The Rise and Fall of Dark Fire and The Elements of Disharmony

by Shady pillow

For Twilight Sparkle, making friends was tough. So when a new unicorn comes into Ponyville, she naturally tries to show him kindness and friendship. However, when Twilight's new friend constantly distracts her from preventing a warning from the future and an assignment from the princesses, things can be said that weren't meant. Can Twilight and her friends stop this new threat?

33. Chapter 16 F (part 2-2)

Chapter 16 F: The Forgotten Past (part blah blah blah you know the drill)

Despite what I said before, the chapter turned into a bucken novel of over 50,000 words and still counting. I decided to release this bit so it's not overwhelming. The next chapter is purely action and drama though, look forward to that. So, here's a celebration for completing finals and marry Christmas and a happy new year to everyone just in case i cant post before the big day.

I might make a Christmas special for the fic because January 4th was the the day i first started posting the fic. I will include just my characters and cannon characters doing christmas junk or something. There's been a lot of drama lately, so it's comic relief.

Edit: Yeah...i didn't happen. Also scene and sense. If you see a scene where it doesn't make sense, replace it with sense because it doesn't belong in that scene...i hate my word docs sometimes.

My editor died: I need a new one...like...please...

Good news:I have part 3 and 4 already done for you guys...I just need to Finnish editing part 2 and we are good for the next two weeks! Finally able to move on to the end of sage two and into the next eight chapters (1/7/14)

Editor: My editor left a long time ago...I really need one badly to fix all the junk in the fic, it's hard to write and then review at the same time with life to deal with as well.

The red alicorn reappeared before the destroyed bunkers entrance. It was just how he left it, quite and void of live.

'This is the only lead I have, might as well check here first.' Blaze thought, entering the base.

To no shock, he found dead bodies completely surrounding him from every side. He took a deep sigh and continued onward. He eventually reached a room that contained what he thought were squares with black mirrors connected to one another.

'This place has completely fallen apart. Whoever did this made sure to leave absolutely no evidence to follow. But it still doesn't explain these devices on the walls.'

Blaze looked down at a control panel and curiously started to press buttons to no anvil.

'Whatever powers these things must had been destroyed along with everything else in the explosion. What if I…'

Blaze's horn started to glow yellowish-red, commanding the technology in the room to spring to life. He was slightly frightened when the "black squares" suddenly started to show images of ponies and other races.

'Woah, we should totally have ponies play sports on these…I mean…what kind of technology is this?'

He continued to stare into the screens, waiting for something to happen. He then had a bright idea.

"MIRRORS OF MAGIC, SHOW ME THE PONY NAMED NIGHT SHADOW!"

Nothing happened.

"I COMMAND YOU, IN THE NAME OF OUR KING, SHOW ME WHAT I WISH TO SEE!"

Nothing happened yet again, except for the fact that Blaze had a large tear drop form on the top of his head.

"That's not how those work my lord." A weak voice whispered behind him.

Blaze abruptly spun around and took on a random karate stance.

"Where did you come from?!" Blaze demanded, trying to keep his stance.

"Don't be alarmed…I'm clearly not in a state to fight, especially if it's an alicorn. I can help you…just help me up…I beg of you."

Blaze pointing his glowing horn at the voice in the corner of the room. It was the captain that was sparred during the fight with Légio, but he had a large wound on his head and lots of rubble had covered most of his bloody body. The alicorn took no time at all to remove the rubble from the captain's body with his magic and helped him to his hooves.

"It warms my heart to know that there's at least some ponies that still remain loyal to us." Blaze said, being relieved.

"Not all of us have abandoned your rule, but there are those that you must be wary of."

"Like who?" Blaze asked, exasperated.

"We captured a pony with a red coat and long black hair about a week ago...it was the biggest mistake we could have ever made."

"Night Shadow..." Blaze whispered.

The captain started to cough loudly, spitting up blood as he did so.

"My time is short...*pant*...but i must warn you of his followers."

The captain described the seven ponies that he had witnessed and what their professions where.

"Even though I was hit on the head by the one in silver...I managed to stay conscious, but the rubble has decided to take my life earlier then I had planned."

"I can save you, I have the abilities to-

"It's unnecessary...something you alicorns will never get is that one day, you have to let things go...you have to move on...what has happened can't be erased or changed...you just have to focus on the now...and look to the future..."

The captain fainted from blood loss in the alicorns hooves as he allowed death to take its toll. Blaze, even though he felt pain for the pony, had experienced these scenes over and over before, making him almost appear heartless.

"You have served your country well soldier...you will not go unremembered..."

The light from his horn diminished as darkness enveloped the room for the last time.

---

Blaze returned in a flash of light to the hideout. Looking to his left, he found Blue and Ra'zar meditating on medium sized rock.

"Blue, my theory is correct. Night Shadow is alive and he has four of the elements of harmony." Blaze said, staring up at him.

Blue slowly opened his eyes, gazing passed Blaze before moving his head towards him. He remained silent and closed his eyes while Ra'zar opened his own and started laughing.

"Ha! That f**k is still alive! He's probably too stubborn to die!" Ra'zar stated with a sardonic smile.

"Yeah, and he has six others followers that are just as good as he is."

"What do you have to say about that, Blue? Probably the reason for the missin' elements as well." The gryphon suggested as he got up from the rock.

'I just said that you dolt.' Blaze though angrily. "This is an ergent matter, the faster we act the better. Blue, inform the others of this news while I brief Ra'zar."

Blue stood up on the rock as the wind began to blow, causing the collar of his cloak to block the muzzle part of his face.

"No." Blue said in a calm tone.

"I think we'd be better off doing this on our own." Ra'zar said pointing his right talon at himself. "I want to see if that damn mare of his is with him, I owe her for taking off my head and leaving me without at least hearing me curse her out. I bet she thinks I am dead. Wait till she sees-

"Shut-up." Blue interrupted him.

"I'm going to warn the others and send them with you whether you like it or not. I'm not going to take any chances. Now wait here until Celestia gives you the orders to pursue."

Blaze ran into the entrance of the cave and vanished into the darkness.

Ra'zar glanced at Blue and nodded his head. Blue nodded back as he calmly walked down the road, followed by the gryphon.

"We're going to enjoy this, I am sure of it!" Ra'zar said.

Five minutes passed until Blaze emerged from the cave with Celestia, finding that the two soldiers had completely vanished.

"THOSE IMPATIENT LITTLE-

"Blaze, silence yourself...I will send the others with them." Celestia said calmly.

"But what about Night Shadow, if they kill him then-

"I know, I will do what I can. For now, my father needs you on the battlefield to fight Herus' armies."

"As you wish, princess." Blaze said, disappearing from view.

"The children are reckless, are they not?" Cantata said, appearing by her side.

"We were all children at one time...you know your mission and your orders, get the elements and don't harm Night Shadow in any way. Avoid conflict at any cost if you can, now go."

He nodded his concealed head and vanished.

---

"There's nothing but trees, trees, and more trees. Where does it end?" Filia asked, lightly hovering besides Night Shadow.

"Be grateful, it provides shade and cover unlike open ground." Night Shadow remarked.

"That can backfire almost instantly and you know it, Night Shadow." Tremor pointed out.

"That's why we have Mico observing the skies, Légio in the trees, and Elegit scanning the area with magic.

"So how much farther?" Callidus asked. "I'm getting really hungry."

"Depends on how hard we search."

Meanwhile, Ra'zar was walking down the dirt road, whistling his favorite death tune. He soon stopped and gritted his teeth.

"Damn it, I can't believe he had me scouting!" He growled angrily. "Celestia better give me more than just bits, maybe that fine flank of hers!" He laughed.

Ra'zar stopped as his wings opened.

"That damn mare...I smell her. I know she is around." He muttered. "She will pay for what happened last time." He growled.

Night Shadow suddenly stopped and put his hoof up, stopping the others as well. He pointed to Tremor and then pointed to a large push to the left. Tremor nodded silently and hid into the bush. Next, he pointed to Filia and lifted his head upwards. She flared her wings and flew into the trees tops above. Lastly, he looked at Elegit and pointed to Sapphirine, silently telling him to keep her close.

"So you can feel it to then?" Elegit asked in a whispered.

Night Shadow nodded in agreement.

"Stick to the shadows." Night Shadow ordered, continuing his walk on the dirt path.

Ra'zar started whistling again as he continued down the road until he stopped and remained still. He soon took out his necklace and prayed quietly. After a few seconds he put it back and took out a few knives from his cloak.

"I smell you!" He yelled into the sky.

"Callidus, bushes, now." Night Shadow ordered.

Callidus practically nose dived to his right and vanished. Night Shadow cracked his neck and continued to walk forward.

Ra'zar soon glanced down the road and grinned. He spotted Night Shadow and started to laugh.

"So, it's you again, surprise to see me?!" He asked.

"Ra'zar...how could I forget the name and annoying voice." Night Shadow said, smirking. "I was expecting just some random mercs or soldiers, but I should have known better. So, where's Blue at?"

The gryphon started to laugh.

"He's dead!" He yelled. "The dumba** attempted to assassinate Herus and got impaled by six spears before having his dumb a** heart rip out! Serves him right!"

"Hmmm, unlikely. His training got me this far, surely he of all ponies wouldn't be so carless."

Ra'zar licked his beak and looked around. "So...where's that whorse of yours. I owe her for injuring me." He said, emphasizing on the word "Injuring".

He soon glared at the tree.

"How long are you going to hide there?!" He yelled throwing his knife at the bark of the tree. Electricity started to spark as it soon exploded, causing the tree to fall down.

"Oooo, so close to." Night Shadow mocked.

The gryphon glared at Night Shadow before dashing towards him with maniacal laugh.

"I will kill you!" He yelled swinging his right talon but soon vanished into lightning and appeared behind him. "DIE!" He swung his talon down.

Night Shadow dodged and rolled forward, leaving an active grenade in the process.

Ra'zar laughed as he stood in place. He grabbed the grenade and electrocuted it, causing it to become a dud.

"Lightning is the powerful one over earth. Grenades are full of gun powder made from earth minerals."

Night Shadow smirked as his gun appeared into his hooves and fired once at the talking bird.

Ra'zar stood his ground again but took the bullet to the head directly, falling flat on the ground as a pool of blood formed around him. The air grew quiet.

"Ok, that was a bit too easy or I'm I just that good." Night Shadow chuckled.

"Arrogant now, huh, Night Shadow?" Blue asked standing behind him with his knife ready.

'And so it begins.' Night Shadow thought.

Night Shadow spun around and flipped a switch on his shotgun, firing a red laser from it. He quickly followed this with a plasma bolt and a magical discharge.

Blue leaped back and took covered, dodging the attack before he readied his knife. He got out of the cover and stared at Night Shadow emotionlessly. He soon stared at Ra'zar's body.

"So, you actually got him?"

"Highly doubt it, that would have been too easy." Night Shadow proclaimed, putting his gun on his back, knowing guns wouldn't work on him.

"Ra'zar has no magical energy to produce any fake tricks up his sleeve. That is really him. An arrogant gryphon, don't you think?" He asked calmly.

"Who the hell are you calling arrogant?" Ra'zar asked, getting up from the ground before appearing next to Night Shadow.

He quickly grabbed his throat and squeezed tightly while holding him up in the air.

"That hurt, you know?" He asked as electricity sparked off of him. Blood leaked down his bullet wound on his face.

"Oh great, another immortal to deal with."

Night Shadow flipped kicked Ra'zer in the face, breaking out of his grasp as he landed a good ten feet away.

"Hmm, what do you mean?" Ra'zar asked, glaring at Night Shadow.

Blue lifted a brow, before looking around at the trees.

"You're just going to get up and act like that shotgun blast did nothing. Please, that was a buck shot dead to your head and your here brushing it off and saying it's just a flesh wound. Yeah, you're immortal; I've dealt with them before."

"Who exactly?" Ra'zar asked, grinning at the unicorn.

"You."

The gryphon appeared right next to him and swung his electrified talon.

"Enough!" Blue shouted causing him to freeze and leap back.

"The hell, man?" Ra'zar asked, glaring at him angrily.

Blue stared at Night Shadow and sheathed his blade back in his cloak.

"We did not come here to fight."

"Fine, then I'll be on my marry when then." Night Shadow said.

"We came here to talk." Blue stated in an emotionless tone.

This took Night Shadow off guard.

"Talk? You barely talked to me when I was still your apprentice, now you want to talk?"

Blue did not comment but cleared his voice lightly.

"I know you took the Elements of Harmony. Where are they hidden at?"

"Why do you want to know? There nothing but worthless orbs with gem stones in them. What, do you want some easy money?"

Blue remained quiet before looking at Ra'zar. The gryphon scoffed and folded his arms.

"If that is so, why will you not hand them over to me?"

"Because you have Celestia and friends to give you things like food. I have to hunt for a living. It's quite obvious, I need the money. So can I go now?"

Blue tilted his head and scoffed.

"You may leave if you tell me where you have them."

"I told you, I need them for the money."

"That was an order, Night Shadow." He narrowed his eyes as his tone grew grim.

"Hmmm, yeah, let me go out of my way to personally show you where I put them." Night Shadow said sarcastically. "I had a certain pony hide them in all sorts off different locations before we left. I have no idea where they are."

Blue sighed as Ra'zar groaned in annoyance.

"Really now?" He muttered looking at Ra'zar whose body began to spark out electricity. "We will hunt down those that traveled with you and force them to speak...even if it means killing them." Blue said.

"Ha, those that travel with me? Like who?"

"One from the tree, sky, and the one that could not sense magic coming from me and Ra'zar." He stated. "Sapphire, and a few more, my leader informed me of."

"Sapphirine...her name is Sapphirine."

"Formal, buddy!" Ra'zar shouted before taking a step forward only to be stopped by Blue.

"I have a question for you...Night Shadow." Blue stated. "The answer...we both are searching for...where do you supposed it will lead you?" He asked.

"A quick buck?" Night Shadow asked, slightly confused

Blue shut his eyes as Ra'zar glanced back.

"So, boss wants us back?" Ra'zar grumbled.

"It appears, meaning, our chat must be cut short." Blue said, looking back at Night Shadow. "Night Shadow, what made you search for the Elements of Harmony to begin with?"

"I heard they could bring harmony to the world and grant the user great power, went looking for it, found all five. Turns out they don't even work."

Ra'zar started to laugh as Blue shut his eyes again.

"How amusing, I wonder why they couldn't work!" The gryphon said in a taunting tone. "It should have been obvious!"

"Yeah, yeah, i'm a bad guy with no good in my heart bla bla bla. They still don't work."

"Whoever mention bad guy, dumba**. They don't work because you have not obtained the right Element." The gryphon stated in a chuckling tone. "You must be one smart pony, with a small a** brain made by some b**ch you call your mother."

"Ra'zar." Blue spoke causing the gryphon to look back at him, grinning. "We will be leaving now. We must prepare the Tower of Answers with the others before Celestia sends out the others to look for us."

"I know, I know, sheesh, but..." He stared back at Night Shadow. "I am going to sacrifice you while taking that nice mare of yours for a good ride before eviscerating her damn existence. Don't forget that!" He yelled before vanishing in a flash of lightning.

Blue sighed and looked at Night Shadow.

"As Ra'zar said, you do not have the right Element. It is up to you figure out what you are missing. From here on, I, Blue Aspyxia declare war on you. The Celestia Corps will not hold back and will eliminate you and those that follow you since you are, too, a great threat to this world and our mission." He stated. "Any questions?"

"Yeah, can you shut the birds beak up before I shove my gun down his throat?"

"I do not control his actions." He answered. "I can't even kill him. But I can contain him from killing others like Celestia. He reminds me of you...reckless and loud."

"At least I can shut up when I need to listen."

Blue turned around and walked away.

"Once we cross paths again...I will not hesitate to kill you. That time on the bridge...you were only lucky enough to survive." He said in a cold tone.

"This time will be different." Night Shadow said, smiling. "I won't disappoint you."

Blue did not answer but remained quiet. When he was out of Night Shadow's sights, Cantata sat from afar, observing the unicorn before vanishing. He went off to return his report to Celestia while also keeping some information private to himself.

---

The day had come and gone. The darkness of night covered the land once again as Night Shadow paced around the camp site.

"Not the right element, what is that suppose to mean?" Night Shadow asked himself.

"Is there more than one element or something?" Mico asked.

"Just the sixth one, if it's even real."

"Maybe Blue is just testing you, see if it will change your stratagy or behavior." Légio said.

"No, I've never seen Blue lie before even to the enemy. Then again, anything can change."

Night Shadow continued to pace around, becoming frustrated.

"#%$ , this is worrying me more than it should." Night Shadow blurted out.

"What if it was...changed?" Sapphirine said, trying to stay warm by a fire.

"Changed? Like how?" Callidus asked.

"Like altered, replaced, something."

"A decoy?" Tremor said, throwing in theories.

"Or perhaps it's a fake." Night Shadow declared.

"Ok, so what if it is. Do you really believe they could have made an exact replica of an ancient artifact. If so, how many of the elements did they replicate?" Elegit asked.

"How should I know? It's not like we have them here to compare them." Night Shadow said.

"Well, I wouldn't say that." Sapphirine said, reaching for a bag"

She opened her bag to show all five elements neatly placed and protected within. She even deactivated a bomb just to take them out.

"Sapphirine...why did you bring those?" Night Shadow said, slightly chuckling like he was losing sanity

"I was worried somepony would find them, so I brought them with us."

Night Shadow remained frozen in place before standing up.

"I'll be back..."

Night Shadow traveled into the woods and found a small river. He quickly dunked his head into the water and screamed so loud that the fish jumped out of the water in pure fright.

"It's ok...it's ok...I'll just hide them somewhere else before Blue comes in and takes them." He said to himself. "No, it's too late now, she'll just have to carry them in an inconspicuous bag or bake them into a pie or something."

Night Shadow took several more minutes to calm down before he returned to camp.

"Ok guys, new plan, we're going to have to go into a nearby city and stay in an inn for tonight. There we will have Sapphirine bake the elements into a big piece of bread along with other light food items. You have one hour to rest up before we move."

The hour had left as quickly as it came. The squad traveled for a good thirty minutes before they reached a fairly large city with a breathtaking golden wall.

"This looks expensive." Légio said, smiling as he went.

"I'm surprised Discord would even let this city stand if it has all this wealth." Tremor said.

"He's not the destructive type, he's more like a childish kid on a high chair...or at least I think so." Night Shadow informed. "Remember, we're just staying here for one night only, don't go off and get wasted...or knocked up." He said, looking at Filia.

"That happened only one time!" Filia yelled, getting red.

"Yeah, and your excuse was because he was cute?" Callidus said.

"He said he was good friends with the prince of...Crystal towers or some city like that to the north."

"Sounds more like a hotel." Mico said, yawning.

They all arrived to the entrance of the gate, only to be stopped by heavily armed guards.

"We're going to have to search you and see some papers." The guard ordered.

"Oh I forgot...Elegit, can you point out where the north star is again." Night Shadow asked.

"Sure." Elegit said, walking to Night Shadow. "It's ummm...well...here, let me use my magic."

His horn flared dark green and in an instant all the squad's weapons became invisible.

"You see that star up there, that's where it is." Elegit said, pointing north.

"Thanks." Night Shadow said, smiling like an idiot.

The guards searched the ponies and, as planned, found nothing.

"We might have to pat down this one." Another guard said, pointing to Tremor.

"If you touch me anywhere stallion, I will break your face!" Tremor shouted.

"As guards of Discords court, we have the right to search anypony we please. So stand still while we check under you for explosives."

"Officers, I can guarantee that the only thing you will find under there is a big, black-

"Cockroach!" Filia shouted, stomping on it violently.

Everypony stared at her in confusion,

"What...I hate those things." Filia said, defending herself.

"Can we go in now?" Night Shadow asked in aggravation

"We need to see your papers first." The guard said.

Night Shadow sighed loudly as he reached into his bag and pulled out eight different files.

"Ok Mr. and Mrs. Star Blade, who's file belongs to who, they don't have pictures." The guard said, looking at Night Shadow.

"The orange pegasus is named Zealot. Dark blue earth pony is Grave Digger. Green unicorn is Blitzkrieg. Silver unicorn is Wild Card. Brown earth pony is Saber and lastly, the purple mare is Elegance."

The guard scanned the group thoroughly

"Yeah, but you called the green one Elegit several minutes before."

"Nickname, ever heard of one?" Night Shadow asked.

"Ok you're free to go." The guars said, opening the gate.

"Wait, what about these things?" Another guard asked, holding one of the elements with his hooves.

"Give that back!" Sapphirine demanded. "Those were my grandparents and I prefer if they stayed in the bag please."

"They could be bombs." The guard said, examining it further.

Night Shadow face hoofed

"Just let us pass already!" Night Shadow screamed.

"These must be examined further." The guard said, snatching the bag from Sapphirine.

Night Shadow's eye twitched in anger as he fell over and clenched his heart.

"What the heck is happening to him?" A guard asked, slightly worried.

"He's going into cardiac arrest, quick, open the gates!" Sapphirine yelled, glaring at the guard.

The guards dropped everything and opened the gates, forgetting all about the elements. While the others were taking care of Night Shadow's "heart attack" Légio grabbed the bag and vanished from sight with magic.

"Move out of the way!" Elegit yelled, placing his horn onto Night Shadow's head. 'We have the elements, let's ditch these guys.' He said through telepathy.

'Right behind you.' Night Shadow replied.

The green magician lifted Night Shadow to his hooves.

"Thank you; I don't know what I would do without you." Night Shadow said, breathing heavily.

"Probably die." Elegit said, chuckling.

"You guards can leave now." Mico said, showing them away.

The guards left and returned to their post as Légio reappeared with the bag of elements.

"$%^# * finally." Night Shadow said under his breath. "Let's go find a place to stay before something else happen."

---

After an hour of searching, they finally found a decent sized inn to stay for the night. It was a wooden cabin with a medieval themed feeling. Wooden walls, stone floor, large rug, bar, and a large fireplace to the side.

"Ok, it should be ten gold pieces for one room. There are eight of us and I don't mind sleeping with Sapphirine, so that narrows it down to at least seven rooms." Night Shadow informed.

"Seventy gold pieces? Do we even have that much?" Tremor asked.

Night Shadow suddenly had a look of surprise on his face.

"Crap, I didn't even think of that…ok, search your pockets for at least something."

Everypony searched their pockets and only came up with six pieces.

"Great, not only do we not have enough money to have Sapphirine disguise the elements, but we can't even afford one room."

"Give those pieces to me, I'll handle this." Filia said, holding out her hooves.

"And what are you going to do with them."

"A little something."

Filia walked up to the check-in stand and got the managers attention.

"Hello ma'am, how may I help you?" The stallion asked kindly.

"Oh, a work pony with manners…I like that." Filia said, lowing her voice.

"It's just common courtesy."

"True, but not many stallions have that anymore."

"So how can I help you?" The stallion asked with a smile.

"Well, I would like to stay here for the night." Filia said, twirling her hair with her hoof.

"Alright, that will be ten gold pieces."

Filia acted surprised when the words left the stallions mouth.

"Ten! I thought it was only five!"

"I put a sign up saying it was ten gold pieces, you should have read the sign."

"But I only have six!" Filia said as her eyes watered.

"It's ok, just come back when-

"NO, it's not ok!" The mare yelled, putting her face into her hooves. "I-I work so hard to get food and money. Please, I don't want to sleep outside again in the cold, bleak weather again."

"I- I can't really help you." The manager said, being stuck in an awkward situation.

" Please, I'm begging you! You don't know what it's like out there, alone by yourself with nothing buts rats for friends."

"I'm sorry, but-

"Sorry?! Don't tell me you're sorry when you won't give me a room just because I'm down four pieces!"

"It's the rule, I-

"You don't care at all, you would rather have a nice mare suffer in the rain then give her a nice room for only one night! Why is everyone so mean to me?!"

Filia burst into tears and started to sob extremely loud. It was loud enough to be heard outside.

"Please, keep it down, you'll wake the other." The stallion pleaded.

The mare continued to sob and scream as waterfalls of tears literally spewed out of her eyes.

"Ok, ok! I'll give you a room just please stop crying." The stallion begged.

She slowly placed the pieces onto the table and stopped her screaming, but she was still weeping softly.

"Thank you so much…"

Filia slowly walked to the room and closed the door. Meanwhile, Night Shadow and the others were completely dumbfounded.

"I'll go check on her." Night Shadow said, walking to the room.

He knocked on the door with his hoof. Before he could react, the door opened and he was pulled inside as the door quickly slammed shut.

"Oh no you don't." Sapphirine whispered, running to the door and practically bucking it down.

She looked at the bed to see two pony sized lumps covered up by bed sheets as a moaning noise came from within. Sapphirine quickly ran to the bed and grabbed the sheets.

"DAMNIT FILIA, I ALREADY TOLD YOU THAT HE'S MINE!" She screamed, pulling off the sheets.

To her surprise, she saw Night Shadow cuddling a large pillow and softly moaning as he hugged it tighter.

"Sapphirine…this is the most comfy thing I have ever felt in my life." Night Shadow whispered, closing his eyes.

"But but but but…where's Filia?" She asked, slightly angered.

"She's in the bathroom, taking a bath." Night Shadow informed. "Why?"

"I-I-I…wait, this place comes with a bathroom?"

"Yeah, pretty cool right."

Sapphirine simply stood still, trying to let everything sink in her head.

"I'm just going to go…"

"Alright, tell the others to leave their weapons in here and also tell them to go out and try to find money so they can get a spare room."

"What about you?"

"I'll go out and try to get money so you can hide the elements. We'll leave this town by sunrise. That gives them at least ten more hours to get enough money to sleep, eat, do whatever. Oh, and tell them they have the night off once that's done."

"What if they don't get enough money?"

"Then they will have to sleep here on the floor or share a room with whoever does." Night Shadow said, yawning. "Is that clear?"

"Yeah, just keep the bed warm for me…" Sapphirine said, slowly closing the door.

Night Shadow waited a good five seconds before he sighed in relief.

"Finally…now you're all mine..."

He reached behind the large pillow to grab a bowl of red apples. He casually shoving one into his mouth and swallowing the entire thing whole before belching loudly.

---

Ten hours pass.

Night Shadow finished his long shower as he emerged from the bathroom only to find that everyone was still asleep.

"Sapphirine, wake up, it's time to leave." Night Shadow whispered.

Sapphirine moaned softly as she shifted in the bed.

"Already...I just went to sleep."

"You went to bed at twelve in the morning, it's seven now, get up and cover your ears." Night Shadow warned.

He reached under the table and pulled out Callidus' shotgun, cocked it one time and fired into the ceiling.

All the other sleeping ponies suddenly awoke and pulled out their own weapons and pointed them at Night Shadow...well, except one.

"WHO ATE MY POPCORN!" Tremor screamed, getting up quickly.

"Shut up Tremor, they haven't invented that yet." Mico informed.

"Who cares, it's time to leave. We need to find a baker shop to we can hide the elements." Night Shadow said, tossing Callidus his gun.

The door was suddenly kicked open as the manager ran in.

"WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?!" He demanded.

"Sorry, Night Shadow dropped a soap bottle in the shower. It won't happen again." Legio said, hiding his knife behind his back.

"Hehe, dropped the soap..." Filia chuckled.

"Night Shadow? He said his name was Star Blade." The manager said, stepping back.

"Ummm, you see...about that..." Night Shadow began.

"Wait...you guys are those super soldiers Discord warned about!" The manager screamed.

"Cool, we're famous!" Filia shouted joyfully.

"You mean infamous you idiot!" Callidus yelled.

"Knock him out!" Night Shadow ordered.

Legio quickly appeared behind the manager and jabbed his neck with his hoof. The manager remained frozen for several more seconds before he collapsed like a rag doll.

"Damnit Legio, you're smarter than that!" Night Shadow yelled, slightly angered.

"Sorry, it just slipped." Legio said in shame

"And then you wonder why you lost all your money in a drinking contest and a poker match."

Legio sighed heavily before grabbing his stuff.

"Ok, everypony remain calm. We'll just drag the body in here and leave before anyone notices."

"What about the baker shop?" Elegit asked.

"It shouldn't be that hard to find a baker shop, I mean come on, who doesn't like the bakery."

---

They indeed found the baker shop, but it wasn't what they expected.

"Out of business...THIS IS COMPLETE BULL SH-

"Calm down Night Shadow, this isn't the worst thing that's happened to us." Elegit said.

"Yeah, we could all die in some sort of epic last stand or something." Filia joked.

"I have an idea, why don't we just make the elements invisible like we did with the weapons?" Callidus asked.

"That's impossible, it wouldn't work." Night Shadow said, punching the ground.

"Why not?"

"Because they're ancient magical artifacts." Elegit explained. "For one to make an object invisible, they would have to be of equal or greater power then the object of choice."

"And because of their power, they cannot be altered in anyway by...magic." Night Shadow said, suddenly in shock. "That's it; I know how to find the fake one."

Night Shadow grabbed Sapphirine's back and took out the elements. He laid them out side by side and then pointed at Elegit.

"Try to make each one invisible."

"I still don't see how this will-

"Just do it!"

Slowly but surely, Elegit tried to turn each element invisible, each time failing until he reached the element of honesty. With almost ease he turned the "element" invisible and smirked.

"HA, they picked the most ironic one to be the deceiver!" Night Shadow yelled in triumph.

"What are you guys doing?" A guard asked from behind them.

All the ponies turned around slightly stunned.

"Ummm, we're playing liars dice." Sapphirine said, smiling innocently.

"Kids..." The guard whispered, walking away.

"Great, we know which element is the fake, but we still need to hide the elements we have and get the real element of honesty." Callidus said.

"All in good time my friends...all in good time." Night Shadow said, smirking.

---

Cantata entered Celestia's bedroom, closing and locking the door behind him. The masked cloaked creature mumbled a few words as the door suddenly started to glow purple. It was enchanted so no one on the other side would hear them. Staring at the Princess, he cleared out voice and began talking.

"Princess Celestia, you must know that calling you is strongly based on my report after I departed from the cave. I bring you news that may have you suspicious of a certain member besides the reckless gryphon, Ra'zar." He spoke.

Celestia lifted up her gaze to look at Cantata.

"Speak then my friend."

"Children always deceive when they seek to gain what they want...you are one of them too, but capable of admitting your guilt. This child, however, is not. I believe, with enough calculations...Blue plans on turning on you and killing Blaze."

Celestia bear a look of sorrow before glaring towards a mirror.

"I should have known...I'm a horrible leader." She said, becoming saddened. "Everything I try ends in failure, I...I don't know if I can do this anymore."

"It is not your leadership he probably might turn on you for...it is the fact that you are who you have always been." He said in a stern tone. "Blue bears a powerful grudges against alicorns ever since he annihilated his village and killed his sister. He blamed them for his despair. They were considered as gods, but they never answered his prayers. Blue made a list, you see? He plans to eliminate each living creature on that list. You...are one of them."

"The main threat is Herus and his army of deception; have they forgotten why we fight?"

"I wish I knew further on his true intentions, but all that I can see...is that he plans to wage war on everybody." He said.

"No...I can't allow another monster to emerge because of my mistakes. I have to act before it's too late."

"How about you get it in your head, CHILD, this is not your mistake! You are a princess, not a soldier!" He spoke in a dark tone. "Being reckless and attempting to stop Blue will result in suicide, do you want to die?" He asked.

Celestia had a look of anger before she quickly corrected herself.

"There are times where I will need to be...but for now I can't do this alone."

The masked creature only groaned.

"Reckless children you all are. For centuries, all of your actions were simply fatal. Fine, but I must give you more information about Blue...and Night Shadow."

"Very well."

"Night Shadow has the Elements, I am sure you know that already. Blue has informed him that they are missing an element, Honesty being the fake. Night Shadow is cautious and is surely going to go after him in order to find the element. Blue intended this, meaning, he might just lead Night Shadow here or kill him. Whatever his gain is, I assure you...it is not going to be pleasant in the end. My suggestion for you, however, is to go into hiding and channel your energy with the planet's. That way, you will be at least be prepared to handle Blue or Herus, maybe even Night Shadow if they find you. That is my suggestion, you do not need to take action with it, but do be careful...be wary of Blue."

Celestia closed her eyes and sighed deeply, knowing what she had to do.

"I will return to my father and continue to help him with the war. I have failed you all and for that I am deeply sorry. It's just for once I thought I could make a difference to better this land of it's disparity. I see now that I am not ready for such a responsibility, not yet at least. I will try to find Blaze and inform him of what is happening, but he won't take the news well. I will not let this failure be the excuse to give up hope. I will return...but until then, be careful Cantata, I'll be watching over you."

Celestia stood in the room for another long moment before teleporting in a bright yellow light of magic.

Cantata glanced to the right, spotting a steel pipe jabbed through the wall, only two inches out. The creature growled lightly before deactivating his spell and exiting the room. On the other side of the room was Olga, folding her arms as she sat on the ground, gritting her teeth.

"That *******, Blue, you truly must die from me!" She growled before grabbing her weapon and pulling it out.

She soon pressed her paw against the wall and closed in the hole.

"I will bury you in the dirt." She muttered before pulling out a scroll from her pocket. "Herus will surely be pleased to have this scroll, but I will save it for later. Right now, I have a mission to attend to." She grinned, walking down the dark hallway.

---

Ruby walked through the market area admiring all the objects up for sell. The puppet master made sure to only bring in one scroll, her special scroll, alongside her as she explored the city Discord ruled. The young filly smiled brightly at a shop with puppets on display, but frowned once she spotted a sign reading closed.

"Dang it." She groaned in disappointment.

The filly glanced left and right, before walking passed the crowds of shoppers. She suddenly bumped into a guard and fell back. She did not groan or made any painful gestures from the hard fall, but she did glare up at the guards surprised.

"Woops, I did not see you there." She stated with a soft smile.

"It's fine, no harm done. Just be on your way." The guard replied.

She got up and slowly walked away, unaware that her cloak was a bit shred, revealing a small knife sheathed.

"I better get going; I have some things to attend to." She said happily.

"Hey, what are you carrying in your cloak?" The guard asked.

"Hmm?" The young filly looked back. "Behind my cloak...is the greatest art, ponies like you, would never be able to imagine." She stated in an emotionless tone, giving an ominous smirk before continuing on.

"I meant the blade, what kind is it?" He asked in a bit lighter tone.

"Why do you want to know?" She asked, staring forward instead of at the guards. "My blade is just a piece of my art. Nothing special."

"It's just that my daughter turned sixteen today and she wanted a blade of her own. I know it's strange to ask of you for your age, but what do you recommend."

She softly smiled back at him and spoke in a cheerful tone. "A blade...that can poison and kill even a manticore."

"To be honest, every blade is good, it just depends on the users taste and skill." A silver pony said, glancing at a block of cheese.

"Wrong!" She yelled, her tone becoming angry. "The user must understand that there is no such thing as everything being good! A blade must be perfect, better than anything else! Like a puppet, it must be selectively chosen, made, and work in specific ways that they art of its existence remains the omnipotent of its existence!" She stated. She soon calmed down and smiled, "but that's my view in blades...I'm sure your daughter will enjoy the knife you pick out for her, something from you're..." She soon frowned, "heart."

The silver pony kept his focus on the cheese as the word, "Puppet" ran through his head.

'This filly seems to know quite a bit about blades, almost too much for her age. I need to return to Elegit and ask him more about the puppet we found.'

The filly looked back at the guard and softly smiles.

"I wish your daughter a great birthday. She must be very proud that you're her father." She said, before turning around, leaving the area. She kept her eye on the silver pony, however. 'What does he know about blades.' She thought.

The silver pony sniffed the cheese wheel one more time before stuffing it into his cloak, accidentally showing all sorts of different blades. The young filly narrowed her eyes and scoffed, looking ahead.

"My blades...are better than his pathetic rusty metal." She commented, taking a right turn down an alley.

"Wild Card, it's time to go." Tremor said, tugging on his shoulder.

Légio nodded before he left the area to meet up with the others.

---

Ruby watched from the rooftop as Légio and Tremor walked off. She glanced at the guards and frowned. Taking out a scroll, she gazed softly at before staring at Légio and Tremor with an emotionless expression.

"Art is something more than being good. It must be perfect, just like a puppet. It must be so perfect that it must last forever." She said, tucking her scroll in her cloak's pocket.

She soon leaped off the rooftop and landed on another, tailing the group, curious to whom Légio was with all his weapons. 'What type of art does he hold?'

The other six ponies soon arrived and stood in a dark ally.

"Do we have everything?" Night Shadow asked.

Légio and Tremor nodded.

"Good. Elegit, long range teleportation spell, we can't risk being followed."

"Give me a minute to charge." Elegit said as his horn glowed with magic.

In a flash of green magic, all eight of the ponies vanished without a trace.

From the shadows, Ruby hid within the corner, shocked that the eight ponies vanished. Magical blue strings slowly emerged from her horn to telepathically connect to a puppet dragon flying around the area only twenty-five miles away from the city. She used its eyes to help her scan the area, however, she found none and made the dragon vanished into smoke.

"Where did they go and what were they so worried of? That pony with the blades...I must find him, I must know what he thinks about art." She muttered, walking to the spot the eight ponies were last at.

Glancing around, she frowned and started thinking about the guard that mentioned his daughter.

"Art...is special, it comes from the heart." She muttered, placing her right hoof against the cloak, pushing the cloth against her chest. "It is eternal." She smiled softly, before staring up into the sky.

She glanced down at the spot they were last at.

"Long range teleportation...that means I need five dragons to scan the area." She said, pressing her hooves together as a magical string spit into five and shot up into the air.

Her eyes were closed as she channeled her magic into the five dragons separately scouting the area from the sky. A small smirk appear on the filly's face as she stared up ahead.

"Found that pony with the blades." She muttered making her magical strings vanish along with her puppet dragons. "Time to greet him."

---

"What's with all the dragons flying around?!" Elegit said, ducking his head down

"Tremor, prep the stinger missile, we might need it." Night Shadow ordered.

Tremor spend no time reaching to his side and taking out a suit case. He then quickly put the stinger together and loaded it.

"Wait, aren't dragons cold blooded?" Filia asked.

"let's hope we don't find out." Night Shadow whispered, staying low

"Elegit, do you think you can cover us with invisibility?" Filia asked in slight panic

"I just teleported fifty miles out, I need time to recharge." Elegit informed, slightly aggravated.

"I was just asking."

"Night Shadow, I'm getting worried." Sapphirine whispered, clinging to his coat

"Just stay down." Night Shadow whispered.

Time felt like it slowed down to a snail's pace as they continued to crawl under the thick bushes and underbrush.

"They seem to be dispersing now. Give it a few more minutes." Night Shadow said, remaining still.

"Hello, Fluffy?! FLUFFY?! WHERE ARE YOU?!" Ruby called out loud, walking down the dirt road. "Dang it, Fluffy, we need to go home!"

"What is she doing here?" Légio whispered in shock

"Fluffy, we need to hurry back home! I have an art show ready to display and I don't want to lose the happy guests that paid so much bits to watch our play!"

All the others remained silent

Suddenly, the ground shook and the filly screamed in terror. A dragon with blue scales and white eyes roared at her as she crawled back in terror, pressing her back against a tree.

"You, you miserable pest! I will devour your body!" It roared.

"HELP, FLUFFY!" She screamed as the dragon opened its mouth wide.

Tremor stood up to lock on the dragon but was instantly stopped by Night Shadow's hoof.

"There's more than meets the eye here." He said, keeping his guard up

Ruby stared at with wide eyes before running to the right, dodging its destructive ice breath that froze the tree.

"Help!" She cried out running down the road as the dragon swung its tail, smacking her against a tree.

She made no signs of pain but remained still on the ground. The dragon turned around and opened its mouth, preparing to finish her off.

"No, I will first make you suffer! I am Jotun, remember this name as your soul sinks into Tartarus!" He yelled, laughing as he lifted his tail up in the air.

Night Shadow narrowed his eyes

'You wouldn't be out here if you couldn't defend yourself. Now let's see what you got.' He thought.

"Fluffy, somepony, help me." Ruby cried out in a soft tone, but the dragon was too blind to realize that she was unable to feel pain.

Its tail crashed down onto her, sending a few trees nearby it tumbling down. The filly stood there in her scratched up cloak, motionless as the dragon laughed.

"Finally, I killed the daughter of that third-rate *#& (*!" He laughed but he soon stopped and looked at the body.

The filly was still alive, getting up from the ground, but soon collapsed, crawling towards the bushes.

"So, you still have some life in you. Creatures with life in them deserve death! When I finish you off, I will make sure to kill all the ponies in the world, there, dragons will be the superior race!"

'That old fool, he does not know I am trying to lure them out. I kind of regret releasing him from his puppet state. He is too blind to see that dragons made peace with the ponies.' She thought, doing her best to act like she was in pain. 'My dragons spotted them around here, I just need that pony. The one with the blades...the one who might understand art like me.' She thought as silently prayed Légio came to her rescue.

The dragon named Joton walked towards her, toying with his prey.

"Ponies are so fragile and pathetic. They are food to us, dragons. So, you will be my food." He said opening his mouth wide. "Be gone with you."

'Or she could just be very stupid to just run into the forest but my gosh, she can take a hit.' Night Shadow thought. "Forget this, we need to go." He ordered

"You're just going to leave her here?" Sapphirine asked in shock

"It's a dragon, they're immune to magic I believe. I'm not risking my friends or you for one life."

"She's just a little girl, just like I was when you saved me six years ago. Get out there and be a stallion." Sapphirine demanded.

"I'm doing what's best for the group...Elegit, get us out of here."

"Ready." Elegit announced.

"Tremor, fire the missile!" Sapphirine ordered.

Tremor fired just as they teleported, leaving no trace once again

The dragon was caught by surprised hearing the incoming the missile.

"What is that?" He questioned.

The dragon had no time to avoid the missile that struck his face, exploding by impact. He remained there as smoke steamed off his neck. He soon collapsed and started fading away into ashes.

'What the, was that a missile?' The puppet master questioned in shock.

She got up and leaned against the tree.

'Damn it, that tail attack actually messed up my body.' She sighed in disappointment.

She looked around and started following the trail of smoke where the missile came from. She smirked and noticed the area they were last at left behind a scorch mark.

"If I am right, I might be able to find them. Let's see, long range or short range?" She muttered to herself as she summoned six falcon puppets. "Go!" She ordered, controlling them to fly off in seperate ways from the sky while shutting her eyes close. "Where are you, silver pony. I must know what you are in Art." She muttered to herself.

---

"It's only ten and I'm already tired...can we sit down please." Elegit asked

"Sure, it's the least we could do." Night Shadow said, finding some grass to sit on.

Tremor reloaded his launcher while the others took a seat.

"How could you be so heartless, Night Shadow!" Sapphirine yelled

"Would you risk everything for one life!"

"She's was so young and you left her to become dragon food!"

"You can't blame for such an act. I have to protect you.

"You gave me your word that you would stand up for those that couldn't fight for themselves! Yet when an opportunity arises, you run away!"

"Mico, get Elegit some water." Night shadow ordered, glaring at him.

The two ponies continued to argue as Mico gave Elegit a canteen.

"Mico...that filly had a strange aura to her...I've sensed it before." Elegit whispered, completely out of breath.

"Doesn't matter now, she's probably just a pile of bones in stomach acid now." Mico said, taking a seat on a rock.

"No, she's different...I know it."

Ruby landed on a branch, using the leaves to conceal her from being spotted by the group. She scanned the area and noticed Légio. Plans to make them separate was impossible, so she decided to go into Plan B. She smirked softly and landed on the ground. She looked around and spotted Tremor. Seeing the weapon that contained another missile in it, she felt relieved he saved her. Soon, she figured a plan out in making her entrance.

Sneaking behind Tremor, she sat down and prepared herself for the startled surprise the group was going to express. "THANK YOU!" She yelled in Tremor's ear.

"Filia, I told you before, you can't scare-

Tremor looked forward to see Filia staring right at him in shock. He looked back to see a small, smiling filly just staring at him.

"WHAT THE &- !" He screamed, jumping back and taking out his heavy machine gun.

The young puppet master quickly had her poison blade against his throat while pinning him to the ground. "Hi there!" She greeted.

Everypony looked at the filly in shock as she spotted Légio and giggled lightly, getting off a Tremor and trotting towards him. All the ponies kept their guard up as they held their weapons tight as she sheathed her blade and covered herself with her cloak. When she got in front of him, she sat down and smiled at him.

"Ok, who are you, how did you find us, what do you want, how did you teleport here without getting tired, and how did you survive the dragon tail all in that order." Night Shadow questioned

She gave him an emotionless gaze and soon an ominous smile.

"My name has no importance to you. Only..." She looked at Légio, "him." She smiled softly.

Mico snickered as the others remained confused.

"You know...you need to conceal those blades and even coat some with poison. It makes them easier to hide and deadlier to fight with." She commented.

"looks like someone has a crush on you, Légio." Mico teased.

"Why only talk to me, what concerns me concerns the group." Légio said, ignoring Mico.

The small filly only chuckled and continued.

"I believe the one that fired the missile was that pony," She gestured towards Tremor, "and you were the one who commented on all blades being good. I assume you heard my statement in how they are not to me."

"I remember quite clearly." Légio said, keeping a calm tone.

'I don't like this one bit.' Night Shadow thought.

"Then...you may explain to me, what is art to you?" She asked, looking at him with an ominous smile.

Légio thought for a bit before he gave his answer.

"Life...and everything it offers..."

The filly gave a frown of disgust.

"Life and everything it has to offer?"

Night Shadow gave a signal with his hoof to keep their guard up.

"You asked for my answer, so I gave it." Légio said, sighing softly

"Life must be preserved! If it is left to slip away and grant offerings to those who are too selfish, it will rot away and those that gained these offerings will suffer in despair! Life must be eternal! It must act as a puppet would, granted capabilities and skills that preserves its life!" She yelled in an angry tone.

Sapphirine reached into her bag and pulled out the puppet. Elegit was the first to notice as he went into a state of shock.

"Art is eternal LIFE!" She yelled, grinning as her eyes narrowed. She soon stopped and started to giggle lightly. "But I bet you know that as well as I, huh?" Her tone became calm.

"There are two sides to everything...it can be looked upon as a gift...or a curse..." Elegit said, breathing heavily. "You should know all about that though…puppet master."

The young filly froze and glared at Elegit.

"How do you know that I am a puppet master?" She questioned, becoming proud. "Have you seen most of my work, how I wiped out an entire city all by myself?!" She asked in an excited tone. "Oh it feels great to have a fan of art!" She giggled.

"I've seen it second hand...it's a nightmare." Elegit said, regaining strength.

"Glad that it is, my art is beautiful, frightening, and...reveals true despair to those that can't understand it." She said, before looking at Légio. "I am starting to like you all, except...you." She pointed her hoof at Mico. "You're ugly!" She spoke in a cold tone.

Tremor burst out laughing as Mico became flushed in embarisment.

"So, who are you all and I shall present you my name in gratitude that you saved me, well, he did." She muttered on the last part, referring to Tremor.

"You don't know who we are?" Filia asked. "Hmmm, we did a good job at hiding our identity then."

"Yeah, I plan to keep it that way if you don't mind." Night Shadow said.

"So, you're going into hiding? Why and who are you hiding from?" She asked in a curious tone.

"Its classified information, against protocol if you will." Callidus said.

"What if I can...share you classify information; I know a lot about world leaders living today?" She persuaded.

"We already know about Herus, Midnight, and Celestia's group of heartless terrorists. Nothing new under the sun if you ask me." Mico said.

"But do you know what is hiding under the skin of them all?" She asked.

"Lies." Night Shadow whispered.

"Especially the leader of Celestia's group. The one who is planning on putting the entire world at stake." She grinned.

"Blue?" Night Shadow asked.

"So you know him, but do you actually know why he is helping her out, what he really is trying to gain, everything Blue has done for the group has put them one step closer to a point where I am sure even Herus will become worried." She started to chuckled. "I can tell you what his real plans is, if you just tell me your names, real names."

"What are our fake names then?" Night Shadow asked. "If not real."

"I guess you don't want to know his plans, Night Shadow." She said in a cold tone, grinning at him.

Night Shadow's eyes dilated.

"How much do you know..."

"So much for the fact is...me and him are sometimes partner up together." She said.

"What about that bird he keeps around as a pet?" Tremor asked.

"Him, too, I know much about everyone, but my thirst for information that I will gladly share back, is all of your names." She said, looking at Légio.

Night Shadow took a breath before giving both real and code names to the puppet master

'I bet she will turn on us now that I gave her what she wanted.' Night Shadow thought.

"Thank you, in return, I shall give you my name...I am...Little Ruby, a Puppet Master in the magic arts of puppetry." She stated, before looking at Légio. "It is a pleasure in meeting you all."

"Why are you helping us?" Légio asked, being suspicious.

"Helping, who said I was helping." She said smirking at him. "You gave me what I wanted, your names, and I gave you mine in return. I have nothing else more to ask for." She said happily.

"So what is my old master's plan then?" Night Shadow asked

"I'm not telling you, since I never offered to give you that in return for something else from you." She said. "After all, you gave me your names and I gave you mine."

"You said you would share your knowledge, so share it." Night Shadow demanded. 'I knew she would do this!'

"But why, you have nothing else that I want that will make me share information in return. Well...except...for him." She said, gazing at Légio.

'Night Shadow, I don't think it's worth continuing this, just let her go.' Elegit advised telepathically.

Night Shadow nodded.

"If you're porpose is filled, then you may go."

She frowned before sighing in disappointment. She looked up at Légio and softly smiled.

"Légio is it? May you do me a favor, just one favor I wish you keep secret from them? I believe ponies like you can understand true art when they "see" it."

"Fine, I will." Légio said.

"Lean down, down to my face." She said in a soft tone.

Légio readied himself for any sudden movements as he leaned down to her face.

She gently grabbed his hoof and brushed it lightly before nuzzling it with her right cheek.

"I wish I could feel your coat, but I bet Wither will try shoving it in my face with all his pathetic pieces of art." She muttered aloud. She soon moved it down pass her cloak so he could feel her chest as she rubbed his hoof side to side.

"Do you feel it, the art behind this cloak?" She asked in a soft tone, leaning close to him until her eyes were glued to his, "It feels wonderful, does it not?" She asked.

Légio remained silent, feeling a rough surface that reminded him of wood.

"Is it...good? Does it feel great?" She asked, grinning madly at him.

"I don't know..."

"Maybe, you have feel even further." She said moving his hoof further down. "They may be watching us, but they do not know what you are witnessing. Soon, you will see it, this art of mine in true beauty."

Légio closed his eyes, trying to comprehend what he was feeling.

"It is art." She whispered in his ear. "Art that I can show you when we meet again."

"What are you?" Légio asked.

"Art." She stated, pulling out his hoof, before backing away. "That you will soon become."

"Uhhhh, no." Légio said, plainly.

She looked at the others and giggled before walking past Night Shadow.

"Goodbye, and good luck on your hunt for the missing element." She said happily. "And by the way," She turned around and smiled, "Don't die, Légio!" She yelled before walking into the bushes, heading down the road.

---

One day passes

Zenith and Sand Dust continued through the wide desert peacefully as the wind calmly blew. The zebra hummed to himself quietly while Sand Dust remained silent and emotionless. The zebra soon stopped and started to chuckle catching the small colt's attention. He looked down at him and prepared himself.

"You are probably confused as to why I am laughing?" He asked.

The colt did not answer back.

"Well, Sand Dust, the reason why I am laughing is because I remember an inside joke my friend had told me a long, long time ago. It's about the desert. Do you want to hear it?" He asked.

The colt again did not answer back and remained silent.

"Well, let's see…how did it go again? Oh yeah, that's right, what happens when sand gets in your eyes?" He asked, looking at the colt that remained silent. "A dusty ant!" He said, beginning to laugh as the colt only looked ahead. "Hmm? Heh, well, I have not told you my story haven't I; the time when I was little and met my first friend." He said, looking at the colt again with a soft smile. "Let's see…it started way back when…"

---

"We have talked about this already, Timer Smoke, we are not putting him up for adoption and that is final!" A female zebra snapped at an adult zebra.

They were both inside of a kitchen surrounded by hanging pots and sealed potions and spices. The walls around them in their small house were made of strong mud that turned into rock due to being dried by the sun. It was a normal household for zebras, though, it was only normal for three residents living in one.

Zenith was a young colt, staring at an ant hill outside of his home as little zebras his age ran around playing football, using their noses to pass the ball. He lived in a small village located in the farther deserts of the Sahara of Zebrafica. It was calm, quiet at times, and rural in a sense since every pony knew every pony. But they knew each other too much and gossip was always typical in the small village.

His parents always talked about him and his special talent. His father saw him as a monster, the foals and parents saw him as a disgrace to their race, but his mother saw him as perfection; a joy brought to her in this dark world. The colt adjusted his glasses and soon glanced back at the opened window, overhearing his parent's argument.

"What I am trying to say, Amisi is that the entire village wants him gone! He's a monster, an abomination brought upon us because we did not participate in the village's annual ceremony!" Timber yelled.

"He is no such thing, he is a blessing brought from our God. You watch your tongue when you speak of your son!" She yelled.

"I have no son, for my son is dead and that monster out there wears his skin!" He yelled back.

"Why can't you understand that he's a special colt? He did nothing wrong to this village and to anybody out there! What he does is beautiful, amazing, and something that will ensure his future to being perfect!" She said defending her foal from the abusive words sprung from her husband's mouth.

"It is not normal! I only wish this family to be safe from the village's protection, not scorned from it. If he continues to walk amongst us, only trouble will come, and God will damn us forever! I speak the truth and you know it very well, Amisi, he must go." Her husband said in a cold tone, causing her to become silent. "If not, we will be kicked out of this village and left for dead." His tone lowered as his right hoof rested on her gently. "I am only saying this for it is the best way we can survive until the war out there settles down."

"What does the war have to do with our foal? What's going on out there has nothing to do with him here! Zenith is a special child; he will probably be the best son you ever have if you just accept him."

Timber remained silent before shaking his head.

"No, I can't…I just can't." He said causing her to look at him shock. "I don't know how long I have to keep the Chief's Watch settled and in their seats if our son continues to walk around in this village and do whatever it is that he was apparently "born" with."

Zenith frowned as he lowered his head, staring at the ant hill. The red ants were attacking a spider that wandered too close to their hill. He watched as the group worked together in bringing the poisonous spider down with haste and without any mistake to bind them from killing it. Soon, a soccer ball hit the hill, causing the ants to scatter around and startled Zenith as he looked up at all the little zebras staring at him frightened.

He glanced to his right, spotting the ball and soon back at them. The colts and fillies gulped, backing away as he started to push the ball softly towards them. They, however, did not allow him to get close and back away even more.

"It's that demon…he's looking at us." One colt whispered causing Zenith to frown and stop his persistent in giving them the ball.

"He's evil, my mommy told me about that."

"What a monster, why is he here?"

"I don't know, but he should just keep the ball. I think he possessed it or even enchant it."

"What should we do, he is looking straight at us?"

"I think we should run away."

"But that's my favorite ball."

"Leave it; we have other things to play with!"

Zenith pushed the ball towards them one more time but stood his ground, causing them to gasp and remain frighten.

"May I play with you all?" He asked, but only saw the grim looks upon the zebras' faces.

"Why should we play with a demon?!"

"Yeah? Why should we?"

"You might just cast your voodoo on us and make us do weird things you do all the time!"

"You should go and leave this village you dumb demon!"

"Yeah, leave and die out there in the war!"

"No pony is going to care anyway!"

"Hey, guys, that's a bit too far, maybe he is not that bad." One colt spoke up.

"What, are you serious, he's probably just planning to steal our souls! It's best if we just leave!"

"I'm not a demon, I'm Zenith." The persecuted zebra spoke, but he was only cast dark gazes from the fellow foals that despised him.

"Look, you can stay and play with him, but we are leaving." The leader of the group spoke up as she walked away, followed by others.

"But guys…dang it…you are all dumb." He grumbled before looking at Zenith and cautiously walking towards him.

He soon stopped in front of his ball and pressed his right hoof on it.

"What's your name, mine's Autumn; the next king of Zebrafica." He said in a shy tone.

Zenith's eyes widened as he softly smiles.

"I-I'm Zenith." He introduced himself.

"Well, Zenith, let's play Football, shall we." He said, feeling a sense of security settle down on his shoulders.

The young zebra pushed the ball to him and smiled softly.

"Y-yeah, let's." He said in a nervous tone, but behind his timid behavior was happiness. He finally made a friend.

Hiding by the side of his home, however, was his father, watching him play with his new friend. Timber closed his eyes and made an angry expression on his face before walking away.

---

"My father did not hate me or loved me, he was just worry that my ability might get them kicked out of the village and cast into the dreadful war that went on in Zebrafrica. We escaped once and that was good enough for him. If we were toss out there again, we would never survive." He said in a calm tone.

---

Zenith was a teen colt along with his friend Autumn. The two passed their elementary school year and were focused on passing all their classes in their middle school. During the years together, the two competed with one another in terms of grades, sports, and sometimes Tarot Card games they managed to learn from the Village's priestess. Their actions did not go unnoticed though, for Zenith's father and the Chief's Watchers had paying close attention to the special zebra.

Zenith was fully aware of his father's shadow, but not aware of the Chief's subjects. When years continue to progress, the war however grew violently. The village was forced to make their own military class put in all the schools and any colt by the age of 12 or older had to be enlisted. The Chief's intention in passing this law, though, was to use Zenith as a weapon. Only his father knew of this and was told not to inform his wife, knowing she would object to such things.

Timber watched as his son trained in combat, being made into a weapon for the village instead of a civilian. The only ones that acknowledge his true existence was his wife and Autumn. He envied Autumn's family. They brought a zebra with a dream to bring peace into the world, while his wife brought a monster into the world. He truly regretted the Chief's plan, but had no say in it that would stop him from ordering the village and keeping him in it. If he were to object, he would endanger his family.

On the year when the village was being invaded by militia, Zenith and Autumn were the first ones in line, defending the village with their lives. Zenith summoned scorpions and ants from the floors of the sandy village to attack and kill most of the soldiers while Autumn, who was amazing in using hoof-to-hoof combat took out the rest of the invaders, even taking one prisoner for interrogation.

The two did better than most of the young child soldiers, but there still rest something that worried the Chief and Timber; their friendship. The Chief wanted to test out Zenith and make him more than just a weapon but a loyal hand in his Watcher unit. His father, however, knew what the Watcher unit consisted of and wanted to stop this corrupted leader's act. He, for once, did not want his own son becoming an emotionless tool of warfare.

---

"My father…there are things I cannot forgive him for and some things I can understand that he had every reason to do. To be honest, no matter what it was…he's still my father." Zenith said as Sand Dust and he passed by a Caravan. Sand Dust glanced at him before looking ahead. "I know you never had a father because you were a war orphan, but…you must understand that no pony can ever hate their mother or father…no matter what they did. They have to be grateful for being brought to this world because of them."

---

In the night, Autumn and Zenith stood facing one another on a cliff that had a great viewpoint facing their village. The two zebras were wearing different sets of armor. Zenith wore the village Chief's style of armor while Autumn wore the armor familiar to the invaders. The two friends remained quiet as the wind gently blew against their manes while the full moon gleamed down on them.

"So, it's true, huh? You betrayed the village and decided to help Red Sand?" Zenith asked in a shocked tone.

Autumn only frowned before closing his eyes and nodding his head.

"I see…but why?" He asked, "What was that you kept telling me about, huh? Dreaming to become a king of Zebrafrica and bringing peace to all of us zebras!?"

"That was only a dream that I knew would never come true, demon." He spoke in a cold tone causing Zenith's eyes to widen in shock. "Why would I pursue something so ridiculous, hmm? Have you not seen this world yet, Zenith? Have you not understood how this world works? You cannot bring peace to a world full of suffering without understanding it yourself!"

"What is that supposed to mean? Being king means you can do anything! I believe in you, Autumn! I know you can bring peace if you just worked your way into becoming king!" Zenith yelled but was return a sardonic laugh from his old friend.

"All of that is foolish, demon. Back then, we were colts, foolish and naïve. Now we are grown-up and must face reality as it is! Happiness can't be gain without knowing sadness. Joy cannot be gain without knowing anger. Love cannot be gain without knowing hatred!" He yelled. "All these feelings that we feel are reality, a king knows this as well, and is treated like any pony else! Even if I became King, there will be no way in Plutonium I would be able to end this suffering. The only thing I can do…" He frowned and closed his eyes again, "is just embrace it and deal with it."

"Then…why…why did you became my friend, why did you fight for the village, why did you do all of this just to end up where you are right now?" Zenith asked as he became angry.

Autumn did not answer but took out a machete from its scabbard, holding it tight from the handle with his teeth as he got into a running stance.

"Autumn, I don't want to fight you…please…do not make me fight you!" Zenith yelled backing away as his friend started running towards him. "Stop it!" He yelled but he was ignored and had no choice but to clap his hooves together. "I SAID STOP!" He yelled shutting his eyes as his friend leaped forward.

The sound of dirt moving and a painful cry echoed in the zebra's ears as he slowly opened his eyes and stared into his friend's dull ones.

"No…" He muttered in a quiet tone as he watched a large scorpion tail impaled through his friend's chest while the sharp claws belonging to the giant scorpion that came out of the ground clutched the teen's stomach and blade, "why?" He questioned as the scorpion released Autumn's body, submerging back into the dirt.

Autumn coughed out blood, staring into the night sky as his friend began crying over him. He stared at Zenith and muttered out words that could not be heard but understood from his lip movement. Zenith was not only hurt from killing his own friend, but hearing the heart-stabbing words.

---

"When I return home, my mother comforted me, while my father remained silent. I silently cursed him, blaming him for making me do this for I knew…he was behind this. My friend, Autumn, he sought for peace, not destruction. As the years progressed, I was old enough to leave the village, but I could not leave my family. They needed me, even when my father never cared about me, but my power. I started working on alchemy, providing the village remedies while keeping my name anonymous due to the fact I was still treated like a demon. After all those years of protecting them, I felt like it was pointless to even fight for them." He said calmly as the two made it into the forest.

"I decided, if I was going to be weapon to the Chief, I might as well show him how dangerous I was…worst idea ever made."

---

Timber sat under a bright light facing darkness. What lied within the darkness was the Chief and his loyal subjects. Timber and him held grudges against each other, but each one was not enough to have them turn on each other due to the fact it would mean losing a weapon which was Timber's son that the Chief did not want to lose, and being kicked out the village or going into hiding, which Timber did not want. The two held the strings to each other's survival during the war and neither wanted to pull it if it meant their life and status being at stake.

"Timber, I would like to inform you that your son's actions yesterday were not called for and too brutal. The death of sixteen soldiers from this village is almost enough to have you kicked out of this village and into the blasted desert. The villagers demand he be executed, but you know me, I do not allow such things to happen, not even to my enemies that I grant freedom with a price." The old zebra spoke, hidden in the darkness.

The father of Zenith gritted his teeth and spoke in anger.

"I cannot control his actions, Chief. You must understand that he lost these careful caring feelings a long time ago when you had him kill Autumn. Zenith shows a strong contempt against those that cast him aside and the only one who is capable of calming him down is his mother. She, however, cannot be there all the time since she is busy in the kitchen cooking up potions that would sustain your village's sickness from the disease that is spreading across the world. May I remind you that the Dark Smoke is not so pleasant when an old pony like you breathes it in."

"I am fully aware of your wife's position in this village, but you must understand that I cannot always force my people to sit back and deal with your son's barbaric actions."

"It is not my fault he is like this, Chief. If it was, I would have taken full responsibility years ago and you know it." Timber stated, stomping his right hoof on the ground.

"Should I warn you who you are talking to? I am the true reason you're still here in this village alive and not dead with those miserable fools out there. I order you to figure a way in handling your son's actions before I do and trust me…Autumn's death would not be the least of your worries. I will see fit he eliminates someone else close to him."

Timber froze in disbelief from the Chief's threat. He wanted to yell and attack the chief for threatening his wife, but he stood still and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath in sustaining his anger. He narrowed his eyes soon and glared at the Chief concealed in the darkness.

"Yes…Chief." He said, turning around and walking out of the light.

He soon stopped and turned his head where the light shined over.

"But for warning, since you are a naïve fool, arrogant, too, you ever threaten my wife again…and I will see fit you die by my son's hooves." With that said, he was sure that his threat would bring fear upon the old fool as he left the hidden room.

Outside of the building, a small red ant crawl out from the cracks of the building made of mud stone that Chief resided in and crawled all the way over to Zenith's home. The zebra picked up the small ant and leaned his head down. When its antennas moved, his eyes widened as he soon became angry. The ant had informed him of his father's meeting with the Chief and the only thing he was being used for in the village he fought for, was just being a weapon. He let the ant down and allowed it to crawl back into its ant hill before entering into his home, thinking on how to respond to his father in knowing his conversation with the Chief.

When he sat down in the kitchen, he was caught by surprise from a hug by his mother. He was startled, but smiled softly, looking back at her as she let go and smiled at him.

"You seem down, is everything alright?" She asked.

"Yeah, just tired, that's all, mother." He said, adjusting his glasses.

"Did you learn any new potions?" She asked.

"Well, I made a recipe in curing whatever this black smoke is." He said, taking out a piece of paper. "But I think it is pointless and no pony in this world would even bother using it or at least attempt its remarkable effectiveness." He said.

"Now, now, it does not matter if any pony decides not to use it or use it perfectly, it matters if it comes from the creator's heart they mimic. Alchemy is not easy if you don't put your heart into it." She said, proudly, placing her right hoof against her chest.

"What do you mean?" He asked in a confused tone.

"Let's see, you love insects and plants and you control them, so…alchemy works in the same way you control those two." She stated.

"I don't get it, mother. How can me liking and controlling insects and plants have anything to do with Alchemy? They seem quite different honestly." He said.

"But you still control them, using not energy, not your mind, but with your heart. Do you think they simply help you just because you think you are telling them to?" She asked.

"Yes." He answered in truthful tone.

"Well, they are doing it because they love you. They see you as their own. A king." She said, causing him to look at her surprise.

"A king? But I don't get it, why? How can I be some king to them?" He asked.

"Because…you're their friend, their savior, and their arbiter of peace." She said causing Zenith to remain there in deep thought, smiling softly at his mother.

'I promise, Zenith, someday, I will be the king of Zebrafrica and bring peace! And you can be my advisor and soon…the second in line when I die of old age or in battle!'

Autumn's words echoed in Zenith's head as he soon frowned.

"I don't think I can be a king, mother, if I killed my own best friend." He said.

"Maybe you can if you knew the truth behind that." Timber's voice caught the startled attention of Zenith and Amisi as they turned to the stallion zebra standing at the doorway, staring at his son with a stern expression.

---

"My father explained to me about Autumn's defection. He only defected because the Chief threaten his family and me. Of course I was angry; Autumn never did betrayed his village and me with intention. To be honest, I should have knew this from the start when he died giving me his last words that I deciphered from the movement of his lips. The Chief planned to erase my feelings of friendship and make me into an emotionless monster and tool that I would not even think of sparing any enemy like I used to with Autumn. I was not only angry at the chief though. I was also angry at my father for keeping this secret for so many years that even my mother was appalled."

The two stopped in front of the cave's entrance that led into their hideout. The two glanced at one another and turned around, scanning the area for any spy. So far, they found no pony and entered into the dark cave. "Now, let's go into the good stuff of my past, shall we? The day my mother died…was the day I actually lost myself with the world."

---

Zenith watched as soldier's fighting against the invaders coming fromboth sides of the village in merciless numbers. He watched them get slaughtered one by one as he walked through the street. He ignored all the soldiers and civilians though and focused his attention on the Chief's building. The invaders were losing, but he did not care about that. When he entered into the building, the Chief's Watchers surrounded him, blocking his path as the old zebra wielding a staff sat down in his bone fashion made chair.

"Why are you here and not out there fighting, Zenith, your people need you as we speak!" The old pony yelled, his tone becoming angry.

Landing by his side, wearing bone armor made from a crocodile's skeleton, was his father, wielding a machete in his mouth, glaring angrily at the Chief.

"What is this? You stand, bearing armor of a traitor against the pony that gave your family food and shelter from the war that plagued your lands, and this is how you repay me! You must be asking for a death wish, Timber." The corrupted leader said, raising his tone as his guards started circling around the two.

"You were behind her death! You thought that I would believe a simple disease would somehow be responsible, but it was poison that came from that cut to the cheek your guard managed to easily get away with before being captured by me. I warned you not to harm her, you did not listen. Now, your village is falling apart from the invaders, and you have no secret weapon anymore. The last thing that you will have in this place is death." Timber spoke.

"Death? Foolish pest, this village is stronger than you can imagine! My leadership made it impossible to be brought down! Betraying me is the last thing you would be worry about, especially when all of those loyal to me will hunt you down for your actions! I will see fit that you and your son are fed to the animals outside of this village!" He yelled, pointing his staff at the two.

When the guards dashed forward, giant spiders and ants emerged from the ground, blocking their path towards them before grabbing them and dragging them into the ground. Many attempted to attack them, but their weapons were not strong enough to kill them quickly as they were mutilated by the sharp pinchers. The Chief watched as his guards were endlessly slaughtered, few stood back, guarding him while others attempted to attack Zenith only to be killed by Timber's surprise attacks.

"What is it that you want? Money, fame, leadership?" The Chief yelled, becoming horrified at the sight of carnage. "What do you want from me?!"

Timber ran forward as two scorpions from both sides of the last guards impaled their stingers through their chest. He leaped forward and began yelling as he brought down his machete.

"Whatever it is…you will not have it!" The Chief yelled pointing his staff that fired a poison pellet that hit Timber's stomach, causing him to cough out blood.

Zenith's eyes widened as he watched his father fall forward, falling hard onto the ground.

"Pathetic." The Chief spoke, staring down at the motionless zebra before him as he reloaded his staff and pointed at Zenith.

Zenith stood there, staring at his father's body shocked as the scorpions, ants, and spiders started to cover his body, futher angering the Chief.

"Coward, you dare use those insects to cover your body from death! When a zebra wears armor, he makes sure to cover only little of his body so that his enemy knows that he will risk his life in order to show his honor towards his village and in battle. You can never achieve such ranks like that, you damn coward!"

Zenith remained silent as he remained shocked, but soon, he heard metal piercing through bone and skin and had his giant bugs disperse to see what happened. There, on the sight that stunned him the most, was his father still clutching the handle of the machete with his mouth as the blade was impaled through the back of the Chief.

"Damn you, Timber…how? How did you survive that poison pellet?" The Chief asked in a shocked tone.

"The same poison…you used to kill my wife is embedded in this blade. Now…you feel her agony as well as mine. You will feel our wrath." He coughed out falling to the ground as the Chief, fell flat on the ground, paralyzed.

The insects allowed Zenith to head over to his father quickly, sitting by his side. The zebra soon froze when his father held out his hoof to him. He believed at first it was a sign of him to get away, but he thought wrong when his father stared at him and motioned him to get closer.

When Zenith took two careful steps forward, his father rest his right hoof on his shoulder, breathing heavily as the poison coursing through his body was slowly killing him.

"Your mother would never forgive me if she found out what I did in order to avenge her. To be honest, I never wanted to do this in the first place. I left the war for a reason, and this was one of them. Zenith, I can't accept you as a son…" Zenith frowned as his eyes closed from the painful words that left his father's lips, "or a monster." The zebra opened his eyes in shock, staring at his father confused.

"What…do you mean?" He asked.

"What I mean is…I can only accept you…as a fellow warrior. I am sorry that I cast you aside for so long. You must hate me still because of that. Even if you did, I would understand and hold nothing against you for it. Right now this village is probably going to kill you for eliminating their leader if they survived, so I recommend you run away to someplace outside of the Zebra border. Maybe the Equine border, Dragon border, or the Gryphon border, it does not matter." He said, his tone becoming weak.

Zenith wanted to speak, but his state of shock ceased any words to escape through his mumbling lips. Tears started sliding down his eyes as his father softly smiled.

"I wish I could have gone back in time and at least changed my attitude towards you. Maybe even prevented all of this from actually happening…I don't know really. Maybe, I could have become a king of this country." He soon paused and shook his head. "No, I couldn't possibly make it up to that level…but…you could."

---

"I heard this from my mother many times, and hearing that come out of my father's mouth shocked me a lot. It was as if I was Autumn the entire time, gaining a dream to bring peace into a dark world that had not seen light for so long." He said, resting on top of a rock as Sand Dust rested his head against his coat.

"Do you want to know why I brought this up in the first place?" Zenith asked, looking down at the quiet colt. "Because…I feel like…somehow and some way, Autumn and I, are exactly like Blue and his student Night Shadow. We both share a bond that no pony else but us could understand. Though, I see Blue as some pony looking forward to being king of the world because his goal is to grant peace to this world and end all wars. Now, you may think doing this would be contradicting since he plans on waging war on all factions, but when you wage war on every pony and gain a weapon powerful enough to annihilate most of the world, you would expect all factions to work together. That's his method of peace, forcing each faction to understand one another instead of fighting each other."

Sand Dust glanced at Zenith with an emotionless look again, but Zenith understood his trite expression to being interested in what he was saying.

"I decided…that I want to help Blue in his mission to bring peace. It is crazy, but, I think Autumn would want me to do that, as well as my mother. To be honest, like I said before, you can't hate your father or mother, for they brought you into this world. My father, though he did not saw me more of a son or as a monster, he saw me…as a warrior. He acknowledged my existence. He made me happy." He said softly smiling.

Looking at the ceiling of the cave, the zebra adjusted his glasses and softly chuckled.

"As I think of Blue in being like Autumn, I think Night Shadow just might be like me, only a little bit." He said. "Now…I just remembered something…that recipe in actually cured the Dark Cloud from Herus was lost in the invasion. Heh, I wonder, where might it be? Oh well, I feel like it would be pointless."

---

One day passes.

Wither walked through the cloudy streets what would be soon called Cloudsdale. He wore his black hooded cloak, concealing his appearance. The pegasus stopped and glanced at a house to his right, frowning as he knew the residence was no other than his parents. He remembered abandoning them after being marked as a criminal after stealing forbidden scrolls hidden in the vault of Starswirl's Library. He stopped in front of the door and knocked on it. When the front door opened, an old stallion with a brown coat, gray combed mane, and yellow eyes opened the door only to greet Wither with a gasp.

"You're…alive…Wither." The stallion muttered as his tone was laced with shock and joy.

"Yeah, I am, dad." He said, giving his father a soft smile.

"Come in, quickly, we don't want to spark any suspicion now, do we?" His father said, motioning him in the house. Wither walked in quickly as his father closed the door behind him.

The two made their way into the living room and rest in front of a wooden table, facing one another from both sides.

"So…how are you?" Wither asked.

"I'm good; I've been holding myself up pretty well since your mother's passing." He said, chuckling lightly, but Wither could only hear the pain hidden behind his father's chuckle.

"Yeah, I am sure you've been. It's been so long that I…you know." He said, looking away in shame.

"I know…I still do not know why you would put yourself in such a situation like that. That's not like you." His father said looking at his son shocked.

"You would not understand unless you were mom." He said, gritting his teeth.

"What do you mean?" His father asked, becoming confused.

"What I did back then…may have you questioning why I still look so young. I did all of that just to become immortal." He said, looking at his father frowning.

"Immortal? But who wants to be immortal? I'm sure you understand that it is impossible and brings only sadness to one's heart knowing their loved ones will die first and they will have no pony there for them to shoulder on." His father said, but Wither shook his head.

"No, dad, I found it; the answers to immortality!" Wither said, grinning at him. "I can live on in this world and continue walking the terrain! I have no time to mourn for life or feel sad! I must move on and continue living so that I may preserve my art!"

"Art?" His father stared at him frightened.

Wither caught notice of this and settled down. He did not intend to scare his father or confuse him.

"Like I said, only mom can understand what I mean." He said, frowning at his father.

"Wither, I want to let you know, that no matter what it is in this world...Death waits for no pony. It is not nice or mean. It is not slow and playful. It is direct and precise without any mistake left on its job. Immortality is arrogance, you are not arrogant, but I do hope you do not fall into that line for it may get you killed." His father said in a concerning tone. Wither understood his father and quietly nodded his head.

The pegasus was arrogant, and did not want to dishearten his father that he had befallen into that line. He looked at his father and soon around him, taking in the old scenery he had missed for so long. His father had to believe he found some way in becoming "immortal" just by his young appearance being one for example. When he came up with something in his head, his father began coughing, causing him to turn to him quickly in fear and confusion.

"Dad?" He called out, trotting to his side with haste.

When the old pony stopped coughing, he smiled softly at the "immortal" stallion who was still his young son.

"I hate to bring this up by now, but apparently I, too, carry the same disease that took our most beloved away. I have only a month before Death comes to me and carries me off on Charon's Boat." He said, chuckling lightly before coughing painfully.

"Save your breath, dad, preserve your energy. Is there anything you need that I can get you?" Wither asked.

"Yes…" The old pony began, "a promise from you."

Wither stared at him confused. "A promise?" He repeated.

"A promise that…you will live your life to the fullest and enjoy whatever artwork it is that you are doing. You know we, your mother and I, always enjoyed those sculptures you worked so hard in making." His father said, causing Wither to stare at him shamefully but concealing it with shock.

He only wish to not bring his father's spirit down with the truth that he was a mercenary that loved turning other ponies into his own vessels to preserve his life.

"I…" He knew he would regret it, "promise to live out my life to the fullest." He said in a calm tone, smiling softly at the old stallion, 'Even…if it means performing the arts of eliminating larger threats in this world in an inequine way.' He thought.

"So, how's going into hiding been?" His father asked, causing his son to chuckle lightly along with him.

"Well, I got a job from a place far away from here, I will tell you that." He said.

"Really, might I ask what it is?" His father wondered.

"I'm a sculptor working in the Gryphon border. It pays well and no bird over there gave me trouble or recognized me being a criminal from here." He said.

"That's good; it would sadden me if you were caught. I know that it is wrong to commit such an act, Wither, but you must understand that forgiveness rests in the central mountain. What I am saying is that…if you go up to Celestia and turn yourself in, she might go easy on you with the charges and perhaps grant you forgiveness that you might be able to live a life that does not mark you as a criminal." His father suggested.

"Don't worry, I…I will keep that noted. For now, I just want to relax…and enjoy my time with you. It's been 37 years after all since we last saw each other and I just wanted to…" He stopped and stared at the ground, "apologize." He finished.

His father looked at him for a few seconds and sighed, softly smiling at the ends of his lips as he rested his right hoof on his son's shoulder.

"I am not the one you need to apologize to, Wither. Sure, I can understand how you overreact towards many critiques I make towards your art that you work your hardest to prove me wrong, but I am not the one you should really apologize to."

"What do you mean?" Wither asked him in a confused tone.

"What I mean is that you should apologize to the one who really needs it. I am sure you know who that is, hmm?" He asked. Wither thought for a few seconds before nodding his head, realizing what his father meant.

"Now that you understand, let's…catch up on good times. Do you mind making me a sculpture of clay?" He asked, causing Wither to smile at him.

"Y-yeah." He said.

---

Wither walked down the dirt road, frowning to himself. He soon stopped and glanced at a white clover sprouted next to a tree under a large shadow. He walked to it and sat down kneeling towards it.

"Dad, I only wish you understood like mom." He muttered, gently brushing the flower. "Then…maybe you would clearly see what my art was truly like." He said, looking to his right, spotting a travelling pony that looked lost. He decided it would be best to take care of him and perform his Vessel technique.

Once he walked away from the flower, a small pedal fell down to the green grass as the sound of the traveler yelling cried out. When a few hours passed by, the flower had only one pedal left. Wither looked exactly like the blue traveler pony, frowning as he stared up at the wandering clouds in the blue sky.

"I pray you forgive me…for my forbidden actions. You must understand, clearly, why I perform such things." He said, before walking off, heading towards his group's hideout.

When Wither got to the entrance of the cave, he stopped and looked back seeing Ruby running his way with an excited smile on her face.

'Is she pretending to be happy again?' He thought.

"Wither, I met Night Shadow and his group!" Ruby yelled causing the Artist of Body possession to become shock.

"W-what?! You met them as in fighting them all by yourself?" He asked.

"No, you silly doll, I mean like talking to them!" She stated causing the stallion to become even more confused.

"So you talked to them…about what?" He asked, curious to her conversation with the group.

"ART! Especially one named Legio. He seems to understand it a bit more than the others and…he seemed to have enjoyed getting a first look or feeling towards my art!" She said proudly.

"Heh, your art is nothing but pathetic, just like your stupid dolls! Only a fresh body like this can be considering as something many call "Art" which I will add on that this "Art" is by far better than yours in all the ways you can imagine!" He said, causing the filly to scoff.

"Yeah right, fresh bodies are so yesterday! Dolls are the answer towards eternal life!" She stated.

"Your dolls are nothing but third-rate rack." He said, smirking at the end of his sentence.

"Oh yeah, at least I lived longer than you." She said, causing him to growl and hold her up by the sleeve.

"Why you little piece of-

"Will you two lower your voices." Blue interrupted them, causing the two to look at him surprise. He was covered in scratches next to Ra'zar who just seemed to sit there. "We have a lot to talk about." He said, tapping his head.

"Is there something serious going on?" Ruby asked.

"What do you think, when he taps his head, that means it has to do with us." Wither said, letting go of the filly.

'Now, Zenith and Sand Dust, are you connected.' Blue asked telepathically.

'Yes, yes we are.' Zenith responded.

'Good, Cantata and Olga have decided to assist me in the declaration of war. Before we begin everything with the tower that Cantata discovered where it is hidden at, I will get connected to all the factions that are still engaged in the burning war.' Blue said calmly.

'Did you allow them to communicate with us this way?' Zenith asked.

'No, I cannot trust Olga nor can I trust Cantata if that's even his real name.' Blue said.

'So, Celestia is not aware of our plans, right?' Wither asked.

'No, but I am sure she is suspicious of me as well as Blaze. It is best that they remain suspicious when I declare judgment upon all of them. They will understand the punishment of war and the wrath that I will cast upon them.' Blue said.

'If you seek peace, why start a war on everybody?' Ra'zar asked, looking at Blue.

'When you want to end a conflict between two bees, you pull out their wings and set them in water. The need to survive will click in into their heads and they will resort into any method of survival, even if it means working together.'

'So, do you plan on having all the factions align together in stopping your conquest to peace? To be honest, Blue, seems suicidal since there only a few of us and thousands of them.' Wither stated, looking at him confused.

'I will have in control of the ultimate weapon that no pony but Cantata can find. With that weapon, they will know fear, agony, and understand each other, granting peace with one another. Factions must be force to work with one another and set aside their differences and ideals. What matters the most, is their life.' Blue said.

'Heh, if they don't listen, Blue here is going to blast that weapon and annihilate one faction, just to set an example.' Ra'zar said, chuckling in amusement.

'So, you seek peace through the methods of war. It's like the opposite of love…hatred.' Ruby stated in a surprised tone.

Blue nodded his head and turned to Ra'zar. 'For now, we will wait for the others. When they get back, I will strike, and you must all be ready in your positions in sharing our mental communication. The world…will know peace…even if I have to force it to be understood.'

---

Another day passes.

Olga stood with her arms folded, facing Herus as he examined the scroll in front of her. He was amused at the forbidden contents that were written in ink on the paper, taking it serious word for word. He found its quality useful for the future and soon placed it in his drawler. He looked at Olga and clapped his hands, smiling softly at her, but she knew that smile hid only the dark nature the creature carried for so long. She only waited whatever he had to say, even if it was a praise which only came so rarely out of his lips.

"It seems I can use the contents in that scroll in the future when I am put in a tight bind. You did well on your mission, Olga, no damn creature suspected you in working for me the entire time, how amusing. Celestia was always so weak when it came to war orphans." He said, resting his hands behind his head as he rest his feet on his desk. "I wonder how Blue would have handled it if he still worked for me." He wondered, spotting an angry scowl at mentioning of his former soldier's name.

"He is weak and pathetic. The damn pony thinks he is saving the world just by helping Celestia and her damn peasants. If he gained some clarity in this world, he can at least see that his actions are pointless and he should just die in a ditch."

"I understand you hate Blue in many ways, but you must not forget that I need him alive for a while before I order you to get rid of him." Herus said, chuckling lightly at the German Diamond Dog's anger.

"I know, sir." She muttered, looking away angrily.

"Don't worry, Olga, you will finish him off soon for me, but for now, keep a close eye on him and Celestia." He said, yawning.

He soon paused and glanced right. Olga noticed his glance and turned towards his direction. She soon gasped seeing two pony guards fall to the ground with their hearts torn out of their chest. The one who murdered them in such a grotesque fashion was no other than Cantata.

"So, you were working for Herus the entire time, Olga?" The deep voice concealed creature spoke.

"Cantata, you followed me?" She asked in an angry tone as her eyes narrowed.

"How did you get in here?" Herus questioned, rubbing his chin. "I felt no strange presence in this camp, so does that mean you can conceal your energy perfectly?" He asked, smirking at the masked cloak creature.

"I did none of that pointless stuff, child. The reason why you did not felt my presence nearby is because I am something far beyond magical." He stated, causing Herus' right eyebrow to twitch at the word "child" being directed towards him.

"You picked the wrong day then to foolishly walk in here then, Cantata." Olga said as she equipped a sharp rod out her right sleeve and held it tightly in her paw.

She ran forward and swung it, but was stopped when a large scorpion tail came out from the ground, nearly impaling her if she hadn't jumped back. The diamond dog landed next to Herus and readied herself while staring at her partner in shock. This was her first time engaging him in combat or seeing him defend himself in action.

"As if you can kill me, child, you are too reckless and stubborn to see that I am stronger than you." Cantata said, angering Olga

"What do you mean? We haven't even fought before! How can you simply say that I am not strong enough to take you down?" She asked as the scorpion tail slowly retracted back into the ground.

"Hmm, what are you?" Herus asked, getting up from his seat, curious to what lied underneath the cloak.

"Something far beyond your level of understanding. Right now, I did not come here to fight, but speak." He said.

"Speak? May I ask what you want to talk about?" Herus asked, holding out his right arm, motioning Olga to stand down.

She wanted to object, but she decided it was best not to anger him and obey.

"Your motives for that scroll in your drawler?" He asked.

"Now that is none of your business. It will not be used yet, but I assure you that when I really need it, I will not hesitate to use it. For now, I could at least study it and practice it, I'm sure I can master it in a few years." He said. "What about you, why do you care about that scroll if it has nothing to do with you?"

"It has a lot to do with me since it might be threatening to Celestia and other warring factions nearby. That scroll belongs to Wither and seeing how Olga managed to steal it, your intentions are best for me to presume bad and important to intervene on." He stated his tone growing stern. Herus chuckled and narrowed his eyes at him.

"Now do you absolutely think you can stop me all by yourself?" Herus asked.

"The best chance of me winning against you is making you become afraid." He said, causing Herus to laugh.

"Me, being afraid of you; you should be a comedian-"

He was soon cut off when he tilted his head to the right, dodging the scorpion tail that burst beneath the ground nearly grazing his cheek. He watched as poison dripped down from the tip and burn the floor. He glared at Cantata and grabbed his scorpion tail only to let go and leap back. He stared at his right hand in amusement, finding his skin deteriorating before regenerating quickly.

"You talk too much, brat." Cantata commented.

"I felt no energy coming from that acid, heh, what the hell are you?" Herus asked, becoming amused.

"Again, something you cannot comprehend to understand, brat." He said as his scorpion tail retracted back into the ground.

"Sir?" Olga called, standing by his side with her weapon ready.

"No, stand down, I never seen someone attack me without moving. Since you used that tail to attack twice, I assume it is attached to you, hmm?" Herus asked.

"You are correct, but that is not the only thing attached to me. Again, I do not wish to fight. If we were to fight, the chances of you winning are 2 to 1, but the chances of me inducing fear in your life are 4 to none. I've been spying on you and Olga for a very long time. Your conversations and reports are nothing but trite. Why do you think most of your camps have been wiped out so easily and fast?" Cantata asked.

"It really does not matter, they are not important to me to begin with." Herus said, folding his arms. "Right now, I would kill you, but I am curious to what you have to say. Please, enlighten me, serenade my ears with your words of music." He taunted.

Cantata grumbled before continuing.

"You are slowly losing a lot more camps and soldiers than you can expect, Herus. Your intentions, however, are quite obscure so far, but seeing how you want Olga to keep an eye on Blue, I find it…pointless." He said.

"What do you mean?" Herus asked, lifting a brow in confusion.

"She is not aware of Blue's true motive and it involves his old pupil…Night Shadow." The creature spoke causing Herus to narrow his eyes.

"I assume you are not going to tell me, huh?" Herus asked.

"Correct, for it would be better if you found out yourself or at least witness it beforehand." Cantata said.

"What are you trying to get at?" Herus asked as his tone grew grim.

"I can provide you the location where you can find Night Shadow and Blue, but be warn, you must do it at a specific time." He said.

"Specific time? Tell me, when and where." Herus ordered.

"When I tell you this, you will remember that judgment is upon you and everybody else. No matter where you hide, run to, or fight for, judgment will befall upon this entire world and you will not be the one casting it." Cantata said causing Herus to become concern while Olga grew cautious.

"Just what do you want, Cantata?" Olga asked.

"Your fear." He said.

---

Yet another day passes…

Jack sat down with his blade in front of him, facing Blue as they played chess together under the sun's ray of light that shined through the hole in the cave's ceiling. Jack was in deep thought with Blue's persuasion in assisting him in his ascension to power. The guard was loyal to Princess Celestia and would not dare turn on her, but the stallion's words of bringing peace made too much sense to turn down such an offer. He managed to win in another checkmate which confused him for the first time since he lost most of the time against Blue.

The guard looked at the prisoner closely, examining his facial expressions but seeing no change to the emotionless gaze he cast upon the chessboard. Deciding to end the moment of silence, the guard decided to bring up his answer.

"I will assist you in bringing peace to this world, Blue." He said, causing the stallion to look at him directly in the eyes sending a cold shiver down his back.

"What made you decide this; you must understand that consequences behind it are vital?" Blue asked.

"I was thinking about it for a few days. I hate seeing this whole world begin to be torn asunder. The princess suffers because of it. The best I can do in this war is helping you on your conquest for peace. I will take full responsibility for my own actions." He said.

Blue examined his stern expression and sighed.

"Alright, then you must come with me. The day has come and judgment shall be cast upon those who were too foolish enough to end this war." He said, getting up from the ground and walking away into the darkness.

Jack eyes lowered as he made a small silent prayer for forgiveness to Celestia before picking up his sheathed blade and strapping it to his side, following Blue.

Ra'zar, Wither, Ruby, Zenith, and Sand Dust both sat in a circle, meditating quietly, but were waiting for Blue's signal. Cantata and Olga soon arrived and glanced at one another. The two nodded and found a space in the circle, going into their meditation.

'It seems they are still not aware that we are communicating through telepathy.' Wither said in amusement.

'Keep that way.' Blue said. 'Is everyone ready?' He asked.

'Yes.' They all said.

'Good…let us begin.' Blue said.

Blue and Jack arrived and stood in the center of the circle. Cantata opened his eyes and looked at Blue who gave him an affirmative nod. The cloaked creature grumbled before the ground beneath them glowed brightly. Soon, a runic circle surrounded them, but they weren't the only ones.

Cantata summoned small versions of the Tower of Heavens in each continent, causing all the creatures, factions, and leaders to see a blue hologram of Blue coldly staring at them. Darkness surrounded the group of Celestia's Corps, concealing their surrounding from any eyes watching the hologram.

"All battles will be concluded. All the suffering shall cease. All the anger shall be released from the bodies of those who know despair. This is the declaration of peace. Factions, it does not matter who you are fighting for, or what you are in this world. We are all the same in death's eyes when it comes to war. You may say that you are fighting out of fear, joy, your family, your country, or even for yourself…it does not matter. Judgment is upon you all and I am the judge. This war you all have participated in and fumed the flames of its non-living heart will be extinguished.

Children, mothers, fathers, siblings, neighbors, and friends…none of those matter anymore in war. But in peace, it means everything. If you seek peace, do so by beheading your ruler. If you seek destruction, do so by maiming your ruler, and if you seek salvation from war, do so by eliminating all those you held dear to. I will say this again, judgment is upon you all. Right now, I will give you a chance to think about declaring peace with all the factions that are painting blood on the roads you walk on and salt the earth you grow food upon.

Right now…I declare war upon you all. I will fight for peace and end this strife. If you do not believe me, then I shall show you that I am the only king on this planet that will end the suffering you all are trap in. Cantata, do it." Blue ordered.

"Forbidden Arts: Piercing Heaven!" The creature yelled.

Celestia and Midnight looked around outside from their ancient city in confusion before Celestia took out an enchanted telescope that could see neighboring countries nearby. She spotted the Manticore country and only became horrified at the sight before her. Meanwhile Herus stood on top of a tree, watching from afar at the Manticore country and became shocked as well as thrilled.

Two massive meteors slowly came down in the country, cleaning away all of the life that stood there. Those that watched stared in horror as the technique Cantata used with the assistance of the Tower of Heaven wiped away most of the entire country. The entire world shook before Blue spoke up, attracting the attention of many that stared at the hologram in terror.

"Judgment…to all and now that you see it, you, too will witness it if you do not accept peace. This is not only a declaration to peace. This…" Blue's eyes narrowed, "is the heavenly subjugation of a God. For now, I will wipe away another country, one by one, until peace is finally obtained in this war. And one more thing…I will be waiting for you, here, in the Tower of God." He said before shutting off the holograms.

Soon, all the towers of heaven broke into pieces and the runic circle glowing beneath the group dispersed. Darkness faded away as the scenery returned.

"Heh, I am sure you are going to be brought down in history and be known as a global terrorist Blue, what is this about being a God, hmm?" Ra'zar asked, smirking at the stallion.

"If I have to establish order, I must establish the title of being God, even when I am not. That way, peace will be brought to life and those who resided in war will be eradicated, even if it means eliminating half of the entire world full of life." He said, looking at Cantata. "Now, summon the tower." He ordered.

As Cantata started mumbling enchantments, Jack stared at the ground, slowly regretting his decision in assisting Blue in his conquest for peace. All he could see the stallion was doing was inducing fear into many.

Herus smirked as he watched many of his soldiers prepared for battle.

"Peace…please…peace is the least this world needs." He said, brushing back his hair. "Though…I must say, Blue, that was a remarkable performance. I bet you caused all of those Manticores to scatter, probably mess them up mentally to turn on anything. It does not mater, though. Not one bit at all." He laughed.

Herus decided to jump down from the tree and land in front of his army.

"As you can see, Blue only seeks to destroy the world in which you all reside in but he has given us the location of where he currently resides. He claims to be god when I was the one that gave him life where there was death. I have slain gods, I have destroyed their homes and people, I have taken away their pride and power…what does he possess…a strong will?" Herus asked, laughing evilly. "SO THE FOOL WANT'S TO PLAY GOD…WELL I SAY…IF HE WANTS TO BE GOD, THEN HE SHOULD GET A GOOD LOOK AT ONE!"

Herus glared to his left, smiling evily as a large pony in black robes approached him.

"Good…the miasma has finally taken affect…" Herus said wickedly.

"What will you have me do…master." The pony asked.

"Go forth…and destroy the ones you used to call friends."

"As you wish."

I'm tired now, i'm going to go sleep on a floating potato of chocolate gravy .zzzzzzzzzzzz.