> Alternative Reality
>  by Crystal Night
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Stage One: This isn't Mobius
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

No, wait! I can still fight!

Those were his last words after getting defeated by Sonic and Rookie. After that, time seemed...infinite.
He could feel his body was weak and in a bad shape, and the fact that the Phantom Ruby lost lot of his power was making things difficult for him.
But that shouldn't be the issue, he knew the Phantom Ruby's Power Generator was located under the tower, so why wasn't being recharged?

"Ugh..." - he grunted. Slowly opening his eyes, he expected to see computers or robots, instead he was greeted by a rocky wall. Now that he listened more closely, he could hear water dripping from the ceiling.  "What the...?"
It took him about twenty minutes and a lot of effort to simply get up. Glancing around the dark room, he noticed a small glint of light in the other side of the cave, which could only mean one thing. "Time to leave this wretched place..."

Balancing himself against the wall, he took a few steps forward. He never remembered feeling like this before.
He needed to restore his full power if he wanted to crush that blue hedgehog and his friends. However he had a strange feeling that something was off.
As he got closer to the entrance, he clenched his eyes, what he saw next  send him into a state of confusion.
Clear blue skies and a landscape of trees filled his view. The sound of birds chirping and water rushing took hold of his senses. 
Placing his hand on his chest, Infinite glanced at the ruby.
"Where...are we?"





The Princess of the Sun stood once more in her private study, taking care of royal duties, as she was supposed to do, but something caught her attention. She was glancing out the window for what it seemed an eternity. 
Celestia stopped doing her work about thirty minutes ago. She felt that. That power. It didn't feel like magic or even dark magic, but it was something else.
A soft knock on the door drew her attention.
"Come in!"
The alicorn smiled as her younger sister entered the room, closing the doors behind her. But that was only a brief smile, because the look on Luna was one of worry.
"I can safely assume you felt it too."

Luna nodded as she trotted closer to her sister.
"I'm almost certain that is not from our world."

"We need to find it, whatever it might be." - Celestia sternly said.





Hours have passed since Infinite left and wandered around aimlessly in the forest. He knew he was going straight, but it felt he was going on circles. Everywhere he looked, seemed the same.
He was tired, hungry, beaten, thirsty, powerless...

He was weak...

Weak

Infinite growled as his fist hit the tree, shaking a few leafs. The word echoed in his mind, he would never go back to his old pathetic self.  Curse them all...
The sound of water caught his attention as he turned his head to the left and saw the river. With the remaining strength he had left, the masked jackal walked towards the river. Crouching down, he took his mask off and set it down.
Infinite took a deep breath as he dove his head in the river. A few seconds later, he pull back.

He had to admit that the water helped him relax a little. So relaxed that he didn't noticed the incoming guests.
The only warning was from the Phantom Ruby, doing its usual sound.
Infinite immediately placed his mask back, and with some struggle he got back up again, glancing at two ponies landing infront of him, just a few meters away.

"What is that? I never seen anything like that." - said Luna, with some uncertainty in her voice.
Celestia glanced at the dark figure, his yellow eye staring back at her.
"I don't know what might be, just keep your eyes open, even though his power seems less than before, we don't know what can do." Her sister simply nodded as Celestia took a few trots forward. "Hello there." - she greeted him with her typical smile.
Several minutes passed before Infinite spoke back.
"Where are we?"

Perhaps Luna was right... The Solar Princess thought. "We are in Equestria."

This isn't Mobius. Just as he thought, he knew something was off about this place. Yet another spike of pain made him growl as he placed his hand on the left side.
Slowly Luna approached her sister. "It seems hurt."
Now that she mentioned that, she was starting to noticed small bruises and some cuts. It also seem struggling  to breathe.
"I'm Princess Celestia and this is my sister, Princess Luna, may I ask your name?"

"You may call me Infinite."

"Pleasure to meet you Infinite, but it seems you need some medical attention."
As much he hated it to admit, that strange pony had a fair point, even if he wanted to fight, surely he would lose and his remaining power, nor he could run away, his pride wouldn't let him.
There's only one option left. 
"I shall follow you," - Infinite said. "for now..." The last few words just a whisper.





Fortunately for Infinite, Celestia had a chariot waiting for them, so it made walking less painful, even though the piercing gaze her sister gave him in the corner of her eyes was a bit unsettling. If I had more power, the look in your eyes would be a different one.

The ride back to Canterlot was very silent, no words spoken, just a lot of stares, not that Infinite really cared anyway.
Several ponies gazed at him, some had looks of fear, others of curiosity and a few of relief, mostly for the fact their beloved princesses were aparently escorting whatever that creature was.
Celestia slowly glanced at him, trying to make sure he wasn't noticing her. He didn't flinch from the awkward stares or somethings some dared to say, she was excepting any kind of reaction, but nothing happened. Meanwhile Infinite was focused on something else, oddly enough the Phantom Ruby power was slowly coming to him. For now it would be best not to do anything to provoke them, especially the midnight blue princess, he could tell she was quite eager to fight, but he wouldn't give her that pleasure, not yet. 

Upon finally reaching the castle, the two sisters left the chariot first, however when Infinite tried to walk again, it sent more spikes of pain. At this point walking would be impossible, as he grunted an idea popped in his mind, perhaps he didn't even needed to touch the ground.
Gathering the remaining power he had, his body suddenly became surrounded by a red aura as the ruby began to glow once more. The nearby guards and Luna took defensive positions while Celestia simply stood there.
"At ease everpony. He's not going to harm anypony."
Luna looked at her sister, trying to keep a close eye on Infinite. 
"How can you be so certain of such thing?" Some guards nodded at her question.

Floating barely above the ground, Infinite placed his right hand on the metal mask, adjusting it slightly, before crossing his arms. The faint sound of the ruby could be heard.
"See?" - Celestia smiled, while Luna rolled her eyes.

This time Celestia caught Infinite looking around the castle hallways, but told him nothing.
When they reached the medical wing, a small group of ponies were already waiting for them, ever since Celestia sent them a letter on their way back. "They will take care of you now."

As the doctor approached him, he asked.
"Do you mind removing your mask?"

"I do." - he answered with a slight annoyance. The doctor glanced back at Celestia, who nodded.
Returning to his patient, he spoke again.
"Alright then, shall we get to work?"





It took them almost two hours of medical treatment, and a few angry glares from the masked jackal for every time they nearly touched his ruby.
Right now Infinite stood in the middle a medium sized bedroom, what he could guess it worked as a guest room.
"You can stay in this room and rest, if you need anything, there's two guards just outside. Anything else you require for now Infinite?" - finished Celestia. 

"No."

"Alright, rest well, tomorrow we shall talk more." As the Solar princess made her way out the room, she glanced behind her. "You coming dear sister?" 
Luna's blue eyes stared into Infinite's yellow eye, and spoke in a calm tone way.
"In a moment." After her sister left, she returned her attention to him. "I don't trust you like my sister." This time her tone was aggressive, which Infinite darkly chuckled.
"You shouldn't, princess."
> Stage Two: Ilusions
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

If Infinite had to admit, the room was far better than he really deserved. Did Celestia really trusted him? Surely she must have some suspicion about him. After all her sister didn't hold back her words.
Glancing around the room, he walked towards the balcony. Stepping outside, he could feel the air was getting cold and the sun was slowly setting down. For a brief moment he could swear some clouds moved faster than others. 
Sensing that he was probably being watched, Infinite got back inside.
"I could use some sleep." He sat on the bed while he removed his mask and laid down. "Keep watch." Infinite closed his eyes, letting out a sigh. Meanwhile the ruby started to glow. 





"How?"
The guards standing just outside Celestia's office winced again. Ever since they got inside, the sound of Luna's voice would probably be heard on other side of the hallway if wasn't for the doors being closed. The guards glanced at each other, this was gonna take some time.

"How can you blindly trust that thing?" - Luna practically yelled. In the beginning she tried to start this in a calm way. Emphasis on the word tried.
Celestia for her part kept writing her letter. She didn't said a single word yet, however her sister never ceased this.
She could sense Luna's gaze, maybe now was the right moment to at least say something.
"Who said I trusted him?"
Celestia's sudden question caught her off guard.
"You...don't?"

"He was injured and powerless, there wasn't any reason to fight him, unless he attacked first. Infinite seems more clever. As we speak, he's being carefully watched, just in case. In a small way I trust he won't do anything, for now." - Celestia finally finished, gazing at her sister. "Got any question dear sister?" Luna shook her head.

"No?"

Even though her sister explained her motives, Luna couldn't still shake away the feeling to check on him, but he was being so carefully watched like Celestia said, then one wrong move and they would know.
What really bother her was his power. The only thing she knew is that he could levitate, or even fly.
As much Luna wanted to think more about all of this, she still had her royal duties to focus on, which one of them would be interesting.



  

Infinite found himself alone in an empty void, the only sound he could hear was from his ruby, however it sounded so distant. He glanced down and was surprised that the Phantom Ruby was missing. He immediately turned his head around, following the faint sound. 
There it was, laying on the ground. As Infinite approached it, he heard something more. Weak...
Infinite ignored it as he grabbed the ruby. The sound however got higher and higher. Weak...
The jackal turned around and was greeted by a dark and red hedgehog. 
"Don't show your pathetic face around me." 

Infinite growled. "Silence! You're nothing but a bug to me."

"The bonds of friendship can't be defeated, loser." - said a blue hedgehog, smirking at him, which only caused Infinite to be more annoyed.

"When I'm done with you, not even friendship will stand."

Another figured stepped forward.
"You're just another failed project." The doctor rubbed his long moustache.
Infinite's anger at this point was very much like a volcano, ready to explode. Unknown to him, a pair of blue eyes watched the entire thing happen. She wasn't quite certain if was better to stop this or let it happen. Infinite seemed the type of guy who didn't want help. Luna heard him let out a full roar.
"I'm unrivaled, nothing can match my power, not even you doctor!" He pointed at the doctor, who didn't flinch.

"Why?"
Infinite froze. That voice...It can't be... He quickly spun his head around and what he saw made him tremble.
"Why boss?" This figured looked almost like him. He wasn't alone. Other jackals were next to him.

"I...I...H-How...?" Infinite tried to speak, but suddenly felt his mouth dry.

"After all this time and even with that power you're still weak." He found himself saying. Wait, he didn't said that. A hand grabbed his shoulder, making him turn his body. A yellow and blue eyes stared back at him. "You're pathetic."
He clenched his fist as it failed to make contact. He just laughed at the attempt.
"Weak! Weak! Weak!" They started saying in one voice.
He was at the breaking point.
"Aaaargh! I'm not weak!" The Phantom Ruby in his hand begun to crack. "I'll show you all!" His yellow eye became purple as the ruby shattered in many pieces, but Infinite was so deep in his own rage he didn't noticed.

He suddenly opened his eyes. Tears of sweat running down his muzzle. Infinite sat on his bed, panting heavily.
"I need some air." Before leaving his bed, Infinite grabbed his mask and slowly opened the door, noticing the two guards sleeping. So much for keeping an eye on him. Still he had to make sure they wouldn't miss him, it would certainly rang the bells.
Using the ruby, Infinite created a copy of himself, the copy had some small glitches here and there.
"Stay here and make sure they don't suspect a thing." The copy simply nodded. Once again he was surrounded by a red aura, as he quickly flew from the bedroom. 
Even though he remembered some of the hallways that he went by, it was a bit difficult, they all seemed the same. 
The hallway he was going through had white walls and golden suns symbols. The sound of nearby chatting suggested a patrol was on his way, so he quickly turned left. However this one looked different. It was a blue hallway with many stars and a few moons. There must be a way to get outside... And as if to answer, he saw an open door leading outside.
Making sure the coast was clear, Infinite created a few red cubes to scan the area. It was a nice trick he made up, even if he didn't really use it that much. He preferred the more direct approach. 

Sensing no one was around, he stepped out from shadows into the moon light. This place was definitely a chance of pace from Mobius, or whatever still remained intact.
He let out a sigh of relief and glanced at his mask. Ever since that day he and his team raided Dr.Eggman's base his life has taken a drastic turn of events.
He sat down on a nearby stone bench, gazing at the moon. There was one thing he missed the most.
"What are you doing here?" - a certain lunar princess inquired.

"If is not the little "moody princess" ." Infinite replied back as he placed his mask and turned to face Luna. "And what are you doing here?"

"This is my private garden you fool."
Infinite didn't liked her insult, he quickly teleported in front of her, just slightly to his left side.
"Your tongue is sharp, we shall see if your fighting skills are sharp as well."
Luna didn't back down and pressed forward.
"I can ensure that everything in me is sharp."
Even though she couldn't see his grin, Infinite was finding this pony to be particularly interesting. She resembled someone he knew.
Infinite walked past the princess, her eyes closely following him.
"What are you afraid of?"
He stopped walking as he gave her a quick glance."Its none of your business." - the right side of his mask blinked red, before stepping back inside, leaving the princess alone in her garden.
> Stage Three: Against the Infinite
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The rest of his night went uneventful and even manage to sleep for the last remaining hours, however his mind on something else, or rather somepony. Luna certainly had that spark of defiance. He didn't look really forward for their meeting, Celestia would surely wish to know more about him, and since he didn't know how long he was getting stuck in this world, perhaps giving some information would help him get the Solar Princess trust. As long Luna was there, that meant he could keep teasing her. Another thing that haven't left his mind was the Phantom Ruby. He somehow felt more connected to it. He never understood how it really worked, even after the doctor explained it. If he had to be honest, Eggman had barely tapped into his power. However he did warmed him about using its power, something about pushing over its limits, not only because of the amount of energy it required, but it was the main reason as to why he didn't give the ruby to Metal Sonic.

Upon waking up, Infinte went into the bathroom and washed his face. He glanced at mirror, that's when he noticed the ruby had a strange purple glow. 
Ever since they arrived to this place, he could tell something was off. Aside from teleportation malfunction of course.
Infinite let out a sigh. A knock on the door draw his attention.
"Princess Celestia send us to escort to her presence." - said a muffled voice, most likely a guard.
He quickly put his mask on and stepped outside his room.
"Let's get over with this."

It took them two or three minutes to reach the dining hall.
Like expected, Princess Celestia was already there, taking her breakfast, apparently she liked pancakes. But she wasn't alone, her sister was also there.
Infinite took a seat on the far side of the table. Celestia noticed that.
"You can come closer, we don't bite."

Perhaps you don't , but I'm not sure about your sister. He thought as he glanced at Luna, their eyes meeting for a brief moment.
One of kitchen servants approached Infinite, placing down a bowl of cereals.
"How was your sleep Infinite?" - Celestia inquired.

"It was...good." Celestia nodded, her sister already told her about his nightmare, it was in fact a bit concerning.

"If you wish to eat, perhaps removing your mask would help."

"I'm not hungry..." 
For most part Luna remained in silence, enjoying her breakfast.
Celestia cleared her throat.
"If you don't mind Infinite, I have a few questions for you."
Ah, there it was. He was starting to wonder when she was going to ask. "I'm listening." 

"Is Infinite your real name?"
He took a second to think before answering.
"Yes."

"Where are you from?"

"I'm from Mobius, probably you never heard of it."
The Solar Princess shook her head.
"I can't say I have, do you possess any power capability? Aside from floating, that is."
He decided to be a bit evasive with his answer.
"I do."
Luna slightly rustled her wings. Much to Luna's annoyance, that wasn't the answer she was hoping to hear.
"What can you do?" - asked Luna.

"You would wish to know."

"Or perhaps you're too weak."

"Luna! I'm sorry for my sister's recent behavior."
He glanced at the Lunar Alicorn.
"Tell me Luna, are you so eager to face oblivion?"

"Your words represent no threat to me."
He got up and walked towards the door, not before glancing at Luna.
"Maybe action will make you think twice, if Princess Celestia doesn't mind of course."
Luna and Infinite looked at her, seeking for approval.
"You sure about this sister?"
She nodded.
"I can handle him."





"We shall use the training grounds for this." - stated Celestia. 
The training ground looked almost like an arena, located not too far from the castle. Celestia decided to watch from a safe distance.
Luna and Infinite stood in the middle, ready to begin. Both of them were quite eager to see how this would turn up.
"Step forward. I'll show you what futility feels like." - Infinite chuckled.

"I'm right here." - replied Luna.
Infinite activated the Phantom Ruby, as the Princess of the Night felt her hooves leaving the ground, the world around them began to shift. She glanced around, but her opponent was missing. Everything ceased when gravity went back to normal. However the Canterlot city that Luna knew was gone, and replaced with a twisted version of it. She stood in the middle of what appeared to be a bridge. Luna looked down and was surprised to find nothing.
"What is this? Infinite! Show yourself at once!"

The masked jackal materialized out of nowhere.
"This a new reality, your reality Luna."

"Your tricks don't scare me." - the princess growled.

"Let's see how many seconds you'll last." He said as a group of red cubes spawned behind Luna. Then Infinite quickly flew away, to which Luna gave chase.
The princess tried using her wings in order to get some advantage, however due to his control over gravity itself it was no use.
"Something wrong princess?" - he laughed before spawning more red cubes from the sky, falling on Luna's path.
She dashed left and right avoiding several of them, but almost getting hit once or twice. She had no idea what would happen if was hit by one, nor she wanted. 
A red and blue spring appeared out of nowhere straight ahead of her. Infinite threw two red spheres, but Luna jumped on the spring, launching herself towards him. With the momentum she gained, Luna was able to hit him right on his chest with her front hooves, making Infinite stumble backwards, hitting the floor to only get back up again.
"How dare you?! I'll make you pay for that!"
Luna smiled.
"I'm waiting."

While kept fighting, Celestia paid close attention to Infinite and his ruby, but a new presence also got her attention.
"You can stop hiding now." 
For a few moments nothing happened, until...
"Oh fine, I was being so sneaky."

"You can't be sneaky, Discord." - she smiled.

"At least I was trying," - said Discord as he snapped his fingers, summoning a chair and some popcorn. "by the way I like this new look."

"It wasn't my doing, Infinite did this." 
Discord pulled out a pair binoculars.
"He seems quite charming, just the way he keeps throwing those red cubes and spheres." Using his tail, he kept eating more popcorn. "Oooh cannons, that fire laser beams. So he's a reality displacer, just like me."
The solar princess nodded.
"So it seems."
The draconequus suddenly gasped. "Perhaps we can be friends? Maybe besties!"
"He doesn't seem to be the friendly type."

Infinite grunted again, the princess was getting on his nerves, not only that, but the Phantom Ruby was losing too much power. He needed to end this quickly.  "This is the end."
Gathering the remaining power he had left, he created a bigger version of himself, but it was made out of water. He once called it Perfect Infinite.
"How can he do that?" Luna was quick to dodge one giant claw, unfortunately the other one was faster.
Luna fell on her stomach, grunting in pain.

"You can't stop me now, hahaha!"  
When Luna got up, she was smiling.
"And yet you keep losing power." She then suddenly opened her wings. 

"What?! No matter. I will prevail!" - he yelled as his final assault was unleashed, sending a wave of spheres, but this time Luna was prepared. She casted a shield and shot some of the spheres in her path.
Perfect Infinite advanced in a last effort to defeat her. 
Using his long watery arms he tried reaching to her, however Luna was smart and quick to deal with that. She teleported from side to side, at the same time hitting his arms.

Once she was close enough, Luna noticed a purple glimmer. "It must be that." Luna shot her own magical sphere.
Infinite grunted loudly as he felt the ruby getting hit.
"Nooooo." The Perfect Infinite disappeared and the twisted Canterlot went back to normal. 
As Luna landed, Infinite punched the ground in annoyance and anger. "Lost again..."

"Power isn't everything, you know?" Luna lend her hoof for him to get back up, but he pushed away.

"I don't need your pity."

"That was a wonderful magical illusional showdown." - stated the draconequus. Discord and Celestia joined them, though Discord had another thing in mind. He approached Infinite with a curious look. "Such a shinny ruby you got there." - he said as he touched it with his talon.

"Stay back!" 

"You will thank me later," Discord whispered and gave him a mischievous grin. "Anyway, I have a tea party to attend to. Ta-da." Just like that he left in a flash.

"What just happen?" 
Celestia simply shrugged.
"Discord did."
> Stage Four: Time to Talk
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Infinite glanced at the clock, his thoughts drifted towards what was happening back in Mobius.
He's been long since he arrived to this place. Surely Eggman would be losing the war, without his help.
However, he didn't feel or wanted to go back, not yet.
So much happened in the last few hours. First this place, then meeting the princesses, and now some weird looking dragon?
His stomach grumbled. For good reason, he skipped breakfast.
After leaving his room, he made his way towards the kitchen. Infinite had a good hint where the kitchen could be.
Upon reaching the dining hall, he knocked on the door, when no reply came from the other side, the jackal opened it, revealing the room was in fact empty.
"Much better this way." - he muttered.

Once inside the kitchen, Infinite was surprised to find his breakfast on the counter. He looked in the fridge and manage to find a bottle of orange juice, he grinned. "No one is going to need this", his stomach grumbled again, "I know already..."
Taking a small bench that had been left in a corner and removing the mask, he begun eating his breakfast. 
Several minutes passed away in silence. That was until the kitchen door opened.
"Oh, I didn't expected to see you here." - said a familiar voice.

"I can always leave."
Luna took a moment to think before answering.
"No."

Her reply made Infinite stop eating, and he gave Luna a quick side way glance. It was obvious by the look on her face, she had something in mind. Nevertheless, he resume his previous action, ignoring whatever the princess was doing. 
Apparently the princess also decided to eat something too. Luna levitated a slice of her favourite cake, Mooncake.
She went for the fridge and surprised to find her orange juice wasn't there. "That's odd..." she glanced around the kitchen, until her eyes rested on the bottle next to Infinite. 'Oh...' 
Not wanting to press her luck, she ate her cake in silence, her back facing Infinite's.
That's when a half-empty bottle of orange juice standing on a red cube showed up in front of Luna.
"You can ask, I don't bite." 
The lunar princess grabbed the bottle with her magic.
"Thank you."

"Perhaps I started this with the wrong hoof." - started the princess.

"What do you mean?" 

Luna cleared her throat, glancing at Infinite.
"I'm princess Luna, pleasure to meet you." In response, he chuckled. "...at least I'm trying."

"Pleasure to meet you as well, I'm Infinite." He placed his mask on, turning to face her. "I must admit, I'm quite impressed with your fighting skills. Luckily for you the Phantom Ruby wasn't fully charged, or the outcome would be much rather different."
She gave him a cocky grin.
"If you want a rematch, just let me know."

"Oh, I will." Infinite left his things in the sink and was about to leave when Luna called for him. 

"Can you stay a bit longer? Unless you have other things to do that is."
He pondered for a while.
"Well I don't have anything to do, so why not?" He sat in front of her. "I'm quite curious about this, can you really control the moon?"

"Yes I can."

"I once created a sun."
Luna almost spilled her drink.
"Wait, really?" Infinite nodded. "That's actually  quite impressive I must say, but how do you know I can do that?"

"There's a few books lying around in my room, one of them was about you."
Luna looked away for a brief moment, something that Infinite took notice.
"What else was there?"  
He shrugged.
"I'm not much of a reader, however since you're here, maybe you can tell the rest."

"There's not much to tell."
After a few minutes, the jackal came up with a small idea.
"Let's make a deal," She gave him warning look. "Don't worry, it's nothing bad I can assure you," Luna nodded. "If you tell me your story, I'll tell you my real name." 

"Why should I believe you?"

"I have made many deals before, never once broke any of them. Now, do we have a deal?" - Infinite held out his hand. Luna a moment to think, knowing his real name wasn't much, but it was a start. She shook his hand. "Oh, I almost forget to say, you can't tell to your sister, it will became our little secret."

"Alright, where should I start?"

"How about the beginning?" - he chuckled. 





They spend more than an hour in the kitchen. Lucky for them no pony decided to interrupted their conversation.
Infinite for most part paid close attention to Luna's past and she once was Nightmare Moon. During that part he could tell she was struggling to fight her emotions, most likely regret and sadness. This mare was truly impressive, amazing even.
"And I guess that's all."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know about the um...you know."

"It's ok, it belongs to the past now..."

"Well, a deal is a deal, my real name is Zero."
Luna smiled, not only for knowing his name, but also for sharing her past with someone who didn't judged her previous  actions.
"I like it, however Infinite sounds much better. I can call you Zero once in a while, right?"

"When we are alone, yes. Remember, don't tell your sister."

"Tell who?" - Luna asked with a smile.
They shared a quick laugh.
"Perhaps I misjudge you."

"Likewise, though I don't know your story."
Infinite rose from his seat.
"In time I might tell you." The mask's right side blinked red for a second, which only made Luna a bit confused. "Do you have other business to attend?" 

"Hmm, no, not really, why do you ask?"

"I don't know this place too well, maybe a tour would help."
They left the kitchen just in time as they crossed paths with some of the kitchen staff, getting a few over the shoulder glances.
"Are you trying to court me?"

"W-What? Of course not, don't be ridiculous!"
The blue alicorn giggled.
"I'm just messing with you, Zero." Lucky for Infinite that she couldn't see his face under the mask, or Luna would be able to see his light blush. "Let's start with the gardens."

Infinite nodded.





Meanwhile Celestia sat in her throne, having a meeting with the captain of the royal guards and some guards.
"Are you certain of this?" - inquired Celestia.

"Unfortunately, yes. Several ponies have gone missing for the past few days." - the captain explained.
Another guard stepped forward.
"We even doubled our patrols."

"This is quite troubling I must say, I need to speak with Luna about this."

"We'll report back when we get more information." The guards saluted and left the throne room.
Celestia glanced to her right.
"Find my sister, tell her I must speak with her at once." The guard nodded and left the room in a hurry. The solar monarch looked out the window. "What's going on?"
> Stage Five: Canterlot
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Infinite followed Luna through the many castle hallways leading to the gardens.
"Why is there so many hallways in this castle?"

"Honestly...I never asked my sister about that."
After a few minutes they finally reached the double set of doors leading to the gardens. Upon entering the gardens, Infinite had to admit that this place was rather nice and peaceful. As they went through, Infinite paid close attention to the guards.
There's five guards, though it seems only one of them is moving around.He thought to himself. So much security for a simple garden, perhaps it's because of me. Wise decision.

They went down a small dirt path, leading to a fountain.
"Enjoying the little tour? What do you think of the garden?"

"Well I can't say I have seen any garden like this."

"I can't assume you like gardens."
Infinite glanced at the blue alicorn.
"Why is that? Because I look menacing?"

"Maybe on the outside, but on the inside, I think you're different." He really didn't know how to reply to that statement, instead he choose to ignore it. Luna simply smirked, she knew he caught him off-guard. "Cat got your tongue?"

He turned his head around. "Silence." - Infinite said, glancing at some bushes. 

"Why did...hmph?!" Luna tried to speak, but Infinite covered her mouth with his hand.

"I sensed something, from over there." He quickly created a red sphere, sending towards the bush. For a moment nothing happened, until they heard someone complaining. 

"Hey, who did that?" A brown pony with a white long beard appeared from between the bushes. First he glanced at Infinite, and then he noticed Luna standing next to him, the unicorn quickly got down on his hooves. "Pardon me princess, I didn't noticed your presence."

Luna's magic removed Infinite's hand from her mouth and cleared her throat.
"No need to worries, we didn't noticed you either."

"I did." - the jackal replied, crossing his arms.

"What? How?" The unicorn eyed Infinite with some curiosity.

"That doesn't matter for now, what really matters is that Infinite is sorry for hitting you with his sphere." Luna glanced at him. "Right?"

"I'm not sorry for doing that." 

"Infinite!"

"What? I never apologize in my life, ever."
Meanwhile the brown pony watched them discussing, but kept a more watchful eye on Infinite.
"Saying sorry isn't that hard."

"I had enough of this." Infinite said, before walking away, leaving them behind.

"Ugh!" - she grunted. "He meant to say his sorry."

"No I'm not." - Infinite yelled.

"I'm sorry for his behavior, have a rest of good day."
He gave a slight bow. 
"You too, your Highness." The princess quickly chased him down, telling his behavior wasn't the best. If Infinite was actually listening has yet to be told. The duo turned right, leaving his line of sight. 
"This is interesting." - he said to one, then he teleported away.





"I think your mask was poorly made." At the moment they stood in front of the castle main gate. Infinite gazed at her, by now Luna was slowly but surely learning his expression. "Ever since we started this little tour, I've seen you readjust your mask, at least four or five times. Isn't that annoying?"

"In the beginning it was, but I don't care. It's cool doing this." Luna stared at him with a deadpan expression before bursting into a fit of giggles. "What's so funny?"

"Since when is adjusting a mask cool?" - she inquired with a grin.
He crossed his arms, clearly not amused like the princess was.
A solar guard approached them, he bowed to Luna.
"I'm sorry for the interruption princess, but your sister wishes to speak with you immediately."

"I guess we have to cut this tour short," - said Luna. "Unless you want to come with me."

"I think I'll explore a bit more."

"Well, as long you don't leave the castle, I guess it's fine."
He glanced at Luna.
"And what makes you think I won't leave?"

"Because I know you won't." The princess and the guard left Infinite, trotting back inside.
He glanced around, unsure what to do next.
What now? - he thought to himself, as he looked up to the clouds. Hmm. Perhaps getting a good view from above would help him see this new world around him. So he charged his power, flying up close to the clouds. Infinite created big red cube, to which he sat down on. From where he was, Infinite could see most of Equestria. A few things called out for his attention, one of them was on the ground. It appeared to be a rather small town, where a river went right through it. Also very nearby there was a large forest. Somehow the forest seemed rather dark compared to the rest of the landscape, at least that's what he thought. The other thing he noticed was somewhat of a town in the middle of clouds. It quickly reminded him of Angel Island, but much smaller for sure. 
"This place is really interesting."





"This is quite the problem. Have you spoken with Twilight or Cadence about this?" 

"Not yet, perhaps I'll send them a letter." - said solar monarch, eyeing the now empty tea cup.

"I can go to Ponyville tomorrow and speak with Twilight and her friends, to check if the same thing is happening there." - propose Luna.

"There's also something that worries me even more, but apparently some royal guards have gone missing. It was Sargent Steelplate that told me this."

"I can see why. We need to know what's happening and fast." 





Shortly after his sightseeing, the masked jackal was back inside the castle, trying to find his way back to the bedroom, however at this point he had to admit he got lost after one turn or two. This castle is confusing... Infinite stumbled upon an open door, he decided to take a look. The walls were covered with several shelves of books and manuscripts. "A library..." He looked behind him, making sure no one was following him. Infinite slowly explored the room and it's books. On the wall there was a map of Equestria and the surroundings. This map was updated very recently. He took a very close look at it. "Crystal Empire...Interesting." He made a mental note to check that place later. One of the books caught his attention. 'Known Creatures on Equus' that was the title. "This may prove useful." - he said, flipping the first few pages.

"Not much of a reader right?"

Infinite glanced away from his book to meet Luna's gaze.
"I had nothing to do."
He didn't actually know long he spent reading, but that book gave him so much acknowledge. After all, possessing a little data or acknowledge never hurt anyone.
"Tomorrow I'm going to Ponyville, there's a royal matter that must be addressed, and I was wondering...What?"

He gave her a blank look.
"Really? Ponyville? Who name it?"

"Be quiet, it's a nice and cozy little town. The ones that saved me and Equestria several times live there." That statement got his interest. "Like I was saying before, I was wondering if you wanted to come with me, but since you don't seem to like the name..." 

"I'll go." - he quickly spoke.

"Then, wait really?" After he nodded, she continued, feeling surprised by his quick reply. Luna was almost sure he would decline. "Well then in that case, get some rest, we will depart early in the morning." Infinite got back up again, leaving the book on his previous place, and followed the princess. "Also," - she started, gazing at him. "try to behave this time." 

"Afraid to get embarrassed?" - Infinite chuckled.

"Oh shut up..."
> Stage Six: Behind the Mask
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Let me see if I got this right," - he said, still following the lunar princess. "Several ponies have gone missing, including guards," Luna nodded. "And there's almost no proof at all that they went missing or kidnap," She nodded again. "All of this is happening shortly before I got here." 

"Pretty much." 

"For the record, this isn't my fault."

"I know, however the timing of these events is almost perfect. I just hope those missing ponies are alright." 

The next hallway they turned, Infinite knew he wasn't far from his room.
"Despite everything they done, you still care about them?"

"I do and I don't blame them for anything. They had their fears and doubts." - Luna said in a more serious tone. "Everyone can change." She glanced at him. "Even you Zero."

He laughed. "Do you truly believe that?"

"I believe so." At that moment Infinite felt something. Something odd, but familiar.
When they reached his room, Luna gave him a small grin.
"Goodnight Zero, sleep well." As the princess of the night made her way towards her own duties, the masked jackal said farewell.
"Goodnight Princess Luna."

"Please, just call me Luna."

"As you wish, Luna."





Infinite stood ontop of the balcony railing spending the first early hours of the night gazing at the stars. He honestly couldn't remember when was the last time he did this. If he really had to guess, it was probably much before the whole joining Eggman and the Phantom Ruby ordeal.
Right now he was quite enjoying the peace and quiet.

I missed them...

The moon itself looked more brighter than usual.
Infinite removed his silver mask and gaze at it, where his only eye could be seen.
Unknown to everyone, including the doctor, one of the early phantom creations he did was his team. His family. Unfortunately he was never able to do it properly.

If only I got there in time, just maybe...

After that day, he found a new strenght. Together with the power of the Phantom Ruby, Infinite was going to finally change the world and deliver to Shadow his ultimate vengeance.
The current data he had on Shadow was enough to beat him. Not even Chaos Control could defeat him.
Of course the first time they fought while using the ruby was just some practice. As Infinite would say 'Just to sharpen the blade'.

Finally growing tired, he got back inside and laid down, glancing at the ceiling, simply waiting for the sleepyness to take him.





It wasn't long until Infinite was back in the realm of dreams. At least this time he felt more confortable knowing where he was. The jackal found himself surrounded by a sea of sand with several ups and downs.
"This land...does put a smile on my face." 

Without a proper destination he began walking. 
Life in the desert wasn't easy. It was unforgiving, especially when you're young.  Back in is home town, Sand Hill, the lack of job and business made it rough to have a good life. Afterall the town was in the middle of the desert, only the elders and a few people knew where it exactually was located.
Back then people knew who was Zero and his team. A bunch of young jackals that were good at one thing, stealing. They soon learned that the best way to survive was to steal, lie and much more.
Slowly they built a reputation.

However Zero wasn't always doing the wrong thing. He used to believe in the good side of life. Every now and then, he would accept small jobs that could help others, even if he didn't get anything in return. Growing in the streets gave him a different view, one that he was somewhat grateful.

He bent down, reaching to touch the sand.
"It's only a dream." 

"At least it's a pleasant dream." 
He turned around, making eye contact with the lunar monarch.
"If this is really a dream, how are you here?"

"I'm the ruler of the night which also means that dreams belong to my domain. I oversee the Dream Realm."

"Dream Realm? Like a different reality?"

"In a way." - said Luna, standing right next to him.

"Impressive I must say.  So it basically works like the Phantom Ruby."

This time it was Luna following the masked one.
"You never really told what it does."

"It's a virtual reality weapon." The couple walked through the endless desert. "You had a little taste the other day."

"That place wasn't real but at the same time it felt like it was. It's difficult to explain."

"I could explaining how the Phantom Ruby works, but even I don't know how."

"You should rename it to Mystery Ruby." - she giggled.

"That sounds lame. I much prefer this one."

"Perhaps when you wake up, you can show me more." They stopped near at appeared to be some old ruins. "What's this place?"

"Our old hideout." Infinite approached to a small rock, pushing it aside that revealed a hidden passage way.

Luna followed him through a narrow hallway that reached into a larger room. In the center of room was a big round table with five seats. The walls were covered with planning phases and raids, along with a few of those souvenirs.

"The bedrooms are towards that way," - he said pointing at a hallway in the left side. "The kitchen is on the other side. Nothing too fancy, but this place served us well." He went to a nearby shelf and grabbed a foto.

The foto showed him and his team relaxing on the Oasis Valley.
Their smiles was all he need to know that they were happy.

The princess noticed Infinite's hand trembling, she placed her hoof on his hand. Even if Luna couldn't see his hidden tears, it didnt matter to him.
Right now her company was all he wanted. The look in her eyes. She cared.

"I...I missed them...a lot."

"I'm sorry for whatever happen to them." Her wing rested on his back.

"Thank you." 





Luna once more was having her breakfast with her sister.
"So behind that mask, he's someone else that has feelings."

"I'm almost certain he was crying at that point."

Their conversation fell short when the door opened and Infinite walked inside.
"Good morning princesses." Celestia and Luna stared at him with big eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Ze-erm, Infinite you ahm forgot to put your mask on."

"Oh that," - he sat down, waving his hand. "I didn't forgot."

"Then you decided not to wear it?" - inquired Celestia. When he nodded, that's when she needed to know. "Why?"

"I guess I can't hide my feelings behind a mask and wait for things to become better without doing anything to achieve that. Also having someone by your side helps a lot too." He slowly glanced at Luna and gave her a wink, to which her cheeks got a little red.

"That's good to know, and from what I heard you're going to Ponyville along with my sister. Take care of her." The last part was only a tease to Luna.

"I can handle myself very well thank you." - she crossed her forelegs, almost looking like a young foal.

"Then I trust today you're in a good mood?" - Celestia joked.
True to her words, Infinite was in a very good mood. When he woke up, he felt great, not only that but the ruby was beyond fully charged. 'You will thank me later.' For some reason those words echoed in his mind.
"You can say that."





After a brief talk, Infinite and Luna made their way towards Ponyville by their own means.

"It actually feels good to feel the wind on my face." 

"Where's the mask anyway? Back at the castle?" 

"No," - he flew next to her and summoned a large red cube. Inside of it was his mask. "Just in case I might need it."

"What does the mask do anyway?"
Infinite placed his mask back on, the right side blinked red for a brief moment as he activated the ruby.

"Did you noticed my mask blinking?" Luna nodded. "This side of the mask allows me too see the phantom reality. It's easier for when I'm fighting." 

"I thought the only purpose that it had was to hide your face."

"Well that's part of it." - he replied, putting the mask away.

"Maybe now you can show me a few more tricks." Luna grinned, she was quite curious about the ruby could really do.

Infinite thought about it. Testing the ruby now would be a nice idea. Something simple to begin with.
"Alright, try to discover which one is the real me."

Even though they were currently flying, he was still able to pull this off.
Infinite charged his ruby, creating four replicas of himself. 
They flew around the princess for while until they finally stopped.
"Who's the real me?" - they all said at the same time.

Luna glanced at the Infinite's. She knew a spell that allowed the caster to create copies of himself. This wasn't too much different from that. 
However usually the copies would be slightly different from the original one. This wasn't the case. They all looked just the same. Not a single hair or colour out of place.
"I can't tell which one is real."

"Sometimes the small details is all that matters." - said one of them, currently flying next to her left side.

"Pay close attention. Try again." - Infinite stated, going over her.

Luna took a deep breath and once more glanced at them, this time she decided to take her time. "Hmm, that's odd." After a closer look, she was starting to notice small 'cracks' that appeared and disappeared. 

"Found something?" - one of them asked.

"Maybe," - glancing at the Infinite right below her, Luna had her answer. "And the real one is this one."   She tapped his shoulder, getting his attention.

"Impressive I must say, how did you guess?" The other Infinite's began to fade as he flew next to Luna while removing the mask.

"Well, the copies seemed to be cracking."

"Ah, the visual glitches."
Luna raised her eyebrow.
"Visual glitches? Is that caused by the Phantom Ruby?"

He nodded. "Yes, however I'm really not sure how. The doctor didn't know either."

"Hmm, can I see your mask?" Infinite nodded. Luna reached out to his mask with her magic and took hold of it. "Is there a reason as to why it looks like this?" The mask had the menacing appeal to it. Especially when he used his power, the black fur along side with the red aura still made her quite uneasy about it. It was like when he put the mask on, he would become someone else.

"On the left side of the mask, the side where you can't see my eye, symbolizes the vision of a new reality. The other side it's myself broken."

"That's pretty sad honestly."

"It's nothing." - he replied as he snapped his fingers, the mask fading away. "So, about these heroes of Equestria, anything I need to know?"

"Well, they represent the Elements of Harmony. There's also one thing you should know."

"Which is?" - he asked.

"They value friendship, a lot." Infinite glared at the princess, it send shivers down her sphine. Even without the mask, those eyes were still able to hold such anger, but also sadness.
Luna knew those eyes very well, better than anyone else.

"Perhaps this was a bad idea..."

"Don't worry, I know they won't judge you, afterall they helped me, still do."

He summoned his mask back, placing it on. "No one is allowed to judge me."

"Zero..." The rest of the trip went completely silent. Infinite indeed decided to keep the mask on. Luna believed he was struggling to fight his own feelings. He wasn't lost, not yet. If he really did deserved that second chance, she would show him how.





The duo finally reached the small town, just on the outskirts of it.
"It's been a long time since the last time I flew that far." - she announced, clearing her forehead of the sweat.
Yet, not even a single word left Infinite's mouth. The lunar princess was slowly starting to regret her decision.

"This task of yours, won't take long right?"

"I hope not, as much I like visiting Twilight and her friends, I wish to get this done fast and report back to my sister."

"Well, after you."

They somehow managed to get through a large group of ponies that bowed down to Luna. 
"This is a little annoying." 

"I could tell them not to, but I doubt that will work."

Without a proper notice, a blue blur went right past them at a incredible speed. Infinite quickly whipped his head around, creating his red cubes.
"That blue rat is also here?!"

"Blue rat...?"

"I didn't know rats were now blue," - the blue pegasus landed right in front of them, giving a slight bow to Luna. "Nice to see you princess." - she noticed the dark jackal. "Who's the masked creep?"

Infinite stepped forward, his cubes glowing brighter. "What did you just call me?!"

Luna quickly got between them.
"Rainbow Dash, this is Infinite. He's not from our world. So please don't call him that again."

"He doesn't seem too friendly. Are you alright with him Luna? I can handle him in three seconds, or less."

For the love of the stars, stop it Rainbow! That's when she heard a weird noise, one that she knew. "Actually I need your help. Can you quickly call everyone and meet us back at the Friendship Castle? Tell them it's urgent."

Rainbow Dash saluted.
"Considered it done." Then she was gone.

Luna let out a deep breath she didn't know was holding.
"You alright Zero? You seemed really stressed out."

"Even in this world, blue creatures are still highly annoying. What?" - he inquired, looking back at Luna. 

"That better not included me." The princess left him behind, clearly upset by what he said.

"Wait, Luna...I... Didn't mean to say that..." But she was already away from him to hear that. "One step forward, two steps back..." 

While approaching the crystal castle, the jackal noticed a couple of bulky creatures, wearing purple armour.
"What are those?"

"Storm creatures, they used to serve Storm King. After he was defeated, many didn't have a place to go. So they decided to follow Tempest Shadow since she once was their captain. Well she still is. Now they serve Twilight Sparkle. You could learn a few things from Tempest."

"I see." Infinite glared at them, top to bottom, paying attention to every detail. The mask blinked. "This will be useful." 

Luna knocked on the door and a few seconds later it opened, revealing a purple pony with a broken horn.
"Oh, Princess Luna, I didn't know you were coming."

"I didn't know either, however I have an urgent matter to discuss with the elements. I already told Rainbow to call the others."

"Then come in, I'll get Twilight right away." She got out of the way, letting them pass. "And who is this?" 

"I'm Infinite, I can safely assume you're Tempest Shadow, right?"

"I am, but how do you know that?"

"Call it hunch maybe, but you look like someone that gives orders. Also your armour."

"Very clever and sharp eye, I like that." - she glanced back at the princess. "Wait a moment, I'll get Twilight."  Luna nodded as the mare went upstairs.

"A castle made of crystal is quite fitting for a princess I must say.

"You should see the Crystal Empire then."
The door quickly opened, nearly hitting Infinite.

"What's wrong?" - a farm pony asked.

"Slow down you too." The white pony had to stopped to catch her breath.
"We are sorry for walking in like this." - the yellow pegasus apologized.

The pink pony bounced in place, looking at the jackal. "Uuuuh! He's new! Do you like parties? Or walking in the beach? I know, what's your favourite colour??"

Infinite sighed. "Someone please kick me."
> Stage Seven: Hidden
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

To say Infinite was bored of hearing the same thing over and over again, was an understatement. So he decided to step out the throne room and glanced outside through a window, unaware he was being followed.
"I assume you don't like meetings, or you are not very social."

"A bit of both actually."
Tempest laughed.
"I can't argue with that."

"What's your story?" - he finally asked.

"Do you want the short or the long version of it?"

"The short version. Luna already told you used to serve the Storm King."

"Hmm, it was true. I was the tip of the spear for his army. I agreed to help him because he told me about a way to get my horn back, but in the end..."

"It was a lie." She looked at him.

"You seem to know something about that. Anyway, he order us to invade Equestria and seize the princesses powers. I did what he said, we captured them and he took their power. That's when he betrayed me. He was simply using me, like a tool for his own scheme." He noticed the anger in her eyes. "But even then Twilight wasn't afraid to face him, she wasn't alone, her friends helped. That was true friendship I saw that day. Heck, I was turned into stone trying to protect Twilight and her friends."

"And yet, here you are, free."

"I know right? I guess forgiveness also comes with friendship. Not to mention I'm still a captain. How about you? Something tells me there's a lot behind that mask."

"It's a long story." 

"That I'm sure we have enough time to hear." - she quickly replied back with a grin. 

"I guess you could say I was also the tip of the sword for Dr.Eggman's army.
He hired my team months ago when we tried to raid his base. The job was simple, get in and get out. Our target was to steal a ruby."

"Is he really a doctor?"
The jackal shrugged.
"Honestly I have no idea. Moving on, we knew he didn't have a good defense, so breaking in would be easy."

"All of that for a ruby?"

"At the time I didn't know what kind of ruby was it. We thought it would pay well when we tried to sell it later. At least that was the idea."

"Let me guess, something went wrong?"
They walked to some nearby chairs and sat down.
"All of the sudden, an army of robots engaged us, I told my team to hold them while I took care of the doctor." - he looked down at the crystal floor, seeing his reflection. "That's when everything changed. When I jumped at the doctor, my sword hit the ruby he was holding, it somehow triggered it. I was quickly surrounded by a broken world, ready for someone to rebuild it. At that moment, my perception, my view upon that world changed. I guess that doctor also saw that, then he hired us."

"I see, what did your team say?"

"At first they didn't agree, but he gave us a better place to stay." 

"He doesn't seem that bad."

"Well, he's actually a villain."

"Oh."

"Shouldn't you be inside? After all, you're a captain, or you're just keeping an eye on me?" 

"I'm certain Twilight will tell me everything I need to know, besides large meetings can be...boring."
The large throne room doors opened, the little drake left the room and looked around until his eyes found what he was looking for.
"There you two are, come inside."

Tempest and Infinite got up and followed him. He was still amazed how there was a tree in the ceiling, he had seen some wacky stuff, like some weird looking monsters when the planet was torn apart or that amusement park in space. Either way, he also never expected himself talking to multicoloured ponies from a different world. 
"I suppose we could go around town and make a head count, too see if someone is really missing. It shouldn't be too difficult since Pinkie has records on everyone that lives here."

"This will be easy, like baking a strawberry pie!"

Meanwhile, he glanced at Luna, she seemed to be enjoying their company.
The princess glanced back at him, but ignored his gaze turning her attention to the meeting. Is she still upset about what I said?

Part of him didn't really care, he just wanted to gain their trust and hopefully find a way to get out of there. However the look she gave him earlier, it actually bothered him. At the time he didn't think straight. This shouldn't concern that much...

"It would be faster if we split into teams of two." - suggested the rainbow mare.

"Good idea. Now let's go." 
After picking who goes with who, they quickly left the castle, going their separate ways.
Infinite of course got stuck the lunar monarch, not that he would complain.
"How well do you know this town and its residents?"

"Not much unfortunately. Good thing Pinkie gave us a list of everyone, that also comes with a picture, a bit odd."

"She is odd, strange even."

"That's Pinkie Pie, and you don't even know the half of it."

"I don't think I want too."
The couple were near the creepy looking forest, which he still found it rather strange. On one side there's a happy town, and right next to it, this forest.
"What is that place?"
Luna followed his gaze.
"That is the Everfree Forest. Me and my sister used to live there."

"You lived in that mess?" - he pointed out.
"Back then the forest wasn't always like this. But it somehow changed, almost having a mind of its own. Even the weather there is wild. Celestia left it shortly after my defeat as Nightmare Moon."

"It seems dangerous in there."

"And you're right. Wild creatures roam the forest, the weather is unpredictable and who knows what else lurks in the shadows." 
The jackal grinned, his explorer side getting very excited. "Don't you dare think you are going in there."

"Wait, why not?"

"Because I told you too."
He readjusted his mask, crossings his arms.
"You do know you're not my boss? I take orders from no one." - he said with a heavier tone.
Luna simply sighed.
"I don't wish to explain my sister why you are suddenly injured."

"Your sister doesn't need to know." They rounded a corner, leaving the forest behind their back. That's when something struck Infinite's mind. "Wait, earlier you mention something you and your sister living there right?" She nodded. "Like in a castle that Celestia left behind right?" 

"Yes, what about it?" 

"If something or someone kidnaped ponies that would be the ideal place to hide, don't you think?"
Luna gave some thought into it, he wasn't wrong. Only a few ponies dared to venture there. It was a long shot, perhaps after the search they would go there and give a look. The old castle could be a good hiding spot.
"Perhaps we can go there once the search is done."

Infinite nodded his head.
"By the way, are you still upset?"

"You will know when I'm really upset." 
He felt a chill going down his sphine. Whatever that meant, clearly wasn't good for him.
The search party spent an hour searching for anypony that could possibly be missing. They got together in front of the castle.
"Well according to this, there's seven ponies that are missing." - informed Twilight.

"Is there any chance that they maybe left Ponyville?" - inquired Rarity.

"By what other ponies said, they just vanished." - Starlight quickly said.

"We have to find them, somehow." - the yellow pegasus stepped in.

"Infinite mention to me earlier about a possible hiding spot, the Castle of the Two Sisters." - Luna announced.

"That makes sense." - Twilight confirmed.

"There's only one way to find out." - said Rainbow Dash, quickly flying towards the forest. 
"Adventure time!" 
The group followed their blue friend, meanwhile Infinite let out a sigh.
"This is really getting on my nerves."

"Don't like happiness?"

"Happiness only lasts for so long."

"Not if you keep it close to you." Luna could sense his struggle, perhaps with some more time she would be able to break the wall he had around him.
He wasn't entirely evil, at least that's what she wanted to believe.

Upon reaching the outskirts of the Everfree, the jackal could tell that place was somewhat 'dangerous', but that didn't seem to affect the group.
If what Luna said was true, saving Equestria countless times meant they were brave. Or very naive. - he thought.





"This place seems cozy enough." - Infinite stated. They all glanced at him. "What? You should see my world."

The group get going forward, unaware they were being followed.
"Ooh, this place is still very creepy." - Fluttershy said, looking everywhere.

"At least, those wolves haven't showed up." - Rainbow quickly replied.
As soon she said that, the wooden wolves stepped away from the shadows and blocked their path, surrounding them.
"Thanks for the jinx, Dash." - Applejack simply rolled her eyes.

Is that...wood? Infinite approached the lunar alicorn. "What are those?"

The princess summoned her sword.
"Timberwolves."
One of them jumped at Luna, his mouth wide open, ready to sink his teeth. Unfortunately for him, she side stepped to her left avoiding the wolf and her sword hit him, the wooden wolf was torn into several pieces.
"They seem quite fragile." - Infinite replied.

Suddenly the pieces began moving on its own, forming the wolf once more.
"The fragile part isn't the issue. Getting back up again it is."

"There so many of them." - said Fluttershy, hiding behind her rainbow haired friend.
Everyone was ready to fight them, everyone but Infinite.
"You're not going to help us?" - Luna asked.
"Is there a reason why I should?"

"I bet he's scared." 
The jackal glared at Rainbow, making the mare avoiding him.

"Infinite," Luna called out. "Don't listen to her. We just need a little help, that's all."

"Hmph, fine." - he channelled his power. "Only because I don't want to explain why you got injured to your sister." - he smirked under the mask.

He created above them a platform of cubes.
"How is that going to help?" - Twilight inquired. 
He paid no attention as he warped gravity round them, everyone landing on the platform.
"What?!" - Starlight said, gazing at the floor.

"Are we upside down?" Twilight looked at Infinite, however he wasn't upside down, instead he was floating.

"This is fun!" - laughed Pinkie.
As for the timberwolves, they were currently way above them. 

"What goes up, must come crashing down." Infinite ceased using his power, gravity going back to normal.
Everyone landed on their hooves. Unfortunately for the wolves that wasn't the same case. They hit the ground hard enough that broke them into more pieces.
"That won't stop them." - warned Luna.
"I know what I'm doing." Once more the pieces came back to life, the wooden wolves growling full of anger, glaring at Infinite. "If you're still going to fight back, I don't a have a problem of burning you all into ashes." As soon he said that, a red aura engulfed him, making the timberwolves slowly step away from him. "What's it going to be?'

Luna watched him cautiously. She wasn't sure if Infinite was simply threatening or being very serious about burning them. As much as she hated them, they didn't deserve something like that. Luna was ready to stop him if needed.
The timberwolves decided to be smart as they finally left the group alone, turning back into the forest.

For a moment they just stared at each other, trying to figure out what just happened.
"That...was...awesome!" Rainbow was the first one to break the silence. "I totally take back what I said earlier."

"What kind of spell was that?" - Twilight asked herself.
The lunar monarch let out a deep breath. At least this crisis was avoided.

Luna trotted next to Infinite. While the rest of the group talked, he remained quiet, just following then.
"Infinite, may I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Back there, with the timberwolves, were you really going to burn them if they attacked you?"

"Yes."
She was slightly taken back by his reply.
"Why though?"

"Why not?" - he simply replied. "I do what I must in order to survive."
Luna wanted to knock some sense into him, but would have to wait for later.
They finally reached the bridge that led to the old castle. However they noticed something was off. The old almost broken down brigde was replaced with a better one. The wood planks seemed rather new and strong which could mean someone did this. Who? Why? Was someone using this brigde? Those were some of the questions they asked each other as they began crossing the brigde.

"Well, here we are." - Twilight finally said.
The castle looks really old, maybe a bit more than a thousand years, if what Luna told me was right.
Upon approaching the main door, the group tried getting acess to it, but the doors wouldn't move, not even an inch.
"That is quite odd indeed." - Luna observed.

"Stand back."  The dark jackal stepped forward, Luna and Twilight shared a knowing glance, waiting for what was about to happen. 
He created a cannon and fired at the door, which didn't prove to be tough as it broke down. "Who needs keys when you got a cannon, right?" - he chuckled.

"Really Infinite?" - Luna deadpanned.

"Do you want me to be always dark and brooding?" - he inquired.

"On second thought..."





As they made their way towards the throne, they noticed the old castle wasn't so old anymore. All the dust and cobwebs were cleaned off. The piles of rubble also gone, even the holes in the ceiling and walls were boarded it up.
"I can't be the only one finding this really, but I mean really strange, right?" - the rainbow mare asked everyone.

"Well, at least this place is finally cleaned." - Rarity responded, which Dash simply sighed.

"I don't think thats really important here, sugarcube." - Applejack added.

Infinite for his part was on high alert for any potencial threats. He had sense a faint energy when they entered the castle, and if those ponies were saying was true, then there's a small chance they weren't alone. He was ready, however he wanted to see what these 'heroes' could really do. At first glance they didn't seem much. But illusions can deceit. 

"Hey! Careful with those boxes!" - they heard someone shouting, and it was coming from the throne room.
The door was slightly open, giving them enough space to look around.
"Aren't those the seven missing ponies?" - Fluttershy asked first.

"I would say they aren't missing anymore." - Infinite said with a roll of his eyes.

"That might be true, but what are they doing here?" Luna was starting to find this a bit suspicious.

"There's only one way to find out." - Twilight stepped forward, the rest of the group following her. "Hmm, hello?"

The seven missing ponies turned heads to glance at the newcomers, some of them getting very nervous all of the sudden.
A white mare with a yellow mane got behind a brown stallion. By their shared glances, he seem to be the one in charge.
"Ah, Princess Twilight, what a pleasant surprise, and I see you brought some friends," - he then noticed Luna and Infinite. "and Princess Luna it's nice to see you to, and whatever he might be."

"How dare-" Luna stretched out her wing and shook her head. Oh, the things that he wanted do to him.

"Perhaps you can tells us what's happening here? Or why you are here?" - Luna asked.

"Oh, it's nothing special really. We are just camping."

"Camping in the middle of the Everfree Forest? In a abandoned castle? I can think of better places for that."

"Not to mention you have been missing for a few days now, all of you." - the lavender unicorn quickly added.

"Well, we uhm.." - he looked at his partners.

 Something isn't right here. Infinite could feel that energy much closer now. Around there was several boxes scattered all over the room. However what really caught his attention was inside. A bunch of glowing crystals or gems, whatever that was. They had different sizes and colours.
"What are those?" - he pointed out.

"We found in a cave, yea. They looked nice, so we took them."

"Or is it because of their unique energy?" Luna slowly glanced at him, now that we mention that, she could sense it. He was on to something here.
"Perhaps we should take this back to the castle and discuss it there." - the blue alicorn suggested.

Before anything could be said or done, a magical bolt almost hit Luna right in her face, but was blocked by a red cube. All eyes in the room turned to see who fired that. A light grey mare was holding what appeared to be a spear, however on the tip where the blade should be, was one of the crystals.
"What in Tartarus name are you doing?!" - the brown pony yelled.

"T-Thank you Infinite."
He just glanced at her, not needing to use any words.
"That wasn't very...nice." His full attention reverted back to the gray mare.

"What do we do now?" - one of them asked.

"If we act fast we can take them."

They gathered whatever weapons were nearby, pointing at them.
"They can't be serious right?" - Twilight glanced at the other princess. When Luna didn't reply, that's when she knew her answer.
"What about that freak?"

Infinite clenched his fists, full of anger for being called such things.
"Infinite..." - Luna started, but this time he cut her off.

"Don't. They will soon regret crossing paths with me." All of the sudden he dashed forward, avoiding a couple of bolts. As he got closer to one of them, Infinite was hit which cause him to burst into smaller red cubes. "That was it?" The girls looked at each other confused, while Luna just waited for his next move. As the stallion was about to celebrate, the cubes reformed behind him, as Infinite quickly punched him away.

He moved onto his next target, which tried to cut him down with a sword, unfortunately for him, his attack was blocked by Infinite's sword. He then spun around, kicking him in the back of the head. "Not much of a challenge." 

The other two mares shot their crossbows. Infinite side stepped left and right, getting closer. "S-Stay back!!" 
Without saying a single word, he jumped over them and use his sphere attack, knocking the mares out of action. For whatever reason, he decided to use less power in this attack, something he pushed back into his mind.

He glanced at the final opponents. They were equiped with shields and spears. One versus three. Time to make things equal. Infinite charged forward as he created two copies of himself.

"What kind of magic is he using?" - the younger princess inquired.

"I'll tell you later." - Luna replied back as she saw one of the copies breaking right through the shield, once more punching the stallion, sending him across the throne room.

"That's gotta hurt." Even Dash was starting to finding Infinite quite the force to deal with it.

The second fake Infinite nearly avoided the spear by crouching down, he then proceeded to do a spin-kick sending his attacker onto the floor.
Luna was getting more impressed due to his combat skills. It was definitive better after their previous fight.

The last pony still standing trembled after seeing his two friends fell so easily. He kept backing down until he reached the wall.
"It's just you and me now," A red glow surrounded the menacing jackal. "and there's nobody to save you." 

"Infinite that's enough." - Luna commanded. However that had no effect as he got closer to him. Upon seeing this, the princess decided to step in, or in this case, teleport herself between them.
"Step aside Luna."

"And if I don't?" - she inquired, glaring at him. For a moment time slowed down, the girls looking at Infinite and Luna.
Finally he turned his back and walked away. The princess let out a deep breath she didn't know she was holding.
"Oh thank you."

"Don't thank me just yet, you and your friends have a lot to explain now." - she quickly replied back with a heavy tone.

While the party left the old castle, a pair of green eyes watched the entire scene unfold. "This isn't good."

One letter later and a group of royal guards were on the small town to apprehend the missing ponies for later questions. As for the boxes containing the crystals, it was going to take some time to retrieve all of them.

"Thank you for your help." 
Luna had spend the last few minutes explaining more about Infinite. Of course Twilight had so many questions about the Phantom Ruby, but those would have to wait.

This time the ride back to Canterlot was made by chariot. The lunar monarch was debating about the way Infinite handled the situation. He saved her, which he clearly didn't needed to.
"Zero." He moved his head to look at her. "Why did you helped me?" 

"Like I said, I don't want to explain why you got hurt to your sister."

"But something tells me that's not the only reason."

"I guess you have to wait in order to find out."  Those were his last words before he gazed into the sunset.
> Stage Eight: Moonlight
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Upon their arrival to Canterlot, Infinite decided it would be best to go back to his room, he wasn't in the right mood to hear them talk about how he handled the situation. Meanwhile Luna escorted them to the dungeons for later questioning.
She then reunited with her sister to speak the discoveries they made.
Celestia closely glanced at some of the crystals.
"I don't think I ever seen anything like this before." - she stated.

"My exact thoughts. I didn't ask your student, but perhaps Twilight can help us understand this."

"Perhaps, I'll write a letter." She then placed it back on the small wooden box. "Did Infinite get along with the others?" 

She thought about it for a while, Luna wasn't entirely sure if would be wise to tell what happened, even though they promised never to keep any secrets between them anymore.
"Like you once said, he's not the friendly type, given time he might be friends with the girls, but I don't really know."

"That's what I expected. Anything else?"

"Somehow his powers seem stronger than before. We saw him fighting against them. They didn't stood a chance." - said Luna, pouring some tea into her cup.

"And what do you think? Is he too dangerous?"

Dangerous... That word sounded wrong to her. Infinite, or Zero, to be more precisive, wasn't that type of dangerous, at least from what she knew. Luna only knew so much about him, talking with Tempest before leaving provided to be useful. Piece by piece, she was getting to know him somewhat better. 

However back there, when she stopped him, Infinite had a cold look in his eyes. Maybe the problem wasn't him, but the mask itself. If that was the real problem, then how would she prevent him from using the mask less often? 
"Is everything ok Luna?" - Celestia asked, sounding a bit worried.

"What? Oh, I'm sorry, I spaced out for a moment. As for Infinite, I'll keep a close eye on him."

"Very well then."





"That was so stupid!" - Infinite said to nobody, removing his mask he tossed it aside. Glancing at the mirror, he felt his anger slowly going away. "Why did I do that? Why did I protected her?"

He had asked that question so many times on their way back. He didn't had to protect her, yet he felt the need.
Infinite jumped on the bed, glancing at the ceiling. Who are you really?
The jackal quickly got up and walked towards the table, where he left a book about Luna's history. Infinite was right when he said he wasn't much of a reader, but this once he would change that.





Night was soon upon Equestria, another night full duties for the lunar monarch. Even though her body was in the lunar court, her mind and thoughts were nowhere near there. She was thinking about Infinite. She slowly realized he was like her, behind that mask Zero was hiding. Much like she used Nightmare Moon to hide her feelings. He was using a mask for that.

Luna wanted to go check on him, but first she had to take care of this, quickly as possible. Fortunately lunar courts didn't took that long to end. 

Meanwhile on a different part of the castle

"Which way now?" - the jackal asked himself. With nothing much to do in this world, he got bored rather fast. Plus he actually finished reading that book. He thought about going back to the forest and explore for a bit. However if the princesses noticed he was missing, hell would quickly break loose, on him of course.

So he thought another way to have some fun, if he only knew the way back there. Infinite had to admit the castle looked really impressive, but the lack of directions was getting on his nerves.
His eyes searched the walls for the clue he needed.
He smiled. "There you are."

Once the court was over, Luna made her way towards Infinite's bedroom. 
She knocked on the door twice, when she got not response, Luna decided to walk inside.
"Infinite? You there?" She glanced at bed, empty. At first, Luna wanted to call the guards, but something in her mind told her no. "If he's not here, then where?" 
That's just when she remembered the only place that he possibly could be. "He wouldn't dare, would he?"

Infinite let out a peaceful sigh, enjoying the quiet, but more the night itself.
"I thought I would find you here."

He turned around, watching the blue alicorn approach him.
"What can I say? I actually like your garden."
She lay down next to him. Luna noticed the small smile on his face. "What got you smiling?"

"Maybe the fact that you didn't try to kick me out."

"That option is still up, if you want." - Luna smiled.
The couple glanced at the stars for the longest of times. They watched as a shooting star went by fast. Luna was pratically inches from touching Infinite when he spoke again.
"How do you overcome your fears? How do you know you're doing the right thing?"

"Overcoming your fears is never easy, especially by yourself. You must know the real you. Believe in yourself and you can achieve everything."

"You seem to make it easy."

Luna looked away. 
"If only..."

"I suppose your sister and your...friends helped right?" The princess nodded.

"I can help you too, if you let me. Asking for help isn't weakness."

He took a moment to glance closely at the stars. This pony, that was still a complete stranger to him, really wanted to help him. That confused him to no end. 
"Why? Why do you want to help me? You don't even know me."

Luna's eyes met his, the look in her eyes showed nothing but genuine concern and care for him.
"I guess I see part of myself in you."

They shared a long silence, their eyes still connecting with each other. This mare, was indeed quite impressive and the more he looked, the more he got lost in her beauty. Infinite felt his cheeks getting warmer, his heart beating faster. What is this feeling?
"Zero, are you okay?"
He quickly shook his head.
"Umm...what? Yeah, I'm fine!" His sudden reaction earned a giggle from the lunar alicorn. 
"You look adorable like that."

"Hey, I'm not adorable. I still have a reputation to maintain after all." - he claimed with a annoyed expression.

"Whatever you say." Infinite simply rollered his eyes. "Oh Zero, you got any good adventure stories to tell?"

"Well, there was a guy that tried to send my world into a era of darkness once. Mephiles or something like that, but apparently..."
> Stage Nine: Rematch
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You seem quite happy this morning." - said Luna.

"I slept very well tonight, I had a certain princess to thank for." After hearing those words, Luna's cheeks turned red, which made him chuckle.

During their brief talk, they arrived at the dinning room where Celestia was already finishing her breakfast.
"Good morning to both of you." 

"I want pancakes this time." - he said.
Luna glanced at him.
"I didn't know you liked that." When he nodded, it gave her an idea for later.

"Luna would you like to speak with the ponies from yesterday while I ask Twilight for her help?"

"Of course sister, the faster we get this done, the better."

"I can help. What?" Luna and Celestia looked at him with a worried look. "It's not like I'm going to throw them into null space if they don't answer."

"Null space?" - Luna inquired.

"I'll explain later."

"What do you think Luna?" - asked Celestia before leaving her seat. Part of Luna's mind said no, saying it was a bad idea, but on the other hoof this could help him be less aggressive. It was worth trying.
"He can help me, don't worry."

"Yea, I got her back if anything happens." - he grinned. The lunar alicorn rolled her eyes.

"Alright then, make sure you can get any piece of information from them."

Infinite rubbed his hands.
"That's easy."

"Stars help me..." - Luna just facehoofed. Maybe this was a bad idea. Too late to go back now.





Along their way to the dungeons, Luna was feeling a bit nervous. It wasn't about the interrogation, but the partner she had. Infinite got awfully quiet, more than usual. At least he didn't pull out his mask, yet.
The princess glanced around making sure no pony else was nearby.
"Zero? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Just thinking."

"About what?" - she inquired.

"It's nothing." - the jackal gave her a reassuring smile.

"You sure?"

"Yes, don't worry about it."
One of the guards that was standing at the entrance to the jails saluted Luna, to which she reply with a nod. Infinite had noticed before the guards seemed to have different armours from each other, at least the colour. It wasn't too difficult to guess which one was which.
"Tell me Luna, the ponies with golden armour, belong to Celestia right?"

"Yes, they do. Why did you ask that?"

"Just curious."

They approached one of the cells, but before they could begin, she turned around and looked at him.
"Promise me you won't do anything stupid."

"Still thinking I'm going to hurt them? I won't get near them."

"I want your word."
Infinite stared into her eyes. There was something about them. He quickly looked away, scratching the back of his neck.
"Fine...you have my word."

"Good, shall we?"

What is wrong with me?





The room where questioning was being held is what any one would expect, small and less light than the rest of the castle, something that Infinite felt odd about it.
"This room feels different."

"Well, this is very old. It also haven't been used for a long while."

The door opened, revealing three ponies, two of which using armour and the other with shackles. He sat down, facing the duo. It was again the brown pony.
"Alright, what's your name?"

"Twisted Fate."

"Tell me Twisted, why were you all hiding in the castle? The actual reason."

"I already told you, we were camping."

"You're not good at lying aren't you?" - Infinite mocked.

"Why is he here? Is he your pet now?"
The princess quickly glanced at him, ready to intervene. Infinite punched the table and pointed at him.
"You're lucky Luna is here, otherwise I would be more than happy to get rid of you. I gave my word so I won't break it."

"Bo oh, I'm so scared pff."

"If I were you, I would chose my words very carefully. He might not do anything, however that doesn't apply to me." - Luna said in a calm but very threating way that sent shivers down Twisted's back. "Next time you call him pet, I won't be so polite. Is that clear?"

"Yes, of course!"

Note to self: don't get on Luna's bad side. Infinite thought it would be best to stay back and let Luna take care of this, she had a bigger saying in this.

"So, I ask again, what were you doing in the castle?"

"We...we were gathering crystals."

"Why?"

"That's what they told us to do, the crystals would be later taken."
The mention of the word 'they' got her curiosity even more.
"Who's they?"

"I don't know, I swear. They only approached us once, and they were wearing cloaks so I couldn't really see their faces."

"Anything else you might remember?"

"Well, they were three. I know one of them is a unicorn. That's all I know."

"What about the others?" - said Infinite, stepping forward.

"The others?" - he asked.

"Yes, your...friends." - he rolled his eyes which earned him a light tap from the princess. "What? I could have said something worse." Well he wasn't lying.

"They told me to find a few to help with the cause."
The princess moved her head closer.
"What cause?"

"I can't say it, actually I already said too much. If they know I just told this..."

"We can protect you from they."

"No you can't! They're everywhere! I'm not talking anymore." Infinite observed his body movement, whoever those guys, erm ponies, certaintly got him scared.

"Let him be. He ain't talking."

"But he..."

"Trust me, this guy reeks of fear." Luna noticed he was shaking a little and now trying to avoid eye contact.
"Alright then." She called out for the guards to escort him back to the cell.
"At least we got something to work with. Hopefully my sister had better luck."

When she glanced back at her partner, he was staring at a wall, not even blinking.
"You alright Zero?"
A couple of seconds went by until.

"I'm hungry."

"Really?! I was getting worried here!"

"Yea, I'm starving." The lunar alicorn let out a sigh as Infinite was about to leave the room, he quickly turned around. "And don't worry about me, no one does." With that said he left.

I do.





After many plates of food, Infinite decided to relax under a tree. He found it odd that after the interrogation ended, Luna was nowhere to be seen. It was quiet. 

Almost too quiet.

Even though he didn't want to admit to anyone, Infinite was slowly starting to enjoy being around Luna.

"Infinite," - he opened one eye to glance at his surprise guest. "I lost track of you, how long have you been here?"

"I don't know, why were you looking for me?"
She took a seat next to him.
"You're my responsability."

"And here I was thinking because I'm good."

"Please, you're not that good."
The jackal grinned and got back up.
"Wanna try?"

"A rematch? Oh yes!"
They made their way to the training grounds, and Infinite was feeling very excited. This time I'll show what I'm made of.

"To make things easier, I won't change reality."

"Easier? We will see about that." All of the sudden they dashed forward. Luna used her hind legs to avoid his fist, however Infinite spun around to try again. 
She blocked his attack with her wing and pushed him back, gaining some distance. The jackal grinned as he dashed right and left, Luna was amazed by his speed, he seemed to be faster this time.
She steady herself for his next attack. He dashed to her right side.
"Gotcha!" Luna was about to kick him, but he saw it coming and jumped over her.
"I don't think so." As soon as he landed, Infinite curved into a ball and struck Luna with a spin-dash attack.

His move was successful as the princess was knock away from him and fell on her side. "Perhaps hoof to hoof combat isn't ideal against him now." Spreading her wings, she nearly avoided a jump-kick.
"That's cheating."

"You can fly too!" She blew a raspberry at him.

"Well, I could use some target practice." - he said smiling. Luna about to ask what he meant by that, if it wasn't for the laser beams he was currently shooting. "Hold still for a sec princess."

"As if." Flapping her wings faster, she increased her speed, making a harder job for Infinite. Where did she get that speed? Maybe... Infinite had a new trick up his sleeve, but he never had a chance to test it. Now it would be a great time for that. Activating the ruby, his body was covered by the red cubes. Luna watched from a safety distance, wondering what was happening. The cubes disappeared, and instead of seeing Infinite, she was met with someone else or something.

Whatever it was, it certaintly looked shiny  and very blue.
"Infinite?"
His new opponent turned to glance at Luna. Infinite flew straight up, doing a loop and speeding like a shooting star. After missing her, the metal faker did another loop, aiming his claws at Luna who tried to get as much distance as she could. "How is he that fast all of the sudden??" 

Luna felt her wings growing tired, at this rytme he would catch up to her. She then dove straight down, quickly being followed. The ground was getting closer and closer. Just a bit more!

Literally inches from crashing, the princess opened her wings and flew up, taking the time to look back, only to see him hitting the ground with a loud crack.
"Infinite!"

The dust blocked Luna's view, she just hoped that he was alright. She wouldn't be able to forgive herself if something serious happen to him. As she made her way back down, something emerged from the dust.
"You're mine now!" - stated Infinite, who no longer was a copy. Luna used her wings to shield herself from the imminent blow, although it never came. When she decided to look, Infinite was right infront of her with a smug face. "I win." 

"But...what? How? I thought you crashed face first!"

"And I did, but the copy took the hit first which means I'm fine." - he explained. "I have been waiting to do this for quite some time now. Basically I turn into someone else, a copy so to speak, if the copy sustains a serious hit, it brakes, however it doesn't hurt me. The next hit will though."

They left the training area and made their way to a lake.
"It sounds like it's an illusion."

"A little bit."
Luna and Infinite sat down on the edge of the lake. He discovered this place was yet another quiet one. For a large city, it certaintly had a lot of quiet spots, specially near the castle. Two guards trotted by, saluting the princess but giving Infinite a side way glance.
"You seem to like illusions."

The jackal saw his reflection on the water.
"Sometimes life is like an illusion."

I know he's hurting inside. She was determined to help him, besides being her responsability, it was also her duty.

A duty she wouldn't fail.

Luna had an idea, she just hoped it would work. Getting closer to him, she took a deep breath and ever so slowly her head came to rest on his shoulder. Please work, please work.

"Um? What you doing Luna?"
She glanced at him, her cheeks softly red.
"I thought you wouldn't mind...I...I'm sorry." Luna was about to let go, however she felt an arm behind her back, moving her closer.
"I don't mind. It actually feels...nice."
Luna's blush came into full force.

They stayed like that for what felt like hours, simply enjoying each other warm embrace. No words were spoken or needed.

"Zero?" 

"Yes?" - he replied back.

"I'm hungry."
He grinned.
"Me too, time to eat something?" 

"Yes please."  The duo got back up and went towards the castle, chatting some more.

Two shadowy figures watched from the distance.
"This is getting interesting."

"I thought they hated each other."

"I guess things changed, we need to report this at once." They quickly left, making their way back, without rousing any suspicion.
> Stage Ten: Loose Ends
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The morning sunlight peered through the cell bars.
The only noise that could be heard was from a few drops of water from the ceiling. But if one would pay close attention, a slight snoore was also present in the area.
Twisted Fate remained in his slumber unaware of the pair of hooves approaching his cell. The pony in question opened the door with a soft click and stepped inside.
"Rise and shine Twisted. It's a new day."
The slumbering pony opened his eyes to gaze at his visitor. "I heard you had a little talk with the princess yesterday. Now, you know you shouldn't have done that."

"Wh-what do you mean? Who are you?"

"You should've kept your nuzzle shut pony." - his eyes flashed green for a brief second.





The jackal yawned loudly, he had to admit that it had been a very long time he hasn't slept well like this. Infinite still felt that lingering of revenge and power. As he get out of his bed, he made his way to the bathroom.
Letting the water running, he washed his face glancing at his reflection on the mirror. The Zero he once knew seemed so far away yet it was still in front of him.
This place had recently brought some questions about his purpose and future.
What would even happen if his revenge was complete? He didn't have the desire to rule the planet, unlike the crazy doctor. That is, if he managed to find way out of this world anyway. What if he couldn't and get stuck here forever? 

He quickly shook his head. All these mental questions were starting to give him a headache. Still, he had one question that was possibly the most important of all.  
"Why does she even care about me?"

The question lingered in the air, as if someone would answer it, but no answer ever came.
He put his gloves back on and left his bedroom. Infinite was surprised to see the guards were missing, he quickly shrugged off and went on his way for breakfast.
On his way to the dining room, he noticed something odd. He saw sereval guards roaming the castle hallways, going back or forward, and a much bigger guard presence than he remembered. If he didn't know any better, something was up. Whatever it was at least it wasn't his fault. Yet.

"What's with the huge fuzz back there? I almost got run over by a group of guards." - he stated as he saw Celestia and Luna sitting together.
As he sat down, neither sister had said anything and simply glared at Infinite. "What?"

"Didn't you noticed anything strange yesterday Infinite?" - asked the Solar Monarch.

"Not that I know off." The waiter arrived with a pancake plate, placing on the table and leaving.
"And what did you do last night, before going to sleep?"

"Me and Luna had a couple of snacks, we were hungry. What's with these questions anyway?" The jackal was starting to get annoyed at this point.
Celestia threw a side glance at her younger sister, who's cheeks seemed a bit red.
"He speaks the truth sister. We...had something to eat before going our ways."

The white alicorn sighed.
"Remember the pony you interrogated yesterday?" He nodded. "Well the guards found him this morning on his cell, without life."

"Pfff, good riddance." The looks he received from the princesses was one of disappointement to say the least, more so from Luna. He looked away. "Just saying we know he was bad."

"That may be true, but he's still a pony nonetheless." - stated Luna, a clear tone of annoyance in her voice. "Unfortunately that wasn't the only thing that happened.
The crystals we found have also gone missing."

"This gets more interesting by the minute." - he replied back, enjoying his meal.

"Can you take this a bit more serious?" Luna was slowly losing her temper.

"Why should I? This got nothing to do with me anyway. This is your kingdom, you solve it." - he shot back.

"Then why did you decided to help me in the first place?!"

"Silence!!" Luna and Infinite quickly glanced at Celestia, who they forgot that was also in the same room as they. "This argument isn't going anywhere. The last thing I need is you two doing this right now. We have other urgent matters."

"Apologizes dear sister." Celestia wrapped a wing around Luna's back letting her know it was fine.
"If you're looking for a apology from me, don't." 
The moon princess simply rolled her eyes.
"If you don't mind, I have more  important things to do." - she said, glaring daggers at him. With that being said, she left them, feeling a bit down by what happen. She didn't mean to lash out at him like that, but Infinite was being so... Infinite.

"She feels herself responsible," - that got his attention. "It happened during her watch."

"But she's not the one roaming the hallways."

"Even after all this time, her mind is still filled with doubt and remorse."
He raised his eyebrow.
"What do you mean?" - he inquired, sounding a bit surprised, even to himself.





"A thousand years?! Just by herself? On the moon? She didn't tell me that part, I felt there was something more but I didn't want to press it anymore." Celestia nodded. The book he read the other day didn't also contain that information for some reason, was she trying to hide her past?

"She stills feels like she has to prove herself not only to her, but also to everypony else." The jackal stole a glance at the door, feeling uneasy. "She is slowly getting over that, however it may take some time."

"I...I shouldn't have been too harsh on her.'

"It's alright, you didn't know." He got up and was about to left when Celestia called out for him. "If you're going to talk to her, try the royal warehouse. I got a feeling she's there."

"Uh, thanks." As he left the room, the solar princess smiled.
For the first time in a while he was about to do something he hasn't said on a long time.





Luna grunted and kicked, this search was proving fruitless. Who ever did this clearly knew how to get inside and out without leaving any trace. The door lock was fine, it wasn't forced. She didn't detect any magical presence. Windows also didn't show sign of being broken. Only the crystals had been stolen, everything else was still here.
A knock made her turned around to see Infinite at the door. "Oh, it's you." - her amusement dropped even lower now. 

She really didn't want to see him right now.
"I hope I'm not interrupting."

Luna ignored him at she kept trying to locate any clues.
"I know I messed up at breakfast. I shouldn't have said that." The lunar princess continued, not wanting to waste any time. "It was stupid of me. I didn't know about your struggles. Look, what I'm trying to say is..." - he gulped, this was the hard part.

"I'm sorry."

Did she hear that right or were her ears deceiving her? She glanced at Infinite noticing he did seem sorry about it.
"What did you just say?"

"I'm not repeating myself. Don't make this awkward." - he announced crossing his arms. Luna couldn't herself but smile. "Great, you're making this awkward now."

"I'm not doing anything." She could barely contain her smile, Infinite for his part just sighed but eventually cracked out a tiny smile.
Infinite walked around the room, not really sure what he was even doing there.
"Do you feel that?"

"Feel what?"

"That energy, the same one I felt from the crystals. There's a slight trace of it."

"Do you think it's enough to track it down?" - she inquired, a plan forming in her mind.
"Yea, I think so."





The couple was escorted by a group of guards as they made their way into the air docks. Shortly after the Storm King invasion, the princesses thought the air ships seemed very unique and useful, with Tempest's help they decided to create more including a air dock. It made trading and traveling across Equestria easier and safer. 
"The air docks? Interesting. Are we getting closer Infinite?"

"It appears to be so." 
They finally reached the destination which was an air ship located away from the others and it had only a few workers there. "The trail ends here Luna."
The princess stepped forward.
"Excuse me, but I would like to know who's in charge here."
A cyan pegasus with a white mane wearing a hat approached them and did quick bow.
"That would be me, your Highness."
As the two ponies chatted away, the Phantom Ruby begun glowing softly, that didn't went unnoticed by Infinite.  Interesting. He glanced at the pegasus and walked towards the duo. As he did, the ruby glowed brighter.
By the time we reached them, Infinite was practically inches from the pegasus nuzzle.
"Who are you really?"
That got Luna's attention as well of the nearby workers, who looked at each other. "What do you mean?" - she asked him.

"Whoever this is, it's not a pony." Her gaze shifted from her companion to the pegasus. Not a pony? Does that mean... Her thought was cut when suddenly the jackal grabbed him by throat.
"Infinite!" As soon those words left her mouth, the ruby sparked to life as the pegasus was engulfed in green flames.
Everyone stood in shock at the revelation before them. Meanwhile Infinite was mostly confused. Did the pony just really turned into a freaky looking insect?
"He's a changeling!" - the lunar princess shouted as the guards drew their spears out.

"A what now?" That's all he said before getting smacked.
> Stage Eleven: More Questions
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Infinite grunted in pain as he threw the changeling onto the floor and kicked him away. "That hurts you insect." 
He looked to his side, expecting a reply from the princess about his brute force, however when he gazed into her eyes, he saw nothing but rage, pure anger. Sure, Infinite has seem her angry before, but this time it was different. She seemed a completely different mare. "Luna, are you alright?"

"Guards to me! Capture these monsters and these traitors as well!" Infinite was taken back by her harsh tone. Whatever happened in the past clearly didn't stay there. True to her words, among the changelings, other ponies were there, grabbing whatever they could to fight back.
"It's probably better if I stay out of this."  - he thought to himself.

Luna and her guards pushed forward as did their attackers. The Lunar princess was quickly dealing with them, her magical raw ability was too much for these poor fools to deal with. Unknow to her, a changeling flew behind her ready to strike when a cannon ball hit him on the side, sending it crashing down onto a crate. The move this time didn't go unnoticed as she flashed him a smirk.
Infinite was enjoying seeing her fight like this, it was rather different when she was fighting him the other day. He glanced at the guards who seem a bit troubled by the insects and their own kind. "I guess a little help won't hurt." He quickly summoned a group of phase one eggbots and ordered them to help the guards. The robots used their laser cannons to dispatch any resistence. In all honestly Infinite didn't like these bots that much since their poor design was no match for someone like Sonic or Shadow, but against them it would do nicely.
As the fight went on, more and more fell to the princess and her escort, even the bots managed to support them.
The last of them finally gave up, by then Luna was sweating, but it didn't matter, it was over. 
"Cuffed them all and take them to their cells. Watch them closely." - Luna instructed as they nodded and went to work.
"Not bad back there. Amazing work." - he praised her.

Did he just compliment her? First he says sorry and now this? Has he really changing that much? 
"Uhm, thanks. Also for covering my back earlier." - Luna blushed a bit.

"Don't sweat it, hardly a challenge."  He then let out a smirk. "Besides something tells me you enjoyed it a bit. Have you faced these insects before?"

"Yes, in a very long time, after we rose to power. They recently tried invading Canterlot." - the princess stomped her hoof in annoyence. "That time I wasn't around to help."

"If that's the case, they haven't learn their lesson. You should've ended them when you had the chance." The jackal and princess entered the ship, letting the guards handle the arrests. Luna looked at him, he wasn't wrong about it. 
Celestia was the one who oppose against such idea, believing they deserved a second chance. If it wasn't her sister, the changelings wouldn't no longer be on Equestria. "Luna, you there?"
She blinked her eyes, finally noticing Infinite was just a few inches from her muzzle.
"Aah! Too close!" Infinite stepped back as he simply laughed away, as her cheeks went red. "That's not funny..." - she crossed her forelegs.

"I had to," - he wipped a tear away. "You spaced out for a bit. You're going to say what I just said was wrong right?"

"Actually...no, you're right."

"Are you sure you are Princess Luna and not one of those weird bugs?" He didn't expect her to agree with such opinion.
She lightly tapped his arm.
"A-ha, but that is true. At one point in our life we wanted to end them."

"We?"
The blue alicorn looked away.
"This was a little before ou-my banishment."

"Oh, I didn't mean-" Infinite replied quickly, but the princess cut him off.
"It's fine Zero, you didn't know. Anyway we should spread out to find some clues that is, if you want to help me."

He stretched his arms and went towards the lower section of the ship.
"I'll help, can't let you have all the work."
As he left her sight, a tiny smile graced her lips.





The jackal inspected several of the crates, most of them had the crystals they found and if he had to guess, this batch was the ones went missing along with more of them. He also found more weapons and armor laying around. What was more odd was the lack of the insignias or the armor colour. The armor was pretty much brand new, suggesting it was made very recently. Years of looting treasures taught him many things, such as the current state of itens and how old they might be.

Someone was making these for them.

Infinite sensed he wasn't alone in the lower deck as he slowly checked behind to find nothing. Maybe his mind was once more playing tricks on him.
"Boo!"

"Aaah!!" - the jackal jumped back, while Luna laughed. "Luna, don't do that! I could've hurt you or something!"

"But well you didn't, found anything interesting?"

"Well I did, but now I don't know if I will tell you."

"Please, pretty please." - she did her best puppy eyes she could manage, still trying to improve on it. "I won't tell what happen."

"Fine! You own me a slice of cake though."

"Done. Tia won't noticed it." The duo shared a smile.





"I found some document papers about travels and such, but I'll ask someone to look at them."

"That seems a bit lazy for a princess." - he joked.

"Careful or you might lose that cake." Luna never really liked doing paperwork anyway. "However this is quite serious, someone is supplying them with weapons and armors, not only that, but they are also helping them as well. This is getting more strange by the second."

"I'm sure you can handle it." 
A solar guard flew to them with a urgent message, as he landed, the pony bowed to her.
"Princess Luna, Princess Celestia requests your presence at once in her private study."

"Of course she does." - she numbled. "Tell her I'll be arriving soon." The guard saluted and left them alone once more. "Sorry about this."

"It's fine. After all you are in charge of the kingdom. Go on, I'll make my way back." From the corner his eye he noticed something odd worth checking. 
"Alright, see you soon Zero." The princess of the Moon took off, as Infinite redirect his attention to the previous thing at hand.





The two changelings looked nervously at each other. Bringing more bad news wasn't how they thought the day would go.
"So, not only we lost more members, but also lost the airship containing our next shipment, am I missing anything else?" - inquired a voice hidden in the shadows.

"I-It would seem that the strange creature led them there...your Highness."
A pair of green eyes gazed at her servants, eyes filled with hatred. Everything was going well, no problems, no issues. Until that thing showed up. That creature was ruining everything she worked hard for.
"Ah yes, the newcomer. How could I possibly forget about him?" The once proud Queen Chrysalis got up from the shadows of her hiding spot. "It would seem I will have to take care of this myself, you bunch of useless fools."

The drone stepped closer, glancing at the ground.
"What should we do?"

A wicked grin crawled into her face.
"Lead him to me."
> Stage Twelve: Doubts
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Celestia's eyes read her sister's report once more, making sure she didn't miss a thing.
This whole situation was starting to worry her a lot more than she thought.
She couldn't think of any reason for her little ponies to betray them like this and yet the proof was there for everyone to see. A knock on the door cut her thoughts. "Yes?"

"It's me sister." - came a familiar voice.

"Please enter." The door quickly opened revealing Luna. "Take a seat Luna." The blue alicorn closed the door and sat down the pillow while her sister poured some tea into her cup.
"I'm assuming you read my report?" Celestia nodded. "What are we going to do?"

"First we need to find out who's making this weapons, second where they are giving to them and last as to why."

"The documents didn't say who made them. At least we can assume Chrysalis is behind this, even though none of the changelings want to talk." - Luna replied with a bored expression.

"Fortunately for us, there isn't many blacksmiths in Canterlot that still make armor and weapons. I wouldn't be too surprised if it's really her again." She took a sip from her cup. "Which reminds me, where's Infinite? You mentioned he helped a bit."

"I left him near the royal gardens, I'm very sure he can find his way."

The old monarch let down her tea cup, her facial expression taking a more serious look. "I have been thinking and doing some research and even asked Twilight help about this matter, but there is a chance we won't be able to send him back from where he came."

"Are you sure about this? Isn't there another way?"
Celestia shook her head.
"The chances of sending him back are very dangerous, we don't really know what would happen."
The lunar alicorn pondered for a bit. Such complex spells like those could be quite fatal if not done correctly.
"It's a big risk."

"Indeed, and it doesn't feel right to do it."

"He can always chose to stay here." - Luna quickly replied.

"And if he doesn't?"





As two princesses talked away, Infinite made his way through the gardens following a hooded figure. He wasn't naive, this little chase smelled like a trap, but he decided to follow anyway. He wasn't completely defenceless. There was only one big danger that he wished to avoid, destroy the garden. He had a feeling Celestia would beat him down.
As he rounded the corner he reached a fountain but the hooded figure was no longer in sight.
His eyes searching every bush and shadow, looking for any sign of potencial trouble. As minutes went by and nothing happened, the jackal spoke first.
"I know you're there. If you lead me here you either want to talk or fight."

"Why do you know this isn't a trap?" - voice asked.

"I don't, but that really isn't a problem for me." He caught the sound of movement coming from the other side of the fountain, the hooded figure finally stepping into the light. The only thing he could tell was the size, whoever this was, had a few more inches than him, seemed almost tall as Celestia.
"You're right, I want to talk."

"Make it short then."

"Such manners, very well I'll keep it simple. I want you to stop helping the princesses."
Infinite crossed his arms.
"That almost sounded like a threat, why should I stop?"

"I want to fulfill my revenge but your actions are ruining everything." The figure stared at the strange creature, her calm demeanor slowly vanishing.

"I could care less about your silly revenge, all I want is to get back to my world and finish my conquest."

Back to his world? Conquest? At that statement the disguised queen was confused, however an idea sprung into her mind. "Have the princesses offer a way to send you back?"

Now that he actually thought about it, not once they had mentioned of finding way back home. Did they forget?
"No, not yet."

"Then what if I help you find a way to do it, would you consider helping us?" Even though he couldn't see, she had the biggest of grins.
Infinite didn't like this deal at all, he wasn't that dumb. He already made a deal he was somewhat regretting.
"I'll pass."

"That's a real shame, and here I was thinking we had something in common." The figure was about to slip into the shadows once more but before doing that, it looked back at him. "The offer still stands though, as long you don't help them."





Luna waited by his bedroom. It had been quite some time since they went different ways. She knocked on the door a couple of times but got no reply. Maybe he got lost again? Next time I'll give him a map or something.
The sound of distant footsteps made her turn her head, finally spotting the jackal. However something was off, he was staring at the floor. 
"Zero? Are you okay?"

The jackal in question raised his head to look at the princess.
"Uhm, Luna? Yeah, I'm okay. Look there's something I want to ask about."

"Well, there's also something I wish to tell you as well. Let's go to a more private place." Infinite nodded as he followed her. Once more they were in one of the many hallways, this one was blue with stars. He could only guess it belong to Luna.
"This part of the castle is mine. Celestia redecorated upon my return."

"It does look rather nice. Really suits you." Zero was completely unaware to Luna's blush.
"T-Thanks."
They reached a set of double doors that had the symbol of the moon, the same as her cutie mark. He motioned her to go first. Putting the mask away, he took a seat on the nearby cushions.
"Just give me a few seconds." Infinite watched as Luna ignited her horn and soon enough the moon slowly rose into his position.
As Luna turned to face her companion, she gazed at the jackal who had the biggest surprised expression she had ever seen. His eyes were round as dinner plates and his mouth just open. Luna giggled as she closed his mouth with tip of her wing.
"Impressed?"

"Very much so. I thought you were joking about being able to do that." Luna sat down in front of him, giggling more. "Anyway, you said had something to tell me."

"According to my sister, she's currently trying to find a way to send you back home."

"Aaand?" - he asked, hoping the answer would be yes.

"Still nothing. These type of spells are very complex and very dangerous to perform." Luna rubbed her foreleg. That was probably what he didn't want to hear, but there was still a chance. "Don't worry, I'm certain Celestia will be able to find a way!"

"I...see. How long will it take?"

"We don't know yet."
The silence between them was almost palpable. Luna shifted in her hooves, while Zero stared at the cushion.
"I'm sorry, this isn't exactly good news."

"It's fine."

"Earlier you mentioned you wanted to ask me something. So, what is it?"
Suddenly Infinite felt his mouth very dry.
"Don't worry, it wasn't important." - he quickly replied.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure!" He got up and went to leave her room, without looking back he said. "Goodnight princess." Leaving Luna by herself.

The alicorn gazed at the mirror. Did...Did I say something wrong?

Infinite slammed the door shut and punched the wall. And again. Again. He kept going until he hands starting to hurt.
Then what if I help you find a way to do it, would you consider helping us?

Those words lingered in his mind. It had to be a lie, but what if wasn't? This whole thing was none of his concern, and yet he had this feeling, this desire to help, but who?

Help the one that understand and cared for him or the one that could send him home?

Infinite grunted. "I hate feelings..."
> Stage Thirteen: Same Boat
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Breakfast had gone by and yet no sign of Infinite. Of course this had the princesses a bit troubled, however the confirmation from the guard staying at his door eased up things. Apparently, Infinite hasn't left his room nor he heard any noise from the inside. If he did try leaving through the window, he would've been easily spotted, which meant he was still there.
Was there any reason for his behaviour? Maybe the news he received yesterday from Luna?
Celestia wanted to try and talk to him, but perhaps a more familiar face could help.
"You should go and talk to him." - suggested Celestia.

"Why me?"

"Well, you're the one most closest to him, so he trusts you."
Luna looked away. She was trying, but it was a slow progress. Almost like when she returned.
"I don't really know if he trusts me that much."

"I doubt he would listen to me. I believe in you."

"Ok, ok, I'll try." They shared a quick hug and parted ways, as Celestia sighed about having to deal with the nobles.

Luna glanced at the door and raised her hoof. Infinite, or rather, Zero seemed like a closed book, hard to read and to judge, but there was something about him she liked, just not sure what though.
She knocked and the reply was silence. Maybe he was still sleeping? Luna used her magic and tapped into the dream realm. No, he was indeed awake. She knocked again, a bit harder this time. Nothing.
"I know you're awake. If you do not open this door, I'll bring it down myself!"

A few seconds later the door slowly opened. Luna poked her head and took a look around. The room was dark with a few rays of sunlight going through the curtains. Her heart skipped a beat when her eyes had met Infinite's. The phantom ruby was softly glowing, giving quite a eerie sense.
"Umm, morning?" She stepped inside and closed the door. Part of her said to keep it open, but she chose to ignore it. "Did you sleep well?"

Infinite shrugged.
"Just well enough."
All of the sudden the floor seemed rather interesting to look at.
"Are you upset about what I said yesterday?" - she inquired, her eyes never leaving the floor.

"No."

The silence was deafening. Maybe he did wanted to be left alone.
"You know how it feels like don't you? To arrive in a new world that you barely know anything off. Everyone looks at you  like you have two heads or something. They whisper behind your back." Luna's body tensed up. The first year after her return, she could barely go around the castle without jumping at shadows or the castle staff giving her odd looks. Celestia did the best she could to help, and she was thankful for that. "Luna, please look at me."
The princess raised her head and stared into his eyes. What was that look? Fear? Regret? Loneliness? She had seen him upset, angry, even bored. However this was new, this was actually troubling him.
It only made sense, he wanted to go back home.
She never gave too much thought into that. 
"I... understand what you're saying." - she finally admitted. "It wasn't easy to deal with."
Infinite moved a bit so she could climb up the bed. The alicorn took the invitation, and now was a few inches from him. She felt her heart beating as her cheeks got more red. Thankfully she hoped it was dark enough that Infinite couldn't noticed.
Unknown to her, the jackal was struggling to figure out his own feelings. Why was he acting like this? Letting her getting this close and saying those things. Was he growing soft. Is it because they shared something in common? He sighed.
"I guess we are both in the same boat."

"So it seems."

"Also I'm sorry for the way I left your room."
Luna raised her hoof.
"No, it's fine...but when you get back, what are you going to do? Continue what you left off?"

Infinite thought about it. The Resistence by now could've done some progress, or even won the war. He wasn't really sure since he was here that his illusions would still be working. So much fighthing, he barely got to do what he wanted, to crush Shadow. He was beaten once, but that was mostly testing his powers.
"Zero?"
He looked away.
"I don't know yet."

"You can always stay here!" - she said, perhaps too quickly.
He let out a chuckle.
"I don't think your sister likes me that much to offer such chance."

"Maybe she doesn't, but I do."
He glanced at Luna, she was in fact being very serious about it. It had been so long since the last person that really cared about him.
The jackal smiled.
"I'll think about it."

It wasn't a no, so Luna was happy about it.
"Let's get out this room, I saved your breakfast, just in case if you wanted."

After a rather long breakfast and some talking, the pair had nothing much to do. The guards were still busy with finding clues and such.
"Got anything for today?" - he inquired.

"No, no really, but I thought of something we can do!"
At first Luna didn't said what it was, she only told Infinite to follow her. 
The more he saw, the better he remembered about the place.
"So, you wanna fight?"

"Yes, fighthing against you is proving to be quite the challenge."

"Am I this unique?"
Luna pratically jumped in place.
"Yes! We never had the chance to fight a power like this, though it reminds me of Discord in a way."

"I guess a little practice won't be too bad."





"Ready?"

"I was created to be ready." Infinite released a wave of phantom energy throught out the training area. Luna expected something to change, but nothing really happened. Everything was still in place.
She glanced at him, he seemed ready to attack, most like he wait for her to go first, to see her reaction.
Luna used her wings to get above him and started sending several attacks with her lunar speheres.

Infinite got out the way, as the long water like arms appeared from the ground and tried to grab her. It's was the same arms from their first encounter, just without the body.
In the middle of that dodging, the princess lost track of Infinite and was nowhere to be seen. 'Curses, where did he go?'

She barely managed to dodge a red dashing jackal, before he did a loop for a second try. Luna dodged again, only to get hit by the arm, sending her to the ground.

When she opened her eyes, her vision was distorted, confusing even. Luna was literally seeing red, the world was once more beyond the usual normal. Even though she knew she got hit, it didn't hurt.
"Not this again..."

"Hahah." His laugh echoed throught the distorted mayhem.
Infinite sent out his own red speheres. The alicorn quickly brought out her shield, blocking all of it.
"Is that really all you can do?" - she taunted him.

"Target in range. Locking on."
That was a completely different voice. Luna turned around to see a strange red and black creature. It sure was shiny. "Firing missile barrage!" 
Whatever that was, it just launched multiple small things straight at her. The princess took to the skies, doing her best to avoid the attack. No matter how much faster she was, those things were still following her. 'How do I get rid of these annoying things?' - she thought as Luna glanced at the strange creature. 'Unless...' She did a quick u-turn and went towards him. In response, he raised his metal gauntlels aiming at Luna.
"Big mistake princess. Activating Gatling guns."
The copy fired what Luna could only describe as tiny blazing pellets. She summoned a forward shield as she got closer. He readied one of his gauntlets to punch Luna. Just as she was about in range to get hit by the heavy punch, the princess teleported away, instead he was faced with own missile barrage.
"Error! Error!"
A loud explosion was heard and felt as the attack got the wrong target, sending the metal copy into a wall.
"Huzzah, it worked!" After that failed attack her vision became normal again.

"... I'm not weak... I'm not weak..." Luna heard the strange creature say that and it quickly reminded her of Infinite's nightmare. The copy looked at Luna, the red eyes emanating a bright glow. "Locked on target!" He activated his boosters, going at a higher speed that Luna couldn't even predict. 
Luna powered her horn and grabbed hold of him, slightly sending off into another wall. He collided against it, making a big crater as a result. She knew someone would be annoyed having to fix all this.
The machine rose once more, before fading into Infinite.
"Not bad."

"You're going to have to try harder than that."

"I wasn't done yet." He waved his arms in a circle as he released more phantom energy. Infinite created more duplicates of himself.
"Maybe I shouldn't said that..."

"I trust you're ready to face us, if not...oh well" - with that being said, all the copies dashed towards her. Luna got some distance from them in the best way she could, either using her speed or magic to take some of them out. Unfortunately for Luna, she couldn't quite see which one was the real. She guessed by attacking the real one, the copies would fade out. It was just a random guess, but that was all she got.
Luna went straight up, the Infinite's rapidly chasing her. 'If I can gather them all up, I might be able to hit the real one.' The princess decided to hide among the clouds, as the copies struggled to find her. It wasn't an effective hiding spot but it would do for now.
She noticed Infinite seemed to use a similar tactic. Let his opponent guessing. So, now it was her turn.
She remained hidden in the clouds, guessing which one was the real Infinite, however there was one small issue. None of them had those visual glitches.

"Now what?" 
After some thinking, she did the best method to deal with them. Literally blast everyone.
The copies did their best to dodge her attacks but one by one they started falling. The real look Infinite gazed at the clouds, with a smirk. 
"Clever mare." He summoned more cannons and fought back while his copies charged forward, removing the clouds.
At first Luna was winning but she was slowly losing her cover.
"Time to surprise him."

The princess quickly left the safety of clouds and went straight into Infinite.
"What is she doing?" 
The jackal charged his ruby, attempting to slow down time, however Luna was faster as she teleported right behind him. "What?!" The princess used her forelegs to strike him down, followed by a magical sphere.

Luna's victory was short lived as one of the copies tackled her, sending her down alongside Infinite.
"That was crazy, you know that right?" - he shouted.

"Yes, but it worked." She finally managed to escape from the clone and safely landed, while Infinite warped space and time to prevent meeting the floor. "That is a cool trick."

"It has its uses. Wanna give up princess?"

"In your dreams Zero." She cast a sword by her side.
He did the same, wielding his trusty red sword.
"I was hoping you would say that."
They both charged as their swords clashed, releasing a few sparks. It was obvious to Luna, that he clearly knew how to wield a sword, probably before using the ruby. Everytime she found an opening, he would immediately block her advance.
"You're really good at this."

"Was that a praise?" - he inquired, going for a quick attack.
Luna stepped to the side, dodging his sword.
"It's not everyday I get to practice sword fighting like this."
They went like this for a couple more minutes, both getting tired, but not showing any signs of slowing down.
"Want to called it a draw? Otherwise we will be here all day." - she finally said it.

"You know what?" - he paused to catch his breath. "I agree, just because I'm getting very hungry." 

"Sure, whatever you say."
On their way back to the castle, they shared a few tips and tricks about sword fights.
The duo met Celestia at dinner and talked about their day, unfortunately for the Sun Princess nothing exciting happened, instead having to deal with nobles and their dumb requests.
"You really need to take a day off." 

"I wish I could Luna, I really do."

"Your ponies can survive even if you take one day off. What's the worse that could happen?" Luna and Celestia looked at each other, unsure what to say. "What? Don't tell me you actually believe in that sort of stuff."

As soon he said that a royal guard entered the room and delivered a letter to Celestia.
After reading it, she let out a sigh.
"Seems like we have problems at the Crystal Empire."
Both princesses stared at the jackal who kept eating like nothing happened.
"Why are you looking at me like that? It wasn't my fault."

"Shut up." - they replied at the same time.
> Stage Fourteen: Icy Breath
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Are dragon attacks that rare? I thought that would be common in such a place. Magic and all that." - wondered the jackal.
They had finished dinner moments ago, while Celestia took her turn to rest, it was Luna's time to resume her duty.
"It was...centuries ago."

"Oh."

"Anyways, we can go there later, after I get some sleep of course."

"So, this Crystal Empire is exactly what the name suggests?"

"Yep." She looked at him. "You don't look impressed."
Infinite simply shrugged.
"Back on Mobius, we have a place called Lava Reef, it's a nice little place filled with old temple ruins, if you don't fall in the lava which is pretty much everywhere."

"That seems like a very dangerous place."

"True but it contains good loot."
They reached his room and stood there, none dared to say anything.
Luna was the first to break the silence.
"Thanks for today, I had fun and it was different from my usual days."
He tilted his head.
"How are your usual days?"

"Staying in my room..."

"Let me guess, reading comics, right?" The princess looked away, trying to hide a nervous smile. "Wait! Is that actually true?"

"Do.Not.Tell.Anyone!"
The jackal just stared at Luna, trying his hardest to stop the laughter waiting to be released. Unfortunately for him it was too much.
"Hahahahah."
Luna crossed her forelegs with a annoyed expression on her muzzle.
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up."
Infinite wiped a tear from his eyes.
"You have to admit it's rather funny when you think about it. A princess of the moon, with magic far superior than anyone else, can literally move the moon, not to mention very capable in combat, likes reading comics in her spare time."

Luna thought about it. Well he wasn't wrong, it was a bit funny all things considered. 
"I guess when you say it that way, it makes sense." - she smiled. "Who knew you had a sense of humor."

"My sense of humor is great, even if it's a bit dark at times."

"Well, make sure to get some proper rest."
Infinite nodded.
"Good night Luna."

"Good night Zero."





"Do we really have to do this?" - asked Infinite. "Flying is much easier."

"That may be true, but the Crystal Empire is much further way than Ponyvile. I don't want to spend the whole day flying either."
The duo made their way to the train station through Canterlot's streets. Of course that wasn't the issue. No, the issue was the masked jackal walking alongside their lunar princess. The staff and guards at the castle got a bit used to seeing them together, but no one else from outside knew about this.
"I swear if they don't stop looking at me like that, I'll throw them into Null space."

"Do that, I'll send you into the moon."
Upon their arrival, Luna told him to follow her into their private train section.
"This is very fancy." - he said gazing around.
"A bit too fancy for my taste, but it has its uses." They sat down and Luna looked at him. "You can remove that now."

Infinite took off his mask and placed it by his side. He glanced out the window, watching the ponies going back and forward.
"Why do you still use that?"

At first the silence was the only reply, until he finally spoke.
"Because I have to."





During their way to the Crystal Empire, Luna managed to fall asleep, however the jackal was still wide awake, gazing at the sleeping princess.
He let out a smirk, she definitely had a certain beauty, even when sleeping like this.
Infinite grabbed a blanket and draped over her. Luna smiled, as he went back to his seat.
He took the mask into his hands and just stared at it. Did he really needed the mask? Why did he needed it? He knew why, but...
The landscape suddenly changed, the green giving its way into the snowy white.
That probably meant they weren't too far from their destination. He just hoped nothing would happen, specially if those dragons were indeed flying around.
Infinite kept staring out the window for minutes, simply gazing at the snow. It was nothing to him, he had seen it before, but in here it looked different. Perhaps his eyes were just playing tricks on him.
A loud yawn caught his attention as Luna slowly rose up, stretching herself.
"Slept well?"
The princess blushed.
"Y-Yeah." The jackal just giggled.

"We shouldn't be too far now."

"By the way, can I ask you a favor?"
Infinite shrugged.
"Sure, what is it?"

"You think you can behave yourself while we are there? Princess Cadance is gentle and understanding, however Prince Armor might be a bit...how do I say this? Difficult to trust in others due to certain things."

"You basically don't want me to cause any drama right?" Luna nodded. "I suppose that's easy, but I will use my mask."

"If that makes you more comfortable, then sure."





"This is quite odd..." 

"What do you mean?" - she inquired.
He moved his hands around.
"All of this. No one is simply staring at me." The pair was walking towards the castle, passing by several crystal ponies and other creatures as well. Luna noticed what he was implying.

"Oh that, maybe it's because the Crystal Empire it's a bit more acceptable of other species. The citizens of Canterlot are still struggling with that part."

"Yeah, I could see that." At least it felt nice not being watched by every angle.
As they approached the castle, the guards bowed their heads.
"Princess Luna, what a pleasant surprise, how may we serve you?" - asked the guard, who seemed very young and full of energy.
"We are here to speak with Princess Cadance and Prince Armor, it's about the dragon attacks."

"Of course, your Majesty, please come inside, they should be in the throne room." They lit up their horns and opened the doors.
The jackal chased after Luna, being amazed by how the castle looked on the inside. The outside was impressive as well, not mention how tall it was. He knocked on the walls. It really was made out of crystal.
There's one question that demanded an answer. 
"Luna?" She looked at him. "What's the deal about the castles having so many hallways? And this one has a lot of stairs too!"
The blue alicorn laughed.
"To be honest, I have no idea."

They arrived at the throne room where Cadance and Shining waited for them.
"Aunt Luna it's so great to see you again." The pink princess gave her a hug, however she felt something.
"Aunt?" - inquired the jackal.

"I'll explain later. Infinite, this is Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor, everyone this is Infinite, he's from a different world and he's helping us with a odd issue." He simply waved in a very awkward way while Cadance seemed very interested and Shining had a doubtful look in his eyes. "In your letter you said dragons attacked?"

The princess sighed. "It came out of nowhere. All of the sudden they showed up and attacked us, we managed to push them back but I'm afraid they will return."

Shining stepped forward. "We increased the number of guards and send out some scouts, unfortunately those blizards make it a bit difficult to follow their tracks."

"Do you know the reason for this?" The couple looked at him and shook their heads. If histories were true, dragons liked gold and other gems, a lot. This place was literally made out of crystals, but if they never attacked before, why would they do it now?
Luna noticed he was deep in his thoughts, even though he still wore that mask it was becoming easier to read his expressions.
"Your Majesties!" - a guard yelled as he quickly bowed. "The dragons! They are back!"
The group gazed out the window, seeing a large group of dragons heading their way.
The white stallion placed his helmet as he left the throne room. "Stay here. The rest come with me!"
Luna also followed him as Infinite and Cadance stayed behind. They watched at they made their way to meet the dragons head-on. "Usually the empire is protected by the crystal heart, but somehow they can get past it." - the princess informed him.

"So it's useless?"

"Against them? Pretty much yes, we took some casualties last time."
Infinite's eyes locked onto the night monarch. I can't let her get hurt. I need her. Cadance looked at him. The jackal was about to leave when Cadance called him.
"What are you going to help?" He nodded as the princess followed him. "I'll be coming too. I don't want my subjects to get caught in this." That part was true, but she wanted to make sure of something else.
The pair quickly flew above the houses and landed next to them. Shining was about to protest, but a stern look from his wife shut him up.
"What's the plan?" Infinite stretched his arms and legs.

The old captain was quick to reply. "Send them back. What?" Infinite shook his head.

"Get everyone to safety and stay back. I'll handle this myself." A strange red aura surrounded his body as he took off.

"Be careful Infinite!" - shouted Luna. He looked back at her as he nodded his head. Meanwhile Cadance gazed at each other and smiled.

There's one thing I've been meaning to try out. Infinite let out a bright flash of red. For a second everyone was blinded but as they gained their eyesight, many were confused and some scared as a large monster was just outside the empire's borders.
"What is that thing?" - asked Shining Armor.

"That thing, is Infinite." - answered Luna with a smile as everyone looked at her.
The large being shook his arms up and down before spinning his body. He pointed one arm at one dragon. "Catch me if you can!" Then he shot the arm, punching him right on his face, sending it crashing down. The other dragons roared at the new threat and chased him.
"He's luring the dragons away." Cadance glanced at the guards. "Keep the ponies safe." They saluted and left them. "You think he can deal with them?"

"I know he can."

Infinite's plan was working. The dragons kept chasing him down and tried their best to strike him. He looked back and noticed they were very far from the empire. The giant punched two more as it laughed. No wonder the doctor likes building Death Egg Robots, they are really good. Instead of the usual red and yellow, or the ones being used very recentely, this one was black, red and white, matching his colours. He didn't do it on purpose but Infinite liked it nonetheless.
The Egg Robot spun his body, hitting several targets which only made them more angry. The dragons then proceeded to use their cold flames. At first it didn't hurt, but that wasn't the problem. 
Infinite tried his right arm, that's when he saw his arm was frozen! He used his jetpack to get some altitude and immediately dropped onto two unlucky dragons as they shattered into pieces. He dodged another volley of cold flames and punched another into the next country.
Unfortunately they still had quite the few numbers on him and the illusion was taking more damage. If this kept going, he would lose the illusion and resort to other tricks. 
That's when a magical beam slammed into a dragon, breaking in half.
Everyone looked at the source who was none other than Princess Luna.
He quickly body blocked a tail before spinning as he delivered a powerful strike. "What are you doing here?" The only eye gazing at her.

"I'm here to help," she then noticed his frozen arm. "and it looks like you need it."

"Fine, but be aware of their flames."
With the combined forces of the metal giant and the lunar princess, the dragons begun to fall one by one. Infinite turn around just in time to extend his arm and pushing Luna away as a pair of teeth sunk into his arm. The robot grumbled in pain as the dragon was punched again and quickly destroyed by a barrage of magical swords.
She saw his arm was fading in and out of existence. "Are you okay?"

"This is nothing. Look at them." The last few dragons got away, heading somewhere. "Let's follow them quickly and end this!" Luna landed on his shoulder. Whatever this thing was, it was indeed very large, maybe the same size of the castle, if not bigger.
They chased the group until they stopped at a nearby a large blue crystal and by the looks of it, they were trying to protect it.
"What do we do now?"

The robot chuckled. "Just sit and wait." His red eye glowed intensely, aiming at the crystal. Infinite then fired the laser directly at it. The dragons tried blocking it but the power of the laser was too much as it broke them apart. A big explosion happened and the blue crystal was sent flying into every direction. He blocked Luna with his arm as some shards hit him. Dragons fell to the ground and shattered, no longer posing a threat.

"I guess that's the end of them."

Luna gazed at the remains, feeling very unsure. "Unfortunately we will never know why they attacked."
The robot merely shrugged.
"I don't care. I don't get paid enought to care."

"You don't get paid at all!" He laughed.





After a brief talk and some dinner time, Cadance offered them a room to stay for the night. Oddly enough she only had one guest room free. After their return, Infinite noticed Cadance was acting a bit strange, but to be fair he didn't know enough about her.
Infinite got inside and sat at the couch unaware a certain princess was at the balcony. "You can take that off now, it's just the two of us. Get over here." He spun his head and suddenly felt his cheeks very warm. The sky was perfectly clear as the moonlight shine brightly on Luna. Again, those eyes, he could get lost in them and never get tired.
Infinite felt his mouth dry and shook his head. "Y-Yeah, sure." He cast the mask aside and sat down next her, gazing down at the empire. It had a perfect glow and beauty to it.
"Does it hurt?" - she asked pointing at his arm.

"Of course not." He flexed but winced in pain.

"Silly, wait here, I'll be right back." Luna left him and a few minutes later she return with a first aid kit. "The illusion didn't work?"

"It's something new I haven't tried yet so I don't really know." Luna gently cleaned the wound, wincing a bit more. Infinite felt his heart beating faster than ever, but he wasn't the only one. Luna was trying her best to hide her blush from him. Her heart haven't felt like this in a very long time. She slowly wrapped a bandage around his arm and as she looked up, their eyes met.
"Inf...Zero, thanks for saving me, I really appreciate it."

He scratched behind his head.
"Just doing my b-best."
Luna then got closer and kissed him on the cheek. She got up and yawned. "We should get some sleep, still got some stuff to check on tomorrow."
Infinite simply stood there, trying to process what happened. Did she really...kissed me?

"The bed is large enough for the two of us, just in case you might want to sleep on it." - suggested Luna.

Once more he shook his head. "I think I'll sleep on the couch if you don't mind."

"No worries, my offers stands though." - she said with a playful wink. That only served to increase his blush. Luna giggled and set her head on the pillow and closed her eyes. "Good night Zero. Sleep well."

"Good night Luna." He watched Luna fell asleep after a few minutes. Those feelings from earlier...they felt stronger. He touched the bandage.

Am I...falling for her?
> Stage Fifteen: Dream Talk
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Infinite stared at the ceiling for what felt like hours. His mind still trying to process what happened earlier. Luna kissed him, sure it was on the cheek, but that was the first time someone actually kissed him. Not only that, he felt different whenever around her.
Was it really possible he had fallen for her?

...

He shifted his gaze towards her. He wasn't lying about her beauty and Luna was quite the capable fighter.
His heart skipped another beat.
"Zero?"

"Uhm?" Luna was looking at him. Crap, how I didn't noticed that?!

"Are you alright?"
He quickly pulled his look away even though it was already too late.
"Y-Yea, I'm fine, everything's ok."
The princess smiled and pulled back the covers.
"Like I said, there's plenty of space left and it's very comfy."

"Don't worry, sleeping on the couch is fine-" he felt his body leaving the couch as Luna used her magic on him. "W-What are you doing?"

"Giving you a proper place to sleep, I want you well rested in the morning and besides sleeping on the couch can be rough and not very healthy." She put him down on the bed. At first, Infinite wanted to protest but as soon he landed on it, his opinion changed.
"This...is quite comfy."

"See? I told you so." The princess placed the covers back. "Better now?"

"Yea, but you don't mind...ya know," he shook his head a bit, Luna didn't quite understand what he was saying. Infinite sighed. "Sleeping on the same bed..."

"Oh. OH!" Luna didn't actually realized what she had done. She placed him on the bed because it felt wrong leaving him on the couch, but now as her own cheeks turned into a bright red colour, the princess somewhat struggled to think clearly.
Infinite grew more nervous as the silence went on. Perhaps this was a mistake.
The lunar alicorn came to her senses when she noticed Infinite about to leave and very quickly placed a hoof on his hand, the jackal looked down and then into her eyes.

"Please don't go...stay with me." Even though Luna never had a special somepony, she at least knew that sharing a bed with someone else was seen as something romantic, like a couple. Plenty of times she wished to wake up and have that special one gazing at her, giving her the love she needed it. A nice morning smile and a cozy embrace. He had every right to deny her request, however a small part of her wanted him to stay.
"Ok then." Luna blinked, did she hear that right? "Just don't tell anyone about this." Wait, as he...blushing? By the stars! He was blushing! This time she could see it very well.
"Thanks Zero, I really appreciate it." - Luna smiled.
He nodded and went to lay back down as Luna did the same.
A few hours into their sleep and Infinite felt something shaking, as he looked to his side, Luna's back was turned towards him and she was shaking. It was a tad bit cold. His eyes scanned around the room for any extra blankets but didn't find none which was odd.
"Luna," - he whispered, trying to see if she was awake. The sudden movement of her ear told him the answer. "Are you cold?"

"A little bit, but it's fine. I'm used to it."
Infinite noticed the sadder tone when she said that. His mind wondered how lonely was Luna really. Sure, she had her sister and her friends back on Ponyville, but that seemed about it. From what he could tell she didn't seemed to have a romantic partner either. Being part of royalty probably made it more difficult for obvious reasons. Luna just wanted someone to be by her side, not just because of the title, but because she still felt alone, even after coming back from the moon. That's why she liked having him nearby.
Infinite's eyes never left the pony in front of him. He took a long breath as the jackal did something risky.

...

"Zero? What are...you doing?" She felt his arms wrapped around her barrel. 

"Helping you." - he stated, pulling her closer.
"You know you don't have to do that right?"

"I know."
Luna blushed even more than before, a smile slowly creeping up. She moved her body, this time facing Infinite.
"I'm probably going to need more thanks, just for you."

He giggled. "Just don't tell Celestia, she would either beat me or never shut up about it."

"Probably both."

"Feeling better now?" - he finally asked.
The princess nodded and got closer, careful enough not to hurt him with her horn.
Infinite waited until she fell asleep, this night definitely took a weird turn. He was quite unsure on what to think or do. Perhaps this way it would be more easier for Luna to help him, or so he thought.
He felt his eyes growing more heavy by the moment and soon darkness took him.

The masked jackal stood in a middle of a broken city, buildings destroyed, explosions in the distance, broken robots.
He was back in Mobius, but how? It had to be a dream. Without any destination, he roamed around, scanning his surroundings. He reached the dead end of a collapsed bridge overlooking the town below.
Giant robots crushed anything, and anyone for that matter. Survivors ran as fast as they could while the resistence troops stayed behind, doing the best they could. The sounds of screams and shots only got louder and louder.

 It's your fault...
He ignored it.

 It's your fault... 
"Be quiet."

The voice got closer.
 It's all your fault. 

"I said be quiet!"

 IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!  - the voice screamed in his ears as he had to cover them.

"That's enough!" - another voice proclaimed itself, banning away the chilling voice.
Infinite gazed at the lunar princess as she landed next to him.
"Sorry I was busy dealing with another nightmare, how are you?"

"I... I'm fine."
Now that she had a moment to recollect herself, Luna looked around, the sight wasn't very pleasing.
"Is this Mobius?"
He nodded. 
"One of its many cities...reduced to dust and rocks."

They sat at the edge, all the sounds now gone, replaced by their breathing.
"I can change this if you want." - offered Luna.

"Are you afraid of me Luna?"
What did he mean by that? He was more aggressive around others, specially when fighting, but moments like these he was completely different. So far he didn't really gave her a reason to be afraid of him, careful yes at first. He even protected her twice, which meant he cared. 
Infinite waited for her reply. He was currently at a crossroads, unable to think straight.
"I'm not afraid of you Zero."
He looked into her eyes, trying to find the hint of a lie, but found none. She was being honest.
"Even if I caused all of this?" - he gestured with his arms.

"Just like me, you were misguided by other forces. But you have a choice, pick your way or follow what they say."
He wanted revenge, and because of that he caused a war, causing suffering to others that didn't had any deal with his own issues. He was influenced by the doctor and the power of the phantom ruby. Revenge consumed his heart and every action.
"Do you think that everyone deserves a second chance?"

"If I say no, then I don't deserve to be here now." - she smiled.

"Well, I'm glad you're here then."

"HUZZAH!" Luna jumped at the startled jackal, giving him a bone crushing hug.
Ok, for a pony she was quite strong.
"Luna. Air. Now."
"Oh, sorry!" - she quickly let him go with a giggle.

"So we got anything planned for tomorrow? Seems a bit early to return to Canterlot."

"We can do a little tour around the empire and show you some stuff. Afterall it's not very often we get to leave Canterlot outside of royal duties, which is quite boring and annoying."
He had to suppress a laugh.
"For a princess, you sure don't act like one."

"You should see my sister sometimes behind the curtains. Specially around cakes."
He raised an eyebrow.
"Why is that?"

She grinned. "Let's just say that cakes usually won't survive long around her."
They both shared a laugh while a certain sun princess sneezed.
> Stage Sixteen: Tunnel Troubles
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The first few rays of light threatened to wake up the jackal, he knew that it was time to get up, but this had been the best night he ever slept in a long time. Forcing himself to get some extra sleep, he cuddle further realizing the bed was extra fluffy and warm.
"Mmm." That was a bit odd. "Zero?"
He mumbled something about ten more minutes. 
Why was the bed talking to him? Possibly a magic bed? That made sense, somehow.
"Zero, we have to get up."

"Nooo..."
Luna shook her head with a smile. Infinite was holding her very tighly however it didn't hurt her, it felt...nice.
She thought about using her magic, but the look on his face stopped her from doing so.
"We are going to miss breakfast, you sleepy head."

"I'm not hungry..."
Well this wasn't working. There had to be some way for him to let her go.
"Hmm, if you don't let me go, I'll boop your nose until you wake up." Without a reply from him, she then proceeded to boop his nose. That got a slight reaction, but not enough. "Boop attack it is then!" - she stated loudly, doing the same thing over and over again.
For his part, Zero moved his head left and right, doing all he could to avoid it, but it was no match, the pillow was winning.
"Ok, ok... I'll wake up." Zero slowly opened his eyes and was surprised to see Luna. "Luna? What are you doing in my bed?"

"Your bed? Don't tell me you forgot what happened last night?" - she inquired with a mischievous smile.
Zero was taken back, clearly confused by it.
"We fell asleep right? ...Right?"
The princess simply giggled.
"Relax silly, nothing else happened, though you can let go of me now." - added Luna, a faint blush on her cheeks.
The jackal followed her eyes looking down, only to realize he was holding her. Wait a moment...
The bed was fluffy and warm, but it wasn't coming from it.
It was...Luna.
He thought Luna was the bed.

What the!!!
"Ahhh!" With a loud yell, he let of Luna so fast to the point he fell out of bed, hitting his head of the carpet floor.
"Are you okay Zero?" Luna quickly jumped out of bed and helped him getting back up, taking a look at his head.
"Y-yea, it just hurts a bit."
Luna felt a bit guilty for the whole situation, she just wanted to mess with him.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't..." Zero rose his hand stopping her.

"It wasn't your fault, no need to apologize. Besides, I was the one that freak out thinking you were the bed."

"Wait, you thought I was the bed? That's why you holding me so tightly?" When he didn't reply, the answer became rather obvious. In a way, it was rather cute.
"It sounds idiotic doesn't it?"

Luna gave him a hug.
"That's nonsense, everyone needs someone once in a while. You don't have to act tough when it's just the two of us, okay?" She then felt him wrap his arms around her and stayed like that for a few minutes, not muttering a single word.

Zero had to agree this is was acceptable and nice, specially if no one else was watching them.
Luna was happy, bit by bit she knew that progress was being made, but she had to be careful not to let him slip back into his shell. 
Zero's stomach rumbled.
"Breakfast time?" - she asked with a smile.

He let out a chuckle. "Breakfast time."





The duo made their way to the dinning room, having a small talk about the Crystal Empire.
It was truely fascinating this world.
They soon joined the royal couple and discussed what they would do for the day.
Much to Infinite's ignorance, Cadence seemed rather interested in him and Luna, however the lunar princess took noticed of this but decided to dismiss it.

As they left the castle, Infinite finally spoke. "Cadance is...interesting."

"Hehe, don't sorry, you get used to it. Pinkie is far worse."

"The pink menace? No thanks!" - he quickly said.
As far Infinite could see, everything was literally made of crystals and the crystal ponies were very sparkly. It was somewhat weird, then again a world of magic.
While passing a few nearby houses, he felt something.
"Something's wrong Zero?" 
His lack of reply was already an answer. She followed his gaze towards a blue crystal house. It didn't seem special when compared to the others.
"I can sense that energy."

"The same one from Canterlot?" - she inquired to which he nodded.
As they approached the house, Infinite thought about "knocking" on the door, but Luna knew what he was thinking.
"Don't brake the door, there might be someone inside."

"Sometimes you are no fun."
The princess smiled and knocked on the door. They waited and decided to knock again.
"I guess there's no one home."

"In that case..." Infinite charged his fist with phantom energy and punched the door, breaking into several pieces. "That was cool." He stated to himself while Luna shook her head.
"You're paying for repairs."

He followed the princess in, stepping on the tiny crystal shards. "I don't even have money, which I could use by the way."
Luna looked around, finding the house empty and odly enough, not much furniture.
"And what would you need money for anyway?"

"Food, transportation maybe."

"Put it on my name, just don't make me go bankrupt. Can you still sense it?"
The jackal nodded and went towards the back of the house.
"It seems to be below us." Surely enough they found a trapdoor under a rug. "I don't want to say it but this is getting very strange by the minute."

"Should we go in?"
Infinite summoned a red cube, sending it down there. Seconds passed and nothing happened. "It seems clear, for now. I'll go first, wait until I say so." He placed his mask back on and jumped down.
Luna had to admit she was slightly nervous, basements and hidden holes wasn't really her think and she had seen plenty of nightmares involving those two things.
"You can jump down." - she heard him yell. Fighting her nervous tingle, she soon joined Infinite.
"I don't think this is a basement..." 
It was more than a basement, it was a tunnel built under the house, going somewhere they had no clue. On the bright side, it had torches lighting the path. "Having tunnels under your house is highly suspicious."

"Well there's some crystal caves under Canterlot." Infinite gave her a look. "It's a long story."
The two walked down the tunnel, ready for anything that could pop out from the shadows, for the most part it was quiet, save for the sounds of their footsteps and water dripping from the ceiling.
"This is rather boring." - he said out loud.

"I wonder how far this goes," Luna looked back, no longer being able to see their starting point. "Or how long we have been down here."

"The energy seems getting closer but I think the crystal cave is causing some interference."
The princess tilted her head.
"What you mean?"

"I can't quite explain it, it just seems it's right in front of me but at the same time it's not. My best guess is that we will find it at the very end."

"At least it's only one tunnel."
Sometimes tempting fate wasn't a really good idea and they would soon find out.
Luna glanced at the tunnel on her left while Infinite glanced at other on the right side, slowly looking back at Luna.
"I know, I know, don't even say anything." - she huffed. "And stop smiling."

He would've been impressed if it was some pony else, but Luna did spent a lot of time with him.
"So what now? The energy is coming from both tunnels."

"You go that way and I'll go this way, if anything or anyone does show up, we are very capable of dealing with it."
The jackal adjusted his mask.
"I'm not a fan of this plan."

"I know, just trust me alright? Please?"
Something told Zero that Luna wasn't going to take no as an answer.
"Fine, but let me know if anything happens."
Luna nodded and they parted ways. Zero's path didn't change much from the previous one, he thought about going back, however the tunnel had to lead somewhere.
"A dead end... nice." - he said, slightly annoyed.
The sound of small pebbles failling drawn his attention. He charged the ruby as he turned around ready to fight. The tunnel was still empty.
As he hearing things now? 
No, there's something else in here, in the shadows.

As he glanced up, he saw several blue eyes looking at him. Zero rolled his eyes.
"That's just great. What do you bugs want?"
They dropped down from the ceiling, there seemed to be quite a few of them, nothing he couldn't handle though.
"The Queen wishes to know if you have agreed to her proposal."

"You can tell your Queen that I don't need her or her proposal."

"That is a shame then, you won't be coming with us however we have someone else, someone far more important."
Zero clenched his fists, his anger slowly raising.
"What did you do insect?"

"You can't save her, you're just one."
A red aura engulfed his body.
"I'm more than enough."





Zero flew his way back, having dealt with the changelings. Not surprising they weren't a big threat, but who knows what they did with Luna.
"Come on go faster you fool!" He heard a voice call out as he increased his speed.

"Going somewhere?" - the jackal asked looking for Luna. 
The princess of the night seemed to be trapped inside of a strange green cocoon. She was apparently unconscious. That honestly looked kinda disgusting, but first things first.
"How did he get here so fast?!"

"The others did a poor job, don't worry for you shall share the same fate." Infinite laughed as one of the changelings stood next to the cocoon pointing a sword at the princess.
"Don't your dare move!" Infinite quickly vanished, unleashing his phantom energy. "Where did he--" The changeling found himself unable to finish as a hand was tightly wrapped around his neck.
"Or what!?" - he mocked him.

The helpless bug stared at his purple eye, the fear gripping his body.
"I will teach you the meaning of pain and fear, you annoying insect." He tossed him against a wall, a loud crack echoed through the tunnel.
The remaining changelings looked at each other, slowly backing away. Infinite grinned. How he missed doing this, toying with his prey.
As he took a step forward, they decided it was time to leave.
"Oh no you don't," The changelings bumped into a red wall blocking their escape. "You're stuck in here with me and guess what? No one is coming to save you ahaha."





Luna slowly opened her eyes, a massive headache being the bigger pain right now but at least she felt comfortable? With some difficulty she regained her senses and could see she was back in the crystal bedroom. "W-What happened?"
Her eyes fell on Zero who was sitting by the bed though he was sleeping. Luna tried recalling what happened, she remembered going further into the tunnel when something smacked her and then darkness.
Her best guess is that Zero probably found her, that still didn't explain the whole thing. Once more she glanced at him, he seemed peaceful in his sleep.
"Zero?" - she asked quietly, in return he mumbled something. He looked rather adorable like this, even if she would never ever tell him about it. Luna placed her hoof on his head and started petting his dreadlocks. They felt really soft and smooth to the touch. Someone was clearly taking care of their hair.
Zero stired for a bit until his eyes opened.
"Uh? Luna?"

The princess pulled her hoof away and gave him a smile.
"Hi sleepy head."

He let out a low chuckle. "Says you. How are you feeling? Cadance said you should be fine in a few hours."

"I got a slight headache, but besides that I feel fine. What happened back there?"

"Changeling ambush."
Luna sighed.
"Of course..."

"I took care of them and told Shining about those tunnels. Apparently they found a hidden stash with more crystals and weapons."

"Why do I get the feeling the changelings are trying another invasion but this time on a much larger scale?"

"With everything we found so far, it's quite possible." Luna's stomach grumbled. "I'll go see if I can get you something."
She nodded as he left the room. Luna laid her head back on the pillow when someone knocked on her door.
"Yes?" 

"It's me aunty Luna." Cadance opened the door and smiled at her, finally seeing her awake. "How you feeling?"

"I had better days, but this isn't the worse. Infinite told me that tunnel problem is being taken care off."

"Mhm, Shining and a group of guards found the changelings and are now in prison..." Luna noticed Cadance seemed worried.

"What's wrong Cadance?"

"You don't remember what happened, right?" The princess shook her head. "When they found the changelings, they uhm were in bad shape, real bad shape. According to the doctor, some have broken bones while others look downright terrified."

Did Zero lashed out at them, losing control?
He had a certain temper and probably seeing her in danger didn't help, so he responded with the only answer he knows. Brute force.
That also proved her one thing.
"I see," - Luna glanced back at the pink alicorn. "I'll speak with him."

"Ok, I just wanted to let you know. I must retire so you may rest, I'll see you later."

Finally Luna stood in her room, busy with her inner thoughts. So much happened in the last few days.
"He cares about me." - she quietly told herself. "He actually does."