The V-Team

by Reizthefakebrony

First published 24th of June, 2018

Nine days after a incident, a group of four students encountered a Deplacer, a mysterious entity and tried to take on him. They paid the price of that error by being thrown into Equestria and turned into the villains... But not the equestrian ones.

A group of four students that investigates the paranormal for funzies, Zade, Chris, Sera and Jace, were investigating the disappearance of six students of another school when they ended up stumbling into a incident. The managed to escaped without any harm and decided to keep what they saw a secret.

Nine days later, they stumbled into a young man with undefined powers who, unknown to them, is actually a Deplacer, a warlock with mysterious powers. The group, wisely enough, decided to not doing anything at first. This until one of them recklessly decided to confront him.

That was the biggest mistake that could possibly happen. Something that they felt on their skin as he got the upper hand on them and sent them into Equestria, which was stupidly absurd for them.

In their arrival, they discovered themselves being turned into the villains... But not MLP villains. Oh no. They were the pony versions of videogame villains. That was bad enough for them since they weren't so fond of MLP stuff but the real trouble kicked in as they found themselves being in the middle of a chaotic mess. It turned out that Equestria was being turned upside down. And the guy responsible for their current misery apparently made them doing the job.

Can they overcome the equestrian crisis? Even if they can, what will happen to them afterwards? And more importantly, can they find the Displacer and put a end to their own curse?

First of all, let me tell you this:

1) I may had put the Death, Gore and Violence tag, but I will make sure to put that on minimum and use one of the at full force only if necessary.

2) Putting aside any possible grammar error, I will make sure that the use of the Comedy tag wasn't a misguided one or that the story doesn't break any potential of plot immersion. If there is something wrong with this story, you are free to comment about that. I will appreciate your assistance.

3) I was inspired by the idea that someone had before me. I'm not expecting anything from this story. Is just a idea that came in my head and I wanted to know how that will be turned out. Also, don't trust the Comedy and Sex tags. It will be less present of when you expect.

Chapter 1: A Introduction Before The Fateful Gateway

Author's Notes:

Another things. I know that some scene seemed to be rushed, but I was just trying to learn how to synthesizes... And I don't think it came out very well.

Still, this story is just a idea that I wanted to throw out since I wanted to put something new, although it has a very used concept. If you like it, good. If not, you're still welcome since criticism is what I needed.

Also, that was also a attempt to make some rounded characters. Some feedback won't hurt. Enjoy it.

Is there someone that is familiar with term 'being in the wrong place at the wrong time'? Well that happened with these four students. Which they are Zade, Chris, Sera and Jace.

They were a independent group with the hobby to investigates various phenomena and urban legends that are related with the occult. But, unlike the cliched occult gurus and others, they were doing this sorely to riffs on them and desecrate them in their obscure, anonymous blog, just to see the reaction of the others. Despite the fact that they were hated by the ones who saw their blog, their identities weren't exposed at all due to them using a different and unique e-mail.

This hobby didn't put them in any danger at all.... But then something different happened and has nothing to do with that.

One, night, they sneaked around a school that wasn't their own to investigate the bizarre disappearance of six students, being three boy and three girls respectively. Mostly because one of them, Jace insisted with that due to his own reasons.

That seemed more like a nocturnal stroll since they found nothing significant about the case. Empty handed, they were about to leave when the path leading to the eastern wing was suddenly blown up in front of their eyes, followed by a blazing roar. Or, to be more synthetic and accurate, the eastern half of the school was literally was destroyed in the fiery explosion.

Luckily for them, they were in the western one when that happened but doesn't mean that they were safe. The fire was spreading toward them and the entrance was blocked. They managed to escape from the emergency exit.

After having fled the scene, they decided to keep their intrusion and what they saw a secret and went their own separate ways toward their home. They then continued with their own life pretending nothing happened.

But unbeknownst to them, they were watched by unusual eyes.

---

Nine days later...

A very stormy night fell upon Zade's house, where the owner invited his three particular friends inside his house. After a dinner with a thai food based menu, they were having fun, each on their own minus Zade, who offered to cleaning up both the living room and the kitchen due to familiar obbligations.

Chris and Jace were playing with the PS4 while Sera was sat nearby a table reading a book. That was a perfect opportunity to relax after their stressful day.

But hey, you wanted to know who the hell are these guys, right? Well, let's take a look.

Zade's job wasn't very aggravating since the only thing to do was cleaning the floor with a vacuum. Thought that is still a hassle for him.

"You should be grateful that I have good cooking skills and the courtesy to clean up," Zade reminded to them.

Zade is the typical black haired, green eyed boy who is confident in his skills. Physical, intellectual, reactive and other ones, to the point he almost acted as the leader of the group. He fully knows to be occasionally arrogant and judgmental, two things that he barely tried to pass over. He cares about his friends... Even if sometimes they gave him a real challenge to him. That makes him think that he's the only sane man of the group if compared to the other threes.

Chris and Jace were playing fighting games, two hours ago. Since they were both in high adrenaline with competition, they decided to move into another game. This one being Dark Souls.

"It was a good idea doing a challenge in single player, Jace," Chris commented. "Really, get used to it. Due to this storm, the Wifi won't probably work properly. At least you don't have to deal with the salt mails."

"Yeah, But It's still pissed I cannot even do some pure PVP because of this bullshit." Jace complained.

"At least you don't have to deal with try-hard builds and salt mails." Chris assured.

"You're right. And most of all we are not in your apartment... in the fourth floor." Jace teased.

"Don't even remind me of that." Chris said, slightly irritated.

Chris was slightly the taller one. Red haired and blue eyed, is a skilled mechanic, technician and very good at physical activities, something in which he could rival even Zade. While he's a reasonable individual and had a slightly average build, is strong enough to get through a wall... If necessary. However, he's also notorious for being afraid of being in the very middle of the sea, afraid of the heights and, in the video-game territory, easily disturbed by giant scary badass looking dragons who fit all of those descriptions perfectly.

Sera stopped reading and rolled her eyes before looking at the two with slight annoyance.

"Is even possible that you had to tease Chris every time you are bored, Jace?" Sera demanded.

"Hey, at least I've done that to lighten the tension." Jace responded while looking at her, annoyed.

"Fortunately you weren't even playing Blazblue as you know what. That would make me jealous as hell, ex-sempai." Sera made a slasher smile.

"Whoa..." Jace immediately looked back at the game, disturbed. "See? This is why I never played or talked about Blazblue in your presence!" He responded frustrated.

"Oh, don't worry. You can still do it. There's no way that I would had killed you since I'm not in extreme methods." Sera assured him cheerfully before suddenly changing attitude. "That doesn't mean that I can't still beat the crap out of you if you disrespect him."

Sera is as a blond haired, scarlet eyed, modest and erudite girl. She is practically the bookworm and analyzer. While Sera can be serious and a little impatient toward his friend's antics, she was also kind and helpful. That alone would had made her a great school model... If she wasn't also the cute and psycho of the group, being also a quote shooter, borderline yandere, and, most of all, bipolar. She's that kind of good person at one time and a creepy, morbid, disturbingly composed and, in rare occasions, violent with Aikido included at another. And has a former crush on Jace since she tried to kidnap him in various occasions until his sempai position was mercifully seized by Ragna from Blazblue, which made her wearing his earrings. Hopefully, nothing grave happened... yet.

"Guys!" Zade called them out while putting away the vacuum. "How about to chill out for some minutes!?"

"Look," Jace said. "Is not this easy to bear her antics, you know?"

"Just ignore her current aura." Chris suggested.

"Did you had forgot that we are talking about to a girl who consider her favorite videogame character as a god?" Jace said with sarcasm. "She would even consider her own plushie of him as his body, if you want talking about symbolism."

"Jace. Just because I am obsessed with him, doesn't mean that I am so depraved to not have a dignity." Sera retorted irritated. "And speaking of obsessed, are those Deplacers being still a thing for you?"

"Yeah, say whatever you want," Jace said. "There's one reason why I continued to investigate them. I studied their patterns for years."

And there is Jace, a beige haired, violet eyed hot head that can be considered the daredevil of the group. Though he's short tempered, reckless, foul mouthed and blunt, which almost putted him and his friends in trouble, was not entirely a moron. Jace has a vast knowledge of Magic The Gathering's lore and is also the only brony of the group, although he know only half of the MLP stuff. Jace, at his worse, is quite obsessed with various conspiracy theories, which sometimes annoys the group or make him look very silly.

One of his conspiracies in particular was that of the Deplacers, mysterious entity that, according to Jace, has the ability to take someone from another universe and put it into another world under a new form to use it as a pawn for his own plots. He studied every pattern of that and is convinced the disappearance of six of his classmates was their doing.

"Again with that story I thought that chapter was over?" Chris said.

"Please, I don't want to talk about that," Sera said sternly. "I can't believe that you are still on this crap."

"The hell?" Jace muttered as the turned off the PS4. "That was-"

The quarrel was prematurely interrupted by someone knocking at the door. Which was strange at this hour.

"Who could possibly be?" Chris asked.

"Zade. Are your parents back already?" Jace asked.

"No. They were supposed to return tomorrow." Zade said. "I don't remember having invited anyone else."

"Did you had forgot about that?" Sera demanded stupefied by Jace's obliviousness.

Zade headed toward the door and reached for the door. Before he touches the doorknob, two male voices screamed from behind the door, followed one moment after by a loud thud. He and his companions were freaked out by that.

"What the fuck was that!?" Jace exclaimed from the living room.

Zade opened door as the other three rushed to see what is going on. They went instantly silent as they were processing the surreal scene in front of them.

A man with slightly long platinum hair, wearing a silver trench coat was looking at them with his pitch black eyes. And speaking of eyes, his left one was depicting a eclipse being present inside the pupil. What really baffles them is that the was standing in front of two obsidian scupltures at his feet, which one of them was holding a FBI badge on his hand.

His presence and the implication of what the figures used to be was so absurd that I couldn't be considered real. They couldn't find any explanation outside of the inconceivable one: Magic. For Sera that doesn't make any sense and Jace considered that just being absurd, even for a brony standard.

Not knowing what to do, Chris was considering to go calling the police. This until Jace made a step toward the guy.

"I saw that guy!" Jace interrupted with eyes widened in realization as the mysterious man and his companions were looking at him dumbfounded. "It's the asshole who had displaced the six student!"

Chris immediately tried to stop him. "Jace, are you insane!? You can't outright accuse someone that you had met for the first time!"

"Is not the moment for this idiocy!" Sera retorted.

"Guys," The mysterious guy said, gesturing them to halt. "I know that is kinda weird and could possibly worse your own current situation." He scratched his head. "Were I should start in this point?" He paused until he found out what to do next. "Oh, yeah. I guess I have to introduce myself. My name is actually Virum and indeed I am a Deplacer."

All of them, except Jace, looked back at Virum with shocked incredulity. They couldn't believe what they heard and didn't want to believe they heard that.

"WHAT!?" Zade, Chris and Sera yelled at the unison.

"You see? I know who he is!" Jace said confidently, one second before his face turned into a disturbed one as he looked at the FBI badge being hold by one of the obsidian sculptures. "Wait," He paused. "The ones you had transformed into obsidian sta-" He interrupted his sentence with horror. "Are these guy FBI AGENTS!?"

"Jace, how could even tell that?" Sera retorted. "Did you had considered that he would had made this things with some magic tricks?"

"Who cares! I will kick his ass before he has the time to do displace us!" Jace announced as he suddenly rushed toward Virum to tackle him..

"Jace!" Chris exclaimed.

"What the fuck are you doing!?" Zade screamed.

"How for the love of...!" Virum murmured in complete annoyance as gestured toward Jace, shooting a invisible force wave that struck his head, knocking him out.

With that, Jace collapsed on the ground unconscious, much his friends' astonishment. The remaining three members were taken aback from the guy's use of his powers. Such reaction was then replaced by their bafflement toward Jace's recklessness and stupid act.

"Did you have to go Leeroy Jeckins against this guy?" Zade demanded.

"We better hurry to call the police!" Sera ordered.

"No. You don't." Virum said as he disappeared and instantly reappeared to knock Chris down with a mere, phony karate chop. Zade and Sera tried confront him when he raised his finger toward them. With that movement, the two felt their head being struck by an unseen force.

Zade and Sera felt their bodies go numb, and fell aback on the ground outside the house, taking the drops of the rain. A lightning echoed in the sky, briefly illuminating the moment.

Zade's vision was darkening and all the sounds around him were almost silence by the rain, saving for Sera's brief moan of pain before passing out. His body refused to move and his conscience was almost fading. The only thing that he heard or saw was the man approaching him and saying.

"I'm sorry, but I have to use you... Ah, by the way, I'm not entirely responsible for what you are going to become."

And what follows after that was a pitch black quietness.

---

Zade opened his eyes, dazed and sleep. A brief sense of vertigo washed over him. Groaning lightly, he darted his eyes around the dark, unfamiliar area. Medieval styled brick walls surrounded him, almost resembling the room of a dungeon. The room was filled various veiled portrait, statues and every other things. There are also a lot of gold and jewels.

"W-Where am I?" Zade demanded, trying to make sense to the place. "I must be dreaming. That cannot be right. I few moments ago I was-" He stopped, remembering something. "The others!" He frantically looked around. "Where are they!?"

Zade tried to stood up when he suddenly felt his body being weird. Having the small sensation of what that means, he looked at his hands, only to find hooves instead. He remembered what Jace said about the Deplacers and Virum admitting being one of them. He refused to believe that, and yet... that felt possible to him.

"I need some fucking mirror in this moment." Zade said as he rose up and looked around.

Ignoring the fact that he's standing on his four legs, he examined every corner of the room. He first found a closed stone door and then a deformed sword. He continued to looking around for a minute until he finally found an oval mirror.

Zade approached the object to see his image. His shock instantly struck his mind as he saw a pony standing in the reflection. And it was him, but instead of his real colors, he has a gray coat and both his tail and mane being amber colored.

He put his hoof on his cheek and took a handful of seconds to accept the situation. Then he facehoofed and groaned heavily.

"Tell me that is not one of these adventures!"

Chapter 2: A Really Bizarre Reunion.

Looking at the mirror, Zade was having a hard time to accept his new situation. The fact that he was also in a medieval dungeon wasn't helping his case.

He wasn't used to walk four legged and yet it felt so natural for him. But that wasn't the only strange thing. Zade felt something inside him, something lingering from his body. As he was feeling some kind of arcane power flowing through him or so he thought. Zade immediately shrugged off this idea.

"I don't even know if that is real." Zade said in muted denial. "I refuse to believe that. I rather believe that in reality we are actually in a coma after Virum knocked us out." He paused to think about what he said. "Ok, that was a grim affirmation." And then shook his head. "Let's analyze the situation very carefully, shall we?"

Before Zade could even start, he was interrupted a half demonic voice coming from the entrance

"Zade? Is that you?" He said.

Reasonably creeped out by that, Zade turned toward him and got a full view of the stranger. He appeared as a slightly tall quadrupedal, demonic abomination with a very long blonde mane and tail, menacing full red eyes and his body being flesh-metal dark blue coat instead of furry one. Three-digit claws protruded from each one of his forelegs and has canine fangs.

That sight was enough for Zade to fell back and screaming in fright. "AAAH! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU!?"

"Calm down, Zade!" The demonic pony. "It's me. I know what you think about my appearance. I don't even what happened to my body or where we are."

Zade calmed down a little bit, seemingly recognizing in part the voice. "Chris?"

"Yes, I am." Chris groaned as he approached Zade.

"I... I'm sorry for that. Is just... you looked very-"

"Please, Don't even make any other comment about that. Besides, that look of mine looked very familiar to me."

"So... That guy sent us into Equestria. I guess." Zade affirmed.

"Zade, are telling me that you are actually starting to believe Jace's Deplacer idiocy?" Chris asked a little worried.

"Honestly, I don't even know what to think." Zade replied. "If it is not the case, then how do you explain that?"

Chris took a moment to think about and the said reluctantly. "Ditto."

"Guys? What happened to you?" Said a familiar female voice with a shocked tone coming from the entrance.

"Sera. Thank goodness. I-" Zade suspended his sentence as soon as both he and Chris looked at Sera's new appearance, which caused them to react in shock.

Her body was that of a almost cadaverous, pale white unicorn with soulless red eyes, a very long violet mane and a not so long violet tail. She was wearing golden, metallic accessories on her hooves with a cyan crystal encased on the ones on her forelegs, a red retro cape and a bizarre looking golden-violet crown that covered her forehead, her ears and her newfound. There are also three golden-violet triangles being attached to her back and her sides.

"Sera, what-" Zade was interrupted by Sera giving a piercing, almost death glare at him. which instantly chilled his blood.

"Don't even get me started with that," Sera declared while slowly approaching them. "I'm still having difficulty to accept my own new situation. I don't even know what I look like because there's no mirror in this dungeon."

Chris suddenly realized to be in the same case a her and glanced at the mirror while gesturing at it. "Sera, can I use that first?"

"Sure... Why not?" Sera replied, a little disturbed by Chris' demonic appearance.

As Chris approached the mirror, Sara looked back at Zade, who felt a little intimidated by her, and yet he couldn't turn his eyes away from her either. Sera's new form gave him some impression to him.

"That looked very familiar," Zade commented.

"Can you stop staring at me, Zade?" Sera muttered. "You are creeping me out."

"Hey, now who's talking?" Zade retorted.

"Guys, I know that you're in pony form already but making this ruckus won't help your case!" A half demonic and yet familiar brass voice said from the entrance, that almost startled them. They recognized that voice, preparing psychologically for what was waiting for them.

"Jace?... You sounds like a little demonic." Chris commented while turning toward the entrance.

"I know, right?" Jace replied, stepping inside the room and revealing his shocking appearance.

His form was that of something that of a literal pony devil hybrid. He has a dark red hardened coat with fissure glowing in golden like flames being present in his neck, his chest, his abdomen and sides. He has also two slightly imposing devil wings instead of the feathered ones, a dragon like tail and four pseudo volcanic horns, which two of them were also his ears. His eye are fully glowing into a infernal golden bright.

The rest of them gasped upon seeing him in that state. Sure, they saw themselves being turned into ponies in the most bizarre way possible, but seeing Jace turned into something coming from hell was really something for them.

However, Sera was almost about to laugh. She managed to contain herself as Jace was getting a little nervous. That form may made him look like the devil. Unfortunately he was also accidentally adorable if compared to Chris' demonic form.

To prevent any other incident, Chris decided to deflect Jace's attention.

"There's a mirror if you want to look." Chris said, hesitantly and yet a little crest fallen for he had become.

"Whatever. Let's see how grave is my condition." Jace approached the mirror and looked at his reflection, which made him flinch in disbelieve. "The hell!?"

"Exactly." Zade commented.

"Don't joking with that, Zade!" Jace muttered. "That is ridiculous! Even for my standards!"

"Why not? As you said before, the Deplacer-" Zade interrupted to correct himself. "I'm sorry. 'That Virum guys that you attempted to kick in the ass' can transform someone before dislocating him into another universe... Oh, I forgot something."

"What?" Jace asked.

Zaid, Sera and Chris looked at each others, nodded in agreement and turned back at Jace just to giving him a louder declaration.

"YOU HAD SCREWED US UP!!"

"Ugh!" Jace felt his ear-horns ringing a little badly from that scream before saying. "What!?"

"I'm sorry, Jace. But is clearly your fault." Chris pointed out. "You know that Virum was a Deplacer, a mysterious warlock that studied for several years, and yet you were so stupid to rush against him like not-matter-what-happens, without even giving us the time to call the police. And that is the result."

"What is wrong with you!?" Sera shouted.

"I had to do something before he made he could doing something to us!" Jace replied.

"That happened anyway." Sera pointed out before realizing in shock what she said. "Oh my god, I can't believe that your idiocy is actually happening!"

"Guys, can I have you attention for second?" Zade asked, with the other three turning toward him. "When Virum knocked us out, he said something before I passed out."

"What is it?" Jace asked.

"He said that he had to use us," Zade said. "That means that he would had transformed into ponies and then sent into Equestria anyway."

"Are you telling me that Virum was looking for us from the very start?" Sera inquired.

Their own discussion was brought to a abrupt halt by terrific, powerful voices coming from outside the room.

"WHO'S THERE!?"

"COME OUT ALREADY!"

"Now what?" Zaid said startled.

"Don't tell me is the Equestrian Police!" Jace muttered.

The four ponies rushed into the corridor outside the room and saw two menacing demon-like gray ponies in black armors with fangs, horns and stained glass-like multicolored wings. And that means serious bad news for the four.

"No way! Alicorn Royal Guards!?" Jace exclaimed in shock. "Are you fucking kidding me!?"

"Jace, you shouldn't had said that." Zade pointed out.

"Who the heck are those creatures!?" One of the demon guards said. "And how did they managed to sneak here unnoticed!?"

"Are they allies of the insurgence?" The other one replied.

"Insurgence?" Sera demanded.

"Don't play dumb with us!" One of the guards said. "Allies or not, your presence is not welcomed in Neo Canterlot!"

"Let's get them!" The other one said as he and his colleague flapped their wings and flew toward them.

Sera, Chris and Jace, being mentally unprepared for that attack, were about to turn around and escape. Zade, still feeling that lingering sense of power, has another opinion regarding that. He stood up two legged and seemingly tried to face them.

"Hey, what the hell are you doing!?" Jace screamed.

"Don't play hero! We don't need another one acting reckless!" Sera yelled.

"I just wanted to test my theory." Zade said confidently before grinning.

As the guards were reaching the four, Zade's hooves were glowing with a purple energy as he was charging them with that said power. What he was about to do was far ridiculous, even for himself.

"DOUBLE REPPUKEN!!" Zade improvised while shooting two waves of energy to create a powerful wave that dragged the two guards away and blasted through the wall at the end of the corridor in front of them.

The four ponies were left speechless, including Zade. He subconsciously guessed how that worked but he never thought that would happen. He slowly regained his composure and returned four legged.

"As I had suspected," Zade affirmed.

"Suspected what?" Chris demanded confused.

"When I was looking in the mirror, I had perceived some kind power." Zade paused as he then realized something. "Maybe that could be your case too, except that you had, well, the powers of someone else."

"Zade, what do you mean?" Sera asked.

"I'm sorry to tell you. You appearances looked like the pony form of some videogame villain." Zade responded.

The other three looked at him with perplexity and then looked at each others. At that point, they recognized them being something familiar. Then Jace came to a very ridiculous and yet logic conclusion.

"Wait," Jace began. "Are seriously you telling me that I'm Diablo, Sera is Hades Izanami, Chris is Nightmare and you are fucking Geese Howard? In pony form!?"

"Well, I don't look exactly like that guy. He has blonde hairs, not amber ones," Zade paused. "So yes. I know that is absurd but... That is what we looked like. Minus me because I may have some different powers."

"What do you mean by different powers?" Chris asked.

"Maybe is because that energy wave was colored in purple and not light-blue one?" Jace asked.

"I suggest you to put aside these questions for later," Zade said. "We have first to know where we are and what is going on in this moment."

"Wait!" Sera halted, looking horrified. "What do you mean with Izanami!?"

The boys didn't have the time to talk with Sera that she quickly rushed back to the treasury room. As the three stepped in the room, they found her looking in the mirror in shock.

"Is this some kind of sick joke?" Sera demanded, one second before laughing quietly and yet nervously. "I look exactly like her."

"Sera, are you alright?" Chris said, worried for sanity.

"Alright you said?" Sera replied sarcastically before turning toward him with a insane, upset expression. "I am turned in the pony form of one of Ragna's sister clones! It's unacceptable! If I had see him in my dreams, I certainly won't to be in the form of Izanami! Not even in pony form! I may be obsessed with him, but even so, I HAVE STANDARDS!"

The ponies fell silent as Sera's last declaration almost echoed through the room. The boys looked at Sera with a freaked out face as she looked at them with a crazed face. A face that slowly shifted into a crest fallen one as she looked down on the ground.

"The only comfort is that I don't wear his earrings in this moment." Sera said to herself.

"Wow." Jace said. "Talking abo-"

"TIME UP!" Zade screamed, getting their attention. "We don't have time to screwing around. If we DON'T move, more other guards or even... Some convoluted monster that may or may not be the king of this place will come here and kill us all! That will happen because we didn't had learned to use our powers or had the time to do so!"

Being reminded of their situation, the other three ponies looked at each other and then looked back at Zade with a apologetic look.

"You are right, pal." Jace said. "So... What is your plan?"

"Normally I would had asked to Sera, being the erudite of us," Zade explained. "But since this is Equestria and you are a brony-"

"Wait, wait!" Jace interrupted. "I know what are you going to. I don't know entirely the whole spectrum of the MLP's lore. And most of all, I never saw this place to begin with that."

Sera facehoofed. "You are disappointing.

"What's that!?" Jace muttered irritated.

"Calm down you two." Zade ordered. "Let's just take a look in the wall at the end of the corridor."

"You mean the wall that you had destroyed while you were blasting the black armored alicorns away?" Jace asked enthusiast.

"You can said that." Zade confirmed.

"They may had attacked us but... Maybe they misunderstood us. I just hope you didn't had killed the guys." Chris hoped, disturbed by that idea.

"Nah, Zade probably propelled them away without pulverizing their bodies." Jace assured, vaguely. "I saw that in the distance."

"I don't think this world works with these physics." Sera retorted.

"Just follow me." Zade said impatiently.

They went out the treasury room and headed toward the destroyed wall at the end of the wall. The peered in the huge hole and saw the outside world in front of them. But what they saw destroyed their expectations.

They realized to be inside a tower, being about thirty-three foot away from the a city below them that looked like Canterlot, except much different. They expected the landscape in front of them to be at least cheerful and tranquil. Instead, that was almost the opposite of that.

Chris, feeling to his aversion toward the heights kicking in, flinched and retreated behind the wall while trying at least to take a little look. The other demonic ponies wouldn't even blame him for it and continued to watch the grim scene that was in front of them.

The sky was azure-gray one, thought the air wasn't any polluted at all. Below and in front of their eyes, there are houses, spires and any other structure being made in black metal while being adorned with emerald crystals that seemed to grow out of the walls. Various black armored alicorns, hounds made of crystals and some bronze armored unicorns were patrolling the skies and the streets respectivelly.

Almost all the buildings were adorned with golden banners sharing the same symbol. A magenta colored six-pointed stars with each tips, except the top one, having a symbol on it's own: A apple, a butterfly, a diamond, a balloon and a rainbow colored lightning. Behind the star, there was a sword pointed downward, piercing the sun and the moon, simultaneously.

Zade and his companions admired in awe the grotesque landscape. Whatever was the world that is present to them can't be good.

"Guys." Jace began. "Let me tell you... This is not what Canterlot was supposed to be."

"Insanity comes from a screwed up mind," Sera said.

"Huh?" Jace looked at her puzzled.

"I don't know anything about MLP, but I can say for sure that is not a enchanted happy place either." Sera admitted.

"Zade, did you recall what the guard said before?" Chris asked.

"If I remembered, he said Neo Canterlot." Zade informed.

"Neo... Canterlot!? You mean right in the future!?" Jace asked.

"I don't think there's anything futuristic in this place, which why we have to investigate." Zade pointed out.

"Shouldn't we run out of there?" Chris pointed out.

"That would be difficult," Zade said.

"If only I knew how to fly, maybe I would had distracted the alicorn guards to gain some time." Jace said.

Sera glared at him. "Jace."

"Whoa... What?" Jace asked.

"Do you want to get killed by me instead?" Sera asked, almost going in yandere mode.

"A-absolutely no!" Jace stammered.

"Then don't do anything this time." Sera replied, instantly calmed down as Jace's awe was then replaced by frustration.

With nothing else to do and not wanting to be spotted, they hidden themselves behind the wall. Zade put his hoof under his chin and pondered about the situation. Jace, still peering through the hole, locked his gaze at the banner, mentally visualizing the most screwed up type of conspiracy. Chris was recovering from his issues and Sera was just nervous.

"Ehm... Any plan?" Sera asked.

"As Chris suggested we should escape from this Neo Canterlot," Zade paused. "The problem is what is waiting for us."

"And how to control our powers, right?" Jace asked.

"Correct," Zade confirmed. "We have never acted as a demolition team, so we better be careful about our actions."

The group was about to discuss the next part of the plan until a multi vocal, almost powerful female voice called out to them angered.

"I don't know what you are plotting," She said. "But as the ruler of this kingdom, founder of the Order of Harmony, I'm done being the Princess of Friendship to these like you. After what you had done to my guards, you won't leave my castle alive."

For Zade and his companions, one thing was sure. There won't be any Equestrian delight for them.

"Oh, shit."

Chapter 3: Destructive Escape

Zade and his friends, now in pony form, were lucky enough to be alive. They managed to repel two alicorn Royal Guards. Or to be accurate, that was Zade's move. But they weren't prepared for what was waiting behind them

Having heard a powerful female voice, they slowly turned around to see who she was. They stared at her in awe. Jace in particular was stuck in shocked disbelieve.

The creature in front of them was a purple alicorn with the most bizarre appearance, towering in front of them. Her horn was a long one and her wings very huge, with feathers being colored in a moving midnight scenario one her right wing and multicolored sunny ones on the left one. Her mane was a long one, being a violet one with rose streaks. Her tail being a rainbow one. She wore metallic platinum shoes on her hooves, a crimson sword shaped necklace with silver quartz and red diamond encased into it and a obsidian, granitic, spiked crown on her head. But the most chilling parts of her were her cutey marks being the same symbol depicted in the banners and her dreadful, golden eyes. A aura of pure might exuded from her.

She looked at Zade and the other three members of the group with a calm and yet wrathful face.

"Is this intriguingly bad fanart character the ruler of this castle?" Zade asked in awe.

"Surely enough, she reasonably angered after Zade blasted off her guards." Chris commented.

"That is the very first time that I felt intimidated by something that is supposed to be fluffy." Sera asked quietly.

"I'm seeing a alicorn that is a combine in between The Mane Six, Celestia, Cadance and Luna." Jace said, being in some kind of a trance induced by his disbelieve. "Now I'm seriously high."

"Jace! Stop this delirious talk!" Sera shouted quietly, trying to wake him up. "Don't make the situation even worse!"

"High beyond recognition." Jace continued, ignoring her.

"Shut up for a moment," Zade commanded. "Let me have a little chat with her."

Jace instantly snapped out of his trance upon hearing that. "What!?"

"Quiet." Sera whispered menacingly.

Zade take reluctantly a few steps toward the alicorn and looked in her face. That authoritarian face of her made him difficult for him to retain his calm.

"You are the ruler of this place?" Zade asked to her.

The alicorn didn't respond as she stared at the four bizarre ponies, seemingly studying them.

"Well, that cannot be avoided." Zade continued. "We are coming from far away from there. We never stepped in Equestria after thousand years since our imprisonment another dimension and we have no idea of what is going on."

"Wait, what the hel-" Jace was saying quietly before being interrupted by Chris.

"Let him talk." Chris said.

"Now, you can argue that I have blasted out your guards," Zade said. "But let me inform you that I made it in self defense. Beside, they talked about this insurgence. And, with all the respect, we have nothing to do with them. So let me ask you... What is going on?"

The alicorn still doesn't respond, still staring at them. The four started to feel even more uncomfortable and nervous due to her silent treatment and her apparent unwillingness to answer. Then, suddenly, a grin grew on her face.

"No villain appeared into Equestria since the inquisition and the founding the Order of Harmony." The alicorn said with a multi vocal voice.

"I-Inquisition?" Sera asked, startled by that declaration.

"The Order of Harmony?" Chris looked perplexed.

"What do you mean with 'no villain'?" Zade asked.

"These like you couldn't go against their true nature and thus they were unable to embrace harmony," The alicorn paused before gleefully saying. "So I made the merciful act to destroy them and preventing anypony to take example from them. Permanently."

The four ponies became stunned by that. The implication of what she said cannot be this good. The word 'inquisition' was strong enough to make them think of the worst outcomes. Jace, however, was the first to recover, with a newfound anger.

"Order of Harmony my ass!" Jace retorted.

Zade, Chris and Sera looked at him with a shocked expression. The alicorn glanced at him, with a frown growing in accordance with her irritation.

"I don't care who you are." Jace continued. "Harmony can never justify something so horrendous like a Inquisition, so listen up! I refuse to recognize your authority, and for a valid reason. "

"Jace, stop right now." Sera ordered.

"I don't know very much what happened here, but what happened to Celestia and Luna?" Jace asked, ignoring her again. "And why you look like a lot Twilight Spa-"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" The alicorn screamed at him with thundering royal voice, scaring the hell out of him.

And not just Jace. The other three ponies mostly freaked out by that. Their fright was then dissipated upon seeing the alicorn's intimidating expression slowly contorting in confusion and surprised shock. She trembled a little bit, as some brief and yet intense inner conflict took place, shaking her being.

"Strange..." The alicorn said. "Nopony used that name anymore."

"Wait," Jace said. "Are you... Ser-"

"Do not continue any further, demon." The alicorn interrupted him, recovering her composure with newfound anger. "The original Elements of Harmony, the princess of the Crystal Empire and the former rulers of this world died long time ago and are reborn in this new form of mine."

"What!?" Jace exclaimed.

"Her explanation says a lot," Sera said disturbed.

"Are you telling me that they had somehow merged together?" Zade asked. "What kind of creature are you!?"

"I am the Supreme Regent. I am Equestria's Savior. My name is Twilegion Spadeus!" The alicorn announced. "And you are villains who deserved to be punished in the most merciless way possible!

"This is not good." Zade said,

Zade took a few steps back as the rest of the group was left astounded by that revelation. He, along with Sera and Chris tried to escape when they noticed flames steadily engulfing Jace.

"Jace?" Sera asked, frightened a little by his intentions, whatever they are.

"You may look like the former, friendly purple alicorn," Jace said with a fed-up tone. "But in the end, you are no different from the authoritarian assholes that I had opposed so far! So fuck you! There's no 'friendship' in your methods!"

"You seriously dare to challenge me?" Twilegion demanded with a intimidating voice, promptly charging her horn with a intense amount of magic.

"Jace, get away from there!" Chris shouted.

"So you think of us as villains." Jace said proudly. "Then I have to be the Prime Evil that I am! SUCK ON THIS!!"

That being said, Jace spiraled through the air and flew toward Twilegion, engulfed by the flames. The red devilish pony couldn't even arrive to touch the alicorn that she shot a tremendous beam that blasted him away from her, propelling him toward the holed wall, whizzing above his shocked friends.

Overtaken by a lingering sensation of power, Sera instinctively pointed her hoof at the flying pony. "NO!"

Suddenly, a coil of humanoid, skeletal ghosts protruded from the edge of the destroyed wall, grabbed the flying Jace in the air and then abruptly dragged him inside the tower. Jace was then dropped on the ground nearby the rest of the group by said ghosts.

"OW!" Jace yelled for the brusque landing.

Dazed by what happened in that moment, gave a quick to Sera as the ghosts quickly dissipated in black embers.

Jace was quite astounded by what the female member of the group managed to do. "How did y-"

"Shut up," Zade interrupted him. "And RUN!!"

Knowing the situation, Jace quickly stood up and followed his companions to the the spiral staircase.

"Don't even think to survive your demise!" Twilegion roared as she charged toward them. "I will do anything in my power to destroy everything who dares to disrupt this order!"

Ignoring her proclamations, they run down the staircase as fast as they had ever done in their life. Although galloping in a more appropriated term in their situation.

"This is insane!" Jace exclaimed.

"No! You are the insane one to repeat the same mistake as the first one!" Sera pointed out.

"Go job, mate! Trying to fight a mare who is TWICE YOUR SIZE!!" Zade shouted.

"Guys! Try to waste less oxygen as you can! We seriously need that!" Chris said.

When they got to the bottom of the staircase, they went through the corridor. In their run, they noticed various banners appended on the walls and various grim portraits, but they ignored them. They have no time for that since their survival was their very first priority.

They reached the door at the end of the hall, which was already opened before. Rushing inside, they entered into another corridor. But this time, there are six black armored alicorn Royal Guards guarding the door at the end.

"HALT!" One of them ordered.

"Shit! Not a entire squad of them!" Jace complained.

"Continue to run," Sera invited her companions.

"Are you nuts!?" Zade commented. "They are literally blocking the path!"

"Not this time." Sera replied menacingly, glowing her horn with a dark violet aura and looking at the blockers menacingly.

As the four ponies continued to to run, sphere of dark blue fire formed above Sera's head and continued to grow in size as she and the others approached the six guards.

Seeing the dreadful sphere, the black armored alicorns pointed their horns at them. Five of them charged their horns while the sixth one, being a mare, was forming a wall around them. But by the time that they had glowed their horns, Sera already launched the sphere, which size was now almost gigantic.

The dark blue flaming meteor descended upon the barrier. The impact caused a loud, dark violet fiery explosion that instantly shattered their only protections, sent the alicorns flying and destroyed both the door and the walls.

In the aftermath of that blast, there was a huge hole at the end of the hall, flames were infesting a little portion of the floor and the alicorn guards were laying on the ground unconscious, with some of them being engulfed in black flames.

"Sera!" Zade called her, shocked. "WHAT THE-"

"JUST RUN!" Sera insisted.

Zade and his companions would had normally stopped themselves so see the devastation that Sera had caused, but since there is a lunatic violet alicorn going after their throats, even going through the flames was a merciful alternative to them.

Trying to ignore the devastation caused by Sera, they entered into a hallway with six exits, three and a wall being at the very end of it. Unluckily for them, all of them were steadily filled with other black amored alicorn guards, accompanied this time by bronze armored unicorns.

Not seeing any alternative, Zade came up with a immediate plan that may seem too improbable, even for him.

"I have a idea," Zade said with the other three looking at him with a worried look. "Without devastating anything."

Chris already grasped what he meant and groaned annoyed by that. "Well... If I must."

As they reached the wall, followed by the menacing guards, Chris flung himself toward it and smashed through the stone obstacle, creating a big breach before falling on the other side. He immediately stood up and followed his companions who were almost passing by him.

The group continued their run toward a opened doorway in front of them.

"God bless your ability to burst through the walls!" Jace said exultant.

"That doesn't mean I'm happy to vandalize this place!" Chris retorted.

"Always better than get killed, Chris. Don't you think?" Zade asked.

"STOP THERE, YOU CRIMINAL SCUMS!" One of the alicorns screamed at them, followed by a horde of other guards rushing at them.

"Hopefully we are out of their range, so they can't use their telekinesis on us." Jace pointed out.

"I hope for you is that case... Otherwise.... I will make you regret very hard." Sera said under her breath, feeling the fatigue kicking in.

"Keep on rolling!" Zade ordered.

The stormed inside the next room, being a almost emptied large hall, probably used for some party or ritual of any sort. Much to their surprise, there is no alicorn but a rusty crimson maned marble gray earth-pony with a black scarf around his neck and fearless green eyes standing in front of the doorway.

As the four demonic ponies were coming toward him, the pony smirked in mockery toward them and stood up two legged.

"Come." He taunted.

"If you insist," Jace said, engulfing himself in flames again.

Seeing that something is going on with him, Zade realized that he had to stop Jace, and not just because he was about to do something stupid again.

"Jace, stop! There's something wrong with this guy!" Zade warned.

It was too late for them as the gray pony lifted his hoof upward. Without even realizing it, they end up being blasted into the ceiling by gray energy pyroclasms erupting from the floor below them. Parts of ceiling crackled on impact, and the four ponies collapsed to the floor, exhausted and looking badly beaten.

The gray pony returned four legged and nonchalantly took some steps toward them.

"And you thought that you can pass through my corpse," He said before softly groaning. "I should had informed her that you were just a bunch of amateurs.

In no time, the entire army of both alicorn guards and unicorn guards stormed in the room, filling it the frantic sounds of hooves stomping the floor. They formed a solid circle of black-bronze steel that occupied most of the room and blocked both the exits.

"It's incredible that you managed to get through this army of alicorn," He mocked them. "Unfortunately, their magic is so strong that they mostly protected them from being killed. Although is unimpressive since you got defeated to easily."

Unbeknownst to him, the four ponies, but mostly Zade and Sera, were a little relieved to not have killed anybody with their powers. However, that wasn't good moment for them. They were at the mercy of their pursuers.

Unwilling to accept the outcome and ignoring his fatigue and pain, Jace barely stood tall and glared at him. Zade, Chris and Sera did the same, but not to follow his example. The alicorns were about to do something when the gray pony gestured them to stop. Which is what the guard ponies did.

"Oh, please. Don't even bother to react," He said to the four. "Not that I was expecting you to resist my attack anyway."

Zade and his companions blinked and looked at each other in surprise. They weren't expecting themselves to survive his attacks. The same could be said for their unnatural endurance.

But that wasn't the time to think about that. Not in their current situation. Jace looked at the pony's smug face.

"That arrogant bastard! Now that is a face that I want to smack to the ground!" Jace thought

"By the way, I'm Fortem Virtu," He announced. "But you can call me with my nickname, Julius."

"What?" Zade looked perplexed.

"Julius?" Jace flinched upon hearing him. "A... human name?"

"What are you talking about?" Julius demanded scratching the question out of the way. "Anyway, I think I should leave her make the rest."

A sudden, blinding dark-violet light flashed for moment as Twilegion appeared in front them, reinvoking the four ponie's fear.

"Oh freaking no." Sera murmured.

"That sucks." Zade said.

"That is the end of the line for you," Twilegion informed them, calmly but more angered than before. "As hurting my guards wasn't enough, you had also caused devastation in the halls of this very castle. The heart of the Order of Harmony!"

"Again with this order." Chris commented.

"Can you at least explain what happened in this world before blowing us up?" Zade asked with a almost fed-up tone.

"You have no right to pretend anything from me," Twilegion announced, pointing her horn at them. "You will know in you last moment what the new form of Harmony's power is all about."

The four ponies watched in fear as Twilegion charged his horn with a multicolored aura, accompanied by ominous black flames and golden electricity. They were too scared to think.

And yet a implausible idea managed to get through Jace's head, giving him a idea.

His body suddenly exuded a huge spiral of black flames wrapping around him and his companions.

"Jace, wait!" Zade shouted.

Nopony else have the time to do or say anything that they disappeared in a huge pillar of black flames engulfed the very center of the room. Twilegion promptly interrupted her magical charge and observed the situation dumbfounded. The guards were more dumbfounded than their ruler.

Julius, on other hand, was just surprised a little, maintaining a almost straight face. "Hmm... May I have underestimated them a little bit."

"We have all underestimated our enemies," Twilegion admitted. "I just hope that they didn't join the Insurgence."

"Is kind of frustrating, isn't it?" Julius asked.

"Not at all, Forte." Twilegion paused while looking away. "Not necessarily."

As Julius and the guards took their leave, Twilegion remained motionless, pondering about a detail.

"How did he know who I really am?"

Chapter 4: Going Through Everfree Forest (EDITED FOR LOCATION INACCURACY)

Everfree Forest... As it is now.

Seemingly lifeless trees making bizarre fruits shaped in warped forms, multicolored roots sprouting out of the ground, glass-made Timberwolves, plant-like butterflies and some other strangeness composed half of the population. The dusk slowly fell upon it, symbolized by a dark-cyan sky.

In the only deserted part of the forest, a huge pillar of black flames suddenly appeared, bursting in a black fiery explosion. One second after that, the four, demonic ponies appeared out of nowhere, looking exhausted and battered from all the blows that they took from Julius.

Dazed and confused like no other, they frantically looked around to find any clue about what happened. They soon realized that they were no longer in Neo Canterlot Castle. They observed the strange and grim vegetation around them. They also noticed the lingering black flames and some destroyed trees that the explosion caused.

Zade, Sera and Chris looked at him for a moment with a irritated and yet unsure look, not knowing if thank him or strangling him for both his recklessness and the destruction that he had accidentally caused. Sera in particular looked very upset toward him.

However they were too tired, so they decided to put that aside for a moment and deeply sighed in relief.

"Despite the fact that I'm still pissed at you," Zade said half angered. "I should thank you for having saved our lives."

"Try to not doing something reckless. Just for once." Chris said.

"I never felt so scared and exhausted in my entire life," Sera said under her breath. "Oh, and for the record, the next time you intend to teleport us, have at least the courtesy to warn us. And most of all, try to not DEVASTATE THE ENVIRONMENT OF YOUR NEXT DESTINATION!"

Sera pointed at one of the still burning trees, whose fire died out, but the damage was already done as their upper body and most of their branches were reduced into charcoal and ashes. Jace looked very astounded, with he jaw almost dropping. Zade and Chris couldn't help but agree with her

"Damn..." Jace whispered.

"I wonder if we are going to be arrested for environmental disaster." Zaid commented with a raised eyebrow.

"Still, I never heard of fluffy animals committing a massacre." Sera said disturbed. "This is insane!"

"I know, right!?" Jace replied. "We found ourselves being turned into pony versions of videogame villains, without having the time to explore our powers that some convoluted Celestia-esque Twilight Sparkle appeared out of nowhere and goes Akroma Angel of Wrath upon our asses!"

The other three ponies glared at Jace, justified by they own reasons.

"You messed with that female juggernaut." Chris pointed out.

"You made our position even worse by angering her off, you dumb idiot." Sera said bluntly.

"Well..." Jace stammered. "That's-"

"That was beyond reckless! You could had get yourself killed!" Zade scolded. "We didn't know how to use our powers properly and didn't know nothing about this world and it's inhabitants! Ergo, we were completely unprepared and so you are! You never had considered that this act of yours would be a suicide, are you!?"

Jace lowered his head crestfallen before saying. ".... No, Zade.... I didn't!"

"Damn it!" Zade muttered.

A silence fell upon them, interrupted only by the noises of the environment around them. Jace did not took well their words, but he knew that couldn't be avoided. His friends were seriously worried for him, so their reaction was quite understandable. Sure, they were reasonably angry or annoyed during the rare times he was almost put in prison for his recklessness.

But wasn't the same thing with what happened in the castle.

"I'm... I'm literally sorry for this. I should had considered our situation," Jace said. "And you are right about that. But you know me. I couldn't stand a patronizing figure who thinks is above morality. Even if is a warped Twilight.... Damn if I lost my cool."

"We should put that behind, now," Zade informed him, calmed out a little bit. "At least we have survived thanks to you. What matter now is where the hell you had brought us into?"

"If I'm not mistaking," Jace said. "That must the the part of the Everfree Forest nearby the Castle of the Two Sisters."

"Everfree... Forest?" Sera demanded confused.

"It's a enchanted, wild place with a arcane quality that allow animals and plants to thrive without pony interention" Jace explained. Still, is the same case as Canterlot. I don't remember this place being a almost lifeless one."

"Aaand... Why you brought us here?" Sera demanded sarcastically.

"Because there should be a ruined Castle nearby this area." Jace confirmed. "That should be our temporary refuge."

"Ruined castle?" Chris asked, doubtful about

"How the heck did you even know where this place was?" Sera demanded.

"I checked on the Equestria Map a few days ago," Jace responded. "Don't ask me why, because that was the only location that I had in my mind at the moment."

"In his defense," Chris said. "I will say that all of us couldn't even thinking straight when Twilegion, or whatever that horse called herself was about to execute us."

Before anyone else could say anything, Zade's widened as he had realized something.

"Wait a second," Zade said. "Sera."

"Hmm?" Sera looked perplexed.

"Did you had felt a lingering sense of power, back in the tower." Zade said.

Sera's face became slightly bewildered one second before she looked down. "..... Right now I'm not even sure how to describe it." Sera responded unsure.

"Wait... You had perceived that?" Jace asked.

Sera nodded. "Yes, I had. You would had noticed me summoning these ghosts to save Jace, just like the original Izanami will do. In that moment, I understood what Zade said after he blasted the two alicorns away... Hopefully, they were alive."

"Yeah, putting aside the fact that they attacked us," Zade said. "I'm not happy to employ violence against them. Let alone killing them."

"Talking about that," Sera shivered upon remembering her launching the black blue meteor upon the alicorn royal guards. "I'm feeling a little guilty about that."

"Jace, you also felt that feeling... One second before like launching yourself against Twilegion, right." Zade asked.

Jace sighed. "Yes, guys. And you know what? I had instantly embraced it, because is almost reflect my being."

"In other words, yourself being borderline anarchic." Chris remarked.

"Only if necessary. Geez..." Jace groaned and then looked at Sera. "You know, Sera. I'm thanking you since- WHOA!"

Jace couldn't continue his phrase that Sera suddenly slammed his pseudo flaming body against the ground.

"Be grateful that I had saved your life," Sera lectured him before going in her yandere mode. "Because otherwise I would had beat up your sorry ass personally."

"I'm indeed grateful! Now turn off your psycho mode!" Jace muttered.

"Knock it off, you two." Zade ordered. "Right now is getting dark and we don't know what kind of nasty encounters we are going to face in this moment. We better move."

"I agree with that." Sera said, having calmed down.

"I will guide you to the Castle of the Two Sisters." Jace said half confidently.

"Look, I'm not saying that I don't trust you, but we can't follow a path basing on what you saw in that map." Zade said.

"Just have faith in my hints for once, dudes. Follow me." Jace replied.

He stepped into the path where there the animal noises are more intense. The rest of the group reluctantly followed suit, walking into Jace-knows-what kind of dangers and obstacles. They continued to walk, trying to ignore the feral sounds filling their ears. Everyone but Jace began to think that following that route wasn't a good idea.

They were suddenly frozen by a chilling howl coming from their left. They quickly turned to see what was, only to find a pack of Timberwolves made of glass wandering in the distance from behind the trees. Their fangs, claws and fur were made of sharp glass and their eyes glowed in a menacing red light. The bizarre wolves were oblivious of the four ponies, who were a little startled by their sight. Jace in particular was awfully astonished to see a Timberwolf in live... But not like this.

"W-What are those creatures?" Sera asked, almost trembling.

"Quiet." Jace invited with a low volume. "Ignore them and continued to walk."

Sera looked at him, slightly annoyed. "Said the guy who didn't had the good sense to keep his mouth shut during our encounter with that winged tyrant."

Putting aside any other thought, the other three ponies followed his instruction and pressed on, trying to ignore the wolves because they were both intimidated by them or unwilling to cause more disasters than they had made before with their powers. Jace looked slightly annoyed by a detail.

"I can't help but find that ridiculous," Jace whispered. "We are currently four pony badasses with the powers of the most notorious villains in videogame industry and yet we were afraid by a bunch of glass slashers."

"I heard you, Jace," Chris said sternly, startling him. "We may look like demons but we are still inexperienced, remember?"

Jace sighed lightly before looking at him. "You are right, Chris. Maybe I was too arrogant to had even thought that."

"Anyone with gaming power fantasies would had though the same. Chris said.

"Jace, how much further until we reach this damn castle?" Zade asked impatiently.

"We are almost there." Jace replied.

"Grr. I'm sick and tired to walk," Sera muttered quietly with a tired tone. "If only I can fly."

The pale unicorn continued her quiet rant until she realized to not feel the ground beneath her. Wide-eyed, she stopped and looked below, only to find herself levitating above the ground, without using any magic. Sera was about to panic when she realized that was her powers' doing. With a bit of intuition, she managed to maintain her equilibrium properly. She then flew toward the others who were oblivious of her levitating.

After a couple of minutes, they saw a castle's deformed silhouette growing closer to them.

"We have arrived." Jace announced.

"Finally," Sera replied before letting out a sign of relieve.

They stopped in front of a bridge suspended above a cliff. They lifted their heads forward and looked in amazement to see the old castle standing in the horizon. The structure itself stands abandoned and dilapidated as much of it was destroyed by a ancient battle. The strange thing is that the two towers and another piece of the castle were missing their top, being cut obliqualy, as they got decapitated by a unseen giant blade. Something that Jace had immediately intuited.

"What happened there?" Jace demanded.

The other three ponies looked at him with a perplexed face.

"What do you mean with that? Weren't you supposed to be the brony who knows something about Equestria?" Zade demanded.

"The castle was destroyed after Celestia battled Luna, who turned into Nightmare Moon, one millennia ago," Jace then pointed at the decapitated towers. "But I don't remember the towers being beheaded. Something must have happened here. It's too recent for me."

"Are you sure of this?" Zade asked.

"Whatever, just let's get there already," Sera said while nonchalantly surpassing the other three ponies, who had just noticed surprised her floating above the soil.

"Sera, wait." Zade said almost loudly.

Sera stopped in her tracks and turned toward them with a perplexed face. "What?"

"You are actually floating above the grass," Chris pointed out, dumbfounded.

"And without using magic I have to say." Jace added. "Just like Hades Izanami will do."

"Hey, don't obligate me to get there," Sera threatened while assuming the pose of a angelic preacher in mid air, except no really considering her annoyed face. "Besides, I should had told you that before, but I am tired, so I wasn't so much in the mood for talk."

"Sera, can you please return to the ground?" Zade asked. "We could explore our powers once we get inside, but not now."

"Ok, fine." Sera muttered as she descended on the ground four legged.

The four ponies walked above the bridge and headed toward the castle, looking around to see if there any creature on their sight. Arriving at the gates, they noticed the door being slightly opened. In a first moment they assumed that someone preceded them. Zade had the impression that someone was waiting for them but entered inside anyway.

The first room they stepped in was the main hall, being room consisting in six exit with stairs leading to different places from both the sides and a stairs that split in two direction. The group pressed on without any question, guided by Jace.

They wandered through the labyrinth of halls for a bit until they reached throne room. It looked ruined as they expected and yet it was mostly clean. The majority of the ceiling was missing, filtering the air and the sight of the dark-cyan sky getting darker. obscuring the room. There are two dusty thrones at the very end, with one half shredded banner being appended on each one while having two different motif. The left throne had a blue banner depicting the moon and right one having the golden one depicting the sun.

Jace expected the place to be same, except for details that doesn't add up. Zade and Chris were just trying to figure out where to go and Sera was eager to find a place in which rest. A minute later, they gathered at the center of the room to deliberate about what to do.

"Jace, just to be clear, this is a castle, right?" Sera asked.

"Yeah, so?" Jace replied.

"What Sera was about to ask was if there are any bedroom around," Zade said.

Jace scratched his head in embarrassment. "I don't even know where it is."

"I freaking knew you would said that," Sera muttered. "At this point, we should sleep in this very throne room. Because I am too tired and still feeling all of the pains of the ordeal we had gone through to wander around like a mad mare to find it."

"Normally I would had called that lazy and impractical," Zade paused. "But she's right. We are all too."

"Well, we don't have pretty much choices." Jace agreed.

"I didn't got used to sleep like this... In a body of a quadrupedal creature, of all the things.," Sera said before yawning. "However, I don't care, because is almost late."

"Let's just pretend that we are nearby a Dark Souls' like bonfire and sleep already." Chris proposed.

"Then good night... I guess." Zade replied.

That being said, the four exhausted ponies laid down on the huge red carped and closed their eyes. Despite the pains of their injuries, they didn't even need much effort to sleep as their fatigue easily encouraged their descent toward Morpheus' arms.

---

Four hours later...

In the now darkened throne room, Zade woke up due to a nonsensical nightmare regarding memes and stuff. Dazed, he glanced at his friends, who were sleeping like angels. He then lifted his head toward the nonexistent ceiling revealing a very dark-blue sky, symbolizing the night. A very creepy kind of night.

Feeling sleepy, Zade was about to sleep again when his mind began to perceive something that he never felt before. Reopening his eyes, he immediately stood up and looked around. He didn't see nothing, but he could tell that something inside of him was suggesting him something. He could perceive some kind of energy, as he could feel presence getting closer to him. His eyes widened upon realizing the obvious.

They weren't alone.

Knowing that, Zade goes to wake up his shook Chris' body and tried to wake him up along with the other two.

"Guys, wake up!" Zade called but none of them answered. "GUYS!"

Chris groaned heavily as he woke up. "Zade, what now?"

"Did you had forgot that I need to rest?" Sera retorted, sleepy face. "Why do you have to wake us up?"

"We are not alone." Zaid warned.

Chris, Jace and Sera looked at him with a little alarmed face as they were getting up.

"What!?" Chris exclaimed.

"What do you mean we are not alone?" Sera asked.

"How can you tell that?" Jace asked.

"You won't believe but my powers... Gave me a hunch." Zade replied, turning toward the entrance. "We need to get out of there!"

But it was too late as multiple sounds of hooves against ground were getting closer to them, as they were rushing. True to that, multiple quadrupedal creatures already stormed inside the hall and blocked their escape, with a few of them being unicorns illuminating the room with their magic.

"What the fuck!?" Jace exclaimed.

They seemed to be a organized army, composed by earth-ponies, pegasi and unicorns alike, with half of them being in golden armor. But it's not just them as there are also changelings among them, being elegant and bright colored. All of them glared with scorn at the four ponies.

No one among the crowd surrounding them dare to say anything for a moment. Then, two pegasi, being Royal Guards flew upwards and looked down on them.

"What are those creatures?" One of the pegasi said. "Are they part of Twilegion's regime?"

"Impossible! She cannot afford to have somepony who can rival her, remember?" Another one said being a mare. "We saw what happened with Tirek and Discord."

Jace reacted in bafflement upon hearing the names. "Wait, Twilegion killed Discord for real!? Wasn't he supposed to be her friend!?"

Zade groaned in annoyance and scanned the whole mixed crowd. All of them looked so eager to rush toward them. That was the point were his question sounded very legit.

"Can this rude awakening get even worse?"

Chapter 5: Diabolic Takeover

It was a bad a night to rest inside the Castle of Two Sisters. Just when Zade and his companions were about to take a real break from their rogue beginning, they found themselves being ambushed a mob of ponies and changelings blocking the doorway where the four demonic ponies came from, with Royal Guards wearing a golden armor being among them.

The quadrupedal creatures were looking at them with a mixed feeling of fear and scorn. The worst mix ever. Two pegasi Royal Guards, being a stallion and a mare, were flying above the four ponies, probably studying their appearances.

Visibly frustrated by this, Zade tried to maintain his calm in order plan something in other to deal with them without do any damage. Chris just kept a eye on each one of them, Sera was partially irritated for both her fatigue and the stress of the previous encounter and Jace was just surprised upon noticing the bright colored insectoid

"Those insect-like ponies looked familiar to me." Jace commented

"Perfect. Another unwanted encounter." Zade murmured annoyed by that.

"I can't even have a break from this nonsense, isn't it?" Sera complained, irritated by both the current situation and being woke up after only four hours of sleep.

"Judging their unnerved faces, I don't think they had any sleep either," Chris pointed out.

"Why, of all places, they went right there?" Jace asked in bafflement. "And who the heck are these guys anyway?"

The two pegasi Royal Guards slowly descended on the ground, landing next to their comrades.

"What kind of demons are you!?" The male pegasus demanded.

"That you are with the Regime or not, we cannot allow you to complicate the situation!" The female pegasus said.

Upon hearing that Zade recalled something that her heard earlier, giving him a vague and yet plausible possibility.

"I think I know who we are dealing with." Zade said, half convinced of what he said.

"You know them?" Chris said confused.

"They must be the Insurgence that Twilegion talked about." Zade replied bluntly.

"Wait, what makes you think about that?" Sera asked perplexed.

"That male pegasus said that we were part of Twilegion's Regime," Zade responded. "Putting aside that claim being contradicted by his colleague, I can assume that they must be the ones who are opposing her. As for our situation, they lost a refuge during a battle. They were probably looking for a new sanctuary to escape her control until they found this castle."

"And they weren't expecting us to be there." Chris added.

The ponies and changelings blocking the doorway whispered at each other in mild paranoiad when a emerald unicorn in a dark-blue armor, being probably a Night Guard, stepped out of the mob and looked at them.

"What are we waiting for?" The Night Guard said, emerging from the group. "Let's seize them!"

"Are you nuts!?" The female pegasus said shocked. "We don't even know what these monsters are capable of!"

"I don't know you guys," Sera said with a intimidating tone as she slowly stepped toward the mob. "But I'm going to kick their asses."

"Sera!" Zade shouted as he tried to stop her. "Don't do anything!"

Before the two could even argue, a female voice, accompanied by hoof steps coming from the entrance caught the attention of all the present ponies.

"What's going on here!?"

In that moment, three red hooded figures made their way through the mob and stepped toward Zade and his companions before stopping a few inches away from them. Zade and the other three ponies scanned the appearance of the three ponies, with one of them being a taller one with a green skin and two average ones, with one of them having pink coat and a saddle bag, and the other having a gray one.

"I didn't saw any villain that resembled any of them," The pink coated one said said with a disturbed tone. "Who are they?"

"We found them in this very throne room in our arrival," The Night Guard informed. "That they are in coo-hoots with Twilegion Spadeus or not, we cannot say. That gray pony and that unicorn over there, however, are probably these two demon's masters."

"We are what?" Zade exclaimed confused.

"That's absurd!" Sera retorted.

Jace's eyes went wide-eyed in realization. "That voice... !"

The pink coated hooded pony grabbed his own hood and unveiled himself. The pony was a pink mare unicorn with a violet mare with azure stripes, blue eyes and slightly stern face. The four ponies were a little surprised to see her, with Jace looking at her surprised, seemingly recognizing her.

"What the..." Jace stammered.

"So you are the leader of the Insurgence after all," Zade said calmly. "Look, if you are going to attack us, at least tell me who is your name."

"I don't know why you are with those monsters but I guess you should know who we are," She said. "I'm Starlight Glimmer, and I am indeed the leader of the army opposing Twilegion Spadeus. The Front of the Lost Harmony."

"The Front of the Lost Harmony?" Chris said perplexed.

"Insurgence is just a tag that the regime put on us." Starlight said with a bit of defiance." Twilegion called her regime the Order of Harmony.... I don't know what are you plot-"

"Stop!" Jace interrupted, gesturing her to stop. "Stop."

Zade, Chris, Sera, Starlight and the other two hooded ponies turned their attention to him.

"Jace, could you had at least let her finish?" Zade said sternly.

"Guys, I'm sorry but..." Jace paused, stuck in disbelieve. "This is Starlight Glimmer that we are talking about!"

"We have no time for your fucking nitpicking!" Zade pointed out annoyed.

"No, dude!" Jace protested. "This has to be addressed. Starlight is the same one who had brainwashed a entire village after removing everypony's cutey marks."

Starlight flinched upon hearing that, with her heart skipping a beat.

"How dare you!" One of the changelings of the group shouted.

"You are seriously talking ill of her!? You are the real scums!" A unicorn mare of the group shouted.

"Calm down, guys! I can handle that!" Starlight said to the group before returning her attention to the four creatures. "I know what I have done and I know who I was, but that's all in the past. My comrades knew about that as well and accepted me after I had finally atoned for that. You can't make me falter with a chapter that I had put behind long time ago."

"Do you really expect me to believe that?" Jace retorted, distrustful. "I mean-"

"That's enough!" The Night Guard shouted, interrupting him. "Starlight. If those creatures are at the same level as Sombra or Tirek, then we can't allow them to roam free across Equestria. Their goal would probably be trying to overthrow Twilegion, just to take over our already devastated word!"

"We are doing what!?" Sera exclaimed, taken aback from that.

"Good job, Jace. You have only contributed to piss them off," Chris said with a serious tone, rubbing his forehead with his three-digits claws on his hoof.

"I just said the truth!" Jace complained.

"In the worst time possible," Zade retorted nervously. "Besides, I knew that they thought of us as the bad guys, but I wasn't expecting them to put that on the extreme level."

Starlight looked a little doubtful about what to do, but after one pondering moment, she returned her attention to the four creatures, looking at them with grim determination.

"We cannot afford to fail at saving Equestria because of them." Starlight said sternly.

"Wait a second!" Zade said.

"All of the unicorns!" Starlight shouted. "Prepare your horns. We are going to seal them!"

The four demonic ponies became instantly dismayed upon hearing that. "WHAT!?"

True to their words, Starlight and all of the the unicorns pointed their horns at the them. Their horns glowed and with much bright and intensity. The other two red hooded ponies took a few steps back to distance themselves from the scene.

Seeing the situation was going to get worse, Jace was about to take his own initiative when something inside him stopped him and subconsciously suggested him another possibility. Jace became more surprised about that, with confidence growing even more.

"Here I comes!" Jace proclaimed as he suddenly disappeared in veil of flames in front of all of the ponies' eyes and immediately reappeared behind Starlight, startling her comrades.

"What the...!" Starlight exclaimed, looking behind her.

"Starlight! Watch out!" The taller hooded pony yelled with a almost soft male voice.

Starlight didn't have the time to react that Jace turned into a coil of black-red flaming mist and wrapped around Starlight's body, engulfing her in black flames. Her horn stopped glowing due to her loss of focus. She screamed briefly, one moment before the flames started to enter inside her mouth and through her coat.

"STARLIGHT!" The taller hooded pony screamed.

After a few seconds, the flames dissipated, leaving a strangely entranced Starlight in their wake. She looked down to the floor as the unicorn, including the Night Guard were rushing toward with a very worried look. They didn't know what happened to Starlight or even explain how Jace disappeared.

Zade, Sera and Chris were completely astounded by that. They had a hard time to process about what happened. Then a vague and macabre idea of what Jace was doing in that moment flashed in front of their eyes. They became quickly disturbed upon considering the various implications of what they where seeing in that moment. They slowly, reluctantly turned their heads toward the immobile Starlight.

"I.... Is that really happened?" Sera stammered. "Did-"

"Sssh," Chris said to her before whispering. "We have to confirm that yet."

"I don't even want to know what Jace managed to do," Zade murmured.

"Starlight, you are alright!?" The taller hooded pony said with a worried tone.

"Wait, why her coat wasn't burnt at all?" The gray hooded pony asked in annoyed disbelieve with a slightly arrogant female voice.

"You are not of any help at all." The taller one retorted.

Starlight remained motionless, not saying anything or moving a muscle. Then, after some seconds, she lifted her toward Zade's group.

She smirked.

Without any warning, Starlight glowed her horn and teleported both herself and the two hooded ponies next to Zade, Chris and Sera, much to their confusion and that of the ponies and changelings of the mob watching the scene dumbfounded.

"Starlight, what are you doing!?" The taller one asked in confusion.

"Alright, dudes!" Starlight with a voice being a hybrid in between her own and Jace's demonic one as glowed her horn. "Let's get out of this funk!"

In a blink of a eye, 'Starlight', the three demonic ponies and the two hooded one disappeared from the sight of the whole group of ponies and changelings. They were left deeply shocked by what transpired, with the Night Guard being about to handle their leader's ponynapping.

---

Still in the Castle of Two Sisters... In the secret reading room.

There was a flash of white energy. Zade's group, 'Starlight' and the two hooded ponies appeared. Confused, the ponies outside 'Starlight' looked around to see where they are. The hooded ponies turned their heads at their leader, who was nearby the three members of the demonic party, who looked at her with their incredulous faces.

"Starlight?" The taller one said, seemingly confused by her behavior. "W... What are you-"

"Oh, c'mon dude!" 'Starlight' interrupted annoyed. "You saw what the hell happened and you are still questioning it!?"

The two hooded ponies winced. Zade, Chris and Sera, on other words, looked at him in bewilderment, with their jaws almost falling. They vaguely knew what happened to the unicorn and their friend, but refused to believe that happened.

"J-J... Jace!?" Sera stammered.

"That must be a joke," Chris said, having a hard time to remain composed. "Of the worst caliber..."

"I know, pal," Starlight/Jace said, a little embarrassed, giving a quick look at her body. "I'm not used to inh-"

"No. That's not the point." Zade interrupted. "You are telling me that you had actually hijacked her body!?"

"Look, neither I expected myself to be able to do that. But since I'm the pony equivalent of Diablo, I should hav-" Starlight/Jace couldn't even finish his phrase that Zade put his hooves at her and start shaking her back and forth.

"You had kidnapped other living beings!!" Zade screamed. "What is wrong with you!!?"

Jace released himself from his grasp. "Hey, those ponies didn't gave us any choice!"

"HEY!" The taller hooded pony screamed, getting their attention. "I don't know what is going on but I command you to get out of her body!"

"Only if you listen what Starlight has to say once I got out of her body." Jace replied in annoyance.

"I will never-" The hooded pony stopped and changed his tone with a confused one. "Wait, what?"

"Jade,what are kind of idiocy you are plotting this time?" Chris demanded.

Jace was about to answer when Starlight's voice suddenly yelled inside his mind.

"Get out of my body already!"

"Don't rush me, dammit!" Starlight/Jace screamed in annoyance.

The possessed unicorn glowed her horn and teleported next to the two hooded ponies. They didn't have the time to react that her body was suddenly engulfed in black flames as a black-flaming mist came out of her mouth and her coat, leaving Starlight to collapse on the ground with her hooded companions approaching her, apparently unconscious.

The flaming mist flew next to three demonic ponies and shifted his form, turning itself into a solid one. Slowly, Jace's flaming form reappeared, showing a dazed visage.

"Whoa... I'm totally not used to this." Jace said.

"Now who's talking," Sera retorted. "You crepped me out!"

"Guys, we have another problem to think about," Zade reminded them.

"I demanded a explanation." The taller hooded pony said sternly as he removed his cloak, revealing himself.

The pony was actually like one of the bright-colored changelings, except more taller and had beetle-like mandibles protruding from his forehead, making him look like a insect-like horse-deer hybrid. His eyes are purely purple and has three white diamonds attached to his torso. He had big wings and blue ethereal tail.

Zade and his companion stared at him with a mix of astonishment and cautiousness. Jace in particular was dumbfounded by that sight.

"What Hasbronian spore of mindfuck is this?" Jace whispered.

"What is your game?" The changeling asked sternly. "First you took Starlight's body against her will. Then you took us in this room and now you willingly brought her back to us? It doesn't make any sense."

"Maybe because they are amateurs," The gray coated hooded mare said blutntly.

"How can you tell that?" The changeling retorted. "We saw him possessing Starlight."

Before that could continued, a soft groan caught their attention. They looked at Starlight, who slowly opened her eyes.

"Starlight! Thank goodness." The changelings said relieved.

"I... I am free?" Starlight asked dazed.

"Is ok, Starlight. I will save you from them," The changeling assured her.

"Thorax, no!" Starlight shouted, suddenly standing up on her feet. "You have to listen to me! The flaming pony over there was right!"

"Starlight, you don't make sense in this moment. What do you mean with that?" Thorax asked as he was worrying for her sanity.

"You had to believe me. These ponies are not our enemies." Starlight said bluntly.

Thorax and the remaining hooded pony remained silent for a moment before shouting. "Are you serious!?"

Zade, Chris and Sera slowly turned their eyes toward Jace, with a very stern face.

"Jace, what the hell did you had done to her?" Zade demanded.

"Let me explain." Jace informed. " When I possessed her, I had saw her past, her redemption and, I can't believe what I had saw, helping a changeling, that being Thorax, to dethrone Chrysalis and become the ruler of a new species of changelings."

"Wait," Sera interrupted him, glaring at him. "Doesn't that count as privacy violation?"

"It was accidental, ok?" Jace replied annoyed by that. "Besides, I couldn't even continue that Starlight's conscience stopped my in my tracks and tried to fight back, but I managed to keep her in check. And since I knew that my action was outright villainous, I shared my memories of us and our encounter with Twilegion and made a deal with her. It was a fair trade."

"You have done WHAT!?" Thorax exclaimed shocked.

"Thorax calm down," Starlight said. "I will explain that."

"I don't want doubting you," Thorax replied hesitantly. "But... Are you seriously telling that these creatures are not bad guys?"

"Guys, give me one second to deal with a problem of our," Zade said before turning to Jace with a pissed off look. "You are kidding me, right?

"You mean that you had showed her... Everything?" Sera asked with a almost homicidal tone.

"Whoa! Don't exaggerate!" Jace replied nervously. "I just showed her only what she need to know. Hell, I didn't had told her about our private lives.... Except our activities as members of our mocking, satirizing occult club and the explosive incident.

"What!?" Chris exclaimed shocked.

Sera facehoofed, almost feeling a urge to kill Jace. "I understand that no one in this world would even believe or care about those details but why did you had spoiled that?"

"Knock it off for a moment, all of of you." Zade ordered, then he took some steps toward Starlight. "Putting aside Jace's questionable tactic."

Jace was about to retort until Sera blocked his mouth with her hoof.

"You should remain unspoken, idiot." Sera whispered menacingly.

"It's finally time that we got some answer," Zade said bluntly. "It's about seven- I repeat- seven hours since our arrival. We appeared in this world with have no knowledge regarding this world or this crisis, risked to die by the hands of that... pegasus-unicorn hybrid tyrant and couldn't rest properly. So I'm going to ask, crystal clear, what the hell is going on here?"

Starlight took a moment to think about that, as something weighted inside her memory. She gathered that little of courage that she could take and prepared her words. Thorax was about to intervene but she gestured him to remain still, much to his confusion.

"Alright, I will tell you what happened to our world... But you won't like it."

Author's Notes:

I'm sorry for the delay, but I didn't know if this chapter came out as I wanted. But don't worry, I will check if there are other errors and something that I could easily fix.

Also, if I put some description regarding characters that you already know who they are or saw them coming, having saw the MLP episodes, well, let's face it, I just put these for foreshadowing.

I was thinking about this entire concept regarding protagonist being in pony form of the villains of the videogame and how much they will discover themselves becoming themselves or, for the best scenario, just the unwitting pawns of the asshole who sent them into this jackass unfortunate series of events. So yeah. I have so much to reflect about them.

And there is also the original concept behind that, but I want keep that for later. In the meantime, any criticism, comment and feedback is welcomed.

Chapter 6: The Genesis of a Twisted Regent

Author's Notes:

There's another chapter. However, I'm warning you, there will be Cerebus Syndrome.

Also, I put a point of view styled story part for the flashback just let you know what happened with any pointless comments of the characters outside the speaker.

Even so, any feedback or criticism is always welcome.

"Wait a moment," Thorax said.

Jace groaned in annoyance. "Oh, c'mon. Now what?"

"I'm sorry Starlight but there is something that doesn't add up," Thorax then sternly looked at Jace. "If you saw her memories of me becoming the new leader of the changelings... Then why you were stupefied to see me, before."

"Look," Jace said "I only saw you shooting some love laser beams to convert all of the changelings to your cause. And that's it, because Starlight's conscience interrupted me when she started to fight back. She told me about your form and how much changed the changelings are. As the multicolored insect-like creature that I saw before."

"You... Never realized they were changelings to begin with?" Thorax inquired

"No." Jace responded incredulous. "In my mind, they were supposed to be black insect-like fanged creatures with green, soulless eyes who feds upon the love of the others. I never thought you and them being reformed all of a sudden."

"I wasn't expecting you to know anything about us anyway." Thorax retorted.

"I think we got out of topic," Zade said impatiently. "Starlight, can you just give explain us what is going on?"

"As you saw in Neo Canterlot, this world has become messed up," Starlight said with a little grim tone. "But keep in mind, Equestria was once a very fertile and harmonious place. There are once six mares known as the bearers of the Elements of Harmony and my friends. One of them was Twilight Sparkle, Celestia's faithful student and Princess of Friendship."

"Jace, You called that winged menace Twilight, right?" Chris asked.

"I wasn't expecting Twilegion to be her," Jace said perplexed. "So, yeah. These six mares embodied the Elements of Harmony. These ones managed to save Equestria multiple times with that power."

"How did this world go downhill?" Zade demanded.

"It happened five years ago," Starlight began. "I was in Ponyville, under a tranquil darkened sky before the dawn... That made me wish would had remained as such. I was helping Twilight, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Rarity with the preparations for the Summer Sun Festival. "

---

Everything looked tranquil and seemed to go for the merriest way, as it should be. That was what I thought when Spike, Twilight's assistant, came to us to show a letter from Princess Celestia, in which she summoned us to the castle because of a incoming danger.

By the time we read that letter, it was too late...

We were caught in a surprise attack from a massive swarm of slightly huge unreformed changelings, who had assumed the appearance of everypony in the town. They weren't called changelings for nothing since they could change appearance.

Their number was astounding since almost every changeling were reformed and turned against her when I and Thorax changed their ways. There are only few, if not none of them, who was still loyal to her.

In the middle of this chaos, a flock of pegasis Royal Guards tried arrived to distract them, allowing us to escape. During our escape but were then met by Queen Chrysalis herself. We knew about her mastery in deception but....

Her appearance was more terrifying than usual. The fact that she was usually insect-like mare at the size of Celestia with green eyes, fangs, holed forelegs and a gnarled horn was bad enough... But in that moment, her appearance was slightly more demonic, her horn was even longer, her face looked very feral and was almost twice the size of Celestia herself. She was also wearing a grim blue amulet around her neck.

"Surprised to see me, Starlight?" Chrysalis said confidently with her multivocal tone being more ferocious than usual. "You thought that I wouldn't had came back with vengeance! But here I am!... Oh, and since Twilight and her friends are here as well, I would have a doubled fun into destroying any of your attempts to stop me."

Without even thinking, Twilight teleported us away from this mess, with Chrysalis doing absolutely nothing to stop us, which doesn't make any sense at all.

We had then reappeared in Canterlot Castle, being the safest place. Or so we thought until we heard scream and hisses coming from the outside. Without wasting anymore time, we headed to the throne room to find Princess Celestia. But she wasn't alone. Luna, Cadence and Thorax were also there. When Twilight asked her what happened, Celestia informed us of a horrible truth.

The unreformed changelings that are sided with Chrysalis...

Were once ponies and managed to infest a huge chunk of Equestria.

But that wasn't the only thing...

When Twilight asked to Celestia about the changelings being able to turn ponies into them, she explained that, according to Thorax, Chrysalis put her hooves on a artifact that allowed her to steal somepony's powers and share it with the others. And she knew what her ideal victim was.

The first thing that Chrysalis did was introducing herself into the Tartarus and released Tirek, just for her to steal his ability to drain the magic from any living creature, permanently incapacitating him and combining his power with her ability to suck the emotions. She tried to get rid of him but he managed to escape. That, however, didn't mattered to her as long as she can achieve her vengeance against not just me, but to Twilight and Celestia as well.

Chrysalis tested her new powers on a defenseless unicorn. Normally a changeling only feds on the love of the others, but with Tirek's powers, she was also draining it's magic as well. She expected the pony to be simply weakened and exhausted, being without any magic at all. That should be it if wasn't for fact that Tirek's magic was mixed with her own.

As result, the drained pony lost his cutey mark and was stripped of his own identity, causing him to be turned into a changeling of her kind, subservient to her with no memory of who he was. Draining both his love and magic also caused Chrysalis to grow a little bit and changing into a more terrific form, which happened every time she feds on these two things.

When she gathered a higher number of changelings and enough power, Chrysalis shared her powers with her subjects and started drain multiple ponies. At each feast, they became more stronger and invigorated and continued their hunt without even relent.

I know that seemed ridiculous to anypony but they managed to take over various cities of the lands outside Ponyville, Cloudsdale and Canterlot the night before the festival. These three city were purposely left unchecked to stage her moment of triumph.

We paled, completely horrified upon hearing that. Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash feared that their siblings, relatives and friends had become like them. The same goes for Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. Every one of us had their on relatives being involved in that chaos.

Twilight was shaken as well, but recovered almost immediately since she had remembered what could possibly stop Chrysalis.

"We have still the Elements," Twilight said. "Yet I have to admit. I had forgot about that for a moment."

"Well, none of us were thinking straight in that moment." Fluttershy pointed out.

"Then what are we waiting for? " Rainbow Dash said confidently. "That should be easy with that."

True to their intentions, Twilight and her friends went outside to face Chrysalis and used the power of the Elements of Harmony to cure the transformed ponies and foil her plan. That should had been a piece of cake. The Elements were a powerful benevolent force, that can overcome any difficulty...

But that didn't had any effect on Chrysalis and the transformed ponies as the power was completely neutralized by a mysterious force surrounding them.

Twilight and the other five bearers of the Elements were greatly shocked to see that the most strongest magic was easily nullified like nothing, which made Chrysalis laugh even more loudly than she had ever done in the past. I was as confused as they are when I had noticed the amulet that Chrysalis was wearing glowing in a blue light.

"That was the reaction I wanted to see," Chrysalis exulted. "This amulet gave me a real protection by your so called Harmony. I had suffered constant humiliations for a long time. Now is your turn to taste the entirety of that. HAHAHAHAH!"

As result, we were overwhelmed and forced to retreat inside the Castle. All of the remaining defense forces in Equestria were taken down at a very fast pace. At that point, Chrysalis has turned almost everypony in Equestria into her changelings and has surrounded Canterlot Castle with the intention to make Celestia surrender. Thorax's subjects also fell victim of them.

And the worst part...

Was that we are unable to cure them as long as Chrysalis has her own vantages, and we didn't had a real plan to come up with.

Chrysalis has now grown even more bigger and her whole army of huge changelings surrounded the castle, but she didn't wanted to order a mass attack immediately. She first wanted us to surrender.

Celestia, Luna and Thorax looked really mortified for her inability to save her subjects. Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie were literally demoralized by their defeat. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were just furious for this outcome.

"This cannot be real... Is just... Not fair." Pinkie Pie said, shaken.

"Darn it! If only Ah can get the amulet out of that bucko!" Applejack screamed.

Twilight was as demoralized as the others, but much more desperate. Celestia, Cadence and Spike noticed that and started to worry about her. I volunteered to talk her down. As I was approaching her, I could hear her rambling in denial.

"Twilight?" I said, trying to get her attention.

"That is not possible," Twilight whispered frantically. "That is not what it was supposed to be. There must be something. There must be something that I can do."

"Twilight, calm down." I said.

"How could tell me to CALM DOWN!" Twilight shouted, looking at me with a crazed face and then looked down on the floor.

"Twilight." Cadence said with a worried tone, approaching her.

"That must be a bad joke." Twilight insisted. "It mustn't end this way! I won't allow it! I won't! I will do anything to save them! I will do anything bring them back to normal! I will do anything to defeat Chrysalis and save Equestria!"

That may look like that Twilight was loosing her mind, but her despair was far more lucid of than I thought. And I understood why. She felt more guilty than one else for the inability to help.

The situation looked very dire enough to become almost hopeless. The odds were against us. In that point Celestia made her own decision

"Twilight!" Celestia shouted. "Take your friends and bring them into a safe place."

I and the six mare looked at her in bafflement. "WHAT!?"

"Girls, I just hope that I am not the only one who can't tell that this is not a joke at all!" Pinkie Pie said.

"Celestia, you can't ask me this!" Twilight protested. "What about you, or Luna, or Cadence, or even Thorax?"

"We will be alright." Celestia assured. "We we deal with Chrysalis on our own. However, the Elements must be secured. You had to go."

I can see were Celestia was going. She would never tell us, but is likely she would had sent Twilight to contact Stars Whirl and the Pillars to help us. I was about to tell Twilight about that but then...

He arrived.

A nameless pony entered into the room. I didn't saw him in his face. It was veiled by a scarlet cloaked young stallion. I don't who his name was but his face didn't inspired anything good to me, especially since he was somehow able to avoid himself being turned into a changeling and managed to enter the castle undetected.

The nameless pony was blunt and a little grinning during that situation. And didn't liked a little bit. He explained to us the that Chrysalis and her changelings were immune to the Elements of Harmony was because somepony else gave her a arcane amulet from another world that bestowed her a immunity to a type of power. In her case, that was that of the Elements of Harmony. He also said that the only fault was that her immunity can be broken if the Element's power was amplified.

And then...

Then...

He pulled out a spherical object. He said that is a artifact capable of wondrous thing and that combined with the Elements of Harmony and the power of the Princesses, they can overcome the crisis and saving Equestria.

Soon after, Chrysalis and her army stormed inside the castle and prepared to give us the coup the grace. Twilight, her friends and the Princesses combined their powers with that of the artifact and unleashed a luminous explosion that engulfed everything, including Chrysalis and her swarm. I, Thorax and Spike were untouched by that when that happened. It was a very amazing spectacle, a powerful and harmonious miracle

But that was miracle gone wrong, because after the light became a black fog. Our sense of wonder was quickly turned into fear. I Twilight, the other Elements, Celestia, Luna and Cadence merging into one thing, deforming and screaming. And after that, they glowed into a red light and exploded into a column of scarlet flames.

After a few seconds, the flames dissipated but my friends were no more. In their place, only a bizarre and yet grim and imposing alicorn resembling Twilight stood tall in their place. A very majestic form but also a grim parody of what Harmony was supposed to be. Her eyes were cold, as she was embodying the harmony of a absolute void.

I turned toward the cloaked figure to ask any explanation but he and the artifact disappeared without leave any trace.

As if she was waking from a horrible dream, 'Twilight' glared at Chrysalis and her army, who instantly flinched upon feeling pure terror upon looking in her eyes. With calm, merciless fury, she unleashed her powers toward them. It's force is so destructive that it managed to get through the amulet's protection and destroy it, and then overwhelmed them. Her powers were beyond any imagination..

The pony who were turned into changelings returned back to normal with their cutey mark and magic having returned to them. Chrysalis and his subjects were knocked out and reverted to their original forms due to their absorbed magic forsaking them. With that I could say that Equestria is saved...

But that was only the beginning of a nightmare.

I then looked at Spike, who just passed out. Seeing her guardian painfully merging with the others must have been to much for him to bear. Thorax put him on his back and looked at the purple unicorn in awe, followed by the cured ponies.

I turned toward the alicorn and approached her, hesitantly. I was a little scared by her in that moment. She was now towering at me. But that didn't mattered. I have to try.

"Twilight?" I said.

'Twilight' didn't respond.

"Twilight, it's me." I said.

"....... You shouldn't call me like that anymore." 'Twilight' said with a multi-vocal voice. "I'm.... I'm really sorry, but I'm not her, or Applejack, or Celestia or any of the ponies you saw before."

I flinched in shock upon hearing that. what I heard was a multi-vocal voice, as their personality were somehow fused into something.... empty and ruthless. It sounded mostly Twilight, but... She wasn't the same alicorn anymore. It like something else took her place.

"Starlight," Thorax said distrustful. "There is something wrong with her."

Chrysalis slowly opened her eyes and became instantly startled upon seeing the creature in front of her. "T-Twilight!?... No, that can't be. This...!"

"Twilight... You make no sense..." I stuttered, taking a few steps back for the fright.

"My name is Twilegion Spadeus." 'Twilight' announced. "Harmony transformed."

I was instantly struck by the terrific implication behind her words. Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Celestia, Luna and Cadence were no more. Only this grim figure remains.

Twilegion turned to Chrysalis and her subjects. "Is your turn now."

"What!?" Chrysalis shouted confused.

"Oh no," Thorax whispered.

"Please, stop this!" I shouted desperately. "You had defeated Chrysalis. Now give my friends back!"

"What are you talking about" Twilegion said sternly. "I don't want to return as a divided group of weaklings. This world needs a powerful entity. It's safety depends of my own capabilities."

"This is not you, Twilight!" I shouted desperately. "This is no what you used to be. That can't be you. What are you going to do will not bring Harmony at all!"

Twilegion remained silent for a moment before replying. "Harmony is me."

Twilegion didn't want anything similar to this incident to happen again. Being mostly Twilight and unwilling to live the horrible situation in which she was, she decided to take over Equestria and 'Improve' it by 'purify' anything wrong in her path, by annihilate every single villain, starting by Chrysalis and Tirek. Only a few of them survived, unbeknownst to them. Discord, the Spirit of Chaos who also became our friends, almost died in a attempt to make her understand her mistakes and save his friends.

That event was remembered as the Inquisition, and after that she founded the Order of Harmony, which was more a regime that a order. Twilegion also transformed the Royal Guards into alicorn monstrosities, while others were turned into monsters. The Wonderbolts and others followed the same fate, but that wasn't the only problem.

Her powers also gave her the ability to see the inner, darkest desire of everyponies. With that, she was convinced that there won't be any Harmony at all among them and that was what induced Chrysalis and others to act against the Harmony. Twilegion imposed to his subject to be purified and embrace Harmony... At the cost of individuality. The majority of them opposed her idea, which leaded her to destroy every city that dare go against her authority, including Canterlot.

Twilegion devastated some many places during her purification crusade. A few of them were even wiped out of the map. Her rule made everypony afraid not just of her, but of the Harmony that they once retained to be sacred to them. Her actions destabilized most the equestrian ecosystem.

And I...

And I was left with only Thorax, his subjects, Spike, and the other few ponies that escaped Twilegion's gathered to create the Front of the Lost Harmony. We fought for about five years and yet I am still far from having save Equestria.

If only that nameless pony didn't had showed up with that cursed artifact... Maybe we could had leaded the things in a different direction.

Even now I'm still hoping to bring my friends back. I will do anything to them. No matter what.

---

In the present.

Starlight looked down on the floor with a grim expression full of regrets as the silence grew in the room.

Chapter 7: The Root of the Whole Disaster

Author's Notes:

After a whole eternity, some delays and long breaks, there is a new chapter of this story. Let me inform that there will be more talking than action. But don't worry, there will be some action in the next chapter. Trust me on this. You won't be left down.

Look at the positive side, at least we got to know something about the details that lurked in the flashback that Starlight told to the protagonists. Also, let me tell you on thing. I didn't put the Crossover tag for nothing.

If there's some error, typo or just wanted to comment, either your opinion or anything else, you are welcome.

The story that Starlight told to Zade's group ended with a grave silence. The group of four demonic ponies finally came to know truth behind that twisted world, the disappearance of the Elements of Harmony, Celestia, Luna and Cadence, how Twilegion Spadeus was born, the Order of Harmony and the Inquisition. Before Starlight even began to tell her story, they knew already that what they were about won't be a pretty fairy tale.

But they never expected it to be this tremendous. Zade and his companions were visibly astounded, but not in a good way. Jace was petrified upon thinking about he implication of the story, Sera was chilled like she never was before. Zade and Chris were just disturbed. As for Starlight, she was reasonably shaken and yet she tried to remain composed. Thorax approached her and put a hoof on her shoulder while the gray coated hooded mare just looked somewhere else, apparently annoyed by that.

"Holy shit..." Zade murmured.

"L-look, we didn't doubt you told us the truth but... THAT'S what it IS?" Chris asked incredulous.

"I... I'm feeling uncomfortable like no other," Sera said bewildered. "Because I never thought that a cheerful fantasy world can became actual a worst world to live in."

"This is beyond fucked up." Jace said. "So Twilight fused with her friends and the princesses and became a alicorn equivalent of Regime Superman."

"Ehm... What?" Thorax looked confused.

"Ok, that was obscure and inappropriate," Jace said apologetically before turning to Starlight. "But what about your rebellion? Did you had tried to reach Twilight or any of the fused ponies?"

"That was what I am trying to do even now," Starlight said seriously. "In the middle of this chaos, had found some of the opportune occasion to talk with any of personalities who were imprisoned in that shell that is Twilegion and convince the to return..." She paused. "But without any result." She looked down, probably pondering. "Still, I had a plan regarding her."

"What plan?" Zade demanded.

"In the Changeling's Kingdom," Starlight explained. "Queen Chrysalis possessed the throne with the ability to nullify the magic of everypony and everything who tried to enter in her realm. I had intended to use that or anything related to it as way to stop Twilegion. Unfortunately it and almost anything similar belonging to Chrysalis got destroyed during the Inquisition. However, there was some remaining shard of the changeling's nullifying artifacts and magic. I needed them."

"Hey, question here." Jace said. "You said that every villain got royally killed by Twilegion. That will include Chrysalis. So... How did you even know about that?"

"I hate to say that... But I had asked help..." Starlight turned toward the gray hooded mare, scornfully. "To the last creature I would had even tried looking for."

The four ponies turned their attention to the coated pony, with Thorax looking equally scornfully at her. Jace suddenly recalled something that he heard before.

"Now that I'm thinking about, your voice sounded familiar," Jace pointed out. "Just remove your cloak already."

"Tsk. To think I would had get ordered around like that." The gray coated pony said.

Reluctantly, the mare grabbed her own hood and revealed her face. Her appearance was that of a dark-green maned mare with emerald eyes and a gray coat. While Zade, Chris and Sera looked at her with annoyance due to the mare looking a little arrogant, Jace was the only one who froze up in shock upon seeing her. His three friends didn't even know why.

".... Is that a joke?" Jace asked.

"We didn't had even met face to face before," The mare said, slightly annoyed. "And yet you are already give me some nerves."

"Starlight, can you just telling us who is she before Jace will start another rant?" Zade asked, wanting to avoid another one of Jace's antics.

"You had to apologize but I had forgot to mention that," Starlight explained. "When Twilegion defeated Queen Chrysalis, she was firstly stripped of all her powers and turned her into a earth-pony. She was also about to get killed but I and Thorax ended up saving her and, of course, arrest her for her crimes since she was also responsible of our current crisis."

"I hate to say that but... There she is," Thorax said apologetically, pointing his hoof at her.

The four demonic ponies went wide-eyed, not expecting that coming from Starlight and Thorax. The situation got even more absurd in a very wrong way.

"Is that mare... What we think she is?" Sera asked.

"You better believe that," Chris said resigned.

"You are Chrysalis!?" Jace shouted shocked.

"And what if I am?" Chrysalis asked.

Jace looked at Starlight. "Why the hell you are asking help to the one who had screw you over to begin with!? Is like the time in which Celestia sent Discord against Tirek, Luna summoning Nightmare Moon, or even giving the Infinity Gauntlet to Yuki Terumi. Are you sure that is a good idea?"

"Although I don't know the other reference, I know what you mean," Starlight pointed out and then narrowed her eyes. "But she is the only one who can lead us to her remaining pieces of her nullifying magical artifacts,"

"They had no choice but trust me, you flaming loud mouth." Chrysalis retorted impatiently. "Besides, you four, don't even think you are so different from me. From that I know, you may be just be as villainous as me. Only amateurish."

Starlight and Thorax glared at her. Sera, however, stared at her silently for a moment, before her face changed into a crazed, intimidating one with slasher smile included, startling the former queen.

"You got a problem?" Sera said in tranquil fury with a intimidating glee, only to be stopped by Zade.

"We have no time for this." Zade reminded and then looked at Starlight. "Look. Just make things clear to the other two, let me first expose our current goal: We want to find a way to get back to our world. That's all what we wanted."

"Look, I will help you to return to your world," Starlight said. "But unfortunately all the knowledge regarding dimension travelling resides in Neo Canterlot Castle." She paused. "Additionally, Twilegion is hunting you down, right? Which means we are in the same boat." She then sighed heavily. "There's not much choice... If not helping us."

Zade shrugged his shoulders. "Ok. Let's do that."

The other three demonic ponies and Thorax became dumbfounded upon hearing that. Starlight and Chrysalis, however, were just slightly surprised.

"ZADE, WHAT THE HELL!?" Chris, Sera and Jace said at the unison.

"Starlight, are you serious!?" Thorax demanded.

"Starlight, you a real hypocrite. And you were reluctant to ask my help." Chrysalis remarked.

"I know what I am doing," Starlight retorted.

"Zade, We didn't even learned to control our powers properly," Chris said astounded. "Are you out of your mind!?"

"You are seriously thinking to drag us into a suicide mission!?" Sera asked, clearly upset.

"You had easily accepted a mission before even considering what that implies." Jace said worried. "What were you thinking!?"

"Just consider what Twilegion would do in this moment," Zade said seriously. "And how much we are involved in this story even if we didn't wanted to. Do we have any choice?"

Being mentally cornered, Chris, Sera and Jace pondered about what they faced before and what they had to do from that moment forward. They were hesitant at first but then looked at him and nodded in agreement. Jace, however, has still something to say.

"But seriously, you could had at least talked to us before accepting her proposal," Jace remarked.

"What if we had not enough time for that since we are still hunted down by the Order of Harmony?" Zade demanded. "We don't even know enough regarding the places of this world, so escape and wander aimlessly in this world is a really bad idea."

Jace was about to respond but then stopped and gave up. "You got a point."

"I still think is a stupid idea," Sera said. "We don't know how to control our powers properly."

"Starlight, there is a problem with that," Thorax said worried. "The rest of the Insurgence won't take you decision so lightly. Even if Chrysalis was made powerless, your recent decision to bring her with us is still bad enough since some of our comrades were outright against that and they were already starting to doubt about your sanity."

"I know that," Starlight replied regretfully. "But you know, Thorax. I am-"

"Ok, as desperate as Twilight, yada yada," Zade interrupted her. "Look, Starlight, assuming if you had no choice, let me at least guess what you want to do. You want gather those nullifying shards to make Twilegions powerless, right? Then how you intend to do that? By using them to make a weapon or something?"

"Something like that, but not a weapon," Starlight explained. "But rather a seal."

"A seal? As if to seal both Twilegion and her magic?" Jace inquired, almost getting were her reasoning was going.

"At least we don't banish her to the moon," Starlight responded. "I just want to seal her in order to at least fix the damages committed by her while having time to find a way to defuse her and save Twilight and the others." She paused. "However, that will be a real ordeal," She pondered about something. "Especially... Since there is something wrong with her magic."

"What do you mean?" Chris asked.

"Is like... It was tainted, corrupted... Binding that of Twilight and the others to it's will," Starlight said hesitantly. "It's too complicated, but I think is related to the artifact."

"Guys, I know is not the right time," Jace said. "But-"

"But what?" Sera said, expecting something stupid from him.

"Can we at least have a image of that artifact?" Jace asked.

Starlight took a moment to think recall something and then nodded. She headed toward one of the bookcases and looked at the last shelf. She then glowed her horn, pulled out a scroll and opened it on the reading desk.

"Keep in mind," Starlight said. "I showed that to the remaining scholars, asking about his powers but none of them knew about that or even know it even existed. I don't know I draw that correctly, but that is what it looked like."

Zade and his companions gathered round the reading desk and took a look at the scroll. There's only the image of the aforementioned artifact being depicted on it, being draw in ink. It was a spherical object, being suspended by a weird, metal spiral below it.

That was just a illustration and yet Zade felt something familiar on it. He brainstormed about it's shape and similarity to what he think he saw it's form somewhere else when Jace suddenly fell back with a scream, startling the present ponies.

"WHOOAAA!" Jace collapsed on the floor, with his face being stuck in horror.

"Oh, for the love of...!" Sera muttered as she and Chris rushed at the flaming pony.

Zade just remained where he was, visibly freaked out by that but not too much. Starlight and Thorax slowly approached them with a worried look while Chrysalis was mostly startled.

"What the heck was that for!?" Chrysalis said, almost feeling a heart attack.

"Jace?" Starlight asked worried.

Zade returned his attention to the image, feeling some hint lurking in it's form. "Why did this thing reminded me of a trading card?"

"You could had just avoided to scare us like that, Jace," Chris said sternly.

"Jace, what's wrong?" Sera asked.

"THE FUCKING MIRARI!!?" Jace howled incredulous. "What kind of Equestrian moron would bring to Twilight something-" He stopped his sentence, having realized something. "Wait a minute," He rose up, with a very angered expression. "I think I know who the Stranger really is."

"What?" Sera looked perplexed.

"But you never met him before," Starlight replied. "How can you be so sure about that?"

Without any warning, Jace furiously stomped his hoof on the floor. "Is that bastard Julius!!"

That accusation made the other three demonic ponies and Starlight shiver. While Thorax and Chrysalis didn't know what Jace was talking about, the other three ponies knew what he was referring to. The memory of the rusty crimson maned marble gray, arrogant earth-pony easily wormed through their minds.

"Jace, you can't be serious." Sera said.

"Trust me, every damn arrogant smug who is also a consultant has more probability to be the master mind," Jace replied convinced. "Is Real Enemy Detector 101."

"For those who don't knew what he was referring to," Zade explained, looking at Starlight, Thorax and Chrysalis. "Julius is a gray pony with mysterious power us that we had encountered during our escape from the castle and was almost getting us killed."

"Yeah, don't even get me started with the part in which he slammed us against the ceiling," Jace then sighed, scratching his head. "What is this asshole calling himself again? Fortem Virtue?"

Thorax gasped. "Fortem Virtue? Are you talking about Twilegion's consultant?"

"Really?" Chris and Sera said at unison, incredulous.

"See? I was right!" Jace replied but then took a moment to consider his statement. "For most part."

Sera noticed Zade being still calm after what he heard. "Why you didn't look so surprised.

"To be honest, I felt something like that coming." Zade admitted. "Think about that. The way he talked about Twilegion when he said he would left her do the rest. Normally, a consultant would had just told us something like 'That she may had mercy of you' or 'You will face her judgement'. For a consultant like he, he talked like he was sending her to do his job."

Starlight went wide eyed. "You mean that Twilegion is under his control?"

"No, I'm saying that no consultant talked like that," Zade assured. "Not in front of her, I mean. Julius had to keep his own agenda under profile, whatever the hell it is." He then looked back at the image. "Jace was right about he artifact itself." He then turned at Jace. "Is the Mirari the thing that I saw in a card. Am I right?"

"Yeah, pal," Jace said, still incredulous. "And I can't believe that is the artifact Starlight talked about. No wonder no one knows anything about it. It doesn't belong in this franci- ehm - I mean world."

"Are you sure of what are you saying?" Starlight asked. "Is there something that you didn't had shared to me when I was possessed?"

"Oh, yeah." Jace said with a serious expression. "In my world, that would be just card to play, but if that is the case... Then the situation is far more grave that we had imagined. You have no idea of what the Mirari is capable to do. I have gathered enough knowledge in a story called Magic The Gathering to know what it is."

"Just spill out the beans already," Sera said.

"The Mirari," Jace began. "Is a powerful and yet dangerous powers that had appeared on Otaria, a continent located in the world of Dominaria. It has the powers to turn the bearer's desires into reality but it has also a very corrupting power. In fact it caused intense longing in those who saw it, driving every creature mad with the obsession to owning it, consuming their minds. On Dominaria, it had cause so much devastation, caused wars of biblical dimensions, creating horrible abominations and almost always killed it's bearer."

Starlight gasped, horrified. "Oh, goodness."

"Is that true?" Thorax asked distrustful.

"That means that Twilight and the others will also..." Starlight stopped, fearing for the worse. "Oh, no."

"I don't think so," Jace said. "You said that the Stranger, being the ass-"

"Jace, the language." Starlight interrupted him annoyed.

Jace paused for a second and then continued. "Whoever Julius think he is, took the Mirari with him and disappeared before Twilegion started her Inquisition. Which means she didn't had tapped it's power another time after that, so she didn't risk to die... I guess." He sighed, feeling awkward. "However, that doesn't help the fact that the alicorn is powerful enough to crush us..." He then became shocked in realization. "And I had realized that Julius has still Mirari artifact with him!"

"That's not good." Chrysalis commented, worried for other reasons.

"I can't believe a thing that was printed in a playing card based on a commercial product being actually a real thing." Sera said in bafflement. "

"And undeniably the cause of this mess," Zade replied bluntly.

"Twilight ended up using it without knowing it," Starlight said, with a fiber of raising anger. "That Julius... Is all his fault!"

Chrysalis gulped upon thinking something that Jace said before. "So the bearers who wielded that power actually... Died in the end?"

"You had seriously thought for a second to want something as dangerous as this?" Chris asked.

"Not if it end up killing me." Chrysalis retorted. "I value my life. Even more since I am currently powerless."

"Well, duh," Jace mocked. "Said the former queen who thought that invade Equestria and put Twilight on the edge being a great idea."

Chrysalis only scowled at him and was about to start a argue when a strong, almost intimidating male voice coming from the doorway spoke.

"I see that you know something about the scourge of my own world. Yet I found quite bizarre hearing from a creature like you."

All of the ponies turned to the doorway, noticing two other ponies stepping inside. One of them was brown maned marine-green taller stallion, wearing a cape made of vines and two black iron shoes, carrying a strange stone axe on his back and a intimidating expression. The other was a black maned pale-gray mare, also wearing two iron shoes while carrying a bizarre granite staff on her back. She was a little calmer and average compared to the male one.

The two stopped a few inches away from the other ponies and the looked at the four demonic ones.

"I had encountered monsters like you before," The stallion said. "One dreadful and defiant after another. From the deadliest warriors to the most terrific abominations... But you, in comparison, are just a bunch of cretins who can't control their powers properly."

"What's that?" Jace said irritated before Chris stopped him.

"We didn't came to fight," The mare said with a calm and yet slightly tough voice. "We were merely tracking down you four."

"Granite Hail," Starlight said to the stallion, recognizing him, causing the four to look at her surprised.

"Wait, you know him?" Chris asked.

"He's a ally of ours," Starlight said. "And she is his sister, Silver Will. They came to help us during a surprise attack, three years ago." She then went wide eyed, recalling what he said.

"But wait a second. How did he know about the artifact if he wasn't present during that event?" Chrysalis pointed out.

"... You are right," Starlight looked at Granite, taken aback. "You didn't told us that you know about that."

"Brother," Silver said. "Isn't this the moment to tell them truth regarding the Mirari... And us?"

"About what?" Starlight asked.

"Listen to me," Granite said. "We have this form, but we don't came from this world. And most of all, we were dead."

"We got both resurrected in this form by a someone who asked our help," Silver affirmed. "However, our resurrection is not what we wanted. After this mess is over, we will return to the embrace of death."

"..... You can't be serious," Starlight said incredulous. "You are seriously coming from another world too?... And what do you mean with being dead?"

"What they said is not so unfounded?" Zade said.

Starlight looked at him. "What are you trying to say."

"A pony from Equestria cannot possibly know anything about the Mirari, which was brought from another world" Zade said before pointing at Granite. "His world."

"..." Granite remained impassive.

"Just who are you, Granite?" Zade asked.

Granite remained silent before looking at them with a very serious expression.

"Call me Kamahl."

Chapter 8: Lurking Storm (EDITED FOR PLOT HOLES)

Author's Notes:

After a long wait, there is another chapter. Yeah, contrary to what I said before, there's only a little action. But at least, the plot is moving forward and there will be more of that in the next one. I just hope to no have messed up something.

I was almost forgetting.

If you see any error or want to give your opinion, any feedback is welcome.

Edit 1: I had rewritten this chapter due to inaccurate dialogues and rushed scene. That is justified since I didn't liked how it came out. If you want the original text chapter, you can ask that.

Edit 2: I had also put some new scenes and changed sequence in order to make that part more coherent. I'm aware of the fact that there was more talking in less action but trust me, there would be in the next one. I apologize for the inconvenience.

The ponies present in the room except the two strangers looked at them with bafflement. That story, grotesque and dark as it is, couldn't get even more bizarre. When Zade asked to Granite Hail about his real identity, he wasn't expecting that response.

Starlight and Thorax looked even more confused than before. Chrysalis, being stuck in the form of an average dark-green maned gray earth-pony, looked slightly curious and silently watched the scene as it goes. The four ponies, mostly Jace, were taken aback from what they heard from him.

"That's not possible..." Jace said incredulous. "Are you telling me that you are Kamahl? That Kamahl, Fist of Krosa!?"

"Former Fist of Krosa. I died in the effort to defeat Karona." Kamahl said sternly. "It looks like you know this part very well."

Jace took a moment to mentally recover and then looked at Silver Will. "Which means..."

"I'm Jeska, her sister." Silver replied. "But I'm sure that is not the only thing that you know already, right?"

"...... Yeah, I know what you mean," Jace said dumbfounded. "But... Are you this for real?!"

"Great, now we have other persons who came from another world in pony form." Sera said calmly, not knowing what to believe.

"Trust me," Chris assured her. "We have the same thought.

"Chris, I don't think that certainty is going to cure my mental headache," Sera sighed in resignation. "So, if they know anything about this Mirari, that means they have something to do with it."

"And how." Jace confirmed. "They are the heroes who saved Dominaria, their own world."

"Keep the praises for other people who isn't me, fire demon," Kamahl retorted.

"What!?" Jace exclaimed before glaring at him, irritated. "That statement wasn't necessary at all! What hell!?"

"Now that is an interesting development." Chrysalis commented. "Any other plot twist?"

Kamahl glared at her in tranquil fury. "You and your ego are equally responsible of this cataclysm. You better remain dead silent at this point. And be grateful that I won't take advantage of your powerless form to kill you, disgusting demon."

Chrysalis felt insulted and yet intimidated by Kamahl's imposing figure and aura, due to herself being powerless as she is. She looked away with a nervous scowl, feeling uncomfortable. Jace observed the scene with glee.

"You didn't told us anything since we met." Thorax pointed out, sternly.

"If you knew something the Mirari, you should had told me that," Starlight muttered. "Why keeping that a secret?"

"Because you would had gone looking for it and tried to use it to save your friends," Jeska responded bluntly. "Your intentions are noble, but we know very well about the corrupting influence that the Mirari would have on you."

"It happened to Twilight and your friends," Kamahl added crudely. "And something similar will happen to you if you lost yourself to its influence, with all the unpredictable disasters that will came from that, along with your possible death. We couldn't allow that happen."

Starlight was about to retort but then recalled Jace's explanation regarding the artifact itself and shuddered upon imagining the implication of herself loosing her control to it, due to her being so desperate to save Twilight and the others from that twisted shell of a alicorn. Starlight never had considered that. Her desire to see her friends again being turned into a double-edged sword was something that

"You are right," Starlight admitted. "That would be committing the same mistake as Twilight's. Even if that was in a good faith. You know that I was so desperate... I guess that you were worried about my actions."

"Starlight, if Twilight ended up like this is because the Mirari gave her what she wanted," Jace explained. "Not what she needed."

"Such is one of the many tragedy of that cursed artifact," Kamahl said as he approached Starlight. "Putting that asied, I heard your plan, but that won't be enough to stop your former friend."

"What?" Starlight said confused

"Which is why I had my own backup plan," Kamahl explained. "Just in the case the situation will go for the worst scenario. And those demonic beings will give me a hand."

"Again with this story?" Jace asked, fed-up being called like that.

"Look, I know our appearances are not the apex of normality," Sera muttered. "But we are not demons!"

"Well, let me at least ask you something that you didn't told us already." Zade said distrustful.

"And what could possibly be?" Kamahl demanded.

"Who or what sent you there?" Zade asked.

Kamahl stared at him with a glare, which made Zade nervous. Shortly after, the marine-green taller stallion's face became a calmer one, like he decided to concede him that. He was about to talk when a sudden crushing sound startled them.

They turned toward the stained-glass windows that depicted the sun, being shattered. A thing similar to a quartz was lying on the ground in front of it. Then, a awfully familiar voice echoed from the outside.

"And I thought I would had never see you again!"

All of the ponies except Kamahl and Jeska flinched upon recognizing that voice. The four ponies heard that before, and knew that was seriously bad news for them.

"Julius." Zade said with a grim tone.

"That voice..." Starlight murmured in awe. "Is the stranger who gave Twilight the Mirari."

"That damn arrogant PRICK!!" Jace said angered. "How did he found us!?"

"That guy may not be alone." Zade affirmed. "We better check the outside."

"Right," Jace agreed.

The ponies headed toward the shattered window and peered outside. They paled to see what was waiting for them, except Kamahl and Jeska, who seemed to expect that.

Beneath their eyes, there was an entire legion of alicorn Royal Guards and bronze armored unicorns gathering nearby she castle, surrounding it. But that wasn't the only thing. Among them, there are few earth-ponies who were twice the size of a alicorn, with their bodies being fused with their platinum armor. There are also pegasi in obsidian armor, with electricity engulfing their wings, flying above their companions.

And at the head of the whole army, there was Julius, standing two legged and looking at the broken window with arrogant confident and crossed hooves.

"Holy shit, man." Jace said in shocked disbelieve. "I thought this guy would bring some of those alicorn Royal Guards, But I wasn't expecting him to lead a freaking legion of them that includes pony-like juggernauts and electric pegasi!"

"And we should take care of him and all those monsters that he had brought with him?" Sera said baffled. "This is insane!"

"None of us is going to face them directly," Zade informed, looking nervous but trying to remain calm despite that. "Still, Julius brought one hell of a army."

"I have lived a situation like this before," Kamahl replied. "Although this one is different."

"This is not good," Starlight murmured, almost trembling. "Is like Julius is going to demolish this castle. I have to evacuate my groups and the refugees."

Starlight scanned the whole upsetting scenario that is presented in front of her eyes. As she looked beyond the myriads of alicorn Royal Guards and other altered ponies, she noticed the bridge leading to the Everfree Forest being destroyed by some of them. As she stepped back from the broken stain-glass window, Julius yelled again.

"I know you are there, demons! It was a mistake not having killed you when I had the chance! I'm just here to fix it!"

"They severed the path to the forest," Starlight murmured, ignoring him. "Not that we can use it anyway."

The pink unicorn glowed her horn and took a platinum orb from the book case. She put the object in front of the broken window. It started to glow in a blue light.

"What are you doing?" Chris asked perplexed.

"This orb has the power to prevent any sound to came out of this room," Starlight explained.

"I guess that they won't hear our voices," Sera commented. "Not that will improve our situation."

"Right now, I have to evacuate the others," Starlight replied with a serious tone. "I have to resort to the other method."

"You mean the collective mass teleport?" Thorax inquired."

"Collective what?" Zade asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Is a method consisting into channeling my magic with that of other unicorns," Starlight explained. "That was done in order to amplify my teleport's radius,"

"With that, you can teleport the entire population that you had brought in the castle." Zade assumed.

"That's right," Starlight responded. "With that, we can bring them into a hidden safe place that we had originally decided to looking for prior our arrival in the castle.

"Speaking of that," Zade turned to Starlight. "I think we should take our leave and try to resolve your current situation in another way."

"Wait, are you leaving us on our own?" Starlight asked alarmed.

"We have no intention to abandon you but our presence here is a problem," Jace said. "You had to consider what your changeling buddy said regarding your companions' malcontent about you keeping us on your side. They won't listen to any of us. Not after what I had 'kidnapped' you."

"Not to mention, They are probably looking for you in this moment." Sera pointed out.

Starlight didn't took much time to realize what they meant with that. After Jace hijacked her body and teleported her, Thorax and Chrysalis in the reading room, the ponies and changeling of her Insurgence that saw her disappear were obviously panicking. Without her guide, they didn't know what to do and were going through the castle to find her and Zade's group, being her accidental kidnappers.

"I have forgot about your situation." Starlight said.

"We are villains in the eyes of your resistance, remember?" Zade reminded.

"I guess I have to act very carefully at this point," Starlight replied before sighing. "Alright, you can go away. But try to not get caught by my subordinates. I don't want have to make a seal for you. Got it?"

"Well, that's easy," Jace said confidently. "We are going to use my met-"

"NO!" Sera interrupted abruptly. "You are not going to use that massive fire teleport again. Sure, you saved us from Twilegion's wrath with that, but did you had considered that you would had put this whole castle on fire in doing so!?"

"Her reasoning Isn't wrong at all," Starlight agreed with a glare. "I saw in your memories what that flaming teleport can do."

"Alright, I had forgot that," Jace said, almost apologetically. "But then what are we going to do now?"

"I have a idea of my own," Kamahl turned to Starlight. "I need to ask you something."

"What is it?" Starlight asked.

The marine-green stallion approached Starlight and leaned toward her ear. He whispered something as if he was giving her a simple instruction. Starlight became surprised for a moment but then calmed down and nodded.

"Is guess that would be the right choice." Starlight inquired.

"Brother, what you are up to?" Jeska asked.

"Starlight will teleport me," Kamahl turned to Zade's group. "And those creatures out of there."

The other ponies looked at him with a bewildered expression, minus Jeska and Starlight, who seemed to grasp his plan.

"... Starlight, you can't be serious." Thorax said with a serious tone, hoping that what she said isn't real.

"Is just a quick travel," Starlight assured. "Thorax, I'm not going to fight Julius' forces if that is what you ask. I will just teleport Zade and his companions out of there. In the meantime, you have to return to the group and inform them that I'm fine."

"But your comrades will ask me about you," Thorax pointed out. "And what about Chrysalis? We have to keep her in check."

"Jeska will remain here to take temporarily Starlight's place, just in case one of them came here," Kamahl replied.

"You are going to the battlefield with them?" Jeska asked perplexed.

"Not directly," Kamahl responded. "But I will need their collaboration... If they are willing to do so."

Upon hearing that, the four demonic ponies have their own different reaction. Zade completely expected to hear something like that from him. Jace, fed-up to runaway, can't wait to put his power to practice and have a payback against Julius. Chris and Sera, however, didn't liked that, not even in the slightest.

"No, hold on. Hoooold on." Sera halted, looking shocked. "You are really sending us against them?"

"I can understand if you are not ready," Starlight said calmly. "I won't hold any grudge if you are leaving us on our own. You were dragged in this situation against your will after all, so is your cho-"

"That's bullshit," Jace protested and then turned to Sera and Chris. "What the hell, guys!? Did you had forgot about the powers that we had discovered so far!?"

"You had forgot one detail, you stupid," Sera pointed out. "We didn't had the time to learn to control our powers properly to begin with. More importantly, you saw what Julius is capable of and how organized those alicorns are. We are not ready."

"And most important," Chris added. "I didn't even know what my powers are."

"What do you mean with that? You have the ones of Nightmare from Soul Calibur," Jace said. "That must be still something."

"I don't have his sword," Chris retorted. "And more or-"

"HEY!!" Zade shouted loudly.

Startled by that shout, Starlight, Thorax and the other three demonic ponies turned their head toward Zade, who looked pretty much frustrated by his companions' behavior. Kamahl and Jeska maintained their calm and observed the scene. And Chrysalis was just a little irritated by that whole ruckus.

"I know how you feel, guys," Zade started. "I'm nervous and, honest to you, distressed about our current situation. But Julius and his subordinates won't gives us the chance to be ready. And making some punk-ass complain train doesn't help our case. The only thing that we can do now is get along with Kamahl and at least listen his plan, whatever it is."

"You had guessed my intention before I could say anything." Kamahl said, impressed.

"You won't had ask our help without a valid reason." Zade replied.

"I guess that cannot be avoided," Chris said, resigned but tranquil. "Alright, let's give him a chance,"

"I hope that Kamahl came up with a good plan," Sera said calmly. "Because dealing with a legion like this is no joke."

"Relax," Jace said confidently. "Since he once guided an army of his own, I'm sure that he has something in his mind."

"Alright, gather around," Starlight asked. "We have to hurry."

"I hope you haven't forgot our deal, Starlight Glimmer," Chrysalis remarked. "After all, you need me to find the pieces of the nullifying artifacts for the seal."

Jace went wide-eyed upon hearing that. "What deal?"

"We should put that aside for later," Zade gave a quick look to Chrysalis, who nonchalantly rolled her eyes as eyed response. "Not yet..."

At this point, the demonic ponies and Kamahl gathered around Starlight, who proceeded to glow her horn and disappeared with the others in a flash of light.

---

In a flesh of a white light, Starlight reappeared with Zade's group and Kamahl, in an familiar arboreal place. They looked around and realized to be in the Everfree Forest, much to their confusion. Zade spotted the castle being in the distance, with a few of winged ponies flying above it, alicorns Royal Guards and electric pegasi alike.

"In what point of the forest we are, exactly?" Zade asked.

"In the path leading to the castle," Kamahl responded. "Right behind the enemy line."

"So, what is your plan?" Sera asked.

"That is what I want to know," Starlight replied. "Granite Hal- I mean...- Kamahl, can you explain what you have in mind?"

"Is obvious that we have to help you to gain enough time for the evacuation." Kamahl turned toward the demonic party. "However, mere distractions won't be enough. We have incapacitate them."

"But how?" Zade asked.

Jace pondered about that until he came up with a idea. "Sera, you can summon spectral ghosts, right?"

"Hey, I know what you are thinking, but I'm not sure if I can summon a legion of them." Sera responded.

"That won't be necessary," Kamahl assured.

"What?" Sera looked perplexed.

"We have no time to waste here," Kamahl said with a slightly menacing tone, startling the demonic party. "Just follow me."

Guided by Kamahl, the other five ponies followed him until they reached the edge of the forest nearby the cliff that divided them from the Castle of the Two Sisters. They stopped and remained hidden in the middle of the vegetation. In front of their sight, there was the destroyed bridge. On the other side, there was the infamous legion leaded by Julius, who were facing toward the castle, waiting for his order and eager to make their first move.

"At this point I have to leave," Starlight sighed. "I have to prepare the escape for the my group and the refugees."

"Be careful," Chris said worried.

"I had lived many situations like this since the beginning of this insanity," Starlight assured. "We will survive even this."

True to her words, Starlight glowed her horn and disappeared in a white light, leaving the remaining ponies to follow the rest of the plan. While Kamahl observed the situation, the four ponies just waited for his instruction. Sera was having the impression that something doesn't add up.

"Zade, can I talk to you for a moment?" Sera asked.

"About what?" Zade asked.

"Back to the castle," Sera explained. "I saved Jace's life by summoning the skeletal ghosts."

"We all saw it," Zade reminded. "So?"

"Jace suggested that to incapacitated the altered ponies of the army. To be fair, that wasn't a bad Idea. Is just that I don't think I would be able to do a summoning of a large scale... At least not yet. But that's not the point."

"Are you talking about what Kamahl said before?"

"He said that won't be necessary," Sera said, perplexed. "Which is pretty strange."

"Maybe because he will use his powers regarding the nature to pull out some trick," Jace said, unconvinced. "But seriously, even I found that suspicious. Especially for a hero like him."

"He said that we have to help Starlight to gain time for the evacuation," Chris pointed out. "But he didn't had said how."

Zade narrowed his eyes. "I don't think the distraction thing was his only plan."

---

In the meantime, at the Castle of the Two Sisters.

Starlight reappeared in the middle of the secret reading room, where Thorax and Jeska were talking with a Night Guard and a worried looking female pegasus, while Chrysalis just watched the situation with Julius from the glass shattered window. Noticing her, the guard and the pegasus trotted toward her.

"Starlight, thank goodness!" The Night Guard exclaimed, relieved. "We started to worry about you. Panic had spread since your kidnapping. I had even took your place to stabilize the situation."

"Well, thanks..." Starlight said with a half smile.

"I thought they brought you in some place far away from there." The Night Guard explained. "But instead they brought you here... Which is kinda strange for evil creatures like these."

"Trust me, I don't know that either." Starlight said with half honesty.

"Thorax explained that the fire demon released you. Are you alright?" The Night Guard asked.

"Yes, Lunar Riptide. Although I don't know his real motivations," Starlight lied. "I'm sorry."

"We have no time to waste," Jeska warned.

"Silver Will told us that Fortem Virtu brought an army of alicorn soldiers along with other monstrosities," The pegasus said worried, referring to Jeska. "Is that true?"

"Unfortunately that is what it is, Silk Nimbus," Starlight responded.

"What about these four demons?" Riptide said with scorn. "Were are they? And most important, are those ones really on the dreadful side of Twilegion?"

"Forget about them," Starlight deflected the questions. "We have to evacuate our comrades and the refugees."

"But there is no other safe exit." Riptide pointed out. "Besides, you can't teleport hundreds of ponies by yourself. That will need other unicorns and more time for something like that."

"Are we seriously being cornered by them?" Nimbus asked alarmed. "After the excruciating journey that I and my brother had gone through?"

"Calm down. We can get through this," Jeska reassured her and then turned to Starlight. "I have a plan for that, but I need a grand number of unicorns,"

"We need to hurry," Starlight reminded.

"Thorax, just keep Chrysalis in check," Jeska ordered.

Starlight, Jeska and the other two ponies went out the room and galloped downstairs. They navigated for a handful of seconds in the maze of halls until they had reached the ruined library. Stepping forward, they saw a stone trapdoor and opened it, revealing being a secret staircase leading to the underground. As they continued forward, Starlight could hear some mumbling coming from there, belonging to a few diffident refugees and guard ponies of the Insurgence.

"Can our situation be even worse?"

"Don't make me think about that."

"Who else has to die for this!?"

"Harmony has became nothing more than a horrid simulacrum."

"We have survived multiple times, I can't doubt that. But I am sick and tired to escape!"

"I can't believe that Starlight is still keeping that cursed Chrysalis instead of killing her."

Starlight looked down, regretfully. "So these are their real thoughts... Is Harmony even salvageable?"

"Don't worry about that," Riptide said optimistic. "Soon or later, everything will be fixed."

"I hope so," Starlight whispered.

With no more delay, they resumed their walk. Once they reached the bottom, they arrived into a enormous camp with dozens of ponies, guards and refugees alike, who were relieved to see her again. A few of them, on other hands, noticed Starlight's distressed visage.

"Starlight, you are fine!" A elder mare said.

"Wait, what is that hurry? What's going on?" A stallion asked.

"The Order of Harmony's forces." Starlight informed with a grim tone. "They found us."

"WHAT!?" Almost everypony of the camp exclaimed in disbelieve.

"That can't be real!" A young mare yelled.

"Don't worry." Starlight said. "Right now, we are going to make a mass teleport for the evacuation. We will take you to a hidden safe zone, the original place that we had intended to use as our hideout. Everything will be fine."

Most of them calmed down, but unfortunately for Starlight, her words didn't convince the rest of them. As a few of them were even panicking. Seeing the panic and the tension steadily increasing, Starlight can only hope that the situation didn't get worse.

"Is not the first time that I had witnessed something like this, but is still unbearable."

Chapter 9: Sudden Ambush (EDITED FOR PERSONAL CHOICES)

Author's Notes:

I'm sorry for this delirious delay, but I had a street fighting with my own creativity and laziness as I was writing this chapter. I had put this fanfiction aside to continue other ones so... Fourty-nine days passed without a update. That really sucky.

But here it is... Although I don't see that as complete.

I don't say it's bad, but I'm warning you that I'm going to update that with scene that wasn't introduced yet and some correction. In the meantime, you can enjoy the chapter as it is now. If you wan't to point out some flaws or other thing, let me know it.

Edit 1: If some of you noticed this chapter being screwed around or looking badly structured, let me tell you a thing. I was rewriting this chapter and I had erroneously hit the save button. Hopefully I should had fixed that.

Edit 2: Like the other readers, even I disliked the way I had executed this chapter. I was too lazy and I didn't put any effort. I admit it. That is another reason for me to edit that. Especially since I had intention to give to Duskthorn and Hide a proper introduction and character establishment instead of being just a throw away characters. I don't think Duskthorn and Hide came out pretty well but I think it's a start. As for parts that I cut out of the chapters, you will see them in the next chapter, only edited. I apologize for the inconvenience.

In the edge of the Everfree Forest nearby the cliff, Zade and his companions, guided by Kamahl, observed the situation that was occurring on the other side from behind the semi-lifeless trees. They knew that they would have to face Twilegion's forces and Julius, but they never imagined to face an entire legion. However, their plan wasn't fighting them, but to help that doesn't make them feel any better. The four demons looked visibly unnerved, unlike Kamahl, being the only unperturbed due to him having experienced an analog situation.

On the other side, Julius was in front of the Castle of the Two Sister, leading a tremendous legion composed by alicorn Royal Guards, bronze armored unicorns, huge metallic earth-ponies and obsidian armored pegasi with electrical wings. That army was gathered by him with the purpose to demolish the castle, apparently unaware of the fact that Starlight and her Insurgence was still there.

Everything was quiet, but the storm hadn't arrived yet. The ranks of altered ponies where immobile, as if they were waiting his orders.

"What are they waiting for?" Zade asked.

"I don't know," Sera replied perplexed, visibly nervous. "But I think Julius is waiting for something. Probably for us to make our first move. He's probably thinking that we are still inside the castle."

"That prick seems to know that Starlight's Insurgence was also there," Jace guessed with a fed-up tone. "How the hell did he managed to bring this legion of his without making a sound-." He paused and then groaned, having guessed the answer. "I got it, Twilegion teleported them here... Coming to think about it, if he's powerful, why he didn't came after us by himself?"

"I don't think he can do what he wants freely." Chris remarked.

"Julius may be this mastermind as we know," Zade said. "But he's still, at least in appearance, under the service of Twilegion. So he may have to obey her in order to preserve his agenda. She would had probably gave him the permission to lead this army."

As they continued to talk, Kamahl turned around and walked toward the depth of the forest. Zade noticed that and approached him.

"Hey, where are you going in a moment like this?" Zade asked.

"There's one thing I check," Kamahl replied before narrowing his eyes. "I won't take too long."

"Alright... If you says so," Zade said reluctantly as Kamahl leaved the group.

Zade couldn't help but think about a detail that didn't add up. Something that give a hint regarding Kamahl. As he tried to make sense to this, Sera approached him and spoke to him.

"Zade," Sera called. "I need to talk with you."

"Is about Kamahl?" Zade asked.

"Well, not just him. When Jeska asked Kamahl if he was going on the battlefield with us, he said 'not going directly'. I think he has a plan that doesn't involve fighting Julius' forces, but I'm not so convinced."

"You know, there's one thing about them that bothered me since we met them."

"What are you implying?" Sera asked.

Zade turned to Jace. "Jace, do you remember when Kamahl said that irritating remark about us, when he first stepped in the reading room?"

"Hmph, why you ask?" Jace responded, a little annoyed. "He said that we, in comparison to the monsters that had fought, are just a bunch of cretins who couldn't cont-" He stopped, froze up in realization.

A grotesque silence fell upon the group as Chris and Sera had the exact same revelation. As for Zade, he had that impression from the very beginning. Jace took a little long to recover his composure, being still shocked about not having noticed that detail before.

"Are you telling me," Jace started, hesitantly. "That he knows who we really are?"

"Its just a hypothesis of mine," Zade replied, unsure about that. "I think we have to save that for later. Julius won't take too long before he will order the onslaught to the castle."

"And we must act now." Kamahl's voice echoed from their left.

In the same moment they heard his voice, a strange sound resembling that of roots growing rapidly caught their attention. They turned toward it's source, only to see Kamahl heading toward them from afar.

What they didn't expected was him walking two legged in front of their eyes, with all of his legs being wrapped in green vines forming humanoid limbs. His lower body was wrapped in vines, with his hind legs having become plant-made feet and his forelegs were root made hands, now holding his bizarre stone axe.

That sight made them almost speechless, except Jace, who seemed amazed to see that.

"H-how can he even walk two legged?" Sera stammered quietly. "Is impossible."

"Dudes, I don't want ruin any surprise," Jace said incredulous. "But I think he had retained his powers of when he was alive during the Mirari saga. He was a barbarian who then became a druid, devoting his life to the nature and learning to control the green mana. One of his most noticeable powers was that to turn trees, mountains or natural creatures into living things."

"Seriously?" Chris asked, slightly impressed.

Once Kamahl reached the group, he stopped a few inches away from them, towering on them. He looked at the army of altered ponies on the other side of the cliff for a moment and then looked back at the four demonic ponies.

"I'm fully aware of their great numbers," Kamahl stated calmly. "Which is why we have to render both Julius and his army unable to act without even fighting them. We have to give Starlight and her group to complete the mass teleport. Keep in mind. Face them is not our priority."

"Well, you brought us there for a valid reason," Chris pointed out.

"Fair enough," Zade replied bluntly. "So... How we can do that?"

Suddenly, a green blur fell in front of four demonic ponies, startling them a little bit. After its landing, they looked at it and became weirded out to see what it was. Its form was a humanoid one, except that is made of vines. It was holding a curved, red glowing crystal in its hands.

The creature turned to Kamahl and gave the crystal to him. As the marine-green stallion took it with its own root-like hands, the creature discomposed itself, becoming nothing more than pure vines.

"With this," Kamahl responded, pointing at the object.

"That weird crystal?" Zade looked confused.

"The damage that Twilegion has done in the Inquisition," Kamahl explained. "Has deformed the natural balance, changing every living organism. Residual traces of magic were left in her wake, engulfing grand part of this world. With the time, most of the magic had became solidified into crystals. They are so rare to be almost unobtainable. It was kind of a miracle to have found one."

"We are going to stop that legion... With this?" Jace looked unconvinced.

"This little thing is far more devastating than you can imagine," Kamahl explained. "Its a pure concentrate of unstable magic that, if released, can cause a magical shockwave that will drain the energy from every living creatures and neutralize their magic. In short, that thing is powerful enough to engulf the entire area and incapacitate Julius and his army."

"Wait, this thing is really this powerful?" Zade asked.

"I can feel a very tremendous amount of energy being emanated from it," Kamahl said with a serious tone. "So of course I can tell that."

"So we don't have to fight," Chris said half optimistic.

"There's one problem with that," Zade retorted. "The bridge leading to the other side of the cliff is destroyed. And even if we manage to get on the other side, charging toward them will be a big risk since they would prevent us from use it."

"That is why I brought you with me," Kamahl replied calmly. "I need that flaming teleport that you talked with Starlight to bring me on the other side of the cliff, right behind the enemy line, so that I can toss the crystal in the middle of their ranks and take them down."

What he said made the demonic ponies flinch, but also made them reflect. Chris and Sera were a little reluctant regarding that idea, having saw its explosive precedence. Even Jace was a little hesitant about that.

"You are seriously asking us to us Jace's flaming portal," Zade said. "Just to ambush Julius and his army, when they didn't expect."

"That is correct," Kamahl said with a half grin. "That is the only way that we have to put them into a hold. I know th-"

Kamahl didn't had the time to finish his sentence that the crystal suddenly disappeared from his root made hand. Before they could react to its disappearance, a luminous, black blur passed in front of the eyes of the demonic party and struck Kamahl, making him falling to the ground, with his axe flying away from his hand.

"Kamahl!" Zade shouted as he and the others rushed toward him.

Before they could get close to him, Zade perceived multiple presences raising from beneath him, getting closer to the surface. He was about to warn the others but it was too late.

In that point, multiple things emerged around them, raising through the ground. In a instant, Zade's group and Kamahl found themselves being blocked by about seventeen bronze armored unicorns, with mark of self-justified cruelty marking their faces.

"Now that is terribly ridiculous." Zade said nervously.

"Those bronze armored unicorns can travel underground!?" Jace demanded astounded. "Seriously!?"

"Let's seize them!" One of the bronze armored unicorn exclaimed as he glowed his horn and pointed it toward Zade's group, with the others following suit.

Upon seeing this, Zade and his companions were about counterattack. They were almost panicking for that ambush, except Sera, who simply pointed her hoof at the armored unicorns with calm fury.

The guards were about to unleash their magic when spectral, skeletal fists protruded from the ground beneath them, heavily hitting their stomach. They let out loud moans of pain, a moment before loosing their consciousness and collapsing to the ground, with their horns stopping their glowing. After having finished with them, the skeletal hands retreated inside the ground and disappeared.

Zade, Chris and Jace hesitantly turned toward Sera, being responsible for that. Her face was a very calmly yet intimidating one, but the crazed one that they saw being displayed by her during her psycho moments. Knowing that Sera was really fed-up with being unable to catch a real break since the beginning of this insanity, it wasn't a surprise for them if she gave the unicorns a real beat down, although she was actually holding back.

"Be happy that I'm not angered enough to make me want to reduce you into dust," Sera replied with calm anger. "Seriously, I have enough of any of you."

"... Even when you hold back, you still scary." Chris thought uncomfortably.

Jace took a step back from her, with his face contorting in pain like he felt almost sorry for his knocked out aggressors. "That... Was kind of brutal, actually."

"You want to join them?" Sera asked him, almost menacingly.

"Hell, no!" Jace muttered.

"Guys, we don't have time to fuck around." Zade reminded them as he pointed at Kamahl, who was laying nearby a tree. "We have to help him out!"

But before they could even get close to him, a sudden with explosion from nowhere struck them, hurling their bodies against the trees. The demonic ponies and Kamahl collapsed on the ground.

The world around them danced frantically, in the most confusing way possible. It like it had gone mad. But they soon realized that was the dizziness of being slammed to make this sick joke.

Battered and dazed, Zade was the first to react and tried to recover. Slowly rising in his legs, he felt his back hurting, but tried to ignore it. The first thing that he noticed were a few trees being destroyed by the explosion, having their upper parts being reduced into dust.

Before he could even ask what happened, he heard a few pained moans. Recognizing their voices, he turned toward the source and found his friends, who were laying on the grass, as battered as him.

"Guys, can you hear me?" Zade asked loudly, concerned. "Answer me!"

"Yeah... Sorta," Chris said with a weak tone as he slowly stood up, followed by Jace and Sera.

"I felt like being bombed or something," Sera muttered quietly. "What just happened!?"

"Yeah, what the hell was that!?" Jace screamed angered. "Did Julius just came here or something!?"

"No, it's not." Kamahl's voice said, getting their attention.

They turned to the source and became shocked to find a very beaten up Kamahl laying on the ground, a yard away from them. Zade opened his mouth to say something, but was then interrupted by a very arrogant voice echoing trough the forest.

"About time you got busted, Granite Hail!" The voice proclaimed.

Jace groaned frustrated. "Now what?"

"Its someone who is almost equally worse than Julius," Kamahl announced with an almost tired tone.

"Whoever he is... Is not alone," Zade warned, having perceived multiple presences around him. "There are others!"

True to his words, a multitude of black armored ponies, being alicorns, came from the behind the trees and gathered around them, blocking every possibility to escape. Zade and his friends became really nervous for the situation in which they are, feeling their panic lurking in their hearts.

As Zade and his companions studied them, they instantly noticed one of the alicorns holding the crystal. The only way that they had to save Starlight by the onslaught of Julius army was in the enemy's hand. Zade, Chris and Sera, doesn't know very much about what alicorns can do, which made his shock more justified.

"They seriously managed to take crystal before we could even realizing that?" Zade thought.

"And I thought that only Starlight can teleport items," Jace commented.

"Perfect..." Sera said sarcastically, before facehoofing in defeat. "We are screwed."

"This is the very first time I ever wanted the alicorns to get nerfed so badly," Jace complained quietly.

As that wasn't bad enough, a silver flash flashed in front of the demonic ponies and other four alicorns appeared, standing in between them and the injured marine-green stallion. They had the same multicolored stain-glass like wings and fang, but only two of them were wearing armors of different colors, in contrast to the other two wearing a black one.

One of them was a stallion with a sadistic face wearing a dark-red armor. The other one was a mare with a dark-green armor with a cold expression, yet grinning at them with pure malice like she was born with it.

The dark-red armored alicorn approached the black armored one holding the crystal and gestured him to leave. Getting the message, his subordinate flapped his wings and flew away with it. With that out of his way, the dark-red armored alicorn approached the battered Kamahl and looked down on him, staring gleefully at him with a glimpse of fury in his eyes. A grim smirk appeared in his face.

"Not so flawless now, huh," He mocked. "I mean, its a miracle. I never known that the day I would had finally caught you and crushed will be this one." His eyes went wide. "You had interfered with my job and humiliated me for the last time, Granite."

Kamahl lifted his head and glared back at him with a grin."Still arrogant and disgusting as always, Duskthorn Blaze. And you even brought Storm Hide with you."

"Better arrogant than hateful as you!" Duskthorn responded arrogantly before kicking Kamahl's head, causing him to moan in muted pain, and turning at the four demonic ponies, which sight instantly amused him. "Holy Twilegion... Ahahahahah, now this is funny, I never thought you are reduced to ask the help of those criminals."

"Great, as Julius alone wasn't hateful enough. " Jace whispered with a irritated tone. "Who the hell he think-"

"Silence!" The dark-green armored alicorn interrupted him harshly as she fired a stream of electricity from her horn. Literally shocked by it, Jace fell down, almost convulsing.

"JACE!" Sera shouted with horror.

"Such creatures like you has no right to speak." The dark-green armored unicorn said with zealous tone. "Left alone that to exist."

Sera glared at the mare, this time in serious yandere mode. "Excuse me?"

"Sera, don't do anything," Chris halted her. "We cannot possibly win against all of them."

Duskthorn walked toward the dark-green armored alicorn and then turned toward the battered and exhausted group with a cruel smile.

"So you tried to use this unstable crystal's power to stop Lord Fortem Virtue and our forces," The Duskthorn proclaimed arrogantly "The ponies who worked so hard to save this world... Good thing that its now under our custody. You and that hateful stallion over there should take not of this day. I will- ARGH!"

His sentence was put to a halt due to the dark-green armored alicorn shocking him with a minor electrical charge.

Duskthorn growled ferociously and then glared at the mare. "Storm Hide... What was THAT FOR!?"

"Capitain Duskthorn" Hide said coldly and impatiently. "Fortem Virtu doesn't accept that you waste your time pointlessly. You better hurry to carry out the execution of those creatures before they could escape."

"Always ruining my moments, eh, commander Storm Hide?!" Duskthorn muttered as he kicked Kamahl's head, knocking him out unconscious.

Without any indulge, Duskthorn and Hide walked away from Kamahl then turned their attention to the injured demonic ponies.

"Normally, I would had ordered my soldiers to destroy you with a mass attack." Duskthorn said calmly. "But this time... I'm going to deliver my justice with style!"

"Oh, really?" Sera said with a menacing tone as she glowed her horn with a dark violet aura.

Chris noticed that and realized what she was about to do. "Sera! Don't do it!"

"You won't have even the time!" Duskthorn said gleefully as he glowed his horn in a silver light, with jolts of lightnings and a black spire wrapping around it. "In the name of Harmony, YOU WILL BE PURGED!!"

But before Duskthorn could even do that, Zade suddenly felt another presence coming toward him. What followed was a chilling, spectral sound echoing through the forest, who startled the dark-armored alicorn, interrupting his channeling.

As the noise got closer, Zade and his companions slowly turned toward the source of that sound, only to find a enormous, flying black blur was coming toward them.

They didn't had the time to say anything that they were swallowed in its pure darkness and disappeared in front of the remaining horses.

Everything around them went dark and then went completely silent.

Yet they were still breathing.

Chapter 10: Demon Assault

The remaining ponies were struck with shock by what had occurred, not expecting that happening. Kamahl was the first to recover, silently leaning his root-like hand to the handle of his stone axe and dragging it toward him while keeping an eye on his aggressors.

The guard ponies of the Regime were left speechless, with Duskthorn becoming instantly furious for the demonic ponies escaping him.

"WHAT IN THE BLAZING TARTARUS JUST HAPPENED!?" Duskthorn screamed Incredulous.

"I-I don't know, Duskthorn," Hide stuttered incredulous, with her cold demeanor being partially shattered. "It was so fast that none of us could had saw that coming. Whatever that thing was couldn't had gone too far. We have to go after them."

"Well you better hurry! Killing them should be my job!"

"Whatever you said, narcissist."

As the guard alicorns were talking, Kamahl exploited their distraction to slowly get up and pointing his axe at them. The weapon glowed in a light-blue light. He was then surrounded in an azure vortex of flames that engulfed his enemies. The flames engulfed their bodies, yet they weren't devouring them their bodies, but were rather eating something else.

"Damn you... What have... You... Done?" Duskthorn asked with an angry but weak tone, feeling a sudden fatigue weighting on his back.

"This axe has the power to drain the magic and the energy from all of you." Kamahl explained coldly. "You were stupid enough to have thought to hold me in you grasp. "

The altered ponies felt their energy being drained away and collapsed on the grass like metallic statues. A few moments after that, the flaming vortex was then sucked back into Kamahl's axe, as if it was eaten alive. As the flames vanished, the light-blue glow of his weapon became even brighter.

"I never thought that I had to use this axe as an alternate plan," Kamahl said calmly but concerned. "I don't know where did that thing go with the demons, but I can't do anything for them in this moment. I have to hurry."

Without even looking at the fallen guards, Kamahl turned around and walked away from the scene, heading toward the forest. But unbeknownst to him, a debilitated and yet enraged Duskthorn forcefully lifted his head, pointing his horn at him, and charged it with his magic. Hide, seeing that, followed suit.

But before they could even unleash their magic, two sudden blasts of dark energy struck them, making them letting out a briefly scream in agony, a moment before loosing their consciousness.

Kamahl turned toward the source of the projectiles, only to find a quadrupedal figure walking toward him, thinking him to be responsible for that assault. The creature in front of him stopped a few inches away from the axe wielding stallion standing on his two legs.

The stranger appeared as a pony being completely covered by a dark-blue mantle. The only visible things were his legs, showing his pale-violet coat, and his mouth. He remained immobile, watching the marine-green stallion without showing any expressiveness. Kamahl couldn't see his eyes, but could feel a very alien sense of awe coming from him.

The mantled pony approached the incapacitated Kamahl and lifted his head upward. His own dreadful aura intensify, giving to the marine-green stallion a bad vibe. The stranger tilted his head, and after a moment, he spoke his condition.

"Now we are doing things my way."

---

Opening his eyes, Zade was greeted by a vertigo. That wasn't like he lost consciousness but he remembered to be engulfed by a veil of pure darkness, a few seconds ago. Nothing of what he had experienced made any sense. A legit question instantly made its way through his mouth.

"What the fuck was that?" Zade said with a dizzied tone as he slowly rose upon, with his companions following suit.

Feeling disoriented, they scanned their surrounding to find out where they are until they realized to not be where they were anymore. Like Zade, the other three recalled to be swallowed by a black blur. As they continued to look, they, until they some burnt trees.

Upon seeing that, they instantly recognized that place.

"No way," Zade said incredulous.

"Is that place what I think it is?" Chris asked dumbfounded, having a sense of deja vu.

"Yes, Chris," Zade confirmed, reluctantly. "This is the same point in which Jace brought us into during our escape from Neo Canterlot Castle."

"What!?" Jace muttered. "You are telling me that we ended up in the same place that we came from?"

"But more importantly," Sera cut in, creeped out. "What the heck was that black blur?"

"I don't know," Zade replied perplexed. "But whatever it was, he dragged us away from that ambush."

"Oh, now," Jace said horrified before turning at the path leading to the Everfree Forest. "Kamahl probably fell victim of those alicorn bastards. And Starlight won't probably make it."

Suddenly, bizarre sounds ranged from afar, coming from the depths of the Everfree Forest, but that didn't looked like the sound of a castle being crushed or that of the magic being unleashed. It sounded like roots coming out of the ground.

They looked at the path and saw a few trees in the distance moving forward. They went wide-eyed upon seeing this. Sera shook her head with a face marked by stupor.

"Are you seeing that too?" Sera asked incredulous.

"It's probably Kamahl's doing," Jace replied convinced.

"Seriously?" Sera said impressed. "Are you telling me that not only he survived but that he actually turning most of the trees of the entire forest into living beings?"

"Not just vines, flowers or trees, but even mountains, meadows and even swamps."

"..... He may be a hero, but that powers scares me like no other."

Looking at the horizon filled by the sounds of a very tremendous clash that seems to get closer, Zade could tell that things are going to get heavy. Although he and his companions were safe, the same couldn't be said for Starlight and the Insurgence. A grim warning thought wormed inside his mind, and at that point, Zade decided what to do.

"Guys, we have no time to fuck around," Zade warned. "We have to go back there."

"WHAT!?" Chris, Sera and Jace exclaimed at the unison.

"I know fully well that douche of a alicorn seized the crystal that Kamahl kept for his eventually," Zade pointed out, almost apologetically. "But right now, I have another plan regarding that,"

"But we are too far from them." Chris pointed out concerned.

"Dudes, did you had forgot that I have the Hell Gate?" Jace said confidently. "I mean, thi-"

Before Jace could even say anything else, a sudden female scream echoing from the forest. Saving their talk for later, they rushed inside to see what was and found a mare and a colt, both battered and unconscious, cornered by three alicorn Royal Guards.

As Zade was about to do something, Chris he felt a lingering sense of power being ignited inside of his. He didn't know what it was but that made him recall when Zade unleashed the wave of purple energy and when he talked about that feeling. He understood what he meant.

"Guys," Chris said, getting the attention of the other ponies. "Allow me to test my theory."

He stood two legged and looked at his three digit clawed hoof, as if he was concentrating. It started to change at a rapid pace, deforming itself into something grotesque and sharpened, resembling a huge sword. Chris charged that with a dark energy and slammed it against the ground. The impact unleashed a wave of destructive energy that traveled toward the abhorrent alicorns in his trajectory and hurled them out of its way.

After that, Chris reverted his sword into his clawed hoof and returned four legged. Expecting a reaction that he cannot avoid, he turned to his companions, who were just taken aback upon seeing that. More than that, Jace was outright astounded.

"What the FUCK!?" Jace exclaimed. "Is that... The SOUL EDGE!?"

"Don't exaggerate," Chris replied calmly as he change his sword back to his normal form. "Is just a cheap copy."

Not knowing what happened, the mother and her daughter exploited the alicorn's unconsciousness to escape. Seeing this, Zade felt even more motivated than he ever was. He know what that means.

"Guys," Zade called. "You know what that means right? We are going back."

"Again with this story? We are not prepared with our powers!" Chris pointed out.

"And yet we have no time for learning right know since our enemies could easily snug out that opportunity before we have the chance."

"Normally I will agree with you," Jace said. "But this?"

"Exactly!" Sera added.

"I made up my mind about that," Zade insisted. "We started this story in the most brutal way possible without any valid tool, but we have this chance. There's no time for training. The only way to get through this story is fucking do it. So... What about it?"

Chris, Sera and Jace were a little more worried about the words coming from him but as they were reflecting about the situation and what he said, the couldn't help but smile.

"You wanted us being involved so badly, right?" Sera asked deviously.

"Hey, I just learned about my powers but I will do my best," Chris said.

"Hell yeah!!" Jace declared.

Zade exuded determination from himself. "We are ready."

---

The battlefield nearby the Castle of the Two Sisters was filled with fallen electric pegasi and huge metallic ponies, broken living trents and other defeated ponies. The castle was almost destroyed but were no causalities. The only remaining ones standing were the alicorn Royal Guards, surrounding a very injured Kamahl, Julius and the mysterious cloaked pony.

Julius ignored Kamahl and focused his gaze at the mysterious pony with a seething frustration. There's no word at first but then Julius spoke.

"Why you never stop interfering with my plan, you damn relative of mine?" Julius demanded.

"R-relatives?" Kamahl demanded weakly.

"Enough of this!" Julius roared. "KILL TH-"

Before the order was going to be delivered, the hell gate suddenly appeared in a columns of flames. Kamahl looked surprised and Julius became just a little bit irritated. As for the mysterious pony, he disappeared in the darkness under the eyes of Twilegion's general.

The fire column slowly dissipated, revealing Zade, Chris, Sera and Jace being filled with newfound determination. No fear, no doubt and no hesitation. There's only their own counter revenge for what their pursuers had put them through.

"And most of all, no fucks to give." Jace proclaimed.

Sera glared. "Was that even needed?"

"We better save it for later, I mean, we have still all of those alicorns and Julius to deal with," Chris pointed out.

"Idiots! Get out of there!" Kamahl shouted.

"Too late for that," Julius retorted.

"Yeah, they will regret this," One alicorn Royal Guard said.

"And how," Another one said.

"LET'S GET THEM!" Zade exclaimed.

Chapter 11: Desperate Rush

In the secret reading room of the Castle of Two Sister

"Starlight, came here! Something is going on outside!" Riptide said.

"The whole destruction was stopped. What happened?" Starlight asked.

"Just watch." Thorax said.

The three ponies looked outside the windows and became baffled to see both the result of Kamahl's half failed attempt to put Julius to an hold and the intervention the Zade's group was about to put in action. It didn't took much to her to see what was going to happen. She wanted to gain time for the mass teleport but she has serious doubt about this direct confrontation.

"Yep. It's going to happen," Chrysalis said, entering the room.

"Oh, please, somepony tell me that it's not going to be a disaster," Starlight prayed.

---

Outside the castle, the alicorn Royal Guards rushed toward their enemies with pure furor. Julius just remained still to see what happens. As the alicorn got closer, the four demonic ponies started to act as Zade stood two legged.

"REPPUKEN!" Zade shouted launching a purple wave of energy that sent three alicorns flying around.

Another one was diving from behind him in a surprise attack, only for Zade to resposte throwing him in air and slamming ion the ground. Seeing multiple bronze armored unicorns and other alicorns coming toward him, Zade raised his arms.

"THUNDER RAITEJIN!!" Zade screamed as he slammed his hooves on the grass, causing a series of lightnings falling down from above, hitting all of the targets.

Sera levitates in the air and summoned a legion of skeletal monstrous ghost keeping the alicorns busy as she charged a dark violet meteor and released it in all it's tremendous power, overwhelming most of the alicorn Royal Guards, obsidian armored pegasi and the huge metallic ponies that remained. Some of the alicorns tried to shoot her but Sera shielded herself with a skeletal conjectural barrier and let the three magatama triangles to take them down.

Chris turned his hoof into the Soul Edge and prepared for the incoming wave of other ponies of the Regime coming at him. As they got closer to him, Chris suddenly disappeared and reappeared behind them in a explosion that sent them flying, and almost burning some of them. Other guards rushed toward him, just in time for a surprise. Chris advanced toward them, creating two clones of himself. The guards stopped and lit their horns to organize a barrier, but the Soul Edges had proven to much to contain as Chris manages to cut through them and their armors with ease.

As for Jace, he stomped his hoof, causing bone cages to entrap a circle alicorn Royal Guards who tried to ambush him.

"My turn." Jace said proudly, a moment before breathing lighting on them, electrifying the hell out of them. "And now we are even!"

After their attacks, each member of the group shares the preoccupation that they had maybe gone overboard with them. The only thing that are sure are they didn't had killed them for real.

Kamahl facehoofed for their initiative since there are other ponies of the Regime who were ready to attack. Julius, however, ordered to stop as for confronting the four ponies personally.

"Oh, hey. Now he decided to drop out the balls." Jace commented.

Julius doesn't respond. He only smirked and gestured them to try.

"Not this time. I am not that stupid." Jace said.

"That's the plan," Zade said. "Let's overwhelm them with all that we have!"

Before they could do that, the gray pony lifted his hoof upward. They end up being blasted into the air by gray energy pyroclasms erupting from the floor below them. The four ponies collapsed to the floor, exhausted and looking badly beaten, once again.

"GAH! Such a cheap move! Fuck off, Julius!" Jace lamented.

"We have least reasons to complain now," Sera pointed out.

"We are fucked," Zade said.

"But at least we tried." Chris added.

"And failed." Julius said crudely.

Julius and what remains of all the army of ponies gathered around the four ponies and Kamahl. This time it look like the execution was in the air. Zade and his friends could only close their eyes.

"My men!" Julius hissed. "Prepared your horns and electricity. We are going to finish them." He pointed at Jace. "Except for him."

"What?" Jace flinched.

"Prepar-"

Without any warning, a sudden pillar of light erupted from beneath them and the castle, illuminating the area in a blinding light. The column started to diminish with the pass of the seconds until it disappeared, leaving only Julius and his army being struck in bafflement and surprise.

Julius itself was astonished, but didn't took much time to see what happened, even if he didn't know how.

"Sir... It seems like the mass teleport had been delivered." One of the alicorn Royal Guards said.

"......... Bastard." Julius murmured angered. "That was part of your interference." He then stomped his hoof and screamed upwards. "WHOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!".

---

Not knowing what happened, Zade and his companions opened their eyes and found themselves involved in a surprise. They weren't on the field of the castle anymore. They were inside something that resembles a cage made of a fuse in between emerald, marble and crystals. There's no one outside themselves.

"Ok, now I am confused. What the hell just happened?" Zade asked.

"I think that was the mass teleport's work," Chris said.

"But I thought only you in the castle were the ones to be teleported," Sera pointed out.

"Who cares! We're safe now! We outlucked that douche!" Jace said.

"..... We are in a cage, know." Zade pointed out.

"And for the sake of the appearance," Starlight said as she stepped inside the room with Thorax and Jeska.

"Can you please explain what happened with the mass teleport?" Jace demanded.

"Someone empowered the teleport," Jeska said sternly.

"Who?" Chris asked.

"A mysterious figure my brother Kamahl encounter long the way," Jeska said. "He even helped them to keep Julius in check."

"Seriously!?" Jace asked. "Someone should give him a medal."

"We will talk about him later," Starlight said. "Now let me explain. You were in this place while our refugees are in a much larger cave far away from them. They didn't even know you were there."

"I see," Zade supposed. "That mysterious figure had predicted our arrival at the gates of the castle?"

"Why Julius was deciding to spare my life?" Jace thought.

"We have no time to waste," Thorax said.

"I know, there is the question of the nullifying shards to gather." Starlight remarked and sighed. "Let's call in Chrysalis."

---

Some minutes later, Chrysalis stepped in, still in a foul mood for being turned into a earth pony without any power. Not that Zade and the others cared at that point. She knew why she was there.

"The shards, right?" Chrysalis demanded deviously. "They are actually in a old vault located in a very far region of my kingdom. It's difficult to reach. It act as my secret treasury."

"Really...." Jeska said with sarcasm.

"And I suppose you have to guide us." Sera said.

"You have forgot? You need my help." Chrysalis reminded.

"If only we have a internal map of the place," Jace lamented.

"What?" Chrysalis asked confused.

"That's the plan," Jace said. "Since we cannot afford having our enemies following us, we teleport inside the vault, take the shards, teleport back, take a pint and wait for this to-"

"NO! There's only one way to enter the cave," Starlight stressed out. "Teleports doesn't work in that way and no, it's no time for a Shawn of the Dead reference!"

Sera glared at Jace and slapped him twice. "Congratulation, now you have also filled her with fuck."

"In fact we have to enter inside the cave at foot," Chrysalis precised. "And as I said you have to follow me. After all we have a deal, Starlight."

"WHAT!?" Zade and company exclaimed.

"Allow me to explain the part with Chrysalis." Starlight said.

"And how," Jace said, still shocked by what he heard from her. "I know that you want to have the instrument that you need to save Twilight, but I had to ask you. What the hell you were thinking?"

"When we were searching for Chrysalis," Starlight explained. "She appeared out of her own free will and made her own proposal."

"What proposal?" Zade asked.

"Chrysalis knew exactly what I wanted," Starlight affirmed. "She proposed me her help to gather what I need to stop Twilegion if I had then helped her to gave back her real form and her powers. But believe me, I had refused at first, but then Chrysalis putted herself nearby a cliff and menaced to kill herself to take the secret in the grave with her."

"You are kidding me, right?" Zade said, disturbed.

"That demon knows how to twist a knife in the right way," Kamahl said with disdain. "Even in this blackmail there was power."

"What a bitch," Jace muttered scornfully.

"It doesn't matter," Zade said. "We had to help even her anyway." He paused. "Starlight, remember that we are doing this just because we have to find a way to go back home and we can do by either you helping us in doing so or at least find Virum and convince him to doing that, with a polite talk or just beating his ass if he tried to escape."

Chrysalis raised a eyebrow. "Wait, what?"

"Did I heard correctly? You came from another world?" Thorax asked

"Is true Thorax, I saw that by myself when I was possessed by Jace," Starlight assured and then turned to Zade. "I also saw this Virum. He looked pretty strong."

Zade paused for a moment, having recalled what Virum can do. "Now that I think about, we shouldn't underestimate him."

"Who or what is this Virum?" Chrysalis asked.

"Is that desplacing prick who thrown us in Equestria, in this form, to begin with," Jace said irritated but then awfully realized something. "Wait, why the hell I'm even telling that to you?"

"If you don't even know it." Chrysalis countered without even bothering to give any appropriate response.

"Tsk... Typical of a queen douche," Jace whispered.

"We have no time for fighting," Kamahl said as he entered the room. "I have also something to take in the vault. Something that I had buried a few weeks ago."

Chrysalis blinked. "WHAT!?"

"I have a plan... But first, we have to carry on the current one."

Chapter 12: The Vault

In the middle of a forest far away from the frontiers of the Regime, Starlight reappeared with Zade's group, Kamahl, Jeska, Thorax and Chrysalis in a flash of white light. In front of them there was the edge of the road leading to a kingdom far away from them, now being nothing more than a sea of destroyed obsidian buildings. The four ponie were both amazed and mortified at the same time to see it.

"That's the place," Kamahl said.

"I knew that Twilegion had done so much damage to Chrysalis," Jace said. "But this?!"

"It used to be my kingdom," Chrysalis lamented. "Twilegion Spadeus destroyed it during the Inquisition. I swear, if I have my powers-"

"You have no right talk in that way," Jeska interrupted.

"That's right, bitch," Jace butted in. "Twilight has done this because of Julius and the shenanigans of the Mirari, but the only one to blame for have kickstart this is nothing but yourself. Go it... Memorized?"

"Hmph!" Chrysalis looked on the otherside.

"No blame train here," Sera said with an almost psycho expression. "We have a work to do and I prefer having done as soon as possible."

"Let's move on," Zade said.

The group continued to wander around the ruins of the kingdom. Chrysalis looked around in a symptom of a memory lane and didn't mind Jace's scorn so much. After a few minutes of walk, they stopped. Kamahl indicates a huge cylindrical like structure.

"That's the vault the demon talked about," Kamahl said.

"Can you cut it out with the term demon?" Chrysalis complained.

The group followed suit, but then they stopped and hidden themselves behind a rock upon noticing three alicorn Royal Guards surveying the place.

"Damn it," Zade said

"Oh, shit." Jace whispered.

"I can't believe Fortem Virtu is sending us to block the entrance of this vault." A male voice said.

"I mean, c'mon. We didn't even get to beat up some rebel." Another male voice said.

"Enough whining. I hope you had forgot that Fortem's order is also Twilegion's." A third voice retorted, being a female one.

"That's not good," Chris whispered.

Sera rolled her eyes and sent her three magatamas against the three, electrifying them and knock them down. Sera then turned toward the dumbfounded group.

"Can we continue?" She asked.

Without any word, they entered inside, accompanied by quiet and tranquility, something that they doesn't like a little bit. In the vault, they discovered everything. Jewelry, magical artifacts and other mystical item. A thought traversed Zade mind.

"Wait a minute. Why Twilegion didn't had destroyed this place?" Zade asked.

"It was made indestructible by a magic of my own," Jeska informed.

"But why three guards?" Sera demanded.

"Less question, more walking. We have an artifact to pick up." Chrysalis pointed out.

"We don't take orders from you, you know," Zade said sternly.

Continuing further the obsidian maze, they began to see a light at the very end of it. Starlight beamed a little bit of hope, knowing that what she was looking for was there. That must be there.

"Follow me?" Starlight said as she galloped toward the light, followed by the others.

Fast as they can, they entered inside a very huge ball room with a big table at in the center. On the table there are obsidian circular shards forming a disk.

"This is it!" Starlight exulted.

"What are we waiting for, let's just go for it," Jace proposed

Everypony ran toward the table when suddenly a blinding dark-violet light flashed for moment as Twilegion appeared in front them, taking them by surprise.

"You were searching for these, pitiful creature?" Twilegion said cruelly.

Twilegion charged her magic and shot a multicolored beam of violet, white and black light that destroys the entire table and the shards.

"NO!" Starlight shouted in horror.

"That's not good," Kamahl commented.

"And now we go at the starting point," Zade said.

"You think I didn't know about your plan to seal me away?" Twilegion asked. "I should thank this noble pony at my left."

Twilegion glowed her horn and a pony in a night guard armor appeared being none other than Starlight's ally.

"Hi, there," Riptide said gleefully.

Starlight expression contorted in anger. "Riptide... How COULD YOU!?"

"You demented piece of shit!!" Jace shouted.

"I don't even know him yet and I already want to smash him," Chris said.

"You will not do anything," Twilegion declared. "You have done enough damage to my cause, so it's my turn destroying your hopes."

"CAUSE!?" Jace bellowed. "You cause should be protect your ponies, not oppressing them!"

"But they were really grateful? They were actually in harmony with each others?" Twilegion face became a almost furious one as she stomped her hoof on the ground and emitted a loud metallic sound while retaining a calm and yet angered one. "No. Their inner desires whined, complained and forced them act against Harmony itself."

"And, if I permit, I had the honor to inform the entire Front of the Lost Harmony about your collaboration with those demons, and now they are under my command."

Starlight looked horrified. "No."

"That's not good," Sera said with a grave tone.

"Now everybody will know Starlight involvement with us!" Jace said. "And I bet that you will command them!

"Or to be correct, I will be under Julius." Riptide added. "Some of them surrendered to our cause and some other ones are even purified."

"Enough talk," Twilegion said. "Time for your punishment!!"

Suddenly, a black vortex under Zade's entire group appeared under their feet and suck them inside of it.

"Oh, nonono. Too easy for her," Riptide said as he glowed his horn and dragged Starlight away with him. "She will go with us."

"STARLIGHT, NO!" Thorax screamed.

"CURSE YOU, TWILEGION!" Chrysalis screamed.

"OH, CRAP!" Sera exclaimed.

"DAMMIIIIIIT!" Zade said as he and the whole group fell in the darkness.

---

Opening his eyes, Zade was greeted by a vertigo. That wasn't like he lost consciousness but he remembered to be engulfed by a veil of pure darkness, a few seconds ago. Such thing invoked a sense of deja vu to the ponies of the group that began to rose up, slowly.

"Ok, I'm starting to get tired of surprises," Zade lamented, until he remembered something. "STARLIGHT!"

"They take her with them," Chris affirmed.

"And we couldn't do anything to help her," Thorax said mortified.

Jace stomped his hoof furiously. "FUCK THIIIIIIS!... It's unfair."

"I know it is," Sera said. "But we got played at this point."

"Or rather we played her," Kamahl said.

Everyone except Jeska and Kamahl exclaimed. "What do you mean with that?"

"Look at this. We are in the lowest floor of the vault," Kamahl indicated a sword put through the wall. "And this is the thing that I was looking for."

"This.... sword?" Chrysalis demanded confused.

"Wait." Jace paused. "ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!?"

The sword was a very large one, having a huge sphere being attached to it's hilt, used as a pummel. There's no doubt about that sphere. That sight gave it a very reasonable reaction.

"IS THAT THE MIRARI!?" Zade, Chris, Sera, Jace and Chrysalis screamed.

"Seriously?" Thorax.

"To be correct, is currently the Mirari Sword and the thing Julius was looking for," Jeska informed.

"Wait... You want kill Twilegion with it!?" Jace asked angered but then calmed down. "Or rather divide the ponies who were being fused into Twilegion."

"That was the main plan but now Julius has Starlight to lure us through a execution or purification," Kamahl said.

"You know what? That's the plan," Zade said.

"What... Plan?" Kamahl asked sternly.

"Simple. Elude the thing to save Starlight, purifying the bad guy and return home." Zade said.

"That won't be a easy task," Kamahl retorted. "Follow me. I will guide you to the exit."

"I hope you know what you are doing, kid," Chrysalis said to Zade.

"Yeah... Sometimes even I demand this to myself."
"

Chapter 13: The Uprising

"Wait a second, did you really expect to storm inside Neo Canterlot unnoticed?" Thorax said.

"Not with my teleport, of course." Jace responded.

"There's only way we can enter the city," Kamahl pointed out.

"Really?" Sera asked.

"There's someone, a pony, who knows how to introduce ourselves in the lion's liar. Follow me."

After that, the group traveled all the way back to the forest where they came from. Kamahl and Jeska explained the group about the Mirari Sword and how they intended to save Starlight. Zade, however, has other thoughts about what happened so far.

"What the hell was that dark force that constantly aiding us?. First, we got saved by two alicorn Royal Guard captains and now we got saved by Twilegion. The more I think about it and the more I'm convinced that there's a hidden ally."

"But more importantly, Chrysalis, should Twilegion not be able to teleport at the vault?" Jace asked suspicious.

"It's seemed like her powers made her immune to the barrier blocking powers," Chrysalis said.

"It doesn't matter," Zade said. "At this point we act with order, starting by find the guy Kamahl mentioned"

"His name is Daring Serpent." Kamahl said.

"Not a parent of Daring Do I assume," Jace said before being glared by Sera.

"Nobody even knows his existence and I know his whereabouts."

"But we have a huge problem, if you permit," Chris asked. "Where did you had obtained the Mirari?"

"I stole that from him during a failed rebellion and the destruction of Appleloosa," Kamahl said.

Jace's eyes widened. "Even Appleloosa...?"

"Julius is acting under Twilegion's aegis, but is currently after the Mirari."

"And you are now bringing to us a very dangerous item, the same cause of the problem, as the solution." Zade said.

"Are you sure that we are not going to be corrupted by that?" Jace asked alarmed.

"I know what to do. I won't make the same mistake as I did. Nor even you. It's a promise." Kamahl said.

"We better hurry. I tell you how to reach his place." Jeska said calmly.

---

In one of the rooms of Neo Canterlot Castle, Twilegion was absent, leaving only Julius and Riptide. The former was reporting about the capture of Starlight Glimmer and the change of side or capture of multiple member of her Insurgence caused by the revelation of Zade and the other three demonic ponies cooperating with her, who got save by some mysterious force. Julius, seemingly least interested by that but nonetheless irritated by Zade's group escape, didn't seemed satisfied as he slammed the Night Guard on the floor.

"What do you mean with you didn't had found anything else in the vault?" Julius asked.

"I am sorry," Riptide said apologetically "But that's it. There was no other room. I have my soldiers having inspected the vault and there was no secret room."

"You idiot! You..." Julius stopped having realized something and then slammed his hoof furiously while screaming. "So that was what Kamahl was after."

"What are... Referring to?" Riptide said confused.

"I wasn't talking to you." Julius said with a demonic voice, scaring the hell out of the guard. "Now get out of my sight without saying anything or I will destroy you."

"Y-yes sire." Riptide said before instantly standing up and fleeing away.

Now alone with himself, he put his hoof on his face. He trembled, like he was losing the control of himself for a moment. After a few attempts, he regained her composure.

"It's just getting worse," Julius commented. "Especially with him interfering with my experiment and Kamahl having the Mirari Sword on his side. Hopefully I have a solution to this."

"Fortem. There's Starlight." A voice from behind him said.

"Let her in, but leave us alone." Julius said, with the sound of hoofsteps getting far away from him.

Julius turned to a furious Starlight, now chained and with her horn bound to a magical blocking ring, glaring at him. Julius didn't felt anything.

"So you finally failed," Julius said.

"You lied to Twilight. You turned my friends into that monster. You started a era of fear," Starlight bellowed. "WHY!?"

Julius grinned. "Do you think I care about this? Did you had considered that it's not about Harmony or Order in the first place?"

"It's all about you, isn't it?"

"No, it's something that I wanted to perform. An experiment if you want to call that. Now, I would had killed you this instant. But there's a problem... Kamahl has something that belongs to me and you are going to help me."

"I won't cooperate with you."

"This isn't needed. I will start your execution just lure them out and give them the coup the grace." Julius said gleefully.

"But what are you exactly after?"

"Something that Kamahl stole from me. I am talking about the Mirari."

Starlight eyes widened. "Kamahl has the Mirari?"

"He didn't had told you? He stole that during the destruction of Appleloosa and kept it for himself for this whole time in the vault without telling that to any one else."

"YOU LIE!!"

"Really? You should had considered that he would had used as a secret weapon... But seriously, you still trust him."

Starlight trembled and then fell on her hooves. She shook her head for the shock. She wouldn't even believe at something like that and doesn't even know what to believe.

Julius passed nearby Starlight and then went out the room. "Well, I pass my torch to your friend. Take your time."

As he went out, Twilegion Spadeus entered the room. Starlight turned toward her and look at the amalgam that used to be Twilight and the rest of her friend. And she was afraid, very afraid about what she was about to do. And she knew her words wouldn't reach her.

---

At the base of Neo Canterlot Mountain, nearby a unsettling swamp, a huge pillar of black flames suddenly appeared, bursting in a black fiery explosion. One second after that, the four, demonic ponies appeared out of nowhere in front of the wall of the mountain, along with Kamahl, Jeska, Chrysalis and Thorax.

This time nothing was devastated during their teleportation.

"Nothing is devastated, hopefully," Sera commented.

"I don't think this is the moment for that detail," Chris said.

"This place is below the city... Why we are there?" Thorax asked.

Kamahl took a few steps toward the wall. "Serpent! I thought we have a deal."

At first there's no response, until a hoof sprouted out of the grass, followed by another one. And then a entire pony body went out the grass. Zade, Jace, Chris and Sera almost freaked out. The creature was a hooded beige maned green unicorn stallion with serpentine eyes and were looking at Kamahl with annoyance.

"You must be in real trouble to ask my help," The pony said, approaching him and Jeska.

"For a second I believed to be in The Walking Dead," Jace commented.

"Or trotting," Sera commented deadpan.

The pony noticed them. "Wait, who are those ponies!?"

"My own insurance of victory, Serpent," Kamahl said. "Now you better get me into the lion's lair."

"Ooooh, you want to go to the extreme assault?" Serpent asked gleefully.

"Don't make me repeat myself."

"..... Alright, follow me. But I tell you now. I don't trust that lot."

"Hey!" Jace complained.

"You put me in the same league with them?" Chrysalis lamented.

"You better be quiet and follow him," Jeska suggested.

The group followed Serpent around the wall of the mountain for minutes. After a while they finally arrived nearby a huge hole covered by multiple vines. Slowly, they entered inside the darkness of the caverns, accompanied by the light of Serpent.

"This way," Serpent said. "We are going to get higher for about one hour. Don't try anything that would compromise the passage or our cover. Understood?"

"I wonder what if Starlight is still alive?" Zade asked.

"Julius wants lure us for the Mirari, so of course she is." Kamahl said.

"And you have hidden her existence for this whole time," Chrysalis reminded.

"We have our reasons," Jeska retorted.

"I expect to came out of this whole thing alive." Sera said.

"Depend of how the situation will evolve." Kamahl responded.

Chapter 14: The Very Scary Rescue

Following Serpent through the caverns, the group arrived in what seemed to be a underground gallery. Multiple voices could be heard from above their heads. The knew to be under the city itself. Zade and his group were recalling the memories of the grim structures that composes the city as they pressed on. Kamahl and Jeska remained impassive while Thorax and Chrysalis were a little bit nervous.

"I perceive multiple presences above us. Starlight's included." Zade said. "So that must be a plaza."

"I wonder how many SWAT styled and heavy this security will be." Jace remarked.

"Starlight is going to be either executed or, worse, purified." Kamahl reminded.

"And nobody is going to protest?" Sera asked.

"The city is purely composed by purified ponies and are eager for whatever spectacle is going to begin." Kamahl crudely responded.

"They had their individuality being sacrificed, remember?" Chrysalis remarked.

"My job ends here," Serpent said, turning around and leaving the group. "May you survive your own crazy expedition."

"Tsk, coward." Jace said. "I would had said that, but there's nothing much he can do."

"How much serious this situation can get?" Chris asked.

"Let's find out," Zade said with anticipation while looking upward.

There was a stairway leading to a trapdoor. They headed toward it and peered from behind to see what lies beyond it. It was obvious that door was leading to the plaza, but Zade and his companions were expecting a very creepy sight. Starlight was there, strapped on a wooden stake, crucified, along with other three ponies. And below her there was Duskthorn, multiple alicorn Royal Guards and a whole crowd of silver maned golden ponies, each one different and the same at the same time, acting almost like a single entity and eager to start the punishment of the mare.

"Damn, look at those ponies," Jace said creeped out. "Are telling me-"

"Yes, they are the ponies that Twilegion had purified during the inquisition." Zade confirmed.

"How the hell can we save Starlight with all this security and this whole set of witnesses?" Jace demanded.

"We don't have so much time to waste." Jeska said.

"Starlight..." Thorax murmured sadly.

"I'm almost okay with this, honestly," Chrysalis said.

"You want to be dead?" Sera said, almost in psycho mode.

"Guys," Chris said. "I have a idea."

---

The ponies in the plaza gave their attention to Duskthorn, who didn't made them wait and gave them a proper presentation of what was going to happen to his prisoners.

"Those ponies," Duskthorn began. "And their Insurgence had waged war against us and disrupted our perfect Harmony for years. But now, this despicable quest of their own it's going to be finally put to an end. They didn't deserve to die, however. Instead they are going to be purified. Starlight in particular was once a friends of our ruler, so may Twilegion have mercy for her wretched, infamous soul!"

The crowd roared in both joy and sadistic glee, something very twisted for the so called harmony they were representing this much. Duskthorn smiled sadistically with anticipation.

"Do you want perhaps forgive them for their rebellious actions?" Duskthorn demanded.

"NOOOOOO!" The crowd roared.

"Then let's give them what really-"

Suddenly, a black explosion happened upon one of the crystal infested metallic building nearby the plaza and Chris appeared upon it. Duskthorn, his guards and the crowd looked at him in confusion. Chris looked down with a serious expression, a moment before smirking.

"You are one of the demons who had escaped my wrath!!" Duskthorn roared.

Without any warning, Chris body became engulfed in a black mist and began to change. His pony form was being transformed into a hulking and monstrous one, with the Soul Edge being fused with his right arm, two powerful wings, giant claws, a lipless mouth with long teeth shown and its eyes are a beady yellow. Armed with this terrifying form, Chris roared
ferociously, causing the crowd to scatter around the plaza in panic. Starlight and the other prisoners were just speechless.

Duskthorn and his subordinates looked intimidated by them, but then mustered their determination and charged their horns. His horn glowed with black lightnings.

"BURN THAT DEMON!" Duskthorn ordered as he and the other guards shoots.

Chris flew away, avoiding their magical beams, and charged his mouth. Before Duskthorn will trying anything again, Chris shot a laser beam at them. They jumped away from it's trajectory as the ray was razing in it's trajectory.

---

With the plaza being almost emptied and the monsterized Chris causing some real mayhem, Zade and his group opened the trapdoor and watched the scene with a justified shock in their faces.

"Your friend is full of surprises." Kamahl commented.

"Did he literally became Night Terror?" Sera asked creeped out.

"Show them the fury of SNK Boss Syndrome!!" Jace exulted.

"Quiet! Let's just set Starlight free first." Zade commanded.

---

Chris continued his flying laser shooting tactic, with Duskthorn avoiding his attacks and the guards being overwhelmed by it. Duskthorn exchanged some blows without being able to hit the other.

As they continued to fight, a pillar of fire appeared in front of Starlight and Zade, Sera, Jace, Kamahl and the rest of the group appeared. Starlight beamed with a bit of hope, but contorted with preoccupation.

"Guys! You shouldn't had come here! It's a trap!" Starlight said.

"I know," Zade said. "But we came anyway, so who fucking cares."

"Let me do the job," Sera said as her magatamas flew toward the stakes, cutting down the restrictions and set Starlight and her companions free, but also causing them to fall.

Starlight glowed her horn and made herself and his companions descend down to the ground gracefully. Duskthorn noticed that.

"They are trying to escape! Get them-" That was what Duskthorn said before being tackled by Chris and being slammed against the wall.

Jace, to put some advantage, stomped his hoof down, causing Duskthorn and the other alicorn Royal Guards to be trapped in cages made of bones. Jace then looked at Chris, who was still flying.

"Chris! That was fantastic!" Jace exulted.

Unfortunately, Chris realized that was flying, something that he did without thinking, and his vertigo kicked in, causing him
to fall toward the ground.

"Oh, fuck no." Zade said, rushing toward him.

"Here we go again." Sera said in annoyance,

Starlight glowed her horn and made Chris levitate at a meter above the ground. As he was put down, Chris' form began to change again and returned into his pony like metallic one. Jeska, who was scanning the surrounding, she spotted a flock of other alicorn Royal Guards coming down, leaded by Stormhide.

"We have no time to waste!" Jeskai said. "Zade, Kamahl. Let's regroup."

"And get out of there." Jace said with anticipation.

"Fair enough." Sera said in a gleeful psycho mode. "Allow me to give them some distraction."

Sera unleashed a legion of flying skeletal ghosts that flew ferociously toward Stormhide and her flock of alicorns. Although her group was overwhelmed, Stormhide managed to survive the encounter and shot a beam of devastating energy toward Zade's group. Sera, in response, put herself in front of it and creates a construct of spectral energy around her that deflects the blow.

"Guys, the citizen may have been purified but they are still victims," Starlight reminded.

"We didn't had planned to kill them anyway," Sera said in a normal tone.

"Guys, gather around me!" Jace said.

The group gathered around the flaming demonic pony, who began to emit a coil of flames that soon became a pillar flames that wrapped their bodies.

"NO!" Stormhide shout, shooting another beam at the pillar, but it was too late as the pillar disappeared, leaving nothing on it's passage. "They had escaped again. Soldiers! You better go in search for those disrupters! They couldn't had leaved the city!"

---

But unbeknownst to them, a pillar of flames erupted in the treasury room and the Zade and his group reappeared right were their ordeal started.

Chapter 15: A Very Questionable Aid

"Wait a minute." Zade said. "But this is the treasury room where we first appeared!"

"Jace, you brought us even deeper in the lion's lair! What the hell!?" Sera bellowed.

"In this moment, the security was looking for us in the city," Jace said calmly. "They didn't had realized that we were here yet."

"I hope you were right, conceived imp." Chrysalis said

"Hey." Jace called out."

"Enough," Zade ordered. "We have no time to waste. We have a plan to carry out."

"Wait a minute," Starlight then turned to Kamahl. "You didn't had told me that you were in possess of the Mirari. How could you keep this matter hidden from me?"

"I know what you think." Kamahl replied. "But I learned to not fall under it's influence. Besides, there's a reason for that."

"Kamahl would use it with his sword to defuse Twilegion," Jace said.

Starlight froze. "R-really."

"Hey, but we have to keep up with the plan," Zade said. "Just follow me."

The group went out the treasury room and wandered throughout the maze of halls and corridors without encountering any obstacle or anypony in sight. They stopped in a hall with two exits and pondered about what to do. Kamahl, however, seemed to have a lucid idea.

"We are going to split up," Kamahl said.

"Huh?" Starlight, Chrysalis and Thorax looked confused.

"What!?" Zade, Chris, Sera and Jace exclaimed.

"Are you nuts?" Jace asked baffled.

"It's not this insane," Jeska said. "There's is the possibility that both the ways will eventually lead to the throne room."

"What is exactly your plan?" Zade asked.

"You are going to weaken Twilegion fair enough for us to hit her with the Mirari Sword." Kamahl said.

"I just hope that's not going to kill her." Starlight said doubtful.

"Trust me. That will work." Jace assured.

"As for me and Jeska, we both died once," Kamahl informed. "Besides, we are going to keep Chrysalis in check."

"Oh, come on!" Chrysalis bellowed.

"Any problem, demon?" Jeska asked coldly.

"... Nevermind." Chrysalis muttered.

"Well... Take care of yourselves." Chris said.

"Same for you," Thorax replied.

And so, Kamahl, Jeska, Chrysalis, Thorax and Starlight took the exit at their right while the demonic party took the right one. At this point they were alone. They advanced through a corridor adorned with Twilegion's emblem and various grim portraits. They reached a door at the end of it and stepped into hall full of alicorn Royal Guards, bronze armored unicorns and crystal hounds. They didn't took too long to notice their presence.

"The demons!" One of the alicorns said.

"How did they got there!?" Another one said.

"Who cares! Let's get them!" A bronze armored unicorn exclaimed.

The squad charged toward the group like a raging mob, preparing their magic to unleash against Zade's group. However, something happened in the middle of their ranks. A fiery dark explosion overwhelmed the entire squad. Guard ponies and crystal hounds were swallowed by it, like they were devoured.

As the flames ceased, the figure of the mysterious cloaked pony appeared, looking toward the door in front of him. Zade and his friends were baffled upon seeing this. That display of power gave them a chilling feeling about that.

"W-who is that guy?" Sera asked intimidated.

"He just single handily killed the entire squad," Chris said.

"Somebody tell me he's not in league with Julius," Jace muttered.

"I don't know, but we cannot be entirely sure of that," Zade said. "And yet I don't trust him a little bit."

They were about to approach him when he turned his head toward them, causing them to stop. He didn't nothing. The mysterious figure just looked at them, a moment before a black coil wrapped his body and made him dissolve into the nothingness.

"H-he disappeared!" Zade exclaimed.

"At a different way in which he appeared," Chris said.

"So... He's our ally?" Jace said.

"I don't know... But we can't remain here to figure that out," Zade said. "We have to proceed. Let's go."

The other three nodded and followed suit. They reached to door in front of them and stopped. They were hesitating, a reasonable response to what they were about to face. The same mighty danger that was hunted them down, Twilegion, was behind that door. They didn't even wanted to be there, but they had no choice but enter inside.

"We don't even know if we stand a chance against her," Zade said. "But it has to be done."

---

Kamahl's group was traversing a corridor full of portraits and jewelry. Starlight was praying for the things to take a better turn, although she can hardly consider the right moment for that. Chrysalis was constantly watched by Jeska and Thorax was just comforting Starlight.

"There's no time for praying," Kamahl said. "We have a plan to carry out."

"I know, but... Is just that I am so close to bring the things back to normal," Starlight replied. "And yet I don't trust your methods. I'm sorry."

"Oh, dear," Chrysalis murmured.

"You reaction is comprehensible," Kamahl replied calmly.

"This is what I cannot allow you to realize," An awfully familiar voice said.

The group looked at the source and found Julius being at the end of the corridor, wearing a mocking and yet nervous expression.

"Julius," Kamahl said coldly.

"Oh, no." Starlight said alarmed.

"That artifact is mine and you have no right to steal from me!" Julius remarked.

"This object is a danger for every living beings." Kamahl said. "This thing is the anathema that once almost destroyed Dominaria, remember?"

"That's none of your business! Give it back!" Julius roared.

"If you want it, then I will take on you as well," Starlight said furiously. "I have enough of you!"

"Same for me," Thorax said, turning into a huge dragon.

"Well... You ask for it." Julius said, being about to attack them, when a sudden black coil erupted in front of him and the mysterious cloaked pony appeared.

"You again?" Kamahl said.

"W-who is that pony?" Starlight asked.

But before somepony else will say anything, a black vortex formed beneath them and sucked them inside them. Their consciousness faded very quickly. Starlight was the last to lose her senses as she was being swallowed by that. The last thing that she heard was the mysterious pony and Julius clashing each other and Julius screaming.

"THEODORE!!!"

Chapter 16: Deadly Fight

"Let's do this." Zade said.

That was the signal. He and his companions bursted into the throne room, just in time to see Twilegion sending Riptide to fly toward them like a bullet. They moved away from the trajectory, leaving the Night Guard being slammed at the end of the corridor behind them, and returned their attention to their host.

"You really deserved that, you traitor," Jace murmured.

The throne room was structured with rows of obsidian columns and the floor made of emerald marble. Twilegion was in front of their eyes, sitting in a giant sword shaped throne made entirely of gold. Behind it there was a balcony facing the city and a dark azure sky. Twilegion glared at them with a bit of anger and expectation. Zade and his companions were intimidated by that, but maintained their calm as much as they can. Fear was not contemplated.

"My order was put into a state of chaos because of the Insurgence," Twilegion declared. "And was worsened even more by villains like you. Tell me, what do you expect to gain by helping my enemies? You weren't obviously thinking to use them to conquer my land this easily, i hope. If it's that so, then you were more delusional of than I have expected."

"We don't give a damn about your order," Zade said. "We just want to put a end to this mess and go back home."

"Ah, you really think you can defeat me?" Twilegion demanded sternly. "You are seriously thinking to crush the world that I have just saved from those like you?"

"My point is still standing," Jace said convinced. "I will not bow to any screwed up harmony, so fuck your authority!"

"Just because you know who I really am, doesn't mean that I am going easy on you, fire demon," Twilegion said. "Tell me. Was Starlight the one who told you about me?"

"It doesn't matter to us," Sera said. "Since you were hunting us down, we will kick your ass."

"You didn't give us much choices, you know?" Zade said frankly.

"You have talked far enough!" Twilegion declared as she charged her horn and shot a dark colored rainbow of energy on the four demonic ponies.

Zade and his companions dodged the blow and began their counterattack. Jace shots multiple lightnings from his mouth while Zade charged his hoof with a purple energy.

"REPPUKEN!" Zade shouted as he launched a wave of purple energy at Twilegion.

The empirical alicorn creates a barrier of magic energy that blocked their attacks. As Twilegion lowered her defenses, Sere hoovered in mid air and flew toward her. Before Twilegion could realize that, Sera already approached her and kicked her upwards with all her strength, sending the alicorn to fly upwards. Sera then proceeded to teleport in front of the flying ruler and kicked her again, sending her to fly again. She then teleported in front of her and kicked her again. Sera teleported one third time and dived down on Twilegion, dragging her to the ground before dismounting and attack her again.

The last hit was blocked by Twilegion blocking Sera with her magic.

"You vermin!" Twilegion roared before sending Sera to fly against the wall.

As Twilegion was about to rose up, Chris turned his hoof into the Soul Edged and slammed it on the floor, causing a wave of destructive energy that traveled toward her. The alicorn flapped her wings and hoovered in mid air, avoiding the wave that ended destroying one of the columns.

Twilegion charged her horn and unleashed multiple rays of energy that rained down on them with destructive impact.

"Move it!" Zade ordered as he, Jace and Chris rushed toward were Twilegion was, dribbling and avoiding being hit by the rays.

Sera took her time to recover from being slammed and summoned a legion of skeletal spectral behemots that rushed toward Twilegion. The alicorn turned shot a very devastating laser that razed the entire army of monsters. Twilegion then disappeared and reappeared in front of her.

"Oh, no." Zade said as he galloped toward the two.

"You are the first to meet the end." Twilegion said coldly to Sera.

Before Twilegion was about to give Sera the coup de grace, Zade reached the alicorn, rolled under her and raised his hooves upwards.

"RAGING STORM!" Zade shouted as he slammed his hooves on the floor, causing very powerful geysers of energy rising from below and around him that sent Twilegion flying away from Sera and made her fall on the ground.

Jace, Chris and Sera were greatly impressed by that display of power. Even Zade himself was left speechless. As for Twilegion, she was laying on the emerald floor, apparently unconscious. The four ponies slowly approached her but kept their distance from her.

"I can understand Sera emulating Izanami's Stake of Supremacy," Jace said. "But you just managed blast her away!"

"We did it?" Chris demanded.

"I don't think so." Zade responded.

Twilegion instantly opened her eyes and glared at them. The four ponies couldn't do anything that they found themselves being paralyzed by some unknown force.

"I... Can't... Move!" Sera said forcefully.

"What... Is it!?" Zade asked.

"It's... The stare." Jace suggested.

Exploiting their difficulty to move, Twilegion stood up and hoovered in the air to fly at full speed toward them, unleashing a Sonic Rainboom that blows them away while destroying part of the floor. Zade and his companions ended up rolling toward the entrance.

The alicorn then teleported above them, near to the ceiling, and charged her horn with a ominous energy, pointed at the group. Zade and his companions slowly stood up and observed Twilegion furiously looking at them as the glow of her horn became more menacing. At that, Zade knows what to do.

"Jace! The teleport!" Zade ordered.

But it was too late.

"THIS ENDS NOW!!" Twilegion exclaimed as she released her energy in a very gigantic beam that destroyed grand part of the throne room and overwhelmed them.

The beam steadily shrunk until it dissolved, leaving the aftermath of her attack to be saw. The throne room was almost reduced in a wreck and the four ponies were now laying on the floor, battered and, for a little extend, bleeding. They looked dilapidated and exhausted. Zade forcefully stood up while trying to resist to the pain and watched the scene in awe. His companions were gravely injured and Twilegion slowly descended triumphantly.

Zade won't even believe at what was happening. It was entranced and very afraid.

"Is this our end?" Zade demanded.

Just when Twilegion landed in front of him, a sudden voice inside him made his presence known without even asking any permission.

"No, there's another way."

Chapter 17: Arcane Intervention

In the aftermath of the fight occurred in the throne room, Twilegion stood victorious in front at the gravely injured four ponies. Chris, Jace and Sera were lying on the ground. Zade was the only one standing, watching the scene in awe. But what was occupying his mind wasn't just what Twilegion will do to him and his companions. It was the voice he heard before, which lead him to a legit question.

"What other way? Twilegion has definitively won." Zade thought.

"My dear villains," Twilegion declared. "That is the end of both your futile resistance and that of your pathetic Insurgence. You have thought that your little alliance would had a ghost of possibility to overthrow me, the symbol of perfect harmony.
But in the end you had failed. All of you" She approached Zade while charging her horn and smiling gleefully. "Any last words before I deliver your punishment?"

Zade remained speechless, feeling literally powerless in front of her. His companions had the same feeling. They were scared of what was going to happen, except Zade. He wasn't trembling in fear. He was distracted by something emerging from inside his being, being the same source of the voice from before. He couldn't understand what was happening until he got a mute answer from a new energy being born inside him. A new kind of determination filled him.

Zade lifted his head toward Twilegion. "We are not gonna get it, nutjob."

In that point, that energy erupted from his body in a burst of violet energy engulfing his body. Twilegion flinched, taken aback from what was happening. Chris, Jace and Sera were more confused than Twilegion.

"W-what is this power!?" Twilegion exclaimed.

"Zade!?" Sera said.

"Ehm.... Zade? What's going on?" Chris demanded worried.

"This doesn't look like any of the ability of Geese Howard that you had received!" Jace said. "This is different!"

"Neither I cannot explain this power flowing inside me," Zade said calmly to Twilegion. "Not that this could even make sense. But you know what? I don't care, because I am not done yet."

"You insolent FOOL!" Twilegion roared as she launched a beam of devastating energy.

The violet energy engulfed Zade raised his hoof and formed a shield around him and his friends. The beam was being sucked inside, as if it was nullified, much to Twilegion awed surprise.

"WHAT!?" Twilegion exclaimed.

"My turn," Zade channeled a very destructive energy into his hoof and then released it into a giant dark violet wave. "VIAEON REPPUKEN!!"

As the wave approached the alicorn, she formed a barrier around her to protect herself, but that was instantly smashed. Twilegion was hit by the blow and was sent to fly. She ended up being slammed against her own throne. Twilegion was full of bruises, her wings looked wrecked and her forehead was bleeding.

Zade turned his head toward his friend and tried to motivate them. "What are you waiting for? It's time to react."

"I would had disagreed with you, but at this point we have nothing else to lose." Sera said, forcefully standing up.

"That's our reversal," Chris said, following suit with Jace.

"Yeah! Let's get her!" Jace exclaimed.

While Twilegion slowly recovered from her injures, four ponies charged toward the empirical ruler and began their counterattack. Jack shot lightnings from his mouth, Chris unleashed a wave of destructive energy and Sera launched her dark violet meteor. As for Zade, he channeled the violet energy and formed a huge scythe that he used to attack.

Twilegion raised her shield with her magic, but that attempt was then negated by Zade's energy scythe cutting through, allowing the barrage of the other attacks overwhelming her. Twilegion was first electrocuted, then hit by the destructive wave and then was blasted by the meteor.

Black flames invaded the room and the throne was mostly destroyed. A coil of dust raised between Zade's group and their enemy. They couldn't see what happened to her since their vision was limited.

"It's not over yet." Zade said.

"I don't know where you got these new powers," Jace said. "But we should save her, not kill her. Remember?"

"....... Save me?" Twilegion's voice said mockingly. "How many time I heard that from Starlight Glimmer?"

Twilegion's figure came out from the fog of dust, flying upwards and looking furious and almost exhausted at the same time. Not wanting to be defeated, she charged her horn and was about to launch her attack when Kamahl suddenly appeared in mid air in front of her, wielding the Mirari Sword above his head.

Kamahl stabbed the sword inside Twilegion's chest, interrupting her charge and making her scream in pain. In that instant, a fiery explosion of light suddenly occurred. The four ponies shielded themselves behind Sera's skeletal barrier to avoid being overwhelmed.

But the light wasn't destructive. It was a warming one. The light steadily dissipates, revealing the scenario that was presented in front of them. Kamahl was standing unscratched and Twilegion was no more. Only nine ponies remains, being Celestia, Luna, Cadence, Twilight and the rest of the Elements of Harmony.

The purple energy that engulfed Zade diminished, disappearing into the nothingness. Zade and his companions, seeing that their plan worked, sighed in relief as Starlight Glimmer, Jeska, Chrysalis and Thorax arrived on the scene. Starlight was crying with tears of joy.

"TWILIGHT!" Starlight exclaimed, running toward one of the unconscious ponies.

"Finally, this mess it's over!" Jace exulted.

"Don't exult yet. We have to find Virum first." Sera stated. "And besides, we have to explain things to the ponies we have saved."

Twilight slowly opened her eyes, feeling groggy and dizzy. "S-Starlight?... W... What have I done?"

"It's ok, Twilight. I'ts all over." Starlight assured.

"No, it's not over. I... I have caused so much damage."

"Twilight..."

"Your not the only one that feel that way." Celestia said while waking up, followed by the others.

Zade was about to said something but their reunion was interrupted by an awfully familiar voice laughing from behind them.

"So you had survived and ruined part of my experiment, huh!?" The voice said, causing all of the ponies to turn toward the entrance, only to find a very exhausted and furious Julius looking mockingly at them.

"Julius." Zade said angrily.

"Y-You were the one who gave us the Mirari!" Twilight exclaimed.

"Give up already, you bastard!" Jace roared. "It's over!"

Hearing those words, Julius smirked as a sudden black aura wrapped around his body. Zade doesn't know why but they felt his power and presence growing more dangerous as usual.

"Guys, be careful!" Zade warned. "There's something going on with this guy!"

"What?" Sera said confused.

"I can feel that too." Celestia said alarmed.

"He's going to go all out." Kamahl commented.

"I will make you pay for that," Julius declared. "ALL OF YOU!"

Chapter 18: Mad Reveal

With Twilegion being finally defused, Zade's group, Starlight's group, the Mane Six and the three Princesses were faced by a very exhausted and yet persistent Julius, who was exuding a very tremendous black aura. They were in a very numeric advantage, and yet something about that aura was just wrong. That shouldn't be underestimated.

"I hope that having Celestia and the others on our side is enough." Jace said. "Just how much persistent he could be."

"I never felt that power when we first met him." Luna commented.

"I think you know what he's capable of." Sera said.

"We don't have time to waste!" Zade said. "Let's just attack him altogether until we can!"

Without wasting any time, they rushed toward the marble gray pony. The Princesses, Twilight, Rarity and Starlight were the first to charge their horns with their magic as they advance. Sera charged his dark meteor and Thorax turned into a dragon. Rainbow Dash surpassed the group and was about to approach him.

Julius, in response, unleashed an explosion of light around him that overwhelmed the whole group and repelled them away from him. They ended up crushing on the devastated floor and rolled for a few meters until they stopped. Thorax returned into his original form. Zade, like the others, slowly rose up and looked at the others.

"Are all right?" Zade asked.

"Since by then a villain cares about us?" Twilight retorted.

"Twilight, those four are not our enemies." Starlight said.

"Guys! What happened to Julius!?" Jace asked dumbfounded.

Zade and rest of the ponies turned toward Julius, only to find something different. Julius wasn't the rust maned marble gray pony anymore. He took the form of a red haired young boy in a spiked black armor. He approached Zade, towering him and his companions. Zade, Chris, Sera, Jace and Starlight were struck by astonishment, while the others were just confused.

"You were a human?" Zade asked dumbfounded.

"Surprised, Zade?" Julius said. "You can perceive the presence of the others but never expected me to be just like you. However, I have enough to talk with you. You angered me for the last time."

"Damn...Bastard." Jace muttered.

"Jace! Don't play hero in a moment like this!" Chris warned.

Julius turned toward Jace. "You will be the first to die."

Suddenly, a very blinding green light glowed behind him. Julius didn't had the time to turn that a magical beam of green energy struck him in the back. He almost stumbled but remained still and turned furiously toward the source. It was none other than Chrysalis, who had returned into his original changeling form.

"You had forgot about me, Fortem Virtu!" Chrysalis said triumphantly. "Although I should thank you for the amulet that had saved me from the Elements of Harmony, you had also putted into a mortal danger. I shall not forgive you for that!"

"What?" Celestia said, glaring at Julius.

"You were the one who gave that cursed amulet?" Cadence said angered.

"Say whatever you want, I- ARGH!" Julius suddenly felt a horrible headache and kept his hand on his forehead, as if he was trying to maintain his sanity. "Not now!"

"What's happening?" Chris asked.

"What the hay is he doing?" Applejack asked.

"What's wrong? That was too much for you?" Chrysalis mocked him.

Julius' black eyes turned into green ones and he fell silent. He then disappeared and reappeared in front of the changeling queen, gripping his neck and strangling her.

"Maybe that will be too much for you, you insipid piece of shit!" Julius said with a almost warped voice while tossing Chrysalis against the ground.

"Fortem Virtu!" Twilight shouted as she rose up and launched a beam of energy toward him.

Julius' eyes turned red as he deflected the blow with his own hand creating a invisible shield, much to Twilight surprise.

"Too slowly," Julius said with a cold voice.

"Did you see his eyes?" Starlight asked to Zade.

"It's not just that but his personality as well." Zade said.

"Is he a case of multiple personalities and powers?" Jace said confused. "This is insane!"

"Sister, let's go!" Celestia said to Luna.

"Alright." Luna replied as both charged their horns.

"Brother, let's go!" Jeska said.

"Time for your downfall, Julius!" Kamahl said as he and Jeska charged.

Julius' eyes turned blue and he looked like he was silently crying. "You insipid fools. YOU ARE RUINING EVERYTHING!" Julius shouted with a female and yet powerful voice as he stretched his hands and launched a devastating wave of plasma at Kamahl, Jeska the two Princesses, overwhelming them and nullifying their attempt to attack.

Zade and his companions rose up and took their distance from him. But to escape, but to study him. Fear was the only thing that they were feeling in that moment. A fear way different by that of the first time they met him as a pony.

"This is not good." Zade said.

"Great, now we have to deal with a Legion wannabe." Jace said.

"What the heck is wrong with him?" Rarity said.

At that point, a third, blackened eye with red irises opened on Julius' forehead and his eyes becomes the same as that one, and his voice becomes a demonic one. "That's enough, Julius. You have failed to contain me for the last time."

"Containing... You?" Sera said dumbfounded.

"I-its... Creepy... You don't sound like yourself anymore." Fluttershy commented intimidated.

"Just what the hell are you?" Zade asked.

"You are not supposed to know it," 'Julius' said. "I am Deofordred. Interdimensional overlord of nexus. And this kid it's my host. He was a very smart one. He created multiple personalities inside him in order to contain me. He even resorted in creating that puppet named Twilegion Spadeus in order to find a way to get ride of me. He could never imagine how much he failed in these years."

"You used him." Zade said coldly. "But... Why?"

"I don't have the full control of the nexus, and to complicated the things, I need a host for my current incorporeal form," Deofordred said. "But why I should explain you that when you are about to die." He then pointed at the entrance, where alicorn Royal Guards with red glowing eyes were advancing toward the Zade and the others and surrounded them. "After all, all those ponies, including the 'purified' ones, are now at my service."

"And now we are in deep shit." Jace said gravely.

"By the hands of a demon lord from another dimension I should add." Sera added.

"That's not funny." Pinkie Pie said.

"And it's only getting worse." Zade said.

"The time of you execution it's upon you." Deofordred said. "Goodbye."

"NO!" Starlight shouted as she glowed her horn and teleported away with Zade's group, Thorax, Kamahl, Jeska and a very injured Chrysalis.

Celestia, Luna, Cadence and Twilight followed suit, taking the other Elements of Harmony with them. Deofordred didn't move a muscle. He just remained to contemplate about his results.

"You are just amateurs after all." Deofordred said and laughed with a demonic glee.

And that was only the beginning of his own plan. What he didn't had noticed was one thing. Virum witnessed what happened and disappeared into nothingness like a shadow.

Chapter 19: Painful Realization

In the Rambling Rock Ridge, the mountains remained unchanged by the Inquisition that Twilegion and Juliu's machinations had left behind. Inside one grotto full of gems and minerals, multiple lights flashed. In that instant, Zade's demonic party, Starlight's group, the three Princesses, the Mane Six and the unconscious Chrysalis appeared out of nowhere.

Each one of the ponies scanned their surrounding in confusion and took knowledge of each other's presence. As Twilight and her friends saw Zade and his companions, the took a fighting stance, but were too exhausted by the fight with Julius, just like the demonic party and the others.

"At least we are safe from him," Zade said calmly. "I don't know how that happened but if wasn't for Starlight, we would had been killed by that Julius... Or Deofordred if we can call him that now."

Twilight turned her face to Starlight with surprise. "Why you had took them with us?"

"I told you, Twilight." Starlight said. "They are not the bad guys."

"For the last time, we helped her to save your asses." Jace stated nervously.

"How can we be sure that what you said is true?" Applejack retorted.

"You can ask me if you want." Kamahl said.

"I remember you," Twilight said in remembrance and turned her attention to Jeska. "And your sister." She then turned to Chrysalis. "Wait, what is she doing here!?"

"Let me correct this." Jace said as he stomped the ground, materializing a cage of bones that blocked Chrysalis's body. "Problem fixed, dude."

"Starlight, I wouldn't doubt your good intentions," Celestia said gently before turning into a harsh tone toward Zade's group. "But right now that they would had helped us or gained something from the crisis to realize whatever plan they had in their mind, I cannot say. Not after what happened with Fortem Virtu and the Mirari."

"What?" Sera said.

"Oh, for the love of..." Jace blurted. "Let me give you a taste of my truth."

At that point, Jace turned into a coil of black-red flaming mist and wrapped around Celestia's body, engulfing her in black flames. She didn't have the time to react that the flames had already entered inside her mouth and through her coat. Zade, Chris and Sera were just taken aback by Jace's initiative.

"SISTER!" Luna scremed alarmed.

"What heck are you doing to her?" Twilight exclaimed.

"Don't ask to us," Chris replied. "Ask the idiot who was possessing her without warning us!"

"Possessing her?" Cadence said confused.

After a few seconds, the flames dissipated, leaving a strangely entranced Celestia in their wake. She looked down to the floor for a moment and then lifted his head toward the others.

"That's right." 'Celestia' said with a voice that was hybrid between her own and Jace's. "And I will beatdown any of you if you don't listen to me. Right now me and Celestia were sharing our memories, so sit down and don't do anything."

"Jace... If something goes wrong," Sera said, going into psycho mode. "I'm going to kill you once you got out of her body."

"Are you intentionally creating a hostage situation?!" Starlight asked alarmed.

"To be honest, I always doubted about their good faith." Thorax said.

"I don't give a damn about what you think," Jace/Celestia said. "I just want to make things clear to everybody. Right now a possessed psychopath is controlling the land. He is the guy that you should blame, not me and neither my companions."

"What makes you think that we can be tricked just like Julius did to us?" Rainbow Dash said distrustful, being in a fighting stance.

"You have also a ugly style that is even worst than Chrysalis." Rarity said.

"You got a problem?" Sera said, still in psycho mod.

"Guys," Jace/Celestia said. "I think-"

"I saw far enough. Now have the courtesy to leave my body," Celestia's voice ranged in his mind.

"Ok, fine." Jace/Celestia said.

That being said, her body was suddenly engulfed in black flames as a black-flaming mist came out of her mouth and her coat, leaving Celestia to collapse on the ground, with Luna, Cadence, Twilight and the other Elements approaching her, who wasn't unconscious at all.

her body was suddenly engulfed in black flames as a black-flaming mist came out of her mouth and her coat, leaving Starlight to collapse on the ground with her hooded companions approaching her, apparently unconscious.

"Damn... I would never get used to this trip." Jace said.

"What have you done to her?" Luna said harshly.

"Did you had at least-"

"Sister, wait." Celestia interrupted. "He and Starlight were right. They are not our enemies. They were simply humans who were putted in our worlds as ponies, and helped Starlight to set us free from the form of Twilegion Spadeus."

"Halleluja." Chris murmured.

"Seriously?" Twilight said dumbfounded.

"Wait... Those creatures who looked suspicious are not bad guys?" Applejack asked surprised.

"Wait a second," Pinkie Pie took a glass of water, swallowed and spitted. "WHAT!?"

"Don't make ourselves repeat again." Sera said, returned into a normal tone. "It's true."

"Oh dear," Rarity said, trying to not faint.

"You had really helped us?" Fluttershy asked.

"Yeah," Jace said.

"Without any secret agenda like Fortem Virtu?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"That's right." Zade said.

Silence fell upon them. Celestia, Luna and Cadence exchange their gazes with each other, as their were deliberating about the situation. Starlight, Thorax, Kamahl and Jeska approached the Mane Six, who were now looking crestfallen about their action as Twilegion. But the most depressed one was Twilight, whose regret marked her face.

"It's all of my fault," Twilight murmured.

"No, it's not." Starlight said. "Twilight, I-"

"I guided Equestria toward in the hands of Deofordred." Twilight insisted. "If I hadn't been so desperate..."

"We were all tricked by the start, Twilight." Celestia assured her.

"She's right. We're in the same boat." Applejack said.

"We all did things that we regret without even wanting that." Rarity said.

"But... I shouldn't had accepted the Mirari," Twilight said resigned. "I shouldn't have trusted Fortem Virtu. We have made so much damage... No. I made so much damage.. I... I... I don't deserve to be saved."

Suddenly, Zade laughed. But that wasn't a laugh of amusement or jubilation. That was sarcasm.

"What the hell do you think you are?" Zade said calmly and yet almost irritated. "No seriously, what hell do you think you fucking are!? After what had transpired, you come out with this?! You should be grateful for this second chance that you have to clear your name instead of this though. Do you know why we helped Starlight in the first place?"

Twilight shook her head. "Why"

"Because you would had helped us to bring us back to home, dumbass." Zade said. "Since some dude named Virum thrown us in this world with powers and this appearance that we have been turned into, we had no choice but to do this crap. We had almost died in order to snap you out of there. Starlight even helped us in this quest of ours."

"Not to mention that we are still amateurs about our powers." Chris added.

"Nobody is perfect. So don't even think you are differently." Sera said.

"Twilegion is now history, Twi. We all make mistakes." Jace said. "We're still here, and life continues on. We can still change things for the better."

".... Really?" Twilight said hesitantly.

"Who did teach you this lesson?" Cadence asked.

"The guy who talked that way... It's mother freaking Wolverine," Jace said, much to Zade's, Chris's and Sera's perplexity. "He wasn't a pony, of course, but he knows very well about what life reserves and he's still kicking some ass for the good things to come.

An embarrassing silence fell upon them. Nobody except Zade, Chris, Sera and Starlight understood the reference. Twilight hesitated for a moment, but then a faint and yet genuine smile appeared on her face.

"I don't know what you said..." Twilight paused. "But you were right. We can still change the things for the better and you can be sure that we won't allow to anypony, not even Julius or Deofordred to take Equestria away from us."

"Now that's the Twilight that I know!" Rainbow Dash said.

"Even if we don't know how." Fluttershy said.

"I never expected such wisdom from them, darling." Rarity said.

"You can also count on a good laugh when you needed." Pinkie Pie said.

"And ya can still trust all us." Applejack said.

"Thank you, my friends." Twilight said gratefully.

"If I can be honest, Julius was tricked too," Chris said.

"What?" Twilight was confused.

"They are right," Celestia affirmed. "Julius is just like us: A victim of Deofordred's game."

"Now I hate to say that but... You need our help."

"Huh?" Twilight said, even more confused.

"Jace, come with us for a moment," Zade said, bringing Chris, Jace and Sera with him to discuss about something. "Jace, what the hell."

"I know you have a good intention, but how do you think to help them retrieve an entire reign without a strategy?" Chris asked.

"We can still help them to retrieve Equestria piece by piece while gaining some experience as a team." Jace said.

"I don't follow you," Zade said.

"We can be a group of demonic mercenaries," Jace said. "A group that can be distinguished by it's own good will and determination. We can help not just Twilight but also the other ponies, relatives or not. If they got a problem and doesn't have anyone helping them, they can call-"

"No! We are not doing something similar to the A-Team!" Sera said.

"Oh, that won't be needed." A familiar voice said, getting Zade's group and the other's attention.

It was a very humanoid figure. A figure with familiar dresses. A figure with a familiar look.

And it was none other than Virum.

"The V-Team would be enough," He said gleefully.

"Who are you?" Twilight demanded.

"Starlight, is that...?" Celestia asked.

"Yeah, it is." Starlight said with a grave tone.

"VIRUM!!!" Zade, Chris, Sera and Jace screamed incredulous at the unison.

Chapter 20: Virum Exposition

He was there. Right in front of the eyes of the demonic party and the other ponies. Virum, the responsible for the misery that Zade and his companions had endured was in front of them. Celestia and Starlight, having saw some of Jace's memories, immediately distrusted the guy while the other ponies were just confused about the situation.

"Long time no see, guys," Virum said calmly.

"No, long time no see my see my ass." Zade retorted. "Giving us those powers was your big mistake, mister."

"Let's kick his ass!" Jace exclaimed.

Agreeing with his suggestion, all of the four demonic ponies rushed toward Virum, except Zade. "Wait, don't do it!"

"Too late." Virum commented as he raised his hand and then lowered down to the ground.

Spectral chains suddenly protruded from beneath them and chained them down to the ground, abruptly. They wriggled to set themselves free but without any results. Virum slowly face palmed and heavily sighed upon seeing that failed attempt.

"Great, another Leeroy Jenkins moment." Virum said. "You should had at least waited my version of the facts."

"Guys! Are you alright!?" Starlight demanded.

"I.. I tell you my version first, you asshole." Zade said harshly. "You involved us in this mess. You had turned us in this form. And YOU had almost sent us to die!"

"Yeah. Not cool, bastard!" Jace barked.

"But you had survived thanks to your force of will." Virum replied.

"Not thanks to you." Chris said.

"You must have a lot to explain to us, Deplacer." Celestia said.

"Dewhat?" Rainbow Dash demanded.

"I know, I know." Pinkie said. "Is a mysterious entity that has the ability to take someone from another universe and put it into another world under a new form to use it as a pawn for his own plots."

Pinkie smiled, but the others looked shocked and taken aback upon hearing that coming out from her, except Virum.

Zade was the first to recover. "How did you-"

"I won't even make the question since it's Pinkie." Jace commented.

"You are going to petrify us like you did with the FBI agents?" Sera demanded.

"You mean the two guy nearby Zade's house?" Virum scratched his head. "Well, after I sent you there, they returned back to normal without knowing what happened. And for the chronicle, my answer is no."

"Our families are practically searching for us," Sera pointed out. "Didn't you had though that before sending us in this demented mission?"

"Should we at least just hear what he'd to say?" Applejack proposed.

He was about to speak, but Virum immediately noticed Chrysalis waking up, still caged in the prison of bones being placed by Jace. He pointed his finger at her. "Oh, you don't."

And before she would even know, Chrysalis was also wrapped by the spectral chains. She found herself unable to move and unable to use her powers. "W-What the." She then looked at Virum. "And what heck are you."

"I will stay still if I were in you," Sera said.

"With that out of the way, you better explain what's going on," Kamahl said. "We made a deal, remember."

"Yeah, I am the one who had resurrected you and Jeska in the first place." Virum admitted.

"WHAT!!?" Everyone screamed at the unison except Celestia, Luna and Cadence, who looked just dumbfounded.

"Necromancy?... That is not something I would tolerate." Celestia said sternly.

"Ironically, we would have been dead without their help." Chris said.

"Oh, I forgot." Virum approached Kamahl. "The Mirari please."

"What?" Twilight protested.

Kamahl, without any objection, he took the Mirari from the hilt of his sword and gave it to Virum.

"I will give it back to Karn... If that is what worries you." Virum said as he made the Mirari disappear. "And now the moment of the truth, if you want."

"You better talk." Zade said sternly.

"We Deplacers have indeed turned people into things," Virum admitted. "But the majority of us doesn't do that out of sheer amusement. In fact, most of us does that for political motivations and power games. Keep in my mind. When they, that group, send others in other worlds, they doesn't turn them into ponies. They turn them into monsters."

"M-monsters?" Chris said astounded.

"However, we toned down the things by abolishing this practice with the fifth amendment," Virum added. "Because some of the plots of some Deplacer, their victims gained too much power or ended up dying. So, with this law, many Deplacers, including me, had decided to stop our practice and decided to live on as a urban legend... But then something had gone wrong when of us had betrayed us."

---

I the hall of the Aetherium

I was there when that happened. My group was exterminated, including my superiors. And in the middle of this massacre, there was Timborn, our Vice Council. I was face to face with him.

"You know... I never expected you to go too far." I said.

"I'm tired of hiding in fear of it. We have the power to reach it," Timborn said. "You know what I am talking about."

I flinched. "The Nexus?... You can't be serious!"

"Your now deceased superiors thought I was insane. Well, that means that they were in the wrong to let this argument untouched. And I found someone who can help me in my quest."

Suddenly, an ominous figure appeared in front of me. Someone with a demonic form, cruel and morbid, adorned with a devilish form of his. I recognized him being one of the past victims having gained too much power but without a physical body.

"No way... Gaonel?" I asked.

"It's Deofordred now." He said. "I should thank my own torturer of a Deplacer for this power, but the fact that I don't have a body... It's your fault."

"Hopefully, I found a new host for you," Timborn turned to me. "Well,.. Goodbye."

"NO!" I tried to block them with a seal but it was too late. They disappeared into the nothingness before I could do anything. At first I don't have a hint about their wherebouts until I had discovered this world. That one being Equestria.

Why you ask? Because nobody of us ever used or sent anyone in this world to begin with. I had eventually learned that Timborn had indeed sent someone in this world, that one being Julius. But first... He had him being possessed by Gaonel, now being Deofordred, as part of the deal that involves him helping Timborn to find the Nexus,

As for Julius, he was too obsessed to get rid of Deofordred's influence and into get revenge on Timborn for this experiment. Through his newfound powers, he was able to travel into different worlds in search for something that would had helped him in his crusade.

As a joke of the fate, he stumbled into the Mirari and decided to take it but he never used that because he learned through some source that will end up consume it. So he decided to go back in Equestria to create the crisis by using The Elements of Harmony and the three Princesses as guinea pigs. The goal was that to find a way to use Twilegion Spadeus for his experiment that consist to expel or at least contain Deofordred through other personalities or influences.

And you the rest... After all, you stopped him.

---

"Yeah, but you are not explain one thing." Zade pointed out. "What is the nexus?"

Chapter 21: The Hint

"The Nexus is the knot where the essence of every single dimension converges as one." Virum explained. "Deofordred only proclaimed to be it's overlord, but, like he said, he hasn't full control of it. In fact, this very interdimensional epicenter is also a source of an limitless energy, which is too difficult to master. In order for him to gain control over it, he need a world with a special energy that act as a beacon and sacrifice."

"You mean our world?" Twilight demanded alarmed.

"Of course." Virum confirmed. "If I'm not mistaken, he exploited the Twilegion's Inquisition Incident to spread Twilegion's corrupted energy of Harmony in the whole Equestria and amplify it's density. He used Julius' plan and the Mirari influence without him having realized."

"No joking. The abuse of Twilegion's magical powers altered the ecosystem of this world," Kamahl added. "Tainted with unstable energy since it took influence by the Mirari."

"Wow..." Jace said stupefied. "That shit just got real... And I don't like it."

"Ditto." Sera replied.

"Not just the ecosystem," Celestia said. "My 'purified' subject were imbued with that as well. We... did that to them."

"As that isn't enough, Deofordred is actually in search for an artifact called Caledum," Virum stated. "It has the power to transform a entire dimension into a beacon of energy. If it came into his possession, he will take control of the Nexus, resulting also having the whole Equestria being destroyed."

Everyone gasped upon hearing that declaration. More like a explanation, it sounded like an ultimatum. Zade and his companion in particular were staring at Virum in awe, but only for a moment. Zade's anger didn't took long to build up.

"And you are going to use us to resolve your problems, right?" Zade asked harshly.

"I don't think you have a choice anymore," Virum said. "I can't defeat Deofordred alone, so I gave you not just your ponified form of videogame villains, if you will call that. I also gave you the same thing that allowed you to defeat Twilegion. You saw Zade put it into practice."

Zade's eyes widened. "You mean that time?"

"The time Zade was engulfed in that violet aura and was owning Twilegion?" Jace demanded.

"It's seems more like that. I remember that." Luna said.

"Seriously. What was that?" Chris demanded.

"It's Aether, a power who was called forth by his determination," Virum said. "It is a source of seemingly limitless energy. It was invoked because you really needed. But don't rely too much of that. It will be invoked only when it's really necessary, kids."

"You mean that even I, Chris and Sera can do that?" Jace demanded.

"I have told you too much," Virum said before he grinned and began to walk away. "Well, the only thing you can start doing is rescuing the innocents and put a hold to Deofordred forces. Just so you can gain some experience from that. Oh, as for the Caledum, you should ask a colleague of mine. He actually resides in the most hidden part of Equestria."

"Wait!" Celestia ordered.

"You are not going anywhere, you bastard!" Zade exclaimed as he rushes toward him, but it was too late.

Before he could be reached, Virum disappeared into a white mist while saying. "Adios, kid."

At that point, Zade's group and the other ponies doesn't know how to feel. The idea of dealing with a interdimensional overlord doesn't happen everyday. The Mane Six and the three Princesses were left speechless for that and the demonic party was only pissed that they leaved them in charge to fix this problem.

"Great. Now we are at the starting point." Zade muttered.

"I'm sorry that you won't be able to go back home." Starlight said apologetically.

"No, it's not your fault." Zade replied.

"To his credit, it wasn't Virum's fault either," Chris said. "Deofordred and that Timborn guy were responsible for this mess."

"As for us, we have to find this Caledum thing before Deofordred... I guess." Zade said.

"Hold the phone," Applejack butted in. "And our relatives? We have to do something for them."

"And Spike!" Twilight said.

"Calm down," Zade said calmly. "He said that we also have to rescue them."

"Yes! The V-Team is officially active!" Jace said optimistic.

"Shut up, Jace," Sera said menacingly.

"Why this hostility toward this idea?" Jace said.

"Jace... This whole ordeal almost killed us," Sera stated crudely. "It's the same as the incident of nine days ago, during at the other school. I don't want have to repeat this experience ever again."

"But we have no choice," Zade retorted. "You heard Virum? We are seriously recruited. I told you before and I am saying that even now. In order to get through the story-"

"Is to do that, right?" Sera asked. "Well, keep in mind. If the fail, we won't be so lucky."

"But we won't fail," Jace assured. "I hate to agree with that asshole but we are a team. As long as we are together, we won't fail."

"He called us the V-Team like it stands for Villains when we are not," Chris stated. "So of course it make sense."

At that point, Zade and his companions put one hoof upon another in sign of agreement.

"Well... Is going to be a long journey." Zade said with smile.

"Hey, don't forget about us." Twilight said, indicating the rest of the Mane Six.

"And our blessing," Celestia said with Luna and Cadence nodding in agreement.

"And our support," Starlight along with Thorax.

"And our weapons," Kamahl and Jeska said at unison.

Zade and his party were surprised to see such collaboration and trust in them, although Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash doesn't seemed to be ok with that, judging by their faces. Zade noticed that and decided to make his move.

"Thank you, but we can't act together," Zade said, much to the other's confusion. "What about this? We, Kamahl, Jeska and Starlight will look for the Deplacer Virum talked about, alone."

"What?" Celestia said dumbfounded.

"Twilight," Zade continued. "You should go with the Princesses, Thorax and the other Elements to rescue your relatives and friends. How sounds like?"

"Wait, Twilight," Rainbow Dash butted in. "We are going to let those guys taking all the risks."

"They are more stronger of than you can think," Celestia said. "And very trustworthy. I saw what they really are in their memories, so of course I trust them."

"And you need Celestia to be reminded of that?" Jace asked incredulous.

"No. It's just..." Rainbow stuttered.

"It's ok. They saved us after all," Twilight said. "We have no time to waste. Let's go to save our friends."

"Oki doki," Pinkie commented. "I'm sure that this is going to be another funny adventure."

"I don't think so..." Fluttershy said.

"Ok, girls. Gather around." Celestia ordered.

The Mane Six, Thorax and the Princesses gathered around the still imprisoned Chrysalis, who was wriggling helplessly to release herself from the cage of bones, but without any result since she was exhausted by the past encounter with the possessed Julius.

"We are going to have a talk later," Celestia said to her, glaring at her.

"Whatever... Just give me a break." Chrysalis said weakly.

With that, Celestia, Luna and Cadence glowed their horn and unleashed multiple flashes of light before disappearing along with the Mane Six, Thorax and the helpless Chrysalis. Zade's group, Starlight, Kamahl and Jeska were alone with their doubts.

"Now..." Zade sighed. "Where do we begin?"

"We have to look after a Deplacer who knows anything about the Caledum whereabouts, right?" Chris asked.

"Indeed." Kamahl replied. "As that wasn't enough, there's more of this altered world that you don't know yet."

"He said he resides in the most hidden part of Equestria... But where?" Sera asked.

"Damn it, we don't have even a hint to begin with!" Jace muttered.

"Actually, there's someone who knows anything about his whereabouts.., In Ponyville." Jeska said.

"Seriously?" Starlight said surprised.

"There's a pony who had actually saw that guy?" Jace demanded.

"Strangely enough, he only saw him in his dreams," Kamahl said calmly. "We need to interrogate him."

Zade grinned. "Fair enough."

"Alright, dudes," Jace said exalted. "Let's get to the action."

That being said, Jace engulfed his body in flames and wrapped the whole group with that, a second before being engulfed in the pillar of the black flames of the Hell Gate. As the fiery column shrunk into nothingness, they had disappeared.

Another chapter of this ordeal has just started.

Chapter 22: Little Reunion

From the black flaming pillar born from the Hell Gate, Zade's group, Starlight, Kamahl and Jeska appeared out of nowhere. As the flames were dissipated, they found themselves in the middle of a crystallized apple orchard. None of the trees were destroyed by the explosion of the portal's appearance, as if the crystal surface of those plants was too resistant to the flames. And just for once, nobody was blaming Jace for that. They were too concentrated and distracted by the landscape in front of them. The sky above them was a dark orange one, and beyond the trees there are mountains,

"Jace, where did you take us this time?" Zade asked.

"If I am not mistaken, were are in the orchard nearby the ruins of Appleloosa," Jace affirmed. "The reason? Celestia planned to find the hideout of the ponies who had survived the Inquisition, somewhere in the mountains."

"How the hell can you possibly know that?" Sera asked.

"Jace possessed Celestia and exchanged some memories with her. Remember?" Jeska reminded her.

"For what reason?" Chris asked.

"It's possible that she wanted to gather all the ponies who had survived the purification," Kamahl said. "And protect them from Deofordred's forces. However, it's difficult for her for doing so because..."

"Because Twilegion was the fusion between the Princesses and the Mane Six," Zade assumed. "As a result, some of the survivors would be even afraid or resentful toward Celestia and the other eight. The Inquisition and the action of Twilegion leaved them a scar on their hearts and their trust."

"Bullshit. It wasn't their fault if some asshole fused them into a tyrannical creature." Jace commented. "What about if we-"

"I know what you were about to say. And the answer is no." Kamahl interrupted. "None of the survivors will listen to you or believe that you had save them from Twilegion. You are demons to them, remember?"

"But Sera and Zade looked normal in comparison to us." Chris suggested. "Maybe-"

"Does that even matter? You having powers will make you look like demon's accomplishes in comparison." Jeska crudely said.

Zade and his companions looked at each other in resignation. Zade in particular couldn't help but feel sorry for the situation
that Celestia, Twilight and the others were about to face and for how much damage has been done to Equestria.

"It seems like they would have a hard time to explain what really happened to the survivors." Zade said,

"That reminded me that I lost my own followers and the refugees because of Riptide's betrayal." Starlight said crestfallen.

"I'm sorry for that." Jeska said.

"No, you shouldn't." Starlight replied. "I know, It will be hard, but soon or later, we are going to set things right."

"Now the question is: Where we are going to find this deplacer Virum talked about?" Zade asked.

"Which is why you need our help," Kamahl said calmly. "Virum gave us some instruction, just in case we had a complication."

"Really?" Sera said surprised.

"Kamahl... Is not like we don't trust you," Jace said.

"I get it. You don't trust Virum." Kamahl responded.

"Looks like we have no choice but follow you two." Zade said.

"An wise advice from us: Don't expect this task to had got suddenly easy." Kamahl precised.

"Nobody said that." Zade replied.

---

Meanwhile, inside the caves of the mountain confining with the ruins of Appleloosa, Twilight, Celestia and the others traveled through the maze of stone. It almost looked like a mine but without railways. The two alicorns guided the group with their horn illuminating the darkness that was wrapping them.

"Princess Celestia, are sure that we would find

That place was a forgotten refuge of Chief Thunderhooves' ascendants. Everything was quiet like a grave. Only their hoofsteps could be heard in a weak echo. During their advance, something moved in front them, and was approaching them.

"Who's there!?" Twilight asked.

In response to that, multiple figures stepped into the purple lights. A group of torches illuminated the darkness in front of the group. In a handful of second, Twilight's group were welcomed by other ponies standing in front of them, leadedd by Mayor Mare. From Among those ponies, Apple Bloom, Granny Smith, Big Machintosh, Scotaloo and Spike came out of the group. Apple Bloom didn't rushed toward Applejack and hugged her, with tears flowing on her face.

"I've missed you so much, sis!" Apple Bloom cried.

"Welcome back, Applejack." Granny Smith said.

"I am sorry for making you worry." Applejack said almost sadly.

"Don't be, sister. It's alright." Big Machintosh assured.

"It's about time that you had returned, Twilight!" Spike said. "It's good to have you back!"

"I know, Spike. I know." Twilight said happily.

"Scootaloo. You are alive!" Rainbow Dash said surprised.

"It wasn't easy without you, you know?" Scootaloo said.

Feeling the duty to apologize with them, Celestia approached Mayor Mare and her group, and knelled in front of them, much to their surprise.

"My dear subjects," Celestia began. "I have to apologize for what had transpired. I know it's to much for you, but-"

"That wouldn't be necessary," Mayor Mare assured. "We had all agreed that the whole tragedy of the Inquisition was just a horrible moment. Nothing more. You are not Twilegion."

"See? They still loves you after all." Spike assured.

"I hate to interrupt this moment," Rainbow Dash said apologetically. "But how did you had found this place?"

"He guided us here." Apple Bloom said cheerfully.

"Who?" Twilight demanded.

"Long time no see, dear ponies." A male voice said, stepping in the light an revealing it's appearance as a draquenequs.

"DISCORD!?" The Mane Six said at the unison.

---

Zade and the rest of the group traveled through the crystal orchard, guided by Kamahl. Jeska was inspecting every corner of the forest while Kamahl continued through the path. Jace was just taken by the curiosity due to the geography of the Equestria map being drastically changed. As a half brony, he felt the duty to demand some answer from Kamahl.

"Kamahl, if you permit me-" Jace was interrupted by Kamahl looking at him.

"We don't have much time, so ask quickly." Kamahl calmly said.

"Where are we going?" Jace demanded.

"In the south western part of Equestria." Kamahl responded.

"You mean the Badlands!? Jace exclaimed astonished.

"..." Kamahl narrowed his eyes.

"Badlands?" Sera demanded.

"It's the most desolated part of Equestria," Starlight informed. "I had never visited that place, but I read geographic books that talked about that. It's said that it's inhabited by strange creatures."

"Too bad Internet wasn't so informed about that." Jace muttered.

"Strange creature you said?" Chris asked. "If Twilegion's rampage had altered the ecosystem, then even the Badlands itself had changed in his integrity."

"Are you telling me that we are headed toward a very dangerous place'" Sera demanded worried.

"We don't have pretty much choice." Zade said with a grave tone.

"I wonder what the Badlands had become." Starlight asked reluctantly.

"You will see." Kamahl said.

---

Meanwhile, in the cave inside the mountains, Discord was explaining his current situation at Thorax, the three Princesses and the Mane Six. Discord looked a very battered almost exhausted, as if his energies were drained away. The group of Twilight looked at him in pity, knowing why he was in this conditions. They, excluding Thorax, felt guilty about that, especially Fluttershy.

Thorax, feeling the duty to do so, told to Discord about the Mirari, the guile that Julius did to them, Kamahl intervention and the menace that Deofordred was representing. Needles to say, Discord wasn't so angry, and wasn't surprised either. It was like he saw something like that coming.

"So you were under the influence of the Mirari thing during your period as Twilegion Spadeus," Discord assumed.

"That's right. We were tricked by Julius in committing this madness that altered Equestria forever," Celestia said with a grave tone.

"And we had almost killed you as well while you were trying to reach us." Fluttershy said crestfallen.

"Discord, we are sorry," Twilight said. "It's ju-"

"Please, this drama is not necessary," Discord assured. "I know that you weren't in your minds when that happened. Although what you did was greatly diminishing my chaotic powers. Hopefully for me, I had enough powers to provide water and food to the survivors. Let me be clear about this. Chaos can be diminished, not destroyed. But trust me. It will take me a very long amount of time to recover my powers and my energies."

"I am grateful that you had saved some of our subject from ourselves." Luna said.

"However, the appearance and revelation of Deofordred made the situation even worse." Cadence said, feeling a pain in her heart.

"There is one thing that you didn't had mentioned," Discord pointed out. "Kamahl and Jeska cannot have saved you all alone. Somepony must have helped them to save you."

Twilight gulped. "Well?"

"What's wrong, Twilight?" Discord asked.

"Let's just say that they were helped by four benefactors." Twilight responded hesitantly.

"Four benefactors?" Mayor Mare said.

"I never heard of that." One random pony said.

Mayor Mare and the rest of the survivors began to murmur at each other. However, while this was happening. Rarity looked around with a very worried look.

"Wait a minute!" Rarity interrupted everyone. "Were is Sweetie Bell?"

"You see... When Discord escorted us there, Sweetie was ponynapped by a strange pony." Apple Bloom said.

"WHAT!?" Rarity exclaimed.

"It happened all of sudden during the confusion of the Inquisition!" Scootaloo said.

"This is terrible!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

"Absolutely!" Rarity blurted. "Sweetie Bell was the only thing that I have. We need to do something!"

"Don't worry. I'm sure we can find her, somehow," Applejack assured.

"I need to inform you," DIscord said. "Due to my exhaustion and conditions, I cannot be this much of a help."

"That wouldn't be a problem," Rainbow Dash said confidently. "You take care of our friends while we set out to find Sweetie Bell."

"That was the intention." Twilight said confidently.

"Be careful, Twilight." Celestia warned her. "There are still Deofordred's forces roaming around the land.

"Trust us. We can take care of ourselves." Rainbow Dash assured.

That being said, Twilight and the other Elements of Harmony gathered around. Twilight glowed her horn and teleported away from the cave with her group.

---

Approaching the edge of the orchard, Zade, Kamahl and the rest of the group were welcomed by an unpleasant sight. A pack composed by three crystal Timberwulves were standing in their way, looking voraciously toward them.

"Damn it! They were the same Timberwulves that we saw at the Everfree Forest!" Jace said.

"I don't even want to know how sharp their claws are." Sera said.

"Let deal with them," Zade said, standing two legged and provoking them.

Infuriated, the crystal Timberwulves rushed toward their supposed prey. Unfortunately, they weren't minding the fact that Zade was charging both his hooves with a purple energy.

"DOUBLE REPPUKEN!" Zade exclaimed as he unleashed a big wave of purple energy that traveled toward them and blasted them away. The rest of the group except Kamahl and Jeska was shocked about the result.

"I just hope that none of them was killed," Chris said. "I am also an animal lover, you know. It's not like I am justifying their ferocity or anything."

"This will show them that too much purple energy is dangerous," Jace said, causing Zade, Chris and Sera to glare at him for that. "What?"

Suddenly, the began to tremble a little. The tremor became more stronger as it got closer to them. Zade and the group looked at the source of the tremor and was taken aback by what they were seeing. It was a huge four legged behemot, with minotaur horns and a very sharp horn protruding from his nose.

The creature stopped and emitted a very tremendous roar.

"What the hell is that thing!?" Sera asked.

"It's a Rhinotaur! RUN!" Kamahl ordered as he and the group was already escaping the creature.

But they know very well that encounter cannot be avoided this easily.

Chapter 23: Grave Complications

Zade and the rest of the group was running away from the tremendous Rhinotaur that was charging toward them, all the while destroying every tree in his passage. The earth trembled for each frenetic step the beast was making. The creature was slow, but very persistent and the entire chase began to take a toll to their stamina. That was a point that they must invent something before the creature crushed them.

"Any ideas!?" Sera asked.

"The Rhinotaur is a very stubborn and aggressive creature!" Jeska said. "It won't stop at nothing to get his prey!"

"We can't run forever!" Chris reminded. "We must doing something!"

"It's the same as the chase in Neo Canterlot Castle!" Jace lamented.

"We must have an idea as soon as possible!" Zade suggested.

During the chase, they reached the very depths of the Everfree Forest, where the vegetation was very abundant and the air was very cold. In front of them there was a rocky wall blocking their way in the distance and the Rhinotaur was still behind him, recklessly destroying any obstacles and trying to reach them. That was a dead end.

Or it was, until Starlight had a glimmer of genius regarding that, which impressed even herself.

"Keep running!" Starlight said.

"What!?" Zade looked at her perplexed.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS!?" Sera said.

"Just keep running! I have an idea but you have to trust me!" Starlight said.

"I can't smash through this wall! Is too thick!" Chris reminded.

"I hope you know what you are doing!" Zade retorted.

As they were approaching the wall, Starlight glowed her horn. In the very instant they got closer to the obstacle, the whole group disappeared, leaving the Rhinotaur crashing against it. The beast loudly flopped to the ground unconscious, causing the earth to shake another time.

---

At the edge of the Everfree Forest, an azure light flashed and Zade's group suddenly appeared. They looked around and realized to be where they were before, far away from the Rhinotaur. Zade and the others sighed heavily in relief and collapsed on the ground. Their hearts were racing so faster that they almost wanted to throw up, like they had participated to a very long marathon.

"I never thought about that being an actual idea." Jace said a tired tone while panting. "Anyway, thanks, Starlight. You saved our asses."

"Can you please use a very appropriate language?" Starlight retorted.

"Does that even matter?" Zade asked.

"We don't have time to rest," Kamahl reminded, standing up. "We have to retrieve the Caledum."

"Alright." Zade said as he and the others followed suit.

"Too bad" Jace said. "I was thinking about possessing that behemot."

"I won't recommend you that," Jeska said. "The Rhinotaur has a ferocious mind. Not only it will reject you but you will also waking it up. Do you want that beast go after our skins again?"

"N-no madame." Jace timidly responded. "I didn't had considered that... Jeez."

"It's a shame since we could have this beast on our side." Sera suggested. "Just saying."

"Let's go." Kamahl ordered.

---

In the cave inside the mountains, the Princesses and Discord were discussing about the rest of the situation that happened during the Inquisition. Discord just brought some a bunch of sweet and some tea for the quartet while he had his own pop corns. The tone of the discussion was anything but tranquil.

"And what about Starswhirl and the rest of the Pillars of Equestria?" Celestia asked.

"They had disappeared without leaving any trace," Discord responded- "But not before having told me about their quest."

"What quest?" Luna asked.

"Why. They went their way for the Caledum." Discord said.

"Seriously?" Cadence said surprised.

"At that time, I didn't know anything about that," Discord said while eating some pop corn- "But now that you have mentioned that and this Virum, now everything had sense. After all, I met the guy some time later."

"You met him?" Celestia asked surprised.

"Yes, and told me about his plan," Discord responded with an unsure tone. "However, he never had mentioned anything about Zade's group and his own motivations for doing this."

"Understood." Cadence said. "To think that he has a hidden agenda."

"Why didn't you had told that to Thorax or Starlight?" Luna asked.

"I should had to, but I couldn't risk being caught by Julius." Discord responded.

"Did he told you anything else about him?" Celestia asked.

"Now that you reminded me, there's a little tale that he told me about Julius," Discord said with a grave tone. "Or I should say... His own secret."

---

In a few minutes of travel, Zade and his party had reached a destroyed railway. It looked like a disaster had been occurred. There are multiple craters scattered on the place. The four demonic ponies wondered what could have happened. Starlight, Jeska and Kamahl, however, seemed to know very well what happened.

"What the hell is this? A battlefield?" Zade asked.

"That was the place where the battle between Discord and Twilegion had been consumed." Kamahl said calmly.

"Where Discord got almost killed." Starlight said with a grave tone.

"... I feel very sorry for that guy." Jace said with a bit of sympathy.

"It's ok. He's hidden somewhere else to regain his energy and his magic." Starlight said with a bit of confidence.

"Judging by the scene, I bet he was a tough guy," Chris said.

"Are you kidding me? He's the avatar of chaos after all." Jace reminded him. "He was first an enemy, until he got reformed for real by the Mane Six."

"Less chit chat and more walking," Jeska said harshly. "We have a long way before we reach the Badlands."

"Ok, but-" Zade was about to respond when a sudden scream coming from afar interrupted him.

"Somepony help me! I am sorry!" The voice from afar exclaimed.

"Wait... I know that voice." Sera said with anticipation.

The whole group rushed toward the source, headed on the other side of the railway. In their arrival they found something in the distance. There was a and yet familiar Night Guard running away from three alicorn Royal Guards, which eyes were glowing with a red murderous aura. The group instantly recognized the guy, especially Starlight.

"Lunar Riptide." Starlight said with a bit of melancholy.

"It's the bastard who had putted us into a trap!" Jace said furiously.

"It seems like he got what he really deserve." Kamahl commented.

"We need to help him!" Starlight said.

"Are you kidding me!?" Jace asked shocked. "That guy sold your our own insurgence and backstabbed you up!"

"I know that he's a traitor," Starlight said hesitant. "But-"

"Let me guess," Sera butted in. "You are pitting him, right?"

"... Sorta." Starlight said.

"Alright, leave that to me," Sera said reluctantly as she glowed her horn made to create a sphere of dark blue fire above her head and shot it toward the alicorns.

The dark sphere blasted away the three alicorns as it exploded nearby them. Riptide stopped his escape as soon as he realized what happened. He turned around to see the armored alicorns, whore were knocked out unconscious, full of bruises and with their armors being mostly destroyed, with black flames being scattered around the scene.

"You had almost killed them!" Starlight lamented.

"I know they were still brainwashed by Deofordred," Sera explained. "It's called Collateral Damage Control."

Starlight sighed heavily. "At least nopony was hurt during the impact."

"I can't believe we had saved an asshole." Jace lamented.

"Equestrian morality looks like a duty," Chris commented.

Riptide reluctantly approached them. "Y-you saved me. Thank you."

"That's not excused of your betrayal," Starlight said coldly. "Riptide, I had trusted you."

"I know that," Riptide said remorsefully. "But I had no choice. Julius forced me to do that. He had ponynapped my family."

"... Really?" Starlight said hesitantly. "I didn't had known that... I am sorry."

"Please forgive my act," Riptide said. "I will guide you to the Badlands."

Zade raised a eye brow. "What?"

"You can trust me," Riptide replied. "I will guide you to the thing you were looking for."

"The Caledum?" Kamahl demanded.

"Yes." Riptide answered.

"How did you know about that?" Kamahl demanded.

"I will tell you that, but you have to follow me so I can show you that," Riptide said with a half smile.

Starlight pondered for a moment until she reached to a conclusion. "Alright. I do believe you."

Starlight was about to give the hoofshake to Riptide when Jace abruptly interrupted the act and approached the Night Guard.

"Hold the phone, dude," Jace said as it's dissipates into a red mist.

"What- ARGH!" Riptide yelled as the red mist entered his body and fell on the ground unconscious.

"Jace! What the heck are you doing!?" Starlight tried approach Riptide but was then stopped by Sera.

"Wait, let him do it." Sera said calmly.

"You are allowing him to possess him. But why?" Starlight asked astonished.

"Let's see what explanation he's going to give." Sera replied.

Riptide suddenly woke up and stood up very slowly, groaning and scratching his head. He turned his attention to the group with an unusual calm.

"Guys, let me tell you that," Riptide said with a hybrid voice between his own and Jace's. "This fucker knows nothing about the Caledum's location. He wanted to lure us into another trap."

"What!?" Everybody except Zade, Kamahl, Jeska and Sera exclaimed.

"I knew that." Kamahl said with anticipation.

"I know, right?" Riptide/Jace said. "This guy never change. I checked up his memories and that is what I got. Essentially, he was sent by Deofordred to send us into a trap, which was a pit being located in the wasteland of the Badlands. His being chased and him being remorseful of his actions was just an act."

"Wait." Chris interrupted him. "Does that mean that you are also sharing your memories with him?"

Riptide/Jace gave a wide smile. "I wasn't sharing any of my memories with this asshole. You see, I can totally isolate my own memory from him."

"Seriously?" Sera said surprised.

"You can do that?" Starlight asked in awe.

"Yes. And I would have teleported you into the Badlands." Riptide/Jace said- "Unfortunately this guy isn't able to do a mass teleportation spell like Starlight does."

Starlight put her hoof under her chin and began to calculate the possibilities. Jace's abilities were mostly controversial but were also useful if that was saw from another prospective. After a long pondering, she smiled with satisfaction.

"I have an idea," Starlight said. "Jace. Could you please possess me."

"..... What?!" Riptide/Jace exclaimed.

"WHAT!?" Everybody except Starlight exclaimed.

---

In the epicenter of the Badlands, there are the ruins of a forgotten sanctuary. The structures was so enormous that almost covered the entirety of the area. The Mane Six arrived into the place with a sense of dread being perceived by them as a grave loud silence was present, like a specter whispering to them.

"Girls. Ain't remember this place having a sanctuary," Applejack said.

"Ditto." Rainbow Dash said. "Although this is our first time we got there."

"Even as Twilegion we never thought to enter this place before," Twilight specified. "There is so much thing I want to know about it right now."

"I hope that Sweetie Bell wasn't hurt," Rarity hoped.

"Me too. I hope she is alright." Fluttershy said. "Still, I don't think she would had entered this.. creepy place on her own."

"Are you sure that leaving Thorax alone with Chrysalis was a good idea?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"You don't have to worry," Twilght assured. "As long as the spell sealing chain is blocking her movement, she won't be able to do any more damage than the ones she had already done."

The bearers of the Elements of Harmony continued on their path until they stumbled into something unusual in front of them as they reached the cloister. There was a filly laying on the ground nearby an hooded pony, in the very center of the zone. The group gasped in shock and rushed toward her.

"Sweetie Bell!" Rarity exclaimed.

"Get away from her!" Rainbow Dash said as she flew faster toward the two.

Twilight felt a sudden sensation of cold coming from above her. She lifted her head upward and saw and saw an enormous dark shadow coming from beneath her and the group.

"GIRLS, WATCH OUT!" Twilight exclaimed.

Rainbow Dash turned toward her. "What!?"

But it was too late. The whole shadow wrapped Twilight, the other four elements and the other two ponies. Their figures were sunk inside the black mass formed around them. Rainbow Dash was the only one who had escaped such fate. Twilight, however, managed to give Rainbow Dash one message before her voice got silenced.

"Rainbow, you need to get some help," Twilight said as she glowed her horn before being sucked into the blackness.

"Twilight, wait-" Rainbow Dash couldn't finish her sentence that she suddenly disappeared, teleported away from there.

---

Meanwhile, nearby the destroyed railway, Zade and his group was considering this controversial solution.

"So in short," Riptide/Jace said. "I will possess you, teleport us into the right place and then leave this guy behind?"

Starlight nodded. "That's right."

"And your pity toward him?" Sera asked.

"He will survive on his own." Kamahl said. "I will allow that act, but only once."

"Alright, let's do that." Riptide/Jace said enthusiast.

"What?! You are leaving me on my own!?" Riptide voice ranged in his mind.

"Oh, shut up, you idiot." Riptide/Jace said, a moment before the red mist leaved his body and entered into Starlight's.

Both the unicorns flopped unconscious to the soil. After a moment of silence, Starlight opened her eyes and slowly rose up.

"Ok, guys." Starlight/Jace said. "Let's do that stuff."

The possessed unicorn glowed her horn. An azure light flashed and the whole group disappeared from the place.

---

In a wasteland inside the Badlands, Zade and his group reappeared from the nothingness. They scanned their surrounding, observing every detail of the place. Despite being deserted, the place was surprisingly filled with crystallized monoliths. Such scene had caught their interest.

"Were did those things came from?" Chris asked.

"is that a consequence of Twilegion's actions?" Zade asked.

"Indeed." Kamahl confirmed. "Her magical abuse had gave birth to such unnatural monuments like these. These are full of both the energy of the Twilegion and that of the Mirari itself. If unleashed, it will spread a harmful aura of mana that will engulf part of this place and damage anything who came in contact with it into."

"Like radiations?" Starlight/Jace asked.

"You got the idea," Jeska replied.

"So we should be careful to not destroying these monuments. I got that" Zade then turned to 'Starlight'. "Ehm, Jace. Get out of your body."

"Please." Starlight asked inside his mind.

"Got it." Starlight/Jace said, a moment before the red mist leaved Starlight's body.

Her body fell on the ground as Jace was reacquiring his appearance. The demonic pony scratched his head and groaned very heavily.

"Damn, I am having a hard time doing two possessions in the same day." Jace said.

Starlight woke up a second later and then slowly stood up with a dizzied expression. "Don't tell that at me."

"Seriously. The act of possessing people is still creeping me out." Chris said a little bit disgusted.

"Let's go." Kamahl said.

The whole group was about to resume their quest when Jace spotted something in the distance. There are two changelings fstanding in the middle of the wasteland. He instantly recognized them.

"Guys, you can't believe at what I saw." Jace indicated them

"Are these one Chrysalis and Thorax?" Kamahl asked unsurprised.

The party rushed toward the two and noticed a very situation. Thorax was standing nearby Chrysalis, whose hooves and wings were restricted by golden chains and her horn was adorned with a golden ring glowing with a blue aura.

"It seems like Twilight owned you hard." Jace commented.

"If only this ring isn't blocking my magic," Chrysalis lamented calmly.

"You have no right to talk after the damage you have done." Thorax stated.

"Wait a second. Shouldn't you be with Twilight or Celestia?" Zade asked.

Thorax rolled his eyes. "Well..."

Thorax didn't have the time to respond that Rainbow Dash suddenly appeared above the ground and ended up falling on it. Stunned, she slowly rose up and then turned toward the group. Rainbow flinched upon seeing the four demonic ponies, who were just surprised to see her.

"Rainbow Dash?" Jace said dumbfounded.

"Ok, I don't understand what is going on anymore," Zade said. "What are doing there? Weren't supposed to be with Twilight?"

"Well, I wouldn't be here if she didn't had decided to send me to you," Rainbow said.

"What's going on?" Jeska asked.

"Is about Twilight and the others," Rainbow said worried. "They fell into a very serious danger. And although I don't trust those four demons, I need their help too."

"Well, thanks for the trust," Sera said sarcastically.

"It looks like we have a serious complication," Kamahl said. "Where are they?"

"In depths of the Badlands," Rainbow said. "Inside a forsaken sanctuary. Please, we have to hurry up."

"I get, they are in trouble," Zade sighed. "Talking about complications... Let's go."

"You are not going anywhere." A male voice said.

All of the ponies turned toward the source of the voice and witnessed a very bizarre scene. There are two weird ponies looking in their direction. One of them was a black maned white stallion standing on his two legs, wielding a Rebellion like sword with five fingers protruding from his hooves. The other was a female blue pegasi, wielding a very large sword, also having the fingers on her hooves.

Despite their appearance being new, Zade's eyes widened in shock, probably for the incredulity. "That can't be..."

"Oh... Now that is looking interesting," Chrysalis commented.

"Silence, you demon." Jeskai retorted

"... What the hell are you?" Zade asked coldly.

"Long time no see, demented bloggers," The staillion said.

"... Nigel!? Teresa!?" Zade exclaimed shocked.

The sword of the stallion suddenly disappeared and was replaced by two guns. He then aimed his new weapons toward them, ready to do his move.

"Oh, crap," Chris flinched.

"I can't believe that... I know what they are turned into!" Jace said with a grave tone.

And now time for boss subtitles.

Nigel/DMC Dante

Teresa/Akroma Angel of Destruction.

"Alright," Nigel said while making a devilish grin. "Who want some!?"

Chapter 24: Team Fight

Seven days ago - In the human world.

It was his usual school day for Zade. Nothing strange happened in the Santiago High School, not even the strange urban legends that he and his friends had busted in his blog. As he wandered in the locker corridor, he had a hard time at minding his own business. The nocturnal explosion that had devastated Aqua High School had lured every student's attention. Zade was worried about the involvement of his group during that night.

"I hope our secret wasn't exposed," Zade thought. "Otherwise we could be into a serious trouble, not even mentioning being expelled from the school or going into jail for destruction of property. The same thing goes for the blog. Someone could even think that we were ones who had destroyed half of that school."

Continuing on his path, he almost managed to get closer to the door leading to his classroom, only to be blocked by two students. One was a rust red haired boy, who looked at him with a unfriendly expression; the other one was a blond haired tall, tough girl. Both of them were giving him a real cold welcome.

"You are going into your classroom, I guess," The boy said.

"Not now, Nigel," Zade said, trying to surpass them, a second before being slammed against the locker by the tough girl.

"Not too hard, Teresa," Nigel said. "We need him alive."

"Since by then torture is legalized?" Zade asked.

Teresa grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and slammed him against the locker once more. "You better not looking tough. You are in a very dangerous area in this moment."

"What do you want?" Zade said nervously, trying to remain calm.

Nigel glared at him. "We are talking about the night the eastern part of the school exploded."

"It's caused by ill-intentioned individuals. Why going after me?" Zade asked.

Nigel punched him in the stomach, causing Zade to emit a yell of pain. "You can't fool us. You and your friends were the ones who were investigating about the disappearance of the six students. I am right?"

Zade doesn't respond, so Nigel gave him another punch in the face. Teresa released him from her grasp and leaved him falling on the ground.

"You better not taste our patience." Teresa threatened.

"Hey! You are bullying him for real, you damn bastards!?" Jace's voice said in the distance.

Zade, Nigel and Teresa looked at the source of the voice and saw Chris, Sera, and Jace approaching them. Sera was already in a full psycho mode, ready to give the two bullies the meaning of pain. However her murderous aura and her mode were both switched off as she and Chris saw Jace pulling out what seemed to be a molotov.

"You want pick up a fight? C'mon!" Jace said angrily as Sera and Chris tried to block him.

"Jace, what the hell are you doing!?" Sera asked.

"Are you nuts!?" Chris said.

"Jace! Don't worse your situation!" Zade ordered.

Teresa facepalmed. "Don't make me puke for your stupidity. Your molotov is a fake one, entirely made of plastic. You don't have even a lighter to do so."

"You damn intruders." Nigel murmured and then pointed his finger at the three students. "Don't think that the force of number will save you forever. Teresa, let's go."

Teresa nodded and then leaved the scene along with Nigel. They didn't even looked back as Jace was screaming back at them.

"That's right! You better not return!" Jace then rushed toward Zade. "Zade, are you alright?"

As Jace, Chris, and Sera were giving support to the beaten up Zade, under the eyes of the other students and the professors, Nigel and Teresa went upstairs and stepped into the roof top. The two bullies looked at each other, looking unconvinced.

"Are you sure they are the ones behind the blog?" Teresa asked.

"Maybe. I just hope that they weren't investigating on the disappearance of the six students." Nigel said. "It's possible that they were after that Deplacer stuff."

"They are just a group of dysfunctional nerds," Teresa reminded. "Why going in that school in the middle of the night anyway?"

"I don't know," Nigel said with a doubt in his mind. "I don't want them butting in our plan."

"What about Theodore?" Teresa asked.

"... Let's just wait for the time in which I can test my theory," Nigel stated.

---

Present day - In Equestria.

The sword of the stallion suddenly disappeared and was replaced by two guns. He then aimed his new weapons toward them, ready to do his move.

"Alright," Nigel said while making a devilish grin. "Who want some!?"

That being said, Nigel started shooting with his guns pointed toward the group. Sera putted herself in front of their trajectory and shielded herself with conjured skeletal constructs of spectral energy, blocking all of his bullets. The stallion ceased his barrage and observed both the four demonic ponies and the other ones behind them.

"You never changed, Nigel." Sera said coldly in psycho mode.

"What the heck is wrong with you!?" Rainbow Dash asked angrily.

Nigel pointed one of his guns at Rainbow and shot one bullet, which whizzed past her ear her, scaring the hell out of her.

"You should reflect before butting someone else business, dumbass." Nigel said and then looked at his partner. "Teresa, you know what to do."

Teresa nodded and channeled her sword with some kind of holy energy. She stabbed the sword to the ground, causing the earth to tremble a little. And then, suddenly, huge walls made of transparent holy energy came out from the ground around Starlight, Kamahl, Jeska, Thorax and the still chained Chrysalis, leaving only Rainbow, Zade and the rest of the demonic party outside.

"Starlight!" Zade exclaimed.

Starlight glowed her horn in an attempt to teleport the group but nothing happened, much to her astonishment.

"What the...!" Starlight looked dumbfounded.

"This barrier prevents you from using your magic," Teresa stated. "Don't even bother to try what you can't do."

Rainbow Dash flew toward them and tried to break the barrier with her hooves, but is not use. "Are you alright?"

Nigel shot one blow in the air, getting the attention of the five ponies. "Can I get your attention, you slackers?"

"You better think about your well being than that of the others for once," Teresa said as she retrieved her sword. "Still, that rainbow one is inopportune."

"Excuse me?" Rainbow said confused.

"Nigel, we have no time to waste," Zade said. "And most of all, I have no intention to fight you."

"Wrong answer," Nigel said as he replaced his gun with his Rebellion like sword. "Because we have a score to settle."

"That's right," Teresa agreed. "Your leaving the place unscathed is out of question."

"You have seriously the intention to kill us!?" Chris asked shocked.

"No one will miss you. After all..." Nigel channeled his sword with a violet energy. "You are monsters now."

Nigel swung his sword three times, unleashing three violet slashing waves that whizzed toward the four demonic ponies. Zade and his companions leaped away from their trajectory, except Sera, whose skeletal conjunction protected her from one blow, which shattered her defenses. Sera fell aback but then rose up, levitating above the ground and glaring at them with a menacing glare. She flew toward Teresa, all the while launching her magatamas toward her.

Teresa blocked the magatamas with a swing of her sword that generated a massive slashing wave of holy energy that struck Sera and made her fall on the ground.

"SERA!" Jace shouted worried.

"SERA!" Starlight shouted from behind the holy wall.

"One down," Nigel proclaimed as he replaced his sword with his guns again.

Zade glared furiously at him. "Why you...!" He then channeled his hooves in a purple energy. "DOUBLE REPPUKEN!"

Zade unleashed a big wave of energy that traveled toward Nigel, who high jumped above it and shot his guns at him. Chris putted himself in front of Zade while turning his hoof into the Soul Edge and shielded him with it.

Jace turned toward Rainbow Dash with a worried look. "What the hell are you doing here!? GO!"

"But..." Rainbow looked undecided.

"You have gone to far," Chris said with a intimidating tone as he channeled his Soul Edge with a dark aura and was about to slam it on the ground.

"Oh, you don't." Nigel retorted as he summoned a grappling hook made from a black chain-like cord with a red, claw-shaped head, that grasped Chris' neck and dragged him toward him. Nigel then kicked Chris down, causing him to crash on the soil.

"Chris!" Zade shouted.

Landing on the ground, Nigel noticed Jace spiraling through the air and flying toward him, engulfed in flames with all of his fury.

"SUCK ON THIS!" Jace exclaimed.

As Jace was approaching him, Nigel dashed toward his left side and phased through his phase unscathed. "Too slow."

Jace stopped and turned toward him. "What the hell!?"

"Teresa! Go with the heavy artillery!" Nigel said.

Teresa charged her Sword of Vengeance and unleashed all of the holy energy to the sky, causing multiple holy beams raining down at random. Two of the beams struck down both Jace and Zade, propelling them away and slamming them against the holy wall.

Sera, with a few bruises having her psycho mode turned off, slowly rose up and saw the situation with horror. Zade, Jace and Chris slowly stood up and glared back at the two ponies. Chris, however, couldn't help but noticing how much beaten up his other companions were. It was much worse than simple bullism. That was a real fight for their lives.

"Seriously, I bet you never had a real fight in your life, Zade." Nigel announced.

"Just give up and let us finishing you with dignity," Teresa said calmly.

"What dignity!?" Zade shouted. "You are trying to kill us. What you expect to gain from that!?"

"The end of your intromission," Nigel said coldly. "C'mon, slackers. Fight for your lives."

"You asked for it!" Jace said, a moment before using his lightning breath on Nigel, who dodged the blow.

Nigel was about to shoot, until Sera instantly unleashed a legion of skeletal monstrosities that rushed menacingly toward him. Teresa charged his sword with a blinding energy and was about to unleash that when she noticed Zade emerging from the horde and rushing toward Nigel with his hooves being channeled with a destructive energy.

Nigel eyes widened in that moment. "What are y-"

"RAGING STORM" Zade shouted as he slammed his hooves on the floor, causing very powerful geysers of energy rising from below and around him that overwhelmed both Nigel and Teresa, sending them to fly.

Nigel crashed on the ground while Teresa quickly readjusted her equilibrium and flew furiously toward Zade, intentioned to cut him down. Zade managed to block her and reposted her, tossing her around. His attention then returned to Nigel, who looked very beaten and angrier than before, and yet he was maintaining his calm despite those feelings.

"You damn fool," Nigel said as he stood up two legged.

"You asked for it. REPPUKEN!" Zade unleashed a wave of purple energy toward Nigel. Unfortunately his opponent phased through it as he dashed toward him. "What!?"

Approaching his target, Nigel replaced his guns with a couple of gauntlets (Eryx) and proceeded to beat up Zade with a couple of heavy punches in the face, stunning him and causing him to almost losing his equilibrium. Nigel then charged up his fist with demonic energy and sent Zade to fly upward with a flying uppercut.

Nigel landed with rogue grace, leaving a defenseless Zade falling abruply to the terrain.

"Tsk. And I thought you were the tough one." Nigel said sarcastically.

But he didn't had the time to fully contemplate about it that the legion of skeletal monstrosities leaded by Sera was charging in his direction. The pale unicorn levitated above her army and create a sphere of dark blue fire above her head.

"Nigel!!" Sera roared, being in full psycho mode as she unleashed the Flaming Dome upon him.

As the sphere descended upon Nigel, Teresa putted herself in front of him, charged the tip of her Sword of Vengeance with holy energy and creates a huge, fiery white explosion that wiped out the entire army of skeletal ghosts and overwhelmed Sera, who was propelled away during the impact. The pale unicorn rolled on ground until her body stopped in front of the holy wall.

"I told you that the force of number won't save you forever, slackers." Nigel announced.

"Hey!" Chris shouted, getting their attention. "You had forgot me!"

In that moment, Chris turned himself into Night Terror and shot a laser beam from his mouth. Nigel and Teresa just moved away from it's trajectory and rushed toward the monstrous pony. Chris furiously flew toward Teresa and tackled her in mid air, pinning her down to the soil. He then disappeared and suddenly reappeared behind Nigel in a explosion, only for the latter to remain still unscathed and wrapped in a demonic aura, much to Chris' shock.

"What!?" Chris said as he was propelled away from Nigel by a mysterious force.

"Enough!" Nigel said as his mane turned white and the time around him slowed down.

The injured Jace lifted his head slowly. "Oh shit. It's the DMC Devil Trigger!"

Nigel summoned his Rebellion like sword and stabbed Chris' body repetitively at high speed like a fury. Chris reacted by swinging his Soul Edge at him, only for Nigel to dodge the blow, all replacing his sword with his gauntlets again and charging his fist with demonic energy. Chris didn't had the time to counter attack that Nigel delivered a heavy punch in his stomach that almost caused him to fall aback. The pain that he felt in that moment was almost unbearable, but tried to ignored it, no matter what.

Chris glared back at Nigel and charged his laser when a huge holy pillar fell from the sky upon him and overwhelmed him, suffocating his scream. The pillar began to dissipate, revealing a really beaten up and fallen Chris. His body was then wrapped in a dark aura and reverted into his previous form, with his Soul Edge being reverted in his clawed hoof.

In his Nightmare Terror mode, Chris was resistant, but not so resistant to sustain much damage. The same thing could be said for Zade, Sera and Jace. Full of bruises and bleeding a little bit from their foreheads, they watched the scene in awe, almost feeling powerless.

"Did we had... Just lost?" Sera said with her normal tone.

"Even Chris couldn't do anything on them." Zade said.

"DAMMIT!" Jace slammed his hoof in rage. "I completely refuse!!" He tried to stood up.

"Jace! Don't do anything reckless!" Sera said alarmed.

"It seems like we have to speed up your demise," Nigel said as the Devil Trigger worn off, as if he had already his victory in his pocket.

"Stubborn until the bitter end," Teresa said coldly.

"C'mon, let's finish the job," Nigel said.

Nigel approached the three remaining demonic ponies, while Teresa was about to deliver a coup de grace to the unconscious Chris. They seemed to be ready to give them their fatal blow when Rainbow Dash putted herself in between them and the injured demonic party.

"Stop right there!" Rainbow thundered.

"Get out of our way!" Nigel said, pointing his sword at her. "Nobody asked your opinion."

"Besides, why risking your life for those monsterized losers?" Teresa asked coldly.

"To be honest," Rainbow said. "I didn't had trusted them a little bit because of what they are capable to do with their tremendous powers. But after seeing them fighting for their lives and seeing them being reduced in such state... I couldn't help but sympathize with them. And no, it's not Stallionckolm Syndrome. It's called empathy... And now I understand why Starlight and Twilight put so much faith into them."

"You have finished? Because you better step aside if you won't get hurt," Nigel threatened.

"You are kidding me? You are stronger but not faster as I really am!" Rainbow boasted and then flew at high speed around them, resembling a rainbow blur circling around them

She then toward Nigel for a surprise attack, but he instinctively backhanded her in her face, sending her flying a little bit. After that, he stallion turned his sword into his grappling hook and grasped Rainbow's neck in mid air with it. He then pulled the rainbow maned pegasus toward him and blocked her with one arm. Rainbow was wriggling to release herself until Nigel replaced his sword with a shotgun and pointed it on her head.

"See? This what happens when you don't play Baseball." Nigel said to Rainbow.

"Rainbow Dash!" Starlight screamed from behind the holy wall.

"Don't even think to glow your horn to teleport or even trying to save them," Nigel said. "Because I have a valid hostage. A Element of Harmony. If you don't want the Element of Loyalty dead, you better do as I said. She will be spared if you let us finish what we had started, a nobody else will get hurt. Except Zade's party, of course."

"You are cowards, and real monsters too!" Rainbow retorted.

"Shut up." Nigel said, pressing his gun on her head.

"You are expecting us to surrender in this very moment, right?" Kamahl demanded behind the holy wall.

"Yes. So?" Nigel asked.

"Can you please look a these monuments." Kamahl asked.

Nigel and Teresa looked at the monoliths. Their eyes instantly widened as the huge crystallized monuments were devoured by multiple spirals of living vines. Their pressure threatened to crush the monoliths, which started to crack.

"How is that possible!?" Teresa demanded astonished.

"There was no living, vegetable organism around this wasteland!" Nigel said angrily. "How did you do that?" He observed Kamahl, whose feet were wrapped in vines that dug through the soil. "No, don't tell me-"

"I have quite familiarity with nature itself," Kamahl said. "Under this terrain, an abundant dose of plants that were able to live undergrounds, feeding on the magic of the monoliths themselves."

"What?" Nigel looked surprised.

"However, you should think about your real problem." Kamahl said bluntly. "These monoliths are full of both the energy of the Twilegion and that of the Mirari itself. If destroyed by those magic imbued vines, it will spread a very destructive chain reaction that will aura that will destroy everything in this area. Are you sure that is the result you want to reach?"

Everybody gasped except Kamahl, Jeska, Nigel and Teresa.

"I never thought you are this crazy at this point," Nigel said. "And you forgot that I have still the hostage on my side."

"Kill her and I will unleash this scourge in the entire area." Kamahl threatened calmly.

"Are you CRAZY!?" Chrysalis retorted.

"Oh, shut up, you demon. You were silently rooting for these bullies." Jeska said.

"I know you detest loosing this war," Kamahl stated to Nigel. "But remember. Even the menace of power is power."

Nigel gritted her teeth and looked very grim. His calm composure was shattered and he trembled a little bit, which surprised him since he and Teresa were never been in a stalemate like this. It was like a double edged checkmate.

Resigned at this perspective, he released Rainbow Dash from his grasp and tossed her on the ground. Looking defeated, Nigel turned toward Teresa and approached her.

"Let's go." Nigel said.

"What?" Teresa said astonished.

"Don't discuss. Just do as I said... Please." Nigel said.

Teresa nodded in agreement and then glared coldly at Zade and the rest of the group. Her sword glowed for a moment and all of a sudden, the holy wall instantly sunk inside the ground, disappearing from their sight. Not only that, but the bodies of the demonic ponies glowed in a holy aura that partially healed their wounds.

"Eh?" Sera looked confused.

"What?" Zade said with perplexity.

"You four were alive for a miracle," Teresa reminded that to Zade's party. "You won't be alive next time."

"You had won this round... But the rest?" Nigel paused. "See you later."

Teresa and Nigel turned their back at them and proceed their way toward their unknown destination, disappearing in the horizon.

"Zade! Rainbow Dash!" Starlight exclaimed as she and the other ponies approached Rainbow Dash and the injured demonic ponies. "Are you alright?"

"Well... It could be worse," Rainbow said until she noticed the injured ponies. "Oh... Sorry."

"Don't worry." Zade assured. "This isn't the first time we got in the trouble."

"We have to take care of Chris!" Sera said.

"CHRIS!" Jace shouted alarmed as he stood up, ignoring his pain, and rushed toward the unconscious Chris along with Zade and Sera.

"Chris! Wake up!" Zade exclaimed. "Please you have to wake up!"

"Chris!" Sera shouted.

Chris remained immobile, not showing any sign of life, at first. But then, he slightly moved, groaning and opening his eyes.

"What is all this ruckus?" Chris said with a weak tone.

Zade sighed in relieve. "Thank god, you were still alive!"

Chris' eyes widened. "Nigel and Teresa?"

"Well, Kamahl pulled out a very convincing deterrent that saved us all," Zade said with a serious tone. "Seriously, this fight pushed us into our limits."

"Also, that Teresa bitch partially healed us for some reason that I couldn't explain," Jace said with a doubt in his mind. "Had that Teresa took lessons from Rubicant?"

Chris tried to stood up but felt to tired and in pain to do so. "Oh crap."

"Chris, you need to rest." Sera said

"But we have not time to waste," Chris reminded. "We have to find the Caledum."

"No, we have to save Twilight and the four Elements first," Jace reminded.

"If I am right, both of those things are in our same direction," Kamahl said. "Making this dilemma of priority entirely pointless."

"I know that would be inopportune," Starlight said calmly. "i will be the ones who will take care of your wounds."

"How?" Zade asked.

"Well, I have learned a lot of healing magic during my time as the leader of the Front of Lost Harmony," Starlight explained.
"You see, I have healed a lot of refugees. Healing you shouldn't be a problem at all."

"I saw her practicing to heal the injured ponies," Thorax assured. "I can assure you of that."

"Thank god we have a healer," Jace said exultant.

"Not exactly. I will just do my best." Starlight said optimistically.

Jace glared at Chrysalis. "You were rooting for those bastards, right?"

"Does that even matter if I do or not?" Chrysalis said sternly. "Don't forget that I value only my persona."

"But you got owned hard." Jace retorted gleefully.

"Enough," Kamahl interrupted them.

Rainbow Dash approached Starlight as the latter was using her magic to cure the demonic group. Feeling a little sorry for them, Rainbow couldn't help but express what she felt.

"I hate to say that but I was kind of a jerk not trusting your judgement," Rainbow said. "I mean, I thought you were brainwashed or something. What was I thinking?"

"You don't have to apologize," Starlight assured. "I know that was strange at first, but trust me. We are in good hands." Starlight paused. "I can't help but wonder if you remembered them saving you during your time as Twilegion's part."

"Well... I remembered them saving us," Rainbow said reluctantly. "But... It's kind of shocking when you got saved by so called villains who were actually good guys. That-"

"We got it," Jace butted in. "It's hard to trust the villains when you see one. But rest assured. We didn't had choose to be in this form anyway."

"There is one thing that bugged me to no end," Zade said.

"What is it?" Thorax asked.

".... Nigel and Teresa weren't fighting us for real," Zade stated.

"WHAT!?" Jace looked shocked.

"Are you kidding me?" Chris said as Starlight was healing him with her magic. "They were really trying to kill us for real. How could you tell that they were holding back."

"Don't forget that Teresa partially healed us," Zade reminded. "They were surely holding back. The real question is... Why?"

---

Far away from Zade and their group, Nigel and Teresa wandered in the middle of the wasteland aimlessly. They weren't just reflecting about their defeat. They were contemplating about something, like a doubt who bugged their minds.

"I expected them to be powerful," Nigel said. "That was kinda disappointing."

"They didn't had honed their powers far enough," Teresa replied. "I don't think they were a legitimate threat to us. And was not because they depends on the others."

"They were after the Caledum for sure," Nigel stated. "But that's not the point."

"I think I know what you are talking about," Teresa guessed.

"............ They had no idea of the real danger that is lying in the depths of this contorted story," Nigel said with a grim tone.

"You were late," A voice said.

Nigel and Teresa turned toward the source of the voice and found a very tall man wearing a saint robe, with very long black hairs and two eyes having two crystallized irises.

"Boream," Nigel called him. "What do we owe you this visit of yours?

"Arrogant as usual, eh, Nigel?" Boream said sternly. "You were supposed to get rid of the targets."

"But you didn't told us why," Teresa specified. "Besides, weren't you supposed to be a powerful Deplacer?"

"I don't have to account for my actions to anyone." Boream said. "You have one job and you had failed miserably."

"You may be the one who sent us in Equestria and turned us into ponies like this," Nigel said. "However, let me tell you something about it. We owe you nothing."

"You insolent child," Boream said calmly.

"Whoa. It's a bad thing when somebody pretends some explanation from you." A familiar voice said.

Boream eyes widened. "You were insolent as ever." He looked forward, seeing a very familiar human like figure. "Virum!"

"Long time no see, Boream." Virum said gleefully.

The two deplacer studied each other. Each one motivated by his own agenda that nobody else will ever discover. However, Virum looked more relaxed compared to his pseudo colleague.

"I didn't had come her to fight." Virum said. "I will talk about something of interest."

"How much interesting," Boream asked.

"............. It's about Theodore."

Chapter 25: Deplacer Clash

"Allow me to share this little tale to all of you," Discord began.

---

When Julius was young, he had already the knowledge of the other words. Her mother was indeed a Deplacer, who, differently from others, had retired and lived outside the other Deplacers' game of power to take care of her own family. Because of this, Julius has a innate ability to interact with other dimensions and people but never expanded his horizons due to her mother's method of education. She never wanted him following her past footsteps after all.

He was living an happy life like the other children should do, until the night in which her mother fell into a coma under bizarre circumstances and was sent into a hospital. Seeing that as the act of some bad guy, Julius decided to explore his own powers as a Deplacer and use it to find and punish the criminals who, according to him, would had hurt her mother.

A few years later, Julius ended up meeting Timborn, a vice councilor who decided to take him under his wing and acting as his own mentor. In a brief time, Julius almost mastered his own powers and used it to transform various criminals from other worlds and sending them to a impending doom. Gaonel was one of his victims, with the only factor that he was innocent, but Julius was too obsessed with his motivations and his powers to ever believe him.

However, it didn't take too long for him to realize that the responsible for her mother's conditions was none other than a Deplacer. As he was investigating this possibility, it turned out that the responsible for her mother falling comatose...

Was none other than Timborn himself, who has been helped by an unnamed Deplacer. He discovered that after his mentor had committed the massacre of the whole council of Deplacing Law Regulation and turned Gaonel into Deofordred. Julius tried to get vengeance on him... but was easily defeated-

As a humiliating act, Timborn robbed him of his own powers and sent into Equestria as a pony, but before having implanted Deofordred's soul into his body.

Wanting to escape this possession, Julius would had orchestrated the invasion of Chrisalys, created Twilegion and instrumentalized the whole crisis that came afterward. But her real objective was to get rid of Deofordred's soul and use any meaning to regain his former powers. All of that to take revenge against Timborn and his accomplish.

But right now we are right in the center of Deofordred's game of power, with Julius being nothing more than a helpless puppet in his grasp.

---

"You know, although I enjoy doing some games with my powers," Discord said. "That whole Deplacer stuff is one of the games that I really don't like. At all."

"Neither we do," Cadence said disgusted.

"I knew that Julius was only a victim but... I never expected this kind of story," Celestia said melancholic.

"So Julius was a Deplacer," Luna said. "Tia, I know that would sound too harsh for you, but I cannot easily forgive somepony who had used us as puppets just for his own experiments."

"We had been helpless victims of the schemes of ill-minded individuals," Celestia said and then turned to Discord. "But still, did Virum told you anything else about his own agenda? Because I would be wary to trust somepony who seems to take this whole thing so lightly."

"Like it a was a game?" Discord asked.

"Exactly," Celestia answered. "And the fact that he had recklessly sent four humans as demonic ponies to resolve his own problems pretty much confirm my statements. These ones had endured such hardship and very dreadful situation because of him. But more than that, the whole Equestria suffered because Timborn wanted to play god on him."

"Don't forget that he and Deofordred were both after the nexus," Discord reminded.

"If they put their hands on the Caledum," Shining Armor butted in. "The damages that our dimension will suffer would be incalculable!"

"And the only hope resided in Starlight, Twilight and those four humans," Celestia slowly facehoofed for the shame. "I hate to ask them this much."

"I wonder if even Virum is as guilty as that Timborn guy," Cadence said. "After all, he sent these four poor guys in this situation against their will."

"Actually... There is another human that was sent by Virum in Equestria as a demonic pony," Discord said, looking a little bit upset. "Someone who was sent there even before Zade, Jace, Chris and Sera."

"What!?" Celestia looked surprised.

"The only difference..." Discord paused and leaned toward Celestia. "Was that he had accepted to be sent there of his own will."

"Who is it?" Luna asked.

"..... Julius' brother."

---

In the middle of the monoliths wasteland, Zade and his companions mostly recovered from the fight against Nigel and Teresa; all thanks to Starlight's healing magic. Despite this, they were mentally exhausted because of the impact that their opponents had leaved in their minds and skins. They were lucky enough that the duo was just holding back and that Kamahl helped them to avoid being killed. Otherwise they wouldn't be there to tell the tale.

Thorax and Jeska, being the only ones who didn't had took part in the fight, kept an eye on the chained Chrysalis. All of the while talking about what to do with her. Kamahl talked about Zade's role in Twilegion's defeat to Rainbow Dash, who had suddenly remembered the reason why she was teleported there.

"How could I had forgot about that!" Rainbow Dash said. "We have to hurry! Twilight and her friend were still in danger!"

"How far is the place in which they are?" Zade asked.

"Pretty much far far away from there..." Rainbow Dash said, almost resigned.

"I hate to admit, but we wouldn't be able to reach them before their situation get worse," Jace said.

Sera glared at him in psycho mode. "You better have an idea..." Her psycho mode instantly turned off as she realized what the idea could be. "Wait... I think I know what it is."

"What is it?" Rainbow asked.

Jace sighed heavily for the annoyance. "Don't tell I have to do the possession pantomime again,"

"I hate to say that, but yes, There's no other way," Chris said.

"What are you talking about?" Rainbow asked suspiciously.

"Ehm, Rainbow," Starlight said. "Could you please close an eyes regarding what is going to happen next?"

"Why should I do that?" Rainbow asked.

Before Rainbow had the time to react, Jace turned into a red mist and entered inside Rainbow's body. Rainbow Dash yelped for a moment before passing away and flopping on her side. Her body remained motionless.

"Wait for it," Zade said.

"Since I know you, I see nothing but oddities," Kamahl said calmly.

"Me either," Jeska said.

"Face it. Even without powers, we are a pretty much dysfunctional group," Chris said.

Groaning, 'Rainbow' slowly stood up and scratched her head. She then looked at Zade, Sera and Chris, and then facehoofed in embarrassment.

"You know," Jace/Rainbow said. "I didn't got used to possess female bodies. More than that, I think I am violating someone's mnemonic privacy."

"Then why you were looking into my memories!?" Rainbow asked in his mind.

"At least I am making an equal change by using my own memories, so don't complain," Jace/Rainbow turned to Starlight. "By the way, Twilight and the others went inside the ruins of a forgotten sanctuary. They went to find and save Sweetie Bell when they go engulfed by veil of darkness."

Zade's eyes widened. "Wait a second, could that be the same veil that saved us from Duskthorn and Storm Hide."

"You mean the time we go ambushed by the two alicorn assholes?" Jace/Rainbow asked.

"Exactly," Sera replied.

"Damn, I never thought about that possibility," Rainbow/Jace said astonished.

"If you had finished to share information with the Element of Loyalty," Kamahl said. "Then get out of her body and do your thing with Starlight."

"Just give me second," Jace/Rainbow said, a second before the red mist leaved Rainbow's body and entered into Starlight's, causing both the mares to fell on the ground unconscious.

"Keep in mind, Jace!" Zade shouted, mimicking a megaphone. "She's a pony, not a teleport computer from Star Trek!"

"I think he got the message already," Jeska said calmly.

"Seriously, I am the only one to be freaked out by those powers of his?" Chrysalis asked disgusted.

Sera turned to her in psycho mode. "Do you want him possessing you?"

"Absolutely not!" Chrysalis hissed.

Sera turned her psycho mod off. "But seriously, since you were a manipulator, that could be a great idea."

".... I hate you so much," Chrysalis murmured.

"Ok, guys," Jace/Starlight said, laying on the floor. "I thinks that's all."

The red mist leaved Starlight's body and approached Zade, taking the form of Jace once again.

"Jace, what are you doing?" Zade asked.

"You see, Starlight actually asked me to let her doing the mass teleportation according to her own will," Jace said. "That's why I went out of her body too soon."

"I hope we don't have to repeat that process ever again," Chris said.

"Me too," Jace scratched his head. "Guys, you don't have the idea of what kind of headache I'm having right now."

"I know that," Starlight said as she stood up.

"Ok, you have done your thing," Rainbow said as she stood up too. "Now let's get straight to the action." She then turned to Jace. "Also... Why you showed me your other memories?"

Zade turned to Jace. "What memories?"

"You know, just to let her know who I am," Jace said. "I also showed her the time I was usually participating into manifestations and having fight against the authorities. You know, the whole episodes in which I was putted into jail."

"........ What is the point to share your own rebellion against dictat bullshit with her!?" Zade demanded.

"Again. Equal sharing of memories." Jace said.

Sera facehoofed. "What is wrong with you?"

"Can we stop goofing around?" Chris asked.

"Alright, let's do it," Starlight said as she glowed her horn.

A flash of light briefly flashed and the whole group of ponies disappeared into nothingness.

---

In the middle of the wasteland, Nigel and Teresa observed as Virum and Boream where glaring at each other. However, Virum looked deviously jovial, in contrast with Boream's serious behavior. The two were discussing about one detail.

"Theodore you said?" Boream said. "Are you talking about with that wild card of yours?"

"Wild card is a crude definition," Virum said sardonically. "I think the word variant is more suitable to him. Besides, you didn't looked like the type who liked the surprises."

"Don't play psychology with me, Virum," Boream said with a fed up tone. "I know everything about your misdeeds. You had resolve one problem, but not the rest."

"I thought you were after Theodore," Virum said. "So why sending these your goons against my four pieces."

"Goons?" Teresa said with an almost upset tone as she was about to do something.

"Teresa. Don't do anything." Nigel halted.

"Nothing ambitious," Boream said calmly. "I just wanted to retrieve the Caledum and get the power to legitimate the existence of us as Deplacers. Only this time, I will lead the entire boat."

"Whoa." Virum said with gleeful sarcasm. "And I think that doesn't involve take the nexus before Timborn of the unnamed Deplacer does, right?"

"..."

"..."

"The Deplacer kind almost ruined itself," Virum said. "Timborn and his accomplish only accelerated it's decline. To sum up, if you want to resurrect the whole Deplacer kind and govern them as their leader... Then you had took the wrong direction."

Boream's eyes widened. "Why you...!"

That being said, the two started fighting in a very strange way. Their punches connected and all of a sudden, they turned into flashes of light that clashed with each other at light speed. Every time they clashed unleashed every sort of calamity that devastated the wasteland, like thunderstorms, pyroclasms, cyclones and earthquakes.

"We need to get out of there. NOW!" Nigel shouted.

"So this is what a Deplacer fight looks like," Teresa said as she grabbed Nigel with her hooves and flew away from the unstable area.

The elemental calamities slowly dissipated into clouds. There was a flood that rained down to the wasteland, and then, the raindrops began to turn themselves into swarms of wasps that clashed with each other. Each wasp didn't just die; they turned into violet embers. In a matter of minutes, the swarms quickly diminished in number by both sides as the flashes of light were still clashing.

After a long time, the flashes disappeared and both the Deplacers reappeared on the devastated landscape. The whole battlefield was emptied of every single calamity, leaving a devastated wasteland; full of tectonic fractures and large lakes. Both Virum and Boream looked very exhausted, although the prime was the only one who had enjoyed that.

"See? That why Deplacers never fought against each other," Virum said. "Eh. By the way, you looked very pretentious, if I had to comment that behavior of your."

"You depraved fool..." Boream blurted.

"... I may be depraved for real, but that doesn't change one thing regarding my role as a chess player," Virum said.

"What?"

"... I don't like bigots."

---

In the epicenter of the Badlands, nearby the ruins of the forgotten sanctuary, an azure light flashed and Zade's group appeared out of nowhere. As the demonic party scanned their surrounding, they looked more astonished; not having seen something like this before. Starlight and Jace, however, had one doubt worming inside their heads.

"I thought that the Badlands was a forsaken wasteland," Jace said. "What is that sactuary doing there?"

"Was that constructed by a previous civilization of creature that we never saw before?" Starlight asked.

"That's not possible," Kamahl said. "That structure must have been built by some entity. Although I don't know what entity. That reminded me of Karona's temple."

"Who cares! We have to hurry!" Rainbow said impatiently.

"She's right. We better hurry up," Thorax said.

"Let's just hope to not fall into a trap," Zade said.

The whole group rushed inside the entrance of the sanctuary and entered inside the cloister. What they found at the very center of it was a huge dome made of darkness.

"Here," Rainbow indicate. "Twilight and the others got sucked inside!"

"You mean inside this huge thing?" Chris demanded.

"Yes, I can confirm that," Jace said. "I saw that too."

"Ok." Zade paused. "No."

"No what?" Rainbow asked.

"I don't if we should use our powers," Zade said. "I didn't want to damage any the ponies who got sucked inside that thing."

"We should at least try to enter inside it," Sera proposed.

"Leave it to me." Rainbow volunteered.

"Rainbow, wait!" Zade exclaimed.

Rainbow was about to fly toward the sphere when a sudden blast of energy hit the dome. And then there was another one. Rainbow took her distance from the blasts and looked upwards. Her eyes widened.

"No way..." Rainbow murmured in shock.

Zade and the others looked upward and saw a red-yellow maned yellow pony floating menacingly above the dome, adorned with black wings made of pure darkness. Jace flinched upon recognizing the pony.

"S-Sunset Shimmer!?" Jace exclaimed. "What the hell is she doing here!?"

"Wait, you know her?" Zade asked.

"Of course I do!" Jace said. "She's from the Equestria Girls-"

"Less details. Tell me only the essential," Zade said.

"She was the bully type of unicorn who had then redeemed herself," Jace explained. "She was supposed to be in the Equestria equivalent of the human world. I couldn't explain her presence here."

"There was an alternative human world?" Sera demanded.

"We have a big problem to take care of right now," Kamahl reminded.

Sunset Shimmer noticed them. "Ahahahah. So you must be the four demons that Virum had sent in order to resolve the problem." She said with a warped voice. "Too bad, because I am going to get rid of you!"

"... That is not you. What happened?" Starlight asked incredulous.

"And how the hell did you know everything about us?" Zade asked.

"Was that important?" Sunset said coldly. "What matters now is the fact that you will die here!"

Sunset glowed her horn in a very dark violet aura and shot a blast of dark energy toward the group. Starlight used her magic to creates a barrier in front of her, only for the projectile to destroy it, shattering it into pieces and causing the unicorn to fall aback.

"Starlight!" Thorax exclaimed as he rushed to her.

"I am alright," Starlight said weakly. "But we have to help her!"

"Help me?" Sunset scoffed. "You better help yourselves instead."

And Sunset shot another blast of dark energy toward them. Chris instantly stood up two legged, putted himself in front of the group and turned his hoof in the Soul Edge, which he use it to shield himself from the blast. The impact almost stumbled Chris, but he managed to retain his equilibrium.

"Sunset, STOP!" Starlight shouted.

"It's pointless," Jeska said. "I can sense a obscure force controlling her."

Jace's eye widened as a idea wormed inside his mind. "Controlling her?" He then turned to Rainbow. "Can you please distract her? I have an idea."

"I hope for you that it works," Rainbow said and flew toward Sunset. "Sorry, Sunset. But It's for your sake."

"You are welcome to try," Sunset said as she shot another blast of energy on Rainbow.

Rainbow dodged it and circled at a very fast speed around her, resembling a ring of rainbow blurs. Enraged, Sunset channeled her magic inside her body.

"That's ENOUGH!" Sunset shouted as she released an explosion of darkness that propelled Rainbow away.

With that out of her way, Sunset proceeded to attack the rest of the group, without noticing Jace flying toward her and tackling her.

"What the- ARGH!" Sunset looked shocked.

"Surprise, mother fucker!" Jace said, a moment before turning into a red mist and entering inside Sunset's body.

It seemed the normal possession, but then both Jace and Sunset ended up being propelled away and falling abruptly on the ground.

"Sunset!" Starlight shouted as she approached her. "Are you alright?"

"Jace!" Zade exclaimed as he and the other ponies rushed toward him

Sunset remained motionless, but only for a moment. She slowly woke up and groaned, feeling dizzy. "Starlight? Where... Where am I?"

"Thank goodness," Starlight then turned to Jace, who looked exhausted.

".... Did I managed to expel that sucker?" Jace asked.

Zade looked upward and his eyes widened. "You did but I think it's still there."

"What?" Jace looked also looked up.

Above the dome made of shadows, there was only the two wings made of pure darkness. Without an host to control, their form started to mutate, assuming a human form. The darkness slowly turned into colors, revealing it's true form. The form of a devil winged woman in a black trench coat with blonde hairs and green eyes, whose irises were made of leafs.

Before Zade could ask some question about her, the shadow dome suddenly dissipated into white embers, revealing the the Mane Six and Sweetie Bell, who were actually surprised to be released this easily.

Twilight quickly noticed the group of ponies behind her. "Zade! Starlight! Everyone!"

"Wait a second," Rarity halted. "Is that Sunset Shimmer?"

"Who's she doing here?" Applejack demanded."

"Can we put the questions for later?" Sunset said. "We have a bigger problem."

"Yeah." Zade narrowed his eyes. "Far more bigger than us."

"What's your problem?" The woman said gleefully. "You never saw a chess player before? Is my appearance that shocking? Or was the fact that you were wanted at this point?"

"What's that attitude, bitch?" Jace said angrily. "You tried to kill us!"

"I just wanted to make sure that none one of you can make it to the Caledum," The woman said. "Besides, my name is Fira, a Deplacer who decided to root for Gaonel."

"You mean Deofordred." Zade said.

"The name has not importance," Fira said. "What really mattered was making you pay for the defeat of Twilegion!"

"I don't get it!" Twilight said. "Why going after our lives?"

"And why you were controlling Sunset Shimmer!?" Jace asked.

"Because I have no other pawn in which I can play," Fira said. "You see, I am the only Deplacer who can't actually deplace anything. Only possess and fuse multiple bodies into one. To sum up, I needed you dead to fuse your bodies and become even more powerful." She turned to Jace. "To bad you had managed to exorcise her, somehow."

"You wanna fight? Because we are always ready," Jace declared. "Bring it on!"

"Wait, she said she's a Deplacer!" Zade stated. "We never fought against one before!"

"Did you remembered the time you had gone Leeroy Jenkins against Virum and you failled?" Chris asked.

"Yeah, I had forgot about that." Jace admitted.

"You were the first jerk who was intentionally unfunny," Pinkie Pie said.

"I hate to say something out of place but," Fluttershy said. "Wasn't the dome made of shadows protecting us for this whole time."

"Now that you were thinking about that..." Zade was about to say something.

Until someone else voice's echoed in the cloister.

"Hmph. I hate when someone always need help to resolve it's own problems," The voice said.

Zade flinched. "That voice."

"Wait... I recognize that voice!" Sera said.

Chris eyes widened. ".... Theodore!"

"Theodore?" Fira said, looking shocked. "No, don't tell me...!"

All of a sudden, a pillar of black energy rained down in front of the group. As it dissipated, a very weird silver maned gray pony was standing two legged, wearing a black-red cape and a golden mask over the right half of his face. Half of his body was covered with thin violet crystals. His hooves had five digit claws and his eyes were red as blood.

"Zade," Twilight said. "Is that pony a friend of yours?"

"Not exactly," Zade replied nervously. "He was our classmate. What I don't understand was why he's here."

"Look at his appearance," Sera said. "Did that reminded you of something?"

"Something what?" Starlight asked confused.

"Oh my god, Theodore is Gebel!" Jace stated.

And now another boss subtitle.

Theodore/Gebel.

"I have no time to waste here," Theodore said, cracking his fingers. "Let's get this out of the way, shall we?"

Chapter 26: Fifth Member (EDITED FOR PLOT HOLES)

All of the eyes were directed at the half-violet crystallized gray pony that entered the scene. The demonic party, and Starlight, were mostly surprised to see him since they had recognized him as Theodore. The Mane Six, Sunset and Sweetie Bell looked really confused, not knowing what was going on or what his intention are. Fira, on other hand, was partially surprised, but only for a moment before she started to laugh.

"Seriously," Fira said. "Did you had realized what you were doing? You are actually in a pony form and you expected me to be intimidated by you. Right, Theodore?..." She then turned into a serious tone. "You are on the verge to get killed this easily."

"Can somepony explain what the hay's goin' on?" Applejack asked confused.

"I don't know what to think but you have to explain this," Zade said. "What are you doing here? And who send you there in this ponified demonic form."

"That should be the last of your problems," Theodore said as he turned his head toward the group. "This is the first time you were facing some foe like her, right?"

"I know!" Jace exclaimed. "We are ponies while she's two meter feet tall woman towering on us. Not fair!"

"I am referring to the fact that Fira is a Deplacer." Theodore said crudely.

"Theodore, you are seriously thinking that we didn't known that already?" Zade asked, unable to hide his nervousness.

What Theodore said was redundant but was relevant enough to reminde them of the first time they had met Virum, including Jace's reckless act to take on him. They weren't sent into Equestria yet, but at that time, they had felt the power of a Deplacer on their skin. That also reminded them of the petrified FBI agents being scattered on the ground nearby Zade's house. At the very end of that short memory lane, there was only a crude certainty: Defeat Fira was about to be a very hard task.

"Guys... I hate to admit, but that is gonna suck," Zade said with a grave tone.

"In a very tragic way if we can't defeat her." Sera said.

"I hate to ask a question since I already saw in Jace's memories what Virum can do," Starlight said, needing to justify what she was about to say. "But... How much powerful can she possibly be?"

"Look, we had a hard time battling Twilegion," Jace said nervously. "I can't even imagine battling a female Virum."

"Was that an unintentional joke?" Chris said sternly.

Jace shook his head as if he was trying to shake away the tension. "All right, guys. I don't think I am in condition to say that but we have to stay composed."

"Keep in mind," Zade explained. "I don't think that the strength of the number and our powers would be enough."

"Tsk, it looks like you weren't this reckless as I had imagined." Theodore said calmly.

"Hey," Zade retorted. "What do you mean with that?"

Theodore then looked at Twilight. "What are you doing here, anyway? You should have teleported away in this very moment. I don't want have any little brat being involved in this following massacre."

"I-I think he's referring to me." Sweetie Bell said reluctantly.

"Was this brutal remark even necessary?" Rarity said with a slightly upset tone.

"Oh, I forgot," Jace said. "Theodore can also be a grade A jackass when he wants to."

"You think we can't defend ourselves?" Twilight pointed out.

"Trust me," Theodore insisted calmly. "This woman is out of your league."

"You are not going anywhere!" Fira exclaimed as she unleashed a flux of lightnings from her hand.

Theodore promptly pointed his hoof toward the flux and created a barrier made of shadows that absorbed the blow and devoured the lightnings, much to Fira disbelieve and annoyance. Twilight and the rest of her group was left speechless. She was about to say something but Theodore prematurely interrupted her attempt.

"Get out of here, now." Theodore said with a commanding tone.

Twilight reluctantly nodded and glowed her horn. "All right."

With that, Twilight, the other Elements, Sweetie Bell and the injured Sunset disappeared in a flash of light. Theodore returned his attention to Fira, who silently glared at him.

"Tell me," Theodore said. "If you are so powerful, then why you were so surprised to see me?"

Fira gritted her teeth. "You arrogant fool. What really surprised me was you putting your own life on the line. Are you that stupid or what?"

"At least not stupid enough to have tried to take on a Deplacer when I was still human," Theodore remarked.

"Hey!" Jace exclaimed. "What was that for!?"

Theodore looked at Starlight and Kamahl's group. "You and your friends should had done the same thing. Why you are still there?"

"I think we should spare the details for later," Kamahl reminded as he wrapped his hooves with roots forming hands and feet and stood two legged, wielding his stone axe. "Depending if we can survive this or not."

"Fair enough," Theodore said. "But I don't want be responsible for your deaths."

"We died once, so that facing death is not a big deal," Jeska said.

"But is a big deal for US!" Chris retorted.

Thorax turned himself into a huge dragon, shielding the chained Chrysalis. "You better be grateful that Starlight didn't had took a drastic decision."

"Not giving me any chance to defend myself, huh." Chrysalis said with a slightly fed-up tone.

"Hey, you putted the whole Equestria into chaos, so shut up," Jace said.

"We better get ready for this storm," Sera suggested.

"It's not like we have a choice," Chris said with a grave tone.

"Let's get on!" Zade proclaimed.

"Tsk. You shouldn't had even said that," Fira said as her form dissolved in a massive swarm of locusts that covered the entire cloister, obscuring everything in front of the ponies' eyes.

Everything went dark.

Before anyone could even react, multiple screams echoed through the darkness, a moment before being replaced by silence. Nopony said any word as the dark created by the locusts began to dissipate and Fira regained her form, reappearing behind the group.

"Still blubbering about defeating me, losers?" Fira asked, getting their attention.

Zade, Theodore, Starlight and the others turned around to see her, only to find her towering on the injured and unconscious Chrysalis and Thorax. The whole group frozen up, intimidated by that display of power. A sense of awe and dread chilled their spine upon that. Theodore, however, was the only one who had maintained the calm.

"THORAX!" Starlight shouted as she approached the injured changeling, whose form has been reverted into his original one. "... What happened to you!?"

"Stop spacing out and stay focused," Theodore said to the rest of the group. "Your life depends on how much you want to survive."

"You are wasting your breath," Fira declared, launching multiple darts of dark energy from her hand.

Theodore reacted immediately by unleashing a barrage of electric spikes from his cape toward the darts, causing many explosion of lights during their impact. He then pointed his hoof toward Fire and charged it with a blue aura. A magical like circle appeared in front of the female Deplacer, who was narrowing her eyes in surprise, as if like she had already understood his move.

"VALAC!" Theodore exclaimed as a deformed, double mouthed dragon head appeared from the circle and breathed fire on Fira.

She shielded herself with her hand and formed a ethereal barrier in front of her. The flames were divided in two direction, unable to touch Fira. The dragon head and the barrier disappeared a few second afterwards.

"Zade, we need to escape." Starlight said worried. "Since I had Jace's knowledge about the Deplacers, if what Theodore said about her being powerful was true, then we have no chance against her."

"You are right." Zade said. "Teleport us away from here!"

"No, you don't." Fira declared as she waved her hand, materializing a red mist around the cloister. Starlight glowed her horn, but it's lights suddenly dissipated into sparks.

"What?" Starlight said dumbfounded.

"The bad news is that you cannot teleport away from my sight or even escape normally," Fira informed. "That mist serves as my personal force field. Although you can still use your other spells... Seriously, I cannot allow you to run away this easily."

A cruel sense of awe washed over the group of ponies upon hearing that. Starlight in particular was visibly taken aback from
that and felt the fear making it's into her mind. "That's not good."

Fira imbued both her hands with a red energy and shot multiple red waves that traveled toward the group of ponies. Starlight promptly glowed her horn and formed a barrier around the whole group. For Starlight that was a solid defense, but the waves collided with the barrier and shattered into pieces. Feeling the telekinetical impact, she was propelled away for a few yards before falling on the ground.

"Starlight!" Chris yelled.

Trying to ignore the pain, Starlight slowly rose up, looking baffled. "How much powerful is this human?"

"You have no idea how power I detain in this very moment," Fira commented with a crude tone.

"Answer me, asshole!" Jace shouted. "Why you were possessing Sunset?! And what you expect to gain by hunting us down?!"

"Possessing that mare is only a means to lure you out," Fira answered. "You cannot comprehend what was going on but I have to remove you from of the game. I can't allow anyone to face Deofordred, even if that means resorting to immoral methods."

"Huh!?" Jace looked confused.

"What?" Starlight said confused.

"Wasn't trying to kill us immoral enough?" Kamahl asked calmly.

"I thought you were only acting behind the shadows." Jace said nervously. "Also you said that you are unable to deplace anything. I call that bullshit since that wasn't entirely. If you are Deplacer, that will mean that you can actually deplace something. Even your... Weird eyes are pretty much telling otherwise. So why trying to eliminate us directly?"

"Unlike the others, I don't play by the rules," FIra said and the made a wide grin. "So you were unlucky enough to met my presence. I am sorry, but I need Deofordred's role in this whole mess of a story and I won't anyone to interfere with my plans."

"You are in co-hoot with that monster?" Jace said with shocked surprise. "Why!?"

"You don't need to know about that, actually." Fira said as she waved her hand, causing a force field. "After all, you won't get out of here alive."

"Say that to my axe!" Kamahl said as he pointed his axe at Fira. The weapon glowed in a light-blue light and unleashed a azure vortex of flames at her. Her figure was engulfed by the fire, but only for a moment as the flames instantly dissipated into small embers, much to Kamahl's shock. "Impossible..."

"Surprised, former hero of Dominaria?" Fira mocked. "You cannot drain the power of a Deplacer!"

That being said, Fira raised her upwards and charged her hand with a red aura and materialized huge asteroid that descended toward the group. Before anyone could even react, Theodore, pointed his hoof toward it and materialized a giant, hammer-shaped hand from a magical seal that smashed the asteroid into multiple pieces. The rocks rained down to the cloister, mostly destroying the pillars.

The demonic party, Starlight and the others were quite both surprised to see him valiantly fighting Fira without any fear, like he was in the same league as her. Kamahl turned toward the demonic party and pointed his root-made finger at them.

"Consider that he can't fight this battle alone," Kamahl stated.

"You tell that," Zade as he stood up two legged and charged his hooves with a purple energy. "DOUBLE REPPUKEN!"

With that, Zade unleashed a wave of pure energy that traveled toward Fira. The female Deplacer pointed her finger at the wave, causing a wall of granite to rise from the ground. The wave ended up partially destroying the wall, revealing that Fira didn't took a scratch.

"Please, don't embarrass yourself," Fira mocked.

"Try this!" Jace shouted as he breathed a barrage of lightnings from his mouth while Chris charged that with a dark energy and slammed it against the ground, unleashing a wave of destructive energy.

The other ponies followed suit. Sera glowed her horn in a dark violet aura, charged her own dark-violet flaming meteor and launched it toward Fira. Starlight shot her magical beam and Jeska, being also a Planswarker, tossed a massive fire ball from her hoof.

"Don't even think about that," Fira said unimpressed as she jumped very high, dodging all the attacks and landing gracefully behind Zade.

Chris immediately turned his head toward Zade "WATCH OUT!"

Exploiting his apparent distraction, Fira tried to deliver a roundhouse kick to Zade. Unexpectedly, he blocked her foot with both his hooves and tossed her body toward one of the pillars. Fira yelped as she ended up smashing through the piece of marble, much to the other ponies' surprise.

"WHOO-OH-OH-OAH!" Jace exclaimed.

"That... was unexpected." Kamahl commented.

"Zade... Did you had just grabbed and tossed her around like it was nothing?" Starlight asked.

"I guess having Geese's powers granted me, as you will call, a unequine strength," Zade theorized. "But we have no time to waste in this moment!"

"Don't stop now!" Theodore insisted.

Fira grunted almost angrily as she slowly stood up, looking partially astonished by Zade's display of strength. She lifted her head and found Kamahl leaping furiously in her direction in a attempt to slash her with his axe.

"Begone!" Fira shouted as she unleashed a shockwave that rejected Kamahl, propelling him away from her. The green marine pony fell on the floor abruptly, all of the while keeping his axe from flying away from his root-made hands.

"Kamahl!" Fira shouted worried.

"... Ugh... That's nothing. Just don't get yourself distracted!" Kamahl replied with an almost pained tone.

Fira was about to make her next move, but then stopped up seeing Zade jumping very high while charging his hooves with a purple aura.

"Really?" Fira said.

"SHIPPUKEN!" Zade shouted as he launched a flying wave of purple energy upon her.

The female Deplacer hoovered in the air to miss the blow and flew aggressively toward Zade. She grabbed his head in mid-air and tossed him toward the terrain below him. Seeing him falling down, Sera pointed her hoof in his direction and summoned a coil of skeletal ghosts that grabbed his body just in time.

As the specters were putting Zade down, Fira suddenly disappeared into a red mist and reappeared in front of Sera, looking menacingly at her.

"Yeah. Try to save him, if you can." Fira said cruelly as she glowed her hand in a white aura when a beam hits her from behind, making her almost losing her balance. Confused and furious, Fira turned around to see her aggressor, only to find a legitimately furious Starlight.

"This is for Sunset, you witch!" Starlight declared.

Fira glared at the whole group, widening her eyes. "You asked for it. Play time is over."

"In your dreams!" Jace shouted as he flew toward her and breathed fire.

Fira streched her hands toward the flames, gesturing them to stop, as so the flames did. She then twisted the flames and deformed them into a flaming globe, and then shrunk it in size, as if it was compressed. The globe vanished into nothingness. Jace didn't have the time to have a reaction that the tiny sphere bursts into a fiery explosion the propelled him away from her. The devilish pony ended up rolling abruptly on the stone floor.

"Jace!" Sera cried.

"... Argh. That hurts." Jace said weakly.

Starlight launched a purple beam at the female Deplacer and encased her body inside a crystal. She was about to glow her horn and use her telekinesis on Fira, but the crystallized cage suddenly exploded. It's fragments whizzed in all of the toward Starlight, hitting her in many parts of her body and burying her under a crystal mountain.

"Starlight!" Zade shouted.

Theodore rushed toward Fira. "Hey you! We have not done yet!"

Fira turned toward Theodore, who was launching multiple ice spear toward her. In a instant, her body turned transparent and the spear passed through her without even scratch her. The pale-gray demonic pony was about to use his powers again, only for him to be anticipated by Fira shooting a invisible force wave from her hand, striking his head and knocking him down. Theodore grunted fiercely as Fira looked down on him.

"So much for someone who knows how to fight a Deplacer," Fira commented with annoyance as she stomped her foot on him.

As Fira was making her own mocking lecture on Theodore, Kamahl stood up and hastily grabbed his stone axe. He then pointed his weapon toward the floor and imbued it with a green energy.

"Jeska." Kamahl called, getting her attention.

"Kamahl?" Jeska said.

"Time to put my own powers to use again," Kamahl said as the green energy flowed on the ground. Vines grew from beneath until their formed three huge, humanoid plant golems who roared ferociously.

Fira looked in his direction and saw both Kamahl, Jeska and the three vine-made creatures glowing in a vivid green aura as they were charging toward her. She charged her hand with a white energy and launched a huge disk of light at them. Kamahl tried to parry it with his axe, but when the disk collided with the weapon, it burst into a explosion of light that overwhelmed Kamahl's quintet. After that, the blinding light slowly faded away, revealing both Kamahl and Jeska being knocked down unconscious. As fore the plant golems, their bodies stopped moving and were reduced into ashes.

Zade, Chris and Sera, being the only ones left, were overtaken by fear upon seeing the attacks of their friends being thwarted in so many creatives and yet tremendous ways. They felt a great urge to escape desperately, but they know that they cannot escape. Sera was the first to snap out of it and took a brief look a her injured friends and then looked at Fira enraged.

"Oh oh oh. You had pushed the wrong button." Sera said, a second before going into full psycho mode,with a mad, sadistic expression marking her face. "What about a literal urban legend beating!"

Furiously, Sera hoovered in the air and flew at Fira with full speed, all of the while charging her hooves with a dark energy. Her magatamas detached from her body and circulated around her, forming a slashing barrier. Not only that, but she also summoned a horde of skeletal ghosts who followed her charge with a menacing pace.

"Unfortunately for you, I know how deal with desperate opponents like you."

As Sera was approaching her, Fira materialized two dark-glowing swords of energy from both her hands and tried to cut her down. Sera dodged the blow and tried to furiously hit the Deplacer with the slashing. Fira missed her but the slashing barrier created by the magatamas brushed her face, taking her by surprise. Fira didn't have the time lament about her wounds that the skeletal ghosts attacked her. Fira promptly slashed many of them, but she had a hard time dealing with both the ghosts and a pissed off Sera. Seeing this, Zade took that as a signal.

"Chris, we need to exploit that for a coordinated assault," Zade suggested. "Follow me!"

"Alright!" Chris agreed as he and Zade rushed toward the Deplacer.

"Take this, self-righteous bitch!" Sera declared as she tried to slash her with the dark energy imbuing her hoof, only to be blocked by Fira, who had unmaterialized her swords and blocked her hoof.

"Let me show you the means of the verb despair." Fira said with a calm and yet menacing tone as her body glowed in orange light and unleashed a huge, fiery explosion that overwhelmed Zade, Chris, Sera, the skeletal ghosts and the rest of the ponies. The explosion was so devastating that looked like a supernova.

Almost everything was burnt by the searing flames of the dome. After a couple of minutes, the explosion died off, leaving a huge crater in it's wake. The demonic party and the rest of the group, including Thorax and Chrysalis were utterly beaten down, with bruises covering their bodies. The skeletal ghosts were instantly vanquished, and Starlight was buried in a pile of ashes that used to be the crystals; a detail that acted as a testament of a Deplacer's power.

Fira was the only one being unscathed and the only one emerging victorious. She slowly walked toward the her defeated opponents with a slightly disappointed expression.

"Weird... Your attempt to defeat me should be laughable but it's not," Fira said. "It's not even sad either. Is just disappointing. And Virum put his faith into four literal idiots, thinking it's good idea. The same thing can be said for Kamahl and Jeska. As for the other three ponies, they met my expectation... Which wasn't so high whatsoever."

The female Deplacer was about to make another remark, until she heard someone groaning. She turned toward the source of the noise and found both Zade, Chris, Sera, Jace and Theodore trying to stand up forcefully on their hind legs, looking as beaten up as the others, who were scattered unconscious to devastated ground. Fira looked at them with annoyance.

"You don't know when you should quit, didn't you?" Fira said, almost laughing. "Now that is laughable."

"...... That's... Not.. Good...." Zade said with a weak tone, almost loosing his balance. "Seriously... I hate being in situations like this."

"Me too," Chris said with a pained tone.

"I have no intention to be taken down this easily," Sera said with her psycho mode died off. "Hehe... I can't believe I would had said that."

"I know, man," Jace said. "I don't even know what is humiliating: Being scared or get rekted by a psychotic Deplacer."

"You decide," Sera retorted.

"I told you, Fira." Theodore said. "We have not done yet."

"Theodore... Get off of you horse for once, because you are still a insect after all." Fire looked at Zade. "And you, Zade. You said you hate being in this situation. There's a hint for you. Why you can't simply die? And besides, weren't you afraid of me?"

"Yes... Yes I am," Zade's eyes widened. "Which is why you are pissing me off."

"Huh?" Fira looked perplexed.

"Zade, I don't think is the time for a speech, in the middle of a brutal fight," Theodore said.

"Oh, really?" Zade said. "It's not like we have nothing to lose anymore."

"What do you mean, you cretin?" Fira asked.

"This is not the first time we met an almost hopeless fight that we thought we cannot win," Zade said. "Hmph. To think that you had almost scared me for a handful of minutes. I am not afraid of you in this moment."

"Did you have lost your mind?" Fira asked sardonically. "You are not in position of talk this big. You are about to being pulverized by me. Besides, what are you blabbering about?"

"Let me tell you something, demented witch," Zade began. "It's since the start of this whole mess or game of power, as you want to call, that someone or something tried to kill us. Normally, since we just wanted to go home desperately without getting ourselves killed, we would have escaped Equestria in no time. But there's the thing. It's because we were tired of both escape and cowering in fear of foes like you that we had the courage to face you, despite all of the odd. Which is why... I fucking dare you... to face me... one more time."

"Tsk... All that talk seemed like the monologue of a arrogant warlord," Theodore commented. "You should had spared that... But you know what? I think I am going to like your current attitude."

"Was that sarcasm?" Jace asked.

"I don't think that is the case," Chris said.

"Have you done?" Fira asked. "Because I am about to lower the curtain... Permanently."

With the imposition of her hand, Fira imbued it with a dark-red aura and flooded the cloister with a massive wave of darkness that engulfed the bodies of the five demonic ponies, who shielded themselves with their hooves. Zade could feel a cold and chilling pain traversing his body as the darkness wrapped him. He felt his vitality being drained away and his body becoming heavy and numb. His consciousness was slipping away from him. Zade was on the verge to passing out.

But then something familiar awakened from his being. Something very arcane. As sense of deja vu washed over him. And that something renewed his determination, forcing to resist.

"I can't believe it's happening again." Zade murmured.

Suddenly, a violet energy erupted from his body in a burst of violet energy that engulfed his body and ripped the darkness that was overwhelming him and his group.

Fira flinched in surprise from what was happening. "What the hell!?"

Once again, that arcane that helped him to defeat Twilegion Spadeus had been emerged again. Zade made a few steps toward Fira, passing through the dark wave.

As that was happening, Starlight merged from a pile of ashes and lifted her gaze toward the spectacle. Upon seeing him in that state, Starlight couldn't help but feel both confused and amazed. She could feel the tremendous power by just perceiving that through her magic.

"What kind of power is this?" Starlight asked astonished.

Jace turned to Starlight. "Trust me. This is not the first time that happened."

"Is the same as the time with Twilegion." Sera said.

"Please, tell me that we have finally a chance against her." Jace said almost excited.

"I have a hard time to get used to it," Zade said. "But who cares. I am about to see if this works."

"... You think you are the only one?" Theodore's voice said.

Zade, Starlight and the others turned toward him and flinched in surprise upon seeing Theodore's body being imbued with a violet energy as him. The same tremendous power was flowing inside him. Zade was visibly disturbed by that.

"Theodore... You too?" Zade asked.

"Don't mind that." Theodore said. "We have a Deplacer to defeat."

"What is this power!?" Fira exclaimed confused. "How did you-" She stopped and froze with a surprised look, as if she had realized something. "I see... So Virum bestowed part of his powers on both of you."

"Hmm?" Jace looked confused at Zade.

"What are talking about?" Zade asked.

"Deus Ex Machina my ass," Fira retorted. "Nevermind. I will destroy you before you have even the time to unleash that power!"

Angered, Fira summoned multiple spears made of darkness from above her and thrown them toward the group. Theodore putted himself in front of the blades raised his hoof and created a transparent wall in front of them. The spears shattered into pieces during the collision. Fira looked visibly enraged by this.

"I knew it!" Fira said. "I should had killed you when I had the chance!"

"How does feel to loose your cool?" Jace asked.

"You better be prepared!" Zade exclaimed as he channeled his hoof with a destructive energy.

"No, don't tell me...!" Fira said incredulous.

"VIAEON REPPUKEN!" Zade said as he released it the energy into a giant dark violet wave.

"Don't even try!" Fira declared as she imbued her hand with red aura and unleashed a giant dark red wave.

The two waves ended up colliding, causing a double colored explosion of light that almost overwhelmed everything. It was so bright that was almost blinding Fira and the present ponies. The Deplacer shielded her eyes with her hand and channeled the other one with a dark green energy, ready to counterattack. Unfortunately, a huge dark violet blade ripped through the light and was about to slash her. Fira promptly flew away from it's trajectory, hoovered very high.

"What the-" Fira said and the looked down, only to see Theodore wielding a huge dark violet sword and Zade wielding his giant scythe of energy. "You shouldn't be able to detain such power! That is inconceivable!"

"That will be the last of your problems." Theodore said as he materialized a huge, dark violet, magic circle and summoned three dragon heads from it. "VIAEON CERBERUS!"

The dragon heads spitted a breath of fire, a torrent of water and a cylindrical tornado respectively, combined in a violent elemental symphony of destruction. Fira vanished into a red mist and then reappeared behind Theodore. She summoned her two dark-glowing swords of energy and tried to attack him but was then hit and electrified by Sera's magatamas.

Having resisted that, Fira furiously tuned around and saw a very calm Sera hoovering above her and glowing her horn. The pale-white unicorn had already charged her own dark violet flaming meteor.

"Time for round two!" Sera declared as she released the flaming dome, that descended toward Fira, who simply unmaterialized one of her swords and leaned her hand on it, disintegrating that into many, small black embers.

The meteor in front of her was crumbling, revealing Starlight and Jace already launching a magic beam and a electrified fire column respectively. Fira blocked both the attacks with both her hands, nullifying them. She then turned her attention to the other ponies. Zade and Theodore charging toward her with their energy-made weapons.

Fira was about to react when she noticed Chris flying above her, having turned into Night Terror. He charged his mouth with a destructive energy and shot a laser beam that traveled toward her. The Deplacer dissolved into a red mist and reappeared behind Zade, already attacking him, only to be stopped by Theodore shielding him with her energy sword.

"You tried." Zade said as he counter reacted, swinging his scythe toward her.

Fira parryed that with her only free hand, without getting a scratch. "Useless! You resistance is simply useless! You cannot pretend to win!"

Zade made a wide smile. "Let's see about that."

That being said, Zade released his grip from his scythe and raised his hoof. Taking that as a signal, Theodore promptly jumped away from Fira and created a barrier made of shadows around the injured, unconscious ponies.

"IMPERVIOUS STORM!" Zade shouted as he slammed his hooves on the ground, causing giant geysers of dark-violet energy rising from below and around him that sent Fira flying so high that she almost touched the darkened sky, overwhelmed and screaming for the pain.

Once she reached a very high height, the Deplacer's body dived toward the terrain and fell abruptly on the floor. She was really beaten up badly and apparently unconscious. Her face being stuck in a expression of disbelieve. With her defeat, the red mist that covered the cloister slowly dissolved. The violet aura that engulfed Zade and Theodore diminished and then disappeared after a couple of seconds.

As for Starlight, they went to check the unconscious ponies and used her magic to heal their wounds. Thorax, Kamahl, Jeska and the still chained Chrysalis slowly woke up with a pained groan. They looked around to see what had transpired and found Zade, Starlight and the others standing in front of the defeated Fira.

"They... Did it?" Thorax asked confused.

"Don't you see that?" Chrysalis said. "That creature is lying unconscious. Of course they had won."

"Speak for yourself, demon," Jeska said. "Fira managed to reject most our attacks and has most creative ways to overwhelm us. Although I don't understand how they did. Unless....!"

"I see," Kamahl said calmly. "Zade used that power again."

"You can tell that," Zade said. "And that worked."

"Guys!" Chris, still in Night Terror form, called with a almost demonic voice, getting the attention of Zade and the others. "I don't know you but..."

Chris realized that he was flying and his vertigo kicked in, causing him to fall. Sera promptly summoned a skeletal ghost hand that caught him on the fly and putted his body on the floor. Chris reverted to his ponified and yet metallic form. The whole group, excluded Chrysalis, rushed toward him.

"Chris, you were alright, man?" Jace asked worried.

"..... My head was just spinning," Chris said, looking partially dizzied. "Didn't I mention that I hate flying?"

"I understand that," Sera said.

"Can you get up?" Zade asked.

"Right," Chris said as he stood up and scratched his head.

"Guys, you know that already but I will said that anyway," Starlight said. "It's a miracle that we had survived that encounter."

"Yeah, that's pretty much it," Zade said.

"Hey, Zade." Jace called.

"What now?" Zade asked.

"You know... We need talk with Theodore but..." Jace gestured toward Theodore.

Chris noticed the pale-gray pony approaching him four legged. As his eyes met Theodore's, Chris glared scornfully at him. His expression looked very stern.

"Theodore." Chris said sternly.

"Chris." Theodore replied calmly.

"Without your help, we wouldn't had survived," Chris said. "But that doesn't remove one thing."

"I know what you are going to," Theodore said. "That time, right?"

"Exactly," Chris replied crudely. "You have real guts to show up in front of me, after what you did."

"Feel free to think whatever you want," Theodore said calmly and narrowed his eyes. "I will stay true to my choice.

"Oh, really?" Chris retorted.

The two demonic ponies exchanged a unpleasant glance, a moment before Theodore moved away from Chris. Starlight approached Zade, guided by a inappropriate curiosity.

"What was that all about?" Starlight asked.

"Chris and Theodore used to be friends," Zade explained. "But then something happened between them, resulting them to grew apart from each other."

"In theory, Theodore somehow screwed up their friendship," Jace said.

"We don't know what happened to them, so don't ask us why," Sera said.

"A friendship problem?" Starlight said. "Maybe-"

"No." Chris interrupted her. "I know what you were going to but I don't need that."

"But Chris," Starlight insisted.

"Do. Not. Insist." Chris said coldly.

That discussion was then interrupted by Fira groaning painfully. Zade noticed her awakening, a thing that reminded him of what has to be done before it's too late.

"Starlight, we need to get out of here," Zade said. "Do it!"

"Alright!" Starlight said as she glowed her horn and teleported the whole group away from the cloister, disappearing into nothingness.

---

Fira slowly stood on her feet and looked at where the ponies were supposed to be before disappearing. She groaned very angrily and putted her head on her head. Feeling something dripping on it, she looked at her hand, only to find blood on it. Her head was slowly bleeding, having took her damage from Zade's giant geyser.

".... Those damn brats!" Fira stomped her foot on the floor. "I can't believe they were able to detain such power. A Deplacer power!"

"Well, that was a precaution that I took against to whose who didn't play by the rules." A male voice said from behind her.

Fira turned around to see the speaker and found a very sneering Virum waving his hands at her. Her eyes grew wide and her anger became more accentuated.

"Virum..." Fira said almost angrily.

"I am not intended to apologize with you," Virum said frankly.

"I would had rejected that in any case," Fira said. "I don't need that from you. I am powerful enough to do things by myself."

"And yet you were defeated by my own champions," Virum said mockingly. "You know, I have my own ways to play this game. You see, I don't need to intervene unless there's another Deplacer being involved. However, this time, my intervention wasn't needed at all."

"You must be really insane if you had seriously done that," Fira said. "You would had fought this crisis by yourself, unleashed a very noticeable cataclysm or even turned your pawns into monsters instead of ponies. But bestowing part of your powers to these brats?... That is something I won't tolerate."

"And honestly, I don't care," Virum said, a moment before his face assume a very grim one. "What I really want to know is why going after Deofordred anyway? And why protect him."

"Tsk..." Fira glared at him.

"I am waiting your answer." Virum said.

"..... You won't even care about what I have to say," Fira said calmly. "But I guess letting you know that is always better than leaving the things unexplained."

"What is it?" Virum asked.

Fira took a moment to ponder and the began to speak. "I made a promise."

---

Inside a very large cave, a very bright light flashed for a moment and the whole group of ponies suddenly appeared. The ponies, excluding Starlight, looked around and watched at her in confusion.

"Starlight, what is this place?" Theodore asked.

"One of the many secret places that I had used as one of the many refuges of the Front of the Lost Harmony," Starlight said. "It has been unused for a long time."

"You mean during the rise of the insurgence and the whole Twilegion thing?" Sera asked.

"That's right," Starlight asked. "Well... To be honest, we used that refuge only once before we began to take the Castle of the Two Sisters as our new base. Nopony knows anything about this place."

"Are sure about that?" Chris asked.

"It was a good place to hide," Kamahl said. "However, due the needs of food of the refugees, the food shortage and Twilegion's forces being after us, there's no wonder if we decided to get out of there."

"Phew. At least we don't have to run anymore... For now," Zade said.

"Oh, trust me. You don't have to." A female voice said from their left, being no other than Celestia, being followed by Luna, Cadence, Twilight and the rest of the Elements.

"Girls!" Starlight said, surprised to see them. "How did you-"

"We have no time to explain that," A male voice said, and then Discord appeared out of nothing. "Seriously, the time is running out. And not in a good way."

Seeing Discord for the first time, Zade, Chris and Sera were visibly disturbed upon meeting him face to face. They didn't even know what they were looking at. One legit question came out from Sera's mouth.

"What in the Frankenstein name is that thing?" Sera asked disturbed.

"It's like a bunch of creature's part being stitched together." Chris said.

"Jace, can you tell me who is that guy?" Zade asked.

"Why, that's Discord, folks." Jace said.

Zade blinked. "You mean the Discord that Starlight mentioned in her story?"

Starlight nodded. "That's right."

"You don't have to worry," Twilight assured. "It's on our side."

"He may be a little bit chaotic," Fluttershy said. "But trust me. He's a good friend of ours."

"Although he can be... Well... Himself in most creative and yet scary ways," Pinkie commented.

"Thanks for the remark, Pinkie," Discord said with a deadpan tone.

"You had said that the time is running out," Theodore said.

"You mean Deofordred is already getting closer to the nexus?" Zade asked.

"Seriously!?" Jace exclaimed.

"Well... He's not so close," Discord said with a cryptic attitude. "But that doesn't mean that we are safe either. Right now he has the same influence as Twilegion. Only ten thousand times worse." He then turned toward Theodore. "And you must be Theodore."

"What?" Cadence said.

"You are Theodore?" Luna asked.

"Yes I am. So what?" Theodore asked.

Discord turned toward the demonic party. "You didn't know that, right?"

"I think you should tell them." Celestia said calmly.

"Telling us what?" Jeska asked.

"Wait!" Jace halted. "If you have something to say about Theodore." He then turned to Chrysalis. "I would appreciate if that sucker doesn't hear our conversation."

"Tsk. Is not like I am interested in this revelation anyway," Chrysalis said.

Celestia glared at her. "Chrysalis. This whole mess was Deofordred's doing, but you had played a major party into the aggravation of this situation. All because you wanted to conquer Equestria. I would had, honest to myself, destroyed you with my own power. Be grateful that I am still sparing your life."

"Wow. Never before you were this menacing, Celestia," Chrysalis said mockingly, a moment before Sera putted herself in front of her, in full psycho mode.

"Don't obligate me to kick your ass," Sera said.

"Chill out, Sera," Jace said. "She can't do any rats ass as long her chains prevented her from using her powers."

"Right." Sera said with a normal tone, and then summoned a tiny, skeletal hand, just to flip her middle finger at her.

"What does that even mean?" Chrysalis asked confused.

"Hey, folks!" Discord said, getting their attention. "There's a good reason if we are here." He then turned to Starlight. "Ehm, Starlight. I told Celestia about this place, so they are welcome."

"What about that revelation," Zade asked. "I-"

"Just let put a end to this farce already." Theodore said, chilling the demonic party.

"What farce?" Zade asked.

"Yeah, he didn't had said anything yet." Jace stated.

"Discord, can you please telling us what are you going into?" Sera asked.

"Alright, alright," Discord said. "I would had told you that anyway. You see? ... Theodore is Julius' brother."

Zade, Starlight, Twilight and rest of the ponies, except Celestia, Luna, Cadence and Theodore froze up upon hearing that. A sense of shocked disbelieve washed over them. They weren't expecting that and they didn't liked that a little bit. "WHAAAAAAAT!?"

"Allow me to tell you his story... But you won't like it" Discord said, having expected their reaction.