I AM NOT SURE IF I EVEN CAME CLOSE WITH THE CHARACTERS. NEXT TIME, IF ANYONE IS WILLING TO HELP ME OUT A BIT.

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The Calm Before the Fire Storm

Chapter 8

The present day in Equestria. It was after the attack on the Canterlot wedding by the changeling army. After a good night's rest after the end of the party. They headed on the first train back home. But they felt they needed a private celebration for helping the new married royal couple have a happy marriage. After taking the train home. They went to a tavern in Ponyville to celebrate with each other. They took a booth to sit in as they ordered a round of cider and some simple appetizers. They talked about the fight of the changelings and then how they were able to meet the real Princess Cadence. They were relieved to know that wasn't anything like the fake one. They made sure the Cutie Mark Crusaders got back to their homes safely before heading to the tavern. Applejack had her family take her home with them so she could join her friends. For now, they just relaxed and glad the worst was over.

"Ah yeah, it sure feels good to be back home." Rainbow Dash said slouching back against the seat with her hind legs up on the table.

Rarity scoffed in disgust at her manners and used her magic to push them off. "Well I, for one, would have wished to stay for a bit longer in Canterlot castle. The thought for being among such high noble ponies of the upper class of Canterlot was almost a dream come true." Rarity said brushed her mane out with a hoof.

"Well we did have ta get the fillies back home. Thank goodness fer that." Applejack said relieved from the thought of being around, in her opinion, snot nosed, stuck up ponies. She had no love for living in a high life society.

"I'm just glad we were able to help save the wedding from those mean changelings." Fluttershy said shuttering from the memory of them.

"but we sure showed them a thing or two with a boom! Bam! Right in the kisser!" she said flying above the table punching and kicking. Some of them ducked to avoid being kicked.

"I am just glad that I now have Cadence as a sister-in-law." Twilight said happily. "I hope I will be able to spend time with her once and a while." Twilight hoped it would be soon after Cadence and Shining Armor came back from their honeymoon.

"I just hope we don't have nightmares of those changelings. They were really scary." Fluttershy said worried about sleeping.

"Ha! I hope I do dream of them so I can kick all their flanks again." Rainbow Dash said in a cocky tone.

"That's right Dash, you laugh those fears away. Laughing always makes things better. Like I always say, laugh your fears away." Pinkie Pie giggled.

"Laugh your fears away, huh? I wish it could only be that simple." A strange cloaked stallion said in the corner of the room hearing their conversation. He slowly took a sip of his own beverage. It was more of a hard, alcoholic beverage instead of a sweet tasting drink.

The others looked over towards him. They had never seen this stallion before. He must have been passing through town. It didn't sound like a happy visit. His tone was saddened and depressed as he hardly moved and didn't even bother to turn and look in their direction when speaking to them.

"Who is this weirdo?" Rainbow Dash whispered to the others. Applejack swatted the back of her head making Rainbow Dash's muzzle get stuck in her own tankard.

"Rainbow, can't ya see somethin' is troublin' the old feller?" Applejack scolded.

"The Name is Big Boss." The old stallion said

Twilight, being the pony of friendship, excused herself from the table to speak to the old stallion. The cloak covered his features to tell what he looked like as she walked closer to his table. She could only tell he had a grey coat of fur and had a white mustache as she saw his muzzle that stood out from his hood. "Is something wrong, sir?" She asked concerned.

"Oh, pay no mind to me. I'm just an old fool with nothing but an old boring tale to tell. Might as well be a tall tale since every other pony calls it that." He said taking another sip. On closer inspection of the table, there were three empty tankards on the table as it was evident that he was trying to drown his sorrows of some kind.

Rainbow Dash would have made a snarky remark if it wasn't for the tankard still stuck on her muzzle. She was still trying to pull it off. Fluttershy felt the most concern for the stallion. "Aw, you poor thing. Maybe you need a friend more than this." She said trying to reach for his beverage. *SLAM* "Eek!" She squeaked leaping back behind the others from the violent act.

He had slammed his hoof down on the table to cut her off from taking the only thing that was a value to him. "I don't need friends. I don't want any pony only to lose again." He said bitterly.

"Oh dear, there is no need to be rude when we're trying to help." Rarity said shocked at his behavior.

Twilight had a more subtle approach. She sat across the table from him. "Whatever it was that made you lose your friends, I'm sure there is a way to get them back from whatever fight you had." Twilight said assuming his meaning.

"No kid, I did not break up with my friends. I lost them… at sea." He said feeling the sorrow build up again. This caused him to take a bigger drink from his tankard. The others paused in realization about his troubles. He was mourning the death of his friends. "It has been years since that day, and I couldn't bear to return to my old life or make another friend."

"Would you mind telling us? I think you just need some pony to listen to you." Twilight said. The others pulled a chair around his table.

The stallion scoffed. "Why? You'll all end up like every other pony. Say that my mind is going senile. Say that I just got them killed by going into a storm or crashing into a rock in the fog. I know what I saw. It was no storm or rock. I don't even know what it was, but it was no natural disaster that ended my life back then." He said pulling his hood off. His mane was combed back, and he had an eye patch over his left eye. He also had a beard that ran from his sideburns to his jaw line and on his chin. His face had scars long healed from something he had faced long ago. He pulled out a cigar from under his cloak. He then searched his other pockets. "Any of you have a match?" he asked after failing to find one on himself.

"I promise none of us will think that of you." She said before shooting a warning glare at Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash was finally able to take off the tankard from her muzzle. "Fine, I won't say anything."

"You look like you have no lie to tell from what you had seen. We can't help bring back your friends, but maybe this will bring you closure." Twilight said hoping this was what he needed.

The stallion sighed. "Maybe I'll tell you. But first, I need a damn match." He said with the cigar in his mouth.

Twilight nodded and then used her magic to lite the end of his cigar. The stallion took a deep breath to breath in the smoke before taking in most of it and letting what remained exit him mouth and nostrils when he breathed out. This relaxed him to start his story.

"It was many years ago back in my younger days. I was known as an adventurer with my crew as we traveled all around the land in search for fame and glory. Treasures, monsters, even bounties of villains. We wanted it all. There was no place we wouldn't venture to." He said beginning his story as he remembered back to those days as a young stallion.

*Flashback Narration*

We were wild and free. A crew of twelve. We fought monsters that threatened pony settlements. Hydras and Ursas we would fight or drive off and get a handsome reward for our efforts. We captured Equestria's most wanted around the land busting up crime rings. We would find old treasures to make a hefty sum of bits on. I had a wavy long mane and a clean cut around my face. Smooth and handsome. The mares couldn't resist the very presence of my harm. I had a great second-in-command. We got through the thickest of situations together. I knew every member of my crew even to this day. Their personal lives and dreams. The world was our riches for the taking. That was until of a rumor we heard.

We were in a tavern on the edge of Equestria in the west. A seedy tavern where most of the juicy stories were told about where to find adventure. We listened into a group of pirates.

"Yar, tis be a fool's errand to sail that far." A pirate captain said.

A ship member spoke up in opposition. "But there are riches of untold origins! Think of the booty we can claim from that thar unknown territory."

The captain swung his sword into the table. "Ye heard of the stories have ye not?! All and any that venture into that fog are never to be heard from again. None have ventured in to come out at all. Not be a plank of wood from a ship that come out of that fog."

As the pirates became discouraged from the thought of sailing out to those seas, my crew and I had our spirits lifted to take the challenge of that adventure for treasure. We would wander around the tavern for more information of this fog. I wish we had listened well to these stories. With tales of armadas and even airships entering the fog and none ever coming out. Even if they flew over the fog, they had never returned. Young and overconfident as we were, we let our delusion for victory guide our hearts. We had always come out on top of every adventure together. We just had to let it get to our heads.

We prepped our ship and set sail to our new destination. We had all the gear we needed to navigate even the densest of enchanted fogs if the fog even if the fog was enchanted to begin with. Tools to help avoid rocks, and just in case, we took some spells that would repel any hostile spirits. We would spend our last moments together on that last voyage.

With a strong sea breeze, we shoved off for the open seas. Gulls followed our masses and the dolphins would swim and leap in front of our ship in their cheery playful nature. The sea was at a low calm with only small waves to make the ship bob up and down slightly. It had been a while since we had been at sea, so it was a pleasing refresher of the mind. The sea salt wind and the mist of the splashes against the front of the ship. The sky was full of clouds with patches of sky. We would be able to see sunrays shine down far off in the distance where other patches of open sky had sunrays shine down from above. We would also catch some sights of whales breaking the sea's surface for a breath of air. Some blew out a geyser of water into the air and a few would leap from the water to make a large crash into the water.

I watched my crew securing all the supplies before they started to enjoy the voyage.

"I have a good feeling that this will be a story that will make us worldwide known." Big Boss said as he steered the ship.

My crew made sure all the ropes and supplies were secure and ready for anything for when they reached the fog.

"Right Boss. I have a feeling this will even make us retire with the treasure that we can get when we reach the other side." A Stallion said.

That was my second in command Fox Hound. We were so close like brothers that any pony would mistake us of being related. He was a grey Pegasus with a white combed mane. He was clever as a fox and loyal to the bone. His mark was the image of a head of a fox. He was also a great tracker when we were on the hunt for things or creatures.

Then there was out intelligence gatherer Stealth Flower. She was one sneaky unicorn able to slip into places to get information for us. She was a dark green mare with a navy-blue mane. Slender and nimble to get through tight situations. Her mark was the image of a flower hidden in shadows.

The muscles Brawns and Grit. Twin earth pony brothers and always never apart. They had the same colors but in different places. Grit was a yellow coat with a tan mane. Brawns was the other way around. Both muscle heads but great in a fight. The did most of the literal heavy lifting when we found heaps of treasure. Their marks were images of a muscular foreleg and the image of grits. That was the only thing that could tell the difference between them without getting them mixed up.

Our medic Padding Cloth. She was very experienced in the medical field to keep us healthy and fit. Her mark was the image of a roll of bandage cloth with a heart wrapped inside. She was a pink coat and a red mane gem of an earth pony. What was impressive of her was how she performed medical tasks as easily as a unicorn with only her hooves and mouth. The spark she would always give me when treating my injuries made me happy to see her kind beautiful smile when she helped heal me and the others. I always lost myself in her sky-blue eyes. The life I had planned for both of us if we all had retired one day.

"I hope that is the case. I have a plan for that only for me to know. What about the rest of you?" Big Boss asked his crew.

"Me? I am going to try to join the military to put my skills for good use. Celestia might even make me part of a special unit." Stealth Flower said telling her dream.

"I plan of opening my own tavern by the coast. Make it a grand one with my share of this treasure. One that will be the greatest tavern that would bring in all patrons from the sea and the land." Fox Hound said.

"Hell, we are going to open our own fight club." Grit said.

"Yeah, and even place a wager to whoever can take us both on at the same time. We'll make so much more bits with that kind of job." Brawns said

"I just want to open a small medical shop. Maybe in my own house in the fields somewhere peaceful so those that are resting in a medical bed can relax watching and smelling the clean outdoor air and feel at peace." Padding Cloth said.

I dreamed so much of my own plans of retirement of both of us sharing our dreams together. After we had taken the treasure to return home, I was going to plan on telling her my feelings and ask for her hoof in marriage. That was until we hit our destination.

There we were facing the colossal wall of fog that blocked our way to the treasure. It towered high into the sky like a sandstorm. We couldn't see a thing from where we stopped the boat. It was something we never imagined seeing in our lives. There was a chill running through my spine. I thought it was just the chill of the fog air. But it was my senses warning me of the danger inside. I ignored that feeling as my spirit of adventure and fame clouded my instincts. The silence of that fog should have been enough to make us turn around. Not even the stir or sound of life anywhere. This only made us more anxious to see what adventure this fog would give us.

"Alright, stick to your posts and get your gear ready. We are going in." I said as I steered the ship in slowly.

We were battle ready and waited for whatever was in the fog. A minute in, we started to hear distant screeches in the sky. It turned our blood cold to hear what sounded like screeching monsters. The water looked as black as thick ink. We found that the only ripples of the water were coming from our ship as the rest of the water was eerily still. We started passing columns of stone that disappeared high into the fog above us.

"Fox Hound, what is the depth?" I asked him. That was the last thing I would ever say to him.

He dropped his depth meter to find the bottom. He didn't feel the bottom to tell they were heading into any kind of stone. "There' nothing." He said. Then he felt something hit the line of the meter. "Wait, something bumped into the meter. It's not there anymore but…"

We all heard a loud splash and by the time we looked for Fox Hound, he was gone. The only thing left behind was water on the deck mixed with drops of blood.

"Fox? Fox!" I shouted looking overboard for any sign of him. We didn't see any trace of him. We couldn't even see the spreading of his blood in the dark water. But we did see something stir in the water. Not just from one side of the boat, but from all sides. We backed off from the sides of the boat armed and ready for whatever came out from the water. We even heard small rocks falling from the large rock columns. Something was moving in them as well as the things in the water. We were being hunted. I ran to the helm to steer the ship out.

"Stay together! We are leaving!" I shouted to my crew as I turned the boat.

"What about Fox Hound?" Stealth Flower said in fear.

I was grinding my teeth in emotional pain as I already knew the fate of my old long-time friend. "He's gone." I said full of anger and sorrow. Still I had to focus on getting the rest of my crew out alive.

I used my compass to navigate out of the fog. Unfortunately, those creatures in the water didn't want us to leave.

Our boat was hit in the side. It was pushing the boat. "Big Boss! They're attacking the ship!" Stealth Flower said looking over the side. She saw them pushing against the ship and she grabbed a spear with her magic and tried spearing them off the ship.

"Flower! Stay away from the edge!" I shouted to her. But it was too late. One of the creatures leaped from the water on the other side of the ship to strike her from behind. I only heard her scream from agony for one second before she disappeared in the water forever. Soon we saw the fins and eel like tails of those black monsters feasting like a swarm of piranhas.

The creatures hit our boat against the giant rock column. Grit and Brawn panicked when we finally saw the creatures trying to slither on the ship. They were indeed like monstrous eels. Flesh as black and slimy as think ink. Eyes that were a very dark shade of gray with white specks all over their eyes. Teeth like long thin spears that retracted back when closing their mouths and sprung up when their mouths opened wide as if they unhinged their jaws. They had long thin fins that were transparent to see right through them. Their eel like body enabled them to slither "Let's get out of range of these things!" Grit said fear clear in his voice.

"Climb the rocks!" Brawn shouted as they ran to the column to start climbing it to get away from the monsters.

"Brawn! Grit! We need stay together!" I told them, but they were too full of fear to listen. We saw them climb up the rocks several feet. I remember the creatures were able to somehow get up on the columns. A few of them had already been waiting for them to climb right into their jaws. All we saw was their silhouettes in the dense fog. We heard them scream when the creatures lunged out and started crunching on them. There were more than just two on that column. I saw them rip their limbs apart and hear their bloody cries of agony before they went silent.

Now it was just Padding and myself. We were surrounded by those sea monsters. Our friends were gone, our ship was wrecked and torn apart. Those things ate the ship, every piece. Padding was able to create a fire from some damaged supplies. All I had was a fishing spear to fend against those things as they waited for the right moment to strike.

And then… she saved me.

"Boss!" I heard her shout. The next thing I knew, I was shoved to the side. One caught me off my blind side. I saw her in a moment when the world slowed down. She shoved me out of the way of a that monster and sacrificed herself to save me. All I could do was watch and listen to her cries as they pulled her away and ripped her apart for their meal right in front of me. Her crying out as I just lie there helpless to reach her. Helpless to save her. Those that couldn't reach her for their meal now turned their attention on me. I was out of options. I was all alone. No escape was open to me as I was surrounded by those black creatures of the sea. I thought it was the end for me. I wanted it to be the end for me. I had nothing else to fight to live for. But then it happened.

There was a loud roar followed by a bright glow of fire that assaulted the monsters. The ones that had once focused on me, now were in a panic to what was attacking them. The ones up on the column were set on fire and were falling dead from the stone. The mysterious creature would swoop down crushing their skulls in with its feet and seemed to be biting them to tear them apart. The creatures all attacked their unknown enemy but were soon introduced in its fire. Some tried to attack it from behind, but I saw the creature whip its tail out and I could hear a clean slicing sound as the monsters were cut to pieces by the whip like tail. Even when some of them tried to retreat into the water. Fire from the creature was shot into the water to boil them alive. I watched them return to the surface shrieking and spazzing in seeding pain. I watch with a bit of satisfaction I admit. One of those monsters tried to make a quick attempt to snatch me away. I was too much in shock to react. Then the monster was shot in the face by a fireball. The blast from its face knocked me back and I hit my head against the column. I was starting to black out. All I could see was the shadow in the fog. There was fire burning behind it. It resembled a hazy pegasus figure. but there was something about it that was different. I couldn't tell if it was a pegasus or a dragon. From the glow of the fire, I saw it was a green color and the eyes glowed just like the fire behind it. I passed out before I could get the chance to find out.

*end of the Flashback*

Big Boss wiped his good eye from a tear. "When I came to, I found myself on a floating wreckage until a passing ship found me. When I recovered, I found that the fireball blast hit my eye." He said placing a hoof on his eye patch. "I lost my spirit for adventure, my crew that were all my closest friends, and my love that could never be replaced. I lost all my dreams of a peaceful life. I live every day with a bottle to help me cope with what I lost." He finished his tragic story with a deep inhale of his cigar. It numbed the pain, but not much.

The girls were at a loss for words. Horrified by the loss of his friends and the emptiness he was filled with for all these years. Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie Pie had been crying as they held each other. Applejack had her hat off to the old stallion. Rainbow Dash was trying to hide her emotions, but she still would show him respect for his loss. Spike was tearing up while holding onto Twilight's leg for emotional support. Twilight didn't know what to say or if she could say anything. She had no advice for him to cope with such loss or tell him how to live his life and move on. How could any of them relate to him. How could any pony recover from a traumatic event? His was a sad tragic and lonely story. Worse was that no pony believed him. Twilight could tell from the hurt in his eyes that it was far too real to be made up for attention. His eyes held an emptiness of life. No desire to enjoy himself. Sadness, guilt, bitterness was all that was shown in his expressions. She could only mutter one thing.

"I… I am sorry for your loss." She said with a heavy heart.

It was hard for Big Boss to accept her words. Many, if not all ponies, that had heard his story had just thought he was telling tall tales. "It is not you burden to be sorry for. You young fillies would probably forget this story tomorrow." He said before he started coughing violently.

The girls quickly tried to get him a glass of water. "Are you okay?" Fluttershy asked concerned for his health.

Big Boss drank the cup and tried to control his breathing. "I am old. I have lived for far too long than I needed." He said starting to get up from his seat. "I don't have much time left. I don't know what the afterlife holds for me, but I know it will be to pay for the death of my friends." He said as he placed a small bag of bits on the table. It appeared to be all the bits he had left. He knew his time was short and didn't need bits anymore. He didn't care who took the bits off the table. Where he was going, it meant nothing anymore.

"Ya can't blare yerself fer that. It wasn't yer fault?" Applejack tried to reason with him.

The old stallion growled. "I was their captain, their leader! I should have been more concern with their lives than that treasure. I should have listened to my instincts. Because of me, they died in vain!" He said full of grief and guilt. He began to cough violently again and stumbled to the floor. Blood was seen splattering from his mouth. He didn't have much time. He knew he needed to get back to his home to prepare. "Just let me live my last moments on my own." He said picking himself up off the ground and started walking out the door.

The girls looked at each other unsure of what to do. They wanted to do something or say something to him, but what would that be? He was facing his last moments of life and had nothing to look forward to but his final breath of life.

Big Boss walked the lone trail out of town. Passing green fields and the woods with his head hanging low. The nature of the Equestrian lands around him held no beauty in his eyes. Sunset was coming as the sky began to change its shades of color. He walked up the trail into the hills far from town. He knew his time was almost over. He wanted to be near his friends before he would join the damned. To forever pay for his sins for all eternity. There was a small lone hut on the top of the large hill looking over the land. The hut was just small enough to hold a bed and a stove. No real possessions were kept in the hut. He had long burned and threw away all possessions that reminded him of his past. The things that he didn't burn, he buried in the graves of his old friends. Near his hut were five graves. He had buried what had used to belonged to his friends inside the graves. He brought out his rocking chair and placed it to face the graves. The sun was nearing the horizon as the light casted golden rays of light everywhere. This would be his final moments and his last sunset. He didn't fear what awaited him. He just wanted it to finally be over. He would be content in his eternal punishment. He sat in his chair and rocked back and forth staring at the gravestones of his friends.

Each grave stone had their cutie mark and name under their marks. Each one also had a pendant holding a picture of each of his friends. They had been tied to a small metal chain that hung from a nail on the top of the gravestones. Even though it pained him greatly to see their faces and reliving the memories of those times the pictures were taken, he couldn't bare to get rid of them. He used these pictures to remind himself of his sin as part of punishing himself for their deaths. Every day, on the anniversary of that day, he punished himself to relive that moment.

He stayed like that for a while before speaking. "Who would have thought it would have ended like this for all of us?" He said talking to the gravestones. Each one had the cutie mark of his friends with their names under them. "It won't be long. My life will soon end and my crimes against you will be answered. If it is any comfort to you, my life was hell enough to live it alone without you. I never forgave myself for one moment for leading you all to your deaths. I never wanted forgiveness, I just wanted to be pay for my sins. Now it has finally come. Rest well my friends. Justice will be served for your memory." He said resting back and closed his eyes to await his coming end.

"You don't really believe your friends would truly want that, do you?" He opened his eyes to see Twilight and her friends sitting on each side of him. Some of them had tears in their eyes as they heard him talk from the beginning.

He was too tired to be angry for being followed to his home when he just wanted solitude. "Why not? It should have been me to die instead of them or at least die along with them." Big Boss said bitterly. "Life is a real bitch to play this cruel joke on me."

"They knew the risks of that voyage, didn't they? They heard all them stories of its dangers, yet they still wanted ta take that chance with ya. No matter what." Applejack said holding her hat in her hooves.

"Darling, they loved you no matter what and wherever they are now, they wanted you to have a good life. They still do." Rarity said placing a hoof on his.

"They wouldn't want you to blame yourself until the end. They want you to forgive yourself. They want to see you again. Don't you want to see them at least to tell them you are sorry?" Fluttershy asked him.

"They want to see you smile. I'm sure of it. Everypony loves to see smile." Pinkie Pie said giving a small smile. She had trouble giving her best smile due to the situation of this being the last day of the old stallion.

"You said that no pony ever believed your story and that we would forget it. But trust me, we felt your pain in your story. We no without a doubt that your story is true. I am a student of the princess. I promise you that your story won't die with you with no pony to believe it. I will make sure it won't, I promise." Twilight said. She hoped what she said had meaning to him in order to help him forgive himself to move on from his pain. "Just find it in yourself to forgive yourself in your last moments for the sake of your friends' memory."

Big boss looked at the graves of his friends. For a moment, he saw the images of each of them smiling back at him as if waiting for him. He had been so consumed from his guilt and grief that he nearly forgotten how loyal and loving his friends were towards him. A tear fell from his good eyes as he sighed. "Help an old stallion up." He said to them. Twilight and Applejack quickly helped him to his hooves and walked him over to the graves. He had them let him sit him down to rest against Padding Cloth's grave. He placed a hoof on the mound of dirt. "I am sorry my friends. I am so sorry for everything. Now I know, I should have expected you would never hold a grudge against your captain. You were always the most loyal crew I ever knew." He coughed for a moment. He had a bit of a struggle to pull out a cigar. Rarity used her magic to pull it out for him and place it in his mouth. Twilight helped light the tip as Bigg Boss took some puffs in. He exhaled the excess smoke that he breathed in. "Padding, I had always loved you since you first tended to my wounds. You always brought a smile to my face. Even now, you still do." He smiled as he wiped some dirt from her grave. "I hope you can all forgive me if fate lets me see you all once more. Perhaps then we can go on more adventures." He chuckled a bit along with some coughs.

"Boss…" Twilight said feeling sorrow for him.

"Do not worry about me. You've helped me come to terms with my grief. I feel as free as I once did with my friends. This… this is how I want to die." Big Boss stared out into the setting sun. The mares were still tearing up in the eyes, but they were happy to see that he was going to pass away peacefully.

He struggled to lift a hoof to point back at his hut. "What? What is it?" Applejack asked worried.

"In the hut… the fireplace… under the ashes is a loose stone. Bring me the box." Big Boss said trying desperately to hold on.

Rainbow Dash quickly flew in the hut to find the fireplace. She swept the ashes out of the fireplace. Just as Big Boss had said, there was a loose stone under the ashes. She lifted it out and found the box. She flew back as quick as she could to give it to him. "What is it?" She asked curiously.

Big Boss opened it and took out a dusty picture frame. The Frame held two pictures in it with one over the other. Inside was the first picture they took together when they first started their little crew for adventure and the last picture they took together before heading out to the fog. "We… we're all together once again." He said happily and content. He then gave it to Twilight. "Have them be remembered." He requested.

Twilight nodded and smiled a bit knowing he was at peace. "Have a good adventure." She said as a final farewell.

"This… this is… good." Was the last thing he said. His eyes closed slowly, and the cigar fell from his lips. One final breath of smoke from his mouth and then he was gone.

The sun had already set. The sky were only dark fading shades of dusk. The girls made one more gravestone for Big Boss to rest near his friends' graves. They also placed flowers on all the graves to make it a proper burial. So many questions they had about the fog and the creatures that attacked them and the one that saved him. It hardly mattered since they were able to help the old stallion. Twilight

Twilight made sure to remember every part of that story. Especially about the mysterious creature. Was it some type of dragon? He described it as looking like a creature on four was almost the size of a pony as he described. It wasn't much to go on, but it was a start. All Twilight needed to remember was the parts about Big Boss and his crew and the dangers of the fog across the sea. They started to walk back to town from the hill. All of them with heavy hearts for the adventurous crew.

"Land sakes. Ah never heard of such uh heart breakin' story like that in mah life." Applejack said as she had kept her composure the entire time.

"I agree darling. If I had known about that stallion, I would have done something about those graves to make them more glamorous to honor their memory." Rarity said. "I would have also tried to improve his home and maybe a touch on his clothing."

"I just wish I could find those flappin' sea monsters to knock them into the dark water hole they came out of." Rainbow Dash said slamming her hooves together. She was pissed that those things broke apart an adventurous crew she would have loved to meet.

"Don't ruffle yer feathers Dash. If an experienced team of adventurers couldn't survive against those things in the fog, yall can bet yer hind quarters that ya would last less than they did." Applejack said trying to talk sense to her rainbow friend.

Rainbow Dash crossed her hooves. "Hmph, says you." She said stubbornly.

"She speaks for all of us, Dash. We need to make sure every pony knows this place is real and dangerous to any pony that tries to enter it." Twilight said also making sure that there would be a memorial for the adventurers. Their sacrifice would be the proof they needed to convince others about venturing too far west out at sea. Once she would get hoe to her tree, she would start off by sending a message about the old stallion and his story about the fog. The let her know that she would send a copy of his story after she wrote it out. She hoped maybe they could return to the small gravesite on the hill to make it into a memorial in their honor. She had a lot of work to do and figured she should get started on the copy of the story while it was still fresh I her head.

It had been many years since Celestia had been having dreams turning slowly into nightmares about a pony or a dragon. It was unsure whether this creature was peaceful or hostile to their way of living. At first when the dream first came, it was rare that she saw them again. Then the dreams started becoming more frequent during the passing of years. She never had a good look at the creature in her dreams. Sometimes it looked like a pegasus and then it would look like a dragon. Sometimes both and that confused her. It was like a fire that started off in the far distance and then started coming closer over from across the western sea. The dreams slowly turned into nightmares when she heard roaring growing louder with each passing dream. After Luna had returned, she tried to help make sense of this dream when they kept returning. They both started to realize this was some sort of vision that was coming closer to reality. To what this vision was about was still a mystery to them. This was putting stress on them both to battle this vision every night. But this last dream was one that made things shockingly clear and horrifying.

Celestia found herself in the center over the land. Luna had soon joined her in the dream to see what this dream or vision was about now. The land was just as lush and green as ever. They could see the major settlements of Canterlot, Ponyville, and Cloudsdale. Then they saw something. It was a bit of a blurred figure of green that seemed to be flying in the air it looked like the mix of a dragon and a pegasus. Then over the figure as colossal titans were the red figure of a dragon and the other was a white figure or an alicorn. It appeared they were reaching to clasp paw and hoof as to make an alliance as the blurred green figure looked up at the two colossal creatures.

The green blurred figure was struck in the back by a magical beam. Then the colossal figure of the dragon began to retract its paw before clasping with the white Alicorn. The white alicorn started to disintegrate and scatter in the air. The blurred green figure started to become clearer as its mane grew longer and moved like fire. The green started to turn black with a red aura engulfed around the figure. With a mighty roar, the land was set on fire. The settlements of each place were now in burning ruins. The land was becoming scorched with the skeletal remains of the inhabitants lying all over the ground that turned into mounds of ashes. The figure of the strange creature had soon turned into a colossus. Eyes of glowing rage as if looking into the pit of a volcano. The eyes were of pure rage and hostility. Luna and Celestia were frozen in fear almost forgetting that this was still a dream. The mouth of the colossal creature started to open as intense flames started fuming out. The colossus was starting to breath in to ready a breath of fire towards them. Luna quickly ended the dream when she composed herself once again.

Celestia woke up from her sleep covered in sweat and breathing rapidly. The vision of the dream shook her to her core as she looked to her hooves shaking out of control. She quickly looked around her room and then rushed outside to the cool of the moonlight balcony outside her room. She looked over her kingdom to see everything still as it once was. Nothing was burned or in ruins. No skeletal remains of her little ponies lie in mounds of ash on the ground. Everything was peaceful and asleep under the night sky. She then turned around and slide to the ground against to rails of the balcony. She tucked her head and covered herself in her wings and started to cry. The dream or the vision was so real to her. Seeing her subjects lie in ashes as their homes were in flaming ruins broke her heart.

There was a flapping and then the sound of hooves landing near her. Luna saw her sister curled up in fear as she sobbed under her wings. "Sister, we are here. The dream is over. None of it was real." She said to Celestia trying to calm her as she placed a hoof on her back.

In that instant, Celestia threw herself at Luna clinging to her for dear life. The fear in her body and voice was as real as the tears running down her face. "Oh Luna, I couldn't save them. I couldn't do anything." She sobbed onto Luna.

Luna held her sister tight and patted her back. "It's over sister. I am here now. We can get through this together." Luna said having tears start to run down her own face. It broke Luna's heart to see her older sister become so fragile and helpless. She tried to make sense of what that dream was about. A coming doom to their lands? A warning of what could happen? She just didn't know. Neither of them knew what it meant for Equestria. They could only wait to see if any more signs would present themselves before it was too late.