, you know that." She replied.

Roxanne smirked and rubbed Lyaroa's cheek gently. "I know Migraine." She whispered before walking to the front door.

______*later, 7:54 PM.*______

Lyaroa walked to the Hall of Hallways, one hall leading to several more, which lead to various places and rooms of varying uses, she examined the numbers on the doors. 

"Let's see, C Three,  R Four, K Five, ah, X Zero." She said, teleporting between doors.

Lyaroa grabbed the doorknob and turned it, she pushed the door open and was greeted by a metallic room flashing in an orangeish warning light.

She blinked and went to close the door when she heard a roar from inside.

Lyaroa raised an eyebrow and looked closely at the large room with ramps and walls, she soon spotted a tall humanoid creature with flesh colored skin, two short arms, and two long legs as well as two long limbs protruding from its back and ending in a lethal blade, it's eyes were sockets and it spotted her.

The creature roared and charged violently at Lyaroa before the door got slammed in its face. "NO, NO.....definitely not." She quickly stated as she waved her hand, the door changed from X Zero to X Six.

Lyaroa soon found the real X Zero and opened the door, on the other side was a canyon with two very tall stalagmites  standing proud in the distance, under them was a city that Lyaroa was familiar with. 

"Alright old friend, time for a wake up call." Lyaroa said as she closed the door, she waved her hand and some of her power went away.

Lyaroa then teleported to her room and looked out at the night sky, her face was one of thought. 'I doubt that Gelesh actually cares, she probably doesn't want anything to make her look like the bad guy, but if that's not the case.......NO! she left me to be tortured for six thousand years, I'm not forgiving that.' She stated mentally.

She sighed. "I guess we'll never see eye to eye again mothe......Galesh." She muttered.

_______*Meanwhile*________

Unbeknownst to Lyaroa, Galesh stood on her ship staring down at Equis. "No we won't, daughter." She said to herself.

She blinked and then looked at her body. "It will still be some time before your body is fully restored madam, you should try to get some sleep." The computer said.

"Computer, play the last recording." Galesh ordered quietly as she sat down against the wall.

"Beginning playback." The computer replied.

On the holographic table, an image of Anseri, appeared, she was smiling happily, her tiger form very recognizable. "Hi Mommy!" Her innocent voice called out.

Galesh let out a rare smile as she watched the video. "I can't wait for you to get back home! Lyaroa is being a grump again and Daddy is quiet as usual." She said with a fake pout. 

"I think I've gotten the hang of this shapeshifting thing though, big sis is a really good teacher when she tries." Anseri stated.

Galesh watched as her daughter looked back and saw Lyaroa walk around in the camera view. "Hey big sis, want to say anything to mom?" She asked.

Lyaroa looked very tired and walked over. "Uh......hi." She said awkwardly. 

"Are you camera shy Lyaroa?" Anseri asked teasingly.

Lyaroa grunted and ruffled her sisters hair. "No, just tired." She replied. "So uh, mom......dads been very quiet lately, which isn't like him at all." She said. "I hope he's alright." She shook her head.

"I'm just going to go to bed." She said immediately.

Anseri looked at the camera and spoke. "Speaking of, I should have been asleep hours ago, see you when you get home mommy!" She waved goodbye before shutting off the camera.

Galesh sighed to herself as she looked out the viewport to Equis. "I get why Lyaroa likes this world, it's quiet." She rested her head on the wall. 

"Madam?" The computer asked.

Galesh looked at her hand and then closed her eyes. "Activate all defensive measures and turn cloaking to maximum, shut down non essential systems to save power." She ordered.

"As you wish." The computer complied.

Galesh opened her eyes and stared at the planet her wayward daughter called home, she looked up at the ceiling and closed her eyes once again, drifting off to sleep.

"What am I going to do with you?" She muttered to herself before finally falling asleep.
> The hive was home.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_______*years ago, Queen Phera's hive.*______

The two young Changeling Females were inside the den that had been given to them, the first one to be hatched had yellow eyes and a pale green carapace along with matching hair and tail colors, the second one had blue eyes and dark green hair and carapace.

It wasn't very big, only two rooms, they were living in the more densely populated area of the hive.

Right now however, the two sisters were sitting down and listening to a larger Changeling. "These are your quarters, you sleep and live here, as well as eat." He explained. "Do you understand?" He asked.

With a confirmed nod, the Changeling continued to speak. "The Queen will decide your names tommorow, but she has asked me to explain a few things to you." He stated. 

"Most Changeling's are male, Females are rarely birthed, as they tend to be stronger in magic due to their emotions." He continued.

"But do not allow this knowledge to go to your head, arrogance gets one in more trouble than it's worth." The Changeling stated before bowing its head and leaving.

Afterwards, the two sisters decided to look around, the furniture was sparse, a couch, a table and two chairs, there was a small bookcase and a few books on it, and in the next room was a bed, a small desk and a lamp. "So uh, what should we do to pass the time?" Asked one of the sisters.

"I don't know, I'm thinking of just going to sleep and seeing where that takes us." The other sister replied as she walked into the bedroom.

______*the next day.*______

The two sisters walked with Queen Phera as she deliberated on the names for the sisters, they were inside what was called the archive.

It was a very big chamber in which books, scrolls and even arcane tomes were stored along with artifacts and a room for rituals, where they were going right now., but only the Manti or the Queen may read them, as well as any given permission.

Earlier in the day, the blue eyed Changeling had taken the same test as her yellow eyed sister, and she had resonated with the sharp object, which the Queen seemed intrigued about.

Soon enough, Queen Phera brought the Sisters into the ritual room and urged them to take places on stone slabs, it was different from the rest, where the rest of the hive seemed to be shaped based on necessity, this room looked to be intricately carved, at least compared to the rest of the hive.

The ritual room was dark, it had a large rune in the center along with stone slabs on the floor, Queen Phera stood in front of the sisters and spoke. "I have thought on names for the two of you." She looked at the yellow eyed Changeling. "You will be Skitter Firefang." She stated.

She then looked at the blue eyed Changeling. "And you will be Sapphire Bladewing." She said.

Queen Phera then walked to the center of the room and lit her horn. "Now I shall give you the blessing of the hive, allowing you to hear and feel the hive mind that connects us, you shall also be granted full access to your powers, without the normal limiters or the connection to your emotions." She explained as the rune lit up in a bright green glow.

The stone slabs that Skitter and Sapphire stood on soon shined with the color of their eyes, and then two beams of light erupted from their horns and merged with Queen Phera's. "What's going on?" Sapphire asked nervously.

"Do not be afraid young one, you are simply connecting to the hive mind, you may feel a flood of thoughts at first, but I shall help to ease the process." The Queen said reassuringly.

In but a moment, all the lights in the room went out, and the sisters were barraged with thousands of thoughts at once, all swarming and overwhelming their minds.

Skitter quickly dropped to the ground and screamed in pain, Sapphire soon followed as Phera spoke over the voices. "Concentrate young ones! you must not fight the hive mind, calm your minds and simply listen." She instructed.

Not seeing a better option, Skitter did as she was told, it took around five minutes but sure enough the Queens instructions worked.

Skitter took a few deep breaths and looked over at Sapphire, who slowly stood up, she grunted and forced herself to stand up.

"Well done, the merge was successful, welcome to the hive mind young ones." Queen Phera said as she lit the lanterns in the room.

With the room now lit up again, Skitter looked at the Queen. "What do we do now?" She asked curiously.

Queen Phera looked at Skitter. "Now I shall send you to where you need to go, do not worry, more will be explained shortly." She said as she lit her horn and teleported the two sisters away.

_______*elsewhere in the hive.*_______

Skitter gasped in shock as she was suddenly in a large chamber filled with Changeling's, they seemed to be fighting for some reason, while others were doing some exercises, she looked around and saw that Sapphire wasn't with her.

"Good, your on schedule." Said a gruff male voice.

Skitter looked in the direction of the voice and saw a large Changeling that had a broken horn, tattered wings and only one eye, he was quite terrifying. "Follow me." He ordered.

The large Changeling started walking and Skitter gulped, but she followed all the same, they went through a large door and entered a smaller chamber with young Changeling's like Skitter, the instructors were busy teaching them things ranging from basic combat to alchemy.

They continued walking until they reached the more quiet part of the room, where a male Changeling with only one hole in its legs stood, watching over its students as they practiced magic, there were only seven students which surprised Skitter, as the other teachers had at least twenty each.

The smaller Changeling had a black carapace and looked much older than the larger Changeling, his eyes were green and he seemed to notice the two, he walked over. "Andromadas, this is your new student, Skitter Firefang." Said the larger Changeling.

Andromadas looked at Skitter and nodded. "Yes, I can see that, come on then girl, I need to test your abilities." He stated.

Skitter followed the instructor and he presented a small wooden block. "First things first, I will teach you the most basic of magic, it may take days or even weeks, so do not rush it." He stated.

"Now, to actually use magic, you must have focus and concentration, so let's see you try to light your horn." He said. "Try to feel the magic within, tap into it, and focus it until it only has one place to go." He explained.

Skitter listened to his instructions, and attempted to use her magic, but she was completely unable to do so, she sighed in disappointment. "It's alright, no one gets it their first time." Andromadas stated.

"Try again, and when you have done it, I will speak to you again." The old Changeling said before turning his attention to his other students.

Skitter tried once again, and once again she failed, and she tried again, and again, and again, this went on for hours.

Soon enough, Skitter growled and felt her aggravation driving her, she grit her teeth and focused hard on sending the energy to her horn, she felt it bubbling at the surface but it wouldn't comply, so she decided on a different tactic.

Skitter then sent the energy somewhere else, she focused hard on its destination and sure enough, her hooves were lit up by a red aura, she took a few deep breaths as she heard someone walking over. "Interesting, instead of sending magic to the horn and powering through the mental block, you sent it to another place entirely." Andromadas chuckled. "I applaud your innovation young one." He stated.

Skitter allowed the energy to dissipate as she silently celebrated her small victory. "Now then, let's start with the next lesson." The instructor said calmly.

______*hours later, Skitter and Sapphire's den.*______

Skitter panted as she laid on the bed, comepletly exhausted from the magical exertion. "Where were you?" Sapphire asked, her voice was calm but Skitter could feel the worry eminating from her sister. 

"I was in training chamber one, you?" She asked curiously.

Sapphire sighed and sat down on the bed. "Training chamber two." She replied as she rubbed her shoulder. "Those exercises are painful." She stated.

Skitter rolled over on the bed. "My training was magic based, I'm comepletely burnt out." She said as she closed her eyes.

"If today was this bad, what's tomorrow going to be like?" Sapphire asked.

Skitter groaned. "I really don't want to know." She said.

______*two months later*______

The day's blended together for the sisters, they would eat, they would train physically, they would learn magic and every few days they had days off to rest, where they practiced flight sometimes.

By the end of the second month, the sisters knew the hives layout, they also expanded their den by one room, it had taken a month and a half but it was done, the original bedroom was cut down a little, but that was fine.

Today though, Queen Phera had wanted to talk to them about something important, but she said it had to be done in person.

Skitter and Sapphire approached the throne and kneeled. "Leave us." The Queen said.

Soon, all the other Changeling's left the throne room and it was just the sisters and the Queen. "You may stand young ones, we have something to talk about." She stated.

Skitter stood up and looked at the Queen. "I know you have been wondering why I conducted that test on the day you hatched, and the day after for you Sapphire." Phera said as she walked to a small pedestal near the throne.

On the pedestal was the tray from the test. "These items are special, they are enchanted with a unique spell that chooses one to resonate with it." 

"We use these items to determine ones role, Sapphire resonated with the blade, which means she will be warrior for the hive." She then looked at Skitter. "The sundial has not chosen a Changeling in a long time young one, as such, I am not sure what your destiny is." Phera stated.

Skitter blinked. "What do you mean by that?" She asked with genuine curiosity. 

Queen Phera sat down on the throne once more. "With the other four objects, I am able to accurately predict the path the Changeling will take, but with the sundial, the Changeling's fate is unreadable, you are not bound to a fate, and are able to choose your own path." She explained.

Skitter looked at the floor in thought as the Queen spoke again. "You should not dwell on this news, many have been driven to madness attempting to discover their fate, now go." She ordered.

The sisters complied and left the throne room, allowing the other Changeling's to go inside.

After the twenty minute walk back home, Skitter sat down on the couch and looked at her sister who seemed to be radiating confusion and....jealously? "What's going on with you?" Skitter asked with worry.

Sapphire didn't seem to care that Skitter was worried. "You want to know so badly? read my mind." She said with irritation.

Skitter felt the anger from her sister slam into her, she sighed. "You know I won't, we have an agreement." She said, reminding Sapphire of their promise.

They had sworn that unless absolutely necessary, they would not read each other's minds, at least not for personal business. "So please tell me, what's wrong?" Skitter asked again.

"Why are you so special?" Sapphire asked with anger.

Skitter flinched as she felt another wave of anger wash over her. "What?" She asked out of shock.

Sapphire looked away and huffed. "We shared a pod, why do you get to choose your own path when I had mine chosen for me!?" She snapped.

Skitter stood up and looked at her sister who refused to look at her. "I didn't exactly have a choice!" She stated firmly. "Neither did you Sapphire, so don't hate me for something I had no control over." She added.

Sapphire grunted and walked into the bedroom, she closed the door and Skitter sighed. 

Skitter sat on the couch again. 'What am i going to do with her?' She wondered.

______*one month later*______

Sapphire was walking home from training, she hadn't spoken to Skitter since their little incident, and while she knew she was at fault, Sapphire wasn't quite sure how to apologize.

So as she walked home, she simply took in the sights of Changeling's going about their business, moving supplies, leaving their homes, flying around to their destinations.

Sapphire soon approached her home and heard a voice behind her. "Can we talk?" Skitter asked.

With a nod, Sapphire walked inside with her sister, and they simply looked at each other. 

"Saph, I know I cant change things, but if it helps, I won't leave you behind or at all." Skitter said.

Sapphire shook her head. "Skitter.....I'm sorry I lashed out, i guess I was just upset, I guess I'll make the same promise as you." She said.

Skitter could feel the guilt coming from her sister. "Thanks." She walked up and held her hoof out.

Sapphire shook her sisters hoof and smiled. "It was driving me nuts avoiding you." She stated.

______*two years later*______

The days blended together as the years passed, the training intensified and days off became less frequent for the first year, the sisters matured as well as time passed, because of the accelerated growth, Skitter and Sapphire were now adolescent Changelings.

They had been placed into specialized training after displaying incredible feats, Sapphire had a knack for lightning fast strikes, as well as a unique ability to make her wings as sharp as a dragons fang.

Skitter on the other hand was exceptional in fire and conjuring magic, while also having a respectable skill in physical combat.

The training they were in was for the Manti, but they were going for the Hunter positions, which meant going outside the hive and hunting down the enemies of the hive and Queen, as well as scouting out possible future homes or outposts.

Right now, Skitter and Sapphire were in training chamber one where they just finished their training for the day, they were both tired from all the work they put in so they started to walk to the resting area to cool off.

As they sat down, Skitter looked at her sister and spoke. "You hear about Andromadas?" She asked.

Sapphire nodded sadly, the old changeling had passed away days ago, and was buried in the ceremonial tomb of the Manti, to honor his one hundred and thirty two years of service. "I'm going to miss the grump." She muttered.

After a couple minutes of resting, the sisters were approached by a drone. "The Queen wishes to speak to you." He stated before leaving.

Skitter stood up. "Let's not keep her waiting then." She replied.

Sapphire followed Skitter as they flew to the entrance of the palace, it took barely two minutes to reach the entrance, and when they arrived, they quickly made their way to the throne room. 

Once inside, the sisters approached the throne and bowed in respect.

The throne room itself had only seven Changeling's inside, the Queen, her four advisors and the sisters. "Skitter Firefang, Sapphire Bladewing, the both of you have shown incredible promise in your training, you had the respect of Andromadas, as well as the respect of your instructors." Queen Phera began.

"As such, we are prepared to promote you both to junior Manti." Douglas, the new archmage of the hive stated.

"But we will need proof that you are truly ready for the tasks that ahead, as such, we have a mission for you two." The military strategist, Wallko added.

Queen Phera then spoke. "Our scouts have learned of an ancient mine, filled with Crystal and even artifacts if we are lucky." She explained.

"Regardless of the presence of artifacts, the hive could benefit greatly from these crystals, as it will bring us more profitable trade with the Equines." Terrance, the supply commissioner said calmly.

"Therefore, you two shall explore this mine comepletely, bring back any artifacts you find, and ensure the mine can be harvested." Phera ordered.

Skitter and Sapphire bowed once again and walked out of the throne room. "This shouldn't be too difficult." Skitter said confidently.

"Maybe, but I'm going to pack anything we may need, never know when you may need something random." Sapphire said with caution, trying to warn her sister to be careful.

______*the next day, outside the hive, 6:10 AM.*_______

Skitter took a long deep breath and simply enjoyed the fresh air of the surface, the sun was just rising, and the lighting was perfect, she rested her back against the tree.

Sapphire smiled at the sight of her sister enjoying the outside world. "I'm glad we can enjoy this quiet moment." She said grimly.

Skitter chuckled and looked up at the sky. "Why are you being so morbid? we are trained for combat, we can't be beat by some random animal." She stood up and looked at Sapphire. "So stop worrying." She said with a firm tone.

Sapphire nodded. "I suppose your right, I just hope I'm wrong and things go smoothly." She muttered the last past to herself.
> The mission.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_______*fifty minutes later, nearing the entrance to the mine.*_______

Sapphire grunted as she sat down on a nearby rock. "We've been going in circles Skitter, you clearly got us lost." She stated.

Skitter sighed as she examined the area carefully. "At least I'm trying to get us there, unlike you." She countered.

"Well I don't like the idea of us getting lost while searching for a crystal mine, especially when the scouts are offering to give directions." Sapphire said as she catched her breath.

Skitter huffed. "We don't need directions sis, what we need is to find this mine and ensure its safe for our hive to harvest from." She replied with stubberness.

"And why does that mean we can't ask the people who know where it is?" Sapphire asked curiously.

Skitter looked at her sister and then she went back to examining the rocky terrain. "Simple, we can't exactly be Manti if we rely on others to do the work for us." She stated easily.

Sapphire sighed to herself and stood up. "Follow me Skitter, I'm tired of going in circles." She muttered.

With that said, Sapphire led a grumbling Skitter to the entrance of the crystal mine, which was a twenty minute walk away. "The scouts found this, it's only right to ask them where they found it, now come on." Sapphire stated with a smirk.

Skitter had replied by muttering something like 'I could have found it' quietly, but didn't openly continue the conversation.

The crystal mine was dimly lit by the crystals embedded in the stone, there didn't seem to be any signs of life in the cave. "How far did they search?" Skitter asked.

Sapphire approached a green crystal and spoke. "They stopped when they reached a crossroads, we just need to take our time with our search, better thorough than fast." She stated.

"Better fast than inactive." Skitter countered.

They walked for a while through the crystal mine, it was quiet up until they reached the crossroads, where the path branched off into two different directions. "Which way then?" Skitter asked.

Sapphire sighed and pointed down the path on the right. "That way I guess." She said.

At that, the sisters walked in silence, listening for anything that could cause a problem, they heard no sound for ten whole minutes, until they reached a large chamber that went deeper and deeper by way of a suspension system, where one stood in a metal box and was lowered down. "Let's just stay on this level for now." Skitter suggested.

Sapphire nodded and looked around for anything of value or of note, as did Skitter.

The chamber was very large indeed, there were boxes strewn about, large boulders lay on the ground, tables and mining equipment were scattered about, the ceiling was high up, but they weren't even able to see the bottom of the pit.

Skitter soon noticed a single piece of paper on a table, it had blood stains on it and was next to a large pile of crystal, she walked over curiously and picked up the paper. "Sapphire, listen to this." She said.

"Our lord tasked us with mining this crystal, I personally couldn't care about his reasons, he payed well and that was good enough for me.........what a fool I was, two weeks into the operation, things began to go wrong, equipment broke more often, workers screaming as though they were possessed, most of us believed that the mine was cursed......they were both right and wrong." Skitter cleared her throat for the next part.

"We continued our operation once things calmed down, but that was a mistake, we had delved too deep and woke something that had been alive down here, it attacked us with strength and magic that I had never seen before, some of us survived, I hope.......as for me? My leg was shattered, and I'm bleeding out, I can only hope that whoever reads this is smart enough to run........this mine is not worth it." The note stopped and Skitter looked down at a nearby skeleton. It had a large crystal spike in its chest, as well as a leg that was almost completely destroyed.

"What did you wake up?" She wondered.

A loud crash and a violent rumble shook the mine, the vibrations themselves were incredible crystals and rocks fell to the ground, and any equipment or such was shook so much that most of it fell over, it lasted about a minute before it settled.

Sapphire looked around and saw the damage. "I really hope we don't have to deal with whatever caused that." She said.

"Same here, but we don't have a choice, our mission is to clear this mine of anything that could impede us." Skitter replied as she started walking to the metal box, she got inside. "You can't be serious." Sapphire said.

"Come on, let's get going." Skitter said firmly.

Sapphire sighed and walked over, she got inside and Skitter lowered it with the lever.

The box was small and uncomfortable, clearly not meant for more than one person at once, it soon stopped and a metal gate opened, allowing them access.

"Let's go." Skitter said as she walked through the gate, her sister begrudgingly following behind.

Once they were through the gate, they walked through the narrow tunnels. "Do these tunnels seem off to you Sapphire?" Skitter asked.

Sapphire nodded as they walked. "These are deliberate, clearly whoever made these didn't want to harm the earth more than necessary." She said.

They soon reached an empty chamber and saw that it had two doors, on to the left, and one straight ahead. "Keep your guard up, there's no telling what's down here." Skitter said.

With that, the sisters walked to the door on the left and opened it, it creaked open loudly and slowly, Sapphire fired a magic flare into the dark room, lighting it up and revealing around twenty people, fifteen earth ponies, and five diamond dogs, they all snapped their heads to face the sisters and roared at them.

On an instinct, Skitter used her magic and ignited her hooves and horn, creating claws of fire and throwing a cone of flames at the small horde of hostiles.

Four of them were incinerated but the rest charged quickly, and recklessly, no attempts to dodge, no usage of cover. "I don't think they know what they are doing!" Skitter said as she used her claws to kill an earth pony.

Sapphire took to the skies and fired a small barrage of magical blasts, hitting three diamond dogs in the head, she then used her magic and flew into the fray, using her now razor sharp wings to slice and dice any in her path.

The horde was dropping rapidly, and in half a minute, only two earth ponies and one diamond dog remained, Skitter fired two fireballs and incinerated the former miners.

The diamond dog roared. "This is not over impure ones! the master shall end you!" He screamed before lunging at Sapphire.

The changeling sisters easily dispatched of the crazed diamond dog, afterwards, Skitter knelt down and examined his face.

"His eyes are bloodshot and forced open, no eyelids that I can see, his teeth were filed erratically and his nose is broken, his ears are the same way." Skitter looked at her sister. "There's no way he should be alive, if he was in his right mind he wouldn't be able to see smell or hear." She stood up and proceeded to examine the others.

Sapphire watched as Skitter examined the bodies, it took ten minutes total before she stood up. "They all have similar injuries, the only inconsistencies are the injuries themselves, but they all point to the same thing.......these people did this to themselves, whether they were in control or not, I'm guessing they were obsessed with eliminating their basic senses." Skitter looked around the room. "They weren't living here, it's obvious they were standing here the entire time, as if on standby." She concluded.

"We need to get out of here, we aren't prepared for something that can do this." She stated, gesturing to the bodies. 

Skitter shook her head. "If we leave now, what's to stop this thing from doing THIS, to others?" She asked, gesturing to the bodies.

Sapphire sighed. "Fine.....but I still think we are in over our heads." 

With that said, they left the room and headed for the other door.

Skitter took a breath and opened the door, Sapphire fired another magic flare into the room and it lit up, it was large and empty, save for multiple boulders with large crystals in them throughout the room. "What the hell?" Skitter wondered as they entered the room.

Once inside, Skitter walked up to one of the boulders and examined it. "Skitter no!" Sapphire shouted.

Skitter ignored her sister as she looked closer at the boulder. "Strange, the crystals are.....growing here, like a tree." She observed.

"Skitter, there's nothing here but rocks......lets go!" She shouted in a panicked tone.

As if on cue, the door to the room slammed shut and the flare died out.

The room was pitch black for a second until the crystals started glowing, and numerous crystals suddenly shot out from the walls and ceiling, covering most of the room in them.

Skitter quickly tried to get back to Sapphire but a large rock fist infused with Rubies slammed in front of her. "This isn't good." She whispered as she turned around.

Both of their eyes widened as a large creature made of crystals and rock stood in the center of the room, it's left arm was infused with rubies, the right was jet, the left leg was emeralds, the right was sapphires, the body was diamonds, and the head was aquamarine.

When the creature threw a punch at Skitter, she dodged the surprisingly fast fist, and retaliated with a stream of fire at its chest.

The creature just let the fire hit it, it threw another punch but this time at Sapphire.

Sapphire's eyes widened as she flew away, she threw a volley of magic blasts at the creature, but it simply let it hit, she then decided to try a different attack, she sharpened her wings and flew at the creature at high speed.

Skitter fired a large barrage of fire at the creature, intensifying the heat to incredible levels, her flames hit the creatures leg but it didn't do anything at all. "Impossible, that fire could burn through solid steel." She muttered.

Sapphire's attack didn't go well either, her wings caused no damage and were damaged in the process, she screamed in pain as the creature punched her away.

Skitter quickly caught Sapphire by leaping toward her, she landed on the ground hard and Sapphire rolled out of her grasp, landing five feet away.

Skitter breathed shakily as she looked at the creature. "Saph! get up!" She shouted.

The creature then raised its right hand and crystals from the walls and ceiling flew to its hand, pink and green, red and blue, crystals of all colors were now covering its hand.

With a swift punch, the creature threw a powerful punch toward Sapphire, who was just barely starting to get back up.

Skitter gasped and time seemed to slow down for her, in a split second, without any thought, she charged ahead and stood in front of Sapphire, conjuring the strongest shield she could manage, while using her body to support it. "Gah!" She grunted from the sheer force of the impact.

Skitter stared the fist straight down, not willing to give up even as her barrier started to fail.

It was then that the crystals began to glow, brighter and brighter until they were blinding. "AAAAAAAHHH!" Skitter screamed, the pain surged through her body as the barrier fell and the fist impacted.

Skitter flew back and slammed against the door, she fell to the ground hard, unable to stand due to the pain.

Sapphire had barely managed to move, and when she looked and saw Skitter on the ground, she gasped and proceeded to fire an unrelenting barrage of magic at the creature, her fury making her uncaring if they did damage or not.

Skitter cried out in pain as she tried to move, she grit her teeth and tears fell down her face, she opened her eyes so she could see what was going on, but to her shock, she could see nothing. "W-w-what the hell?" She muttered shakily, she forced her way through the pain and waved her hoof in front of her face but saw nothing. "I-i-i-I can't see." She stammered.

Sapphire panted as she stopped firing, her exhaustion was now taking its toll. "All that training......all of it, a waste." She whispered, tears forming under her eyes.

Skitter then heard crying, she recognized it as Sapphire and tried to walk over, only to trip on her hooves. "Gah!" She cried out as she fell down. "I......I can still fight." She muttered as she aimed her horn at where she thought the creature was, she channeled her magic trying to fire a spell, only for a sharp pain to take over.

"Aaaaaaaahhh!" She screamed as she held her head, she felt something changing from within, it quickly passed, but Skitter felt different now.

Skitter pushed past the pain one last time and aimed. "Stay away from my sister!" She shouted before firing a spell that came to her head suddenly.

From Sapphire's perspective, it was astonishing, Skitter had suddenly fired a small spark of magic that clung to the creature, and to her surprise, all the crystals in the room suddenly shot towards the creature, severing its arms and legs, and then it's head from its body, and to finish it off, one giant crystal spike shot into the creatures chest.

Skitter was now panting heavily, she had used far too much magic, and suffered incredible wounds, she grunted in pain and collapsed to the floor unconscious.

_______*later.*______

Skitter groaned as she awoke. "Ugh......what happened?" She asked herself quietly.

"Sis your awake!" Sapphire's voice said happily.

Skitter opened her eyes only to find she couldn't see, she felt her face and noticed a cloth over them. "Why are my eyes covered?" She asked, while she was happy she wasn't in constant pain, she was curious.

"After you passed out, your eyes started to bleed, I brought you back to the hive and the healers got to work, they should be good as new." Sapphire stated.

Skitter gulped and shakily reached for the cloth, but she set her hoof down at her side instead. "Can.....can you do it?" She asked nervously.

Skitter felt Sapphire remove the cloth, but to her sorrow, she still couldn't see. "Skitter, what happened to your eyes!?" Sapphire asked, her voice was panicked and concerned.

"I......I'm blind?" Skitter mumbled shakily, she then cleared her throat. "What......what do they look like?" She asked.

Sapphire sighed and placed her hoof on Skitter's. "They.......they are a beautiful gray with a prismatic shine to them." She answered quietly.

Skitter shook and began to cry, it was quiet but still noticeable. "Why?.....why did this happen? why didn't I listen to you Saph?" She asked herself through the tears.

"Skitter....." Sapphire's voice said quietly, her tone was one of concern and compassion, but Skitter wasn't listening anymore.

______*the next day.*_______

Skitter was being walked home by Sapphire, who insisted they walk together. "It'll never be the same." Skitter muttered. "I can't go and have fun with the Black Cloud anymore, and I can't go out into the field." She whispered.

Once Sapphire brought them into their home, she talked. "At least your alright." She said, before gasping at her poor choice of words.

Skitter's anger quickly took hold as she looked in the direction Sapphire was in. "ALRIGHT!?" She shouted. "I am fucking blind! I. AM. NOT. ALRIGHT!" She shouted, her magic spiking.

Sapphire cried out as Skitter heard cracks in the floor and walls, she shook her head clear and her breathing was panicked. "Saph!.....are you hurt!?" She asked worriedly.

"I'm fine!" Sapphire replied quickly.

"What.......what did I just do?" Skitter asked herself. "I think I went to throw fire, but......" She was cut off.

Sapphire walked over slowly and hugged Skitter. "You summoned crystals........I am so sorry Skitter!" She said sadly.

Skitter simply embraced her sister and whispered. "I.......I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gotten angry, it is going to take a lot of work to get used to this." She said. "I, I'm not sensitive about my eyes, really.......I just don't know what got into me." She added.

Skitter heard something moving which Sapphire confirmed to be the crystals receeding. "I.....I have to give the Queen my report, do you want to sit down or something?" Sapphire asked.

"Thanks, just......lead me to my room I guess." Skitter replied.

After slowly navigating to Skitter's room and getting her on her bed, Sapphire left to deliver her report.

'Life is never going to be the same.' Skitter whispered as she lay in her bed.

______*a few months later.*_______

Skitter was currently in the training grounds waiting on Sapphire, they had both been promoted to junior Manti, and Skitter was bored.

They had discovered that Skitter's magic had been altered irreversibly, she could only use her new crystal magic, and other non elemental magic, and while this had resulted in a unique spell that allowed Skitter to somewhat see, it also meant that the fire magic she was so attuned with was now worthless.

Skitter sighed as she closed her eyes. "What's the point of promoting me if I can't see? I can't be a hunter like this." She muttered.

Soon enough, a voice said. "I'm back sis." Sapphire's voice said.

Skitter nodded. "Finally, let's get back home Saph." She said before standing.

"So how did you do?" Skitter asked.

Sapphire groaned. "It was exhausting, picking up a trace of movement from almost nothing?.....how do they do it so easily?" She wondered.

Skitter chuckled. "Training, dedication, experience." She listed off the reasons one by one.

Sapphire sighed. "Your unbelievable." She whispered.

Skitter grinned. "You mean I'm un-BEE-lievable?" She joked.

"That was awful." Sapphire replied.

Without a response, Skitter simply walked back home in silence.

They walked for a while until they reached the house, they went inside and Sapphire plopped down on the couch. "I really hope next time isn't as bad." The changeling mumbled.

Skitter walked to her room door. "Wouldn't count on it." She mumbled.

______*that night.*_______

Skitter sighed as she grabbed her medallion, Sapphire had gotten it made for her as a birthday gift, and had refused to allow Skitter to get her one, stating that she didn't need one at all.

Skitter pocketed the medallion in her backpack and grabbed one more thing from her room, a small bag of bits that she had gotten from Cloudsdale.

'I've been putting this off for too long, if Sapphire is going to be free, she can't take care of me all the time.' Skitter thought to herself as she quickly wrote a note and left it on her bed.

Skitter walked to the front door quietly, she opened it and looked back, her blind eyes may not be capable of sight, but there were good memories of this place, and now they would never be the same, she sighed to herself and left the house, shattering her heart and leaving her only true family behind. "I'm sorry Saph.........I really am." She said quietly as she let a tear out.

______*present day, Ponyville.*______

Skitter sat in Lyaroa's house impatiently. "Is this really necessary?.......I was doing just fine before." She stated.

Lyaroa had invited Skitter over with an offer, while the changeling had Garth back, she was still blind. "Yea, barely able to see more than thirty feet, your sight is great." The sentinel teased as she sat in front of the changeling.

Skitter grunted, it was true that her magical sight was amazing to have in the other timeline, but it was getting worse and worse over time.

Lyaroa's offer was simple, and very generous, she offered to let Skitter and Garth move in, she would even heal Skitter's sight.

"What if I like being blind after so much time?" Skitter countered, her stubberness was truly amazing. "You just told me that you left your family behind because of your blindness, and now you are telling me you want to keep it?" Lyaroa asked.

Skitter thought on it for a moment before sighing in defeat. "No......fine, heal it, but I would like to see what my eyes actually look like before any other changes like a reset of eye color." She replied.

Lyaroa nodded and held her hand out, she channeled her energy into Skitter and repaired her damaged eyesight, the changeling had her eyes closed as this went on.

Once the sentinel was done, Skitter took a deep breath. "Ok......here goes nothing." She muttered.

Her eyes opened slowly and were bombarded by bright lights, dim lights, colors, and just flat out sight itself!......she gasped at the overwhelming sensation and looked at Lyaroa, really looked, her white fur, her cyan pupils, red scelra, the fuzzy wolf ears, her claws and fluffy tail, and her blue jeans and white hoodie, she then looked at her hooves, seeing their black color was incredible. "Here." Lyaroa said.

Skitter looked over and saw Lyaroa had a hand mirror, she looked into and saw her face, for the first time in a long time she was able to actually see her face, her eyes were indeed as Sapphire said, gray with a prismatic shine, she took a few deep breaths to help calm down. "This is amazing!" She said happily.

Lyaroa nodded with a smile. "Your welcome." She replied.

Skitter looked at Lyaroa and quickly lunged, she embraced the sentinel In a deep bear hug, which was returned. "Well well Migraine, someone seems to be happy." Roxanne's teasing voice said.

Skitter looked and examined Roxanne carefully, her white fur, the faded red patches of fur, the fox ears and tail, her beautiful Amber eyes, even the jeans and shirt she wore. "Whoa........" She muttered as she broke the hug up.

Roxanne chuckled and met Skitter half way. "I take it you can see Skitter?" The fox asked.

Skitter nodded and looked up at Roxanne's face. "Man.......Lyaroa!" She shouted as she looked at the sentinel who seemed startled. "What?" The sentinel muttered.

Skitter pointed at Roxanne. "Why didn't you tell me Roxanne was hot!?" She snapped.

Roxanne looked at Lyaroa who seemed too flabbergasted to answer that question accurately. "I-i-i uh? I didn't know you were blind?" She answered pathetically.

Skitter groaned and looked at Roxanne. "I think we need to work on her some more." She commented.

Roxanne shrugged. "Eh, I like her as she is, it wouldn't be the same otherwise." She said.

Skitter walked over to Lyaroa. "Thanks Lyaroa, seriously, and about your offer?" She leaned in and kissed the Sentinel's left cheek. "I'll start packing." She said, winking before walking to the door.

Lyaroa rubbed her cheek as Skitter disguised before leaving to enjoy her new sight. "Since when did Skitter kiss people?" She wondered.

"Don't make it weird Migraine, come on, we need to set up a room or two." Roxanne stated.

_____*outside.*_____

Skitter was in her disguise as Gem, and she was loving her new sight, being able to see again after so many years was like a miracle, she wasn't acting out strangely, that of course would draw attention, of course, she was definitely happier, that much was clear on her face.

And by the time she neared her home, she had started to calm down again, she walked inside and closed the door, dropping her disguise.

Skitter's house wasn't anything special, it had plain walls and floors, little decoration and only the bare necessities. "Guess I don't have a lot of packing to do." She said to herself.

She quickly headed for her room to check on Garth, she had left him here with Sapphire until she got back, and sure enough, when she entered the room, they were both here. "Hey Saph." Skitter said.

Sapphire looked at Skitter and smiled. "He just fell asleep, I'm amazed that he hasn't grown yet, born differently or no, he is a changeling." She stated.

Skitter walked over and sat down on the bed. "You know Sapphire, I almost didn't believe you when you told me my eye color." She said ominously.

Sapphire blinked. "Why are you bringing this up now? even if I did tell you a lie, there's no way you would.......know." Her eyes widened as Skitter smiled. "Skitter.......are you able to see me?" She asked curiously.

Skitter grinned. "I'm back and better than ever." She replied.

Sapphire immediately hugged Skitter tightly, which was returned gently. "This is amazing sis!" She said.

"Yea I know, but let's not do anything major right now okay? I want to take my time with this." Skitter stated.

Sapphire nodded. "So.......what will you do now?" She asked.

Skitter shrugged. "For one, I'm going to move, not out of town, but out of this dump." She stated, pointing to an unfinished wall. "After that, I guess I'll raise my son." She said.

Sapphire smiled. "You have a place at the manor you know? Fil won't mind having you around." She suggested.

Skitter shook her head. "Nah, I'll be moving in with Lyaroa." She said.

Before Sapphire could object, Skitter raised a hoof. "I'm going to visit, don't worry about that, you are my sister and that won't change, besides, Lyaroa isn't so bad when you get to know her, she won't be a bad influence, I swear." She stated.

"I.......I understand Skitter, just remember our door is always open to you." Sapphire reminded.

Skitter nodded. "Thanks." She said quietly.
> Painful truth.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

______*the next day, The world of Oglan, Ashlock city, 10:00 AM.*______

Nocturne had vanished in the morning before Shay and her family woke up, he had gone to a nearby building and climbed to the top, once he was on the roof, he sat down near the short wall and closed his eyes. "What's your plan Nocturne? go after after random people until you magically find the culprit?" Shade asked as he appeared nearby.

"Don't be stupid." Nocturne said as he opened his right eye to look at Shade. "I might not have a plan yet, but I can think of something to do to narrow down the suspects." He added as he closed his eye again.

Shade walked over and sat down next to him. "And what would that be?" The older night wolf asked.

Nocturne pointed over his shoulder. "See that general store down there?" He asked.

Shade looked and spotted the store. "What about it?" He wondered.

"It's a font for illegal smuggling, and I know that most of the people involved are anti Night Wolf fanatics." Nocturne replied.

"......We're going to tear that place apart and interrogate everyone, no mercy was shown to Sonya, and no mercy will be shown to any of them." Nocturne stated grimly.

Shade stood up, and stared down at the general store. "It won't be easy, with all the people it will be impossible to break in." He muttered.

Nocturne stood up slowly and looked at the store. "Not at night time, the amount of people drops drastically at night, if we are quick, we can get in and get out before anyone notices.

"Come on, let's go." He said.

Shade simply followed Nocturne as he walked down the stairs, it was quiet between the two, but Shade chose not to break the silence. 'He just needs time to get better, then we can stop focusing on this quest for vengeance, and focus on keeping him alive.' He thought to himself.

______*weeks later.*______

Unfortunately, it did not get better, over time Nocturne had only gotten more and more determined to avenge Sonya, his anger grew constantly and seemed to snap at any nuisance that bothered him.

He had also changed more physically, for one he almost never took his jacket off, he now had iron chains wrapped around his arms, his eyes had changed from their usual bright orange to a dark green with blue sclera, his fur also changed to a dark gray, giving him an intimidating appearance.

Perhaps the biggest change in Nocturne was that he had learned how to use powers similar to Shade's, it wasn't as powerful but it was still effective nonetheless.

His overall personality changed as well, aside from his anger, he also tended to be more deceitful and rebellious, bordering on suicidal, he had also expanded his list of targets to those that abuse his kind, as he had disintegrated the arms off of a pair of civilians who were kicking a Night Wolf who couldn't fight back.

Shade was often the voice of reason for Nocturne, even when unwanted, he was always there to help calm him down, or at least to minimize damage.

Recently though, they had been hiding out in an abandoned building which was once an office, and while the lower floors had some people inside it doing repairs, the upper floors were considered home for now.

So Shade was genuinely surprised when a letter appeared on his tattered mattress, he raised an eyebrow and picked it up.

The letter itself was plain and simple, nothing remarkable about it, except for the seal on the back, it was that of a three towered structure, which was more commonly known as the Dragoons seal. "How and why did you send this?" Shade asked himself quietly, as not to disturb Nocturne in his sleep, which was another thing that he rarely got.

Shade opened the letter and pulled out the note, he noticed two small badges as well, but decided to read the note first. 

'Hello Shade, I understand that you have questions but they must wait, there is something we need to discuss now, come to my home, the badges will grant you access, regardless of species, I believe that both you and Nocturne will want to hear what I have to say.' The note ended there.

With that, Shade looked at the nearby clock that they had stolen a week ago, the time was five AM, he stood up and walked over to their makeshift food storage, which was just a few coolers with some food in them. "Nocturne! get up!" He called.

Nocturne had gotten used to Shade's wake up calls and simply replied with a grunt. "Don't give me that, now get up, we have somewhere we need to go." He stated as he threw a bagged sandwich at Nocturne, who took it with a groan.

_____*Later.*______

Nocturne sighed as he walked alongside Shade. "What's gotten into you today? your never in this much of a rush." He asked.

"The Dragoon wants to talk to us, and I for one am not in the mood to ignore the most powerful man on the planet." Shade replied. "He sent us a letter earlier say thing there was something he wanted to tell us." Shade added.

Nocturne grunted. "And it never occurred to you that this is a trap?" He asked.

Shade scoffed. "The man can see the future, has magic that we can't really understand, AND has most of the planet under his rule, not to mention the people love him, why would he need a trap to catch us?" He countered.

"Whatever." The younger Night Wolf replied.

Their walk was uneventful, since they usually stuck to the shadows when moving around, not many bothered them.

Of course, this quiet walk was almost interrupted as Nocturne paused and stared for a moment. "What is it?" Shade asked, he soon saw the reason.

Nocturne had spotted Shay with her family, she looked tired as she followed them around, stopping as they left her outside of an office building. "Do you need a minute?" Shade asked.

"No." Nocturne stated firmly before walking away. "If I'm going to avenge Sonya, I can't have any distractions, not even her." He stated.

Shade said nothing and continued walking towards the Dragoons home. 

They continued walking for half an hour until they were outside the gates of the Dragoons home, which was a large mansion with loads of security. "So how do we break in?" Nocturne asked.

Shade pulled out a pair of badges and gave one to Nocturne, he clipped the badge to his belt and walked towards what appeared to be a scanner.

The machine beeped. "Scanning, please stand by." A computerized voice stated.

A few moments later, it beeped. "Authorization complete, we welcome honored guests." It stated before the gate opened.

"Keep that badge on." Shade ordered as they passed the gate.

The land around the mansion was green and teeming with life, it seemed to have been well maintained, but the Night Wolves weren't there to sight see.

As they approached the front doors, one of the guards blocked the door with a spear that had an electric tip. "What do you Night Wolves think you are doing here? this area is restricted." He stated firmly.

Shade held up the badge from his belt. "We were invited." He said calmly.

Before the guard could reply, the doors opened to reveal a short white rabbit with a butlers suit. "Enough, both of you, they are the masters guests, now step aside, and let them pass." He ordered in a calm and collected tone.

The guard moved the spear and simply returned to his watch. "Come along." The rabbit stated.

Shade and Nocturne entered the mansion and the doors closed behind them, they followed the rabbit as he walked through the mansion. "I apologize about those two, they are simply thick headed, but I will admit I was surprised when the master told me that two Night Wolves were coming and to let them in." He said.

"Understandable." Shade replied simply.

They stopped in what appeared to be a study, judging by the tall bookshelves, the desks, the couch and chairs, as well as the fireplace. "This is the masters study, he will be with you shortly." The rabbit stated before leaving.

Once they were alone, Nocturne looked at Shade. "We shouldn't be here, we should be out there!" He snapped.

Shade sighed. "Nocturne, we've hit a dead end, and without any leads, we would be searching blindly, if the Dragoon helps us, we will be that much closer to your goal." He replied.

A few minutes of silence followed, which were broken up by the study doors opening, revealing a tall gray scaled creature with two horns that came from the tip of its head, and curved backwards, it had claws and a tail, it's eyes were yellow and were quite intimidating, he wore a simple black polo shirt and a dark gray pants. "Greetings Shade and Nocturne, I am Nostromo, the Dragoon." He introduced.

Nocturne said nothing as he stared with his arms crossed, while Shade nodded. "Why did you want to talk to us?" The larger Night Wolf asked.

Nostromo closed the doors and then looked at Shade. "Simple, there are things we have to discuss, it will take time, but if it will help curb Nocturne's newfound impatience, I do have information regarding Sonya's killer, which I will reveal when we are done." He stated, as if he knew what Nocturne would say.

"I'm listening." Shade stated.

Nostromo walked to the fireplace with his hands behind his back. "I suppose I shall start with the most basic answer for one of your questions, I have the gift of foresight, it allows me to see much, including the two of you, it allowed me to know your names, and where to place that letter." He paused and looked at the two when Nocturne grunted.

"If your so all knowing, why was Sonya killed then?" Nocturne asked flatly.

Nostromo took a breath and sighed, he turned around and looked directly at Nocturne. "She was murdered for protecting you." He stated, causing Nocturne to freeze a little. "She brought it upon herself to take care of a Night Wolf, and there is no shortage of people who will kill for that reason, in their blind hate, they will kill with no thought, no reasoning, and no remorse." He said calmly.

"Now, I understand your anger, but this hatred you have built up for this quest? it will only cause more pain in the end, for your own sake young one, I suggest you let it go." Nostromo said.

Nocturne balled his hands into fists as he felt his anger bubble. "Shut up." He said quietly.

Shade noticed that Nocturne was barely containing his anger, and that his fists were holding powerful energy in them right now. "Calm down." He said.

Nocturne looked at Shade. "This isn't the place for that Nocturne." The larger Night Wolf stated.

Nostromo looked over at Shade. "While he calms down, there is something I need to tell you and only you." He said.

Shade nodded and followed Nostromo out of the study.

Nocturne growled quietly as he let his fists relax back into hands, he took a few breaths and rubbed his eyes. "This is so stupid." He complained to himself.

With nothing better to do, Nocture crossed his arms and waited for Shade to get back, and sure enough, he came through the study doors a few moments later. "Can we go now?" He asked impatiently.

"Not quite yet young Nocturne." Nostromo said before entering. "You wished to know how to find Sonya's killer?.....then I will tell you." He walked to the fireplace again. "Free your kind from their captivity, go to where they are kept, destroy their bonds, and the killer will be revealed." He stated cryptically.

Before Nocturne could say anything, Shade had thanked the Dragoon and dragged him away.

______*later.*______

Shade and Nocturne were in their hideout quietly sitting down, with the latter of the two planning their next raid, eventually though, he stopped and looked up at Shade. "What did the Dragoon tell you?" He asked.

"Nothing to worry about right now." Shade replied quietly.

Nocturne narrowed his eyes. "That's a load of bull, we BOTH know it was important if he didn't want me to know....so what is it Shade?" He asked again.

Shade said nothing at first, but then spoke. "I know where we need to strike, it's obvious at any rate." He said, changing the subject.

Nocturne glared for a moment, but decided to just focus on vengeance. "Where?" He asked, his tone was flat and serious.

"The Junction, it's where they hold all Night Wolf captives........and the hearts of all Night Wolves." Shade stated.

Nocturne placed a hand over where his heart should be and sighed. "Let's go then, if it means Sonya's killer will show up, I'll burn that place to nothing but ash." He said.

With that said and done, the two planned their attack and then slept, after eating, the two would commit to the attack.

______*the next day, 6:55 PM*_______

Shade and Nocturne were currently on top of a building close to the Junction, they saw that there were about ten guards on the roof, but they knew the inside would be full of them.

At the moment however, Shade was busy examining the building. "The Junction is one of the most defended places in the world, this wont be easy." He stated.

The Junction was actually a serious of buildings, seven eight story structures linked together only by a wall surrounding them all, but Nocturne wasn't concerned.

They had prepared for this by stealing some mountain climbing grapples, and a few air cannons to create a makeshift grapple launcher. "Are you ready for this Nocturne?" Shade asked.

Nocturne grinned wildly and his hands glowed with energy. "Oh yea." He replied.

With that said and done, Shade and Nocturne fired the grapples at the closest Junction building, and they quickly climbed the ropes.

Well, to be more accurate, Shade had grabbed the grapple as he fired it, and Nocturne held onto him as they flew, Shade's hand stung like hell, but it would be fine in a little. 

They soon got onto the roof and were immediately beset by guards with taser spears, Shade simply waved his hand and the spears disintegrated into nothing, he then proceeded to beat the guards until they were unconscious.

The guards, brave as they were, were powerless to stop a Night Wolf who can't die, and Nocturne had been infusing his punches with his energy, making them impact much harder than normal.

One of the guards however, had a gun and aimed it at Shade. "Die you freak!" He shouted before opening fire.

Shade wasn't fazed by the bullets, but his eyes widened when Nocturne had knocked the guard to the ground and went to fire a blast at him. "No!" He shouted.

Nocturne looked back at Shade just as he was thrown to the ground.

Shade knocked the guard out and threw them all into the stairs entrance, he then looked at Nocturne. "What the hell was that for!?" The smaller Night Wolf shouted.

"We have one rule Nocturne, don't kill non criminals." Shade stated. "I wasn't able to stop you in time before you could disintegrate those civilians arms, but this is going too far." He stated.

Nocturne growled. "That's rich, now you have a conscience? tell me the truth, you could have saved Sonya! couldn't you!?" He snapped.

Shade stared at Nocturne's angered expression, the pure hatred in the child's eyes, he took a breath and spoke. "Yes, I could have." He said.

Almost instantly, Nocturne threw a barrage of energy blasts at Shade. "WHY DIDNT YOU SAVE HER!? AS POWERFUL AS YOU ARE YOU SHOULD HAVE SAVED HER!" Nocturne shouted as he attacked.

Shade dodged the blasts as best as he could, but every now and then, one would impact, but he simply healed instantly. "Because I only care about protecting YOU Nocturne, my life? Sonya's? nowhere near as important!" He snapped back.

Nocturne's anger only rose. "Not important?" He asked out of anger, his hands trembling. "Well how about now!? if you don't fight back I will kill you!" He shouted.

However, Shade didn't fight back, all he did was dodge, which only served to increase Nocturne's anger. "Why won't you fight back you idiot!?" He shouted before throwing a large wave of energy around him.

Shade ducked slowly as the energy disintegrated everything above him on the roof. "Sonya wouldn't want you to fight, neither would Shay." He said quietly.

Nocturne seemed to pause at the names, but he still approached with anger. "Shut up Shade." He warned.

Shade struggled to prop himself up with his hands. "Nocturne, this isn't you, you aren't murderous." He said in an attempt to reason with him.

Nocturne infused his right hand with energy and looked down at Shade. "Why won't you fight back!?" He shouted before punching Shade in the side.

Shade coughed as he rolled away from the force of the impact, he forced himself to stand up. "We are linked, the more you hate me, the more you want me gone, the weaker I get." He said as he shakily stood.

Nocturne marched up and pulled Shade down to his eye level and stared directly into him. "I didn't ask that, I asked why you WON'T fight back!" He growled.

Shade breathed shakily, his energy nearly gone, he chuckled a little. "Because your our races future......Nostromo told me his vision........you, your the only Night Wolf who can use this power, the only one who can have children, that's why I won't fight you, you are the future, and a friend." He stated.

Nocturne blinked, his eyes returning to orange for a second before going back to Dark green. "It doesn't matter, there are no female Night Wolves, that hope is an illusion." He replied.

Shade collapsed to the ground and breathed heavily. "Is that so?......this facility holds every Night Wolf that is scheduled for termination, what if one does exist? regardless of that, at least help me save our people." He said weakly.

Nocturne seemed to pause, as if considering it, he soon growled and shook his head, he looked down at Shade and clenched his right hand into a fist, he then punched Shade's head into the ground. "Don't try and screw with my head, we are here ONLY to kill the bastard that murdered Sonya, nothing more." He stated firmly.

"It's going to have to be you then." Shade choked, he rolled over so that he was lying on his back. "I can't protect you now, not as weak as I am." He added, speaking now pained his throat.

Nocturne looked back at Shade, and his eyes once again flashed to orange for a brief second. "Shade, come on and get up, don't you dare act like you're dying!" He shouted as he walked over.

Once he saw Shade's condition however, Nocturne gasped in terror and realization, Shade's body was bruised and broken, his face bloody and he was seemed to be getting weaker by the second. "No.....no no no!" Nocturne cried out as he grabbed Shade's hand and shook him. "Get up! I'm not losing anyone else!" He said.

Shade struggled to move his head, he looked at Nocturne. "Like I said, the more you want me gone, the weaker I get, I wasn't made or born like other Night Wolves buddy." He strained to say.

Shade shakily reached and grabbed Nocturne's arm with his left hand. "YOU created me, that day at the bank, I was born as a guardian, to protect you, keep you alive, but now, I can't go on anymore." His hand lost its grip. "Your going back to normal." He chuckled, the pain shot through him again. "Don't fight for vengeance anymore Nocturne, fight for the right reasons." Shade grit his teeth as pain shot through his body once again, before he went limp.

Nocturne froze in place once Shade stopped breathing, his eyes wide and tear filled, the tears streamed down his face as his fur became brown once again, his grief pushing aside all other feelings.

Nocturne simply cried as he held Shade's hand in his, he would have remained this way, were it not for Shade's body seeming to fade away. "No." He whispered.

As he watched Shade disappear, he could only feeling aching in his heart, knowing that this was entirely his fault. "Don't leave me alone." He whispered to himself through the sobs.

For a few more minutes it was silence, up until a very loud hum of an engine was heard nearby, wiping the tears from his eyes, Nocturne stood up and looked in the direction of the engine, and he was stunned by what he saw.

Floating in the air nearby was a large mech, it's legs were strong and looked bidirectional, the body was sturdy and seemed to be shaped like a person, and the arms were long and held a large minigun and a chain blade, there were also thrusters on its back. "I don't know what you think your doing little freak, but it ends here!" A mechanized voice stated from within the mech.

Nocturne quickly ran as the mech aimed it's minigun and began to fire at him, he lept from the rooftop and landed on a closer buildings roof, he quickly formed an energy ball and threw it at the mech. "Stay back!" He shouted as he threw it.

The mech dodged easily as its thrusters fired up and moved closer to attack. "Without your partner, you are nothing!" The pilot shouted before unleashing another hail of bullets.

Nocturne quickly hid behind the concrete stairwell entrance, he gritted his teeth when a few bullets pierced through and embedded themselves in his shoulder.

'I need to get away, I can't fight this guy.......I wish Shade were still here, he would know what to do.' Just as Nocturne finished that thought, he came up with an idea.

Nocturne quickly ran out from behind his cover, he charged an energy ball and threw it at the mech, and while the pilot worked to dodge, Nocturne threw another energy ball with a special twist.

The pilot tried to dodge, but the ball simply followed him. 'Now's my chance!' Nocturne ran and jumped to the next building, his just barely managed to grab onto the ledge, but it was with his injured arm, the bullets were causing a crippling amount of pain.

Nocturne could feel his grip slipping, and his eyes widened as he feared for his life, he tried to grab on with his other hand, but his bloody hand kept slipping off.

And then, Nocturne's hand slipped, and he began to fall, he closed his eyes to brace for the inevitable. 'I'm sorry Shade, I really am.' He thought.

It was then that Nocturne realized that there was something on his arm, he opened his eyes and looked up, and he looked comepletely shocked.

Shade was holding his arm to keep him from falling. "Need a hand little guy?" He asked with a grin.

Nocturne said nothing as Shade pulled him up, he stared at him in comeplete shock. "How is this possible?......you died." He asked.

Shade looked and spotted the mech flying over. "Let's just say I had an interesting few weeks or months." He stated as he charged up an energy blast. 

"Well well well, if it isn't the freaks pet." The pilot taunted, but Shade wasn't fazed.

Nocturne quickly got to work on removing the bullets for his shoulder as he sat in his new hiding place, he glanced over and watched as Shade stood still through an entire barrage of bullets from that minigun. "I know you've never been in the Junction, but how are you still alive!? If you haven't been processed, then you should have a heart!" The pilot asked angrily.

Shade simply replied with a few disintegration blasts. "Who are the freaks? the ones who can live without a heart? or the ones who take them in the first place?" He pondered as he threw a larger blast at the mech.

Nocturne stifled his pained cries as he removed the bullets, he grit his teeth as he pulled one straight out of a bone. "Gah!" He exclaimed as pain coursed through him suddenly. 

Shade had apparently gotten tired of the skirmish, and took matters into his own hands, he jumped onto a small fence and then lept up to the roof of the stairs entrance, he then lunged at the mech and gripped the body plate tightly, forcing his disintegration power through to destroy to body.

The pilot however was not having any of it, as he swung his chain blade at Shade wildly, the Night Wolf had to disengage quickly and jumped off, he  landed perfectly on the roof, the pilot seemed to be worse off as it landed and aimed it's gun at Nocturne.

The gun fired a hail of bullets and Nocturne ran to dodge them, as he ran he could feel a lot of them pierce through his body, he cried out in pain and collapsed to the ground with a slide, the bullets continued to pierce him, making him scream in pain.

Shade quickly dashed and stood between Nocturne and the mech as it fired, he threw up a barrier in front of him, disintegrating the bullets as they neared him, when the mech stopped, Shade threw two gray orbs at the mech, aiming for its gun.

To his surprise, the orbs impacted but didn't do anything. "Did you really think that would work freak? this armor was designed specifically to counter your strange disintegration powers, you cannot win!" The pilot shouted, the mech then shifted and two missile launchers unfolded from its back, it then released a salvo at Shade.

Shade saw that Nocturne was still behind him trying to recover from the pain he was in. "Dammit." He muttered, he threw a few blasts at the missiles, but they didn't get disintegrated.

The missiles impacted Shade and the explosion threw Nocturne back, slamming him against the wall, Shade was breathing heavily as he knelt on the ground, weary from the fight. "Why won't you die!?" The pilot shouted angrily.

Shade chuckled and stood up slowly. "You know, in these past few months, I was asked that same question so many times." He looked at the mech. "And I gave the exact same answer every time." He charged his hands. "I have no heart." He stated before throwing a bunch of disintegration blasts at the mech rapidly.

The pilot of the mech didn't try to dodge, instead he retaliated with his minigun and missile launchers, intent on obliterating Shade.

Nocturne took a deep breath as he slowly stood, he sent a wave of energy through his body, causing the bullets embedded in him to fly out, his wounds began to heal quickly as he looked at the mech. 'Whoever this guy is, he knows enough about Shades powers to make armor resistant to it, but he dodges mine.' With this knowledge, Nocturne ran up next to Shade and grabbed the chains around his arms. "Get back Nocturne!" Shade ordered.

"Sorry bud." Nocturne replied. "Not a chance." He quickly sent energy into the chains and pulled, the chains unraveled themselves and then fell to the ground around him. "So the little freak show himself finally rejoins the fight, such a useless endeavor." The pilot taunted as he aimed the gun at Nocturne.

With one swift motion, Nocturne pulled his arms back, and then threw them forward, releasing the chains in the process, he then focused his power, and the chains came alive, they glowed light green and flew at rapid speed, they wrapped themselves around the mechs left arm and forced it to the body, they then locked themselves in place, trapping the arm. "You'll pay for that you little freak!" The pilot shouted as it opened fire.

Nocturne and Shade countered with a barrage of their own, Shade focused mostly on shielding them, while Nocturne attacked with his energy blasts. 

The pilot was forced onto the defensive, dodging the energy as best as it could, but a few impacted, dealing heavy damage to the missile launchers, blowing them off its back and overloading the mech.

Shade quickly charged up as the mech and pilot were frozen in place by the electricity surging through it, and once more he focused on removing the frontal armor plate from the mech. "Get.....off you freak!" The pilot shouted through the pain before it managed to break the chains off.

Nocturne focused his energy and immobilized the arm as it went to swing its chain blade at Shade, he strained under the pressure. "Hurry up already!" He called out.

In one last attempt, Shade used all his strength and ripped the armor plate off, it creaked loudly and it boomed when it hit the ground.

Nocturne was forced to release his hold on the arm and fell to the ground, he breathed heavily. "Shade, you alright?" He asked in between breaths.

"I'm here." Shade replied before standing.

The mech finally stopped overloading and metal shifting could be heard, Nocturne looked up and his eyes widened once he saw who the pilot was.

The pilot was none other than Erik, the hammerhead shark who worked with Sonya when Nocturne first awoke. "You?" Nocturne asked out of disbelief and shock.

Erik growled and tossed the minigun aside, the arm changed to a rifle configuration and he threw the chain blade aside as well. "Yes, it's me you little freak, I should have terminated you when I had the chance, protocol demanded it.....I will rectify that now." He aimed the rifle and fired at Nocturne, who swiftly dodged the bullets to the best of his ability, but most hit him and he fell to the ground again.

Shade tried to intervene but Erik stopped firing and swung his mechanized fist at him, Shade didn't react in time and the fist punched right through his body, he screamed in pain as Erik pulled him up to his face. "I don't know how you are alive, or what you are doing here, but this game ends now." He threw Shade aside and aimed at Nocturne again before firing.

To Erik's surprise, Shade managed to get in front of Nocturne and shielded him with what was left of his already healing body. "How can you move with most of your body gone?" Erik wondered, it was then that he realized something, and began to laugh maniacally. 

"What's so funny asshole?" Shade asked as he looked over his shoulder at the shark. 

Erik smirked and his thrusters activated, he began to hover. "I finally found your weakness freak, you need the little one to live, without him, you cannot survive, so I think it's time I do what Sonya SHOULD have done ages ago!" He declared as he flew up and then towards a different part of the Junction.

Nocturne growled and used his power, he gripped Eriks thrusters and slowly clenched his fists, then the thrusters began to compress and screech as metal bent forcefully, he then pulled down with his hand and Erik's mech fell to the ground. 

Erik quickly got up and fired his gun at Nocturne, Shade allowed the bullets to hit him instead. "Stop taking bulelts for me! you need to heal!" Nocturne snapped.

"You should listen to the little freak, let him take the punishment while you worry about yourself.......after all, that's what he did with Sonya." Erik taunted as he slowly approached, he had grabbed his chain blade along the way.

Shade panted and faced Erik, he chest was thin and weak, but he was still standing. "What are you talking about? Sonya was murdered while he was away, don't you dare pin her death on him!" He warned with a dangerous tone.

Erik pushed a button on the chain blade and it revved up like a chainsaw. "Her death WAS his fault! if he had simply died then I never would have gone to her apartment!" He snapped.

Nocturne stiffened up as he heard those words. "You.......you killed her?" He said quietly.

Erik growled as he aimed his gun at Shade. "She simply wouldn't listen to reason! she allowed her emotions to cloud her judgement and she broke protocol!" He shouted, firing a round into Shade's knee, making him fall to the ground. "I tried to convince her that you needed to die, that no one was above our rules, not even the Dragoon!" He fired another round into Shade's elbow, it pierced straight through the flesh and bone, he cried out.

Erik then stood above and Shade and aimed his gun at the Night Wolves head. "She yelled at me, and when I tried to explain further she attacked me, her stinger aimed for my heart, I did the only thing I could do to defend myself." He explained before firing, the bullet pierced Shade's head and body, and he collapsed to the ground, the shark looked at the smaller Night Wolf. "YOU killed Sonya by existing, and now I will put this wrong right." He aimed his gun again but was startled by what he saw.

Nocturne growled and his anger caused his fur to become gray again, his eyes became dark green with blue sclera in seconds, he raised his hand and the chains from before raced to him, they floated around him with a dark red aura and formed a chain snake, he looked directly at Erik and clenched his fist, the chains rocketed forward and began to lash out, the mech's armor creaked and groaned as the chains hit it over and over.

Erik himself was not unscathed, the chains were lashing him like whips, and he was forced to disengage, his left and right hands gained thrusters and he flew up. "I MAY NOT BE ABLE TO KILL YOU DIRECTLY! BUT I WILL DESTROY EVERY NIGHT WOLVES HEART IN THE JUNCTION!" He shouted as he flew towards one of the buildings quickly.

Nocturne stared at Erik's mech and growled. "I can't catch up to him in time.....unless." He looked at Shade and he swiftly returned to normal, he ran over and sat his friend up. "Ah hah hah! ow!" Shade cried out.

"Shade, we need to stop Erik! I need you to get us to the building with the hearts!" Nocturne stated.

With a grunt, Shade replied. "How? we don't have thrusters or jetpacks, we can't outrace him." He stated. as he forced himself to stand.

"Shade, I've seen you teleport before!......do it again but for the two of us!" Nocturne said as he stood.

"No way." Shade stated. "Erik was right, we can't stop him, his mech counters my power completely, and you don't have a lot left." He added.

Nocturne pointed at the flying mech. "I am not letting Sonya's murderer get away with this! help me damnit!" He snapped angrily.

Shade sighed and grabbed Nocturne's shoulder. "I'll hold him off as long as I can, get your heart and put it back, free our people and give them their hearts, they won't hesitate to fight back." He stated before teleporting them In a flash of red light.

______*elsewhere.*______

Nocturne and Shade ended up just inside of one of the Junction buildings, Shade looked at Nocturne. "Go and free our people." He ordered before clutching his side. "Come and get us you bastard." He mumbled.

As Nocturne ran off, Shade waited, and after a few moments, the mech blasted the walls off, along with several guards. "It's over Erik, after tonight, we will be free and alive, and you will be dead." Shade stated confidently.

Erik clearly did not think so. "We will see, my mech is resistant to your power, and your all alone, I can only assume the little freak is searching for his heart, but he doesn't know where to look." He smirked as he aimed his gun at Shade. "I have the advantage here freak, your race dies tonight." He stated before firing.

______*meanwhile*______

Nocturne ran down a corridor and looked around, there were two paths and two doors, with a groan, Nocturne ran to a path and hoped for the best, he reached the door and tried to open it, but it was sealed, he noticed a scanner nearby, he shook his head and channeled energy so he could force it open.

To his surprise though, the door opened and a computer spoke. "Welcome Nocturne, to the repository." It stated as the doors opened.

Nocturne was a little concerned that the computer knew his name, and that it was activated by his power, he looked into the next room and was completely stunned, he walked inside slowly and catiously.

Inside was a very large room that was easily two stories tall, it was lined with glass walls with hearts in special containers behind the glass, there was only one other thing here, a small terminal in the center with a tube like contraption hooked up to a small pedestal.

Nocturne walked up and activated the terminal, it immediately asked for identification. "I wonder....." Nocturne channeled his energy and touched the keypad. 

The terminal beeped. "Hello Nocturne." The Dragoons voice said calmly. "I know why you are here......one moment." The sound of something moving reverberated through the empty room and soon enough, a container holding an orange colored heart came out of the tube and stood on the pedestal. 

"Not many know this is here, but this is your heart Nocturne, take it and return it to where it belongs." The voice stated. "Do you know what the true difference between a Night Wolf and a regular wolf is? the truth is, there is no real important difference, aside from one, a Night Wolf's legs bend forwards, where a regular wolf's legs bend backwards, this may seem unimportant, but it was crucial for identifying the difference in species." The voice continued.

Nocturne stared at his heart with unease, it looked strange to him, he sighed and reached out, he hesitated but still grabbed the container and examined it.

The container was made of glass, it had a special lid that was made of some kind of metal, but it was light, the lid looked like it would pop right off, but it appeared to be doing something to the heart. "These containers are designed to keep the hearts alive, the lids have special technology built into them that makes the heart live without any penalties, no decay, no delay, no chance of failure." The voice said calmly.

Nocturne took the lid of the container and carefully grabbed his heart, he felt strange holding it, but he also felt vulnerable, like he would die in a second, he gulped and channeled his energy, the heart glowed light green and it floated right through his chest.

In that second, Nocturne gasped as he felt the heart inside him beat, he no longer felt numb, he could feel the cold air in the room, he could feel his body grow stronger in moments and his fur became slightly more vibrant than its usual dull brown. "Whoa........this is amazing." He said quietly.

"Nocturne, the choice is yours now.......after stopping Sonya's killer, you could leave, return to the life you knew but without her, or you could risk it all, save your people and try to free them all from their slavery." The Dragoon's voice stated.

With that said and done, Nocturne quickly searched through the terminals files, he soon saw something odd, a file that someone tried to delete, he blinked and recovered it quickly. 'I know you need help Shade, but I have a feeling this is important.' He thought.

Nocturne opened the file and discovered that it was a complete file on a Night Wolf called Zoey, he learned that Zoey was in fact a female Night Wolf, the first of her kind, but that she had many issues labeling her as a 'failure', she had a rebellious personality, she often acted out against authority, she didn't age correctly like the other Night Wolves, she murdered her former master who apparently tried to abuse her.

The more he read, the more Nocturne felt sorry for Zoey, but he had to keep moving, he closed the file and walked out of the room to search for the holding area.

______*meanwhile*______

Shade dodged and hid behind a pillar, he took a few breaths before throwing some blind shots to Erik, he then followed up by firing a small barrage at the shark, they were dodged, but Shade just needed to buy time. "This is growing old you freak, just give up and accept your defeat!" Erik shouted.

Shade dodged and disintegrated bullets with his barrier as he replied. "I may not be able to disintegrate your mech, but you aren't resistant!" He countered as he unleashed a surprise nova.

Erik turned his back to the nova and the mech took the brunt of it, once it passed he turned around and fired another round. "Once I find the little freaks heart, I will smash it, and you both will die like the pathetic mongrels you are!" He threatened.

______*meanwhile.*______

Nocturne walked through the quiet room slowly, he found the holding area, but one of the captives told him that most had no will to fight left, so he was focusing on finding the release.

It took a minute, but Nocturne found it, he walked up to the device and grabbed the lever. "Warning, this lever will open all cells, state identification or be fired upon." The computer stated as many turrets lowered and aimed at him.

'Please work.' He muttered as he channeled his energy. "......Welcome Nocturne, deactivating security systems." The computer said.

Nocturne pulled the lever and all the cell doors opened, and the quiet room suddenly became loud as the captive Night Wolves emerged and marched around mindlessly.

Before he could walk over to the crowd of Night Wolves, Nocturne noticed a small cell that was out of the way, alone and dark, he walked over curiously and peeked inside, there was a second set of bars that wasn't linked to any source of power, he noticed a small stool and walked over, there was a young looking Night Wolf sitting in a corner, huddled in the dark. "Excuse me, do you want out?" He asked as he sat down.

The Night Wolf stiffened before slowly turning its head to look, it seemed to be shocked upon seeing Nocturne as it slowly stood and walked up shakily with a stunned expression. "Who?......who are you?" It asked quietly, it's voice was definitely female, her fur was black and her eyes are red.

"I'm Nocturne, what's your name?" He asked.

The Night Wolf backed up and paced a little. "I'm uh, I'm Zoey, want to light a match!?" She asked, her mood suddenly changing.

Nocturne blinked. "I.....don't have one." He replied, unsure of what to make of this.

Zoey grabbed the bars and rested her cheek on them. "That's fine!........so why are you here?" She asked, her voice suddenly serious.

"I'm freeing the Night Wolves, you can be free too, if you want." Nocturne replied.

Zoey stared into Nocturne's eyes, examining them carefully. "You aren't like the others." She said as she released the bars and walked away, sitting on the floor. "The others mumble and panic, obey and rebel, fight and die." She stated, her tone became eerie. "You are new, something different, something.......like me.." She said before looking at Nocturne. "Won't we get in trouble for escaping?" She asked, her voice was one of worry now.

Nocturne nodded and stood up, he gripped one of the bars. "I won't let you get in trouble." He swore.

Zoey stood and approached, she gripped the bars and looked into Nocturne's Orange eyes. "The bad man is here, he will not allow me to go free, he tortured me." She stated, her tone was quiet. "We can't beat him, we need to run." She added.

Nocturne shook his head. "No, he killed someone I cared about, I won't let him get away, not when I have the power to stop him." He replied.

Zoey grinned wildly. "Let's get him then!" She said eagerly, to Nocturne's surprise, Zoey's hands glowed bright red and the bars melted rapidly.

Nocturne was honestly surprised, if she could do that, what measures did the guards take to keep her in here? "My friend is fighting Erik to buy us time so we can get our hearts, come on, I'll take you there." He said.

Zoey shook her head. "No, the bad man must die first, then we can take what is ours." She said, her attitude changing once more to a serious one.

______*meanwhile*______

Shade cried out as he was flung into a wall and a barrage of bullects impacted on him, tearing him apart, as his body started to repair itself immediately, Erik spoke. "I truly don't understand you, you endure all of this pain for that little freak, when all you need to do is steal his heart and hide, you could live your life free and no one would know the truth." He aimed his gun. "It doesn't matter, I'll turn you to ash if I have to." He stated calmly before opening fire once more.

Shade screamed as the bullets tore his flesh and bone apart, he expected it to last a long time, but it soon stopped, he breathed heavily and looked up.

Erik's mech was being immobilized by Nocturne's power, who's hand was glowing a light green. "I see you've returned, little freak." The shark said as he tried to move to no avail.

Nocturne strained to keep him from moving. "Now would be a good time!" He called out.

Shade tried to move, but the pain combined with broken limbs made him immobile, and to his surprise, another Night Wolf jumped in out of nowhere and grabbed hold of Erik's right arm.

"How did you escape you little brat!?" Erik snapped as he tried to fight back, putting even more strain on Nocturne.

The smaller Night Wolf laughed maniacally as its hands glowed bright red, the metal arm then began to melt away slowly, and then it sped up rapidly. "I had a little help you bastard." The wolf stated, the voice was female.

Nocturne was soon forced to release his hold on Erik's mech, but by then the arm was almost completely melted off, Erik grabbed the Night Wolf and threw her aside.

In that moment, Nocturne threw a barrage of energy blasts at Erik, he hadn't noticed until it was too late, the blasts all hit and his mech arm was broken off, with that, Shade managed to force himself to move, he charged as fast as he could and lunged.

Erik hadn't noticed Shade, and wasn't able to react in time as the Night Wolf's claw pierced through his chest, he coughed up blood. "You freak, get off me!" Erik demanded as he grabbed Shade and threw him off.

Nocturne approached next and his left hand glowed light green, he walked right up to Erik with Zoey next to him. "This is for Sonya." He stated quietly before gripping both Erik and the mech with his power, he then slowly clenched his fist.

The arm and legs of the mech were crushed in seconds, the metal screeched as it was torn apart, Nocturne then forced Erik out of the mech, causing his body to be cut and bruised severely.

Erik cried out as he landed on the ground, when he looked up, the three Night Wolves stood over him. "I should have killed you three before you were awakened, abominations." He spat.

Zoey walked up to Erik and her hand glowed bright red. "No, your the only abomination here." She said, her voice monotone as she placed her hand on Erik's head.

The shark screamed in agony as Zoey's power attacked him, and soon enough, he paused his screaming for a split second, only for him to scream one last time before his body exploded into red mist.

Nocturne breathed a sigh of relief. "It's over." He muttered, he looked at what remained of the mech and used his power again, the metal groaned in protest but a second later it was nothing but ashes. 

"We need to get our people their hearts, then we need to run." Shade stated.

Zoey walked over to the pile of ash and kicked it, sending the pile everywhere, she then looked at the others. "Let's have some fun!" She stated eagerly.

______*in the present.*_______

"After that, we managed to get all of the hearts from the Junction, then we fled.......after Zoey burned one of the buildings down." Nocturne explained as he took a drink from his water bottle.

Shay had woken up while they were talking about Shade's death, she yawned and walked up the stairs. 

Nightmare and Shade were sitting on the couch opposite Nocturne. "So......what happened to Zoey?" Nightmare asked.

Nocturne pointed up. "She's upstairs, sleeping off a hangover and a really powerful tranquilizer." He said as he held his right hand over his eyes.

Nightmare raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Tranquilizer?" She asked.

Shade leaned back. "Zoey used to be a split personality, but losing her other selves a while ago made her really really angry, this is one of the drawbacks, she developed a.......resistance to sedation, the problem is that she became addicted to them, were working on that." He explained.

"So Nightmare, what brings you here?" Nocturne asked curiously.

Nightmare huffed. "Wish I knew, one minute I'm in my room, next thing I know I wake up in the park upstairs." She replied.

"How's that possible?" Nocturne asked.

Shade stretched and put his hands behind his head. "Remember when I told you about what happened to me?" He asked.

Nocturne nodded. "Yea, you told me about the Sentinel.......what was her name?" He asked.

"Lyaroa, basically a god, she made thousands of worlds, which we see more as dimensions." Shade explained.

Nightmare leaned forward. "I think she's the reason I'm here, it probably wasn't intentional, her power has been erratic lately." She said.

"You think she knows your here?" Nocturne asked.

Nightmare nodded. "I know she knows, she's probably waiting for her power to stabilize before she tries anything major like going across worlds." She replied.

Shade stood up and looked at Nocturne. "Do you have any beer left Nocturne?" He asked.

Nocturne nodded. "Third shelf." He replied.

Nightmare leaned back and looked at the ceiling. "Now I basically just have to wait for Lyaroa to get her shit together." She replied.

Nocturne nodded. "Well, it won't be that long of a wait for you, considering the time difference that Shade mentioned." He said,

Nightmare shook her head. "Knowing Lyaroa, she will have fixed that little issue, ugh.....she's annoying sometimes." She mumbled.

"So she can fix a time difference between worlds, but she can't bring you home?" Nocturne asked.

Shade walked back over. "It's probably more of a finesse issue, her erratic power must make it hard to focus on something small like us." He replied as he sat down and popped the lid off his beer bottle. 

Nocturne sighed and leaned back. "Well I can't spare a room, Zoey is......in the mood lately." He said quietly.

Shade nodded and took a sip from his drink. "Good thing I have a spare then." He looked at Nightmare. "Looks like your bunking with me until Lyaroa shows up." He said.

Nightmare laid back. "Great." She mumbled.

______*Meanwhile, in Equestria.*______

Fang was in his house alone as Spark was at school, and Trixie was out somewhere, he was currently sitting on his living room couch quietly listening to some music.

It was normal up until the music stopped and the world darkened, Fang groaned. "I thought I was past these stupid visions!" He complained.

"This is no vision, Fang." Replied a familiar voice from nearby.

Fang stood and looked in the direction of the voice, and he growled, he shifted to his wolf form. "Galesh." He hissed.

Galesh stood before Fang as a brown wolf, she did not seem worried about his reaction. "Calm yourself Fang, this is just an illusion i projected in your mind, in reality you are asleep, but I needed to speak with you in a way that my daughter can not detect." She explained.

Fang huffed and eased his tension. "Why are you here?......to gloat about killing me?" He wondered.

"That is pointless, and in case you forgot, Lyaroa almost killed me in return, not a memory to gloat over." She replied. "No, I came here to speak to you, we have a lot to talk about, and I think you'll be interested." She stated as she appeared on the chair.

Fang glared at the Sentinel for a moment before walking to his couch and sitting down. "I'm listening." He stated.
> Dreams and visions.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

______*Lyaroa's house, the next morning, 10:00 AM.*______

Roxanne walked down the stairs and into the living room, she was still slightly tired but not enough to deter her from moving.

Skitter had moved in recently, and she brought Garth with her, the two really helped to brighten up the home, but Lyaroa stilled craved the old days, but she knew that those would never come back.

Roxanne walked down the hallway that Lyaroa made, it was apparently endless, and every door was a gateway between worlds, according to Lyaroa they were unstable, so at best she could open the door and look inside, she walked through the hallway until she reached door three nine seven, she opened it and peeked inside.

The world here was that of Earth in ancient times, Roxanne stared into it for a time before closing it. "Are......are you alright mom?" Firefly's voice asked.

Roxanne looked down at her daughter. "Yea, guess I just miss Nightmare, it's hard to miss something until it's gone." She replied.

Firefly nodded. "She's coming home soon right?" She asked.

"Of course, as soon as Lyaroa's power is stable at any rate." Roxanne replied.

Strangely, Firefly shivered a little bit at the reply. "What's wrong?" Asked the fox.

"It's nothing, I just have bad experiences with Sentinel power." Firefly replied.

Roxanne knelt down and patted her daughters head. "Don't worry, Lyaroa won't use to hurt you, I know that much." She said reassuringly.

Firefly nodded. "Yea, you're probably right." She said.

With that said, the two walked back to the living room, where they saw Lyaroa talking with Estalli. "Galesh isn't that stupid to come back with me on alert, if she were, I would have sensed her." She stated.

Estalli sighed. "All I'm saying is that your powers are very erratic right now, I'm not sure if you CAN sense her." She replied.

Lyaroa chuckled and leaned on the wall. "My powers are not out of control, it's just difficult to use right now." She stated.

As soon as she finished her sentence, the wall she was leaning on collapsed, and she fell into the rubble, everyone was silent as they got closer to look.

They saw Lyaroa laying in the rubble with an annoyed expression. "Ok.....maybe my powers are a little out of control." She said before teleporting into the living room, then with a wave of her hand, the wall put itself back together.

"How long until your powers go back to normal?" Roxanne asked.

Lyaroa shrugged. "Five days or more." She replied.

"Or you can burn off the excess power and have it done with in a few hours." Estalli offered.

Lyaroa looked at Estalli. "I would rather not, I'm going to need this power if the Sentinel's send a hunting party after me." She replied.

"Can we send Nightmare a message then? tell her how long it will be?" Roxanne asked.

Before Lyaroa could answer, Estalli spoke. "I can do it easily and without risk, I just need to know where I'm sending it." She said.

Lyaroa sighed and looked to the center of the living room, a magical portal appeared before them, and they saw Nightmare and Shade. "Alright, what do you want me to say?" Estalli asked.

"Tell her it will be five days to a week before we can bring her home." Lyaroa answered.

Estalli closed her eyes and Nightmare's ears perked up in the portal, when Estalli opened her eyes she looked at the others. "She said she's alright, and is staying with Shade until she comes home." She stated calmly.

Lyaroa closed the portal and laid back in her chair. "And now we wait." She muttered.

______*A few hours later.*______

Roxanne was in her Pegasus form for once, she was walking with Firefly through town, as they walked however, they heard the townspeople whispering about how strange it was that Umbrea was gone. "Is......is Lyaroa going to bring her back?" Firefly asked very quietly.

"Someday, I hope, me and Nightmare just had no memories, Star was simply just Fang with a different body, but Umbrea was her own person, give it time okay?" Roxanne whispered in reply.

The two walked for a while until they found Twilight walking around with Spark and Spike. "Hey Twilight." Roxanne greeted.

"Oh, hey Roxanne." Twilight replied, she seemed distracted.

Roxanne raised an eyebrow. "You alright?" She asked.

Twilight nodded. "Yea, I'm just under some stress." She replied.

"You can tell me, maybe I can help?" Roxanne offered.

Twilight took a breath. "Ok then, I recently received two tickets for the grand galloping gala, one for myself, and one for somepony else, problem is, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy all want to go, and they won't leave me be about it." She explained.

Roxanne blinked. "Uh, why not just write to Celestia? tell her that you can't choose one of them and send the tickets back?" She suggested.

Twilight nodded. "I suppose that's the right choice here, thanks for the suggestion." She replied.

Roxanne nodded and looked at Firefly who was talking to Spike and Spark. "Come on Firefly, let's get going." She said.

Firefly ran over to Roxanne and walked with her. "Where are we going Koni?" She asked, defaulting to Changish in the end. [1]

Roxanne chuckled. "Nowhere specific." She answered.

_______*elsewhere.*______

Fang awoke with a jump, the sound in the world were heavily distorted and the world itself was a pale blue, he looked around as he breathed.

His breath was very loud, he could hear it as though he was breathing heavily. "Not again." He whispered.

The world suddenly shifted greatly and he was flung into a room, he landed with a groan and forced himself to stand up. "How long......does she have?" Asked a familiar voice..

Fang turned around and saw Roxanne, Nightmare, Estalli, Skitter and Firefly, Spark and.....Galesh? "Two weeks at best, after that......." Galesh trailed off. 

"How can we stop this?" Nightmare asked. 

Galesh looked at Nightmare. "We need to--" Her voice was comepletely warped and distorted, and then Fang was flung out of the room.

He soon ended up in a jungle of some kind, where a reptile of some kind came into view, it had a golden shine to it and it's eyes were bright cyan, it looked straight at Fang, he was then flung away once more, but this time he was floating above a city of dark gray materials and golden lights, his vision suddenly focused intensely, he noticed Sentinel's walking around and he witnessed a window break on a very tall structure.

He saw a very familiar white wolf land on the ground and run off. "What.....is this?" He asked himself.

He then witnessed a battle between Lyaroa and Galesh, ending in the death of Huralo Juzor, he watched as Lyaroa ran away, and teleported to who knows where.

Fang was then flung away once again, but now he was in a chamber, he recognized barrier symbols all over the walls, there were so many of them and they were all glowing, he looked to the center of the room and saw a pedestal, there was a sword floating above it, it was shaped like a Japanese katana but radiated incredible power.

Fang soon heard whisper after whisper in his head, they multiplied rapidly and he clutched his head. "Stop it! shut up already!" He cried out.

______*elsewhere.*_______

Fang shot up out of bed, his heart pounded and his eyes were wide open, he could smell the sweat on his body and he tried to calm down.

"Hey?......are you ok?" Asked a voice.

Fang looked in the direction of the voice and saw Trixie in the doorway, he took a few deep breaths and got out of bed. "I'll be alright, I'll clean up." He replied quietly as he took the sheets and blankets off the bed, he then took his pillow cases and walked out of the room. 

Fang wordlessly carried the bedding to his washer, he put it all in and put the detergent in, he then turned the machine on and walked to the bathroom. "I'll.....make some tea." Trixie said.

With a nod, Fang stepped into the bathroom, neither of them really drank tea, but when they did it was to help calm one or the other down.

A few minutes later, Fang walked out of the bathroom and changed his form to Star Shifter, he walked downstairs again and saw Trixie set the tea on the table.

Fang sat across from Trixie. "Was it another nightmare?" She asked out of concern. 

"In a way, it was more confusing, but the ending of it was......unbearable." Fang stated.

Fang took a sip from the tea and continued. "It was more of a vision, at least, it might have been." He looked at the unicorn mare. "I'm not sure what to make of it, but given how accurate my old visions were, I really hope it was just a nightmare." He stated.

"What did you see?" Trixie asked.

Fang sighed. "It's.....better I don't tell you, nothing we can do about it even if we tried." He said as he took another sip.

Trixie said nothing in reply, instead she simply drank her tea with Fang, eventually, she spoke again. "Have you ever considered the future? outside of your visions?" She asked.

Fang shook his head. "I see enough of the future as it is, I prefer to live In the present." He stated.

"Oh, I guess that makes sense." Trixie replied.

Fang finished his tea, he then noticed that Trixie was quieter than usual. "Are you ok?" He asked.

"Yea, i just.......Fang, how long have we been together?" She asked out of the blue.

Fang blinked and then crossed his arms. "I think......a couple months or so." He replied.

Trixie drank the last of her tea and set the cup down. "Yea, and those were some great months, but never really seemed, happy......so what's wrong exactly?" She asked.

Fang sighed and leaned forward, he took a breath. "Truth be told......I'm afraid, last time I came close to finding happiness, it was taken from me and the world as I knew it ended, I don't want to feel that again." He said, his expression was a sad one.

Trixie walked over and placed a hoof on Fang's knee. "I may not be the best at this sentimental stuff, but even I know that you can't give up because things didn't go right before, you need to keep going and keep trying to find happiness, even if it's only temporary." She stated.

Fang looked up at Trixie, he chuckled a moment later. "Yea.....your right I guess." He took a breath and stood up, shifting back to his wolf form. "I'm gonna go check on the laundry, then I'll get the spare bedding set up." He stated before walking to the laundry room.

______*Later.*______

Estalli walked into her room and sat down on the bed, ever since the battle with her mother, she had focused solely on training, and she simply spent her off time talking with Lyaroa or sitting in the park in silence.

Before she could lay down however, Estalli was greeted by a screen appearing before her and her mother appeared on it. "Oh, mother.......how goes your recovery?" She asked.

Galesh seemed to ignore the question. "Did you learn anything that I should know about?" She asked.

For a brief moment, Estalli debated whether or not she should tell her mother, but in the end she decided. "Her power has been erratic lately, I think she overloaded her systems and hasn't used enough to burn the excess out, she will be back to normal in five days, less if she uses enough power." She said.

Galesh sighed. "I don't know what that girl was thinking, taking in all that power, but regardless, I think it would be best if you kept your guard up, don't trust them entirely, not yet." She stated.

Estalli was silent for a moment, but answered anyway. "Of course mother." She replied.
> Erratic overload.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

______*the same day, Ponyville, Equestria.*______

Roxanne walked through the town in silence, recently Lyaroa had gotten more active, mostly in the form of nervous twitching, Estalli explained that this was one of many side effects to the overload that she was experiencing. 

Lyaroa still refused to give up this power however, and when asked why this was, she gave a smart ass reply about needing the energy for some bed time activities, which Roxanne was not completely opposed to, but she was far more concerned about her girlfriend's wellbeing.

Roxanne had pressed the issue, but this only served to make the sentinel even more determined to avoid the subject, so she stopped trying all together and instead decided to talk to Estalli about the issues, when everything had been explained, Estalli had said that it was all common in energy overload cases, where the idividual in question would become more erratic, paranoid and even go out of their way to avoid confronting the issue in front of them.

According to Estalli, the only thing they could do was to hope for the best at this point, because it was clear that Lyaroa was not willing to listen to reason.

"Who does she usually listen to when it comes to listening to reason?" Estalli had asked.

"Either me, Fang or Goldie." Roxanne had replied simply.

Estalli had been confused about who 'Goldie' was until it was explained, at which point she asked if it was possible to contact him. 

"It might be, we parted on good terms last I checked, so he probably won't attack us if we try." Roxanne had stated.

After that, Estalli seemed to be quiet and now Roxanne was walking through town trying to think of a way to convince Lyaroa to let go of the unstable energy.

'She won't willingly use it up, and her stubbornness is just making things worse, so how can I get her to use up that energy?' 

Just as she finished that thought, Roxanne spotted Fang walking through the market, though he was in his unicorn form right now, she immediately got an idea and headed over.

Fang seemed to notice her and walked to her, meeting her halfway, where they started to walk together. "Hey Rox, what's up?" He asked.

"I......need your help, Lyaroa is being stubborn, she won't let go of the unstable energy she's holding in, and I can't figure out why." Roxanne started.

With a nod, Fang looked up at the sky as they walked. "And you want me to talk to her?" He said, more like a statement than a question.

Roxanne looked at Fang who seemed to be debating something In his mind. "Yea, that's right.......she won't listen to me or Estalli, but she might listen to you, can you do something to make her see reason?" She asked hopefully.

Fang went into thought for a few minutes as they walked, and they soon stopped outside of Lyaroa's house, where he finally spoke. "I'll do it, just make sure Estalli is there with us, I'll handle the rest, tell Lyaroa I want to spar with her tommorow." He replied.

Roxanne watched as Fang started walking off. "Thanks." She whispered as she headed inside.

_______*the next day, 7:49 AM*_______

Fang walked into Lyaroa's house and looked around, the layout has changed once again, but he wasn't concerned about that, he looked around and saw Roxanne sitting in a chair with a bored expression. "Hey Rox." He greeted. "In she here?" He asked.

Roxanne nodded and stood up, she followed Fang to the training yard and after a few minutes they walked inside.

Lyaroa was inside pacing quickly, Estalli was here as well, maintaining her weapon, when she looked up and saw them enter, she spoke. "They're here sis." The younger Sentinel said.

Lyaroa looked over and saw Fang walking in, she gave him a brief smile. "Hey bud, what's up?" She asked quickly.

Fang crossed his arms. "Sparring, or did you forget because of your energy high?" He asked bluntly.

Lyaroa chuckled and walked over to him. "So what kind of sparring did you have in mind?" She asked.

Fang raised an eyebrow at her, the Sentinel laughed quietly before turning around and walking, at that exact instant, Fang reacted and with all his strength, threw a powerful punch at Lyaroa. 

"Gah!" Lyaroa exclaimed as she flew forward and landed on the ground. "What are you doing!?" Estalli asked as she readied her blade.

Fang looked at Estalli. "Stay out of this Estalli." He warned, his voice was eerily calm as he looked at Lyaroa who had just started to stand back up.

Lyaroa looked up at Fang as he summoned a staff. "I'm not going to fight you like this Fang, I'm not going to risk killing a friend." She said shakily, the surprise attack clearly taking a toll.

"Good, you are long overdue an ass kicking anyway." He said as he took one step forward, and was suddenly in front of Lyaroa, he then unleashed a flurry of blows, striking quickly and impacting on her arms and chest.

Lyaroa then felt the air drain from her lungs as Fang punched her in the gut, she collapsed and took many deep breaths. "What.....the hell got into you all of a sudden?" She asked through the pain.

Fang paced back and forth in front of Lyaroa. "Nothing, just some repressed anger from when you used my body as a puppet." He replied simply before apparently teleporting and swinging the staff hitting Lyaroa in the head.

The Sentinel cried out in pain, Roxanne moved to stop the fight but Estalli stopped her. "Wait, I see what he's doing." She whispered.

Roxanne glared at Estalli as the Sentinel explained. "He's forcing her to use that power, she has no choice but to use it, either to fight back or to heal herself." She said.

"He could have at least given me a heads up." Roxanne complained as she crossed her arms.

Fang looked down at Lyaroa. "Fight back, fight like your life depended on it, fight with the intent to kill, or just lie down and let me attack over and over again, because i can go on for a long time." He then dismissed the staff. "Or I could fight to kill you, and force a reaction." He said before holding his hand out. "Hydra!" He called out.

And soon enough a weapon materialized in his hands, a short black spear with a metallic hydra head at the end, it had a pattern which was similar to hydra scales, inside the hydra head was a small blue crystal, the spearhead itself was made of gray steel and had a razor sharp edge.

"That's going too far Fang!" Roxanne called out.

Fang said nothing in reply as he walked towards Lyaroa, once in range, he resumed his attack, relentlessly assaulting the Sentinel, his blows impacting and slashing her body over and over, but she wouldn't fight back.

Soon though, Fang stopped his assault and backed off, he sighed and dismissed the spear. "Look what you've become Lyaroa." He said.

Lyaroa's wounds were soon fully healed, but she wouldn't get up. "You've become so addicted to that power, that you won't even use it to defend youself." Fang continued.

"If you won't even use your power in self defense.......what makes you think you'll use it when someone you care for is hurt? or in danger of death?" He asked.

Roxanne noticed that Lyaroa's eyes had widened and that she was breathing rapidly. "And yet, when I was killed not long ago, one of the first things you did was bring me back, and when you did I had a vision." Fang said.

"In this vision, I saw your mother, only it felt like she was talking to me.......she told me that you didn't have a warriors heart, and that you were weak when it truly mattered." He stated.

Lyaroa closed her eyes as tears fell down her face, her hands now clenched into fists. "It would seem that she was right after all, you don't have it in you to actually fight, it's why you avoid conflict, and why you never used your true power in Dalcorus, and it's why you won't fight me." Fang continued.

Lyaroa grit her teeth, tears now flowed freely. "I'm going to give you one chance to prove me wrong." He said ominously.

"Attack me at full power now! or I will kill myself!" Fang stated loudly.

At this, Lyaroa opened her eyes and forced herself to stand, she turned and looked at Fang who had a dagger in his hands, she channeled her energy to her hands and she glared at Fang. "Fine, you want full power? here it is." She stated.

Fang was forced to drop the dagger as Lyaroa suddenly fired a beam of unimaginable power at him, he braced himself as it impacted him at full force, he grunted as he felt his skin being torn off from sheer power, he could hear Roxanne begging Lyaroa to stop. "Don't you dare stop Lyaroa! keep firing until you can't feel your damn arm!" He shouted.

The beam went strong for a good five minutes, Fang suffering in agony every second, until it finally ended, and Lyaroa was forced to stop.

When the beam finally stopped, both Fang and Lyaroa collapsed, Estalli immediately moved to heal Fang's wounds.

_____*a few hours later.*_____

Lyaroa had changed the layout of the living room one last time, and said that was the end of it, the walls were now a dark red and the floor had dark gray carpet, there was also very familiar railing on the ceiling. "Did she seriously change the living room AGAIN!?" Asked the resident Changeling.

"It was the last time Skitter." Roxanne said as said Changeling walked through to the kitchen and grabbed some things. 

Skitter noticed Fang and smirked. "Hey handsome." She said before walking upstairs.

Fang blinked and looked at Lyaroa and Roxanne. "Um.....what was that about?" He asked.

Roxanne sighed and leaned back on the couch. "Lyaroa healed Skitter's eyes, she can properly see things now, and she's been acting strange ever since." She replied.

Lyaroa laid back on the sofa, completely wiped out. "Apparently I'm 'feral and cute'" She stated. "And Roxanne is 'hot'" She added.

Fang shrugged. "Well, I have to get home, Trixie was not happy about me leaving so early." He joked as he stood up.

"Someone's in love." Lyaroa teased.

Roxanne laughed quietly. "Said the Sentinel with a girlfriend and a Changeling with a crush." She stated with a smirk.

Lyaroa groaned. "That's something I don't want to think about." She muttered.

Fang smiled and walked to the door. "See you around." He said, disguising himself as Star before leaving.

Once outside, Fang was greeted by Estalli. "Can I help you with something?" He asked when she didn't go inside when he stepped aside. 

Estalli nodded. "We need to talk, somewhere more private than this." She said.

Fang shrugged. "Fine by me." He said.

And just as quickly, they were in Fang's basement and he had gone back to his wolf form. "Speak freely, I put a silencing spell on this place." He said.

Estalli closed her eyes and she shifted to her Sentinel form, she had light blue skin and pale green eyes, she herself was only around five foot tall, even when floating. "My mother told me that she spoke to you." She said.

Fang's expression darkened as Estalli talked. "I'm not sure what is going on in her mind right now, but the fact that you aren't surprised means that my mother told you a lot, i don't truly understand how you all think, and I won't pretend like I do, but if you are able to get Lyaroa to at least talk to her, I will try to learn." She stated.

Fang was silent for a while before speaking. "I don't trust either of you......instead of scheming and attacking us, you could have tried to talk to us, but I won't stand in your way next time, but keep the others out of your stupid battles, if they get hurt, I will kill you myself." He warned before disappearing.

Estalli was silent as she teleported herself to her room . "At least she isn't in any more danger." She whispered.
> Reunion.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_______*unknown.*_______

A loud gasp for air, followed by the opening of two silver eyes, were the only sounds to fill the void of silence.

The owner of the eyes breathed quickly before standing up, a young looking unicorn mare with a white and gray mane, and dull white fur, she cleared her throat in an attempt to wet it, it felt drier than sand and it hurt to breathe.

The mare lit her horn and looked around, she was in a cave, that much she knew, but the vines and moss growing all over made it difficult to tell from first glance, she started to walk forward, her legs weak from lack of use, she winced every so often as she walked.

But she was determined, and she kept on moving regardless of the pain.

_______*Ponyville, three days after Fang's visit.*________

Lyaroa sighed in relief as she laid back on the roof of her house, she smiled as the sun shined on her.

Ever since Fang had knocked some sense into her, Lyaroa had felt immensely better, she no longer had the nervous twitch or urge to use it up, in fact she felt better than ever.

She watched as Pegasi flew through the sky, going about their day or just enjoying a flight, as she watched, Lyaroa felt a familiar urge, one that she hadn't had since she was Umbrea.

Lyaroa frowned as she thought on that particular subject, just yesterday she had visited Nightmare in Alabaster, Shade seemed happy to see her again, but they didn't talk for long.

Nightmare had dragged her to another room which Lyaroa soundproofed, and then they talked, the first topic was Umbrea's return, but Lyaroa had explained a problem that arose.

Because of the circumstances that Umbrea was subjected to, she currently didn't have the power to revive her, and probably wouldn't for a long time.

Nightmare had been very vocal about that, to the point where she had actually asked Shade if she could stay for a while longer so she could cool off from yelling at the Sentinel.

Lyaroa had then explained the situation to Roxanne, who, while upset that Nightmare wasn't returning right now, was happy that her sister was alright.

With a sigh, Lyaroa closed her eyes, the warm rays of the sun shined on her. 'Skitter's gone off to who knows where, Fang's living his life with his family and girlfriend, Estalli is.......adjusting, somewhat, Roxanne is out with Firefly, Nightmare won't talk to me, man, i really need a hobby.' She thought as she materialized her headphones and music player.

Before she could put the headphones on and play a song though, she heard a voice in her earpiece. "Hey uh, Lyaroa, you have a visitor." Came a familiar British voice.

"Thanks Wheatly." Lyaroa replied before she teleported inside.

The day after Fang kicked her ass, Lyaroa had brought Wheatly back, she had also upgraded his systems, making him her personal artificial intelligence, he stated that it was much better than floating endlessly in space.

Lyaroa walked to the front door as a knock came from it, she turned the knob and opened the door, revealing Spark. "Oh, hey little buddy." She said.

Spark looked......disturbed, he looked up at Lyaroa and spoke. "Mom......can I talk to you?" He asked.

Lyaroa blinked in surprise, she knew that Spark viewed her like that......but he had never called her that, except when it was incredibly important, she nodded and let him in. "Of course." She said, after the dragon walked in, she closed the door.

Spark followed Lyaroa as she guided him to the living room, he sat down on the couch and Lyaroa sat down next to him.

Lyaroa looked at Spark who took a deep breath before speaking. "I um.....I need to tell you something." He said. "You aren't going to like it." He added quietly.

"What is it Spark?" Lyaroa asked with a calm tone.

Spark shook and his hands clenched. "It......its Fang." He started, he visibly shook. "He was talking to Estalli." He continued.

Lyaroa didn't see the harm in that, she reasoned that the two must have talked often. "What's wrong with that?" She asked.

"Fang used his temporal manipulation to get them into the basement, and he said he soundproofed it." Spark replied.

Lyaroa thought on this for a while before putting two and two together. "And you were there when they uh.......did it?" She asked catiously.

Spark looked at Lyaroa with a perplexed expression. "When they talked? yes." He replied.

'Well, that's out I guess.' Lyaroa thought, she then waited as Spark continued. "They were talking about..." He shivered.

Lyaroa blinked, she recognized the expression on Spark's face, it was that of fear. "What were they talking about?" She asked quietly.

Spark looked at Lyaroa his eyes were frozen in fear. "Galesh." He stated.

In an instant, Lyaroa frowned and she looked off into the distance. "Im certain it was nothing." She muttered.

After some silence, the next words Spark said made Lyaroa freeze. "They were talking about getting you to talk to her, and from the sound of it, Fang talked to her personally." The young dragon said.

Lyaroa was silent for a while as she stared at the floor, but after a few minutes, she lifted her head and her eyes glowed with anger. "Spark, thank you for telling me this, I need to have a talk with your father." She then teleported away, leaving Spark alone in the house

Spark felt immense worry, on one hand, he wanted to stop Lyaroa from doing anything drastic, but on the other, he knew that he wouldn't be able to stop her if she got mad enough.

He closed his eyes and clenched his fists as he grit his teeth, he simply hoped in his mind that no one would do anything they would regret.

______*meanwhile*______

Lyaroa spotted Fang with Apache and Trixie, normally she would avoid interrupting this kind of outing, but this was a special case.

She walked over to Fang who saw her and her angry expression, he sighed and the others looked confused.

Lyaroa walked right up to Fang and grabbed his arm. "We need to talk, NOW!" She snapped before teleporting him away.

Fang recoiled as he ended up in a dimly lit room with two brown armchairs and a lit fireplace, he looked at Lyaroa whose eyes showed just how furious she was. "What exactly did you want to talk to me abou-" 

"Why are you talking to that butcher?" Lyaroa asked flatly, cutting him off.

Fang blinked in surprise as Lyaroa glared, after a minute, he spoke. "It wasn't......intentional." He started slowly.

When he saw that this only made Lyaroa angrier, feeling the intense power radiating from her, he cut to the chase. "She wants to talk to you and thought I would be her best bet." He quickly stated.

Lyaroa growled. "I don't care what she wants, that butcher can burn for all I care, she never should have been a mother of she's just going to send them to be tortured." She said with barely contained anger. "No mother should abandon her children like that." She added.

"Like mother like daughter it would seem." Fang stated in reply.

Lyaroa froze in place, she shivered as she stared at Fang in shock. "What?" She asked.

Fang crossed his arms. "Galesh told me all about it, how you have two children of your own, and yet you didn't tell any of us? or even introduce us?" He said.

Lyaroa felt her now clenched fists trembling, when she spoke, she did so with a furious yet quiet tone. "Be careful Fang, you are on VERY thin ice right now." She warned.

"And I didn't want to get pulled into your family drama, but here I am, so get this shit settled already, and stop pulling us into it." Fang said as he glared directly at Lyaroa.

The Sentinel said nothing as she snapped her fingers, sending Fang back to Trixie and Apache, she paced back and forth before teleporting out.

______*A few days later, Galesh's ship.*______

Galesh was currently on the bridge looking down on Equis, listening to her computer list off the report on her healing. "Your true form is currently at fifty percent madam, it will be some time until you can safely transform." The computer said.

The computer had just begun to continue speaking when the telltale ring sounded off. "Madam, you are recieving a transmission from lady Estalli." It stated.

"Patch it through." Galesh said, she looked forward and saw Estalli appear on a screen in front of her, but she was in a different place than usual. "Estalli, what can I do for you?" She asked.

Estalli seemed to be both relieved and stressed at the same time. "Mother, it's Lyaroa." She started.

"What about her?" Galesh asked curiously.

Estalli took a quick breath before speaking. "She knows Mother, she knows I have been talking to you, and she knows about you talking to Fang." She explained.

Galesh raised an eyebrow, she hadn't expected this, but she remained calm. "And? what else?" She asked.

"She said she will talk to you, but there are some conditions." Estalli replied.

Galesh motioned for Estalli to continue. "She will only talk to you in a place of her choosing, and she says that you have to land the ship, also, she wants to talk to you......with me and Roxanne present." She stated.

As she considered her options, Galesh sighed. "When?" She asked.

"I don't know, I'm supposed to message you when it's time." Estalli said.

Galesh crossed her arms. "Are you being threatened?" She asked quietly.

Estalli shook her head. "No......she's pissed, but Roxanne calmed her down, barely." She replied before looking off to something off screen. "I have to go, be safe Mother." She said before cutting the transmission.

Galesh looked down at floor in thought as the computer spoke. "Madam, as much as I know you want to speak with your wayward daughter, I do not think it wise to go." It said.

The Sentinel sighed. "I'm not going to get another chance, and I hate to admit it, but this is one trap I will willingly walk into." She replied as she walked out of the bridge.

"Don't you think you should at least recover more?" The computer asked.

Galesh walked into the main room and headed down a corridor. "Computer......activate the pods." She ordered as she entered a chamber with four glass pods in a circle, they had metal surrounding the base and many deactivated lights.

The pods hummed to life as the lights came on. "Madam, why do you need these pods? they are of no use to you." The computer asked.

Galesh stepped into one of the pods and the door closed, water began to fill the pod. "Don't be so sure computer." She said as she closed her eyes just as the water covered her head.

______*Later, Ponyville.*______

Roxanne sighed happily as she laid on the couch, she had a comfy blanket over her, soft music played from her music player and went through her headphones, she had been stressed with everything going on lately, so this was a nice change of pace.

Roxanne closed her eyes as she listened to her music, and as she did, she failed to notice someone creeping up on her.

In a few moments, Roxanne felt a hand place itself on her shoulder and her eyes shot open, she looked up at the owner of the hand and sighed. "Can you not freak me out right now Lyaroa? I'm jumpy enough." She said as she stopped her music and took off the headphones and shifted her position.

Lyaroa smiled as she hopped over the couch....and onto the now expanded section of the couch, which was now the size of a king size bed. "Maybe I can help you out?.....make you less jumpy?" She offered as she laid next to her girlfriend.

Roxanne looked at Lyaroa who had a suggestive expression. "Maybe later........I'm just a little freaked out about your.......um, Galesh, coming into our home." She said.

Lyaroa simply moved closer and pulled Roxanne into a hug. "Eh, cuddle now, worry later." She said as she nuzzled Roxanne's arm.

In reply, the fox simply sighed and returned the hug, seeing no way out of it, they simply laid there, silent in each other's arms.

The peace was not to last however, as Wheatly moved along his rail. "Visitor." He said calmly.

Roxanne sighed and slowly got up regardless of Lyaroa's complaints, she walked to the front door and shifted to her Pegasus form, she opened the door and greeted the person who knocked.

"Hello, how can......I....." Roxanne trailed off as she stared,

Right in front of her, was a very familiar unicorn, her white and gray mane, silver eyes, dull white fur, and cutie mark were very telling. "Oh.....I'm sorry, I thought." The unicorn turned to go and leave.

Roxanne pulled herself out of her stupor and spoke. "Dark?.....is that really you?" She asked.

Darkestlight, the unicorn, turned around and looked at the Pegasus. "Rox?" She asked out of bewilderment.

Roxanne looked around and then shifted to her fox form when no one was looking. "It's really you." The unicorn said as she walked closer.

Roxanne smiled and then moved forward, she picked up Darkestlight and pulled her into a deep hug, laughing as she did so. "You have no idea how good it is to see you again!" The fox stated happily.

Dark winced. "Rox....I-I need to breathe." She said.

Roxanne quickly put Dark down. "Sorry, but it's been crazy here, a lot of stress, um.....come on in." She said.

Dark nodded and walked inside the house, she looked around and noticed how different it was compared to before. "Hey Migraine! Look who it is!" Roxanne said.

From the expanded couch bed, Lyaroa sat up and saw Dark, she grinned. "How are you Dark?" The Sentinel asked.

"I've been better......but thanks." Dark replied.

Lyaroa took a breath and leaned on the arm rest of the couch, she then looked Dark over.

The unicorn looked like she had seen better days, her mane was dirty and unkempt, her fur was covered in dust and dirt, and she looked very tired and hungry. "As good as it is to see you Dark, I think you need to clean up before we can talk." Lyaroa stated gesturing to the mares dirty fur and mane.

"Go on up to the bathroom, I'll make sure there's food and drink down here for you." Lyaora added as she looked at Roxanne.

Dark nodded. "Thanks." She said before heading upstairs for a much needed shower.

Lyaora stood up and walked to the kitchen. "Migraine, are you just going to ignore this?" Roxanne asked as she walked over and leaned on the counter.

The Sentinel paused for a brief second before continuing to make Dark some food. "I'm not ignoring anything, I would just prefer to have some fun before my talk with Galesh." She stated.

Roxanne gave Lyaroa a disbelieving look. 'She seems too......happy, last time Galesh was here she was traumatized for weeks.'

"What's really going on in your head Lyaroa? I understand not wanting to think about this right now, but outright ignoring it and acting like nothing will happen? that's not how you think." Roxanne observed.

Lyaroa worked at a slower pace as the fox talked. "Last time she was here, you weren't yourself for weeks, you were jumping at your own shadow, you never went outside, only teleported, and wouldn't really talk to anyone." She sighed and softened her gaze. "At least promise me that you won't do anything stupid." She said.

The Sentinel turned and looked at the fox, her eyes were strained and her expression was tired. "You know I can't promise that Roxanne, I have no idea why she wants to talk this time, so I can't make any promises." She said before returning to cooking.

Roxanne opened her mouth to speak, but soon closed it, she sighed and walked to the couch to lay down.

After a while, Dark walked down the stairs, looking much better than she did when she arrived, her fur and mane were clean and she looked refreshed overall.

Lyaroa ringed the bell on the counter that she only just made. "Now serving!" She called out.

Dark looked over at Roxanne who simply shrugged, she looked over at Lyaroa who simply chuckled as she dismissed the bell and teleported the food to the table. "Go ahead and eat, we can catch up afterwards." The Sentinel said before walking to the Living area, she sat down in the chair next to the now normal couch.

After a couple of minutes, Dark walked over and sat down on the sofa across from Lyaroa. "Well, first things first.....how are you Dark?" The Sentinel asked.

"Before or after I came here?" Dark wondered. 

Roxanne gave a half shrug. "Before?" She offered.

"I was happy, I had Syrin and Ralkon, life in the Empire was peaceful, far from perfect, but it was our home, things took a turn for the worse however, when King Sombra's daughter went missing." Dark explained.

The unicorn stretched a little bit. "We remembered that Sombra was going to banish the Empire, and I tried to get Ralkon to leave with us, but he refused to leave." She sighed. "He chose to stay behind to help our people to survive, as for Syrin? well.......I don't know what happened to her." She admitted.

Roxanne raised an eyebrow as did Lyaroa. "What do you mean by that?" Lyaroa asked curiously.

Dark looked at the Sentinel. "We were about to get out of the Empire when we were discovered by a pack of Wendigos, they were highly resistant to our magic, and we had no choice but to run, we managed to get to the edge of the mountains when we were surrounded." She explained. "The last thing I remember is getting ready to fight before i got knocked out, after that, I woke up in a cave and managed to make my way here." She said.

Roxanne blinked. "Why? you had no way of guaranteeing that we would be here, so why make the long journey?" She wondered.

Dark sighed to herself. "I tried to go home......but the Empire was gone, so I came here, knowing that some day, Twilight and the others would go the Empire, but when I got here, I decided to try my luck." She replied. "And here we are, and I need a favor." She asked, looking at Lyaroa.

Lyaroa shook her head. "I'm not bringing the Empire back, i won't damage this timeline more than we already have." She stated firmly.

"You don't have to." Dark said calmly. "You once said that anyone who traveled through worlds gets a unique mark, Syrin went through numerous worlds before you helped her, and Ralkon has visited an alternate dimension once or twice." She stated.

Lyaroa took a deep breath and then sighed. "Ugh.........fine!" She said, standing up, she crossed her arms. "If I find them and they want to stay, don't blame me." She muttered.

The Sentinel vanished and Dark looked at her friend. "Lyaroa seems......different." She said.

Roxanne nodded. "Yea, you missed a lot around here, namely, Lyaroa's mother showed up." She stated.

Dark blinked in surprise and leaned back. "Wow.......I bet that was some reunion." She said.

"She tried to kill us all and take Lyaroa back to the Forge to face justice for killing Huralo.......Lyaroa's father." Roxanne explained.

Dark shook her head. "Yea, a lot to catch up on." She mumbled.

Just as Dark finished talking, Lyaroa teleported into the room, lying right next to Roxanne and the suddenly larger couch, she had her hands behind her head and looked relaxed. "Where are they?" Dark asked.

"Syrin is asleep in the infirmary, she was badly hurt and unconscious, but she's healing up nicely, I was able to find Ralkon, but he said something about 'meeting us when the time was right' or whatever." Lyaroa stated.

Dark narrowed her eyes at the Sentinel. "Where?-" She was cut off as she was teleported away.

Roxanne sighed and laid down next to Lyaroa. "She's going to kill you for that." She said.

Lyaroa grinned and looked at Roxanne. "No she won't, she might use me for a punching bag, but she won't kill me." She replied before shifting to her side. "Now.......can we have some fun? or am I going to go to bed bored tonight?" She gave the fox a fake pout.

Roxanne rolled her eyes and pulled the Sentinel in, she wrapped her arms around her girlfriend. "This will have to do for now Migraine." She muttered.

Lyaroa said nothing, instead she simply cuddled closer. "Later then." She said with a small smile.

______*A few days later, Galesh's ship, 3:00 PM*______

Galesh grumbled as she sipped from her mug. "Is my real body ready yet?" She asked out of aggravation.

"No madam, your usage of the pods has drained much of the regenerative process, your body is still only at fifty percent." The computer stated.

Galesh muttered something under her breath and then spoke louder. "I don't know how Lyaroa does it, having a digestive tract is nothing more than a nuisance........why did you give this body one anyway?" She asked after complaining.

"Eating replenishes the body." The computer stated cryptically. 

Galesh was about to respond when she hear a familiar beeping. "Transmission from lady Estalli." The computer said.

"Patch it through." Galesh ordered, and just as quickly, Estalli appeared on screen in a dimly lit room. "Is it time Estalli?" She asked.

Estalli nodded, she was in her Sentinel form currently. "It is, just teleport to me, she's waiting." She said.

Galesh took a deep breath and stood up. "Computer, cloak the ship and take us down, land next to Lyaroa's house." She ordered.

"Of course......madam councilwoman." The computer replied as Galesh teleported.

______*Ponyville, Lyaroa's house.*_______

Galesh had teleported into a dimly lit room with little decorations, all that was in the room were two armchairs, a lit fireplace, and three other people.

Estalli was floating at one side of the fireplace, Roxanne was leaning against the wall on the other side, and Lyaroa was kneeling in front of the fireplace. "This is my personal quiet room." Lyaroa said, her tone was unreadable. "I come here when I need to think or just want some silence, it's warded, sealed, protected and trapped, no one comes in here without my say so." She explained as she stood up.

"No one will bother us in here, I've made sure of it.......Estalli and Roxanne are here to make sure we don't kill eachother, specifically to make sure that I don't kill you." Lyaroa stated before turning to look at Galesh, her eyes burned with hatred and resentment.

Lyaroa walked over to a chair and sat down, Galesh did the same. "As much as I hate to admit it, it is nice to see you outside of your Sentinel body, feels liberating doesnt it?" Lyaroa asked.

Galesh crossed her arms. "No, it's annoying, having to take care of this body is nothing more than a nuisance." She replied.

Lyaroa took a silent breath and spoke. "Before we start actually talking, I want to make it perfectly clear, i am not returning to the Forge, and I never will." She stated firmly before looking at the fire.

"I......I know." Galesh said after a minute, surprising Lyaroa for a split second.

Lyaroa glanced at Galesh. "Why did you stay here? you could have easily left." She asked.

"I stayed for my daughters." Galesh said.

Lyaroa narrowed her eyes at the older Sentinel. "You lost the right to call yourself my mother when you left me with those monsters." She stated. "And since when do YOU have a conscience?" She asked out of hostility.

At this Galesh's eyes hardened and she gave off an aura of anger. "I hated that day Lyaroa......ever since that day I felt like my heart was ripped apart, I have done everything I can to prevent the Sentinel's from going after you, but their patience wears thin." She stated as she glared. "My conscience? the only thing it's told me to do ever since that day has been to free you, bring you home." She added.

Lyaroa huffed. "Like I believe you, your actions caused me to be tortured for thousands of years, and when I broke out, you caused dads death by refusing to lower your stupid barrier." She countered. "And as for the Sentinel's? they sent YOU to get me, I doubt that's doing much." She said before looking back at the fire.

"Do you really think I was the only one looking for you?......the Hunters have been searching for a long time now." Galesh stated, and when she saw that Lyaroa didn't seem to care, she opened her mouth to speak but was cut off. "There's nothing you can say to make me listen to your lies Galesh, so either attack me, or leave and stop wasting my time." To these words, Galesh sighed and spoke.

The next words however, made Lyaroa shake in anger. "Your father wasn't who you thought he was." She stated.

Lyaroa glared daggers at Galesh. "Dad was a good man." She said, anger clear in her voice.

"YOUR FATHER WAS A BASTARD!" Galesh snapped as she stood up from the chair, her golden eyes became red for a brief second before she took a deep breath and sat back down. "Huralo was a good man on the outside, but inside? he had a deep seated hatred for people like us........Empaths." She explained.

Lyaroa immediately stood up. "We're not talking about this." She said as she started to walk to the door.

"Yes you are." Came Roxanne's voice as a firewall appeared at the door, startling the Sentinel.

Everyone looked at Roxanne whose right hand was on fire. "Sit back down Lyaroa, Galesh never explained her side of the story........and I for one intend to hear this, so sit down, shut up and listen." The fox ordered.

At this outburst, Galesh had expected Lyaroa to do something to Roxanne, or maybe just teleport out, instead she did the unexpected, she did as the fox said, and sat back down without complaint.

Galesh waited until everyone was listening before continuing. "Huralo's family could trace their legacy one million years back, no Empaths.....they are staunch believers that we are nothing more than defects, so when we married, he had no idea what I truly was." She explained.

"In fact, he never found out that I was an Empath until you discovered it for yourself, before that, as you remember, we were happy." Galesh stated. [1]

Lyaroa scoffed. "Are you seriously suggesting that dad hated me?......your lying." She said, her tone was one of impatience and barely contained anger.

"Bullshit." Galesh countered. "I KNOW you can tell if I'm lying, your father wouldn't dare say anything about it to you, or I would have killed him myself." Galesh continued. "That is what the arguments were about, he was beyond furious about not being told that I was an Empath, and you being born completely marred his bloodline." She said.

"Was that a serious thing?" Roxanne asked curiously.

Lyaroa huffed and leaned forward. "Sadly, yes, bloodlines were an important symbol of power and respect, an old philosophy but one that some families still hold onto." She looked at Galesh.

The older Sentinel then spoke. "As time went on, Huralo grew increasingly hostile, but whenever Lyaroa was present, he kept it hidden, for some reason, he believed it better punishment to make her hate me, than to outright leave." Galesh sighed and looked at her daughter. "One day however, he grew tired of the charade and forced me to take you to the Swordwraiths, who had been seeking to indoctrinate you ever since you were born." She explained.

Lyaroa narrowed her eyes. "And why didnt you just hide me somewhere? it would have been better than what you did." She asked.

Galesh bit her lip for a moment, before opening her mouth to speak. "He was friends with the grandmaster, and if you weren't with them when i returned home.........he would have killed Anseri." She stated, she then looked at the fireplace and watched it in silence.

The room was silent for several minutes, no one seemed willing to speak at first, eventually.....Roxanne spoke. "So why did you try to stop Lyaroa? when she was running away that is?" She asked.

Galesh looked at the fox. "Huralo.......became more deranged as time went on, I was personally unable to leave him and take my family elsewhere, because of subsection four of law thirteen." She stated.

"No member of the council is allowed to seperate from their Soulmate nor harm them until death." Estalli muttered.

Galesh looked back into the fire. "This law was put into place after my predecessor was discovered to be abusing many laws in order to gain power over all the rest." She explained.

Lyaroa said nothing and instead leaned back into her chair. "What will happen? should I refuse to go with you?" She wondered.

Galesh seemed reluctant to answer, but the pained look in her eyes said volumes, she took a deep breath and spoke. "The Sentinel government can't let your murder of the grandmaster of the Swordwraiths and many senior members go unpunished." She stated. "If I fail to bring you home and the Hunters fail......the Sentinel army will come after you, then? not even your temporal manipulation will be able to save you." She finished.

Lyaroa rolled her eyes. "I can't do that anymore, or did your 'superior' senses not realize that?" She mocked.

Galesh looked at Lyaroa as if she had done something stupid. "Where did that power go?" She asked immediately.

This time, Estalli answered. "Isn't is obvious mother? she transferred the power to Fang, he may not understand how to use it perfectly, but he has a better understanding of it than the few Sentinel's I've met that have that power." She said.

Galesh shook her head in disbelief as she sat back in the chair. "What were you thinking? giving a mortal the power to control time?" She asked.

"Better than an immortal." Lyaroa countered. "Besides, I wouldn't have trusted it to anyone else.......now though." She went silent as she stared at the slowly dying fire.

Another few minutes passed and Lyaroa put more wood in the fireplace, helping it to keep going, she then sat back down, the room became silent again.

Roxanne was once again, the one who broke the silence. "What was that orb thing you used on Lyaroa?" She asked.

Galesh looked at the fox. "Everything she sacrificed, her power, her memories." She answered. "I needed her to have her powers back, it was in an attempt to buy time, sadly, with my failure, the Hunters will be intensifying their search, in the worst case scenario, they will go to the Sentinel army for assistance." She explained.

Lyaroa stood up and crossed her arms. "Look, we talked, now get out of my house, before I lost my patience." She said before teleporting out.

Roxanne sighed and walked to the door. "Hold on." Galesh said.

Galesh stood up as the fox turned around, Estalli had already left. "What is it?" Roxanne asked.

"Tell me Roxanne, you have a strong bond with my daughter, correct?" Galesh asked.

The fox hesitated, but nodded anyway. "Have you seen her heart?" The Sentinel asked.

"Why?" Roxanne asked catiously.

Galesh walked a little closer, but kept her distance. "Contrary to what Lyaroa believes, I do care about what happens to her, and I am curious as to her health, like most beings, you can tell the state of a Sentinel's health by the condition of their heart." She explained, for once, her eyes weren't cold or annoyed, they were simply calm.

Roxanne raised an eyebrow, she sighed and spoke. "I've only seen it once, and that was when she was about to die from Fang's sword." She said, at Galesh's confused expression, she held up a hand. "I....might explain some other time." She said.

"Anyway, when I saw it.......I felt so many emotions flood my mind, it was exhilarating, sorry, off track." She paused to collect her thoughts for a second when she saw Galesh growing impatient. 

"The heart itself was a myriad of different colors, red and blue, pink and black, yellow, it was beautiful." She stated.

Galesh seemed to be in deep thought for a second before shaking her head. "Nevermind, I should go before Lyaroa kills me for staying too long." She immediately teleported out.

Roxanne sighed and walked out of the room, she then headed for the living room, deep in thought. 

She walked slowly and eventually reached the living room, where she spotted Syrin and Darkestlight talking to eachother about something, they seemed happy all things considered, the fox smiled at the sight and walked to the stairs.

As Roxanne walked upstairs, she thought on recent events, and how much her life had changed since her days at Freddy's, she wondered how things would have gone if Shade or Golden had been here, or if they had never erased their memories.

But most of all, she worried, she worried about the future they faced now that the Sentinel's were out hunting them, no...hunting Lyaroa, not them. 

'If the Sentinel's try to take Lyaroa by force, what will Galesh do? what will Estalli do?.......what will WE do?' She worried.

Roxanne soon entered her and Lyaroa's room, she walked to the bed and sat down, she laid back and held one arm over her eyes while resting the other on her stomach.

"Concerned?" Lyaroa's voice asked.

Roxanne moved her arm and looked over at Lyaroa, the sentinel was sitting by her pillows and looking at her with a tired expression. "Worried about the future." She then covered her eyes again. 

"You kill a few people, and an entire species is out to get you, how rude." Lyaroa joked.

Roxanne didn't even feel up to scolding Lyaroa at this point, she just sighed and after a few minutes, she spoke. "Migraine?" She asked.

"Yea?" The Sentinel asked.

Roxanne looked over at Lyaroa. "Hey.......you up for some fun? I'm in the mood." She offered.

Lyaroa grinned and sealed the room. "Hell yes." She muttered.
> Long time coming.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_______*Ponyville, Equestria, 6:00 AM, the next day.*_______

Galesh stood in her ship in absolute silence, she was in the main room of the ship just standing in the dark, after a few minutes the lights came on followed by a voice. "Madam Galesh?" The computer said. "Why are you standing in the dark? are you feeling well?" It wondered.

With a sigh, the Sentinel spoke. "My daughter is being hunted by our own people, and while the people themselves are happy about what she did." She paused and shook her head. "I lost her once, I won't lose her again." She said as she walked to the holo table, she then turned it on and pushed multiple buttons. 

"Madam, what are you doing?" The computer asked.

Galesh rubbed her tired eyes and spoke. "I'm checking for Hunters or the Sentinel army." She answered easily.

"Madam, Hunters have sophisticated cloaking technology that bypasses our scanners, and the army is not subtle when they enter new worlds." The computer said, it's calm voice was soothing to the stressed Sentinel.

Galesh sighed and leaned on the table as the scanner searched. "I know.......but they were here once, and I'm hoping that they stopped their search in this world and moved on, but we aren't that lucky......those power spikes from my daughter are sure to have drawn them here." She covered her eyes with her left hand. "I can't lose Lyaroa again.......I lost her and Anseri that day." She took a deep breath. 

"Computer." She said quietly.

The computer was silent for a moment before answering. "Yes? madam councilwoman?" It asked.

"Scan for Anseri again." The Sentinel ordered in a whisper.

"Madam....as you wish." The computer complied, albeit with a tone of reluctance, but not without concern. 

It was a only a few seconds but the computer replied. "As before, I cannot pinpoint your daughter's location, but she is alive and.......strange." The computer remarked.

Galesh looked up and at the holo table. "What?" She asked.

"Do you remember how I told you Anseri lost a child?" The computer asked.

With a nod, the computer continued. "That child is alive again, I'm not sure how, but it is true." It finished.

Galesh's wolf ears perked up at that. "If her child was resurrected, then we can trace that power!" She immediately headed for the bridge. "Beginning trace Madam." The computer stated.

As Galesh entered the bridge and got into the pilot seat, she pulled up a terminal and sent a message to Estalli.

Within moments, Estalli answered and she appeared on screen. "Mother? why are you up so early?" The younger Sentinel asked.

Galesh turned on the engines as she replied. "I'm leaving for a while, I don't know how long I'll be gone, but the trip will be worth it." She said.

Estalli stretched but appeared concerned and confused. "Why are you leaving? you just started to patch things up with Lyaroa?" She asked.

For once, Galesh managed a smile as she looked at her daughter. "I have a way to find Anseri, let Lyaroa know I'm leaving, I don't want to startle her into taking action." She stated as the ship fully turned on.

Estalli nodded. "Be careful mother, and good luck." She said.

With that, the connection was cut and Galesh flew the ship out of the town and out of orbit. "Madam, it's good to have you back." The computer said.

With that, Galesh swapped to her Sentinel form. "Good to be back." She said as the ship flew off.

_______*Later that day, Lyaroa's house, 12:10 PM*_______

Estalli waited in the living room with Roxanne and Skitter, she had been preoccupying herself by answering questions, mostly about what the Forge was like, what her brother was like, how she became a sword wraith, and currently, why she wasn't very powerful compared to her mother or Lyaroa.

"The sword wraiths were remade, the old traditions and rituals like the Ascension ceremony are still around, but the torture? that was revealed through an in depth investigation and immediately banned and outlawed, the new sword wraiths are voluntary, my generation aren't as powerful or resilient, but we retain our personalities, and most importantly, our emotions." Estalli explained.

"Even so, you should have been able to kill us easily, so why didn't you?" Skitter asked with a flat tone.

Estalli sighed. "I only trained for a year, truth is? I'm only about two hundred years old, so my power is still in its fledgling stages, as for why I didn't kill you quickly? my own personal honor, I was going to follow orders, but I felt like you deserved some time to try and fight back......it's why I was eager to face Nightmare in single combat." She explained.

"And the whole, 'mortal weaklings' bit?" Roxanne asked.

"You would have to ask my mother about that, she doesn't usually act that way, but she refused to tell me why she did it." Estalli replied.

At that moment, there were footsteps coming from the stairs, followed by a voice. "It was an act...the Hunters were tracking her through specific speech patterns, if she said anything out of turn, like say...her name? they would have been here instantly." Lyaroa said as she entered the living room, she looked at Estalli, who was currently in her Sentinel form. "Now, why did you want to talk to me?" She asked.

Estalli stood up and looked right at Lyaroa. "Mother left." She said, the statement seemed to startle Lyaroa and the others, but Lyaroa quickly shifted to an indifferent expression. 

"Good, she can stay away." She said as she turned to walk away. 

Lyaroa had only taken a step when Estalli continued. "She found Anseri." The younger Sentinel stated, making Lyaroa freeze in place, she looked over her shoulder at Estalli.

Roxanne watched carefully as Lyaroa went silent, she stared at the floor for a few seconds before teleporting away in silence. "Why is that such a big deal?" Skitter asked out of curiosity.

Estalli looked at Skitter. "Anseri disappeared on the same day that mother was forced to give Lyaroa to the Sword wraiths, no one has been able to find her since." She stated.

"What changed?" Roxanne asked.

Estalli shook her head. "Mother didn't tell me, but she seemed certain that she would succeed." She said as she shifted to her raptor form. "Anyway, I have to get back to training, I'll see you around." She said as she walked to the door.

"Hold on, we have a training room you can use." Roxanne stated.

Estalli looked over her shoulder...she then nodded. "Alright then, let's see what you've got." She said as she followed the fox.

______*later that day, Ponyville, Apache's POV.*______

The cool night air was a welcome change to the warm air of the afternoon and day, I landed on a passing cloud and looked around, thankfully there was nopony around me, I sighed and sat down, resting my weary muscles for a spell.

I rested my head on the cloud and closed my eyes, I had been flying all day to avoid my family and Trixie, don't get me wrong, I love my family, but right now I needed to be alone.

I didn't say much about it, nor did I confide in anypony about what happened, but I never truly cake to terms with what happened to my brother.

Star...or Fang if you prefer, hasn't changed much since being 'healed' by Estalli, and while I accepted that he was my brother no matter what, I felt like he lost something along the way.

I shake my head as I pick myself up and fly back home, I wasn't avoiding my family because of who they were, more along the lines of me fearing I would say something in the foul mood I was in.

I soon reach the house and fly into my room, and land on the floor and close the window, but just as I did I heard a voice. "What's bothering you?" Came Fang's voice.

I turn around and I see Fang leaning on the door with his arms crossed, he seemed disappointed.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, feigning ignorance.

Fang raised an eyebrow and shifted into Star as he walked to my bed and sat down. "I am talking about you avoiding us all day, talking to no one and even skipping school." He stated, clearly not believing my words.

"I wanted to be alone today, that isn't uncommon." I say defensively as I close the window.

Fang gave me an critical eye, examining my face for something, and he soon spoke. "I know you haven't come to terms with me being your brother, and that you feel like I took him away, and I doubt that anything I say will make a difference, and Spark confirming who I am doesn't help that." He said before shifting to his wolf form.

"I don't think things will ever go back to how they used to be, but perhaps we can try to make this new situation work." He then stood and walked over to me, he knelt down to my level and stared into my eyes for a moment. "So Apache, can I have a chance to be your brother again?" He asked.

I didn't reply at first, instead I stared into Fang's eyes, I searched them for any sign that he was lying, but instead of seeing any deception, all I could see was sadness and worry, I waited for around ten seconds before speaking. "Yea...sure thing." I say quietly as I turn to close the curtains.

Fang stood up behind me and walked to the door to leave. "Night Apache." He said.

"Night Fang." I reply.

After Fang closed the door, I climbed into bed and closed my eyes, seeking to just get the day over with.

______*Fang's dream, later that night.*_______

Fang looked around his dreamscape, it was the same as always, a large open field with green grass, the leaves on the trees were in autumn colors.

There was a change however, for one there was a small pond with two different kinds of flowers around it, there was also a small wooden shack with no furniture in it and the door was open.

Fang took a deep breath and closed his eyes, he simply wished to enjoy this quiet time as much as he could, he smiled as a gust of wind gently brushed against his fur.

He stood in silence for a few minutes until he felt the familiar yet unwelcome sensation of being pulled into a vision, he sighed and opened his eyes. "Let's get this over with." He said as he walked forward.

Instead of the world being distorted and throwing Fang around like usual with the visions, this time he simply walked forward calmly as the world around him changed.

He walked for while until the world stopped changing, he was now in a jungle that was both familiar yet unfamiliar all at once, he looked around the small clearing he was in, the trees were tall and the brush was thick, the forest itself seemed to have a will of its own somehow, a feral and aggressive will at that.

Fang soon heard the brush behind him shuffle, he quickly turned around and he backed up at what he saw, there was a large reptile emerging from the brush, more specifically a raptor, it's glowing cyan eyes bore into his very being, it shining golden scales were now more clear and in a pattern. 

Before anything else could happen, the world changed once again, this time it was in a strange rocky wasteland, there was nothing in three directions, but ahead of him were two shadowed figures, he couldn't make them out but they were looking in his direction.

The world changed once more and he was now on what appeared to be a long beach, he looked around, there were beach towels, coolers, umbrellas and various bottles of sunscreen.

Fang also noticed the lifeguards post, as well as several wooden staircases attached to platforms so people could go to and from the beach, he took in the salt filled air and looked around more, it was then that he noticed two familiar figures on the beach.

Fang walked over and soon recognized them as Lyaroa and Galesh, they were looking out at the sea and seemed to be talking about something.

Fang soon reached an invisible barrier, he didn't try to break past it and simply watched as Lyaroa and Galesh looked at each other, and to Fang's great surprise, they hugged briefly before Lyaroa walked off.

To his relief, the vision ended and he was back in his dreamscape, he looked around for any changes but was relieved when nothing changed, he then laid down on the grass and closed his eyes. "Maybe now I can relax." He muttered to himself.

________*a few days later, Ponyville, Lyaroa's house, 9:01 AM.*________

Estalli was sitting on Lyaroa's couch next to Night Frenzy, who was in her fox form for once, they were currently playing a video game...and Estalli was horrible at it.

Night Frenzy was clearly winning judging by the score, and Skitter was in second, with Fang in third. "I don't get it, it serves no purpose, there is no real reward or reason to do so, and yet I can't stop playing." Estalli said.

"It's called enjoying the game, it's for entertainment, stop thinking about it so much and just enjoy it." Skitter said.

Yesterday, Night Frenzy had come back home, Skitter returned from her trip, while Galesh was still nowhere to be found, and as much as it annoyed her, Estalli could not get a transmission through no matter what she tried.

Estalli shook her head and put the controller down. "Judging by the fact that you and everyone else in this house knows what a video game is, I'm guessing that my sister interfered quite a bit?" She asked.

"How did you guess?" Roxanne said with an amused tone from behind the couch, Estalli looked back and saw that the fox was wearing a white robe and had large black circles under her eyes. "You look like death." The sentinel said.

"What happened to you?" Night Frenzy asked.

Roxanne yawned and put on a sleepy smile. "I was up for three days traveling around worlds with Lyaroa, funny thing about world four, you have to cut the limbs off the dead to kill them." She walked to the kitchen tiredly.

Skitter looked at Estalli. "Maybe you should find out how Lyaroa is doing?" She whispered.

Estalli sighed and got off the couch, she shifted into her Sentinel form and headed upstairs.

Night Frenzy watched as Roxanne grabbed a cup of coffee and a donut, the fox took a sip from her cup and then engulfed herself in flames, she then became a stream of fire and flew through the air and ended up on the couch, she took a bite of her donut and set her coffee down. "How the hell did you do that? you couldn't do anything like that yesterday." Night Frenzy asked.

Roxanne didn't answer right away, instead she quickly finished her donut and coffee and then laid her head in her sisters lap. "Again, three days, two of them in dangerous worlds, figured it out." She yawned tiredly. "Wake me when the world ends again." She said before closing her eyes.

Skitter quickly grabbed a camera and took a picture of Roxanne, she grinned and teleported it away. "Really?" Night Frenzy asked.

The changeling nodded and went back to waiting for Estalli to get back so they could continue. 

"Where's Dark and Syrin at?" Skitter asked curiously.

Fang finally spoke up at this point. "Out, they said they had some things that they wanted to do a while ago." He said in a raspy voice, having almost lost it the previous day.

A yawn came from the stair a few minutes later and Night Frenzy looked over. "Hey kids." She said.

At the bottom of the stairs stood a groggy Firefly, Spark and Apache, the former rubbed her eyes and looked up. "Hey aunt Frenzy, where's mom?" She asked.

Night Frenzy patted her sisters head and motioned her head. "My lap." She replied easily.

Spark stretched a little as he walked into the living room and sat down. "Is Estalli still here?" He asked curiously.

"Yea, she went upstairs to check on Lyaroa." Fang said.

Apache headed for one of the chairs and sat down, she closed her eyes to try and rest.

Skitter chuckled. "She basically lives here now." She joked, getting a quiet yet amused reaction from the others.

Firefly and Spark sat down by the couch and they soon heard a voice. "As much as she's here, I'm starting to think I've opened a hotel." Lyaroa said as she walked down the stairs, she didn't look tired at all, as she walked over to and leaned on the wall, Estalli soon followed and stretched a little as she headed for the couch.

"Someone wake Roxanne up, I'm going to make breakfast and I'm not getting bitched out again for letting her sleep through it." Lyaroa stated as she walked to the kitchen.

Reluctantly, Night Frenzy gently shook Roxanne, waking the fox who grumbled. "Is it the end of the world?" She asked quietly.

"It's breakfast." Night Frenzy replied.

Roxanne mumbled something under her breath as she slowly got up, she then stood up from the couch and stretched. "I swear, next time I'm just going to punch that woman." She muttered to herself as she headed upstairs.

No one said anything about this and decided to simply continue what they were doing, which was playing their game.

Estalli at one point felt like they were singling her out but this was disproven when Fang made Skitter's character go back to the beginning at one point, of course afterwards Skitter simply swapped places with him, and then Estalli who was in second got flung backwards by random chance.

The game continued for ten more minutes, with food breaks whenever someone's food was ready, so by the time the game ended, everyone had eaten, the end result was Night Frenzy in first, Fang in second, Skitter in third and Estalli in last.

Estalli set the controller down and looked at Night Frenzy who seemed happy, she also has a large grin on her face, curious about this, Estalli went to speak. "You know Nightmare, if you keep grinning like that, we're going to have to send you to the funny farm." Fang said suddenly.

Lyaroa held in a laugh as she walked behind the couch. "Don't get your hopes up Fang, they wouldn't take her." She teased.

Night Frenzy sighed and spoke. "Shut up before you make me do something stupid." She warned.

"Like what?" Estalli asked.

Just then a very loud crash was heard nearby followed by the sound of rubble, they all looked and their eyes widened at what they saw, the wall that the front door was at was obliterated into piles of rubble, and there was a large dark green and black ship of some sort flying outside. "What the hell!" Lyaroa shouted, but just as she did, a loud bang was heard and almost instantly, Lyaroa cried out in pain as something lodged itself into her chest.

Roxanne hurried over to Lyaroa as the Sentinel roared in anger, the fox took a few steps back as Lyaroa instantly threw her hand out and proceeded to slowly clench it into a fist.

The sound of screeching metal and pained screams filled the air and soon the ship itself exploded, but not into a firey one, but into nothing but particles.

After a few moments of silence, Roxanne rushed over to Lyaroa and examined the now bleeding area where her heart was. "What the fuck was that?" Fang asked as he stood.

Estalli and everyone else stood up and walked over to Lyaroa. "Hunters, mercenaries that hunt and kill for bounties, they are among the cruelest creatures in existence." Estalli explained.

Lyaroa grunted in pain as she removed her hand from her bleeding chest. "Why aren't you healing?" Roxanne asked, and then the Sentinel began to breath uneasy and coughed a little. "P-poison." She replied through the pain.

Estalli knelt down, and looked at Roxanne. "May I?" She asked.

Roxanne reluctantly allowed Estalli to examine Lyaroa after a moment, and the younger Sentinel looked at the wound. "Strange, they used void poison." She noted with visible confusion.

Fang raised an eyebrow. "Void poison?" He asked.

"It...It's illegal, it'll kill any mortal with no way of curing it." Lyaroa replied as she forced herself to stand.

Skitter blinked. "I don't get it, you're a Sentinel, wouldn't that make the poison useless?" She asked.

"Not if she made herself mortal." Said a familiar voice.

Everyone looked at the ruined wall and saw Galesh walking up. "Isn't it obvious? when Lyaroa left the Forge, she cast aside her immortality along with her Sentinel form, making her a mortal with the power of a Sentinel." She explained as she crossed her arms.

"Where were you a moment ago? you could have prevented this." Spark asked.

Galesh rolled her eyes. "Don't be stupid, hunters are patient and smart, they waited until I was gone to strike, if I was here, this never would happen, as for where I was? I was searching for Anseri, who I found, thank you very much." She walked up to her daughter.

Lyaroa growled as the older Sentinel approached. "Don't be like that you stubborn child, you need to get your body and immortality back or you will die, which I know you want to avoid at all costs." Galesh said as she took Lyaroa's arm and slung it over her shoulder. "Come on, the ship's med bay can help." She said, beginning to walk.

Everyone, including Spark and Firefly followed Galesh as she took Lyaroa to her ship, they headed outside and found that time was standing still, as was obvious by none of the townsponies moving a muscle. "Fang, did you do this?" Roxanne asked.

"No, why would I?" The wolf replied curiously.

They neared the cloaked ship and it uncloaked by Galesh's command, the ship itself was quite large, like a small cruiser in those space movies, it's hull was black with white lines on the edges and with cyan patterns on it. "Welcome aboard, wish it was under better circumstances." Galesh said.

A ramp lowered and they all climbed aboard, with Galesh and Lyaroa entering first and Fang entering last, the ramp closed and the ship cloaked again.

"The time stop was part of the hunters tech, they freeze time for everything except the area around their target, they like to see their terror after all." Estalli explained as they made their way through the ship and into the main room. "Welcome back Madam Councilwoman...Mistress Lyaroa, it has been a long time." The computer said before going silent.

As Galesh took Lyaroa to the med bay, Roxanne, Spark and Firefly all followed, leaving the rest in the main room. "Lady Estalli, am I to assume that Lyaroa has been captured?" The computer asked.

"No, she was found and attacked by hunters using void poison." Estalli replied.

Everything was silent for a moment until the computer spoke again. "I see...your mother has called me, I leave this to you." It said.

Estalli looked at the others who were busy looking around. "Um, listen, we don't know how long it will take to restore Lyaroa to her former self, or even to find out how to do so, so if any of you want to go back or get anything, now would probably be a good time." She said.

Skitter sighed and walked over to a nearby chair, she sat down in it. "Why do you make that sound like we aren't coming back?" She asked.

Estalli blinked and seemed to think on this, she then spoke. "I cannot guarantee we will come back, there are hunters and the Sentinel army looking for my sister, not to mention anything that may be out there on planets where she may or may not have hidden her body or immortality." She replied, not wanting to make it sound easy or safe, because it wasn't.

Fang chuckled. "Well, we've done some stupid shit before, what's one more time?" He joked as he put his arms behind his head.

Night Frenzy sighed, she pinched the bridge of her nose with her hand and spoke. "Well what the hell, I haven't gone on one of these by myself anyway, besides I care about that idiot, not going to see her die if I can help it." She muttered.

"Count us in too." Said a familiar voice.

Everyone looked over and saw Dark and Syrin. "What are you doing here? and more importantly, how did you get on the ship?" Fang asked.

Dark shrugged. "Teleportation at the last second." She answered easily.

Estalli cleared her throat and spoke. "As much I want to let this little reunion go on, unless you can fight, you should go, we aren't exactly going on vacation here." She said flatly.

Dark raised an eyebrow. "I fought with them before, I can handle myself, and so can Syrin." She stated with an aggravated tone, walking off to explore a little.

Estalli simply sighed. "Anyone else feel like crashing the party?" She whispered to herself, hoping the answer was no.

______*In the med bay.*______

"Can't you just pull the poison out?" Roxanne asked.

Galesh set Lyaroa down on the bed and pushed a button on the nearby terminal, the bed raised up a little to elevate Lyaroa's head. "I don't know, can you use fire to freeze things?" The sentinel replied as she called over a floating tray with some tools.

"Don't you fucking dare operate on me." Lyaroa said through the pain.

Galesh shook her head and grabbed a cylindrical device. "I'm not, I'm containing the poison." She then placed the device on Lyaroa's chest, it grew a rubber looking dome on the bottom and it latched on, after a few seconds, the device retracted and Galesh put it down.

"What did you just do?" Firefly asked.

Galesh looked at the filly. "I contained the poison to where it struck.....the heart, it's the source of the poison and it couldn't be moved, but at the least I can contain it and slow the poison down." She replied.

"Won't that mean the heart will die faster?" Spark asked out of worry.

With a shake of her head, Galesh replied. "No, the Sentinel heart can't be killed by this poison, it'll hurt like hell and cause flu like symptoms like sensitive skin, weakness of the muscles, headaches and a severe cough, but she won't die." She said before looking at Lyaroa who winced in pain. "As much as I know you don't want to, you have to trust me Lyaroa, I'm your best bet at staying alive." She said.

Lyaroa took a deep breath and then let it out, she looked at Galesh. "Fuck off." She stated before looking away.

Galesh's eyes saddened, but she said nothing as she turned to face Roxanne. "We leave in twenty minutes." She said before walking to the door.

Roxanne, Firefly and Spark watched as Galesh left the room, then Roxanne walked up and sat down next to Lyaroa's bed. "That wasn't necessary Lyaroa and you know it." She said quietly.

Lyaroa said nothing and just laid in silence, unwilling to answer the fox, even though she knew full well that Roxanne was right.

______*the bridge.*______

Fang, Night Frenzy and Estalli were on the bridge with Galesh as she prepared the ship for launch, Fang sat down in the co-pilot seat and Estalli spoke up as she sat down in the back seat. "You might want to move back here, Mother doesn't let anyone use that seat." She said.

Galesh sighed. "It's fine." She said flatly, surprising her youngest daughter. 

Night Frenzy sat down and spoke. "So, where are we going first?" She asked.

Galesh powered up the ship and lifted off. "That's obvious isn't it?....we're going to Earth! the time of dinosaurs, the only world of its kind where they still rule the planet billions of years later." Came Wheatly's voice.

"Computer, who is that?" Galesh asked with a confused tone.

The computer responded with a slightly annoyed tone. "Apologies madam councilwoman, but Lyaroa installed her own ai using her old override codes." It replied.

Fang raised an eyebrow at this and he looked at Galesh. "Pull that lever and steady the throttle, take offs are always uneasy." The sentinel ordered.

In a few moments, the ship was now in space above Equis, Galesh sighed and rubbed her eyes. "Computer, damage report." She said.

"Minor damage to the ships engines madam, and only partial scarring to the outer plating." The computer replied.

"Well, that's one hell of a sight." Came Skitter's voice.

Estalli looked back and saw that everyone aside from Lyaroa and Roxanne were now on the bridge staring at their home. "There's probably nicer worlds though." Skitter added, earning a slap to her head from Dark.

Fang leaned back and looked at Galesh. "This ship used to be Lyaroa's, am I right?" He asked.

Galesh nodded and turned the captains chair around to face the others. "Correct, this is a Swordwraith cruiser ship, it's in disrepair because of heavy damage it took fighting hunters off, that and being away from its owner for too long." She explained.

"Sentinel ships are bonded to a sentinel, until the one it is bonded to dies, the ship will slowly decay and will never be at full power until the sentinel returns." The computer added.

Galesh sighed and leaned back, shifting to her wolf form, surprising them all. "As much as Lyaroa's presence will help fix up the ship, we can't rely on her or her power until she's healed, because void poison is aggravated by sentinel powers, so any sentinel powers will have to be from me or Estalli." She said.

"The only hope we have is restoring her immortality and her sentinel form, doing that will cure the poison and eradicate it from her system, then we can worry about the hunters and the sentinel army." Galesh said, forming a plan in her head.

Night Frenzy spoke next. "And if the army finds us before she is cured?" She asked.

Galesh shook her head. "Then we are in trouble." Was all she said before standing and then walking off the bridge. 

"Where is her sentinel form?" Estalli asked.

Galesh stopped and looked back, she saw that the others seemed to be looking to her for leadership right now, clearly Lyaroa was their normal leader, she took a breath. "Lyaroa wiped her memory of that, and that of her immortality, and she gave each memory to the people she could trust to safeguard them." She stated.

Roxanne spoke up next from behind them. "Her children, they must have immortality and are strong enough to survive and protect the secret, but where do we find them?" She wondered.

Galesh turned and looked at the fox. "Simple, we ask my daughter." She replied, taking a deep breath, she headed down the stairs to have a talk with her daughter. 

Galesh neared the med bay and heard the computer speak. "Madam councilwoman, if I may? why would Lyaroa's children help us? she may have told them horrible things about you to make sure they never trust you." The computer asked.

When Galesh reached the med bay door, she placed a hand on it. "That's a risk we have to take." She opened the door and walked through, she then closed it and walked to her daughter who lay in bed, clearly sulking.

"Lyaroa, there is something I need to know." Galesh said.

To the older sentinel's surprise, her daughter looked at her. "What do you want Galesh?" She asked in a wary and anger filled voice.

Galesh sat down and looked her daughter right in the eyes, she readied herself and spoke four words, fours words that made everything silent. "Where are your children?"
> Problematic journey conditions.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

______*Equis orbit, Lyaroa/Galesh's ship.*______

Lyaroa just stared at her mother with a deadpan expression, she said nothing at first but after a while she looked up at the ceiling. "Why the interest in them? I haven't seen them for thousands of years, longer probably." She asked flatly.

"The only way to cure you is to restore your immortality and powers, and since I know you erased your memories of it, there are only two individuals who you would trust with them." Galesh explained as though it were obvious.

Lyaroa closed her eyes and grunted. "Didn't Wheatly tell you anything?" She asked with irritation as she placed her hand over her eyes.

Galesh raised an eyebrow. "He said to go to Earth, but there isn't anything there." She replied with confusion.

Lyaroa suddenly grinned with a slight laugh which turned into a pained cough, she recovered quickly and removed her hand to look at Galesh. "It's amazing what's in plain sight isn't it? but then again, the amazing is often clumped together with many of the same thing." She said to herself before looking up again. 

"What are you babbling about now?" Galesh asked her daughter who simply chuckled, seemingly in a demented manner.

"What does an onion have?" The younger Sentinel teased as she rested her head on the table, which was surprisingly soft.

Galesh grunted and stood up. "Brood all you want, I'll find out for myself." She walked away from Lyaroa and reached the door, and then Lyaroa's words sunk in. 'An onion?...That's It!' She looked at Lyaroa who forced herself to stand up. "Oh no, you are NOT leaving this med bay!" She stated as she walked back over with the intention to put her back on the table.

Lyaroa held her hand up as Galesh approached. "You need me in order to reach the correct worlds, unless you want to deal with several thousand seperate jumps." She said as she walked very slowly towards the door, where Galesh begrudgingly helped her to the bridge. 

When the two Sentinel's left the med bay, the ship was surprisingly quiet, as in there was no one in sight as they slowly made their way to the bridge, they walked into the main chamber and there was no one there either, they shared a confused look for a second before continuing on to the bridge, Lyaroa had some difficulty with the stairs at first but made it up after a few minutes.

When Galesh finally reached the bridge with her daughter she found only Fang and Skitter sitting in the chairs, with the former listening to a quiet version of the Computer explaining how to fly the ship. "Where is everyone else?" Galesh asked as she motioned to the chairs.

"They went to explore the ship, find out where they are going to sleep and such." Skitter said nonchalantly before looking over her shoulder and smiling at Lyaroa, who waved with her free hand.

Lyaroa chuckled and gave Fang a nod when he looked over his shoulder at her and he returned the nod before returning his focus to the vastness of space.

Galesh led Lyaroa carefully to the helm and sat down in the pilots seat while Lyaroa leaned on the chair to keep herself from falling over. "Mistress Lyaroa, it's good to have you back." The computer said with some joy.

Lyaroa nodded and then focused on Galesh. "I'm going to give you a destination now, no matter what do not stray from them." She ordered as she called up a hologram and typed the coordinates in.

"You really have gone mad." Galesh said, staring at the coordinates in disbelief, she then turned the ship and began flying in that direction.

Fang looked over at the coordinates, they read. "Brd000trth." The wolf blinked and looked at Lyaroa. "Where exactly is that?" He asked out of curiosity.

"Mistress, those coordinates cannot be right, they point to a dimensional ripple the size of a walnut." The computer said as it scanned, as though it could not believe it.

Lyaroa grinned. "Where better to hide what no one should find?" She asked, with a crazed grin, which Skitter found disturbing on a number of levels.

The ship then launched towards its destination, Galesh flew it at a slower speed to avoid any tracking equipment. "It'll take us a while to reach it safely, you should sit down." She told her daughter as she kept her focus on flying.

"I will not sit down-" Lyaroa was suddenly thrust into her chair by red and yellow magic. "Bad Lyaroa." Skitter said in a mocking tone and a smirk on her face.

Lyaroa glared at Skitter. "Computer, override code four three c, program two." She said ominously.

Skitter raised an eyebrow. "What's that-" She was cut off as a large boxing glove suddenly descended from the ceiling punched her in the face. 

"I am sorry miss, that program was added in a practical joke war six thousand years ago." The computer apologized.

Skitter held her head in a daze and then growled and glared at Lyaroa with aggravation. "That wasn't fair." She stated as she lit her horn and Lyaroa's seat spun around rapidly, thankfully the Computer locked the Sentinel in so she didn't fall off the chair.

Meanwhile, Galesh looked at Fang with a hopeful expression. "Are they always like this?" She asked, hoping it wasn't true.

"Sorry to say, they are, just be glad they didn't break out the explosives." Fang said with dread, shuddering at the memory of waking up to fireworks in the living room.

When Lyaroa stopped spinning after a minute, she fought urge to vomit and looked at Skitter with aggravation. "If I could use my powers without possibly dying, I would soooo...kick your ass." She warned.

Before Skitter could counter the veiled threat, Galesh growled and trembled in anger, she then released her anger in the best way to end the bickering. "SHUT UP! I WON'T TOLERATE THIS BULLSHIT ON MY SHIP!" She snapped, glaring at the two.

"Technically madam-" The computer didn't even finish before a unified voice in the cockpit shouted. "Quiet!" 

______*Elsewhere in the ship.*______

Firefly had gone off with Syrin to explore the ship together, what they quickly discovered was that the ship was far bigger on the inside than the outside, right now the two fillies were inside a chamber of sorts, with a viewing area above them, tones of boxes and scattered parts littered the area. "What is all of this?" Firefly asked as she looked around at some of the stuff.

Syrin lit her horn and examined an object that was on the ground, it was small and had wires sticking out, there was a seven engraved on the object and it had two prongs. "Parts to a machine...of what kind I don't know." She set the part down and grabbed the lid of a crate with her magic.

"Wait! we don't know what's in these boxes! what if one of them is trapped?" Firefly asked with worry.

Syrin rolled her eyes and the crates lid popped off, she stepped onto a small box and looked inside the crate, she raised an eyebrow at what was inside. "We shouldn't be snooping like this, what if we're caught?" Firefly asked as she took a step back.

As Firefly panicked behind the unicorn filly, Syrin gripped the object inside the crate. "It's a hairdryer." Syrin stated flatly, silencing the Pegasus as she pulled out a massive hairdryer that was bigger than them. 

"Why does Galesh have that? and why is it so big?" Firefly asked as she stared at the white and red device.

Syrin noticed something odd about the hairdryer other than its size and turned it so she could see what it was. "There's writing here, it says Desert Tech Industrial Strength Hairdyer, for when you need to dry multiple heads at once." She shrugged and put the hairdryer back in the crate before closing it. "I wonder if this is all Lyaroa's stuff, because Estalli turns into a raptor while Galesh stays in her Sentinel body most of the time." She theorized.

Firefly blinked. "So...this is all, oh boy." She stated with concern, she clutched her necklace.

Syrin looked at Firefly and her gaze drifted to the necklace after the Pegasus lowered her hoof. "What's with the fang?" She asked, pointing at the odd necklace.

Firefly looked at the necklace sadly and held it in her hoof. "Back in the other world." She said, flinching at the memory of Ponyville burning. "Before you showed up, I met a Werewolf named Storm." She smiled at the memory of her friend. "He came from another version of the world and helped us to get Fang out of Tartarus, before we sent him home he gave me this, it's one of his fangs." She felt her eyes moisten and she felt tears falling down her face. "We used to talk through it, it's a connection you know? but I haven't heard a peep from him, not one." She said through sobs as she fell to ground crying.

Syrin walked up to the Firefly and with some uncertainty she put her arms around the crying Pegasus filly, she pulled her into a hug and the Pegasus buried her face into Syrin's fur as she cried. "Shh...let it out." The unicorn said quietly, gently stroking the pegasus' mane. "I understand what it's like to lose a friend, it'll hurt like this for a long while, I'll help you through it." She whispered the middle bit but with no less sincerity.

Up in the viewing area above the room, Darkestlight and Roxanne watched as Syrin comforted the crying Firefly. "Shouldn't you go down there and comfort your daughter?" Dark asked out of worry.

Roxanne sighed and looked at her friend. "As much as I want to do that, Firefly needs this, not just to finally vent to someone else, but to make a friend." She shook her head as she walked to the door to leave the viewing room. 

"I thought she had friends?" Dark asked with confusion, not entirely understanding what the fox was saying.

Roxanne looked at the unicorn with a sad gaze. "She doesn't have any friends her own age, Spark is her brother, Apache is more of a sister to her and she can't stand to look at the crusaders or Spike...I can barely stand being in the same room as Dash, and I know Fang feels the same way when around Twilight." She said before opening the door and walking out.

Dark bit her lip and followed the fox. "Wait up!" She called out.

_____*Meanwhile.*_____

Spark and Apache entered a small room with a large orb that was bigger than both of them in the center of it, and booth like seating all around it. "What is this room?" The dragon asked as he looked around, the walls and ceiling were steel gray and the lights were a soft yellow. 

"This is the memory chamber, any individual can enter and relive one of their memories or any memory stored in my files." The Computer answered. "Though I shall be limiting your access." It added.

Apache gained a thoughtful look on her face and she looked at Spark. "Can you...show me a memory of Fang? I want to know what he was like before he was Star." She asked the dragon.

Spark smiled and nodded. "How do I show my memory?" He asked.

"Simply sit down and think of the memory you wish to show." The computer explained.

Spark and Apache sat down and the dragon thought on one of his memories, a smile on his face as he did so.

Soon enough, the orb came to life, an image of perfect quality appeared within and the orb seemed to expand to cover the rest of the room, Apache blinked and watched with wide eyes as she stared at Lyaroa's old home from the other world.

The view was from Spark's eyes and they watched and took in every detail, a familiar mechanical ball with two metal grips that was made of a kind of metal rode along a rail that went around the room, a pure white wolf lay asleep on the couch, covered by a comfy looking red blanket, a fluffy white tail poked out from the blanket.

Past Spark was sitting in a chair looking around the room, Spark revealed that Lyaroa had a habit of changing the floor or furniture whenever the mood struck her but she always kept the tan walls and dark red couch, the chair that Past Spark was sitting in was made of brown felt, the floor at this time was soft blue carpet.

The other occupants of the room were two that Apache didn't recognize, one was a golden bear with regular eyes and orange irises, he drank something from a mug and was reading a book, the other was a strange gray wolf with dark red eyes, his legs bent forwards instead of backwards like most wolves, he was laying on the floor next to the couch and a pillow under his head.

"It was four in the morning, most of us fell asleep but everyone else stayed up because we didn't feel tired." Spark said to Apache, he then pointed at the stairs and they watched as a familiar black wolf with white patches walked down the stairs, he had a smile on his face as he looked at Past Spark. "Dad was so happy, he hadn't had any visions for a long time and things were returning to normal around Ponyville." The dragon said as he watched Fang go into the kitchen, open the refrigerator and pull out a bottle of water.

"This memory doesn't really have anything interesting, it's just all of us enjoying some quiet time as a family." Spark said, he touched the orb and the images changed.

The room was the same as before, only now there was an all too familiar Pegasus filly in Past Sparks face. "Wake up sleepyhead! breakfast is almost done!" Firefly's energetic voice said happily before the filly jumped off the chair and ran off to somewhere else.

No one was in the living room aside from the still sleeping Lyaroa, so Past Spark looked to the kitchen and saw the golden bear working with a familiar white furred fox with faded red patches, and bright yellow eyes, Apache recognized her as Roxanne and Past Spark turned to face the door behind him when a knock came to the door.

"I'll get it." Said the voice of Fang as he walked up to the door and opened it, revealing Rainbow Dash and Derpy, along with Dinky and Amethyst Star, or Sparkler as some of the Ponyville residents called her. "Hey Fang, are we late?" The prismatic maned Pegasus asked.

Fang chuckled. "No way, come on In." He said as he moved aside to let the four ponies enter.

Spark smiled fondly as Rainbow Dash walked into the kitchen and whispered into the golden bears ear, he grinned and grabbed a cup, he watched as the bear handed Rainbow the cup after filling it with water, and he watched as Rainbow placed the cup by Lyaroa on the floor.

"That is so stupid." Apache commented, but Spark silenced her by holding up a hand, silently telling the Pegasus to watch the scene unfold. 

Rainbow gently grabbed Lyaroa's free hand and they heard Past Spark stifle a laugh when they saw Lyaroa gain a smirk, before the Pegasus could put the Sentinel's hand in the water the cup teleported over her head and dumped its contents on the would-be prankster, Fang was heard laughing and Rainbow pouted as she grumbled.

Spark stopped the memory and the room returned to normal, he looked at Apache. "We were a mismatched family, but we cared about one another, we had a good life and we had eachother through thick and thin." He sighed as he leaned back in the seat. "It broke my heart when we had to abandon it all, well, that's not entirely accurate." He looked at Apache again. "Lyaroa made rules for herself, and she broke them without realizing it, and instead of fixing her mistake she had us leave the world we loved." Spark rubbed his eyes. 

"Do you resent her for it? you have the right to you know?" Apache asked, curious as to how her brother felt.

Spark shook his head and sighed sadly. "At first? yes...I hated her, I wanted to find her and make her feel how sad I felt that day, but after a while I realized something." He leaned back and stared at the ceiling. "I don't know how she must have felt that day, and I just couldn't bring myself to hate her when I put enough thought into it." He went silent as he lay down on his chest, he closed his eyes and felt content to just sit and relax.

Apache looked at her brother for a short while before walking next to him and laying right up against his body. "Say anything about this and I will deny everything and never forgive you." She warned as she rested her head on Spark's back.

Spark said nothing, only gaining a small smile as he rested, attempting to sleep.

______*Meanwhile*______

Estalli and Nightmare stood in the sleeping quarters of the ship, they had been discussing the sleeping arrangements for the 'crew' of the ship, thankfully the room had a lot of beds, one of which was charred beyond recognition, Estalli didn't know why and she said that her mother refused to tell her, so the subject was dropped and the bed disposed of, the only problem they couldn't agree on was who would fly the ship.

"My mother and Fang can't be the only ones to fly the ship! Lyaroa is out of commission and none of you know how to fly!" Estalli argued.

Nightmare groaned. "The computer taught Fang how to fly this thing! and Galesh said that you are NOT allowed to fly this thing after some...incident!" She countered.

Estalli crossed her arms and huffed. "That was one time! ONE! and it wasn't even that bad!" She said in her defense, however as soon as she said that a screen appeared next to her and played an image, she paled at the sight of the ship rapidly descending and falling towards a rocky canyon, the ship was heavily damaged and it crashed right into a cliff face.

"Not that bad huh?" Nightmare teased with a smirk.

Estalli grumbled. "THATS NOT FAIR COMPUTER!" She shouted with annoyance.

"That is the truth." The computer replied. "It took weeks before I was back up and running again at full power, so you will forgive if I am reluctant to deal with that again." It added.

"Besides, the computer can fly on its own, it's not like we're stressing for pilots here." Nightmare said with a roll of her eyes, she walked to the entrance of the sleeping quarters and looked at Estalli. "If I have to I'll learn to fly the ship, so just calm down and stop worrying so much." She said before leaving the room to go elsewhere.

______*The bridge.*______

Galesh steadied her course and looked over to Fang who was busy checking the systems, she had sent Skitter and Lyaroa away to the med bay and it was quiet in the bridge, she looked out into space and spoke. "How can you read Voidarian?" She asked with curiosity.

"Read what now?" Fang asked as he looked over at Galesh.

Galesh sighed and looked at Fang with a little annoyance. "Sentinel language?" She asked, hoping that the wolf knew what she was talking about.

Fang blinked and realization dawned on him. "Oh yea...that, I think it's a side effect of your daughter possessing my body for a while." He sighed to himself. "I try not to think about the old world that much, I did things I'm not proud of." He said before focusing on flying.

Galesh raised an eyebrow at Fang's choice of words but chose not to say anything about it, she decided to change the subject. "It's funny how things work out isn't it?" She said, getting a look from Fang. "We fought once, I killed you and now look at us, working together to save my daughter." Galesh shook her head at the irony. 

Fang said nothing at first as he returned his focus to piloting the ship. "Yea...funny." He whispered to himself.
> Lies and Regrets.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_____*Five minutes later, Lyaroa's POV.*______

I often find myself believing that being alone isn't so bad, sure you may have a lack of company and won't have anyone to talk to, but the silence and time to think without interruption is nice as well...the main problem with being alone however is the absolute boredom that eventually follows.

Of course, after only five minutes, laying alone in the medbay I can't bring myself to find any comfort in being alone with my thoughts, especially when I consider just how much everyone is risking to help save me from this blasted poison, I groan as I tilt my head and look to the door of the medbay, I feel a heavy weight on my heart as I feel the poison slowly eating away at the temporary containment that mo-Galesh used, I know what this feeling is, it's helplessness, knowing that I am useless to help my the people closest to me, people that I now see as my family, as for Estalli and Galesh? I wasn't sure what to think of them anymore, with the truth revealed and having spent time with the much younger sentinel, I was finding it increasingly difficult to hold on to my hatred of Galesh.

I shake my head clear and return to staring at the ceiling, I sigh and close my eyes to have a mild escape from the light of the medbay, I allow my thoughts to drift away from my feeling of helplessness and to other things, soon enough I find myself thinking about everything that led up to this point, from being handed over to the Swordwraiths to creating Golden and Fang, from pretending to be Fang to returning to my true body, from destroying the timeline of the world I loved to waking up to fighting Galesh.

I open my eyes and sigh, annoyed by where my thoughts went when they were idle, in my silence I mentally screamed in the hopes that someone would come into the medbay...I would even take mot-Galesh! "I wish I would stop doing that." I mutter before looking at the door, soon a sudden thought popped into my erratic head and I grinned, I sat up a little and groaned in pain, the poison in me causing my body to experience soreness and exhaustion.

I hold my hand up and channel a little power into it, I then release it and a security system of holographic images appeared before me, revealing all the rooms of the ship, I look over the cameras and I memorize where all my friends, Estalli and Galesh are, Fang and Galesh were still in the cockpit flying the ship, Estalli was with Skitter, Roxanne and Dark in the cargo hold checking the supplies, I noticed that we were understocked.

Then I saw Apache, Spark, Firefly and Syrin on the observation deck, they were caught between watching the stars and watching something on a small holo screen, I raise an eyebrow and zoom in the image, I recognize the video as one of my old logs, detailing my designing of the ships arsenal of prank equipment, I chuckle at the memory, one of the very few happy memories during my time as a Swordwraith initiate, before I killed the grandmaster of the order and three elder members of course.

I soon hear the Computer speak up in a concerned tone. "Mistress Lyaroa, you should not be using your powers, it will only aggravate the poison." It stated before adding a dissapointed tone to it's next words. "And I though you moved past spying on others?" It asked, clearly disapproving of my actions.

I rolled my eyes and dismissed the images. "Whatever, how's Wheatly handling the update to his software?" I asked calmly while changing the subject instantly, not willing to get into this argument.

"I do not know where you found him, but his software is surprisingly high level for an artificial intelligence designed to make bad decisions, he is handling it as well as could be expected for a mortal machine, but I am forcing him to take breaks, if only to keep him from damaging something." The computer replied calmly, seeming to not care about the change of subject that much.

I nodded in understanding before sighing, I look to my right and see a few crutches and walking canes. "Computer...get me one of those-" I was cut off as I hear the door to the medbay open, I look over and see Fang standing in the doorway, he seemed to have something to say.

"We've arrived." He said before walking to the canes and crutches, his voice was its usual calm self but I picked up on a hidden level of annoyance, I chose to say nothing about it as the wolf walked, his paw like feet making next to no sounds on the metal floor of the medbay, he soon the grabbed a cane, walked over to me and held it out for me to take.

I take the cane and with his help I stand up, I let out a shaky breath at the sudden weakness in my legs which caused me to wobble a little bit, I managed to stay upright with Fang's help, and we were soon on our way out of the medbay, our pace was slow because of my condition but I didn't let that stop me.

It took us a good four minutes to reach the bridge, neither of us said a word along the way and when we stepped onto the bridge itself, everyone had managed to fit as those with wings used them to hover above the others. "So, where is this dimensional ripple at exactly? Skitter asked curiously.

"It is the size of a walnut miss Skitter, against the backdrop of space those without the ability to sense or detect it will never find the ripple, instead all they wil see is a distant star." The computer elaborated in its calm tone.

At this moment I took the opportunity to make myself known. "That's the beauty of my design, even if the technology of the worlds inhabitants could see it, they would think the ripple insignificant to the universe and overlook it." I chuckle a little and shakily make my way to the front of the cockpit, helped by Fang initially and then by Roxanne, I look at Galesh who was in her brown wolf body glancing over at me with her golden irises, I was a little surprised to see the older Sentinel without at least her golden mistlike eyes, but I didn't let my surprise show, instead I focused on the ripple and took a deep breath. "Alright, there is one complication to this entrance...I have to use my powers to open it, which as we all know means that it will agitate the poison within me." I say, glancing behind me I could see the hesitation and instant disapproval of the plan. "The upside to this plan is that I designed this entrance so that only I can open it, so if the Sentinel Army or any Hunters want to chase after us they will have to go through a really...annoying roadblock I set up a long time ago." I explain to them all.

It's clear that everyone was weighing the pros and cons of going through this entrance of the silence was anything to go by, but then Syrin spoke up. "What's stopping them from traveling to a different world like with what happened with us, Shade and me?" She asked. "I mean, I didn't have to deal with any roadblock of any kind during my uh...hopping." She added, referring to when she was uncontrollably going back and forth between worlds.

At the curious stares I recieved from everyone including Galesh, I decided to explain. "The situation is completely different from then to now, for one reason alone...the worlds beyond this entrance are the ones I deemed too dangerous to be kept close to the rest of the others, I don't know how they have developed since then but I don't think we have anything to worry about, after all, there should only be one or two worlds we have to go to, and even then it would probably be only two or three planets at that." I explain, I take a breath. "It's up to you, the quickest way or the safe way." I add, making sure they all knew I wasn't forcing them to go along with my idea.

Everyone shared glances for a while in relative silence, murmurs and whispers passed through the bridge rapidly until a clear voice spoke above them all. "Open it." Said the voice of Galesh.

I look at Galesh who turned to face the others, spinning the seat around to do so. "I don't want to agitate the poison anymore than you do, but the fact of the matter is that we don't have time to take any detours as the containment won't hold the poison forever, and once it breaks out I won't be able to contain it again." She spoke evenly and with intelligence, which was fitting for who she was. "So unless any of you have a better idea, I say we open it and save my daughters life." She stated firmly before facing the viewport.

At the stunned silence from my friends I sigh and reach out with my powers towards the dimensional ripple, I command the ripple to open and before our very eyes a blinding light formed from every color of the rainbow and many more filled our vision. "First times a bitch!" I warn as I brace myself as much as I could while closing my eyes which did little to shield myself from the light.

Moments later the light dulled and then it soon vanished, I waited a few moments before opening my eyes, I hear gasps of awe and admiration from the others and I smile, knowing for a fact that we were no longer in space, instead I had directed us to a planet that I was familiar with. "Welcome everyone, to Gordac, what Earth could have been had the dinosaurs survived." I state proudly as I look out at the planet.

We were currently flying slowly through a beautiful orange and light blue sky with white clouds and and a blazing red sun beating down on the planet, numerous trees with green leaves that were slowly turning to autumn colors reached high from the ground, at least eighty of them were around seventy to a hundred feet, rolling plains of green and yellow grass stretched on for miles with plentiful ponds and a huge lake were nearby for water.

Though perhaps the grandest sight yet was that of a herd of enormous dinosaurs with four legs and a thick armored hide going from the base of their tails up to the head ending with a pair of tough looking horns, they roamed the plains alone and soon enough numerous dinosaurs of varying species entered their view, from triceratops to stegosaurus, they all roamed the plains.

"This is incredible...it's beautiful." Skitter stated in awe as she looked out at the plains.

Galesh cleared her throat, I look at her and she spins the chair around. "Now Lyaroa, why are we here?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. "Because this better not be a sightseeing trip." She added.

I nodded and took a breath, I wince as I feel the poison eating away at me slowly, I take a seat in the Co-pilots seat and I speak. "We are here to find my son, the last time I checked he was here." I closed my eyes on an attempt to sense his presence, it took a few short moments but I did feel his presence, I felt my heart stop for a second at the thought of seeing him after so long but I shook my head clear, putting off my personal feelings for the moment. "He was a raptor, he had dark brown scales with golden scales in a pattern along his body, his eyes are-"

"Cyan." Fang interrupted me and stepped forward. "Glowing reptilian eyes with cyan irises." He stated, I stare at the wolf in disbelief as he described the description of my son.

"What's his name? And how do we avoid a fight with him?" Estalli spoke up, her voice filled with eagerness to meet her nephew while also focused on why they were here.

I feel my strength fading quick and I take a deep breath to steady myself. "His name is Acain and he shouldn't attack you right away, but just in case saying his full name will let him know you talked to me." I explain. "His full name is Acain Kansi Juzor." I look away from Galesh who seemed stunned but barely let it show as she looked at me.

"And what does he protect?" Roxanne asked with curiosity. 

I look at my girlfriend with a serious expression. "My Sentinel form, that is what he protects, but we should be careful, it's possible that he won't care and will attack us outright even if you do say his full name." I warn before standing. "Now let's get going, it's unwise to linger on this planet for long."

"And where do you think you're going?" Roxanne asked as she blocked my way, her arms were crossed as she glared at me warningly.

I blink and point outside with my free hand. "Out there to help you find my son, where else?" I ask, confused as to why the fox was blocking me.

"You aren't leaving this ship Lyaroa, this is the safest place for you and if you go outside there is a chance you will die, and I for one am not taking that chance...none of us are." Roxanne stated firmly, getting reaffirming nods from everyone else, I sigh and hold my free hand up. 

"Who exactly is going out there then hmm? this planet was dangerous to me even before I gave up my immortality, you need a Sentinel out there and no offense to Estalli, but she isn't strong enough to handle Gordac even if Galesh goes with, it would take just about all of us to survive out here." I explain, trying to justify myself.

"When was the last time you were here then?" Skitter asked curiously. "Because it's very possible that things have changed since the last time you were here." She added, pointing out a huge flaw in my explanation.

I sigh reluctantly and grip my cane tighter. "...Eight hundred years." I whisper, though it didn't matter that I whispered as everyone on the bridge has enhanced hearing, and heard me just fine.

"Then things had to have changed somehow in those years, you can't go out there, we'll decide on who goes out and who stays with the ship, for now however we need to land somewhere secluded...Computer, scan for a landing sight." Galesh ordered, taking charge of the situation and silencing any complaint I had when no one spoke up.

"Scanning... I have found a suitable canyon nearby, it appears to be a dead end and exits into a large forest, turning to face forest now." The computer stated.

The ship flew ahead for a few moments before turning around, everyone aside from Galesh and myself gasped at the sight of an enormous forest that stretched for thousands of miles in many directions, the trees were mostly all ridiculously tall and just off to the side was a large rocky canyon that had very high natural walls of brownish red stone. "That forest is incredible!" Firefly spoke up, flying closer to the viewport.

"Computer take us down, keep shields and cloaking up at full power if we are spotted, divert power from cloaking to weapons." Galesh ordered before standing and facing the group. "Let's head down to the meeting room, we can discuss who's going out to search for Acain better in a more open area." She suggested to everyone.

I grunted and followed everyone out of the bridge, though as everyone else gathered in the meeting room just down the stairs, I made my way back to the medbay, knowing that none of them would let me go search or leave the ship. "You know where I'll be if you need me." I say as I approach the door to the medbay.

I soon reached the medbay and entered it, the door closed behind me and I made my way to the closest bed, I leaned the cane up against the bed and lifted myself up to sit on the bed, as soon as I was seated I heard the door open, I look over and I see Roxanne in the doorway. "Hey Roxie, come to visit?" I joked before making sure I wasn't going to fall off the bed.

"We need to talk, REALLY talk, no avoiding my questions, no half assed answers, I want the truth and I want it now." The fox firmly declared as she walked into the room and locked the door, she then walked over to me and pulled up a chair from the wall.

I sigh and feel a deep pit form in my gut, I know that I'm not going to enjoy this and I also have a feeling that I know where this is going. "Computer, override code seventeen, program three." I say quietly.

"As you wish mistress." The computer replied before a golden barrier formed on the door and Roxanne looked at me warily.

"What are you doing?" Roxanne asked as she set the chair down next to the bed, she crossed her arms as she stared at me, clearly not trusting me right now.

"I told the computer to leave us alone and ensure we have privacy, no one can hear what we say in this room, not even the computer." I explain before laying back on the bed. "I can also undo that order by snapping my fingers or saying the reverse code." I look at Roxanne who sat down. "I'm all ears Rox." 

Roxanne nodded, seeming to understand, she then gained a neutral look that had a furious glare in her eyes. "I think it's time for the full story...you said that you had this ship in the days you were a Swordwraith initiate?" She asked flatly, gauging my reaction.

Unfortunately for me, I was horrible at hiding my emotions, and I flinched at the mention of those days. "...Y-yes, I did have this ship back then...I had a crew back then, multiple initiates that were loyal to the order and who had orders to keep me from from trying to escape, this was three thousand years ago however, so it's not really worth talking about." I said with hesitation, I personally didn't want to remember those years, and I prayed that Roxanne didn't ask.

"When did you have kids? I remember you specifically saying that you used a trick to hop a thousand years forward." The fox asked, and I bit my lip as she asked this question, I feel the pit of guilt grow deeper within me.

I didn't answer right away, instead I averted my gaze from Roxanne, feeling ashamed and unable to look her in the eye, but the fact that she said nothing frightened me, I knew that she was staring at me with her Amber eyes, this went on for a minute before I could practically feel the guilt washing over me and overwhelming me. "I lied!" I snapped, I looked at Roxanne and stared at her with tears forming. "I couldn't go through with it, I panicked and jumped to another world...this world, I lived among the natives by taking the form of a raptor, years passed and I laid the egg that birthed Acain, I was happy to have a son and for a long time I felt as though I could forget the past." I gulped and my hands shook as I held them in front of me. "But I couldn't, I just couldn't move on, so once my son reached mental maturity I severed myself from my Sentinel form after making a new body and I left, leaving him on his own with the burden he never should have had to bear." I took a shaky breath and stared up at the ceiling, I feel tears falling down my face as I confessed. "I didn't stop world jumping until I finally made it to the world that you and Fang were made in, I quickly hid myself in Fang's mind and you know how it went from there." I explained.

Roxanne kept up her glare at me even as I silently cried with tears falling down my face. "How many lies have you told me? told the others? how do I know that you haven't been forcing any of us to like you just so you wouldn't feel alone?" I was shocked at Roxanne's questions but she continued speaking before I could reply. "How many worlds are we going to have to escape from just because you can't bring yourself to realize that the one you loathe isn't your mother...it's yourself?" This harsh question made me freeze as I looked at Roxanne in shock and a feeling of betrayal. 

"I...I what?" I ask in disbelief. "Where are you getting that nonsense? none of that is true." I ask, offended and hurt at the questions I was being asked.

Roxanne huffed and stood up from the chair, she walked a couple of steps away from me and then looked over her left shoulder at me, her single Amber eye seeming to glow as it stared at me with intensity. "Either you think I'm an idiot or you really don't see the truth." She stated flatly. "You can't lie to me anymore Lyaroa, I know all the signs of your lies, we have spent years together after all, and you didn't exactly lose any of your lying habits when you were Umbrea." Her eye narrowed at me. "You surround yourself with people, you are rarely alone and you are never at ease, which is why your lifestyle is so chaotic." The fox sighed and shook her head, she looked away from me.

"You are terrified of being alone because that means you have only yourself to talk and look at...and you hate it, if you need me to give you proof of my claim, all I have to do is ask you a question." She turned around and stared at me with a serious expression that I rarely see on her face. "When was the last time you looked yourself in the mirror? really looked, not just a glance?" She asked.

I look away instinctively and curl up as I find myself laying on my side, I was silent and my mind raced with different thoughts, Roxanne ceased talking but I knew that she was watching me, I refused to look at her and I closed my eyes, I use my free hand and snap my fingers, causing the barrier on the door to vanish, I feel my eyes water up again as I open my mouth to talk, though the words I would use hurt me deeply. "Get out." I say in a broken voice, unable to hold back my sobs as I feel my emotions begin to run wild.

"Why?" Roxanne asked in a neutral tone.

I flip around and stare at the fox whose Amber eyes seemed hurt but still just as determined. "GET OUT AND GET OFF MY SHIP!" I shout before I can even think about it, I feel a stabbing pain in my heart as soon as the words left my mouth and I flip to my other side facing away from Roxanne, I squeeze my eyes shut tightly, unwilling to even look at the fox as I feel tears streaming down my face.

Roxanne did not say a word, instead i heard her leave the medbay and I hear the door close behind her, meanwhile I simply lay in the bed crying to myself, the pain I was feeling came more from my guilt from what I said to my girlfriend than yelling at her, though in a part of my mind that I had buried a very long time ago, I knew that she was right, and I knew what my mind was trying to tell me.

'I hate myself.'
> Canyon Expedition.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


*The planet Gordac, Lyaroa/Galesh's ship.*



Everyone except for Lyaora stood in the meeting room discussing who would leave the ship and who would stay behind to guard the ship from possible Hunter attacks.

To that end, Darkestlight volunteered to stay behind with the kids, Spark and Apache didn't have a problem with this but Syrin and Firefly protested, saying that they wanted to explore a new world, in order to keep the ship safe, Nightmare and Estalli were going to stay behind.

That meant that Galesh would be heading outside with Roxanne, Fang and Skitter, and while Galesh was certain that they would be capable of defending themselves, she wasn't thrilled about being alone with the wolf she killed, the wolf she practically enslaved and the Changeling she belittled, but she didn't protest at all, knowing that they couldn't afford to splinter now for any reason.

"Come on, we should make sure we have what we'll need to survive out there." Galesh said before walking to the cargo bay, followed by Fang, Skitter and Roxanne.

It didn't take the small group long to reach the cargo bay, and almost immediately as they got there, Galesh began checking the logs from a nearby terminal, looking through it for supplies, she didn't bother trying to speak up or talk at all, feeling that she had nothing to say to them...unless they started the conversation of course.

Galesh grunted in annoyance as she noticed a distinct lack of fuel and field rations, there were basically no energy cells in store and they were just about out of materials for ship repairs, Galesh sighed and closed the logs, she was about to speak up when she heard Roxanne speak up. "Hey Skitter...are you sure Garth will be alright without you?" The fox asked. "You left him behind to come help us after all." 

Galesh looked over her shoulder just in time to see Skitter's eyes widen in realization, the Sentinel sighed and spoke up before then Changeling could have a panic attack. "Even so, the Hunter's temporal freeze is powerful, it should still be up by the time we are done with plenty of time left...unless this somehow takes us a year." She stated.

Skitter seemed to calm down a little at Galesh's words, she still looked guilty about leaving her son behind and didn't say a word as she walked off to somewhere else in the hold.

Galesh decided to let the Changeling be to handle her problems on her own, she then turned to the terminal again and started to log supplies that she deemed necessary for the expedition, once that was done she closed the terminal and walked over to a nearby panel in the wall that had a holographic keypad next to it, as she typed in the code, Galesh heard Roxanne speak up. "Can I ask you something?" The fox asked with an even yet curious tone.

"What is it?" Galesh asked as she typed in the last digit of the code, she looked at Roxanne as the panel opened up, the fox had a curious expression but looked to be hurting, probably because of Lyaroa yelling at her. 

"Why did you do what you did to me and Nightmare? how was that supposed to help in any way?" Roxanne asked, her gaze hardening but still showing hurt deep within.

Galesh looked at the now open hole in the wall and took a step towards it, she reached inside and pulled a small crate out, the panel closed and Galesh motioned for Roxanne to follow with a nod of her head, she spoke as she walked to a large crate on the floor with nothing on top of it. "It was a twofold goal, the first goal was simple, for the two of you to defeat Lyaroa and enable me to capture her so I could bring her back to the Forge, the second goal was to bring the two of you back to normal." She explained as she set the small crate down on the larger one.

"Why?" Roxanne asked as Fang approached with curiosity. "You had no reason to want us back to normal, especially since you probably knew we would fight you along the way." She stated, not understanding the Sentinel at all.

Galesh sighed as she walked over to a nearby shelf and grabbed what appeared to be a survival bag, she then walked back over to the crate where the others were. "I knew that there was a chance that I would fail, and I needed to ensure that my daughter didn't go and do something stupid like try to kill herself or go after Sentinel's out of anger, don't tell Estalli this, but I had always planned on waking you and your friends up, I even had to play the heartless villain just so that you would hate me as much as Lyaroa, all with the sole purpose of protecting my daughter." Galesh explained as she moved supplied from the crate to the bag.

"Why exactly should we believe that?" Roxanne asked. "For all we know you could be planning to betray us the second we cure Lyaroa." She stated with an oddly calm and even tone, she crossed her arms and glared at Galesh.

With a heavy sigh, Galesh looked at Roxanne with tired eyes. "When you've spent over a thousand years looking for your daughter, you do crazy things to protect them, even if it's from yourself." She shook her head and closed the bag after she was done. "I have done horrible things in my life, I won't try to deny it but I would never...NEVER put my children in harms way if it can be avoided, I may have given Lyaroa to the Swordwraiths seven thousand years ago, but I only did it to protect Anseri...for all the good that did." She muttered before standing up fully and placing the bag on her back, she then walked to the exit ramp and pushed a button on a nearby pad, opening the ramp.

Roxanne stared for a while and looked at Fang who shook his head at her, she sighed to herself and followed Galesh, now realizing that she had said enough already, she was followed by the older wolf and Skitter soon followed as well.



*Gordac, outside the ship.*



Skitter shielded her eyes as she stepped off the ship's ramp and into the bright world, it took her only a second for her eyes to readjust to the light and she whistled at the sight before her, to many it may have been a nice sight, but to Skitter it was breathtaking.

They had landed in the center of a large, circular part of the canyon, the pale red rocky walls and floor were lit up in the strange orangeish light blue of the planets sky, the path ahead of them was singular but it looked like it held several paths ahead and there seemed to be some kind of green plant life growing up ahead, the rocks seemed to glisten in the light and they also reflected this beauty off the walls and around the area. "Ok, I have to admit it, this planet is so much more beautiful than Equestria." Skitter said as she looked around.

Fang looked over at Galesh to ask her something and was confused to see the Sentinel grabbing four small devices that looked like earpieces that would hook around their head like a headband, she then held one out to the wolf. "Take this and put it on, it will let you communicate with the Computer." Galesh explained as she proceeded to pass one to the others. 

Skitter huffed in amusement as she put her's on. "Great, just what I wanted...to give the Computer a chance to make snippy remarks at long range." She complained with an eye roll.

"There is no need to be rude miss Skitter." The Computer said to them all, sounding offended.

Galesh sighed. "I'm sure she didn't mean it Computer, now report...what do we know about this planet and its denizens?" She ordered firmly before moving to the exit of the circular canyon, followed by Fang, Roxanne and Skitter.

"From what little I have learned from Mistress Lyaroa, not much I am afraid...the dinosaurs of Gordac have no culture to speak of, instead living in a predator and prey manner much like most unintelligent wildlife, they have evolved much over the past few million years and above all, the Raptors are by far the most dangerous as they live, hunt and fight in packs, it is almost a guarantee that where you find one Raptor...there is a pack ready to strike." The computer explained.

Galesh nodded and led the way through the canyon as they entered the single path, it was spacious enough for them all to walk through easily In pairs, the rocky and jagged walls however made sure that the group was careful or else they risk injury, they soon came up to a narrow path and Galesh took the bag off her back, she held it to her side in one hand and sidestepped through the path, once she was on the other side, Galesh looked around for dangers before looking at the others and waving them over.

One by one, the three friends made their respective ways through the narrow path in silence, none of them daring to speak just in case they wake something, thankfully nothing happened as they crossed, and once Roxanne was over they were ready to continue, but then they heard it.

A loud booming roar echoed through the canyon and the ground shook as violent booms echoed on the winds. "What the hell is big enough to make those steps?" Fang asked quietly, not daring to speak any louder than a whisper.

"I don't know, but whatever it is, it sounds like it's heading away from the ship and forest, so it doesn't matter." Galesh said before whispering into her earpiece. "Computer, scan for Acain." She ordered.

"Scanning...scan complete, subject...missing?" The computer stated with obvious confusion.

Galesh tensed up and Skitter immediately noticed this. "What does that mean? is Acain dead?" She asked, really hoping that it wasn't true.

"No." Galesh replied before looking at Skitter. "If he was dead, we could find the body no problem, but with him being missing, that means either he isn't in this world anymore, which I know he is still here somewhere so that's out, or worse, he knows how to hide like Anseri does." She stated before shaking her head and throwing the bag over her shoulder again, hooking it over her arms so that it wouldn't fall off. "All we can do is get out of the canyon and search the forest beyond, i have a good feeling about that place." She stated before taking a better look at the surrounding area.

They were in a small crossroads of sorts, plant life grew up in random spots around the walls and ground, this area was more shaded than the circular canyon they landed in and it exited to two other paths. "Computer, which path leads to the forest?" Galesh asked as she stared at the two paths, one was off to the left and the other was straight ahead, she asked this question because the canyon walls made it impossible to see any trees.

"Straight ahead." The computer replied. "Madam Councilwoman, Lady Estalli is on the line." It said before going silent.

Galesh started walking to the path and was followed by Fang and Roxanne, Skitter followed a moment later, keeping a cautious eye on the other path. "Mother, Lyaroa has informed us on that creature that roared a little bit ago." Estalli's voice stated before taking a second.

"That creature is a called the Gargantuan by the Raptor packs, it roams the planet by land or sea and is easily the size of a Sentinel Assault Ship, Lyaroa recommends caution and to avoid the Gargantuan at all costs." Estalli warned before cutting the connection.

With that, the four were alone once more as they traversed the canyon, the path they followed grew increasingly hazardous and narrow, eventually they had to crawl in order to get through, after twenty minutes of travel they were relieved to find that the path exited into an open part of the canyon, it was strangely smooth and the rocks were more rounded, there were no plants in the area and the rocks seemed to have turned more brown as opposed to the pale red rock that the rest of the canyon had.

The lights from the sky made the pale brown rocks shine like lights and made them look like shining copper and bronze, there was only one other path and Galesh stared at it intently, not walking right to it unlike the last few times, she crossed her arms and stared with a serious expression. 

Skitter looked at Fang and Roxanne, the former of the two was busy watching the path behind them and the other was watching the sky, wary of any aerial attack, the Changeling looked over at Galesh and walked over. "Can I ask you a couple of questions?" She asked the Sentinel.

Galesh glanced at Skitter out of the corner of her golden mist filled eyes which soon turned into biological eyes with white sclera, black pupils and rounded dark blue irises. "What is it?" She asked, still keeping most of her attention on the path ahead. 

Skitter took a moment to speak because she was a little disturbed by Galesh suddenly growing eyes in their sockets, once she had gotten over that enough to speak she did so. "Sorry if this is too personal, but I've been wondering about something for a while now...who is Estalli and Wilhelm's father?" She asked curiously yet cautiously.

Galesh looked down at Skitter with a neutral glance, she then spoke in a tone that was not hostile. "After Lyaroa killed Huralo and ran away from the Forge, I was all alone since Anseri had run away a long time ago, in my depressed state I tried to fill that void in any way I could, about two hundred years ago, one of those ways involved a Sentinel named Emerion." She said no more on the matter.

That was enough information for Skitter to understand the message. 'So Estalii and Wilhelm were born because of a one night stand, and they are twins so they are about...two hundred?' She questioned in her mind, she then shook her head clear and looked up at Galesh again. "Alright...this question isn't intended to be rude, but how old are you exactly?" She asked rather bluntly.

Galesh's mouth curved upwards for a split second before it turned serious again. "Eleven thousand years, i cant be more precise because after five thousand I stopped trying to keep track of the exact number." She replied with a slightly amused tone.

Skitter blinked, having not expected that answer from the usually serious and humorless Sentinel, so to both hear and feel amusement was a shock, she managed to keep her surprise from overwhelming her and spoke. "So...wow, you're young for a Sentinel." She said without thought, she then held her tongue as she watched the Sentinel to gauge a reaction.

Galesh shook her head, she turned to look at Skitter with a peaceful expression, which was odd to see on the Sentinel. "Youngest member of the Council in history." She said with a hint of pride before her face turned somber and thoughtful, she then sighed and looked at the path. "We should get going, the longer we wait, the longer it will take to save Lyaroa." She stated before walking towards the path.

Skitter followed Galesh and was followed by Fang and Roxanne soon after, the group of four was once again silent as they made their way through the canyon path that was smooth and without jagged rock, the walls were slowly being filled with life, ranging from a pale green moss to vines and plants. "We must be getting close to the entrance of the canyon." Skitter noted. "That or an oasis of some kind." She added as she picked a few blue and yellow plants from the walls of the canyon, she also grabbed a few other plants.

"What are you doing?" Fang asked, referring to the plants that Skitter was collecting. "Please tell me you aren't going to eat those." He said as he watched Skitter grab a sickly green plant bud.

"No, I found out that Estalli likes to study plant life, I figured she would like something to do if she's going to be on the ship a lot in this journey." Skitter reasoned, she then teleported the plant life away.

The path was long and winding, it split into two paths that the Computer couldn't scan properly, so they split up to cover each path only to discover that they both led to the same place, the canyon continued to be filled with more plant life the further they went, they had been walking for so long that the sky darkened by the time they reached a small canyon circle that was large enough for them to rest. 

"We should stop and wait for daylight." Galesh stated as she looked up at the now dark orange and dark blue sky. "We don't know what's in the forest or the canyon at night, and I'm not keen on finding out through an ambush." She explained before taking the bag off her shoulder and setting it down, she then opened it and rifled through its contents for a few moments before grabbing a small circular black metallic object with four silver metal claws and a single white button on the top. "This is a perimeter charge." She said before closing the bag and placing the object on the ground. "With one push of this button, I can set up a perimeter around us and it will alert us if anything dangerous enters it." Galesh explained before pushing the button.

Soon enough, a holographic wall surrounded the canyon circle and remained. "Now, we should rest up for tomorrow, we'll make our way out of the canyon then and search the forest for Acain." Galesh suggested before walking over to a canyon wall and sitting down on the rocky ground, it wasn't comfortable but it would have to do as she rested her head on the slightly grassy wall. 

"You three rest up, I'll take watch." Fang said as he continued to look around for any threat.

Skitter looked at Fang and walked up to him. "You need rest too Fang, not even you can avoid that." She stated with an almost motherly tone.

Fang rolled his eyes. "That's the one thing I actually admired Shade for, he could stay up forever and not care...not like he could die from it or anything else." He joked before shaking his head and smiling at Skitter. "Go and get some sleep, we can reminisce some other time." He said with a calm tone of voice, showing that he was in a good mood right now but would rather talk when it was more convenient.

"Who's Shade?" Galesh asked, she then opened her eyes and looked at Fang. "And what do you mean he can't die?" She questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Roxanne was the one who answered the question. "Shade's a friend of ours from when we lived in the old world, he's a Night Wolf from the world of Oglan and when we say he can't die...that's pretty literal, so unless he gets wiped out in a single blast, I doubt he could die." She said with a shrug.

Galesh raised an eyebrow in skepticism. "I find that cutting someone's head off or destroying their heart works just fi-why are you laughing?" She asked as the others quietly laughed.

Fang was the quickest to cut off his laughter and answer the Sentinel. "Shade cut his own head off one Sunday just to see if he could die that way and he doesn't have a heart to destroy." He explained with a shrug. "Night Wolves are weird like that." He added with mirth.

Galesh said nothing and closed her eyes, seeking to get some sleep for the next day and to forget about absurd creatures. 'As if a creature could survive like that.' She mentally laughed at the idea.


*The next morning.*
  

Everyone had a rough night and only got a few hours of sleep in aside from Fang who didn't get any sleep at all, so as they stretched or moved around to get rid of the stiffness in their muscles, Galesh opened the bag that was on her shoulder and pulled out four small cracker like cubes and passed them around.

"What's this?" Roxanne asked as she stared at the small cube, she looked it over curiously, it looked and felt a lot like a regular cracker and it was confusing her to no end. 

Galesh looked at Roxanne and after she ate her cube, she spoke in a calm tone that somehow sounded like she was giving a lecture. "They are field rations, one cube is enough to sustain an individual for an entire day." She explained as she slung the bag over her shoulder and secured it. 

"Do Sentinel's eat?" Fang asked out of curiosity. "Because it seems odd for Sentinel's to make something when they don't need to eat." He added to his question.

Galesh rolled her eyes at the question and retrieved the Perimeter charge. "Of course we eat...we don't necessarily have to eat because we can sustain ourselves with our powers, but yes...we can eat if we so choose." She explained.

A minute or so later, and everyone was ready to go and get out of the canyon, though Skitter did seem to be a little annoyed about something and she wasn't shy about making that something known. "That cube was very bitter and I hope I never have to eat another." She commented with a dry voice.

Galesh then led everyone to the path to leave the canyon, the orange and light blue sky shined brightly on the canyon, once again making it a beautiful place to be and Skitter drank in every single detail, especially loving how the canyon shined even brighter than yesterday. "Alright, let's find Acain so we can get off this planet and save Lyaroa, maybe then we can come back so you can take in the scenery."
> Halfway there.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


*The world of Gordac.*


Roxanne followed Galesh as the Sentinel led her, Fang and Skitter through the forest, they had entered the dense forest ten minutes ago and they had yet to find anything.

Roxanne pushed a branch aside so she could pass and once she was clear she let go, only for another brand to rebound from the same tree and whack her in her gut, she grit her teeth and resisted the urge to burn it down. 'I can't wait to get out of this annoying forest, if the fleas weren't bad enough, I have the trees themselves seemingly out to get me and I can't even use my powers to defend myself without burning the whole place down.' She mentally complained with a growl.

"What's wrong Roxie? can't handle the forest?" Skitter asked, Roxanne looked at the Changeling close to her and narrowed her eyes when she saw the smirk.

"Says the Changeling with no fur." Fang comments from up ahead.

"Can we keep quiet for five minutes? I don't know about you, but I have no desire to die." Galesh said with an irritated tone, Roxanne rolled her eyes but kept quiet anyway.

The group of four moved slowly and carefully through the forest for a few minutes before nearing a clearing beyond the treeline. "Hold up." Galesh ordered quietly as she stared intently at the clearing. "This is possibly a trap." She stated before elaborating. "A clearing this far into the forest where it should be denser?" She shook her head. "Bad idea to go out there."

"But, it's also possible that if we spring the trap, Acain will show up." Skitter pointed out while keeping her eyes on the area around them.

Galesh nodded and started to tap her knee as she knelt, she stared at the clearing for a while before sighing. "Well, if there is a trap, no sense in us all getting caught up in it, I'll go, you three stay here and if need be, keep close." She ordered before standing up and walking to the clearing.

Galesh walked to the center of the clearing and then looked around. 'I don't see anything, but if these creatures are as dangerous as Lyaroa claims, then they will be experts at hunting.' She thought to herself.

The Sentinel was about to call to the others when she heard the Computer but it was broken. "Ma-... We-... Ship." The communicator was cut off by heavy static and the words were choppy. 

Galesh looked back to where Roxanne, Fang and Skitter were hiding only for them to burst out from the treeline, running at full speed and screaming, the Sentinel's eyes widened when about ten raptors charged after them, each of them easily four feet taller than them, survival instincts kicked in and Galesh started run with the others, she heard the raptors screech as they chased the group down.


*The Forest, Fang's POV*


I ran as fast as my feet could carry me which isn't as fast as I am used to, I silently curse my neglect to keep my body in shape as I run, I hop over a large tree root that stuck out of the ground and keep on running, I pass tree after tree and I hear the raptors behind me falling behind in the dense forest.

I jump over a fallen tree and look over my shoulder, three of the raptors are still hot on my trail and seem to have very little difficulty moving through the forest, I quickly focus forward and move to the side a little as I run, avoiding a tree, I check my sides and see that Roxanne, Galesh and Skitter are missing, I feel my heart beat faster but I don't stop running.

I sidestep to avoid a tree and cry out as a smaller raptor jumps out from my left with a screech, I quickly slide and change my direction a little to avoid the new raptor as long as I can, I push my legs to run faster and even though they burn from exertion, I don't stop running, I jump over fallen trees, giant roots and the odd large rock while avoiding running into trees.

I skid to a stop when another small raptor jumps out in front of me and I quickly start running again in a different direction that was away from the raptors, I feel my heart beating faster than it ever has and I soon hop over another giant root, only to end up tumbling down a large hill, my body lands over and over on the hard ground and I soon end up at the bottom, I groan and move my right arm, I use it and shakily push myself to my feet, I force myself to stand up even though my body protested every single motion, I look up and ahead of me, only to see Roxanne and Skitter turn the corner of the apparent corner.

I quickly take in the area around me, we are all in a large canyon, surrounded by walls behind me and to the sides with a large open area in front of us all, the ground was gravel and stone while the walls of the canyon were dirt and grass covered, I pant and look at Roxanne who has a look of terror on her face, a quick glance showed me that Skitter also had this expression on her face.

Skitter has cuts all over her body and Roxanne's body is covered in dirt and has some blood staining her fur.

A mere moment later and Galesh runs into the area and towards us while looking behind her.

'Even if I wasn't injured, I wouldn't be able to fight this many.' I watch helplessly as ten large raptors and twelve small raptors step into the canyon like area we were in, a few of them screech as they slowly stalk towards the four of us, I feel my blood chill a little as Roxanne, Skitter and Galesh back up towards me and closer to the wall. "This is stating the obvious, but we are in fact surrounded." I say quietly.

Galesh takes a breath and speaks. "Just keep calm, we can fight back." She says with a barely controlled voice.

"Yea, now that we are together, we can fight back easily, you alright Fang?" Skitter asks with concern.

I wince and look my body over, my arms, chest and legs have dirt and gravel all over and my left leg has some stones sticking out of them, and I have no idea how bad my head or back is. "No, I am not." I reply with a strained voice as I fight to keep myself from vomiting.

"Watch out!" Roxanne calls out as screeches fill the air.

I look to the entrance of the canyon and see all the raptors charging us as one, I brace for the inevitable and watch as my friends and Galesh ready themselves for a fight, Skitter's horn lit up, Roxanne ignited her arms and Galesh called up a few blades.

I hold my breath as the raptors reached lunging range only to stop as a booming voice resounds in my head. "Stand down!" It commanded with a no nonsense tone.

I gulp and watch as the raptors step back and glare at us with fierce and wild eyes, they stood with the ten large raptors In the center and the rest on the sides, the two large raptors in the middle parted and all the raptors lowered themselves in a kind of bow as a very large raptor that stood a few feet over the large ones stepped forward.

This raptor had a large golden scaled body with a strange jagged brown pattern running along its body, it's glowing reptilian eyes were cyan and it had a large scar on its left claw, it stared us down intently for a time before the voice returned. "Who are you, and why have you come to our forest?" The voice asked, demanding an immediate answer while revealing it was a telepath.

I find any words I would have said caught in my throat, I feel unable to answer as I stare at the raptor, now recognizing it from my visions. "You're Acain, the son of Lyaroa." I say without thinking.

The raptor turned its gaze to me and I feel it's eyes gazing through me. "I am...now who are you?" The voice of Acain asked again.

Galesh stepped forward and spoke. "My name is Galesh, I am Lyaroa's mother...she is dying to Void Poison." She explained calmly.

Acain looked at Galesh and the large raptors slowly rose with a slight growl, Acain's eyes glowed and he said nothing for a few seconds before speaking. "Hmm...my mother holds much resentment and hatred for you Galesh, but it is all founded on a lie, but for now, you require my mother's Sentinel form to save her life from a poison." Acain went silent before looking to one of the raptors and speaking to it with a series of vocal sounds that I can't understand.

Soon enough, the large raptor looked at us all, his eyes glowing for each of us except Galesh and then spoke. "Very well, I shall help you, but in return, I need to speak to my mother, there is much for us to discuss." His words were more of a command than a deal and I simply nod in agreement.

"Good, we will not waste time." Acain said before his eyes shined bright enough to force us to cover our eyes.

A few moments later the light dimmed and I lower my arms, I blink and look around, we were now at a rocky cliffside by the ocean with a cave near us down a sloped hill while lightning struck all around us as it downpoured, lighting up the dark sky and ocean, Acain walked toward the cave and spoke in our minds. "The Thundering Ravine my pack calls this place, for millions of years I have guarded this place, and now my task will finally come to an end, and with it I shall be free." His voice was one of longing and relief.

We all follow in silence as Acain leads us down and towards the cave, we pass by as few raptors who focus their gazes on us, ensuring we do not act against them. "Do not fear my pack, they will not attack you because of my command." For some reason, I did not feel at ease.

Acain leads us through a long and winding cavern that I am sure I would have gotten lost in, I was in the rear because of my injury and when we reached a circular room with a sliding stone door that would roll to the left, I had to stop. "I need a minute." I say before looking at my left leg, I reach down and grab the rock that was still in my leg, I grit my teeth and yank it out, letting out a pained cry as I fall to the floor.

"Fang!" Skitter and Roxanne say as they run up to me, I look at them and upon seeing the concern on their faces, I can't help but chuckle even though I feel immense pain.

"This door can only be opened by my mother's power, I may be able to open it, but I cannot move the body anymore." Acain said before looking at us, which I noticed.

"Fang, you must open the door, doing so will free my mother's Sentinel body from its seal." The raptor explains to me before stepping away from us and off to the side.

I nod and try to stand up, only for Skitter to hold me down, I look at the Changeling who lit her horn, I watch as her yellow aura flows across my leg, I feel the pain fade quickly and I realize that Skitter healed me. "Thanks." I say.

"No problem." Skitter replied before helping me stand.

As soon as I'm standing, I walk to the door which has a carving of a bipedal body floating on it, I place my hands on the door and start to pull it open, as it moves I feel some of my strength being sapped away, I grit my teeth and soon enough the door is wide open. "Hurry now, retrieve my mother's body so you may return it to her." Acain says as he walks out of the room.

I walk through the doorway and follow the path, it turns out to be a short path and I soon enter a small room with nothing but a stone table and a body on it, I walk up to it and look the body over.

The body is obviously Lyaroa's, it's face was in a resting expression, an angular jaw, closed eyes and a small nose, the body itself was in remarkable condition considering its age, dark green coloration, cyan lines were going vertically all over its body, I take a deep breath and go to pick the body up, only for a golden barrier to appear before me, I pause for a second and reach out anyway, my hands pass through the barrier but I feel a burning sensation as a pick up Lyaroa's Sentinel body, as soon as I am holding the body, the burning stops, I hold it with one arm under her leg and gripping its lower leg, my other arm was holding its shoulder.

"So, this is what Lyaroa really looks like." Roxanne says as I turn around. 

Galesh sighs as she stares for a time before shaking her head. "We have the body, now come on, we have to get back to the ship so we can find the rest of her powers." The Sentinel said.

I nod and follow the four as we make our way out of the cavern and outside the cave, when we are outside, I see Acain staring out towards the ocean, we walk toward the raptor and he speaks before we say anything or even get close. "If you are ready, I will send you back to your ship, inform my mother of our arrangement, if she survives this poison, we will have words." He says in a calm voice.

"Send us back." Galesh said, making the large raptor turn and face us, his eyes then glowed again and we were forced to cover our eyes once more.


*The canyon.*


Roxanne shook her head and held her head, dizzy from the teleport, she looked up and gasped, completely forgetting about her dizziness as she stared at the devastation.

The ship was heavily damaged, with bite and claw marks all over it, as well as holes that couldn't have been from the locals, everyone was currently outside working to fix the damage with the exception of Lyaroa who was sitting off to the side on a gurney. "My ship!" Galesh said with a shocked voice. "What happened!?" The older Sentinel asked with anger.

Everyone looked over at the group of four and Nightmare was the one to speak after a minute of unbearable silence.

"Hunters."
> Maintenance, old friends and answers.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


*Gordac, Outside Galesh's ship.*



Galesh considered herself a patient and practical person, and while she would openly admit that she had some anger issues, she usually tried to keep a cool and level head most of the time.

Needless to say, this was not one of those times, and she felt justified in her anger as she stared at Nightmare. "How did they find us? we did not call upon any Sentinel powers." She asked with a narrowed gaze.

"That's my fault actually." Lyaroa spoke up, making her mother face her. "I used some power to call in reinforcements, and I'm going to have to do it again." She said with a calm tone, which only served to anger her mother more as she stepped up.

Galesh soon reached Lyaroa and growled. "ARE YOU INSANE OR STUPID!? WE NEED TO HIDE AND MOVE UNDETECTED SO YOU DON'T GET CAPTURED OR KILLED!" She shouted, grabbing her daughter by the scruff of her neck and staring her down.

Lyaroa said nothing as she stared blankly at her mother, she raised an eyebrow and Galesh's arm was grabbed by a hand, the older of the two Sentinel's looked to see who it was and saw Nightmare, the fox shook her head without a word and Galesh released her daughter. "Whoever you called, they better be able to fight, because with the ship out of commission we are stuck here while the Sentinel Army or more Hunters come after us." Galesh stated before walking to the ship.

"Fang, give Lyaroa her body back, she'll need it whether she likes it or not." Galesh ordered before walking up to an open crate, she spotted a device that was black in color, long and curved slightly near the end and with a small hole at the tip, she grabbed the device as well as a mask with a tinted glass visor and walked to the ship's hull, she put the mask on and turned on the device, a bright blue flame formed at the top of the device and she ran it along the hull of the ship.

Work progressed almost wordlessly for a few hours, no one spoke as they worked on repairing the severe damage to the ship, even with them all working together, Galesh and Lyaroa estimated that it would take two days to finish up repairs on the ship.

Eventually, Galesh lowered the tool when she heard a voice call out. "We have comms!" The Sentinel looked to the ship's ramp and saw Spark, Estalli and two others that she didn't recognize, she raised an eyebrow and walked over to a closed crate, she took the mask off and set both it and the repair tool on the crate before facing the newcomers. 

"Who are you two?" Galesh asked with crossed arms.

The first of the newcomers was large bear with brown fur and golden patches, a black nose and paw pads, his rounded eyes had green Irises and sclera and the pupil was black, he wore nothing but a silver device of some kind on his left arm and a brown strap over his back that had a long staff attached to it.

The staff was made of some kind of sand colored wood with light orange coloration in the center, an earthquake pattern was all over it while small metal plates adorned a large portion of the staff. 

The bear held a hand out to Galesh. "I'm Golden, though everybody back home calls me Var." He introduced as he pulled his hand back.

Galesh shook the bear's hand and looked at the other newcomer, this one was a large blue scaled reptile, he stood a foot taller than Golden and his eyes were emerald in color, on his back was a strap just like Golden's but it had a large iron halberd attached to it. "I'm Emerald, you must be Galesh." He said with a calm expression to him.

"I am." Galesh said before looking at Roxanne who had walked up. "Do you know them?" She asked out of curiosity.

Roxanne nodded as she walked up to Golden with a smile, she then wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hug. "It's been way too long buddy." She whispered.

Golden returned the hug and then pulled away a moment later, he grinned and crossed his arms. "Yes it has...seven years and you haven't aged a day." He said with a hint of jealousy.

Roxanne chuckled and rubbed her left arm. "It's been around twenty for most of us." She replied, making Golden sigh dramatically.

"Golden and Emerald are our friends from the old world." Fang explained as he walked up. "In fact, Golden here is the most powerful psychic combatant I know." He added with praise.

"Psychic eh?" Galesh asked as she looked at Golden. "Don't know too many Sentinel's who have that power." She comments before looking at the damage and then at the bear. "What brings you to this... mess?" She asked.

"I have my reasons." The bear replied cryptically before taking a breath and looking at Lyaroa. "In exchange for my help, Lyaroa promised to help me out." He said flatly before walking over to where Spark and Firefly were busy checking out some exposed wiring.

Emerald sighed and watched his friend walk off. "Don't mind him, he's been bitter ever since he lost Ancree years ago." He said quietly.

"Who?" Galesh asked with a raised eyebrow. "I don't recall anyone ever mentioning someone by that name." She added.

Emerald nodded. "Other than myself, no one here knows about her, she was a hyena that helped Var to integrate into the world we call home." He looked over at the bear and watched as he helped the kids with the wiring. "Ancree was his best friend and the leader of our rebellion, she recruited him in the early days which was about two years before he ended up in Equestria." He looked up at the sky. "He helped them out and managed to rally incredible support for their rebellion and he stood by her side the entire time." The dragon's expression changed to an angered and remorseful one and his eyes softened. 

Galesh raised an eyebrow at the odd expression but chose to press her luck. "What happened?" She asked quietly and softly.

Emerald looked at Galesh. "We were on a mission, me, Var, Ancree, Jinx, Krak, Ingvir and Pharz, along with twenty four skilled infiltrators, we snuck into a Homla Empire fortress with the intention of stealing all valuable information and possibly assassinating a high ranking general." He said with vivid recollection.

Galesh looked at the bear who had a smile on his face but she could see the hurt in his eyes. "Something went wrong, didn't it?" She asked.

Emerald nodded and motioned for Galesh to follow him as he walked to the ship's ramp. "We... we were betrayed, by someone very close to all of us and specifically Krak." He explained with a depressed tone of voice.

"You don't need to tell me anything." Galesh said as she stopped at the bottom of the ramp, looking up at Emerald who was about to enter the ship.

Emerald gave the Sentinel a smile. "Thank you, but if you want to know the story, feel free to ask me, I know everything about it." He stated before heading into the ship.

With that, Galesh walked back to her welding tool and mask and returned to work without even a glance at her daughter, still mad about her sudden decision.



*Seven hours later, inside the ship.*


"Why did you want to meet me in here?" Fang asked with a raised eyebrow as he stepped into a small room with a single large lab table and a console which numerous numbers on it nearby as well as multiple monitors.

Galesh peeked out from behind the monitors, she was still in her wolf form but she had a pair of rounded glasses on. "You told me that you were tired of seeing those visions, so I figured I would bring you in here and see what I can figure out." She explained like it was obvious while pointing to the lab table.

Fang walked to the lab table and sat on it, he waited a while as Galesh walked out with a small metal tube. "You can stop the visions?" He asked.

"Maybe." Galesh said as she stepped up to Fang. "I'm gonna shine this in your eyes briefly, don't blink and don't let your eyes close." She advised as she promptly turned the bright blue light on and shined it in his eyes. "Oh... don't rub your eyes." She added quickly.

"Gah!" Fang cried out as his eyes burned, he clutched the table hard and felt it bend a little, a moment later, Galesh stepped away and inserted the device into a slot. "I swear, you shining that light in my eyes, It makes me wonder if your a bloody eye doctor." He said as he fought the urge to rub his eyes.

"I am." Galesh said simply as she worked on the console and typed stuff in that Fang couldn't read very well because it was backwards. "It'll take a while for the results to come in, so if you could wait here that would be great." She added with a practiced tone, like she said it far too many times for her liking. "... You can blink now by the way." She said.

Fang tilted his head and then blinked, his eyes felt loads better now that they weren't burning up. "You're a doctor?" He asked with surprise. "... A Sentinel eye doctor?" He asked with disbelief in his voice.

Galesh peeked out again with narrowed eyes and then huffed, she stepped out from behind the desk and crossed her arms. "Yes, it was a thousand years before I became part of the Sentinel Council... why?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I mean... I just assumed that Sentinel eyes didn't degrade." Fang replied honestly, though he now spoke carefully just in case.

Galesh stared Fang down for half a minute before the right upper corner of her lip curled up, she chuckled and looked down as she tried to contain amusement. "What? it's an honest answer." Fang asked, not really understanding.

Galesh looked at Fang, her gold irises shined with an obvious excitement and her happy grin was oddly... unnerving to Fang. "Sentinel eyes degrade just like a mortals eyes, just slower, and if you are referring to the lack of eyeballs that you sometimes see, that's actually not helping the eyes." She explained. "Think of the golden mist that my eyes are at times as a... shield." She said after finding an example. "As long as a Sentinel's eyes are mist, they won't suffer damage from the elements or in the very rare case, a knife, but they will degrade quickly and vision will be hampered, kind of like trying to see through a thin layer of cloth." She explained.

"Huh." Fang replied with an interested hum. "So what exactly was your job as a doctor?" He asked.

Galesh smiled for a brief second but her eyes betrayed her excitement at the idea of talking about this subject. "My job was to restore eyesight to its original state, improve it or in some rare cases, give them new eyes, in short, if anyone came to me with a problem with their eyes, I could easily help them out, don't tell anyone this but..." Galesh looked at the door and then leaned in a little and spoke in a whisper. "I always preferred working on demonic eyes." She said like it was a big deal before leaning back and on the desk. 

Fang blinked and looked at Galesh like she was a stranger. 'Hearing her talk about this... it's kind of weird coming from her.' He raised an eyebrow and then spoke aloud. "What exactly is the difference?" He asked.

Galesh rolled her eyes. "Sentinel eyes are always the same, they degrade and most of the time they are always golden, brown or dark green and just generally blank, but demonic eyes are very different, they can be just about any color and some can change with emotion or at will, they also all tell a story In their own right, anyone can read it even without the ability to see the Web." She explained, her tone was one of fake annoyance and appreciation. 

"Speaking of the Web, have you ever worked on anyone who could see it?" Fang asked out of curiosity.

Galesh's eyes dulled a little and changed to a darker shade of gold as she groaned, before she could reply there was a beep from the monitor, she got up and walked around to work. "To answer your question, yes I have, there isn't a difference and that pisses me off, I don't particularly care for seeing the Web and it's not like I can remove the ability to see it." She complained as she typed some things down. 

Fang took a deep breath and decided to press his luck a little. "If you don't mind me asking, why do you hate seeing it so much? from what Lyaroa and Roxxane told me, it's an incredible thing to witness." He asked.

The typing stopped for a brief moment before it continued, a quiet sigh was heard. "It may be beautiful to Lyaroa, as it's ever changing, but me? I would rather claw my eyes out before looking at it... imagine being able to look at someone and never forget their name or birthday... It sounds awesome doesn't it?" Galesh said with a quiet tone before letting out a long breath that Fang noticed was slightly shaky. "Now... imagine seeing the day they will die." She said with finality, making Fang look at the floor quietly. "Lyaroa is lucky, she can see the Web and not think of its horrors because she doesn't look at the day people die, but not me... I saw the day my parents died thousands of years before it happened." She said quietly.

Fang looked at the monitors where quiet typing could be heard behind them. "... I'm sorry." He said in a whisper.

"That's why I hate my ability to see the Web of Life and why I don't use it, I drove myself insane trying to prevent my parents deaths only for them to die peacefully at home." Galesh said with a long sigh. 

Fang said nothing, because in his mind, what could he possibly say right now? "Now, your results are in... well, as I suspected, your ability to see visions is tied to your temporal abilities, I imagine they will go away when or if you give them back to Lyaroa." Galesh stated.

Fang raised an eyebrow at this and looked to the monitors. "Is there anything you can do?" He asked with a little hope in his voice.

"Yes." Galesh replied. "Two things actually, the first is for me to rip your eyes out." She stated, peeking out.

"Nope." Fang replied instantly.

Galesh rolled her eyes. "Baby." She complained before walking out and leaning on the desk again, her eyes were again a normal gold. "The second thing I can do is have the system design a special formula for you to drink that will prevent you from ever seeing another vision in your life." She explained.

Fang's left ear twitched. "How long will that take?" He asked.

Galesh smirked. "Two to three days max, less if I work on it myself." She replied with the arrogant tone that Fang remembered, her eyes shining just a tad brighter. 

"I guess I'll take the second option then." Fang shrugged, he watched as Galesh walked behind the monitors again. 'She is very strange... I don't really know what to make of her anymore, not to mention the Sentinel's in general... I could just ask.' He thought to himself.

Deciding to test his luck one more time, Fang opened his mouth to speak. "Hey Galesh, you know a lot of things right?" He asked, he then facepalmed at his own question.

Galesh could be heard snickering behind the monitors, she spoke up though. "Who... heh, who do you... think you're talking... Ha Ha! To?" She said between laughs.

Fang groaned and lowered his head. "Ok, more specifically, you know a lot about Sentinel's in general." He said.

Galesh stifled a laugh as she worked, though she did manage to speak up. "Yea... I do, what do you want to know?" She asked before working on calming down.

"This might seem random, but what's the average life span of a Sentinel?" Fang asked.

"Eighty thousand years." Galesh replied quickly and easily. 

Fang blinked, surprised by the speed of the answer. "Who is the oldest Sentinel?" He asked.

"Alive or in history?" Galesh asked, smiling for a reason she didn't understand.

"Uh... I guess in general?" Fang said while scratching the back of his head. 

"Junla Woap, two hundred thousand and fourteen years old before dying in bed surrounded by his hundred decendants." Galesh easily replied.

"How old is the Forge of the Void?" Fang asked, curious if Galesh would even answer. 

"Seventy trillion years old, the younger cousin of the Heart of the Void which is older than recorded history." Galesh answered. "And considering the Sentinel lifespan, that is saying something." She added.

"What exactly is the Forge?" Fang asked.

"The Forge of the Void is the Capital city of the Sentinel Empire, it is where the central government resides and where all important decisions such as military and financial are discussed, it is also the home of the Swordwraiths and home to the largest concentration of Sentinel life in all creation." Galesh answered while working.

"Who exactly are the World Builders?" Fang asked.

Galesh paused and her finger hovered over a button before she continued. "The World Builders exist with the purpose and desire to create world's and life, they do not have to make a personal effort into their work as they can simply create the seed of a World and let it take its own course, of course, should a World Builder desire it, they can participate in the creation of individual Planets and if they have the patience, a World itself, studies into the psychology of a World Builder show that World Builders grow attached to the ones they personally create." She explained before taking a long breath and then continuing to work.

"Uh... who rules over the Sentinel's?" Fang wondered.

Galesh huffed. "That's too easy... The Council of Eight, they rule over the Sentinel Empire, the Eight Council Members are chosen by the rest of the Council by vote and under strict scrutiny, I am the Council Member of Intelligence, there are also Finance, War, Peace, Creation, Justice, Innovation, Tradition, the law dictates that no Council Member may have personal ties to another Council Member, regardless if they are alive, dead, outcast or retired... Unless it's two retired or outcast Council Members, then it's fine." She explained.

"Hmm... can all Sentinel's float?" Fang asked, changing to more simple questions.

"Yes." Galesh replied easily.

"Can Sentinel's become ghosts?" 

Galesh raised an eyebrow. "For twenty four hours." She replied.

"Are you a living encyclopedia?" Fang asked with a grin.

"Yes." Galesh said without thinking before pausing, her eyes widened and she peeked out at Fang who was laughing quietly, her eyes turned to a deep shade of blue. "N-no! I mean... I-I-I... Shut up you aggravating Lontu of a canine!" She shouted angrily as her face heated up out of embarrassment, she quickly hid behind the monitors.

Fang lost it as he fell back on the table laughing, he held his stomach as he laughed uncontrollably at Galesh's expense.

Galesh grumbled and cursed under her breath as she worked quietly. "You are such a Lontu." She whispered.

After a while, Fang seemed to get his laughing under control and he sat up, he took a few moments to get his breathing under control as well and he looked at the monitors with a smile. "You alright back there?" He asked sincerely.

"... Yea." Galesh took a moment to answer.

Fang frowned and he decided to stand up, he took a step forward. "What does Lontu mean?" He asked out of curiosity.

"..." 

"Galesh?" Fang asked with a little worry.

"... It... It means asshole." Galesh said quietly.

Fang walked to the desk and looked at Galesh who was busy working with an unreadable expression on her face. "Are you sure you're alright? If I offended you I'm sorry, I just thought a joke would help to lighten the mood." He said as he sat on the desk.

Galesh's finger stopped just over a button, she sighed and set her hand on the desk and looked down, she took her glasses off and set them down on the desk and then closed her eyes. 

"..." 

"Do you want me to leave?" Fang asked softly.

Galesh said nothing, making Fang take it as a yes, he was about to walk away from the desk when he heard Galesh speak. "Did you know..." She started, making the wolf pause and look at the Sentinel. "Did you know that Lyaroa and I used to be close?" She asked in an unreadable tone.

"... She told me that she loved you as a mother once, she said you were great before the fighting started." Fang answered honestly, he walked back and sat on the desk again.

"Lyaroa used to make jokes like that all the time, back when we got along and she loved me... she loved hearing me laugh or stutter, she said it made me sound nice instead of my strict self, and I... I tried, I tried so hard to bond with her but with her shapeshifting, I was scared that Huralo or his family would learn my secret... our secret." She said, Fang noticed that her hands were shaking. 

"I tried to convince her to accept her Sentinel self, because when a Sentinel shapeshifts, certain things remain with them as they gain new traits, for Lyaroa it was her eyes and her Empath habits." Galesh said. "Huralo found out about me, Anseri and Lyaroa being Empaths when she got so excited her eyes shined too brightly and her powers went haywire, from that point on, Huralo made it his personal mission to make my life a living hell by twisting my daughter against me with his threats, I was stuck." Galesh admitted as she visibly shook.

Fang looked the trembling Sentinel over, and as he did, he couldn't see the resemblance anymore between who she was when she came to Equestria, and now. "I watched as Lyaroa was slowly drifting away from me and I couldn't do anything about it, and then Huralo pulled the final straw and forced me to give Lyaroa to the Swordwraiths, I know I could have run away, but..." She shook violently.

Galesh growled in anger. "I never told anyone this, but not only did Huralo threaten to kill Anseri, but when the deed was done and Lyaroa was with the Swordwraiths, he had me marked by Hunters... the bastard had them watch me and if there was any sign or hint that I was going to save Lyaroa from those monsters, they would tell Huralo and kill me, I also learned that they set up key words, and if I say any of them, they will know exactly where I am." She said angrily before her tone became a somber one once again. 

"And then the day came, Lyaroa killed the grandmaster of the Swordwraiths and his inner circle, she broke out of the temple and ran away, Huralo forced me to engage Lyaroa but what he didn't count on was me trapping him in the barrier with me and Lyaroa, but in her rage and paranoia she killed him without thinking, even with him dead, I kept up the act just in case and dropped the barrier, letting Lyaroa leave." Galesh explained.

Fang blinked and looked at Galesh with a surprised expression. "You... you wanted Lyaroa to kill Huralo that day, you put her in a position where Huralo would try to stop her and you knew that she would kill whoever touched her didn't you?" He theorized.

Galesh let out a weak huff. "I am the Council Member of Intelligence for a reason." She replied weakly. "It was the only solution that could have worked to free us both from that bastards grip." She whispered. 

Fang nodded in understanding even though the Sentinel couldn't see it, he paused though as he thought of something. "Wait... something doesn't add up." He said, making the obviously upset Sentinel tense up. "You had thousands of years, with Anseri missing, why didn't you do anything then or even help Lyaroa instead of fighting her?" He asked.

Galesh let out a few shaky breaths before speaking. "I... I didn't know if Huralo was hiding Anseri at first, I didn't want to take the risk, later on I figured out that Huralo and his family didn't have her, but then I thought that maybe he hired Hunters to keep her hidden just in case I rebelled, I didn't learn that Anseri ran away until five years before Lyaroa's escape." She explained, though her hesitation told Fang she was leaving something out.

"Galesh, what are you not telling me?... why didn't you try to help or talk to Lyaroa right away, why make us fight you and Estalli?" Fang asked a little more forcefully than intended.

"I always planned on restoring Lyaroa's strength, and I do want her to go back to the Forge so that she can face the Council... but not for the reason she thinks... I am trying to help her, but I... it's difficult." She said shakily. "I...I just." She took a breath to compose herself a little. "I needed her to want to fight, and if that failed, I needed her to have others who would fight for her sake and preferably alongside her, so that's why I did everything I did... as for why I came back..." She trailed off.

A tear hit the desk and Fang blinked in surprise as Galesh silently cried. "... My sister Fiona." She whispered. "Huralo threatened my sweet baby sister, she was a teacher and a great singer, she was always able to make Lyaroa and Anseri smile and she loved to spend time with them, she was a great person." She said shakily.

Fang froze up as Galesh's words sunk in, but one stood out. 'Was.' 

"Is she?..." Fang regretted having to ask this but it slipped out. 

Galesh raised her head and looked at Fang, tears streamed down her face, her eyes now a light purple. "Fiona died four years ago... I didn't find out until after Lyaroa defeated me." She said as she looked back down and cried.

Fang wasn't willing to speak, but even so, he wasn't the one to break the silence.

A thud from the doorway broke the silence and both Fang and Galesh looked to the doorway with shock as the sound of running could be heard moving away from the small lab.

Lyaroa had heard.

"Lyaroa wait!" Galesh called out as she ran after her daughter.