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Harbinger-of-script 7/8/13 . chapter 13

and may the fourth and fifth walls be intact once pinkie is done!

The fourth wall will never be safe from Pinkie Pie... Hereby be warned...

anonwriter9001 7/8/13 . chapter 13

I'm kinda bummed at how easily RD and AJ defeated Malnox, I think they would've died if they did that, also the pinky things are... ehhhh... In My oppoinion... STUPID!. Otherwise this stor yis one of the best, Keep it up! :)

Read on my friend, there is a reason for that happening... and in my opinion, this story could use a little more Pinkie. Thank you for your praise and i hope you enjoy this chapter!

Master of All Trades

…They Were in Vain

A pair of teal-green eyes flew open in the dark and a shadow sat abruptly in the dark with a rustle of fabric, "That felt too real," a regal mare's voice said in the dark. More rustling fabric as something was thrown aside and a rhythmic clopping sounded immediately after, "something is wrong—something is really wrong," a door opened to reveal Princess Luna's worried expression and heaving chest from the sunlight pouring in through an exterior window, "I must warn them! I must talk to Tia!" Luna stormed off, something incredibly dark and dangerous weighing heavily on her mind.

The plan went absolutely perfect! Oh, how his luck went so beautifully well that even a few farfetched parts of his plan came together flawlessly!

A dark and booming laughter reverberated through a huge cavern with a single stalactite hanging from overhead.

The current Moonlight Bearer has learned his abilities to a point the others before him had yet to get to being so recently awakened, but him—oh, how he advanced so well in such short time!

There need be only one more engagement with him and the Moonlight Fire will finally be snuffed out. And contact was made with three of the Elements of harmony—well, one was very indirect contact but it would still function just as effectively. Now, one more battle just needs to happen with the pony named Moonfire and the dark will win… Again.

Panting and mentally exhausted, Moonfire flopped onto his back with his hooves stretched out in all directions. A moment later, his view of his DreamSky was obscured by a pretty face, "You're doin' pretty awesome, Moony!"

Another face obstructed Moonfire's view that set his Chocolate Hunting instincts off, "I agree with Bes; your coordination and timing are extremely well developed for the little time that we've had."

Moonfire eyed the two above him wearily before inhaling deeply, holding it for a second, then exhaling slowly, "Buck you two."

Slowly-and with some difficulty, Moonfire got back to his hooves and just sat down, "Seriously: Buck you guys."

Bes wrapped a hoof around his shoulders and tucked him tight against herself, "Aw, don't be like that! You can use the speed really well! You just can't maintain it very well yet. Aeromancy is easy to pick up but it can be pretty hard to keep it up for much longer than what your mind can tolerate.

Terr's Geomancy is a little tougher, but you can easily get it to work on massive levels with enough passion," Bes tapped Moonfire's chest for emphasis.

"But it does take a lot of focus to make it as finely controlled as manipulating a grain of sand," Terr added.

"But shouldn't I be able to control fire!? The pattern is obvious here! Terr is the Omniequine of Earth so he controls dirt—"

"It's more than just dirt you simpleton," Terr grumbled, cutting off Moonfire.

"—whatever, and Bes is the Omniequine of Wind so she can control wind. I guessed that the third Omniequine is probably the Omniequine of Water and can control water," Moonfire ranted.

"And your guess on that was correct. It just looks like your abilities don't fit the normal pattern," Bes said with a sympathetic smile and a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

Moonfire just groaned and rolled onto his side, flailing his legs around like a young colt throwing a tantrum… albeit a very quiet tantrum.

"Maybe it has something to do with your Heart's Powers," Terr offered.

Moonfire froze and looked over, "Heart's Powers?"

"Yeah! Each Omniequine has special powers unique only to them," Bes said.

"I know this already, but don't those powers only apply to Cutie Marks and Birth Signs?" Moonfire said, sitting back up.

Bes cocked her head to one side and gave him a confused stare, "Your Caminho da Vida." Terr clarified.

"Ah," Bes nodded once and allowed Moonfire to continue.

"So far, all the abilities I know of only work on controlling or borrowing Cutie Marks. I even tested it on a couple Birthsigns and I could still control it. So I don't see how they would be any help with my Elemental powers," Moonfire finished.

Bes and Terr sat and thought for a minute before Terr spoke up, "Your right; my powers were the same. As were Bes', but we each had one Elemental Ability that came with the title of Omniequine! Surely your powers are the same?"

Moonfire shook his head and asked, "What were your powers like?"

"Oh, oh! Lemme first," Bes bounced and pleaded. Terr just nodded at her, "I could swap Caminho da Vidas—Cutie Marks as you call them, with anypony around and make them stronger or weaker then the original skill bearer. Imagine getting into a tough fight with a professional fighter and you can just switch his Cutie Mark with a Basket Weaver's Mark? Oh boy, were those fights easy; they couldn't do anything anymore!

Also, I can take on a Cutie Mark and use it at ten times the level of skill as the original! Again, that helps when you're in a fight or you need to be able to maneuver through a crowd, or you need to cheat on a math test or something.

But my last and favorite ability was the ability to Scramble a mark into something random! It would go back later, but it was still awesome to play a game of chance and see what new Mark you'll get and use it," Bes said, slightly panting after talking so much.

"That doesn't really sound comparable to what I do," Moonfire mused silently to himself, "What about you Terr?"

"Well, I can clone myself with three Marks and instantly make myself a four-pony team. That's about it. But all of us can see Future Marks and temporarily borrow another one for as long as they are awake or non-fatigued," Terr explained.

"Well, you're boring compared to Bes," Moonfire smugly replied.

Terr shot him a death glare while Moonfire kept up his own shit-eating grin, "In Terr's defense, his geomancy is much more powerful and effective than aeromancy. Remember, even though you're moving much faster than normal, you get by even a regular strength punch, you'll crumple like tissue paper. Using Geomancy, you're not risking yourself to make a harder impact," Bes offered.

The roles switched on Moonfire's and Terr's face which caused Bes to giggle.

Moonfire opened his mouth to say some kind of attacking profanity when he felt a shudder resonate through his Dreamscape.

"Somepony just bumped into you; you're waking up soon," Terr said.

"Well I guess this is it for tonight. You can tell us what your special abilities are when you figure out what they are," Bes smiled.

Moonfire returned the smile and waved goodbye when he noticed the Dreamscape becoming darker and darker as his mind slipped from his dreaming mind to consciousness.

With craggy eyes and a deep intake of breath through his nostrils, Moonfire fully pushed himself awake and forced focus into his vision to find big and beautiful blue orbs staring into his own grey eyes.

"Hiya Moony! Feeling any better?" Pinkie smiled cheerily.

"Ugh… Pinkie? What time is it?" Moonfire sat up slowly, with Pinkie Pie helping him to avoid straining his injured shoulder.

"About an hour past sunrise. I don't have a clock so I'm not really sure. Applejack is making breakfast though and Rainbow went to find a rain cloud to fill up our water supply."

"And the others?"

"Hmmm, Twilight is still doing all the homework that the Princess gave her. But since she's not really at home we can't really call it homework, huh? It should be called 'trailwork' or 'roadwork'. Anywho, Fluttershy and Rarity are still asleep but I'm gonna wake them up soon so we can eat and keep on moving."

Moonfire shook the covers off himself and shivered as Pinkie left their magic tent and a draft invaded the inside before the flap fell back into place. He really wasn't looking forward to stepping back out into the heat right now…wait, heat? Why was it cold just now?

Slowly, Moonfire stepped onto the ground and moved to the tent entrance, poking his head out and gasping; they were moving?! Someone relocated the tent and put it on the wagon! Panning his field of vision around he noticed that the wagon was much bigger than he last remembered and Spike was towing it along?! But the thing that registered the most on his vision was the patches of snow all over the ground; they were nearing their destination.

"Mornin' Moonfire! Hope y'all are hungry because I just cooked us all up a doozy!" Applejack waved to Moonfire from another end of the wagon with a spatula in hoof.

"Uhhh, AJ? What the hay happened to the wagon? How'd I get on it without noticing it? And how the buck is Spike pulling it!?"

"Twilight," Applejack answered simply with a smirk.

Moonfire nodded once; that was all he needed to know. He turned back into the tent to check on Fluttershy and Rarity when he realized that Pinkie left the tent to do just that. Sure enough, after a cursory glance around the empty tent, he noticed the lack of the supposedly sleeping mares in the only sleeping space that he was aware of.

Turning back around, Moonfire stuck his head back outside and glanced to his immediate left to notice another tent, just big enough to hold one standing pony, pushed up against a similar one that his head was poking out of. Moonfire just sighed and shook his head, "Bucking Twilight and her massively overpowered magical talents."

Only an hour later, Spike put the wagon down-Moonfire learned that Twilight had cast a Featherweight spell on it so it was about as heavy as an apple along with anything that was on top of it, and everypony sat for breakfast. During the meal, Moonfire was looking over Twilight's handy work with numerous nods of approval. The wagon was now about five meters across and eight meters long; they literally had a home on wheels that was light enough to be towed by one baby dragon.

"How come we didn't just start out this way?" Moonfire questioned.

"Because, in order to transfigure anything to this magnitude, I need to use a lot of magic. While you were out those two days, Princess Celestia—"

"I was out for two days?" Moonfire gasped in surprise, cutting off Twilight's explanation, "Well, it was actually just all of yesterday and the rest of the day you were hurt."

"Oh, okay." Moonfire said.

"Going back to what I was saying, Princess Celestia would write instructions to boost Spike's fire to send parcels and said that I should learn to tap my alicorn magic.

Because alicorn magic is much stronger that unicorn magic, we would be able to finally receive parcels through Scroll Burning!" Twilight said excitedly.

"But that doesn't explain this," Moonfire gestured to the wagon.

"Well, I just kinda reverse engineered how my alicorn magic boosts Spike's flame, re-worked it and voila! I can now apply my alicorn magic to most of my spells! Even the princesses didn't learn how to do that until later," Twilight finished with a proud smile.

Moonfire brought his hoof to his chin and rubbed it thoughtfully, half-wincing as his injured shoulder detested being bent that particular way. Before he could contemplate how else they could use Twilight's newfound powers, she spoke up once more, "Unfortunately, I didn't know that transfiguring anything this much actually disrupts magic flow and we could have all blown up from the magical backwash," Twilight finished with bright red cheeks and a nervous smile.

"Yeah, I can see why we don't wanna risk that anymore," Moonfire agreed with his eyes opened wide in shock. Everypony else looked visibly unnerved as well at hearing the risk.

"But it's a good thing we didn't meet such an unfortunate fate as we are very close to our destination! Oh, I can't wait to meet this mysterious stallion," Rarity said with a hopeful tone.

"How do you know it's a stallion," Rainbow asked from above, hovering over the group like usual.

"Well, Pinkie Pie did say that we already had two mares with a Birthsign and only one stallion. So, wouldn't it make sense if it was a stallion?" Fluttershy responded.

"Ah can see that, but there's always that chance it could be a mare, right?" Applejack offered.

"It'd be nice, sure, but I think it doesn't really matter in the end if he or she could help me beat Malnox," Moonfire said through a mouthful of toast covered in oatmeal.

"Ugh, please refrain from speaking with your mouth full, darling; it's unbecoming of you," Rarity said. Moonfire swallowed and smiled sheepishly in apology.

After breakfast, the group continued moving through the badlands, now turned tundra. The cold was bothering Moonfire's wound which caused the group to stop often, or forced him to ride the wagon so the group could continue on. Fluttershy or Rarity would tend to the bandages or reapply healing ointments to urge him to heal faster in case Malnox showed up again. After numerous hours of trudging against the biting cold winds and walking over the cold hardened sand, they all saw a great castle of ice in the distance.

"Y'all think our mystery pony is in there," Applejack asked.

"Maybe, let's hurry everypony; Moonfire's shoulder could use a break from all the movement," Twilight answered.

In silence, they headed on, closing the distance to the castle before the wagon lurched to a stop, "Incoming message Twilight!" Spike called out before belching out a small scroll, causing his grip to slip on the wagon for a moment and causing Moonfire to grunt in discomfort from the stress to his wound.

Twilight caught the scroll and unfurled it, quickly scanning the contents before scanning the horizon around her with a worried gaze, "What's wrong Twilight?" Rainbow asked.

"We're in trouble. Luna thinks that Malnox may attack soon. We have to hurry to that castle now," Twilight yelled.

The group broke out into a run, Applejack taking Spike's place and putting him on the wagon with Moonfire to pick up the pace.

Moonfire was doing his best to keep the motion from causing him too much pain, but it was a very tough battle. He grit his teeth and closed his eyes, trying to focus on anything else other than the pain when he suddenly felt weightless. His eyes flew open to find that he was flying through the air along with Spike and numerous pieces of wood and articles of gear that were stashed on the wagon.

No, nonononono not right now, was the only thought on Moonfire's mind before the sounds of his friends screaming in terror finally registered on his senses. He slammed into the ground and tumbled, each time his shoulder would strike the ground, his mind would go blank with overwhelming pain.

Time and sound finally caught up to him. The wagon was destroyed and all his friends were strewn about in the wreckage. What just happened? Please tell me they're all okay! Please tell me that Malnox is not back!

It's him, Moonfire, Terr screamed from within.

"Everypony! On your hooves, Now!" Moonfire shouted, struggling to stand. The others groggily stood up, "Let's go! Malnox is here! We have to—" Moonfire felt something impact him from his good side, sending him to the ground in a painful tumble.

"Silence, Moonlight Fire! It is finally time that I snuffed you out once and for all," the shadow form of Malnox smiled darkly.

With no warning, Applejack rushed Malnox and bucked, grunting in pain as she found out that he was suddenly much tougher than before, "I'm afraid it won't be that easy this time, terran," Malnox chuckled, watching Applejack crumble to the ground with a sprained ankle.

Rainbow called out in panic and tried her Dash Attack, only to crumple against his other side and fall to the ground unconscious, "and then there were four," Malnox kicked Rainbow's body viciously, jolting her back to consciousness with pain.

Twilight launched a bolt of lightning that sparked against Malnox's body with only minimal effect, "Learning stronger magic are we? Let me show you what the end of that spectrum is like," he fired a condensed magical burst into Twilight's chest, launching her backward into Moonfire's magical grasp, "Stop it! Don't try to fight him!" Moonfire called out.

Rarity and Pinkie stepped back from their aggressive stances while Fluttershy gathered up Rainbow, Applejack, and Spike to treat their new injuries, "Wise, Moonfire; halting the damage to your friends so that only you suffer. I prefer not 'beating around the bush' as you modern ponies say, and prefer getting straight to my objective."

Moonfire clumsily stood on his hooves and prepared to fight when Malnox began to walk over with a menacing gait. He got closer and closer to Moonfire until they were only centimeters apart. There he stood, waiting for Moonfire to react.

Moonfire didn't dare move—he couldn't, not with his injury, "Does it hurt?"

Moonfire blinked at the strange question coming from Malnox. Everypony else was watching warily, concerned about the strange, seemingly harmless question.

"What," Moonfire asked, thoroughly confused.

"The wound in your shoulder; does it hurt?"

Moonfire took a slow step back, "What does it matter to you?"

Malnox grunted in annoyance before reaching down with his horn and lightly tapping Moonfire's injured shoulder with it. Moonfire flinched away from the contact and charged up a powerful magical spell when he realized his shoulder was now free of pain.

"It was not my intention to harm you, Moonlight Fire. Although it is my goal to take over this world, I cannot do it without your help," Moonfire just stared at him like he was crazy.

Malnox sat down casually, as if he was meeting up with an old friend, "What the buck is WRONG WITH YOU!?" Moonfire shouted.

Malnox lifted the corner of his mouth in an evil grin. He stood up and spread his wings and shook himself vigorously, finally dispelling the cloud of shadows that clung to his body.

Moonfire's eyes widened in terror, and gasps of fear came from his friends. There stood another Moonfire, but this one with eyes of black and glowing yellow iris'. His horn longer, his wings lackluster, and his mane glowing an evil red, "Hello Malnox," The new Moonfire said.

"W-what did you call me," Moonfire asked.

"Light cannot exist without dark. And good cannot exist without evil. We are the same body, Malnox—"

"Don't call me that," Moonfire growled.

"You can call me Moonfire if that would make you feel better," Malnox chuckled nastily.

"No," Moonfire growled again, his voice resonating with a new, dark tone.

"Oh, is someone getting angry? Come, Malnox; embrace who you are," Malnox stood and took an aggressive stance.

"Do. Not. Call. Me. That," Moonfire growled again, his whole body beginning to change.

"Call you what? By name? You are Malnox—" Moonfire lashed out and landed a powerful punch to Malnox's snout, throwing him onto his back.

Moonfire stomped over Malnox's prone form and glared down at him with eyes showing the eclipse as his demeanor changed to something much darker.

"No Moonfire! You're not that kind of pony! Don't let him bait ya like that," Applejack called out.

Moonfire hesitated, hearing her voice resonate through his mind, "She's lying to you. The Element of Deceit is trying to keep you from defeating me and saving the world."

Moonfire's angry glare returned and he swung out with his hoof again. Malnox flinched his eyes shut, but he never felt the blow.

Cautiously, he opened his to see Moonfire's hoof hovering over him, "You're a good pony, Moonfire. Ah would never lie to ya. Yer ma family, and I never ever lie to my family," Applejack continued.

Moonfire back away, feeling an overwhelming hatred in his heart, but it wasn't the hate that was acted upon, it was a hate that was a general reaction to something wrong happening that he did not have control over.

"Moonfire?" Fluttershy asked. He glanced over to her and realized that they were all staring at him wide eyed, but more specifically, at his chest.

Looking down, Moonfire saw a fire burning over his heart. He couldn't explain what he was seeing but for some reason, he thought of Applejack.

Este es el fuego que se controla. Está tu elemento del fuego! Puede controlar el Fuego del Corazón! Recuerda tu corazón

A smile crept over Moonfire's face for a moment before he felt something icy run through him. He turned to see Malnox staring at him smugly, stepping away from a magical spear of ice that was now pierced through Moonfire's back and protruding through his chest, "Embrace who you are, Malnox!"

Something within Moonfire snapped; he launched himself at Malnox and threw a volley of fast and precise punches and kicks at Malnox. He retaliated with his own, fending off most of the attack and even landed some of his own.

I want to make him bleed, Moonfire thought, stepping low and feinting an uppercut before head butting. Malnox took the head butt and struck back with an overhead swing that bashed Moonfire's head down.

I want to hear his bones break, Moonfire conjured a knife and tried to thrust it into Malnox who expertly avoided the strikes.

I want to see his flesh tear, Moonfire's attacks with both his hooves and conjured weapon began to grow faster and faster with Malnox reacting better and better, a smile forming on his lips.

"STOP IT, MOONFIRE," the girls shouted. Their pleas fell on deaf ears as he continued his brutal assault that no longer promised victory.

I want to taste his blood, the attacks were no longer making any contact with their targets and Malnox began to giggle uncontrollably.

"I want to KILL YOU," Moonfire suddenly threw his arms wide and bared his teeth, intent on ripping out Malnox's throat. Just before he made contact, Moonfire froze and collapsed to the ground when he felt the pain in his chest finally register.

"That last fight was to synchronize our spirits. We are now finally in tune with one another," Malnox laid down and mimicked Moonfire's position, "and now. Now, the light and dark will once again come together."

Moonfire shuddered as he suddenly felt the corners of his mind slip away, "The only reason you've held me off before was because you were unsure of your abilities. I reflected those same doubts and therefore vanished when we defeated each other. When you were put down, did you not realize that I went out soon after? We were always a part of each other."

Moonfire's mind grew cloudier and cloudier with every word that Malnox said, "When I killed your terran friend, you already planned to split your life force to save her. Naturally, we both couldn't exist at the same time so I went out first until your spell brought her back. My life is within her now."

Moonfire curled up as tight as he could—Malnox mirroring the movement—and clutched his head tightly as if trying to hold onto his fading mind, "When I brought you down with that injury to the shoulder, I accidentally weakened myself so much so that I couldn't stand up against your friends. I damaged us to the point of being almost fully crippled. That is why I healed you: it was us that I actually healed, and your friends could not damage me beforehoof because you weren't entirely aware of your own capabilities yet with that injury, so I remained in an immovable state."

From within his mind, Moonfire felt three essences trying to hold the last bits of his mind together, "And now; you and I shall become whole and take over this world… again."

With that one word, Moonfire felt the last vestiges of his mind tumble away and his world became dark, blurry and incomprehensible. Blinking madly, Moonfire tried to find where Malnox lay, but found only himself and his seven friends hovering over him worriedly.

It looked like they were trying to talk to him, but he couldn't understand anything that was happening. He felt his body suddenly move and his friends all jerk away in surprise when a seventh pony came into his field of vision wearing a white cloak.

The world began to rush past him as it looked like the new pony rushed him inside what looked like a house made of blue and white mirrors. But with his vision highly obscured, he couldn't make out exactly where he was.

"Please… him," he finally heard. It sounded like either Rarity or Twilight, but his muffled hearing missed most of what was actually said.

The strange pony looked him over, trying to see just how they could help. He couldn't see their features under the white hood they wore, but he hoped there was something they could do.

"I do not know what I can do. I don't even know why your all hear," the stranger said. It was a mare with a voice like chilled water running over a glacier: delicate, clear, and refreshing. For some reason, her voice rang clearly through his senses, but his friends responses were still muffles with him barely to interpret what was going on.

There was a bright yellow flash near him, and the pink familiar blur suddenly turned to a bright glowing yellow, made a gesture with her hoof, and suddenly vanished into thin air.

What scared Moonfire, was that it took him a moment to remember the pink blur's name. Pinkie Pie…

His memory seemed to be failing him; he began to forget his best friend's names. The mares who he considered his family, were suddenly nameless.

Where am I? What's happening? Why am I here? Moonfire began to panic and flail about, throwing himself onto his hooves and backpedaled away from the strange ponies that surrounded him.

"Stay away from me! Who are you?" Moonfire shouted. Anger, pain, and hatred dominant in his tone of voice.

"It's okay, Omniequine. I am called Snowdrop, your friends brought you here for help. Your friend Pinkie Pie is going to get the Princesses," Snowdrop reassured.

Moonfire looked over this strange new mare. What he thought was a white cloak was actually her mane and tail, two-tones liquid-blue and white that trailed down her back and flanks in beautiful curls. Her coat reminding him of a clear iceberg with the tiniest hints of a blue hue. But the most surprising feature was her eyes, a murky and sightless blue that held no focus, "They will be here soon."

"Princesses? What are you talking about? Friends? I have no friends, only enemies who want to torture me and break me into nothing," Moonfire growled back.

The purple unicorn stepped forward with tears in her eyes, "Of course you have friends, Moonfire! We're your friends! Don't you remember us?"

"Moonfire? You? my friends?" the unicorn nodded.

Moonfire erupted into laughter that rang with a mocking tone. After he stopped, he looked over the seven ponies in front of him and the small dragon. He opened his mouth to speak before his eyes fell upon the blind mare again.

He felt a flash of pain in his head when he looked at her Cutie mark, a highly decorative snowflake sitting atop a frozen flower stem, No, not a Cutie Mark. A Birthsign… Like the Celestial Body, the Lunar Body, and the Delta Infinium.

Moonfire shook the strange voice within his head out, a moment of clarity coming to him, "I remember…"

The unicorn took another step forward again, "Moonfire? Do you remember us?"

"She loved me…. Who loved me?... I love her? I don't know… can't remember… do I want to remember?" Moonfire mumbled absentmindedly to himself.

"Your mind is being split right now. Until you can control whatever is clouding you, you will not remember what you should," Snowdrop said. Her voice was soothing, and he felt something within react to hearing it… it was painful, but he needed to find it.

"I am… Somepony that didn't belong for a long time," Moonfire hung his head, tears stinging his eyes.

"But you belong with us now, Moonfire! You're family," the rainbow-maned Pegasus pleaded.

Moonfire looked up at her, "Family? No, they didn't care about me… it was dark… the shackles… they hurt really bad."

"Please, darling! You're free from that now! You're here with your new family," The white unicorn cried.

"I don't have family… they're not my family… betrayed me," Moonfire's tone grew angrier, but still sounded lost, like he was trying to bring his mind back.

"You were shy, but you opened up to us. You were lost, but we showed you another way," the yellow Pegasus whispered pleadingly.

"Shy because I was scared… you were guiding me to the cell. Lost… because you blinded me from the light," Moonfire growled.

"We're tellin' ya the truth, Moonfire," the orange pony said in a wavering voice.

"Lies… Lies!... LIES!" Moonfire shouted, clutching his hooves against his head, trying to drown out the voices of the mares.

"Remember the one who said they loved you," Snowdrop commanded.

Moonfire froze and closed his eyes, suddenly finding a moment's peace within his chaotic mind, I should not love you; I will outlive you by millennia, and I will be forced to watch you wither away and die, but I can't help myself; my heart wants you.

He remembered that and it rang through his lost mind, "I can hear her say it," Moonfire whispered nostalgically, smiling softly, "but I cannot remember who said it," Moonfire's smile vanished and was replaced with a pained frown.

"Do you remember Luna?" the purple unicorn asked.

Moonfire slowly looked to her, but his gaze was unfocused, I remember that name. I'm certain I do! Why can't I remember her face!? Why can't I remember who she is!?

Moonfire's frustration returned, "Why!? WHY!? WHY CAN'T I REMEMBER!?"

"The dark one is fighting his way into your mind. You need to fight too, Moonfire! You need to push him back out!" Snowdrop reached out rested her hoof on his shoulder. Despite her icy appearance, her hoof was warm, and the fetlocks were soft and loving.

He pushed her hoof away and began screaming, remembering another touch like that one that haunted his memory. Try as he might, he could not place it. No matter how hard he tried, the vision and name of who that touch belonged too continued to elude him.

Quaeso memineris, qui es! A male voice called within Moonfire's mind.

"I don't understand you," Moonfire whispered.

Por favor lembre quem você é! A female voice called out.

"I don't understand you," Moonfire whispered louder.

Por favor, recuerde quién eres! Another female voice called.

"SHUT UP!" Moonfire screamed. He beat his head over and over, forcefully trying to beat sense back into himself before his hoof was restrained by something.

"Enough," A strong feminine voice commanded.

Moonfire looked up and into crystal pink eyes, "Moonfire, your mind separated itself to prevent Malnox from taking over entirely. The Moonlight Fire Blessing within you is trying to save you as best as it can," a great alicorn with flowing hair said to him with a benevolent smile.

Looking into her eyes, he felt one thing return to him, "Celestia?"

The Princess smiled wider and nodded, "You remember me at least."

"Please, what about me, Moonfire?" Another female voice said from some distance behind her. Looking over Celestia's shoulder, Moonfire saw another alicorn that was a deep navy blue and contrasted sharply with Celestia's pure white coat.

"Luna," Moonfire answered without hesitation, "I remember your face now… but I don't know who either of you are." Moonfire yanked his hoof free from Celestia's magical grasp.

"Of course you know who I am. You helped me learn what I wanted the most in this world and you gave it to me," Luna tried to get closer to Moonfire, but he kept his distance, never letting her get any closer than a meter.

"No, no that's not true," Moonfire's eyes suddenly seemed to have clarity in them. He moved further away, suddenly feeling vengeful toward Somepony. Nopony in particular, but he still felt like Somepony owed him their pain for causing him pain.

"Please, Princess Luna and Princess Celestia! Please, bring Moonfire back to us," the purple unicorn pleaded.

"Princess?" Moonfire interjected, "No, there is no 'Princess' in this world. There is only one power that truly holds a real mantle," Moonfire's wings began to grow and invert in color; the arms growing gold and his feathers turning pure black, "Moonlight Fire? A weak entity that has no place in this world either. It only seeks to keep ponies from immediate pain so the later pain can get worse," Moonfire's horn split down the middle and moved to the temples of his head, growing much sharper and longer than before, "there is only me, the High King of Equestria, here to reclaim his throne after fifty-thousand years," His mane doubled in length and began to burn around his body wildly. It turned deep red rather than the soothing orange it used to be, and whipped violently about.

"No… No, Moonfire! That's not you! You're talking like Malnox! Come back to us! Remember who we are! Twilight, Rainbow, Fluttershy, Pinkie, Rarity, Spike, Applejack! Remember who your family is, Moonfire," The yellow Pegasus yelled out with terror in her eyes. Her outburst surprised everypony, but the sentiments were unanimous, including with the Princesses.

Moonfire let out a low, deep, rumbling, and mocking chuckle, "You keep calling me that. Keep telling me that you're my family," Moonfire looked back up to reveal that his eyes were now eclipsed, glowing with a sinister red hue, his lips peeled back in an evil grin, large fangs present, "but what if I don't want this family," Moonfire spat the word as if it were an apple that was spoiled, "and want my kingdom back instead. What if, maybe, I just don't want to remember you?"

Everypony fell onto their haunches, their hearts deeply wounded by Moonfire's words. Luna seemed the most hurt out of all; tears freely flowing down her cheeks and muzzle, "Please don't say that… I already told you what my heart wanted… I want… I," Luna clenched her eyes shut, biting back the worst of her sobs, "Please, Moonfire."

"Do not call me that; that is not my name," Moonfire growled menacingly, "If you wish to address me, use my title and real name. You must address me as King!" A dark shadow grew over the ice castle and a chill swept through everypony's bones.

Moonfire reared up on his hind legs and bellowed in a magically amplified voice that shook the castle, "I am High King Malnox!"

Author's Note:

Dun dun DUN! What the buck is gonna happen next guys!? How will Moonfire regain himself!? Too bad you won't find out soon... Next week is a teaser for Jack of None; the side saga that follows Moonfire's whacky Ponyville adventures! In two weeks time i will try to release the next chapter for MOAT, but no promises. I had to overcome massive Writer's Block for this, so some parts may seem a little jumpy. As for the Pic Poll results, expect these three winners and a bonus winner to be on my DeviantART page next month or the month after!

Moonlight and Luna Share their First Kiss

Luna's Savior! Moonfire Awakens!

...Wingboner?!

The bonus pic will be a surprise when they come out... Until next time!

This Document was not intentionally uploaded; this was due to TheGlitchInTheMatrix.