Disclaimer: I don't own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I do however own all of the OC's in the story unless stated otherwise. I also don't own Rubik's cubes. Or Xbox. Also, I can't, for the life of me, remember if day court was an actual thing in the show or if it was just fan implemented. If it was by the fans, credit goes to whoever did it first. If not, sorry I'm wasting your time.

AN: Hello everypony, and welcome back to From Sadness comes Sadness! Thanks to the recent review from a guest. I'm glad you enjoy the story and I hope you stick with it until the end. Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 11: Decisions

-Canterlot Station, Issac POV-

I was rather surprised by the number of ponies that agreed to go with me on my journey. Rarity's choice didn't surprise me in the slightest though. As friendly and tolerant as she is, she not only has a sister to look after, but also a business to run. It wouldn't feel right to take that all away for the sake of making our party of six a party of seven.

Twilight convinced Spike to watch over the library in her absence. Applejack had her brother and sister to look after the farm. Pinkie didn't even own Sugarcube Corner, she just worked there. Fluttershy's animals could look after themselves for a few days. Rainbow Dash had a whole load of pegasi working for the weather team, so one missing member wouldn't be the end of the world. But Rarity... she had a business to run and a family to care for.

I shook myself out of my thoughts and stepped off the train and onto the Canterlot platform. The other five followed me closely as we wove our wave through numerous ponies and out of the train station.

"I'm so tired." Rainbow Dash walked on in a slumped position.

"It's your fault for not going to bed early enough." Twilight belittled a tired Rainbow Dash on proper sleeping habits. "You should get eight hours of sleep every night."

"Yeah yeah. Say Issac, where are we going again?"

"First to the castle. We need to speak with the princesses before we leave. Then to the Eternal Realm, where we must make our way to the Palace of the Eternals, locate Lanluta and The Ring, obtain The Ring, and kill Silence using The Ring."

"Uh huh. So after we get this ring thing, we just walk out like nothing happened and nothing will stop us?"

"Something like that." Rainbow Dash fell silent and just walked with the rest of us.

"Wait a minute. The princesses never told me about a meeting." Twilight stopped in the street and stared at me in confusion. "If we are supposed to meet them, they would have told me about it."

"They don't know about it either. Come on, we are going to be late." After hearing the word late, Twilight started moving again, not wanting to be tardy for anything, least of all an audience with the princesses.

I don't think I will ever get used to the elegance of the castle doors. There is just something about them that says 'look at me, I'm beautiful'.

The guards outside of the castle doors stood raptly at attention. Upon approaching them, they stopped us.

"Day Court is in session. If you have business with the princesses, you must wait until afterwards."

"I don't think that will be necessary. I'm the princesses cousin." I pulled out the pendant I received in the box from Luna back on Earth and showed it to the guards.

"Very well sir. You may proceed." The guards pushed the doors open and stepped aside. I walked in, followed by the girls, and met a very surprised Princess Celestia.

"Issac! I was not expecting you to stop by. I thought you would have begun your journey by now."

"Not yet Celestia, I had to ask a favor of Princess Luna. Plus I thought the girls would want to say goodbye." A round of gasps echoed throughout the room as the nobles turned and muttered to one another.

"You dare speak to the princess like that! Such impudence! Princess, I must ask that this thing is thrown in prison immediately!"

Celestia looked at the noble with a frown. "I couldn't do that-"

"I'll handle this Celestia." I calmly walked over to the noble in question. "I'm afraid we haven't met. My name is Issac. I'm Celestia's and Luna's cousin." Another round if gasps echoed throughout the throne room.

"Such lies! Princess, I ask-"

"That you behave yourself when speaking to my cousin." The nobles turned and stared at Celestia. The serious look on her face told all there was to tell.

"M-my apologies P-princess."

"It's quite alright, but mind others better in the future. Day Court will take a five minute recess." The aforementioned pony bowed his head and turned to leave with the rest of the nobles. When they all left, the princess turned to me.

"I think Luna should be here too. I'm sure she will want to say goodbye as well."

"Very well. I'll return with her shortly." Celestia disappeared in a flash and less than a minute later returned with Luna.

"Now that we are both here, I presume goodbyes are in order."

"Not yet Princess. I want you and Luna to do something for me first."

"What do you need?"

"Celestia, I want you to write down all you know about humans and categorize it. Nothing super detailed, but a vague history lesson or sorts. I owe a writer pony named Ink Blot an interview that I won't be able to give."

"This will take some time."

"There is no rush. If you would send her a letter explaining my absence and then send her the papers when you are finished, that will he enough."

"Alright. I believe I can do that."

"Thank you." I pull six bottles from my bag. "Now Luna, I would ask that you enchant these bottles with the ability to produce moon water." Luna gasped when I mentioned the fabled water.

"How do you know about that?"

"Dad. He explained a few things about the Eternal Realm to me before leaving for Earth. Moon water and the water from the Lake of Valor are the only things that can be consumed in the Eternal Realm. Without it, we will die in a matter of hours."

"I... I can do that. Though it will take a few minutes to complete the spell."

"No problem. After you have finished, we will leave." Luna nodded and took the bottles from my hand. She set them on the floor and started the spell.

We waited a few minutes in silence while Luna finished weaving her spell. When the glow on her horn finally died down, she was visibly more exhausted, but handed the bottles back. Judging by their weight, they were now full.

"It is-"

"AHHHH!" The sudden scream of a pony diverted our attention to the doors. A white unicorn came running, at full speed, right for us. She had a purple mane and three gems... for a... cutie mark...

"Rarity?" She crashed into me at full speed, luckily with her head tilted to the side a bit. I wasn't really fond of finding out what being stabbed by a unicorn horn felt like.

"Rarity, what are you doing here?" She looked up at me and I knew something was wrong. Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot from crying. Tear stains matted the fur underneath her eyes. Her mane was wild and frizzy, much like her tail.

"It's..."

"What happened?"

"Somepony burnt my boutique to the ground!"

"Rarity... it will be alright. You can always rebuild-"

"I don't care about the boutique! Sweetie Bell... she was inside when it burnt down! She died!"

After Rarity's terrible news, the task I asked of Celestia, and everypony saying goodbye... Needless to say, Day Court was cancelled. Fluttershy and Applejack were crying like newborns after hearing that Rarity's sister was dead. The others tried their best to stay strong, but ultimately failed. Even Rainbow Dash, the tough pony, was silently shedding tears. Though, due to the loss of a friend, it's not surprising.

"Rarity, I know that there is nothing I can say that will make this feel any better, but it will be okay, trust me."

"It won't! You don't understand what it's like to lose somepony close to you!"

I sighed and took off my backpack. Setting it on the ground, I carefully rolled up my pant leg until my calf was visible. "Trust me when I say I do. This is everyone who has been close to me that has died." Rarity cautiously moved to see my leg. I turned to the princesses. "Could I ask one more favor? You know how I got these right? Could you put the two on that I'm missing?" Celestia nodded and lowered her horn to my leg. I felt a burning sensation and then it faded. I looked down to see the name of my friend Alex. Right below his name was Sweetie Bell.

"This is..."

"If she was important to you Rarity, then she is important to me. The least I can do is honor her name."

Rarity started to tear up even more and she grasped me around my middle in a firm embrace. I returned the gesture.

"Thank you Issac. I... I have a favor to ask of you... if you would let me... could I accompany you as well?" I smiled down at the unicorn. Who was I to deny her one thing? She just lost her home, her business, and her family. I think I can bend my own rules regarding the matter.

"Of course you can. Luna, could you do one more bottle?" She nodded and I gave her another bottle from my pack. She enchanted it and placed it in my bag. I passed out the bottles to the present ponies, excluding the princesses, and they strapped them onto, or put them in, their saddlebags, provided to them by myself.

"Remember that this water is the only thing that will keep you alive in the Eternal Realm. If you feel thirsty or hungry at all, drink some of the water. You can sustain yourself on it alone. If you want to say goodbye to the princesses, now is the time to do so."

The ponies surrounded the princesses. Many hugs and tears were shared between them. Soon after, they all stepped away and I approached the princesses.

"Thank you Celestia and Luna for helping me with everything. I owe you a lot."

Celestia shook her head. "Don't be silly Issac. You owe us nothing. Of anything, we owe you."

"My sister is right Issac, we owe you a great many thanks for what you are doing. We won't forget this." Luna braced me with one leg and I returned it with enthusiasm.

"Don't worry about it. I'm ready for this. I know what I have to do." Luna released me from her embrace and Celestia took her place.

"We will miss you Issac. Though we may not have known each other for very long, know that we love you very much and we won't forget you."

"Hold on princess." Rainbow Dash interjected, floating up to meet me at eye level. "You say that like you will never see him again. He might die, but that doesn't mean he will." Celestia bows her head in shame. I sigh audibly.

"There is something I haven't told you girls yet..."

They sat in silence. No words were spoken, no nervously coughing, nor any throat clearing. Just silence. As I looked at the ponies sitting before me, they were almost absolutely still. I told them my plan and what was going to happen, in a worst case scenario. I wasn't exactly wanting them to find out like this, but it couldn't be helped when Rainbow Dash said what she did.

"Girls, it has to be considered. I could very well die at any point in this journey. We can be as optimistic as we want to, but we have to consider everything. Twilight, you're a logical thinker. You can't tell me that I'm wrong about this."

Twilight mumbled quietly to herself. "Anyways, there is no point in moping about here. Dad can only hold the portal open for so long before it closes. It will take a few days to reopen and by then it will be too late to save Equestria. If you still want to go, come with me now. If you choose to stay, the princesses will erase your memories."

I hitched my bag farther up my shoulder and turned to leave the room. As I reached the hallway, I could here the faint and sluggish clop of hooves on the floor. I know it may seem cruel, making them choose between a life threatening journey and losing your friends, but it must be done. For Equestria's sake.

At the end if the hallway stood a large opening. Unlike the opening to a room, where the change was defined and absolute, this opening seemed to blend with the castle. Almost as if black were fading to white. The change is minute and in incredibly small increments, I could almost swear that this was just an extension of the hallway, however, due to what was on the other side, I knew better than to think such things.

Stepping over into the Eternal Realm wasn't much different either. At first I felt nothing, just like changing rooms in a house. After a while though, I could start to feel a pressure building inside of myself, deep in my soul. There was a tension in the air that could be felt just by breathing. It was enough to give me shivers.

Once the shivering stopped, I turned around to see if the ponies followed me, and sure enough, all six of them stood still, waiting for me to tell them what to do. I could understand and respect that, they knew absolutely nothing about the place and its workings.

"This is the Eternal Realm." I turn back around and see a lake full of gold water shimmering in the distance. "Can you are the lake out in the distance?" I pointed in the direction of the lake.

The girls nodded in affirmation. "Good. We have one day to reach and traverse the lake. If what my dad said is right, them we have three more junctions before the palace. Re must be a the palace on the last day, or we won't have enough time to use The Ring." The girls nodded once more.

I'm assuming that it's the environment that disturbed them the most.

The ground was cracked and gravely, heavily scorched with flames. Trenches scarred the ground every so often. Some of them had a black liquid in them, others were empty. The worst part was the bodies. Random bodies were scattered throughout the entire area, as far as I could see. Ponies, griffins, dragons, and even some humans. All of the bodies were burnt and torn from vicious claw marks. Several had puncture wounds the size of a fist.

"Don't worry." I tell the girls, trying to ease their minds the best I can. The worry on their faces was blatantly obvious. "Everything will turn out alright. Now, we should get a move on towards the lake. The more ground we cover the better." Once again, I only receive a nod in response.

Endless walking. My journey of great danger is just a lot of walking... I have to admit, I'm kind of disappointed. I was expecting clashes and brawls of epic proportions every step of the way, especially when I pose a threat against Silence. No such luck.

We took a small break a little ways after the halfway point of our walk.

"My aching hooves!" Rarity cried out and slumped onto the ground. Rainbow Dash gave up on flying the whole way and resorted to walking with the rest of us. The others seemed physically wore out, but they didn't voice their complaints.

"Drink your moon water, it should help a little bit. It has healing property that should dull the pain a bit." Rarity nodded at unscrewed the bottle cap. She took a drink and immediately pulled back in surprise.

"My word! It tastes marvelous!" She quickly took another drink.

"It is supposed to taste different to each person, or pony in your case. Whatever you find most pleasant." I leaned back and rested my head on my bag. Five days. We have five days.

I turned my head to look in the direction of the lake. It seemed to be an impossibility. We couldn't even see the palace yet. I heaved a sigh and picked myself off the ground.

"We better get moving. We can't be late."

-Earth, Hannah POV-

"I think we should go to my place. If what Isaac's dad said was true, we should try and find out how to help him using that charm. More people means more brainpower." Sarah nodded in agreement along with Josh. "But first, maybe you should call your parents." Josh chuckled and nodded again, pulling out his phone and walking away from me and Sarah. I turned to Sarah who was fumbling with her own phone.

"Hey... are you okay? You seem pretty shaken up by all of this."

Sarah let out a shaky breath. "I'll be fine."

"You know it isn't your fault. Issac is a good person. He would have left regardless of what any of us would have said or done. Someone needed his help, so he went to go help them."

"I know."

"Remember when he helped us? We were only fourteen years old..."

-Flashback, 3 Years Ago-

It was dark. So very dark. Sarah and I were running as fast as we could, but they were faster.

They pushed us into a nearby alley. The leader pulled a knife out and pointed it at us.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Please don't hurt us! We won't tell anyone, please just let us go!"

The man with the knife just laughed at us. "Now why would we do that?" Sarah started screaming loudly. The man grabbed her around the throat and pushed her against a wall. "Now now missy, we wouldn't want to let anyone know about this, now would we?"

"Leave them alone." The man turned around and his face met Isaac's fist. The others punched and kicked viciously at Issac, but Issac ignored the pain and kept standing against them. Eventually the guys had ran away or were unconscious on the ground.

Issac turned to look at us. The look on his face was one of pure indifference. Like he didn't care either way what happened to us. Then it broke. It morphed into something familiar and welcome. Relief.

"I'm glad you two are alright. What are you doing out here at this time of night anyways?"

"...B-bleeding..." Sarah pointed to Issac. His shirt was torn and a cut ran along his stomach. Isaac looked down and just shrugged.

"I'll be fine. First we need to get you home."

-Eternal Realm, Issac POV-

Finally we had reached the lake. The golden water shimmered in the dim light provided by the sun. The girls looked at the lake in both awe and wonder.

I smiled at their naivety. From what dad told me, anything and everything in this place can kill us. Even the air can mysteriously solidify, suffocating anyone unlucky enough to be around it at the time.

I kneeled on the edge of the golden lake and ran my hand over the surface of its water. The ripples ran along the surface in its entirety.

Even if I won't ever see it again, or that I barely know of it and its existence, I feel that the lake and I share a bond. I feel it reacting to my emotions and it, in return, gives off a feeling of hope.

"Hello friend." I whisper to the water. The ripples slowly fade into nothingness and the surface becomes still once again. I stand up and dust off my pants. I turn to the girls, still admiring the lake, and gesture towards its golden waters.

"Welcome. Welcome to the Lake of Valor."