> A Glimmer of Hope: Reborn
>  by Mewrilah
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> The Escape
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Outrunning a pony was a challenge. Outrunning the royal guard, a pretty daunting task. Doing so while other ponies gawked at you and your just as freakishly looking, newfound companion, was virtually impossible. This was mostly because the pastel colored obstacles stopped exactly where they stood.  Yet the two fugitives had somehow managed to accomplish this feat for the past few city blocks. 

“Move out of the way!” Ivy yelled at the statue-like ponies, weaving left and right to avoid any collisions. Her companion wasn’t faring any better, being a bit on the bulky side, made him not as agile. The frozen ponies were knocked down like bowling pins as he tried to escape, their screams indicating the trance they were under had been broken. The only saving grace the fugitives had was the heavy metal that weighed the guard down. Thankfully there were no pegasi in sight or else their chase would have ended abruptly.

“Why is it that whenever you get dropped in some world, you start off by running for you life??” her partner in crime, Matt, yelled. 

“Less talking! More fleeing!” she yelled back, looking for the direction they entered the city from. She had forgotten how easy it was to get lost in this place. Various shops and landmarks dotting the skyline, all blurring as they rushed by, not a single one helpful in their escape. Now that she thought of it, it was even more of a surprise they got this far in without arousing the guards’ suspicion. 

They eventually reached an open courtyard, one of the few in the city and spotting a flower stall she had wanted to visit, she immediately knew they were on the right path. “Climb on!” she yelled to her stout companion, who for his build was doing exceptionally well keeping up with her more slender frame. Slender, but not fragile.

“Are you sure?” Matt looked back at the now gaining guard behind them. They had notified other patrols within the vicinity, and were forming a quickly collapsing ring around them.

“Do you think I would offer if I wasn’t SURE?? Hurry up! We have the perfect opening!” 

Jumping while running appears easy on TV and in movies, but now when it counted, Matt found himself stumbling over his feet. He wasn’t used to long distance running, let alone performing such athletic stunts. He dared not jump, since if he missed, he’d fall flat on his face… and the guard would have him in custody.

“Gah! There’s no time!’ Ivy grew impatient, extending her tail and wrapping it around his waist. She flung him up in the air, in the general direction of her back, and he yelled out profanities before somehow sticking the landing. Securing himself around her waist, she kicked it into overdrive. “Hold on!” she ordered him, her powerful muscles rippling as she began to build up speed in order to beat the guards to the gate.

Right as the guard were completing the circle, she focused more power into her torso and extended, leaping up above their heads. Something not that hard to do since she towered over the average pony, but with the “extra weight” on her back, she narrowly missed the tip of a stray spear. As they were in the air, it was exactly like the movies, time seemed to slow down. “This. Is. Soooo coool… huh? Why isn’t my voice in slow motion?” Ivy asked, looking below them. They had stopped moving but, upon closer inspection behind them, a unicorn guard had finally fired up a spell.

“NOPE! This is not how I’m going down!” Matt angrily yelled, reaching into his pack and finding the best thing he could use a projectile. An evil grin appeared on his face as he found what he needed. “Perfect,” he spoke to himself, aiming at his target. Where he lacked in running, his accuracy was deadly. “Catch!” he yelled as he flung a questionably clean pair of underwear at the unicorn. Quickly realizing what the projectile being tossed his direction was, the unicorn was frozen with horror, while his fellow guards moved out of the way. Or maybe he couldn’t move because of the stench. Either way he was too late in closing his gaping mouth as the soiled fabric hit his taste buds. 

A direct hit! Matt smirked as he watched the stallion’s face contort from one of horror to one of disgust. It did the trick either way, the unicorn’s concentration was broken as was the spell that held them aloft. That was something Matt deeply hated, magic. It felt all icky, like tiny fingers crawling over his skin. There was also the fact how powerful it was, but that was a different story.

Ivy landed on the ground with a grunt, still maintaining her momentum. Taking a breath as she freely slid across the semi-smooth pavement, she reengaged her torso and made a beeline out of there.

“So long suckers!” Matt taunted, laughing as he saw the guards watching their comrade struggle to remove the flavor that was now burned into his mouth.

“We’re not doing that again,” Ivy spoke to him as she created as much space between them and Canterlot. Their plan was foiled. “Well I guess he’s not there.” She took one last look at the city shrinking behind them.

“Well where else would he be?” Matt asked as they made their way towards the edge of the mountain. They were running out of room fast. “IVVVVVYYYY! Watch where you’re going!!!!”

Turning around to face front, she noticed what he meant and twisted her torso around, using her tail to stop their movement. Her underside began to heat from the friction, but she was more focused on not dying their first day back. Screeching to a halt, she let out a sigh of relief. The danger somewhat passed, other feeling came to her body.

“OWWW! MATT!!! WATCH THE HANDS!!!” 

His fingers dug into her waist, the whole ordeal just enough to make him die a little on the inside. “Oh, sorry!” He quickly released his grip and hopped off her, glad to be on solid ground again. 

“I know my body is irresistible, but don’t damage the goods!” she laughed it off, inspecting her waist. It was red alright, but it also matched her torso. She’d been through worse. 

“Shad up!” Matt waved his hands, the remark completing his flustered appearance. 

She grinned at him before checking their surroundings. They were officially near the edge of the mountain. You’d think these ponies would have created alternate escape routes other than the train tracks.

“If we stay here any longer the guard are going to catch us,” she commented after giving a thorough scan of the immediate area. She spotted a nearby waterfall not too far away. “Can you swim?”

“Way ahead of you sister,” he responded, noticing the same escape route. He started removing his outer layer of clothing, while it was early spring, the temperature was still a bit nippy, especially this high up. A short while later he was standing in a tank top and cargo shorts. Shivering a bit, he walked towards the edge of the waterfall. The drop was huge, but the river below looked deep enough. 

A catcall rang out behind him, making his blush deepen. “Will you stop it!” he yelled in annoyance.

“If you keep making it easy, no,” she joined him at the edge. “Think there’s any sharp rocks down there?”

“Most likely,” Matt shrugged. “But it’s better than being captured by the guard right?”

“I guess so,” she stretched her arms. “Alright waterfall! Bring it on!” 

With that she dove off the cliff, positioning her torso under her right as she hit the water. Matt watched in anticipation, hoping she had survived the jump. 

“There it is!” he could hear a guard yell a few yards away. The sound of thundering hooves accompanied his voice.

“Fuck…” he muttered, before taking a deep breath. “Geronimoooo!!!”
> The Rendezvous
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“It feels so GOOD to be home!” Ivy laughed, throwing her arms out and twirling to let the sun’s rays dry her. “So good to feel ALIVE!!!”

The river carried them even further from the hostile city, until they now found themselves in the vast fields separating the mountain from Ponyville. A soft breeze rolled over the hills, tickling her skin.

    “How many times are you going to say that?!?” Matt raged, shaking water out of his ears and shoes. His pack was soaked, but thankfully, he still had all the contents within. “While this LOOKS, SMELLS and even has the same exact damn ponies, this place is NOT home! It will NEVER be our home!! Did you not see what almost happened to us???”

“So pessimistic, Matt,” she stuck her tongue at him, taking a look around and smiled. “The sun is shining, sky is beautiful. We’re alive! We escaped capture! We’re better off than where we started originally! Thankfully whoever the champion of this world is hasn’t messed up yet.”

Matt could usually withstand Ivy’s over the top giddiness and optimism, but at that last part he sighed and facepalmed. “Were you even LISTENING to the Tree before you got sent here?? The darkness has receded from this world, there’s nothing to fucking mess up anymore! We were sent here to play sidekick to the self-righteous martyr who actually completed the task he was assigned. ‘Learn from him’ and all that utter bullshit.”

“You’re just annoyed you have to start over again trying to seduce the mares around here,” she quipped back, earning another ireful glance from him. “Unless, he already beat you to it,” a cheeky grin appeared below the mask she wore. Somehow that thin piece of metal had survived the fall and hadn’t injured its owner.

“A goody two shoes, martyr like him?? Ha! He probably never even looked at a mare the wrong way, let alone fucked one silly. Besides whenever he died, whoever loved him probably no longer has feelings for him.”

“Unless he died recently,” she added. “Then in that case it would be more like a ‘goodbye’ instead of a ‘farewell forever’! I’m sure they’d be overjoyed to see him again.”

“Whatever,” he adjusted the equipment on his back. It’d dry… eventually.  “Where are we supposed to even meet him?”

“Well not in Canterlot, that’s for sure. Why don’t we just ask the ponies in Ponyville? They’re more level headed, right?”

Matt stared at her in disbelief. How was someone like her even picked to save an entire world? “Pfft, as if!!! If anything they’re more skittish than those pompous nobles up on that moutain!! And what would we do if things don’t go according to plan, AGAIN?? Cause ANOTHER riot?? We barely got out of Canterlot without getting captured!!”

He paused from his rant, mostly to get a second wind to complete his argument.

“Judging by how the ponies in Canterlot reacted to us, either they weren’t used to… whatever thing this ‘Nick’ was, or we are so odd looking that it wouldn’t matter how comfortable they got with him. So no, we are NOT going into Ponyville and causing more of a stampede!”

“Well you do look odd, no tail and completely hairless,” she looked him over.

“Like you’re any better!!” he took offense, especially at the hairless bit. Defending his pride, he countered. “What’s the mask for huh?? Your body in enough to to give away you’re not a local either!! What with those bright red scales!”

“I didn’t hear you complaining too much about these scales when you were in them,” she smirked.

His mouth moved, but no words came out.

“That’s what I thought,” she turned back towards the town. “I guess you’re right about causing a ruckus. I’m surprised the Princesses aren’t hot on our tail yet.” She paused to come up with their next plan, tapping a finger to her chin. “Well, maybe we should check the Everfree, that’s where the Tree of Harmony is last I remember. It was the same for you, right?”

He nodded, looking to the forest a quarter mile away. He shivered at the memories he had of that place. “Yeah… it was by some old castle in a gorge. Hopefully you’re right about the guy fixing this whole world up. I’d rather face the ponies than go in there…”

She shrugged. “There’s only one way to find out. Come on, before the guards figure out where we went.”

The pair travelled through the open fields surrounding Ponyville, hoping that none of the townsfolk had spotted them. The bright, warm sun was a stark contrast to the world's they’d been plucked from, mostly dark and cold. When they were dropped in here, the two had no real chance to figure out what just had happened to them as they were immediately pitted against each other, in a similar fashion to how they entered the world of Equestria.

“If I had my blades I would have whooped your ass,” he grumbled, finally coming up with a retort for her earlier statement.

“As if. You would dare strike a lady?” she feigned a gasp.

“If it means saving my own skin, then I don’t care what gender you are. That’s why I was chosen to save this topsy turvy world, my ruthlessness. I mean if it can change a human into…” he looked her up and down. “You, there’s seriously something wrong with this place.”

“Yet you somehow stayed the same,” she retorted. “I wonder what our champion turned into?”

“I swear if he turned into some god damn alicorn with all their magical powers, I’m gonna call it rigged!”

“Just hurry up!” she slithered on ahead. “I think I can see something reflecting in the sun!!”

“I can’t help it I still have LEGS!!” he called after her. Running… again.

“Or is it the fact that you’re out of shape from too much cider?” she teased back.

“It’s not my fault that’s the strongest alcoholic drink there is around here!! And what’s the hurry anyway?! We don’t even know where to look for him if he’s not there!”

“He’s here I just KNOW it!” the hybrid sped ahead towards the forest’s edge. When she arrived, she waited for him to catch up, tapping the end of her tail against the ground like a foot. “Being a ‘freak’ sure has its perks huh? Good thing we’re on the same side.”

“I’m not on any side...” he huffed, regaining his breath. “But my own. And the sooner we meet this ‘Nick’ the sooner I can go on back to my life.”

“You’re saying after all this time spent here you’d still want to go back?” she looked at him quizzically.

“Nope, nuh uh. You’re not tricking me into divulging my past so easily. I’m not like you and probably this Nick character with sappy backstories. I’m going home as soon as I can.”

“Well there had to be some reason you accepted the ‘Tree’s calling’,” she looked around for the shining light. There was none to be seen, perhaps because they were too close now. At least the forest didn’t have the dangerous feel it once had. “Whatever. Come on!” she beckoned to her companion, who was leaning against a tree, catching his breath. “Let’s check it out!”

“I don’t have my weapons,” he stuck out his empty palms. “I’m not about to go into that death sentence of a forest unarmed.”

Rolling her eyes, she gave the ground a quick search and spotted something suitable. “Here, catch!” She tossed the object to him.

“... A stick?” he gave her an unamused look. “Seriously?”

“You got me, let’s go!” she bounded ahead.

A few more mutterings and cursings later, he fell in behind her. “I’m gonna regret this…”





“You sure you want me to come with you?” Tempest asked as she adjusted her newly polished armor. It was similar to her previous set, except the insignia on it was of a six sided star, the cutie mark of the princess she now guarded. Today was an important day for the princess of magic, and one that the unicorn came to understand that determined the fate of Equestria.

There was a pause, as if the princess herself was asking the same question. “Yes,” Twilight responded with a nod, turning towards her. “As the new Captain of my Guard, non existent as is, I think it would be good for ponies to get used to you,” Twilight brushed a stray hair into place. “And I think it would be nice for you to meet Nick as well. You two had a lot in common believe it or not. Did you not want to come?”

“Of course I want to join you!” Tempest defended, realizing she might have been too defensive in her reply and adjusted. “I mean, the way you talked so highly of him, I’ve actually been anticipating seeing him. I just… it feels like I’m intruding on what is your time with him,” she pawed at the ground nervously, hoping she said that correctly.

Twilight smiled in response of her honesty before letting out a sigh as she made sure she was properly dressed. She no longer wore her veil, figuring that the time for that had passed, but still kept the black dress Rarity bittersweetly designed for her. Regularly, the seamstress would be overjoyed at creating a new outfit, but the context behind the creation of the dress weighed heavy on her heart. Thankfully for the both of them, Twilight requested something simple, that’s how Nick liked things, how he liked her.

She knew that the wolf wouldn’t want her to grieve like this, but, he had just left that much of an impact on her. He was her first serious romantic interest after all. These past two years had allowed her reflect on her time with the wolf, and miss him even more with each passing day. They hadn’t known each other but for a few months, yet the connection she felt made it seem they’d been together for years. She shed a tear as she reminisced about one morning in particular they spent together, the day before he went off to face the manticore.

He woke up to find her busily applying mascara, while powdering her cheeks in front of her vanity. His chuckling caused her to drop the brush and look to him. She still looked attractive, but it was unnecessary for him. He laid on the bed, propped on his side, that warm smile of his greeting her.

“Last I remembered, I was not dating a clown,” he chuckled again, getting out of bed and to her side. “Why cover up all that beauty with useless powder and paste?” 

She blushed. “W-well, Rarity suggested since I was in a relationship that I should put a little effort into my appearance,” she looked at the mirror. Nick was right, she looked ridiculous. She felt herself tear up in shame, only to feel a tissue wiping away the tears and offending product. Once he was done, he gently turned her face towards his.

“Well I’m not in love with Rarity, am I?” his smile never faded as he gave her a quick kiss. He then turned her head back to the mirror, and found her normal self looking back. “I love you Twilight, with all your imperfections, if those even exist.” 

Another tear fell, followed by a comforting hoof on her shoulder. She turned to her best friend, a sympathetic smile accompanying her other hoof, bringing Twilight into a warm, calming embrace.

“I-I’m sorry,” Twilight hugged Tempest back, thankful for the gesture. “I should be setting the example.”

“And you continue to do so,” the taller, dusky unicorn continued to hold her. “Even the greatest leaders feel emotions, I learned that the hard way. I’m sure he appreciates all this strength you’re showing just to visit him.”

“Th-thank you Tempest,” Twilight broke from the hug, sniffing and drying her tears. “You sure have come a long way from when we first met,” she let out a shaky giggle.

“Indeed I have, all thanks to you, your highness,” she bowed.

“You know how I feel about being treated that way,” Twilight blushed, but nodding in return. “Your reformation was a mutual effort, I was just there to guide you. Alright,” she took in a deep breath, feeling a bit better. “I’m ready.”





“Ugh, how much longer Ivy?”

“However long it takes Matt! How many times are you going to ask that???”

They had been travelling for what seemed a good hour, both of them on edge, expecting to be attacked by at least a timberwolf, but no such event occured. The silence being unbearable, Ivy had taken it upon herself to start up the conversation.

“Do you even know the way back to the Tree?” he moaned as her expression quickly answered his question.

“Well back in my Equestria, I had marked a path to the Tree since I was constantly going back and forth. All these trees look the same!”

“Great!” he threw his hands up in the air. “Now we’re just going to die in this stupid forest! Or starvation to top it all off! Not even a single timberwolf marking!”

“And you didn’t think to mark the way from whence we came?”

“I was too busy stumbling after you…”

“You stumbled because you were fixated on my backside,” she shot him an unamused look.

“Not my fault you got a nice-”

“Shhh!”

“You’re not going to censor me-”

“SHHH! I hear someone coming!” she whispered to him.

Shutting his mouth and focusing on the forest around them, Matt also heard the sound of hooves on earth, from the sounds of it, only two pairs. Perhaps they could follow them out of here. They sounded a ways off, and thankfully the foliage around them was enough to cover them from the passersby. Accompanying the hoofsteps were voices, one of which both were very familiar with.

“Princess Twilight?” Ivy looked to Matt dumbfounded. “Why would she be here? You don’t think-”

“That he got with her? Ha! That’s rich, she saw me as nothing more than a science experiment. Must’ve have been one kinky guy to get with that crazy mare.”

“Hush! They’re getting closer!”





“Did you hear something?”

“You can relax Tempest. There’s nothing in this forest that can harm us, save for the unexposed root or rock. Nick did a good job of cleaning the place up.”

She blushed. “You’re right. I guess I’m just nervous about being in the field. As commander, the only pony I had to look out for was me. But now that I have the role of protector…”

“You feel like you can’t let me down,” Twilight finished for her. The mare nodded, to which Twilight smiled. “Well if you remember how much trouble my friends and I caused you,” she smirked, causing Tempest’s expression to change from one of seriousness to embarrassment.

“You all outnumbered me 6 to 1,” she protested. “I captured you nonetheless! However, I would say that that was one battle I was glad to have lost.”

“Well that was in the past, let’s continue on shall we?”

“Of course, your majesty.”

“Now you’re just doing it on purpose.”

“...Maybe.”





Ivy and Matt waited until the two passed their location and their voices began to fade.

“What was that all about?” Matt asked rhetorically. “Battle lost? Protector?”

“The only way we’re going to find out is by tailing them,” Ivy got up and made her way through the foliage. To think just a few feet away was a clear path. “Well?”

“I’d rather take my chances with the ponies than her,” Matt crossed his arms.

“Oh come on,” she rolled her eyes. “Don’t make me pick you up again.”

“Alright, alright,” Matt raised his hands defensively, honestly not wanting to be in that position again. “Just… keep her away from me.”

“I don’t see what your problem with her is. I was good friends with Twilight once we got past the freaking out part,” she followed behind. Her height gave her a good view of the ponies.

“Yep definitely going to regret this,” Matt grumbled, following along.
> Busted
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Well, he certainly is … striking in that pose,” Tempest took in the statue in front of her. During her travels across Equestria, she had seen similar art forms but this… as Pinkie would say… took the cake. The size alone stood out, almost as tall as a house, and if the forest hadn’t blocked the view, it could be seen a mile away, thanks to the second features. Pure crystal, similar to Twilight’s castle, and the Tree of Harmony behind the monument. One final feature of note was the green gem that was embedded into the wolf’s chest acting like the heart of the statue. 

“Yeah,” Twilight had paused, just blinking at her lover. Everytime she came to this place, she could feel him, whether she was going crazy because of the grief or that maybe a part of him remained with her she didn’t know. Being in his presence was helpful, soothing her nerves.

“Happy second anniversary my love,” she laid the bouquet of flowers by his paws, gently touching them with a hoof. Warm, probably because of the sun or something. 

She wished Luna still came with her to see him. His death took a harder toll on the older mare than her it seemed. The first few months were bearable for both of them, trying to find someway to bring their wolf back. But as time went on, Luna’s hope began to fade. They still remained close friends but it seemed they had grown apart, Luna opting to stay in Canterlot. Maybe because this was Twilight’s first love and significant loss that she remained steadfast and loyal to Nick, tending to the memorial. 

“This here is Tempest Shadow, the captain of my guard,” she smiled to the mare as she beckoned her to her side. “If you were here, I’m sure the two of you would have gotten along well.” That brought a smile to Tempest’s face, that Twilight would speak so highly of her. “Plus she’s now protecting me just like you did,” another tear formed. 

Tempest went to Twilight’s side and rubbed her back. “Care to say anything?” the princess softly smiled, looking between Tempest and her wolfriend. 

The dusky mare took in a deep breath. “It’s an honor to finally meet you, Nick,” Tempest started, looking up at his eyes. “The way Twilight has talked so highly about you, the stories I’ve heard of your heroics and sacrifice,” she paused, actually talking to the statue… she felt he was actually listening, judging her words. It was a bizarre feeling, but then she felt something soothing pass over her, a warm breeze she rationed, and her nerves were calmed. “It would have been an opportunity of a lifetime to meet you, even call you friend.” 

Twilight smiled, wiping away a tear. “Thank you Tempest.”

“Anything for my princess,” she smiled. They both sat, talking to each other about anything that came to mind.





“Oh brother,” Matt huffed for the twenty fourth time that Twilight mentioned how she loved Nick, Ivy was keeping count. He was leaning against a tree, waiting for some useful information the purple pony had.

“Aww, she loved him,” she smiled, hugging herself, touched by the emotional pain she could hear in Twilight’s voice. “And such a hottie, don’t you think Matt?”

“I’m not gonna answer that…” he grumbled, crossing his arms. “I still don’t get who that other unicorn is with her. Was this ‘Storm King’ the ‘darkness’ we were told to fight? It can’t be, apparently crazy magic purple butt met her after Nick finished his mission. God, how come HE had to make the rest of us look bad.”

“Jealous,” she stuck her tongue out at him.

“Hardly, he’s still dead,” he smiled. “Maybe we just get to have this whole world to ourselves. Maybe I can bang the princesses...” his smile turned into a devious grin.

Ivy, annoyed by his insensitivity, smacked him with her tail, eliciting a yelp of pain from him, briefly grabbing the attention of the two mares. He covered his mouth to stifle a curse, and they waited in silence. He glared at her for being so careless while she froze, watching the mares closely and looking for any possible escape routes if they were discovered.





“Did you hear something?” they said in unison, pausing to listen for any more sounds and scanning the immediate area. A few minutes passed before their eyes met and they both jumped from the tension. Realizing it was just each other, they both found themselves giggling, from embarrassment and to calm their nerves. 

“I guess the Everfree still has some eerie parts to it,” Twilight’s laughter subsided as she looked around, the feeling of joy replaced with that of being watched now falling over her. Tempest let out a shiver as well, her horn softly glowing, preparing defensive measures. She scanned the forest around them again, trying to pick up any signs of life. Her magic died down after she was satisfied with her search, smiling gently to Twilight.

“Well whatever it was, it would be wise to know better than to mess with the Princess of Friendship and the former commander of the Storm King’s army!!” she yelled out for all the forest to hear, eliciting another giggle from Twilight. 

“Maybe that’s a sign we should be going,” she got up, stretching a bit. “We do have important things to do.”

“Like discussing how anypony I interview is intimidated by me?” Tempest smirked while Twilight frowned a little. “Just because I’m ‘reformed’ doesn’t mean I’m going to change my appearance,” the darker mare shrugged. “I’m your protector and … friend. Ponies must know you are not an easy target, and if any potential guard wants to serve under you, they need to get used to my presence.” 

“I - I guess so,” Twilight tried to counter. The whole Storm King invasion really exposed how vulnerable Equestria was. Even after Nick’s arrival and sacrifice, their defenses weren’t prepared. She shook her head. That’s why she made Tempest the captain of her guard. “But I still am the Princess of Friendship, ponies shouldn’t be afraid to talk to me.”

“And they won’t,” Tempest joined her in standing, shaking her hooves out. “If they don’t pose a threat, they’re free to talk to you. I don’t see too many incidents occurring honestly, but in light of what has happened so far, we can’t be too unprepared. The power of friendship is strong, but it’s not enough in some extreme cases. I mean if it didn’t work for me, the Storm King would still be here, right?”

Twilight was silent recalling the memory. Had Tempest not intervened…

A hoof on her shoulder brought her off that train of thought. She saw her captain, her friend, smiling at her. “You sometimes worry too much Twilight. And as cu... admirable as that is, you are going to be an old mare before you get to the age of the princesses,” she chuckled, glad she didn’t let her other choice slip out. 

“Well I guess we can’t have that now can we?” Twilight smiled at her praise. “Alright, maybe we can come to some compromise for the new guards?”

“Fine I guess - “ she was cut off as the ground began to shake. They could then feel, something behind them, and quickly turned around to see the statue of Nick glowing. Twilight could hardly believe her eyes as a green aura wrapped the statue. 

“What’s happening???” she yelled to Tempest, who gave her a look of concern, not too sure what to do in this situation. She cast a shield around them just in case, hopefully prepared for what would happen next. 





“What did you do???” Matt kept his voice down just in case they could still be heard while he was frantically trying to grab radiating amethyst from Ivy’s hands.

“I just saw the gem Nick had on the statue and it made me admire my own,” she held it protectively. This was her ticket to this whole world, her new body. “Yours is glowing too!!”

He turned around and noticed that his bag was glowing red. He reached behind him and attempted to grab it out. 

“Why don’t you take that silly thing off?? Even when we ‘fought’, you went insane when I managed to knock it off your back” she created some distance between him and her gem.

“Don’t change the subject!” he finally was able to extract his own gem, a star cut ruby from the depths of his pack. It radiated light and warmth as he gazed upon it. “Why are these things acting up anyway??”

As if in response to his question, the gem in front of him leapt out of his hands, and surrounded him in magic. The same action happened to Ivy, surrounded by purple magic. The gem on the statue flashed, along with the other two gems. The two were flung towards the statue, leaving barely any time for Tempest and Twilight to duck out of the way. The odd pair crashed into the object and there was an explosion caused by the three gems interacting with each other. A flash of light later, Tempest threw herself between the commotion and Twilight, shielding their eyes. 

Once the two heard the rubble start to settle they cautiously opened their eyes, scanning the damage. Where the statue stood was now dust, the two foreigners dazed by the impact. The mares looked at them quizzically, they certainly weren’t like any creature they’ve seen, except for Twilight, who looking upon Matt, gasped. 

“A-a human?” she stammered, blinking to make sure her eyes didn’t deceive her. She ran over, despite Tempest’s protests and gave him a closer look. She sighed in disappointment upon realization that this wasn’t Nick, at least from what she had seen from the dream he had. She then looked to the human’s “counterpart”. Her, based on the form and features, top half was human, based on Sabrina’s appearances, but the lower portion was astounding. A continuous tail, covered in red scales, her underside transitioning into a sunflower yellow hue. “Wh-what is that?” she gawked at the creature.

Tempest rushed between Twilight and the creatures. “Whatever these things are, and I think you need to fill me in on this who-man thing,” she cast a spell creating a cage of magic for each dazed intruder. “We’re taking these back to the castle for interrogation.” She noticed the three gems on the ground as well and picked them up. “These too.”

Twilight was still dazed by what happened, that there was ANOTHER human here in Equestria. She looked at where the statue was and another wave of shock hit her once she realized that it was completely destroyed, her one physical link to him. 

“Princess, it’s not safe here, especially if these two were not alone,” Tempest tried to snap Twilight out of her daze, constantly scanning the forest around them. “Let’s go.”

Twilight, realizing she was right, helped transform a nearby rock into a cart, lifting Ivy then Matt onto it. Tempest strapped herself to the yoke and began to cart the prisoners away while Twilight felt a twinge of anger run through her. How dare these two creatures destroy something so dear to her.  However this anger conflicted with her strong curiosity. What had brought these two here? As far as she knew, humans and sub human species would only reside in Nick’s world, Earth. Maybe they were related to him somehow?

As they were being taken away to the castle, thankfully for the two mares the path avoided town altogether, Matt was just beginning to stir from his unconscious state and grumbled. 

“Yep, I knew I was going to regret this.”
> The Interrogation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ivy woke up, tied and bound to what appeared to be an operating table, based on the cold, smooth silver surface, the blinding light shining above her, and what appeared to be operating tools on a metallic side table. She tried to struggle which made a deafening clanging sound, causing her to stop. 

“Good, you’re awake,” Tempest cast her shadow on the hybrid, making the woman tremble a bit. With most of the mare’s facial features hidden by the obstruction of light, this made Tempest even more intimidating. “We’re going to find out who and what you are, and why you decided to destroy a national monument,” she stated with a voice of cold seriousness. 

Tempest leaned in close to the woman’s face. She couldn’t see her eyes thanks to the metal that obstructed them. Tempest decided it would be best not to remove that… for either fear of seeing something unwanted or if it was some sort of magical protective device.  
    
“We’ll start off easy,” Tempest circled around the prisoner, mindful of her muscular tail. Whatever creature this was, being from this Earth as Twilight put it, she looked dangerous. Who’d even name a planet after the ground? “What is your name?”

“I-Ivy…” she shivered at hearing the mare speak, instantly noticing the broken horn atop her head. This unicorn had been through a lot, appearing almost like a veteran of some war… it would be better not to hide anything from her. Not that she had anything to hide, she and Matt also knew about Nick, maybe they could help them. Wait! Where was her companion??

“Wise of you to cooperate… Ivy,” Tempest tried the name out for herself, not too far off from pony naming conventions, although there wasn’t any green on the snake hybrid. “Next question. What are you?”

“Have you ev-ever heard of a Lamia?” Ivy asked in return, glad that cooperating didn’t seem to have any adverse effects yet. 

“Lah-mee-ya?” Tempest repeated with a quizzical look. “Surely you’re making that up. The only similar thing to what you look like is a snake pony… and those are pure myth.”

“Well I’m half human and half snake, which is a lamia,” Ivy sighed, losing a bit of hope at her interrogator’s doubts. “If you just let me speak to Twilight-”

At the mention of the princess’s name she was cut off. 

“That then leads to my next question, what were you and your accomplice doing in the Everfree Forest? How do you know Princess Twilight? Why did you destroy the statue of the Hero of Equestria??” She became enraged, reminded of how Twilight was crushed emotionally and had asked her to deal with the interrogations while she composed herself. 

The mare had gotten some information from “Matt” but he wouldn’t tell her anymore, her magic seeming to not having much of an effect on him. Mostly due to a mix of not having the precision she wanted over her magic and Twilight’s rules regarding prisoners. 

“First, that was an-an accident!” Ivy tried to wave her hands, only to be reminded that she was still strapped to the table. “We didn’t mean to destroy it… but our gems, they were attracted to the one on Nick’s statue. I don’t know why they did that!”

“That’s another question! Why did you have such gems in your possession?? What do they do? What do they symbolize??”

“I-I just don’t know!!” Ivy cried tears of anguish. “I wish I did!”

“That’s enough, Tempest,” Twilight’s voice rang out through the cell, causing both females to look up at her. Her eyes were stained red from the amount of crying she had just finished, her cheeks matted by the tears that fell on them. This only made Tempest more angry at the creature, hating to see the alicorn like this.

“But-” she tried to explain her reasoning.

“It’s ok, Tempest,” she took a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh. “I’m- I’m ready to see what they have to say for themselves.” She looked at Ivy, with a rather tired expression. “Ivy, was it?”

The woman nodded slowly, not speaking a word. This definitely wasn’t the Twilight she knew. This Twilight had looked as if she matured more than aged, her naivety and curiosity replaced by wisdom and what seemed to be a loss of her innocence. It was as if the experiences in this universe had molded her that way. 

“Now… would you mind telling me everything you know?” Twilight walked down the steps and towards her. She pulled up a chair and sat in it, waiting for her response. Tempest, seeing that Twilight had things under control took a break, shedded the role of interrogator and switched to supporter, standing by Twilight’s side while Ivy began to explain everything that she knew. 

“Well… we were sent here by the Tree of Harmony,” Ivy recounted, feeling a bit more at ease in the situation. “Apparently, and this may sound crazy, but there are several universes coexisting side by side. So like how Nick was the hero in this universe, Matt and I were heroes in our own.”

“So you’re saying… that parallel universes exist?” Twilight’s eyes widened at the revelation. Of course she could be lying to her, but… if anyone would have told her about meeting and falling in love with someone like Nick, she’d call them crazy too. 

Ivy nodded, however that was starting to cause a cramp in her neck from the limited movement. “Yes, at least that’s how Matt explained it. I was just more happy that someone actually succeeded in saving Equestria.”

“And what do you mean by that?” Twilight tilted her head. “If Nick was able to save all of us, didn’t you do the same in your own universe?”

Ivy went quiet, and while they couldn’t see her whole facial expression, the lone tear that slid past her mask was answer enough. “I tried… I really did,” Ivy’s voice started to shake. “But…” more tears followed. “I wasn’t strong enough…”
    
Twilight and Tempest bowed their heads, deciding that they’d discuss this later, but at least they had a better idea of what was going on. Twilight went over to Ivy and placed a hoof on her shoulder. While she couldn’t release the hybrid just yet, she could show her kindness. “It’s alright now Ivy… you’re safe here, thanks to Nick. And… if you really mean it when you said you were supposed to meet him here… that gives me so much hope of seeing him again,” she shed a few happy tears. 





Matt continued to struggle after the freaky unicorn had left, not caring if they were observing him from a double sided window or whatever. He wasn’t about to spend the rest of his life rotting in this cell allowing that kooky princess to experiment on him. Unfortunately, he didn’t get the chance when not only had the hornless unicorn returned, but the maniacal Princess herself was behind her. 

He would have hurled another wave of expletives and curses had Tempest not gagged him after being rather fed up with his non compliance.

“You’re right Tempest, this one is even rowdier than Ivy,” Twilight commented, looking curiously at Matt.

Matt seemed infuriated by that. “Mwrph wid wuw tu fy??” Translated: “What the hell did you do to Ivy??” 

Both mares looked at him with confused expressions. Tempest, having experience with the degenerate being and the annoyance and crudeness that left his mouth, kept the gag in his mouth, deciding it wasn’t worth the risk to find out what he was saying was yet another insult about the whereabouts of her horn. 

    Twilight on the other hoof, never having seen another human aside from Nick and now Ivy, couldn’t help but wonder how varied human personalities could be. Nick was kind and gentle, Ivy seemed to be a bit more outgoing and fun loving once they got her more relaxed. “Matt”, however, seemed to have a temper as short as he was. It actually wasn’t too far off from how ponies could act sometimes, and with that knowledge in hoof, she knew how to approach him. 

    “Matt,” Twilight spoke in a calm and soothing voice, trying to not upset him anymore. “We both have what each other needs. You have the information I need on why you’re here and about Nick. I can provide you freedom from these restraints and protective custody in exchange. Now I’m going to remove the gag from your mouth and I ask you to please calmly tell us what you know, ok?”

    She was now looking into his bluish grey eyes with her large magenta ones, sincerity and compassion radiating from them. “Please,” she softly pleaded with her expression. “I need to know if we can bring him back…”
    
    Matt looked back at the alicorn. She definitely wasn’t the Twilight he had met in his universe, at least, this one didn’t show the signs of it. She also had a good point, they both needed each other’s help. The Tree wasn’t too clear on what they were supposed to do when they met Nick, nor that it mentioned how to bring him back from the dead, but they were all on the same side. 
    
    He let out a muffled sigh and nodded for her to proceed. She cautiously removed the gag and he breathed in sharply, reestablishing his normal breathing pattern. Taking in a few more deep breaths he steadied himself to look at Twilight. “I… I have your promise that Ivy is safe and well and that we both will stay that way?”

    She nodded, smiling softly at his cooperation. “Yes, I promise that you and Ivy shall be granted asylum under my protection. I heard of a, disturbance, up in Canterlot. I’m sure that matter can be easily resolved. Now, the information please?”

    He looked to her once more, as if deciding if he still trusted her. His gut told him yes,and so far it hadn’t failed him, so he complied. “Well, it started as my world, er, version of Equestria was crumbling around me,” he started, bitterly recounting the events. 

“I was tasked with the same quest like Nick. Defeat the creatures, gain their powers and ultimately save Equestria. The same price was offered as well, sacrificing myself in order to save Equestria. I fought it, not accepting such a fate, but it seemed I didn’t have a choice in the matter… as I later found out,” he breathed in through his teeth, seemingly recalling a touchy memory. “I was given free will, not someone to just be told what I had to do. I thought that I could find a way around it, be the hero and still live. That’s where things turned for the worst....” he trailed off, looking down his torso in shame.
    
    Twilight bowed her head in remorse. She thought she understood the gravity of the situation they were in when Nick came into her life, but hearing the pain and anguish in his voice about failing his own universe… it reminded her of how she felt losing Nick. “It’s not your fault Matt,” she spoke after a moment of silence. “You thought you were doing the right thing, and you were following basic self preservation. No one could really judge you for that.”

“But look at it this way,” she continued after a pause. “You got a second chance by being here. To work with Nick to perhaps right the wrongs, relieve the guilt you feel.”

    He shook his head. “I doomed a whole world due to my selfishness… it’s going to take a lot more than a second chance to fix that,” he trailed off once more, his face becoming stoic. 

Another pause between them and he continued. Now wasn’t the time to be pitying himself. “Anyway, I suppose you want to know more about Nick,” he looked back to her, his eyes appearing cloudy. “Well… more like what I know about him.”

    She teared up a bit in relief. “Yes… I would greatly appreciate that.”

    Tempest watched the exchange unfold and was rather, surprised at how quickly the human’s attitude had changed. It was apparent she still had a lot to learn about handling others from Twilight. 

    Thinking back as to why he was sent here in the first place, trying to recall the conversation the Tree and he had, he breathed out a sigh of exhaustion. “Nick, isn’t dead.”

    

    
    









> Acceptance
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

...So Princess Celestia, it is my belief that these two “champions” may have more information about the Tree of Harmony’s dealings with the human world and the true fate of Nick. They apologize for the chaos they caused in Canterlot today and would be more than happy to cooperate with you as soon as you arrive.

    Faithfully,
Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship

    Celestia finished reading the letter aloud to her sister, whom was half heartedly listening. When Luna first heard it was from Twilight, she thought that the mare may have been trying to reach out to her again. But since the point she heard Nick’s name, she drowned out the rest of the letter.  Luna had dealt with the wolf’s passing using a mix of isolation, depression and frustration. Now it was almost like they were toying with her, claiming “Nick was not dead.” He died in her hooves!

    Seeing as her younger sister didn’t have anything to immediately say after she finished, Celestia decided to add her thoughts on the matter. 

    “At least we finally have a reason for the uproar earlier today,” she walked out to the balcony attached to the throne room, gazing out over the city. The sun was in the final stages of setting, and the light it cast on the buildings made it seem that much more spectacular. “More humans in Equestria, here to bring us groundbreaking news,” she chuckled. “Makes me wonder if there’s anything us ponies can do on our own.”

“I would like to think that Twilight would have learned a lesson from trusting humans…” Luna spat. Could she really blame Nick for what happened? For keeping such a heartbreaking secret from both of them, after she essentially opened up to him like she did no one else? She never asked him to save Equestria, to sacrifice himself. They could have found another way! Worst of all, she gave him the tools to go through with it. 
    
    “Luna,” Celestia whispered.

    “And you just nailed it RIGHT. ON. THE. HEAD,” Luna continued, gritting her teeth towards the end of her sentence. “Why do we have to depend on outside help? Look at the whole Storm King debacle! Had the Elements not escaped unharmed, Equus would have been destroyed! The Magic of Friendship can only do so much for us! We need to find better ways to defend ourselves!”

    “Nick’s death was hard on all of us - “

    “Don’t give me that bullshit!” she glared at her sister. “You could NEVER know how hard losing him was! How much I tried to not think of how much of a hole he left in me,” she fought back the tears. She was upset with herself on how much she still cared. “You know what the worst part of this all is?? It’s all MY fault!! I allowed him to seduce me with his silver tongue, his calculated gestures! All so that way he could die knowing he’d fool not one but TWO princesses into falling in love with him!!”

    Celestia let out a sigh. The first time her sister had mentioned how she really felt about all of this, she was sympathetic towards her. What she said earlier was true, she felt guilty for dooming Nick to his fate, seeking out a savior chosen by the Tree of Harmony and bringing him here. She also understood why it was so hard on her sister. Just like Twilight, Nick was her first true relationship, and in just a matter of months, he was taken away from them.

That was a year ago, and while she could understand that with today being the anniversary of such a tragic event that it would rip open the wound again, that was no excuse for Luna to act this way. They had both lived for centuries. They were no strangers to heartache and loss. Yes, Nick may have been more special than other love interests, but upon hearing this news, she’d think that Luna would be more optimistic, that there really was a way to bring him back.

    “So if I understand you correctly sister,” she started in a calm tone, knowing that berating her would only lead to more resistance. “You wish for Nick to remain where he is? That even if this is now a chance to try and mend that hole he left in you, you’d deny it without another thought.”

    “Don’t you try to twist my words -”

    “I am not,” the princess of the sun interjected. “If that is not your response to Twilight’s letter, than say so. Don’t give me any more excuses. We both know that being immortal dramatically changes how our interactions end up with those who are not. Nick was no different, even being considered an ‘Element’, especially when I explained to you how fragile humans can be.”

    “If he was so fragile, how come he was chosen to be our savior?? Why did you choose him to try and save us??”

    “I didn’t choose him sister, the Tree of Harmony did. Just like it chose the Elements of Harmony and just like it chose us to be the rulers of Equestria. With how everything has transpired in all the years we’ve been alive, I have learned not to doubt it’s decisions, but maybe you have.”

    Luna found herself conflicted at these truths. If there was anything she envied about her sister, it was her uncanniness to bring sound logic to any argument. Of course she believed that the Tree of Harmony knew what was best for Equestria, but she still had these unresolved emotions towards Nick.

    “Sister, I… I…”

    Celestia smiled softly, seeing that she had gotten through to her little sister and like all good older sisters, comforted her. Wrapping her wings and hooves around the navy blue mare, she stroked her back. “Shhh,” she cooed.

Luna nuzzled into her snow white coat and cried, allowing herself to become vulnerable, something she had not done in a long time. Even after Nick’s passing, she tried to remain strong, for Twilight. After the two went their separate ways, she bottled up all of these feelings, just like she had done over a thousand years ago. While she was thankful she had Tia to protect her during times like these, she despised having to depend on the older mare. Celestia was independent, and while not immune to moments such like this herself, she always seemed to handle them better than she did.

    They stayed like that for a while, till Luna’s tears subsided to sniffling. Once she was sure her sister had rid herself of this sadness, Celestia spoke. 

“It’s alright Luna. You have reason to feel the way you do, but there are better ways to allow these feelings to be expressed. Think of this as a chance for healing. A fresh start.” She looked outside, the moon risen a quarter of the way into the sky. “It has grown late, if you want I can assist you in your duties tonight.”

    Sniffling and wiping her eyes, Luna shook her head. “I-I’m fine. I’ll be fine for tonight. I just… I really miss him Tia.”

    “I know you do Lulu, I know.”
    




“Everything seems to be falling into place, just like you had intended, almighty Astris. Forgive my transgression in questioning your motives, but do you really intend on going through with your plans? Knowing the implications that could follow from it?”

“Yes my dear Clyde. These mortals are the most vital part to end all of this madness. However we cannot directly intervene, not yet that is. We must simply, nudge them in the right direction. Then when the dust settles, everything will be as it once was.”

“And what if the pawns at play don’t move according to what you want?”

“Well, the irreversible chain of events has already started with the introduction of our newest duo. Once we add the last one, then they’ll already be on the path we set. Whatever they choose from now on will have major impacts to our end game, so we can only hope they act accordingly. However, I am not the Goddess of Beginnings and Endings for no good reason. If I must, I will play my part, just like I expect you to.”

“Of course, my goddess. I’d lay down my life for this to come to fruition.”

The goddesses lips curled up into a grin. “I count on it.”
> Discussion
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The following day, Twilight called a meeting among her friends along with Mayor Mare, explaining the explosion that happened and that for the meantime, the town should just know that there is nothing to fear for now. With her message passed on to the more veteran public speaker, she took her friends into the castle to determine what their thoughts were on all of this. Rainbow Dash was the first to speak.

    “Would have been nice for him to have told us all of this,” she huffed and crossed her hooves. Even if she wasn’t as attached to him as Twilight was, her sense of loyalty to the egghead was strong enough to see how devastated she was. “Or if he had the balls to even admit what he was going to do.”

    “Now Rainbow Dash,” Rarity frowned. “We’ve all been through this before that Nick was simply trying to spare Twilight and Princess Luna as much pain as possible. Obviously he was determined to saved us all, that he knew they would try to talk him out of doing so were he to tell them.”

    “Rarity’s right!!” Pinkie chirped, happy upon hearing the news of new potential friends. “Besides, Nick is just invisible or something and we have two more fun humans to meet!! I say this calls for celebration!”

    “I know you girls have mixed feelings about this,” Twilight looked to all of them, Tempest on her left side and Starlight on the right. Spike was out doing some work in the Dragonlands, trying to form some alliance with Ember after the whole Storm King invasion. “But that’s what these two are claiming and to the best of mine and Tempest’s ability, we think they’re telling the truth. The only question is… how is this all possible?”

    She turned to her first reformed friend. “Starlight, when you snuck in and well… when you used Starswirl’s time spell, all those different realities, were they basically like Ivy and Matt said? Different universes?”

    Starlight scratched her chin in thought, glad that Twilight didn’t continue on with how she was an ex villain. Then again, Tempest was in the same place as she was, so being reformed wasn’t necessarily something to be too embarrassed about. “Well when I used it, I was more focused on revenge than the actual applications of it,” she blushed at the admittance. “However, I would assume that’s how it did work though. Each decision, action we make results in a different future, that much was apparent in messing with the Sonic Rainboom. There are multiple possibilities and choices that it’s too many to count. Had Nick not done what we did…” her ears pinned to her head as she thought of the last world she and Twilight travelled to during their skirmish. “I’d hate to imagine where’d we be…” Everyone had thought they understood the dire consequences if Nick failed, but after hearing what happened to Ivy and Matt, the realization hit them hard of the fate they were spared.
    
    “Haven’t ya tried ta ask Starwirl?” Applejack tried to keep the discussion on topic, and not dwell on the “what could have happened”. “It was his spell after all. Surely he would have known tha uses for it.”

    “After the whole Pony of Shadows incident, he went to travel around Equestria,” Twilight explained. “Apparently the whole ‘Theory of Friendship’ made him realize he had been missing an important variable in his research and so is going to study it by interacting with different ponies. Refused to even say where he was going to be, just that he may visit when he was satisfied.” 

She shook her head at the thought. Finding that the stallion she looked up to all her life wasn’t all he seemed was just another heartbreak, although not as bad as her first one. 

    “I just wonder how come the Tree never talked to us,” Fluttershy added. “I know I can talk to animals … and… I even asked Tree Hugger for help. When she went to it, she could only feel its energy. Didn’t hear a single voice.”

    “Well, we just bring those two humans to it and have them tell us,” Rainbow Dash smacked the table map with a hoof. “We’ve done enough waiting, we need answers.”

    “Considering the last time we did things without the princesses here,” Starlight gently reminded everyone of the whole Pony of Shadows event. “We should proceed with caution.”

    “Starlight is right,” Twilight smiled to her friend. “Since none of us knows what we’re dealing with, we should have the princesses guide us. So while we wait for them to arrive, how about this next topic?”

“If Nick truly isn’t dead,” she had to pause as she restated the possibility. If it were really true, she teared up a bit at the image of their reunion. Shaking her head, she continued. “How are we supposed to bring him back? We don’t know if he’s in Limbo or something else…”

    “Well if there was a body we could - “ Starlight mused aloud, although she was aware of the eye contact she was getting from the other mares. “Well, reanimation isn’t all that bad of an idea, is it?” She tried to defend herself.

    “Yeah, except that it’s been banned from Equestria for centuries,” Applejack crossed her hooves. The stories she heard as a filly had stuck with her and she shivered at the thought. “Not only that but Nick wouldn’t be really ‘alive’ if he was just a moving corpse.”

    “What about we try Discord?” Pinkie smiled. “Surely that crazy draconequus has a ‘spirit’ world or somethin where he lives. He could just go find Nick and bring him back.”

    “Volunteering me without me consent? That’s so you Pinkie Pie,” said Spirit of Chaos appeared, lounging in the air above them on an overly large brick. “And how come I wasn’t invited to this little brainstorming session?”

    The mares all knew he had a peculiar sense of humor, but still were wary of the large, heavy object floating above their heads. Some even backed away from the table a bit.

    “I’m actually glad you’re here Discord,” Twilight swallowed a sigh, looking up to him. She really hoped that this was just a prank of his. “Is what Pinkie described a possibility?”

    “Good to know that I’m only wanted when I could be of help,” he sent a plush broken heart down to her. Tempest quickly used her magic to swipe it away. Unlike the others, she was still getting used to this creature. If he was really as powerful as he was, why didn’t he intervene during the invasion?

Shrugging and snapping his talons, the brick began to fall with him on it. Rarity and Fluttershy screamed, Rainbow, Applejack and Starlight thought on stopping it, but realizing it could be an actual brick dove for cover. Twilight closed her eyes as it was about to impact, Tempest casting a shield around them. 

The sound of a squeaky toy rang out. Opening her eyes, she saw the object had landed harmlessly on the table. Upon closer inspection, she found it was just a realistic looking foam brick. She just groaned and teleported it off the table.

    “And to answer your question Sprinkle,” Discord sat on the table facing her, the rest of her friends regathering their composure, some of them giving him dirty looks for scaring the wits out of them. “No, Nick isn’t in any of the neighboring realms to mine. And there would be no reason for me to keep that a secret, I enjoyed his company too. In fact, hearing about even more humans here is something I couldn’t even have expected. Should be fun to mess with them.”

    His prank for the hour out of his system, he summoned his Throne of Chaos next to Fluttershy’s seat and proceeded to sit on it. “When are Celly and Lulu arriving?”

    “Right now Discord,” Celestia spoke up, opening the doors of the meeting hall. Luna silently following behind her, avoiding eye contact with her former marefriend and herdmate. The mares all bowed towards the sun and moon deities, even though regarding their relationship, wasn’t required.

    “We’re glad that you sent us that letter as soon as you did Twilight,” the tall alicorn smiled at her. “Saved us a lot of trouble having to send search parties looking for the culprits of yesterday’s mass hysteria. So, you have the two humans in the dungeon?”

    Twilight, while part of her wanted to look past her former teacher to Luna, knew that it wouldn’t help anything so she nodded. She was glad everyone was here now so they could move forward. Some part of her was telling her big things were going to happen. If only she knew how big.

    “If everyone is ready, I’ll introduce you to our new arrivals.” She got up, and lead the way down into the dungeons.
> Clarification
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

    “It sure was nice of magic as- Twilight, to give us some beds.”

    “Yeah! She even tried her best to make it comfortable for me. I’m telling ya Matt, everything is gonna go up from here!”

    He sighed and shook his head. “You don’t get it, do you?”

    “What are you on about now? Can’t you just be happy we’re moving forward?”

    “Forward towards what Ivy? We’re not here just to play,” he crossed his arms as he sat on his bed. “The Tree still has use for us, hence this second chance. Of course it chose to be cryptic instead of straight forward like last time but I still have a feeling something bad is going to be coming our way,” he got up and leaned against the bars of his cell. 

    “So, you still think we’re going to have to fight?” the lamia slumped a bit on her bed, the thought not all that appealing to her.

    “Why else did the Tree say ‘learn from him’? He apparently knows some technique or move that allowed him to overcome the darkness.”

    “You don’t think-” her thought was interrupted by the door opening, followed by blinding a light. The sound of hoofsteps filled the room almost like a small army.

    Once both of their eyes adjusted, they immediately recognized the larger figures accompanying Twilight. Both of them, even Matt despite his rebellious attitude, bowed in respect of the presence they were now in. If they were going to get out of here, manners wouldn’t hurt.

    Good to see that at least they are well mannered Celestia mused, looking at both of them, mostly Ivy with how much the woman stood out. Definitely she was a unique creature, although there was some familiarity for the alicorn.

    Even Luna, who had chosen to remain silent couldn’t restrain the gasp she let out upon looking at her. Ivy felt a bit self conscious about herself being inspected, but knew that was part of her now. She settled for appearing as friendly as she could, smiling to them and sitting back down to not appear as imposing. 

Matt on the other hand remained emotionless, staring back at the group. He knew at least one thing about these ponies, show you weren’t weak and they’d keep their distance.

Celestia smiled at his gusto, finding it rather adorable how tough he was trying to act.

“So, shall we start or would one of you want to?” she broke the silence, her voice echoing off the walls.

“I-I’ll start, Princess Celestia,” Ivy spoke up, everyone’s attention, including Matt’s. He  didn’t really have any issues with her decision to start, after all she was free to speak for herself, and maybe could appeal their case more successfully.

“My name is Ivy, I am what we humans call a lamia. Half human, half snake as you can see,” she wiggled the end of her tail for emphasis. “Upon coming to Equestria I was given the title of the Element of Motivation, represented by the color of my gem, purple. Other than that, I’m really sorry about the trouble we caused in Canterlot, princesses. I hope you can forgive us,” she bowed at the end of her intro.

Her words resonated with Celestia, truly feeling her remorse. Smiling softly, she nodded her head in acceptance. “Well, considering no harm was done, I am sure I can in good conscious pardon you and your friend.”  Her gaze turned towards Matt. He was leaning against the bars, thinking of what he wanted to say. “Matt, was it?”

“Yeah, that’s my name, Celestia- er Princess,” he wasn’t used to talking in a more formal  manner to the princesses. In his universe, they were used to his informality and rather laid back. “I’m Matt, and as you can see I remained human… for what I can tell. I have a red gem that was gifted to me, making me the Element of Vitality, although some often referred to me as the Element of Courage. Sorry about scaring your ponies, I guess we assumed they’d be used to strange creatures walking around by now. Guess they’re not as – well, weren’t ready for us.”

With the introductions done, and the apparent knowledge that these two knew more about them than vice versa, Celestia considered this sufficient to start. She knew Luna wasn’t really feeling up to doing the negotiations so she would speak on both their behalves.

“Well met, Ivy and Matt,” she smiled, looking between them both. “And I would agree with you Matt, regarding recent events, I’d say my little ponies have become rather… timid to new things happening. Slowly but surely we’re trying to integrate other species among us but that will still take time. On either hoof, the information Twilight has told me you both have is definitely most welcome but at the same time concerning.”

At the mention of this, the rest of the group all looked to her with confusion and worry. What other meaning could the arrival of these two mean? Surely since Nick defeated the god of nightmares, Phobetor, there was nothing more serious, right?

Seeing as she had raised the concern of everyone in the room, the sun princess continued. “Not that I myself am not happy to hear that Nick could very well be brought back to us, but there is the underlying reason of why. I see that from your expressions you both have your suspicions too about this. Has the Tree said anything about this?”

Ivy looked to Matt since he was the one that mentioned the implications to her and he sighed. “Unfortunately no. Unlike our first time around, the Tree decided to be as vague as possible. All I know is that we were supposed to meet up with Nick in this world and ‘learn from him’. Other than that, your guess is as good as mine as to why we’re here.”

There was no deception in his voice, at least according to her experience. She learned from Nick that some humans were better at hiding the truth than ponies. Seeing as Ivy agreed with everything he said too meant they either rehearsed that story or were genuinely not sure why they were given a second chance.  And as much as she didn’t like the idea of imprisoning two innocents, they didn’t know enough to let these two wander off on their own. She would need some time to come to a decision on their freedom.

“Thank you for all of the information you’ve given us,” she spoke, having come to a decision. “I believe you both are safe enough to not require these cells anymore but,” she floated two gold bracelets to the two of them. “In show of your good will until further notice, please put these on.”

“I’m guessing this is to track us or keep us in check for exchange of some freedom?” Matt picked up his shining new accessory, inspecting it further to see if there was anything nefarious about this “gift”.

“More or less. Not to offend but-“

“Nah, completely understand,” Matt was back to his usual self, slipping the bracelet on. It felt similar to when that guard cast a spell on Ivy and himself, but it soon passed. “Better than being stuck in a moldy dungeon all day.” Ivy had actually beat him to the punch, more than happy to comply. She found this wrist monitor was pretty stylish.

Celestia chuckled at their odd eagerness but couldn’t blame them. Nodding to Twilight, the smaller princess unlocked the doors, which the two former prisoners stepped out.

“Now that we have most of that excess bureaucratic formality taken care of, shall we go back to the library to find out how to bring back Nick?” she suggested.

Everyone nodded in agreement and proceeded to file out, save for Luna. She stayed behind and as Twilight passed her looked like she was about to speak. The smaller mare waited for her to do so, but after the silence became awkward, simply frowned a bit and left.

“…Twilight…”
> Gone
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

[A few weeks before Ivy and Matt arrived in Equestria]        
       
“Why? Why can’t I feel anything anymore?”

Silence.

“I used to be able to sense their love, burden their sadness, face their anger. But now? Nothing. After the Storm King invaded… they were able to take care of themselves, right?”

Nick had found himself shrouded in a fog since that catastrophe. The last moment he witnessed was one of Tempest’s grenades flying towards Twilight. After that, he was blocked from his view to their world.

Time didn’t seem to flow here, despite the fact that he had been able to watch how the world he saved fare without him. How much had changed, how much had grown. The mares he left behind suffered a rift torn between them because of his selfishness. Poor Luna, turned to bitterness because of his actions. He was helpless to stop it.

Then there was Twilight, so dedicated to him it broke his heart. While he was touched to see her loyalty to what they had, he still wanted her to be happy, to move on and find someone better.

“This, is my purgatory,” he sighed, laying down and allowing the fog to sweep over him. “No matter what good I did down there, I still caused harm." He paused, his self doubt that he thought he lost when he died was too soon to come back. He had questioned a lot of his decisions now that he could see the impacts they made. While he would have perhaps been more reluctant to accept the Tree of Harmony's prophecy, he would do it over again in a heartbeat. He partially regretted falling in love with Luna and Twilight, seeing how he was right at the devastation his death caused. Everything was completely rushed, and not just his death. Maybe he should have waited for their relationship to develop more and then come clean with them. Perhaps there was another way. 

"I was supposed to have brought hope but instead, I dashed it into pieces.”

The fog then thickened after this confession, something that was rather surprising for the wolf. He looked around and raised an eyebrow. Ever since he arrived here, the fog was always persistent and low lying, allowing him to see a mile away, and covering whatever ground he walked on. He had tested said “ground” to make sure nothing was hidden, and it seemed to be one of the flattest, smoothest surfaces he’d ever walked on. 

He got up, deciding to investigate the source, if there even was one. He just assumed the fog was always here before he arrived, but now that it was building up, it seemed to have some meaning. As he walked through the now tip of his nose visibility, he could feel the air temperature drop, like a big cold front had just blown in. Then he felt a chill down his spine, not from the cold but something more sinister.

Looking up, he barely had enough time to react and move out of the way as a giant, black hoof squashed the ground he was just on. 

Tumbling on his side, Nick looked up to see if he could spot the owner of the hoof. Whoever it was was a giant. The only thing that he saw that could even come close was…

A pair of bright, white eyes that shone through the fog, followed by a head whose color rivaled his own fur in darkness. He then remembered why this creature looked so familiar.

“So, you finally made it here, Pony of Shadows.”

A sinister laugh rang out as the creature stepped through the fog, its power enough to dissipate it by pure contact. 

“And who are you, little wolf? Banished here to Limbo by those pesky Elements too?!?”

“I have nothing to say to you, vile one,” Nick sized up his opponent. How long had it been since he had done battle? More than a few months at least. Did he even have the powers he gained during his time on Equestria?

“It matters not,” the villain smirked, sensing that the wolf before him had gone through quite a journey before arriving here. He could even sense raw power from within. “Quite interesting, I sense darkness within you as well as light. An anomaly in the least I must say.”

“Shut up,” the wolf narrowed his eyes at the large pony. It would be suicide to take on such a large and magically skilled foe, but then again what else could he do? It wasn’t like he was able to kill a god or anything back on Equestria. 

He adopted a fighting stance, lowering himself to the ground, keeping his eyes locked onto the neck of his adversary. 

The Pony of Shadows chuckled in amusement at the wolf’s boldness. Once he had knocked the resistance out of this host, he’d be free to use his body for his own means. “If it is a fight you want wolf,” he grinned, his horn glowing with dark magic. “A battle you shall get.” 

Despite being rusty in his combat technique, Nick charged head on towards the towering stallion, watching the beam of magic burst out at him. It was almost like riding a bicycle, his body getting into the muscle memory he developed during his time in Equestria. He dodged it, albeit rather clumsily and tried to use magic of his own. However, he found himself just straining, not even a spark flew off from his body. His face fell at the loss of such an important asset in his arsenal, meaning he was reduced to close, physical combat.

    	He would have been fine with this except the problem was, while watching Twilight simply enter the creature during her battle with it meant that physical damage couldn’t be inflicted. So instead he’d have to be on the defensive for now till he found a work around or weakness.

    	“I can sense your pain and suffering,” the dark stallion chuckled, throwing shadowy tendrils at Nick. Despite his lack of magic, this wolf was quick on his paws, avoiding their grasp. “Submit now and I can help you!”

   	 “If only I had a thousand bits for every time I heard that offer,” Nick grunted as a tendril nearly sliced his side right open. If one thing showed, it was how out of shape he had gotten in his complacency. He was also growing tired and not once had he been on the offensive.

    	He considered his options. If he tried to attack the shadow straight on he could just get sucked in and it would attach like a leech. If he didn’t, well he wasn’t sure how long he could out run this thing, and when he did finally wear out, the con of the first option would be default.

    	“You’re slowing down,” the Pony of Shadows commented, slapping Nick around as a taunt. This was too easy and he didn’t want to damage his future host too much, it was just beating him down to make the possession that much easier. “My offer must be sounding better now.”

    	On a particularly rough slap that sent him flying, Nick landed on the ground with a loud “smack”. However, just like how he hadn’t felt anything physically like hunger or tiredness for the longest time, any bones broken or organs crushed were oblivious to him. He got up without much pause, although he was winded from all the dodging. Whatever this place was, “Limbo” he assumed according to the Pony of Shadows being re-sent here, was messing with him.

    	Feeling that he had won, the menacing stallion let down his guard. “What is your name wolf? You have been quite a decent adversary despite your lack of magic.”

    	Deciding playing along was his best choice at the moment, Nick caught his breath. “The name is Nick, ex Element of Hope. I have to say Pony of Shadows, with how easily Twilight and her friends beat you, I’m surprised how much of a fight you put up.”

    	The stallion, upon hearing the crucial words “Element” and “Twilight” stopped smirking and instead felt a wave of anger and annoyance flow through him. 

    	“So you’re one of them, are you?” he growled, more tendrils shooting out of his body, ready to strike. “If so, why are you here? That darkness inside you, that was nothing I felt in those pathetic ponies!!”

    	Seeing as he had gotten under the shadow pony's nerves, Nick smiled to himself. “Let’s just say I’m an outlier.” With  that and steeling himself for the worst, Nick charged the shadow once again, determined that if this was the end, he’d go out fighting. What he didn’t notice though, was that as he ran towards his opponent, the gem that he once wore, along with the golden necklace that held it, began to materialize around his neck.

    	He leapt at the last second as a wave of tendrils struck out at him. Time seemed to slow down while he was in the air. As he was about to make contact with the Pony of Shadows, everything turned white.
> The Dominoes Begin to Fall
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I kinda miss the crazy sparkle butt,” Matt sighed as he shifted through yet another book. “This one’s nice but, I’m always thinking she’s gonna pull a fast one on us and I’ll be back on an operating table with my beating heart in her hoof.” 

A week had passed since their formal meeting with the princesses. While they couldn’t leave the castle quite yet out of bureaucratic reasons the last time a foreign “invader” had come to Equestria, they did have free roam of the various rooms and corridors. He figured since there was nothing else to do until Friday, when the rest of the Elements would come over to help Twilight try to find a way to bring Nick back, he could at least try to speed up the process.

    Ivy was helping too, her compassion for Twilight’s heartache encouraging her to try and get this world to how it SHOULD be. This was her second chance, another shot at trying to fix Equestria. 

    “You’d think Twilight would have a section over summoning rituals and the like,” she mused, as she closed another book with a yawn, stretching out. Her tail knocked over a stack of thankfully already read books, causing her to giggle. The pile was quickly straightened out by teal magic, a lilac colored hoof entering the doorway.

    “Well like you learned in our meeting last week,” Starlight walked in, carrying a tray of sandwiches, some glasses and a pitcher of lemonade. Surprisingly for her, she was used to and on rather friendly terms with the pair at this point, most likely from interaction with them every day. Then again, with everything she had witnessed until now, she was sure there would be nothing really that would throw her off guard anymore than meeting these two. “Summoning magic isn’t really supported here, which is lame, but I guess for good reason. You two have been at this for a while. Why not take a break for lunch?”

    Both of them perked up at the mention of food. That was another motivator for the pair, better than whatever they got while imprisoned. It was strong enough to even soften Matt’s demeanor , but only slightly he’d always add on to that admittance. Placing their books down, they went to join the unicorn at a nearby table.

    “Twilight still trying to get the Tree to talk?” Matt inquired as he took a sandwich, biting into it crudely.

    Starlight sighed and nodded, pouring herself a glass of lemonade. “Not to blame you two, but once she started realizing that the Tree of Harmony was behind almost everything that has happened, she’s dedicated herself to try and reach out. At one point she broke down in hysteria and tears, begging for Nick to come back. I had no choice but to give her a tranquilizer, with the help and blessing from Tempest of course. She hasn’t eaten in days...” she trailed off, worry and lack of sleep showing themselves on her face.

    The two slightly nodded in understanding, a solemn silence falling over all of them. Minutes passed as they all thought about what they were missing in this mystery. They knew that Matt and Ivy being here meant that something was meant to happen, and the Tree seemed to only speak truths from what happened so far.

    Ivy grimaced and slapped her hand against the table in anguish, startling the other two and almost knocking over the pitcher. 

    “Ivy what the hell???” Matt glared at her.

    “This can’t be it!” she sobbed, tears flowing down from under her mask. “Not all over again!!”

    “I don’t follow,” Starlight looked at the lamia out of concern.

    “Being helpless, useless!” Ivy continued. “Starting off thinking that we’re going to do good only to find out that we’ve hit a dead end!! Why??? Why was Nick able to complete what he was tasked with but not us?? Are we not determined enough? Strong enough? If the Tree wanted us to find him, why didn’t it give us a fucking sign or clue?? SOMETHING to get us going in the right direction!!”

    “Ivy,” Matt tried to reason with her. He wasn’t too sure what happened to her during her ‘adventure’ but obviously it was just as traumatic to her as his own failure was to him.

    “Why do we have to be stuck in this fucking castle!!” She was now blinded by her building anxiety and anger. “Why can’t we be out helping Twilight?!? That poor mare has been through enough! Let US carry some of her burden, it’s the least we could do!”

    “Ivy!” Starlight took a forceful tone with her, along with some magic to shake her out of her current state of mind. It worked, as the girl turned her head towards the mare. 

    Seeing as she got through to her, the unicorn released the magic. “Getting hysterical isn’t helping anyone. I just told you what I had to do with Twilight just to make sure she didn’t hurt herself. I will not hesitate to do the same to you.”

    Her threat further pacified Ivy, who was now just crying. Going over to her and handing her a box to tissues, Starlight let go of the breath she’d been holding. 

    “We’re going to find a way Ivy, ok?” she reassured her. “We always do, no matter how bleak the present looks. Twilight and the other Elements escaped an invasion. WE summoned 6 heroes we thought were lost to … that’s it!!!”

    “What’s it?” Matt was now focused on Starlight, mostly due to the loud “squee” noise she made after her epiphany. 

    “I know how we can bring back Nick! Or at least try to! That tranquilizer I gave Twilight should be wearing off soon! This will probably be the best news we’ve gotten! Why didn’t I think of this… before…” She was about to rush out the door, but just like that, Starlight lost her momentum and was back to previous mood. She remembered what happened the last time such a plan worked.

    “You sure you’re alright Starlight?” Matt tilted his head towards her. Maybe it was that time of the month for these two, like hell if he knew.

    “Yes… no...I don’t know…” her ears pinned back to her head and she plopped down.

    Deciding he’d at least get SOMETHING out of this rollercoaster of emotions, Matt pressed on. “Well can you at least tell us what your great idea was before you decided it didn’t seem to have any merit.”

    “Well it was because I didn’t think it was such a good idea at the time we did it either. It turned out I was right but…”

    “But?”

    “I just don’t know. What if, when we bring Nick back, we bring everything he defeated as well? The creatures of the Everfree, the villains, even Phobetor! All that everyone suffered through, it’d be for naught. I mean we were able to banish the Pony of Shadows, but…”

    Ivy and Matt looked at each other in mutual confusion. Apparently there were some things left out that the ponies didn’t tell them. 

    “So what you’re telling us is, you have been able to bring ponies back from the dead?” Matt bluntly put it out, not sure how else to phrase it.

    “Well they weren’t really dead… as a matter of fact, I don’t know what happened to them in Limbo,” Starlight tried to think if this could work out in the end. There were so many pros and cons to trying this again. If only they had contact with the Pillars. 

    The sound of someone clearing their throat broke them all out of their thoughts. Turning towards the source, they saw that Tempest was standing there, supporting what looked to be a ghoulish Twilight. There were bags under her bloodshot eyes. Mane, tail and fur a mess that accompanied the consequences of neglecting personal hygiene, namely bathing. 

While the others flinched at the sight, Tempest stood there slightly unamused that she was the only one looking over Twilight this whole time. She shook it off though, they were all trying to help her as well with what they had been doing.

“Princess Twilight has something to say to you all, although I still think she should save whatever’s left of her voice and get some rest,” she looked to the mare leaning on her with genuine concern and a bit of a motherly look. 

“It’s - alright cough Tempest cough,” the alicorn wheezed, trying to get as much air into her lungs as she could. This was important, no matter how much it hurt to talk. She gave them all a weak smile. “You don’t know,” she took a deep breath. “How much I appreciate what you all are doing for me cough.”

The two females smiled while Matt, even despite seeing Twilight in this state, crossed his arms and nodded towards her. She still looked like she had more to say, so they didn’t interrupt.

“Thank you Starlight, for giving me that tranquilizer, although it still was rather sneaky,” she weakly laughed which threw her into a coughing fit. The mare she addressed blushing hard and pinning her ears.

Once she recovered, Twilight shook her head, making her slightly dizzy. “It’s alright. The sleep did do me some good. I had a, well not a dream but more of a vision. I got to see… him again,” she teared up and sniffled at recalling what was probably just what her subconscious wanted to see. Still it seemed more than just that, like Nick actually was speaking to her. 

Everyone, including Tempest waited on baited breath for Twilight to continue. “Starlight, you’re right. We need to do what we did with the Pillars again.”





    “Not the best performance Clyde, but I think she’s desperate enough to see our hero again, that she believed it.”

    “I apologize, benevolent Astris. It has been a while since I’ve taken a mortal form, let alone that of an, ugh, animal.”

“I won’t have you speaking poorly of our chosen one now Clyde, especially since so much depends on him.”

“Why him though? Why not any of those other humans that passed through Limbo. There are other timelines we could go through and alter.”

“That is the whole point Clyde. We didn’t have to interfere in this one, he made all his decisions himself, just like the others. Also he was able to topple Phobetor. If we play our hand too early, well…”

“She’ll catch on and could turn him against us. I understand now,” he lowered his head. “I again humbly apologize for doubting your decisions, goddess.”

“It matters not Clyde. All we have to ensure is that we get to that one event where it is too late to go back. After that, well, I suppose we shall see how everything goes down.”
> ... And Fall Hard
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

    “And so, in order to bring me back from Limbo, you’ll need to collect three items related to each of the villains I defeated: Tirek, Chrysalis and Sombra. Combine those items with mine, Ivy’s and Matt’s gems and I’ll be able to come back to you, my love,” Twilight had practically memorized every single word that Nick had told her. 

    “Yeah, that sounds exactly like what we had to do with the Pillars,” Rainbow Dash bluntly spoke for everyone gathered. 

    “And why are we not involving the princesses, again?” Starlight added, gaining a nod from everyone else. “Look at what happened last time. This time, would you be willing to put whatever Nick brings with him back? What if we can’t?”

    As much as she wanted to support Twilight in this endeavor, the not too distant memory of bringing the Pony of Shadows back was still in her mind. This wasn’t even a friendship problem it seemed, more like something Cadence should have had more involvement in regarding a broken heart. Twilight was letting her emotions get the best of her.

    Everyone knew how much pain Twilight had been in, but also could see the reasoning coming from Starlight. Both had valid concerns regarding the directions each wanted to take regarding this information. No matter who they thought was right though, all the mares in the room could feel the tension grow heavier in the room. 

    “Twilight, this is your decision to make,” Starlight decided on what she needed to do, as a friend. Whatever Twilight and the rest got into, they were all able to make it out alright. This was just another one of those times. “Whatever you choose, know I’ll have your back.”

    The rest all agreed in unison. For them, the thought of bringing back Nick was a rather exciting and risky move, but it would be another way for Twilight to heal. Whatever would happen, they would be there for her.

    “Maybe… maybe we should speak with the princesses,” Twilight finally spoke, her brow furrowed at what it would entail. Celestia would at least think the idea over, afterall she seemed receptive to what Matt and Ivy had to say.  Luna on the other hoof, would be deeply against it. After all she was the first to stop trying to find a way, saying that it was a lost cause and that she didn’t want to see Nick again. Even just last week, she didn’t even look at her or react to what the humans had to say about bringing back Nick.

    Then Starlight had a very good point regarding the Pony of Shadows. If they brought Nick back, would Phobetor and the other villains return? Would they be able to banish them again without doing the same to Nick? He was just so real in her, whatever it was. Dream, vision, he was still so far away, still not here by her side. 

    “Alright,” she sighed. “We’ll discuss with the princesses and see what they recommend.”
    
    Just as she was about to get up, she felt her a sharp pinch in her side. This was followed by her cutie mark gradually heating up. Looking down it was glowing and pulsating, just like when the Friendship Map was calling them. The rest of her friends, Starlight and even Tempest all had the same thing happening to them.

    “Why would there be a friendship problem at a time like this?” Twilight asked. “And requiring all of us too??”

    “Well let’s see where the map wants us to go,” Rainbow suggested, hovering over the table to get a better look. 
    
    It was a futile effort as the entire map was glowing white, blurring the landmarks that adorned it. It slowly began to build in intensity, so much so that it became blinding. However, just before it became white washed, a small beacon of light shot out where the Tree of Harmony was. 

    Seeing as there was nothing else they could do, everyone quickly rushed out of the room, the doors slamming shut behind them on their own accord. Panting and looking back, they could see that the entire room was still full of light, judging by the trails that filtered under the doors. Twilight tried to open them with her magic, but they didn’t budge. 

    “Everyone is here, right?” she quickly asked, turning back to her friends, breathing a sigh of relief that they were all ok, along with Ivy and Matt, who looked like they just saw a ghost. Not quite the expression she’d imagine after witnessing that, but maybe there were some things they hadn’t experienced. “What’s wrong you two?”

    “We need to get to the Tree, now,” was all Matt could say before he rushed to the doors, Ivy following him.

    Twilight cocked her head at the cryptic message. The two knew they couldn’t leave the castle, she had placed a retaining spell on the outer doors. Why now of a sudden was there a need to break the agreement they came up with. “What exactly do you mean Matt? This isn’t cause to let you two out,” she flew over to them, the others joining shortly after. 

    “No time to explain fully, but if that light is any indication, we need to check on the Tree. Come on Twilight, open the fucking doors!”

    “I’ll need a better explanation Matt. We’ve trusted you guys so far, but that trust can only extend so much. Knowing how you were able to escape the Royal Guard, once we let you go there’s no telling if you guys will come back.”

    “Twilight, we saw that same kind of light when we were taken from our worlds,” Ivy stated flatly, her voice full of dread. “Please, we need to see if the Tree is alright.”

    Still not the explanation that she wanted, Twilight had to concede. First of all, they didn’t know what would even happen if they stayed in the castle, if the strange light was any danger to them. Secondly, they had trusted the two so far with everything they told them. There wasn’t really anywhere for them to go, and she still had her magic bracelets on them, meaning that they could at the very least be tracked. 

    “Fine, but we’re going straight to the Tree,” she spoke sternly.

    “Yes, that’s all we need to do.”

    With her friends forming a ring around the two, Starlight taking the rear and her and Tempest the front, she sighed, opening the doors. 

    The group rushed out and expecting to see the whole town in chaos, found the exact opposite. Ponyville appeared empty, deafening silence. They looked up and saw the a relative reason for it. A flock of birds in mid flight seemed to just levitate in the air. There was no magic aura around them however, they were just there. 

    “What in Equestria?” Fluttershy looked up at them in concern, trying to fly up to them before Twilight reeled her back in with magic.

    “I think we should stay to the ground. Whatever happened, I don’t think we want to try flying or end up like them,” Twilight cautioned the group. Nodding in understanding, they cautiously walked towards the town. They were met with yet another shock. All the townsponies were frozen as well, although they didn’t seem to be harmed.

    “I’ve never seen anything like it,” Starlight commented, looking at all the ponies around them as they made their way to the Everfree. She waved a hoof in front of one of their faces with no reaction. “Is this what happened to you guys?” she directed the question to Matt and Ivy. The whole group looked to them as they walked, not wanting to stay there for that long.

    “I-I don’t know. Everything happened so fast,” Matt could hardly believe this either. Was this the fate of his Equestria after he left? Was it still like this? Shaking his head, he realized they still needed to make it to the Tree of Harmony. “Let’s just keep moving.”

    They walked on in eerie silence, speaking to each other in whispers, unsure whatever happened could affect them at any moment. Twilight had a few working theories already. Somehow the light in the castle had protected them from this “spell”. Who cast it, why and how was an entirely different mystery.

    “Could Nick already be back?” Ivy asked Matt as they reached the halfway mark of their journey. 

    “Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe that light symbolized him arriving here, or... someone leaving? We won’t know till we get to the Tree. If it’s still intact, we can breathe easier.”

    “What do you mean still intact?” Twilight turned to him, with a questioning look on her face. Everyone else was staring at him too, waiting for the answer to her question.

    Matt grimaced as he realized he let a huge cat out of the bag. He looked to Ivy who shrugged, silently telling him that he brought this upon himself. 

    “Matt, you better come clean now…” Twilight growled, her horn lighting up, already feeling like she had been deceived by them. 

    “Alright, alright,” he put up his hands defensively. “When I failed to complete what I was tasked with… the darkness… it destroyed the Tree of Harmony. I didn’t get to see what happened because right as it did, well I was teleported here. All of this looks nothing like what the world was going through before that event, so there’s a good chance this is something completely different.”

    The mares all felt a chill go through their spines upon hearing of the destruction of one of the vital landmarks of Equestria. If the Crystal Heart being destroyed was bad enough to plunge the Crystal Empire back into nothing, the impact of no longer having the Tree of Harmony was unfathomable.

    With this in mind all of them picked up the pace, finally reaching the clearing where Nick’s statue once stood. Despite Ivy’s optimistic comment, neither the statue or the wolf were there. However, they all breathed a sigh of relief as not only was the Tree of Harmony still intact, but glowing brightly. What was new though, was that each of the gems carried by Nick, Ivy and Matt had made their way out of the castle and were floating in front of the Tree.

    The group stared at them, not sure what to make of it. Before they could even react, the gems levitated high above them and with a flash of light, Nick's gem was scattered to the winds, while Ivy's and Matt's gems both plunged into the ground. The blast created by them sent a shockwave, sending them all to the ground to take cover. And just as soon as the gems were dispersed, time seemed to flow again. Birds flew overhead and their songs could be heard.

    They all looked at each other as if for reassurance to what just transpired.

    “Welp,” Matt sighed, rubbing his temples. “I guess that answers the question of whether we’re bringing back Nick.”
> You Heard Her
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

    “I. Just. Don’t. Get. It. Why? Why won’t it just tell us what it wants??”

    “Twilight, that whole spectacle was a pretty good indicator. Your approach seems to be the right one. We need to bring Nick back,” Starlight rubbed her mentor’s back as the alicorn lay prone. After the whole time freeze and scattering of the gems to who knows where, the Princess of Friendship found herself at her limit. The Tree sure had no qualms telling Nick, Matt or Ivy what was needed next. But now, it was silent, like it had always been, it’s actions as of now more confusing than guiding.

    “Yeah but why did it have to freeze time like that? What was with the light and the sealing of the Cutie Map?!” She looked up at the Tree. It was more radiant than she had remembered, the Elements glistening on its branches. It seemed as if it was restored with newfound energy.

    “We could always ask the princesses on their thoughts,” Pinkie chimed in, excited at the prospect of going on another crazy, fun adventure. 

    “They have enough problems dealing with all of these other events that happened,” Applejack added. “This would just be one more thing on their plate. Twi’s hunch was right, we need to get Nick back.”

    As the group debated amongst themselves on how to go about doing so, Twilight lifted her head off the ground, her ear twitching as she heard something.

    “Bring… me… back…”

    The voice was feminine, at least from what she thought she heard, but shook her head, thinking she was hearing things. Perhaps her desperation was getting to her. While her friends were still busy trying to figure out what to do next, Tempest had picked up on Twilight’s odd behavior and walked over to her. 

    “Twilight, are you ok?” she asked in concern, looking her over to see if she was injured. 

    “Yeah… I guess I’m just hearing things,” she had a perplexed expression on her face, standing up to her hooves. 

    “Please, bring me back…”

    The voice was louder, causing the two mares to perk up. They looked at each other, and their expressions confirmed they heard the same thing.

    “Everyone quiet!” Twilight yelled to her friends, who looked at her in confusion.

    There was a pause as they waited for whatever it was they were listening to. 

    “My faithful Elements of Harmony,” the voice was much more clearer now, although the power behind it was only loud enough to be heard by them. “It is a pleasure to finally speak to you all.”

    The group all audibly gasped at hearing the Tree for the first time, excluding Ivy and Matt, who internally cheered that they weren’t going crazy. The mares couldn’t believe that it was actually talking to them, however Twilight was the first to recover.

“But why? Why haven’t you spoken to us before? Why did you take Nick away from us?” She pleaded, her natural curiosity along with desperation taking over all her other questions. 

    “Verbal communication wasn’t necessary, you all were able to understand what I needed by yourselves, however, it’s in these recent times that it appears I need to intervene more directly. There are other forces at play, some that threaten our very way of life.”

    “Well Nick took care of Phobetor,” Twilight spoke. “If you hadn’t taken him away from us…” she could feel a mix of rage and sadness welling through her. How dare this “entity” now try to make peace, after all this time.

    “And I do understand the sacrifice that came with it, as did Nick.” It was hard to judge the Tree’s emotions as she said this, if she was merely saying this or if she actually sympathized with Twilight. “But, I realized that my reaction was… premature in this case. I had no idea the repercussions of a champion actually fulfilling their destiny. Which is now why, with my blessing, I want you to bring back Nick.”

    The group as a collective blinked. Here was the Tree of Harmony, balance of all things in Equestria, keeper of the Elements of Harmony,  telling them that she had made a mistake. It was as if all they had known was now just lies, at least with how infallible they thought the Tree was.

    “I know that this is hard for you all to hear, but you must believe me,” she continued. “Just as I trusted you six to maintain the harmony throughout Equestria, I now ask that you trust me in this request.”

    Twilight looked to all of her friends, who were looking back at her. They had been through so much, ever since the beginning they had trusted the Tree of Harmony, after all it guided them to each other. To think their friendship was based on a mistake, they figured that the Tree may not have been omnipotent as they thought, but it still had the right intentions. Coming to an agreement, they all nodded wordlessly, Twilight turning back to the Tree.

    “If we were to bring back Nick… would that mean the return of the villains he defeated?” she asked the crucial question.

    There was a pause, long enough to make them think that maybe the Tree was already “gone”. However she did answer.

    “Yes, but they may be changed from what they originally were. That much I can tell you. Anymore, is cloudy to me. What you must do will not be easy, since even I cannot simply bring anyone back from the dead. Using most of my power, I was able to enchant the gems that Nick, Ivy and Matt possessed, marking artifacts that belonging to Tirek, Chrysalis and Sombra. First you must find Nick's gem that is in the Badlands, then use Matt and Ivy's to locate the other two artifacts in the Frozen North and Tartarus.  Once all have been obtained, bring them to me. With the rest of my magic, I will be able to give Nick back his form. After that, all of you will have to make your decisions on your own. I can only pray you all choose wisely.”

    “So, Nick became a part of you?” Twilight asked, so many other questions swimming around in her mind. “What do you mean by form? How will the villains he defeated be changed?

    “Nick is in the place you all discovered when bringing back the Pillars, Limbo. There, he is embarking on his own journey that will test whether he is up to the task. That is all I can say now. My power wanes with each passing moment, so please complete this task as soon as you can. Good luck Elements of Harmony, and may my light guide you.”

    With that, the glow from the Tree died down, to where it looked just like it did before Nick arrived in Equestria. Twilight had so many more questions to ask, but knew that it was futile to bother. Sighing she turned back to her present company. Each mare she looked in the eyes, seeing if they had any objections to this news or if they had anything to offer. These were her best friends, the ponies she trusted with her life. There was no mistake that they were all chosen for the right reasons but now, did they all think that this was the best decision.

    Each mare, despite what their opinions were before, felt in their hearts that this was the right thing to do, that any other action made them feel empty. 

    “Twilight, we’re with you all the way,” they said in unison, smiling at the alicorn.

    She smiled back, looking to Tempest, Starlight, Matt and Ivy, who all nodded in agreement. 

    Closing her eyes and nodding, she spoke. “Let’s do this.”
> Start of a Journey
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So you were an artist on earth?” 

    “Yep! Was pretty decent if I do say so myself!” Ivy beamed, ducking under a branch as they walked further away from the Tree of Harmony. With everything they heard and saw regarding their gems, she was in a rather pleasant mood. “Imagine my surprise when I met someone like Princess Celestia while I was painting in the park. I actually asked if I could paint her portrait!” she giggled.

    “So how did you learn to fight given your lack of… aggression?” Rainbow Dash asked, eyeing the recurve bow on her back. It was intricately designed but simple, uncolored pine with a snake winding its way around the curve of it, fine horse hair making up the drawstring. If she was being honest it looked just as awesome as she assumed it was deadly.

    “I suppose just like Nick did! Although learning how to use magic sounds a lot tougher than a bow. Maybe that’s why he was able to be so successful!” she continued on, quickly drawing it off her back and nocking an arrow. “Hey Twilight, mind tossing one of my targets on my bag?”

    Seeing as it wouldn’t hurt to see the skills the woman had, the alicorn complied, levitating the circular disk in her magic and flinging it in front of Ivy. In seconds, they watched her release her arrow and it landed directly in the center with a deadly sounding thwack, before the arrow continued to sail, impaling it on a nearby branch. Rainbow rushed over to it and her jaw dropped. 

    “A perfect bullseye!” she took it off the branch, showing her friends. They all looked at it in awe and a bit of intimidation, glad she was on their side.

    “Show off,” Matt grumbled, walking alongside Starlight and Rarity.

    “And what about you then, Matt?” Starlight overheard him. “What was your past life like?”

    “I’ve already told you all, I’m not going to go into my past,” he crossed his arms defensively. 

    “Oh come on darling,” Rarity teased him. “Surely a rugged… man… like yourself wouldn’t mind quenching a mare’s curiosity.”

    “Oh there’d be something I’d like to quench alright,” he snickered before a smack sounded out from Rarity’s hoof meeting his face. 

“Had that coming,” he laughed it off. “As for combat stuff, well, I’ll give you this. I specialized in stealth and traps. I’d hit them before they even realized what happened.”

    Tempest smiled a bit at the thought, knowing how effective such strategies could be. “From the way you talk, I’d confidently guess you were part of some military,” she added to the discussion, feeling a bit more at ease in the current situation.

    His response to her claim was all she needed to know, and she smiled smugly to herself, glad she was still sharp on her observational skills.

    “I’d say you both are a welcome addition to Equestria in any case,” Twilight smiled to them both. “And that you’ll be welcome to stay in the castle after all of this is done should you choose.”

    “Thank you Twilight!” Ivy smiled back at her, picking her up and hugging her tightly. In some sense, she wasn’t too far off from Pinkie Pie. Seeing the look Tempest was giving her though, she gently placed the frazzled alicorn down. “As Matt likes to say though, let’s just get things taken care of one at a time. And first we need to bring your boyfriend back!”

    Twilight nodded, a bit more somber at the mention of Nick. When they did bring him back, would he remember her? If he was in Limbo for so long, would he have seen how much she changed? Would it scare him away? Would he blame her for what happened with Luna?

    “It’ll be alright Twilight,” Starlight placed a hoof on her shoulder. “I’m sure Nick will be just the same wolf you knew. If not, you have us to jog his memory,” she pointed to her friends who all laughed at the thought of putting the wolf through the wringer after what he did to her. 

    She smiled at them, so happy she had their support. “So I suppose after we get the artifact from Thorax, we can go north to the Crystal Empire,” she looked at the map they had brought along. 

    “Yeah, although how come we didn’t go to Tartarus first?” Applejack tilted her head. “It was closer to Ponyville than these other two are.”

    “That’s exactly the point Applejack. Once we get the last artifact, that being Tirek's, we can go directly to the Tree of Harmony and bring Nick back. Also it’ll give us some more time to prepare to fight off any villains that come back with him.”

    That fact hung heavily on them all. They knew that it would happen, but how much harder would it be to fight them? They had accomplished it before when Nick was corrupted by them, but would they have grown stronger? What state would Nick be in once he came back? They could only speculate what the answers would be, and prepare for the worst.

    “I wouldn’t be surprised if he somehow reformed them just like you’ve done with Starlight and Tempest here,” Matt spoke to her bluntly, looking at the two “ex” villains. They both glared at him but he simply shrugged. “The baddies always get the good stuff too. I mean Star here got hold of essentially an infinity loop spell while Shade had those fucking magic cancelling grenades and shit. Why aren’t we bringing those with us???”

    “And bring more attention to this than we need to?” Tempest shocked him with a slight spark for the nickname he used. “I thought you were one for stealth, Matt.”

    Rubbing his back from where she hit, he flipped her off. “Well still, better tools would never hurt. We could have at least asked those pirates to use their airship. No one had to know our intentions, and you coulda smuggled Ivy and me somehow.”

    “We’re already on our way,” Ivy decided to stop the squabble, grabbing Matt and bringing him away from the mares he was offending. “Let’s just get this done and we’ll handle the next step whenever it happens.”

    The group continued to talk plans, ideas and just about each other in more detail as they ventured on. In the chance that Celestia or Luna decided to check up on them, Twilight had a spell placed on the castle to let them know what transpired. She reasoned since the Tree did not wait for either princess, they weren’t needed for this mission, and with two new human allies, they’d be prepared for what would happen. What they all weren’t aware of was that a certain spirit of chaos was following closely behind, feeling something was odd with the thing that had opposed his chaos.

    The Tree of Harmony sending them on another quest? To bring back Nick? I don’t ever remember agreeing on that. Something stinks, and it’s not all this mushy talk.
> Revival
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nick opened his eyes. The last thing he remembered was the Pony of Shadows and a bright light as he made contact. Everything was still white, although he could see. Maybe everything he went through had been a dream and he’d been admitted into the psyche ward. Looking down at his “hand” dispelled any of these thoughts, he saw that he was still a wolf.

    What was different however, was that he actually felt something, the ground he was laying on. Previously while it felt like nothing but air, currently it felt like he was standing on a cloud, the ground soft and slightly bouncy. Slowly he got up and a pain in his side caused him to flinch. He remembered his narrow dodges during the fight with the Pony of Shadows. Looking around, his eyes narrowed as he saw its form a few feet away, slumped on the ground. Not picking up on any movement, it led him to question: had he managed to injure it? In either case, unsure of his current injuries or power reserves, he lay low, slowly approaching it.

    As he got closer he could see it, breathing. He froze, knowing that it was still alive. Whatever spell had been placed on him also seemed to have been cast on his adversary, and it was only a matter of time before it awoke.

    “I have to say, I was not quite expecting you to put up such a fight in your weakened state. But then again, you did manage to kill my brother.”

    It was a feminine voice, not quite like the Tree of Harmony’s but definitely very distinct. He looked around: fear, anger and confusion flooding into him as he thought the voice would wake up the Pony of Shadows along with a completely new sensation. However hearing the phrase ‘kill my brother’, he quickly deduced Phobetor, considering the otherworldly powers he was dealing with yet again.

    “Heh, don’t worry Nick. It’s currently subdued, for now. And there are no hard feelings about Phobetor. He really was an asshole, had it coming to him honestly. I have a proposition for you. Hear me out and then I’ll let you get back to it.”

    “Every time I talk to a ‘higher being’,” Nick slowly walked in a circle, trying to detect where the voice was coming from. “I always end up getting screwed over. Why should I listen to you when I killed your brother? What do you want?”

    “Oh, well for you to do exactly what the Tree of Harmony is going to ask you to do, except, destroy it afterwards.”

    The idea caused Nick to shake his head, as if he misheard. First he was to kill a god, then it was join the god he was trying to kill. Now he was supposed to destroy the thing that sent him on the entire quest that led up to his death. If he was like any sane person, as sane as he could be given everything that transpired, he’d see this as a great revenge plan. However, he felt some loyalty to the Tree of Harmony. It was straight forward with him, and along the way he got to meet two mares that were worth dying for. He wasn’t sure what to believe anymore with all the false promises, but what the Tree told him did come to pass. Also, what did this voice know that the tree didn’t?

    “I can sense your conflict,” Astris continued, deciding to up the stakes. “And you have full right to question my motives. However, if I told you there was an actual way that you could have avoided death and still defeated my brother, would that be incentive enough?”

    “If that were the case, why didn’t you just come to me before then?”

    “Well, as you know, there have been hundreds in your place. A different human or creature brought here to try and save this world. I was simply waiting for the right one, the one that could succeed, and that one was you, Nick. You have tales of mortals defying the gods on earth. Now you can say you’re one of them.”

    “That’s a useless title considering I died doing it. Are you trying to convince me not to kill you? If so, you’re not very good at hiding your intentions.”

    “Since there are none to hide. While yes, if you should return back to Equestria, you can build back your strength to defeat me, but if I was sure you would, I’d simply just kill you now. But I’m not, as we both have what each other needs. I cannot defeat the Tree of Harmony now due to the power you provided it by killing my brother, but should you be revived, you’d take enough power that it can be defeated. And unlike it, I can promise you that you won’t die if you kill it. If you were to kill me, the same thing would happen like it did with Phobetor.”

    The words rang out through Nick. This “goddess” had some semblance of a strong argument despite any actual proof despite somehow keeping the Pony of Shadows at bay. 

“So you’re asking me to use the Tree’s help and then betray it once I gain enough power?”

“Well, I’d say more revenge than betrayal. After all, it was that tree who selfishly betrayed you? Sending you on a martyr’s mission for what? Just to die and be a thankless hero. For me, I just want to end its rule over Equestria. Look what happened when the Storm King invaded. How come it didn’t send you to help? Why did it do nothing while your marefriend and her friends suffered through so many obstacles and were almost defeated?”

At the mention of the invasion, what appeared to be a video popped up in front of Nick, showing that Twilight had been captured by this “Tempest”, looking completely defeated. It tugged at his heart seeing he wasn’t there to protect her, that he was here because of what he was told. He slashed a claw through the image, closing his eyes.

“They did manage to defeat him,” Astris smiled to herself, knowing she was getting through to him. “However, if I knew the type of hero you were, I’d made it so you could have continued to protect her.”

“So why didn’t you?!?” Nick growled, looking up in the sky. “Why did you let me suffer like this?!? All alone with no hope?!?”

“I didn’t let you suffer Nick. Your Tree of Harmony did. She labelled you her ‘Element of Hope’ but you just stated it clearly. Where is the hope? I can’t force you to do as I ask, neither can she, but think about it. Good luck.”

Nick was about to respond when the ground began to shake, the spell fading and the Pony of Shadows coming to life. He looked at the wolf and bellowed.

“Whatever spell you used wolf, seemed to only delay your demise!! Prepare to submit!!”

Nick growled back and started charging at the creature, trying his magic once more. A slight spark sounded off, indicating his spell firing up. Maybe it was this new goddess’ doing or not, but he was going to take advantage of it. He dodged an oncoming tendril before launching a small flame, impacting against the Pony of Shadows but not really enough to do anything.

“So you’ve regained your magic!! I shall use your body to the fullest!!” it growled, launching more tendrils at him. Nick wasn’t fast enough to dodge them and several grabbed his limbs and body, slowly stretching him. “Now. You’re. Mine,” the fiend grinned.

“Heed not the dark one’s words Warrior of Hope.”

Nick couldn’t believe what he was hearing as the Tree’s voice rang out above them. Well he partially didn’t believe it, but considering his conversation with the goddess, maybe she knew more than he assumed.

“Take my blessing so that you may vanquish this foe once and for all.”

With that Nick began to feel his body warming up, looking down he noticed that it was glowing. The heat was too much for the Pony of Shadows and it shrieked in agony, releasing him from it’s grip. As the light began to fade from his body, Nick noticed a few new features had been added. Firstly, his chest and stomach were no longer the uniform black his fur had been. Now they were pristine white. He could feel new energy flowing through him, and his magic seemed to return. He summoned a fireball and lobbed it at the still staggered enemy. It shrieked even louder as the heat burned into it. 

“Wh-why?”

“You’re needed back on Equestria. I have no time to explain further, but the path will be clear.”

Nick couldn’t ask what she meant as the Pony of Shadows had recovered and launched another tendril attack at him. Nick sent out a wave of fire at the oncoming appendages, catching them on fire and feeling triumphant as they shriveled and fell to the ground.

“H-how?!?” the creature roared in confusion, seeing as now it was losing at a rapid rate.

Grinning, Nick tried his levitation magic, grateful that he had gained that ability back as well and floated at eye level with the Pony of Shadows. “I told you, I’m the Element of Hope.” He smirked, releasing another fireball at it. He led an unrelenting assault on the creature, as it tried to flee. He closed the distance and adopted a close combat barrage, each punch and bite injuring the foe even more. As it was on its last breath, he used both of his paws to summon a giant globe of fire to finish it.

“This time, you die for good,” he grinned, his eyes narrowing as he released his magic. The creature could only look up in horror as it was enveloped by the flame, letting out a loud roar of pain before an explosion erupted, sending a shockwave that knocked Nick back to the ground. He landed unscathed and the resulting flare up had no harm done to him. 

There was no sign of the Pony of Shadows, save for something shining from some light source. Upon closer inspection, Nick found it had been the necklace he had worn holding the gem he was gifted by Celestia at the start of his journey. A socket for said gem was attached to it, divided into three pieces, empty. Picking it up he placed it around his neck. 

He could feel another surge of energy flowing through him and his paws appeared even whiter. While he wasn’t sure what exactly was going on, why he was approached by the goddess or why the Tree of Harmony was now finally helping him, he knew one thing. He was going back home.
   
> Persuasion
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The trip to the changeling hive was nothing compared to the other trips the group had embarked on. Within a day they had arrived at the outskirts of the hive, and were quite intrigued to see how much it had changed. When they officially met Thorax, albeit after Nick’s passing, he took the time to show them the location along with offering them an open invitation to stay should the mares ever pass their way.

While the changelings did keep their promise and finished reconstruction of the old castle in the Everfree, they didn’t remain to occupy it and the reason why was clear upon the group’s arrival. 

The hive was no longer its forboding black but rather similar to Twilight’s Castle, a mix of shining colors that reflected the sun’s light. Instead of it’s jagged appearance, spires rose up, as if trying to touch the skies. There was lush vegetation everywhere, despite it being on the outskirts of the desert like Badlands. Perhaps they had designed irrigation for their new colony to support their actual diet of food and not love. 

As they approached the main entrance, a few changeling guards stopped them, requesting verification.

“I am Princess Twilight Sparkle, we’re here to see King Thorax,” Twilight announced, stepping up to the front with Tempest at her side.

“And who are these strange creatures you bring with you? More insurgents?” One of them pointed a spear at the two humans.

“Yeah, perhaps they’re trying to overthrow King Thorax just like that other group,” the other took a defensive stance. 

“What - we come in peace,” Twilight’s eyes went wide at the hostility. She knew the Storm King’s invasion had affected all of Equestria, but surely the news spread that he had been defeated and was no longer a threat.

“What is all this commotion?” a very familiar and welcome voice called out behind the two guards. The tall, majestic form of Thorax came into view, although the youthfulness in his face seemed to have diminished, replaced by what could only be due to stress and lack of sleep. “Twilight?” he cocked his head to the side in confusion. “What brings you here? And who are these three?” He looked at Tempest, Ivy and Matt.

“It’s a long story, but one that we’ll be glad to tell you in more… confidential settings,” she looked at the two guards warily. 

He understood and sighed. “At ease,” he commanded. “Sorry, things have been rough since the Storm King invasion. Some changelings, including my brother, thought that if we were back to our old selves, we could have repelled them.”

Twilight shook her head. “With how they caught us all off guard,” she looked to Tempest who blushed slightly. “I don’t think anything would have changed.”

“I am actually the former commander of the Storm King’s army,” Tempest announced, bowing before him. “I sincerely apologize for the disturbance caused. It was thanks to Twilight here that I was shown the error of my ways.”

The guards seemed more at unease, while Thorax looked at the mare. She definitely seemed very capable, but seeing that she wore armor with Twilight’s cutie mark on it, he decided that she was true to her word. After all, despite the lack of communication lately, he was still good friends with the mare.

“And these two?” he looked at the humans. “I’m guessing they’re related to Nick?”  

Twilight nodded. “In a sense yes, not by blood but, they are the reason why we are here. We can explain more in private.”

Thorax nodded. Truthfully he had been having rather disturbing nightmares revolving around the wolf. With all that they went through, him being his first friend, the loss of him weighed heavily on his heartl. While the dreams themselves weren’t replaying his death, they showed something even more sinister, something that, once he knew more about what Twilight and her friends were up to, he would decide whether to disclose or not.

“Alright, well come on in,” he nodded, whispering to a nearby guard. “Clear the throne room, but keep some guards posted outside. You know the signal if things go south.”

The guard saluted and went to spread the order. The group waited before Thorax gave them the signal to follow.

“I never encountered a ‘changeling’,” Ivy spoke softly to Matt, looking at the insects warily. She was not fond of bugs in general, and while these weren’t too scary, she still felt uncomfortable around them.

“Be glad you didn’t, ever seen the movie Aliens?” he answered back, to which she nodded slowly. “That’s what they looked like before they turned this… colorful.”

“They’re harmless now though guys,” Starlight reassured them. “Just one of the things Nick solved while he was here. King Thorax, from what he told us, saved him during his battle with their former queen, Chrysalis.”

The two looked at each other. Seemed like Nick wasn’t as perfect as they originally thought, but what quality did he have that they didn't?

The sounds of the throne room doors closing behind them brought them out of their thoughts.

“So, you’re both humans, for the most part,” Thorax looked to Matt and Ivy, getting closer to inspect them.

“Y-yes K-king Thorax,” Ivy shook as he got closer. With his size, he easily could look at her eye level, and while slightly reminding her of a deer, he was still a bug and that creeped her out. “I-I’m a lamia actually… I-Ivy’s the name.”

Thorax nodded, clearly seeing how uncomfortable she was around him, she wouldn’t try anything here. He then looked to the smaller human, who seemed to be more bolder. He could sense that this one could be trouble.

“I’m Matt, glad to see that your queen isn’t around,” he nodded. “I’ll have to say, fighting her was quite a welcome challenge.”

Thorax looked at him confused before Twilight interjected. “They’re from parallel universes Thorax, tasked just like Nick to save Equestria. Unfortunately…” she trailed off looking at them, both nodding for her to continue. “They didn’t succeed, but they were sent here because of Nick. We can bring him back.”

“I thought that you weren’t able to find a spell,” he raised a brow, growing ever more curious about this whole tale.

“We didn’t, but the Tree of Harmony spoke to us and told us how we could,” she continued. “These two had gems like Nick had, and each of the villains Nick defeated is the key to bringing him back. It called them “artifacts”, so we needed to find something of Chrysalis’ to bring him back.”

Thorax processed all of this information as best as he could, still keeping his nightmares in context. Just like he feared, they seemed to be more than just that. 

“And it told you that this is a good idea?” he asked in clarification, waiting till it was necessary to just give them the information he had.

They all nodded. “While it is true the villains themselves will come back as well, it told us that not all of them will be as they once were. Maybe your mother can actually be reformed.”

“Or maybe she can corrupt Nick and turn him against us,” he spoke bitterly, finally revealing his thoughts.

The group looked at him puzzled by the accusation, clearly this thought had been weighing on the king’s mind for some time. 

“I’ve had nothing but nightmares about his return, that he and my mom joined forces, just like it was before he…” his head bowed down, rubbing his forehead. 

Twilight could feel her heart ache at the recollection, having to actually fight the wolf. She shook her head. He was able to fight off the darkness though, they witnessed it personally. 

“But he was able to break free,” she reminded him. “So maybe he might turn out just like that when we bring him back, but the Nick we know, the Nick we both care about, will find a way to us.”

Thorax looked at the mare. He could see that she had changed too, how much Nick’s death and recent events molded how she acted now. Her words were full of certainty and her eyes full of determination. Still the images he saw seemed too real, and he didn’t want to relive that day again.

“Thorax, something big is coming,” Starlight added to the urgency. “I mean, the Tree specifically told us that we would need Nick again, and that it would give its energy to make sure he was brought back. Surely it wouldn’t do that if it wasn’t sure what was needed. It brought Nick to save us, and he did. Now we need him again.”

The changeling still felt conflicted by this information. Why didn’t Nick get brought back during the Storm King invasion? Why was he forced to confront and defeat his brother and send him into exile? Why was Nick needed now but not then?

“Please Thorax,” Twilight begged, tears forming in her eyes. “Please help us bring him back.”

Thorax gave the matter some thought before sighing. He knew what was needed and he’d have to tell them out front.

“Alright, you have my support.”
> Deals are Made
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Nick continued down the path he was walking. It was almost like from a movie, the tile he was previously on disappeared while a new one would appear for him to step on. He didn’t know how long he had been traveling like this but he did know that the silence was getting to him, especially with the battle against the Pony of Shadows fresh in his mind.

    “Destroy the Tree of Harmony? Is that even possible? Wouldn’t that destroy Equestria? Also why didn’t the Tree keep me around if there was another god out there? Why now did it determine I was finally of use again…”

    He gritted his teeth. Part of him did resent the fact that he died with this new knowledge that he could have just been brought back. He put Luna and Twilight through all of this grief, for what? For him to be revived? It almost trivialized everything they’ve been through.

           He paused as the last question came up. Would they even want him back? He knew that Twilight still mourned him while Luna more or less despised him, and for good reason too. Would him coming back shock them enough that they’d be won over again? Or would that be the final straw that drove a wedge between the trio.  

           More questions than answers piled on as he traveled. One answer did appear though, in the form of a large hexagonal platform. While it still blended in with the rest of the landscape, he could see orange lines along the perimeter of the shape. He looked around to see if there was any other way, but seeing as there was none in sight, he hopped on and could feel it immediately begin to rise, almost like he was in an elevator.

    On guard by the sudden movement , he quickly scanned the platform, finding a dark figure near the edge that wasn’t there before he jumped on. As he approached, a feminine and all too familiar voice spoke to him.

    “So, you finally bit the dust,” a sultry and hollow voice spoke to him. The figure stood up, revealing one of his former enemies, Queen Chrysalis. Aside from her broken horn, which actually had seemed to have regenerated some, she looked just as menacing as she did in his first face off with her. “Welcome to the void, Nick.”

    He crouched into an attack position, ready for whatever she was up to. The disgraced queen merely cackled at the gesture. “Ha ha ha ha ha ha! You haven’t changed at all! How sad. Here we have Equestria’s hero, and he’s still quick to violence! Blindly following what some crystalline plant told him! Go ahead, strike me down! I’d love to watch you suffer even more!”

    “What are you getting on about Chrysalis?” he growled, fully aware of how she used deception as a tactic to get what she wanted.

    “I want the same thing as you, my dear Nick,” she walked closer to him. “To get out of this prison. You heard what Astris told you, you’ll have to face us again.  But, we can work together, and none of us have to die or remain dead.”

    “And why should I believe anything that you have to say? That you’ve had this ‘change’ of heart? That you, the most selfish being I’ve come to known wants to finally help me? What price are you seeking?”

    Her lips curled up into a grin. “That’s for me to know and you to learn along the way. I’m not as stubborn as you think, Nick. I saw what you and Thorax were able to accomplish, see what my children have accomplished from it. That’s really all I wanted, as contrived as it sounds. I wanted them to no longer know hunger and suffering. So, all I can ask is that you give me another chance, just like you’re being given.”

    Nick looked at the queen, partly believing and unbelieving about what he was hearing from her. Yes, it all sounded like she was trying to persuade him, trying to trick him like she did before, appearing as one of his former loved ones in his dreams. However, he could hear some form of sincerity in her voice when it came to the changelings’ well being, almost like a motherly tone from her. Given everything that had been happening lately, maybe his original thoughts about her were no longer valid.

    One thing he knew was, he was tired of fighting. Not physically, he would still strike her down if needed, but if they could get along, would that be the end of the world?

    “Alright, I’ll allow you to join me, but don’t think this is anything more than trying to get out of this wretched place.”

    The look of shock on the queen’s face made it all clear she wasn’t expecting him to agree with her. However, she was happy that he did. While she did have some underlying ulterior motives, for the most part, what she said was true. She walked over to him, noticing him tense a bit before relaxing. She stuck out her hoof, to which he firmly grasped and shook.

    “Let’s get out of here,” she grinned, the platform they were on continuing to rise.
> Exploration
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So, you just kept your mom’s horn as a trophy?” Twilight asked slightly confused as they walked to what Thorax deemed the Hall of Records.

    “No, it’s more of a reminder of what we changelings were once, and how much suffering we experienced,” the king sighed. “It’s to show us how far we have progressed thanks to Nick.”

    “Well either way I’m glad you made our mission this much easier,” she smiled softly to him, looking at the jagged horn. It could have been mistaken for a weapon with how it appeared, dagger like.

    “Yeah. The Tree actually spoke to you all? Just like it did for Nick?” 

    The group nodded in unison. “I’d swear I was still dreaming when I heard it,” Twilight replied, rubbing her temples. While she was willing to do what the Tree of Harmony instructed, just like she and her friends did in the past, she couldn’t help but doubt the whole implications of what they were set on accomplishing. 

    The past year since Nick passed gave her a lot to think about. That the Tree itself was not infallible. The wolf wasn’t the first human or creature that it brought to Equestria and from what Ivy and Matt had told her about their failures, not a single one was successful. It was able to handle the friendship problems through their cutie marks, but who was to say the issues it sensed were really important? 

It didn’t warn them of the Storm King invasion, provided no help when Starlight tried to change timelines herself, both VERY critical matters that would have helped having prior warning. Even if they could use the Elements of Harmony against the invasion, they were so caught off guard, it was too late. Now here the Tree was again, trying to correct a major mistake that had impacted her personally.

“Twilight, are you alright?” Tempest asked, clearly noticing as everyone in the room did how she had spaced out.

Shaking her head sighing, she looked at them all. “It’s just, so much has happened in the past few weeks, how can we tell that what we’re doing is right? Is the path we’re going down is correct?”

“Well there isn’t Twilight,” Matt spoke up, seeing how quickly the situation was devolving. It would be in his and Ivy’s best interests that they continue to do what the Tree said, after all, it did send them here. “Yeah the Tree of Harmony isn’t as perfect as you originally thought but it has been right most of the time. It picked Nick right? The one human that was able to save Equestria from eternal darkness. It was able to pick you and your friends to be the Elements of Harmony, who time and again have been able to save Equestria when needed.”

“Yeah, I suppose so,” Twilight sighed, looking at the horn wistfully. “With this though, now we have to find the gem corresponding to it.”

“Oh, you mean that flash of light we saw land on the outskirts of the hive?” Thorax inquired, looking at the mare with renewed interest. Perhaps this was the right call if the group already knew about that mysterious sign.

“I would suppose so. The gems scattered across Equestria, but I’d assume they’d land closer to where their related relics were. Where on the outskirts?”

“A few miles out east, towards the mountains,” Thorax led them to a map room. It displayed a rather crude layout of the Badlands but had enough information to show where they assumed the light landed. “We sent out a patrol to investigate but…”

“It’s an Element of Harmony, why would it harm anyone?” Starlight inquired, not liking the thought of the gruesome demise of the squad.

“Your guess is as good as mine, but we know that it’s not a good thing, hence my reluctance to give you the horn. But with what I’ve seen from you all, especially Matt and Ivy, then I know that this is the right thing to do. Just… I’d like to be there when you bring him back.”

Twilight nodded and hugged the bug king. “You’ll be one of the first to know,” she smiled at him. “Thank you so much for this Thorax.”

The changeling nodded, smiling as well. “Good luck everyone. We’ll be thinking of you.”





    Following the map given to them by Thorax, the trip out west took no longer than a few hours and thanks to the hive resupplying their reserves, the group travelled in relative ease. The heat beat down harshly, with no shade in sight.

    “Think there’s a baddie waiting for us with the gem?” Pinkie asked Twilight, finding herself rather calm in the situation. Of course she hoped the changelings were fine, but part of her wondered what monster they would face if she was wrong.

    “I’d hope not,” Tempest spoke up. “That would just slow us down even further. As well as obviously placing Twilight and us in danger. But it would be unwise for us to not go in prepared just in case.”

    The group nodded in agreement and continued on. The desert breeze rubbed them like sandpaper, the sun beating down mercilessly as they travelled. What felt like an eternity, they finally saw the craggy mountains housing their destination ahead of them. Exhaling a sigh of relief they proceeded with caution.

    As they approached, trails of footprints were spotted ahead of them. They appeared to be pony size, and all leading straight ahead of them. 

    “That must have been the changeling search party,” Twilight commented, feeling a pit of worry in her stomach. “Weird how we didn’t see their prints earlier.”

    “Maybe the sand blew away the traces farther out in the open desert,” Tempest commented, looking around at the new landscape. “The wind here seems to have died down, almost like a spell has been cast on it.”

    Twilight’s horn flared in response, as if testing her friend’s hypothesis. However she shook her head after a few minutes. “There is no disturbance to the environment that I can detect. But if one thing’s for certain, something is up.”

    “In that case, everyone be on guard,” Ivy spoke up, looking to her companion Matt, who nodded in agreement.
    
    “I’ll go scout ahead, maybe lay a few traps in case we need them,” he announced to the group, starting to head forward from the group but being stopped by a hoof.
    
    “As much as I appreciate the concern Matt, I think it’s better if we just stay together,” Twilight smiled at the human. While he had a crude exterior and personality, his head was in the right place. “No need to take unnecessary risks yet. The girls and I have had our fair share of battles.”

    While wanting to argue with the mare, Matt saw that there was no real reason to. If he refused, she'd just use her magic to stop him. Still he was not one to be unprepared. “Alright, but I’ll still set up some traps just in case.”

    At his concession, she smiled although at the mention of his specialty her curiosity was piqued. “So what exactly do your traps do?”

    Seeing as this wasn’t necessarily digging into his past too much, he decided he could indulge her query, feeling a bit of pride well up inside of him about sharing his knowledge. “They can vary. From defensive ones such as smoke bombs and snares, to offensive ones, the typical explody ones and the such. I have yet to find some poison joke to make some noxious ones.”

    Satisfied with his answer the mare nodded in acceptance and they trudged further towards the cave.
> First Trial
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The platform had stopped, allowing the newly formed pair to step off. 

“Guess this is our floor, heh heh,” the queen chuckled to herself. Spending such a long time in Limbo had changed her, she realized, although she wasn't too sure if it was good or not.

“I see nothing funny about it,” Nick muttered, looking around at the expanse around them. Just pure white as usual, nothing distinguishable. “We’re just stuck in a new landscape, unless we’re supposed to meet up with Sombra or Tirek?”

“Just because we were all villains to you doesn’t mean we know what each other is up to,” Chrysalis hissed at him. “I’ve been too busy watching that grub ruin everything I worked hard to achieve.”

“You mean leading your race to the brink of extinction,” Nick shot back at her, defending his friend. He too had been able to see the amazing feats Thorax had accomplished as a rather abruptly elected leader. He established trade alliances with neighboring nations, provided a stronghold in the Badlands and with Pharynx as his military general, they were almost able to push back the Stormking’s troops. But like with Twilight, he wasn’t able to see the conclusion for his friend.

“He was still defeated by that joke of a monkey, had I been there not only would we have resisted, we probably would have formed an alliance to take over Equestria,” she speculated, imagining what Equestria would have looked like in her image. 

“Well I took you out before he could, so you should be thanking me,” Nick smirked at the former queen.  “I’m sure the changelings were more glad to have gotten rid of an incompetent leader than having found a way to sustain themselves.” While they had made a loose pact, there was no need to be civil to her if she wasn’t going to reciprocate it back. While it may not have been in his character before he arrived in Equestria, given everything that happened, he learned you couldn’t just let others run your life. Sometimes you had to stay firm. 

“My, my hasn’t someone learned to grow a spine,” the queen grinned, seeing that wolf was no longer the kind gentle soul she had first encountered but rather a more veteran killer. This made him moldable, perhaps to her liking if she played her cards right. “It’s much more attractive than your previous self.”

“Whatever you’re thinking, stop wasting your time,” he growled, growing tired of her constant attempts at influencing him. “Even though the Tree had used me, I am STILL loyal to Twilight and Luna, and will place their interests and safety above any other thing.”
Chrysalis could sense the love welling up within the wolf as he mentioned his former lovers, and she grinned cruelly at him. With a flash of her magic that silenced the reshaping of her exoskeleton, a clone of what looked to be like Twilight appeared before him. 

“I’m so happy to see you again my love!” the imposter chirped at Nick, throwing her hooves around his neck. She could sense some of the wolf’s love oozing out most likely due to her new form. “We don’t have to go back,” she whispered in his ear, heavy lust in her tone. “I can be any form you want, and we can make sweet, delicious love.”

However the queen spoke too soon about her newly recovered powers, as Nick could hear the telltale sounds of the changeling reverting back. Shaking his addled mind, he pushed the queen off him. “I see your selfish tendencies haven’t changed. Or your cruelty.” 

“Are you blaming me for following my instincts?” the changeling acted wounded, although having a taste of pure love in the longest time, now saw Nick as a new and only food source. She had to step up her skills if she was gonna make it out of this forsaken place. “Think of it as a mutual exchange. You provide me with love energy, and I can produce eggs for you to consume.” 

Nick felt revolted at the idea of eating something out of the changeling’s body, let alone the obvious infidelity he’d be partaking in with this temptress. He simply resolved himself to glower at her, a growl rising out of him.

“The Tree never said I needed you to get out of here, neither did Astris,” he raised a claw. “Try anything else like that and I’ll strike you down on the spot.”

The queen flinched, thinking that she was making good progress with him, but true to as she had commented earlier, this was a different Nick than the one she had faced in Equestria. The question she had to ask herself now was try to keep up the ruse, or maybe turn over a new leaf. 

There wasn’t any time to consider her options as the ground began to shake.

“Well I guess we’ve come to some big boss battle,” Nick warned, looking around for some monster to appear. He could see the ground beginning to crack under Chrysalis and acted before he could warn her. Lunging towards her and knocking her away from the growing fissure, he narrowly avoided causing them both to be sucked into the gaping void that was left. As they got up to their feet, they could hear a low growl ring out from the hole. 
    
    “No, it can’t be…” the queen had disbelief and fear in her voice. She knew that tone, it sometimes haunted her in her sleep. 

    “And what exactly is it?” Nick asked cautiously peering towards the hole.

    “Something from my past.”
> Anticipation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The group cautiously entered the cave, searching for any clues as to the whereabouts of the missing patrol. As they approached the cave, they could sense a foreboding presence from within the depths. With still no signs of the patrol, not even any remains, they were apprehensive. 

    “I don’t like this one bit,” Matt mumbled, looking anywhere he thought he heard a sound. “Any thermal readings Ivy?” 

    “Nothing besides our own,” the lamia had an anxious tone in her voice, rapidly scanning the area several times.

    “So even though you’re part human, you still have some serpentine abilities?” Twilight's curiosity outweighed her nervousness.

    “Yeah, I suppose,” the woman answered, still on edge. “I have a heightened sense of smell, although thankfully that doesn’t mean I have to stick my tongue out every few seconds. I don’t have any venom though, so I guess that’s a good thing. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve bitten my tongue, hehe.”

    “That’s not how that -” the mare was cut off by the ground began to shake. 

    “Earthquake!” Applejack cried out. “Get out of the cave before it falls down on us!”

    The group didn’t need to be told twice and hightailed it out of there, right as they heard what sounded like rock exploding behind them. They only took time to look once they were finally outside. The sand had whipped up, buffeting them and dramatically reducing visibility. What they could see though, was a giant chasm that had formed where they had once stood. 

    “What the hell is that?” Matt asked defensively, which to the group wasn’t good as no one had any clue what was going on. 

“It’s probably the thing that caused the disappearance of the lost patrol,” Tempest commented, horn flaring to life. “But I doubt it’s just a simple fissure appearing that is what led to their demise.”

The group waited for something to happen, but nothing did. At least, until they took a few steps towards the crevice before a loud, bellowing roar resonated from the cave. 

“That doesn’t sound good,” Matt groaned, meaning that they were going to face off against some big bad monster once again. Still he was glad he knew to prepare his supplies since this was gonna happen sooner or later. “So what’s the plan girls?”

“Normally we’d just use the Elements,” Pinkie chimed in, her heart racing from the sudden change in excitement. “But it is pretty draining on us so it’s probably better if we just beat the baddie the good ole fashioned way!”

“I’d say wait for the fiend to expose itself before we make any moves,” Tempest’s horn flared brighter. “Make sure we know what we’re dealing with before we just blindly charge in.” 

The group agreed that seemed to be the best course of action. While they waited for the beast to reveal itself, it just built up the tension and apprehension as they did so. 








“What exactly is this thing from your past that we’re going to be facing?” Nick asked the queen standing next to him, doing the exact same thing his marefriend and her party were doing: waiting. Whatever it was, he knew it had to be troublesome if not for the visible shaking the changeling had looking at the newly formed crevice. 

“A… cyclops,” the queen shuddered. Memories from her past flooded back into her mind, making her quake at all of the loss of life to the hands of the creature. “It attacked the hive when I was but merely a young queen. It happened all so fast... caught us all off guard,” Chrysalis’ voice began to waiver. 

Nick couldn’t help but pity the queen in this state. She was obviously upset over what was to come, and while he didn’t know the full extent of the conflict her hive faced with this cyclops, he knew that if they were to defeat it, he needed the queen to have a clear head.

Padding over to her, knowing how best he could help her, he placed his front legs around her frame and embraced her. The queen was completely taken aback by this gesture, looking down at the wolf in confusion. He had reviled her, hated her, even killed her, yet now he was showing her empathy, and could feel something she never experienced before. A warm, filling sensation filled her carapace, similar to the love she once stole but it felt… more satisfying.

“We’re gonna make it out of here Chrysalis,” Nick broke off the hug, looking the mare square in the eye. “I have two mares waiting for me out there, you have the chance to redeem yourself. Help me take down this beast, and maybe we can even become friends.”

Most would have called him crazy to just switch up his attitude towards the changeling. But in the face of what would probably be a fierce enemy, the time for separation could wait till after. 

“W-why are you doing this?” the queen was still confused by the wolf’s motivations. Just recently he had threatened to kill her in this place, that he wasn’t going to let her try and use her charms on him. And while she knew that this wasn’t due to her attempts, she couldn’t help but wonder if she had succeeded with him.

“If you want the truth, you have more knowledge about this foe than I do. I need you to have a clear head in order to help me defeat it. Yeah you may have caused me problems in the past, but if I’m being given this chance at redemption, you deserve one too.”

The speech slightly broke down the walls Chrysalis had put up, seeing the wolf in a new light. He was the first to give her a chance, despite what she had done to him. It made more sense that Thorax was willing to trust this wolf and gained more power due to their friendship. If she were able to harness that same power between them -

Another roar and the ground rumbling brought them both back to the current situation. 

“What should we do?” Nick asked the queen, hopefully now she was in a better frame of mind.

“Well given the fact this hole kinda opened up in the middle of Limbo, and there’s no telling where it leads to, I say we wait for it to show itself,” the queen spoke after some reflection. “The only problem is we don’t know how long that will take.”

“I don’t think it’ll take long,” Nick pointed a claw towards the hole, directing the queen’s focus towards the brightly flashing light that emanated from it. Before either could react, there was a bright flash that engulfed their vision. 








The group had been waiting for what seemed like hours, nothing happening after the sudden appearance of the hole. The unicorns of the group dared not to cast any magic in case the beast they encountered was magic resistant. The pegasi weren’t too sure how close they could get and still be safely out of harm’s reach. And the earth ponies and humans, their talents weren’t strongly suited to this situation. 

“That’s it, I’m just going in,” Matt had enough of waiting around like an open target. 

“If you’re going I’m going too,” Rainbow Dash chimed in, not one to miss a piece of the action. 

Twilight sighed, seeing as to progress any further, some risks were going to be needed. 

“We’ll all go,” she determined. Looking to the group, she was satisfied that the ratio of pegasi/unicorns evenly matched those that couldn’t get out of the crevice. “I’ll be with Ivy, Matt and Starlight go together. Rarity and Applejack, Fluttershy with Pinkie, and Rainbow with Tempest. Stay together with your partner since there’s no telling how we can get out otherwise.”

The pairings joined up upon Twilight’s announcement and nodded in understanding.  The group took a few steps towards the crevice, understandably on edge. This was unknown territory, even further from any excursions they had previously taken. However, they knew this had to be done, the fate of Equestria depended on them. 

As they neared the edge of the chasm, a low rumbling began to shake the ground, causing the group to freeze in fear. 

Is it an aftershock? Twilight pondered, looking around to her friends. She noticed Tempest was dangerously close to the edge. Before she could warn the mare, a large hand appeared from the hole in the earth. Rainbow noticed this as well and tried to rush the unicorn out of harm’s way, only to get caught as well by the limb, dragging them both into the beast’s abode.
> Connections
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

No, no, no! NICK!!!”

    Luna shot up from her bed, eyes snapping wide open, heart racing from what she finally surmised as another nightmare, the third this week. Ever since she found out about other humans in Equestria along with the chance of reviving the wolf, she had a bit of unease about her. 
    She and Celestia had lived for centuries, all too familiar with the natural cycle of life. And regardless of whether it was the Tree of Harmony performing the ritual or some demonic cult, the whole thing was unnatural. 

    A female batpony guard came rushing into her bedroom, scanning for any intruders or dangers to her princess. “Your Highness?? Are you ok?”

    Composing herself, the dusky blue alicorn breathed out the air she had been holding in, and nodded. “I’m alright Nocturne. It was simply another nightmare.”

    The guard felt more at ease that there was no physical danger, but wasn’t as relieved to know the Princess of Dreams was facing her own horrors. Ever since she was stationed as Luna’s personal guard after the death of Nick, she knew that the mare had grieved heavily due to the loss of a lover. She experienced all of Luna’s stages of grief, trying her best to console the princess but overall not succeeding. Multiple times she implored the mare to seek counsel with her sister, but the younger wanting to be independent always rejected the notion.

    “Is there anything I can do for you Princess Luna?” the mare asked, hoping to provide some relief to this situation.

    The alicorn shook her head, smiling weakly at the mare. “There are attempts to fix this currently Nocturne,” she thought about how Discord had informed her and her sister about the Elements of Harmony’s excursion after that small explosion in Ponyville. They had learned how the Tree of Harmony had apparently spoken to the group, freezing time for some reason. Surprisingly even the Spirit of Chaos was affected by the spell, however was more aware of what occurred which led him to finding out the information he gave them.

    Seeing as she wasn’t needed anymore, Nocturne slowly turned around and excused herself, although looking back at her liege in concern. She wasn’t too keen on leaving Princess Luna alone like this, everything seemed strange, especially with the odd rumor that there was a plan in the works to resurrect the fallen wolf. Her take on the whole thing was she didn’t like all of these new creatures appearing out of nowhere and trying to save the land all her and her fellow guardsponies were tasked in protecting.
The whole population was mixed about the recent turn of events, some welcoming their newfound friends while the rest didn’t trust these strangers with all the damage and destruction they caused. The news that there was an ancient god that even the princesses didn’t know about troubled them even further. What else was out there that they didn’t know, what dangers awaited them and how come their technology was primitive?

    Once her guard was out of the room, Luna got up and went to her vanity. Looking at her reflection, she saw that she was a mess, bloodshot eyes and messy mane. She sighed. After spending a whole year grieving Nick’s death, breaking things off with Twilight because of it and now with the chance that the wolf would return, she was a mix of emotions. Part of her was excited to see him again, another part was still upset with how he kept his knowledge a secret from her and then there was the uncertainty. How could she be sure he would be the same? According to Starswirl, while he did remember her and Tia from when they were young, their old teacher didn’t seem to be aware that he was stuck in limbo, rather it was just like that spell the Tree of Harmony cast, just a stoppage of time for them. 

    She currently knew that Twilight and her friends were in the Badlands, and would probably make the trip to the Crystal Empire next. Luna and her sister had already been in talks with her niece and nephew-in-law and the couple was already on the search for Sombra’s artifact, although if she herself saw the tyrant’s horn destroyed, she wasn’t too sure what would be left for them to find. 

    All in all, she knew one thing. She needed to prepare herself for what was to come.





    The low rumbling sound brought Nick and Chrysalis back to attention towards the cavernous hole that appeared in front of them. Looking at each other, they got into place for their makeshift plan, although waiting to see if the beast had changed any from Chrysalis’ memory. Before they knew it, a streak of rainbow and blood red shot out of the hole and rocketed towards the sky. 

    However, that light looked very familiar to Nick, namely when he first arrived in Ponyville.

    “Rainbow Dash?” he asked himself, looking to Chrysalis and holding up a hoof. 

    Seeing as there was no danger of falling any further, or rather that she and her partner were now rising, the cyan pegasus slowed her flying, looking around to the now blinding white environment she was now in. 

    “Where the buck-?” she stared, before spotting a very familiar looking bug queen. “Chrysalis!”
    
    Tempest, opening her eyes slowly to see what was transpiring, looked towards the ground, seeing another figure other than the former changeling queen. 

    “Rainbow Dash… is that…?”

    Getting the pegasus’ attention, Rainbow Dash looked to where she was pointing, seeing what looked to be like a wolf. 

    “NICK???”

    “Yes it’s me Rainbow Dash!” he almost could cry from how happy he was to see her. It was a sign that it was possible to meet up with the rest of the group. However, seeing that she was with Tempest, there was clearly some explaining oneeded n both sides. He could clearly see she was apprehensive of Chrysalis and with the overall threat of a cyclops upon them, he needed to speed the two up, and most importantly, how they came here. 

    Still not sure about him, especially with everything that had transpired when he was alive, she landed a bit of a distance away from him. “Nick, where are we? Why is that… monster with you?”

    “We’re in Limbo RD,” he answered, “And I could say the same for you, with that traitor and her Stormking. But most importantly, how are Twilight and Luna? Are they safe?”

    “I’ll have you know Princess Twilight and Luna are perfectly fine,” Tempest decided to speak up for herself, knowing why she was familiar with this, Nick, but confused on how he knew about her. She also sized him up, way bigger than the average pony, in fact about the size of her, with white markings on his face and body. She could feel power radiating off of him, although could sense pain within him as he gazed back at her. “Princess Twilight reformed me after saving me from the Stormking, who is now deceased. She showed me the power of friendship and I have been acting as her captain of the guard for a few months now. How did you know who I was?”

    Nick took time to process the information and saw no reason to not believe it. With Rainbow Dash being the Element of Loyalty, she wouldn’t be hanging around a villain like Tempest unless she was to be trusted. “I was able to watch over Equestria a bit after I died,” he answered back, trying to figure out how to explain it best. “It was like I was just in the sky above you all. I witnessed everything that happened, Twilight’s and Luna’s grief, the other adventures the girls went on, the last thing I saw was the Stormking’s invasion.” He went silent for a bit, but realizing he needed to explain Chrysalis, he continued.

    “Chrysalis is on our side,” he explained to the two, causing the queen to feel safe to approach. She wasn’t sure how this was all going to work out, but she knew how powerful the unicorn in front of her was. Maybe she had been wrong all along, if somepony with such power befriended Twilight and seemed to benefit from it, maybe she could change too. “Well for the time being, I was informed by the Tree of Harmony that I may need to work with the villains I defeated, and she knows what creature we’re up against, a cyclops.”

    Rainbow Dash looked at the queen suspiciously, not sure if she had mind controlled Nick or was actually ok. She also knew how Nick hadn’t really lied to them but deceived them all by not telling them about his ultimate demise, which hurt her loyalty to him. However, she did know he had good intentions, along with the fact that he seemed to sympathize with Twilight and Luna after what happened, she decided he could be trusted. 

    This brought another question to her mind. “Are we dead then?”

    That caused the group to pause what they were thinking. Obviously both Nick and Chrysalis had died previous to this meeting, but with Rainbow Dash and Tempest just showing up here after apparently falling into an abyss...

    The answer to the question appeared in the landscape shifting around them, turning from pure white to golden sand, craggy mountains and one of the most hideous creatures any of them ever faced.
> To Battle
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The group didn’t have time to react to Rainbow Dash’s and Tempest’s disappearance as the hand that swatted the pair took hold of the edge of the hole, hoisting its owner out of the ground. What they were greeted to was a massive horn coming out of the ground, followed by wrinkled, brown skin with what appeared to be a single eyebrow. The species was then easily identified by its next feature, a massive, bloodshot, red iris eye. 

“A cyclops???” their own mythical creature, Ivy, exclaimed. She had read about stories of these monstrosities in Greek mythology and seen movies with them in it, but to experience the sheer terror of looking at one in the flesh, made her freeze up. 

“IVY!!!’ Twilight cried, using her magic to heave the lamia away as the cyclops burst out of its hole.  As sand and rock was launched at them the group reconvened at a safer distance, now glad that they were fighting this thing in the open as opposed to that cave. 

“What in Tartarus is that thing?” Applejack looked between her friends and the beast. “We’ve faced some ugly looking baddies but that one takes the cake.”

“It’s a cyclops,” Matt answered, scrounging around in his bag for things that may help them against this foe. He was happy he set traps, they could help them immobilize the beast. “It was a myth from Earth, known for their brutality and eating men alive. I don’t know if there are really any weaknesses other than blinding its one eye and maybe causing it to trip, but I sure as hell don’t want to get close to that thing.”

“Twilight and I can try to hurt it with our magic,” Starlight suggested, knowing they were the only magic users left that had the power to do so… wishing they had Tempest with them. “What are we going to do about Rainbow Dash and Tempest?”

The group fell silent for their fallen friends, but Pinkie was the one to break them out of it. “I doubt they’d be taken out this early in the adventure! Come on guys! They’re the strongest ponies I know, they’ll find a way out of that hole. Right now we have to worry about that big ugly meanie before we can go to find them.”

With her pep talk helping the group focus on the task at hand, they decided to proceed. 

“What I can do is build upon my already set traps. I doubt the poison gas ones will be useful considering that thing is at least 20 feet tall. I can link the spike traps with maybe a rope one to try and trip the bastard, but it will take a while.”

“Twilight and I will distract him then,” Starlight decided, the alicorn agreeing with her.

“Ooh, ooh, I’ll help too!” Pinkie exclaimed, pulling out a pie. 

“No offense Pinkie, but I don’t think a pie is gonna be a distraction,” Fluttershy spoke up, terrified of the ordeal they were in. This wasn’t like any of her animal friends, the creature smelt and had an aura of death, there would be no way to talk to it. 

“Then how about a cannon of pies!” Pinkie pulled out her signature party canon, loaded with the delicious pasties.

“You’ve been carrying a cannon this whole time?!?” Matt yelled at the pink pony. Sometimes he forgot that he was in a world of magical talking ponies. “Nevermind, we can use that to launch some of the scrap I’ve collected at it.”

“We’re not gonna scratch up my cannon with your junk,” Pinkie stood protectively in front of Mr. Boomer. “Besides, it was only built to really launch confetti and pies. When we were blasted out of it during the final fight with the Stormking, it couldn’t fire cakes anymore.” She looked sadly at it.

“Fine, just buy us some time,” Matt growled, looking to the rest. “Can you girls help me set up the trap?”

They all nodded except for Ivy, who was looking at the cyclops, reaching to her back for her bow. “I’m going with Twilight, Starlight and Pinkie, his eye is the perfect target for one of my poison joke arrows.”

“Are you sure you can face it? You did freeze last time,” Twilight worried about the lamina. “I can only carry you for a short while.”

Ivy looked to the princess for a moment and nodded. “This is just like Matt’s and my first test in this new world. If Nick was able to take out all the villains on his own, I can help you take this monster down.” She tugged at the rope attached to Pinkie’s cannon, finding that using her snake body could help move it around the sands. “Pinkie, hop on my back. Your job will be to get the cyclops to face towards me with your cannon. Twilight, Starlight, think you can keep him far enough from us?”

The mares looked to each other and nodded. “Alright everyone! Let’s do this!!”








    “Their plan appears solid,” Chrysalis commented after the group had dispersed, curious about the two newcomers, which apparently were more related to Nick than appeared. “But one thing they don’t know is that the cyclops is very similar to my throne. It doesn’t absorb magic, but it reflects it, meaning any magic your marefriend and Starlight use will be used against them.

    “Then we have to help them,” Nick growled, ready to charge into battle as well.

    “We’re dead Nick,” Rainbow answered, somehow calm during all of this. “I doubt we’d be able to do anything, you sure weren’t any help during our own struggles.”

    The words wounded the wolf, although he knew she was right. At the beginning of his death, he had tried to reach out to Luna and Twilight, simply trying to move objects or entering their dreams, but he was left just watching their torment.

    “Things are different now though,” Nick replied, deciding he wasn’t going to give up, just like he had learned in his final moments. Light his paw on fire, and showing the group. “I have my powers back, although they’re not as strong as they previously were, I will try my damndest to help them out. If you all don’t want to then just sit here.”

    Tempest was quickly seeing what Twilight saw in this wolf, the determination, confidence and sense of justice. She got up and joined him. “I’ll help you out. My magic is a bit wild anyway, perhaps it could give us the edge we need, after all, nopony said that we had to directly affect the big thug.”

    Nick looked at the mare and nodded. “Thank you for taking care of Twilight, Tempest,” he smiled at her. “I’m glad she found a friend to support her when I couldn’t. And if we get through this, I would enjoy getting to know you better as well.”

    “The feeling’s mutual Nick, but right now, we need to protect the mare we both care about.”

    They both took off, the feeling of sand under their feet just like if there were there with the others. They looked to their target, which they were currently behind and as they closed the distance were shocked to see that it turned around and looked directly at them.
> Failed Attempt
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The four girls had just gotten into position, Twilight and Starlight ready to fire up their magic, and Pinkie and Ivy ready to do their part, when the beast stopped facing towards them and did a complete 180. 

    “What is it doing?” Starlight asked her teacher, who watched the lumbering giant run off towards some unseen target. 

    “I-I don’t know,” Twilight answered, changing her vision to the two females on the ground and holding up a cross with her forehooves to indicate the plan wasn’t working. “Whatever it is, we gotta catch up to it and bring it back to the trap.”

    The two flew off to chase after the monster, leaving Pinkie and Ivy to wonder what to do.

    “Think the monster found a nice treat?” Pinkie asked her companion, laying on her cannon, absentmindedly rubbing it. 

    “Something caught its attention, but I can’t sense any heat signatures coming from that location,” the lamia mused, trying to figure out how well she could place the shot. It was a rather big target, it’s head about the size of a car, with the eye being one of the tires. She, like Matt, had a wide variety of gadgets, although most of hers were built into her new body. She had Twilight, the one from her world to thank for the more physical ones. One of her favorite ones were the magically enhanced homing arrows, which were surprisingly easy to make if she had a unicorn present. One arrow was the tracker, to which she just had to shoot into her target and no matter where she was as long as she was within range of 200 feet or so, the specially made arrows would lock onto their target. 

    “Let’s keep our distance Pinkie but follow Twilight and Starlight to provide backup.”

    “Okie dokie loki!” the pink pony chimed, climbing onto Ivy and holding the rope to her canon.

    Making sure they were both set, the lamia took off after their companions. 





    “What in tarnation are they doing?” Applejack asked the group, getting their attention to what the cyclops was doing. Instead of it being provoked onto Twilight and Starlight, it was running away. Had they actually managed to wound it?
    “I dunno, but the traps are almost done,” Matt grunted, tightening a rope for one of the spring traps. “Ya know, being surrounded by this many mares would be nice in another situation, but thanks for the help girls,” he gave them all a wink which was received with some moans and groans. 

    “Well now that we have this taken care of, I should go in and help,” Applejack snorted, grabbing her lasso in her mouth. 

    “Darling, do you see how fast that brute is moving?” Rarity tugged on her friend’s tail with her magic. “Even if you were to get in close enough, it’d catch you quicker than you could say ‘horseapples’. Besides we’re supposed to stay in our pairs and unfortunately poor Fluttershy isn’t fast enough to evade him either. If only we had Rainbow Dash here…”

    “You don’t think they-” Fluttershy began to speak before squeezing her eyes shut in pain at the thought.

    Her friends went over to her and gave her a reassuring hug. 

    “Rainbow is one of the strongest, most stubborn ponies ah know,” Applejack smiled to Fluttershy. “And we know Tempest is just as strong too, They’re probably just trying to get out of that hole.”

    “Applejack is right dear. What we need to focus on is how to help Twilight get that beast’s attention.”

    “Well, I do have this little baby,” Matt reached into his bag and pulled out what seemed to be a rather sizable black box, about as big as his forearm. Seeing the girls tilt their heads in confusion, he proceeded to demonstrate by pressing a button on the side. As he did, the box began to vibrate a bit before the top split in two opening up to show what looked like mechanical parts and some metal spikes. 

    “What is that?” Fluttershy peered over Matt’s shoulder.

    “Something that came with me from home,” the human grinned, and started to assemble the device. Taking the cylinder he screwed it onto a box with what looked to have a telescope and trigger. Onto the opposite side of the trigger he attached a triangular looking piece, with the flat end being parallel to the box. “My own handcrafted sniper rifle.”

    “Sniper what now?” Applejack stared at the gadget trying to understand its purpose. “It looks like an oversized popper that they use for races and such.”

    “Let’s just say it’s a more portable, deadlier Pinkie canon,” Matt chuckled to himself, rubbing the casing affectionately. “This baby got me far in my quest, and taken down foes just like that cyclops. There was a pony, I don’t know if they’re in this world, that enchanted the bullets,” he held up one of the spikes. “They explode with magic to deal some extra damage.”

    “If you had something this powerful,” Rarity warily eyed the deadly device. “Why did we even need to build the trap and put my friends in danger?”

    “Well my dear Rarity, since gunpowder, the stuff that makes these babies fly faster than even Rainbow Dash, hasn’t been invented here yet and your fireworks only work off magic, I need some way to shoot them. So it was actually the Pinkie from my world that helped me, by making a small device similar to that in her cannon, except to make it even stronger, it needed to be bigger. With a bit of my own tinkering, I made it double as a trap that creates a smoke screen. Now you may ask how can I see with smoke in the way? Well that’s what my scope does, allows me to get a reading on all my targets.”

    With the explanation more than satisfactory, and a bit of a brain twister, Rarity had no further questions.





    “Can that thing see us??” Nick yelled to Tempest, as they both had changed direction upon seeing their foe was chasing them. 

    “It appears so, but why? We’re technically dead and imperceptible to the others.”

    “In any case, they seem to have a plan. With that other human having set up a trap and the snake woman and Pinkie following with their stuff. Let’s split up. You rendezvous with the others and I’ll try to see if I can lead him to the trap.”
    
    “But… it’s gaining on us. How can you possibly outrun it?”

    “I have magic, remember? I’ll figure out something, now go!”

    Tempest didn’t have any time to object as Nick did a complete 180 and started charging the giant. 

    “Nick!”
    
    The wolf paid her cries no attention and continued to run head on towards the foe. Immediately he thought back to the hydra, one of the largest monsters he faced. He had tried his duplicating magic and it hadn’t worked while he was with Chrysalis so he’d have to rely on his teleportation abilities. If he could time it right, he’d land on the giant and use its size against it. His theory on who the target of the beast was confirmed as he saw the cyclops reach down to grab him. As the shadow of its hands blocked the sun, Nick closed his eyes and prayed to Celestia this would work.

    



    “Now it’s bending down to grab something,” Starlight commented to Twilight, the oddity of what was happening making it hard to focus on the task at hoof. 

    “Well whatever it’s doing, let’s try to take it out now!” Twilight’s horn flared to life. But just as she cast the spell, she felt a particularly strong wind gust broadside her from her left and knock her away as her magic harmlessly bounced off the cyclops and reflected back towards where she originally had been. 

    “TWILIGHT!” Starlight cried out, rushing to her friend’s side to help steady her. Dazed but not completely unconscious, Twilight shook the fogginess off and looked to the mare. 

    “It-It reflected my magic. Had the wind not blown me out of the way…”

    “I think we need to regroup with the others and change our plans,” Starlight suggested, to which the princess nodded. 

    As they fled, they noticed that the cyclops was clawing at its back.

    Seeing their leads fleeing along with how easily Twilight’s magic was reflected off the cyclops, Ivy and Pinkie decided it would be best to retreat as well. Matt flagged them down to a safe location away from the traps, next to the setup he had.

    “Twilight, what happened to your magic?” the human asked, “It was like watching a fly divebomb a horse.”

    Ignoring the crude analogy, the princess shook her head. “I’ve never seen anything like it. There are special shields that can absorb magic but to completely reflect it back at it’s attacker… it seems to be a defensive adaptation the cyclops must have evolved. But the big problem is, something seems to be distracting it, causing any attack plans we have to be useless. Without magic, we’d have to get in close distance and seeing its speed, I don’t know how we can fight it.”

    “Matt, are them spikes of yours made out of magic, or do they just need magic to fly?” Applejack asked the human, remembering some part of his explanation of his weapon. 

    “They’re just pure iron. And they shouldn’t fling off the cyclops since the magic doesn’t stay with them after they leave the barrel.”

    “So it’s a more deadlier canon!” Pinkie squeaked in excitement of Mr. Boom having a friend. 

    “Way deadlier Pinks. The only problem is, with the giant so far away I doubt it’d have as much impact. The closer we can get it, the better, plus it moves too fast. What is it attacking anyway?”

    “We… don’t know,” Starlight answered, looking at Twilight. “We were planning on getting its attention when suddenly it just started running away. Then it looked like it was trying to grab something and when Twilight blasted it with her magic, the wind picked up and knocked her out of the way.”

    “The thing is, now that I think of it, my ribs sure doesn’t feel like I was hit by a wind current, rather like some object,” the princess rubbed her side that had been impacted. “Something is strange about all of this, but for now we need a new plan.”

    “Well somehow we need to get that thing coming this way. I have enough traps in between to slow it down in order for me to make swiss cheese out of it, probably would be best if it was blinded so that it can’t dodge any attacks.”

    “I could do it,” Ivy chimed in, her bow tensely held in her hands. “If it would just face us, I could easily blind it, but my guided arrows won’t work since they are magically enhanced, so if it could get snagged, that would be best. How do we lure it back here though?”

    “I don’t think we have to worry about that darling,” Rarity spoke up, causing the group to look towards the cyclops. Somehow it had been scratched up, and appeared to be picking up whatever it found towards its mouth.
> Teamwork
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

    “Got a little too cocky there Nick,” the wolf struggled against the cyclop’s grip on him. He should have known better than to try and test his magic under the stress of the situation. He was glad though that Rainbow was able to knock Twilight out of the way of her own magic. However, due to the way she impacted her friend, the cyan pegasus overshot where she wanted to stop and crashed into the rocky outcrop. While not visibly injured it appeared, she was knocked out cold and couldn’t assist him.

Seeing as the whole group had retreated, Nick tried to figure how he was going to get out of the predicament he was in. He knew his claws had been effective, able to pierce the cyclop’s skin and cause it to howl in pain. With his limbs bound to his sides though, he wouldn’t be able to claw his way out.

He could feel a tinge of fear run down his spine as the hands began to lift him up, his positioning not able to see everything that was happening, but the hot breath on his back told him all he knew. 

There’s no way I’m dying like this… it can’t be over. But how am I going to -

“YOU’RE NOT GOING TO KILL HIM!!!” 

Before Nick could even process what was going on, he was shaken up by the cyclops, namely from it being body slammed into the nearby wall. The beast, caught just as off guard released his grip on the wolf, causing him to fall. 

Shaking off his stupor he tried to brace for impact before being stopped by a large black hoof. Thudding into the bony appendage, he looked up to see a super sized Chrysalis looking down at him, checking to make sure he wasn’t hurt. Giving him a small smile, she plopped him closer to the ground before turning her attention to the giant. 

“Grab Rainbow Dash and meet up with Tempest! We have a plan,” she called to him, pinning the cyclops to the wall.

Not wanting to leave her but deciding that he had already been beaten enough, Nick just nodded and took off towards the unconscious pegasus.

“Rainbow Dash!” he tried to wake her up, causing the pegasus to stir but no answer was given. Deciding there was no time, he lifted her up by crawling under her stomach and placed her on his back. Making sure she was secured, he took off to Tempest. 




“What is it doing?” Matt asked, seeing that the cyclops was now struggling against the wall, as if being held by some invisible force.

“I don’t know but we might as well take our shot,” Starlight determined, seeing as this was the perfect opportunity. 

“There’s something odd though about all of this,” Twilight mused. She couldn’t say she was positive but she knew somehow Nick was tied into all of this. And she couldn’t risk them hurting him if he was. “I think that somehow Nick is doing this,” she told the group. 

They looked at her, somewhat disbelieving what she was saying but finding it one of the only plausible explanations that they could find. 

“If so,” she continued, “I don’t know if we can hurt him, but those claw marks on the cyclops point to him.”

“Well if he’s struggling on his own how do we help?” Ivy asked, determined to not just be idle during all of this. 

“Applejack! Now’s not the time to shove!” Rarity cried out after being knocked into by supposedly the orange mare.

“Whatcha going on bout Rarity? I’m over here,” the cowpony shook her head, looking over to the seamstress but saw something in the sand.

“Hey everybody, check this out,” she motioned to the group. 

In the sand, there were words, sort of. Not all of the letters were there but obviously someone had left a message.

SH  T H RE ↑ AI  4 E E

“Shit here aid 4 eve?” Matt hazarded a guess, although quickly realizing that that didn’t make any sense at all. 

“I think there’s two spaces for the first word,” Starlight commented, trying to decipher the message. “Shoot here … aim 4 ... eye!”

The group hummed in agreement.

“So that means… Nick is going to get the giant to turn towards us,” Twilight looked at the cyclops, still being pinned down. How the wolf was even able to accomplish such a feat made her wonder, but it warmed her heart knowing how close he was to her. If he was able to leave notes… how come he didn’t do so after he died? 

“Let’s get into position everyone!” Matt barked out, running back to his specialized weapon. The group nodded in agreement, and as they assisted the human in ensuring a clear shot, the cyclops managed to break free from whatever restraints it had and was now charging them. 

    



    Nick was swift to clear Chrysalis’ limp, normal sized body away from the stampeding giant, a sharp headbutt causing the queen to lose consciousness. After quickly dropping off the pegasus with Tempest and getting the idea of what was needed, he teleported to her side.
    
    “A life for a life,” he spoke to her and himself as he ran away. “It seems your carapace isn’t as obstinate as I thought.”
    
    Leading the cyclops towards his love may have seemed stupid and illogical, but with the beast so focused on killing those not living, he saw no other way. It did look as though the group got the message Tempest wrote, seeing that the cyan pegasus with her was slowly coming back to consciousness. 
    
    “I hope you two humans are as capable as you claim,” he peeked a bit behind to make sure the giant wasn’t up to anything sneaky. It did seem rather unintelligent, just using brute force to solve things.  It probably wouldn’t realize what was happening until it was too late. 

    The queen on his back was silent, but could feel her heart beating from the way she was positioned on his back. This led to him thinking why she had gone to save him. Sure he was probably the only chance at being revived but risking her life like that wouldn’t have mattered. He could have reasoned it was a change of heart, but he decided to just wait and see her true motives. Either way all he needed to do was get them out of harm’s way. 

    He could see the normal human loading up what looked to be a sniper rifle, getting behind it and aiming it at the cyclops while the snake woman had drawn a bow and was also targeting the same area. He realized he was the only one that was fully transformed and appeared to have magic capabilities, things he’d have to talk to them about later on. 

    “Release the lasso Applejack!” Matt barked out, with the country pony nodding and throwing the rope at the giant. Twilight’s and Starlight’s magic took hold of it, entwining and forming an encasement around the rope which looped around the cyclop’s legs. Pulling it taut, it caused the monster to trip up and begin its descent down.

    “FIRE!!” Ivy screamed, unleashing a volley of arrows at the giant’s head, Matt unloading his clip and Pinkie Pie firing a scattershot of debris all at their target. Nick lunged out of the firing range, watching as all the projectiles hit their mark, the cyclop’s bellowing out in pain. He noticed the skin of the giant flicker, making him think that perhaps they had wounded it enough to disable the beast’s protection. Placing Chrysalis safely on her side, he turned towards his opponent. 

    Battered, bruised, clutching at it’s eye in pain, he saw that the cyclops was on its last legs. Seeing as the ranged attackers of the group had stopped, he saw his opportunity. Running towards the foe, he sought to finish it off.

    “Should we fire some more?” Matt asked Ivy, seeing as the giant was still breathing but wounded badly.

    “NO WAIT!” Twilight held out a hoof, then pointing towards the brute’s left. Flickering against the sand, almost like a mirage, they could see a shape, dark and seemingly like a large animal, running towards the beast. The only thing she could think of was that it was Nick, which was confirmed by what happened next.

    The shape jumped up high above the giant, and in a flash, Nick appeared to materialize, glowing green.

    “AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!” he yelled out, releasing a blade of magic right at the cyclops. It struck the exposed neck, and a loud crack could be heard as it sliced through the flesh and its spine, severing the head from the body. Blood began to pool out from the gash, quenching the sand’s thirst with crimson red. As soon as he had appeared, the wolf disappeared again.
    
    The image Twilight saw though, was burned into her mind. Nick, looking just as he did but with white markings on his body, had turned towards her before he disappeared, and gave her a smile.
> Processing
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“That was Nick??” Matt yelled, just confused at the pace of how quickly the fight had ended, seeing the wolf himself but not sure what to believe after seeing such magic being possessed by a human. If anything, there was no wonder Nick was able to succeed, he had magic at his disposal.

    “He looked larger than I imagined,” Ivy added, also just as amazed but almost awestruck by how the wolf appeared as he used his powers. Poised, focused and determined. And seeing how easily he dispatched the cyclops,  despite their help and being dead, just made her wonder more.

    “He is alive,” Starlight spoke softly, a mix of emotions flowing through her. Curiosity on how this was all possible, frustration at not knowing the answers and then concern for how Twilight felt all about this. Speaking of the mare, when she turned to look at her friend, she could see the mare’s head hung low, her body shaking and tears dropping to the sand.

    She promptly arrived at her side, ready to be there for whatever she needed. The alicorn spoke no words, just sniffling and shaking. Her friends all circled around her, ready to comfort her if needed. Twilight let out a loud gasp and threw herself onto Starlight, her hooves wrapping around her friend tightly. She then let out all of the emotions she had been holding in, sobbing loudly.

    “He’s… he’s…” she tried to speak but the lilac colored mare shushed her and hugged her back.

    “Yes Twilight, he is here. Just as strong as ever.”

    The group, exhausted from the whole ordeal found some respite in this news, smiling to themselves and feeling a wave of emotions as well. A silence fell over the group as they all thought on what had happened and what they saw. 

    A sound from the cyclops behind them however ended their celebration. Quickly turning around to see what was happening, they saw the body beginning to sink into the sand. As the corpse slid into whatever hole had opened up underneath it, they noticed something else that was strange. Two shapes were beginning to materialize, along with a bright green light that appeared as reflecting the sun’s rays. The cyan and plum colors of the shapes confirmed that the part of their group they thought they had lost weren’t dead. The shape assumed to be Tempest held the object reflecting the green light, which appeared to be Nick’s gem.

    Once Rainbow Dash and Tempest completely appeared, the group rushed over to them, making sure that they weren’t injured. Coughing up some sand, the two slowly roused to consciousness. Regardless of the fact they were just inside the cyclops and it’s innards, they weren’t wet or sticky, just dusted with sand.

    “D-did we win?” the pegasus asked, staggering up to her hooves. Applejack and Fluttershy went over to her side.

    “Yeah, we did sugarcube,” the orange pony hugged her friend tightly.

    Tempest also recovered, with Twilight rushing to her side.

    “I… I was able to see…”

    “We saw him too,” Twilight smiled at her. “Whatever all of you did, you saved us.”

    “Well it wasn’t JUST us,” Rainbow Dash corrected the alicorn, unsure of how to process whatever she could remember. “Chrysalis was there too.”





    “You’re crazy, you know that?”

    “Maybe… but if I wasn’t you’d be dead.”

    “Why though? Why risk your life for me?”

    “I - I don’t know. I guess it was just instinct. After all, if you died then I’d be stuck here alone.”

    “Well now they have my gem, I guess we’re on to the next one.”

    “... Thank you…”

    “Huh?”

    “Thank you.”

    “I heard what you said, but for what?”

    “For believing in me, giving me strength and… saving me.”

    “Well one good turn deserves another. If anyone should be thanked it’s you. I was too reckless. I was wrong about you Chrysalis, I guess you are able to change.”





    “So, they were able to defeat the first obstacle,” Astris slowly clapped, amused at how the scene had played out. “Very sloppy, but effective nonetheless.”

    “The humans all seem to be capable, that wolf somehow able to breach the divide between the living and dead. This could be bad Mistress Astris.”

    “You worry too much Clyde. That cyclops was just a teaser, a taste of what’s to come. Even if they decide to foolishly disobey my plans, they’ll learn the hard way that I won’t go down so easily.”





    “Well I’ll admit that was rather entertaining,” Discord spoke to his companions, who hovered nearby. “And it seemed that neither Twilight nor those humans were lying about what is coming.”

    “Indeed,” Celestia rubbed her chin in thought. Such a fearsome foe, resistant to magic yet somehow the group had managed to put it down. And then there was the newly changed Nick. Somehow having an impact in a realm beyond where they were. Why was all of this happening, what exactly would all of this end with?

    Luna remained silent, the wolf’s smile making her internally rage.
> Unexpected Arrivals
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So it was the cyclops who led to that search party’s disappearance,” Thorax concluded from the story Twilight told him. As proof of their feat they also displayed Nick’s gem, causing a spark of reminiscence for the changeling. “And you saw him dealing the final blow?”

    “Yes, he appeared like a mirage,” Starlight answered, still wondering about the phenomenon herself.

    “And you both came back from the dead?” the insectoid asked Tempest and Rainbow Dash. Honestly that was the hardest part to believe for him, but Tempest and Rainbow Dash were proof enough that resurrection was possible. “So what do we do now?”

    “What they do now is come with us,” an all too familiar voice echoed in the chamber.

    The group turned around to see celestial sisters in all of their glory, along with Discord boredly changing his appendages into different shapes.

    “Princesses, what are you doing here?” Twilight asked, completely confused like the rest as to why the royalty was there. 

    “The same could be asked of you Twilight,” her former mentor looked upon the younger princess with disappointment on her face. “You disobeyed my request to stay in Ponyville and didn’t consult Luna or I about the orders given to you by the Tree of Harmony. These aren’t normal times where friendship problems are the only issues we have, we need to have communication between us.”

    The accusations cut into Twilight, feeling the sting of pain for making Celestia unhappy with her. However, before she could feel any worse, the alabaster alicorn smiled at her.

    “But I was very impressed with all of your teamwork in taking down that cyclops, and seeing Nick in action again…” she fell silent, knowing how her sister felt about the whole scene. 

    An uneasiness fell on the group as they slowly focused on the midnight blue alicorn, her mane slightly glowing harshly. Realizing she was making a scene, she quickly repressed her feelings and sighed.

    “And it seems we had some necromancy being performed,” Discord chimed in, looking to Tempest and Rainbow Dash. “Of all the tricks I know that takes the cake, tell me girls how did it feel? Did you get you insides reversed? Grow those little ghost tails?”

    “That’s enough Discord,” Celestia sternly warned him. She turned to Thorax. “Thank you for guiding them King Thorax. While this immediate threat is over, I would suggest strengthening your forces, as I’m sure you were informed by Twilight, there are more challenges and dangers ahead. Feel free to request help from Equestria if needed.”

    The bug king bowed his head in reverence. “Your offer is greatly appreciated Princess Celestia. We have been working with the fishing tribes just outside the Badlands, all so far without issues.”

    “Very good. Hopefully the next time we meet, it will be under better circumstances,” she smiled at him, turning to leave.

    As the group followed out after her, the king closed his eyes. “Mother, did you really save Nick?”




    “So the next stop would be to find Sombra I suppose,” Nick stretched out. He wasn’t sure how long it had been since they killed the cyclops but knew he was exhausted after, and agreed with Chrysalis to get some rest.

    “Yep, or it could be Tirek. It seems wherever your friends go, that’s our next direction. I wonder how they all feel about my change of heart.”

    “Well with Tempest being there, I’m sure she was able to convince them. If not, I will,” he smiled at her. As he said that, the ground began to vibrate and a pathway opened up to them. “Looks like there’s our guide.”
 



    As the newly formed group exited the hive, they were treated to a spectacular sight. A giant airship, with a proud eagle covering the balloon that gave the ship it’s lift. Of course the Elements of Harmony and Tempest were familiar with it during their travels, and as it landed just outside the hive they were treated to a group of familiar faces.

    “Well I’ll be,” Captain Celano smiled at the party. “If it isn’t those little ponies and the princesses to come and greet us.”

    “Lano!” Rainbow Dash shot off towards her parrot friend and gave her a hug, followed by their own special hoofshake. “What are you doing here??”

    “Dash!” the pirate gladly returned the gesture. “Well just stopping off for supplies. What about all of you? On some friendship mission?”

    “It’s something quite more dire Captain,” Princess Celestia approached her, smiling diplomatically. “I would hate to ask, but may we perhaps use your travelling services to the Crystal Empire once you finish resupplying? I can explain everything as you do.”

    “Well if there’s anyway that I can help out the princess, I don’t see how I could turn that down!” Celano gave out a hearty laugh. “So tell me, how can we help you?”
> Contact
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Luna… why don’t you want to talk about him? We both saw him, he was smiling, he’s coming back to us.”

    The older princess stayed silent, trying to ignore her former marefriend. The fact she still seemed more excited than hurt was what kept her from speaking out. It made her feel like she was holding onto a grudge, guilty for being obstinate, but she had her reasons. She strode to the other side of the ship, watching the clouds go by.

    Twilight let out a sigh of defeat. She wished she could help Luna, but without even Celestia knowing why her sister was acting this way, there was no path to closure. Wiping away a stray tear she went below deck, to see what the others were up to.

    



    “It sure has become windy as of late,” Chrysalis commented, trying to keep her mane out of her eyes. 

    “Yeah, I guess the group is traveling by air.”

    “... Why did you let her go?”

    The question made Nick pause, confused at first by what she meant by the question. Recalling though, what exactly Chrysalis had done to him when they were both alive, he realized just who "her" was. He just gave the queen a quizzical expression.  

    “I-I didn’t mean to pry,” Chrysalis lowered her head, feeling ashamed for bringing up a rather sensitive subject. “I was just… when I took her form, I could sense a flurry of emotions from the first time we ‘met’. Being able to see into your memories-”

    “It was because I felt like an imposter,” Nick cut her off, deciding to nip this in the bud. Considering they saved each other's lives, he figured they had bonded some, the current topic just further fortifying it. “Yes one of the reasons that I said goodbye to Sabrina was so she could pursue her happiness, but even during our relationship together, I … never felt like I deserved her.”

    Chrysalis was silent as he shared his emotions, almost shocked he was willing to be this open with her but grateful. In a way, it allowed her to see more into the facets of love other than being a food source.

    “It’s kind of like now how I feel with Twilight and Luna…”

    “How so?”

    “Well, I’m sure if I hadn’t come here due to saving the world, maybe just as a regular pony, there’s no way I would have even approached them, let alone form a relationship with them. I'd be a commoner, probably just trying to fit in and keeping a low profile. It would be like back on earth, I was a face in the crowd, a nobody, all but forgettable. I was given a new chance at life here, despite the irony in that statement. And I fucked it all up. And now,” he stopped, the look of Twilight’s surprised face at seeing him for that brief moment flashing into his memory. “I don’t know if I could face them.”

    “Well if they are willing to risk their lives to bring you back, obviously that has to have some love for you still.”

    “Yeah, but first of all, it’s just Twilight risking her life I'm sure. Luna I hurt so deeply I doubt she's getting involved and I wouldn’t blame her if she didn’t want me back. And again, it’s because I’m the ‘chosen hero’ that they’re doing so. How do I know if I can prove my worth to them? Will they even stick around after all of this? I don’t even know if I’m going to have to sacrifice myself again.”

    Chrysalis hummed at the wolf’s lack of confidence, definitely something she was not used to seeing. Recalling what he did for her when she felt unsure about facing the cyclops again, she placed a hoof on his shoulder, causing him to look at her. “From my time with you, both living and dead, I figure you’ll find a way back into their hearts. You should give yourself a bit more credit Nick.”

    As he smiled at the gesture, snow began to fall, along with the surrounding temperature getting colder.

    “Guess the Frozen North is our next stop.”

    



    “So once we rendezvous with Cadance, we’ll find out the information she has obtained and move from there,” Celestia announced, looking at Twilight and her friends. “And there will be close supervision on you all. We cannot afford to lose any of you.”

    The group certainly wasn’t happy with the new change of plans, but the two sisters could easily rival the power they had. Normally they were too busy with the politics of Canterlot to be as micromanaging of their missions, but as Celestia had said earlier, these were different times. The whole Storm King invasion brought that to their attention. It would be easier to just cooperate for now and trust in their judgement. 

    “We be landing in the Crystal Empire in the morning, best ye get some shut eye before we arrive,” one of the pirate crew announced to the group with a squawk. 

    Realizing how exhausted they were from the previous battle, the group decided some sleep wouldn’t have been a bad idea.

    As Twilight headed to her room, she noticed a small glowing blue spark, just floating in front of her. The others didn’t see it, as they walked past her without blinking an eye, except for Luna, who also observed it. The two mares looked at each other, and as they did, the spark began to move to the topside of the ship. They had a feeling it was linked to Nick, and as such Twilight immediately followed after it. Luna, despite her emotions regarding the wolf, figured it would be best to investigate as well.

    A full moon greeted them as they stepped on the landing, serene clouds lazily dotting the skies around them. The spark gently floated in the middle of the deck, as if expecting them. Luna took a deep breath, bracing herself and hoping to maybe confront the wolf with her emotions.

    A small flash of light brought him to them. He was the same color and transparency as the spark, although differing shades helped contrast his new markings. The two were awestruck, unsure what to say or do, but Nick helped them with that.

    His head turned towards the floor, a tear sliding down his cheek. “I’m sorry.”
> Shattered
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Seeing the wolf cry threw Luna off her defensive stance, while Twilight shared his sorrow. 

    “Nick, you saved us though, helped us kill the cyclops,” she went over to him, trying to place a hoof on his cheek. For a moment she could feel his fur, soft as she remembered, before her hoof ended up going through his body. As it did a look of horror appeared on her face, thinking him to be fragile and a simple movement would disperse his apparition. 

    “I’m still learning how to use these powers,” he explained, waving away her concerns. “And I don’t know how long I have… I just needed to see you two and apologize, especially to you Luna.”

    As he looked at her, the mare could feel herself flush and turn her head away answering with a grunt. “I know you opened up to me, laid bare your scars, trusted in me, yet I betrayed you,” he closed his eyes tightly. “You have every right to hate me, but don’t take it out on Twilight.”

    “Why not??” she screamed at him, tears trailing from her eyes. “You both convinced me to join your herd, using your persuasion tactics to swoon me and then use me until you got bored!”
    
    She lifted her hoof and struck him in his chest, which at the time chose to solidify and sent him flying backwards into the helm of the ship. Twilight gasped in shock while Luna was terrified at what she just did. The image didn’t move and Twilight rushed over to him.

    “Nick! NICK!” she tried to hold him up but couldn’t.

    “I-I love you both…” he weakly spoke, before his form disappeared. 

    Twilight felt her eyes start to sting from the tears that formed, and then rubbed at them furiously, a new emotion filling her. Looking at the older mare, she snarled.

    “LOOK WHAT YOU’VE DONE!!! That could have been our only chance to talk to him, but just like you typically do, you just gave into your emotions and now he’s gone!” she began to cry in between each few words, in pain from everything that happened. “You don’t deserve his love! Don’t deserve any love!”

    She spread her wings and leapt off the siding, taking flight into the night. Luna stood there, holding the offending hoof as tears of her own began to fall, at how foolish she had been.





    “Ugh… I deserved that,” the wolf held his chest, the wind blown out of him from both the effort of trying to bridge the gap between worlds and Luna’s strike.

    “You sure you’re ok?” Chrysalis carefully attended to him, making sure nothing was broken.

    “Only thing broken is a bit of my pride,” Nick sighed, sitting down. “I thought I could just talk to them, but it seems there are scabs on the scars. And the only way to heal is to remove them. Maybe when they complete the next task I’ll try talking to them again.”

    “I may not be able to feel their emotions anymore, but it seems to me that maybe your marefriends don’t feel the same about you, especially Luna.”

    “Yeah, maybe they’d be better off without me. I just seem to cause them pain.”

    “Well… you could always work things out with them when you get back I guess. Or maybe just move on...”

    “The more important thing is just to get back to Equestria,”  he stood up, steeling his resolve. He wouldn’t give up on the two mares, not until they flat out told him it was over, but the best thing to do was move forward. There were two more villains to “befriend” and two more challenges, and if the cyclops was any indication, things would only be tougher from here on out.





    “What is her problem??” Twilight shut the door to her room, which was being shared with Tempest and Rarity, who were both curious as to what had happened. They heard yelling but considering it wasn’t any of their business had decided to stay in their room.

    “We don’t mean to intrude darling,” Rarity tried using some tact. “But what exactly happened up there?”

    “There was this glowing light that started flickering and Luna and I followed it, it turned into Nick and as he was trying to talk to us, Luna punched him! He went flying and then disappeared. That could have been my only chance to talk to him! To ask him if he… he…”

    The mare burst into tears, her friends quickly by her side and comforting her. 

    “It’s alright Twilight, just let it all out,” Rarity cooed, rubbing the alicorn’s back. “While I can’t say that I know exactly what you’re feeling, I’ve had my share of heartbreaks and relationship issues. Communication is the key to solving most any problem, which is something unfortunately Princess Luna is having a hard time embracing. I wouldn’t say tonight, but perhaps whenever the time is right, I’d suggest just going to her and asking her to tell you what’s wrong.”

    “I’ve tried that though Rarity,” she sniffled. “For over a year I tried to get her not to leave, but she chose to anyway. Now Nick’s back and… I could lose him forever.”

    “He still loves you Twilight,” Tempest spoke up, feeling a tinge of something flow through her as she said those words. Why would it matter to her if he did? “You should have seen him rushing off to stop the cyclops before you or anyone else could get injured. Hearing him just talk about you gave away how happy you made him, how he’s thought about you while he was gone. It seems the divide is between himself and Luna, as he didn’t mention her at all. So there will be problems when he is revived, but I know you will find a solution.”

    “Sniff… thanks Tempest,” she hugged the unicorn tightly. “Thank you both,” she smiled softly at them. 

    “Let’s get some sleep, it would do wonders for us all,” Rarity smiled, walking over to her bunk. 

    Luna had eavesdropped on the conversation and felt her heart sink at the mention Nick hadn’t talked about her to Tempest. While she wanted to be even more angry at him for that, her actions on the deck showed perhaps why he didn’t. It made her realize how monstrous she had been to the both of them, Twilight and Nick. Before returning to her room with her sister, she made a decision to accept her niece’s help in the matter.
> The Crystal Empire
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“It was an honor transporting all of you,” Celano bade the group a hearty goodbye. “Let us know if you need any help in your quest, Dash knows how to contact us.”

    “Thank you again for your hospitality Captain Celano,” Celestia smiled brightly at the captain. “I’m sure we’ll be in need of your assistance again.”

    Having said their farewells, the group returned to their new hosts, Cadence and Shining Armor. The pink princess seemed jovial to meet the two new human arrivals, whereas her husband had somewhat of a sour disposition to them, considering what the last human did to his sister.

    “I can tell you two have a complicated history,” she sang-song while wiggling her eyebrows at the two, causing both to fluster and slightly make space between themselves. 

    “So you two aren’t related to Nick?” her husband interrogated the pair, looking each one up and down, as if he were inspecting one of his guards.

    “Do I look like a furry to you?” Matt sharply replied, although realizing since he was attracted to all these female non humanoids around him he was indeed, a furry.

    “What does that even mean?” Shining shot back, to which the human just shrugged his shoulders. 
    
    “No, we all seem to be from the same planet but very far away from each other,” Ivy chimed in for the assist. “Just like how all ponies come from different areas.”

    “And why do you wear your mask? What are you hiding? Do your eyes shoot -”

    “Shiny! That’s enough of mistreating our guests!” Cadence chastised him. She did let him have his fun with the male human, but asking such personal questions about the snake like one was overstepping his bounds. “I’m sorry about him, ever since Nick, things haven’t been the same.”

    Matt snickered at how culled Shining was to his wife, but quickly shut up when the pink pony gave him a stink eye. The Cadance from his universe was secretly a psychopath, so he wasn’t gonna tempt this one. 

    “Have you located anything my niece?” Celestia added, focusing on the matters at hoof. She didn’t like having to be so direct in these dealings, but the political pressure from Canterlot was placing her into this situation.

    “Yes and no auntie,” Cadance sighed, leading the group along with her own personal guard to the castle. “We have been searching since you informed us of the situation but with winter coming and all of the snow storms it’s been a hindrance. We also thought maybe the artifact would be in Canterlot, where the final battle took place. But seeing as you’re all here with Chrysalis’ horn and Nick’s gem, perhaps we’re missing something very important.”

    “Well Chrysalis knew what we needed to do for the cyclops,” Rainbow Dash chimed in. “I was able to save Twilight because of that… man it’s so weird to think she’s on our side now.”

    “Nick was able to get her to turn a new leaf just like Twilight did for me,” Tempest concluded. “After all it was her who saved him from being eaten.”

    Twilight looked down at the ground. Not only had she caused trouble for them, but now it seemed Nick had another female in his life. What were they doing now? Was she mimicking her in order too - No. He visited them on the ship, he still cared about them even if…

    She turned to Luna, who was just walking ahead, disinterested in the whole conversation. If the princess of the night was mad about all of this, Twilight was just as mad at her for acting like a foal and not communicating. She was all alone before Tempest showed up, and the two were very close. Seeing her talk about Nick proudly, maybe something else would come from all of this.

    As the group entered the castle, Cadance fell back from and rounded up Twilight and Luna. “You all go ahead, there’s something I need to talk to Twilight and Luna about.”

    Shining nodded, Celestia understood what it was probably about and led the rest to the dining hall to refresh and share more information. Once they were alone, Cadance looked to the two.

    “It’s probably best we discuss Nick in my chambers. I’m sorry I didn’t try harder to help you two out.”

    “It’s ok Cadance,” Twilight blushed a bit, not sure if she did want to talk about her thoughts on Nick currently, or what she had in mind when he came back. “I just can’t wait to see him again.”

    “That may be the case, but there are still unresolved issues between the two of you,” the pink alicorn stated. “And if we’re going to go through with all of this, dealing with it when we’re in the middle of a battle isn’t the time.”

    Luna, remembering her decision the night before on the airship, just nodded. “Lead the way niece.”

    This surprised both the younger alicorns, not expecting the rather stubborn princess to just accept help. However, it gave them both hope for moving forward, and maybe some healing. Deciding not to push it, Cadance just smiled. “Alright you two, follow me to my chambers.”
> Searching
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

    “So… Crystal Empire,” Nick announced as the landscape completely changed to the snowy mountains and city. “And it looks like… the group found some type of airship? Huh, just like out of a video game.”

    “Seems like quite a remarkable vessel, more of a weapon than just for cargo,” Chrysalis remarked, amazed by the feat of technology in front of them.

    “Well the Storm King did utilize airships during his invasion, it’s not too far a thought for Equestria to maybe consider it. Then again, the ponies for the most part seem too passive to even create a defense force.”

    “They were an easy target to hit when I decided to invade,” the queen shrugged, remembering how easily she had taken over, but she wasn’t as thorough as she had thought. “I still don’t get how the power of love defeated my armies other than it being some cliche plot device.”

    “Well I guess the phrase ‘love conquers all’ is the only explanation. Then again, when I finally realized what I needed to do in the last battle and seeing Twilight and Luna fighting so hard, it gave me sort of a … spark.”

    “Yeah, I noticed that with you and Thorax. Guess that makes you two gay,” she smirked at the wolf, who just rolled his eyes.

    “Love doesn’t always have to be romantic,” he replied, looking around as Cadance led his two lovers to another part of the castle.  “Where are they-”

    The scene was interrupted by a loud knocking, almost like they were in a fish bowl.

    “So you’ll talk to your girlfriends but not me? Your brother that was shortly introduced after you died?”

    “Ugh, Discord, even if my brother’s spirit somehow mixed with yours, you are still more yourself than him,” Nick facepawed at the ridiculous out of the blue admission. “Also how come NOW you can see us? Why didn’t you help out during the cyclops?”

    “Because this is your journey not mine, little bro,” the draconequus talked to the two through what seemed to be a screen. “Also it was entertaining to see you all struggle to take the oaf down. Hi Chryssie, you’re not trying to create some sort of deep intimate problems with him behind the scenes are you?”

    “No, he’s too gay for my likes,” she brushed off the question. “How you ever became a villain I’ll never understand. You’re more annoying than anything.”

    “And you’re more dead than anything so there’s that,” the draconequus retorted. “Anyway, so you two are looking for Sombra now huh? Where could he be found if his horn exploded during the final battle?”

    “Perhaps he left something else in the Crystal Empire in case of emergency,” Nick guessed. “I don’t suppose you could be helpful and try to search the world of the living could you?”

    “Well I was planning on causing some panic by making the Crystal Heart disappear, but I could still do that after I find some information,” Discord sighed, looking towards the two. “You should learn how to use your new powers Nick.” 

    Before he could ask what the chaotic spirit meant, the tv turned off. 

    “Why is it that I can never get any straight answers around here. And don’t even think about making a comment about my sexual orientation.”

    “Why are you being so overly sensitive about it? Closeting your feelings isn’t healthy.”

    “Maybe I should have let the cyclops eat you.”





    “So who wants to begin?” Cadence had just finished pouring some jasmine tea for her “patients”, sitting on a soft floor pillow Shining had won for her at a carnival. Twilight sat across from her on a similar pillow while Luna lay on her bed. 

    There was a silence that fell upon them, obviously talking about such personal issues would be a challenge. But if one thing princess of love learned in her experience with dealing in relationship issues, it was that patience was a key factor.

    “How about I just ask some questions and see where that leads. Why did you two separate after Nick’s death? What was it about him dying that caused a rift? Auntie, why have you been so hostile towards the idea of him returning? Twilight, are you truly prepared for him coming back?”

    The questions struck different chords within the mares, which was exactly Cadance’s plan. If she could elicit some reaction, any reaction, that would be progress.

    “W-why would I not be prepared for him to come back?” Twilight asked, finding the question odd considering how much she had yearned for this opportunity. How she had exhausted herself in trying to find ways to even just communicate with Nick beyond the realm of the living. And now he was just a few steps closer, what was there to be hesitant about?

    “Well, and I’m not saying that you don’t still love him, but it’s been over a year. You have changed since then and I’m no expert in the afterlife but there’s a chance that Nick has too. The likely image you have of him was when he was alive, when all three of you were together. Now there’s a completely different dynamic, and I’m not saying he doesn’t love you anymore, but the way he may show it could be different.”

    “If he EVER loved us he could have at least prepared us for what happened,” Luna grumbled, thinking exactly what her niece had said was true. All of them had changed in one way or another, who was to say Nick hadn’t found some new interest.

    “I can see Nick’s reasoning for keeping his required sacrifice a secret from all of us. He saw it more important to save Equestria as a whole than selfishly stay alive and cause us all to suffer.”

    “Then why even string us along??” the older mare snapped, tired of hearing the repeated ‘he did it for the better of ponykind’. What about her? She shared with him how she was treated early on as a ruler of Equestria, losing love from her subjects. And when he died -

    She shed a tear. Feeling the liquid slide down her face she shut her eyes to try and stem the flow. In doing so though, shortly after she felt a warm presence next to her, along with a wing draping across her back. Opening her eyes she could see pink, her niece softly smiling at her.

    “It’s ok to let it out Luna,” the mare spoke in a supportive and confident tone. “You’ve held in all of these feelings for so long that they have affected everyone around you. I know this sounds counterintuitive to what we are discussing, but learning to just let out your feelings and trust those who you love and love you is an important step to healing.”

    “B-but it was be-because of my trust in Nick -” she replied in a shaky voice.

    “Who you will have the chance to confront directly when we bring him back,” Cadence added warmth to her tone. “Auntie, don’t you realize how lucky you and Twilight are? Where most ponies may not have the chance to find closure with those they lose, you two are being granted an amazing gift of speaking your peace to the one you lost.”

    Luna knew her niece spoke the truth and that her stubbornness had gotten in the way of her relationship with Twilight. But with releasing a little of her emotions, she could feel the walls slowly softening.

    And so she just let her niece embrace her, finding something within her reciprocating the gesture. There was a silence again, this time not of tension but rather ease, as Cadance simply smiled and Twilight watched the two in awe, finding herself tearing up too. Overall, progress was being made on a different front.
> The Search Continues
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Have you found anything about Sombra?” Tempest let out a yawn as she closed another stuffy book. Personally she wasn’t much of an avid reader, knowing that was more Twilight’s forte, but skimming through these books would help her friend and she was more than willing to put in the effort.

    “Unfortunately nothing,” Starlight frowned, her horn flickering from fatigue. Since Cadance had pulled away Twilight and Luna for their mare talk, she and Tempest had decided to search the archives for any Crystal Empire history of Sombra. Considering he was a tyrant they figured there had to be some record of his history, where he came from or anything about his past. 

    Considering that he was a tyrant, it wasn’t beyond possibility that his former subjects destroyed any remaining information regarding the fallen king. Still, for the sake of their quest and trying to bring Nick back, the pair prayed there was something they could use.

    “I think we need to take a step back and look at something else,” the lilac coated mare suggested, leaning back a bit to stretch out her neck. “We haven’t really talked all that much, funny that we similarly were both reformed by Twilight.”

    “Yeah. I’d suppose that gives us some common ground to talk,” Tempest smiled, turning to her companion. “So you were powerful enough to take ponies’ cutie marks?”

    “Heh, well I had a magical staff to help me and my, er, persuasive talents,” the mare flushed in embarrassment at the recollection. “Really I was upset for such silly reasons, feeling left out because of cutie marks.”

    “I can understand that,” Tempest remembered how she was treated when she lost her horn. “Really, it seems whenever you start to become different from other ponies, that’s when you get hurt the most.”

    “I’ve heard rumors of some nobles wanting to press war crimes against Nick for the destruction of parts of Equestria,” Starlight added. “At least that’s what Sunburst told me.”

    “They didn’t do such a thing whenever I was reformed,” the dusky mare pondered. “Why would they even consider it with him being dead for now?”

    “Well, unlike your invasion there were… casualties…” the mare grew quiet. 

    “Oh…” Tempest trailed off, understanding the gravity of the situation. “But surely they had to know he was not fully in control of his powers when that happened.”

    “Try telling that to the survivors.”

    A solemn silence fell over the two, unsure how to change the subject from this heavy topic.

    “How is Sunburst doing anyway? You two have been dating for… a few months now right?” Tempest tried to bring the atmosphere back to a lighter tone.

    “Oh he’s good, performing his Crystaller duties and the like. I am amazed at how we’ve managed to keep it long distance, especially with both our busy schedules.”

    “Well from what Twilight has told me, when you love someone enough, you’ll always find a way for them.”

    “Yeah, is there anyone that has attracted your fancy Tempest?”


    The question caused the mare to pause, knowing an answer but not sure if she wanted to tell Starlight it. There was indeed someone she cared for a lot, would risk her life for, but…

    “It’s complicated,” she blushed nervously, picking up a book from her stack and busying herself with it.

    “I see. Guess you have a point, let’s continue searching.”





    “Ah feel kinda bad we left Tempest and Starlight to do all the reading,” Applejack worried as the group set out into the Frozen North.

    “That’s just because you probably wish you stayed there instead of joining the search parties,” Rainbow Dash teased, flapping her wings rapidly to keep them warm. While she too wouldn’t have minded staying in the warmth of the castle, that type of reading was only for eggheads and she’d rather face the cold than be bored to death.

    “Well if you just took my offer for these portable hot cocoa tanks,” Pinkie took a sip from her straw that was connected to said device on her back. “Then you’d be warm on the inside and outside!”

    “No thanks Pinkie, I’d rather not have a tank weighing me down, despite the extra warmth it’d provide.”

    “Girls, can we please just try to get some ground covered?” Shining Armor sighed. He was fond of his sister’s friends, after all they did help save his marriage and the Crystal Empire, but they could also be a big headache. Part of him didn’t even want to be looking right now. The wolf that caused all of this mess didn’t deserve the effort he was putting in. How poor Twily was devastated and wouldn’t even speak to him or their parents for a month. 

    Still, from what Celestia has explained upon her arrival, he was needed again to save the world. Like any other stallion would have felt in his hooves, this just seemed to emasculate him, making it seem he wasn’t good enough. 

    Looking forward, he could only see white, like his fur. One hour, that’s all they would spend for today.





    “Can’t we just explore the castle?” Matt griped at the alicorn, who was patiently sipping tea and looking over her latest reports from Canterlot. While she was considered to be a motherly figure for all of her ponies, like any mother, she also had her limits.

    “No, now if you don’t want me to remove your voice, you’ll just sit down and play a game like Ivy, Rarity and Fluttershy are doing.”

    “But I never even got this far in my Equestria. I bet you there’s something in this castle that is linked to Sombra. We don’t have time for those two to scour the whole library.”

    “Matt, why are you so worried?” Ivy looked up from her Monopony game, where she was a ruthless landlord over the board with Rarity being her biggest competitor. Poor Fluttershy was still in jail for speeding in a school zone. “We can’t do anything really until Nick arrives and teaches us his skills that helped him save Equestria. Besides what else are we gonna do afterwards? Go back to our worlds? Stay here? Why rush towards an unknown future when right now everything is stable.”

    “You heard the Tree of Harmony, there’s some other god out there that’s trying to mess with Equestria again. They probably are already prepared in their conquest while we’re just starting ours. They could just attack at any moment.”

    “If that was true, then why haven’t they already done something? As you also heard from the Tree, Nick is the key to everything that will happen. Without him back, it’s able to keep the other god at bay.”

    “Well I just hate waiting then,” he grumbled, flopping down on a nearby floor pillow. “I can’t even try modifying my weapons without causing a mass panic.”

    “Yes darling, because displaying such terrifying machinery to ponies that had been previously brutalized is a marvelous idea.”

    “Your sarcasm just makes you all that hotter.”

    “And your crudeness makes you more of a pig.”

    “Fair enough.”

    Sighing in defeat, Matt walked over to his bag, thinking of just inspecting his ruby. As he did however, he noticed Ivy’s amethyst in her bag seemed to be glowing more than usual.

    “Hey Ivy?”

    “That’s enough Matt.”

    “You should check out your gem.”

    Her mood changed when the gem was mentioned. She slithered over to him, the other mares joining in too, even Celestia. As Ivy picked it up, it began to shimmer and as she moved towards the door, it intensified. After moving it away from the door and towards, it seemed to be guiding them to something. She looked to the princess, who sighed.

    “Very well,” she finished signing the scroll she was reading, teleporting it back to the capitol. “We’re exploring the castle.”

   
> Lost and Found
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Is it just me or are we descending?” Nick asked his companion as they walked aimlessly. They had picked a random direction and figured it couldn’t keep going on forever. However it had seemed they were wrong about that. 

    “I think so, all I know is that it’s a lot warmer, so at least we’re not outside the Crystal Empire’s shield,” Chrysalis replied, glad that there was finally some warmth for her to make sure her blood didn’t freeze.

    “But if we are going down, are we in some basement?”

    “That’s the only logical explanation, and the castle is probably the only building that would have one here. The thing is, where is Sombra?”

    “Your guess is as good as mine. Considering he is so stubborn I don’t see him joining us.”

    “Well then all the better you decided to come around to my side,” the wolf smiled at Chrysalis.

    “You better believe it, not only do I have the beauty,” she waved a hoof at her lithe body, and then pumped said hoof in the air. “But I have the powah!”

    The wolf rolled his eyes at the comment and gesture. “Yeah yeah, let’s just be prepared for whatever happens.”

    A purple light began to light the floor, which the two noted but didn’t pay much mind to.  As they continued to walk though, Chrysalis face planted into an invisible wall.

    “Like that,” Nick chuckled, looking back at his companion.

    “Ha ha very funny,” she rubbed her nose, side stepping the ‘barrier’ and following behind where Nick had walked before yet walking into another wall.

    “What the hell?!” she exclaimed, punching the barrier in front of her.

    Seeing as this was potentially serious, the wolf tried to back track, although he too was blocked by the same barrier.

    “What do we do-” was all Chrysalis could say before she vanished in a flash.

    “CHRYSALIS!”

    “Well now, I’d say that evens out the playing field,” a familiarly cruel male voice spoke behind him. 
    
    “What did you do with her, you bastard?” he growled, turning to face the king. Sombra was adorned in his royal robes, his crown sitting atop his head. Black smoke still billowed from his eyes, which were just as cold as the day he faced him. 

    “So you care about her? What should I tell your brood mares?” the king chuckled.

    “I’m guessing you want me to kill you again,” Nick studied the king. There had to be a reason Sombra was trying to antagonize him. Whether it was just because he wanted to or some ulterior motive, he’d best be on guard. 

    “You just got lucky Discord slipped in through my defenses. I’d easily have you under my control.”

    “Just tell me what you did with Chrysalis,” Nick was growing impatient with the fallen king.

    “I did nothing with her, once again you’re jumping to conclusions. Whoever is in charge of this place decided it would be just you and me travelling together.”

    “Then why did you try to claim responsibility for her disappearance?” Nick questioned further, believing that Sombra wasn’t innocent here.

    “I did no such thing, all I said was that you care about her, which seems to be true,” the fallen king took a seat on the ground, still smirking at the wolf. “Why so hostile? Aren’t you supposed to be recruiting us for your little save the world again mission?”

    “I was told I had a choice in persuading you to join me. I’m not opposed to striking you down should I see fit.”

    “But I see you’ve gotten quite cozy with Chrysalis.”

    “That was under certain circumstances, given enough time we’ll see what happens between you and I.”

    “Why do you even bother with these ponies?” the dark king questioned Nick. “After all, even though you saved them, some see you as a monster.”

    “Well considering everything that happened when you possessed me, I don’t blame them.”

    “But don’t the rights outweigh the wrongs? Obviously you redeemed yourself and saved Equestria. Now some of them want you locked up when you return.”

    Nick hadn’t really thought about the more political ramifications that would occur when he returned to the land of the living. For obvious reasons, Sombra was trying to persuade him to join his cause, but despite whatever intentions he had, the stallion did bring up some rather important details Nick needed to consider.

    “And what of you?” the wolf asked in return. “If you somehow get back you as well wouldn’t be exempt from any trials for your crimes against Equestria.”

    “Exactly, so as it stands now, we are equally criminal.”

    “No, I have some form of amnesty with Twilight and Luna,” Nick reminded himself they both still supported him, even if it was a fragile support.

    “The mares who’s hearts you broke? The ones that have turned their backs on you?”

    “If they did they wouldn’t be working to set me free from this place.”

    “Tell yourself whatever you want, it doesn’t change what is true.”

    Growing tired of Sombra trying to break his resolve, Nick moved onto a new topic.

    “So how do we get out of here?”

    “You don’t know?” Sombra asked smugly.

    “I wouldn’t be asking you if I did,” Nick replied flatly. 

    “Well I wouldn’t say there’s some beast waiting for you to find what is mine, but the obstacles ahead are just as challenging.”
    
    “And you’re going to accompany me?”

    “Only if you can beat me.” 

    Before Nick could react, Sombra unleashed his magic.





    “The gems seem to be glowing brighter and growing warmer as we go lower,” Ivy observed as the group, after finding Starlight and Tempest, went from room to room of the castle. 

    “Well according to this book on the construction of the Crystal Empire,” Starlight commented, “There is a basement somewhere here. But it was apparently hidden by some type of mechanism.”

    “So all we have to do is find something to open the secret passage, sounds easy enough,” Matt sarcastically added. “Like finding a needle in a stack of pins.”

    “Would you rather be sitting in the room?” Celestia threatened the human.

    “Hell no, that was more torture than when Twilight…” he stopped himself before giving away such a horrible memory. “Any chance we get to split up or?”

    “Yes, you and Ivy will be with me and we’ll try to go as far down as we can,” Celestia answered almost immediately. “The other mares will split up however they feel to find the device.”

    “Well in case the device requires magic, I will go with Rarity and Starlight should go with Fluttershy,” Tempest strategically grouped the mares.

    Nodding in agreement, the groups split, the humans and sun goddess using the gems as their beacons to whatever location they guided to.

    “So did either of you face Sombra in your own worlds?” Celestia asked as they continued to play hot and cold with the gems. 

    “I heard about him, but never actually fought him, I was battling Chrysalis before getting summoned here,” Matt answered. “I swear that queen was too overpowered with her throne.”

    “I…” Ivy began before feeling a shiver run down her spine, recalling her encounter with the fallen king. “He’s a complete monster, psychologically manipulative.”

    “That he is indeed,” Celestia agreed, remembering her own battle with the tyrant alongside her sister. “He is not one to take lightly, even Nick fell to his powers.”

    “Wait then… how did he manage to save Equestria?” Matt asked, seeing as even the high and mighty wolf had failed here.

    “With some help, the relationships he developed here assisted him in breaking free from Sombra’s power and with that he realized what he had to do.”

    “Wonder why we never got help in our worlds,” Ivy thought aloud, feeling that Nick had done something different in his interaction with the locals than she did.

    “Well he did go out and befriend a rebellious changeling who helped him with facing Chrysalis, as for Sombra, well, it’s rather complex,” Celestia hesitated, unsure if the two knew about Discord in their own worlds. She was saved from further explanation as the gems began to illuminate harshly, and seemingly pulled their owners towards a hallway that branched off the main path. 
    
    “Guess we found our destination!” Matt yelled, following the object, the two females in tow. As they reached towards the end of the hallway, the gems were blindingly bright and very warm to the touch. A few moments later they were in front of what appeared to be an ordinary wall and dead end. 

    “I guess we should start looking for that mechanism,” Ivy spoke, inspecting the wall closer. “I can tell that this wall isn’t completely solid on the other side but just knocking it down could just collapse the entrance.”

    “Allow me Ivy,” Celestia stepped forward, her horn glowing as she scanned the wall for any aetherial abnormalities. When she completed her scan she was able to pinpoint a weakness in the structure, a jagged line in the wall, almost as if it were sealed after being destroyed. While it wasn’t exactly a mechanism, seeing a familiar disturbance with the magic surrounding the fracture, Celestia figured only one thing would open it.

    “Stand back behind me you two,” she commanded, her horn lighting up. The two humans complied, quickly retreating. Once the area was clear and making sure the roof wouldn’t collapse on them, the goddess of the sun blasted open the wall. 
    
    As the dust settled, they found a staircase, leading deeper into the depths of the castle. In the distance, fighting could be heard.

    “We better gather everyone before we proceed,” Celestia frowned.
> Into the Other Dimension
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“NICK WATCH OUT!!!” Twilight cried out as he narrowly avoided another blast of dark energy from Sombra.

    “Yeah! Go on the offensive!” Tempest cheered, seeing as the wolf had recovered and unleashed a volley of fireballs back at his opponent.

    The group had been watching the battle for what seemed like hours, unable to do anything and the two combatants equally skilled. And by watching it was through a mirror, about 12 feet wide by 10 feet tall, a simple glass that was enchanted into showing the afterlife. Or as Starlight discovered upon quickly returning to the library and finding a book regarding the crystal empire history, something created by Sombra to keep a watchful eye on his subjects. Why it was projecting him instead they still couldn’t figure out.

    “Is there nothing we can do sister?” Luna asked, worried about seeing Nick struggling to stay alive. The heart to heart with Cadance really helped her realize what her problems were, and while she was still mildly upset with Nick, there wouldn’t be anything to bring closure if he was defeated.

    “No, unlike Sombra’s barrier to this artifact, the mirror is magic resistant. No type of spell would be effective on it,” Celestia sighed. They had tried for a good half hour trying to enter without breaking the mirror, as that could have very well destroyed the universe they were gazing at. “It also leads to what I assume is another dimension, something not too strongly studied or known about. Breaching the gap would take who knows how long to figure out.”

    “I don’t like this Ivy,” Matt looked on as they watched the wolf fight for his life. “Magic mirrors, alternate universes, obviously this is probably related to both of us, but if we were to just try and run into it, who knows what would happen?”

    “We can’t just stand around and do nothing,” she pondered, looking again at her gem. The amethyst was glowing a bright pinkish purple, almost matching Twilight’s magic. The gemstones were somehow a link to this whole puzzle, but how they fit she didn’t know.

    When the time comes, you’ll know what to do.

    “What did you say Matt?” she looked at him puzzled. While it wasn’t his voice that said it, he was the only one close enough to have whispered to her.

    “I didn’t say anything Ivy. All this excitement must have you hearing things.”
    
    Ivy wanted to believe him, after all strange things had been happening since they arrived in the Crystal Empire, but the voice was too clear for it to have been a mistake.

    “NICK!!!”

    Twilight’s cry brought the lamia out of her thoughts, and she understood immediately why she had done so upon looking at the mirror.

    The wolf, somehow in her musing, was now on his side panting heavily. She could see puffs of smoke radiating from his fur and while she knew Sombra wasn’t using anything flame related, put into context that his dark magic had connected with Nick.

    “I have to say wolf,” Sombra cruelly grinned, stepping over to his fallen opponent. “You definitely haven’t lost much of your power since last we fought. But still, you’re no match for a great unicorn like I.”

    The gem began to warm up in Ivy’s hand, and an idea flashed into her mind. While it didn’t make any sense at all, or had any logic, it was maybe the only thing she could do.

    “That’s it I’m trying to teleport in there,” Luna snorted, her horn flaring to life.

    “Luna we don’t know what doing so will do to you or Nick,” her sister pleaded.

    “His life is in danger, I won’t lose him again!”

    “EVERYONE CLEAR OUT!!” Ivy screamed, nocking an arrow in her bow. She wasn’t sure how accurate she had to be, or if this would work, but she had to try.

    The group was stunned by the action, unsure what to do with the woman’s brazenness. 

    “Time to die wolf,” Sombra snarled, creating an obsidian dagger with his magic.

    Exhaling, Ivy took the shot.

    Time stood still as the arrow barreled towards what was Sombra’s head. Everyone flinched as it made an impact with the glass. However, instead of shattering either itself or the mirror, it entered as if made of water, creating a rippling tide from its center. And just as fast as Ivy had fired her arrow, the magic that would normally return the arrow to her instead drew her into the mirror.

    Immediately she rematerialized on the other side of the mirror, just in time to see the arrow pierce the dagger, which exploded on impact and caused Sombra to reel back. Before  anyone else could make any attempt to follow after her, the mirror lost its image, instead reverting back to what its original purpose was, reflecting their shocked expressions.





    “I must say Clyde,” Astris smiled with amusement. “That had to be one of the most entertaining displays you’ve shown me.”

    “A-anything for you … my goddess,” the minion panted, trying to recover from draining his powers. “We must… make sure… Nick is brought back alive.”

    “Yes,” her smile transforming into a grin. “All is going EXACTLY to plan.”
> Snake and Wolf
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Ivy came to, she noticed she was on the ground, with a small fog covering what she assumed was the floor. Despite her body being sensitive to temperature change, she couldn’t feel anything different. As she looked around she noticed that somehow the tyrant king had been knocked back unconscious. With the immediate threat taken care of for now, she looked around for his combatant, finding the wolf laying on his side, back to her.

“Nick! Get up!” Ivy slithered over to him, trying to assess how badly hurt he was. She checked his breathing, which other than ragged at times was fine, and nothing felt broken. She tried to pick him up, which wasn’t as easy as she thought as he was way heavier than he looked. Once he was secured though she backed away from Sombra’s dazed body, although not seeing anywhere to go. 

    “I can’t fight him by myself,” she worried, reaching into her pouch for some supplies. Finding a tonic that her own Twilight had given her in her universe, she gave it to Nick. As the liquid began to trickle down his throat, she could feel him twitch and shudder. All she could do was hope it wasn’t an adverse reaction. 

    “Are… you trying to poison me?” she heard him gag, shaking his head from what she assumed was the taste in his mouth. “Gah… what is that stuff.”

    “You’re alive!” Ivy cheered, hugging his fluffy body. 

    “Well technically I’m dead,” he joked, thankful that the woman appeared just in time. “You must be Ivy, from what Rainbow Dash told me.”

    “Yep! The one and only!” the woman giggled, twirling in a circle. “It’s so nice to finally meet you Nick!”

    “Likewise, thanks for saving me… I’d ask how you got here but…” he looked over to Sombra, who seemed to have started regaining consciousness. “I think we have a villain to finish off.”

    “Y-yeah,” Ivy temporarily trembled, looking at the dark king, memories flooding her mind. “You lead the charge and I’ll provide backup,” she determined, readying an arrow from her quiver.

    “Sounds good,” he smiled at her and began to run off. Having experienced her combat prowess when fighting the cyclops, he had full faith in her abilities. However seeing as he had just received a reinforcement, perhaps what Sombra was saying in his removal of Chrysalis was true. He seemed to be dependent on others to come and save him. If so, how could he be called a hero if he wasn't strong enough to fight on his own. Despite if that was the case or not, he wondered who took the queen and was she still ok?

    He was quickly getting closer and closer to Sombra’s body. While he could have finished him off, he did remember the stallion’s mention of joining them if they beat him. Perhaps he was ready to negotiate peace.

    The evil king arose to his hooves, looking at his new adversary. He grunted in annoyance and turned away from the pair. “It seems there’s always someone to come and save you Nick. I wonder how long that will last till you’re all ALONE…” Before Nick could respond to the verbal attack, the king of darkness vanished into thin air.

    The wolf searched the area carefully, preparing for a sneak attack from Sombra. Ivy as well scanned their surroundings, not sensing anything out of place. After a few minutes of waiting and nothing happening, the two regrouped, unsure of what was next.

    “D-do you think he’s coming back?” the lamia asked her canine companion, worry spreading through her body. 

    “He was never really easy to read in his intentions or actions,” Nick sighed, sitting down and catching his breath. “He always seemed one step ahead of me, more deceptive than…” he grew silent, thinking about the other villain he had befriended.

    As if reading his thoughts, Ivy inquired about the changeling queen next. “I thought you and Chrysalis were travelling together.”

    “We were… but she disappeared just before Sombra showed up. I don’t know where she is or if she’s ok.”

    “Oh I see,” Ivy spoke softly, seeing as Chrysalis’ loss had affected Nick. She wondered just what was the relationship between the two, or perhaps he was just lonely so that's why he had bonded with her. No matter the reason, she was now his traveling companion and if she was stuck inside this purgatory indefinitely, she might as well learn everything she could about him.

    “Where did you come from?” the wolf asked after a bit of a pause, his curiosity finally sparking. “How are Twilight and Luna? What happened to them?”

    “Well, we found you inside a mirror in the Crystal Empire, the castle specifically. Your battle with Sombra was displaying for whatever reason. I know this sounds crazy but my crystal talked to me about rescuing you. Before I knew it I was firing an arrow at the mirror, which teleported me inside and I showed up to help you. And Twilight and Luna are fine, worried a bit about you, but I'm sure they'll be relieved to see us all fine now.”

    The wolf nodded in understanding, considering everything that was happening it wasn’t too unbelievable. However knowing now that he was just being watched earlier, and almost defeated as well that to add, he grew a bit self conscious. With his actions now being watched, as far as he knew, he had to act a bit differently than he had with Chrysalis.

    “So, I guess the best thing to do next is to find you a way out of here,” Nick spoke, looking for anything in the otherwise bleak horizon. 

    “You don’t want me to stay?” she asked in a hurt tone, feeling unwanted.

    “It’s not really that,” he quickly countered, not trying to offend his new companion. “It’s just that the sooner we find what we’re looking for… the sooner I get to see Twilight and Luna again…”

    “Oh I get it,” Ivy smiled softly to him. “They still love you very much, and I’m sure you all will find a way to be happy again.”

    “I appreciate the sentiment,” he smiled back at her, looking towards the expansive barren landscape. “Ready?”

    Finding new resolve and nocking an arrow onto her bow she nodded. “Let’s get you home.”