> To Save Equestria: The Mysterious Virus
>  by KalaAWild
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1: The Virus 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 1: The Virus

A/N:Before you read this, here's a link to the first story just in case you some how didn't find the first story on my profile. Enjoy :)
To Save Equestra (the first)

A year ago, the brave Silvershot Crimson was faced with Equestria's biggest threat. The heinous Vanguard Knights, who were led by none other than Silvershot's father, Silver Lancet, attempted to overthrow the princesses with a dangerous piece of magic. Silvershot had to fight against him and the Vanguard Knights to save Equestria, but he had a little problem. After his hometown, Venturian Reign, was burned to ashes, Silvershot forgot his past entirely. When Equestria's smartest unicorn, Twilight Sparkle of Ponyville, told him that he had a dramatic version of amnesia, he didn't believe it.

Within the events of that year, Silvershot was reunited with familiar faces and made new friendships together. As parts of his memories rejoined him with his friends, he crept closer to the end of his trials and tribulations. Silvershot faced his father and defeated him in an epic battle of magic. He took the legendary element of sacrifice from him, the ultimate source of power, and destroyed it.

One year had passed since the fall of the Vanguard Knights. Silvershot was a married stallion with his wife Fortress Evergreen. Fortress' name has been changed to Mrs Crimson since the marriage ceremony. She was reunited with him when he went to Ponyville for some assistance with his memory lost. They were dating before the fire of Venturia Reign separated them.

Even though peace had been established all over Equestria, there was a greater evil being formed. Silvershot would need all his strength to fight this new nemesis. But would he need to delve deeper into his memories to win? Deeper than he has ever accomplished? Like the memories of an ancestor or ancestors?





A cauldron burned with a mysterious material called petraphyte in the center of a dark room. Four cloaked figures surrounded the cauldron and chanted random words to the cauldron. These words were so random only a psychotic person could make sense of it. The cauldron moved with the voice of the chanters as if it were alive. Every time the pitch of the voices got higher, the fire grew to heights higher than the figures themselves. When the pitch lowered, the fire shrank to the size of a candle flame. Sparks jumped off of the petraphyte and skittered across the stone floor.

The material, petraphyte, would be hard to describe to an ordinary pony. It constantly changed shape; it first had a distinct form of wood, then liquid metal, and then a single perfect square block. Whatever it was, it wasn't natural to this world.

The chanting figures continued to feed the fire with words until a new voice stopped them.

The hoof steps of a pony echoed in the darkness with the sound of clattering metal. Each step sounded like the pounding noise of a blacksmith hard at work. The owner of these steps emerged from the darkness behind the cloaked figures and stood next to them.

Much like the other figures, the face of the pony was covered with a hood. The pony removed her hood and revealed her identity. She was a zebra, and underneath the other hoods were zebra faces

Her markings moved around on her body. A zebra's tattoo wouldn't move like that. Her tattoos would hypnotize anypony who dared to look at her.

The zebra approached the fire and stared at it with evil intent. The flickering flames of the green fire made the zebra happy. It was almost insane how the green flames of the petraphyte could please any sane pony. She smiled evilly and laughed maniacally into the air. Her voice was so loud, ponies in Canterlot could hear her voice from the Badlands.

"Is it ready?" the zebra asked her followers. She looked away from the cauldron to look at them.

"Almost. We only need one more night," one of the followers replied. The zebra leader was not pleased.

"No matter. I can wait one more day." The zebra smiled and looked at the cauldron fire again.

"When we are done here, it will mark the end of the pony race forever!" The zebra laughed one more time and the followers followed along. Their voices echoed throughout the Great Tower.





Silvershot walked down the ever busy streets of Ponyville. He moved strong and proud with his hooves pounding against the ground, and it had a certain rhythm to it. The wind blew through his uncut mane and it brushed up against his bad eye. Birds chirped in the air and whistled with excitement.

He breathed in the good morning air and smiled happily wherever he went. He greeted everypony he passed by with a ‘good morning’ or ‘how do you?’. Ponies of different ages and specialties greeted him back. He had been well known throughout Ponyville; actually he was renowned across Equestria for his heroic deeds.

He carried his weekly groceries in his cloth saddle. It bounced on his sides each time he took a moving step. The never ending pounding of the saddle left a bruise mark on his side since it was so heavy.

As he was about to make the final stretch back home through a turn in the streets, he found Digger passing by with the Equestrian Tribute in his mouth.

Silvershot had been Digger's friend since they were colts. After their hometown was burned to the ground by the Vanguard Knights, he met Digger in Ponyville along with his wife.

Digger was an Earth pony with a unique cutie mark on his flank; it resembled a shovel digging into dirt. If you hadn't guessed his special talent yet, his special talent involved anything to do with the earth and its interactions. To expand on this, it is classifying rocks and minerals, and even measuring seismic activity.  

Digger saw him and waved hello. He went up to him and walked beside him. They worked up a conversation with each other when they met. Digger galloped to Silvershot's side and was eager to talk to him. He had many things on his mind that he wanted to tell his friend. Silvershot was willing to listen to anything he said. The news wasn't new, since Digger had already told Silvershot the news only an hour ago in the market.

Digger, unexpectedly, ceased his non-logical mouth and talked about a more pressing matter.

"So how's Fortress doing? Is she okay?" Digger asked Silvershot. He lifted his goggles to see him. Silvershot could see his yellow eyes, and that meant he was dead serious.

"She's fine," Silvershot replied with a sigh. "She got the horse flu, but we don't know whom she got it from."

"She is not fine, then!" Digger gasped and stamped one of his hooves into the ground. Silvershot stopped walking to listen. "She is pregnant with your baby and you are saying she is fine with the horse flu?"

"I have medicine with me. The doctor said as long as she gets a daily dose of her meds, she and the baby should be fine." He began to walk again and Digger caught up.

"How far is she? Changing the topic just slightly."

"Eleven months. Our doctor and my mother say she is bound to give birth soon."

The two reach Digger's house before Silvershot's. "What are you going to name your baby?"

"If it's a girl, we are going to name her Milan Silvershot Crimson. If it's a boy, then it will be Satter Fortress Crimson."

Digger took his keys from his saddle and opened the door to his house. The door creaked opened and Silvershot could see the graphs of papers that littered the floor. The graphs were about something that involved an element called petraphyte, but Silvershot didn't know what it was. Digger entered inside and said goodbye to Silvershot. He closed the door, and Silvershot was left in the sunny but windy Wednesday.

Silvershot needed to get back home as quickly as possible because his wife was waiting for the medicine.

Silvershot used his magic to fasten the straps on his saddle. The buckle tightened the grip on the saddle, and he was ready to go home. He scraped his hooves against the ground and galloped in the direction of his house.

His home was next door to the Golden Oaks Library, where Twilight Sparkle lived. Her library was extensive in all kinds of topics. There were books on folklore and fiction, and others like biographies and William Feather Shakespeare’s plays. Silvershot slowed down in front of the library as he wanted to say hi to Twilight and her friend Spike, the purple baby dragon. Something he remembered changed his mind.

He skipped going to the library and went to his house instead. He went up to the door to his house and used his magic to open the door with the key. He pushed the door open with his hoof and entered his own house. He closed the door behind him and he placed the groceries on the kitchen table. He dug out the medication prescribed for Fortress from his saddle and carried the meds upstairs.

The floorboards under Silvershot's hooves made a sound that was shrilling to the ear. He tried to be light in his hooves but the volume of the sound was left unchanged.

In the master bedroom upstairs, Fortress lay in the bed with the covers over herself. Her long mane was parted away from her gloomy eyes and sweat was dripping from her forehead. She was relaxed on the bed with her back on the mattress while an ice pack sat on top of her head. Twilight Sparkle was beside her and ran a basic diagnostic on Fortress Crimson.

She checked her temperature first. She took a thermometer from her medical saddle and put it in Fortress' mouth. The thermometer gauge skyrocketed to the top, and Twilight quickly took it from her mouth. The thermometer was extremely hot from Fortress' fever. Twilight took a stethoscope out next and listened to Fortress' abdomen. She closed her eyes and put away her medical supplies. She got up from the stool she had been sitting on and walked over to Silvershot.

"I am afraid she is getting worse," Twilight whispered to Silvershot.

Silvershot silenced her by hushing her and brought her downstairs where Fortress would not hear anything. He took out a chair at the kitchen table for her to sit in while they talked. He sat parallel from her at the table.

"What do you mean, 'she is getting worse'?" Silvershot repeated her last statement.

"Her horse flu turned into pneumonia. She has a terrible fever, her heart rate and blood pressure have gotten higher, and she hasn't eaten in two days," Twilight explained. "She's been hiding her food underneath her bed. Something is really wrong with her."

Silvershot was shocked when he heard that Fortress hasn't been eating. Every plate and bowl he had brought upstairs every day had been licked clean. "Will these meds work, then?" Silvershot levitated the medication to Twilight.

"These should help her, but this is as much as her body could take. Any more drugs and the baby could..."

She gave the meds back to him and left his home without another word. She said goodbye, of course, and closed the door. The door made a loud thud as it shut. Silvershot got up from his chair and went back upstairs to Fortress. Fortress groaned in pain as she lay in the bed. Silvershot took a moist cloth from a cold bucket of water and wiped the sweat off of her forehead.

He put his cheek against face to comfort her and to tell her he was present. Her eyes closed even tighter but then relaxed again. It was as if something was continuously hurting her from the inside.

"Silvershot, is that you?" Fortress moaned with her eyes closed.

"I am here, sweetheart," Silvershot said. "You have to eat. I am worried about you and the baby."

"Please, Silvershot. You don't have to worry so much."

"This is my wife and my unborn child here! I don't want to lose you again."

Silvershot shoved his eyes into the covers of the bed and cried. His wife was sick with this weird ailment called pneumonia and he couldn't do anything but feed her drugs. He bawled his eyes out for a minute and then he got back up with little hope. Fortress lifted her hoof and placed it onto Silvershot's head. She rubbed his mane as if he was a young colt again.

"I guess time will te-" Fortress's eyes become heavy and she was quiet and still.

Silvershot immediately tried to keep her awake by shaking her, but she pushed him away. She was exhausted and she had dozed off when she was speaking to him. He apologized, and pulled the cover over her. She sighed and continued. Silvershot left the medication for her on the night stand beside the bed, with the instructions on how to take it.

He walked down the stairs and began to make breakfast for himself and Fortress. The doctor gave him more pills for Fortress to take with her food, just in case she did not want to take the other pills. Silvershot promised Fortress that he would make food without the use of magic so he hoof-cooked the food. After a couple minutes, he made a nice warm bowl of porridge that was enough for two ponies. He smashed the pills with his hoof and added it to the porridge. The pills were grape flavored; Fortress's favorite. Silvershot placed the bowl of porridge on the night stand and went back downstairs. Like most stallions his age, he had bills to pay.

He took out a piece of paper and wrote down the calculations for the home insurance, utility bill, and water bill. The numbers went from fifty bits to a hundred bits and it eventually flew as high as two hundred. Not to mention that he had to pay for food, so another twenty-five bits onto that. That’s over two hundred and fifty bits since he went shopping twice a week. Silvershot's job, helping Applejack with Sweet Apple Acres, didn't even come close to that amount. All of his fortune from Venturia Reign was destroyed and he couldn't seek financial aid from his father, since he was in jail. He was short over fifty bits. Again.

"Why does growing up suck?" Silvershot complained to himself and slammed his head on the table.

He sulked to himself and wished he could find some way to earn more money. More importantly, he wished Fortress would get better soon. He would trade his home for Fortress to get better.

With his forehead on the top of the kitchen table, the front door echoed with a pounding noise and Silvershot answered it.

When he opened the door, Applebloom stood happily on the front door step. Her vibrant red mane glowed in the sunlight and her pink bow kept it all strung together perfectly. Her excitement  kept her from being still and she was hyper and giddy. Silvershot had no idea why she was so happy or why she was alone; usually Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell were with her.

"Hey Applebloom, how ya doing?" Silvershot greeted her. Her family's accent started to get to him.

"I just came to say hi, and to see how Fortress is doing," Applebloom replied back. "Actually, I wanted to show you this."

Applebloom turned around so Silvershot could see her flank. He inspected her flank and was amazed at a wonder. Her flank was blank just yesterday. Her, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Bell were in this group called the Cutie Crusaders where the fillies tried to find their cutie marks by doing random things. Applebloom's flank had a cutie mark; a real and colored cutie mark. The cutie mark was a marvelous one to boot. Pink flora flowers with yellow stems.

"Congrats Applebloom, how did you manage to get it?" Silvershot raised an eyebrow as he started to make up guesses. 
"Did you go through Twilight's book? Zecora's garden again?"

"No silly! I went to see if Zecora needed any assistance with her herbs or potions. After I found a special type of flower for her, the cutie mark appeared! I found out ma special talent is being a florist. I went to see you first before running home."

"Why me first?"

"Applejack is sick and Big Macintosh is working at the market right now."

"How about I go with you to the market to see Big Macintosh and then I bring you home?"

Applebloom smiled at him and jumped around the front porch. He told her to wait because he had to get a couple things before leaving. He grabbed his bag from the coat rack and he put on his golden boots. He clicked the heels of his boots and openings appeared in the top of the boots. He inserted his hooves into them and clicked the boots again. The boots tied around his legs and he was ready to go.

He closed his house door and he walked with Applebloom to the market. Applebloom jumped around the streets and showed her cutie mark to everypony she could lay her eyes on. Everypony was happy for her and Silvershot was certainly happy for her, too. He wondered if she would still be friends with Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell since they were friends because of being cutie mark-less.

He may never know. Friendships always stayed connected, even if no pony remembered each other.

He and Applebloom arrived at the market in minutes. Ponies purchased agricultural goods and mechanical trinkets of Equestria. The Ponyville market was one of Equestria's busiest markets ever established. The Sweet Apple Acres, Applebloom's family farm, sold apples at the market and other baked apple foods, like apple pie and applesauce and juice. Silvershot and Applebloom looked through the grouping of stalls until they found her brother at the Sweet Apple Acre farm.

"Big Macintosh!" Applebloom squeaked at him. She made a mad dash to him and jumped repeatedly in place to show her excitement. "I got ma cutie mark today! Don't ya'll think this is cool?"

"Eeyyup," Big Macintosh replied. A customer came by and bought a few apples which distracted him from Applebloom. "Sorry sis, I am busy with the stall. That is great cutie mark, by the way."

"Thank you, big brother!" She turned her face to Silvershot who patiently waited for her. "Can we go home now? Ma brother is very busy."

"Sure we can, Applebloom," Silvershot said to her.

Applebloom led the way back to her home just on the outskirts of Ponyville. The dirt road underneath Silvershot's hooves reminded him of his first day in Ponyville. The feeling of being lost and helpless haunted him in the back of his mind every time he went to Sweet Apple Acres to work.

The white picket fence of the front gate swung open when Applebloom kicked it. Silvershot and Applebloom followed a smoothed out path to the house on top of a hill next to a brown, wooden barn.

Silvershot was permitted by Applebloom to enter the house and see Applejack. The upstairs floor of the house was cluttered with blankets and pillows of all sizes and shapes. He had to step over the pillows, but Applebloom's size allowed her to easily bound across top of them. In the bedroom down the hallway, Applejack lay tired and sick. Applejack was inflicted with symptoms that were different than Fortress; she had motion sickness, slight vomiting, and delusions. In a lighter sense of things, she still had her sanity from the prolonged sickness.

"Applejack!" Applebloom yelped. Applejack, with the little strength that she could muster, turned to her sister on the side of the bed. "Look, I got ma cutie mark!"

"That's great sweetie. Ma and Pa would be so proud of you," Applejack said happily to her sister. She turned to Silvershot who stood at the doorstep to her room. "Oh, Silvershot. What are ya'll doing here?"

"I just came here to bring Applebloom home safely, boss," Silvershot replied.

"You don't have to call me boss just because you work for me."

Behind Silvershot, he could hear the pitter-patter of footsteps coming closer. He turned his head and saw little Spike running toward him.

"Applejack! Applejack! Excuse me, Silvershot," Spike hollered down the hallway. He politely pushed away Silvershot so he could urgently pass on a message to Applejack.

"Calm down, Spike. What is so important?"

"Twilight and the others need your help. Everypony is being assembled in Canterlot."

"Spike," Applejack coughed and tried to cover it with her leg. Some blood splattered onto her hoof from the cough. "I can't go to Canterlot, not like this. Silvershot, could you go with the others?"

"Sure I would, but Fortress is sick. Spike, can you go to my house and watch over her for me? I'm sure I'll be back before nightfall."

"Yea, I'll make sure Fortress is okay. I forgot; Celestia also asked for you and she sent me this letter to give to you."

Spike spat out a letter in a burst of flames and handed it to Silvershot. He used his unicorn magic to unroll the letter and read the letter out loud. There was only one sentence on the parchment paper that was hoof-written by Princess Celestia.

"Remember him," Silvershot read the sentence out loud in a confused manner.

His head, unexpectedly, stabbed him with pain. He hasn't experienced the feeling of his mind pain for months; in fact he hasn't felt the pain in over a year. When his mind faltered with pain, it meant that he was remembering something of his past. Ever since the events of the Vanguard Knights, he remembered his entire past. What more did he need to remember?

His head, unexpectedly, stabbed him with pain. He hasn't experienced the feeling of his mind pain for months; in fact he hasn't felt the pain in over a year. When his mind faltered with pain, it meant that he was remembering something of his past. Ever since the events of the Vanguard Knights, he could remember his entire past. What more did he need to remember?

Silvershot could see Venturia Reign in his memory flashback. The town was renewed and it was unscathed by the fire caused by his father. Ponies wandered around the streets of Venturia Reign without a care in the world. Silvershot couldn't recognize any pony he saw in the memory. Could he have been looking at another time in the past that wasn't his? The ponies were dressed in Equestrian Renaissance clothing which only meant one thing to Silvershot; the memory took place nearly a thousand years ago.

One pony in particular caught his eye as he was watching the memory. The pony had Equestrian armor on. The armor hasn't been seen in over a thousand years, and any armor Silvershot had seen before were in archived books. The armor was constructed out of pure platinum. His helmet covered his short and spiky grey hair which was the same shade as Silvershot. Sheathed at his side were two metallic swords of the Nihon civilization. A saddle carried something valuable.

This pony, this alicorn, was the perfect solider.

As the pony walked down the streets, he met a certain mare who Silvershot most definitely knew. She had pink flowing hair that seemed to move with the wind. Her sleek white coat and her celestial cutie mark made her identity clear as the sun; it was Princess Celestia.

"Nice to meet you, ye old friend," Princess Celestia smiled at him.

"The pleasure is all mine, your majesty," the alicorn replied.

"Do you have it?"

"I have it."

The alicorn reached into his saddle and took out a piece of jewellery. The jewellery had a silver quartz star as its center-piece. It was none other than the element of sacrifice.

Silvershot fell to his shins and huffed out a deep breath. Applejack and Spike gasped when he fell. Applebloom went to Silvershot's side and made sure he didn't fall face first onto the floor.

"Princess Celestia..." Silvershot murmured. "She knew about the element of sacrifice over a thousand years ago. And she didn't give a damn to tell me about it."



> Chapter 2: Armonia Fuoco Cavallo
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 2: Armonia Fuoco Cavallo

Images of the alicorn pulsated in Silvershot's mind as the Ponyville train moved to Canterlot. No matter what he tried to do to distract himself, he kept thinking of the alicorn. Who was he? How did he know Princess Celestia? When did she know of the element of sacrifice?

He constantly asked himself these questions and many more. He knew none of the answers to them and he only knew one pony who could answer them; Princess Celestia.

The train tracks were bumpy, and every bump caused Silvershot to fly a couple of inches off his seat. One of those bumps forced a suitcase from the luggage shelf above to crash to the floor. He dodged the falling suitcase and watched it hit the floor. The suitcase smashed open, and a yellow filly came out.

"Applebloom?" Silvershot said to the filly. "What are you doing here?”

"I wanted to come with you, Silvershot," Applebloom cheerfully replied. "I wanted to see if I could help you."

"What about Applejack? Don't you have to take care of her?"

"Yeah, but Granny Smith can take care of her."

It was already too late to send her back to Ponyville. They were only a minute away from Canterlot and there would be no way to send Applebloom home by herself. Silvershot, being kind hearted as he is, made a decision.

"Applebloom, you can come with me, if and only if," Silvershot gave her a STARE; it was the same thing Fluttershy gave to animals when she was serious. "You stay with me the entire time and you listen to everything I say. Got it?"

"Okay!"

Applebloom jumped off the floor and into Silvershot's seat. She curled up into a ball and laid her head softly on his lap. He patted her head with his hoof and continued to stare out the window.

"Why does the world keep secrets, I wonder." Silvershot said in his mind.

The grey alicorn and Princess Celestia calmly but surely strolled through the streets of Venturia Reign. The two did not talk, they did not look at each other; they did not even think about each other.
What they met for was something important that nopony should learn the secrets of. Wrapped around Celestia's neck was that ‘something'; it was the element of sacrifice.

"Why did you make me go to the Zebra kingdom to take that?" the alicorn asked Celestia. His helmet covered his eyes from making contact with her.

"I needed to make sure the zebras weren't lying about their claim of immortality," Celestia said back to him. She didn't look at him, either.

"That thing is dangerous. It levelled a city to the ground in an instant right before my very eyes."

"Then it's a good thing you managed to get the elemento del sacrificio"

"It's not a good thing when my sister was in the destruction of La Città del Commercio"

The princess stopped walking, but the alicorn just kept going. Celestia stared down at the element of sacrifice that was around her neck. A deadly weapon was in her possession and she didn't even give a single thought to the hell that the alicorn had gone through. She took the element of sacrifice off her neck and levitated it to him.

"I'm sorry about Velocità Cavallo," Celestia apologized to the alicorn. "I have one more task to give to you. Would you mind doing it?"

"I don't know. I am the last alicorn of the Cavallo family now, but what is it?"

The princess closed her eyes and gave herself a minute to think of the request in words the alicorn could comprehend. Her pink flowing mane softly waved itself against the wind as she thought about her request. When the words were pieced together like a puzzle, she asked him her favor.

"Armonia Fuoco Cavallo, bearer of the elemento della magia, will you accept the responsibility of destroying the elemento del sacrificio?"





Silvershot's eyes shot open as the train came to a stop at Canterlot station. He had a major headache from the memory he had just experienced. His questions from earlier were clearly answered by the memories, but more questions came to him.

Armonia Fuoco Cavallo, translated from Venturian as Harmony's Fiery Steed, was one of the first ponies to wield an element of harmony; the element of magic was the element he had control over. Who was he though, and how were Celestia and Silvershot connected to him?

Silvershot and Applebloom got off the train and headed toward the Canterlot castle. He couldn't help himself from feeling only rage inside him because of all the puzzling questions in his head.

His boots clanked against the ground as his hooves moved, which disrupted his train of thought. Applebloom trotted beside him and obeyed his command of never leaving his side. He looked to his left and right and saw the Canterlot Royal Guard in front of the castle gates.  They stared at Silvershot as he and Applebloom passed by. A nervous chill ran down Silvershot's neck. He didn't know why they looked so menacing.

He turned his attention to the castle path again and was shocked to see something in front of him. A glowing, ghostly image of Armonia stood on the path. He was merely a figment of Silvershot's imagination, but it looked real enough. Silvershot thought he was experiencing another memory flashback, and he vigorously shook his head in different directions. When he looked back, Armonia was still there.

"Armonia?" Silvershot muttered. Armonia turned away from Silvershot and galloped to the castle. "Armonia! Wait!"

Silvershot followed the ghost of Armonia and Applebloom was behind him. What is the meaning of this?, Silvershot thought in his head. The ghost stopped at the doors of Celestia and Luna's throne room. Silvershot slowed down near him to call him.

"Armonia, is that you?" Silvershot asked.

"Talk to Celestia and ask her how she knows me. You'll learn something...something important," Armonia's voice told Silvershot.

The ghost faded into the doors of the throne room and disappeared into the wood. Silvershot reached his hoof to Armonia but he knew it would be of no use. At least for now, the ghost was gone.

"Silvershot, who’s Armonia?" Applebloom asked.

"I don't know for sure. We're about to find out," Silvershot said to the filly.

Silvershot planted both his hooves on the wooden doors and pushed with all his might. The doors budged slowly, but he added a little more strength and it slid right open. In the throne room, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had already commenced the council with Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy.

"Princess Celestia!" Silvershot yelled to them. "Who is Armonia Fuoco Cavallo? And why did he have the element of sacrifice?!"

The princess' eyes locked onto Silvershot when she heard Armonia's name. She hadn't heard that name in over a thousand years, and it frightened her when she remembered.

Silvershot and Applebloom closed the throne room doors behind them and moved closer to the group of people. Tension filled the air as he got closer to everypony.

"How do you know that name?" Celestia questioned him. Her voice did not sound as pleasant as it was before.

"I got a memory from him. When were you going to tell me you knew about the element of sacrifice?"

"I didn't think it mattered until I saw it for myself nearly a thousand years later."

Silvershot stood firm and imposing in front of the princesses and his friends. He couldn't decide whether to be angry or calm to the princess. His memories were slowly blending with a random pony he didn't even know, and his wife was slowly dying. One by one, his friends were getting sick too. Why should he be calm?

"Just tell me who Armonia Fuoco Cavallo is. I keep seeing him in my memories."

"He's your atenato."

"Wait, Armonia Cavallo? As in the Armonia Fuoco Cavallo, who single-hoofedly defeated the Griffith Armada? What did Princess Celestia say about him?" Twilight Sparkle asked Silvershot.

"Armonia is my ancestor," Silvershot responded after translating the Venturian word Princess Celestia said. 
> Chapter 3: The Explanation 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 3: The Explanation

"Silvershot, isn't it a good thing your ancestor was an Equestrian hero like your mother and you?" Pinkie Pie inquired.

"It doesn't make any sense though," Silvershot replied. "I traced my ancestry before and we didn't live in Venturia Reign, we lived in Canterlot. Armonia wasn't an ancestor of mine either-"

"You haven't traced far enough, then," Princess Celestia said, interrupting Silvershot. "Who’s your earliest ancestor that you traced back to?"

"His name was Sadder Wolfpack, an Earth pony who hunted Timberwolves."

"That's where Venturian history is wrong," Twilight said. Her voice had the tone of a university professor who was about to give a lecture. "Alicorn traits within ponies are dominant. In other words, any offspring from a male alicorn should be an alicorn. Sadder can't be an ancestor because he's an Earth pony. Why was Venturian history wrong?"

"I was trying to hide Armonia's past," Celestia said to Twilight.

"Why? Why would you hide it?"

"It hid the truth about the Equestrian War."

Celestia was on top of Feathered Hill in the Griffith Kingdom. Her face was covered in a hood, but her pink mane could be clearly seen. Her eyes could see what the hill overlooked. The sounds of clashing metal and the screams of dying souls rang through her ears. These sounds were unbearable to listen to, but the princess had to hear them. She had to see how the battle was unfolding around her.

Griffins, zebras, and ponies were fighting one another. The blood of the soldiers was spilt onto the ground of the earth. Soldiers, one by one, fell to the blades or talons of each other. A majority of these soldiers were ponies, since they were not superior in strength like the griffins, nor did they have chemical weapons like the zebras. The ponies had at least one advantage, and that was magic. The unicorns at least gave one advantage to the ponies, but would it be enough?

A pony behind Celestia approached her as the battle continued.  He was dressed in armor that suggested he was a general; he was clad in plated golden armor, a golden helm to cover his face, two swords sheathed on his sides made out of the highest quality metal, and a metal cap outfitted his horn into a stabbing weapon.

"This war will end horribly, you know," the general said to Celestia. "We have to use the elemento del sacrificio."

"We have allies down there!" Princess Celestia exclaimed. "They would go down as well."

"If we don't do something now, we lose Equestria."

Celestia didn't even take a second to think about her decision. She knew something had to be done. "Do it."

She walked down the hill, back to her HQ tent. When she could no longer be seen, the general turned his attention to the Battle of Feathered Hill. He ripped his helmet off of his face and levitated the element of sacrifice to his face. The glowing magic of the element could be seen reflecting off of Armonia's eyes.

Silvershot's head ached when his eyes could see the real world. He had learned the truth about the Equeatrian War. Celestia allowed Armonia to kill over a thousand griffins, zebras, and ponies in a blink of an eye.

"I know the truth," Silvershot mumbled out loud. It wasn't loud enough for everypony to hear, but Celestia and Luna were able to hear it.
"How come I have these memories of Armonia? I don't understand."

"Your memories will help you on this task I will ask of you," Princess Luna answered him. "Most of you already know about the sickness correct? This plague isn't a natural occurrence, somepony made everypony sick."

"How do you know this? What proof do you have?"

"These pictures will show you. The ailments cannot be natural, it's impossible."

Without another word, she used her magic to reveal a dark secret about the plague. The secrets of the plague were too gruesome to know about but practically everypony knew about it for those who have reached the final stage. Ponyville was the only town in Equestria to not have reached the final stage of the sickness but Princess Celestia and Luna feared they would eventually reach it soon.

On her throne chair, she levitated a pile of pictures and sent them to the four mares, stallion, and filly. Once Silvershot laid his eyes on the pictures, he immediately covered Applebloom's eyes with his hoof. The pictures were too disturbing for a young filly to see.

The pictures, taken from a Kodak camera, showed the menacing side of the plague. The images seen in the pictures disturbed the ponies who looked at them. Each one, once upon looking at the pictures, made them want to run home to their loved ones to see if they had met the same fate.

On one of the pictures, which was time-stamped at Day 1 of the sickness, had a patient who began to suffer the effects of the mysterious virus. The mare's face was hot red and her thermometer reached the bulb top. Then, on another, stamped at Day 300 of being sick, the mare was gone; all that remained of her were her scattered organs all over the room. Some of the blood was on the camera lens when the picture was shot.

For the rest of the pictures, they were all the same.

"That is terrible," Fluttershy's voice quivered. "Why would something like this happen? Will it happen to Applejack and Rarity?"

"That's what I want you five to figure out. If you could figure out where the virus came from, who made it, and how to cure it, you could save Equestria."

"Why am I her,e then? It seems like the Ponyville Six can handle this," Silvershot said while staring at the ground.

"Your memories, the memories from Armonia. They are the key, because Armonia witnessed an epidemic similar to this in the Zebra Kingdom. He is trying to tell you something and you need to figure it out."

"Okay, where do we begin?"

Silvershot was ready, at this point, to go on another adventure. From what the pictures told him, he only had one week to save Fortress from death, he only had one week to save his new home Ponyville, and one week to save Equestria.

"Twilight Sparkle," Princess Celestia asked. "Where will you start searching?"

"Maybe in the Canterlot library? It would be a good start," Twilight Sparkle responded with confidence

"That's a good idea." She turned to Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. "Where will you two go?"

"Los Pegasus!" Pinkie Pie screamed in glee. "Parties are everywhere and ponies come from far and wide to be in them. There's bound to be somepony who knows about it."

"Good, you three go ahead and find out what you can. Help those who need help on your way. I'm going to talk to Silvershot and Rainbow Dash-"

"and Applebloom!" Applebloom interrupted.

"and Applebloom, alone."

The three mares that were tasked by Princess Celestia nodded their heads to accept their mission. Equestria needed their help once again, and they were willing to do whatever it takes to protect it. Twilight gave Silvershot a hug, whispering in his ear about her worries for Fortress. He whispered back that he would find a cure before she reached the final stage.

Twilight, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie walked away as they all said their goodbyes.

"Now, what do you want us to do?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I want you to go to the Zebra Kingdom with Silvershot and Applebloom. With Silvershot's memories of Armonia and Applebloom's ability to identify herbs and plants, by the way congratulations on your cutie mark and your special talent, you three might find the cure. Luna and I are counting on you to return back to Equestria in a week because-"

Before Celestia could finish her sentence, she coughed but rather erratically. The cough sounded like it hurt, and Celestia's white face turned bright red from a fever. She limped to throne chair from the amount of pain raging inside her body. She sat in her chair and sung a mighty sigh.

"Princess Celestia," Applebloom quietly asked. "Are you sick?"

"Yes, little one, yes I am," Princess Celestia admitted. Her voice sounded hoarse and out of breath.

"How long have you been infected?" Silvershot asked politely.

"I'm on the verge of the final stage. I have about a week left, much like Equestria."

In the back of his mind, Silvershot now acknowledged that he and his friends had to save one of Equestria's rulers from doom. In one week, he had to save his wife, his friends, and Equestria. Things couldn't get any worse.

"Don't worry princess, we'll find that cure. Just tell us where to go and we'll follow."

"There's a ship behind the castle that will take you from Canterlot straight to the Zebra kingdom and back," Princess Luna instructed to the three. "Hurry, little ones, you don't have much time left."

Silvershot, Rainbow Dash, and Applebloom said goodbye to the Canterlot royals and galloped away. Silvershot looked behind him to see the blue starry maned pony taking away her celestial sister away to her room.

Following the directions of Princess Luna, the trio galloped along a stone pathway to the back of the castle. Only one thing confused Silvershot as he galloped; Canterlot was in the middle of Equestria and Canterlot Castle was on a mountain, so where would the ship be if there's no water? Rainbow Dash took off from the ground and moved ahead of Silvershot and Applebloom.

"Are you ready for a whirlwind of an adventure?" Silvershot asked Applebloom.

"I sure am!" Applebloom replied.

Silvershot and Applebloom turned around the castle corner and pulled the brakes on their galloping. They stared at the most amazing, yet bizarre thing. It was a ship, but it wasn't just a ship though. The ship was flying! It was a 1,200 foot long ship from mast to bow and it had gigantic wings made out of cloth that propelled the ship up with wind. Spinning propellers assisted with the flying mechanism. Rainbow Dash, adventurous as she was, galloped along the side of the ship. It was almost like she was defying gravity, exploring how perspective could change a pony's point of view. The wooden body of the ship clapped against her hooves as she moved across it. The foremast of the ship was shaped like a dragon, which gave it a terrifying but aesthetic look.

Silvershot asked the most obvious question a pony could ask when looking upon the ship. "What is that thing?!"

"It's called the Time Traveller, it's really cool!" a pony's voice answered back.

"Hey, I know that voice..."

Silvershot looked up at the ship and saw a familiar face who owned such a familiar voice. A mare leaned over the port bow of the ship. Her curly cocoa mane waved in the wind of the propellers and her light chocolate coat reminded him of the chocolate at Pinkie Pie's candy shop. She waved at him and made her way down from the ship. She bit on a rope that was attached to the boat and lowered herself down. She allowed the sheer height of one hundred feet to drag her down to the ground. Silvershot and Applebloom were directly underneath her.

"Cookie Dough!" Silvershot exclaimed.
> Chapter 4: The Time Traveler 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 4: The Time Traveler 

A falling mare didn't seem odd to Silvershot, since he saw random pianos fall from the sky because of Pinkie Pie's senses. Using his magical unicorn powers, he conjured up a mattress for Cookie Dough to land on top of. With a mighty thud, she fell on top of the mattress and giggled a bit from having too much fun from the fall.

"Thanks, Silvershot; I knew you would catch me," Cookie Dough said, thanking him as he helped her get up.

"It was no problem," Silvershot said back to her. "Just remember to bring a parachute, next time."

"Who is this Silvershot?" Applebloom asked her guardian.

"This is the famous cookie maker and seller, Cookie Dough. She's an old friend of mine."

"Ah shucks, stop flattering me you old goose." Cookie Dough blushed as she spoke.

"She kind of looks like Pinkie Pie, but Cookie Dough is brown. Are ya'll related?" Applebloom stared at Cookie Dough.

"We're cousins. Her father, who owns a rock farm, is a brother to my dad who owns a water treatment plant."

"But ya make cookies?"

"Yup, ever since I was a filly like you."

"Cookie Dough," Silvershot intervened in their small talk. "Sorry to interrupt, but what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be heading to Ponyville to sell your world famous cookies?"

"I was but then Princess Celestia asked me to finance the trip for the Time Traveller and here I am."

Silvershot couldn't believe that Cookie Dough was rich enough to pay for the airship. In fact, Silvershot had never heard of an airship. He wondered how Cookie Dough could gain enough bits from selling cookies. Before he could ask how she could possibly pay for the trip to the Zebra kingdom, a lift lowered down from the side of the ship and offered Silvershot, Applebloom, and Cookie Dough a lift.

Cookie Dough got on the lift with a trembling and hesitant step; Silvershot and Applebloom stepped on as well and were whisked away into the hull of the ship. Applebloom was frightened by the sudden burst of speed and clung onto Silvershot's leg. He held onto her tightly as they were carried to a height of one hundred feet. The lift entered the inside of the ship as the two felt it slowing down.

When the lift touched the floorboards of the ship, the three ponies jumped off. Two of them were happy to get off of the dreaded moving machine. Silvershot looked around his surroundings to see what the ship looked like on the inside. Large moving cogwheels, wheels, and belts were powered by Earth pony stallions running on treadmills. Unicorns controlled the engineering factor of the ship by controlling the power output of the Earth ponies. The ship was being worked in perfect equilibrium with the races of the ponies, but where were the pegasi? Speaking of pegasi, where was Rainbow Dash?

"This is the engine room. Stallions and unicorns power the flying ship," Cookie Dough explained as she guided her friends along a pathway. "Everypony here gets a job to do so we'll find jobs for you two when we find the time. Let's go up these stairs to the deck!"

Cookie Dough, who was excited to show Silvershot and Applebloom the Time Traveller, disappeared in a cloud of smoke. A trail of it led to the staircase on the far end of the pathway, which led to the deck of the ship.

Silvershot and Applebloom followed this trail to deck of the Time Traveller and entered the busy deck. As they pushed open the door to the deck, carts carrying boxes whizzed past them and nearly hit them. He grabbed Applebloom and jumped out of the way of the pushed cart, landing with a perfect flip to the floor.

"Nice reflexes, Silvershot," Applebloom applauded.

"That was nothing. At least you are safe," Silvershot said.

Silvershot found out that the cart was pushed by a pony who carelessly forgot to apply the brakes. He yelled at the pony for not thinking straight until Cookie Dough stopped him.

"It's okay Silvershot," Cookie Dough said, calming his tirade down. After making sure he was calm, she turned to the irresponsible pony behind her. "Kitchen duty, one night shift, go!"

The pony wilted his head toward the ground and walked away to the kitchen under the deck. With the problem settled down and the other shipmates back at work, Cookie Dough took the role of the guide again and led Silvershot and Applebloom to the captain of the Time Traveller.

The captain did fit the description of an airplane pilot and a ship captain together: he had an aviator's hat on top of his yellow spiky mane and a sailor's medal of honor pinned onto his brown coat.

"Gentlecolts, mares, please clap your hooves together for our honorable captain, Captain Finnegan Fantasma!" Cookie Dough said as she thrust her hooves towards the captain.

"Please, Cookie Dough," the Captain begged. "Just call me Finn. Silvershot? Is that you?"

He nodded in response to Finn's question. Finn smiled at him and dropped the steering wheel to go hug him. He hadn't seen Silvershot since he attended Aviation school when they were colts. Silvershot was happy to see his old classmate again. He expected Finn to be with the Wonderbolts because of his high grades and flying abilities during Aviation school. He wasn't expecting him to be piloting a cargo ship.

"You already know how I'm doing, but I'm wondering about you. What are you doing here on my fine ship?" Finn asked Silvershot.

"I'm here, with this little one Applebloom," Silvershot said while pulling Applebloom close to him, "and a mare named Rainbow Dash who is somewhere near here, to go to the Zebra kingdom to look for an answer to the mysterious virus."

"I'm just pulling your leg man. You don't have to be so formal, King of Venturia. Just say the word and we'll head off."

"Preferably now would be best."

"Good, I hated just sitting here and doing nothing." Finn, with his wings that were on his sides, rang a bell next to the large wooden steering wheel. "All hands on deck. It's time to blow this popsicle stand."

Silvershot could have sworn he heard that saying before. It was something somepony said in his past. It could've have been Armonia's past and not his. For him, it was hard to differentiate between the memories because they were too real.

Armonia leaned on the railing of the Time Traveller as it sailed across the sky. The wind whistled in his ear as he continued to think about his next plan of attack. He was headed to the Zebra kingdom just like Silvershot, except it had a different name back then; it was called Afriki. The element of sacrifice was around his neck again but its color shade was different. The gold color of the necklace began to fade like rust.

"Armonia," a voice called out to him.

"What do you need?" Armonia said quietly. "Can't you see that I am trying to think here?"

"Maybe you'll let me help you then." The pony stood beside Armonia. "What are you thinking about?"

"How would I get rid of this dreaded weapon? The only solution I can think of is to use zebra potions in hopes to destroy it. The element of sacrifice is impenetrable to magic and blunt force."

"I may know something that would help." The pony removed his pirate captain hat off of his head to give Armonia a convincing gleaning smile.  

"What do you got in mind?"

"Look, the more you use it the more its own power is drained. Do you understand me so far?" Armonia did not flinch to look at him. "I'll take that as a yes. Anyways, just keep using the necklace until it is rendered useless."

"I don't think it will work. I have to use my own energy to activate it at all. As far as I am concerned, I am the only one to activate the element of sacrifice."

Armonia stepped away from the railing and walked toward the center of the ship, leaving the pony alone. The pony followed him to keep the conversation going. He was determined to talk about the element of sacrifice for some odd reason. The pony stood next to Armonia and swung a leg over his neck.

"Maybe it's for the best that you die for Equestria," the pony offered an idea to Armonia. "Everypony will honor your sacrifice."

"I have friends and a family you know. I am not just going to leave them in the dark like that, Finn," Armonia said while throwing his arm off his neck. "Now do what you do best and fly this ship. You're not the best pony to give advice."

Armonia trotted to his cabin under the ship and slammed the door behind him. He didn't want to die, not so far away from home. Armonia's cabin was nothing special but at least it wasn't the like the crew members' cabins. There was a finely crafted bed made out chicken feathers in the mattress, a desk made out of mahogany wood stood below a window, and a brass oil lantern that illuminated the room. He went to the desk and took out a parchment and pen. He placed them on the table, levitated the pen into the air, and began to write a letter to his family.

Saluti family. How is home? I am sorry that I had to leave so unexpectedly. Some matters came to my attention and I wish I had told you guys sooner about it. I don't want drag any of you into this because this is a personal problem I must deal with. I will not seek help from you at all but just remember to pray to Celestia that I return safely. May luck grant me great fortune in this endeavor. I only wish that the girl I love back home in Venturia is safe. I'll see you around my friends. Signed, Armonia Fuoco Cavallo 

As he wrote to his friends- to him, his brothers and sisters- somepony was spying on him. An eye looked over the rim of the window sill to see what he was writing. The spy should have been doing his job, but he wasn't, and for a good reason. That reason was for Silvershot to find out.

Silvershot had no idea where he had woken up. His face was covered in a shroud and his vision was blocked. It was a blanket cover, and it was comfortable to boot. He ripped the blanket off of his face and sat upright on the cushion bed he was on. The bed had feathers in it; they were the same as Armonia's bed. Beside him was a three-legged nightstand with a small lantern glowing on top of it. Applebloom sat across from him in a wooden chair where she had waited for over an hour for him stir. She nearly dozed off into a sleeping state from watching him too long.

"Applebloom, sweetie, how long have I been asleep?" he asked his companion.

"A little over an hour, Silvershot," Applebloom responded. "After we set sail for the Zebra kingdom, ya collapsed to the floor faster than an apple falls after it got bucked. Cookie Dough and I carried you to your cabin soon after."

"That's sweet of you. Did you already eat?"

"I haven't yet, not since this morning." Applebloom's stomach growled when she looked down at it.

"How about I bring you to the cafeteria and we can go eat?"

"Sounds like a splendid idea, Silvershot."

Silvershot, after hearing Applebloom's cheery response, stood up from his bed and opened the cabin door on the far side of the room. Applebloom trotted behind him and went into the hallway. He closed the door and headed down the hallway to the cafeteria. Applebloom still had a smile on her face as she walked with him, but she was thinking that something might be wrong.

"Silvershot," she began. "Do ya think ma sis is going to be fine?"

"Of course she is," he assured her. "I'm going to make sure she is okay."

"Thanks, Silvershot."

He had to make sure everypony was safe as well. His wife, Fortress who was sitting on a bed at home, waited patiently for him to return home. Unaware of what was going on at home, he had to carry on with his task at hoof.







Fortress Crimson, spouse of Silvershot, sat uncomfortably on their bed. She could not sleep the last few hours because of her worry for Silvershot. She worried that he would not come back in one piece, or come back different again. Her belly ached from eating too much of the food that Spike had graciously prepared for her, and her eyelids were heavy from staying awake so long.

Something was wrong, something was terribly wrong, though. The underside of her belly felt uncomfortable and she had made sure she wasn't sleeping on that side this time. When she was completely sure that the uncomfortable feeling was just a feeling, she called Spike to come to her.

"Spike!" Fortress called out to the hallway. "Spike, I need your help!"

Scampering footsteps jumped across the floor in a hurried rush. Spike, the small baby dragon, entered her bedroom with an exhausting breath. A flight of stairs was hard for a tiny dragon to climb.

"What's wrong, Fortress?" Spike asked. "Do you need anything?"

"Call Nurse Redheart," Fortress grunted as she tried to get up from the bed. "I think the baby is coming."

"Now?" Spike realized how important this was. "Now!? Don't move Fortress!"







A whole grain sandwich sat perfectly still in front of Silvershot. His eyes stared at it for the longest time, unmoving from its spot. He had been thinking about Fortress the entire time he and Applebloom had been inside the cafeteria. The way he made his sandwich was the way Fortress would have made it; with tender loving care. He looked to his side and saw Applebloom munching on some fries that Chef BQ made especially for her. She enjoyed the fries very much, and he was happy to see her happy. But a real smile he wanted was Fortress'.

Captain Finn stood behind Silvershot and stared at him as much as he was staring at the sandwich. He was thinking of telling him something, but it would be too complicated to explain. He approached him and sat down next to him.

"Silvershot," Finn said to him. He turned to his side to look at him. "We need to talk."

"No, you need to talk," Silvershot said. Uncontrollably, he lifted his hoof to Finn's face. "Why do you know Armonia and how have you managed to live this long?"

"The real question is 'Why do you have his swords?'"

Silvershot saw his magic horn glowing without his command. He was casting a magic spell but what was it? His magic was levitating two objects, and they were nothing he was expecting to lift. They were the swords that had belonged to Armonia.

"What is this?" Silvershot quivered. "Why is this happening?"

"Armonia is trying to tell you something," Finn started. "He's trying to tell you about his past and the element of sacrifice."

A/N: I apologize if everything is everywhere at the moment. I hope this isn't bad. Thanks for your reading my fans!
> Chapter 5: The Emergency
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 5: The Emergency

Armonia's swords, under Silvershot's control, floated in the air with their tips pointed at Finn's neck. He had no idea where the swords had come from or what they were doing in his time. He dropped the swords onto the grounds and got up from his chair. The pupils in Silvershot's eyes shrank as he tried to ascertain what had just happened.

Applebloom, the sweetest little mare, was terrified out of her wits just as much as Silvershot was. She didn't know how to react to Silvershot's unexpected behavior. All she could do was stare at him, confused.

Finn got up from his chair and touched his wings against the blades of Armonia's swords. The swords looked dull and blunt in appearance, but they were sharper than they looked. When Finn touched the swords, the tips of his feathers were sliced off. The tips fell slowly to the ground and everypony around followed them with their eyes.

"Armonia's memories are reaching the real world, Silvershot," Finn spoke as he approached Silvershot. "Your world is about to change, unless you react quickly."

"Why are his memories bleeding into my reality?" Silvershot asked. "What magic could have caused this?"

"There was a secret about himself that he kept especially close. I don't know what it is, but I can assure you that you will remember it." Finn smiled at Silvershot and made his way to the door.

"Wait Finn," he turned around to look at Silvershot. "How have you been alive for more than a thousand years?"

"I had to make a deal." He paused to take a deep sighing breath. He pulled his captain hat down on his face to cover his sobbing eyes. "A deal I still regret to this day."

Finn stepped out of the cafeteria and closed the door behind him. He wished silently that he had his old friends back again. He had wished he never made that deal.

The crewponies in the cafeteria resumed their work after Finn left. Murmurs about Silvershot jumped between each group, but the gossip soon faded with lunchtime. Silvershot sat back down next to Applebloom and restarted his lunchtime meal. Applebloom still looked at Silvershot funnily. He noticed her awkward stare and asked about it.

"I've neva seen ya get angry before," Applebloom admitted to him. "It was scary to see the rage in ya eyes."

In his mind, he was still angry at Finn; but at the same time, he was glad to know Finn. Finn knew something about Armonia, and he would be a perfect guide during this adventure. Later, he would ask for his help when both of them had the time. For the time being, he focused his attention on Applebloom.

He raised a slow hoof and ruffled Applebloom's bright red hair. She giggled a little bit in joy that everything was okay at the moment.

"Sorry you had to see that," he apologized to Applebloom. "I'll try to refrain from raising my voice again."

"Are ya going to tone your voice like Fluttershy?"

"Yes, kind of like hers. Are you done with your food?"

Applebloom looked at her fries and took a large bite at the last five fries on her plate. "Yup. Now I am done."

Silvershot took his and Applebloom's plates to the washing counter where dishes are supposed to be washed. On his way there, he passed by some of the crew members. Some of them gave him a glare that sent chills down his spine, while others gave him blank looks. If he wanted to become popular amongst the ship members, his debut performance with Armonia's swords was certainly not likeable. His dishes clattered against other ceramic plates in the murky water sink, and it hurt his ears to hear the sound. The sound sounded similar to the memory of Armonia during the Battle of Feathered Hill, the clashing of metal resembled each other to a large extent. He closed his eyes when he heard it. Soon after realizing that the sound was just a sound, he rejoined his friend at the door.

"What do we do now?" Applebloom asked.

"Let's find Rainbow Dash so we can make a plan for when we get to Afri-" Silvershot said, but then paused. He had almost said the Zebra kingdom's old name. "I mean, the Zebra kingdom. Have you heard from her recently?"

"Ah think she is on the deck with Cookie Dough, but I'm not sure."

"Then we better go see." He took a few hoofsteps forward, then stopped. "You coming?"

Applebloom caught up with him, and they walked toward the deck. There was a lot more stress to worry about for poor Silvershot. He had to think about Equestria and saving it from a plague that never had a cure in the past. But most of all, he had to worry about Fortress; the love of his life was at home without him and he couldn't do anything to help when he was hundreds of miles away from her.







The blaring lights of the ambulance carriage flashed in the middle of the night. Mares and stallions, who unfortunately left their windows open that night, woke up to the sound of the vehicle as it pulled up to the house. The back door of the ambulance opened and Spike and Nurse Redheart jumped out. Spike opened the door and Nurse Redheart directed the paramedics to bring the stretcher. From the downstairs living room, Spike could hear the writhing screams of Fortress coming from upstairs.

The paramedics and Nurse Redheart went upstairs as quickly as they could, and went to the room where Fortress was. Nurse Redheart bucked the door open as they galloped down a hallway to the room. Fortress sat on top of the bed with the covers off of her. Her underside was bulging and it was rather abnormal for a mother mare to have an extending belly like that.

"Nurse Redheart, hurry..." Fortress groaned.

The paramedics levitated Fortress off the bed carefully and laid her on the stretcher. They rushed her to the ambulance, followed by Nurse Redheart and Spike. Spike sat next to Fortress and held her hoof so she would know he was there. Nurse Redheart opened a cabinet in the ambulance and took out a machine Spike had never seen before.

"I'll need to perform a sonagraph on her. Spike, remove her shirt if you can," Nurse Redheart said.

As instructed, he used his sharp baby claws to rip the shirt off of her. Nurse Redheart placed the sonagraph tool over Fortress' belly and turned it on. A computer screen beside Spike lit up with an image. In the image, there were two things moving inside. Spike didn't understand what the pictures meant until Nurse Redheart explained to Fortress.

"Nurse, what is that?" Fortress asked, glancing at the sonagraph. "Is that the baby?"

"Fortress," Nurse Redheart said. "You're pregnant with twins."

"Twins? Last week, Silvershot and I were told that we would expect one baby. And I still have one month left."

"Do you know what today is?"

"Of course, it's June 21."

"Fortress, it's August. August fourth, actually. You are overdue."

"Nurse Redheart, what can we do?" Spike asked.

"Write a letter to Silvershot. He needs to come home; she will need her husband.
> Chapter 6: Griffins and Zebras
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 6: Griffins and Zebras

"What's that noise?" Silvershot asked as he and Applebloom got closer to the door to the deck.

"I don't know, but it doesn't sound good." Applebloom shivered.

Silvershot and Applebloom got closer to the door and put their ears up to it. They could hear the screaming of ponies on the other side and the squawking of an eagle. He knew what the squawking was coming from and he was scared. He immediately turned to Applebloom and gave her a soft but scary glare.

"Applebloom," Silvershot said. "Go back to my cabin and stay there. You'll be safe there. Will you promise you'll go there and stay until I come back?"

Applebloom nodded and ran down the staircase to his cabin. Silvershot waited until she disappeared before he got his throwing star out. A faint glowing aura surrounded his hooves and then his throwing star popped into existence. Silvershot placed some magic and then counted from three before opening the door.

"3...2...1...Go!" Silvershot counted down.

He opened the door and galloped outside.

"Griffins!" a pony yelled, before getting mauled by one.

Griffin pirates were raiding the ship and Silvershot was unprepared for such an attack. Griffins, with the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion, attacked the ship crew without remorse. The pirates wore bandanas over their feathered heads and metal talons over their natural ones. Some of the ponies were doing fine by fending off griffins until they reached safety in the ship, but others weren't doing so well. Some had been mauled and suffered numerous and deep claw marks on their body. Some of them were even thrown off the ship. Behind Silvershot's ear, he could hear Rainbow Dash fighting some griffins near the bow of the ship.

"Rainbow Dash!" Silvershot galloped to the back and threw his throwing star at the griffins. The griffins dispersed away from Rainbow Dash, who stood confused. "You need to catch ponies that get thrown off the ship. You are our fastest flyer and we need your help."

"On it!" Rainbow Dash saluted.

Rainbow Dash took off into the air. A wave of dust erupted behind her and covered Silvershot's face. Confident that he could trust her to rescue members of the crew who were thrown off the ship, he headed back to the main deck where most of the fighting was happening. Some ponies were handed guns to use to scare off some of the weaker pirates, but many more replaced them.

The rifles each pony had could not penetrate some of the diamond plated armor the griffins had. These "guns" had advanced rapidly over the year since Silvershot had received them from Goldhoof. The firing mechanism shot gold bullets and it could be shot by any pony, regardless of race. More bullets could be held, giving them the ability to hold five bullets instead of one.

Silvershot's only weapon was his throwing star, and it was a good enough to fight back. He threw his throwing star at any griffins he saw. The tips of the star bounced off the heads of the beasts with a loud thud and it was strong enough give a severe concussion. Silvershot was taught by his father to deal lethal blows whenever attacking, but he had learned for himself how to deal non-lethal strikes.

There was a pegasus on the ground, around two years younger than Silvershot was, who was about to get ripped to shreds by a commanding officer pirate. Silvershot leapt into the air and intercepted the impaling talon.

"Leave this ship before I kill all of you," he warned. "This is your one and only warning and you better comply."

"The famous Silvershot Crimson, how wonderful to see you," the griffin hissed. He stared at Silvershot with one eye since the other eye had an eye-patch. "One pony can't defeat the rest of my crew."

"Who says I can't?"

"I say so; got a problem?"

Silvershot's throwing star was locked against the talons of the griffin. He couldn't move it away, even with his magical powers. The talons hooked themselves around the throwing star, allowing the griffin to throw it away.

Silvershot, now weaponless, looked to the scared pegasus behind him. "Run, kid."

The pegasus ran away like a scared bobcat. When Silvershot turned back, the griffin took advantage and swiped at him. He blocked the attack with his golden boots. Silvershot took the chance to make one good comeback to scare the griffins off the ship. He already predicted enemy griffin's attacking style and was prepared to pull the coup de grace. The blasting winds blinded the griffin and he made a foolish mistake. His talons moved horizontally across from him. Silvershot easily avoided the attack by ducking and then bucking the griffin under the jaw. His bones cracked under Silvershot's kick and he fell to the ground.

With a broken jaw and pride, the griffin got back up and signalled a retreat to his men. A shrieking, squawking sound roared through the air and the near fifty griffins flew away to their pirate ships. The griffin Silvershot faced against flew away last. Silvershot wanted to ask him one final question.

"Why did you attack our ship?" he asked him. "There's nothing on this ship that is valuable for you pirates."

"You don't know the half of it," the griffin replied. "Ciao."

He left him alone with his thoughts. Silvershot stared intently at the griffins as they disappeared into the cloud bank nearby. He forced himself to look away and to assess the status of the shipmates and the ship itself. Finn and Cookie Dough were compiling the statuses into a report when he met them.

"Injury report?" Finn asked Cookie Dough.

"Over twenty ponies injured, but no fatalities," Cookie Dough said in relief.

"Damage report?"

"The main mast is destroyed, some of the sails need repairing, and one of the propellers was destroyed when the griffins boarded the ship. Other than that, we can still make the trip to the Zebra kingdom. We will need to stop at port to make repairs."

"Sounds good. Bring the medical team to fix these ponies up. We will be behind on our trip by a few hours since we are short on pony-power."

"Pardon me, Finn. Can I talk to you for a second?" Silvershot politely requested.

"Of course Silvershot, can you give me a minute?" Finn asked Cookie Dough.

"Of course! I'll be back with the medics!" Cookie Dough galloped away with a smile on her face.

"Now wha-"

"Why are you acting like nothing happened here! Everypony could have died!" Silvershot exclaimed, interrupting him.

"No pony is dead, and they were just pirates, that is it. We can make the trip and back to Equestria."

"I have this weird feeling those pirates were here for more than just stealing."

The softness of a pillow felt nice against Armonia's mane. His dream was blissful, but it wasn't real. He dreamt of a silver-maned stallion with a grey coat who was skilled with throwing weapons. The pony in his dreams had a wife, a real family, and a home. This pony was having a better life than he was.

"How long do I have to be gone?" Armonia asked himself as he stared at the ceiling.

He turned to his right to look out the stone window. Outside of his apartment room, Afriki's market place buzzed with the bartered trade of zebras, ponies, and griffins. Armonia got up from his bed with a loud growl of pain. The night before he fell asleep, he was shot with an arrow by a ballista. He was lucky that the arrows weren’t large which would have made it difficult for him to pull it out of him.

His leg was bandaged up with a bloodstained cloth, but he still managed to get up and walk. His mission was to destroy the element of sacrifice by any means necessary. His only possible way of destroying the element was to rely on the help of a zebra colleague.

Armonia found his cape at the foot of his bed and put it over his head. He made sure that the hood covered his mane and his eyes to conceal his identity; he was notorious in Afriki.

He hid a dagger under his cape and made his way to the door. He wasn’t sure if he should go out that day since he was being hunted down, but he had a responsibility to Equestria to destroy the element. He latched his magic grip on the doorknob and turned it slightly. He could see the reflection of his face, the face of a war-torn hero. He swung open the door, went through it, and closed it behind him.

Closing the door behind him meant no turning back from his mission at hoof.

A crowd of zebras and ponies had massed in front of Armonia’s apartment, where Armonia took the chance to blend in with the population. At this point, anything could happen to him, but he hoped that it would be something pleasant. The more he walked in the crowd, the more he could feel the claws of death reaching ever so slowly to him. A pony’s breath wafted against his cape and Armonia knew somepony wanted to talk to him.

“Armonia, is that you?” the somepony whispered into his ear.

“I finally found you.” Armonia whispered back without looking back.

“More like the other way around.”

“Ponies say, across Equestria, that you are the only pony to be able to destroy anything. Even magic you have learned to ultimately destroy.”

"How come you make that sound so evil? I'm not that cruel Armonia."

"Are you here to take the element?"

"Of course, just give it to me and I'll destroy it somewhere else."

"I want you to destroy it right before my eyes, Danja!"

Through the thin cloth of his hood, he could see crossbow ponies jumping from rooftop to rooftop to track down him and Danja. Danja wasn't going to let him get away. She wanted the element of sacrifice intact and not destroyed. With no choices left, he was forced to make an escape. He bucked Danja in the chest as hard as he could and galloped through the mass of ponies and zebras. He shoved them out of the way to avoid the crossbow bolts that rained down from the sky.

He was given a single second to look back at his pursuers before the crossbow bolts came at him again. Danja got back up from the ground and waved a hoof at Armonia.

"You can't escape my grasp Armonia! I will have immortality if it's the last thing I do!" Danja screamed.

"And your soul will be mine, Silvershot!" Danja's voice echoed in Silvershot's head when his eyes blinked into the real world.

In the memories, Silvershot realized that Armonia dreamt of the future the same way Silvershot envisioned the past. A theory ran through his mind that the element of sacrifice can unlock memories. The element had infinite magical power, and it was very much possible. Then he thought of Danja. Why did she want the element of sacrifice? If Armonia was the only one to use it, why would she need it? Silvershot did use the element of sacrifice before he destroyed it, but he hadn't figured out then how he used it.

His mind was shocked by all the information he was trying to process in his head. Maybe talking to Finn would calm him down. He walked back to Finn who was steering the ship and explained to him the recent memory he experienced. He explained every single detail so Finn wouldn't miss anything.

"My main concern is who is Danja, and how does she know me?" Silvershot asked.

"Danja was an old friend of Armonia. She went insane, saying that the element of sacrifice can grant immortality to the user. I don't know why she wanted to live forever and I don't know how she knew you," Finn replied while still steering the ship. "All I can say is that she was a tough zebra to defeat because she was never defeated in battle."

"Armonia defeated her though," Silvershot paused. "Right?"

Finn was silent for a second and didn't respond to Silvershot's last question. "Look Silvershot, during that pirate raid earlier, I noticed that your weapons are outdated and weak. Could you bring it to the blacksmith so it could be augmented a bit? I don't want you to get into a tight spot again because of a weak weapon."

"Yeah, I'll go do that. Thanks for talking to me." Silvershot said goodbye.

"Hey, wait," Silvershot turned back to him. "If you need to talk, just talk to me again or Cookie Dough. Don't forget you also have Applebloom too."

"Yea, thanks for the advice. I'll see you later."







"Why in bloody tartarus is the petraphyte not ready?" Danja asked her followers. "You said the petraphyte would be ready by nightfall but it hasn't even grown in the last few hours!"

"We need more power," one of the followers answered fearfully. "Our remedies can't conjure enough heat to bring life to it."

"Then find something else to use! I will not accept failure from the hooves of ponies!"

Danja gritted her teeth when she started thinking that she might lose. She only had one more night to live and she planned on going out with a bang. She had waited for over a thousand years to seek vengeance on the pony race and it was finally time to raise her scythe for the killing blow. If it weren't for the incompetence of her followers, she would be happy that Equestria was destroyed sooner.

> Chapter 7: The Tablet of Harmony
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 7: The Tablet of Harmony

"Applebloom?" Silvershot called out into the darkness of his cabin. "Applebloom are you in here?"

"Ey'm here," Applebloom voice replied back from the darkness. Her voice had the slightest bit of fear in them. 

"Are you alright?"

His nerves were blazing when he wasn't confident about Applebloom being alright. With a certain light spell he learned from a spirit fox, he conjured an orb of light on the tip of his tail and flicked it into the room. The room was lit up in a rainbow of colors and it revealed what Silvershot feared. 

Applebloom wasn't alright. She was beyond alright. A griffin held a steel sword against her throat. The sharpness of the blade was terrifying enough for Silvershot's hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end. Her safety became a top priority for him to follow. He summoned his throwing star and kept it levitated in the air. The griffin was no match against Silvershot but the griffin had Applebloom hostage. 

"Look griffin," Silvershot said to the pirate. "whoever is paying you, I can pay you double. Just let the filly go!"

"This isn't a negotiation," the griffin responded. "I came here for you and you alone. I'll release the filly if you give me your throwing star and yourself."

There wasn't many choices left for Silvershot to choose. His bluff, a really bad one at fault, was his last choice. He had to follow what the griffin wanted. He threw down the throwing star and raised his hooves into the air. The griffin lowered his sword and picked it up. He had a firm grip on it so Silvershot wouldn’t be able to pull it back with his magic. He released Applebloom but still pointed the sword at her. 

“Now calmly get over to this side of the room or els-“A loud boom sounded behind Silvershot and it blew his ear drums off. 

Silvershot’s head was light from the loud booming noise behind his ear. He knelt onto the ground and placed his hooves on his ears to stop the pain. His eardrums were torn from the exploding sound and it rang like the bells of Heart’s Warming Eve. A couple seconds With time, his ears would recover and his pain in his head would heal. After a couple seconds, he got up after stuffing his hooves into his ears and looked at what enfolded. 

Applebloom was quivering like a scared little bobcat near the legs of a pony Silvershot has never seen. The pony had a blue violet coat that was covered in a snow white cape that had ash all over it. On top of her head, was a sapphire pirate cap and a feather that came from a phoenix. In Silvershot’s head, he concluded many things about the pony. One thing for sure, she did shoot a gun right next to his ear almost making him deaf. The pirate cap distinguished her rank on the ship but no pony knew what rank. Silvershot approached the pony and politely asked Applebloom to join him and not the stranger. 

“Thanks stranger for the help,” Silvershot thanked. He looked at the griffin laying down flat on the ground with a bullet hole in his forehead. He then looked at the gun the mare had but there wasn’t one.

“No problem,” the mare answered. “Finn said you were looking for me?”

“You’re the blacksmith?” 

“The one and only.” the blacksmith happily smiled. She lifted her hat away from her yellow eyes and looked down at the filly next to Silvershot. “Sorry I didn’t make a first good impression. What’s your name cupcake?” 

“Applebloom,” Applebloom said with a shaky voice.

“How about I show you a couple toys I made. Silvershot, you can come too.” she gave a jester’s grin with a sticking out of the tongue at him. 

Applebloom jumped into the air and followed the blacksmith out. Silvershot followed along with the two girls to the blacksmith’s chambers. He can see that the blacksmith was wearing similar boots to him. There was a locking mechanism on a golden plate on the back of the boots and he could see sweat coming from her legs meaning they were warm just like his. He wondered what difference there was between his and hers but he would have to find out at the blacksmith’s room. 

They strolled through a narrow hallway that seemed to get more narrow as you continued down it. Claustrophobia encircled Applebloom and Silvershot but not the blacksmith. She had been down the hallway numerous of times and has not been affected by the claustrophobia effect. At the end of the hallway, there was a wooden hatch door with a see-through window on it. The window had a curtain behind it though so no pony can look inside. The blacksmith took her pirate hat off and stared at the window with a beaming glare. The curtains behind the window waved away and pony behind it looked through it. The pony's eyes made an astonishing happy face and the three ponies could hear the door unlock. 

"Sorry ma'am," the pony behind the door apologized instead of greeted. "I didn't mean to lock it."

"It's a magical door, Storm Shock," the blacksmith chuckled. "It always locks when I leave and unlocks when I return."

The blacksmith, Applebloom, and Silversgot entered what was called the Workshop. The Workshop explained perfectly what it was; it was the blacksmith's area of work. There was anvils, furnaces, and worn out hammers and tools with lumps of coal scattered across the floor. The blacksmith walked to her workbench and Applebloom scampered to the furnace to see the colorful sparks scintillating from it. Silvershot wanted to talk to the blacksmith so he walked to the workbench. The lumps of coals snapped into a thousand pieces under his hooves. Dark black splotches covered his hooves as more coal was crushed under him. 

The blacksmith switched her pirate hat for a yellow construction hat that had an attached monocle to it. The monocle was over her eye as she inspected the final details for a project she has been working on for the past hour. An empty capsule laid flat over the workbench the blacksmith was working on. It flashed neon colored lights in it and Silvershot stared at it with confusion. What was that?

Silvershot looked at the other things on thr workbench. There were gold round bullets on the table that stuck together for some odd reason. Gold wasn't magnetic so how did they stick? Silvershot tapped the bullets with the tips of his hooves and saw they were indeed stuck to each other. He levitated the bullets up into the air and saw that the back sides of the bullets were weilded together. 

"Those are for shotguns you know," the blacksmith said without looking away from the mechanical capsule. 

"What is a shotgun?" Silvershot inquired. 

"Never mind," the blacksmith looked at Silvershot and then at the capsule. She touched the capsule with a metal rod and it let out a small flame. "There, it's done."

"What's done?" He set the shotgun bullet down. 

"Your new boots."

The blacksmith smacked her hoof on the opened capsule and it closed itself. Silvershot took a second glance at it and he realized that it was boot. She carried the boot and slammed it on the table. Then another boot afterwards was slammed next. The boots didn't look all different from his so what was the difference?

"They look my old boots," he smirked. 

"They are different," the blacksmith said with confidence. "Put it on and press the second button."

Indecisive whether to follow her command, he made a hesitant reach for the boots. He touched the boots and pulled them closer. He took off his boots with a click of a button and put on the blacksmith's. The boots didn't feel different at all, even with all the electrical wiring inside it. He remembered the blacksmith's words and clicked the button underneath the first one that allowed him to take off the golden boots. Skidding noises rang in the air and the blacksmith covered her ears. She quickly hit the second button before Silvershot could. 

"My fault," the blacksmith whimpered. "I forgot you have you have to stand on your hind legs. The gears get, stuck, if you are standing on hooves."

Silvershot nodded and sent strength into his legs. He pushed himself up and clicked the button while standing. The gears inside the boots didn't make a sound and six openings popped out on the sides. The openings spouted out barrels that look like barrels of rifles. 

"Cool right?" the blacksmith said pleasingly. "These boots are more advanced than any other gun. It holds up thirty six bullets and the bullets are shot by magic and not by gunpowder."

"How would I fire them?" Silvershot asked. "I don't see a trigger."

"You won't need one. Just use magic."

A dab a magic was all that needed. He emitted a magic glow from his horn into boots and watched as the gears inside turned again. The barrels spun in a clockwise rotation and each one fired a golden bullet. Silvershot stopped it when he realized it would happen. This was amazing! 

"If only Armonia had this kind of technology," Silvershot murmured.

Running for so many hours on end, made Armonia weak and tired. Shafts of arrows stick out of him like a porcupine's needles. Each one giving him a reminder of what he just escaped from in pain. Escaping Danja's grasp was no esay task and he was happy got away. A trail of blood entrailed him as he walked down the dirt path.

The night sky looked beautiful. The star constellations helped Armonia navigate with a brilliant night show of a meteor shower. He was headed somewhere and he was glad to see that the starry sky was so clear. Maybe it was Princess Luna who was helping him from continents away. 

The dirt path was beaten by the hooves of other ponies and zebras and rocks on the ground made it rough as a rock quarry. Many of the roads of Afriki were like this but the road Armonia was taking was the least popular. The calmness from city life helped calm Armonia's aches and pains from the escape from Danja. 

A group of old trees sloped together to form a gate. At last, Armonia found what he was looking for. He continued on, down the road, with his blood following behind him. 

Città di Guarigione, the City of Healing, was most famous for all its doctors and shamans who were experts in healing. Somepony there could help with Armonia's injuries. The city was quiet and still. Everypony was asleep with the lights of the town dimmed down for the moon's graceful light. Many of these doctors were already asleep and he didn't want disturb any of them. There was a high probability that the doctor's would reject his request for the time of day. One house, just down the street from where you would enter from, had its lights on and a red cross on the door meaning doctor. 

Armonia knocked on the door with his hoof and then collapsed before somepony could answer the door. His strength slipped away from him like water on ice and he couldn't stay conscious any longer.

Just before Armonia could fall asleep from the exhaustion and pain, he could see the doctor's door open. The doctor's face was clouded from his vision but he still spoke before sleeping.

"Could you help me?" he asked silently.

He relaxed and then fell asleep. He didn't have a dream because there wasn't anything to look forward too in the future. His family might think he's dead since he has been gone for so long and the element of sacrifice still existed. Maybe the mare, the mare he was forced to leave behind, would marry him when he get's back.

He could feel his body regaining it's strength. He could feel his hooves and then his legs and neck. He opened his eyes and saw that the doctor really did heal him. His arrow injuries were cleaned up and bandaged and the concussion he recieved from crashing into a brick wall didn't hurt as much anymore.  The straw mat underneath him was comfortable too. 

"Doctor?" Armonia asked around. 

"Seems like the fallen has risen," the doctor's voice said, echoing off the walls of the house. Her voice was angelic to his ears. Maybe she was a savior angel. "it looks like you escaped from one hella of a prison." 

"Why do you zebras always have to rhyme?" 

The doctor came up to him, bandages in hoof, and changed the ones on Armonia. "It is part of our dialect. Unless you want me to be direct?"

"That would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for treating my wounds."

"It was not a problem young traveler. But I wonder why you look like a bounty for bounty hunter?" 

"I am a very important pony and I need to look for the Tablet of Harmony."

"If it's the tablet you seek, why don't I show you a peek?"

Shortly after changing the bandages on Armonia, she walked over to the bookshelf and pulled a book off the topshelf. Her mane fell off her face as she reached hard for it. She carried the book in her mouth and dropped it in front of Armonia. Armonia got up from the ground and glanced at the opened book. The book was opened to a sketch of a stone tablet with the symbols of the elements of harmony on it. 

"Yes that's it! Can you tell me anything about it?"

"This tablet is not one who doesn't like to be found. It is ready to give consequences in a bound. Once an archaeologist came looking for it like you, but he was never the same after finding his death wish due. His body exploded, his remains were virus encoded. Ponies and zebras alike in that village, fell to the curse like a viking pillage. No one remained to be seen, and your death could be foreseen. If you follow this path, you could face Celestia's wrath." 

"I should not get affected by the curse, I have something to protect me from it." He wasn't completely sure about that. The element of sacrifice wasn't something to rely on. "I need to continue moving. I need that tablet."

"What are going to do when you find the tablet? Maybe destroy the planet?"

"Not quite. I have to use the tablet to destroy an element of harmony." 

"That's what he wanted!" Silvershot all of a sudden yelped in the workshop. "He wanted to use the technology or the magic of the tablet to destroy the element of sacrifice. Everything makes sense. Excuse me blacksmith but I have to tell Finn."

Taking his new boots with him, he dashed out of the blacksmith's Workshop and headed to Finn's quarters. Armonia was trying to tell him the secret of the mysterious virus. Applebloom galloped behind him, trying to catch up to him to ask him a question.

"Silvershot," Applebloom huffed. "What were ya talking about in the Workshop?"

"Armonia," Silvershot began. "The virus that affected everypony came from this tablet he tried using to destroy one of the elements of harmony. He must have failed and that's why we know about a similar outbreak in the zebra kingdom. Somepony must have used the tablet in Equeatria and it got everypony sick. Whoever did it though intended to get everypony sick."

"What does this have to do with anythung?" Applebloom asked again. 

"If the tablet can inflict sickness, maybe it can cure sickness." At least, that's his theory. He wasn't sure if the Tablet of Harmony could actually do it. It was his only lead thus far and he had to do it. For Applejack, for Rarity, for Princess Celestia, for Equestria, for Fortress, he had to find the Tablet of Harmony at all costs. 

> Chapter 8: Closure
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Are you insane, Silvershot?" Finn exclaimed. "That tablet can kill anypony that touches it. And it doesn't mean that you can use magic as a means to move it around."

"I think I can move it without it killing me or any other pony," Silvershot rebutted. "I just know that I can."

"How do you intend on doing it?"

"I don't know. I know that Armonia wanted to use the tablet to destroy the element of sacrifice. Because he failed in doing so, the virus was released from it."

"Look, there is some magic that is forbidden to touch. Your father broke that rule when he reforged the element of sacrifice. This is no longer an option. I am the captain of this ship and I say we follow Princess Celestia's orders."

"When did you become such a pussycat?"

Silvershot turned around and trotted out the door, followed by Applebloom. The name "pussycat" was a name Armonia gave Finn whenever he was scared. Silvershot had begun to gain the ability to delve into Armonia's memories and pick out certain snapshots, and it was something that he wasn't too happy about to learn to do. This would be a great advantage for the upcoming events that will behold on him, though.

"Silvershot," Applebloom yawned. "Ey'm sleepy."

"How about I tuck you into bed and I go see where Rainbow Dash ran off too?" Silvershot suggested.

Applebloom yawned again before saying, "Okay."

They trotted together to their cabin. Silvershot could see how the adventure thus far has taken a toll on Applebloom. She was tired from all the events that had happened that day; from her getting her cutie mark to her almost getting killed by a griffin. Her hoofsteps were getting slower and louder as if a weight was being brought on top of her shoulders. Her eyes became heavier and mouth was slowly falling without her awareness. She was so tired she fell asleep while walking.

As Applebloom fell to the ground, Silvershot instinctively caught Applebloom with his foreleg. She snored happily while resting on Silvershot. He smiled and patted her back to help her relax a little more.

"Let's get you to bed," he said to her as he lifted her onto her back.

As Silvershot continued to the hallway, he could hear the flapping of wings echoing off the walls and the floorboards of the ship. These flapping Pegasi wings were distinguishable between Pegasi, and Silvershot knew which pony was racing down the hallway. Rainbow Dash came flying into the hallway at her top speed. She had no time to brake herself before crashing into Silvershot and Applebloom.

He reacted quickly and used his magic unicorn powers to stop her. A big wall of pillows erupted from a flash of light and the wall was then fortified by a steel net behind the pillows. Rainbow Dash crashed into the pillows and bounced off softly.

"Thanks for the catch, Silvershot," Rainbow Dash thanked as she got up. Silvershot deconstructed his wall of pillows just as fast as he had created it. "I got something to say from Cookie Dough."

"Can we wait until we get the little one to bed?" Silvershot asked while pointing his head and eyes at Applebloom.

"Yeah sure, let's go."

The two walked together to the cabin as Applebloom slept on Silvershot's back. As the two walked to their destination, he was thinking of asking her something, but he felt like it was too personal. He wanted to ask her if his parents, Silver Lancet and Enda Crimson, raised him correctly, or if they were bad parents. For him, there was only one way to find out.

"Rainbow Dash," Silvershot said while looking into her eyes. Rainbow Dash turned to look back. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it?" Rainbow Dash replied back.

"Do you think my parents were bad parents? My mom did fake her death and my dad tried to take over Equestria."

"Well, you see Silvershot, I think your parents raised you right, and they aren't all bad; except for your dad, of course."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because you didn't turn out like Silver Lancet now, did you?" Rainbow Dash said with a happy smile.

"Ha ha ha, I guess you're right." Silvershot smiled as well and laughed a bit. “Who are your parents like?"

At that instant, Rainbow Dash's smile disappeared. "I didn't get to know my parents all that well."

"You must have at least known one of them well."

"Actually, no I didn't. My parents didn't care about me as a foal because I was found in a cardboard box on the side of the streets. My own parents abandoned me."

"I'm sorry I asked."

"Nah, it's okay. I was raised by good people at the orphanage I was raised at. My foster parents signed me up for Aviation school when I was able to fly and that's where I got my cutie mark. If I was raised differently, I would be a completely different pony than I am today, and I am glad I wasn't."

"That's good to hear. Thanks for, um, disclosing that personal story, Rainbow Dash."

"It was no problem. Let's just tuck Applebloom in and then talk about the thing Cookie Dough told me."

Just as their conversation ended, they reached the cabin. Silvershot opened the door with his magic and placed Applebloom on the bed. He pulled the blanket over her shoulder and left the room with Rainbow Dash. He locked the cabin with a key and hid the key in his mane.

"Now, what's Cookie Dough got to say to me that she couldn't say to me herself?"

"Well, two things actually. One, she wondered if you'd like to try out a new cookie recipe she whipped up. Two, we are going to dock at the Zebra kingdom port of Zezabra in about two hours."

"Sounds good. Do you want to go to sleep? The two hour wait time can give us some time to sleep."

"I could use a good nap."

Just as Silvershot and Rainbow Dash left to go to a different cabin to nap in, the letter Spike wrote to Silvershot appeared on the desktop of the table in Applebloom's room. A burst of harmless flames accompany the scroll which only wafted gently against Applebloom's face in her sleep. Under no control in her sleep, she stretched her arm out which knocked the scroll off the table and onto the floor which rolled underneath the bed. Will Silvershot get the news that his wife's baby is coming? We may never know.

> Chapter 9: Afriki, the End of a Line
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 9: Afriki, the End of a Line

The ship rocked Silvershot awake when it reached the port of Zezabra. His head collided with the side of the wall and it left a mild bruise on his temple. As Silvershot got up from his bunk bed, Rainbow Dash woke up with undisturbed sleep. She yawned and stretched her hooves high into the air. She never had sleep like that in a long while.

"I think we docked," Silvershot suggested.

"I think so too," Rainbow Dash answered back. "Let's go wake up Applebloom."

"Good idea."

The two of them wiped the drool from their mouths before the leaving to go get Applebloom. The haul of the ship was silent like a graveyard. Silvershot's best guess was that all the ship members were up on the deck when the ship docked. They didn't know what really happened up top. The two crept through the quiet hallways, being aware that anything could pop up from the turning corners. They reached the room Applebloom slept in and opened the door. She was still asleep on the bed with the covers over her small body. Rainbow Dash walked over to Applebloom and sat next to the bedside. She raised a hoof and laid it on her shoulder just before shaking her awake softly. 

As Silvershot watched her wake Applebloom up, he smelt something funny in the room. He took a couple quick sniffs and made sure that his nose wasn't suffering from allergies or something. He was definitely smelling something in the room.

He followed the scent of the smell to the cabin desk and saw scorch marks on the tabletop. He carefully looked at the marks and deduced that something fiery burned on the table and then got extinguished really quick since the marks didn't spread far. Before he could continue inspecting the mystery, Cookie Dough unexpectedly touch downed on the door. The door cracked under her skull colliding with it and she fell onto the ground with her head spinning. Silvershot rushed to her side and helped her stand.

Cookie Dough thanked Silvershot and shook her head vigorously to regain her bearings. She had something important to tell to Silvershot and the others and this time she would say it in person.

"Silvershot, Rainbow Dash," Cookie Dough gasped, still out of breath from running through the entire ship to find the cabin. "Applebloom, you have to see outside."

"Why, what's wrong?" Silvershot asked her.

"We have no time to explain. You have to see it now!"

Silvershot was shocked when he heard Cookie Dough's serious voice. Through the entire time he's known her, he's never heard her raise her delicate and funny voice at him. Silvershot nodded at Cookie Dough and looked at Rainbow Dash and Applebloom before heading out. They were ready to leave too.

The three followed the Cookie Dough to navigate themselves back to the deck of the ship. The port bow windows that they whizzed past showed sneak previews of what was prowling outside. Silvershot tried to look through the windows without lagging behind the others but they were running too fast. Rainbow Dash couldn't take any more galloping and flew into the air. She flew up the flight of stairs ahead of them and kicked open the door.

They reached the deck just in time for the unveiling of what used to be Zezabra. As Silvershot laid his eyes on the town, his pupils shrank to loosen the light entering his eyeballs. It was horrible what he and the other ponies around him saw. The entire seaport was decimated by the mysterious virus. Bodies littered ships nearby and the houses on land. Blood dripped into the oceans as the remains rotted in the hot sun. 

"No way," Silvershot muttered. "This can't be real." 

"But it is Silvershot," Finn replied back with a grave tone to his voice. "You, Applebloom, and Rainbow Dash need to find that cure fast. You need to find that tablet."

"I thought you said that the tablet was an insane idea." 

"It's our only hope at the moment. Find the tablet, find the cure, or else Equestria meets the same fate as the seaport town."

"What will everypony else do?" 

"We will stay with the ship and will warn ships not to dock. As far as we know, as long as we are in the ship we won't be affected by the virus."

"Let's hope your right."

The crewponies laid down the gangplank to the dock and Silvershot and his friends got off. Cookie Dough waved good-bye from the deck as she hurried inside. Silvershot, Rainbow Dash, and Applebloom waved good-bye as well before turning their attention to the empty town. 

"I am creating a force field so we won't get sick," Silvershot said. "I don't know if the virus can penetrate magic but we won't get sick from the rotting bodies when we get into town."

"Got it," Rainbow Dash said.

"What do we have to look for when we're in town?" Applebloom asked Silvershot.

"We need a map so we know where to get around," Silvershot explained. "Then we need to get to the City of Healing where the Zebra Kingdom's top doctors are. Maybe they have the cure and they just ain't sharing."

Silvershot took the spell caster's stance and summoned magic into his horn. A glowing aura grew around Silvershot, Rainbow Dash, and Applebloom. His eyes glowed with a silver light and a bubble of magic expanded around everypony. 

The three, with the hopes of Equestria on their shoulders and the lives in their hooves, they walked through the town streets. The bodies of zebras and ponies alike were found on these streets. Their bodies exploded from the inside out which was a disgusting sight to behold. 

Each body they passed idly by was worth investigating for Silvershot but they were short on time. They only had six days left before Princess Celestia and everypony else in Equestria dies. Silvershot tried to ignore the investigations of the bodies and continued with the others to a map shop. 

The zebras, along with their expertise in potion-making, were expert navigators and map-makers. A map shop should suit their needs. Before entering the shop, they had to step over a body that unfortunately died at the doorway. The more and more Silvershot stayed in the shop, the more and more he wondered why all the zebras and ponies combusted all at the same time. In other places where the virus had stricken, the deaths were random and never once were in synch. Could the virus be an experiment and the town ponies of Zezabra be the controlled group?

The map shop was completely derived of all its contents. Maps that could lead you to the ends of the planet were gone and even local maps were gone too. There was only one map left but it was in the hoof of a dead zebra. 

"We need a map," Silvershot muttered. "I'll take it from him."

Silvershot swiftly got close to the body and reached his hoof out to the map. The body was already starting to decompose with flies eating away at the exposed innards of the unnamed zebra. He filched it as quick as he could and galloped out of the shop with Rainbow Dash and Applebloom. 

He was scared inside the shop. He thought that the zebra would come back to life or something might pop out of nowhere and frighten him. As he soon lowered his racing heart to a steady beat, he unfolded the square-shaped map and searched for the City of Healing.

Before he could even look at the map, he heard the cocking of guns in his ears. Silvershot looked up and saw ten masked zebras holding guns to their faces. Their faces were covered in a gas mask to protect themselves from the contagion of the city. The guns were different than pony guns as these guns were augmented to fit around the shoulders of the zebras instead of the hooves allowing for more mobility while carrying it.

Silvershot stood on his hind legs and raised his hooves into the air. Rainbow Dash got down from the air and did the same with Applebloom behind her.

"Don't move or we'll shoot," the zebra in front of Silvershot commanded.

"What do we do Silvershot?" Rainbow Dash whispered in his ear.

"Quiet you!"

Silvershot looked down at the map without moving his head and searched for the City of Healing. There was a path through a grain field to the forest that Armonia took to get to the city. The grain field could help the ponies escape from getting shot.

"Make a run for the grain field!" Silvershot exclaimed.

Silvershot expelled a flash spell in front of everypony which temporarily blinded everypony including himself. Silvershot knew the direction of the grain field which was 225 degrees behind him. Rainbow Dash and Applebloom knew the same thing. All three of them blindly galloped to the field.

The zebras regain their vision first and noticed that their captives were escaping. They all took a phalanx position and fired their guns at the ponies. They each were able fire a bullet round a second and a spread of bullets trailed behind the three runaway ponies.

"Why they shooting at us?!" Applebloom yelped as she ran.

"I don't know but keep running for the field," Rainbow Dash said to her.

"I'll block the bullets from reaching us. These guns are more advanced than mine," Silvershot said to them as he slowed down. 

He got his throwing star out using his magic and magnetically stuck it to his hoof. As he ran, he used his sharp senses and blocked the bullets. They sped faster than the bullets he was used to blocking with but he was still able to do his job. The mares reached the field first and kept running without Silvershot behind them. As Silvershot was about to feel the touch of the grain stocks against his face, he could see with his good eye a fear he wished he didn't see. 

As he turned to look at the phalanx of zebras just outside the field, he saw a new zebra behind the group. Her tattoos were familiar and the fact that the zebra was Danja scared him half to death.

"Keep running!" Silvershot yelped when he laid eyes on the terror Danja. 

"You!" Danja screeched when she saw him. "Men, don't let them escape! Bring me the silver-maned pony!"

Silvershot sped up his galloping pace to catch up to Rainbow Dash and Applebloom who was a quarter of the way through the grain field.

"Keep heading straight," he said to them. "We'll hide in the forest,"

"Good idea," Rainbow Dash adamantly accepted.

"Even better, take Applebloom and fly away. I'll meet you there after I distract the zebras behind us."

"Got it!" 

"Wait Silvershot!" Applebloom cried out before getting lifted into the air by Rainbow Dash. "Ey'm afraid of heights!"

"Just hang on to Rainbow Dash," Silvershot paused. "Rainbow Dash, you better not drop her!" 

"I won't!" Rainbow Dash assured him.

As Rainbow Dash dodged bullets while flying in the air carrying Applebloom in her hooves, Silvershot turned around to face the zebras head on. He used a special spell that enabled him to clear crop fields nearly instantaneously. With a single breath in his lung, he huffed out a cloud steam. An explosion of magic erupted from Silvershot's horn and with it the entire grain field disappeared which only left the zebra pursuers and Danja.

Silvershot glared at the zebras as they lock and loaded their weapons. His throwing star clung to the bottom of his hoof as he scrapped it on the ground to taunt his opponents. The zebras were unmoved by the show of scintillating sparks coming off the blade and continued to reload. Danja stood behind the armed zebras with an evil smile drawn on her face. 

"Kill the little pony," Danja commanded. "With him gone, everything can proceed without failure."

"I am not just anypony," Silvershot said to her before her men fired their guns. "I am Silvershot Crimson and if you are the one endangering Equestria, no, the world, then I will stop you."

Silvershot, without a single moment of fear, threw his throwing star at the group of zebras. The throwing star bounced off the masks of three zebras and knocked them cold. With three down and five to go, he only had a split second to react before he was given a body full of bullet holes. Materializing his magic into a physical material, Silvershot made a new throwing star out of magic and threw it to knock out three more. 

The golden boots under his hooves clang as he flung the throwing star from his horn and he realized he had another weapon up his sleeves. The boots, with a click of Silvershot's hooves, turned into a revolver gun. Silvershot stood on his hind legs and aimed the new golden sights at the remaining two zebras. He fired two out of six bullets from the chamber and it killed two zebras.

All in three seconds, Silvershot manages to incapacitate eight zebras just before they could fire a single bullet. All that there was left was Danja. 

Danja was the only one left and as epic as it was only a second ago, she didn't fight back when Silvershot apprehended her. He wrapped magic shackles around the hooves of Danja and held her tight in his grasps.

"I just want to know one thing, Danja," Silvershot whispered to her from behind her ear. "Why? Why would you cause the deaths of millions? Even your own kind is dead!"

"Your ancestor, Armonia, wronged me of ultimate power," Danja responded. Her eyes never looked behind at her captor. 

"He wanted to save Equestria and so do I. Where's the cure?!" 

Silvershot's magical shackles fell to the ground as Danja disappeared from view. He was momentarily shell-shocked as he found out Danja escaped like a puff of smoke. He looked vigorously around to see where Danja vanished too but she was nowhere to be seen.

"Do you want to find the cure? Let's play a wager game shall we?" Danja's voice echoed in the air.

"What game Danja?" Silvershot said with no other choice. 

"Bring me the element of sacrifice and I'll lead you to the cure. The cure, with the element of sacrifice, can be found where the beginning ends." 

"What in Tartarus is that supposed to mean?!" No response came back. "Danja!"

"You know, the pony virus kills randomly but there is a kill point I can control where all infected can die in one bloody massacre. You have until tomorrow before the virus completely affects and annihilates all the ponies on the planet. Good luck, my little pony."

The element of sacrifice gleans in the darkness of the room. It's golden property mesmerized Armonia with avarice but this awful curse that the element casted upon its user had to be destroyed. His search for the tablet of harmony couldn't get any worse. 

With Danja on his tail and the element of sacrifice weakening him everyday, there wasn't much Armonia could do. After successfully getting healed over night by the care of the Shaman, he fled to the ruins of Le Rovine Perdute or the Forgotten Ruins. 

The ruins were soon going to be Armonia's new grave. The walls were his coffin and the insects around him the decomposers to rot his body into the ground. His body was too weak to even take a breath of air and his blood from escaping Danja's strange magic was causing him to lose his consciousness. No light reached his eyes and he stood in the darkness with his shoulder on the wall. 

His legs gave in just as his strength to live did. The element of sacrifice clattered onto the ground as it magically detached itself. Armonia no longer had enough energy to allow the element of sacrifice to stay around his neck. With no other choice and his dream coming to an end, he had to accept the fact he would have to use plan B and never return home to his family.

He used his magic to levitate the element of sacrifice into the air and spoke one last spell into it. He placed his own curse onto the element of sacrifice to guarantee that the element wouldn't fall into Danja's hooves.

"Split this element into eight pieces of harmony. Each piece representing a piece of light," Armonia recited as both his horn and the element of sacrifice glowed. "Let those who seek this jewel will need to give the ultimate sacrifice."

The element of sacrifice glowed even brighter with light as Armonia's magic dissipated into the darkness. The crevices of the element split the necklace into seven equal pieces with the jewel in the center as the eighth. 

The pieces of the element of sacrifice shot into the air, burrowing through stone, to escape the ruins before separating themselves across the world.

"Let's hope that Silvershot saw this memory," Armonia gasped as his heart slowly gave out. "You're going to go far kid."

Armonia, before dying, took out a cigar from his saddle on his side and lit the tip of it with a fire spell. He blew in the smoke of the suicide herb and blew the smoke out of his lungs. His grandfather gave him the cigar to smoke right before dying to signify the ending of a soldier of the Cavallo family. 

The weak pony gave one last smoke of the cigar before finally dropping it onto the ground. Before the memory ended for Silvershot, he saw the wall behind the body of Armonia glow. The entire wall glowed which stretched several yards far with an ominous green glow. Words began to form on the wall above Armonia's body and it read Il Tablet di Harmony which Silvershot made the connection. Armonia died in front of the tablet which was more like a wall to him. He also realized something else.

"The Element of Sacrifice still exists," Silvershot gasped as he realized this fact.

> Chapter 10: The City of Healing
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The history of the virus was now aligned with the memories that Silvershot had seen over this entire adventure. The virus began when Armonia accidentally used the tablet of harmony to break apart the element of sacrifice. The virus spread across Afriki in a matter of days which caused mass deaths in Afriki and in Equestria. The virus was exterminated because there weren't enough ponies and things living to infect. One thousand years later, more ponies and zebras were living in Equestria and Afriki once again and Danja re-catalyzed the virus to cause extinction to the pony race.

There was only one way Silvershot could cure the virus; he was sure about it. All he needed to do was to reforge the real element of sacrifice together in front of the tablet of harmony to stop the virus and save Equestria.

Silvershot looked around to see if Danja was still nearby, but she was gone. None of his senses showed any signs of her presence or her henchmen. He dismissed his search and went into the forest to the City of Healing. He needed to find a map to the Forgotten Ruins as soon as possible. He only had one day until Equestria was doomed, and who knew? Danja could target the entire world after Equestria.

Silvershot used his tracking skills to track down Rainbow Dash and Applebloom. It is nearly impossible to track down a Pegasus since they could fly and leave little tracks behind but there was a way. Silvershot analyzed the path she could have taken and looked at the ground. His eyes followed an imaginary path he recreated in his mind until he found what he was looking for. A small slither of a yellow hair was found at a spot where Silvershot stopped at. Pegasi were notoriously known to shed a hair once every hundred hooves they traveled. A trail of rainbow colored hair trailed off into the forest and he followed it until the trail started to get larger with more hair.

"Rainbow Dash?" Silvershot called out into the forest. "Applebloom? Where are you two?"

"Silvershot!" Applebloom's voice cried into the damp forest. "Help! Hurry!"

He followed the sound of the voice and also the trail of hair. The trail soon changed weirdly when a single drop of crimson liquid was found on a spot. The drop soon became many and Silvershot no longer followed a trail of hair; he started to follow a trail of blood.

His trail ended when the trail stopped at a tree. The tree was the oldest tree in the entire forest. Its leaves were gone and had fallen to the ground far before the other trees did and its bark was black as soot. It also was the largest tree in the forest. Silvershot encircled the tree until he found his two best friends.

He bent to his knees and crawled beside them. He moved his foreleg around Applebloom's neck and pulled her closer. With his other hoof, he covered the bullet wound on Rainbow Dash's side.

"Don't count me out just yet Silvershot," Rainbow Dash said softly to him. "I ain't dead yet."

"With the amount of blood you lost, you're going to die," Silvershot admitted.

"There's a way we can save her," Applebloom exclaimed. "We need to stop the bleeding by causing a blood clot. With the bleeding stopped, we can get her to the City of Healing."

"Good plan, but how would we cause the clot? Don't we need a special herb to cause it?"

"I have that covered. Take the bullet out while I look for the herb we need."

"This is going to hurt me more than it is going to hurt you," Silvershot said as his unicorn horn glowed and Applebloom left to look for a special herb.

"What are you-?" Rainbow Dash started, but got cut off. Silvershot used his magic to grasp the bullet inside her and ripped it out as fast as he could. A glop of blood came out of the bullet wound and Silvershot covered it with his hooves.

"Sorry," Silvershot apologized.

"It's cool. It didn't hurt that much." She lied; it hurt a lot.

As soon as Rainbow Dash had gotten used to the pain, Applebloom returned with a certain plant in her mouth. The plant had purple petals and a multitude of stems branching off from the trunk. Yellow spores were coming off of the purple petals as it shook in the filly's mouth. She hung the plant over Rainbow Dash's wound as Silvershot lifted his hoof and shook it which released the spores. The spores landed on the wound and the bleeding stopped in a matter of minutes.

"What is this magical plant?" Silvershot questioned her.

"It ain't magical," Applebloom answered as she sprinkled more of the spores onto the wound. "It's an alfalfa."

"Oh, cool." Silvershot looked at the white sky and saw a group of dark clouds rolling in. The cloud was familiar to him as clouds of a burning fire. "The City of Healing can't be far from here. Let's go."

Silvershot lifted Rainbow Dash onto his back and carried her with all his might. She needed medical care, and he couldn't bear to have a friend die on his journey. Each trudging step bore a stake of pain on Silvershot, but he marched forward, with Applebloom following behind.

The forest soon began to thin out as the group walked through it, and a clearing opened up as they reached the end of the path. A road rolled over the hill and beyond this hill was the City of Healing.

"We're almost there," Silvershot said to Rainbow Dash. She was still unconscious when he turned to speak. "Stay close, Applebloom."

"You got it, Silvershot," Applebloom answered.

Silvershot continued to carry Rainbow Dash on his back to the City of Healing. A metal fence surrounded the city to stop any intruders from entering. The top of the fence was entwined with barbed wire that was dipped in poison. The city wanted to make sure that no pony got in. A magical force field was the next level of protection to fight against the virus and the only way in was for the doctor in the city to open it.

He approached the force field after finding the opening in the fence and tapped his hoof against the force field. It bounced Silvershot off and actually mildly burned him. He waved the smoke off of his hoof and looked through the force field. He could see ponies and zebras walking past them like no one was on the other side. Applebloom and Silvershot waved vigorously at the passing bystanders but they were ignored.

"What are we going to do Silvershot?" Applebloom asked. "The alfalfa ain't going to last long."

He couldn't answer her question because he had no certain answers. An answer he had wasn't a good one, but he could try to force his way through the shield. He put Rainbow Dash on the ground and clicked his boots together to watch a small spark come off of it. He raised his hind legs up and impaled his hooves into the shield. The boots made grinding sparks come off as it touched the shield.

The boots made a crack the size of a hair and it took too much work to do it. Silvershot lost his grip and fell face first onto the ground. He was determined to open the shield. He stomped once again on the shield and only to fall face first onto the ground. The ponies and zebras on the other side stopped in their tracks to watch the spectacle but they made no effort to help the desperate stallion or to stop him.

Silvershot got back up one more time. Dirt covered his scarred eye and his hooves got burned even though they were covered in boots. He wanted to give it one last go, and he was going to make sure to break through. He stomped on it one last time and made sure he didn't slip. His eyes were filled with an intrepid flame of hope as he poured all of his strength into his legs.

"I am Silvershot Crimson," Silvershot said as sparks hit his face. "Descendent of Armonia Fuoco Cavallo..."

Unintentionally, his unicorn glowed with a grey light and so did the crack in the shield. An image began to form next to Silvershot and this time everypony could see it, not just him. A projection of Armonia appeared next to him and he had his hooves against the shield as if he was a mirror image of Silvershot and helping him.

"And I will," both Silvershot and Armonia and said in unison. "save Equestria!"

The crack on the force field broke a wider crack and the entire shield broke like glass. Silvershot fell on his face one last time, dazed. While he was slowly regaining his vision, he saw Applebloom yelling at him. Her voice was inaudible, but strident moments rang in his ears.

"Silv..Silvers...SILVERSHOT!" Applebloom's voice screamed into his ears. "Get u...the force field wi....crush you!"

Silvershot's eyelids shot open and he turned his head to look up. The broken shield was being rebuilt with magic and Silvershot was underneath where the shield was going to land. He quickly moved out of the way before the shield crushed him.

He got back up and brushed the dirt off of his body. A mass of ponies and zebras surrounded Silvershot and Applebloom and all had a shocked look on their faces.

"Um, hello?" Silvershot greeted.

"King Silvershot," everypony chanted. They all bowed their heads down.

"Wow, laughing out loud," Silvershot giggled. "I only get called 'King' in Venturia Reign."

"Ignore these religious mumblers," a voice yelled out over the crowds of people. "Get back to work! We still have to find that cure!"

The crowd dispersed after the random voice commanded it and only one zebra was left. He was a zebra with stripes that resembled zig-zagging lightning bolts. He had a mohawk that was short cut but his tail was long enough to touch the ground.

"My apologies, Silvershot," the same zebra from before said. "I am the Shaman of this city."

"It is no problem, Shaman," Silvershot responded. He glanced at Rainbow Dash who was still snoring on the ground. "Um, can I get some help for her?"

"Sure, sure." the Shaman whistled by biting his bottom lip. Two unicorns came to them while carrying a stretcher. "Now, besides helping your friend with her injuries, what can I do you for?"

Silvershot told the Shaman about their problem and asked for any assistance they could provide. He needed to find the tablet of harmony in one day or else Equestria would die with Afriki first. The Shaman scratched his chin with his hoof and thought about an idea. He asked them to come to his home for a drink of tea.

The two followed the Shaman to his house where they humbly received herbal tea from him. They drank their tea with delicacy to enrich themselves in the flavors of the tea. When Silvershot finished his cup, he was desperate to hasten his pace.

"Shaman, we don't have much time left," Silvershot bluntly said to his host. "Where is the Forgotten Ruins?"

"The question is, my friend," the Shaman responded back as he poured more tea into his tea cup. He went into a rhyming scheme when he spoke again. "What are you really here to amend?"

"What do you mean? I don't understand."

"Is it not you can see your ancestor's memories? What part seems out of certain boundaries?"

"I don't know. I wasn't able to see what the first Shaman said to Armonia about its location."

"That's the key, Silvershot. Find where Armonia was brought."

"Ugh! That doesn't make sense! Maybe I'll just drink about it." Silvershot levitated his tea cup to his lips and guzzled his tea down.

"Pardon me Shaman," Applebloom asked while the Shaman brewed more tea for Silvershot's third cup. "Why did everypony call Silvershot 'King' even though they don't know him?"

"It is because, Applebloom, it is written in our history books that a grey-maned king named Silvershot would save the world from destruction." The Shaman didn't rhyme in response.

"Who said that?"

"Why, Armonia did."

"Did he say anything about me?"

"Well he did say-"

"Wait!" Silvershot interrupted. "Some of your history books were written by Armonia?" He paused. "That's it! The missing memory was transferred to the books! Where can I find them?"

"You are fortunate that I have those books on that shelf." The Shaman pointed at the book shelf in the other room. Silvershot rushed over to look at them. "You are unfortunate though that it is in the ancient language of Venturian. I cannot read some of those words."

"Then how do you know that they were written by Armonia, Shaman?" Applebloom asked as Silvershot went to the history books to read them himself. She was still curious if she was part of the legend he was speaking of.

"The story has been told orally to shamans since Armonia's passing. We haven't forgotten a word nor have we changed any. Silvershot has been ordained as the hero of the world."

"How about me? Am I in the legend?"

"Well I don't know. Since we were not allowed to change the words of the legend, only one sentence remained a mystery for many centuries. Un rosso dalla criniera cavalla salverà l'eroe."

"Well what does that mean?"

"And the red-maned mare will save the hero." Silvershot muttered as he read the history book. He carried the book to the table. "The hero will fall and the red-maned will rise over the chaos. It is you, Applebloom that will save Equestria."

"What? Really?"

"Yes, really." Rainbow Dash's voice said to her. Applebloom and Silvershot turned to see her at the doorway. The light of the setting sun surrounded her and it gave her an angelic look. Her side was bandaged up. "Silvershot and I will be there beside you. Now, where are the ruins Silvershot?"

"Several miles south...twenty steps up..." Silvershot read the text. Once he finished reading the directions Armonia left behind in the book, he gasped. "The ruins are under Ponyville!"

"Why does everything have to be in Ponyville?!"

"You are missing an important part Silvershot," the Shaman said. "You are missing the element of sacrifice. Once the true necklace has been forged, you can stop the plague."

"I almost forgot." Silvershot flipped through multiple pages to look for an answer. He found it and planted his hooves on the page. "The lost can be found where the herder leads his flock."

"Could a leader have it?" Rainbow Dash muttered.

"Maybe you're right. We have to make a letter to Princess Celestia to ask all seven the leaders of the world if they have the pieces. There's seven of them but where can the eighth be?"

"We don't know, but we have to return to the ship now. Sorry Shaman, but we cannot stay any longer."

"Wait! What about the city? We can't leave it alone after the shield was just broken by Silvershot. It could break again," Applebloom interjected.  She turned to the Shaman. "Will you bring your zebras and ponies to our ship? We can house several hundred of them."

"It would be a good idea. I will have those who are unicorns set up shields in groups. We can have my entire city transferred to your ship in Zezebra in a matter of hours. We will meet you there."

In these final hours, the quest to save Equestria rested on Silvershot and Applebloom's hooves. They must retrieve the element of sacrifice and return to Ponyville to get the tablet of harmony. Speaking of Ponyville, what is transpiring there?





It was night time on the other side of the globe. The stars glistened in the black sky that Princess Luna controls, and the moon shone its natural light onto the ground. The Ponyville Hospital cast a shadow over the creek under the bridge. Ponies rested in the cool air; it was peaceful in the town, except in the hospital that is.

Inside the hospital, the wife of Silvershot screamed at the top of her lungs in pain. Her baby was coming and the pain was nearly unbearable. She was carried on a moving stretcher to the ER room by two male ponies. Nurse Redheart and Spike followed behind her. Spike held a photograph of the sonagraph of Fortress Crimson with his small claws. He was still amazed that Fortress was pregnant with twin babies.

The stretcher reached the room after kicking it open and placed Fortress on the bed. She continued to scream in pain as she was slowly placed on the bed.

"Where is Silvershot?" Fortress gasped. Her breathing was fast and quick. "Where is my husband?"

"I don't know, but we can't afford to wait any longer," Nurse Redheart said to her. "We need to deliver the babies. Spike, do you know how to deliver a baby?"

"No! I certainly do not," Spike responded in a shrill and scared voice.

"There's nothing to it." Redheart blinked at him with a smile. "All you have to do is hold Fortress's hoof while I do the rest of the work."

Spike hurried to Fortress' side and held onto her hoof just as Nurse Redheart asked. Redheart went to the foot of the bed and asked Fortress to spread her legs for the delivery of the babies. She held her hooves next to her, um, marehood, and was bracing herself to watch the babies come out. This was her very first delivery of a baby as a nurse and all she knew was from reading textbooks. The doctor was nowhere in sight and waiting for him was no longer an option.

"Get ready Fortress," Nurse Redheart breathed a slow breath to get ready with Fortress. "And push!

> Chapter 11: The Collecting Jar
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

There was only one hour left before Equestria would die. Time was running out and there was almost nothing anypony could do to stop it. Silvershot Crimson, Rainbow Dash, and Applebloom ventured out to Afriki to stop the worst virus pandemic to ever happen in pony history. Their search for the cure for the virus has come to the conclusion that the element of sacrifice, the most powerful element of harmony that ever existed, needed to be fixed to save every being in Equestria from certain death. They needed to return to Equestria to Princess Celestia to tell her what they had found.

As they patiently waited in their airship, which had occupancy of over a thousand ponies, Princess Celestia and the world leaders were gathering the pieces needed to forge the element of sacrifice together. There was one problem though; there were seven pieces found, but one was missing.

Silvershot leaned on the enormous observation window for hours, trying to think where the last piece could have been kept in secret. He stood there, just staring at the golden orange clouds as the sun started to set. His head smacked against the glass. He was tired, but he knew he couldn't rest anymore. He was running out of time.

Applebloom couldn't do anything but sit on the sofa just across from where he stood. She wanted to offer ideas, but she thought it would be rude to ruin his train of thought. Occasionally, she would stare off into the clouds just like Silvershot was to try and get ideas. All she got was boredom.

"Hey, Silvershot," Applebloom squeaked. Silvershot turned his head to her. His eyes scared Applebloom because they looked empty and sad. She gulped down the lump of saliva sitting in the back of her throat before speaking again. "Are ya'll okay?"

"I am fine," Silvershot moaned. "I am just worried about Equestria. I am worried about Applejack, Rarity, and Princess Celestia. Most of all, I am worried about Fortress."

"Ay'm sure she is alright. Spike is with her."

"Yea, you're right. Maybe you will save me, save me from losing hope and my sanity."

"I do whatever I ca-" She was cut off by the intercom speaker located in the corner of the observation room.

Finn's voice blared through the speakers. Silvershot and Applebloom could hear Rainbow Dash's voice in the background. "Silvershot, we need you at the bridge now. We got some trouble."

Silvershot and Applebloom exchanged glances and galloped to the staircase to the bridge. From the staircase, they could hear the commotion at the bridge as ponies from all commanding positions scrambled on the floor.

Silvershot opened the door and tried his best to guide Applebloom through the rushing ponies. Finn, Rainbow Dash, and a couple of ponies wearing navy hats surrounded the steering wheel of the airship. Silvershot and Applebloom approached the steering wheel before looking out the front window to see what all the commotion was about.

There was a massive airship at the stern of Finn's shop, just as big, or maybe bigger since the ship was several kilometers away.

"Silvershot," Finn called out after dismissing his subordinates to their original stations. "Our scouts have confirmed that the ship ahead of us is not a cargo ship, but Danja's military ship carrying enough Griffin soldiers for every stallion, mare, filly, and colt on this ship. If they invade, which they probably will, we are done for."

"Okay, hold on," Silvershot said while raising a hoof up. He looked down at Applebloom who stood next to his side. "Applebloom, will you go with Rainbow Dash to our cabin and stay there with her?" He turned to Rainbow Dash next. "Can you make sure she is safe?"

"Of course," Rainbow Dash agreed. "I'll make sure-"

"I want to stay here, though!" Applebloom interrupted. She stamped her hoof on the ground in disagreement. "I wanna stay!"

"Applebloom, I need you to be safe," Silvershot humbly said to get her to understand. "If you got hurt or get killed, I don't know what I'd do. If something goes wrong, I want to know that you were at least safe. Do you understand?"

"Yea, I got it."

"Good, maybe you can write a letter to Applejack telling her you're okay. You haven't talked to her in a day."

"Well alright, I can do that. I'll even write a letter to Fortress for you. I hope they're okay."

"I hope so, too."

Applebloom turned her back to Silvershot and started heading towards the door. Behind her, Rainbow Dash followed with a pace that would make sure that Applebloom wouldn't wander off by herself in the massive ship. Before Applebloom and Rainbow Dash could leave the bridge though, Applebloom turned around and lunged at Silvershot. He caught her in mid-air.

"Please be careful," she begged as her grip on Silvershot got tighter.

"Don't you worry about me. Just go, please," Silvershot said back to her. He hugged her and then released her.

Applebloom trotted off to the staircase with Rainbow Dash. Silvershot wiped the small tear that grew under his eyelid and tried to hide his crying. He felt bad for leaving Applebloom behind, but he knew it was the only way to keep her safe.

The whole ship shook unexpectedly and it nearly knocked Silvershot off his hooves. Everypony was thrown off balance and many of them fell to the floor. Even Finn fell to the floor and the steering wheel of the ship started to spin out of control. Silvershot used his magic to hold onto on the wheel so the ship wouldn't veer off-course. Finn got up from the floor and put his hooves on the wheel again. He pulled down his intercom microphone and spoke into it.

"Damage reports, everypony!" Finn commanded.

"The engine room sustained damage from that bomb, but one more bomb and we won't be flying anymore," one of the engineer ponies replied back through the intercom.

"Our armory got destroyed in the blast. The Blacksmith is trying her best to repair our weapons as fast as possible, but we need time," a pony from the armory answered back.

"The cabin docks received some damage too," a third pony said. "We are getting the wounded to the infirmary as soon as possible."

"Are Rainbow Dash and Applebloom alright?" Silvershot yelped into the microphone behind Finn.

"I'm sorry, Silvershot," the Shaman said back to him, shoving the cabin pony away from the microphone. "We haven't seen or heard from them."

"Cazzata!" Silvershot murmured scornfully. He changed his voice back to normal when he was going to talk to Finn. "Finn, I am going to look for them."

"I need you here, Silvershot," Finn said back. "I can't command an entire shop in shambles. I need a leader like you to help."

"I am not a leader; not like how my father was." Then it hit him. The missing leader with the missing piece: Silver Lancet. "Finn, I know where the missing piece is! My father has it."

The ship shook again, with greater force than last time. A barrage of cannonballs and bombs hit the ship once again at the same spot. The ship crashed to a halt, but it still stayed suspended in the air. After getting up from the floor, Silvershot and Finn checked on the condition of the ship one last time.

"The engine got blown up that time. We are running on reserve magic to keep us suspended but we don't have enough magic to keep us in the air until we get the engine together again," a new engineer pony said to Finn. The other one was either dead or busy, but Silvershot didn't know which.

"There's too much to do. I am setting up the ship for auto-pilot to help out everypony, but I still need your help, Silvershot."

"What do you want me to do?" Silvershot asked.

"Griffins are boarding the ship!" The microphone next to Finn blared. The other microphone speakers started to chant the same line.

"The engine needs to get fixed, Griffins are on the deck, and Applebloom and Rainbow Dash are missing. Decide on what you want to accomplish. I'll handle the rest."

"I can handle the engine; help the ponies on deck with the griffins," Silvershot replied. "I am pretty sure Rainbow Dash will keep Applebloom safe. She promised."

"You got it," Finn reached under the steering wheel to take out a blunderbuss gun. He attached his massive gun to his hoof boot. "I still need to get revenge on griffins for Feathered Hill."

"You go do that. I'll head to the engine room."

"The Blacksmith should be there by the time you get to the engine room. She'll be there to help with the repairs."

"Okay, got it."

Silvershot and Finn high-hoofed each other and then separated ways. Silvershot remembered that Armonia and Finn used to high-hoof each other before parting ways just like he did with Finn. It just occurred to him after the event happened. There was still more Armonia wanted to tell Silvershot, but no time to figure it out.

Silvershot had to ask Finn the one question that's been bugging him for the longest time and he wanted to ask now, because it might be the last time he saw him.  "Finn, wait. How did you become to live over a thousand years? You were around when Armonia was alive and you look like you haven't aged a bit now."

"Oh Silvershot, that's an easy question to answer. The reason I look so young is-" The ship shook one more time, interrupting Finn's answer. "No time to explain. Go Silvershot!"

Silvershot was forced to dismiss his curiosity for the time being. He galloped as fast as he could to the stairs that led to the engine room. Sometimes, parts of the staircase had collapsed and Silvershot had no choice but to leap a fair distance to descend down.

The last flight of stairs was the biggest jump, but he landed safely on the ground with four hooves. Immediately after landing on the ground, huge gusts of wind blared at his face. The hole on the side of the ship was bigger than Silvershot had anticipated. He could fit his entire two-story house inside it. In his ear, he could hear the banging noises of hammers and nails as ponies tried to desperately close up the hole on the side of the ship. Silvershot could also hear Blacksmith's hammer and wrench banging at the broken engine that kept the ship afloat. Silvershot galloped as fast as he could to the Blacksmith's side.

"Blacksmith, I'm here. Is there anything you need me to do?" Silvershot asked.

"Silvershot, first, don't call me Blacksmith anymore. Call me Ironheart Ashling. That's my real name."

"Okay, Ironheart, what do you want me to do?"

"There's a scepter connected to the engine that collects magic periodically from things around it like plants and animals. The collecting jar was damaged and it cannot collect magic as well as it did before. While I fix the engine and the collecting jar, I need you to channel your magic into the scepter so the ship doesn't crash."

"Alright, sounds easy enough."

"It's not that easy Silvershot. You need to keep a 100% focus on the scepter once you've started. A single disruption before I finish the repairs could result in an explosion big enough to take the ship and everypony with it to hell. Now, don't mess up!"

Silvershot shivered a little bit. The fate of the ship rested in his hooves. He made a nervous nod to Ironheart and then dismissed himself to get ready. He stood with his four hooves on the ground in a spellcasting position. There was a jewel on top of the scepter when Silvershot glanced at it. The jewel was a diamond and one Rarity would have loved to keep if she saw it.

Silvershot channelled vast amounts of his magic into his horn and shot a beam of magic at the scepter. The scepter grew a bright grey light like his horn. Light trickled down into a transparent containment unit with a broken base. The ship shook once again as magic began to pour instead of trickle. The shaking was less violent than before which was a good sign. The ship started to move and gain speed and altitude and Silvershot could see the ship rising above the clouds. At first, the magic transfer was pinching Silvershot's horn slightly, but the pain was starting to increase.

"Good job Silvershot, you're doing great!" Ironheart cheered on.

"Thank you. Please hurry..." Silvershot both thanked yet begged as he continued his spell. "It hurts..."

"I'm trying, just hold on."

Silvershot stood his ground and tried to withstand the pain as long as he could. Ironheart was doing her best to make the repairs to the magic collecting jar as fast as possible. She had her blowtorch ready and a piece of aluminium glass to fix the hole. Ironheart got on her rolling panel and rolled herself under the collecting jar to fix the broken hole.

As the pain increased, so did the size of the magic transfer. The beam exponentially enhanced itself so it was four times its original size. The ship was slowly but surely getting faster. Danja's ship of pirate Griffins were slowly gaining.

Tears of sweat dropped down Silvershot's head and his breath was getting faster and deeper. He felt like he was galloping a marathon. He could see the broken glass portion of the jar almost finished.

He gasped for air before asking Ironheart if she was finished yet. "Almost done yet?"

"Just about.... done..." Ironheart muttered.

"Griffin! Everypony run!" A random pony yelped into the air.

"Griffins aren't that bad if it’s just one. How bad can he be?" Silvershot said.

That was an understatement. The Griffin that was coming down the stairs was a massive one. His body was at least four times the size of a normal griffin with talons as sharp as swords. His tail was covered in plate-armor that made it into a weapon. Tattooed on his right foreleg was "The Big One" which made Silvershot shiver in his boots.

"Ironheart! Hurry up!" Silvershot screamed.

"I'm trying! Don't lose focus!" She screamed back, hammering at the bolts that were attached to the collecting jar.

"Hurry up!"

"I am!"

The Griffin's large talons pounded at the ground like a drum. Each beat getting closer and closer to Silvershot, Ironheart, and the collecting jar. The last crack of the collecting jar was being repaired by the time the big Griffin got close enough to lunge at Silvershot. Silvershot tried his best to ignore the Griffin so the collecting jar wouldn't break.

"Griffin, you better back away or else," Silvershot starred down his opponent. He prepared his boots for an engagement.

"What is a little pony like you going to stop me?" His talons sparked little lights of energy when they stopped in front of Silvershot.

"This."

Silvershot jumped into the air and disappeared in a blink of magic. The Griffin remained still as Silvershot disappeared. When Silvershot reappeared behind the Griffin, the Griffin fell to the ground. His neck sputtered some blood where Silvershot made the precise incision with his throwing star. Silvershot got up from the ground and looked at his throwing star. It looked completely different than it did before.

The throwing star had segmented spikes on the edges and there were pulsating bursts of blue light from its center hole. It looked like it evolved on its own. It was futuristic looking.

It was lucky that Silvershot jumped at the Griffin at the time he did. Ironheart just finished her repairs on the collection jar just as Silvershot severed the connection of magic. She watched him take down the Griffin. Despite all of her travels with Finn and all the unicorns she has met, she had never seen a spell like that used as a fighting technique.

Ironheart rolled out from under the collection jar and met up with Silvershot.

"Through all my years of travel, I've never seen magic like that," she said to him. She really thought it was amazing. "Where did you learn it?"

Silvershot was silent. He honestly didn't know how he learned that spell nor did he know where his new throwing star came from. They just... existed without a reason. "I don't know. I don't remember where I learned it from."

"I thought your amnesia was gone."

"I know it's gone. So where did it come from?"

"Are you done seeing Armonia's memories?"

"I should be. I've seen all that he had to show me. That fighting technique; could it be from somepony else?"

"I don't know, but we have to regroup with the others."

Silvershot's ears flinched as he and Ironheart were heading upstairs. He heard something flying fast towards the ship and it wasn't another Griffin.

"Get down," a voice whispered in Silvershot's ear. There was nopony near him besides Ironheart and it definitely wasn't her voice.

Silvershot relayed the message back to Ironheart. "Get down. Now!"

Whoever warned Silvershot saved him and Ironheart. While Silvershot and Ironheart were fixing the collecting jar for the engine, Danja was preparing to destroy the ship and all its passengers in one blow. She fired a ballistic cannon bullet at the ship with enough force to level Ponyville.

The bullet crashed into ship, with everypony still on it.
> Chapter 12: The Crystal Prison
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Like waking up from a bad dream, Silvershot inhaled a deep breath before shooting his body upright from sleep. His chest hurt mildly, and so did his head. He flipped back his hair from his scarred eye and tried looking around. There was white stuff on the ground that was fluffy to touch. It was cold and shiny in the light. Silvershot inspected this stuff on the ground and found that it was snow.

Silvershot woke up and saw that he was in the Crystal Mountains in Equestria. From what he managed to ascertain, the ship made it to Equestria while it was being attacked by Danja, but there was a slight problem. Okay, maybe a really big problem. The entire ship crashed on a mountain side.

Silvershot’s eyes glowed with the fiery remains of Finn’s ship. The whole ship lay wrecked on a mountain peak. The pinnacle point of the peak injected itself into its hull. There were fires burning on the ship with its mast and sails completely incinerated by the flames. There was only one thing that worried Silvershot most of all; where were its passengers? The ship looked so destroyed, Silvershot would be surprised if anypony besides him had survived the crash.

Before he could get up from the snow to see if anypony was alive in Finn’s ship, he heard the moaning sounds of an injured pony nearby. He turned around to see Ironheart unconscious in a pile of snow. With what little strength he had left, he unburied his friend from the snow.

Ironheart was in pretty bad shape. There were multiple burns on her forelegs and sides. A large slash wound was cut across her face also. Despite all the injuries, she was going to live. Although she would have a scar that would run across her face for the rest of her life, she would be alright once she got some medical aid.

“Ironheart,” Silvershot said. He shook her a bit to see if she could hear him. “Can you hear me?”

“Yeah, I can hear you,” she replied back. She didn’t sound hurt at all, despite her moaning that from earlier. “Argh, my face, it hurts. Do I still look pretty?”

Silvershot didn't know how to exactly respond to her. "Um, you look alright. You have a slight cut on your face but you're alright."

"What happened to the ship?"

“Um, Danja fired a ballistic bullet at the ship and we crashed. We made it to Equestria though. I haven’t seen any-“

He interrupted himself. Over the cold gusting ice winds of the mountains and the darkness of the night, he saw somepony over the ridge. It looked like the Shaman. Silvershot knew that Ironheart would be alright if he just left her to rest in the snow for a little bit. She fell right to sleep when he left her alone.

It was the Shaman on the ridge and Silvershot was happy to see him.

“Shaman! You’re alive!” Silvershot yelped as he got closer to the Shaman.

“Hey, you’re alive too,” the Shaman called back. “That’s good.”

Silvershot stood next to the Shaman on the ridge. When he was able to get over, he managed to see what looked like an established refugee camp down below. Families of ponies and zebras huddled together for warmth with blankets. Some talented unicorns managed to start fires around some groups to help withstand the cold.

“How many survived?” Silvershot muttered.

“What did you say, Silvershot?” the Shaman asked.

“How many survived?!” An expression of anger was drawn upon his face.

“Roughly two hundred to three hundred. We lost a lot of ponies and zebras from the crash.”

“Dang it! I feel like it’s my fault that this happened to everypony. Why did I drag you all into this?”

The Shaman laid a hoof on Silvershot’s burdened shoulders. “You didn’t intend for this to happen. You tried your best to help and you did. Without you telling us about a possible cure for the plague, we’d all most likely have died of it in the City of Healing.”

“I’m still worried about our friends. Where are Finn, Cookie Dough, Rainbow Dash, and Applebloom?”

The Shaman was quiet for a bit before answering Silvershot’s question. “Finn died during the invasion of the ship. He tried to fight Danja alone. He thought…he thought he could do it by himself. At least, he managed to hurt her before dying. Cookie Dough is alright. She’s down with some of our ponies, giving away free cookies to help with their hunger. About Applebloom and Rainbow Dash…”

“What about them?”

“They’re alright. Calm down. They are just down there. Before Finn died, he rescued them from Danja.”

Silvershot looked at the direction where the Shaman pointed at. He was glad to see that he was right. He could see Applebloom and Rainbow Dash perfectly fine and safe. They sat near their own campfire, trying to ignore the cold snow as much as possible by having a conversation with each other.

“Mind bringing the Blac-, I mean Ironheart, over to the campsite? I need to talk to Applebloom and Rainbow Dash.”

“I will do it, my king.”

“You don’t have to call me king.” Silvershot trotted away through the snow to Applebloom and Rainbow Dash.

“Of course I do, because you are.”

After sloshing through some snow, Silvershot met up with his friends. The first one to notice Silvershot’s return was Applebloom. She was excited to see that he was alive. At the first sight of seeing him, she jumped into the air and grabbed onto his wings. He tried to shake her off as best as he could but he knew it was all for fun that she jumped him. They wrestled in the snow while Rainbow Dash stared at them in amusement.

“I’m glad you’re safe Silvershot,” Applebloom said happily. She grinned happily and continued to wrestle with him.

“I’m glad that both of you are safe,” Silvershot said back to back. He also looked at Rainbow Dash. He politely asked for Applebloom to get off of him before asking Rainbow Dash a question. “So, what were you talking about?”

“Sadly, about how much time is left before everyone dies,” Rainbow Dash replied solemnly. She slumped into the snow the moment she finished.

“No way, are we too late?”

“No. We still have thirty minutes. I was just telling Applebloom that we won’t be able to make it back to Ponyville before the virus kills us all.”

“We will make it back to Ponyville but with the virus cured. Do you realize where we are?”

“Ah nope.” She said it exactly like Big Macintosh in Sweet Apple Acres.

“This is the Crystal Mountains!”

“And?”

“This is where the most wanted criminals are detained after they are arrested. Do you know who is Equestria’s only detained criminal?”

“Your father?” She said in confusion. Applebloom was fortunately following along.

“That’s right! He has the final piece to the element of sacrifice. I am going over to the prison, get the information out of him, and then fly as fast as I can over to Canterlot where the rest of the pieces should be. Once the pieces come together, the element of sacrifice should be able to stop the virus.”

“Alright, that sounds like a good plan. I’m coming with you.”

“And me too!” Applebloom cried out over the wind.

Silvershot allowed them to come with him to the Crystal Prison. He didn’t want to leave them behind again. Applebloom squealed with joy and jumped onto Silvershot’s back. She was the only pony amongst the three who couldn’t fly so she had no other choice. Silvershot and Rainbow Dash took off into the air and flew as fast as they could to the Crystal Prison.

There was one thing pegasi were taught to avoid at all costs in flight school; they were to never fly in a storm. Especially if it was a snow storm. The three were brave to fly into a snow storm, especially in the mountains. They were running out of time. They only had thirty minutes to save Equestria.

The Crystal Prison wasn’t that far away from the crashed site of Finn’s ship. Through the storm though, it felt like Silvershot and Rainbow Dash were flying for miles. Zero visibility and the wind was blowing against them as they were flying. He managed to see the torchlight of the prison through the snow storm and they flew in that direction.

They touched down in the snow and carefully walked through it and to the prison. At the front entrance, there were two dead guard ponies; one on each side of the doorway. They had died from the Danja’s virus but their bodies did not explode, which was good for Applebloom since she didn’t have to see any more exploding bodies.

Once inside the prison, there was only one prison cell that the group found. It was meant for Equestria’s only known criminal that made his own mark in history. It was for Silvershot’s father, Silver Lancet.

Silver Lancet sat in his cell, all four hooves chained to the walls of his cell. A neck brace also held his neck to be chained to the wall. He was utterly immobilized where he was.

Silvershot, Applebloom, and Rainbow Dash, approached the frozen solid metal bars of Silver Lancet’s cell. Several times, during the visit, Applebloom attempted to lick the said frozen bars but she knew it was a dumb idea to do so. She was curious as to why tongues stuck to bars when they froze.

“Father,” Silvershot said. His voice echoed in the air and trailed off into the snow storm outside. He waited for a response from Silver Lancet.

He was still alive. “Ah, Silvershot, my son. How have you been?” Silver Lancet spoke. His voice was deep with ominous evil intent. “You know it’s quite boring in here without some guards to talk to. They’ve been dead for three days and I have had nothing to eat but stupid snow.”

“Look, father, we don’t have much time-“

“I am aware of the mysterious virus. Danja’s been up to some serious plotting against our family for generations. I should have done something while I was still King of Venturia!”

“Well you’re not king anymore! So help me while you’re still alive to speak! We have under a half an hour before the virus kills us all.”

“Yup, I know.” He didn’t sound like he was affected by the fact that he would die in thirty minutes. He actually sounded like he liked the idea of dying sooner than later.

“Look, several years ago, you forged the element of sacrifice. That was a fake. I am trying to forge the real one and fix this mistake that Armonia, our oldest ancestor, started nearly a thousand years ago. We are missing a piece and I know you have that piece. So where is it? I know you have it so don’t lie to me.”

“Yes, I have it. Like a good member of the Cavallo family, I’ve passed it on to you. In reality, you should have it.”

“That’s a lie! You never gave me anything.”

“Oh, how contraire. I did give you something. Do you not remember what it was?”

In fact, despite these mind-boggling words, Silvershot knew exactly what he was talking about. The one thing that Silver Lancet ever gave his son, was the family tradition of weaponry. Silvershot took out his throwing star using his magic and lifted it into the air. Silver Lancet smiled at the sight of his throwing star and laughed hysterically from behind his cell bars. Rainbow Dash and Applebloom gave him stern looks as soon as they heard the creepy laughter.

“What are you laughing about?” Rainbow Dash questioned Silver Lancet.

“It’s just, I am surprised Silvershot didn’t realize it sooner. Now you have under twenty minutes to forge the real element of sacrifice together at Canterlot which takes about twenty-five minutes to fly there. There’s no way you can make it.”

Applebloom sensed something wrong in the air. She looked at Silvershot and saw tears running down his eyes. He was crying but he was building up rage inside of his body. With a very loud scream, he propelled his throwing star at Silver Lancet. The throwing star slashed right through the metal bars like paper and headed towards Silver Lancet. Silver Lancet was prepared to die and he stared at the incoming projectile that was coming right at him.

The throwing star missed Silver Lancet’s head but it did hit his chains. All five of his chains that kept him chained to the wall were broken as the throwing star bounced back to Silvershot.

Holding onto Silvershot’s leg was Applebloom. She was trying to calm his fury by calling out to him. She cried for him to stop being angry. Once he heard her voice, he started to calm down. Her voice reminded a lot of Fortress to him, who he very much wished was here. He caught his throwing star upon its return and made it vanish into thin air with his magic.

“We’ll make it. Just watch.” Silvershot assured his father.

“I can reach Canterlot from here,” Rainbow Dash offered. “With a single sonic rainboom, I can make it there in ten seconds flat!”

Silvershot contemplated whether or not she would make it. He had heard a lot of rumors about the sonic rainboom that Rainbow Dash accomplished a little while back in Ponyville. He wasn’t there when she did it, but he believed all the rumors. If she could do it again, then she could definitely bring his throwing star back to Canterlot.

“Rainbow Dash, I want you to do it. I want you to fly to Canterlot, with my throwing star, and bring it to Princess Celestia. Try your best to put it together,” Silvershot commanded. He turned to look at Applebloom, who was still holding onto his leg. “I know what you can do. It’s finally time for you to shine.”

“What can I do Silvershot?” Applebloom asked, releasing her grip from his leg.

“You get the best part. You get to forge the element of sacrifice yourself.”


> Chapter 13: Fantasia Cavallo
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What in Celestia's name are ya talkin’ about? Ah don't know anything about makin’ magical jewellery," Appleblom yelped.

"You won't have to," Silvershot said to her while giving his throwing star to Rainbow Dash. "All you have to do is to put the pieces together and say the command spell to combine the parts. You have to say it in Venturian."

"What do I have to say?"

"Parti sono caotico, insieme e armonioso," Silver Lancet sneered from his cage.

Despite hating his father and not trusting him at all, Silvershot knew he was right. The words were correct. "In Equestrian Common, it means 'parts are chaotic, together is harmonious'."

"Okay, Ah think I got it," Applebloom smiled.

"Good. Now go. I'll be in Canterlot with everypony soon. I have something to deal with."

"What do you have to do?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Danja. She's still alive somewhere in Equestria. I have to stop her from doing any more harm. I think I might know where she might be."

It was just a hunch, but it was his best guess. "Where do you think she might be?"

"Danja had been aiming for my loved ones ever since we started this quest. She captured you and Applebloom earlier and killed Finn. She almost killed everypony on the ship with me on it, but there is one target she hasn't gotten to yet."

"Fortress!" Applebloom realized. "Fortress is in danger!"

"Yes. I know this seems selfish that I am going to Ponyville to save Fortress instead of Equestria, but I want to be holding my wife one last time if our plan fails. Please. You have to save Equestria for me." He was near teary eyed when he looked at Rainbow Dash and Applebloom.

"Don't worry Silvershot. You can count on us."

"Thank you." Silvershot made his way to the doorway of the Crystal Prison. "Venturia made one of Equestria's fastest mining transport systems of all time. There was a system that directly led from the Crystal Mountains to Venturia. I just need to get to the abandoned train in the mine and take it to Venturia. I can be in Ponyville in ten minutes."

"Be careful Silvershot," a voice warned. Silvershot wanted to freak out because he heard the voice before on Finn's ship but the voice didn't just randomly come to him. She spoke to him for reasons. "There's a reason why the mines were abandoned."

"I think I'll be fine." Silvershot said out loud to please the mysterious voice.

"Silvershot," Applebloom said to him before leaving. "Just in case this doesn't work, I just want to say that Fortress is lucky to have you."

"Thank you."

"You sacrifice everything you have. Even if you lose everything, you still want to give. It's almost like-"

Silvershot interrupted her. "You're the element of sacrifice? Yeah, I think so to. Too bad we have to destroy it."

"Good luck Silvershot. See you later," Rainbow Dash and Applebloom said in unison.

When Silvershot got out of the Crystal Prison, he met the whispering ghost that had been whispering in his head. Sitting on top of the Crystal Mountain snow was the ghost. She was completely different from Armonia. Unlike him, who appeared to Silvershot in memories or as a vague apparition, the ghost was a full bodied pony that Silvershot and anypony else could see.

She was a very colorful pony for a pony from the Cavallo family. Normally Cavallo family members had grey or dark colored manes and coats. She had a pink cotton candy colored mane that was long enough to touch the snow. She had a white coat that distinctly showed her cutie mark: a pair of twin crossed daggers. She sat on a foldable beach chair while drinking something that looked like a Bloody Mare.

"Who are you? Shouldn't you be at the refugee site?" Silvershot asked her as he got closer to her.

"I wish I was, but I am not even real," the drinking mare responded. She opened her eyes wide to show Silvershot her blood red eyes that were like her drink. "It's a pleasure to meet you in person, Silvershot. Whispering in your ear was a pain."

"You're the voice? But...what?"

"Look never mind. I'm your…" She took a couple seconds to think. "I'm your great grandmother times forty eight. I'm Fantasia: the Warrior of the North Sea. I'm here to help you."

"How come you look so real?" Silvershot didn't ask how or why Fantasma was even there.

"Yeah, about that. I really don't know. Armonia was summoned because of the contact you made with the fake element of sacrifice. I am the protector of the Cavallo family and I appear whenever somepony of the family is endangered. How it happens, I really don't know why. I used a lot of my bodily magic to make a temporary physical body to help you so we better hurry up before I go back to sleep."

"What are you going to help me with?" Silvershot asked.

"Do you even know where the tunnel entrance is to the mine?" Silvershot nodded his head in dismay. "Exactly. I would imagine it being forbidden to reveal after the Armonia incident and the last plague."

"Why is it forbidden and how do you know where it is?"

"Before I died, I visited the mines. Armonia was very protective of the precious metals so he filled it with nothing but traps. I will guide to the mine, even if it kills the both of us."

> Chapter 14: "Death is only the beginning"
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Just so we're clear before you read on, the chapter name is a quote from the movie "Mummy" which is arguably an epic movie. I don't take any credit for the quote or any references used in this story and I just wanted to say it right now before you read on. 



Silvershot Crimson searched for the fiend that threatened Equestria with death. Danja the Alchemist started a life-ending virus with no name nearly a thousand years ago because of a promise one of Silvershot's earliest ancestors broke. Because of that mistake, the entire nation of Equestria would be sent into ruins with the pony race going extinct. It was up to Silvershot with the help of Applebloom, the little sister of the element of honesty Applejack, and the element of loyalty Rainbow Dash to fix the problem.

The group divided amongst each other in order to conquer the virus. Applebloom and Rainbow Dash headed to Canterlot to combine parts of an ancient and powerful artifact known as the element of sacrifice. With the real element of sacrifice fixed, the virus would be stopped and everypony would be safe for the time being. Silvershot had to find Danja and ultimately stop her from catalyzing the virus spread. Even if the element of sacrifice was fixed, Danja could still kill everypony who’d been affected by the virus. At her command, after a certain amount of time, she could kill everypony in one coup de grace.

Silvershot wasn't alone when he was looking for Danja. Silvershot's ancestors were helping him the entire trek of the adventure. The one who started it all a thousand years ago, Armonia Fuoco Cavallo, had been showing Silvershot his memories in order for him to figure out how to stop the virus. Another mysterious ancestor, Fantasia Cavallo, showed Silvershot the mine in which he could get to Ponyville and find Danja.

Silvershot had so many questions to ask Fantasia. She had to know everything about the Cavallo family. She had secretly been helping every member of the family ever since her death. Maybe a lot of questions on Silvershot's mind could be answered before he faced Danja.

As he followed Fantasia through the blistering snow storm of the Crystal Mountains, he asked the questions that had been bouncing around his brain for so long.

"Fantasia," Silvershot called out to his ghostly ancestor. "May I ask you a few questions before this is over? I need them answered."

"We’ve got some time before we reach the mine," Fantasia answered. "What do you need answered?"

"Why does Danja want to destroy the pony race? All I know from Armonia's memories are that he took the element of sacrifice away from her."

"She hated our kind anyways. She thought ponies were an alien race; these creatures of multi-colored manes and coats and some being able to fly or perform magic. She thought zebras were the perfect race because zebras looked like each other and none other could be better than another. With the element of sacrifice, she could have brought the Zebra Kingdom to power and rule the world. When she knew she couldn't get history's most powerful weapon, she had to make her own using the virus Armonia let loose."

"How come Danja and Finn managed to stay alive after all these years? Finn is a Pegasus so I wouldn't imagine him having any magical powers and Danja is a zebra so it's the same for her."

"Danja was notorious for making long-life lasting potions that bit billionaires would buy. Finn never really met Danja in person but he had always been working for her as a third party member. Did it not occur to you that it was strange he had a specialized blacksmith on his ship that made weapons or how the Griffin's had guns went they were just recently invented by ponies? Finn has been transporting weapons to and from Equestria under Celestia's nose. This job that he does for Danja gives him resistance to age. That's why you knew him as colt back in Aviation School. He took a drink of the potion back then. That dreaded bastard. He betrayed Armonia and left him to die alone in the ruins."

Silvershot sensed a little anger in her voice. "How did that happen? Finn was best friends with Armonia."

"To Finn, jobs came first before personal life. He trapped him under the ruins and made sure he died in there, and all for yet another one of those stupid potions. I really wished I found Finn before I died. I would have killed him and thrown him down a hole, too."

Silvershot needed to change the subject, and rather quickly. If Fantasia was really going to go back to wherever she came from, he didn't want her to be angry about something that happened in her past life. "You know what, forget about that subject. If you're part of the Cavallo family, where're your wings and your horn?"

She smiled at him. Even though the winds made it hard to see a single hoof in front of him, he could see the grin on her face. "You know I was the one who invented the disguise spell for alicorns, right? The spell freely allows alicorns to choose which pony race they wanted to look like. Why do you think you looked like a normal earth pony last year? You forgot you cast the spell on yourself right after you ran away from Venturia."

And the thought just occurred to him right then. He did forget that had he cast the spell on himself while running to hide his wings and horn in the Everfree Forest. Before he could ask any more questions, Fantasia stopped in front of a cave entrance. Next to the entrance was a sign that conveniently said, "Venturian Mining Corporation; Line from Venturia to Crystal Empire" in Venturian.

Silvershot quickly read the sign and walked into the cave. He took several hoofsteps before he realized he was the only one walking. Fantasia was standing in front of the mouth of the cave. He gave a confused look and then walked towards her.

"Aren't you coming too?"

"I can't. I am only supposed to show you where the cave entrance is to the mine. Any minute now, I am bound to return to sleep. You have to go in there alone."

"I still need your help. I can't do this alone. I don't want to be alone."

"Don't worry Silvershot." In Silvershot's eyes, Fantasia's image started to flicker like an old vintage movie. She lifted her hoof to the air and pointed at her head. "I'll always be in here. Armonia is in there too, helping you with the traps that he himself set up."

Fantasia's body disappeared as soon as the flickering subsided. She left something behind before vanishing. There was a pair of backslash knives on the snow. It gleaned with the light of the sun. Silvershot approached the knives and looked carefully at them. The knives looked like they could be strapped around Silvershot's forelegs so he wouldn't have to hold them with his magic or hooves. The curvature of the blades indicated that it could be used so the legs would simulate an actual sword as the blades would be the edges. With a single stamp of his hooves like his boots, which by the way were destroyed on Finn's ship, the blades could point outwards instead of backwards allowing for more maneuvering tactics.

"These blades. They were yours, weren't they?" Silvershot muttered. He strapped the knives to his legs. "That move where I vanished into thin air and then appeared behind a target, it was yours too, huh? The Fantasia Strike. I like that name."

Silvershot tightened the straps on the knives one last time and then entered the mine with the weight of Equestria on his shoulders and the faint glow of his magic light.

The first minute of walking Silvershot did, he felt confident he could face anything. Another minute passed and that confidence weakened. A third minute passed and Silvershot was feeling anxiety with the feeling that the light spell he conjured up was weakening. The fourth minute came and he thought he was hearing more voices than just Fantasia's and Armonia's. The fifth minute came and Silvershot wanted to click the backslash knives to cut his own throat.

As Silvershot sat in the darkness with his knives against his throat, he was thinking of actually ending of his fear with a single cut. The voices kept screaming his name. They were voices of his mother and father, his friends like Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash, and a more scary thought was that he could hear Fortress’ voice.

The knives inched closer to his throat as the voices got louder. When the blade touched his throat but not cut through, one voice was distinctly louder than the others. She wasn't calling out his name but just yelling a word.

"No! No! No!" Said the familiar voice. It was the same voice that called out to him when he forgotten everything in his memories. The voice he heard was Applebloom's voice. "Don't give up!"

Silvershot threw his knives away from his throat. He realized what the first trap Armonia set in the mine. He placed a suicidal spell on the cave. It made sure that no pony could get any further than five minutes in walking distance without committing suicide. The only reason he survived the spell was because he realized it before committing suicide.

Silvershot countered the spell and watched as the darkness of the cave got whisked away. He could see the entire mine. The entire mine was carved from the inside of the Crystal Mountains so it was huge. There were mine cart tracks wrapping around stalagmites. Refinery machines were dead silent but Silvershot could see precious metals like gold, iron, and copper being processed within them.

There was the pitter-patter of hooves underneath the tracks and Silvershot knew he wasn't alone. Danja and her goons were marching everywhere in the mine. They tried to retrieve as much metal as possible from the mine before fleeing Equestria. According to her, a new world rule needed material to build upon.

Silvershot made sure he was ready for the fight of his life. He spread out his wings, got his blades ready, and prayed silently before jumping into the depths.

"Vorrei che per un po 'di buona fortuna," Silvershot prayed. "I wish for a bit of good luck."

Silvershot screamed to the top of his lungs to gather the attention of everypony in the mine. The scream echoed off the cavern walls with enough force that the stalactites on the ceiling nearly came off.

He dove off of his cliffside perch and landed in the middle of Danja's servants. There were Griffins and Zebras with guns, swords, and cannons. In the far back of the group was Danja. She had a rifle of her own that had a revolver's clip. She was smiling at Silvershot, thinking how it was impossible for him to stop her.

"Silvershot, you're finally here. A little late, but…," Danja said while laughing evilly. "Always a pleasure to have you join us for the end of your nation. Look at it like this, my friend. Ponies will explode into oblivion with the virus strand that I made from the element of sacrifice that Armonia so carelessly made. The zebras will rise from the ashes as the perfect race. With the mighty griffins at my side, we will be invincible!"

"Nopony will stand for this. There are other nations other than the ponies, griffins, and zebras," Silvershot yelled back. "They can stop you. I especially won't stand for this. Too many have died because of your crimes. Your crimes are punishable by death!"

Something unexpected happened. Silvershot's horn started glowing with magic. He wasn't casting a spell nor was he thinking of one. Something else was causing it. The image of Fantasia appeared behind Silvershot and she flickered just like before. She had her blades in the same fashion Silvershot did and she stood just like him too. Like Armonia did with Silvershot, she was mirroring him. Their voices spoke at the same time as if they were one pony.

"By the blood of my father, Armonia Fuoco Cavallo," Both Silvershot and Fantasia said. "I will end you!"

"I don't have time for this rubbish. Men!" Danja commanded. Take care of this foolish pony. I’ve got business to attend to in Ponyville."

There was ten minutes left before Danja could fully control the virus and kill everypony in Equestria. Ten minutes to fight off an entire army and chase down the culprit who started it all. Ten minutes before Silvershot could lose everything he ever loved. He wasn't going to back down. At least, if he was going to die, he would die fighting.

Fantasia disappeared once the fighting started. There were a million and one things Silvershot had to think about during the fight. He had to keep track of the gun zebras around him so he wouldn't take a bullet to the head. He had to keep track of the griffins who wielded swords and cannons so he wouldn't get chopped up or blown up. Every slice, cut, and dodging jump allowed Silvershot to get a little closer to Danja. A minute passed and a pile of either seriously injured enemies or dead ones piled around him.

"Requiescat in pace," Silvershot said to the dead before leaving. "May you rest in peace."

He wiped the blood off his blades and followed Danja down a mine shaft. He was forced to stop his chase at the end of a track. There was no more ground to walk on. Elevated train tracks above ground were the only way to continue traveling in the mine. Danja already took advantage of her lead and rode a mine cart to escape.

There was no way he could catch up to Danja. Teleportation magic wasn't his forte, so he couldn't just teleport to Danja's cart, nor could he fly because he wasn't the best flyer. The only way was the carting way. Silvershot pushed one of the mining carts down the tracks and jumped on. The force of gravity would push the cart down. It wasn't enough speed though. By the time Silvershot even got half way down the track, Danja would be at the end.

He needed more speed. He got this idea of an increased amount of speed from Scootaloo; the faster he flapped his wings, the faster he would go on wheels. The mine cart had wheels, he had wings; it was the perfect plan. He spread his wings apart and flapped them as hard as he could. The mine cart gained speed and any second he would catch up to Danja.

"I have to thank Scootaloo for this idea, even though she wasn't here to tell me about it," Silvershot said with a giddy tone. "And I still have to teach her how to fly with Rainbow Dash!"

Behind her, Danja could clearly hear Silvershot's audible voice and the screeching sounds of his mine cart. Immediately she turned around and aimed the iron sights of her gun at Silvershot. She fired all six of her shots in rapid succession. Silvershot ducked inside his cart to avoid all the shots.

While Danja reloaded her revolver, Silvershot recovered the lost speed with his wings. Danja kept stalling for time by firing more and more rounds, but each time was futile. Her pieces on the chess board were running out and only her king and queen were left, herself being the queen and her virus the king. Without her, the king was defenseless.

"What do you ponies call it?" Danja asked silently. The surrounding noises were louder than her so Silvershot didn't even hear anything she said. "In that one game? 'Checkmate'."

Silvershot got close enough that he could leap out of his cart and into Danja's. He was ready to kill her, and she was ready to die. She was so close achieving her dream but she knew Silvershot could stop her. She couldn't outrun justice. She wanted the ponies to die because they were selfish and greedy with power. They stole the element of sacrifice from her. With it, she could have brought the Zebra Kingdom to glory. Everypony knew it was wrong. A dream like Danja's wasn't worth millions of lives. No matter the reasoning.

Silvershot leaped out of his cart and lunged at Danja with his backslash blades pointed outward. He aimed the blades directly at her heart. The blades pierced Danja's chest and even pierced the side of the cart she had her back on. Danja gasped in pain, but she was still alive. He missed her heart by an inch.

Silvershot was so angry at Danja for what she has done; he wasn't going to give her a merciful death.

"That was for Finn! I know he was bad but he had a good heart! He was helpful to Armonia and he sacrificed his life to save my friends!" Silvershot screamed at her. He pulled out his blades from her chest and stabbed again. His anger kept making him miss her heart. "That was for Armonia!" Another stab. "For Celestia!" Stab. "For Equestria!" And another stab. "For Fortress!" And one last stab, but he didn't pull out his blade. "Any last words?"

"Death..." Danja muttered. "is only the beginning."

Silvershot twisted his blades in Danja and listened to the dying breath of his foe. He pulled the blades out of the body and detached them from his forelegs. They were stained with Danja's blood and all of her followers. There was a strange blood red aura emitting from the blades.

"Do you feel it Silvershot?" Fantasia's vice echoed in his head. "The thrill of killing? That's what I felt when I was alive. I craved the adrenaline rush. I know you liked that feeling. It's a good feeling. The sight of blood made me feel alive!"

"I will never be a murderer like you!" Silvershot said. "I hate killing. And that drink you were drinking earlier... it was blood, wasn't it?"

"I had another name you know. It was Equestria's Bloodwell." She was silent for a second. "You should watch out."

Silvershot completely forgot that he was still on a moving mine cart that was nearing the end of the tracks. A mine cart stopper was at the end and it halted the cart. It launched Silvershot out of the cart and onto a ventilation fan. The fan net stopped him from getting chopped up by the enormous fan. The second mine cart was stopped by the first and it was sent flying like Silvershot, and right at him too.

He crossed his hooves in front of him in order to protect all vital organs from the crashing mine cart. The mine cart missed Silvershot, but it hit something. It hit a lever.

He gave a bizarre look of confusion as he wondered what the lever did. The fan below him started to spin faster and faster. His wings picked up on the speed and it opened up without his control. He started to float from the increased air speed and was flying up in a ventilation shaft. His head crashed through a layer of dirt on the top of the shaft and landed on Venturia.

"Venturia?" Silvershot asked as he looked around. "I'm almost there."

He took flight towards Ponyville. On his way there, a stray newspaper hit his face. He took the newspaper and read it. It was the day's paper. He read the front page as he flew. There was a picture of Applebloom, Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy with the two Princesses in the middle of all of them.

"A glorious day in Equestrian history! The elements of harmony have done it again; they have saved Equestria from complete peril," Silvershot read from the article. "After finding the last piece of the lost element of sacrifice, the wielder of the element of magic Twilight Sparkle was able to create a spell to stop the mysterious virus. Young Applebloom, responsible for retrieving the last piece of the element, had this to say during an interview at the castle, ‘I have to thank my friend Silvershot. He is the real hero. I just had to bring his hard work together’. Silvershot, wherever you are, everypony in Equestria has to thank you. You had helped in the preparation of the cure as anypony. Too bad we couldn’t get you in the front page. Where are you?”

“I’m heading to Ponyville,” Silvershot said to himself before reading on. “Princess Celestia has made arrangements for the destruction of the element of sacrifice as it was deemed to be the most dangerous weapon ever created. Princess Luna will be in charge in Canterlot as Princess Celestia will leave for a week long journey to properly destroy it. That’s all the information for now. Please wait for tomorrow’s paper for more information.”

By the time he’d finished reading the paper, he had arrived back in Ponyville. He could see a celebration from the sky. Ponies were celebrating in the town streets because they knew they were going to survive the virus. Musicians played violins, cellos, drums, and trumpets. Whole symphonies were written for the tremendous event. Performers like residential Wonderbolts and Pegasi acrobats were performing routine tricks for everypony to enjoy. It was an amazing event, but Silvershot couldn’t enjoy it. He had to find Fortress, and soon. He didn’t know if she’d made it through or not.

He touched down right in front of the hospital. It was calm around the hospital. Nopony was celebrating near the facility, probably out of respect for the sick. Silvershot opened the doors and asked to be permitted to Fortress’ room. He followed the attendant’s direction to it.

After turning some corners and hallways, he found Fortress’ room. Outside the doorway of the room was Pinkie Pie, who was carefully watching Fortress. She looked sad even though the virus had been destroyed and the Cake family should have been cured.

“Pinkie Pie? You’re here?” Silvershot called out. She turned her head towards Silvershot. “Where’s everypony?”

“They are inside the room,” Pinkie Pie replied as she walked towards him. She looked really sad with her curly hair straight again. “You missed it…”

“I missed what? Pinkie, what happened?”

“You missed cake.” She held out a slice of cake to Silvershot which already had a bite taken out of it. Pinkie Pie had a little frosting of that cake around her muzzle.

“Oh, you silly filly.” Silvershot gave her a slight noggie and watched her hair curl up again in joy. “How’s Fortress?”

“Oh, and you missed that. She gave birth while you were gone.”

“She did what? Merda Pinkie!”

He stepped around Pinkie Pie and went inside the room. Inside, all of his friends were around Fortress’ bed: Twilight, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Digger. At the foot of the bed were Applebloom and Spike, who were both were asleep.

And on the bed itself was Fortress, in all of her beauty. Her mane was tied back in a bun and she wore a medical gown underneath the bed covers. Cradled in her forelegs were two beautiful foal twins. The girl looked a lot like Silvershot with a very long grey mane that already covered one eye and a coat like ash. The boy was a lot like Fortress having a vibrant green coat with an even brighter green mane. Both of them were alicorns.

Silvershot was happy to be home.
> SNEAK PEEK CHAPTER: The Fortune Teller
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I always had these dreams. These dreams I couldn't explain in just words alone. Was it normal to have them? I didn't know. I was just a filly back then. My brother didn't know why I had these dreams either. We concluded it might have been my special talent. I didn't get a cutie mark for it when the first dream came. Nor did the second or the third. These dreams didn't get strange until my brother and I had our third birthday together.

That night, everypony was there; our dad, our mom, Uncle Digger, our neighbors, and even our grandmother. She was always too busy with international affairs but she still managed to steal one night for us. 

Everything was there for a perfect birthday as well. Two birthday cakes sat on the table. One cake was the color of grey but was flavored like chocolate and another was lime green and it tasted like apples. My brother always did like Apple cakes. The house was decorated to match the theme of the cakes.

The dream started while I was awake. It was like those stories my dad used to tell me about. He used to have these dreams while he was awake too. I had my first when I was three. He had his when he was a young stallion. He said he used to relive events of his past and also see the ghosts of our ancestors. Those were past events he saw. I saw future events.

I could hear the winds of a snow storm around me. I was still in my house but I could hear violent winds. I wouldn't see the real world for long. My vision was clouded with darkness for a split second before my eyes saw what my ears could hear. I was in a dark snow storm and it was the worst snow storm I have ever seen. The snow storm was so strong that I couldn't see anything else. I could touch the puffiness of the snow underneath my hooves. It was soft even if it was blistering cold around me. 

I didn't know what to do at first. I waited a minute, hoping for the weird event, dream, thing to end. Nothing happened during that minute. I was blasted with nothing but cold snow. I started to move through the storm when nothing happened. I used my foreleg to cover my face from the soft but harsh snow.

I saw light as I continued to venture deeper into the dream. It looked like a fire rather than sunlight. I got closer to it to get a better sight. I saw a building; a tall cylinder building with windows carved out of its crystal walls. It was shiny because of the torch light shining off of the entrance. 

I gasped when I saw two dead ponies on the entrance floor. Their bodies were frozen solid when I found them. Each were fallen dead on the ground on opposite sides of the door. They guarded the building until they froze to death in the storm. I wondered what they were guarding so much that it was worth their lives. I entered the building and came upon a prison cell. They were were guarding a prisoner.

The prisoner, or ex-prisoner, stood in his cell without chains holding him back. A hooded pony behind him freed him from his chains. The prisoner massaged his hooves as it looked like he hasn't moved in weeks.

"Ah," the prisoner sighed in relief. "That felt good to get those chains off."

"Yes my lord," the hooded pony said back in a low and monotone voice. "It's a good feeling to be free."

"Yes it is, my follower. Have the plans been carried out?" 

"Indeed my lord. We were set back because of some minor complications."

"What are they?"

"Instead of just six months of research, we need two years in order to keep it in secret. I know you wanted six months but we need time."

"Fine. So be it. Once we get the heart and have my magic returned to me, we can ascend to the thrown. And this time, nopony can stop me."

Then the old stallion looked at me. I was scared. I didn't know what to do. I went into a fetal position and hoped for the dream to end. It did. 

When I woke up, I was still in the motion of blowing out my candle of my birthday cake. The air from my lungs passed through my mouth without my control and the candle went out. The candle was the only light in the room and it went dark as soon as it went out. 

"Happy Birthday Milan!" Everypony in the room screamed at me when it got dark.

I was still scarred from that dream. Did I accidentally right an extra "r"? I meant scared but that is also another verb I could use. Until the lights got back on, I had a scared look on my face because I was terrified. I was sweating in fear and my pupils were dilated.

My dad's magic glowed in the dark. His faint silver glow only showed his face and my face. He mirrored my face exactly. He got scared because I did. He was wondering about what I saw, what I heard, what I touched. He wanted to know what was wrong.

"Milan, what happened?" My dad asked me. "What did you see?"

"I saw something," I muttered in fear. My voice quivered in pitch nuances. "I can't explain it. Something bad is going to happen."