Two weeks had passed. Neither side seemed to have gained the initiative, for The Nameless One's forces were simply too many to take head on in most cases despite the power the allies held. As such, Red had suggested a different tactic: wear them down over time, then strike when they were at their most vulnerable point. In this fashion, they were managing to take on the Nameless One's forces with little problems and their forces were scattered all about, making it impossible for the enemy to track all them down. The only pockets of resistance that remain strong against his forces in full on battle was down in Ponyville, the Thunder Empire, and the Crystal Empire. By keeping this pressure up on the enemy, they had a chance to hold out.
But it was still a hard-fought battle, and The Nameless One's forces were everywhere seemingly, even on their very doorsteps. Today, for instance, a patrol of the enemy was trekking through the Everfree forest on their way to assault Discord's Castle in its center, with the intention of establishing a foothold there in that region.
"Must we take this god-forsaken forest? It gives me the chills!" one of the soldiers complained.
"Quiet!" a robot hissed. "If we take this place, we'll have gained a foothold in this region and the resistance groups will be unable to properly retaliate us when we strike again."
There was a sudden crack, and a dark fog started rolling through the forest, smothering the visibility completely as a dark shape suddenly darted through it, and a second later one of the robots was stabbed through the middle by a sharpened tree branch. The patrol glanced about rapidly.
"We're under attack!" one of them shouted. "Keep tight together!"
As soon as he had finished, a laser was fired off into one of them and the human fell to the ground dead. They all fired wildly at where the shot had come from, only to have another one of their men get down for the account from behind. There was a sudden flash of light, and a blast of energy slammed into one of the human soldiers, sending him flying backwards just as a double-bladed axe flew through the air and slammed into a robot, cutting it in half.
"Show yourselves!" one of the more rash bunch shouted.
"Where are you?!" another called, then suddenly found himself staring into a pair of glowing purple dragon eyes.
"Right here," a voice whispered, then the human was pulled into the thick underbrush before he could cry out again. Then suddenly, some humans among them lifted up in the air as they felt like something was gripping around their neck. They struggled to breath for a while, before all of them dropped dead on the ground. A pair of green cat eyes was suddenly staring out of the fog at one of the robots, just as a white fog shot towards it, enveloping it and whirling around it as the metal that made it up began to rust and age at an advanced speed. At the same time, a dark shape with golden eyes was darting through the fog, throwing lightning bolts into robots and humans left and right.
"Fall back! Call reinforcements!" one of them called. A human was just about to do so, but before he did a large wolf-like creature pounced upon him, its glowing green eyes staring into his own. The beast gave a growl before he bit into the man's neck and ended his life too. The enemy force was now reduced to a few members, who were now hopelessly outnumbered and surrounded. Then suddenly, they saw something pass through them swiftly, and before they could realize what had happened, many of the robots were sliced in half.
"Surrender now, and we'll possibly spare your lives!" A voice called from the fog, as the axe that had sliced a robot in half earlier suddenly appeared, held in the grasp of a unicorn who was wearing ethereal silver armor, and the blades were now glowing.
No guarantees!" Then a winged human appeared in front of them from the same direction. "I am still gonna have fun breaking their parts."
The robots simply frowned and aimed their weapons, but the humans threw down their arms and held their hands up in surrender.
"Cowards. Traitors," a robot captain accused them.
"They're the smart ones actually," a voice said, and a bipedal suit of armor stepped out of the fog, arms raised as blasters on its palms powered up with a low hum. "Now, unless you want holes in your middles, robots, I'd say you throw down your weapons."
Another figure, pony in shape, stepped out in white and black armor, aiming some kind of laser pistol attachments at them while standing on his hind legs.
"You'd be even dumber than the droids I fought back home if you keep this up," T-bone stated. The robots were silent, then pressed a button on their bodies, which made the humans jump for cover.
"They're gonna blow!" one of them shouted. All of a sudden, a beam of white energy slammed into the robots, and in almost five seconds they were frozen in a massive block of ice. The beam of energy continued as a white unicorn stepped out of the fog, her icy blue mane and tail standing out against her skin as she continued to cover the robots with even more ice. With a sigh, the humans waited as their captors revealed themselves and the fog cleared. The first to be revealed was the wolf-like creature, who happened to be a Timberwolf. He growled at them as a blue and green striped pegasus came out of the bushes and gave him a pat. His eyes were glowing purple ones, and they were dragon eyes too.
"Good job, Plank. Well done!" he said to the Timberwolf. The bipedal suit of armor lowered its arms as a light blue unicorn walked up beside it, slinging the axe over her back as her armor disappeared. Not to long after that, a black alicorn with golden eyes joined her, followed by another alicorn who had green cat eyes, and finally a third one who materialized out of a cloud of blue mist and glared at the human with narrowed cyan cat eyes. A few more figures who were standing there alongside them was a yellow haired human and at few steps away was standing a mysterious cloaked stallion.
"Good job, everybody," Zach complimented. "T-bone, nice shot! You managed to hit that one in the dark."
"It's what I do. I'm a soldier after all," the Clone-pony answered.
"Nobody's going to even compliment me on that throw?" Crystal Shard from Tempus's world, leader of Task Force Omega, asked. "I cleaved that robot straight in half! And I wasn't even really aiming cause I've never truly tried throwing that far before."
"I'll compliment you!" Red suddenly piped up as he hung upside down from a tree. "Especially since I've done throws just about as impressive."
"And, I guess I did nothing at all, right?" Joy said with somewhat sarcastic tone and gave a light chuckle.
"We've all done good. Now I suggest we bring these prisoners to their cells," Red remarked. "And lucky for them, they were headed that way for us already. That saved us half the trouble!"
The humans looked surprised. "That castle is your prisoner house?!"
Well, you'll soon find out," Evan said giving off a small laugh. The group got around the prisoners and they began escorting them to Discord's Castle of Chaos. They found it in an area where a bridge spanned over a gorge of some kind and even on the outside it was clear whose residence it was. There was the sound of something flying overhead, and Michael swooped down, landing in front of the group before he straightened from a crouch, his different colored eyes narrowed as he glared at the prisoners, before looking at Red.
"You all did good," the Pyrunian said. "How many casualties?"
"One hundred at least, and they were carrying these," Red answered, pulling out a sack of round metal spheres. "These bombs are real powerful. Just one is equivalent to several batches of TNT at once. I believe they were going to blow up the castle."
"And the Spirit of Chaos with it," Zach finished. "I hope Aunt Fluttershy is okay."
Michael grunted in response, before holding out a hand.
"I'll take the explosives." He said. "And I'll make sure they're stored somewhere safe."
"Just throw it in that trench the Hippogriffs showed us. It's a couple hundred thousand feet deep," Red suggested.
"No, that's where I've stored the relics," he told the hedgehog.
"You stole the relics from the Canterlot vault?!" T-bone exclaimed.
"Yep. Long before the invasion, Dad told me to move them to a safe location," Zach explained. "The Nameless One would just love to get his hands on those things."
Plank made a growl at the sound of that name, which Zach translated for them: "On that note, how in Tartarus is that guy still alive?!"
"He wasn't dead to start with..." Joy explained "After the defeat of... I can't remember clearly... that name... but Nameless One escaped from my Equestria... he never returned there again... but maybe he was just planning out this attack this whole time..."
"What I would give for Dad's insight on the matter right about now," Zach muttered.
"Or even Tempus's limited future sight," Michael said with a sigh. "I miss Tempus. Even though we fought every now and then, he was my closest friend."
"I miss William... he was like the one of the closest friend to me I ever known... partially because he was the first human I ever met..." Joy sighed.
"Why do you gripe while battle is still ripe?" a voice familiar to them all asked as another two figures trotted up behind them from the forest line; Zecora and Hummingbird.
"Zecora... Hummingbird..." Joy said as his smile widened a little. "It's so nice to see you two once again... I mean as nice as this can be in such situations..."
Michael turned to look at Zecora, smiling slightly as he saw her and Hummingbird.
"Zecora. Hummingbird," He said, nodding at them in greeting. "It is good to see you again."
"The same can be said for us too, my friend. But we have something to tell you with the time we can spend," Zecora remarked. Hummingbird nodded in agreement. Red nodded, then looked to the prisoners.
"Discord will take care of them now," he said. "Let him know we're here."
Plank nodded, then gave a howl from where he stood on the bridge. As soon as he did, the prisoners all disappeared in a flash of light. Michael glanced at the bag he held, before a blue mist-like fog encircled it. When it cleared, the bag was gone. The Pyrunian suddenly shifted forms into a strange pegasus with peach-colored skin, black dragon wings in place of normal wings, a black mane and tail, and his different colored eyes.
"What is it you have to tell us?" Michael asked, curious. Zecora gave them a grave expression.
"You know of The One with No Name, and of his current recovery in pain. But there is another he has coming for you, one who can control time too." She sighed. "He was summoned from a time that was broken, and against TD's family his thirst for revenge has spoken."
"Hmm... that's not good," Joy said as he looked towards Evan.
"I know, it's Chronothiris. SOMEONE accidentally messed up a timeline to free him from his prison..." Evan sighed. "I hate to break this to you, but without the power to manipulate time, no one can stop the Beast."
"This is when we could use Tempus the most..." Michael said sadly.
"If I somehow could get my book back then maybe..." Evan muttered. Chris let out a grunt.
"Anybody mind giving us the scoop on this Beast of Time?" He asked, still in his suit as he gestured at Task Force Omega.
"Well, how about this: a cruel and rouge beast who can control time, can travel into the past and future like we go back and forth in space, and extremely evil, with only purpose in his mind... to destroy the timelines for the fun of it or to manipulate people into destroying their own worlds..." Evan explained. "That enough of an explanation for you."
"Then I have to agree with Michael. Tempus's help here would be really useful," Chris said. "But he's dead, so is there any other option?"
"There's the Elements of Time, but we'd have to gather the wielders… but as of right now, they're useless because Celestia wielded the Element of Future… and she's dead," Michael said, dropping his voice in respect of the former ruler of Equestria.
"You say only ones who can manipulate time can stop him?" Red asked. "That's problematic indeed. I can manipulate time with the Phantom Ruby, but even then it's technically an illusion or false reality I would put him in and with his power he could disperse it."
"I can manipulate time, but I'm nowhere as strong as Dad was," Zach added.
"As I said, I can help to fight him if I have my book with me," Evan explained. Thunderstrike seemed to be thinking for a few seconds, before he raised his head, his golden eyes boring into Michael.
"There are the others. Then we could use the Elements of Time," he suggested slowly, and Michael's face paled.
"No. Absolutely not Thunderstrike. We're not bringing them here," the Pyrunian said, shaking his head viciously. "I won't allow it."
Even though no one seemed to listening but Evan continued. "My book has a relic in it, which allows me to navigate through time... I can fight him, if I could go to back to Canterlot to his ship ruins and somehow find it..."
"I'll get it for you guys," Red told them. "I've been designed to hide in plain sight and hide from armies like this before. I can slip in and out of Canterlot before they even know I'm there."
"There is still hope for you in the form of another," Zecora suddenly spoke up, not speaking in rhymes.
"What did you say Zecora?" Joy asked. "In the form of another...?"
Zecora gave a mysterious smile. "He can be as crazy as a loon, and I have a feeling you will meet him soon."
Just then, a call came in on the coms.
"Guys, we've got a problem!" Pinkie shouted in the coms. "Twilight and Princess Starlight are missing! I think they've been ponynapped!"
"Sweet mother of mine!" Joy shouted "Looks like troubles never gonna over!"
"And that's just the beginning. We've also got a disturbance down fifty miles south of the Shaded Hollows!" Ruby added. "Something of darkness..."
"I guess I'll off to Canterlot then..." Evan said as he covered his face with hood. "Red, you coming?"
"No, you stay and help the others. I've got Canterlot," Red told him.
"You sure?" Evan asked.
"Positive. They won't even know I was there," Red reassured. "Good luck to you all."
Red then took off in the direction of Canterlot like a speeding bullet.
"Want us to go try and locate Princess Twilight and Princess Starlight?" Crystal asked through the coms. "We're willing to do it."
"I will help too..." Joy said. "And before you say something, I insist."
"Please do!" Ruby pleaded over the coms. "We're a bit too busy on our end to check it out."
Joy nodded at this and looked to Crystal. "So, we start searching for them. Where they were last seen?" Joy asked in a thoughtful manner.
Twilight didn't even question why The Nameless One's men had stopped where they had, for it was all too obvious to her.
"End of the line," she muttered, looking up at her horn in defeat. It was being suppressed by a kind of clamp that prevented her from using her magic to escape. But what made things worst was that she wasn't alone in the cage. Tempus's Starlight Glimmer raised her head, her own horn's magic suppressed by a clip of the same kind. The alicorn princess was leaning against the wall of the cage, tears still in her eyes as she relived her husbands final moments over and over.
"We lost... not only the war, but our two strongest and most powerful fighters... without TD and Tempus, the little bits of resistance are going to fall, even with Michael trying to bring them back together," She said softly, looking at Twilight. "And the worst part is, neither of us got to say goodbye to our loved ones."
The cage opened and one of the guards, a robot, barked at them, "Move!"
Twilight gave them a calm and steady glare as she trotted out of the cage without a sound, determined not to give them the satisfaction of hearing her despair or beg. Starlight followed Twilight, glaring at them with a flame of anger in her eyes. She wasn't going to give them any satisfaction either, but she was going to let them know she hated their guts.
"Stand together," one of the robots ordered. Twilight did as told with a brave face, Starlight following suit. A large floating screen appeared and the face of The Nameless One appeared on it, staring at the two alicorns. He looked pretty torn up in the facial area alone and from what they had heard his fight with TD had wounded him too much to fight.
"Finally, I managed to capture you both," he smirked.
"Yay. Give yourself a medal," Twilight scoffed.
"You may have gotten us, but the others are still out there," Starlight snarled, her voice laced with venom. "There's still a chance they'll beat you!"
"Your executions will draw them out of hiding and show to the whole of my kingdom that resistance is futile," Nameless replied. "Sargent, proceed."
"Yes, my lord!" one of the robots answered with a salute, then all of the robots and humans nearby prepared their weapons.
"Take aim! On the count of three!"
Twilight closed her eyes and a small smile appeared on her face.
"We'll soon be together again... forever..." she whispered almost inaudibly. Starlight glared at the men and robots, before closing her eyes as she relaxed.
"Tempus... I'm coming..." She murmured almost inaudibly.
"One... two..." the Sargent started, but stopped when the sky was filled with dark clouds and a pool of darkness appeared nearby. Nameless, on his screen, smirked wickedly.
"It seems my sorcerers weren't useless after all," he stated as the shadowy darkness transformed into a form that Twilight and Starlight knew too well, even before his laugh confirmed it. Starlight opened her eyes, gulping as she felt her wings flare open in fear.
"The Pony of Shadows..." She whispered. The Nameless One glanced to the Pony of Shadows.
"Glad to see that you could make it," he remarked.
"I am in your debt for releasing me from that pitiful prison," The Shadow answered. "Now then, what seems to be happening here?"
"An execution," Nameless replied. "I was going to execute both of them, but I think I should save Miss Sparkle for you."
The Pony of Shadows got an evil smirk and turned to Twilight, who had by now opened her eyes. She gave him a glare but didn't speak. Starlight glared at The Pony of Shadows, before turning her attention to The Nameless One.
"For the record, if I'm going out, then these are what my last words are," she snarled. "Buck. You. To Tartarus."
"Flattering," Nameless remarked. The Shadow looked to Twilight in some amusement as she tried to use magic desperately.
"Please, allow me to assist," he said, then unexpectedly two large tentacles of darkness sprouted from his body and wrapped around their magic inhibitors. Then a dark pulse went down them and destroyed the inhibitors upon reaching them, much to the surprise on each side.
"There! Now you can use it freely," the Shadow stated.
"What is the meaning of this?!" The Nameless One demanded.
"Oh don't fret Nameless. After all..." The Shadow turned to the screen with one eye and a familiar smirk appeared in his eyes as he said something that The Pony of Shadows would never say, "I have been known to do the impossible."
It hit them all like a slap to the face.
"...William?" Twilight asked in utter disbelief. Starlight's jaw dropped.
"But... Tempus sensed you die!" She exclaimed, her voice shrill. She coughed, clearing her throat as she lit up her horn, ready to go on the defensive.
"Well, your husband has some tricks that I couldn't resist using myself to save myself from death," TD answered, this time his voice sounding like his own and his eyes turning red. The Nameless One finally overcame his shock.
"You... you... YOU SON OF A- HOW ARE YOU STILL ALIVE?!"
"Quite easily," TD chuckled, then hollered, "Now, Tempus!"
"It's called a Time Remnant bucker!" Another familiar voice yelled, and a brown alicorn suddenly slammed into the ground beside TD, blasting a blast of magic at the robots and men lined up for the execution as his eyes glowed silver. "And it's something I've used in the past!"
"No! NO!" Nameless screeched, then in anger, "I swear to you, William. When I am healed, you are the first to die!"
"Yeah, until then enjoy the hospital," TD remarked, his horn glowing with darkness. "And this concludes our broadcast day. Adios!"
He fired a beam into the screen and it shattered with a satisfying explosion.
"And now we go back to screwing up Nameless's plans." Tempus said as he took to the air. "But I think we should get rid of any of his followers in the vicinity. Don't you agree TD?"
Starlight was silent, staring at her husband with tears in her eyes.
"Don't worry about that now," TD reassured. "We're in no danger currently; this was all he had. Apparently, he didn't want any of our friends to know-"
"Hold it!" Twilight shouted. "How? Why? What is going on?! Could somepony please explain what happened?"
TD chuckled. "It's a long story...
-Explanation-
Tempus walked along slowly, glancing around as he walked, his glowing red cat eyes narrowed as he walked. The attack on Canterlot from the Nameless One had not killed him, contrary to popular belief, but he was terribly wounded and was trying to find a place to stay where he wouldn't be discovered. Things were not looking good for Equestria and he had to hurry...
Suddenly, he heard a rustling from a bush nearby and a voice shout, "Turn around slowly!"
That voice... it was familiar. But... could it be?
Tempus froze, turning his head so that he could see behind him with a single eye. Though the figure he saw was covered in a few scratches and he looked as if he had just gone through hell, he recognized that face a mile away.
"William?" He asked, his voice surprised. The human in question smiled weakly.
"Tempus..." he managed before collapsing on the ground, clutching his side. Tempus rushed to his side, lowering his head and shoving it under TD, lifting the human onto his back.
"How long have you been wandering around?" He asked.
"How long has it been since Canterlot?" TD asked himself, then after some silent math, "At least a week. And even then, I spent a good week before that unconscious near the point of death. Boy, did that piss Greg off!"
"How are you even alive?" Tempus asked, turning his head to look at TD, a barely healed wound stretching down his neck. "I felt you die William. I sensed it."
TD smirked, despite his pain. "How about I put it to you like this: thanks Tempus. That's one more trick up my sleeve I can use."
Tempus grinned, his eyes twinkling.
"You cheeky little..." he said, before trailing off, chuckling. "Well, I guess I'm in good company then."
TD chuckled a bit too, then got serious.
"Everyone thinks I'm dead, don't they?" he muttered, then with noticeable sadness, "Even... Twilight?"
Tempus nodded, smiling sadly.
"They do... Twilight lost it..." Tempus said, before adding softly. "So did I... and I went so fast at the enemy I created a Time Remnant... and let's just say that I overshot while the Remnant... let's just say that you're not alone in the boat you're in."
TD nodded gravely, then struggled to his feet.
"My powers are gone," he stated. "The Remnant has temporarily weakened them, and I can't wait around for the power to return. So, I'm about to try something that is very risky." He pointed towards a certain location in the distance: The Shaded Hollows. "That's where I'm headed."
"Well, I'm with you. Everypony thinks I'm dead as well," Tempus said, his glowing red cat eyes tearing up. "I... I don't even know what watching me die did to my sisters and my Starlight."
"Then let's get moving. The advantage of being dead is that not even your enemy searches for you," TD remarked. He started to walk off, but then gasped sharply in pain. Taking deep breaths, he snapped his fingers and reverted to his pony form.
"On second thought, I'm staying in this form," he stated. "It's more durable, it hasn't been damaged much, and considering that I'd be a pony without my magic, it technically uses less energy."
He then trotted back towards the Shaded Hollows, this time without difficulty. Tempus trotted after him, closing his eyes as he inhaled sharply, putting a hoof to his chest as he stumbled.
"Stupid..." he muttered, taking a sharp, gasping breath. "Ribs still hurt after smashing through that mountain..."
-One hour later-
"His goons have been here..." TD muttered, looking about the place as he neared where he was trying to get to; the Well of Shame. He looked down the hole, noticing the makeshift staircase that reached down into the depths. "Well, beats the drop."
"Well, one second." Tempus said, as his shape flashed with light and he turned into a red-scaled dragon with yellow eyes. "I'll clear it. Wait here."
Without waiting for an answer, he started climbing downwards. Down in the depths, he found several human bodies, all of them dead and stinking of dark magic and all of them bearing the banner of The Nameless One. Apparently, they had been conducting some kind of ritual and had failed miserably. However, as TD slowly descended behind him, he made a small gasp.
"They were close..." he muttered. "They were trying to bring the Pony of Shadows back from Limbo." He grinned as he picked up a journal from one of them that was covered in weird symbols. "And did more than half the work for me in the process."
Tempus looked over TD's shoulder, narrowing his eyes. "What are you up to TD?"
TD's response was to open the book.
"I'm about to do something that I haven't done in forever..." he managed, then started chanting from the text in the book. As he did, a roar of thunder was heard in the sky outside the Well of Shame and TD's horn was glowing dangerously bright. After a moment, he fired a white beam at the opposite wall from him and it stopped in midair, turning into a swirling cloud of pure darkness. Tempus took a step backwards, his own horn lighting up with his dark blue magic as he narrowed his eyes.
"Please tell me that's not who or what I think it is..."
"It is," TD admitted as the shadows started to pool on the ground and form a notoriously familiar figure.
This is crazy, he thought as the Shadow Alicorn started to take form with an evil laugh. Stay calm. Just think positive. Think positive...
"I AM POSITIVE THIS IS CRAZY!" he shouted aloud, then ran headlong into the Pony of Shadows just as it had taken form. His form was disolved into the Shadow and for a moment, all that could be heard was the laughter of the Pony of Shadows. Then suddenly, his white eyes turned red and Tempus heard TD's voice emitt from his form.
"Shadow of Darkness, enemy of light
Bond with my soul and give me your might!
But even if you must endure many scars,
Just remember who's in charge!"
The eyes closed and the Pony of Shadows shrieked in pain, falling to the ground. Tempus's eyes widened.
"TD, you crazy... did you just bond with the bucking Pony of Shadows?!" He yelled, shocked. The response was a loud gasp from the Pony of Shadows, as if one had held his breath for too long. Then the eyes turned red again and TD's voice was heard as the Shadow's mouth moved.
"It worked! Haha! IT WORKED!" TD shouted, laughing like an idiot.
"I'll take that as a yes." Tempus muttered, taking a step forwards before letting out a yelp and falling to one knee, putting a hoof to his chest. "Bucking... ribs... why the buck... isn't my accelerated healing from super speed... working?" He hissed, his eyes screwed up in pain.
TD grimaced. "I think you're having the same problem I was having. Don't worry, your powers didn't have as bad an aftereffect as my own. Yours should return to full strength in another hour if my calculations are correct."
"Still bucking hurts..." Tempus snarled as he managed to stand.
"I could try healing you with the dark powers I now wield, but then you'd risk corruption. And I think the last thing we ne-"
TD stopped midsentence and frowned, then his eyes opened wide with alarm.
"Twilight! She's in trouble!" TD shouted. "We have to go, now!"
Tempus raised his eyes, which narrowed, before he let out a growl and slammed a hoof into the ground. His eyes faded back to green, before beginning to glow silver as he called upon his powers as Guardian of Time.
"Trying something... one second," he said, before suddenly freezing in place. About ten seconds later, he stumbled forwards, his eyes fading back to green as he gasped, drawing in massive lungfuls of air as sweat dripped from his face.
"What'd you do?" TD inquired.
"Sped up time around myself... to an hour... in the future..." Tempus panted. "Risked... tearing myself... in half..."
"Well, if it works I'm not complaining," TD remarked. "Now, let's go help our friends and our families, shall we?" His eyes glared out at the exit to the Well of Shame. "I've got a score to settle with an old enemy."
"And I'll help you." Tempus growled, standing straight as his eyes began to glow bright silver. "Let's show them that death doesn't come so easily to Guardians of Existence."
TD nodded, then his expression softened a bit as he walked up so the sky could be seen above him.
"Hold on my North Star. I'm coming," he said softly, then his body dissolved into shadows and shot up into the sky, disappearing in a flash of light upon hitting cloud level. Tempus lowered his head, before raising it again, his silver eyes now bearing his glowing red cat eyes from his merged personalities.
"I'm coming, my family." He said, before his own form dissolved into a cloud of dark blue mist (which he got from copying Nightmare) and shot after TD, also disappearing in a flash when he hit cloud level.
-End of explanation-
"So... he's alive because of one of your spells?" Twilight asked Tempus.
"Why does everyone... you know what, yes, he's alive because of a spell he copied off of me." Tempus said, sighing.
"And what about you? You were killed as well!" Starlight exclaimed.
"TD can tell you all about what I did," Tempus said with a chuckle. "I pulled the stunt I did when I was fighting Herobrine a while ago."
"Basically, we moved so fast, that what they killed was a remnant of our actual being left behind," TD explained. "So, yeah! We're fine."
"And you bonded with the Pony of Shadows just because your powers weren't back yet?" Twilight asked him with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, it was either that or you'd be dead," TD said sheepishly. Twilight took to the count of three, then suddenly squealed with joy and tackled him to the ground.
"Oh, I don't have the heart to be mad at you! I'm just so glad you're alive!" she shouted gleefully, tears streaming down her face. TD recovered from his surprise to give her a hug.
"I missed you too... my little North Star..." he answered just as emotionally.
"I.. I..." Starlight said, before also squealing with joy and taking off, slamming into Tempus and knocking the both of them out of the sky. "I should be mad at you for not telling me you were still alive, but I'm just to happy!" she shouted.
"Yeah, I probably should have..." Tempus said, chuckling, embarrassed.
"Alright, everyone hands..." A voice suddenly yelled, and they all turned to find a group of four ponies and a bipedal in armor standing on top of a small hill nearby. Out of the ponies, three of them were alicorns while the fourth was a unicorn, who had a double-bladed axe slung across her back. Tempus glanced at TD and grinned.
"I think we found Task force Omega." he said, before adding. "Or more appropriately, they found us."
TD gave them a sheepish smile, his form temporarily changing back to a human form, shocking them even further.
"Surprised? So am I," he said to them. In a while, Joy along with Zach, Evan, and Plank also reached them and recognized the human figure standing beside three alicorns and one unicorn.
"William!" He couldn't believe on his eyes. He rushed towards him as he yelled, "YOU'RE ALIVE!"
"DAD!" Zach teleported over to TD even as he stood and braced himself for the hug, catching his son the instant he appeared.
"I missed you so much..." Zach whispered, crying a little.
"I know buddy. I missed you too," TD answered, then looked up in time to catch Plank and Joy as they came over to him too. "Hey guys! Good to see you again!"
Plank gave TD's face several licks as he whined happily.
"Annnddd no love for me I suppose," Tempus said wryly, smiling.
TD chuckled. "Come on everyone! Group hug!"
"Yay!" Joy exclaimed childishly at this. Tempus smiled and shook his head.
"I'm not really that into group hugs TD..." he began, only to yelp as Starlight grabbed him and pulled him over.
"Too bad!" his wife said, and the alicorn sighed.
"Should have known this would happen," he muttered.
"Group hugs are great!" Evan exclaimed with a chuckle. "Take that from the one who knows!"
After the group hug, TD looked to his friends.
"So, where to now, friends?" he asked. As if to be a jerk just then, the coms went off.
"Guys, we need some assistance back in Ponyville!" Diego's voice shouted. "The Nameless One's men are attacking, and leading them is some kind of... man made of fire."
TD's eyes lit up in shock as did Zach's.
"Philip," they both said at once. Tempus gave a low growl as his eyes turned red, and then he grinned as his coat darkened and his teeth became jagged.
"Why don't we go crash the party?" he asked.
Evan looked towards at TD at this and sighed. "Honestly William, sometimes I wonder what should I consider you to be?"
"What do you mean?" TD asked.
"Nothing..." Evan said, clearly hiding something. TD gave him a look, then sighed.
"We'll have to talk later. Now's not the time," he said, then looked to Tempus. "Uh... think you could do the honors this time? I'm still a bit... low."
Tempus nodded, before his eyes narrowed and with a flash of white light he teleported all of them back to Ponyville, barely even staggering when they reappeared in the town.
"I've been practicing teleporting with my Chaos magic," He said, before looking around. "Now, let's find the battle."
As soon as he said that, an explosion occurred near them as they now took a closer look around and realized that they were actually in the middle of the fighting.
"Ah, we found them!" TD quipped, then added, "But in all seriousness, we should help."
"Ya think?!" Twilight deadpanned.
"For once, I agree with exactly what Twilight said," Tempus said, before grinning cockily and zooming off, slamming into a group of enemy fighters and sending them flying with a blast of magic.
"Alright!" Joy raged and transformed as he jumped into the fighting as well. Evan's scythe appeared in his hoof as he was teleported towards the battle.
"Here we go again."
TD gave a sigh. "Alright Pony of Shadows, let's see what you can do."
With a laugh, he transformed into said dark being, keeping his eyes a red color and his voice normal for obvious reasons. He then fired off multiple blasts of darkness into the enemies as they appeared. He found this quite enjoyable to some extent.
"Man! These powers rock!" he cheered.
"Focus on the fight TD, not the powers!" Tempus admonished as he raced past, slamming into the soldier that was fighting Michael and throwing him aside, causing the Pyrunian to stagger backwards in shock.
"Tempus...?" he began, but the alicorn cut him off.
"Yeah, I'm still alive. Get over it."
"William?" Joy said as he looked towards his friend who was in the form of the Pony of Shadows right now, and barely dodged a blow by a robot nearby. "You never learn, do you?"
"Nope!" TD called.
"I thought so," Joy gave a smirk as he flew into the air and gave a loud shout, exploding an shockwave towards the enemies. TD launched into the air and smashed down among a crowd of enemies, surprising friend and foe alike when his image turned back into a human form.
"Guess who's back from the dead, motherbuckers?!" he screeched hysterically, firing more blasts of darkness into the enemy.
"Uncle William!" Sunny shouted as he recognized that voice and looked towards his direction. "He's alive!" she shouted with a tearful smile. "He's back! Mortem, you see that?"
"I... don't believe it..." Mortem remarked. "He's alive! And... Dad too!" He was also looking joyfully surprised. "They're back!"
"Oh, they are alright!" Sunny exclaimed. "I am so thankful for this."
"Hey, does anyone know who's defending this place?" TD asked around. "He's about ye high, looks like a Changeling."
"I'm right here," Chuck replied, his voice far from jovial as he flew up in the suit. "Happy to see you back. Pleasant surprise I must admit."
"It's nice to see you too, even if you don't like to see me too often," TD answered.
"Oh, for once you two, just shut it and get along until the enemy is gone," Cindy complained.
"Cindy, please," Chuck replied. "I said I was happy to see him, sweet Shiva," he griped.
"So, how have you been since my fourteen day absence?" TD asked.
"Oh swell! I swear, I'm the only reason no one's breached this place yet," Cindy remarked. "And it's awesome!"
"I was talking to Chuck, but nice to know!" TD chuckled.
"Just fine... On your left," Chuck said, firing at an enemy on his left.
"Thank you!" TD answered, firing several dark spikes into the enemy. "Have you had any trouble?"
"No trouble that can't be solved with more violence," he said, launching a frag grenade at a group of nearby attackers. "Serves you right," he muttered.
"Glad to know man!" TD cheered. Just then, there was a loud explosion and TD looked to the side. "Ah crap! I'll be back!"
He charged off into the battle once more, just as Cindy detected something nearby.
"Look out!" she shouted, making the suit dodge out of the way faster than Chuck could react as a burst of fire flew past and a man made of fire floated up into the sky at their level.
"Just as I thought I understood this place..." Chuck muttered in a sigh.
"William, you don't know..." Joy spoke as he was rushing towards the crowd of enemies. "Not everything's been the same since you left..." He used his weapon to throw some enemies away. "We lost... Princess... Celestia!" Joy shouted while stabbing his weapon into a robot's chest.
"WHAT?!" TD roared. "Darn it Joy, now I'm pissed!"
More darkness erupted from him and started destroying enemies with gusto. As he did, he couldn't help but notice Chuck's predicament.
"Darn it... I gotta move fast!" he growled to himself. Meanwhile, with Chuck, the fiery man looked amused to see the Changeling monarch.
"What's this I see? One of Father's pitiful friends with a metal mask on?" the fiery man taunted.
"Watch it bub," Cindy warned. "I've got some water canisters with your name on it."
"Try me, flamer," Chuck snarled.
"You think can seriously take me on?" the fire man chuckled as he unleashed a fiery barrage upon them. Cindy's response was to fire several bursts of water and ice from her blasters that extinguished the steam.
"Oh we know we can take you on, big boy. The real question is if you can handle us!" Cindy taunted, sounding a little like she was flirting.
"Keep it in your cyber-pants," Chuck droned. "I need hyrdo everything on Flaming Moe here. Put his fire out," he ordered.
"With pleasure!" Cindy chuckled, firing up several water and ice-themed rockets into Philip, who seemed hurt bad judging from the steam coming off his body. He struggled and fired back, but Cindy clearly had the upper hand on this guy, and superior reflexes too. She dodged, parried, flew circles around him, and basically made him look like a fool at first. Unfortunately, that's when trouble started brewing.
"ENOUGH!" Philip shouted as a familiar energy fired from his body and made the suit have an EMP effect.
"Uh oh..." Cindy remarked, somehow not deactivated herself.
"Cindy..." Chuck said, feeling alarmed. "What's happening?"
"We're in a free fall! I can't get the systems online!" she answered in a panic. "Oh, I'm having flashbacks. I'm having flashbacks!"
Chuck remembered the last time this happened. "Oh, marvelous. Just marvelous."
Cindy frantically searched for anything in the systems that would help, but the only thing she could sense was online at the moment was the eject system. Meaning she couldn't save both of them. The ground got closer, then she abruptly shouted, "F**k it! I'm not having a repeat!"
Chuck was suddenly ejected from the suit and a parachute opened up later to slow his fall, but Cindy and the suit plummeted to earth, causing a crater to occur, along with a slight explosion from the suit.
"NO!" Chuck exclaimed. "Cindy, no!" he wailed.
Chuck descended to the ground and the parachute came undone immediately, as if sensing his distraught. At that point, another voice shouted from across the town.
"CINDY!" Red called out, rushing towards them. He was holding a book of some kind in his hands. As he ran, he tossed the book up to Evan, who had teleported up to confront Philip.
"You may need this!" he shouted, then continued with Chuck toward the sparking, flaming suit. Evan caught the book and gave him a smirk.
"Thanks Red."
"Frag, frag frag frag!" Chuck griped, descending into the small crater. "C'mon soldier, don't quit on me..."
Red reached Cindy's side just as Chuck did, sliding to a stop on his knees, not caring if they got scratched up; his healing factor would take care of it.
"Cindy... come on, speak to me old girl!" Red pleaded. When he did, one of the visor's eyes light up and fired out a small continuous beam like from an old movie player, revealing a life-sized realistic hologram of a female Mobian skunk with green eyes wearing a yellow dress lying on the ground. The hologram looked so realistic, that if they didn't know any better they'd have thought it was the real thing. The only thing that ruined it was that her image occasionally turned to static, signaling her damaged state. She looked up at Chuck and smiled, a tear rolling down her hologram's face. [For this part, any part of Cindy's dialogue with ...'s is her image going to static while speaking.]
"You're alive..." she managed.
"Of course," he replied. "I'm a little more worried about you. Call me crazy, but AI is still intelligence in my books."
"Cindy, you're gonna be alright," Red tried to reassure, then struggled to open up the compartment where her chip was inserted, but it was jammed shut.
"Leave it, Red," she told him. "You'll just damage me more... Front hoof..."
Red opened a compartment on the front hoof and found a chip that he took, much like the one that contained the AI. But it wasn't her chip that he had pulled out.
"What's this?" Red asked.
"I guess... you could say it's a portion of me," Cindy remarked, her image turning into static mid-sentence. "Kept it in case of... this kind of moment."
Red realized what she meant by that and his face lit up with emotion.
"No... nonono! Don't talk like that!" he demanded, crying a bit. "Don't you do it!"
"What's she talking about?" Chuck asked.
"She's... she's..." Red stammered.
"Red..." Cindy spoke up. "Stop fussing... over me like I'm an... organic being like your friends-"
"I DON'T CARE!" Red shouted tearfully. "I'M NOT LOSING ANOTHER FRIEND!"
"It doesn't matter; born or built, you're our friend," Chuck pleaded. "Just... hang on."
"It's... too late for me sir..." Cindy stated, managing to get to her knees with her hologram as her image had more frequent static bursts while talking. "My luck... had to run... out sooner or... later. This is... the end of... the line for... me."
"Don't talk like that. We'll... we'll reboot you! Turn you off and on again, something's got to work!" Chuck bargained. Red, meanwhile, was desperately trying to open the suit, even using a crowbar, but in vain. Cindy simply smiled and one of her hologram's hands held Chuck's mismatched hoof in it. Chuck was a bit surprised to learn that he could actually feel her hand as if it was a solid living creature.
"Before... I go... I want to confess... something to you... Gareth," she said, using his real name. "When we met again... after all those... years from the Crossover... I actually developed... a crush on you... I didn't show it or talk... about it, because we both... know it wouldn't... have worked. I'm an AI... a computer that... happens to have emotions and rational thought. You're... a Changeling, a real... living organic... being. Besides... you're married... you have a... family and a hive... to take care of... And I didn't... want to come between... you... and your... family."
"Well... had I known..." Chuck began. "I mean, had I known it wouldn't have actually changed anything, but... I'll miss you Cindy..." He sighed. "And, had maybe you been real, or I had been an AI or... well..." His face drooped. "Please, I can't lose you."
Cindy smiled and laid her hand on his chest, even as her image became more and more static.
"I'll... always... be... right... here..." she said. Then she laid a quick kiss on his cheek. "Farewell... old... friend..."
Her image soon disappeared abruptly and the visor went dark as a sparking noise was heard inside the helmet.
"No... no... NO!" Red cried, angrily slamming his palm on the metal suit as his tears came faster. "Cindy!"
"And the auld triangle... went jingle jangle, along the banks of the royal canal..." Chuck hummed solemnly. "Goodnight, sweet princess," he sighed, a tear rolling down his cheek. Red eventually sighed too, and looked to the chip in his hand. He made a sound that sounded like a groan and put it away.
"I'll... fulfill your wish," he said softly. "You will be rebuilt... and even if it's not truly you I build... I'll never forget you."
"Here here," the monarch nodded solemnly.
"Before, you do something foolish, I am giving you the chance to retreat..." Evan said to flame boy in front of him.
"Retreat? Never," Philip remarked. "Not until my father pays for what he did to me!"
"Your choice!" Evan's voice echoed around them as his eyes started to glow and his book floated in front of him.
"Oh, now I'm really scared!" Philip scoffed. "I possess my father's power! What chance do you have against me?!"
"You wanna risk this!" Evan spoke in an echoing voice, seemingly scoffing him. "Alright, you go first!"
Philip growled, then unleashed another barrage of fire, fueled by TD's power instilled into him through blood relationship as it surged towards Evan. As this, Evan approached him, the fire completely engulfing the Planes-Walker, seemingly burning him along with his book. All of his friends were in shock as they saw this and seemingly realized that another of their friend was done for.
"No! EVAN!" Ruby shouted from down below, her Silver Eyes activating in her rage. Philip hissed as he felt her powers hurt him a bit and fired a burst of fire at the huntress as well. Her aura managed to protect her from most of the flames, but the huntress still felt the pain of the fire and fell to the ground, her silver eyes fading away when she did.
But as Philip was about to retaliate, Evan suddenly appeared near to him, startling him in the process.
"My turn!" He smirked as a sharp swirling icy wind was blown towards Philips, which started to engulf him within ice, and in a few moments froze him solid. He fell to the ground with a thud and Evan landed beside him, breathing heavily.
"And for the record, your father isn't the strongest being of this multiverse." Evan smiled as he looked towards the others. "I guess, you were scared for a while."
"For the record, totally not," Tempus said with a smirk. "Didn't sense your death, so yeah, not surprised."
"Nice to see you're alright." Joy sighed in relief "Don't wanna lose any one again..."
Suddenly, the ice around Philip broke away and the fiery human was now surrounded by a larger cloak of flames; flames that were black.
"YOU CAN'T KILL ME WITH THAT!" he screeched. "I am untouchable by your spells! My master has already studied that one!" The entire sky suddenly seemed to be full of flames. "Time to die!"
"PHILIP!" TD's voice suddenly called out, causing him to stop and his flames turn to normal as he turned to face TD. He was standing before him in human form, looking to his son with a saddened expression. Evan grunted in anger, as his plan to stop Philip had failed.
"Why did you have to make such OP characters?!" Evan shouted looking towards the sky.
"That's a good point." Chuck mentioned. "I have zip for powers, and I'd say I'm better for it."
"Philip..." TD spoke to the flaming being, "Please don't do this."
"Why not? What would you hope to gain or see in me?" he growled.
"I want to see my little boy," TD answered with emotion cracking his voice. "The little one I cradled in my arms, the one who I would spend hours with no matter how tired I was, the Philip I know and love."
Chris shot by overhead through the sky, firing at enemies as he thought to himself, before grunting as he realized what to do.
"Gideon... activate the Mark V," Chris said, and there was a pause.
"Sir, the Mark V isn't tested yet..." Gideon began, and Chris cut him off.
"I don't care! Activate the Mark V!" he shouted as he landed well outside the battle lines as a loud boom sounded as a suit shot out of the sky, hurtling towards him even as he stepped out of his current armor. The new suit landed and immediately formed around him, and Chris took off immediately, grinning as he shot through the air even faster then he had in the Mark II.
"Let's show them what this bad boy has to offer," he said as he raised his right arm, and fired a continuous blast of energy into a row of enemies, blasting them backwards before he soared into the sky again.
"I don't know anymore..." Joy said as he saw TD talking with their enemy's commander and calling him... his son? "Is there something about him which isn't insane...?"
Philip continued to stare at his father and anger was seen in his eyes.
"You should have thought of that... BEFORE YOU KILLED MY MOTHER!" he yelled, firing black flames at the entity, who barely managed to avoid them before the fiery being collided into him, landing blow after blow upon him.
"You never thought I was special! I was always the failure in your family tree!" he shouted. "You always looked to me as if I was worthless! Well now see the power I wield!"
He threw TD into the sky and used his magic to fling him into a building and toss him about.
"Tell me how proud you are, father!" he spat, but he also sounded a bit desperate. "Tell me! Tell me! TELL ME!"
TD finally came to a grinding halt before Philip as his friends all gasped in surprise.
"That's enough!" came a loud voice, and Michael shot through the air, slamming into the ground a few feet away from Phillip and TD as ice and frost started to form in a five-foot circle around him. He raised the Sword of Death, whose blade was smoking with frost, and pointed it at Philip.
"You hurt my friend one more time, and I'll show you true power from a race more ancient than you can imagine," the Pyrunian growled softly. Joy landed there in a moment as well, making cracks on the ground beneath his feet as he was burning with his red aura.
"You won't hurt him anymore, you hear that!" he shouted, pointing his weapon at the monster.
"I waited too long for this!" Philip shouted. "And no hand-me-down wannabe hero is gonna-"
"I... am proud..." TD managed, shocking Philip as he abruptly stopped speaking and turned to see TD struggling to his feet.
"From the very moment you were born... I've always been proud of you," TD continued softly. "And because of my pride... I asked too much from you... wanted to see you as one to fight and conquer the universe by my side. As such... I allowed my darker side to run amok with you and take what he pleased from you... Darkness clouded my vision, and made me into a monster when I should've been your father. I know it won't fix anything... but I'm sorry." Philip didn't seem to believe what he was hearing and just stood there as TD finished. "I'm sorry I killed your mother, sorry for using you as a tool and treating you like dirt, sorry for pushing you too far and asking too much of you... I'm sorry... for everything. And if you must kill me, know that I have and always will love you... my little prince..."
Michael stayed silent, waiting to see what would happen, keeping his sword at the ready. Philip finally spoke, and he sounded a bit emotional too.
"You... haven't called me that since-" He shook his head. "Stop it! Stop tricking me!" He raised his hand, but hesitated again. "I must kill you! I must take everything from you like you did to me... so why does it hurt to do it? Why does it hurt so much inside?!"
"Because deep down, you know what the right thing to do is," Michael said.
"You can't deny that you still love your father," Joy said with a somewhat caring voice. "Maybe, you're not a monster after all, just a cranky child..."
Philip looked between them, then raised his hand again and stopped it midway once more. Then he roared with anger and slammed the ground, creating a mini burnt crater. He breathed heavily, then activated his coms.
"Men... withdraw,'" he ordered.
"Sir?" a voice on the other line asked.
"You heard me, soldier," he retaliated, then looked back to TD. "I spare you this one time, father. But if we ever meet again... I will kill you myself."
He then disappeared in a fiery explosion, and TD smirked when he was gone.
"He didn't promise that would be the case," he noted with a smile.
"Sweet Shiva..." Chuck muttered under his breath.
"You really like pushing your luck, don't you?" Michael asked.
"Eh... a little," TD admitted. Chris suddenly landed nearby, looking straight at TD.
"TD, Gideon's scanners have picked up several ships approaching at hyper travel. They'll be here in a few moments," the human said.
"Uh... is that good or bad?" TD asked.
"Guess we'll find out," Bill muttered.
"Hopefully good, I don't think we really need things getting any worse," Chuck remarked.
The irony that will come... (Yeah, I haven't spoken much during this; this story is much more serious, that's why)
"Dad! Dad! Come quick!" Chuck heard his eldest and only son, Sterling call, Sugar Plum running beside him, neither looking very jovial.
"What is it?" Chuck asked.
"It's Sweet Tooth!" Sugar Plum answered. "Something's wrong with her! I don't know what... we need you back at the hive now!"
Chuck looked to the others, and back at his children.
"You take care of those ships, I've got to go see my kid!" he told them, running off with Sterling and Sugar Plum.
"Sweet Tooth?" TD looked back, then Bill walked over to him.
"I can take control just a while longer, TD," he said. "You see what's wrong."
TD nodded and rushed off after them. Zach watched, then he too rushed after him, for Sweet Tooth had been one of his friends since foalhood.
While that was going on, Evan teleported towards a slightly wounded Ruby and offer her a hoof to get up with a gentle smile on his muzzle.
"Thanks," she said as she stood to her feet and looked back down at him.
"It's okay..." Evan said. "Thanks you, for being kind enough to worry over such a useless soul as me." Evan held up his hoof as two metallic gauntlets with three different colored hexagonal gems attached to both, appeared floating over it. "Take these," Evan said "To help you for upcoming fights..."
Ruby looked to them with a look of awe, then looked back to Evan as one of his sentences registered to her.
"Useless? What do you mean?" she demanded, surprising for a girl who was still quite young.
"I mean, my life isn't worth more than a young one like yourself..." Evan chuckled. "Just take them, my hoof is tiring a little."
Ruby obliged and took the gauntlets, but was still not done talking to him.
"Hey, you don't have to feel like your life's worth less than my own or that you're a useless soul," she told him. "If anything, your life is worth just as much as mine, if not more."
"Okay..." Evan passed her a smile. "Now... don't you wanna try your new equipment?"
"Well, unarmed combat is mostly Yang and Diego's thing, but I'll give it a try," Ruby answered, putting the gauntlets on. As she wore them, some kind of light shone from the gems and she soon found herself wearing some armor perfectly fit to her.
"Looks good?" Evan asked with a smile. "You are the second person to wear the Gauntlets of Uristuma. Now you hold the power to crack even the hardest of diamonds, and to some extent have unlimited invincibility!"
"Wow! This is the greatest gift I've ever gotten!" Ruby squealed, then rushed over and gave Evan a big hug. "Thank you so much!"
"It's alright, I am glad you like them," Evan said and returned the hug. In a few moments, he released her and gave her a smile.
"Well, I need to get going," Ruby said as she took the gauntlets off for a moment. "After that attack from Philip, I need to get my burns checked or Yang might scold me for not taking care of myself. See you around, Evan!"
She ran off towards the med bay, occasionally using her Semblance to swiftly fly over large distances.
"Take care," Evan said and then he disappeared as well.
"Come on, we have no time to lose." Chuck said, running faster. At the hive, he was greeted by Pinkie Pie, and her expression didn't exactly settle with Chuck well.
"Come on," She told them, rushing them to the medical ward.
"I'm back for barely a day, and already things are not going well," TD muttered along the way; he sounded as if he didn't want to go along, but in truth he was very concerned for Sweet Tooth.
"Oh, please be alright!" Zach said aloud as he galloped past his father.
"It doesn't look good," Sugar Plum said, entering the ward. Inside, Sweet Tooth lay atop a medical bed, Changeling doctors and medics surrounding her.
"Dr. Hivemind, what's going on?" Chuck asked the nearby doctor.
"It's worst than I had hoped, my king," Hivemind answered. "She's suffering from a disease that is common among Royal Changelings, and though rare at her young age, it's not unheard of. The ponies have a fancy name for it and each hive has a different word for it, but we just call it... The Royal Disease." He hung his head as TD and Zach entered just then. "I'm sorry your majesty, but there's no known cure for it. The most we can do at this point is make her comfortable before she..."
He didn't finish, for it was too obvious what was implied. Zach and TD looked alarmed, Zach more so.
"You mean... you can't fix her?" he asked. Color faded from Chuck and Pinkie's faces. Chuck managed to keep his composure but the news caused Pinkie to fall down and start weeping at their daughter's bed. Sweet Tooth looked at her crying mother, then up at her father.
"Dad... Mom.. I'm sorry."
"No, no... this isn't your fault," Chuck reassured her. "It could have happened to any one of us, it should have happened to me." He gripped her hoof.
"Sweet Tooth..." Sterling felt a lump in his throat, knowing he'd be losing his twin forever. Zach closed his eyes and his wings glowed for a moment before returning to normal. In a short moment, an image suddenly phased through one of the walls nearby and Diana trotted over to them.
"Zach just told me..." she said, then looked down to her friend with tear filled eyes. "I'm here now... I would've come sooner if I knew..."
"We all would have," Chuck nodded.
"II'S NOT FAAAIIIRR!" Pinkie wailed, sobbing as she cried out.
"Sweet Tooth..." Sugar Plum started. "I... I don't know..."
Sweet Tooth nodded, knowing that Sugar Plum didn't need to say anything; the sentiment was known.
"No parent should be forced to outlive their child," Chuck griped, a lump forming in his throat. "Especially not in this way."
"I'm sorry, your highness, but there's nothing that can be done," Hivemind lamented.
"Dad... it's nothing that can be controlled..." Sweet Tooth reassured him. TD finally walked forward and knelt down beside her bed.
"I haven't been the best of uncles, or the most interactive for that one," he said. "I annoy your dad, your mom, the Changelings in this hive... basically, I'm just as much a pain as I am a friend to them all." He sighed and placed a hand on the bedside, gripping it so his knuckles turned extremely white as he tried to hold back the tears. "But I won't lie when I say... I'm really going to miss you. And if I've ever done anything to offend you, then I'd like to apologize for it now."
"All is forgiven." Sweet Tooth nodded. Her limbs grew limp, and her breaths started to have more weight. She took one last look at her family, who had gotten closer as these phenomenons started.
"G... G... Goodbye you guys... I.. I love you," She smiled, saying her passing words, her eyes drooped shut and her head fell to the pillow, life leaving her body. There was a haunting silence as she passed, Chuck and Pinkie exchanged glances, then looked to their two remaining children.
"It's... it's alright children..." Chuck spoke. "Life is full of greetings and partings... and... and we will never forget Sweet Tooth, one of the first partings among our family."
He took off his crown and hung his head as he and his family sang a sad song in memory of her.
Chuck: Was a fool with my money
And I lost every dime
And the sun stopped shining
And it rained all the time
Did set me back some
But I made it through
But I'll never get over losing you
Sugar Plum: Do you know, how much you mean to me?
Should've told you
Cause it's true
I get over losing anything
But I'll never get over
Losing you
Sterling: When you're young
And there's time
You forget the past
You don't think that you win
But you do
But I know
That I don't have time enough
And I'll never get over
Losing you
Pinkie: I've been cold
I've been hungry
Not for a while
I guess most of my dreams have come true
With it all here around me
No peace do I find
Cause I'll never get over losing you
Chuck and Pinkie: No I'll never get over losing you
Diana's head drooped down and lowered her horn until it touched the curved horn of her friend and a temporary glow occurred between them. "Good bye... Sweet Tooth," she managed, before laying her head completely on the bed and sobbing quietly. Zach felt his own tears forming, but he didn't cry them aloud yet as he joined his sister and gave her a hug. TD made a motion over Sweet Tooth's body with his hand.
"May you find peace and prosperity in death," he whispered.
"Goodnight, my dearest," Chuck took one last look at her. "Come," he said, not wanting to lose his composure in front of his family. "Let's... let's let her rest." He said, leading his family out of the ward. Everyone nodded solemnly and left the room with him. TD stayed the longest, glancing back.
"I wish this didn't have to happen," he whispered to himself. Then he remembered a quote he would use often.
"So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All you must decide is what to do with the time given to you."
TD managed a small sad smile and felt a relieving wave rush over him.
"Thanks... I needed that," he said seemingly to no one, then he too left the room.
Next time, we'll check out those ships and see just who exactly they may be, friend or foe.
I am now SO glad I decided to go for the hurt/comfort genre for this story, because I've had so many deaths so far, and they're all so sad to read (and in my case, write). And the worst part is that I know this won't be the last death either, so... spoilers.
And yes, the scene between TD and Philip was derived off of a scene from Kung Fu Panda.
In case some of you don't know or in case you've forgotten, I am able to write about emotional deaths and such because I myself have suffered loss before and I know exactly how one feels in that situation. If any of you out there who read my content have lost a loved one before, you have my deepest heartfelt sympathy.
Song used: "Losing You," by Randy Newman.
Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed and I'll cya in the next chapter!