The morning sun rose above the horizon of The Crystal Empire giving an almost ethereal sparkle to the crystal structures.

The residents of the castle town moved about as they would any other day. The Crystal Heart in the center of the square. However everypony would stop as a flash of green light flashed near the Heart. Many gasping as Rage appeared out of it.

Some ponies continued to glare as others went about their business as usual. A pair of guards looked and bowed their heads at him. "Our apologies, we were not expecting a visit, Prince Burning Rage." One of them stated.

"Hey…it's uh…alright but…it's just Rage, really." The crimson Alicorn says with an embarrassed blush.

"Of course. My apologies. What brings you here? Do you seek an audience with Princess Cadence?" The guard asks him as Rage looks around.

"As much as I'd enjoy checking up with her I am afraid I am here on urgent business." Rage replied, looking at the guard.

"If there is anything we could do to help it would be the least we could do. What you, Princess Twilight and the other Elements of Harmony have done for Equestria is nothing short of incredible." The guard states.

Rage blushed embarrassed. He wasn't used to praise like this. "I didn't do that much. Most of the praise goes to Twi and the girls. I've just been an extra hand…but thank you." He smiled "Maybe you could help me. I am looking for something known as Mana Powder for Princess Twilight. I was told somepony here may have a lead?"

"Mana powder? Can't say I've heard of such a thing…" The guard states, raising an eye and thinking for a minute. He repeated the words over and over a few times before his face lit up. "You should check the Market. There is an oddity shop there run by a unicorn. He may have a better idea of what this mana powder stuff is. I should warn you though. He isn't exactly the friendliest fella."

Rage bowed his head "Thank you." He says "I hate to sound rude but I am tight on time."

"Go. Don't let me keep you. Just stay out of trouble." The guard says as Rage rushed off.

As he walked through the streets of the market various ponies would wave and greet him. He'd return their gestures as he continued walking. The overall positive mood made him feel more at ease. As if everything would be okay.

He finally found the shop. He looked at the odd window display and inhaled before he entered the store. He straightened up and looked around, nopony was nearby. With a glow of his horn his wings vanished.

As he entered he was met with what was at first an overwhelming and repugnant odor but it mellowed out quickly to a calming scent.

He walked towards the counter where a dark blue stallion was adjusting a small display of strange assorted objects. The stallion looked at Rage with a pair of yellow eyes. His black mane was short and well groomed. "You got a reason to be usin' Illusion magic?" The pony asks as he moves some of his mane out of his eyes.

"Excuse me?" Rage asks, tilting his head.

"You may play other ponies for fools but you're not foolin' me." He says. "I know you're that new hero who helped Princess Twilight deal with Sombra. Rage isn't it?"

"Yeah…but I don't follow." Rage replied.

"You're cloaked in illusion magic. I can sense it on you." The unicorn scoffed as he picked up a monocle and looked at him. His eyes seemed to widen in an expression of surprise. He could see Rage's wings. "Ah…I see now." The pony smiled and chuckled "Guess I should have figured. Prince Rage, it's nice to meet you formally. My name is Blue Dusk."

"Please, it's just Rage." He sighed as he removed his spell. "It's nice to meet you."

"So, what brings you all the way to my own little frozen corner of Equestria?" Blue Dusk asks him.

"I was hoping you might have something I need…for Twilight." Rage says.

"What would I have that she couldn't get in Ponyville or Canterlot?" Blue Disk asks curiously.

"I'm looking for something called Mana Powder." Rage replies.

Blue Dusks' gaze turned sour. He frowned and glared at Rage. "Out." He says plainly.

"Excuse me?" Rage asks in shock.

"Get. Out." The unicorn demands. "You have some nerve coming in here and asking about that stuff…"

Rage's own gaze focused on Blue Dusk. "I am not leaving without it." He says darkly.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Blus Dusk says dismissively. "You need to leave."

"You're lying. You know exactly what I speak of. If it's what I need to save her then I'm going to get it one way…or another." Rage retorts.

Blue Dusk looked at Rage with a slightly more surprised look. "Save her…?" He asks.

Rage shot up realizing what he had said. "I uh…" he stammered.

"What happened?" The unicorn demands to know.

Rage looked at Blue Dusk and thought hard about if he should tell him. Finally he sighed and gave a serious look to Blue Dusk. "You can't say anything to anypony. Got it?" He demanded and the unicorn nodded.

"Come." Blue Dusk says inviting Rage to the back of the shop which he accepts. The two walked into the back where a table was sitting along with assorted goods and strange items. The two sat at the table and Rage let a sigh out.

"Twilight has…fallen victim to an evil spell." Rage admits "One that turns her at night into some twisted evil version of herself. If we don't fix her by the next full moon then she'll turn forever…like Nightmare Moon." He explains.

"…is there a way to fix her?" Blue Dusk asks.

"Yes, an alchemical mixture. It requires mana powder though." Rage says.

"I see…so that's how you heard of it." Blue Dusk says tapping his chin. "I'll be honest with you then. I don't have it. I only know of one pony who might."

"Tell me…please." Rage requests.

Blue Dusk looks at Rage and cocks an eyebrow. "Well…" he thinks about it for a bit. Rage's persistence was familiar in a sense. "I only know them as Old Max." Blue Dusk finally says "You remind me of him a lot actually.,."

"Old Max?" Rage asks.

"Yeah. He's a unicorn I met with a friend of mine deep in the Whitetail Woods. He lives secluded deep in a grove in the North edges of the woods. He…gave me some Mana Powder to help me with something after we learned a lot from him. If he has any left you'll have to ask him…he may not have much though. He said he's been unable to get more due to the ban on world travel whatever that means." Blue Dusk explains.

Rage was a bit surprised to hear the answer and his thoughts turned to if this Max pony could be from the world from that mirror. "Thank you." Rage sighs.

"Yeah…" Blue Dusk said as he looked at a clock. "Please tell me how it goes."

Rage nods and walks out of the store. He looked to the sky and saw the weather was clear. He knew his best shot was to fly there. With a deep breath he gave his wings a powerful flap and he took to the skies leaving a brief gust behind.

Over the last few months he had become much more adept at flying, as such he could go much faster than before. He could fly from Ponyville to Canterlot in just a few minutes. This would be similar in distance.

He was over the Whitetail Woods after only a few minutes. He knew he was on the Northern edge somewhere since he was coming from The Crystal Empire so he lowered himself down and lanced. The early afternoon sun made beams of light drape down from the canopy of trees as he looked around where he had landed.

He felt a strange dark presence. Dark Spawn. The rumors were true. He kept his guard up as he began wandering. Not too long after he began searching Blade appeared next to him.

"How do you plan to find this pony?" The dragon asks as he lays upon the alicorn's back.

"Hopefully I will be able to sense their magic. Otherwise, trial and error and hope for the best…" Rage answers. "I don't really have any other options."

Blade nods as he vanishes, leaving Rage alone again. He wandered for what felt like hours. No signs of anything and the sun was setting. Rage knew he needed to make camp for the night soon. No point in fumbling around in the dark.

He entered a small grove with a creek running through it. It was quaint and peaceful. The perfect place to set up camp, he thought. He walked into it before he stopped. He sensed something. There were magical traps around the area. He wasn't alone.

He was careful where he stepped. He had to make sure he didn't trigger any of the traps. However as he moved around one he felt strange. Suddenly he was unable to move. "What?!" He exclaims in shock. He was paralyzed, he must have triggered one of the traps.

"Well, well, well…I should have known you'd come for me eventually after the Dark Spawn showed up." A soft mature voice spoke. Rage looked to see a cloaked figure emerge from the trees. It was bipedal. As it got closer Rage could make out a face.

Looking at Rage was not a pony but a Mobian. A dull, green hedgehog with violet eyes looked at him. Jet black hair was barely jutting out from the top of the cloak's hood.

The hedgehog looked at Rage with a look of confusion "Hold on…an alicorn?" He asks "clever bastards." He says softly. "I see you're blending in with the locals. No matter…" The hedgehog raised a hand and Rage tried to get free. He was stuck.

"Verum Falsum est." The hedgehog cast a spell and Rage was changed into his Mobian form. "There we go." The old hedgehog says looking at Rage. "So did you think I'd be an easy target just because I'm old?"

Rage bared his teeth. "What are you talking about?!" He shouts angrily.

"You don't have to hide it…I know what you are. That trap specifically traps Chaotics…" the hedgehog says as he draws a scimitar. "I'm afraid I can't let go either…after all, the strong prey on the weak...isn't that right...?"

Rage shut his eyes and focused before he shouts "Chaos Control!" And teleports free of the trap.

"What?!" The old hedgehog exclaims as Rage teleported away. Then he suddenly felt something cold on the side of his neck. He turned to see Rage's blade. The hedgehog looked more shocked than anything now.

"Drop your weapon." Rage orders. "I don't want to hurt you."

The hedgehog put his hands up and dropped the scimitar. "Who…who are you? How did you come across Chaos powers?"

"I am Ragis 'Rage' Chaotic the Hedgehog." Rage answers. "I am a Chaos Guardian."

"R-Ragis?!" The old hedgehog exclaims. "I-impossible…"

"Now who are you?" Rage asks not moving his weapon, keeping it right at his neck.

The old hedgehog sighed. "I guess I shouldn't have expected you to recognize me…" he says as he lowers his hood revealing his face and long jet black hair. "I am Maxim Chaotic the Hedgehog…"

Rage's eyes shrunk as he lowered his weapon and he shook some. "No…that's not possible…" he stammered.

"Ragis I assure you it's me." Maxim says.

"How…how long have you been here?!" Rage shouts. "You left us! Icezer…Xage and I…you abandoned us!"

"I know." Maxim says. "I'm sorry. I didn't have a choice!"

"Liar!" Rage shouts, gripping his blade harder.

"It's the truth!" Maxim shouts. "After Julia- your mother…died I knew that the only way I could keep you safe was by giving you all up! If I didn't…Nix would have never stopped chasing you…"

"So you ran here?! To live all peacefully while Mobius was ransacked and nearly brought to ruin by Nix?!" Rage shouts. "When you could have at least helped us! Westbrook is gone because of you!"

"I didn't have a choice!" Maxim shouts "If I had kept you three Nix would have found you for sure!"

"He found us anyway..." Rage growls. "You didn't care about us...you just wanted to save your own hide..."

"That's not true!" Maxim shouts. "I wanted to come back...I wanted to see you...all of you...but it was a one way trip. If I had known that I'd never have come here..."

Rage was filled with anger, the years of him believing his own father had died too when he and his brothers were adopted were one of the few things he could ground himself to when he thought reality around him was collapsing. Now even that was a lie. He clenched a fist, he had so many things he wanted to say, very few of which were good. However, briefly his thoughts turned to Twilight.

He let a heavy sigh out and looked at Maxim. "To think the fates would be so cruel..." he says in a foul tone. "You're the one I was sent to find."

"What are you talking about?" Maxim asks.

"I was in the Crystal Empire, Blue Dusk told me where to find you. Said you may be able to help me with obtaining some Mana Powder." Rage explains.

Maxim looked rather surprised, but also skeptical. "Why would you need Mana Powder?" he challenges.

"Because a friend of mine is sick and Mana Powder is one of the things I need to cure them." Rage says with a frown.

"You could have just said something..." Maxim says as he motions Rage to follow him.

Rage followed the hedgehog further into the clearing and to a tree stump which he opened up. The top of the stump was a false stump, similar to one used by Sonic and Sally for Knothole back in the day. Maxim went down first with Rage soon to follow. Once at the bottom they were in a small cozy living area.

"I'm not here for your hospitality." Rage says scornfully. "I want to spend as little time here as possible."

"After all of this time?" Maxim asks.

"Why should I give you any of my time to begin with?" Rage spits. "You abandoned me and my brothers. I don't care what excuse you have, what you did wasn't right..."

Maxim sighs and walks over to a cabinet he had locked and opens it. He takes a small, brown heavy cloth sack out and brings it to Rage. "I know words can't mend what I did...I just want you to know...I am sorry. If I had known I'd never have..."

Rage grabbed the pouch and turned. "Save it." he snorts. "I could care less what you have to say after everything Icezer, Xage and I have been through...I can't even bear to think of you as my father..." he says as he turns. He then leaps to the top of the ladder and through the false stump back out.

Maxim looked at where Rage had stood with a look of distress. His heart sank as Rage's final words echoed in his mind. His face drooped into a sad frown and he sighed. "Yeah...good to...see you again..." he murmured as he turned around.