Chapter 1- The Storm Cometh

"If you want to see the sunshine, you have to weather the storm."

-Frank Lane

Golden Oaks Library, Ponyville, Equestria, Earth, 1:22 pm, Tuesday, 2nd of April, 2205 After Celestia

It had been raining all day.

For most, this was not strange, this wasn't cause for alarm, but then again, Twilight Sparkle was not like most and she knew something was wrong, the prevailing question however was what exactly that was.

Twilight sat on a small cushion, looking out of the raindrop spattered window into the raging monsoon outside. The sound of heavy rain pattering drowned out all other sounds and the whipping of tree branches coupled with the howling wind which whistled mournfully through the tight cracks of Twilight's home gave the impression of some great unnatural battle being waged outside. The Pegasi had been combating the storm ever since it had began and to no avail, Rainbow Dash herself had visited Twilight's library several times to update her, soaking wet and dripping onto the floor she had reported that the weather teams were having extreme difficulty trying to stop the storm. For some unknown reason the clouds were not moving with the ease that was expected of them and wouldn't disperse when handled by a Pegasus, Twilight had thanked Rainbow Dash and send her on her way to leave Twilight to ponder this anomaly.

Now, most ponies thought only Unicorns possessed magic but again, Twilight was not most ponies. She knew that all three types of ponies had magic in their own way. Unicorns could manifest their magic and use it to manipulate matter or even reality with expected limitations to what could be achieved. Earth ponies had more subtle magic that increased their stamina and overall strength tended also to have a connection with nature. Finally Pegasi had their own branch of magic that allowed them to fly easily and to manipulate weather bodies, the only theory that Twilight could come up with was that something was tampering with the magic of Pegasi. Yet, that was impossible, was it not?

Shaking her head Twilight trotted over to her bookcase and attempted to levitate a book on Pegasus weather magic down from the top shelf yet found it rather difficult to do so, the book suddenly felt like it weighed much more than it should and it dropped from the shelf. Breathing a bit heavily and suffering from a slight headache Twilight realized that whatever was tampering with the Pegasus' magic must be doing the same same to Unicorn magic and possibly even Earth Pony magic. She experienced a moment of fear bordering of terror, magic and it's flow through her was so incremental to her life that the prospect of it being taken away was one she could not fathom, she felt sick, and uneasy, something was very very wrong.

The moment that Twilight came to this conclusion none other than Rainbow Dash burst through the door, she was looking very tired and very wet, she stumbled through the door, closing it with an unbalanced kick of her hind leg. She limped over to the rug in the middle of the library and collapsed on top of it, Rainbow looked up at Twilight whom stood astonished and worried.

"Hey, Twi," Dash said in an exhausted voice. "Really bad weather outside huh?" Then her head dropped as the last once of strength left her, breaking out of her shocked state Twilight rushed over to her side.

"Rainbow!" She said with worry. "Rainbow, are you okay?" The Rainbow Dash didn't respond. She was exhausted, that much was clear, yet with further inspection she was also covered in a multitude of small bruises and cuts, most likely from flying sticks tossed around by the raging wind.

"Spike," Twilight called. "Spiiiike!" and soon enough Spike the dragon came running down the stairs to answer the call.

"What is it Twilight?" Spike asked with worry, he himself had been on edge since the storm had begun, not even Dragon's might could escape the unnatural effect of the storm.

"And what happened to Rainbow Dash?" He asked, Twilight shook her head.

"No time for that! I need you to take a letter to Princess Celestia!" Twilight said, the storm was dangerous and unnatural, and Twilight knew no one else whom would know what to do. Spike fetched a quill and parchment and made ready to write, Twilight cleared her throaat, trying her best to reign in her growing emotions and anxiety.

"Dear Princess Celestia," She began. "No doubt you have noticed the large storm raging in and around Ponyville as well as the nearby Everfree forest, the storm has lasted a day and a half despite the efforts of the weather teams, I have gained reports from them that the clouds are becoming increasingly hard to manipulate and won't disperse as easily as before, in turn I myself have been experiencing trouble with my magic, I cannot manifest it as strongly as is the norm and the simple act of levitating a book is now beyond me, I believe that the storm and the weakening magic are connected, something needs to be done, your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle."

Spike finished writing the words seconds after they had been spoken before rolling up the paper into a scroll and breathing a plum of emerald ethereal flames on it, the scroll swirled and was enveloped in the green dragon flame and disappeared.

Twilight walked back over to the sleeping form of Rainbow Dash and sat down next to her with her legs tucked in under her.

"Let's hope the Princess can fix this," she said to Rainbow Dash that appeared all but dead to the world.

Solar System Sol, Planet Earth, Canada, Nova Scotia, Lower Sackville, 8:29am, Saturday, 15th of February, 2012 of the Common Era

It was bright and sunny outside, birds were chirping and there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

At first look, this didn't seen all that unusual but the people of Nova Scotia knew that at this time of the year there was always something falling from the sky, some wrathful storm or hurricane just waiting to be unleashed by whatever gods had dominion over this realm. Whether it be rain, hail, or snow there was always something, especially if the weather channel actually reported that they could expect rain. When that occurred the resident Humans of Nova Scotia closed their windows and reinforced their doors, then they lie in wait for the coming natural onslaught.

Yet today was bright and sunny in spite the forecast the previous day.

Jason Miller was standing at the end of his home's paved driveway, Jason was a nineteen year old male Human. He had light brown hair and silver eyes and stood just slightly above the average height for his age, gender, and species. Currently he was staring up at the bright blue sky looking for storm clouds that where meant to be there as a warm breeze ruffled the leaves of the trees near him.

Jason and his Uncle Haydn had planned on using the predicted weather to their advantage, Jason's uncle owned a ranch which recently had been plagued by local coyotes, the pair had been counting on the weather to force the wild dogs into their den where they would have made easy pickings for the two hunters.

This explained Jason's current attire as he was dressed in a pair of sturdy combat boots and camouflage patterned cargo pants that were tucked into his boots and a camouflaged jacket completing the look, the latter sharing the pants pattern of grey's, blacks and full greens. The clothing was made for the moist, cold and dark climate that the Canadians were accustomed to, not the dry, warm and bright day in which that Jason was currently looking at.

Jason looked up and down the street, almost no one was up and about at this hour, especially on a weekend and those who were glanced confusingly up at the sky. Jason thought for a minute.

The storm must be coming in the form of a flash storm, He thought.

It was entirely possible, Nova Scotia experienced flash storms before. The day would start out looking nice, then suddenly the clouds would be upon them and the monsoon would rage. Jason pondered this as he stood in the the pleasantly warm atmosphere, a breeze tickling his face and carrying the sent of pine trees and the subtle sent mixture of gasoline and car emission that was omnipresent in the world these days.

Suddenly the world went a bit darker as a cloud moved in front of the sun, Jason was thinking of how he may have been correct about the flash storm when a clap of thunder from behind confirmed it. Jason turned around and was met with a swirling mass of grey clouds that covered the sky, it silently spread overhead of Jason, coming with it a cold wind that promised that the dry ground would not stay that way for long.

Jason stared up at the brewing storm, glad he was correct his correct assumption about the flash storm. It meant the hunting trip could go on as planned and Jason could spend time with Haydn rather than staying home with his much less favourable father. Jason grinned to himself as the rain foreboding wind tore at his his body and the sky crackled with the fantastic power of lightning.

Jason looked to the sky again only to find his vision had gone white. Not only his vision but the rest of his senses seemed to have stopped working, even his brain seemed to be shutting down as his white vision was slowly turning black as his brain slowly lost its grip on reality. The last thing his brain registered was proof of the fact that his hearing was still working as his ears picked up the crashing sound of molecules colliding forming the sound process known as thunder.

The Humans of Nova Scotia and the world went about their business as usual, completely unaware that one if their own has been lost to something other than the grip of death.

Chapter 2- I'm Not in Canada Anymore

"In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again."

-Lewis Carroll

Ponyville, Equestria, Tuesday, 2nd of April, 2:15 PM, 2205 AC

Twilight Sparkle jumped at the sound of thunder, though it wasn't the sound that startled her. No it was the strange feeling that came with it. Almost as if she was being rained on again, only this rain was icy cold and carried a sense of dread.

The monsoon that had been ravaging Ponyville had stopped half an hour ago. Within that time the rest of Twilight's six friends had gathered in Twilight's library and were awaiting the arrival of Princess Celestia. An hour earlier, the situation had reached a critical point as the magic of Unicorns and Pegasi had started failing all together. Even the sturdy magic of Earth Ponies started failing as Twilight bore witness to Big Macintosh being unable to even nudge a fallen tree from the road, a feat he would have performed easily on better days.

Then out of nowhere, magic started returning to the ponies. Pegasi began making progress against the storm and after an hour of battling, they defeated it. Twilight had sent another letter to Princess Celestia. Detailing all of what had transpired. The Princess had responded in writing that she was coming to Ponyville to investigate, and so Twilight had gathered her friends to wait for the princess.

Twilight looked to said friends now, they were all in the main room of the library. Rainbow Dash was resting from her ordeal in the monsoon, her chest rising and falling evenly. Rarity sat delicately on a single cushion, looking as poised and elegant as ever as she sipped from a cup of tea that she had Spike make for her. Fluttershy was tending to Rainbow Dash, changing the bandages in her cuts when needed. Applejack was leaning against one of the many bookshelves with her hat pulled down over her eyes; supposedly asleep. Pinkie Pie was bouncing in circles continuously, with a joyous smile on her lips and singing random tunes.

She was lucky to have them Twilight realized, lesser Ponies would have hid in their own homes and cowered in fear, yet not a hint of fear showed on any of their faces, even Fluttershy showed only concern as she tended to Rainbow Dash. Twilight sighed and thought about the strange feeling she had experienced just a moment ago, it had been a sense of dread and foreboding, it felt almost… instinctual.

Twilight was forced out of her stupor by a knock at her door, coming down the stairs from her small bedroom. Twilight went over to the door, flaring her magic to life and opening it. Her eyes were immediately assaulted with white splendorous light which blinded her temporarily.

Princess Celestia, Alicorn Goddess of the Sun looked as regal as ever. Her pure white coat produced its own light and warmth not unlike the sun she commanded, her rainbow patterned mane flowed as if blown but a breeze that didn't exist. A warm smile graced her features.

"Princess!" Twilight instinctively bowed her head, she heard a soft chuckle from the Alicorn in front her and then an even softer motherly nuzzle as the Goddess of the Sun gently pushed Twilights purple head back up.

"No need to be so formal, Twilight," Celestia said. "We are friends are we not?"

"Yes Princess, friends, please come in!" Twilight nodded rapidly moved hurriedly out of the way so Celestia could pass. Celestia found herself feeling that her student could do with a good clonk over the head, thinking better of it Celestia entered the library. Upon seeing the Princess, the ponies inside bowed as well, excluding Fluttershy, who was preoccupied tending to Rainbow Dash.

"Rise all of you" Princess Celestia's past feeling had amended itself and now believed that everypony needed a good clonk over the head. "I trust you are all doing well following the storm, how is Rainbow Dash?"

"She… Should be waking up soon" Fluttershy said this in little more than a whisper, Celestia had to strain her ears to hear her.

"I trust she is in good care, Fluttershy," Celestia said, producing a blush from Fluttershy.

"Twilight," Celestia said suddenly, turning to face her. "I wish to have a word with you in private if possible."

"Yes, Princess," Twilight nodded, gesturing to the door which led to the kitchen, once inside Celestia turned to face Twilight.

"Twilight what I am about to tell you is very important, I would like you to keep it to yourself. Maybe share it with your friends but that remains to be seen," Celestia said, her tone had changed drastically from the kind and warm to the serious and harsh. It startled Twilight, Celestia's switch in tone and what she was asking her to do; keep something from her friends. Yet she knew that Celestia would not ask such a thing without good reason, so Twilight nodded with determination. Celestia smiled at her before speaking again.

"For the past month or so I have been feeling…off, some sort of old internal instinct told me that something was wrong. Following my gut feeling I had checked thousands of different things, my old castle, the Gryphon Kingdom, the Discord statue," Celestia said. "Nothing was amiss, but then I checked the status of Equestria's magical fields" Twilight raised her eyebrows at this "As you know Equestria is covered in a magical field that connects all things and all lifeforms, it is the heart and soul of life as we know it and where we draw our magical strength from."

"Now for the past few days this field has been weakening and came to the point where magic was failing completely. You yourself experienced this during the storm, but then suddenly the field gained strength again and things returned to normal," Celestia said. "You know most of this already, you also are probably felt that pulse just before I arrived, that pulse was the entire field shutting down completely, albeit if only for a second. If anypony was using magic at the time it would have shut down instantly along with the field."

"What does this mean?" Twilight asked.

"I do not know," Celestia said with a shake of her head. "But I have a plan to find out, a plan that involves you."

Twilight wasn't surprised by this, Celestia often trusted her with tasks of great import; often to test her. Twilight was very proud of the fact that she was held in such regard.

"And what is this plan?" Twilight asked.

"You are to join a small force of Royal Guards and enter the Everfree forest, there you will locate the central focal point for the magical fluctuations and collect data on it," Celestia explained.

"I just have one question," Twilight said and Celestia tilted her head, gesturing for Twilight to continue.

"Can I bring my friends?"

Outside Ponyville, Equestria, Tuesday, 2nd of April, 2:25 pm, 2205 AC.

Jason lay in a large flat grassy field, to his left a dense forest could be seen, so dense that it blocked most of the sunlight from reaching the ground. To Jason's right the field continued until vision was broken by a series of hills that denied line of sight to whatever lay beyond. He lay there for several minutes, his brain an hour behind real time and struggled to process mountains of sensory data while its host body just lay on its back and stared up at the fluffy clouds above. To Jason it felt as if he was between worlds and the Universe couldn't decide which one to place him in. And then, something jolted him awake.

A sound that for all intents and purposes sounded like thunder but wasn't in fact thunder. As the sound registered in the mess that was Jason's brain, the Universe suddenly decided that it would throw the annoying Human into the world that his brain was located in, which was Equestria. Reality came rushing forward, overwhelming amounts of data being shoved into Jason's brain all cultivating into one singular horrific realization:

This wasn't home.

Jason slowly sat up, his back damp from the wet ground and he took in his surroundings. The forest enclosed the field he was in and only stopped when it reached the hills. Jason realized his heart was beating twice its normal rate and forced himself to calm down, panicking would not help the situation. Jason gathered the relevant facts and tried to process what happened.

I was in my driveway, staring at the sky and now I'm in a field.

…

"Well shit" The Human said out loud, it felt good to hear his own voice, something that reminded him of normality.

Jason forced his brain to work rationally, treating the situation as if he had simply gotten lost in the woods.

Supplies he thought, Jason grabbed the small green day bag that had been with him before he transported, inside was the items he had planned on taking on his hunting trip, a compass, six pop-off flares, a flare gun with twelve rounds, a canteen full of water, rope, and a hunting knife.

Jason digged out the knife and drew it from its sheath, it was sharp, serrated near the hilt and curved at the end. Jason pressed the flat of the blade to his lips, practically kissing it, drawing confidence from the weapon. He re-sheathed the knife and attached it to his belt, having done that Jason closed his day bag and secured it to his back. Jason slowly stood up, testing his leg muscles and once again took in his surroundings

Gain a point of reference he remembered

Jason jogged quickly to the hills that blocked his view and climbed to the top. From there he could see that beyond the hills was several miles of that dense forest until it stopped and gave way to what was quite clearly a small town. Jasn gained a feeling of hope at the sight, that was good, civilization was in sight. Jason dug out his flare gun and loaded a round, promptly aiming it upwards and firing the round, the flare exploded forth leaving a red sparking trail and exploding into a bright red ball in the sky.

Jason replaced the gun back into his day bag and started jogging into the dark forest and towards the town.

Edge of the Everfree Forest, Equestria, Tuesday, 2nd of April, 2:25 pm, 2205 AC.

Celestia stood in front of of a small detachment of stone-faced guards, giving them all instructions in which they listened to intently. Twilight and her friends sat together, waiting for the princess to lead them into the Everfree forest. A feat that none of them were thrilled about but even more concerning things held their attention

"So what exactly are we looking for?" Rainbow Dash for the fifth time, Twilight sighed heavily.

"I told you," Twilight said. "Not even the princess knows. Apparently it can be everything from a stone to a fruit, or it could simply be a energy field" the bookish Unicorn paused "…It may even be a living thing."

"I know all that but what I want to know is why we are trying to find it?"

"Because, Twilight said, a hint of annoyance entering her voice. "Whatever it is came from or is connected to a completely different world, we could learn innumerable things from it."

Rainbow Dash looked like she was about to question Twilight again but Applejack spoke up first.

"Rainbow I don't think y'all should bother yourself or Twi with this, the Princess thinks its important and that should be good enough for anypony," Applejack said, Rainbow Dash shrugged and seemed to finally drop it. Celestia finished speaking to her guards and approached the group of friends.

"Are you prepared?" Celestia asked, gaining nods from from most of them.

Rarity, whom up until this point had been lying on a sun chair wearing a wide brimmed sun hat, a pair of overly large sunglasses and holding a sun reflector to her face, waved her hoof in acknowledgment

"Of course Princess!" Rarity called.

"What about you Rainbow Dash?" Celestia asked, interrupting Rainbow whom was making faces and waving her hooves at the guards.

"Ready when you are princess!" Rainbow said, turning around and offering an enthusiastic salue.

"Let us away then," Celestia said, and the guards along with Twilight and her friends fell into step with her.

They had come to the edge of the forest and were about to enter when something odd happened; a light, bright red and sparkling, flew into the air before exploding in a shower of sparks. Twilight Sparkle looked in wonder at the light, it wasn't magic that much was sure but all logic and reason told her it was because nothing else in Equestria or anywhere could have done that besides magic.

"What was THAT!" Pinkie Pie said pointing at where the light had exploded. The six friends stared at the few sparks that remained.

"That kinda looks like them lights that Trixie had, they sparkled too," Applejack sounded unsure.

"No" Celestia's voice was quiet but one could hear the fear in her voice, and all eyes looked to her. She was afraid, her eyes were wide and filled with it, in fact she looked like she was going to be sick

"Princess?" Twilight asked "What is it?" Celestia didn't answer immediately, she stared intently at the dissipating red sparks.

"There is only one being in all of creation who can do something like that without using magic," Celestia said, almost to herself. "And I pray to the Ancients that I am wrong."

"Princess?" Twilight said again "What are we facing here?" Celestia broke out of her trance and turned to
face her student, a calming smile coming to her lips

"I am still unsure, I have a guess but I think it best to keep to myself unless confirmed, we can however safely assume that we are dealing with a creature of some sort and one with some manner of intelligence" there was a pause.

"Um… what sort of creature?" Fluttershy asked timidly, Celestia smiled warmly at the yellow Pegasus.

"Whatever it is I am sure you can handle it Fluttershy," Celestia said, getting a blush from Fluttershy.

"Anyway, Celestia said. "Tally-ho!"

"Tally-what?" Pinkie pie asked, Celestia sighed in nostalgia

"It means 'Lets Go' it is a… very old saying."

Chapter 4- Combat will be had

"This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning"

-Winston Churchill

The Everfree Forest, Equestria, Tuesday, 2nd of April, 2:36 pm, 2205 AC.

Despite the thick foliage, Jason was able to find a decent path that looked like it was only used by the animal inhabitants of the forest.

Jason maintained a light jog down the trail his heavy boots giving him good traction on the ruff ground. He could maintain this pace for hours before tiring, he hoped that his stamina would carry him to the town.

The relatively uneventful trip allowed the Human to assess the situation further, how did he get here? Was this a dream? What had that light been? These questions whirled around in Jason's mind before he shut them out and concentrated on getting to his destination.

After a few minutes of running Jason decided to stop and rehydrate himself. Taking the canteen out of his day bag the he began taking small sips to replenish his bodily fluids.

Jason took in his surroundings the trees grew close to one another. Creating a dense wall of leafs the leafs themselves were a dark green, the sort of colour that told you that no one had dared to tamper with the natural growth of the forest.

The the leafs began rustling.

Normally this wouldn't phase the experienced hunter that was Jason, but this wasn't a normal situation, it also didn't help that there was no breeze and the rustling of the leafs was complemented by the sound of branches snapping under a great weight.

About thirty meters in front of Jason, the thick foliage parted to admit what was most probably the most terrifying thing this Human had seen.

Besides that one time he walked in on his dad about to enter the shower.

At first glance the creature was a large lion however apon further scrutiny it was revealed that the beast to have leathery bat wings folded to its back and also possessed a scorpion tail in place of a lion one.

'Manticore' the name came to surface in Jason's memories, he remembered the name from Greek mythology.

The Manticore had begun sniffing the air and suddenly turned its head towards the Human, their eyes locked and Jason stood rock solid as the beasts lips pulled back in a growl.

Most of you probably already know this, but when a member of the Human race finds themselves in a situation of extreme danger-such as the one Jason found himself in now-the brain immediately activates what is called the 'Fight or flight' effect.

In essence what this did was boil the available options down to two things: Run for your life or fight to the death.

So naturally Jason decided on the latter.

What you may not know is that when the fight option is chosen, the brain then channels all available frustration, anger, and adrenaline into one and this is vented through a single action before combat is started, for some this action takes the form of screaming, others some sort of catchphrase, for Jason it was a single word:

"COMBAT!" The Human roared, drawing his knife and sprinting towards the monster.

~~*~~

The group of ponies slowly trotted down the main path that ran through the Everfree Forest. Their trip so far had been uneventful and the group stayed in relative silence, even Pinkie Pie limited herself to merely prancing in her usual way and not adding the usual stream of words that accompanied it.

Twilight stayed near the Princess ever since they had seen the light the white Alicorn had remained deep in thought, not really paying attention to anything else. This behaviour was unusual and worried Twilight, it was clear that something was bothering the Princess however every time Twilight had approached her about it, the Alicorn should assure her student that everything was fine and that she need not worry herself with such thoughts.

Twilight decided that for now she would heed her mentors advice and she began feeling excitement, she was on an expedition with the Princess! After something that could have come from an alternate reality! And to make it better, it was now confirmed that it was a living thing!

These thoughts brought a smile to Twilight's face and she continued trotting forward in excitement before she was interrupted by a thundering roar that was long and drawn out and it came from only about a mile or so in front of them

"Fluttershy" Rarity said slowly when the sound had receded "Did you happen to recognize that sound?" The yellow Pegasus responded immediately

"Of course, it was a Manticore, but it sounded odd… almost as if…" Fluttershy's eyes widened "Almost as if it was in pain" Rarity noticed the look and tried to stop Fluttershy

"Wait dear, don't…" but it was too late, Fluttershy was already sprinting towards the source of the noise, ready to help any animal in need. The rest of the party followed her in haste, calling her name with no avail.

~~*~~

Jason held tightly onto the manticore's thick lion mane as the creature bucked and twisted as it tried to dislodge the annoying Human off its back. Using the momentum of the beasts movements to his advantage Jason drove his knife into the back of the beast, aiming for the nerves that connected the brain. Unfortunately the thick mane and violent movements made Jason miss his mark and chance for an instant kill.

Never the less the monster definitely felt it, the manticore roared in pain and finally managed to knock off Jason. However Jason managed to keep a hold of his knife and pulled it with him, the serrated edge ripped the flesh it was imbedded in and brought another roar of pain from the manticore.

Jason landed on his back knocking the wind out of him, the bloody knife still clutched in his hands and he was momentarily phased.

The Manticore saw this as his chance, he was readying to pounce before a sweet, stern, and worried voice spoke from behind him

"Sebastian!" The manticore turned around and saw his friend Fluttershy standing there, slightly out of breath, she gasped in horror when she saw the state he was in.

"What happened?" Fluttershy ran over and held the manticore's face in her hooves, Sebastian's face was covered in bleeding cuts from where Jason had slashed him, even now he wobbled from how weak he was feeling from his most recent wound, Fluttershy immediately noticed this

"Lie down, let me take care of you" As the manticore did so as the rest of the pony group arrived and focused on the manticore, besides Celestia of course, she immediately locked her eyes on the Human not ten feet away.

The others began taking notice as well, soon the entire party was staring at the strange creature, even Sebastian was, and Fluttershy paused in her healthcare to look too.

It took only a moment for Jason to groan and sit up cursing to himself. It took only yet another moment for the Human to notice the technicolor ponies standing around the beast that he had been battling only seconds ago, he stared at each of them in turn.

Princess Celestia's breath- which had been becoming progressively more ragged as the Human began to move- caught in her throat as it locked eyes with her, staring intently.

"It's official" Jason stated, still looking at Celestia "I must be fucking dreaming" that's all he said before falling back down and passing out.

Chapter 4- Upon the first Meeting

"In this world, insanity is crucial to survival"

-Unknown

Ponyville, Equestria, Tuesday, 2nd of April, 2:47 pm, 2205 AC

After the creature had fainted, Celestia wasted no time transporting it to Twilights Library. After locking it in the library's basement room, one thing stood out to Twilight though; the Princess didn't simply teleport the creature, she had the Earth Pony guards carry it, a fact of which Twilight found odd.

They were in the library now, the mane six wondering why the Princess was downstairs, alone with the creature. A certain purple unicorn was pacing in a circle, very frustrated.

"What could it be? Where did it come from? Is it intelligent?" Twilight was saying out-loud, until the other in the unicorn in the room walked over to her. Rarity stopped her friend with a comforting hoof

"Twilight dear, I am sure that the Princess will tell you everything as soon as she knows herself." The bookworm sighed "I know, I just wish I knew what she was doing down there." Twilight stared at the door that lead to the basement.

~~*~~

Jason felt groggy, and he struggled to lift his eyelids. When he managed to do so, he looked around his environment; he sat in a dusty room, probably a basement, with rotting bookcases lining the stone brick walls. He sat on a furry mat on the floor.

The only real point of interest was the glowing white Alicorn standing in front of him.

The two stared at each other for a few minutes, both trying to completely comprehend the other. Eventually Jason decided to make the first move

"Uhhh... Hi?"

Real smooth Jason

The creature jumped a bit when she heard the Human speak, and after a moment Celestia cautiously responded "Hello."

As the two of them went back to the productive method of staring stupidly at each other, they took in each other's appearance.

Jason saw a white Alicorn, straight out of a little girls fairy tail book. Her wings were folded at her side, but he could tell that she had a massive wing span, her coat was pure white, and Jason swore she gave off her own light

Its fucking bioluminescent

Celestia on the other hand (hoof?) saw a dirtied, tired looking Human, he wore some sort of patterned garment over his legs, and black boots covered the ends. His torso was in a simple solid colour shirt. But it was the eyes that attracted her. They reflected the light she gave off. The Humans eyes were a silvery grey and were filled with an awareness and intelligence that was rarely seen in Ponies or any other sentient life she has seen.

After the pause, Jason spoke again.

"Is this a dream?" He asked dumbly. Celestia had seen this coming, and answered simply "No."

The Human experienced a brief moment of panic before quelling it and going with it

"Thought as much, all of this is too real. I'm assuming that scene in the forest was real too, yeah?" The Sun Goddess nodded before speaking

"You now lie in the land known as Equestria. I am Princess Celestia, ruler and watcher of it" Jason raised his eyebrows .

"Names Jason" he said. Raising his hand and giving a weak wave, Jason realized he was still on the floor. He stood up suddenly. Celestia took a half pace back away from the Human. Old reflexes were taking over, and demanding that she flee, but she managed to stand her ground after realizing that the Human was not going to attack.

Jason noticed this and in spit of himself, and couldn't help the sarcastic smile that came to his lips

"I don't bite you know, besides, if I did, you would just gore me with that horn of yours" this didn't make Celestia calm down, but she pretended that she was

"I suspect... That you would like to know where exactly you are... And what exactly I am" The Princess said cautiously

"Well I still haven't haven't ruled out the possibility of this being a dream, or drugs for that matter, seeing as I've never heard of 'Equestria' and by all logic and reason, you really shouldn't exist, but hey, explain away horse lady" Princess Celestia's fear of the Human increased

Relax, he's only making jokes, he could be different

"Well... You are in a town called Ponyville, and as I said the country is called Equestria, and the planet is called Equs" again panic started to creep into Jason's mind but he forced himself to remember a particularly wonderful guide to the known galaxy

Don't Panic a peppy narrative voice was heard in Jason's head

(Oi! There's only one narrator around here buddy!)

After calming down the Human spoke again

"None of that sounds even remotely familiar. I'm from a country known as Canada, on a planet referred to as Earth or Gaia, depending who you ask" Celestia nodded

"I had guessed this, I... Have seen your kind before... A long time ago, here, on this planet" this gave Jason pause, eventually he raised an eyebrow

"So that means..." Celestia nodded

"Yes, your still on the same planet" Jason stared the Alicorn down

"Explain" the Human asked and Celestia sighed

"You might want to sit down, this is a long story, but you deserve to know"

Chapter 5- Old Wounds

"War. War never changes"

- Ron Perlman

"It happened so long ago, few that were there still stand," Celestia began.

~~*~~

Vimy Ridge, Northern Prance (Northern France), Equestrian outer territory, Tuesday, December the 15th, 4045 A.A, The Battle for Prance

Celestia unlatched her golden helmet and allowed the wretched thing to fall to the ground with a heavy clang. Before sitting down on her haunches as the exhaustion of that day took over her.

The Sun Alicorn sat in a mostly destroyed house of sorts, only pieces of the stone walls remained, the sky was black not with clouds, but with ash and soot of the fires that burned all across the Equestria.

This particular ridge had played host to a particularly long battle between the opposing forces of the Alicorns and the Humans, Celestia was acting as a Commander along side her sister, Luna, and another aligned Alicorn by the name of Nemesis, the cruel Alicorn of Revenge and Spite, why he had been paired with them was beyond her. They three commanded a relatively small force of only a couple thousand unaligned Alicorns, beings who hadn't even found where they fit in the cosmic puzzle that was the Universe, already being forced to fight against the seemingly indefeasible force of the Human war machine.

Not two hours ago Celestia had faced the onslaught of the attacking Humans, along side about one hundred and fifty of her unaligned brothers and sisters. 'Faced' being a subjective term, when fighting the Humans, one rarely even saw one, rather, the only evidence of them actually being there is the small bits of metal that fly through the air and rip into an Alicorn's body, completely destroying the internal organs and muscles. Or of course the flaming balls of fire that constantly rained from the sky when the Humans were attacking.

Celestia's mind jolted back to the present as the smell reached her nostrils, that omnipotent sent of sulphur, ash, and burning flesh that was permanently related to the presence of Humanity. Celestia looked up, towards the rolling hills and fields, perhaps at one time they had been green, but now the earth and soil had been stripped back to the rocks below, in fact they had discovered ancient trenches underneath the earth that they had used to their advantage. There hadn't been anything growing here for thousands of years, in the early days of the war.

Celestia sensed magic in the air and not three seconds later there was a puff of dark smoke and an even darker Alicorn clad in ebony armour appeared. At first Celestia took the newcomer for her sister, but was sadly mistaken

"Hello, dearest Celestia," Nemesis spoke with the smile of a snake "The air is thick with blood and death is it not?" He chuckled a bit, but Celestia had no patience for The Revenge Alicorn

"Begone worm, I am tired from battle, something you cannot boast, sitting comfortably back at the tent, observing the death of millions," Celestia spat, getting a wide smile from Nemesis.

"Peace Celestia, I come on business, your father is here, " Nemesis stated, Celestia jumped out of her sitting position and took Nemesis's gaze in her own.

"Where?!?" She asked urgently.

"Up at the monument, dearest Lulu is already up there-" Nemesis was cut off by Celestia teleported away in a shower of golden light.

Celestia reappeared on top of the white monument, it was a large flat white stone base with two tall white spires engraved with words of some sort, all across the monument, white statues of Humans, both women and men stood. The Alicorns had found it when they first came to the western territories, it was later revealed the obvious; it was built by the Humans, why they didn't just obliterate the thing was beyond Celestia's reasoning.

Immediately Celestia's eyes alighted on the large male Alicorn that was staring at the script on the monument with a strange fondness. He stood taller than most, with a coat of pure white and eyes devoid of colour, his mane and beard were both white as well giving the impression as if he was about to fade away. His large wings sported swirling runes and ancient symbols carved into them as if they were stone and the air around him seemed to shimmer as if heated. He was King Aeon, Alicorn God of Eternity.

"Father!" Celestia called, King Aeon turned and smiled as his daughter ran up and embraced him, her pink flowing mane mingling with his ginger beard.

"Celestia," Aeon's voice was deep and ancient and brought a sense of peace and calm to his daughter as he gave here a squeeze.

"Why have you come father?" Celestia asked, releasing him.

"First, perhaps you should greet your sister?" Aeon stepped aside to reveal the Moon Goddess herself.

"Well met sister" Luna said as they embraced "Seems thou let the ridge go to ruin" The Night Alicorn said this teasingly.

"Well it would still be in our grasp if you hadn't given up the shore" Celestia retorted, slipping out of her sisters embrace. How far they had come, to talk about loosing territory in war like it was a joke.

"Now, now you two, perhaps you would be more interested as to why I am here?" The two sisters turned eagerly towards their father.

"Indeed, why hast thou come so far into the field of battle?" Luna asked

Aeon didn't answer at first, rather he smiled and turned back towards the spires, gesturing towards the words carved on the stone.

"Do you read the Human script Celestia?" Aeon asked.

"No father, I never had the cause to learn," Celestia answered, Aeon chuckled.

"You should take the time to learn it my daughter, some of the oldest and wisest texts are written in their script, but no matter, these-" he said gesturing to the words again "-Are names"

"Names?" Luna asked "Names of whom?"

"Humans of course," the King Alicorn stated "Human soldiers to be exact."

"Then we should obliterate this accursed thing from existence! To build such a thing to give murders such an honour, pure madness," Celestia ranted.

"Perhaps, but I have see what is to come, this monument shall stand for several eras to come, until the fires and the darkness take this world," Aeon mused, then he turned to his daughters "I have come to end this, the fighting, the death, the war, all of it."

The Alicorn sisters exchanged glances.

"How dost thou plan on doing this father?" Luna asked, Aeon answered by activating his white magic and levitating a scroll out from under his wing, Celestia recognized it immediately.

"Father! Do away with that evil thing! It contains the corrupted and perverted magic that the Human's stole!"

"I know what this is, my daughter, and it is the power that the Humans stole that shall be their undoing, this scroll," Aeon gestured to it "was originally designed by the Humans as a last resort weapon, in case the war became to difficult to continue, this scroll would obliterate the Alicorn race."

Luna's eyes widened "Then we must destroy it, surely it is a danger to us!" But Celestia caught on to her fathers words.

"Originally designed?" She asked, her father smiled.

"Yes, but I have altered it, so to speak, it now does the opposite, when activated this scroll shall destroy every single Human in current existence" both sisters gaped.

"Killing an entire species? This is not like you at all father" Luna said worriedly, Aeon smiled grimly

"I have seen the Gears of Time my daughter, and they turn in this direction, all paths lead to this day, the end of Humanity, and me as well."

"W-what?" Celestia asked "What do you mean? And how did you come across this scroll?"

"How I came across it... Well... It's not important, but, because of my tampering the scroll now requires a sacrifice," Solaruis explained "Before, it contained the magical energy necessary to wipe us out but now it needs that energy to be given to it, it needs me."

"Father?!?" Luna asked "You mean to sacrifice yourself?!?"

"No my daughter, I wish simply to end this, I move with what has been decided, the gears, the hourglass, the streams, the orb, they all point to this," Aeon said.

"So this is truly your fate?" Celestia asked sadly.

"I am afraid so my daughter, you will face much in the years to come, I have seen much, you will be tested, your loyalty, your generosity, your kindness, your honesty, and of course, your sense of humour" Aeon chuckled at the last one "All of these shall be tested, but you must keep true, no matter who-" Aeon looked at Luna before looking back "Or what, stands in your way"

"Then.... this is goodbye then father, " the emotion caught up with Celestia and tears formed in her eyes.

"Cry not my daughter, you will not be alone, you have your sister, and there will be others, others that can and will understand...." Aeon smiled "And one of them, well help you forgive all that has happened, no one shall die alone, not even me."

"And whom would share your... Sacrifice" Luna was tearing up as well.

"That would be me," a sadistic voice said from behind them, and from a puff of shadow came Nemesis, smiling madly.

"You?" Celestia asked slightly angry "And how could one such as you have the courage to make such a sacrifice?"

"Do not belittle me with your foolish ideals of courage and 'the greater good'" The God of Spite sneered at Celestia "This is my final act of spite, my final revenge" Nemesis's smile widened, showing off sharp teeth "To repay for what those monsters did to me, to restore balance, Humans invented revenge, did you know that? They made me, and now I shall destroy them. Every. Last. One." The Revenge Alicorn laughed madly as Celestia and Luna stared at him in disgust and horror, before Celestia turned back to her father.

"Why give him the satisfaction father? It's a cruel enough what your going to do, but adding him to the mix... It seems wrong."

"While I might agree with you my daughter, I have not the sadistic conviction or dark power that Nemesis does, I require him to do this, and he is eager," Aeon smiled sadly at Celestia "Now... I must be off, tally-ho" And with that, the King Alicorn walked up to the centre of the monument, in-between the two spires, Nemesis following gleefully.

As they reached the centre, Aeon opened the scroll, a golden light enveloped the two Alicorns, tendrils swirling around them, before it slowly began to absorb them, turning their bodies to dust.

"A wise Human once wrote something 'This is how the world ends, not with a bang but with a whimper'" these were the last words of King Aeon before he shut his eyes. Nemesis was not so subtle though, he laughed madly and yelled to the ash-filled air.

"Ah-HAHAHAHAHAHAHHA! they will burn! All of them! Man, women, child, they will all be taken by the Void! They will know no peace, know no asylum, they will left in the dark to go mad! This is my revenge! This is my spite! I am Nemesis, God of-" the Alicorns rant was cut off when the golden light absorbed his head, suddenly a wave of the same golden light blasted past Luna and Celestia and across the ridge.

All across the Earth, Humanity died, not in a flash of fire as so many of them had dreamed, but in a blast of golden light that carried them to their fabled place of rest, wherever that may be.

Chapter 7- Innocent Lies

"When truth is replaced by silence, that silence is a lie"

- Yevgeny Yevtushenko

Goldenoaks Library, Ponyville, Equestria, Tuesday, 2nd of April, 2:57 pm, 2205 AC

Jason had long since sat down, coming to terms with what this white fairy-tale character had just told him.

His race, his species, Humanity, was gone. It didn't seem possible, they were too big, too wide-spread. Surely nothing short of divine intervention could wipe Humans out? Jason had always thought the axeman of Humanity would be Humanity itself

"I'm alone," saying it out loud didn't help. It was all too much, this had to be a dream, it had to be. Horses didn't have wings or horns, they certainly didn't talk, and Humanity still lived.

But yet, the words of this ridiculous creature had a tone of truth in them, some sense in the recesses of Jason's mind told him that this was not the result of a particularly vivid dream, an unlikely scenario to begin with as Jason was plagued by insomnia, but was reality.

"So what now?" Jason's voice bore no emotion, as he was busy stuffing them in the back of his mind "For all intents and purposes, you and me are enemies. You should hate me, and I you. My race and yours apparently have been fighting for a millennia, until here you and I stand, the last of our kinds. Now what?" Celestia was shaken to say the least. The Humans emotionless delivery was disturbing given the circumstances. The Alicorn struggled to get her words out.

"I don't know. I'm not sure how to feel about this, but, I am going to give us both a a chance to make amends, heal, and live in peace and harmony with each other, as nature intended," Celestia softened her gaze

"Will you accept that chance?"

Jason sighed, he needed time, time to figure out what in hell he was going to do, or what was going on, and this.... Alicorn was offering him a peaceful existence in which to answer these questions.

"I guess it's worth a shot," Jason said "Lord knows I'll need some time to figure all of this out," Celestia actually smiled, if a but unsure, then a thought made her smile drop.

"Well first, we need to figure out what your story is," the Human raised an eyebrow

"Say what now?" The Alicorn sighed

"Upstairs, six ponies are waiting. They are young, innocent, and vastly important. I cannot allow them to know the events of the past, they're not ready."

Jason heaved a breath, this was getting even more complicated

"Alright, here's what we tell them..."

~~*~~

Upstairs

Twilight had long since resumed her pacing, a steady string of questions coming from her mouth. Rarity's advice having no effect now. Rainbow Dash was lazily gliding around the library, clearly bored out of her mind. The other four mares sat patiently in wait for the Princess.

"Princess!" Twilight exclaimed "What is it? Is it okay? Is it really from another dimension? Is it-" the Unicorns mile-a-minute stream of words was cut off by Celestia, placing her hoof over Twilights mouth.

"My dear student, your questions will be answered if you would give me a chance to do so," the Alicorn smiled at Twilight who nodded eagerly, activating her magic and levitating a quill and piece of parchment from her desk over to her. Placing the tip of the quill on the parchment she nodded to the Princess.

"Now, first things first, this creature is not from another world, rather, another time. And he is born of this planet," Twilight opened her mouth to ask a question, but Celestia shushed her with a raised hoof.

"The creature is in fact a member of the Human race, an ancient and powerful species," The purple unicorn raised her hoof to ask a question, still emanating that schoolfilly energy, Celestia nodded.

"How ancient exactly? Who do they pre-date?" The Sun Alicorn smiled

"Very ancient Twilight, they pre-date Equestria, they are older than me, and older than the Alicorns as a whole," the ponies present expressed different degree of shock, with Rainbow Dash speaking the thoughts of all of them.

"But that's impossible, Alicorns created everything!... Didn't they?" Since childhood, young colts and fillies were told that the Alicorns were a God-race, and had crafted the universe around them. It was a common small-time religion among common Ponies, and The Mane Six were not exempt from this common upbringing.

Celestia smiled at her naïveté "That's a myth dear Rainbow Dash. In reality, while Alicorns are old, we are but children in comparison to the age of the Human Race." While Rainbow Dash absorbed this information with a dumbstruck expression, Twilight spoke up.

"But Princess, the Humans are a myth too. I mean there's hundreds of documents depicting them, books, scrolls, art, even structures built in their honour. But no actual evidence of their existence," the Princess nodded

"True, but trust me when I tell you, the Human race is very real. In fact, several of the structures that were 'built in their honour' were built by the Humans themselves. Now it seems one has turned up."

"But how? You said he was from a different time? How is that even possible? And why now?"

"I am unsure Twilight. It seems that something influenced the magical fields that flow through our world, or even the flow of time itself, to bring this Human from a time long past."

"Wait ah minute..." Applejack spoke up "ya' mean ta say that this... human, comes from the past?"

"Yes Applejack. This particular Human comes from ancient times, before the existence of Alicorns or Dragons, when the Humans ruled the planet and were abundant in number."

"Abundant?" Twilight asked, looking up from her notes "How abundant? And how many are there now?"

"In their prime they numbered in the billions.." This was met with a soft gasp from Fluttershy, who blushed when every pony looked at her.

"Um... That's a lot," she whispered, and Celestia smiled before continuing.

"Anyway, recently the Humans have... diminished. Over the years their race experienced a population crash. Nowadays they are as rare as Alicorns, living at the edges of the world. But enough of that, we have more pressing matters to discuss," Celestia suddenly became much more serious, gaining the full attention of the six mares.

"Humans are one of the most dangerous species to walk this planet," Celestia said "They can be the greatest of friends and the worst of enemies. Each of them posses a vast amount of knowledge, and they are vastly more advanced than Ponies could ever hope to be," the Sun Alicorn paused to let this sink in.

"They are deceitful, manipulative, intelligent beings. This particular Human comes from a time when Humanity ruled over nature, a time of privilege and luxury. He will be used to looking down at other species. It is your task, as the Bearers of Harmony, to befriend him, make him comfortable, give him a life to live. He has already agreed to try and live peacefully, help him do so." There was a pause, filled with silence, until Applejack cleared her throat.

"Uh... with all respects Princess," she said slowly "But from what you've told us, this...thing, is dangerous, should we really trust it? I mean it took on a full-grown Manticore! And might have won hadn't we gotten there first," Applejack removed her Stetson "Wouldn't it be better to keep it somewhere where it can't hurt nopony?" Celestia looked at the orange mare with slight shock, and the sternness.

"He..." Celestia put stress on the word "Is a free creature, he is intelligent, and deserves the right to do as he wishes. Thus-far he has only demonstrated his prowess in a self-defence setting. The incident with the Manticore was a misunderstanding, and I am sure Fluttershy can arrange for them to talk it out," Celestia smiled at the Pegasus, who smiled back, albeit a bit flustered. The White Alicorn turned back to Applejack "I am not asking you to trust right away, quite the opposite. Rather I simply wish for you to give him a chance to prove himself, while still keeping an eye on him just in case," The farm pony considered this before replacing her Stetson.

"Ah'll try, but if it.... he, try's anything, ya'll be the first to know," Celestia nodded and turned to the other five mares "Does anypony else have concerns?" None of the spoke for a while, until Twilight did for all of them.

"I think we can be good friends with this Humans," the unicorn was suddenly filled with school-filly joy. "He can tell me all about his species! Oooh! If only I didn't send Spike off, his writing is better than mine!" Suddenly a pink blur bounced next to Twilight.

"Forget about that! I can't wait to throw a Welcome-to-the-future-with-talking-ponies party! I only get to do that once per H-I-E story! I wonder if the narrator will come! Or the writer! Wait... aren't those the same person? I forget.." As Pinkie Pie rambled on about no-one-knows what, the other mares affirmed their agreement to the plan and the Writer and the Narrator took the chance to try strangle Pinkie Pie for breaking the wall again.

"We shall certainly make him as comfortable as possible your Majesty," Rarity said.

"Um... I just hope he's nice," Fluttershy said.

"Don't worry Princess! Well take care of him!.... In a good way!" Rainbow Dash stated.

"You can count on us Princess," Twilight said with a smile.

"I cannot thank you all enough. Now, let's meet our new friend shall we?" Celestia smiled as she made towards the basement door... Only for it to slam open, revealing a disgruntled Jason.

"You take too long," He said "And it smells down there."

Chapter 8- Paradise

"It is better to have your head in the clouds, and know where you are... than to breathe the clearer atmosphere below them, and think that you are in paradise."

-Henry David Thoreau

Goldenoaks Library, Ponyville, Equestria, Tuesday, 2nd of April, 3:05 pm, 2205 AC

Celestia took a moment to recover from Jason's sudden arrival, before smiling, ignoring the Humans slight rudeness.

"I was just about to come get you," The Sun Alicorn said "Now, Jason. Meet Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie," Celestia pointed to each of them in turn "And girls, meet Jason"

Each of them saw something different. Jason saw a little girls dream, six brightly coloured small equines stood before him. He also noticed that two them had horns, two had wings (And one was flying at the moment) and two appeared to be normal Ponies, besides the fact that one was pink and the other was wearing what looked to be a Stetson. But at this point Jason wasn't going to be surprised about anything.

Each of the girls saw the Human differently as well, Twilight saw a tall, bipedal, creature. It resembled a Minotaur perhaps a young Dragon. He had long legs and a rather small body, at the end of his long arms were what looked like claws, but were rounded and soft-looking at the end. The Unicorn also noticed that the 'Humans' head seemed large, suggesting a large brain and supporting the high intelligence that Celestia had spoke off.

Fluttershy saw and noticed things similar to what Twilight did, but what she focused on was Jason's expression. The yellow Pegasus had dealt with Diamond Dogs before, and even Monkeys. So she could tell that currently, Jason was not in the best of spirits, he was unhappy, grumpy, and a bit angry. Fluttershy searched the Humans eyes, they were small, more beady than Pony eyes. They were a silvery grey colour, like clouds before rainfall, and as far as Fluttershy could see, there was nothing in them. Most creatures she met had what she called 'The Spark' in their eye, a sort of light that signifies life, sentience, and the subtle magic that every living thing shared. This Human didn't have it.

Rainbow Dash just saw a weird creature that resembled a Minotaur, so she assumed he was at least similar to one. Going off of that the speedster could tell that this Human was at least somewhat strong, the muscles on his armed were prominent, but the rest of him was covered so she couldn't tell. Apart from that, every bit of Jason was alien to Rainbow Dash, his face didn't seem to work, small nose, small eyes, flat face, sharp jaw. It was all confusing to look at.

Applejack saw nothing past what the Princess had said. Like Rainbow Dash she noticed the muscles around the things arms, but ever since it had come upstairs Applejack had noticed more and more concerning things about the creature. Every time it breathed you could see into its mouth, revealing a pair of sharp teeth, placed next to deceptively blunt ones. Applejack could always tell about Ponies, but this thing, was a mystery, she couldn't feel anything besides distrust and danger coming from this creature.

Rarity simply saw yet another odd creature to come out of this world, at this point she wasn't going to be surprised by yet another strange thing, no, what she noticed was the drably coloured cloths that he wore, the lower half was patterned with greens, greys, and browns. The upper was just solid green. Immediately Rarity's fashion orientated mind began thinking of 'improvements' she could make.

I would explain exactly what was going on inside Pinkie Pies mind, but It would require knowledge of the Multiverse as a whole and several levels of psychosis to understand even the relevant parts of it.

Jason cleared his throat

"Well, it's nice to meet you all," Twilight snapped out of observation mode and smiled.

"And it's good to meet you. It's not everyday that you meet somepony like you, I mean, you are a rather rare creature, so I hope you don't mind if I ask you a few questions?" Twilight looked up hopefully at Jason, exited at the possibility of acquiring knowledge about a new species. Jason picked up on this and immediately he began filing information.

An intellectual, moved by knowledge and the thrill of discovery, probably at least slightly socially awkward, due to long nights of study and reading, probably naive about the world as a whole, sees things as facts and numbers. Wether she retains morals and ethics is yet to be seen. She'll probably be persuaded by the promise of more knowledge

"I guess that would be okay. You ask a question and then I do, so we can both learn," The purple Unicorn nodded excitedly and beckoned to him. They all moved into the study area of the library, where there was a few sitting cushions. The Mane Six and the Princess folded their legs under them and Jason awkwardly folded his legs and sat down.

Once again Twilights horn lite up and her parchment and quill floated into the study room from where she had dropped it, bringing them over to her. Jason's eyes widened slightly and he stared at the gravity-defying objects, but before he could ask, Twilight began talking

"Now, first question," she said, looking at her notes "Princess Celestia told us that your race is known as 'Humans' is that an official name? Are there others?"

"Ugh..." Jason stopped staring at the ghost-paper for a moment to answer "'Humans' is the most commonly used name, and it is official. We've also been called 'The Human Race' and 'Humanity' to refer to us as a whole, and 'Homo sapiens' is our scientific name," the bookworm scribbled the knowledge down with her magical quill.

"Now what's a question you have?" She asked looking up, Jason coughed.

"Ah, well. How.." He said lifting his finger dramatically "...Are you doing that?" He pointed at the floating parchment and quill.

"I'm using my Magic of course," Twilight said.

"There's no such thing as Magic," Jason said automatically. Twilight gave him a bewildered look, but before she could speak the Princess interjected.

"One moment Twilight. Jason, what year was it by Human Calendar when you were... transported." The Human raised an eyebrow.

"2013 AD," he said, and The Sun Alicorn nodded "I thought as much.." She said.

"Princess?" Twilight inquired "What does that mean?" Celestia shook her head.

"You see... you never knew this but The Equestrian Calendar is an extension of The Human Calendar. From what Jason is telling us.... he comes from a time before magic.." Twilights jaw obey'd gravity while her brain went out for lunch. After a moment she spluttered out a question.

"B-before magic?" She asked "There was a time before magic?"

"Of course," Celestia said nonchalantly, "Magic has not existed forever Twilight."

Twilight just stood there, processing the revolutionary information that had just been dumped
on to her. Eventually her gaze shifted to Jason and a new round of questions began.

"How did your species survive without Magic?"

"Superior intelligence, technology, and a lot of luck. Are Ponies the only sentient species?"

"No, there are others, like Gryphons, Dragons, and Minotaurs. Why don't you think Magic exists?"

"It's like Celestia said. Magic never existed in the past, and most of Humanity was under the impression that it didn't exist. What sort of things can you do with 'Magic'?"

"Things like levitation, teleportation, and other more complicated things. What was the Human population at the time when you left?"

"About seven billion. What is the current state of the world?" Twilight looked up from her notes.

"State of the world? What do you mean?"

"You know, who are the current superpowers? Who's threatening who? Who's at war?" The Mane Six just stared at Jason, before Twilight spoke.

"War? Nopony is at war, nopony is threatening anyone. The world is in a state of harmony."

"....No wars? Nothing? Nothing at all? Roadside bandits? Kidnapping? Smuggling? No crime?" Twilight shook her head.

"No, crime in Equestria is low, almost nonexistent," Jason just stared in disbelief as Twilight continued.

"Food is in a surplus, most Ponies live in luxury or at least in a comfortable situation. We live in Harmony," the weight of what this unicorn was telling him struck Jason.

"Paradise.." He said "It sounds like paradise.." The Humans face darkened "I don't buy it, what your describing is a perfect world. There's no such thing as a perfect world." After a session of worried looks, Twilight cleared her throat.

"Well that's all I have for now, does anypony else have a question?" Rainbow Dash raised a hoof. "Yes Rainbow Dash?"

"Why did you attack that Manticore? And how did you almost win?! He was three times your size!" Jason thought for a moment.

"Well... you see when a Human is put into a threatening situation, and I mean life and death here, our brains automatically do what is called the 'Fight or Flight' effect. And what is does is in it's name, it boils the situation down to to options: Fight or Run-the-fuck-away. With the Manticore, I figured I would never outrun it, so I decided to attack it. And it worked out rather well," The Human paused.

"As for how I beat it, I just stabbed it in the face," Jason suddenly felt at his side, were his knife usually was.

"Speaking of which, where's my knife anyway?" This was met with avoided eyes, except from Applejack, who just glared before speaking.

"Ah put it somewhere so you couldn't find it. No offence but I don't rightly trust you yet, so I think it's best that we keep your... hands, empty of weapons." Jason raised an eyebrow, and actually smiled a bit.

"Understandable," he said "It's Applejack isn't it?"

"Tha's right."

"Right, tell me Miss Applejack, do you have a question for me?"

"Actually, ah do. What do you plan plan on doing here exactly?" Jason internally cringed at the southern accent the orange mare possessed, but retained his manners.

"Well for now I wish to learn about this place, learn the history, culture, and such that comes with living here. Past that I'm not sure," Applejack seemed satisfied with the answer, but still had that distrustful look in her eyes.

I'll have to earn her trust Jason thought.

"Anypony else?" Twilight asked, and Pinkie Pies hoof launched into the air. The Unicorn nodded.

The pink mare cleared her throat and spoke civilly "I would like to inquire as to the following..." A gigantic smile spread over her face "DO YOU LIKE PARTIES!?" Pinkie Pie's face suddenly filled Jason's vision, her muzzle pressing into his nose. It was only after Jason's heart restarted that he replied.

"I... guess so?" He said, the mare squealed in delight, rambling something about a 'Welcome-to-Equestria-in-the-future-party' and sped off at the speed of light, leaving a very confused Human in her wake.

"O-Kaaay..." Note: Acquire sedatives to use on Pink coloured equine in emergency situations "Anyone else have a question?" And Fluttershy raised her hoof.

"Yes Miss Fluttershy?" Jason asked, nodding in her direction.

"Um... could you apologize to Sebastian? I mean, if that's okay with you.."

"Who's Sebastian?" It was Applejack who answered.

"That would be the Manticore you darn nearly killed," Jason raised an eyebrow.

"Why would I apologize to a wild animal?" he asked confused, and Fluttershy spoke a little more loudly.

"Because he had feeling to, it's the right thing to do," Jason sighed a little bit.

"Fine, if it makes you happy, we can do it tomorrow," the clock on the wall struck 10 and the bell let them know.

"Well, it has certainly been an exciting day," Celestia said "But I think it is time for everypony to retire, and for me to return to Canterlot." A thought came to the Princess "Actually... who would be willing to house Jason? He needs a place to sleep." None of the mares seemed overly excited about that fact, besides Twilight.

"I will!" She said "It will give me more opportunities to learn from him! He can take the spare bed!" The Unicorn stood up, dropping her notes "Come on, I'll show you were it is." The purple mare beckoned him over to the stairs. Jason got up, gave a little wave to the rest of them before following her upstairs.

Twilight lead him to what he could only assume was her room, and through a door to the side of it. Inside was a small simple bed with a nightstand and a candle on top of it.

"I hope you'll be comfortable here," she said and Jason actually smiled.

"It's fine, thank you." The mare smiled, bid him goodnight and left. Jason immediately dropped his smile when she left, he sat down on the tiny bed with a sigh. He unlaced his boots and placed them at the foot of the bed, he then pulled the blanket over him, curled into a ball. And tried to figure out what the fuck happened and what the hell he was going to do.

Chapter 9- Fear

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

-Franklin D. Roosevelt

Goldenoaks Library, Ponyville, Equestria, Wednesday 3rd of April, 6:05 am, 2205 AC

The golden light of Celestia's choice star shined through Twilights lavender curtains, the curtains themselves doing absolutely nothing to keep the light at bay. Rather they proceeded to aim the worst of the beams right into the slumbering Unicorns closed eyelids, said eyelids being as effective as the curtains.

Twilights face grimaced and she held a hoof in front of her face, trying to block the sun. Slowly she sat up, her mane frazzled and her eyes still closed, she was still at least half asleep. For a moment the Unicorn forgot the events of the day before, being content to just remain in the bliss that is the limbo between sleeping and awake, before the memories and events rushed back into her head, and manifested themselves into a single thought; a name.

Jason

Launching herself out of bed, Twilight ran over to the door that lead to Jason's room, finding it to be empty except for the nightstand, the candle, and the bed which had been freshly made. Panicking slightly the lavender equine galloped down the stairs and into the main library, where she found Jason, standing before the shelves, apparently studying the titles of the texts that took residence there.

"Good morning Miss Sparkle," he said, not turning around "Have a good sleep?" He asked. Twilight smiled.

"Yes, did you?" She asked, Jason shrugged.

"Not one for sleeping, I prefer using the time to think. But it was good anyway." Jason looked back at the books. "Quite the collection 'ya got here" Twilight nodded.

"Yep, it's rivalled only by the Canterlot Archives themselves," a little bit a pride entered into her voice "Does anything catch your eye?"

"Well... No, seeing as I can't read any of the titles."

"Wait, what?" Twilight asked bewildered "You can't read?" Jason shook his head.

"Oh no no no no, I can read. It's just it's in some sort of text that I'm not familiar with." Twilight still looked confused.

"But your speaking Equestrian, why can't you read it?" Jason held up a hand.

"Hold on, I have an idea. Do you have a piece of paper and a... quill?" The Unicorn nodded, activating her magic and levitating the items over to Jason along with an ink bottle. The Human stared at the objects before hesitantly grabbing them, bracing for anything, but he felt nothing at all. In fact the moment his hands entered the purple aura it disappeared, only Jason's quick reflexes kept them from falling. Twilight looked even more confused.

"That's... odd", she said.

"What is?" Jason asked.

"Nothing, it's just I didn't deactivate my magic, it just.... turned off," Jason shrugged.

"Anyway," he said, quickly dipping the quill in the ink and writing down a sentence before showing it to Twilight "Can you read this?" The Unicorn stared at the English lettering before shaking her head. Jason answered with a nod.

"I thought as much. It seems our Languages share spoken word, with the exception of a few words, but not the written word." Twilight rubbed her hooves together.

"This is very interesting! I can't wait to find more contrasts between your people and Ponies!" Jason held up his hand again.

"Perhaps first we should have breakfast?" Twilight giggled in response.

"Good idea," she lead Jason into the kitchen, inside was a simple wooden table and a few cupboards, containing what Jason could only guess was food items. His thought were confirmed as Twilight began floating out an array of fruits and vegetables, and small bundles of hay. The Unicorn paused for a moment, the intended meal floating in the air as a thought came to her.

"Actually... what is the average human diet? What do you eat?" Jason bit his to his tongue, he had been wondering when this would come up.

"Well... are you familiar with the term 'Omnivore'?" Twilight nodded.

"Of course. Omnivores are animals who can consume both plants and..." The Unicorns eyes widened as what Jason was implying hit her. "...meat." Twilight looked back up at Jason, here eyes filled with the fear of being eaten, Jason grinned at her.

"Don't worry, I don't eat Pony, they don't taste too good." He meant it as a joke, and while Twilight visibly relaxed, she still had that caution in here eyes and it stung a little bit to see that. The lavender Unicorn cleared her throat as she split a few apples into wedges, put them on a plate and levitated them over to where Jason was sitting.

"It's just.." She said "I don't understand how you could eat another creature, it seems horrible..." Twilight sat down with a bowl of hay, Jason shrugged, swallowing a chewed apple wedge.

"It's the natural process," he said "The big predators eat the small prey, lest the prey become to numerous and eat all the plants. It may not be pretty, or nice, but it's they way things are." Twilight didn't respond to this, and the two lapsed into a semi-awkward silence Jason contently munched on the apple wedges, and Twilight couldn't help but notice the sharp canines that showed whenever he opened his mouth, the same ones that Applejack herself had noticed the day before.

It only took about twenty minutes, but not long after Jason had finished his apples and Twilight had neared the end of her hay, there was a knock at the door. Twilight stood up and trotted out of the kitchen. Jason heard the door open and Twilight exchange a greeting with whomever was outside (He couldn't make out the newcomers voice clearly) before the door closed and the sound of two sets of hooves approached before Twilight and Fluttershy came into the kitchen.

Jason nodded towards the Pegasus "Good morning Miss Fluttershy, what brings you 'round?" The butter-coloured winged equine mumbled something unintelligible and the Human cocked his head.

"Say again?" He asked and Fluttershy whispered a bit louder.

"Um... Sebastian is waiting for us at the edge of the forest, I mean, if you still want to go... and Twilights okay with it..." Jason stared at the Pegasus.

"Oh... you were serious about that. Sure. I'm not doing anything important today." Twilight spoke up.

"This will give you a chance to get familiar with Ponyville. Why don't you drop in at Applejacks Farm? Or Rarity's Boutique while your at it?" Jason nodded.

"Lead the way Miss Fluttershy," Jason said standing up. Fluttershy kept the majority of her face hidden behind her mane as she lead Jason out of the kitchen and outside. As they exited Twilights library Jason was temporarily blinded by the sun, for the past couple of hours he had been inside or unconscious, so his eyes were accustomed to the dim light.

As the solar-level lens-flare faded (Damn you JJ Abrams) Jason was able to get his first real look at Ponyville; the houses were small in nature and rural in design, being made of fine lumber with what looked like completely useless hay roofs, but it was pleasant enough to look at. There were few Ponies outside at this time of day and Jason wondered how they would handle his appearance when he passed. His question being answered as he and Fluttershy began walking down the dirt road.

As the pair walked through Ponyville proper, they came closer to the early risers of the town and the only Ponies Jason had witnessed besides the Mane Six and Celestia. The first was a cream coloured mare with a pleasantly red-coloured mane and tail, her flank-mark as Jason called them; was the image of a perfect single red rose. Jason made a mental note to ask Twilight about the flank-mark's next chance he got.

Currently the mare was tending to the same flowers that adorned her flank, holding a watering-can in her mouth, delicately tilting it as to sprinkle the contents onto the awaiting plants below. As the mare placed down the watering-can she looked up to the road to see Fluttershy, she raised her hoof to greet her Equine sister but stopped as she noticed Jason.

The mares reaction was instantaneous, her mouth dropped open dropping the watering can with a slight thud and spilling the contents. Her eyes widened; emptying of the content of just a moment ago and re-filling with pure fear and terror. The mare suppressed a scream with her hoof and hurriedly ran into the building behind her, which supposedly was her home, moments later windows were closed and curtains pulled tight.

Jason sighed a bit and looked away from the scene in front of him. It was clear that Fluttershy had noticed, and she turned back to say something to her Human companion, but something in his eyes told her to leave it be, so she remained quite. The pair continued through the town, meeting similar reactions from the awake residence as they did from the Rose mare, until they reached what Jason assumed was the edge of the town; a small stone bridge that spanned a decently deep river, on the other side the road became more rough and split into a fork; one path leading into the dark forest that we all know and love, the other turning sharply to the left.

"Sebastian is waiting near my cottage," Fluttershy said, turning towards the left fork and bringing Jason down it. After another minute or two and half a kilometre of walking a small cottage came into sight. The building, if it could be called that, reminded Jason of a Hobbit-hole. It was built out of a light coloured wood and it seemed the rest of the tree was as well. The roof was apparently made of leafs and branches, the entire cottage was dotted with bird houses and surrounded by various artificial animal habitats, large penned-off areas with various small animals and a chicken-coop off to the side. Fluttershy lead Jason to where the road connected to a small bridge that was all together unnecessary, as it spanned a mighty two centimetre wide stream. Jason's winged companion turned towards the forest and it was then that the Humans keen eyes made out the large form of his Manticore, lying in the shadow of the thick tree cover.

Fluttershy gestured for Jason to wait and she trotted over to were Sebastian was waiting.

"It's okay," she said soothingly to the beast. "He's here to say sorry, he won't hurt you." Slowly, centimetre by centimetre, she goaded the Manticore into approaching Jason. As it entered the light Jason could see the wounds he had inflicted all over the monsters face, both deep and shallow cuts criss-crossed its lion face. All of them had healed to some degree and weren't bleeding, but from the looks of the thin tissue covering the wounds, too much exertion would get the blood flowing again.

That Manticore slowly came up to Jason. The Human was tensed, expecting the beast to be hostile and possibly attack, but instead the Manticore had his head low and the anger in his eyes only thinly veiled the fear past it that filled it's eyes as it looked at Jason. Fluttershy came up besides Sebastian, brushing her side against him to grab his attention. The Manticore looked at the Pegasus to see her smile.

"Now, what do you say to Jason?" Sebastian looked back at the Human and let loose a string of what sounded to be apologetic mews. Jason looked at Fluttershy who nodded in confirmation and Jason looked back at Sebastian.

"I'm terribly sorry for attacking you," he said sincerely "I was frightened and I felt threatened, I acted rashly, it was my fault. Please forgive me." The Manticore just stared at Jason for a moment before walking up to him. The human braced himself for a mauling before he felt a rough yet slimy thing crawl up his front, as the Manticore had licked him and was now smiling friendly at Jason. After a moment or two of shock Jason smiled back and the feeling of masculine, testosterone based, mutually respecting, male friendship could be sensed between to two apex predators.

After Sebastian had bid them farewell, Fluttershy turned to Jason.

"We could still go see Applejack and Rarity... I mean if you want to..."

"I'll go see Applejack and then Rarity," Jason decided "It'll give me more of a chance to see more of Ponyville and I would be most gracious if you would lead the way again Miss Fluttershy." The Pegasus blushed and nodded behind her pink locks. But eventually came out of her shell and smiled at Jason before leading him back into town. Fluttershy had warmed up to Jason considerably since he had made peace with Sebastian.

Note: Gain animals trust, you gain Fluttershy's trust he filed the information away for later as the pair re-entered Ponyville. The walk back through the town was uneventful, the streets were empty of Ponies and quite a few curtains were pulled hurriedly as they walked past. Jason had a feeling that he was the storm that brought the fearful atmosphere. Eventually Fluttershy lead her Human companion back out of town into a more flat and clear landscape of grass, which soon became filled with Apple trees. Apple trees, apple trees everywhere; as far as the eye could see in every direction, it seemed endless until they crested a hill and a large red barn next to a modest farming house came into view.

As they approached the two buildings it appeared that no one was around, until Jason and Fluttershy crested yet another hill and the Human spotted a Pony coming out of the apple orchard. Now, to call his stallion a 'Pony' seemed unfair, he was easily the size of Celestia herself but with less curves and more muscle, his coat was a solid red, easily matching the barn almost exactly, the stallions mane was a light orange. Around his neck was a work horse collar, which was currently attached to a cart full of the shiny red pickings of the orchard.

Fluttershy approached the stallion "Hello Big Mac, is... Um.... Is Applejack around?" Big Mac as he was apparently called, nodded his head.

"Eyup," he said in a voice so deep it would put Liam Neeson to shame. He nudged his head back towards the orchard, not half a kilometre in the orange farm pony could be seen, kicking the trunk of an Apple tree furiously so that the fruit fell from the sky and landed into small baskets on the ground, somehow perfectly piling as to not miss a single apple.

Applejack had just finished another tree, the reaped fruit defying all intergalactic laws and regulations by landing perfectly when Fluttershy and Jason approached.

Applejack noticed her friend and smiled. "Hey there Fluttershy, what brings you here?" It was then that she noticed Jason. "...and why'd you bring him?" She said in a lower tone. Fluttershy returned the smile.

"Twilight thought it would be a good idea to let Jason walk around and get more familiar with Ponyville, so I've been showing him around." It was then that Jason walked up.

"Hello again Miss Applejack," he said pleasantly, "'See that harvest is going well." The farm pony nodded.

" 'Suppose it is," she replied un-conversationally and Jason nodded.

" 'Tis a nice farm 'ya got here." Subconsciously Jason was slipping into his Scotian accent, but that's not important and you don't care about that. Anyway, Fluttershy looked between the two, sensing the slight tension between the two and tried to nip it at the bud in the best way we can.

"Um... I guess we'll just go then..." The Pegasus made a move to walk back towards Ponyville but Jason held up a hand to stop her.

"One second Miss Fluttershy.." The Human turned back to Applejack "While I'm here, I would like it if you could return my knife please." The farm pony glared at Jason.

"And why in Celestia's name would I do that?" She asked angrily "So you can hurt Twilight with?" Jason frowned.

"No, because that knife is important to me. I got it from... a friend and it's my last token from home, but I understand if you want to rob me of that." Applejacks expression softened slightly and an internal moral and emotional battle raged inside her head. It wouldn't be right to take something of such importance and sentimental value from somepony. On the other hoof, if the Human was lying, and if one of her friends got hurt, Applejack would never be able to forgive herself.

The orange mare sighed in frustration. "Wait here," she said before trotting towards the farm house. She entered the house and didn't come out again for another minute. Applejack trotted back over to the pair, as she came back into focus Jason noticed that the farm pony was holding his sheathed knife in her mouth, kept there delicately by her blunt teeth.

Applejack placed the weapon in Jason's outstretched hand, the leather sheath strangely absent of equine spittle. The Human half-drew the blade, it was just as he left it, sharp and deadly. Sheathing the weapon and strapping it to his side he nodded towards Applejack.

"Thank you Miss Applejack, I appreciate it." The mare scuffed her hoof on the ground slightly.

"Don't mention it," she said neutrally. "Now, ah need to get back to work, these apples ain't gonna buck themselves," as the farm pony re-entered the tree line Jason called out to her.

"If you ever need help don't hesitate to ask!" Applejack just gave a backwards wave.

"I'll be sure to remember that!" She called back before Jason lost sight of her. The Human turned to Fluttershy, who had helplessly watched the banter between her companion and Applejack. Jason smiled at the Pegasus.

"That went rather well," Jason said. "Now there was something about seeing a Miss Rarity in her boutique?" Fluttershy snapped out of her frozen form an stuttered.

"Um... Yes, her place is back this way..." The Pegasus lead Jason back through town. Despite it being well into midday now, it seemed that paranoia and fear of new things was tenant in Pony society. Eventually the pair turned a corner and what came into view was one of the most ornate buildings that Jason's eyes had locked on to and successfully sent the signal to Jason's brain thus identifying said image as containing an ornate building.

The pair approached the building and Fluttershy knocked on the front door lightly. After a moment or two it swung open revealing a marshmallow pony wearing red glasses.

"Oh! Fluttershy! What brings you here?" Rarity asked with a smile.

"Um.. I've been showing Jason around town," Fluttershy said, gesturing to her companion. Rarity opened the door farther to reveal the Human to her eyes.

"Ah! Of course! Come in! Come in!" The marshmallow beckoned them into her layer, and they unwittingly entered. Inside was just as ornate as the out, placed around the main room were several equine shaped mannequins, with some of the most beautiful (and only) Pony dresses that Jason had ever seen.

"Did you design these dresses Miss Rarity?" He asked. The Unicorn nodded.

"Indeed I did Mr. Miller, do you like them?"

"They're fantastic," Jason replied honestly. "Far past anything from home." A slight taint of red hit Rarity's cheeks at his praise.

Flattery works on you eh?

"Well if you current clothing is anything to go by, I don't have to work hard." Jason chuckled, looking down at his green shirt and cargo pants.

"Well these don't have fashion in mind as much as function, it's just what I was wearing at the time." Rarity put a polished hoof to her mouth and hummed, looking the Human up and down. Before Jason could ask why she was checking him out the Unicorn stomped her hoof back on the ground in a manner that suggested it was the Equine equivalent of snapping her fingers.

"I-deee-aaa!" Rarity sang, before manifesting her blue coloured powers and levitating a sketchbook and charcoal over to her. The Unicorn quickly sketched something on the paper, before giving it a quick once-over.

"What do you think..." She said "About this?" She presented the sketchbook to Jason. On it was a rough picture of a Human figure, next to it was presumably the outfit that the cloths-designer had in mind, a snug vest, straight pants, and to top it off; a long overcoat. There were also other aspects that Jason noticed that were interesting; a pair of gauntlets that covered his hands and forearms, and a pair of boots that seemed orientated for comfort and flexibility rather than protection like his Combats.

"It looks great," the Human said. "But... I'm the first Human 'ya've met, how are you familiar with making cloths for my body type?" Rarity giggled.

"I've designed cloths for Minotaurs, and while you're decisively smaller and thinner than the average Minotaur, you have the same body type." Jason blank-faced.

"Minotaurs." He stated, the white Unicorn nodded "Yes, Minotaurs." She said. Jason sighed but didn't respond further, Rarity had already moved over to her desk and was grabbing a measuring tape with her magic.

"Now, if you would keep still for a moment darling. I need to get your measurements." Jason nodded and stood in place as the ghostly measuring implement floated around his body, taking the measurements of his legs, arms, and waist.

"It awfully kind of 'ya to make cloths for me Miss Rarity." The Equine in question giggled.

"Generosity is my element Mr. Miller," she said. "And I must say, you accent is rather exotic if I am to be so bold. I've never heard anything like it."

"Aye, I probably sound like a right Scotian. The place where I was born is rather far in the north and near the sea, almost an island, and thus we have our own vocabulary." Rarity nodded.

"Understandable, often different cities in Equestria have different accents, namely Trottingham or Canterlot. I suppose if you're a 'Scotian' then your homeland must be called 'Scotia' yes?"

"Close, Nova Scotia is the name of the province, Canada is the name of the country." Rarity giggled yet again.

"Your people seem to make such interesting and exotic names for things." Jason cringed slightly.

Exotic for you perhaps, normal for me.

"There! Finished!" The magical tape floated away from Jason and Rarity frowned for a moment.

"Mmm... Now what material should I use... I know! SPIKE DARLING!" There was the sound of pattering feet on stairs and what could only be described as a baby Godzilla came running down the stairs.

"Yeah Rarity? What do you need?" The lizard said as Jason's brain went out for lunch.

"Be a dear and grab me the silk? I think I'll line the vest with it.."

"Of course Rarity!" The Child of the Fire Lords ran away to serve his Unicorn mistress and Jason raised a weak finger as the thing ran away.

"Was that... A Dragon?" The Human asked. Rarity nodded.

"Yes, his name is Spike. Why?" Jason's palm came under the effect of extreme gravitational pull towards his face with an impact that would have made his race proud. The pattering of feet came again and the Spawn of Akatosh revealed itself yet again, carrying a carefully folded pile of silver silk in its claws.

"Here you go Rarity!" The Drake said cheerfully. Rarity levitated the silk over to her, not paying her lizard slave the piece of mind to look at him as she spread the silk on her work table and brought a pair of red work glasses over to her snout with her magic.

"Thank you Spike darling," the white Unicorn said absently. "Oh, and this is Jason. Jason; meet Spike." The two members of two ancient races looked at each other, grey eyes met yellow ones and they gawked at each other.

Spike felt something, a sort of shiver in his spines, some sort of instinct. The small Dragon had heard that all Dragons shared knowledge through the ages, and right now he was feeling a fear that was bred through thousands of years of warfare.

"Um.. Hi there," Jason said. "I'm Jason."

"I'm Spike." the two lapsed into a silence again before Jason cleared his throat.

"So... You're a Dragon eh?" Spike nodded.

"Yeah, but what are you?"

"I'm what's called a Human." Yet another awkward silence. Behind Jason, Fluttershy turned to her default setting and just stood and watched the proceedings unfold.

"So... Do you live here with Rarity?" The Dovah shook his head.

"No, I was just here helping out for the day. I usually live at Twilight Sparkles Library as her personal assistant."

"Well, that's a coincidence, because I'm staying with Twilight as well. She offered to house me as I... Get my bearings.." Spike just looked confused at that, but before he could speak Rarity called out.

"Perhaps you should head back to Twilights library? I'll have your outfit done in about a week. You won't be disappointed." Jason nodded.

"I'm sure I'll be impressed, see you later Miss Rarity." The Unicorn smiled.

"Just call me Rarity darling. Oh and Spike? You can head back with Jason, I need to be alone to concentrate." The Dragon nodded.

"Alright Rarity." Rarity gave them a final wave and the three exited the Boutique. Outside the sun was well into its afternoon position. Once they had made it outside Fluttershy turned to Jason.

"Um... I need to head back to my cottage, the critters will be hungry." Jason nodded.

"That's fine, me and Spike can find our way back to the library. Thanks for showing me around Miss Fluttershy, it was really kind of you." The faintest of blushes graced the winged equine's cheeks and she mumbled a farewell, before taking off and gliding towards her cottage and out of sight.

Jason turned to his scaley companion. "You should lead the way, I'm still not completely familiar with Ponyville yet." The Dragon nodded and the two lapsed into silence as they walked through the town, the small journey was uneventful and they met no one as the reached the giant tree.

Jason approached the door and pulled it open, letting Spike go in before him then entering himself.

As soon as he cleared the door frame, it slammed behind him from some unseen force. The library inside was pitch dark and the Humans eyes had long since adjusted to daylight. Suddenly a malevolent voice came forth from the dark void in front of him.

"We've been expecting you Jason.." It said slowly, as Jason's hand reached towards his combat knife. Suddenly their was a flash of light and a mini star illuminated the room, blinding Jason with intense white light.

"SURPRISE!" a hyper active voice said and as the light faded, the white was replaced by Pink as the bane of the fourth wall shoved her furry face right into Jason's normal one.

"Were you surprised? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? I made this party! Just for you to! Bonus! It's your Welcome-the-future-and-to-Equestria/Ponyville-party! And look! I invited everyone in Ponyville!" Pinkie Pie stepped back and swooped her hoof behind her to reveal a large crowd of Ponies, including the rose mare that Jason had passed earlier that day, and the rest if the Mane Six, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Applejack getting there before Jason (somehow). Around the library, several round tables had been set up with bottles of questionable liquid placed on them.

"Go on! Mingle!" The Pink menace said as she cartwheeled away. For the most part, the Ponies present ignored Jason, besides the occasional glance of caution or hidden fear, they were enjoying the Party. What Jason focused on though was the rose mares refusal to meet his gaze.

Jason approached the mare, sitting down at the table she was at, making himself comfortable on the cushion and putting on his best smile.

"I think we got of on the wrong... Hoof, when we first met." The mare rubbed her front hooves together.

"Yeah I guess so, I'm sorry it's just I never saw anything like you before and you frightened me."

"I understand, I would've ran too if I saw my ugly face walking down the street." The mare giggled in spite of herself, and Jason grinned charmingly.

"Let's start over shall we? I'm Jason."

"Roseluck." Jason nodded.

"Roseluck eh? So you work with Roses?..."

As Jason and Roseluck conversed, the Main Six watched them from afar at their own table.

"So what do you girls make of him?" Twilight asked the others. Applejack grunted.

"Ah don't know, he seems decent enough but ah can't help but feel as if he's hiding something."

"Come now Applejack," Rarity said with a wave of her hoof "I am sure if you simply got to know Jason you would like him. When he was with me he was the perfect gentlecolt! Very polite."

"Um... He was really nice, and he apologized to Sebastian he said he liked him..." Fluttershy mumbled.

"He likes the party! Look! He's making friends with Roseluck! That's enough for me!" Pinkie Pie said happily munching down on a cupcake from nowhere.

"I don't know yet, I haven't got a chance to talk to him at all." Rainbow Dash said.

"Perhaps you should tomorrow darling? I'm sure you'll hit it right off with him." Rarity cut in.

"I guess... So Twi, what do you think of him?" The lavender Unicorn put a hoof to her chin.

"I don't know either. It's like Rarity said, he's polite but I feel as if he hasn't let on as much as he could.." Twilight stared over at Jason and Roseluck, the Human had made a joke and the mare was laughing heartily causing the Unicorn to smile as well.

"I'm sure you are all just paranoid. Jason is a gentlecolt and we will all be good friends with him."

"Yeah..." Twilight said "Good friends..."

~~*~~

North Tower, Canterlot Castle, Equestria, Wednesday 3rd of April, 8:30pm, 2205 AC

Celestia landed on the balcony with a sigh. The whole trip the Alicorn had been thinking over how she was going to tell Luna the news, she was hoping she could of had a moment or two
by herself to think it over, alas the Universe gave her no quarter.

"Well met sister." The Nightmare Child appeared from the shadows. She walked up to Celestia and gave her a warm nuzzle. "I trust your trip was well?" The Sun Goddess smiled.

"It was certainly... Interesting.." Luna looked up at her sister.

"Did you find something?" She asked, Celestia's smile dropped.

"Well... Yes. But I need you to not panic sister."

"Tia, I'm four thousand years old, I can keep my reserve." Celestia smirked briefly before becoming serious again.

"Remember in the old days? When the magic field's were new and weak? And things would come from other worlds?" Luna nodded.

"Yes, I still remember the day that the Dragons arrived, never will forget it." The Sun Alicorn nodded.

"Yes, it happened again... In a way." The Moon Princess raised her eyebrows.

"What is it this time? Should we be worried?" Celestia bit her lip.

"Maybe, I don't know, because what came through... It was a Human." Luna stared at Celestia for about a minute, before the weight of her sisters words hit her. The Princesses eyes widened, suddenly filled with fear and in her mind, hell rained supreme; images flashed in her vision; fire raining from the sky, the earth shaking violently, waves that claimed the land, invisible gas that burned flesh, changed minds, and rotted organs. Things that would have made Vietnam veterans cry.

"No," Luna said "They're dead... Gone, there can't be one left... Please." Celestia embraced her sister as she started shaking and tearing up.

"Please... Don't let them come back... They're dead... He killed them..."

Chapter 10- Come Fly with me

"There is an art to flying, or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss"

-Douglas Adams

Rainbowcloud Manor, Several Hundred Meters Above Ponyville, Thursday 4th of April, 6:00am, 2205 AC

The wonderful mastery of evolutionary advantage known as the 'internal clock' was what awoke the Rainbow Pegasus. Rainbow Dash quite literally rolled out of her cumulus bed, still wrapped in the Wonderbolt blanket of her own choosing. After some struggling and confusion the flying mare managed to poke her head out of the fabric prison. Her multicoloured mane was frazzled and stuck out in odd angles. Despite that young Dashy was well awake now.

Relieving herself of the blanket and unceremoniously tossing it back onto the condensed water molecule bed that was its home. The Pegasus stretched her muscular blue wings, did a few struts in place, then took of flying through her window. Rainbow Dash soared around her cloud mansion at high speeds, dogging rainbowfalls and free floating clouds, the air whipping through her mane and fur as she went through her morning exercise.

Rainbow Dash completed her tenth lap and then soared back through her window, landing perfectly. Again she stretched her wings before folding them and walking over to the cloud doorway that lead to Dashy's bathroom. Inside the Pegasus hopped inside the shower. The shower itself was a rather innovative piece of cloud technology, developed by Cumuli Inc. The water was natural rain water taken from a cloud, as the droplets fell onto the floor they were absorbed again, transported up, and formed into another cloud to rain on the client again. The liquid already cleansed by the wall clouds.

Rainbow Dash stomped her hoof onto the floor to jump-start the process. There was a bit of vibrating before the rainwater slowly began to drip from the ceiling. The blue Pegasus continued stomping on the floor until the droplets were equal with a torrential rain storm. As the mare relaxed in the shower she thought over what she was going to do today. It was Rainbow Dash's day off for the Weather Team, and she didn't really have any new moves to work on.

I guess I could go hang out with Jason, get to know him better

Dashy finished her shower, she grabbed a towel with her teeth and threw it on to her head. Roughly rubbing her mane dry, it going to the messy rainbow mullet that we all know and love. And after a quick breakfast of hay cereal, Rainbow Dash took off out her door. Ponyville
looked peaceful at this time of day, the streets and houses being bathed in the golden light of Sol. All of the Equine residence rested in peace... For now.

Rainbow Dash's face spread into a mischievous smile and she increased her speed, the Pegasus steadily raised her altitude until she reached a proper hight. Turning around back towards the town, Dashy sped towards the ground at high speeds.

As she increased her speed she became a rainbow blur. A halo of multicoloured magical energy appeared around the air cone that Rainbow Dash had gained, the wind tore at her face and mane before finally the barrier broke. Dashy pulled up, a massive explosive sound rocked through Ponyville, and the Rainbow blast coloured the sky.

Goldenoaks Library, Ponyville, Equestria, Thursday 4th of April, 6:00am, 2205 AC

Jason jumped out of bed with a yell, flailing his arms in a vain attempt to defy gravity. Alas, The Bane of The Brothers Wright asserted it's dominance over man and forced Jason to the ground along with his blanket. The Human then proceeded to battle with the fabric to free himself. After much struggling and confusion Jason managed to break from the brown sheet, his head emerging, hair cow-licked and frazzled but the Human wide awake from his endeavour.

Relieving himself of the blanket, he carefully placed it back on the bed, tucking in the sides and repositioning the pillow perfectly. After he was satisfied Jason strolled over to his bedroom window and pulling it open, sticking his head out, the Human looked at the morning sky, which happened to be coloured the shades of the rainbow.

Jason looked at the light show with an expression that most would account to annoyed or angry, with his furrowed brow and frown. In reality however, this was Jason's curious face. After a moment or two of looking he pulled his head back in and closed the window with a snap. After stretching his arms and shoulders, he grabbed the combat boots at the foot of his bed, and after strapping them on he cheerfully walked downstairs.

In the kitchen was a very grumpy-looking Twilight holding a cup of steaming liquid.

"Morning Jason," she said. "Did Rainbow Dash wake you up to?"

"Uh... No? It was some sort of loud explosion."

"Yep, that was Rainbow Dash." Jason mimicked the same expression that he had when staring at the rainbow sky, only this one was his confused face.

"What?"

"Oh that's right, you don't know. Rainbow Dash has the unique ability to go faster than the speed of sound. When it happens the boom is imbued with magic, thus creating the rainbow halo that crests the sky." Jason's expression didn't change, rather, the Three Thousand Gods took hold over his actions, moving the Human's palm to meet in holy embrace with his forehead.

Sighing, Jason entered the kitchen and made himself a vegans dream breakfast; a fruit bowl. Picking up one of Twilights wooden forks he began to eat.

"So," he said. "What's the plan for today Twilight?"

"I was planning on reviewing my notes on your race, so I have no questions for you today. Also what happened to 'Miss Sparkle'? " Jason grinned.

"My apologies Miss Sparkle, I hope you can forgive me for my lack of proper address," The Human said mockingly in a exaggerated London British accent. Twilight rolled her eyes as Jason chuckled. The two were interrupted by a few knocks at the door. Jason got up and gave the lavender Unicorn a mock bow.

"Allow me my lady." This got Twilight to giggle. Jason grinned at her and exited the kitchen. Once in the hall his grin immediately dropped, his face returning to its usual stony unimpressed state.

Reaching the door the Human swung it open revealing a grinning winged magical rainbow Pony standing outside.

"Hey Jason," said Rainbow Dash cheerfully. "Have a good sleep?"

"Well I was, until you decided to bend physics just to wake everyone up." Dashy laughed.

"So, how do you feel about hanging out with the awesomest Pony in all of Equestria?" Jason stared at her for a minute before shrugging.

"Sure, just hang on for a minute." The Human disappeared for a moment, poking back into the kitchen; telling Twilight. Running upstairs, grabbing his knife and running back to Dashy.

"Let us away," Jason said closing the door and as Rainbow Dash took off, they strolled through town he spoke again. "So what did you have in mind to do?" The Pegasus tapped her chin for a moment before grinning.

"How fast are 'ya?" She asked.

"Pretty fast." Rainbow Dash grinned.

"Best your not as fast as me." Jason raised his eyebrows before grinning as he caught on.

"Well what to say to a test of skill?"

"Your on! A race, from here to the Everfree Forest, a nice straight path." The Pegasus pointed down the main road of the town, it lead a linear path straight through town and to the edge of the Everfree Forest where it forked into two paths.

"Deal," Jason said and the two lined up at the beginning of their makeshift racetrack, already the calculations in Jason's mind were running rampant.

I can full sprint this safely, my boots offer traction but also weigh me down. She can fly and can potentially go faster, but she needs time to speed up and slow down? I can go and stop on a dime

A confident smile spread over both Human and Equine faces as they got ready to speed off. Out of seemingly nowhere Pinkie Pie appeared in front of them, holding a green flag in her hoof (somehow.)

"Ready!" Pinkie held the flag high. Jason braced his leg while Dashy did the same with her wings.

"Get set!" The bouncy mare held the flag sideways.

"Go!" Pinkie Pie swung the flag through the air and was knocked off balance as two blurs raced passed her.

As Jason predicted, he had the initial lead, speeding in front of Rainbow Dash and toward the Everfree Forest. Unfortunately for Jason's pride however, the rainbow-coloured flying Equine was gaining ground on him. The Human dug in his heels and launched himself farther with bigger steps, the two racers became level with one another. Each of them giving it their all, and just as Rainbow Dash was beginning to pass Jason they neared the end of the dirt track forcing her to slow down and come to a stop.

"Told you I'm the fastest," Rainbow Dash said, panting slightly.

"Bullshit, that was a tie and you know it." Jason had worked up a bit of sweat on his brow, which he wiped off.

"Ha... I guess you right, hey you ain't half bad hotshot. Come on, it's time you saw a little more of Equestria." The Pegasus beckoned to her Human companion and flew at a much slower pace along the western path, Jason not far behind her. Eventually the trail gave way to train tracks, a fact that Jason found interesting.

"Train tracks mean trains," he said to himself. "Maybe these Ponies are more advanced then I thought." While Jason was distracted his rainbow friend had pulled ahead of him.

"Hey hotshot! Come look at this!" The Human looked up from the metal bars that had held his fascination. Rainbow Dash was quite a ways away, beckoning to Jason. The Human jogged along the tracks and over to her, stupidly keeping his eyes trained on the flyer as he went.

"Sorry, I was just looking at the-" It was at this point that Jason realized there was a decisive lack of solid ground under his feet, so naturally gravity gave him a 'fuck you' and pulled the Human towards the ground. Jason yelped and grabbed the ledge, but he would've fallen had it not been the blue hooves that latched onto his arms.

Rainbow Dash pulled Jason up from the dead drop, grunting something about him being heavy, before finally heaving him onto solid ground.

"Nice *gasp* going hotshot," Dashy panted. "Next time look where your going." Jason lay in shock on the ground, clutching his chest from the mini heart attack he had received from the near-death experience.

"You... saved my life," the Human said. Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her head.

"Yeah... don't mention it. Unless your doing it to say how awesome I am." Jason stared at the Pegasus with slightly widened eyes before he broke out in a grin.

"Your not half bad Miss Dash, thank you." The Pegasus smiled back.

"Like I said, don't mention it. Oh, and it's just Dash okay?" Jason nodded back.

"Dash it is then." Both of them stood up. "What is this place anyway?"

"This is Ghastly Gorge, biggest crevasse in Equestria and a really good place to fly through." Rainbow Dash pointed to a set of naturally formed stone stairs leading down into the gorge.

"Come on we can pass through, it's faster than going around." The pair headed towards the steps. The gorge itself was at least two kilometres deep, and had a decently sized waterfall and river running through it. The river leading up to the gorge was too fast and deep to cross on foot, and it ran all the way back to the Everfree Forest. Jason could see that there was another goat path that lead back up to the other side of the crevasse. They were a little ways down from them and across the stream.

It was as Jason reached the bottom was when he noticed the holes; big gaping circular voids embedded in the rock. They gave a foreboding aura off of them.

"Dash," Jason said slowly, keeping his voice down out of paranoia. "What are these holes?"

"Oh, those are the Giant Eel burrows."

"....Giant Eels?"

"Yep, Giant Eels."

"Are they...uh...home right now?"

"Well yeah, but they're asleep at this time of day," it was at this point that they heard a roar echo from one of the holes and the ground rumbling slightly. "At least... they're usually asleep..." As Dashy spoke the words a giant purple serpent head exploded from the dark void, it moved too fast for Jason to get a good look at it, but not too fast for Rainbow to dodge it. The Pegasus pulled a move that would've made Neo proud and the Eel smashed it's head into the far side of the canyon.

Jason took this opportunity to get a good look at the beast. It was purple, not Twilight purple but more of a poison purple, it had yellow rubber-looking fins caressing it's head and it's mouth was filled to the brim with large, deadly, pointy objects of great danger.

As the beast retracted it's head back into the darkness in which it came, the pair heard similar roars echoing from the other holes and the tell-tale rumbling that announced the future coming of more delightful snakey friends.

"Time to go," Jason said, and without another word the Human and his magical pony companion made a beeline towards the other side. Dashy soaring across the water and Jason slogging across the ankle-deep river water. It seemed for a moment that they were home free, but naturally, the Universe ( And not to mention an incredibly handsome writer ) had other plans.

As Rainbow Dash passed by the line of sight of an Eel hole on the other side, one of the slimy monsters exploded from it, closing the gap rapidly and pinning the Pegasus to the wall by her left wing. She cried in pain and hung their, hopelessly struggling to free her wing. She looked across the way to see another Eel-hole in perfect position to launch an Eel right into her, smashing her to bits. As another roar came from that end of the gorge, Dashy began to loose hope of escaping, the Eel kept it's face firmly embraced with the stony wall with her poor wing trapped underneath.

Wush Wush Wush Wush Wush Wush Wush Wush Wush Wush Wush

Thunk!

The Eel pulled away from the wall, releasing the Pegasus. Dashy landed on her rump and looked up at her former doom to see the Eels waggling around in the air, apparently in great pain, before it gave off a death cry and fell to the ground, rumbling the earth and blocking the river. It was then that Rainbow Dash saw the knife embedded in the side of the Eels head, green blood was quickly coating the side of its head and the putrid smell of the Eels live juices met with Dashy's nose, causing her to gag. The Pegasus looked up to see Jason sprinting towards the dead Eel. In one swift, fluid motion he vaulted over the corpse. Grabbing his combat knife in the process, without skipping a beat he landed on the other side and ran over to Rainbow Dash, picking her up like a puppy and slinging her over his shoulder and running back the way he came.

"I can walk you know!" Jason ignored her as he ran up and over his kill. As he did so more roars could be heard and the Eels could be seen poking their ugly heads out of their lairs. The Human didn't even flinch as he reached the stone steps and sprinted up them reaching the top in record time.

Jason laid Dashy down and collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily from the ordeal. Rainbow Dash just stared at him with wide eyes

"That. Was. Awesome!" Dashy's face was full of admiration, Jason simply shifted his arm and placed his index finger directly in her chest.

"Now we're even," he said before dropping his arm. Rainbow giggled a bit.

"Guess we are hotshot." The Pegasus sat up and inspected her wing, it was bruised and roughed up, but no lasting damage had been done.

"Is your wing going to be okay?" Jason said as he sat up as well.

"Yeah, just bruised, but I should probably keep off of it for a while."

"Then we should probably head back... the long way I suppose." The Human looked around, the far side of the gorge was simply a flat plain with green lush grass that went on forever, on their left the Everfree Forest loomed evilly. A rough shadow of a path could be seen hugging the edge of the trees.

"Well if we're going to go around, we might as well start now. Come on." The two of them stood up and began walking along the path.

For the most part, their little trip was uneventful, they didn't talk much as they were both still a bit shaken by the Attack of the Eels. Jason spent the walk cleaning the green goo from his knife, which was much more difficult than it sounded. The blood (Jason assumed it was blood anyway) had the consistency of syrup and the stickiness of it too. While the majority of it came off the blade still retained a healthy membrane of Eel death juice.

Jason sighed a bit and stuck the weapon in his belt rather than it's sheath, not wanting the leather of the holster to get covered in goo. The Human looked up ahead of where they were and saw that the grass was becoming thinner and more patchy. Eventually the lush field they had been traversing, and the forest to their left gave way to a grey, bedrock ridge.

"Happen to recognize this Dash?"

"Yeah, I've flown over it enough times. It's called Rambling Rock Ridge, come on, we're almost to Ponyville." Rainbow took the lead and trotted across the rocky ground, Jason in tow. As they walked forward, the highly evolved bipedal member of the master race used his superior senses to notice the giant mole hills in the ground. Now having just been attacked by giant Eels from holes in the wall, Jason wasn't too keen on holes in the ground either.

"Rainbow Dash.." He said slowly. "You said you've flown over this ridge before yeah?"

"Yep! I do laps around the Everfree all the time!"

"....right, so you've never actually walked across it?"

"Uh... No, why?"

"Oh no reason." Jason's hand strayed towards the blade at his side, his spidey sense tingling again, but just as the tip of his fingers had just barely touched the still gooey hilt, a raspy voice reached his ears from behind him.

"I wouldn't do that Pony-friend." Both Rainbow and Jason spun around and got a full view on the newcomer. The thing was definitely canine, the ears and snout suggested as much, but it stood on two short seemingly spindly and weak legs. It's 'arms' on the other hand were long and very large, with wide hand-like paws and the end that were obviously designed for digging. Each of the 'fingers' were tipped with ver lethal-looking claws, it's eyes were squinted and beady, probably from all the dirt thrown at them. To Jason this creature looked like it belonged in a fantasy story rather than on a ridge, so he reacted as anyone of his species would have given the situation.

"Da fuck are you supposed to be?" The beast growled.

"I am a Diamond Dog!"

"....Isn't that a song?"

"What are you rambling about monster-thing?"

"Nothing, nothing, now what do you want?" The 'Diamond Dog' gave off a wheezy cackle.

"You tread on Diamond Dog homeplace! You be made slaves to dig gems for us now!" The sound of shifting dirt and rock came from around and behind them, turning his head Jason could see that they were now surrounded by at least five of the sentient canines, these ones seemed to be a bit more uniform. They all wore metal helmets and chestplates, but they carried no weapons as far as Jason could see.

"Now, now.." His hand slowly gripped around the hilt of his knife, the glue-like substance on it immediately latching onto his skin. "There's no need for this, just let us be on our way and no trouble will come to either of us," as he said this Jason subtly drew the good blade from his belt and held it at his side.

"I don't think so Pony-friend thing, you become Slaveservant along with other Ponies!" The Diamond Dog lunged at Jason, going for his head. Unfortunately for the canine-thing Jason had exceptional reflexes, his arm came up and the blade slashed across the dogs face, making it yelp like a..... wounded dog, and fall to the side.

That enemy temporarily dealt with, Jason turned back to Rainbow Dash. One of the dogs was lying dazed on the ground from being bucked in the chest by Dashy. The remaining four were attempting to hold the Pegasus down and latch some sort of saddle on her. Jason rectified this situation by hitting the pommel of his knife into a dogs face, a healthy crunch sound could be heard as the canines nose and general face area fractured. Blood mingled with the Eel goo and the Diamond Dog fell with a bark. Turning to the next one the Human elbowed it in the snout, not getting as a dramatic reaction as he did when he used his knife, but the dog was taken care of none the less. Not sparing another thought, he planted his boot firmly to the last canines chest, flinging the thing backwards and into a rock, the chestplate echoing from the kick.

Taking the opportunity, Jason helped Rainbow Dash out of the saddle and tossed the thing away. They looked up to see that two of the dogs were already advancing on them. Jason braced himself for attack before they heard a scream.

Now, I'm not talking a generic scream here, I'm talking a bloodcurdling I-am-going-to-fucking-die-now scream that had disturbing similarities to the howl of a dying wolf. Jason glanced behind him to see a very horrific scene, the leader among the canines was writhing in what appeared to be great pain. As the thing sat up, Jason and his attackers got a full view of the damage; the wound that Jason's cut had made was a very unhealthy green and appeared to be spewing both blood and pus by the bucketful, creating a revolting puddle around the dog. Around the wound both small and large boils were growing and breaking at an alarming rate, giving the illusion that the Diamond Dog was boiling. Additionally the creature was now frothing at the mouth and it's eyes had gone bloodshot.

"What's going on hotshot?" Dashy was still occupied with staring down the other two dogs, so the insanity behind her was unnoticed. After Jason glanced over to where the fourth dog was lying, in a similar situation as it's leader but luckily out of Dashy's sight. After a moment or two the Human had made his plan of action.

"Nothing much," Jason said in reply, then quick as a flash he switched his grip of his combat knife to a backhand grip, then kneeling down he pulled Dash to him in his right arm and covered her eyes with with his other.

"What the heck are you doing?!?" Dashy asked struggling a bit.

"Just trust me," the Human whispered in her ear. Meanwhile the remaining two dogs looked in horror at their former comrades, one turned to the Human and Pony.

"You! Pony-Friend thing! What you do to them? What you do to Dog-leader?"

"I hit them with my knife and they became like that, I can't explain it."

"You hit them with Eel-stuff?" The dog said pointing to Jason's still gooey knife.

"Eel-stuff?"

"Yes! Eel-stuff! Eel-stuff toxic to Diamond Dog! Making for bad boils and drives Dogs made it does!"

"...Just take your friends and care for them, we'll leave here and never return." The canine looked back at the two infected dogs, who continued to writhe in pain.

"Fine! You leave Diamond Dog homeplace! Come back and we will make you and your Pony both slave-things!" And with that they grabbed the two rabid dogs and dragged them into one of the holes. Jason waited until the sound of scratching and whining had faded before releasing Rainbow Dash.

"See? I know what I'm doing." Jason slipped the knife back into his belt and took off in a stroll towards Ponyville.

"That was so awesome! You were just like wham! And they were like aaaaa! It was so cool!"

"So does this mean that you owe me then?"

"No way! I could have taken them all easily! I just wanted you to have some fun!" The Human chuckled and ruffled the Pegasus's rainbow mane.

"Just keep telling yourself that." The flyer glared out from under his hand.

"You why'd ya cover my eyes anyway? What was the point of that?"

"Just a promise I made."

"A promise? What promise?" Jason grinned and booped Dash on the nose.

"A secret promise." And with a slightly insane laugh that would've made Pinkie proud, Jason took off down the path.

"Hey! Get back here hotshot!" Dash took off after the Human.

The trip back to Ponyville was uneventful. Jason eventually slowed down and the two walked together, telling jokes and laughing together. During their trip Jason decided that he liked Rainbow Dash. She was fun to be around and a good friend. It wasn't long before the reached the road leading into Ponyville.

"All I'm saying that if you could fly then we wouldn't have gotten into that mess."

"True, but it wouldn't have been as epic, and I'll have you know that us Humans have mastered flight, thank you very much."

"No way! You don't even gave wings!"

"You don't need wings to fly my dear little Dashy, no we invented contraptions to carry us into the air."

"Like hot-air balloons?"

"....well yes but other faster machines." the Pegasus immediately perked up.

"How fast?"

"The fastest could go faster than the speed of sound."

"No way! Only I can do that! and I create a magical microburst while doing it!"

".....I'm sure you do, tell you what, give me a few weeks and we can have rematch of that race. But in the air this time."

"Your on! Anytime anyplace!" They bumped hoof/fist and laughed. While they had been walking they had gone right through Ponyville and to Twilight's Library without even realizing. Jason bid farewell to his new friend and the Pegasus flew off. The Human approached the library door and just as he was about to open it it swung open via purple force powers to reveal a very crazed looking Twilight Sparkle wielding a scroll in her magical grip.

"They're coming," she said in a foreboding voice.

"Who's coming?"

"The Princesses! Princess Luna! And Princess Celestia! They're coming to Ponyville in an hour to meet you!"

Chapter 11- Thy Princess Come

"Forgive your enemies, but ever forget their names"

-John F. Kennedy

North Tower, Canterlot Castle, Equestria, Thursday 4th of April, 2:00pm, 2205 AC

"I don't know about this sister"

Celestia smiled as the letter disappeared into the magical slipstream via a a swirling wisp of Celestia's golden magic. The Sun Alicorn turned from the window where the letter had supposedly exited and back at her sister Luna

"I will be fine Lulu, we'll just head over, say hello, get to know him and then leave" The Moon Alicorn still looked uncertain, that resident fear of Humanity still hidden behind her eyes

"How do we know he won't attack me on sight? I know for a fact that I was a well known fighter among their ranks"

"Be that as it may your worries are unfounded. As I told you Jason came from a time long before the Alicorns, long before the fall of his race"

"An era of peace then?"

"Perhaps, he has not revealed much about the state of the world of his time, but I have read old Human texts that speak of great wars and conflicts around his estimated timeline, wether or not that is true. It is evident that he is hiding much from us"

"Not a surprise, they are known for deception"

"Luna, we are attempting to give him a chance, not criticize the actions of his ancestors.... Or descendants for that matter"

"Fine Tia.... But I will be keeping an eye on him"

"I expected nothing less"

Just Outside Goldenoaks Library, Ponyville, Equestria, Thursday 4th of April, 2:00pm, 2205 AC

"Who's Luna?"

"She's Princess Celestia's little sister! And the one who raises the moon! Don't tell me you haven't read anything about her!"

"I think I came across a few things, but I think they were folktales"

"It doesn't matter! What's important is that we be prepared to receive them!"

".....I don't get it, they're just coming over, what's there to do?"

"Ugh just... Come here!" The frustrated Unicorn slipped behind Jason and pushed him into the Library, poking his behind with her horn in a very uncomfortable manner

"Oi! Watch it!" Twilight ignored him and pushed the Human into the main room of the Library, closing the door behind them with her magic, with a final shove she sent Jason to the floor, him landing on his backside

"Now" the lavender mare said, sitting on her haunches in front of Jason "You need to learn the proper protocol when in the presence of the Royal Sisters"

"...Protocol"

"Yes, protocol. Now first you should now his to address them, I prefer just saying 'Princess' but you might want to make use of 'Your Majesty' or something similar"

"....why can't I just call them 'Celestia' and 'Luna'?"

"Because that's disrespectful!"

"How so? It's their names after all"

"Because it's just... Ugh!" Twilight buried her muzzle in her hooves in the most adorably frustrated way possible "Didn't you have royalty where your from?"

"We did, but in my time it was viewed as an outdated and archaic form of government"

"But it's... Ugh, whatever. Now where were we?"

For most of their hour time limit, Twilight taught Jason just about everything about being within fifty metres of royalty. Where to stand, what to say, how to breath, the entire time was a drain on Jason's patient and attention-span.

I take back anything bad I ever said about the American Revolution, you guys were right, monarchs are stupid

During that time, one by one, the rest of the Mane Six arrived in the Library. Each receiving the news in turn and each reacting how one would expect. Rarity became instantly anxious, yelling about not having enough time to pick an appropriate outfit. Fluttershy became anxious for another reason; the mere thought of the Princess being within fifty metres causing her stress. Rainbow Dash and Applejack simply shrugged it off and Pinkie Pie babbled on about planning a party.

With little testimony to the actual passing of time, they used that hour up. Twilight ushered them all outside to the main road where the Princesses were apparently going to arrive exactly. The Mane Six stood around and talked among themselves as Jason stared off into the distance at the physics defying castle attached to the mountain.

Suddenly Jason spotted movement, his trained hunter eyes locking onto the speck in the distance. It became bigger and bigger and more detail revealing itself until...

Is that a fucking chariot?

It was, indeed, a chariot. A golden one to be exact, it soared through the sky by way of four winged armoured magical Ponies, and touched down a few metres in front of Jason. It was then that the Human noticed the chariots cargo; two Alicorns, as different as night and day (Insert comic relief drumroll here.) Jason recognized Celestia instantly as she and her companion exited the chariot, it was also at this point that the Human realized just how beautiful the white Alicorn was. Not in a attractive sense, rather in a way one admires a work of art, her shining coat, pleasant eyes, fluid rainbow mane, her graceful wings. Compared to the seven billion ugly apes in which Jason was a member, she was certainly an improvement.

Jason shifted his attention to the other Alicorn, his eyebrow raising of its own accord. She was darkly coloured, a dark blue coat and wings, here eyes were a light azure and her mane appeared to be its own galaxy, miniature stars swirled in the fluid mosaic of her hair, it was quite memorizing and Jason had to drag his eyes away.

Luna I presume?

The two Alicorns approached, Celestia in the lead ahead of her sister and walked up to Jason. Now at this point, Twilights lecture should have done its job and the Human should respectively bowed. Unfortunately for all protocol-buffs out there, Jason did the almost complete opposite.

When Celestia came up to him, Jason grinned and nodded his head as a mark of mutual respect.

"Good afternoon Celestia" behind him Twilight and Rarity came under the effect of molecular
programming that had run in their species for thousands of years, ever since the Tribal Era, and their hooves moved upon their own accord to meet with their face.

"Good afternoon to you too" the white Alicorn responded with a smile, taking Jason's break of protocol in stride. Celestia gestured to the dark Alicorn who was standing slightly behind her.

"And this is my little sister, Princess Luna, Alicorn of the Moon. Luna, this is Jason the Human" Jason put on his best smile and nodded towards the Moon Princess who in turn slowly approached the Human, her expression neutral but her stance defensive.

"A pleasure to meet you Princess Luna" the Princess didn't respond at first, rather she appeared to be searching the Humans face, what for was a mystery. But eventually she spoke.

"Well met... Sir Jason" the Human raised an eyebrow at the obligatory title, but shrugged it off as just odd word choice. After a moment or two of awkward silence Celestia cleared her throat.

"Perhaps we should move inside the Library?" Twilight, ever the lapdog, jumped at the suggestion.

"Of course Princess! Come inside!" In reverse act of just three minutes ago, Twilight ushered the group inside of the Library and into the main room, where she immediately activated her magic and placed sitting cushions in appropriate places. They all sat down and Celestia spoke up again.

"Now, I think we should just get to the point. I would like to officially welcome you to the realm of Equestria Jason" the Human nodded in response and gestured for the Princess to continue.

"That being said" Celestia went on "In your short time being here you have already generated a fair amount of interest" Jason raised an eyebrow.

"Interest?" He said.

"Yes, interest, you see it's not everyday that a member of an ancient and rare species just pops up in the middle of Equestria, and ever since Pinkie Pies party, rumours have spread as far as Canterlot and it's only an amount of time before the other realms hear of you as well."

"Should I expect trouble then?" Jason asked and Celestia shrugged slightly.

"We can't be sure, I doubt anypony will cause any real trouble to you but you might receive some whispers and gossip in your name."

"That's fine, nothing I'm not already used to."

"Glad to here it, now on to the second reason I'm here. Since you will be staying in my realm, you must stand with her laws and you will be held accountable if you break them." Jason nodded, it seemed reasonable enough. Celestia continued talking

"On a lighter note, how has you stay been, Jason?" The Human had to think about that for a moment. So far Equestria had proven friendly for the most part and had proven that it had plenty of adventurous opportunities.

"It's been good so far." Jason eventually said, Celestia leaned in a bit.

"Do you... Miss your home?" Again this constituted some deep thought for the Human. Before Equestria, Jason had lead a mostly average existence. He slept, ate, went to school, played video games. He had only a few friends that he barely hanged out with or even spoke to, he was an only child and his parents were divorced, he lived with his dad most of the time and couldn't say he missed the man all that much.

"I guess so, I mean my life was pretty boring before I came here, not doing much. Here I can do anything, travel, learn, it's a bit of an improvement to be honest." The white Alicorn frowned at that.

"So you have no desire to return?" Jason shrugged.

"Does it matter if I do? We don't even know how I got here. Let alone how to get back."

"Tell you what, should I come across the reason you were brought into the future, or the means to return to your time. I shall contact you immediately." Jason nodded.

"Fair enough." Just as Celestia was about to say something else, Luna cut in.

"Tell Us Sir Jason" the dark Alicorn said a bit aggressively "What dost thou plan on doing in Our realm?" The Human in question raised an eyebrow at the tone and archaic speech pattern.

"Not sure yet" Jason said "I have a few things I'm going to be doing over the next few days, but nothing that's going to keep me busy for too long." A delicate, ladylike cough came from their left and Jason turned to Rarity who has so obviously wanted his attention.

"Yes Rarity?" He asked.

"Well..." The Unicorns said coyly "If your occupation is of interest the I must ask. Have you ever tried mercenary work Jason? It might suit you." It was clear now that there was some sort of invisible string attached to Jason's eyebrow, because it soared skyward upon its own accord.

"Mercenary work." He repeated, Rarity nodded.

"Of course. Despite appearances, Equestria is full of bandits, brigands, thieves, and rouge beasts. Some of which the Royal Guard are just too few or to thinly spread to address, so you might find profit in that particular industry. And from what Rainbow Dash has told us of your little adventure today, you are quite handy with a blade." Lowering his brow, Jason thought over for a moment.

"I'll look into it." He decided, before turning back to Luna "Well there's your answer, Luna" the Alicorn visibly flinched when the Human spoke her name, but was otherwise satisfied with the answer.

"Well then" Celestia spoke up before they could lapse into an awkward silence "I believe that is all there is. Jason, girls, Spike." The Alicorn winked at the Dragon and with that the royal duo left the library, and one by one the rest of the Mane Six bid farewell and left as well. Leaving Jason alone with a magical purple Unicorn and a small fire-breathing Godzilla baby.

The Human felt a weak bump on his knee and looked down to see an angry looking Twilight looking up at him, apparently she had just 'punched ' Jason.

"Yes Twilight?" Jason asked.

"Why didn't you bow?! Or address the Princesses properly?! Or... Anything?!" The Human shrugged and walked back over to where he had been sitting previously and crossing his legs on the cushion before answering.

"I treated them as I would anyone, I think that was pretty respectful all things considered."

"But it wasn't respectful enough! They're Princesses!" Again Jason shrugged, causing Twilight to groan in frustration.

"Your just so.... Ugh!" Whatever 'Ugh' meant, it clearly bothered the resident Godzilla baby, because he looked in-between the Human and his Unicorn mistress, mumbled something about going to bed and patted up the stairs. As he did so, Twilight slumped down onto the cushion next to Jason and levitated a book over to her, pretending to read it with a scowl on her face. Jason reached onto a nearby desk where he had left the book he had been reading recently (A Guide to Equestria and her surrounding realms) but before he could crack it open, Twilights voice interrupted him.

"Do you... Really not want to return home?" She slowly asked, gaining a sigh from the Human.

"I don't know, I didn't have much to live for before I came here. You have to understand that the world was not always as you know it, in my time life was bleak, dark, and unforgiving. This is definitely an improvement to that, besides, I don't have much to go back to." The Unicorn didn't respond but Jason grinned and tussled her mane.

"Don't work yourself up over me, I'm fine" Twilight attempted to glare at him but it was short lived.

"Its my job" she said "I mean we're friends right?" Jason didn't even hesitate.

"Yes my dear Twilight" he said with a smile "We are friends."

Chapter 12- Makers Fire

"A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand."

-Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Goldenoaks Library, Ponyville, Equestria, Friday, 5th of April, 9:50am, 2205 AC

Jason opened his eyes, his vision slightly blurred by his own grogginess. He knew from the way that his blood seemed to be moving at the speed of molasses and the fact that his legs felt like they were beanbags told him that he had slept in a substantial amount.

Rising from the small bed the Human rubbed his eyes, yawning as he did so, before stretching his arms wide and hearing the satisfying sound of his back popping and cracking. As per his usual routine, Jason dropped to the floor and performed twenty rapid push-ups, the exercise forcing blood through his system and into his dead limps, breathing life into them once again.

Now completely awake, the Human strapped on his distinctive combat boots and grabbed his knife, clipping it to his belt as he headed through the door. As he headed down the oak stairs, his heavy footwear announcing his approach to all within the library, Jason heard several unfamiliar voices coming from downstairs as he neared it.

Turning the corner revealed Twilight sitting in front of three... Fillies, as in child horses. One was an orange Pegasus and purple hair that was in a rough-and-tumble style similar to Rainbow Dash. There was an Earth Pony with a yellow coat and red mane that was tied with a red bow, finally there was a cream-coloured unicorn with a swirly mane of pink and light purple.

They hadn't noticed Jason as the three child-horses where looking excitedly at Twilight and the purple mare had a look of confusion, worry, and tiredness.

"You want to do what?" Twilight asked them.

"Mountain Climbing!" The orange Pegasus said, the three young equines then cheered together "Cutie Mark Crusader Mountain Climbers yay!" Causing Twilight to flinch, she opened her mouth to lecture them but was cut off by the yellow Earth Pony.

"So? Do 'ya have a book that can tell us how?" The filly had a southern accent that mirrored that of Applejacks, Twilight groaned and face-hoofed, turning slightly away from the child trio, when she uncovered her eyes she noticed Jason standing on the staircase.

"Good morning Jason" the three fillies looked to where Twilight was looking and spotted Jason, their tiny jaws dropped in astonishment.

"Whoa! What are you?" The orange one said, Jason was about to answer with something along the lines of 'Your worst nightmare' but Twilight cut off his fun.

"Girls, this is Jason one of my new friends, he's been staying with me for the past week or so" the orange Pegasus was apparently not satisfied with this answer though.

"But What is he?" The Earth Pony next to the Child of Zeus whacked her on the head for her lack of tack, before looking back at Jason with a smile.

"It's ah pleasure ta meet you Mr.Jason, mah names Applebloom, this is Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo" this actually brought a smile to the Humans face, the adorable southern accent coupled with the fact that she was a Pony made Jason feel all fuzzy inside.

"Good to meet you Applebloom, what brings you to Twilights palace of knowledge?"

"We just came over to see if Twilight had anything on Mountain Climbing, we're trying to earn our Cutie Marks!" Jason gave a blank look.

"Cutie what now?"

"You know? Cutie Mark?" The filly said, after a few moments of Jason's best 'Da-Fuck-You-Talking-About-Bitch' look, Twilight cut in.

"Oh you don't know about Cutie Marks do you?" After the Human shook his head Scootaloo gasped.

"How could you not know about Cutie Marks? Everypony knows about them!" Yet again, Twilight came to the Humans defence.

"Now Scootaloo, Jason isn't from around here, and he certainly isn't a Pony. It's to be expected to not be knowledgable in everything about Equestria... Although I'm surprised you haven't come across anything in my library" the lavender Unicorn sat down to explain.

"Cutie Marks are a result of Magical Evolution in Ponies or M.E.P for short" she droned "When a filly or colt realizes their special talent and what they have a passion to do, a mark appears on their flank" Twilight pointed to her own star spangled backside "The mark represents the special talent of said Pony, and will almost always lead to an occupation of sorts, for example; my Cutie Mark represents Magic, as I am talented in both practical magic and Magical Theory" Jason stood there with a tired look on his face.

Can't a guy make some fucking pancakes without being lectured by some magical purple equine?

"That's.... Weird." Jason said "Humans have nothing like that."

"You don't have Cutie Marks?!" Scootaloo "But that... That's...." The Pegasus was left in a stunned stupor as everything she thought she knew about the world was turned upside down.

"Mmmm... Then how would anypony discover their destiny? Their place in the world?" Jason rolled his eyes.

"Everyone didn't put much thought into destiny..... At least when I was around I don't know about the... Modern Humans" this conversation was brining up some painful thoughts that Jason had been trying to suppress for the past week.

"Anyway" Jason said before Twilight could interject "Imma going to go make pancakes"

"Alright then..." The Purple Unicorn said.

"It was nice meeting you Mr. Jason!" Applebloom and Sweetie Belle chorused as Scootaloo contemplated the meaning of life, the universe, and everything.

"Wait a minute..." Twilight said "What's a 'Pancake'?" Unfortunately for her, she was talking to a closed door.

"So Twilight.... About that Mountain Climbing book..."

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Surprisingly, the purple bundle of Pony magic had exactly what was needed to make pancakes, despite not even knowing what they were. Jason exited the kitchen with a satisfied smile on his face, his stomach full of fluffy goodness.

Looking around the library the Human spotted Twilight siting down and reading a book, as per the meaning of her existence. The three fillies from before absent from the room.

"Guess they left then eh?" The Unicorn responded with a hum of acknowledgment.

"Anyway I'm heading out for a little walk" yet another hum of acknowledgement later and the Human exited the library into the bright midday sun. Sticking his hands into his pockets Jason headed down the street, a decent amount of colourful equines littered the streets, they waved to Jason who nodded back.

The Human moved in the general direction of his destination; the Smithy, he remembered seeing it during his brief tour. Now he had a little project for the metal-shaper. Jason's thoughts were interrupted however by a voice calling his name.

"Hey Jason!" The Human turned to see Roseluck trotting up to him.

"Good morning Roseluck" he said back "How's business today?" The Pony smiled.

"Eh... It's been slow today, so I left Daisy and Lily in charge so I could go for a little walk around, seems we had similar idea yeah?"

"Seems so, although I do have an errand to run" this comment caused Roseluck's ears to flick back slightly.

"Oh... I was hoping we could... Grab some lunch together?" Jason blinked, before shrugging.

"After I'm done, sure. I don't have much to do today anyway" Roseluck's went from disappointed to happy in a matter of seconds.

"Great! Come by the shop when your done your errand!" The flower Pony happily trotted away, leaving a slightly confused Jason behind.

"Fucking Ponies man" he said to himself before continuing on his way. The Human met no one else on his trip, and soon enough he spotted smoke and heat waves rising into the midday sky, after traveling towards it for a while the sound of clanging metal could be heard before Jason turned a corner and was met with the rustic sight of the Smithy.

As one would expect, there was everything a Blacksmith would need; a smelter, a fire pit, an anvil, water trot, grindstone, and workbench, there was also a small hut-like structure placed behind the smithing area. Hammering away at a piece of metal on the anvil was a bulky fire-red Unicorn, his rough mane and beard where orange, and his Cutie Mark was that of a hammer and anvil.

Jason approached the Stallion as he stuck the hot metal into the water trot, after letting it hiss and spit for a moment the Blacksmith pulled it back out with the tongs in his hoof, revealing the metal piece to be a generic horseshoe.

Sighing to himself the Stallion placed the shoe on the nearby workbench to cool, he then turned towards Jason and looked him over.

"And what might you want outlander? Can't 'ya see I'm busy here?" The Stallions tone was gruff and unfriendly, his expression matched that analysis.

"Sorry to bother my good ma... Colt" Jason said in a pleasant tone, despite the spike of annoyance at the unceremonious welcome "But I wish to speak to you about a possible job for you."

The Smithy grunted and laid his tongs and hammer down next to the freshly-made horseshoe.

"So what do you need made then?" He asked "I doubt you need ponyshoes, or a cart axle. So what is it?" Jason grinned at the Stallion.

"Well... I need a sword." For a moment, the Blacksmith seemed to be in a state if slight shock, his bearded mouth slightly open as he stared at Jason with a slightly misty expression.

"Say again?" The Stallion asked must less gruffly.

"I said I needed a sword, would you be able to craft me one?" After a minute or two of awestruck staring the Smithy stuck out his hoof.

"Names Makers Fire" he said, Jason shook his hoof.

"Jason" he said, after dropping his hand Makers Fire gestured for the Human to follow him, the Stallion lead Jason to the small hut-like structure placed behind his smithing area, inside was a pair of chairs and a table.

"So..." He said as they sat down "You looking for a sword are you?"

"That's right" Jason said "Are you able to craft one?"

"You bet your britches!" Fire exclaimed "You looking at the former Head Metalcrafter for Her Majesties Solar Guard"

"Really" the Human said with raised eyebrows, Jason didn't know exactly how much of a prestigious position that was, but is sounded important "So how did you end up in Ponyville making horseshoes?.... Er.... 'Ponyshoes'?" This was apparently a hard topic because Makers Fire scowled harshly.

"I decided that I needed a change of pace, a new path, a quieter one" the Stallion growled a bit "Worst. Decision. Ever." He said aggressively.

"I miss making weapons, elegant, sharp, and deadly implements that cut smoothly through flesh, crack bones, or impale brains" Maker took on a look of someone speaking of a beautiful sunrise, Jason opened his mouth to say something but the Smithy wasn't done.

"No one in this damn backwater has the guts to even touch a weapon, let alone wield one. It's all ponyshoe this and fix my cart that, ugh. But you... You've given me a chance to do what I was meant to do.." Maker looked at Jason.

"Tell you what, I'll make your sword, and for free too. The pleasure of creating an implement of the warriors art is payment enough" After revelling in his luck and trying not to show how creeped out he was by this Stallions apparent pleasure of creating objects of death he grinned.

"Alright then, glad that I could give you this opportunity" Jason said.

"As am I" Makers Fire replied "But might I ask, why do you desire a weapon such as this? You already have a fine blade of good craftponyship" he gestured towards Jason's combat knife.

"True, but since I.... Arrived here I've run into a total of three things that wanted to break me open and suck out my me juices. That's three things too many, so I thought it would be smart to have something slightly more effective than my knife. Also... I want to see the quality of your work, to see if I should employ you for a little project of mine."

"Oh?" Maker said intrigued "Now I'm really interested, alright, I'll do it. My final question though; what sort of sword do you desire?"

"Well... Your the expert."

"Mmm... I'm thinking... A longsword, double edged, sharp, pointed at the end, with a strong crossbar, good for slashing, cutting, stabbing and blocking."

"Sounds good to me, have at it." Without another word Markers Fire got up and got to work, grabbing the needed pieces of metal and beginning to heat them up. Jason didn't pay much attention to the process, choosing instead to lean back and bask in the midday sun, eventually dosing off into a light sleep.

After an unknown amount of time had passed Jason was awoken by a nudge of his leg, opening his eyes he saw Makers Fire looking up at him, holding was was clearly a sheathed sword in his red magic. After looking up at the sky the Human determined that only about half an hour had passed.

"You work fast" he said reaching out towards the newly crafted weapon, the Smithy said nothing as Jason grabbed the sword out of his magic and gripped the hilt before sheathing it. What was revealed was not just a weapon, but art, the hilt and crooks are were made of steel and wrapped in leather to make a comfortable and soft grip, the blade itself was at least a metre long, straight and double edged with a deadly point, in the centre of the steel blade was made of some darker metal that ran to the midsection of the b,ad to the crossbar, centring the weight and balancing it out. Most notably about the weapon was the ornate looking runes and symbols that decorated both sides of the blade, engravings that ranged from everything from swirls to more complicated symbols.

"It's a fine weapon" Jason eventually said "But what do these runes mean?"

"They're Enchanting Conduits" Maker said "It opens up the possibility of enchanting the weapon, the runes can be filled with any magical enchantment and will bind it to the metal."

"That's interesting" Jason said "I don't know about having it enchanted but I'll certainly think about it." The Human sheathed the sword "Now about my project."

"Wait a minute" Makers Fire interrupted "Arn't you going to name it?"

"Name it?" Jason asked.

"That's right, traditionally when a warrior receives his sword he gives it a name."

"Huh..." Jason looked down at the weapon and shrugged "Im sure I'll think of something later."

"Fair enough, now about that project of yours?"

"Oh that's right" With animated gestures the a Human explained the job to Maker, going into great detail and description.

"Is something like that even possible?" The Smithy asked after Jason had finished "I've never heard of a machine like that."

"I assure you it will work, poorer designs have achieved the same thing. But do you have any experience in this sort of thing?"

"Yes actually, I've made a number of constructs made for war, trebuchets, ballista, so on and so forth, but never something like this."

"I'm sure you'll be fine, you have my confidence."

"Well I have that at least, give me a few days to have some supplies brought in and we can begin, and... No charge for thus either, this is more excitement than I've had in years."

"Glad I could be of help." The two shook appendages, Maker provided Jason with a white sacking covering for the sword, so the Human wouldn't be seen carrying a lethal weapon through town. Jason bid goodbye to Makers Fire and headed back towards Twilights Library, arriving there he darted by the book enthralled purple Unicorn and laid his new sword in his room.

Darting by the knowledge cultist again Jason headed back outside and strolled in the direction of Roseluck's flower shop. The shop was actually quite near the library and the Human arrived there in no time, walking into the store with a twinkle of the door chime. Inside behind the counter was a soft pink mare with a curly lime green mane, her Cutie Mark displaying three daises. The Pony next to her was a reddish mare with a blond looking mane and three lilies on her flank. The store itself was packed with self after shelf of decorative flowers, daisies, lilies, roses, etc.

"Daisy, Lily" Jason said in greeting.

"Hey Jason" they chorused, in a moment another voiced greeted him.

"Oh, hey Jason" the Human turned to see Roseluck's beautiful green eyes looking up at him.

"Hello Rose" Jason said smiling "I thought I would take you up on that offer of lunch" behind him he could hear Daisy and Lily softly awwwwwing at the pair of them. Ignoring her sisters Roseluck smiled up at Jason.

"Great" she said "Come on I know a place."

Chapter 13- Take To The Sky

"I don't have a fear of flying; I have a fear of crashing."

-Billy Bob Thornton

Goldenoaks Library, Ponyville, Equestria, Wednesday 10th of April, 7:00am, 2205 AC

It had been a few days since Jason had visited Makers Fire and had set his project in motion, ever since then the two engineers had been working together to build their construct piece by piece, working through problem after problem. Everything from technological drawbacks to lack of proper equipment and materials, but they made due in the end, today was the day that the Human and the Blacksmith finish their project and put her to the test, and put her on her maiden voyage.

Jason was sitting in Twilights kitchen, munching down on some morning carrots when the lavender Unicorn herself walked into the kitchen.

"Good morning to you Twilight" the Human greeted her, the Pony Mage didn't respond but sat across from Jason with a half serious half worried expression on her face.

"Jason... We need to talk..." Jason's right eyebrow immediately raised itself.

"Well we're already doing that, but we can continue if you want." The Human grinned to show he was joking around, but Twilight retained her expression.

"It's just that..." She continued "You've been here a while now, and I like having you here really! It's just that.... Wouldn't you be more comfortable with... You know... Your own kind?" Jason blinked and Twilight rushed to reassure him.

"I mean, I know it's a long shot, and that Princess Celestia said pthey are few and far I between, but don't you think you would be happier at least searching for them? I mean, you haven't even been looking into it, don't you want to find your kin?" She sounded worried.

This conversation wasn't good, since Jason had told the fate of the Human race he had done all he could to forget, coming to the point where he believed the lie that Celestia had ordered him to tell. Unfortunately for his psyche, the Ponies seemed determined to bring up the painful memories.

Jason plastered a smile onto his face "I understand your worried Twilight, but you have to understand; I have no idea where my kin resides, no leads, no nothing. Hell most Ponies think we are a myth, I have no desire to wonder into the wilderness to be eaten by one of Sebastian's cousins" this got a giggle out of the Unicorn and broke the somber mood she had brought in with her, Jason ruffled her mane like one would a child.

"Don't worry about me, I'll find them on my own time" the Unicorn seemed to accept that and Jason bid her goodbye, exiting the library and into the street. Jason sighed heavily when he shut the door, feeling very tired all of a sudden, shrugging the feeling off the Human headed off towards Makers smithing area.

~~*~~

Derpy Hooves landed in front of her house, smiling at a good mornings work and looking forward to sharing some muffins with Dinky, the grey Pegasus pushed the door open and placed her saddlebag to the side of the door.

"Dinky!" Derpy called out "I'm home!" There was no answer and then Derpy noticed a note that was nailed to the back of the door, the messy writing made in crayon told her that Dibky had left it there.

Gone crusading with Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle. Be back later

Derpy smiled "I'll make muffins for when they come back" she declared and dived into her kitchen.

~~*~~

Makers Fire pulled the long piece of metal out of the water trot, the still hot metal sizzling and red, the Smith magicked the piece over to his work bench where he hammered the thing into submission, twisting and shaping the rapidly cooling metal into the shape that Jason had described to him.

Satisfied with its shape Maker shoved the thing into the water trot to cool, he placed down his tongs and hammer to take a breath, that's when Jason arrived.

"How goes it Maker?" The red Unicorn didn't say anything, rather he activated his rust-coloured magic and pulled the piece he had been shaping a moment ago, showing the long twisted profile of the propeller. This brought a genuine grin to the Humans face.

"Then let's put the final piece on" propellor in tow, the two engineers headed inside the large pavilion-sized tent that Maker had brought in to hide their project from prying eyes. Inside was the fruit of their labour; a small plane, about the size of a modern ultralight, created from forged bits of metal, wood, and canvas. It resembled that of the Wright Brothers invention, but with some aspects that gave it a more World War II look, with its wide curved wings and fat tail, one unique detail about it though was in place of an engine there was a large spring-like wire that connected to a gear-like disk at the front. It was on that disk that Maker and Jason fit the propellor onto the disk and the Smith levitated several rivets over and fitted them into the holes in the propellers centre, there was a flash of heat as Maker bound the rivets to the disk, securing the propellor in place.

The two stepped back to look at their creation, Jason rubbing his hands together.

"She'll fly well" he said proudly, admiring the machine, Makers Fire wasn't so sure though.

"Jason..." He said slowly "I'm not so sure about how this thing will work, I mean a streamlined aircraft that allows non-Pegasus Ponies to fly at speed? It's revolutionary in our day and age."

"Then what's the problem?" The Human asked.

"It's the spring propellor that worries me" the Smith said "I know I said that we use the same concept on our blimps, but that's different, blimps are kept in the sky by their ballon. This contraption puts almost all of its hope of flight on that one propellor, which might I add is decisively smaller that the ones used on blimps."

"You make a good point, but remember how we spent so much time on the wings? They're designed to glide, like a bird or Pegasus, so even if the propellor fails I can glide safely to the ground and make an emergency landing."

"Still, that spring will only give you an hour of thrust at most before you'll have to glide down, and even then I don't trust the infrastructure to take an emergency landing."

"You worry too much Maker, put a little faith into Human engineering."

"Forgive me if I'm doubtful, you know I still could put a moving enchantment on the propellor to make it spin indefinitely."

"And you know my answer, I'm trying to prove a point here."

"And what point might that be?"

"That Human Science and Engineering can accomplish anything that Pony Magic can." The Smithy sighed a bit.

"Do what you want, but when this design catches on my enchanting idea will too"

"Oh, this design won't catch on."

"What makes you say that? This machine could dissolve the barrier between Pegasus and Earth Ponies, anypony could fly at speed with this."

"It won't catch on because no one will know about it, because your not going to show anyone the designs, are you Makers Fire?" Jason had a grin on his face that unsettled the grizzled Smithy.

"No, I guess I'm not." He said in defeat.

"Good, now if you excuse me I have a rainbow Pony to find."

~~*~~

The Everfree Forest

The four fillies moved on a rough game trail through the dark forest, a certain orange Pegasus in the lead.

"Come on girls! We need to explore the entire forest to earn our Cutie Marks!" Scootaloo said.

"Cutie Mark Crusader Forest Explorers yay!" The fourth small Equine didn't join in their cry.

"Ummm... Maybe we should head home?" Dinky said quietly, not wanting to attract any beasts "Mommy always told me to be careful of the forest."

"Come on Dinky! How do you expect to earn your Cutie Mark if your always acting like such a scaredy Pony?" Scootaloo taunted.

"I don't think my Cutie Mark is worth getting eaten.." Dink said to herself, but followed behind the CMC never the less.

~~*~~

Rainbow Dash want hard to find, she didn't exactly blend in all that well. Jason found her napping on a a cloud that sat just ten metres off the ground, the Pony snuggled up in a little ball of rainbow-coloured adorableness.

So naturally Jason had to ruin it.

Looking up at the slumbering Pegasus the Human called out "Oi! Rainbow!" She didn't even twitch, so moving on to plan B Jason picked up a nearby pebble and expertly chucked the stone to hit Rainbow Dash directly on the snout. This got her attention as her eyes immediately awoke and spotted the culprit, she shot down and looked angrily at Jason.

"He what was that for?" She asked "Can't a girl take a nap once in a while?" Jason didn't acknowledge her question.

"Remember when I challenged you an air race a few weeks ago?"

"Uh... Yeah? Why?"

"Well I'm ready to race now."

"Wait... You were serious about that? How are you even going to fly?"

"Didn't I tell you then? I made a flying machine that could go fast"

"...No way"

"Way, Human engineering has no bounds, so you ready to race or what?"

"Heck yeah! I'll get everypony together! They're going to love this!" The Pegasus sped off, Jason meanwhile had Makers Fire move the plane to the central road that ran through Ponyville, a tarp over it to keep it a surprise. The large object hidden from sight began to attract a crowd and soon they had an ample audience to the soon to be race, Makers Fire had to ward off a few curious onlookers who wanted to sneak a peak at the mystery thing under the tarp.

"Jason!" A voice from the crowd called and The Human turned to see Twilight, Spike, and the rest of the Mane Six trotting towards him.

"What's this about you racing Rainbow Dash in the air? And something about a flying machine?" Twilight demanded, pointing at the rainbow Pegasus, who was curiously looking at the tarp.

"Oh, I challenged Dashy a week ago to a sky race, since then me and Makers Fire here have been rebuilding the Wright Brothers dream."

"The what?" Twilight asked.

"Sorry, we've been building a flying machine based on an old Human design." Jason signalled Maker and he pulled the tarp free to reveal the plane, to the oohing and awing of the nearby crowd.

"That's your flying machine!" Rainbow laughed "That'll never fly!"

"That's what they always say!" Jason said dramatically, pointing his finger at the Pegasus "Care to put your money where your mouth is?" Dashy adopted her cocky expression.

"Alright hotshot, your on!" Twilight looked between them, finally coming back to Jason.

"Jason! This is crazy! You'll hurt yourself!" She cried.

"All in the pursuit of glory my dear, Maker! Crank her up!" The rust-coloured Unicorn grabbed the planes propellor and spun it counter-clockwise, an ominous clicking sound coming from it, until a finally a loud metallic clunk sound came from it, marking that the plane was ready to go. Waving to the crowd Jason hopped into the seat, placing his feet in the bicycle-like pedals that connected to the planes wheels.

Rainbow Dash lined up next to the huge contraption, confident that the thing wouldn't even get off the ground, all the while Twilight pleading to Jason to not go through with it. Pinkie Pie broke off from the crowd and placed herself between the two racers, holding a small green flag in her hoof.

She waved the flag and Rainbow Dash took off immediately, leaving a large cloud of dust behind her that clouded everyponies vision of Jason, however sounds could be heard from the dust cloud. The clinking sound of a chain moving, a creaking moan of the spring decompressing, and finally the low hum of the propellor spinning.

The plane burst forth from the dust cloud, rapidly increasing speed, it's bulky tail already lifted off the ground, inside Jason was peddling madly to make the wheels push the thing forward, the contraption slowly increase speed until the wheels finally lifted from the ground and the plane took off.

The crowd was in a dumb shock, the Mane Six stared up at the physical impossibility that was currently soaring through the sky, Rainbow Dash herself paused to stare in awe at the marvel of engineering. unnoticed by anypony, Makers Fire let out a small sigh of relief, meanwhile in the air Jason was having the time of his life, he laughed gleefully as he soared among the clouds, he was soon joined by Rainbow Dash who kept pace with the plane.

All thoughts of a race were gone from Dash, in truth she was amazed and in awe at the amazing invention that Jason had created, he had told her tales of amazing contraptions that the Human race had built, but to see one such marvel with her own eyes... She felt like an egghead all of a sudden.

The two flyers soared over Ponyville and came over the Everfree Forest, all the while Jason laughed and smiled in pure glee, his demeanour was infectious and Rainbow Dash soon joined in, laughing along with him, this was the first time she had seen Jason smile, as in actually smile in pure happiness and it rubbed off on her.

They banked to the far west side of the forest, in-verbally agreeing to circle the forest and head back to Ponyville, it seemed for a moment that Jason had calmed down until...

Is he... Singing?

It was true, faintly across the wind Jason's voice could be heard.

"I believe I can fly! I believe I can touch the sky! Spread my wings and fly!" Rainbow Dash giggled at the Humans antics, meanwhile Jason was thinking of putting the plane through some complicated maneuvers when he heard one of the most terrifying sounds he had ever heard in his life.

The sound of the spring decompressing, and the low hum of the propellor disappear as it stopped spinning.

It was at this moment that Jason realized just how high they were, which turned out to be about three hundred metres above sea level, and the natural fear of falling kicked in. Jason forced himself to stay calm, apparently Rainbow Dash noticed the lack of propellor-humming as well because she banked closer to ask what was wrong, Jason twitched the plane closer to explain the situation, but it was when he pulled the wheel of the plane back the other way was when he met resistance.

Pulling harder he realized that the flaps had locked, and the plane was locked in a permanent bank to the right, Jason barely had time to yell "Look out!" Before the wing swatted Rainbow Dash like a mosquito and the plane went into a spiral dive towards the ground.

It was all Jason could do to hold on as his world became a twisted thing of metal, wood, a grey stony ground, and occasionally flashed of blue and rainbows, eventually Jason got one good look at the grey rocky landing that awaited them before they hit and he lost his grip on consciousness.

~~*~~

The four fillies stared in awe at the large twisted metal thing that had hit Rainbow Dash before plummeting to the ground.

Scootaloo was the first to break from the stupor "That was awesome!" Sweetie Belle looked at her friend in anger.

"How could you say that? Rainbow Dash could be hurt!" The orange Pegasus waved off the comment.

"No way, Rainbow Dash is made of studier stuff than that."

"Still, we should go check if they all are okay" Applebloom suggested, Scootaloo shrugged and the four trotted the relatively short distance to the crash sight. The fillies pushed the bushes out of there way to reveal the broken and twisted chassis of Jason's plane.

"Where's Rainbow Dash?" Scootaloo asked, no answer came and she turned to find Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Dinky were gone.

"Guys?" She called cautiously, before a furry paw covered her mouth and cut of her scream.

~~*~~

Jason faded in and out of consciousness, he didn't feel much pain, but there was a definite ringing in his ears that lasted the entire while he managed to stay awake. The Human searched for Rainbow Dash but found nothing but the pieces of the defeated aircraft around him and the rocky surface they had landed on.

Eventually Jason sensed movement, hoping it was Dashy he managed to croak out a call for help. His hope was crushed though when a pair of beady black and yellow eyes entered his vision.

"Your mine now Pony-Friend thing" a voice said before Jason passed out again.

Chapter 14- Fallen

"There is no great genius without a mixture of madness."

-Aristotle

It is amazing what the Human mind can create.

Great metal birds soaring through the air, defying gravity. Huge steel whales dominating he surface of the ocean and below it, awe-inspiring ships that reached to the stars and the moon. Weapons that could wipe a civilization off the map, leaving the ground stripped bare of soil, the air burning with intense heat, the very water molecules in the air evaporated into the nothingness.

Huge machines that could manipulate the finer materials of existence, smashing atoms into each other to create new materials, small devices no bigger than a stone that could process more information than any biological mind. Suits of armour that could withstand the death of a star, blades that could slice through entire forests of trees, and rods that could harness the power of lightning...

Arguably even greater is what the Human mind can create in the ethereal plain of unconsciousness, rather than the physical one.

The world was a great tundra of blue, the snow blended in with the air but one could still feel it; cold and wet against the flesh, a river of tumbling emotion cut through the cold hard land. But rather than fish, grant orange bubbles of reality floated down the unreal silky liquid before coming to a waterfall made of snippets of consciousness, the bubbles fell down the cascade of emotion before exploding into waterfalls themselves, but these were of different colour, texture, and meaning.

The thousands of waterfalls hit against the stones below, these stones flashed with pockets of reality every time a molecule hit them, giving off a flashing light that was painful to watch, the stones themselves were smoothed from the erosion of emotion and memory, revealing beautiful jewels and gems that were hidden within, the crystals glowed with a strange purple energy, steaming as the liquid hit them and giving off gas that soared into the sky.

The gas swirled around itself, dancing and twisting in a great show of chaotic beauty, soon the gas formed a body, a body with wings and it soared higher, through other gases that protected the blueness below. A cold that could not be described, light fractured and went everywhere as lightening arced between the beams, heat without fire that melted flesh and bone. Through all of this the gas-flyer escaped into a bleak emptiness without the heat, the cold, the river, or the fall.

Around it was nothing, except itself, the unreality, and a single burning ball of fire. It gave off an even greater heat than before, but the flyer went closer, too close; it's feathers caught on fire and evaporated into the gas it was created from, it's wings disappearing into mist as the flyer fell back into the blueness.

As the laws stated the flyer cascaded back towards the river, through the coldness, the brightness, and the heat. Before splashing into the pool created by the waterfall, it's final moments were spent drowning in memories and emotion.

The landing of the flyer was enough to move the pool, it cascaded down a cliff and formed a new shape, and turned from blue to steely grey. Eyes, they were eyes, these eyes looked around, it was a dark cave with a small amount of light from what looked like a caged door, the light from the cages door increased and the eyes were forced to form eyelids so the body could close his eyes.

Jason opened his eyes.

An Unknown place, at an Unknown exact time, probably still in 2205 AC though

Jason came to in a dark room, judging from the feeling of the ground on his backside it was solid, rough stone. Across the cave-like room was a bared door, seeping through said door came the faint flickering light that came from some sort of torch that probably lined the walls of the hallway.

Jason tried shifting his body but was met with resistance, it was at this point that the Human realized that his arms were bound together with some sort of metal band, after shifting his shoulders a few times Jason could hear the clicking of a metal chain against the band and the stone wall, confirming that he was chained to the wall.

It was clear he wasn't going anywhere, and that wasn't exactly comforting, Jason felt the slow crawl of panic begin to overtake his body, he began shaking slightly as the situation became too much for him.

Jason remained in his hopeless position for at least another minute or two, it was hard to tell time in the dark. Soon the soft pattering of feet could be heard echoing from the hall and the light steadily brightened as a torch was brought closer to Jason's cell.

The Human looked up to see the shadows of three beings, he couldn't make out who or what they were but it was revealed when one of them spoke.

"Ahhhh, I see your awake Pony-friend thing." The Diamond Dog rasped "Ready for work you are, grab him!" The two remaining dogs opened the cell door with the jingling of keys and the creak of the hinges. As the approached Jason was able to give them a better look; they were large an bulky clad in steel breastplates and helmets, as they were fiddling with the Humans bonds he could see short swords and curled up whips on their sides, clearly these dogs were a cut ahead of the ones Jason had dealt with on the surface.

Finally Jason's bonds were removed and he was given the freedom to rub his wrists, it was short lived at his arms were quickly grabbed by the two thugs and he was dragged rather uncomfortably across the stone floor, slamming his knees into the hard stones painfully. He was brought to the cell door were the remaining Diamond Dog was waiting, when he reached him he felt his hair grabbed roughly in the paw of the canine and his head jerked up to look his jailor face to face.

His beady yellow eyes practically glowed in the dim light, but what Jason noticed was the long thin scar that ran across his face, that could only mean...

"Remember me Pony-friend thing? You poisoned Diamond-Leader guy you did, with Eel goo, very painful, almost died but no, I survived and now you get too feel my pain..." Jason barely had time to worry about that before the canine punched him in the stomach.

Now Jason wasn't in the best condition, having just survived a plane crash relatively recently, so not only did the blow hurt like hell and knock the wind out of him, but it sent Jason's head thumping painfully and the room spinning.

As Jason struggled for breath the Diamond Dog looked to his canine brethren.

"Take him to shaft forty-seven, and get him set up to mine. You'll be here forever Pony-friend thing, no one escapes Lupa Mine."

The dog stepped aside and his henchmen dragged Jason out of the cell and down the hall, The Human lacked the energy to even keep his head up so the trip for him was just the stone floor below him and the occasional stone hitting his knees and scraping at his pants.

Eventually he was brought to another bared door, which was unlocked and opened so the two dogs could throw Jason in. He landed painfully on the other side and looked up just in time to see the cage close behind him, leaving him staring at the monstrous canines through the bars.

"Start mining Pony-friend thing!" One of them barked, before they walked away. Jason lied on the ground in defiance, more out of the fact that his head was pounding painfully rather than any sense of rebellion. It was another minute before the thumping subsided and outside sounds took it's place; the sound of pickaxes hitting stone was prominent, but one could hear wails of pain and misery echoing through the caves.

The Human rolled onto his back and sat up, scanning the cavern he was in. It was a large circular pocket with a decently sized campfire in the middle with several spades and pickaxes piled around it, on either side two shafts extended further into the rock, after looking down these off shoots one could see that they were full of Ponies of every shape, colour, and race. All of them looking beaten, bruised, and tired but hammering away at the rock nevertheless with a sort of miserable obedience.

They're slavers.

While inside Jason had already realized this, fully accepting that fact was another matter all together, and the hopelessness of the situation was begging to effect Jason, his breath becoming ragged as panic gripped his body again and the Human gasped for air. It seemed as if the cavern had been emptied of breathable air, leaving only fear-inducing gas behind that threatened to overwhelm Jason.

As the Human struggled with reality, one of the many Equine miners took a step from his digging site, breathing deeply and wiping the sweat off of his brow. Taking a look at his pick the Earth Pony took in the nicks and cracks that riddled the old tool, deciding to retrieve a fresher one (and take a break from work) the slave made his way to the main chamber of Shaft 47, and towards the pile of pickaxes and spades.

As he exited the tunnel and into the chamber, he immediately noticed the creature near the caged entrance to the shaft. At first he thought it was a Diamond Dog but almost as quickly forgot that as the thing was sitting in a sort of curled up position, and was wearing clothing completely unlike that in which the Dogs utilized.

So that only left one logical conclusion: it was a new slave.

"Best be getting to work mate." The creature immediately reacted to his words, jerking it's head up and fixing on him with small, beady, grey eyes that gave the old slave a strange shiver.

"The Dogs'll whip you if you lag around too long, get on and grab a pick, the lest you resist the better." The thing didn't speak, merely continued to watch the slave with its stare. The Slave shrugged and moved over to the tool pile to select a good pick.

"What's your name?" A dry voice asked from behind him, the creature. The slave shrugged without looking behind him.

"No names down here, we're slaves, property, expendable, best not get too attached to that in which can die of a mine collapse the next morning."

"....but doesn't that kill off the hope of escape?"

"Can't kill what was never alive, no one escapes Lupa Mine and that won't change."

"But you can't believe that, you can't just accept a life of slavery."

"Better to accept the unchangeable reality, than to give yourself a false hope of a better one." No response came from the creature, and the slave picked up a pickaxe and tossed it towards the thing, it landing at its feet.

"Now, like I said you might want to get to work or you'll get five lashes for laziness." The slave turned around holding his own pick to see the creature grasping his new tool and coming to its feet, the creature towered above the slave, coming to a hight that a Diamond Dog would be intimidated by. The slave grunted at gestured towards the tunnel he had come from.

"Come on, I'll show you the way." The slave carried his pick back down the tunnel, the sound of the creatures steps being heard over the din of the tunnel, they passed one or two other slaves that dug at the stone of the wall, eventually they came to a spot in the wall that had clearly been dug at, the slave pointed towards the patch to his right.

"There, you can have that spot, have fun." Without another look the slave took hold of his pick and continued in his unwilling work.

Jason moved over to his patch and stared dully at the grey rock before blankly hefting his pick and taking a swing. It was immediately obvious that this was going to be a problem, as the moment the Human moved his body with any semblance of energy or muscle it sent another series of painful thumping to Jason's head, making his vision swim and him almost topple to his knees.

Taking deep breaths, Jason tried again with similar results, his progress was like this for the next few minutes, taking a swing only to rest for another second or two. Eventually the exertion became too much for Jason's damaged body and he was forced to rest for several minutes, unfortunately for him his stamina had run out at the wrong time, the sound of padded feet coming down the hall could be heard, announcing the approach of a Diamond Dog. Jason struggled to move and appear as if he was simply hefting his pick for another swing but he was too late; one of the many armoured canine guards turned a corner and almost immediately spotted him.

"Slacker!" He howled, pointing at him, the Dog zipped down the hall and gripped Jason's arm with a furry appendage.

"Think you can slack Pony-friend thing? Leader tell Dog-guards about you, tell us to treat you roughly he did." True to his orders the guard roughly pushed Jason against the stone wall, bagging the Humans already damaged head against the rocks sending his vision swimming.

"Stop slacking slacker!" The Dog growled, Jason gritted his teeth in anger and defiance and gripped his pick tighter before swinging the tool madly at the canine. His attempt was futile as the guard easily blocked his weak strike by grabbing his wrist.

"Fighter huh?" The Diamond Dog growled "Well Dog-people have places for Fighter-Slaves." The guard slammed Jason's wrist against the wall, forcing him to drop the pick and then the Human was being dragged down the hall, looking back at the slave who had originally helped him, shaking his head in apparent disappointment.

He wasn't brought far, they entered another chamber, this one lite by only a few torches and he heard his captor speak to his canine brethren.

"This one be a fighter, teach him the lesson of lashes." The Human was roughly grabbed by another pair of paws and he was bragged across the room, his arms brought up and bound to the wall, leaving him in a kneeling position facing the wall, he felt the Dog grip his shirt and rip the fabric apart, revealing his bare back.

The Dog took a few steps back, Jason could hear the snickering and light cackling of the observers of his punishment.

"Five lashes Pony-friend thing! Prepare yourself!" Jason at this point finally realized what was actually happening and barely had time to steel himself before the first lash came.

At first, he didn't feel the pain, only the cool smooth touch of the leather whip. It was only the second after the whip had left his flesh that the pain could be felt, and oh it hurt, imagine tiger claws dipped in acid ripping into your back and you wouldn't even come close to the pain of the whip, as it hit Jason his vision flashed pure white and he let out the loudest scream imaginable, tears coming to his eyes as he took in the brief respite of in between lashes.

The next minute was hell, melding into a pain-filled world that seemed never to end, but it did, leaving Jason with his back on fire and just barely hanging on to consciousness, he could hear the Dogs speaking as if they were behind a door.

"...Take him to his cell, he'll think twice about slacking now." Jason was unbound and dragged again, this transport was a miasma of flashing images of reality that was painful to the eyes, his head thumping uncontrollably and his back dipped in molten lead, soon he was brought to the cell and thrown in, leading thankfully on his side as he quickly lost consciousness.

The last thing he saw before subjecting to the darkness was a flash of colours.

"Rainbows..." Jason slurred, before the Void took him.

~~*~~

Ponyville, Equestria, Wednesday 10th of April, 8:27 am, 2205 AC, only minutes after the crash.

The remainder of the mane six and indeed the majority of Ponyville stared up in disbelief at where Jason and Rainbow Dash had collided into each other and fallen to the ground. Makers Fire and Twilight Sparkle stood next to each other, their minds not willing to accept the worst case scenario.

"Jason." Maker said.

"Rainbow" Twilight said.

Both Ponies took off at almost the same time, galloping towards the crash site, Twilights friends close behind them all of them focused on one goal: find their friends.

OhnoOhnoOhnoOhno Rainbow, please be okay, please please please, your tough you've walked away from worse crashes than this, just please be okay please be okay please

Jason! You bucking idiot! You better be okay you stubborn Human, I warmed you about the spring damn you! If your not dead when I get there I'll kick your hide to Tartarus myself! And I would really like that pleasure!

They burst from the Everfree Trees, coming to the craggy grey stone ground that the plane had crashed on, sure enough the twisted totalled chaise of the flying machine, but a disturbing lack of life in or around it.

"Rainbow Dash! Jason!" Twilight called as Makers Fire stared at the ruined construct, his keen eye spotted at splash of red on the grey stones that caused his hope to plummet, he sat on his haunches and stared at the ground as Twilights friends arrived and started calling for their lost companions, not knowing the hopelessness of the situation like the Smith had.

Chapter 15- No One Escapes Lupa Mine

"Most men today cannot conceive a freedom that does not involve somebody's slavery"

-W.E.B. Du Bois

East side of the Everfree Forest, Equestria, Wednesday 10th of April, 8:32 am, 2205 AC

Makers fire looked on, his once great and most impressive creation now a pile of twisted metal and crushed hope. Twilight and the rest meanwhile searched so desperately for Jason and Rainbow Dash, yet to no avail, they had simply vanished.

"I just don't get it," Applejack said, wondering over back to the crash site proper, the frustration was evident in her tone. "Where could they have gotten to? What've they're badly hurt?"

The rest of the girls gathered around the sorry excuse for a flying machine, their search in utter vain.

"I agree it makes no sense," Rarity stated. "But we cannot simply give up hope, somewhere Rainbow Dash and Jason are alone and possibly injured and waiting for us to save them." Rarity then wrapped her hoof around Fluttershy whom stood next to her, the ordeal had been hard on her, a dash of tears making her long eyelashes glimmer in the sunlight.

"So if they couldn't walk away by themselves, maybe they were dragged?" Makers Fire stated, getting everyones attention.

"What do you mean by that?" Twilight asked.

"Think about it, neither of them could've moved after the crash and even if they could why would they? And think about where we are, the east side of the Everfree Forest, not exactly the Royal Palace is it? Any manner of creature or even Pony could have grabbed them, " Makers continued, looking grave indeed, the girls exchanged most worried glances.

"N-none of the critters w-would have hurt t-them," Fluttershy stuttered out, her entire form shaking. Makers Fire offered a rough guffaw in reply.

"Don't be so naive, I wouldn't be surprised if some beast made a meal out of them, but the lack of large amounts of blood or signs of actual dragging makes me doubt that explanation, no, something else is going on here," Makers Fire pondered, his worn sowed seeds of wrath within the six, even surprisingly Pinkie Pie whom did not smile.

"What do you know?" She said aggressively, astonishing all her friends with her wrathful tone and accusing glare. "Your just some washed up Royal Smith, how do we know you didn't rig Jason's flying thing? You were the one helping him build it, how can we trust you?"

"Pinkie Pie!" Twilight said in great surprise, Makers Fire laughed once more.

" 'Suppose you'll just have to trust me then, besides..." Makers Fire's tone switched to a dangerously serious one. "I wouldn't harm Jason, ever."

This seemed to calm the tension as Pinkie Pie looked away almost in shame, nothing was said for a moment and whatever might have been said the next moment was duly interrupted by yet another voice calling out a name. Derpy hooves swooped in and landed clumsily upon the ground, so desperately calling out her daughters name.

"Dinky!" Derpy Hooves called out distressfully, she looked as Makers Fire and the rest with her eyes strangely straightened as if focused. "Has anyone seen Dinky?"

"Derpy?" Twilight asked, in surprise. "Your daughter is missing?"

"Yes! I can't find her anywhere!" Derpy said in distress "She was meant to be home a long time ago! And she's nowhere to be found!"

Derpy was clearly panicking, her breaths short and shallow as her maternal instinct raised her stress levels, it was then that Makers Fire arose and placed a gentle hoof upon Derpy's back in a comforting gesture.

"It's going to be alright lass." He said gently "Why don't you tell us where you last knew your daughter to be?"

"She left a note, saying that she was going to play with..." Derpy's eyes widened and then fixed on Applejack and then Rarity "With Applebloom and Sweetie Belle! And Scootaloo too!"

"Were you aware of this?" Makers Fire asked them, they nodded.

"I new they where out crusading, but I didn't know they'd be with Dinky," said Applejack

"I am of the same knowledge, I also don't recall Sweetie Belle telling me exactly where she and her friends were headed," Rarity added.

"Nether did Applebloom."

Maker hummed slightly, absentmindedly stroking Derpy's back as to still comfort her, instead the action only seemed rather awkward and brought a tinge of red to the mares cheeks.

"Well, where do the girls usually play around?" Makers asked and it was Rarity who answered.

"When crusading? Well they usually explore near or even in the..." Rarities eyes widened and Applejack jumped in to finish the sentence for her.

"The Everfree Forest," she stated, Makers Fire nodded.

"Yes, and now I've spoken to Scootaloo before and whom is it that she admires the most?" He then asked and It was Twilight who answered this time.

"Rainbow Dash of course."

"And it just so happens that one Rainbow Dash was involved in the crash, a crash that could be seen from most of Ponyville and especially the Everfree Forest.." Makers Fire said thoughtfully, rubbing his beard with a hoof.

"So what your saying is..." Twilight said, piecing it together herself.

"What I'm saying is, whatever has Jason and Ms. Dash, most likely has Dinky, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo as well," Makers Fire concluded grimly.

"That's sound logic Mr. Fire." Twilight said, frowning. "But there's still no evidence to support the idea that Jason and the others have been taken at all." Makers Fire shook his head.

"On the contrary, there is,' he said pointed his hoof to a patch of soft dirt, where emblazoned upon the ground was a single paw print.

"Diamond Dogs," Maker growled. "Slavers, thieves, mercenaries, and brutes, I thought we drove them back to the hills." Makers Fire then turned to Twilight, determination in his eyes.

"I think it's time we got the Royal Guard involved."

Lupa Mine, Containment Cell 42

Flashes of colour that covered the entire spectrum, these colours were swirled together in great miasma's of rainbow. The Rainbow split into the six different lines of colour, each line arranged itself in a uniform fashion that lead into the distance, the separate lines where eventually devoured by a great black maw of oblivion. These colours took shape, growing hands, feet, and heads, they walked together in a progressive line forward with their heads down, men, women, and children all marched to their eventual doom while vultures of white and blue circled overhead, occasionally swooping down to impale a colour with their horns.

A blade, sharp and gleaming like a sliver of moonlight, it cut through the Rainbows, splitting them open, blood spurt forth and the beams of colour screamed in agony...

Jason opened his eyes, his vision focusing and re-focusing on the stone ceiling of the cave he found himself in. His back no longer hurt, that was good, yet it felt like a heavy piece of dead flesh was latched on to him, one that lacked nerves, like it was a giant callous. Suddenly the grey of the ceiling was replaced by more lovely colours, all the colours of the rainbow flashed in front of him along with a light sky blue and a lovely magenta eyes.

"Good morning Rainbow Dash," Jason said, attempting to raise his head off the ground, his effort was proven futile though when Rainbow Dash wrapped her hooves around his neck and squeezed him hard in a hug, pushing Jason's head back down.

"You're okay..." Dash nearly sobbed into his shoulder, despite the situation, Jason couldn't help but grin a little bit.

"Of course I am," He said, patting her mane, said mane was as rough as ever but was also matted together with dirt and sweat, Rainbows fur seemed to be in a similar state, Jason's grin disappeared and was replaced by a look of concern. Jason untangled Rainbow Dash from himself and held her away from him at half arms length.

"The question is... Are you alright?" Jason asked, searching Dash's face.

"Yes, I'm fine," she said, lies, but Jason decided not to press the matter. The two lapsed into silence for a moment, semi-awkwardly staring at each other, it became more awkward when they realized that Rainbow Dash was lying on top of Jason.

Quick as a flash and with a touch of red to her cheeks, the Rainbow bolted off of Jason and sat next to him instead, Jason sat up slowly, trying to avoid the violent thumping in the head that he had experienced earlier and while he succeeded in doing so, the apparent heavy-feeling of his head told Jason that if he exerted himself too much the thumps would return.

"So, do you have any idea where we are?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Sort of, one of the dogs called it 'Lupa Mine' so obviously we're underground, in a mine," Jason said, at his words Rainbow lowered her ears and a look of helplessness took over her eyes.

"Hey," Jason said, lifting Dash's chin up with his hand. "We're going to be fine okay? Our friends are looking for us right now and they'll find us." Jason felt a splinter of doubt at those last words, the slave's voice from earlier still echoed in his head.

'Better to accept the unchangeable reality, than to give yourself a false hope of a better one.'

Jason mentally shook off the mental ghosts as Rainbow was speaking again.

"Yeah I know, it's just... How does something like this not get noticed? How are these guys just allowed to enslave Ponies? I mean there was at least a hundred Ponies in the shaft they put me in! And there could be more! How does the Princesses not know?"

"You'd be surprised what can go under the nose of authority, they must have been at this for years, slowly accumulating slaves generation after generation, taking people from separate towns or those who are caught travelling alone."

"Still.. You would think that somebody would notice something suspicious, I mean these are Diamond Dogs we're talking about here, they ain't criminal masterminds."

"Maybe they're smarter than we give them credit for?" Jason said with a shrug. The two captives lapsed into silence, but a less awkward one, eventually Rainbow Dash shifted closer to Jason and they leaned on one another, lending comfort and support without words being spoken.

It wasn't long before the sound of padded feet on stone and the jingling of keys could be heard, the captives looked up at the cage door and saw the silhouette of three dogs at the door, it swung open and the scarred Dog leader and his lackey's from before stepped in.

"Come on Pony-friends." He rasped "It's time for speech-making."

Main Cavern, Lupa Mine

Jason and Rainbow Dash were practically dragged out of their cell and into the tunnel, there they joined the long line of slaves being directed down the shaft to gods-know-where. Ahead of them, Jason spotted the nameless slave from earlier a little ways in front of him, the Dogs growled and barked at them, shoving random Ponies around and cracking their whips threateningly as they were shepherded down the tunnel and eventually into a larger main chamber.

The chamber was lit with torches that lined the walls, around several more tunnels could be seen some of which were spewing out into the larger chamber, the amount of people that had been captured was astonishing, easily a hundred perhaps more. On the far side of the chamber a natural stone rise could be seen, like a watchtower or stage and Jason could see the Dog leader take his position up there, looking down upon his slave labour with an expression of great satisfaction. Next to him, stuck into the ground was a large, siege-style, heavy ballista, and it looked like the weapon was fully loaded and ready to fire, it was manned by three Diamond Dogs who swung it's sights across the crowd of slaves, threatening them with the fear of being shot.

The chamber quickly filled with the unwilling labourers of Lupa Mine, still keeping to their individual lines, Jason felt a tap on his leg and looked down to see Rainbow Dash pointing to something on the far left side of the chamber with a look of discuss, anger, and horror, and when Jason looked over he felt all these things at once.

Children, fillies, colts of all stages of adolescence being marched into the chamber with the rest of the slaves, like the rest of them they looked hurt, downtrodden, and malnourished. Jason felt the searing sensation of hot wrath boiling in his chest and head, but the a cold icy wash of terror as his eyes alighted upon three fillies he all too recognized.

"Is that..." He began.

"It's the crusaders.." Rainbow Dash confirmed. "Scootaloo..." The fillies hadn't noticed them yet and there was no way to reach them through the crowd or the guards, Jason turned his gaze to the Dog on the stone stage, who looked down upon them as if superior to those who he forced into his service, the Dogs eyes found Jason's and they shared a little moment of anger, rage, and contentment before it was interrupted by a sound most odd. Said sound gave the impression that it came from a gigantic bat of some sort, it shouldn't have been a hug surprise to Jason when that's exactly what flew into the chamber.

It was long, grey, and skeletal. It's skin was stretched tight over its wings and body and it's eyes were a blood red, the monster of a bat screeched again and flew over to the stone stage, landing next to the Dog leader, who proceeded to scratch the monstrosity behind one of its long ears.

"A-a Dire Bat?" Rainbow Dash spluttered "Fluttershy said those where extremely rare..." Jason studied the bat for another moment or two before it seemed the leader of the Dogs was about to speak.

"Hello Pony-Friends! It's good to see that not much of you Slave-Ponies have died recently! Our last death was some stallion who got a whipping one too many times, but it's been a month since incident!" The Dog cackled a bit "But enough of that, it is time for Work-Stuff! Group 1 is in Shaft 62 now, Group 2 is for Shaft 46, Group 3 is in Shaft 33, and finally Group 4m the Pony-Kid group is in the Sorting-Place, have fun, work hard, and obey Dog-Masters!" And with that the Dog guards corralled the enslaved populace into their respective shafts, Jason's group headed down a tunnel marked with a sodden sign that had a messy '46' painted on it, the slaves shuffled down the tunnel and came to a smaller chamber similar to the one Jason had woken up in originally.

One of the guards addressed them "Get to work Slave-Things, grab a pick and start swinging." They all obeyed without question and grabbed picks before making their way made there way into the shaft proper, Jason signalled Rainbow Dash to keep close to him as he followed close behind a the rest. When they entered Jason spotted none other than the slave he had first met in the Mine. Without another word the slaves began hitting away at the stone wall, Jason told Rainbow to do the same and she grumpily complied. Jason shifted closer to the Slave and swung his pick at the wall, but keeping his attention on the Slave.

"Hey..." He began. "I'm sorry about earlier." The Slave grunted in response and Jason continued.

"It's just that.. I didn't know how this place worked or anything really, plus I had just been kidnapped so I wasn't in the best of moods," He said and the Slave spoke this time.

"Well now you know, so you best shut your trap and work like your told to."

"Well the thing is... I don't actually know all that much, and that might get me into trouble later on, mind if I ask a few questions?.... Just to prevent a situation like that again," Jason pressed, the Slave didn't answer immediately he simply swung his pick a few more times before sighing.

"I suppose that's fine..." He said finally, Jason grinned.

"Good, now..." He said "First question; what can you get in trouble for?"

"That's pretty obvious, you know laziness, but there's also, resisting, speaking without being spoken to, not meeting the quota, looking at the guards funny, brawling, and finally insulting the guards," the Slave listed, Jason nodded while still swinging his pick to keep up appearances.

"Alright, second question; what's with that bat thing that flew in earlier?"

"What about it? It's the Slave Masters pet, he let's the thing fly around and occasionally grab
one of the slaves for food, other than that it don't do much but I know the Dogs love threatening us with the thing, if you try to go somewhere you can't that bat will be on you faster than a Dog on a dead slave."

"....Okay then, tell me about the 'Slave Master' what's with him?"

"The Master? Well we don't see him much, only in speeches like before and when he wants to vent some anger on us."

"Interesting, but what about-"

"Hey you! Pony-Friend Thing!" Came an angry bark, Jason turned to see a guard pointing at him and pushing through the slightly crowded tunnel and grabbed the Human by his upper arm.

"Dog-Leader wants to see you," He growled from under his helmet. "Drop pick, come with Diamond Dog." the Dog tugged at Jason's arm whom resisted the instinct to fight back.

"Of course," Jason said neutrally, dropping his pick and half hoping that it would land on the guards paw, but it didn't and the Dog guided him along by his wrist, Jason managed to lock eyes with Rainbow Dash before turning a corner, giving a weak wave of comfort before she was lost from sight.

The Dog guided Jason down the tunnel, the ground steadily rising in a mild slop which brought them closer to the surface. They came to the top of the incline and they immediately took a left, turning into a short tunnel that lead to a cell-looking room that was well lit by torches.

The Guard opened the door and threw Jason inside and the Dog closed the door behind them and glared down at him, Jason barely had time to look up and see the scarred grinning face of his old friend Snippy the Extremely Demented Dog before he barked.

"Grab him!" Like a good pet the guard grabbed Jason and hauled him to a kneeling position on front of the Slave Master.

"Your going to feel how much pain you gave Slave Master, Pony-Friend-Thing, Slave Master gets revenge time now," He said wrathfully. "We're going to break you we are, you will be my slave like all the other Pony-Friends." The Dog threw a punch into Jason's stomach, knocking the air out of him and making him gasp for breath. He followed up with a blow to the temple which sent Jason's head pumping and his vision swimming, the world dissolved into a flurry of blows that not only inflicted damage but reopened wounds, his back began burning again and his head was being boiled, his vision flashed with every hit and slowly Jason was being consumed by the blackness of unconsciousness.

As he was consumed yet again by the Void, a voice rang out calling his name. It was one he thought he never hear again and almost cried at the sound.

"Mom.." Jason slurred, before he once again was consumed by the darkness.

Chapter 15- Hope

"We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope."

-Martin Luther King, Jr.

Jason opened his eyes, roused from his slumber by the sunlight streaming in from the window above his head. Sitting up Jason explored his surroundings, he was in a small room with pale blue paint job, a closet empty of cloths lay to his left and in front of him an empty bookshelf lay against the wall.

Jason recognized the room although from where and why was absent from his memory. The reason for the empty closet and bookshelf also seemed justified but the exact details escaped him.

Seemingly of their own accord, Jason's legs swung off the bed he had been lying in and brought him to the door and through it. On the other side was a staircase and his seemingly self-controlled legs brought him down the steps and around the corner, into the kitchen. In the kitchen stood a women, her mere presence made Jason feel better as if a weight had been lifted off of him, although he couldn't remember why.

"Mom." He breathed, she didn't say anything. Merely sat motionless at the table, it was then that Jason noticed that he couldn't see his mothers face, it wasn't as if it was blurred out more like he couldn't focus on it completely. Every time he tried his eyes simply slipped away.

They sat for a few minutes, not in an awkward silence but certainly not a peaceful one. There was a sort of building tension that was leading up to something but exactly what escaped him. There was a series of heavy crisp knocks at the door that caused Jason's mother to look up, get up and open the door revealing the man behind it.

This man Jason recognized instantly, his sharp jaw, short light brown hair, and silver eyes. Dressed in a Canadian army dress uniform that was pressed, polished, and cleaned. A spitting image of Jason himself.

His parents exchanged curt words before his father switched his gaze to Jason, bearing no look of friendliness towards his only child. The man jerked his head, commanding Jason to come with him, obediently the boys legs moved him past his mother and outside to join his father. The sun blinding him with its harsh unrelenting light.

~~*~~

Sorting Block B72

The Sorting Block consisted of a large, high-roofed cavern. There were several entrances where the adult slaves would wheel in large carts full of assorted gems and crystals. The carts would then by emptied and sorted by type, colour, size, and shininess.

Naturally the sorting was performed by scores of small children.

By chance, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Applebloom found themselves sorting gems into the metal carts side by side to each other. Scoots gathering red rubies, Sweetie and Applebloom gathering green ones.

As Scootaloo poured a bucket of rubies into her cart, she glanced to Sweetie Belle and immediately noticed the silent tears running down her face.

"Hey.." The Pegasus said, placing a comforting hoof over her friends back "What's the matter?" Sweetie let go a small sob, tears continuing to flow.

"We aren't going to get out of here are we?" She said hopelessly "We're going to be down here forever."

"Hey, don't talk like that." Applebloom said from the other side of Sweetie Belle "We'll be just fine, we'll find Dinky and get out of here sooner than you think."

"But how?" The Unicorn asked "We can't escape by ourselves and nopony knows we're here." Scootaloo and Applebloom both felt a pang of doubt at her words, it was true. Nopony knew that they had been captured nor did they even know these caverns existed, so how could they hope for rescue?

The trio lapsed into silence, sorting their gems as they had been tasked. All three of them weighed down with the realization go their hopeless situation.

"If it makes a difference." Scootaloo suddenly said "If we're going to be down here forever, I'm at least glad it's with you guys." The other two fillies stared in astonishment at the Pegasus's heartfelt words.

"Don't tell anypony I said that, especially Rainbow Dash." This brought a round of giggles from the other two fillies.

~~*~~

The Royal Palace, Canterlot, Equestria, Wednesday 10th of April, 8:53 am, 2205 AC

Celestia sat in her office, behind her desk. Carefully looking over the days pile of documents in the few hours of respite between the day court sessions, there was nothing remarkable really. Increase taxation on farmers, reduce taxation on farmers, funding for architectural restorations, a request for armed escorts for the southern trade routes. So on, so forth.

The Princess put down the last document and removed her small delicate reading spectacles via her magic, rubbing her snout she sighed and levitated the nearby teacup to her mouth only to find it empty.

Sighing again she placed the cup down and was about to call for some more when she felt the presence of familiar magic and she smiled as the scroll swirled into physical existence in a flash of green dragons fire.

The Princess broke the seal and unrolled the parchment. Almost immediately she noticed that the words were not of her faithful students careful cursive writing but rather in a bland practical print.

Princess Celestia

Due to an unforeseen mishap, Jason our resident Human crashed on the far east side if the Everfree forest along with Miss Rainbow Dash. Upon reaching the crash site I, Miss Twilight Sparkle, and her companions discovered that both Human and Pony were missing from the area and I discovered prominent Diamond Dog tracks leading away from the site.

Taking this into account, I have derived that there is a Diamond Dog mining operation nearby. One that utilizes slaves as a work force as has been known to be a common trait among Dog colonies, it is because of this that I request a small force of Royal Guards to assist in the search and rescue of Jason and Miss Dash.

Makers Fire,

A thousand emotions, reactions, and thoughts ran through the Alicorns mind all at once. Fear, worry, concern, anger, and resolution as to what she was to do.

"Guards!" The Sun Princess called and immediately the Stallions that had been standing guard outside burst inside.

"What is it Princess?" They said in union

"Prepare a small detachment of guards and prepare my carriage, we are headed to Ponyville." The guards exchanged glances.

"If I may... Why your majesty?"

"It appears we did not drive out the Diamond Dog slavers as extensively as we had thought, now make haste."

~~*~~

East Side of the Everfree Forest, Equestria, Wednesday 10th of April, 9:05 am, 2205 AC

Twilight paced back and forth, her Dragon companion following closely trying-And failing-to calm the Unicorn down. Her four friends and Derpy stood around the crash-site in wait, Makers Fire shifted through the twisted wreck of the plane in search of salvageable parts.

Twilight stopped pacing and sat down with and exasperated huff, Spike bumped into her on accident but she didn't seem to notice rather the purple Unicorn stared at Makers Fire as he pulled out a piece of the plane. What looked to be a large metal spring, but it was twisted and deformed from the crash, Maker sighed and tossed the spring behind him it clanging against the stony ground.

"How did you and Jason make this thing anyway?" Twilight said to the smith "It's more complex than anything I've ever seen before."

"It was Jason's initial idea." The red Unicorn's voice echoed from inside the twisted chassis "He came to me requesting a sword and after that he explained that he wanted my help in some sort of project, to build something called a 'aeroplane'"

Twilight felt recognition at the word and after a moment of thought she placed the memory.

"I remember Jason mentioning something similar but they way he described them I thought they were suppose to be much larger and made completely of metal."

"He told me much the same thing but as he explained it, we had naught the materials nor the knowledge to built such a construct. It occurred to him early on that he had no idea how they worked, he did however understand the basic principles of flight like lift, thrust, and aerodynamics. I too understood these from my time constructing airships for the crown and between us we were able to half-build half-invent what Jason called 'a crude version of a real aeroplane'"

The purple Pony absorbed this info "Crude or not, it's more advanced than any Pony technology. Do you think you could recreate it?" Maker pulled his head out of the wreck, levitating a twisted piece of plate metal, he examined it for a moment before answering.

"No, I helped build most of it but a lot of the more intricate parts of the mechanism Jason built himself and I didn't see hide or tail of them." The smith examined the metal more closely before gesturing to it in frustration "What in Tartarus is this anyway?" Before magically throwing the part behind him.

"Still, if we could get the design behind it and adapt it slightly than we could revolutionize travel for Earth-Ponies and Unicorns who can't teleport long distance." Twilight tried hard to keep to this train of thought, it helped to calm her while they waited for the Princess.

"Well you can go ahead and ask Jason when he gets back but don't hold your breath. I questioned him about the same thing and he danced around it very deliberately, I don't think he wants us knowing such things." Maker sat back from the wreck of a plane "Still, you have a point. If this was just a crude example of Human technology imagine what other masterpieces they could be hiding?"

Twilight was about to say something but a shadow literally passed over her, the purple Unicorn looked up to see a familiar golden chariot soaring through the sky and being pulled by two white Pegasi in golden armour, it was followed closely by a carriage of more rustic design. They both circled around the area twice before coming in for a landing a few meters away the Pegasi unlatched themselves and the carriage emptied to reveal six more guards carrying halberds, the Pegasi were handed there own weapons. Princess Celestia stepped out of her chariot and walked purposefully towards the crash site.

Twilight bounded forth "Princess! I'm so glad you here!" The Sun Alicorn walked right past her student without a word, her eyes locked on a certain red Unicorn "Princess?" Twilight said.

Makers Fire heard that all-too-familiar sound of metal-encased hooves on stone and sighed "It is an honour to be in your presence yet again your majesty." He said before turning to face the Princess.

"Makers Fire." She said, the look in her eye bordering on contempt.

"Princess Celestia." The smith said back, a wry smile coming to his lips. The Sun Alicorn looked at the twisted shell of a plane that sat behind Maker and a flash of recognition crossed her face, as fast as it came it was gone but Maker noticed it.

"You know what this is then?" He said, the Princess looked back at the red Unicorn.

"Where are these tracks that you mentioned in your letter?" She asked.

"Other side of this wreck, they lead to the north-east." He said, Celestia looked to her guards "follow the trail, I shall follow soon afterwords." The Guards saluted and marched passed the crashed plane and towards the north-eastern mountains and where the Diamond Dogs were supposedly hiding.

Celestia let out a sigh and turned around to face her student, who was looking at her with slight confusion.

"I'm glad you and your friends are unhurt, Twilight." The Sun Alicorn said in a much softer voice.

"We're fine Princess but I wish I could say that about all of my friends..." Celestia took a step forward and gently pushed her students chin up with her wing tip.

"Fret not Twilight, we will bring them home soon enough." The Princess looked up to see the rest of the Ponies gathered in front of her. Celestia was about to say something but a large slab of metal clanked obnoxiously to the Alicorn's left.

"I enjoy a good pep talk as much as the next Stallion but we have places to be and a stubborn Human to rescue, if you will all follow me I shall bring us down to what I expect to be a very unpleasant sight."

~~*~~

Containment Block 42, Cell 24

Jason jolted awake, cold sweat matted his brow and his heart beat at twice it's normal rate, his brain registered three things. He was in a new cave, multiple parts of his body hurt like hell, and finally his ears were picking up a sound.

"Have pleasant dreams, freak?" Jason's head snapped to the left, a bad idea as his head thumped painfully and his vision swam. It took a moment to re-focus but eventually Jason could make out a group of five Ponies huddled in the corner, all glaring at him in suspicion.

"Well?" The closest one-A Pegasus-asked "I asked you a question, freak." It took a few moments for Jason's brain to process a response.

"No." He said "I didn't sleep well" the Humans gaze hardened "And don't call me a freak."

"Sure thing, freak." The Pegasus said nastily, earning a glare from Jason.

"Aww, don't look so mad. It's not your fault your a blatant freak of nature."

"I ain't a freak of nature, my name is Jason and I'm a Human."

"Whatever you say." Jason sighed heavily and looked around, this cell was identical to the other ones he had been in.

"Where am I anyway?" He asked and the Pegasus chuckled.

"Containment Block 42, it's where they put the... Troublemakers." There was a pause "That begs the question, how did you come to be thrown in with us 'Trouble-Ponies' then?"

"The 'Master' has a grudge against me, ever since I have him a nasty scar." Another one of the Ponies, a deep-voiced yet soft-spoken Earth Pony, spoke up.

"Don't call him 'Master' no one rules you, try to remember that down here." Jason raised his eyebrows in surprise at the words, before the Pegasus from before spoke again.

"So your the one who gave the mutt a scratch, not bad. That shows you can fight and fight well." Jason raised an eyebrow.

"What's it matter?"

"Well, as you can tell. We are not exactly fans of our forceful employers and recently we've been planning on an escape and you might be useful to us." At first Jason felt a spark of hope at the possible chance to leave the mine, but that spark was quickly engulfed by a familiar burning sensation on his back.

"Better to accept the unchangeable reality, than to give yourself a false hope of a better one.

"There's no point." Jason said bitterly "with my help or not, there's no getting out of this mine."

"Suit your self, but I for one want to see Celestia's shining sun again before I die." The Pegasus turned back to his companions and they began speaking in hushed conspiratorial voices. Jason sat silently and wondered where in these vast tunnels and caves Rainbow Dash could be, and if she was unharmed, and if she was scared.

The image of Rainbow locked in a cell, staring at the floor. Her colourful mane and powerful wings coated in a layer of dust, muting her colours to a dull grey. She was hunched hopelessly on the stony floor, never again able to fly freely.

A searing anger burned through Jason's body, replacing the pain and hopelessness. The Human looked back and the group of Ponies who were still speaking, perhaps escape didn't harbour much chance, maybe it would just leave Jason buried under the rubble forever, but the thought of leaving Rainbow Dash, free spirited, flight-addicted, Rainbow Dash. To waste away in these tunnels was painful at best and infuriating at worst.

"What's this plan of yours anyway?" Jason suddenly asked.

"Suddenly interested in freedom huh? Well take a seat and we'll fill you in."

~~*~~

The Diamond Dog rapped heavily on the bars, getting the attention of the five Ponies and one Human inside.

"Get a-moving, Slave-things! You all are working in the round-mine!" The cage door opened and the group inside got up and walked without complaint, with Jason in the lead. The group of five Ponies- three Earth Ponies and two Pegasi -in tow, most of them hadn't given their names but the Pegasi that had first spoken to Jason called himself Wind Rider.

They were lead through twisting tunnels when they arrived at a large rounded cavern, all around slaves pounded away at the rock, piles of assorted gemstones lay behind them and occasionally a filly or colt would come through, struggling to push a heavy cart and then loaded the heavy cargo before inching away again.

Without pause, pickaxes were handed out and the six of them spread out to different ends of the rotunda and began working, Jason swung his own pick at where the gems were allegedly hiding and recalled the detailed plan that Wind Rider had layer out in the confines of the cell.

Wind Rider sat back from the sketch he had drawn in the dirt "You see? It's a simple seven step process, anypony could remember them and we've been spreading the word for months now."

Jason sat silently for a moment "It's a plan, better than nothing. But your putting a lot of hope into momentum and surprise, what if the Dogs organize quickly? Set up a blockade or just collapse the tunnel? It's a huge risk and if you fail... We would all pay the price." Rider scowled.

"Look, if you've given up that's fine. But personally? I'd rather go down fighting for my freedom than live my life as a slave." The words rung familiar to Jason on multiple levels, in memory and on a base level.

"...You... You sound like a Human..." Wind Rider looked confused for a moment before speaking again.

"Is that so?" He said "Then maybe you should start acting more like a Human and help us escape from this Celestia-forsaken place."

The Human was awoken from his thoughts by movement in the corner of his eye, a cart was being pushed in to be filled. A small grey Unicorn filly with golden-blond hair and eyes, a tang of recognition ran though Jason's mind. He knew this filly, perhaps passed her when walking by the school in Ponyville or otherwise in the town.

He watched as she struggled to push the iron cart, the exertion and pain written clearly on her face. Jason frowned and he saw a small girl with that same pain-struck face, her auburn hair pulled back in two separate ponytails and her yellow dress spattered with mud from the ground and her own blood...

Jason blinked and shook his head, and focused back on the filly who had managed to move the cart into place and was beginning to fill it with assorted gemstones with great difficulty, it went well until she took more that she could handle and spilled jewels onto the ground, several of them rolling in different directions.

Quick as a flash an armoured Diamond Dog appeared and began berating her, brandishing a whip. Jason couldn't hear the words over the sounds of mining but it was clear the words were hurtful because tears filled the child's golden eyes as she pleaded with the guard, her begging proved in vain as the Dog yelled again and smacked the filly in the snout hard with the metal stud on the butt of his whip. Tears now freely fell from her eyes and joined the spattered blood that flowed from her nose and mouth....

Wham!" almost as if Jason had been hit, he blinked and looked back up.

The girl looked up at the three boys, her backside and dress drenched in mud from the puddle she had fell into, her nose gushing blood and her teeth stained with the same red juice.

"That's for your lip, bitch. Now why don't you clean yourself up and come home with me? I'll make it up to you." Anger surged through Jason's body and drove his voice.

"Hey! Dickheads!" He called "You know I hear they stab women abusers in jail!" The bully's angry face turned to intimidate him but faded away

The Diamond Dog was still yelling at the filly as she held her nose and cried, the Dog was brandishing the whip as if to hit the child again. Jason's pickaxe dropped to the ground and he took a step forward, but something else caught his eye. On the other side of the cave he spotted a Pony who was staring at him, it took a moment but Jason recognized him as the first slave he met down here. Even from a distance the Human could make out the look of disappointment and angry disapproval that filled the Earth Pony's eyes.

Jason stared up at his fathers cold, disapproving eyes. His face and chest still hurt from the brief struggle with the boys before.

"What have I told you?" He said, no malice or anger was in his voice. Only disappointment in the extreme which somehow hurt even more that his bruises.

"To never get into a fight unless you know you can win." Jason recited, the dogma had been drilled into his head hundreds of times.

"And it was clear that you could never win that fight wasn't it?" His father stated.

"Yes, but.."

"But nothing! You got yourself hurt and for what? The entertainment of some future jail fodder."

"But there was a girl! And they were hurting her! I couldn't just stand by and see her hurt!"

"What does it matter if she was being harmed of not!? You intervening didn't change her fate, only got you hurt. Your actions were pointless, it's better to just accept an inevitable future than to waste time hoping for a better one."

"I would rather get hurt defending someone than just standby and let it happen!" Jason's father shook his head.

"That's like sacrificing hundreds of men to defend people who are dead already, that's not how soldiers do things."

"I'm not a soldier!" Jason yelled.

"Your right, your not" His father said harshly "But you will be, if I have anything to do with it."

Jason felt lightheaded, he swayed back an forth on the spot before he shook his head and tore his eyes away from the accusing gaze of the slave. He refocused on the Dog and Pony show that was transpiring, the guard was slowly raising his whip to lash the offending slave and teach her a lesson.

The pain in his back, the thumping in his head, his fathers harsh voice crushing him, the accusing and disapproving glare of the Slave. His mind flooded with excess information, reality took second pilot and without a driver to take control. Instincts and sub-consciousness had to fill the gap.

Jason legs moved fast and automatically, in a moment he was right behind the Diamond Dog as his arm reached the peak of its ascension. Just as the guard tensed his muscles to deliver the blow he discovered that he couldn't move his arm and there was a pressure on his wrist that was blocking his blood flow.

Jason pulled the Dog's arm back painfully and nearly dragging him backwards across the ground to meet his outstretched leg, as the Guard tripped the Human twisted his wrist painfully and forced him to release his grip on the whip, relinquishing the weapon to Jason.

The Dog spiralled into the dirt but quickly recovered and lunged at Jason, knocking him to the ground and the whip out of his hand. The Dog wasted no time and delivered quick blows to the Humans chest, but was quickly knocked off as a certain Pegasus knocked him off. Wind Strider didn't keep the advantage long though as the Dog pushed him off and rained blows down on the Pony as he attempted to block the worst of them.

Jason had regained his breath and spotted one of the many gemstones that had been spilt to the ground, an chuck of Amethyst the size of an orange. Jason grabbed it and looked to where the Dog still held power over Wind Rider, that quickly changed when the Human cracked his fist-full of Amethyst on his temple. Shards of the stone cracked off from the force of the blow and the Dog slumped to the ground, blood trickling from his mouth and temple.

Jason dropped the gemstone and offered a hand to Wind Rider who placed his hoof in it and was hulled up. There eyes met and Rider offered his first smile, before spitting out some blood. The Pegasus trotted over to the dead Dog and relieved him of his wring of keys, Wind Rider's smile widened.

"Every journey begins with a single step..." The Pegasus brandished the keys "THIS. IS. STEP. ONE!" All the slaves around the cave chorused as one, their voices echoed through the tunnels. Signalling hope for hundreds of captives.

"SECURE THE KEY'S!" Wind Rider's face lite up with the enthusiasm.

"NOW WE SHALL ESCAPE LUPA!" With Rider in the lead the slaves charged down the far right tunnel, brandishing pickaxes, shovels, and with bloodlust written all over their faces.

Jason lagged behind, he walked over to where the small grey filly cowered next to the cart. He knelt down next to her.

"Hey, you alright?" He said softly, the filly's golden eyes glowed out from under her hooves.

"No." She said, Jason smiled.

"Yeah, I thought so. You took a really bad hit there, but you'll be okay." Jason held out his hand "My names Jason, what's yours?" The filly came out from behind her hooves and placed one in the Humans hand.

"Dinky" she squeaked, Jason nodded.

"Nice to meet you Dinky." He said "Now I have to ask, do you want to go home?" Tears welled in Dinky's eyes.

"Yes" Jason smiled kindly.

"Then I'll take you home. Stay close to me, we have a ways to go."

~~*~~

East Side of the Everfree Forest, Near Rambling Rock Ridge, Equestria, Wednesday 10th of April, 9:25 am, 2205 AC

With Makers Fire in the lead and the four Ponies, Princess, and Dragon in tow they headed in a north-easterly direction along a trail of distinct canine pawprints.

Twilight and the Princess hanged back with each other, both shared a desire to talk so it was only natural.

"How have things been, Twilight?" The Sun Alicorn asked, the lavender Unicorn paused. How had things been? She recalled the many conversations with Jason concerning both of their homes and races, she remember feeling awe and wonder at the giant graceful machines built by Human hands and minds that Jason described. Twilight remembered the same look in Jason's eyes as she lectured him on the the possibilities of magic.

"It's been... Interesting." The Unicorn said "Jason and I have learned so much from each other, he seems very interested in magic and it's applications and I am amazed at all the things Humans have accomplished." Celestia nodded.

"Yes, but... Has Jason been.. Happy?" Twilight had to think about it, she found that there wasn't much evidence in either direction. Her Human friend didn't smile much but did that mean he wasn't happy? The poor soul had been ripped from all he called home for Celestia's sake! She was surprised he hadn't broken down at this point and yet... Twilight doubted his well being.

"I don't know." She answered "He seems to be adjusting well but I can't shake the feeling that there's something he's not telling us, I mean you mentioned before how there are still Human settlements spread out across the world but Jason hasn't brought it up again he hasn't done any research or expressed a desire to go looking, a bit odd don't you think?" Celestia nodded on the outside, but on the inside her mind was working overdrive, had Twilight figured it out? Had she begun to make conclusions?... No, not even Twilight could guess such a catastrophic truth. The Princess hid her inner thoughts behind her placid smile.

"There's probably a very simple explanation, Twilight." She said "Jason is probably just appreciative about searching for the remaining Humans, he probably doesn't want to be disappointed about how far the've fallen." The lavender Unicorn thought about this.

"I guess that makes sense" she finally said "I would be worried too if I didn't know what Equestria had become over several billion years." Celestia let out a mental sigh and was about to change the subject when a Royal Guard stepped out from behind a sizeable rock to the side of the trail.

"Princess Celestia" he said, bowing low "We have located a large cavern that the tracks lead into, allow me to lead you and your party there with haste." The Princess nodded and the guard set off at fast trot, monarch and friends in tow.

~~*~~

"STEP TWO!"

"ACEND FROM DARKNESS!" Dinky, who was trying her best to keep pace with the swifter Human. Looked around at the call.

"What does that mean?" The small filly had to yell over the constant sound of drumming hoofbeats and war cries that echoed through the tunnels.

"It's a move order." Jason explained "It's telling everyone on the lower levels to move closer to the surface, to where the Diamond Dogs live."

"That's means us too, right?" The grey Unicorn asked.

"Yeah, come one." Keeping close together they followed the tide of slaves through twisting tunnels until they came to a series of inclines that brought them higher. The tide continued to take them until they arrived at a familiar scene, the dome that the 'Master' had made his speech, there scores of Diamond Dog guards awaited them with swords, axes, maces and whips. The slaves held no fear and charged right in, swinging wildly with there mining implements, carving a path to the stage-like formation where several Dogs struggled to load the ballistae.

The slaves pushed through and ran to the old artillery implement, it already abandoned by the fleeing guards.

"STEP THREE!"

"RAIN FIRE!" The slaves loaded the ballistae and aimed it, a hundred or so Diamond Dogs remained trapped by the condensed crowed. The ballistae was sighted in and...

"Come on." Jason said, picking up Dinky and slinging her over his shoulder, he attempted to make his way to the far exit. But the crowd was too condensed, all thoughts of mobility and escape forgotten as the slaves watched their former masters get their just desserts.

"What's happening?" Dinky asked as the ballistae was fired and it's string rang it's death song.

"Nothing, we need to get out of here, it's too crowded." Jason said, but a cry rang through the crowd again.

"STEP FOUR!"

"UNLEASH THE HORDE!" Jason shook his head

"What's Wind Rider thinking? The plan was to keep moving, not cram everyone in one room." Jason's outward thoughts fell on deaf ears as the tunnels rumbled and a crowded room became a moshpit when hundreds of fillies and colts via adult escort entered the dome. It didn't take long for Jason to spot his three fillies.

Shoving through the crowd and calling their names, Jason made his way to them. Applebloom heard his cries and alerted her friends, the fillies closed the gap quickly and nearly pushed Jason over with their hugs, all of them crying into his pants.

"Hush, it's okay." Jason said, patting each of them on their heads "We're going to get out of here, I just need to find Rainbow Da-"

The Humans words of comfort were cut off by an unearthly screech that echoed into the dome, Jason barely had time to look up before Scrat the ugly Bat came flying in and easily scooped up the couple slaves operating the ballistae. Landing on a nearby alcove to stuff their screaming heads into his mouth.

Right on cue the call came,

"STEP FIVE!"

"SCEWER THE WINGED BEAST!" More slaves charged to the ballistae and attempted to fire at the Dire Bat, they didn't last long as the shot flat out missed and the creature swooped down to pick up its McBatty meal. Inspired by the Masters favourite pet, scores of Dog Guards rushed in and began beating back the horde, clearing a path to the precious child cargo.

Jason watched another group of slaves be carried away before they could even get their shot off, no one had the courage to try and kill the beast now. The Human turned to the fillies clinging to him, and put down Dinky with them.

"I'm going to go over there for a moment okay? Stay here and don't go anywhere, I'll be right back." Alas, Dinky clung to his leg.

"Please don't go." She's pleaded with wide scared eyes.

"I'll be back in a jiffy, I promise." The grip loosened and Jason pulled free, taking one look at the group of scared fillies before braising the crowd. With his shoulder taking the brunt of the force, the Human shoved anyone who got in his way. He made decent headway to the stage when everyone ducked, the Dire Bat made a sweep and attempted to snatch anything he could. Eventually coming up with a lone Earth Pony slave who screamed for mercy before his head was bitten off.

Jason made it to the small ramp and sprinted up, no one remained up there and the ballistae remained loaded. The Human jumped behind it and slowly swung the weapon to face the giant freak of nature.

Its just a Crossbow. Jason thought Only bigger

The bat had noticed him and was swooping in for the kill, of course it didn't get it's meal. A giant bolt in your chest tends to stop one from flying effectively.

The dead symbol of the night dropped right in the middle of where the fighting was worst, the Dogs took one look at their dead mascot and turned tail. The Slaves charging after them.

"STEP SIX!"

"WIELD A HOOF OF IRON!"

Jason sprinted down to the quickly emptying room and to his Pony charges, Dinky hugged him instantly before the Human put her back down and beckoned them to follow him. They passed by the carcass of the bat when Jason noticed something; a small black uniform mark on its neck.

"Hold on a second.." He said and approached the body.

"Be careful!" Sweetie Belle's voice came from behind him.

The Human looked closely at the mark, it took a moment to identify it but Jason's breath caught in his throat when he read the numbers burned into the Dire Bat's flesh.

No. 647-8942-DB

Jason's breath came in fast and ragged. Numbers. Human numbers, how was it possible? What was going on? Jason felt a pressure on his leg and looked down to see Dinky's worried face looking up at him.

"Are you alright?" The Human took a deep breath and mentally buried what he had just saw, it was for later and for much older ears.

"Yeah, let's get moving. Everyone's headed to the armoury." With the CMC and Dinky in tow they flowed with the tide of Slaves through more twisting and turning tunnels, and without meeting much resistance they came to their destination; a natural opening in the caves that was the biggest room the've been in so far.

Lining the straight walls were large amounts of assorted weaponry, swords and axes mostly and the Slaves waisted no time in arming themselves. Jason ignored them and moved to exited, wanting nothing to do with anyone down there anymore. The exit tunnel lead upwards again and to another large cavern with several an extremely large exit tunnel of its own.

"A breeze!" Scootaloo said suddenly "It's coming from there! It must be the exit!"

"Then let's get the hell out of here." Jason took nay a step before Dinky gasped in surprise, said gasp was followed quickly by Jason being tackled to the ground.

"YOU RUINED MY MINE PONY-FRIEND-THING!" Pinning Jason with his knees the Dog Master pulled out an all-too-familiar combat knife and attempted to drive it into the Humans heart. Jason grabbed onto the Dogs wrists and it came down to a test of strength as the Human struggled to keep from being stabbed by his own knife.

As the blade slowly inched towards Jason's chest and sweat beaded down his face, his arms were quickly tiring, his back was in pain yet again and his head was thumping madly.
His vision swam and he began doubting a good end to this fight, that wasn't so bad right? The last Human, dying down here in the dark fighting for his own freedom, seems rather fitting doesn't it?

It's better to just accept an inevitable future than to waste time hoping for a better one

Better to accept the unchangeable reality, than to give yourself a false hope of a better one

The knife pierced his shirt and Jason closed his eyes.

I'd rather go down fighting for my freedom than live my life as a slave.. the Human eyes snapped open again and the knife retreated from his shirt, the Diamond Dog grunting with effort.

"You... You sound like a Human.."

"Then maybe you should start acting more like a Human" the weapon was pushed back so the hilt nearly touched the Dog's chest.

Act more like a Human to Jason's side the four fillies watched with fear at the scene before them.

Act Human Twilight... She was worried sick about him, not just him but Rainbow Dash as well.

Rainbow Dash... The image of her sitting in a dark cave, her wings covered in dust from long-term neglect.

ACT HUMAN! Jason yelled and pushed the Dog Master off of him, kneeing the canine in the stomach and forcing the air out. Jason twisted his enemies wrist and forced him to relinquish the blade to Jason.

Pinning the canine under his own knees the Human looked the Dog in the eye.

Then he stabbed the Dog in the eye.

Jason took a few moments to catch his breath, removing his Combat Knife's sheath from the dead pooch rather possessively. Wiping the blood on the dogs fur and sheathing the blade, the Human got up and looked to the terrified fillies. He smiled pleasantly.

"It's alright." He said "It's over now.." Jason walked towards them but Dinky switched that fear-retched look to the Human and took a cautionary step back, Jason frowned.

"Dinky it's..."

"STEP SEVEN!"

"FREEDOM!" Jason barely had time to sprint over to the fillies and get them moving towards the exit of the caverns with the tide of free spirits joined them in the escape.

~~*~~

Rambling Rock Ridge, Equestria, Wednesday 10th of April, 9:25 am, 2205 AC

The Guard led them to the west side of where Rambling Rock Ridge began, there a large cavernous opening dug into the side of a small hill awaited, flanked by Celestia's guards. Scores of paw prints and other clear marks of movement leading into the cave.

They stopped just short of it.

"This is where the tracks lead your Highness." The Guards said, Celestia nodded.

"Thank you, await my orders." The Stallion saluted and stepped away, allowing Twilight to speak up.

"That must be where Jason and the girls are, we should head in right away."

"Hold on Twilight, we mustn't go charging in without a plan. Now first we must..." Whatever the Sun Alicorn was trying to say wasn't heard as violent rumbling shook the ground around them.

"W-w-what's happening?" Twilight yelled.

"E-e-e-e-e-earth-q-q-q-q-q-q-q-quake!" Pinkie offered.

"No!" Celestia called "Hoofbeats, but....."

"FREEDOM!" Hundreds of starved stallions, mares, fillies, and colts. Charged out of the cavern some just kept running, others collapsed on the spot from exhaustion, most stayed around and begun cheering cry's of freedom and victory. Twilight looked to Celestia for guidance but found the Princess's eyes locked on something with an extreme intensity, the Unicorn followed her gaze and spotted the point of interest, her jaw dropping.

Jason walked slowly out of the cave, slightly dragging his booted feet in the dirt. Four fillies in tow, upon seeing their sisters/mother each of them cried and ran into the awaiting arms of their family. Jason just kept his pace a found himself right in front of the Goddess of the Sun, the look in his eyes-a dead and downtrodden look-was all to familiar to the Alicorn. She also could help but notice the heavy bruises on the Humans face and arms.

"By the way." Jason finally said "The plane didn't work." With that spout of wisdom, Jason passed out.

Chapter 16- Arise

"A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on."

-John F. Kennedy

Ponyville Community Hospital, Ponyville, Equestria, Wednesday 10th of April, 12:30 am, 2205 AC

The sheets were surprisingly soft although Jason didn't know what he had been expecting. He didn't move as he was currently experiencing a sensation of extreme fragility, as if the slightest movement would shatter him to pieces.

Opening his eyes Jason was met with the sight of a wooden ceiling which was illuminated by the open window to his left. The cleanly smell and soft bed gave clue to him being in a hospital. After staring at the ceiling and contemplating the meaning of life for a few minutes the Human decided that it would probably be more productive to sit up.

Letting out a slight groan Jason sat up, finding that he was sore in places that were not a part of Human anatomy. After some shifting of his pillows and blankets he got himself sat up and was able to survey the rest of the room and it was immediately evident that he had company.

Princess Celestia stared at him from the right side of the room, she was sitting on a chair and if Jason wasn't wrong he could of sworn she had been crying recently. They continued to stare each other down before Celestia broke the silence.

"The doctor said you would make a full recovery, the wounds were... Numerous but superficial and a few day's of applied medicines and rest will have you in full health." She said, Jason nodded and they lapsed into silence yet again before the Human finally thought of something to say.

"What happened to the slaves?" He asked "Did they all make it out okay? And what about Rainbow Dash?"

Celestia nodded "I had my guards gather up the survivors and they are currently being fed, healed, and questioned accordingly. Rainbow Dash is currently being treated in this very hospital and she will recover quickly. Although according to some of the slaves... Not everyone made it out

Jason sighed heavily "I guess it was too much to hope for." The silence didn't have much time to set in as Celestia spoke up again.

"I am... Sorry for what happened Jason, it's my fault." She said "In my neglect I allowed a Diamond Dog mine to operate right under my nose and then lead you on false hope that my realm was safe from such things."

Jason was already shaking his head "None of this is your fault what happened, happened and we cannot change that."

"....Alright, I suppose your right."

"Of course I am, now there's something else you need to know." Jason said, getting Celestia's ears to peek up.

"What is it?"

"Down there.... The lead Dog had a pet of sorts, a large white bat. I think Rainbow Dash called it a 'Dire Bat' when it was killed I saw something imprinted on its neck. Numbers, Human numbers were burned into its skin. You wouldn't know anything about that would you?"

Celestia sighed "I.... Didn't know that any such creature existed within Equestria, however..." The Alicorn paused as if thinking about her answer "In the past your people utilized many-a strange artificial creatures, whole factories were made to produce and breed them. From what I understand many of these creatures were not only designed to breed like any other animal but to live for hundreds or even thousands of years." Celestia sighed "It seems that ever after all these years the scars of their renditions are still fresh." The Alicorn's head dipped and she stared at the ground.

Jason blinked "Are you... Alright?" He asked causing Celestia to look up in slight surprise.

"Well... Yes, it's just that ever since you arrived the ghosts of the past have been showing their faces. Dreams come to me that my sister cannot guard from and a feel that fear again... That feeling of a large predator hunting me to my inevitable doom."

Jason frowned "Have to told your sister this? Surly you can have a talk about this with her." He offered but Celestia shook her head.

"She suffers as I do, I can see it. But she merely buries her grief under a guise and refuses to discuss such things while I.... I am not so resilient."

The Human raised his eyebrows, a sibling should always bee there. Or at least that was Jason's understanding of the concept. Suddenly he felt bad for the Princess, had thought of his father. Cold and distant, unwilling to shoulder the burdens of young life for his son as a father is suppose to do and he felt a wave of both anger and sadness.

"Well, What about me?" Jason offered, smiling kindly at the Alicorn who in turn just looked at the Human in pure confusion "I mean, I don't claim to understand completely how you feel but I do know that ever since I leaned what happened to my people... Well, it took a lot not to hate you. Heck it's still taking a lot, so I think a nice long conversation would be good for both of us and maybe... Maybe we can work to move away from the past."

Celestia's mouth hung open ever so slightly. She felt... Touched actually, this was the first time in a very long time that anyone had shown any interest in her feelings or offered to help. Even before Nightmare Moon her sister had been distant to such things, so this was a surprise. What surprised her more that such a tender and kind offering was coming from a Human of all things, Celestia tried to remember the last time she witnessed a Human showing any emotion besides anger or hatred and came up blank. This was a first for her.

"You... You would do that?" The Alicorn asked incredulously and Jason nodded.

"We both need it, otherwise we'll just keep on going like this without getting better. I miss my home and you can't let go of a war long since past, so let's just address them and have a talk over some nice hot tea or something." In spite of himself, Jason couldn't help smiling at what he perceived as witty banter coming from him.

With a strange warm feeling in her chest Celestia nodded eagerly "A-alright... But I don't think right now is the best time, this will probably take some time."

Jason nodded "Thought as much, so when would be good for you?"

Celestia though for a second "At the beginning of October there is an annual ball, the Grand Galloping Galla-" Jason snorted and snickered a bit and the Princess looked at him in confusion "What's funny?" She asked, Jason shook his head and gestured for her to go on. With the Human still with an amused smile on his face.

Mentally shrugging Celestia continued "Anyway, I was already planning in inviting Twilight and her friends but I can easily arrange for you to be invited as well. When the party begins to quell I shall have someone bring you to my quarters, we will have the entire night to talk."

The Human nodded "Sounds good, I look forward to it." He said and Celestia nodded before standing up from her chair. "Now, there are things I must attend to and I am sure the girls are just bursting to visit you." The Alicorn looked back down at Jason to see him offering his hand out to her with that grin of his adorning his face.

After staring at the hand for a moment or two Celestia cautiously raised her hoof and placed in the appendage. Jason quickly covered her hoof with his other hand and the Alicorn found herself looking directly into the Human's eyes for the first time, subsequently she found herself admiring the bright silver irises that his eye's sported, eyes that showed no hate or malice like she expected but kindness in its stead.

Jason smiled "Until next we meet, Princess Celestia." He said, before releasing her hoof. The Sun Alicorn simply nodded and walked out of the hospital room in a bit of a daze.

It would be almost an hour before Celestia realized she had touched what she considered the most dangerous creature in the universe.

~~*~~

It wasn't long after Celestia left that there was a series of knocking on the door. A white Unicorn walked in, her head was adorned with a nurses cap and her Cutie Mark was that of a medical Red Cross.

"Sorry to bother you Mr. Jason." She said kindly "But you have more visitors, should I send them in?" Jason nodded and the nurse disappeared, about two breaths later and the Humans world had become purely Pink fur.

"Jasy!" Pinky Pie exclaimed, squeezing the living hell out of Jason's neck and suffocating his face in her mane.

"Pinkie... Air..." The Human gasped and he felt the mare being pulled off of him. Twilight placed Pinkie Pie on the floor, took on look at Jason. Then jumped on his bed and hugged him tightly around the chest.

"Don't ever do something like that again! You hear me?" She said, squeezing him tighter. Jason nodded through a half-grimace as his ribs were rather sensitive at this point in time.

"Twilight, darling I think your hurting poor Jason here." Rarity quipped from behind the purple Unicorn "Although I trust you are well on the mend, yes?"

The Human nodded "Yeah, after a few days I should be fine. Right now I'm just really sore." he said and Rarity nodded.

"That was quite the fall."

"Fall?!" Pinkie interjected "That was more than a fall! He was all like 'woooo!' And then like 'look out!' And then he was all like 'oh shi-"

"Yes, yes. Quite so Pinkie Pie." Rarity interjected.

"Um... As long as he's okay I don't think it matters." Fluttershy said quietly. Jason looked around at the relieved smiles of the five mares, except one.

Applejack stayed near the doorway, her face hidden in the shadow of her Stetson which was pulled low over her eyes. Jason wondered what was the matter when Rarity's voice interjected into his thoughts.

"Anyway, we really must be going. The Doctor said we only had a few moments before he had to perform some tests and check-ups, come on Twilight. Let's leave Jason to rest."

The lavender Unicorn gave Jason one last squeeze before releasing him. They said there fair wells and made their way out of the room, all except Applejack who lingered behind. The orange mare seemed to consider something before turning towards Jason, here eyes in full view but her expression unreadable.

"I just wanted to say... Thank's for saving my sister." She said. The Human nodded.

"No problem." He said back. Applejack gave him one last look and the she was gone.

With a thank you lost in his throat Jason leaned back and relaxed, hoping that he could maybe fall asleep. Unfortunately for his slumber another round of knocking hit his door.

Man I'm popular. the Human thought as the door swung open. A beige male unicorn with cotton white mane and tail and a band aid as a Cutie Mark walked in and smiled.

"Good morning Mr. Jason, I'm Band Aid. Your doctor." The stallion said, walked to the side of the Human's bed.

"Now if your up to it, I would like to perform a rudimentary check-up."

Jason nodded "Sure, just do whatever."

Band Aid smiled awkwardly "Well you see that's the problem. I am not familiar with your species.... Human's was it?" He asked and Jason nodded "Right, anyway I don't know what is considered to be healthy in Human's so I'll need you to simply tell me as I go." The stallion looked hopefully at Jason "I'll perform a test and tell you the result then in turn you'll inform me wether or not it's a good thing."

Jason nodded again "Sound's good, go ahead."

Band Aid smiled more genuinely and lifted his stethoscope via his beige-coloured magical grasp and brought it up to Jason's chest.

"Alright so assuming you have a heart, where would that be located?" Band asked as he positioned the ear buds into his ears.

"....right here." The Human said, pointing to the lower left side of his chest. The Unicorn levitated the stethoscope over and listened intently.

"Ahh there we are.... Mmmm, it's slow. Is that normal?"

"How slow?" Jason asked and Band Aid tapped the familiar beat-beat pattern on the bed frame.

The Human nodded "Yeah that's normal, I guess Pony heart beats are faster?"

The Doctor nodded "Almost doubly so, anyway let's move on." Band Aid replaced his stethoscope with a mouth thermometer.

"Open." He commanded and placed the implement in the Human's mouth. After leaving it in there for a minute or so the Doc pulled it out and checked the red liquid.

"Mmm... ninety-eight-point-six Fahrenhoof, your very hot. Much more than the average Pony is that normal?"

Jason shrugged "Assuming 'Fahrenhoof' is the same as 'Fahrenheit' then yeah that sounds okay."

"Good, good. Now let's move onto blood pressure." Band Aid said and he magicked over a familiar looking cuff. "Usually we do this with a spell but the Princess explained how that wouldn't work on you." Doc explained "Luckily we had a few of these around for the occasional Earth Pony who's sensitive about magic." The beige stallion levitated the cuff over and with some directions from Jason, placed it on the Human's upper arm.

"Alright now just relax." Said Band Aid as he pressed a small crystal on the cuff and it began to apply pressure to Jason's arm "Tell me when it begins to hurt." Prompted the Doctor. Less than a minute later and Jason began to fell the pinching sensation of his bloodstream being cut off.

"Yeah that's beginning to hurt." He said and Band Aid immediately cut the pressure with a quick tap of the crystal. After removing the cuff the Doc lifted it to his horn, light flashed between the Crystal and his horn.

"One twelve over seventy-two, normal?" He asked and Jason struggled to remember the range of good blood pressure off his age.

"I think so." Jason said finally "Although it's been a while since I've been taught any of this stuff."

"You were taught medical knowledge?" Band Aid asked with raised eyebrows.

"Sort of, in school Human's lean the basics of how our bodies function. Later on there are optional classes to learn even more but a base knowledge is expected."

"Wow, exactly how extensive is Human education?" Band Aid asked with interest.

"Well, at least where I lived, you were required to attend thirteen years of school with another four to five years of advanced education in college if you want a half-decent job."

"..Th-thirteen years? Celestia.... What do they teach you in all that time?" Band Aid asked, his mouth agape.

Jason opened his mouth to answer honestly, then he thought he should spice it up a little bit.

"Everything." He said solidly "From how to write a poem to inspire through the ages to the origin of the Universe itself."

Band Aid was dumfounded "Wow, Pony education seems minuscule compared to yours... Maybe a revision of the system is in order." The Doctor shook his head as if to clear it "Anyway, that's all for now. I should get to recording the readings just in case you decide to fall from the sky again." Band Aid raised an eyebrow at the Human "You aren't are you?" He said accusingly.

Jason raised his hands defensively "Hey, one time is enough for me."

The Doctor chuckled "Yes I would think so, now do you-" the stallion was interrupted by a knock at the door and the nurse from before poked her head in.

"Sorry to interrupt Doctor but our patient here has another visitor and she was very... Insistent on seeing him."

"No bother, I just finished. But this is your last visitor Mr. Jason, you need your rest."

"Aww, come on I feel perfectly fine!" Jason protested but was shut up by Band Aid's death glare.

"I'm a Doctor, I know what's best." He said in very scary voice before blinking and smiling yet again. "Anyway, send her in. I'll just step out and leave you alone." Band Aid and the nurse disappeared out the door. It was not a minute when it slammed open again to reveal a very distraught-looking Roseluck.

"Uh... Hello." Jason said intelligently and the mare wasted no tine in sprinting to him, jumping onto the bed and hugging the Human around the chest in the way that crushed bones.

"Hgh... Good to see you to Roseluck." Jason gasped.

"I was so worried!" The flower mare exclaimed "I heard what happened and I saw all those a Ponies with cuts, bruises, and... And ohhhhh!" Roseluck squeezed Jason's oh-so-delicate ribs into oblivion.

"Ugh... Sorry... Rosy... But.... Could you let go of my ribs?" In an instant Roseluck released Jason from her embrace.

"Sorry!" She said "I'm just... Glad your okay." The mare looked away and Jason smiled warmly.

"So am I." He said and Roseluck looked back at his smiling face, her own lips tilting up in spite of herself.

"So...um, how long are you going to be here?" She asked, her eyes shifting away again.

"Probably only a few days, I wouldn't put it past a week."

"That's good, I'm glad your okay." Roseluck seemed to be extremely interested in her hooves "So uh... After your allowed to leave here do you want to... Um, get dinner sometime?" A tint of red touched the mare' scream coloured cheeks.

Jason smiled warmly, not actually catching onto the meaning behind the request "Sure, I'd love to." And Roseluck instantly brightened visibly.

"That's great!" She exclaimed, smiling widely "Anyway, I need to go. I left Daisy and Lily in charge... Again and I need to get back there"

Roseluck smiled bashfully "I guess I'll see you soon then?" She said and the Human nodded.

"Yeah, I'll be here... Lying down... Doing nothing." Jason said in an exaggerated amount of despair in his voice that drew a giggle from Roseluck. The mare gave the Human one last tender hug before dashing out the door with her cheeks yet again tinged with red.

Once out of the hospital Roseluck breathed in a deep calming breath and smiled before trotting merrily down the street and the short distance to her flower shop. The bell tingled joyously and Roseluck called out.

"Daisy! Lily! I'm back!" Almost instantly the two sisters popped their heads out from different row.

"Rosy!" Lily exclaimed "Where in Equestria did you run off to?" the worry was clear in her sisters voice and Roseluck felt a bit guilty. When one of their customers had casually mentioned having seen the resident Human being transported with haste to the hospital, Roseluck had left with only a vague reference to where she was going and had told her sisters to watch the store.

"I'm sorry but I had to see if Jason was okay, luckily he was and he even agreed to have dinner with me some time!" The last part was said with a sort of giddiness that caused Daisy and Lily to exchanged glances.

"Uh... Roseluck." Daisy said cautiously "Me and Lily have been talking and... Maybe you shouldn't be spending so much time with Jason."

Rosy looked astonished "What? Why not?"

Lily spoke this time "W-well think about it, you hardly know anything about him. Where he comes from or why he's even in Equestria, I mean I heard that his species is very rare and one hasn't been seen in a really long time."

Roseluck's eye's lit up "That's one of the great things about him, he's so mysterious that I want to know more! And even if you forget that he's so sweet and polite in just makes you want to smile and never stop."

Lily stepped forward "But he's not even a Pony." She said in a slightly hushed voice.

"So?"

"So, you can't... I mean Ponies shouldn't be with.. Non Ponies..." Lilly's voice trailed off at the angry look that Roseluck was giving her.

"How could you say something like that?!" She demanded "There are a lot of Ponies who live, love, and even mate with other species!"

"Yes but Jason is... I don't know, it's like I have this instinct that's telling me he's dangerous. Please Rosy, I only want to protect you."

"I understand that Lil but your worrying over nothing, I... I really like Jason and I want to get to know him better. You need to just key me handle it and then ask yourself why you distrust him, is is because of who he is? or what he is?"

Lily looked down in shame and Daisy didn't look too proud either.

"Sorry." They chorused.

"It's alright." Roseluck said with a smile "Now come on, we have flowers to care for."

~~*~~

Dusk had fallen and Jason was lying down in his bed, unsuccessfully attempting to fall asleep. Sighing quietly the Human adjusted his position in an attempt to entice slumber but his efforts were for nothing.

Instead Jason decided to listen to the sounds of the hospital as night fell. He heard the faint coughing of a patient somewhere and occasionally muffled voices would echo down the halls, a nurse walked down the hall. Her hoofbeats quieted as to not disturb the slumbering patients.

The hoofbeats stopped outside of Jason's room and the door creaked open.

Probably just checking up on me The Human thought but he second guessed himself as the door closed again and the quiet hoofbeats approached Jason's bed.

Then a familiar yet hushed voice called out "Jason?" The Human in question sat up immediately and replied.

"Rainbow Dash?" He asked and the colourful Pegasus stepped into the moonlight that was now streaming through Jason's window. Rainbow's right wing was bandaged as well as her left foreleg but otherwise she appeared to be unharmed.

"Hey, hotshot." She said, smiling weakly. "I snuck out of my room to see you, I hand to make sure you were alright."

"I am." Jason says "But are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm a bit banged up but it's nothing I can't handle. Once the cheering began I just followed everypony else out of the cave and back to our friends." Rainbow paused "I... I wanted to say... Thanks, for being there for me. I know I wasn't exactly handling it well down there, it's just.... I've never been really comfortable underground."

Jason nodded "I understand and it's okay, I'm just glad everyone made it out okay."

Rainbow's ears perked up "Really? Everypony got out?" The Human viably flinched as he remembered some of the more gruesome deaths of the slaves.

"As far as I know, yes." Jason lied, not wanting to put the Pegasus through anything more.

"That's great! Anyway, I can't be here long. If the nurses catch me out of bed again they'll keep me in here for months."

Jason raised an eyebrow "Again?" And Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her head in slight embarrassment

"Hehe... Yeah, let's just say I'm not one for hospital beds.." This drew a chuckle from Jason.

"You should probably head back then, we can talk more after we're both released." He said and Rainbow nodded, she turned to leave but a though seemed to occur to her. Rainbow Dash seemed to debate with herself for a moment before turning around again, trotting up to Jason and planting a soft kiss on his cheek. And then she was gone.

Jason touched his cheek on the spot where Rainbow Dash had kissed, suddenly he felt very tired and decided he would dwell on such things on another day. Lying back down Jason was asleep once his head hit the pillow, his dreams awaiting him with stories of victory and warnings of the future.

Chapter 17- No Rest for the Wicked

"Its not stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it."

-Hans Selye

Goldenoaks Library, Ponyville, Equestria, Monday 20th of September, 7:30 am, 2205 AC

The past five months had been mercifully uneventful, Jason had been discharged from the hospital with the worst of his injuries mended. The Human had moved back with Twilight Sparkle much to the thankfulness of the Unicorn, Jason had not been seen often outside of the library since. He was only really left the building in the early hours of the morning when Jason insisted on maintaining a regular exercise regime to keep himself in shape.

He stepped through the Library door now, panting slightly from his jog around town and the concessive push-ups. Jason bound up the stairs as silently as he could as to not wake up the slumbering Unicorn and Dragon that shared his home.

Jason slipped into the washroom and stripped off his grey t-shirt. At his polite request Rarity had graciously made a series of simple t-shirts to replace the dirtied and soiled green one that Jason had brought been wearing since his arrival. His pants as well were made of the Unicorns skill, being lightweight and close-fitting for rigorous exercise. Removing them and his undershorts Jason slipped into the shower, he pulled down the wooden latch and jerked it to the left, the magical plumbing shuttered for a moment before sprinkling warm water down on the Human.

Jason ran his fingers through his hair, catching the loose strands and removing them. He noticed that his hair had gained a considerable length from its usual military-cropped style, deciding he would let it grow out a little bit Jason grabbed the soap bar and set to cleansing himself.

After Jason had washed he simply leaned against the shower wall and enjoyed the soothing feeling of the warm water on his sore back. The cuts and lashes that marred Jason's back had healed well in months prior however the steadily lowering temperatures irritated the sore's but came as a comfort to Jason's northern blood, warm water helped with the sores.

Closing his eyes Jason came to a small realization: He had called the Library home. On a base level this wasn't very surprising, he had been living in the library for about three months now and even in the short eventful time the library had gained a strange familiarity and cosiness that outdid the cold and hard environment of his old home.

His train of thought brung him to think of his old home. His father who for better of for worse was probably wondering where he had gone, and image popped into his head of his father and Uncle Haydn arguing as to Jason's possible location. His father cold and stubborn and his uncle gruff and even more stubborn, the metal image brought a small smirk to Jason's lips.

His reminiscing was interrupted by a series of knocking on the door, Jason poked his head out from the curtains.

"Yeah?" He asked, his voice a bit hoarse for some reason.

"Jason?" Twilight's voice called "Just wanted to tell you that breakfast is ready, I made your favourite." Jason smiled slightly.

"Thanks, Twi." He said "I'll be right out."

"Okay." Twilights hoofbeats echoed away and Jason switched the water off, stepping out of the shower and towelling himself off he grabbed the fresh set of cloths that he had laid in the washroom before he had set out in the morning. A blue shirt and grey pants.

Jason gathered up his dirtied cloths and exited the washroom, throwing them in a wooden basket designated for his cloths before heading downstairs and into the kitchen. There Twilight levitated several fluffy pancakes onto a plate and poured a generous amount of honey on top of them. Spike was busy digging into his own stack with gusto, Twilight noticed Jason just as she was placing the stack of Northern Delights in the Humans usual sitting spot.

"Good morning, did you have a nice run?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah it was good, almost as good as these pancakes look."

Twilight smiled "I've been practicing that recipe you gave me, I think this is my best batch yet!"

Jason raised a critical eyebrow "I shall be the judge of that." He said in mock seriousness with elicited a giggle from the Unicorn. Jason smiled and sat down before his breakfast, grabbing the knife and fork that were placed there and cutting into the fluffy cakes.

Twilight watched anxiously, wanting nothing more than her pancakes to be perfect. Jason chewed purposefully slow as to build the tension and swallowed loudly, smacking and licking his lips with a pondering look on his face. Eventually he looked at Twilight who was biting her lower lip in anticipation of Jason's judgement, he smiled and said.

"Absolutely perfect." Jason said, bringing a big smile to Twilights face.

"Really?" She said.

"Yeah, your practice has paid off." Jason cut into his pancakes and ate another forkful, this time with must more enthusiasm. "Although" he said after swallowing "Honey isn't really what you would put on these usually."

Twilight's ears perked up "Really? What would you put on them?"

"Maple Syrup." Jason said in a slightly longing voice, Twilight tilted her head in confusion.

"Maple... Syrup?" She inquired.

"Yeah, it's like a... Sauce, made from Maple Tree Sap and lots of sugar."

"Do you know how to make it?"

Jason thought for a moment "I know the basic idea but I would need equipment that we don't have and, well, a Maple Tree and I haven't seen any around her so far."

Twilight shook her head "They're rare in Equestria, from what I've read you can only really find Maple Tree's in the Gryphon Kingdom."

Jason blinked "The Gryphons have a kingdom?" He had heard of the existence of Gryphon's before, among other fantastical creatures that inhabited the planet nowadays but he wasn't aware that any of them had a government or a functional kingdom.

"Of course, it's to the north spread over two islands with the larger one holding the majority of the land."

Island kingdom to the north... "The Gryphon's live in Britain." Jason said to himself.

"What?"

"Mm? Oh uh... Nothing, anyway uh.. What's the plans for today anyway?" Jason said, shoving thoughts about the father to his country and the Queen out of his mind.

"Well I have some research to do, but I head that Applejack's doing the summer harvest today. You could help collect apples if you wanted so something to do."

Jason shrugged "Well I have nothing better to do, so I might as well."

Quest Started: Apples, Apples everywhere
-Offer Applejack your help with the Summer Harvest

"Okay then, I'll see you later then." Twilight said with a nod before collecting the empty plates, setting them on the counter and trotting into her library.

Jason looked at the resident fire-breathing baby death-lizard and asked: "What are you going to do today Spike?" The Child of Akatosh looked at the pile of dirty dishes that had been created from Twilight's cooking and sighed.

"Chores." Spike said tiredly, Jason patted him on his scaly head.

"Hang in there dude." And with that the highly evolved apex predator left the inter-dimensional-reptilian-fire-beast to his fate.

As soon as Twilight heard Jason's signature boot's stomp out of the library and the door close, she activated her magic and levitated a thick ancient tome that had been hidden under one of the loose floorboards that Twilight kept around for just such a purpose.

She wiped away the light layer of dust to reveal the title:

On the subject of Human's and Humanity by Starswirl the Bearded

Inside her Twilight felt a bit guilty for even possessing the book, the tome was on the list of books banned by the Royal Academic Institute of Equestria and most copies had been destroyed. Luckily the previous owner of the library had been a passionate book collector and had possessed a number of banned books that ,upon discovery, Twilight had to unfortunately dispose of.

She had come across this one a month ago and had been awaiting a chance to study it's contents without the prying eyes of a certain Human. Twilight's intention was to learn the location of at least one Human settlement that may still exist as the Princess had eluded to but had been hard pressed to find any books on the subject of Human's, only a mention here or a footnote there. The most she had found was a chapter on them in her bestiary of possibly mythical creatures.

Twilight had been ecstatic when she came across not only a large works detected to Human's but one written by one of the most influential mind of the last era and so she had awaited her moment.

Convincing herself that this was all for a friend, that Jason would be brought out of his gloomy state if he was introduced back into his people. Twilight opened the book to its first page and read:

Human's, Humani, Humanity, Homo Sapiens, The First, Them who came before, The Forerunners, Golden Folk, The Old God's, Universal Master's, The Children of the Earth.

Many names they had, many stories to tell about them. Of the way they shaped the world for those who would come after and inherit their lands and prosper by their influence, this is the story of all the knowledge I have gathered regarding the subject of Human's and Humanity. Knowledge that has either been lost to the ages or destroyed by those who wish to forget.

Let's start at the beginning, the Dawn. Naturally, this story dawns in fire...

~~*~~

Ponyville, Equestria, Monday 20th of July, 7:43 am, 2205 AC

Jason strolled through Ponyville, waving hello to the few Ponies that were out and about at this hour as he made his way to the edge of town where the farms took over the landscape. Passing by some of the smaller fields that sported everything from carrots to cabbages before climbing a hill and looking over the vast orchard of Apple Tree's, each tree adorned with scores of ripe red bulbs ready to be picked.

Jason headed down the the hill and onto one of the many paths that lead through the orchard, apple tree's towered above the Human as he walked casually towards where he knew the farmhouse to be. Absentmindedly Jason picked an apple off a low-hanging branch and examined it. Perfectly ripe and an appetizing red, The fruit was free from any bruises or tell-tale holes of worms or insect. Jason wondered how the Apple family managed to keep their crop so healthy without any sort of pesticide. Shrugging Jason twisted off the stem and bit into the apple, the crisp tart taste folding his taste buds. He finished the apple within a minute.

Jason walked out of the orchard and into the clear where the farmhouse and barn were located. Outside Big Macintosh lounged on a chair, serenely chewing away on a stem of grain, with bandages wrapped around his midsection.

" 'Ello Mac." Jason greeted "How's the harvest going?"

Big Mac shrugged "Dunno, Applejack's taking care of the entire harvest this year since I went and hurt myself." Mac gestured to his bandages.

Jason nodded "I see, how'd 'ya do that anyway?"

"Pulled a muscle." Mac drawled.

"Fair." Jason replied, he liked talking to Big Macintosh. It was strangely relaxing and the guy was so chill, Jason often thought that the simple farm Pony was hiding a brilliant philosopher under his mellow exterior "Where's Applejack then?"

Mac gestured to the East crop "She's harvesting right now."

Jason nodded "I'll go find her then, stay cool Mac." Macintosh nodded and Jason took his leave, strolling down the path that would bring him to Applejack. It wasn't long down the path before the sound of trees being hit and their fruit falling from the branches came to Jason's ears, he turned a corner and saw Applejack watching her namesake fall perfectly into several wooden baskets.

Applejack wiped the beads of sweat off of her forehead and turned to a fresh tree, she spotted Jason as she turned and only spared him a cursory glance before turning back to the Apple Tree.

"Howdy there Jason." Applejack greeted curtly.

"Hello." Jason said in a warmer greeting, trying as he always did to thaw the cold between him and the farmer "Harvest going well?"

"Well enough." Applejack said, taking aim with her rear legs and kicking the living bark out of the Apple Tree. It shook and vibrated before releasing its fruit into the wooden baskets.

"Big Mac told me how your planning on taking care if the harvest by yourself."

"Tha's right."

Jason looked over the rolling hills that were coated in hundreds of Apple Tree's all waiting to be picked clean "Well you have your work cut out for you, eh?"

Applejack shrugged "I can handle it."

Jason turned towards her with slight concern "So you don't want help?"

The Farm Pony raised an eyebrow "Are you offering?"

"Only if you want me to help."

AJ shook her head "I have it covered." She said dismissively.

"Your sure?"

"Yep."

"Well okay then." Jason spun on his heel and started casually walking away.

Completed: Apples, Apples everywhere
Objective Complete: Offer Applejack your help with the Summer Harvest

"Wait..." Applejack called, stopping Jason comically mid step with his leg held in the air "You aren't going going to insist or tell me I can't handle it?"

Jason shrugged, still not turning around and keeping his leg poised "Only you know your limits, if you think you can do the harvest by yourself who am I to challenge you? My offer still stands though if you change your mind." With that Jason strolled away.

Applejack watched him go, he was nice for offering his help but she knew Jason doubted her. He thought she couldn't do it but she would prove him wrong. Applejack turned back to her tree's and began to buck them rapidly with a vengeance.

As Jason strolled back into town he was soon joined by a bouncing pink ball of both joy and barely suppressed destructive desire.

"So how long do you think until she cracks?" Pinkie Pie asked.

Jason looked up at the sky, watching several Pegasi position clouds sporadically to provide shade for passerby.

"I'd say she'll give just after lunch."

~~*~~

Jason was close.

Applejack cracked at about eleven-forty.

Jason had returned to the library after visiting the farm, Pinkie Pie bouncing away to do God-knows-what before he reached the door. Walking in like he owned the place Jason found Twilight intimately reading a large old-looking book with a frown of concentration on her face, occasionally she would jot down something via magical quill onto a piece of parchment.

Twilight didn't notice Jason enter until he cleared his throat, when she did Twilight jumped with a gasp of surprise then quick as a flash slammed her book closed and covered it's title with a nearby pillow.

Jason raised an eyebrow at the odd behaviour "What'cha reading?" He asked slowly.

"Nothing." Twilight said quickly. Jason glanced subtly at the parchment that Twilight had been writing on, noticing the long sentences that almost reached the end of the page, he turned back to Twilight.

"Okay then." Jason said, not really willing to pry at that moment.

Twilight visibly relaxed but tried to cover it by talking "Your back sooner than I thought, did you help Applejack with the harvest?"

Jason shrugged "I asked but she said she could handle it on her own."

"Well her and Big Macintosh have handled it in the past, I'm sure they'll do the same this year."

"Yes well, the thing is Big Mac pulled a muscle and can't work so Applejack decided she would do the whole thing by herself, kinda dumb if you ask me."

Twilight's eyes widened slightly "She's doing the harvest by herself? But she can't! She'll work herself into the ground!"

"That's what I said but Applejack's convinced she can handle it without anyone's help."

"Well somepony needs to talk some sense into her!" Twilight rose from her lying down position and activated her magic, levitating her book over to a nearby desk and placing it facedown, rolling up her parchment and levitated it over to join the book a moment later.

"I'll see you later Jason." Twilight said before trotting out of the library.

Jason watched her go before turning to where she had placed the old book, he stared at it for a moment before he turned away. It was Twilight's business and despite his curiosity it would be both rude and selfish to look through her notes, instead he walked into the kitchen to grab a snack.

Jason emerged from the library an hour or two later munching contently on an apple. Deciding a walk would be nice he set off, apple in one hand and his other stuffed into his pocket- an addition to his pants that had taken Rarity a ridiculous amount of time to understand and replicate -he made his way down the street, with both bustling Ponies on an errand and more relaxed strollers passing him as he went.

Jason turned a corner an came across a peculiar sight, it appeared to be a large seesaw that had been built in one of Ponyville's many squares that were used for a multitude of purposes. Even stranger was the sight of Applejack standing on one end of the seesaw yelling something that sounding like 'your welcome.' At a quickly shrinking rainbow-coloured dot that was Rainbow Dash.

Jason walked over to Applejack and studied her appearance, her mane was disheveled and dirty, large bags hanged from under her eyes and she had that crazed look of the sleep-deprived.

Applejack turned sharply at the sound of boots and put on a clearly strained smile.

"Hello Jason." Applejack said between breaths, Jason listened closely to her breathing and discovered that her breaths were short and sporadic. Jason knit his eyebrows together in concern.

"Applejack..." Jason said, crossing his arms "Your exhausted."

The Farm Ponies eye twitched "I ain't exhausted! I'm just... A little tired."

Jason shook his head "You need to stop this, it's not just unhealthy it's downright dangerous."

"Ah told you once and I'll tell you again, I can handle it! Why can't anypony understand that!"

"What everybody understands is that your pushing yourself too hard, when you said you could handle it I trusted you to know your own limits. Apparently I was wrong to do so."

Applejack grit her teeth and glared angrily at Jason "What do you know?! Your an outsider! You don't know me and you don't know how things work around here! You with your strange accent and words nopony understands! Things were just fine before you came here!" Applejack's eyes had squeezed shut as she ranted and released her frustration, to her credit it took her only a second to realize what she had said. When she did her eyes snapped open and widened in realization before she looked up to meet Jason's gaze.

He hadn't moved from his position, nor had his facial expression changed at all rather it was the unmistakable look of hurt that was poorly buried by Jason's efforts. When he spoke he spoke with clipped words that made it obvious he was attempting to hide both his emotion and his usually distinctive accent.

"Well, if that is the case then I apologize for bothering you Miss Applejack, I shall leave now."
Jason turned on his heel and marched away, not looking back.

Applejack's rump hit the ground as she tried to process what she had just done.

You told the truth. A small voice said to her.

Applejack looked up and opened her mouth to call Jason's name but he was long gone, standing up on her wobbly legs she moved as fast as she could. She felt the sting of tears forming but held them back, she had to apologize, had to, even though her words might be beyond forgiveness. As she went, she stepped on and squashed the half-eaten apple that Jason had left forgotten in the dust.

Applejack made it to Twilight's Library and burst through the door, calling Jason's name and then Twilight's. She was met with silence with only made her guilt build and make her more distraught, she ran out of the library with reviewed yet panicked energy and raced towards her farm.

Applejack bounded through the hills and into the orchard proper, she turned a corner and stopped at the sight she saw. Jason, Spike, and the rest of her friends all were harvest the apples and at a rapid pace too. Clearing several tree's each in the minute and a half she stood there gawking.

Fluttershy was the first to notice Applejack. "Oh dear, Applejack you look terrible." Fluttershy glided over and placed her hoof on the Farmer's forehead "Jason was right to get us involved, you could of seriously hurt yourself."

"Jason.." Applejack mumbled before stumbling, quick as a flash Rainbow Dash was there supporting her as she nearly collapsed. Soon all of her friends were there supporting her weight and comforting her but Applejack only had eyes for Jason.

He walked over now, boots throwing up small clouds of dust. He stopped just in front of their little group and crossed his arm's, a neutral look on his face but his posture radiating confidence as it always did. Applejack took this moment to appreciate just how dominating and powerful the Human could appear at times, at this moment with the lowering sun at his back and his tall figure it made Applejack fear the reprocess ions of her earlier words.

"Jason.." She began but the Human cut her off.

"Hush." He said "You are in no condition to be yacking, what you need is a nice long rest. Get her to her bed." Applejack complied to the guidance of her friends and soon found herself in her bed, she slept for several hours without end.

Applejack awoke about five hours later, still feeling tired but in more peaceful and less stressed way. She made her way out of the farmhouse, outside the orchard was bathed in the orange light of sunset and Applejack immediately noticed the lack of apples adorning her trees. Her friends were sitting on the porch, sipping on lemonade and chatting. She approached them.

"Where's Jason?" Was the first question on her lips.

Twilight answered "North Crop, he said he was checking to see if we missed any apples."

Applejack took a berth before her next question "When he cam to see y'all about me did he seem... Upset?" Since Twilight was drinking her lemonade she could only spare a confused look as Rarity answered.

"Upset? Darling, why would he be upset? Concerned is more like it, he was worried you would seriously injure yourself and so asked us all to take the work off your hooves."

"Why? Did something happen?" Fluttershy asked.

Applejack bit her lip as her guilt stormed in her gut "I... Said something I shouldn't have and I think it may of hurt him." Twilight placed down her glass and looked at Applejack with a serious gleam in her eye.

"What did you say?" She demanded.

Applejack's ears drooped as she quietly recited her previous rant with mixed results. Fluttershy's own ears drooped and she covered her mouth in shock, Rarity shook her head slowly in disappointment, Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped in both astonishment and slight disgust, even Pinkie Pie wasn't smiling rather she stared at the table. Twilight was downright furious.

"You.." She'd began "Do you have any idea how had feels? DO YOU?!" Applejack took a step back, she had never seen Twilight this mad.

"HE WAS DRAGGED FROM HIS HOME WITHOUT A CHOICE! EVERYPO-EVERYONE! HE EVER KNEW OR LOVED IS GONE AND HE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW WHERE THE REMAINDER OF HIS PEOPLE IS! EVERYDAY HE HAS TO DEAL WITH THE FACT THAT HE IS ALONE IN A STRANGE LAND AND THEN HE HAS TO DEAL WITH PONIES LIKE YOU SAYING THINGS LIKE THAT!" Twilight breathed heavily, her cheeks red and a small amount of steam coming out of her nostrils with every breath, she pointed towards to the North Crop.

"Go and apologize." She commanded, not sparing a look at Applejack. The Farm Pony hurried away, not sure if she was rushing to apologize to running away from the disappointment, disgust, and rage she had elicited from her friends.

She found Jason not by an Apple Tree, but by a Maple Tree. In the back of her mind she wondered when a Maple Tree had time to grow but pushed that thought out of her mind and trotted up to Jason. He stood at the base of the tree, twirling one of it's many red leafs in his hand.

"Jason." She said, getting his attention.

"Hello, Applejack." Jason said back, not turning.

"I wanted to say, I'm really-"

"Did you know." Jason said, cutting her off "That my home country, Canada, had the largest population of Maple Tree's in the world? And that the red Maple Leaf is the national symbol of our country, government, and people?"

Applejack shook her head "No Jason, I didn't know that."

"Well, now you do." Jason turned around, finally facing the Farm Pony.

"I didn't mean what I said." Applejack stated "I was just so tired, I'm so sorry."

"I know." Jason said with a small smile "I've heard worse, I forgive you." Stepping towards her and kneeling down. The Farmer's signature Stetson was gone, left in her room. Leaving only the mare's golden-blond hair behind. Gently Jason laced the Maple Leaf into Applejack's hair, just behind her ear with she simply stared at him a bit dumbfounded that he forgave her so readily.

"What was your home like?" Applejack asked.

Jason didn't hesitate "Cold, hard, wet, and uninviting. The people there were friendly but stubborn but I guess that's what keeps them all alive, in the winter is a constant battle and in the summer it's repairs to the roads and other things to prepare for the next winter."

Applejack internally flinched but put on a smile.

"It's sounds nice." She lied.

Chapter 18- Dance the Night Away

"I'd rather regret the things I've done then regret the things I haven't."

-Lucille Ball

Carousel Boutique, Ponyville, Equestria, Wednesday 1st of October, 4:35 pm, 2205 AC

Jason and five out of six of his friends plus Spike had gathered in Rarity's boutique at her request, apparently their Gala outfits were ready to be tried on for the first time and Rarity wanted to see everyone's reaction.

They waited in the living room for about ten minutes with only casual small talk, Applejack was sitting near Jason and the two had been engaging in friendly conversation for the first five or so minutes. The hatchet had long since been buried between the Farmer and the Human but the cold awkwardness was still maintained by the remainder of the group, particularly Twilight who hadn't fully forgiven Applejack for her harsh words despite Jason explaining that they had made peace.

Eventually Rarity made her appearance, bearing eight large dress bags in her magical grip.

"Twilight." She said, floating one of the dress bags over to her "Applejack. Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Spike, and of course Jason." The second last dress bag floated over to the Human along with a pair of tall slim leather boots.

"There are changing rooms for each of us in the next room over, I simply cannot wait to see all of you in your outfits!" With a confident air Rarity led them through a side door to where several curtained off cubbies waited.

All of them selected a cubby and slipped in, Jason felt a bit cramped in the small space that was usually meant for Ponies. Never the less he managed to open the dress bag and pull out his outfit.

It consisted of a pair of simple close-fitting black pants, a collared white shirt, a jacket made out off a light yet sturdy fabric, the tail of the coat reached halfway down Jason's shin's. The coat was collared as well and sported golden buttons along with swirling gold accents, finally the tall boots came on up just below Jason's knees and buckled tightly around his legs.

Checking himself briefly in the mirror Jason grabbed his cloths and walked out to find his friends had already dressed.

"Oh Jason, you look simply marvellous!" Rarity exclaimed upon seeing the Human. All the while Jason was thinking the same of the six mares, each of them was adorned in a dress as intricate and personalized as Jason's suit.

"As do all of you." Jason said "You really outdid yourself this time, Rarity."

"Oh please Jason, your embarrassing me!" A tinge of pink was on Rarity's cheeks from the complement "I only hope that the other guests at the Gals think so too, this could shoot my business into the noble theatre."

Twilight walked over, clad in a dark purple dress decorated with shining stars. The colour accented her eyes perfectly.

"The Princess sent these this morning." Twilight said, levitating over a stack of golden tickets "One for each of us." She floated one of the tickets over to each of them in turn "And one extra in case we wanted to take a guest."

Twilight looked around "Anybody have a guest in mind?" The five mare and Dragon shook their heads but Jason spoke up.

"Actually I think I know someone who would love to go." He said, this got a few raised eyebrows.

"Oh? Do you have a date set up Jason? I think a know who it iiiisss." Rarity said in a singsong voice. Jason rolled his eyes and grabbed the ticket, making his way to the door.

"Now you just wait a minute mister! You change out of your Gaia attire before you go strutting about outside!"

Jason sighed.

~~*~~

Roseluck carefully arranged the flowers that shared her name into the vase, placing each one carefully as to make a perfect ring of roses with talker ones in the middle. She stepped back and admired her hoofwork when she heard Daisy call from the front of the shop.

"Rosey!" She called "Do we have that order of Chrysanthemum's ready?"

Roseluck rolled her eyes as she walked over to the front desk where Daisy was sitting.

"No, Lily was suppose to handle it but she got caught up in a shipment of Lavender."

"We have enough Lavender! It's as common as leafs!"

"Well tell Lily that."

Daisy sighed and shifted the stack of papers that was in front of her "Tell me at least you finished those Rose arrangements for that wedding in Vanhoover."

"Of course I did, just finished the last vase."

"Good, maybe we'll be able to buy ourselves food and pay taxes." Daisy said in bitter sarcasm. Rose giggled a bit at her sister before the bell on the front door jingled and Daisy's face darkened slightly, announcing who had just walked in.

"Hey Rose." Jason said with a smile, Roseluck blushed and frantically tried to straighten her mane.

"Oh hey Jason, what brings you around?" The flower mare asked, feinting casualness.

"Well, I told you how I was invited to the Grand Galloping Gala, yeah?"

"Yes you did, I'm still really jealous. Oh how great it would be to Canterlot!"

"Weeeel..." Jason said slyly "Here's your chance then." Jason pulled out the golden ticket and held it out to Roseluck.

Roseluck couldn't quite process the information presented to her at first but eventually she realized that the golden ticket in front of her granted access to the Grand Galloping Galla.

"Y-you mean that... That I can... Go... Grand Galloping Galla... With you..." Rose stuttered with her eyes wide.

"Mmmm, that would be a yes on both parts." Jason said, smirking slightly. He glanced towards where Daisy was and saw that her jaw had dropped and her eyes were filled with astonishment, Jason's smirk grew wider as he looked back at Roseluck and saw that she had a steadily growing smile of her own.

Finally Roseluck decided that the appropriate reaction to the situation was to let out a screech of joy that went along the lines of 'EEEEEEEEEEHEEEHEHEEEEE!' Then prance around the store like an excited schoolgirl.

"I'm going to the Galla!" She chanted "I'm going to the Gala! I'm going to the Gala! I'm going to the Gala! You hear that Daisy?! I'm going to the Gala! This is a dream come true!"

Jason smiled and called "We're leaving at five-thirty, the Gala begins at six-thirty. Just arrive at Rarity's Boutique around that time, see you then." Jason looked at Daisy "Repeat that to her for me, I don't think she heard all of that."

Neither did Daisy but Jason left her in a dumbfounded silence anyway. It was only until Jason was well away from the flower shop that he realized that he forgot to tell Roseluck about his prearranged meeting with Princess Celestia that would take up the end half of the night, he mentally shrugged and decided to tell Rose later.

~~*~~

Carousel Boutique, Ponyville, Equestria, Wednesday 1st of October, 5:24 pm, 2205 AC

Jason had arrived back at the boutique and was quickly directed to Rarity's washroom by the Unicorn herself. He took a quick shower, washing himself to perfection. As a last thought he slicked back his hair- which had reached just past his ears in the past weeks -down the back of his head and away from his head, drying it like that so it remained slicked back.

When he was dry Jason pulled on his Galla outfit and walked out to meet with the six mares and Spike who was adorned in the top-half of a tuxedo and a top-hat. Rarity spotted him and trotted over with her horn alight, not soon after she levitated over Jason's sword however it was lacking its sheath.

"Hold this for a moment." Rarity said and Jason grabbed the hilt, too surprised to say anything. Rarity returned with a long leather tube-a sheath-it was glossy and had the same style of intricate golden swirls that his coat had.

"Someone of your reputation should always carry a blade with them, go on, clip it on." Rarity pushed the sheath into Jason's hands. After studying it for a moment he sheathed his sword-a perfect fit-and clipped it to his belt, it rested comfortably at his side and was slightly covered by the tail of his coat.

"When did you have time to make this?" Jason asked.

"Oh the thought occurred to me when I was designing your outfit, Twilight was kind enough to send me the measurements of the blade while you were away on morning."

"Well... Alright then.." A thought occurred to Jason and he retrieved his knife from where he had dumped his day cloths.

"I don't suppose you have a sheath for this?" Jason asked, holding up the combat knife.

Rarity pursed her lips "I'm afraid I don't, you always carry it with you and I don't really have time to make another..."

Jason smiled "It's okay, I'll just leave it behind."

Rarity nodded her understanding and walked off to adjust a few things on the girls dresses, when her back was turned Jason subtly clipped the knife to the back of his belt where it would be hidden by the tail of his coat.

They stood around for another minute or two, discussing their plans for the Gala. Rarity was excited to meet her Prince of sorts, convinced that her true love awaited her in Canterlot. Twilight wanted to spend the night talking to Princess Celestia- Jason decided not to tell her that he would be doing just that for the majority of the night -Fluttershy was going to make sone more animal friends in the Canterlot gardens, Applejack was going to boost popularity for her farms products by running a stand and Rainbow Dash was going to hang out with the famous stunt flying team- The Wonderbolt's.

They all had high hopes for the night, so Jason's inherit senses told him flat out that it was all down hill from here.

A knock came from the door and Rarity opened it, Jason turned to see the newcomer and his jaw dropped.

Roseluck stood there in a jaw-dropping dress, the tail was an offshoot colour of her rose red mane. Her front hooves were in a pair of red slippers with intricate red vine designs that swirled up her legs slightly, her bang was swept back farther with the rest of her mane and a single rose was laced behind her right ear.

Rose trotted in and spotted Jason, her own jaw dropped slightly at the sight if him but she composed herself much more quickly than Jason.

"Hey." She said when she reached him "You look... Amazing."

Jason nodded dumbly "You look beautiful." He stated, getting a blush and smile out of Roseluck which got Jason smiling as well. He glanced towards the other mares in the room and noticed that Rarity and Fluttershy were looking at him and Rose with knowing looks while Rainbow Dash was pointedly looking in the opposite direction.

Rarity cleared her throat in the mist ladylike manner, getting everyone's attention.

"Sorry to interrupt everypony but it is time for us to make way to Canterlot, our ride is waiting outside."

Spike held the door for everyone as they exited the boutique, outside was a fancy looking wooden carriage that was decorated in layers of black lacker, two Royal Guards who were armoured in the standard polished golden plates.

Jason raised an eyebrow at the fancy transportation "How was this arranged?" He asked no one in particular.

"Princess Celestia sent it, she thought that we should arrive in style." Twilight answered, climbing into the carriage. The carriage was big enough to fit all of them but after Jason helped Roseluck climb in he bid them a good ride before closing the door and joining Spike in the drivers bench.

The Spawn of Akatosh nodded his greeting before whipping the reins.

"Away to Canterlot!" He called happily, the guards didn't move. Rather they both looked at Spike with the most offended glare Jason had seen in his life.

"Excuse me?" One said in a dangerous voice.

"Uh... Hehe... Let's go?.... Please?" Spike asked quietly, the stallions snorted in unison before slowly trotting along their way.

Spike let out a slight sigh of relief as Jason started up a conversation.

"So is this your first time to the Gala?" Jason asked the Giga Lizard.

"Yeah, I mean up until recently neither Twilight or me have been old enough to attend and the Princess wasn't going to invite children to a high-class Gala."

Jason nodded his understanding and the lapsed into silence for a few seconds, before something occurred to him.

"Spike." He said to the Fire Drake "How old is Twilight?" Spike blinked and thought for a moment.

"Um, seventeen I think?"

"And she living by herself? And in the employment of the government no less?"

"Uh yeah? Is that weird?"

"It is for me, Human's don't leave their parents until we're eighteen usually and we don't get a real job until then either."

Spike looked confused "Ponies leave home at twelve dude."

"....Great, now I feel immature."

They lapsed into another silence, only the sound of the guards hooves to listen to.

"So what do you gents plan on doing this evening?" Jason called to the two Guards pulling the carriage. They exchanged glances before one answered.

"We aren't invited to the Gala so I planned on going to a bar or something, I heard about thus one place in the down-streets called 'The Staggering Stallion' apparently they serve the stronger stuff that higher end places don't give."

The stallions companion snorted "Good luck buying a drink when your coin purse has been swept away, the down streets are full of criminal scum."

The other guard shrugged "Nopony would dare pickpocket a Royal Guard." He said in a superior voice, his friend rolled his eyes.

"Well I'm hoping I won't get stared at the entire time I'm there." Jason added.

The guards exchanged uneasy glances "Uhhhh, sorry mate but you'll probably be harassed by every noble and his mother. Everypony will stare at you and the nobles will probably try to make a friend of you because they seek some advantage of it."

"Thanks for the boost of confidence, loyal protector of Equestria." Jason said, dramatically slumping his shoulders and putting his head down. The Wyrm of Fire to his left patted his back in sympathy.

"You'll be fine." He said unconvincingly. Jason opened his mouth to retort but a muffled fit of giggles came from inside the carriage.

"Wonder what they're talking about?" The Child of Akatosh wondered out loud.

"Girl stuff." Jason mumbled.

"Girls stuff?" Spike inquired.

"Girl stuff." The two guards confirmed in unison.

"What kind of girl stuff?" The Death Reptile asked.

"That of which is not meant for the ears of men." Jason said in a very serious voice.

~~*~~

"He said what?!" Twilight asked between fits of giggles.

"H-he said, in that accent too. 'No flower may poke this fair lady with its thorn!' Then he talked the rose out of its pot, I still don't know how he managed it, stomped it into the ground a few time before continuing like nothing ever happened!" Roseluck said, laughing.

The mares collectively giggled at the story of Jason's antics.

"Oh I had no idea that Jason was so.... Ridiculous!" Rarity said, giggling in a filly-like fashion.

"He's like that all the time... At least around me." Roseluck said. The other mares had recovered from their giggle fits, and were giving Rose very knowing and sly looks.

"He's always trying to make you laugh right Roseluck?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Yeah, Jason is strongly against any seriousness for long periods of time. He's told me several times on end."

Rarity leaned forward a bit "Oh, do go on darling!" She pressed.

"Go on about what?"

"What he's like of course! How does Jason act around you? I mean besides you Twilight is the only one here who talks to him on a daily basis and only then of factual things about his kind."

"Hey!" Twilight said "I learn a lot of interesting things about Human's! He's told be a lot about how they've invented these things called 'engines' and-"

"Yes, yes dear." Rarity said, cutting her off "But what does he tell you Roseluck?"

"Oh, well." Rose said, a little embarrassed to be sharing Jason's words with others "Mostly he tells me stories."

Rarity cocked her head "Stories?"

Rose nodded "Yeah, back in his.. Old home, his father would bring him out on trips in the woods all the time. Most of the time just the two of them but sometimes his Uncle would come too and those ones were always really funny."

"Wait, Jason told you about his father? He never told me!" Twilight said with a bit of a pout.

"Well, Did you ever ask?" Roseluck inquired.

"Well no, I mean, his family and old life always seemed like a sensitive subject, I didn't want to upset him."

Rise shook her head "I think that's the wrong approach, I think he actually want to talk but no one will. I think... I think he bottles it up, keeps it inside you know?"

"Oh, dear." Rarity said "I never realized, no wonder he always seems to be saddened under his smiles."

"Yeah! He smiles at me but they aren't super happy smiles! Only sorta-happy smiles! That's not good enough!" Pinkie ranted.

"Yeah, it's sad." Rose said, looking at the wooden wall where on the other side she knew Jason was sitting "I try by talking to him all the time about his old life and his family but I can't really know how he feels, I don't think anypony can."

~~*~~

Princess Celestia rubbed the bridge of her nose slightly, already she could sense the headache she was bound to have by the end of the night. There was one bright point she was looking forward to though and it surprised her that she felt anticipation towards it.

Celestia came out of a side door and into the ball room of the castle, red a gold decorations hung from the ceiling and pillars and tables of food had been placed about by the kitchen staff. The Princess sat down on the large flat cushion that would be her spot for at least three hours as she greeted nobles and other assorted guests.

Two guards appeared out of a separate door, they marched to either side of the small rise that Celestia was on and stood at attention there.

Celestia smile "At-ease the both of you, it's going to be a long night, too long to be standing there at attention." The guard to her right obeyed and relaxed his stance, the other Guardspony though- seemingly a younger one -seemed a bit hesitant and looked at the Princess questioningly.

"First Gala I presume?" Celestia said to the stallion on question.

"Y-yes your majesty." The Guard replied, flushed by the fact that his ruler was addressing him.

"You'll find that it gets tedious about halfway through, so there is no need to strain yourself by standing stiff all night."

The guard seemed to understand and relaxed, Celestia sighed a bit and adjusted her posture. Those three hours couldn't go past fast enough.

~~*~~

As the carriage pulled around a bend Canterlot came into view, Jason's breath was taken away at the sight. He had seen the city from a distance before as it was usually in view but that was nothing in caparison to it up close. Tall spires made of white stone reached high into the sky, both glamorous and more humble buildings made of the same material sat close together throughout the city, and the Palace itself had balcony's made of gold and rooftops made of silver. With the setting sun emblazoned behind the city, it looked like an image straight out of a fantasy.

They came up a slop to the entrance to the city, a tall marble arch with a golden barred gate stood in their path. Two Unicorn Royal Guards flanked the gate, carrying spears in their magical grip.

"Halt." One of them called as they approached, they carriage stopped just short of the guards. "Here for the Gala?" The Guardspony asked his compatriot who pulled the cart, the other stallion nodded and the two gatekeepers pulled their spears free.

"Have a nice-what in Celestia's name is that?" The Gatekeeper had noticed Jason as was training his spear level with where the Human was sitting.

Jason frowned "My name is Jason, I was invited to this Gala by Princess Celestia."

The Gatekeeper seemed surprised that Jason could talk, but quickly recovered his serious expression "Show your ticket then."

Jason sighed slightly and pulled the ticket out of his coat pocket, the Gatekeeper grabbed it with his magic and brought the ticket level with his eyes. He read it quickly, casting a subtle spell at the same time to verify its legitimacy.

"Apologies, sir." The Gatekeeper said in a calmer tone, levitating the ticket back to Jason and pulled his spear back as well "It's just your appearance is... Odd and we had to take precautions, I apologies for the inconvenience."

Jason waved the apology aside "It's no trouble, may we proceed?"

"Of course." The gate swung open speedily and the carriage proceeded through, the dirt road transitioning to the stone street as buildings began appearing on either side of them.

Few Ponies walked the streets at this hour, those who did seemed to be going in the same direction as the carriage and were all dressed in high-budget wardrobes. As the building steadily increased in size and land value, the palace came into view again, being even more impressive and beautiful up close.

The Guards pulled the carriage through the main gate and to the side where they stopped and immediately began unlatching themselves. Jason and Spike hopped down and the Human opened the door for the mares, helping each one down with an offered hand. Roseluck came out first but kept close to Jason's leg when they got under way, brushing against him every now and again.

The group climbed the stairs and into the main hall, pillar lined the sides and banners of red and gold hung from the ceiling. Already the hall was busy with nobles abc other guests who were milling about talking or sampling food at one of the many food tables. Some were lined up and facing the far end where, at the stop of a set of a few stairs, Princess Celestia sat greeting each of them in turn.

Jason looked at her and Celestia seemed to notice, she looked up from the guest she had been greeting and found Jason in the ground. Their eyes met and Celestia made an almost imperceptible jerk of her head, the message was clear, Come over here.

"Come on, let's go say hello to the Princess, she did invite us after all." Jason said, Roseluck nodded, a serene smile was plastered on her face. They walked towards the line and the rest of the mares went off on their own path.

The line wasn't long, they only had to wait for two Ponies to greet the Princess before Jason and Roseluck got there. Rose immediately dropped into a bow but Jason only smiled and gave a nod of greeting.

"I am glad you could come, Jason." Celestia said, as Roseluck stood up from her bow and gave Jason a confused look. The Princess noticed Roseluck and smiled warmly.

"I don't believe we have met." Celestia said, Jason spoke up.

"Sorry, this is Roseluck, I invited her here with me."

"Really?" Celestia said, noticing how close the mare kept to Jason, a sly smile came into her lips "I see." She said cryptically.

Jason looked confused but decided to just go with it, saying their farewells Jason and Rose
took to their leave. They walked over to one side and Jason turned to Rose.

"So what do you want to do first Rose?" He asked, the mare's eye lighted up and locked onto the centre of the hall, the dance floor. Already soothing string music was echoing off the halls from the small orchestra in the far corner.

"Well I was thinking-"

"Jason, darling!" Rarity's voice called, cutting off whatever Roseluck was going to say. Jason turned to see Rarity approaching, leading a rather high-class looking make Unicorn behind her. The stallion was dressed in a quality vest and tie and he sported an admirable twirled moustache on his lip.

"I wanted to introduce somepony to you." Rarity said when she reached him "This is Fancy Pants, he owns some of the most bountiful mining and archaeological sites across the continent. But more importantly he's one of the most respected aristocrats in Canterlot!" Rarity batted her eyelashes lightly at the stallion who gave a smile, although it seemed a bit strained, Fancy Pants turned to Jason with a more genuine smile and offered his hoof.

"Good to meet you, Jason." He said.

"And you." Jason said politely, shaking the stallions hoof.

"I must say." Fancy said, dropping his hoof "It is quite an honour to meet one of the fabled Human's of old."

Jason raised his eyebrows "Do you know a lot about my kind?"

"Sadly no, I only know what I and the professors from the Institute have been able to divulge from what ruins and artifacts that we have found."

Jason was about to respond but Rarity cut him off, she had a bad habit of doing that.

"Well it seems you two have hit it off, I'll take my leave for now. But you still owe me a dance Fancy Pants!" Rarity gave a final wink and strutted off, when she was out of sight Fancy let out a slight sigh.

"I tried to tell her I was married but she kept insisting that I had promised her a dance."

Jason chuckled and Roseluck giggled a bit, Fancy Pants cracked a smile and turned back to Jason.

"It has been interested speaking to you Jason but I'm afraid I must take my leave as well, perhaps you would consider dropping in at the Royal Canterlot Institute of Magic to consult with me and my colleagues, perhaps answer some open questions?"

Jason though about it, he wasn't completely against the idea "Maybe." He stated.

Fancy Pants nodded "I suppose that is the best I shall receive, have a pleasant evening." With that the aristocrat trotted off.

"So what were you saying?" Jason said to Rose.

She smiled "Well I was going to ask if we could have a dance?" Rose muffled a giggle at Jason's expression, panic struck his face and he nervously glanced towards the dance floor where several couples were already spinning slowly to the soothing string music that came from the orchestra.

"I... Uh... Don't know how to dance." Jason stuttered.

Rose openly laughed with got the Human grumbling.

"It's not funny..." He said, embarrassed.

"Your right, it's not." Roseluck said, stifling her laughter "Come on I'll teach you."

Against his will Jason was pulled to the dance floor, almost everyone in the room stared at the Pony and Human. Roseluck didn't seem bothered though as she lead Jason to the middle of the dance floor and smiled up at him, what she did next visibly shocked the Human.

She stepped closer to Jason, and used his legs to lean her weight against. She lifted of of her front hooves and put all her weight on it and Jason's leg, the Human too astonished to notice the uncomfortable weight on his shin, the next hoof came up and the Rose used Jason like a latter to pull herself up until she was standing on two legs-albeit with most of her weight on Jason rather than her hind legs.

Roseluck rested her front hooves on the Human's shoulders and Jason instinctively held the mare by her hips in fear of her falling over. Even standing on two legs Rose was at least a head shorter than Jason so he had to stoop slightly to hold her in place.

Roseluck smiled up at Jason "Usually this would be a lot different, but I had to get creative since your so tall." The mare removed her right hoof from Jason's shoulder and snaked it into his hand, lifting it from her hip and outwards from them slightly.

"Now start turning slowly in a circle." Rose instructed, the orchestra-who had stopped at the display given by the flower mare-started up again with their slow soothing tone. The other couples broke from their rude staring and began dancing again, although many of them still stole glances towards the odd dance-parters.

Rose and Jason on the other-hand, focused solely on each other. Jason spun them in a slow tight circle, moving his feet carefully and with fluid motions in time with the music.

"Your a natural." Roseluck complimented as Jason spun her around again.

"Easy for you to say." Jason said with strained words "You don't have to dance while holding up a full-grown mare at the same time."

Rose giggled and the two lapsed into silence, eventually Roseluck rested her head on Jason's shoulder. He didn't mind so he allowed it. They danced for several minutes, almost an hour, as the song ran its course and even after the remained spinning for another half-minute before breaking apart and walking off.

Princess Celestia had watched them the entire time, a small smile creeping onto her features. It was clear there was chemistry between the Human and the young mare and Celestia was glad Jason had found someone to make him happy, she only hoped it would last.

Celestia glanced through the halls skylight at the stars, already it was eight-forty. Only about an hour left to the Gala, many guests had already retired for the night and she has not been approached by anyone for the better part of an hour.

Without warning the Princess stood up, startling the two guards that flanked her.

"I shall be retiring to my chambers for the night." She said, before looking at the older of the two guards.

"Please relay the message I told you earlier to Jason if you will." The Guard nodded and banged his armoured chest in salute before marching off to find the Human, his younger companion only looked confused and looked to his Princess who smiled warmly.

"Feel free to return to you barracks and rest, you relieved from duty for tonight." Celestia hid a smile as the young guard nearly tripped over himself to salute and then eagerly trotted off to find a soft bed. When he was gone Celestia disappeared through the side door that she had used earlier and climbed a set of stairs to the private entrance to her chambers where she would await her companion for the remainder of the night.

The Guard that had been tasked by the Princess slipped through the crowd, heading towards the pair that had dominated the dance floor moments ago. Roseluck and Jason moved towards the back corner of the hall where their friends waited, all speaking to each other while sitting around a table.

When they got close Jason noticed that all of them-even Rarity-were is some sort of disheveled state, manes frayed and dresses torn and dirtied.

"What happened to you lot?" Jason asked, the six mare exchanged glances.

"It's a long story." Twilight said, smiling.

Jason raised an eyebrow and was about to inquire when someone cleared their throat behind him, he turned around to see a fully armoured Royal Guard standing there.

"Jason?" He inquired and the Human nodded.

"The Princess requests your presence as was previously discussed, I will guide you to her chambers." The Guard said.

"Jason?" Roseluck said "What's he talking about?"

Jason smiled awkwardly "Yeah.. Sorry, I meant to tell you but Celestia invited me to have a discussion with her a few months ago and decided that tonight would be the best night to do it."

Roseluck didn't look happy "So... What? Your just going to go?"

"Hey, don't be like that, I had fun but I made a promise."

Rose huffed "But I was really hoping to spend the entire night with you." She said, looking up at him with big red eyes.

"I know, I'm sorry, I'll make it up to you later." Jason stooped and wrapped Roseluck in a hug which she warmly returned, Jason gave one last smile before giving a nod to the guard and the stallion led Jason away.

Roseluck watched him disappear into the crowd before turning around. She jumped in surprise as the six mares were leaning over the table with big dopey smiles on their faces.

"Tell. Us. Everything." Rarity demanded, somehow intimidating with that huge smile. Rose sighed and sat down, preparing to gush like a small schoolfilly.

~~*~~

The Guard lead Jason out of the hall through a set of large side doors and into a mostly-abandoned hallway that was only filled with the occasional patrolling Guardspony. The hallway eventually gave way to a set of stairs that swirled upwards, the stairs gave ways to another hall the lead to a set of large double doors, decorated with an intricate likeness of the sun on them. The doors were flanked by two more Royal Guards who looked at the Human before pushing the doors open far enough for Jason to walk through.

He thanked the guard who had escorted him before walking in, the door closing behind him. The Princesses chambers were lavish as expected, the entire room was circular and dome-like in nature. Works of art and shelves stuffed tight with books and scrolls lined the walls.

Celestia herself sat in front of a grand Queen-size bed, her usual Royal regalia not present, a small quaint dining tray in front of her with two cups and a steaming kettle rested. The sent of caffein and tea leaves reached Jason's nose and made him feel calm already.

"Hello Jason." Celestia greeted with a smile "Do sit down, I'll pour you some tea."

Jason obliged and sat down, the Princess poured him an herself cups of steamy black tea. Blowing on his cup slightly Jason took a sip and let the drink warm him, it was orange pekoe, his favourite favour.

"I like your outfit." Celestia commented, taking a draft from her own drink "Some of Rarity's work I presume?"

"Yeah, she made me this specifically for the Gala." Unconsciously Jason loosened the strap that held his sword to his side, so it didn't push at his belt uncomfortably.

"I like it." Was all Celestia said before they lapsed into silence, both nursing their cups of tea. It wasn't a peaceful silence though, there was tension and awkwardness that neither of them knew how to face.

"You know..." Celestia said, putting down her cup "It's hard to find something to say."

"I feel you."

"I mean there is so much to say but the words don't come."

"Let's try something more basic." Jason offered, placing down his own tea.

"Basic?" Celestia asked.

"Yeah, like... What's your favourite colour?" The question caught Celestia off guard. Colour? Favourite colour? She had never thought about it. She liked all colours really and couldn't decide on one that she liked best.

"I... Don't know?" She finally managed to say after a moment of thought, a little embarrassed that she couldn't think of a colour.

"Oh come one, there's got to be at least one colour you like best."

Celestia thought again "I suppose... Yellow."

"What? Like the sun?" Jason said mockingly.

Celestia laughed "Nothing so portentous, no. More like... Flowers." She said "And what's your favourite colour then."

Jason lapsed into meaningful thought "Red."

Like blood Celestia immediately thought but pushed the assumption from her mind as the Human continued.

"Red like... Roses, or Maple Leafs in autumn or the sunrise when it blazes red." Jason said in explanation.

"That's... Huh." The Princess stated.

"What?"

"Not what I expected."

"Then what did you expect?"

"...not sure."

"Well, ask me a question then."

"What sort of question?"

"Any question."

Celestia thought for a moment "What is your favourite food?"

"Pancakes." Jason said without hesitation.

"What are 'Pancakes'?" Celestia asked, Jason looked at her with a strangely intense look before rubbing his forehead and mumbling something that sounded suspiciously like 'How do you even live' before he spoke clearly again.

"So what's your favourite food?"

"Cake."

"That's not a food, it's a dessert."

"It can be both with the right attitude."

"...Favourite book?"

"The Legend of Starswirl the Bearded. You?"

"The Epic of Gilgamesh."

"I've never heard of that book."

"Never heard of yours."

"Mmm, favourite restaurant?"

"Tim Hortons, it's a coffee shop."

"Donut Joes, it's... Also a coffee shop."

"...weird, okay, what is your favourite pastime?"

Celestia had to think on that one "Painting." She finally concluded.

"You paint? Really?" Jason asked in slight disbelief.

"Yes, is that so odd?"

"Yes, well, no. I just didn't expect painting to be a hobby of a ruler." Jason looked at the pairing that lined the walls of the bedchambers "Did you-?" He asked.

"Some of them." Celestia answered "What is your pastime then."

Jason considered the question long and hard before sighing and stating "Would it be cheating to say my favourite pastime is eating?"

Celestia laughed and Jason cracked a grin, the joy was short lived though as Celestia's face grew dark.

"What's the matter?" Jason asked in concern.

"It's just that... I shouldn't be enjoying this, I shouldn't like you, I should hate you but... You a hard person to hate you know that?"

Jason smirked in spite of the situation "I'll take that as a compliment, and I have to say I feel the same way, your a good person Celestia."

The Princess smiled but I faded "It's just that... I don't know if I can reconcile the past."

Jason thought for a moment "Tell me... What was it like?" Celestia looked at him surprised "What did it make you feel fighting on that war? I can only imagine but you can help me understand." The Human explained.

Celestia breathed deeply before speaking "I was born during the war, so I never knew a time of peace between the Alicorn's and the Human's even though I was told that such a time had once existed. As an Unaligned Alicorn who has not discovered his or her place in the universe, I was trained and taught as a soldier and warrior, but I never wanted to be either, however the situation was not forgiving."

Celestia shivered "I remember my first battle, it was a victory but a costly one. I remember the bodies that had been thrown about, the rivers of blood, the walls of fire, the endless screaming, marching, explosions, the.. The.." Celestia's whole body was shaking now and her eyes were wide in fear.

"Hey now, it's okay." Jason said tenderly, carefully moving the tray out of the way and wrapping his arms around the Princesses neck. She didn't mind as she hugged him back and buried her face in his shoulder, tears springing to her eyes at the moment of weakness. The relapse come forth from her long-suppressed memories.

"It was horrible." Jason stated.

"It was." Celestia confirmed shakily.

Jason licked his lips and carefully asked the next question, he didn't really want to push for information but he needed to know.

"How long?"

It took a moment for the Princess to understand the question, when she did it didn't help her condition but she answered anyway.

"We called it the War of Eternities." Celestia said tearfully "It waged for nearly four thousand years."

Jason nodded silently and let Celestia cry herself out, she held onto him for the better part of twenty minutes before her shaking stopped and her tears ceased flowing. She pulled her face away from Jason's shoulder, levitating over a cloth that she wiped her eyes in.

"I'm sorry." Celestia said "It's just that I never talked about this with anyone."

"I still don't understand why your sister wasn't an option."

Celestia frowned, still unstable but momentarily distracted "Luna... Took to battle differently than I, it wasn't like she enjoyed slaughter as those aligned to it did, like Mars or Nemesis, no it's more like she was indifferent, she didn't react to what transpired on an emotional level."

"Do you think she doesn't care?"

"No, I think she's just better at burying it and too stubborn to dig it up again."

"That's not right, family should always be there for you."

Celestia nodded when a though struck her "Jason... Tell me about you family, what were they like?"

Jason looked out the window at the night sky "I can only really call two people family, my father and my uncle. My mom and dad got divorced and my father won full custody of me, I was four when he started raising me his way."

"It's not like he was overly cruel, it's just that he was always pushing, always saying that I could do better or wasn't trying hard enough, that I could run faster, jump higher, and hit harder. But at the same time he taught be useful things like camping, first aid, living off the land."

"But then he wasn't much of a father, he was a commander, he wanted me to be a man, a soldier and if I didn't please him the cane was my punishment."

Celestia gasped and pulled Jason to her chest "I am so sorry."

"Uh... For what? It's not a big deal."

"Not a big... That is... That is... Unspeakable! To beat a child... You must hate him."

Jason sighed "No, I don't. I don't know why, maybe the same reason I won't if can't hate you for your actions in the past, hate... Just isn't in my nature I guess. Maybe that's a weakness? I don't know, but all my dad wanted was to raise me into the best person he could, you can't fault him for that."

Celestia shook her head but smiled "A Human who cannot hate, no such thing was ever considered to be possible in the past."

Jason smirked "And Alicorn's were a myth, Dragon's were legend, and Human's ruled the Earth." He said "Just because something is, doesn't mean it has to be that way."

Celestia was surprised, but less surprised about being surprised this time "That is remarkably wise."

"I would hope so, I pretty sure someone said that before me."

Celestia laughed, and it was then that the two of them realized that they had been holding onto each other for their entire conversation, they hurriedly let go of one another with a tinge of pink on their cheeks.

Jason cleared this throat and stood up "I think I should be going now, it's already ten-fifteen and Roseluck will bite my head off if I'm out past midnight, goodnight Celestia."

"Goodnight." Celestia said, caught a bit off guard by the sudden departure but as Jason turned on his heel she called "Wait!"

Jason spun back around to be embraced warmly by the Sun Princess, he hugged her back "Thank you." She said quietly, Jason smiled.

"Any time Celestia." He said before slipping out of her embrace and walking off into the cold night.

Chapter 19- Mind of Madness

"It is madness for sheep to talk peace with a wolf."

~Thomas Fuller

Jason screamed his throat sore as the seventh lash came down on his back, at this point his torturer was lashing at a hound of ripped flesh that used to be Jason's spinal area. Tearfully Jason managed to moan out a plea for mercy.

"Please.. I've had enough." He said.

"Oh no Pony-Friend-Thing!" The torturer rasped "You need to be lesson-learning!"

Another lash.

"But you'll kill me." Jason pleaded.

"No I won't, I know your limits, this will only make you stronger." The voice had changed, becoming less raspy and more deep-tones.

Jason looked behind him and confirmed it: The Diamond Dog was now his father, holding the bloody whip and looking at him with an expressionless look.

"You need to learn how to endure pain if you going to get anywhere in life." His father said, hefting the wipe up and cracking it towards his face.

Mystics Mirror Inn, Canterlot, Equestria, Thursday, 2nd of October, 8:25am, 2205 AC

Jason snapped away with a yelp of terror, his forehead was drenched in sweat and his heart was thumping. Breathing heavily he lowered his head between his legs and held them tight, he shuttered and gasped in the fetal position for several minutes.

When Jason had left Celestia's room a guard had been awaiting him, apparently Twilight and the rest had gotten rooms for the night in the Mystics Mirror Inn and had taken the library of getting him a room. The Guard had lead him there.

Inside the small room there had been a small bundle of his cloths and his combats (Pack Jason a change on clothes, check! the note had read.) Jason opted to just slip out of his Gala outfit and into bed.

Unfortunately for him, his sleep was not to be restful.

He had regained control of his breathing at this point and unfurled from his position. Sunlight streamed through the window's curtains so it was indeed morning, taking a few calming breaths and pushing any thoughts of the dream out of his mind Jason slipped out of the bed and onto the floor. He stretched his back out, receiving several satisfying cracks and pops in return.

Methodically he put on the clothes laid out for him, a pair of brown pants and a grey t-shirt with a collar, there was also a simple brown long coat that fell to his above his ankles, he put that on too. Finally he strapped on his boots, the comfortable weight of leather and steel combined with the moulded shape of the boot gave him comfort. He strapped on his sword and knife (Not willing to leave them there) and headed out of the room.

The hall was empty and when Jason headed down the stairs the main room was empty too, even the innkeeper was missing. Shrugging it off Jason decided he would go for a short walk before finding his friends, he walked over to the door and opened it.

The street was covered in shiny pink bubbles, several houses and building were floating off their foundation and spinning slowly in the air, the sky seemed to be switching perpetually in between states: Cloudy, sunny, rainy, snowy, day, dusk, night, dawn. Several random Ponies were floating hopelessly through the air, occasionally numbing into fluffy pink clouds in which they stuck to, the could raining down a brown liquid that could only be chocolate milk.

Jason took all of this in and decided his course of action "Nope." He stated, before closing the door.

"Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope." He continued, shaking his head and walking over to the bar. There was a jug there full of pre-brewed coffee but it was cold, he lite a fire in the kitchen stove and reheated the coffee. Pouring himself a mug Jason sat down at the bar and slowly took sips from his cup.

The coffee pushed out and kinks that were still lurking around and left a warm felling in his stomach, he could feel the caffein entering his system and jump-starting his body. He managed to make the drink last for about ten minutes before he was forced to kick back the dregs and get up.

Opening the front door again Jason had to resist the urge to go drown himself in coffee and instead stepped out, in addition to what was already going on today there were now what appeared to be several hippos skating down the soapy street.

Jason pinched his arm.

Stepping out into the street he found it oddly non-slippery, then again it wasn't really odd in perspective of everything else. Sticking his hands in his pockets he strolled towards, trying his hardest to ignore everything around him and get to the castle.

Don't look at anything he chanted in his head If you don't look at anything, then nothing will happen.

As he walked the sun and moon continued to switch placements, sometimes occupying the same spot. Objects would float by Jason or sometimes a Pony would run past but he ignored them. Definitely a dream he thought as the shadow of what looked like a giraffe passed by him Even though I don't dream usually, and certainly never had a dream within a dream... This is some Inception bullshit going on here. Then again I have been living in a world of magical Ponies for the past couple months so who am I to question reality? Although this may conclude that I have, in fact, been dreaming this entire time.... I don't know how I feel about that.

Eventually Jason made it to the castle gates, which at the time were unguarded, pushing the heavy metal gate open he stepped inside. The courtyard, at least, seemed to be normal, in fact the entirety of the castle grounds seemed to be up effected by the day's insanity. Safe on the knowledge that all the strangeness what safely behind him Jason purposefully strode up to the main doors and entered the main hall.

Naturally, the main hall was empty, and upon inspection so was the throne room. Jason sighed, resting his weight on one foot, he only vaguely knew the layout of the castle and finding Celestia or anyone would take hours and he might get lost.

Maybe I should..., the thought died as he heard voices- that sounded like the Princess, and maybe Twilight -echoing from the hall to his left. He jogged over and turned a corner, there, in the middle of a long hall flanked by stain glass windows, was Celestia and the Mane Six.

As Jason entered the hall he slowed down, he could of sworn he heard dark laughter fading away as he approached.

The group hadn't noticed him, until he spoke that is "Seems I've missed some things." Celestia's head snapped towards him along with six other Pony heads.

"Jason... Actually, your perfect." Celestia said.

"Perfect? Perfect for what? What's going on?" Jason asked, Celestia pursed her lips and looked at the group of Ponies at her hooves.

"Twilight? Why don't you and your friends get a head start on the Labyrinth? I shall get Jason up to speed." She was obviously dismissing them but Twilight ate it up.

"Of course Princess! Let's go girls!" One by one they galloped past Jason.

"Hello Jason, see you Jason!" Twilight said.

"Hey hotshot! See ya' later!" Rainbow called.

"Howdy sugar cube, I'll see ya'll later." Applejack said.

"Um, I guess, we'll see you later." Fluttershy.

"Hi Jason! Bye Jason!" Pinkie zoomed past.

"A good morning Jason, try to make haste when you catch up, we may need you." Rarity didn't run, rather she pranced in the most dignified way after her friends.

As the sounds of hoofbeats faded Jason crocked an eyebrow at Celestia.

"You know one of these day's your going to have to start telling them the truth."

"You are right, but that day has not come yet."

Jason sighed and shook his head "What's the situation?"

"An old enemy has arisen, a spirit known as Discord has escaped his prison, no doubt you've already seen his handiwork throughout Canterlot."

Jason nodded "I did, now what is the part you didn't tell them?"

Celestia looked away, at one of the stain glass windows before meeting his gaze again "If or when you see him, he will most likely be taking the form of a Draconequus, a mixture of different animals into one. This is not how he always was."

Celestia took a breath "Originally, Discord was an Alicorn... His name was Dispono, he was the Alicorn God of Order."

Jason was a bit taken aback "So... You mean to say there is a third Alicorn? And he is loose?"

Celestia thought for a second "Well technically he is the fourth Alicorn, there was already three."

Jason rubbed the spot just above his eyebrow and sighed "So what happened to... Dispono was it?"

Celestia nodded "Yes, you see he was a active general throughout the majority of the war and thus was a prime target, so it was only a matter of time before they got to him." Celestia shuttered "I don't know what they did to him, what experiments or torture's they performed but the next time I say him he had gone mad, plunging the land into chaos with his reality-altering magic."

"So why do you think I can do anything to stop him?"

"I don't, however Twilight and her friends can if they can find the Elements of Harmony, however, Discord's magic cannot effect you. At least not directly, so you may be able to but them time, no doubt he will try and manipulate and mislead them from their path."

Celestia placed her hoof on Jason's shoulder "I hate to ask this of you but I need your help, travel with the Element Bearers, help them find the Elements, and send that demon back to Tartarus."

"Alright." Jason said "I'll see you later." As an after thought he patted Celestia's hoof before gently moving out of her grip and running off.

~~*~~

Celestia had told Twilight to head to the Labyrinth, so that's where Jason went. He had seen the tall hedge walls from a distance during his time in Canterlot and he knew the general direction. Speeding up to a swift run he nimbly avoided every anomaly he encountered, everything to a watch badly singing pop to a shark making loud vehicle-like beep's as it swam backwards slowly.

Eventually he made it to the entrance of the Labyrinth, where the six mares stood looking up at the imposing hedge walls. They seemed a bit shaken, as Jason approached he noticed something off, several things off. Twilight and Rarity were missing their horns and both Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy's wings were gone, leaving the lot of them looking like Earth Ponies. Applejack and Pinkie Pie seemed unaffected though.

Jason approached cautiously "Twilight?" He called, unsure it this was another anomaly or not.

'Twilight' turned immediately "Jason!" She said, running over to him and hugging his legs "You just missed him!"

"Discord!"

"Yeah!" Rainbow Dash said, her voiced edged in frustration and slight panic "He just showed up and took my wings!" She stared at her back longingly, no doubt trying to move the muscles that she no longer had.

Jason pried Twilight off of his legs "Well then, what are we waiting for?"

Twilight nodded eagerly and gestured towards the entrance to the maze "Discord's riddle lead us here, the elements must be inside." She gestured to where her horn used to be "He showed up and told us that magic and flying weren't allowed, and then he took our horns and wings."

Jason patted Twilight on the head "You'll survive." He said "Let's get searching then."

Twilight nodded "Come on girls we'll do this.." They all lined up at the edge of the maze "Together!" They chanted, all taking a step into the Labyrinth.

Immediately large bush walls sprouted in between and behind the girls, cutting them if from the exit and each other. Jason- who was standing in between Twilight and Applejack -reacted swiftly and stepped towards Twilight, the hedge missing him by a hairs breath.

His sight full of thick hedges Jason offered his wisdom "Well then..." He said "I guess we'll do this separately."

"Hello? Girls? Can you hear me?" Twilight called.

No answer.

"We should get moving, I'm sure the others will be fine." Jason put his hand on Twilight's back and gently pulled her away "Come on." He said soothingly, Twilight nodded but still stared behind her once they got moving.

At Twilight's suggestion, they hugged the left side of the maze. Even then they twisted and turned through identical paths. They had remained silent for an hour or so, before Jason could stand it anymore.

"Sooo.." He said suddenly "Where's Rose and Spike?"

"Once the anomalies started appearing I told them both to head back to Ponyville so they would be safe." Twilight said.

Jason chuckled "Roseluck loved that I bet."

Twilight giggled a bit "Oh she argued hoof and mane but I managed to convince her it was for the best."

"It was." Jason agreed but then a thought occurred to him "Wait, so why didn't you wake me up?"

Twilight suddenly seemed to become really interested in the sky all of a sudden.

"Twilight..." Jason said slowly.

"Um... We may have... Wanted to... Um... Keep you out of this, I thought maybe you would just... Um... Sleep through it?"

Jason gave Twilight a look "Twilight, did you drink stupid juice this morning?"

"Hey!" Twilight said, offended.

Jason just shook his head and took the lead, turning a corner to a dead end.

"Shit, well we'll just turn-" He was interrupted as the hedge wall shuttered and seemed to grow backwards into the ground, revealing a small clearing with an apple tree and a pond.

And Applejack.

Before Jason could say anything, Twilight sped past him "Applejack!" She said happily, running over and nuzzling her friend.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

Applejack bit her lip and looked around frantically before speaking.

"I'm... I'm fine! Really!" She said nervously "I'm totally normal and haven't seen or heard any strange apple-pile monsters or anything?"

By it's own accord, Jason's eyebrow reached for the sky. Applejack was lying but why, or how, was a mystery.

Twilight seemed to notice something off too but played along "Well... That's great!" She said "Come on, we need to find everyone else."

"No! We don't need to find any of them!" Applejack said and then started trotting purposefully into the maze proper.

Twilight and Jason exchanged glances before following her, keeping a bit behind her so they could talk.

"Sooo... She's obviously not the real Applejack." Jason said.

Twilight shook her head "No, it's her, it's just... I don't know, she's changed, under some sort of spell."

Jason sighed a bit "I can't tell what's real and what's not." He said in frustration.

"I know how you feel."

They continued on for what seemed hours, although Jason couldn't tell as the sun and moon were still dancing. The entire time he felt this growing sense of confusion, several times he though he saw the hedges moving and shifting as if liquid but once he focused closely on them they were as ridged as ever.

They followed their left-dominant route for a while before coming to another clearing, this one full of nothing of interest, except Fluttershy.

Twilight approached more cautiously this time "Fluttershy?" She said.

The de-winged Pegasus turned and smiled, but this smile was cruel and full of contempt. "Well isn't it the Unicorn who can't do magic, Twilight Sporkle." The mean spirited tone did not fit with Fluttershy's soft voice. "And look, she brought her pet monster."

Both Jason and Twilight's jaws dropped simultaneously, the disbelief that Fluttershy could say such things was written all over their faces.

Fluttershy seemed to delight in their astonishment and walked past them, shoving Twilight into Jason's legs.

Jason looked down at Twilight to see her eyes filled with confusion, and fear.

"That's not Fluttershy." She said quietly.

"Or is it?" Jason said back "Let's just keep going."

The next hour or so was worse, with Fluttershy making every insult in the book and Applejack lying through her teeth. Jason was developing a sizeable migraine.

They turned a corner and came across a peculiar sight, Rarity, carrying a large boulder on her back. While Jason was contemplating the physics of that Twilight asked the obvious question.

"Rarity, why do you have a boulder on your back?" She asked.

Rarity seemed offended "Boulder! This is a sic carrot Diamond!"

Twilight blinked "Rrrright."

"Don't think I don't see you eyeing him! Back off! He belongs to me!"

Jason raised an eyebrow "Him?"

Rarity nodded "Yes! Him! His name is Tom! And he's mine! Nopony else's!" She glared suspiciously at all of them.

Jason right hand met with his forehead and walked around the boulder "Let's just keep going." He said, Twilight caught up with him quickly.

"Have you noticed they all seem a bit... Grey?" She commented, Jason glanced behind them at the three mares, who had already begin bickering.

"Yeah, their coats and manes seem a bit... Muted." He said, they lapsed into silence after that and navigated the twists and turns of the maze for another ten minutes or so. It was hard to judge because of the shifting sky.

Once again they turned a corner into a clearing, this one full to the brim with balloons of all colours. As they stepped forward the balloons began popping one by one, to reveal a very grey looking Pinkie Pie.

She glared at them "Well it's about time! I hope you guys haven't been laughing without me! And don't think you'll laugh with me either!" She stuck her snout up in the air.

Just as Jason was considering joining his hand and forehead once again Applejack voice could be heard.

"Look, Rainbow Dash is flying off, she's abandoning us!" She said.

Jason snorted "Yeah rig-" Yep, she was, flying, in the opposite direction, away from them. Jason barely had time to sigh before dark laughter filled the air and the hedges began shuttering, growing backwards into the ground.

"Looks like someone broke the no magic no flying rule!" In a flash of light came Discord, head of Pony, hands of both eagle and lion, body of a serpent. His eyes were red and filled with madness.

"Oooooooh." He said, his eyes alighting on Jason "What do we have here?" He slithered over and circled around Jason, bringing his ugly face centimetres away from Jason.

"So what is one of the Old Gods doing in Equestria? So well, so alive" the Monster's eagle claw reached up and grabbed Jason's throat, despite the Human's struggling.

"Oh how I want to rip your heart from your chest and feed it to a pack of Lesser Demons." Discord said, his voice dripping with malice "But, what's the fun in that?" The Chaos Spirit looked at the five
mares who stood in useless shock at him.

"You girls run along, we have some old war stories to swap." Discord looked back at Jason "And you need to tell me how a Human came back from the dead." He smiled a snaggle-tooth smile before snapping his fingers. Jason got one last look at Twilight and her corrupted friends before reality faded away.

Chapter 20- Forever with your Soul

"The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire."

-Ferdinand Foch

Travelling At Several Hundred Kilometres An Hour, Although Still Within the Borders Of Equestria, Thursday, 2nd of October, 9:25am, 2205 AC

Light and colours sped by in a blur, moving too fast for Jason's eyes to lock onto anything. The only sensations Jason could feel was the wind whipping at his face and hair, and the disturbingly comfortable pressure of Discord wrapped around him. Despite his efforts Jason couldn't break free, he tried to slip out, draw his sword, or his knife, anything but he was held still by Discord's snake-like body.

As quickly as it came, the blurriness and wind stopped, Discord released Jason from his boa-like hold. Jason found himself in some sort of clearing, thick white fog obscured his vision about a kilometre in every direction making a sort of dome around the area. Jason turned to see The Lord of Chaos himself lounging on a plush red couch, looking at Jason with half lidded eyes and a lazy pose.

"Like what you see?" He said, Jason just looked at him with angry disgust and Discord cane back with an offended look.

"You only hate me because I'm multicoloured!" He exclaimed, snapping his fingers and making the couch disappear.

"What do you want with me?" Jason demanded, crossing his arms and taking a defiant pose, reserved to wait this situation out.

Discord chuckled darkly and started circling Jason like a hungry lion "Why so serious?" He asked "Come on, there must be other questions on your mind."

Jason frowned "...How did you get me here? Magic doesn't work on me, so how did we teleport?"

"Excellent question!" Discord exclaimed, popping up from the ground, he snapped his fingers and with two separate flashes, a blackboard appeared behind him and both thick glasses and a bushy white moustache appeared on his face.

"Now," Discord said, in a comically bad German accent "vhat really happened is zat ve actually did not teleport, or, in other words, destructive, exclusive, relocation and plantation or D.E.R.P for short. Rather, I utilized ze awesome power of semi-necrons to shift the crust, mantle, and core of ze planet under us as to not needing to directly use semi-necrotic energy to relocate both mine and your own atomic mass." As he spoke the blackboard filled itself with complicated diagrams and equations that supposedly explained what the spirit had just said.

"In simpler terms?" Jason said.

"Mmm," Discord mused, getting rid of his accessories and the blackboard with a snap of his fingers "for a Human you have a strange lack of an understanding of Magiphysics." Discord shook his head as if disappointed.

"For those who are not versed on the subject, I didn't move Jason, I simply moved everything else." Discord said, as if to a crowd.

"What? You... Moved everything else? That's.... Actually physically impossible." Jason said.

Discord teleported inches from Jason's face and booped him on the nose.

"It's impossible for something to be impossible!" He exclaimed, pressing his lion finger into the cartilage of Jason's nose.

"...Right," Jason said, swiping the finger from his nose "so, next question-"

"Ah-ah-ah-ah!" Discord said, waggling his finger "You already asked your question! It's my turn!"

Jason sighed, he considered simply taking on Discord with sword in hand but seeing the amount of power he possessed, not to mention intelligence, that would probably end badly for him. The only chance he had was to play along and hope Twilight and the rest could find the Elements and use them on Discord.

"Alright," Jason conceded "ask away."

"Well then, I have a very simple question," Discord leaned in close to Jason again, the Human could feel his hot breath on his face "how is a Human alive and well in this day and age, I do believe that your all suppose to be dead."

Jason almost answered but a thought occurred to him "Why so serious?" He said slowly "Surely there must be other questions on your mind."

Discord frowned and squinted at Jason, an angry gleam in his eye.

Yeah... I just sealed my death warrant.

"Well played" Discord admitted, leaning back from Jason. "Here is my question then, why are you so chummy with Tia and Lulu? Eh? You some sort of peace mover? Because last time I checked Humans and Alicorns couldn't sit in a room together without trying to forcibly remove each other's spleens."

It took Jason an embarrassing amount of time to figure out who 'Tia' and 'Lulu' were and an amazing amount of self-control not to laugh at the hilariously adorable nicknames, he would have to use those at some point.

After clearing his throat Jason responded "We've made peace with each other, I understand why they did what they did and I can't just blindly hate them for doing what they had to."

Discord looked at Jason with a confused face, one side all scrunched up, he remained like that for a minute or so before his ear, and the whole head, twitched like he was breaking out of a trance.

"Your weird..." He said, looking creeped out.

"My turn" Jason said quickly, trying to keep this game going as long as possible. "So, why did you choose now to return?"

"A very good question!" Discord exclaimed "And my answer is, I didn't!"

Jason blinked "Wait, what?" He asked.

"My turn!" Discord said "What's your name?"

"Uh, Jason," The Human responded.

"A pleasure to meet you Jason! Now what's your question?"

"What did you mean when you said you didn't?" Jason asked.

Discord looked confused "I didn't say 'you didn't' what are you talking about? I mean I said 'I didn't' but thats not the point we're making here."

Jason rubbed the spot above his eyebrow "Okay, what I meant was-"

"Oh no you don't!" Discord bellowed "Just because you asked a flawed question doesn't make it any less of a question! Now, it's my turn!"

Jason was about to object but Discord was on a roll "Now.... Mmmmm... Actually, I'm bored of this game."

Oh fuck me gently.

"So how about..." Discord snapped his fingers and suddenly he had six more arms on each side, but instead of hands, claws, or even a hoof, the arms each ended with a different weapon. Swords, rifles, chainsaws, rifles with chainsaws on them, flamethrower's, mini-nuke launchers, revolvers, odd glowing sticks, double bladed glowing transparent blades, shotguns, lightsabers, crossbows, and several other weapons that Jason couldn't identify all pointed themselves at him "You tell me how your here right now."

Jason gulped "I...uh... I don't know?"

Discord blinked and his arsenal lowered, only slightly "What?" He asked, a strangely broken tone.

Panicking slightly Jason stammered on "I don't know! I... I woke up in the Everfree a couple months ago! I have no idea how I got here!"

Discord's eye twitched and Jason's blood pressure spiked "That's..." Discord began "That's..." He was breathing heavily now, his eyes bulging hugely and the muzzle of a rifle was pointed directly at Jason's forehead "That's not fair!" Discord sobbed, his weapons fell away and disappeared into smoke.

"That's not fair!" Discord screamed "You were all dead! We killed you! All of you! And then you go around and come back! Celestia should at least of had the decency to kill you on the spot! But no! You get to come back from the dead and remind us all of the worst years of our lives!" Discord's gaze switched back to Jason, the insane anger disturbingly present in his eyes.

A revolver appeared in Discord's claws "And I for one am not the nostalgic type." The revolver pointed at Jason.

"Wait!" Jason yelled in a panic "I didn't come back from the dead! I know that!"

Discord stayed his hand "What?"

Jason ran with it "I wasn't dead before I came here, I was alive, minding my own business, I came from the past, far in the past, before Alicorns."

The pistol disappeared from Discord's claws "But... That's... That's..."

"Not possible?" Jason suggested "You said it yourself, it's impossible for something to be impossible."

Discord huffed and turned around, he began pacing back and forth, upside down "How? Humans didn't have time travel... Did they? There was that one time... Then again I'm not sure that guy was Human, although he always wore really nice suits, but even then they wouldn't of had it before my time... Maybe Kronos was right?" Discord flipped right side up and glared up at the sky with his arms crossed.

"Some answers may be nice! You ungrateful swine!" He yelled to the clouds, incidentally nothing happened, at least from Jason's perspective. Discord on the other has was consumed by... Shivers? More like wiggles actually, his entire body was consumed by wiggles that made him look like he was made of jell-o.

The movement stopped and Discord looked confused again "What? Where..." The Spirits eyes suddenly alighted on something, something being the key word here as Jason followed Discord's gaze and saw nothing but the grass and dirt.

"Mmm, interesting," Discord mused. "Ah yes, of course, I see, I guess that makes sense yes."

Jason looked back at Discord, who was still in his little world. He stayed like that for another moment before looking at Jason and giving him a knowing smile, this one somehow both genuine and menacing.

"You are an interesting one," Discord said, snaking closer to Jason and peering at him as if he were an artifact "and I wonder, how in the world will you, if at all, be victorious?" Discord laughed, loudly and psychotically. Jason felt a knot of fear settle in his stomach as he came to a stumbling reality that he was at the complete mercy of a cosmically powerful madman.

"Tell me, Old One," Discord said silkily, floating upside down again "Why do you forgive Celestia for her crimes?"

Jason hesitated, the question pulled forth a different one: Do I forgive Celestia?, he asked himself, and in response a bubbling force of anger, spite, and even hate came to surface in his gut, all of which mixed in with a disturbing desire to enact revenge. Jason felt dirtied, disgusting, he was no better then the blood-thirsty Humans that Celestia had been taught to believe in, pathetic, weak, but it wasn't his fault, no, it was hers, Celestia, she was to blame, that blasted Alicorn scum...

Wait, what?

Jason stumbled, his vision blurred in and out of focus, his head felt like it was made out of lead. The sensation felt disturbingly familiar, and the image of a dark, dimly lit, cave and a cackling canine torturer readying his whip for another lash.

Jason shook his head, he clutched his stomach and doubled over as his breakfast bubbled up in this throat. The vomit came dribbling out of his mouth in a steady stream, Jason gasped for breath before he hurled again, fully this time, his stomach being emptied of every but of its contents.

Jason managed to raise his head and focus on Discord who stood there with a joyously superior grin on his face.

"What have you done to me?" Jason moaned, Discord laughed heartily at the Human before him.

"It seems many a theory are being proven today," Discord sighed longingly "if only I could do some experiments on you, I bet they would all love that, especially Hecate, oh the fun we had..."

Jason growled as he lurched again, only bile coming this time that scalded his throat raw. Discord came close again, smiling in Jason's face.

"You know not the pain you will suffer, but, I can help relive it... If you wish," Discord said. "You will face much hardship, loose so much, but that can be avoided if you just step aside, allow me to take Equestria for my own and you and I can live happily ever after in Chaosville! We can even invite all your little Pony friends!"

Jason glared up at the demon before him, he felt anger flare again. But this anger felt natural, it felt good, and was against Discord. Quicker than the demon could move Jason drew his combat knife and swiped it across Discord's forehead, opening a shallow cut. Discord jerked back with a roar of pain and stumbled onto the ground, he held a claw up to his forehead but blood was already leaking from the cut, golden blood.

Jason looked at his knife and saw the same golden blood splattered upon it "Ichor..." He heard Discord mumble.

"...The blood of the gods," Jason finished, his eyes widening slightly "the blood of Alicorns." He concluded, looking at Discord who looked back and began flickering, as if he was an image on film, the flickering quickened until Discord's mismatched body was replaced by that of an Alicorn.

Dispono was silver coloured, his mane more grey and his chin clean-shaven, his horn was long and blunt, and his eyes were the same scarlet irises as Discord's had been. Jason stared at the Alicorn for a moment, trying to think of a plan, he did, he didn't like it, but it was the only plan he had.

"You know..." Jason began "You said it yourself." Jason sheathed his knife "Humans and Alicorns can't sit in a room together without trying to forcibly remove each other's spleens." Jason slowly drew his sword and pointed it at Dispono "and I'm not one for breaking tradition."

Dispono glared at him and got to his hooves, his horn glowed with silver energy and the ground to his right split open, a large rock slowly rose out of the ground, embedded with the rock was a glowing blue longsword. Dispono grabbed the sword handle with his magic and pulled it out of the rock with a metallic Shhiiinnng!.

Dispono pointed the blade at Jason, it was at least a meter and a half long, glowing a bright blue with intricate runes encrusted on the sides. The hilt and crosspiece were golden and encrusted with rubies, the entire sword gleamed with both magical and natural light, Jason felt very inferior with his small pigsticker of an iron sword.

Dispono charged, his sword swinging back for a strike. Jason barely had time to raise his own blade to block the blow, the two swords met and Jason's knees buckled under the weight of the blow, almost loosing his footing entirely. He saw Dispono grit his teeth and shove Jason's sword to the side with his own, leaving his chest exposed, Dispono quickly spun and bucked Jason hard in the stomach.

The blow sent Jason flying, he landed three meters away. He felt like hurling again but there was nothing left in his stomach, only the pain from Dispono's blow. Through his blurry vision Jason saw the Alicorn charging towards him, sword raised again, Jason threw himself to the side just and the blade chopped down at him. Jason regained his footing, albeit uneasily, and swung his blade in a weak blow at the Alicorn who blocked it easily, pushing Jason's blade to the ground and then slashing his blade across the Human's chest.

Jason stumbled back, hot blood seeped from the wound and through his shirt, his vision swam more than a school of fish and his head filled with helium. Jason struggled to stay upright, and failed, he fell to his knees pathetically and looked up at his Alicorn for.

Dispono looked down at him with a sick, satisfied look "So much for the strength of Humanity," he said "I think it is time the world forgot about the past, the New Gods are doing just fine without our old enemies still drawing breath."

The point of Dispono's blade came down, Jason moved his sword onto his chest and blocked the blow. Dispono growled and continued to rain blows down on Jason, who continued to block them with his sword. Fleetingly, Jason considered just letting one of those blows take him, but he couldn't let this madman harm his friends.

Apparently, Jason wouldn't have a choice in that matter, as Dispono threw a vicious blow down on Jason sword that snapped the blade in half.

Makers Fire, I'm going to fucking kill you.

Dispono raised his sword again and Jason quickly pushed the broken sword pieces off of him, as the Alicorn's blade came slicing down Jason twisted to the side but not far enough, the blade cut deep into his upper arm. Blood squirted from the wound like a fountain but Jason barely felt it, adrenaline and dopamine were pumping through his veins like prime gasoline. As Dispono raised his blade again Jason reached behind his back and drew his combat knife once again, quickly he drew a sloppy slash across Dispono's cheek and into his ear.

The Alicorn screamed in pain and stumbled back, more Ichor flowed from the fresh wound.

Dispono looked at Jason in pure hatred "Enough of this," he growled, his horn glowing bright.

The ground around Jason shook violently and a hole opened up under Jason, swallowing him. The ground pressed in around Jason's arms and he felt a bone crack, he screamed in pain as the earth slowly crushed him. Through blurry and red vision Jason could see Dispono approaching his slowly, his sword was discarded and he was slowly beginning to flicker, faster and faster until the Alicorn faded away leaving the mad form of Discord in its place.

Discord approached Jason casually and plucked him out of the ground by the scruff of his neck, like a lost kitten and raised him up to examine. Jason was loosing blood and consciousness quickly but he still just managed to focus in on the demon.

Discord didn't say anything, he just snapped his fingers and Jason felt wind whipping at his hair, only for a moment, before the scenery revealed them to be in Ponyville.

Sort of.

Many of the houses now floated in the air and slowly rotated, the sky had taken on a soft pink colour, strange otherworldly creatures ran or floated in different directions and chocolate-raining cotton candy clouds dominated the lower air.

"Oooh, what do we have here?" Discord mused.

Jason forced his eyelids open, Twilight was there, as were the rest. They looked healthy, bright, and aware.

"Discord!" He heard Twilight call "release Jason and surrender, or we will be forced to use the Elements on you!"

Jason saw them now, the Elements, they sparkled and glowed with pure energy, Discord didn't seem impressed.

"Oooooh, it's funny how you think your going to win, go ahead, take your best shot." With a swipe of his arm a circle target appeared on his body.

"Come on girls let's do this," Twilight said and the six of them made a half-circle, the Elements began glowing brightly, the six mares raised of the ground and suddenly a giant rainbow shot forth towards Discord and Jason.

Time seemed to slow, Jason saw Discord look at him, a hint if fear in his mad eyes. Then he smiled.

Discord held Jason in front of him.

And the Elements struck.

Chapter 21- Back Again

"To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering."

~Friedrich Nietzsche

Ponyville, Chaos Capitol of the World, Equestria, Thursday, 2nd of October, 10:26am, 2205 AC

The sensation was rather like being bathed in sunlight, and almost as bright. All the colours of the rainbows swirled around Jason in and endless light-show of beauty and majesty, the pain seemed to melt away. The wounds were still there and Jason was scarcely aware of that fact but the pin had melted away, replaced by pleasant feeling all throughout. Memories began to surface, not the painful ones, but the happy ones, Uncle Haydn taking him through the park near his house, reading with Twilight, his mother tucking him into bed....

It didn't last long.

Jason felt the grip around him loosen, gravity took it's chance and pulled the Human towards the earth. The last thing Jason saw was the Elements striking Discord and the fear-strike look on his face before Jason lost his sense of reality.

No pain came, it remained away. Instead, the darkness was penetrated by a soft light, sunlight, streaming through cream-coloured curtains. The chair was hard, made out of wood, it was tall enough that his feet couldn't reach the floor. Delicious smells wafted close by, accompanied by beautiful singing in a language that Jason could never quite decipher.

A hand placed a large plate of steaming pancakes in front of Jason, it disappeared for a moment and returned with a glass jug full of genuine natural maple syrup. Generous amounts of the nectar was poured of the stack, the jug was placed down and the hand ruffled Jason's semi-long hair, he looked up and smiled.

His mother, her warm smile filling him with comfort. With hazel eyes, chocolate-brown hair, and satin skin, Maria Damian looked nothing like her son.

"What's wrong?" She asked, her voice smooth, free from the unattractive accent of Nova Scotia.

"This isn't real," Jason said sadly "your not really here."

Maria laughed "I am here, in a sense, but it is time for you to wake up, your friends are worried."

"Friends?" Jason's head was foggy, he wasn't thinking clearly "all the kids don't like me, I don't have any friends..."

Maria giggled and leaned forward "wake up," she said, closing Jason 's eyelids for him.

When they opened again, they were met with a familiar sight. The brightly lit hospital room that he once before occupied, at the foot of Jason's bed, was Band Aid who was flipping through papers on a clipboard. The pain returned, Jason's entire body ached, his right arm was in a sling and he could feel several bandaged wrapped around him middle. Jason groaned a bit as he struggled to sit up.

Band Aid didn't look up from his clipboard "Jason, do you remember what I told you last Tim you were here?"

When Jason didn't answer Band Aid kept talking "I told you never to try anything that dangerous again didn't I? And that was in reference to you falling out of the sky, this time, you took on the all-powerful Spirit-God of Chaos and Disharmony... With a sword and a knife."

Band Aid finally looked at Jason, his eyes brung with anger, Jason grinned sheepishly.

"And that is why..." Band Aid said "You will be on bed rest for three weeks this time."

Jason's jaw dropped "Three weeks! But-" he stopped at the look on Band Aid's face.

"I'm a Doctor," Band Aid said, glaring "I know what's best."

Jason leaned back from the possibly psychotic doctor, nodding rapidly "Yep, gotcha, Crystal clear."

Band Aid nodded, satisfied "Good, now, naturally you have guests... Who seem to be more concerned with visually confirming your well-being than actually letting the healing process take it's course." With a shake of his head, Band Aid took his leave through the door.

Almost immediately after, Celestia entered, looking less radiant than usual, they stared at each other for several minutes before Jason broke the silence.

"We need to stop meeting like this," he said, that got Celestia's attention, she rushed forward and scooped up Jason in a warm hug. Jason grimaced, pain shooting through his ribs but he forced a smile onto his lips and patted Celestia's ethereal mane.

"It's fine, I'm fine, we're all fine," Jason reassured her, the Princess pulled back, still holding Jason.

"What were you thinking?" She asked.

Jason bit his lip "well... After Discord took me, I thought the best chance I had was to stall him as long as possible."

"And you did that... By openly fighting against him?" Celestia asked incredulously.

Jason grinned sheepishly "It seemed like a good idea at the time.."

Celestia sighed "you shouldn't charge in so brashly... Especially against a powerful Alicorn like him."

Jason nodded "yeah... But it worked out in the end didn't it?"

"With you in bandages."

"I'm fine, few weeks rest and I'll be back on my feet."

Celestia shook her head "You keep piling up how much I owe you, and every time I only offer a thank you in return."

Jason smiled "you gave me a place to be when you had no obligation to, by all accounts, you should've destroyed me on the spot, banished me, made me pay for the deeds of my kin and yet you didn't. You let me in, gave me a home, friends, comfort when a lesser being would've hated me for simply for being Human."

"That's why I don't hate you, why I owe you just as much as you do me, and why you need to let this go."

Celestia smiled softly "your right... And wise beyond your years."

Jason grinned "I'm older than you, by several trillion years."

Celestia giggled, a light uplifting sound "whatever you say, old man."

"Hey! I'm still in my prime!" Jason exclaimed, getting Celestia to openly laugh.

"I should be going now, there are repairs to be made from Discord's rampage and you have other anxious guests."

"As always," Jason said "until next we meet, Celestia."

The Princess smiled and drifted away, leaving the door open when she left. Jason was given very little time before the next worried female entered the room. Roseluck looked unharmed but tired, she immediately trotted over and took Jason's head in her hooves, she pulled him down to her level and planted a kiss on top of Jason's head.

"Never do anything like that again," she commanded into Jason's hair.

Not wanting to crack a joke this time Jason nodded as much as he could "okay," he said, wrapping his arms around the mare. They sat there silently for several minutes, sharing the comfort, reluctantly Jason broke the silence.

"Is everyone else okay?" Jason asked.

"Yes, there all fine," Roseluck said back, not surfacing from Jason's hair "most of them are helping with the clean up around Ponyville."

"Most of them?" Jason inquired.

"Twilight," Rose explained "she's outside waiting her turn."

Jason grinned slightly "and is she going to get it?"

"Eventually," Rose said, squeezing Jason slightly.

"Rose..."

The mare hummed "fine..." And released Jason, she looked him dead in the eye "but I want a day with you sometime this week, okay?"

Jason nodded "I promise, now go let Twilight in before she tears her hair out."

Rose giggled a bit "okay," she planted a kiss on Jason's cheek and promptly left and in record time was replaced by Twilight who sported several strands of hair sticking up from her head.

Before Jason could crack a joke, Twilight opened the flood gates.

"I'm sorry!" She cried "sorry, sorry, sorry, super duper sorry, so sorry, sorry sorry...!"

"Twilight..." Jason said.

"I didn't know he would pull you in front of him! It was so fast! I couldn't stop the Elements! They were already in motion! I'm sorry! So, so, so, so, sorry!"

"Twilight..."

"I mean it was the only way we could stop him! I didn't realize you would fall! And your head! Just think of the damage it did to your brain! Oooh! I'm so sor-"

"Twilight!" Jason said "it's fine, I understand."

Twilight seemed not to process that "wait, what?"

"I understand that you had to stop Discord, really, it's cool."

"B-but your hurt! Your head..."

Jason chuckled "most of this is from me being a thick head and just charging in, it ain't your fault."

"Oh... Right... Well...um... How are you feeling?" Twilight asked.

"Sore, tired, but I'm fine, hopefully I can convince Band Aid to let me move, I think my legs are asleep."

Twilight's eyes lit up "asleep? What do you mean?"

Jason blinked "you know, when the blood stops pumping to your limbs and you loose feeling around there?"

Twilight was captivated "Ponies don't do that, can you explain in greater detail?" She asked excitedly.

Jason sighed and tried to scrounge up what little information he had on the subject "when Human's have long periods of inactivity our limps, particularly our legs and feet since they tend to move the least when we sit or lie down, start to loose feeling. I don't know if the blood actually stood flowing or just slows but I do know it has to do with another bodily function."

"Which one?" Twilight asked.

"Well... Say... That I had lost my leg," Jason said, and grinned when Twilight widened her eyes in small bit of fear "hypothetically." He added quickly.

"When that happens, the Human body directs blood away from the lost limp, and the blood begins to harden around the wound to stop the bleeding," Jason explained.

"That's amazing!" Twilight exclaimed "from what you've told me, Human's possess an amazing ability to heal!"

Jason shrugged "I guess so," he said "why, do Ponies not have similar functions?"

Twilight shook her head "when a Pony is injured, instead of our bodies themselves repairing the damage, our inherent magical energy closes and wound and a healing spell can take care of the rest."

Jason blinked "wouldn't that result in high rates of bleed-outs?"

Twilight shook her head "no, at least I don't think so, bleed-outs aren't common, the magic healing is fast-acting, an average of thirty-six minutes for the magical healing to begin."

"Weird..." Jason said "but cool, so, we good?"

Twilight smiled "we're cool, try to see if you can't get out today, alright?"

Jason smiled "okay."

Twilight kept her smile and came over to Jason, she wrapped him in a warm hug.

"I'm glad your okay," she said.

"So am I," Jason said back, Twilight slipped away and exited the room. Jason laid back against the back of his bed.

Nap first, getting out later

~~*~~

It took some convincing, a lot of convincing, but Jason eventually managed to convince Band Aid that fresh air and a comfortable environment were better for his health. Band Aid relented but not without several reminders that he was, in fact, a doctor and that made it so he knew what was best. Jason was off the hook but left the hospital with Band Aid grumbling behind him about 'darn country-types and their cure-all fresh air nonsense.'

Jason strode from the hospital, his brown coat slung over his better shoulder. The townsfolk trotted to and fro, energized by their universal quest to repair the damage done by the chaotic tornado that had passed through. Rubble was gathered up, weather was being reined in, and general repairs were being made. Jason could spot several platoons of Royal Guard's moved with the townsfolk helping where they could, he couldn't spot the Princess or any of his friends.

Jason considered heading to Twilight's library and taking a rest, but after a very satisfying nap in the hospital Jason was full of renewed energy.

And he had a bone to pick with certain smithy.

Makers Fire's hammer could be heard echoing from almost a kilometre away, the smith was given plenty of work repairing wheel axles, making nails and whatnot. As Jason approached he could make out the crease in Maker's forehead, it wasn't one of concentration but rather one of annoyance.

He did brighten up when Jason approached, as much as Makers Fire's grumpy face could brighten at least.

"Jason," he grunted, throwing a red hot metal beam into the Collins water with a blast of steam "always a pleasure."

Jason didn't say anything, merely tapped his foot on the dirt.

"Royal Smith, huh?"

Maker blinked "uh... Yeah? Formerly at least, I told you that didn't I?"

"You did," Jason confirmed "so, tell me, why is it that the sword you made, you bring a Royal Smith and all, why did the sword snap in half?"

Maker's jaw dropped "It didn't!"

"It did," Jason said.

"Impossible! I mean it's not like I used prime folded steel or anything but I shouldn't just snap!" Maker looked did stressed "I knew it! This town is making me soft! I'm losing my edge!"

The smith stopped when he heard Jason chuckling.

"Calm down, Maker," Jason laughed "I don't expect you to make an unbreakable blade."

Makers Fire seemed to think about that "but what if I could?" He said a bit dreamily.

"Eh?" Jason said, startled by this turn.

"I would need materials, Etheruim Steel... Meteorite Alloy if I could get my hooves on it..."

"Eh?"

"I'll need a few months, even a year, if I could just get the time..."

"Okay," Jason said slowly "I'm going to walk away now, but I want you to promise me not to go nuts trying to make the ultimate weapon."

Makers Fire grinned "no promises."

Jason sighed and shook his head "never change, Maker," he said, before walking away.

Jason got several looks as he travelled through the town, but these stares were less fearful curiosity and more admiration, like one who peek at a local celebrity. It felt good, Jason found himself straightening his back a bit as the confidence filled him, maybe everyone was starting to accept him? Treating him like one of their own, it felt good, like he had a home.

When Jason got to the library, he was in the best mood he had been in for several weeks now. He walked through the library door with a slight grin on his face, Twilight was in a familiar spot, she laid on the floor reading through a familiar-looking old book.

The moment Jason entered the room she swiftly closed the book and flipped it upside down, hiding the title.

"Glad to see you out of the hospital, Jason," Twilight said, with a smile that seemed forced "although I hope you aren't thinking of doing anything for the next couple of weeks, we don't want your injuries opening up again."

Jason raised an eyebrow "What are you hiding, Twilight?"

"Hiding?" She said quickly "I have no no idea what your talking about." Twilight's eyes were wide and her ears were twitching.

"Twilight..." Jason said, as if to a child "your a horrible liar."

Twilight gave an awkward laugh and darted her eyes to the sides, as if looking for an exit.

"Every time I see you with that book there, you hide it away," Jason said "why?"

Twilight sighed heavily "I can't tell you," she said sadly, and at Jason's eyebrow she explained hastily.

"I really want to, but, I can't, at least not now," Twilight said.

"...Alright," Jason said "but I'll want an explanation eventually."

"...Okay," Twilight said "I'm glad you understand."

"I don't," Jason said "but I will hold my tongue for now," he turned to the stairs, feeling really tired all of a sudden "I'm glad to be back."

"So am I," Twilight said back, before Jason disappeared up the stairs.

He entered his small little room in the library, Jason tossed his coat onto the floor. Carefully, he lay down on his bed, trying not to bump any of his injuries. Slowly he unlaced his boots with his one good hand and then stared at the ceiling, thinking.

Discord is apparently taken care of... I'll have to ask about that later on, Twilight is keeping things from me... I don't like that, not one bit, but it seems harmless... For now...

Jason sighed "I'm ready for a few days rest." He said out loud.

~~*~~

The setting sun emblazoned the yellowish marble with a fiery orange, vines and other plant life grew out of several cracks and holes in the marble, giving the place an ancient look. In the shadow of one structure- several pillars set into two lines -is where they met, even in this lost world they feared being overheard.

"This place," one said quietly "it is amazing, I was hoping to find some rubble, maybe a statue, but this... This is huge! Amazing! It is almost twice the size of Talonguard!"

"Hush!" The other one hissed "you never know whom might be listening."

"Who? The First? They've been dead since before ancient times" his companion laughed.

"Nothing is set in stone," the other one said "besides, Equestrian architects have been looking for this place for decades."

"And the High King found it first."

"We found it first."

"His Majesty funds us, he allows our search despite it being unholy, you dare defy his right to this land?"

"Stop being naive," the other one said "he is using us, the moment we stop being useful he throws us into the Neverending Ocean, I plan to search this place for Lost Artifacts before that happens."

"Lost Artifacts? What makes you think there are any here?"

"Educated guess," the other one said, caressing the marble structure next to him "reveal to be your secrets, Eternal City of Rome."

Chapter 22- Warming Hearts

"Family is not an important thing. It's everything."

~Michael J. Fox

Goldenoak's Library, Ponyville, Equestria, Tuesday, 24th of December, 9:07am, 2205 AC

Twilight groaned in frustration, slamming the book closed at the same time. Despite his extensive research on ancient Humans, including several accounts of artifacts found (but not where they were stored), unfortunately, regarding the actual history and fall of Humanity the tome was full of educated guesses and legends.

Among the short list of beings who study Humanity, one universally accepted event in their timeline is what is referred to as 'The Fall.' This event refers to the either single or multiple sequence of events that lead to the eventual decline and apparent extinction of Humanity, what actually happened during this time is unknown but from my studies I have surmised several scenario's.

1. Plague, it is possible that some form of deadly disease struck Humanity, one that they, even with their legendary technology, were unable to cope with.

2. Natural Disaster, it is possible that some sort of nature-related disaster initiated The Fall, earthquakes, super volcanos, perhaps even a meteorite, although so far there is little evidence of any.

3. War, it is evidenced that Humanity not only possessed highly advanced weapon technology but have a past filled with heavy warfare, out of all three, this is the most evidenced scenario.

Twilight rolled her eyes, as much as she respected Starswirl the Bearded, his apparently extensive works on Humanity it was mostly rumour and conjecture. Not one mention of possible locations of still-living Human settlements, the entire book worked under the assumption that Humanity was extinct. Something that Twilight found odd, she knew the existence of Humanity was uncommon knowledge, and that their still-maintained existence was a well-kept secret but Twilight assumed Celestia would have shared that fact with her former student.

Something doesn't add up, Twilight thought.

The book did, however, elude that in all likeliness any former Human settlements or cities would be located in the eastern badlands in between Equestria and the Eastern Territories. This was at least slightly helpful, the badlands were a patchwork of forests, wetlands, tundras and deserts, if Humanity was hiding, it was the perfect place to be.

Twilight heard shuffling upstairs and the washroom door open and close, Jason, he was awake. Lately Twilight had noticed he had in fact taken the doctors suggestion and avoided heavy physical activity, he had boycotted his usual morning exercise and instead spend the days lazing around the library reading and whatnot. The only time he really left the library was to be with Roseluck.

Twilight grinned at the thought, Rose and Jason had become really close in the past month, they both seemed happy when together and Twilight was glad Jason had found someone to share his time with. She did on occasion feel a pang of jealousy that Jason was so comfortable talking with Roseluck and not herself, even though he was more than happy to slake her hunger for knowledge but he rarely shared in personal stories with her.

Jason's distinctive footsteps could be heard climbing down the the stairs, Twilight quickly hid the forbidden book behind her bookshelf and grabbed the nearest book on the same shelf and pretended to read it (Everything You Wanted To Know About Conjuration But Were Afraid To Ask by Wooden Alloy.)

Twilight put on a smile as Jason turned the corner "Happy Hearts Warming Eve, Jason," she said.

Jason looked confused "Happy warma whatta?"

"Hearts Warming," Twilight corrected "it's tomorrow, a winter holiday based around the founding of Equestria, it's a time for family, friends and present giving, I guess Human's don't celebrate it do you?"

Jason shook his head "yes and no, we do have a similar holiday, on the same day too but it's called Christmas."

"Christmas?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah," Jason said sadly "it's origins are... A matter of debate but ever year my entire family would gather and spend the holiday together... It was nice."

"I see," Twilight said "so this is the first Christmas away from all of them."

"Yeah.." Jason mumbled, Twilight approached him and placed a comforting hoof on his leg.

"Are you going to be okay?" She asked.

"I'll be fine," Jason said unconvincingly, Twilight pursed her lips in concern, then, a thought came to her.

"What would you do during Christmas?" She asked.

Jason blinked "...Okay this is going to sound a but weird."

Twilight giggled "don't worry, I think I can handle anything you throw at me at this point."

"Okay," Jason said "Well, as I said, family would gather and we would bring gifts for one another, now here's where it gets different, we put the presents under a tree."

Twilight blinked "A tree?"

"A pine tree to be exact," Jason said "we would chop one down, decorate it with lights and baubles before placing presents under it for the holiday."

"...Why?" Twilight asked.

"I have no idea," Jason said with a slight smile.

"...Okay then," Twilight said "anything else?"

"Not really," Jason said "it's pretty simple... But it was nice."

Twilight smiled sympathetically "I'm really sorry."

"Don't be," Jason said.

"So, what are you going to do today?" Twilight asked.

"The usual, read, sleep, eat, repeat," Jason said, getting a laugh from Twilight.

"I'm going out for a bit, keep yourself busy Jason," with a farewell pat Twilight walked away and exited the library.

Once she stepped outside she began walking, but without a direction in mind. Instead she whistled a small little ditty as she reached the small bridge that spanned the river that ran through Ponyville. Twilight leaned over the side, looking at her reflection in the water, she blinked, and suddenly her reflection was joined by a bubbly pink one.

"You called Twilight?" Pinkie Pie asked excitedly.

"Yes, I want you to gather up our friends and gather them at Rarity's place, and keep it quiet, I don't want Jason finding out."

"Oooooh!" Pinkie exclaimed "are we planning a party?!"

"Something like that," Twilight said with a smile "now go get everyone."

"Okay!" In a blink, the Pink Menace disappeared.

Twilight smiled, and continued on walking, towards Rarity's Boutique.

Now where am I going to find a pine tree?

~~*~~

"Pinkie, as much as I enjoy yours and the girls company, I really must ask, why are you all here?"

Pinkie giggled "because Twilight told me to get everypony here, of course!"

Rarity sighed "of course."

"I'm sure whatever the reason, it's important," Applejack said "Twilight wouldn't gather us like this if it wasn't."

"Well, it has something to do with Jason! And that means that it's important! Because Jason is the main character and the writer has a hard time making lighthearted filler with the main character! So clearly this is going to be a emotional chapte-"

"Yes, yes, quite so Pinkie Pie," Rarity cut her off.

"I just want Twilight to get here already," Rainbow Dash whined "She had all the time in the world to get here before us, why is she taking so long?"

"Well that's because-" Pinkie began, but was cut off by the door opening.

"Girls! Your here, good!" Twilight said, trotting in "I have a bit of a project in mind."

"Is this another one of your weird experiments?" Rainbow Dash said cautiously "Because the last one shot my into space before I made a double rain-"

"No, no, no, nothing like that," Twilight said quickly "this has to do with Jason."

"Um... What are we going to do?" Fluttershy asked.

"Well, as you all know, tomorrow is Hearts Warming Day," Twilight explained, and the five other mares nodded in confirmation.

"Well Humans have a similar holiday called 'Christmas' a time for presents and family," Twilight continued "this year is Jason's first Christmas away from home, and I want to make him feel better, so, we're going to celebrate Christmas this year."

The mares exchanged glances.

"And how are we to do that, darling?" Rarity inquired.

Twilight smiled "first, we're going to need a pine tree."

~~*~~

"What is a pine tree anyway?"

"Well, it's a tree, but instead o' leaves it has pine needles all over it."

Rainbow Dash looked around the orchard "well, I case you haven't noticed, there's only apple trees around here AJ."

Applejack rolled here eyes, and shifted the weight of the axe on her back "Ah know that, but Whitetail Woods has all sorts of trees, probably a few pine ones too."

"Okay, but why am I here?" Rainbow asked.

"Ah need you ta' fly up and look, make this whole process a lot shorter," Applejack explained.

"Fly? Can I? When?!" Rainbow demanded, hopping on her hooves.

Applejack giggled "right now, if you want."

"Cool!" Rainbow Dash took off with powerful strokes into the cold air, Applejack shook her head and continued on into Whitetail Woods. Her hooves crunched the thin layer of snow that covered the ground, she kept her eyes sharp for any pine trees but saw none. She did, on the other hand, spot several Maple Trees, their branches bare and their iconic red leaves frozen on the ground.

Applejack smiled, ever since her... Talk, with Jason, she had begun to appreciate the sight of the red-leaved tree, even taken the time to plant a few saplings in her free time. She wondered briefly how Jason must be feeling, a family-orientated holiday, away from everypony he cares about... If it was her she would have given up hope already.

Applejack's thoughts were interrupted as Rainbow Dash alighted next to her.

"I found one!" She exclaimed "and in under ten seconds!" The Pegasus pointed forward "over here."

The two mares broke out in a gallop, Rainbow lead them about a kilometre into the woods up to a medium-sized pine tree.

"Here it is, pines and all," Rainbow said proudly as Applejack un-strapped the wood axe from her back and took it in her mouth. With strong swings Applejack went to town on the trunk, cutting deer and deeper into the tree until a loud snap! could be heard, the two mares stepped back as the tree toppled to the ground with a huff.

"Great, now we need to bring it to the barn," Rainbow said "....how exactly are we going to do that?"

Applejack blinked "...Celestia damn it."

~~*~~

"Mmmm," Rarity mused, looking over Twilight's crudely drawn plan for the tree "It's going to need lights, decorations, and a topper... A trooper."

Rarity looked around her boutique, what could she use for a topper? It had to be something grand, bright, beautiful...

Her eyes alighted on her jewel chest, she trotted over to the case and opened it, inside were a multitude of gems, from rhinestones to rubies to clear crystalline quarts...

Mmmm... Quarts, Rarity thought, grabbing the crystals with her magic, images and designs taking shape in her kind.

"Iiiiiiiiddddeeeaaaa!" She sang, prancing over to her work table.

~~*~~

"Hull!" Rainbow called, tensing her legs and both her and Applejack dragged the tree forward a few meters, they were only twenty meters from the barn, the two of them roped to the centre of the tree.

"Hull!" Rainbow called again and the two mares pulled forward the tree just as the barn door opened to reveal Twilight.

"Girls?" She said in confusion "why are you pulling it? I could have teleported it the entire way." Twilight sparked her horn and the tree disappeared with a purple flash and reappeared upright inside the barn.

Rainbow and Applejack exchanged glances before collapsing, burying their heads in the snow.

"Girls, come on, we need to decorate the tree."

~~*~~

Twilight concentrated and squeezed out another glowing orb of light from her horn, she sent the orb over to the tree, covering it in more light.

"Are you sure these orbs of yours will last, Twilight?" Applejack questioned, looking over the decorated tree.

"I'm sure, they last up to thirty-six hours and attach to whatever surface I want," Twilight said "Now, I want Pinkie to go get Roseluck and Makers Fire... And Band Aid too, tell them to grab a present for Jason if they don't already have one, they rest of you girls can do the same."

~~*~~

Goldenoaks Library, Ponyville, Equestria, Tuesday, 24th of December, 10:35pm, 2205 AC

Rainbow Dash pushed the door open slightly, peaking through the crack, it was dark and quiet all through out the house, nothing was stirring, not even a mouse. Rainbow quietly signalled her friends with glee, and silently they brought in the presents and the tree.

Twilight propped up the tree, sighing in relief that it wasn't too tall, her five friends, Roseluck, Makers Fire, and Band Aid all stalked in and placed their presents under the tree.

"Everyone might as well stay here," Twilight suggested "I'm sure you all want to see Jason's face." The group nodded equally and made themselves comfortable as Twilight pulled out extra blankets and pillows.

~~*~~

Goldenoaks Library, Ponyville, Equestria, Tuesday, 25th of December, 6:25, 2205 AC

Jason's internal clock woke him up instantly, he had a pretty restful sleep all things considers, he supposed it was easier when you weren't anxiously anticipating the bounty of gifts to come.

Merry Christmas, he thought, Jason glanced outside and saw that it was steadily snowing, a white Christmas too. Closing his eyes Jason remembered back.

He flew down the stairs as fast as he could, turning the corner was the most beautiful sight to any child's eyes, the tall Christmas tree, adorned with lights and decorations, at its base a bounty of brightly wrapped presents at which his mother sat in front of.

"Well go on," she laughed "they're all yours."

Jason smiled and rushed to his presents, not before giving his mother a warm a hug which she answered with a kiss on his cheek.

Older, more tired Jason opened his eyes, the lump in his throat demanded to return to reality. With a sigh he exited his bed and stretched his non-broken arm, carefully he readjusted the strap on his sling and opened his room door. He walked down the hall and made it halfway down the stairs before stopping at the most beautiful sight he had ever seen.

A tall, freshly chopped Christmas tree sat in the middle of Twilights library, adorned on it were a multitude of ribbons, crystals, beads, and other twinkling objects. All around the tree, illuminating it were glowing, pulsating magical light of multiple colours, but the brightest light came from the tree topper. It was carved crystal, in the likeness of an Alicorn spreading her large sparkling wings to take flight, the entire thing glowed a bright, almost holy, light.

At the base of the tree was a small pile of gifts wrapped simply in coloured paper, and away from there was the mane six, Roseluck, Makers Fire, and Band Aid all smiling up at him.

"Happy Christmas, Jason!" They chanted, Jason himself had a slack jaw as he slowly descended the remaining steps.

"W-what...h-how...w-why?" Jason stammered, overwhelmed.

"Well," Twilight said with a smile "when you told me about Christmas, I felt like it was only right you get to celebrate it here just like you did before."

"Y-you d-did this... For me?" Jason said, the lump was back, but it was a much happier lump. Jason blinked and felt a touch of moisture, he reached up at touched his cheek, it was wet with the happiest tears he had ever shed.

Jason looked up at Twilight, who was still smiling. With four short steps Jason closed the distance and knelt down, he scooped Twilight up in a warm hug.

"Thank you," Jason said, Twilight didn't say anything, merely hugged him back.

"GROUP HUG!" Pinkie Pie declared, and suddenly Jason was joined by seven more cuddly Ponies in the strangest yet most enjoyable hug Jason had ever had. Eventually- after several minutes -Jason was set free, but with a permanent happy smile on his face.

"Are all these for me?" Jason asked, looking at the gifts.

Pinkie giggled "of course, silly! Go on!"

With a grin, Jason grabbed the nearest gift and began to unwrap it.

"Come on!" Pinkie exclaimed "we're not saving the paper! Come on!"

Jason got the present free and looked it over, it was a small squishy ball coloured pink. Jason squeezed it and it let loose a duck-like quack.

Pinkie broke out in a fit of giggles "isn't it great?! Every time you squeeze it a different noise comes out! Do you like it?!"

Jason smiled, squeezing the ball again, a bell's ring came out "I love it Pinkie," he said, giving her a hug. Jason placed the ball to the side and grabbed the next present, he tore this one open quickly, it was a small black case. He opened it to reveal several cloths, small bottles and what looked like several sharpening stones.

"Tha's mine," Maker said "it's a care kit for yer blade, keep it nice no matter how much you abuse it."

Jason closed the case and placed it to the side, with a smile and pulled Maker into a hug which he growled at but tolerated, letting the smith go Jason grabbed the next present and tore it open. This one contained a case as well but the case held small brushes and sizers, along with a multitude of shaving razors.

"That one is from me," Rarity said "it's for your hair and facial hair, it will help you make yourself look you best."

Jason smiled and hugged Rarity "thanks." Before he moved on to the next gift, this one revealed to be a stethoscope, and thermometer.

"Yes, it's from me," Band Aid admitted "but I don't ruddy know what you like, do I? I had to improvise.." Band Aid stopped as Jason hugged him, which Band did not appreciate...completely.

"Yes, yes, know stop before you give me some weird Human disease," Band Aid said, pushing Jason off with a barely repressed grin, Jason smiled and returned to his bounty.

The next present was quickly unwrapped, in it, a strange looking whistle that when blowed gave a familiar high-pitch cry.

"It's...um... A bird call," Fluttershy stammered "for a loon," Fluttershy squeaked and blushed as Jason scooped her up in a hug.

Next, was a book, The History of the past thousand years by Ink Blot to be exact.

"I thought it could help familiarize you with recent events," Twilight said sheepishly, Rainbow Dash scoffed as Jason gave Twilight her hug.

"Should've known an egghead like you would've gotten him a book," Rainbow said, she swooped in and grabbed a blue-paper wrapped guilt and shoved it towards Jason.

"Here, check out my awesome gift!" She said, Jason grabbed the gift, it had weight to it and after unwrapping the present it was revealed to be two ten-point dumbbells.

"Now you can start doing better exercises," Rainbow joked "all you do is cardio, you need more weight lifting!"

"Hey!" Jason argued "you never skip leg day!"

"Yeah, but for you leg day is everyday!" Rainbow countered, laughing, Jason joined in and quickly plucked the Pegasus out of the air for a hug.

"Hey!" Rainbow protested but relented to the hug, Jason grinned at she regained flight and turned back to his presents. The next one was quickly unwrapped as was revealed to be a seed of some sort.

"It's a Maple Tree seed," Applejack explained "you can plant it in the spring, have you own tree in a few years."

Jason smiled brightly and gave Applejack her hug, glad that the bad blood was gone between them. Jason turned back to the last present and unwrapped it, it was a jewelry case, inside was a silver necklace with a red jewel, upon closer inspection the jewel was shown to be styled to look like a rose.

"Here, let me," Rose said, she took the necklace, unclasped it, and placed it on Jason's neck. Once she did she laid her hooves on Jason's shoulders, looking into his eyes.

"I wanted to give you something to remind you of me... Just in case you ever forgot," Rose said cryptically, Jason glanced behind her and saw the other mares mouthing 'a'wwww' Rainbow, Maker, and Band Aid looked positively discussed though.

"Happy Christmas, Jason." Rose said.

Jason smiled "Merry Christmas," he corrected "Merry Christmas, Roseluck."

Chapter 23- Shadows In The Dark

"It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness."

~Eleanor Roosevelt

The Sky, North-Western Equestria, Thursday, 14th of January, 11:27pm, 2206 AC

The cold air breezed through Ironbeak's primaries, creating the necessary lift to keep him in the air. With a gentle flap the Gryphon banked right, he could smell the sea now, he was almost home, all he had to do was cross the Caedes Straight which was the water border between Equestria and Gryphonia. Unfortunately the salty air of the sea had a negative effect of the Gryphon's thick feathers making flight near impossible, so he would have to negotiate a passage on the ferry there.

Ironbeak squinted, his eagle eyes could see far even in the dim light of the stars and moon. In the distance was a small collection of lights, the docks, he would have to lower his altitude, flying in at hight would get him much too much attention than he could afford on this mission.

As Ironbeak dived down below the tree level, he felt a bubble of pride swell in his feathered chest. Him, on a mission from the High King! It was a huge honour, the information he carried would benefit the Kingdom so much! Perhaps the High King would commend him on his efforts personally! maybe promote him! Or make him a Knight of the Sky! Maybe even...

The sound reached Ironbeak's ears through the wind gusting past him, immediately he flared his large wings and slowed down. His claws touched down on the cold, hard earth with nay a sound and he scanned around the dark forest. He had heard something, he was sure of it, rustling bushes, snapping twigs, someone was following him.

"Who is there?" Ironbeak called "I am an Agent of his majesty High King Bloodbeak the Eighth! And I demand you show yourself!"

No answer came although Ironbeak hadn't really expected one, he scanned the dark foliage around him and found nothing. He began to relax, perhaps this covert business was making him paranoid? He shook his head and ruffled his feathers, he was just about to spread his wings and fly when he was tackled to the ground by something.

Ironbeak yelled in surprise and rolled away from his attacker, he managed to quickly bring himself onto his four legs. When he did so he found he was surrounded by at least ten Ponies clad in dark leather armour, cloaks, and hoods, all of them pointing long daggers at him in either their mouths or magic.

"Surrender," one of them said, who held his dagger in an ice-blue magical grip "By order of the Two Princesses."

"Who are you?" Ironbeak demanded, drawing his longsword "who are you to command an agent of the Gryphon King?"

"We are Agents of Night," the lead Pony said "And we demand you surrender now or face dire consequences."

"Never!" Ironbeak yelled, brandishing his sword "I will never surrender to you Equestrian scum!" He couldn't let these Equestrians take the information he held! The High King was counting on him! It was his duty! If the Equestrians got their claws... Hooves! On what he had then the whole Kingdom could be at risk!

"Have at you!" Ironbeak called and swung his sword at the lead Pony who quickly blocked his strike with his dagger and in another moment extreme pain exploded on Ironbeak's back and he screamed. The Gryphon's body slumped to the ground as he quickly lost feeling in most of his body, his sword clattered to the ground and his breathing came in shallow huffs. The lead Pony approached him, his dagger sheathed and his hood down revealing a dark blue coat, purple mane, and green eyes.

"You asked me who I am," the stallion said softly "now I ask the same of you."

Ironbeak growled weakly "the first of many," he said angrily "I am a loyal servant of the High King and more of my kind will come, your lands will be taken by them and your false goddesses will face their judgment!" Ironbeak was slipping but he managed to breathe out two last words "Hail Gryphonia!" He cried before his heart fluttered out and the was gone from this world.

Captain Nightshade sighed and sent out a silent prayer for the Gryphon to have safe passage to the next life, he opened his eyes after a moment or two "search him," he ordered.

Immediately his men sifted through the Gryphon's bags, out of the bags came several items: a water skin, a compass, a few preserved rations, and a sealed letter.

"Captain Nightshade," the stallion who had grabbed the letter said and passed the letter to the Captain.

Nightshade looked over the seal with the light from his horn, it bore the likeness of a flying Gryphon with a wreath behind it, the seal of the Gryphon King. Captain Nightshade broke the seal and read what was inside:

My King, we have found it....

~~*~~

The Royal Palace, Canterlot, Equestria, Friday, 15th of January, 12:56pm, 2206 AC

There were advantages to running the night court instead of the day court, Luna had heard horror stories from her sister about obnoxious nobles, whiny subjects, and tax balancing across the board. Princess Luna's court was much different though, the nobles and loyal subjects were asleep and the taxes had been balanced already, in stead, the night court spent it's time guarding the night by those who would take advantage of the darkness. Instead of tax reports, Luna read reports of criminal activity and gave out the necessary orders to deal with the problem.

Luna sparked her magic and picked up the stack of reports, her Night Agents had been diligent, nothing escaped their gaze. Laying the stack down she sifted through them one by one.

Mmmmm.... Some breaking and entering attempts, salt dealers have sprout up in Trottingham, it seems the Thieves Guild was taking jobs again, I shall have to deal with that swiftly before they can acquire funds to build themselves up again....

Luna sighed sadly, there was so much crime nowadays, despite popular belief of a low crime rate. The scum of Equestria never showed their faces in her sisters bright sun but hid themselves in Luna's ever-present shadows, that was the job of the Night Agents, to hunt down the ones who would hide in the dark to evade the law. Thus why no one was aware of the raging problem gripping the nation, crime, it seemed, was Princess Luna's domain.

Luna's thoughts were interrupted by a knocking at her door, it opened to reveal Captain Nightshade, the Commander of her Night Guards. He was wearing the dark leather padding and cloak that her Night Agents wore when on assignment, he saluted Luna.

"At ease, Captain," Luna said "you bring news?"

"I do, ma'am," Nightshade responded, lowering his salute and stepping inside, he closed the door behind him "me and my team picked up the trail of a Gryphon flyer who had flown in from Southern Unknown, he didn't check in at any city while passing through Equestria and he was nearing the Caedes Straight when we caught him."

"Interesting," Luna mused "what was a Gryphon doing in the Southern Unknown? Charting the Southern Sea perhaps?"

"Not so, your majesty," Nightshade said "when he resisted, we were forced to out him down but not before he claimed to be an agent of the Gryphon King, he was also carrying a letter that you might find interesting, although it makes little sense to me."

Nightshade reached into his saddlebags with his magic and produced the letter, Luna took the parchment in her own magical grip and read the script.

My King, we have found it, in the Southern Unknown just as I predicted, the city is more beautiful than any of us could have imagined. The Eternal City of Rome... It lives up to it's name my liege, our team is searching the ruins as you read this but I fear that we will not be able to search the entirety of the city before the Equestrians discover our activities.

Because of this I humbly request you send additional support with an armed escort to the Southern Unknown, but not of Silver Guard but mercenaries perhaps? We do not want your influence to be discovered in this, that is why I sent this message with my most trust courier, Ironbeak, he's a good lad, he will serve as our correspondent.

I also suggest sending our support not through Equestria but through Tauria, the Bulls are no friends of the Ponies and will keep our secrets from them. With luck, and blessings from our Ancestors, we can find what the Forerunners hid in their most glorious city.

Your loyal servant, Steelwing

"Clearly the Gryphons are launching expeditions into the Southern Unknown," Nightshade said, as Luna looked up from the letter "But for what? What is this 'City of Rome' that they speak of? And the Forerunners? I don't know, and I don't like it when I don't know, what should we do ma'am?"

Princess Luna looked at Captain Nightshade, her mind was racing, she needed to speak with her sister immediately. But she couldn't just leave her trusted captain in the dark, could she? Celestia would not want this information getting out even to a trusted servant, with a pang of guilt Luna thought up what to do.

"Wake my sister," Luna ordered "tell her to meet me in the Hall of the Elements."

Nightshade saluted "yes, ma'am! But..." He faltered "what should my team do... Ma'am?"

"Speak to no one about your encounter with the Gryphon, and this one, tell your team to do the same," Luna commanded, feeling a pang of guilt "then destroy any records about the Gryphons in the Southern Unknown, tell your team to go dark."

"Go dark?!" Nightshade exclaimed "isn't that a little... Extreme?"

"You have your orders Captain," Luna said solidly "now carry them out."

Nightshade saluted "yes, ma'am!" He said a bit uncertainly, before walking out with a confused look in his eyes.

Luna sighed as the Captain closed the door, he was a good soldier, she didn't want to keep him out of the loop. But her sister was adamant on keeping any information about Humanity from the common citizen or even her loyal soldiers, both for the protection of Jason, and for the protection of they're citizens. Curiosity when regarding Humans was dangerous for all, regardless of intent.

Luna got up from her desk and exited her study, tucking the letter under her wing, she began walking down the main hall. Her metal-encased hooves echoed on the marble floor, and the moonlight that streamed through the windows glistened in her ethereal mane.

Rome... The Eternal City... Yes, yes I've heard of it. Old stories from Kronos and... Father, the city of power, a symbol of and age long past and the centre of the greatest Human empire to ever exist. What do the Gryphons hope to find there? More importantly, what did the Humans leave there to find?

Luna walked into the Hall of the Elements with a heavy heart, not even the inspiring images of the windows cheered her mood. She came to the centre of the hall and looked up, the stained image of her alter-ego, Nightmare Moon, being purged by the Elements of Harmony and their bearers. It had been a dark time in her life, but one she pulled through, Luna shivered slightly in déjà-vu, the situation she found herself in; secrets kept from her loyal soldiers, Human artifacts propping up, it bore a chilling resemblance to the events that lead up to her fall.

Celestia came into the Hall, her Royal Regalia was absent as she had been sleeping, but she appeared to be awake and alert.

"Sister, the Captain seemed distressed, what is wrong?" Celestia said as she reached Luna, the Night Princess pulled out the letter from under her wing and magicked it over to Celestia.

"This was taken from a Gryphon courier near the Caedes Straight," Luna explained as Celestia read the letter "the courier was put down, so the letter never arrived."

"This is troubling," Celestia said "the Gryphons finding a Human city? This cannot bode well."

Luna nodded "The Eternal City of Rome," she said "have you ever heard of it?"

Celestia thought "yes, those old stories that father used to tell us, The Empire of Rome, remember?"

"I do," Luna said, nodding "but what do they hope to find there? What is there to find?"

"I don't know," Celestia admitted "but.... I know someone who might."

"Who would..." The Luna realized "Jason."

"He's a Human, chances are he knows something about this city, and what it might contain."

Luna shook her head "you put too much trust in him, sister, I don't understand it."

"He has done nothing to constitute mistrust," Celestia defended "what I do not understand is your attitude towards him.

"He is a Human," Luna reminded "you seem to forget that Humans cannot be trusted."

Celestia glared at her sister "you judge him by how he was born, but not how he lives? Jason has demonstrated himself to be trustworthy, friendly, and... A good friend."

"All of which could be part of a ploy to deceive you," Luna argued "sister I am only worried for your safety, what reason does he have to be loyal to us? We swore long ago to defend our lands from the Human menace, he is simply the same enemy in a smaller form."

Celestia grit her teeth angrily "He. Is. Not. Our. Enemy." She said, before taking a few deep breaths to calm herself "your feelings towards Jason are moot, we need his help, in the morning we shall summon him here and discuss our next course of action."

Luna wasn't happy "so be it," she said bitterly.

~~*~~

Golden Oaks Library, Ponyville, Equestria, Friday, 15th of January, 7:45, 2206 AC

Celestia sun hadn't risen yet, the winter nights were much longer after all. And thus the entirety of Ponyville was still shrouded in darkness, one that wasn't broken by the bright stars or the luminous moon. Usually at this time the residents would be waking and beginning their morning routine, however, the Ponies had not yet come across the idea of daylight savings time.

Jason's body woke him up automatically, as it did every day, give or take an hour or so. Stretching, Jason sat up in his bed and pulled the covers off of him, he felt a snap on his back as he stretch out the kinks. Grabbing one of his fingers Jason pulled the appendage back until he felt a similar crack, he did so for each of his fingers and toes. He had gotten into the habit a few weeks ago and had thus done it in the mornings or whenever he was bored, Band Aid said it wasn't healthy for his joints but Jason couldn't find a real reason to stop.

Standing up Jason went over to his closet, he had acquired quite the wardrobe, curtesy of Rarity's fashion skills of course. Including a new outdoors outfit, tough-fabric pants, and a light t-shirt, Jason put these on and laced up his boots quickly, he also took the time to clip on his knife and place Roseluck's necklace over his head.

Quietly as he could Jason descended the stairs, he had also gotten back into the habit of going out in the mornings. Not for jogs though, but for a refreshing stroll to clear the grogginess from his head.

Jason cleared the stairs and was heading for the door when he heard a commotion upstairs, muffled voices, and the familiar sound of pattering feet. Twilight's bedroom door opened to reveal Spike who was holding a scroll clenched in his claws, he made towards Jason and was followed quickly by a bedraggled Twilight.

"Spike, I really think I should read that too," Twilight way saying.

"I told you, it's not for you, it's for Jason!" Spike argued grumpily.

"And how do you know that?" Twilight countered, following Spike down the stairs.

"I just know, okay?" Spike reached Jason and shoved the scroll into the Human's hands.

"There! That's from Princess Celestia, for your eyes only," Spike said, shooting an annoyed glance and Twilight.

Jason raised an eyebrow and unfurled the scroll, Celestia's writing greeted him.

Possible Human artifacts found, head to Canterlot immediately.

Jason eyes widened slightly but he quickly got his expression under control "Celestia wants me to head to Canterlot as soon as I can, she.... Didn't say why."

Twilights ears perked up "oh! Well this is unexpected, I'll get the girls and we can leave once we're together."

"Uh..." Jason said "well... It didn't say for all of us to go, just... Me."

"I'm sure Celestia meant all of us," Twilight said nonchalantly, summoning a brush and running it through her messy mane.

"But... Uh... I..." Jason stuttered, trying to think of a legitimate reason for Twilight and the rest of his friends not to come with him.

"Just forget it dude, once she's convinced she won't change her mind," Spike said.

"You might as well go wait at the train station," Twilight suggested "see what time the train to Canterlot will be arriving."

"But... I... You... Fine," Jason submitted, he grabbed his brown long-coat off the hook near the door, threw it on, and exited the library. Jason hardly paid attention to anything around him as his mind was otherwise occupied, Human artifacts? Where? How? What were they? The implications of this discovery were huge. Celestia will want to cover this up, Jason realized, she'll want to find this artifact and and store it away from the public eye. Why she feared anyone discovering the truth about Humanity escaped Jason, although.... He could imagine the reactions of his friends if they discovered the truth, that his race almost destroyed their future, that Humans were gone, and that Jason had kept the truth from them.

Jason cut off this line of thought before it dragged him into a more depressing place, he reached the train platform without realizing he had made it there. Looking around Jason saw no one there besides the service-pony sitting in his booth, Jason approached him and asked when the next train to Canterlot would be coming. The stallion said the next one would be arriving at around eight and leaving at eight-twenty, Jason thanked the Pony and sat down on one of the many benches.

The girls arrived not ten minutes later, all of them tired and cranky, besides Pinkie Pie of course.

"Oooooh! I wonder why the Princess has summoned us?! I bet it's something super duper important! Like the main plot! But the readers will have to wait fooorreeevvvverr! Because the Professor ate too many of those yummy-yummy-in-my-tummy Mint Patties! And he's getting that meanie acid reflux so he has to-"

"Yes, yes, Pinkie," Rarity interrupted tiredly, her main and make-up perfect despite her grumpy demeanour "but could you please not get going this morning? It is too early.."

"Okay!" Pinkie exclaimed, jumping up and down.

Rarity flinched "and please, do not yell..."

"Okay.." Pinkie whispered.

The trains whistle could be heard and the locomotive came around the bend, it's wheels screeched as the train slowed and came to a halt in front of the platform, giving another whistle as to boast it's arrival. The conductor poked his head out of the front of the train and called out.

"All aboard who are coming aboard!" He yelled, the doors to the train opened, twenty or so Ponies exited the train and were replaced by Jason and his friends. The train waited there for only a few moments before it led loose a whistle again and began to chug along towards the capital. The ride was quiet as they were all very tired, only Pinkie Pie was awake and aware, but she was abiding by her friends wishes and remained quiet, residing to bounce up and down the length of the train car the entire trip.

Their train arrived at Canterlot just as the sun was kissing the marble buildings, All but Jason and Pinkie Pie had fallen asleep, Jason roused them from their nap as the train stopped in front of the station.

"Come on, we're here and Celestia will be waiting for us," Jason said, shaking them each awake.

Rainbow yawned hugely "why couldn't the Princess summon us after twelve?"

"I must admit, this is an inconvenient time to travel," Rarity added. Jason didn't offer any responses, instead he lead them off the train, into the streets, and towards the palace. Only the occasional resident passed by them or a Royal Guard patrolpony at times, both would give their little group a strange look before hurrying on their way.

Applejack trotted up next to Jason "so did the Princess say why she wanted us to head here so quick like?"

"Uh, no, she didn't," Jason said unconvincingly, Applejack narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"Jason, what are ya' hidin'?" Applejack asked slowly.

"Oh look! There's the palace! Best not keep Celestia waiting!" Jason said, quickening his pace and pulling ahead of Applejack.

"Hey! Git back here!" Applejack called in annoyance, but Jason was already at the main gates of the palace. The two guards looked at Jason, holding their spears steady.

"What business do you have here?" One of them asked.

"Princess Celestia invited me, she said it was urgent," Jason explained.

"He speaks the truth, the Captain told me to let in the strange two-legged creature," the other guard said, getting the attention of his companion.

"Your only tell me this now?" The guard said in annoyance.

"It didn't seem important until now," the other guard said nonchalantly.

Jason cleared his throat "so, uh, can we go in?"

"Oh, yeah sure," the guards lit their horns and the gate swung open "go right in."

Jason nodded his thanks and entered the palace grounds, followed quickly by the girls who hand caught up with him. Applejack seemed annoyed but held her tongue, as Jason approached the steps to the palace the doors opened revealed an armoured figure. It was a guard of some sort but adorned in purple armour with gold trim and a helmet with a large plume, he carried a sword at his side as well.

The newcomer stopped at the foot of the stairs and stared at Jason who had stopped as well, the two stared at each other as if sizing up one another before Twilight's voice broke the impasse.

"Brother!" She exclaimed, trotting pass Jason and towards the newcomer.

"Brother?" Jason questioned, but his went unanswered as Twilight's apparent brother removed his helm, revealing a blue mane, he magicked the helm to the ground and embraced Twilight when she reached him.

Jason walked closer and cleared his throat, getting Twilight's attention.

"Oh!" She said, breaking away from her brother "I'm sorry, Jason, this is my brother Shining Armour, Captain of the Royal Guard."

"Twilight never mentioned a brother, and certainly didn't mention you being the captain of the Royal Guard," Jason extended his hand and gave friendly smile "pleasure to meet you."

Shining Armour shook Jason's hand "strange, she mentioned you enough in her letters," he said "nice job with the Diamond Dogs by the way."

"Um, thanks?" Jason said, dropping Shining's hoof, Twilight cleared her throat awkwardly.

"So why are you here, Shiny?" she asked.

"I was ordered by Princess Celestia to escort... Jason, to her, although she didn't mention you and your friends being here."

"Oh, I'm sure it just slipped her mind," Twilight said, although she sounded like she was trying to convince herself.

"Right... Well if you'll all follow me, I shall take you to the Princess," Shining Armour replaced his helmet and gestured for them to follow, before making his way up the stairs with Jason and the girls in tow.

Shining Armour lead them inside the main hall and then immediately to the left, down a familiar hall, the Hall of the Elements. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were down towards the centre of the hall length, discussing something in hushed tones, they turned towards the group as they approached.

"Twilight?" Celestia said surprised "I... Didn't expect you and your friends to come as well."

"Why? You asked us here didn't you?" Twilight asked.

"Well... I..." Celestia uncharacteristically stuttered "I... Had only asked Jason here, to discuss a.... Sensitive matter, not that you are not welcome! But perhaps you are your friends could grant us some privacy?"

Twilight's eyes were filled with barely concealed hurt "O-of course Princess! Um... Well... Just... Uh..."

Luna jumped in "Captain? Perhaps you should lead Twilight Sparkle and her companions to the dining hall? Get them something to eat, and then head back here, we have things to discuss."

Shining Armour saluted "yes, ma'am!" He lowered his hoof and laid it on Twilight's shoulder "come on," and lead her and the girls from the hall.

"Why did she come?" Celestia asked tiredly.

"She insisted," Jason answered "and we could have avoided this if you would just tell her the truth."

"You know why I can't do that," Celestia dismissed.

"No, I really don't," Jason said in annoyance, turning towards the Princess "and it is getting harder and harder to keep it from them."

"We must keep the truth from them, for their own good," Celestia countered.

"It will cause more harm the longer we keep it from them!" Jason said angrily "not to mention how hard it is to lie about my own goddamn species!"

Celestia was taken aback at the outburst "I-I didn't..."

"Of course you didn't," Jason said bitterly, before taking a deep breath "why did you call me here?"

Celestia was still shocked so Luna stepped forward "We have a single question, Human, and you will answer it to the best of your ability, understood?"

Jason turned his head slowly to Luna, he was not in the mood for her tone "I understand," he spat "Alicorn."

Luna took an angry step forward "why you insolent little-" she was cut off by Celestia stepping between them.

"Have you heard of a city called Rome?" She asked.

Jason blinked, taken by surprise at the question "what?"

"Have you ever heard of a Human city by the name of Rome?" Celestia repeated.

Jason raised his eyebrows "Uh... Yeah?" he said uncertainly, Luna came out from behind Celestia.

"What do you know?!" She demanded, Jason remained silent and looked at Celestia.

"Tell us please," she said gently.

Jason sighed and rubbed his forehead, a migraine was forming, he could feel it "Rome is arguably the most famous Human city to have ever exist, called 'The Eternal City' by its original citizens, and has been the centre of three of the most historically significant events in Human history."

Celestia and Luna exchanged glances "and what events would those be?" Celestia asked.

"The first would be the rise of the Roman Empire, which was the first civilization to unite the western world under one banner, a task that seemed impossible beforehand. Their rise was followed of course by their fall, which plunged their former empire into despair and chaos before the Renaissance came, a time of culture and technological boom that heralded in what most people consider the third golden age of Humanity."

Celestia and Luna looked at one another again, a silent message seemingly passing between them.

"But your letter mentioned possible Human artifacts, what does this have to do with that?" Jason asked.

Celestia looked at Luna who stepped forward "About nine hours ago a team of my Night Agents captured a Gryphon courier travelling from the Southern Unknown, he carried a letter addressed to the High King of Gryphonia, it made tell of the city of Rome and made a request of additional support there to help search the ruins for artifacts."

Jason blinked "I don't get it, what's the problem?"

Celestia shook her head "I suppose you wouldn't understand, during the war Humanity got into the habit of taking magic from the Alicorns and turning it into weapons."

"I thought Humans couldn't use magic?" Jason asked "I mean, I certainly can't."

"Somehow, the Humans found away to channel powerful Alicorn magic into single items, staffs, orbs, blades.... Scrolls, to use against us."

"What makes the Gryphon's so sure that there's Human artifacts in Rome? It's an ancient city and from what you've told be, Humanity long abandoned these lands for the west continents."

"Yes, but, it appears Rome is located in the Southern Unknown." Celestia explained.

"What's the 'Southern Unknown'?" Jason asked, Celestia sparked her magic and a map appeared in a flash of gold, she levitated it over to Jason.

"The land masses that border the Southern Sea, the ones that have 'Unknown' written over them, that is what we call the Southern Unknown," Celestia explained "It was never properly explored by Ponykind, not even Alicorns, during the war the Humans moved into there and the North and Eastern Unknown's but never attacked from there."

"But... That doesn't make any sense," Jason said "You told me that they attacked from overseas, but if they controlled all that land... Why didn't they attack? Why didn't you attack?"

"Why the Humans didn't attack we never knew, why the Alicorns never did was because we were too preoccupied by their western assault and we saw no immediate threat from those lands." Celestia said "but we did surmise that they had several research facilities in those areas that were experimenting and developing magical weapons to use against us."

"So there's a high possibility there could be one of these facilities in Rome," Jason concluded "but I still don't see why the Gryphon's finding it would be a problem, couldn't you simply speak to their King and stop their expeditions?"

Celestia shook your head and gave a rueful smile "you are smart Jason, but you are no politician," she laughed, getting a glare from Luna, Celestia cleared her throat and regained her professionalism "anyway, the Kingdom of Gryphonia and Equestria are... Not on the best terms, the Gryphons believe that Ponies have spread much too far, as we control four independent countries as you can see there."

Jason looked back down at the map "so if they do find an artifact, they would use it against you."

"Exactly," Celestia said.

"So what should we do?"

"Well first," Luna cut in "tell us the location of Rome."

Jason glared at her and looked at Celestia.

"Please," she added.

Jason nodded and gave a spiteful smile to Luna who looked on in fury, Jason turned back to the map "See this peninsula here?" He said, pointing to Italy "It's called Italy, and even though is has a less detailed shape than I can recall, I think I can remember where the city was located," Jason pointed to around the centre of the Italian peninsula "if I'm correct, it should be around here, built on a swamp, the city was huge, bigger than Canterlot do It wouldn't actually be that hard to find."

"A swamp?" Luna asked "that seems foolish."

"Maybe to you," Jason countered "but to the Romans, it was a show of ingenuity."

"The point is," Celestia interjected "that the Gryphons are on the verge of possibly obtaining dangerous Human artifacts that they will use against us, what are we to do?"

"The answer is obvious," Luna said "we must send our own forces to counter the Gryphons, we must confirm that there is no risk of an artifact falling into their claws and secure any artifact that happens to be in the city."

"That is a reckless decision," Celestia said "Engaging Gryphon forces openly could spark a war between us, something I will not allow."

"Ah, but you forget," Luna countered "the letter made a request for additional forces to be sent, but mercenaries instead of military, this leads us to believe that it is only mercenaries searching the city at this time. Sending troops against independent mercenaries... That is completely within international law."

Celestia opened her mouth but closed it again, she looked at Jason for help.

"I hate to admit it, but I do agree with Luna," Jason said "if you want to prevent the Gryphons from getting Human artifacts, this is your only option."

"Fine," Celestia conceded "when Shining Armour returns we will have him gather up his best stallions."

"I shall tell Captain Nightshade to do the same, this operation will need a touch of subtly after all," Luna said, before trotting off and disappearing around a corner.

"There's one more thing," Jason said "I want Twilight and her friends to come with us."

Celestia shook her head "Jason I can't do that, this will be dangerous and risky, I'm not even okay with letting you go but I need to help navigate, if the element bearers were to go they would undoubtedly come to harm, not to mention find out the truth."

"That is exactly why I want them to come," Jason "you cannot keep protecting them and you cannot continue lying to them, I won't tell them the truth right now, I don't even think I could tell it to their faces, but when they see how far the greatest Human city has fallen... They'll figure it out."

"And they shall ask," Celestia said.

"And I'll tell the truth," Jason said "whatever the consequences."

Celestia thought for a solid minute "you are right," she admitted "I only hope they can find it in their hearts to forgive us."

"Trust me, so do I," Jason said.

"Now, I shall summon Shining Armour and the bearers," Celestia said, her horn glowed and flashed for a second, it was another three minutes or so before Shining Armour arrived with the Mane Six in tow.

"You summoned us Princess?" Shining said as he reached Celestia.

"Indeed I did Captain, it appears we have an expedition on our hooves," Celestia said.

Shining Armour's ears perked "an expedition?" He asked.

"Yes, you see, not ten hours ago we received information that a party of Gryphons has travelled to the Southern Unknown and has come across the remains of a Human city," Celestia began.

"A Human city?!?" Twilight cut in "How?! Where?! Is it in habited?!"

Celestia raised a hoof to stave off the flow of questions "let me explain," she said "the Human city is called 'Rome' and it has been abandoned for the better part of a millennia, however many Human-created artifacts may have been left behind, and the risk of them falling into Gryphon possession is too large for us to do nothing, because of this I am ordering an expedition into the Southern Unknown to find and explore the city of Rome."

The girls seemed excited, Shining Armour stepped up dutifully "what are your orders, ma'am?"

Celestia smiled faintly "I want you to round up your best troops, anyone who has experience working in uncharted wilderness like the Unknown."

"Right away, ma'am," Shining said, turning to leave but Celestia stopped him.

"One more thing, Captain," she said and Shining turned to her "Jason here will be going with you, he will be your navigator and your advisor when in the city, you will respect his words and advice at all times."

"Are... You sure that is a wise decision your majesty?" Shining questioned "putting an untrained civilian in a commanding position?"

Jason had to admit, he kinda agreed.

"Jason has demonstrated his resourcefulness and courage," Celestia assured "and he is the only one with any knowledge of these lands, this is necessary Captain."

"Of course, Princess, I shall gather my forces immediately," Shining Armour saluted and trotted out of of the Hall.

"And us Princess?" Twilight asked eagerly "What will we be doing?"

Celestia let out a faint sigh that only Jason could here "after some... Extensive consideration," she said hesitantly "I have decided to send you along with this expedition... If you are willing that is," she added the last part with a hint of hope in her voice.

"Of course Princess!" Twilight said eagerly "right girls?" The other five mares gave their consent with varying levels of enthusiasm.

"Then perhaps you should all catch the next train to Ponyville? Pack supplies for the trip and come back here within the hour," Celestia suggested.

"Good idea, Princess," Twilight said "coming, Jason?"

"Nah," Jason said "I think I'll stay here, just grab my bag and bring it would ya'? And tell Roseluck where we're going."

"Okay," Twilight said "let's go, girls," with Twilight in the lead the Mane Six trotted off.

"I'll head to the dining hall and grab some food, then I'll find Captain Armour and meet these troops of his," Jason said.

"Of course," Celestia said, she paused "...I wish we did not have to meet like this all the time."

"Me too," Jason said.

"Try to be careful when your out there," Celestia said.

"....Why?"

"No one has been there since ancient times, Jason," Celestia said "the land has grown wild and untamed, something festers in the dark, Jason, I can feel it."

"Something scarier than a Human?" Jason joked.

"Perhaps," Celestia mused "not everything fears Humanity, Jason."

Jason smiled "well, we'll have to change that, won't we?" he began walking down the hall "don't worry about me, I know what I'm doing.

Celestia sighed and looked after the Human "It is not you whom I worry for."

~~*~~

Jason walked out of the palace with a full stomach and a clear head, in the courtyard Shining Armour was standing front of about forty stallions, formed into rows and adorned in cloaks, saddle bags, and light brown padding. Next to him stood a light green Pegasus in the same getup.

Shining turned as Jason approached, he too had changed from his heavy armour into brown padding and a cloak.

"So these are who're coming on the expedition?" Jason asked.

"Yep! Best scouts in the Royal Army, isn't that right Green Breeze?" Shining Armour said, looking at the Pegasus.

"Yes, sir! The five-hundred and first is the best scouting battalion in the business!" Green Breeze boasted "I understand that your going to be our navigator, is that right?"

"Yeah, although calling me a navigator is giving it a stretch, I only know vaguely were our destination is," Jason admitted.

Shining Armour and Green Breeze exchanged worried glances "you mean to tell me you've never been to this... What was it? Rome?" Green Breeze hissed quietly.

"I know where it is, but not the exact coordinates," Jason said, starting to loose confidence in their ability to find the city.

"Then how in Celestia's name are you planning on finding on finding the bucking city?" Green Breeze whispered angrily, glancing behind him to make sure that his troops couldn't overhear them.

"Well... I... Uh..." Jason stuttered, Green Breeze was right, Jason had never even been to Rome. His knowledge of it's location was based off of his occasional glance at a world map and the one geography class he had taken a few years back, Celestia had grossly overestimated his ability to navigate through Italy and it might just be their undoing.

And yet, Jason couldn't find it in him to go back into the palace and tell Celestia he couldn't do it, he imagined the look on her face; distressed and disappointed, she expected much more from Jason and he was loath to disappoint her on that fact.

"Well... It's a big city... We will probably see it from kilometres away," Jason said, convincing himself as much as Green Breeze.

"Great... So we're on an expedition with a navigator who doesn't know where he's going, to a city that I've never heard about, into the bucking Southern Unknown... This is just lovely," Green Breeze groaned, Shining Armour glared at Jason.

"Why didn't you bring this up to the Princess?" He asked angrily "If we get lost in the Unknown, I'll have your weird little head, you heard me?"

Jason frowned "we won't get lost," he said with confidence, although in the back of his mind he knew he was deluding himself "the peninsula we're heading into was one of the most developed places in the world during it's glory days, I'll be surprised if we don't find a road heading straight to Rome."

"That's a faint hope to hold onto," Shining said "if I wasn't under orders I would be pulling this op."

Jason sighed, and was about to retort when he caught moment out of the corner of his eye, a dark blue Pegasus in dark padding and cloak trotting up to them, Shining Armour turned his glare to the newcomer.

"Captain Nightshade," he greeted curtly.

"Captain Shining Armour," Nighshade said back.

"What are you doing here?" Shining asked bluntly.

"Orders from Princess Luna," Nightshade explained "your going to be having one of my teams along with you on your expedition."

Shining Armour gave an almost inaudible sigh "we don't need any of you Night Guards on this expedition, the scouts have it covered."

"Night Agents," Nightshade corrected "and Princess Luna feels like a touch of subtly will be needed on this mission, especially if we encounter the Gryphons."

Shining Armour groaned "fine," he said "so where is this team of yours?"

"Right over there," Nightshade pointed to the far right side of the courtyard to where a group of nine Night Agents were standing around conversing quietly "same team who tracked the Gryphon courier, Princess Luna insisted that this operation is of great importance."

Nightshade turned to Jason and gave him a friendly smile "you must be Jason, I've heard a lot about you," he said, extending his hoof "mostly good, I promise."

Jason shook the stallions hoof, while also trying not to stare at his frankly terrifying lizard-esque eyes. Trying to to be rude Jason cleared his throat "nice to meet you, you must be the Captain of the Night Guards?"

"Captain of the Night," Nightshade corrected "it stands for Nocturnal Intelligence Gathering for Homeland Territories, for some reason everypony thinks were called 'Night Guards' when we're actually Night Agents."

"Understandable," Jason said, dropping the stallions hoof "so are you going to be coming along with us?"

"As much I would like to, somepony has to stay behind and keep everything in order," Nightshade explained "but my team has my second in command, Sargent Moonshine."

Jason snorted slightly at the name, but managed to cover it up with a sneeze.

"Anyway," Nightshade said "I have business to attend to, pleasure meeting you Jason," with that Captain Nightshade flared his... Bat wings, and flew off.

When the Captain had flown away Jason turned to Shining and Green "okay, so what the fuck was up with his eyes and wings?"

Shining Armour and Green Breeze exchanged amused glances "he's a bat pony," Shining explained casually.

"...A bat pony," Jason repeated.

"Yep," Shining Armour said "when you join the Night Guards, you swear fealty to Princess Luna and her night, in return she places and enchantment on you to grant you the eyes of a cat that can see in the dark and the wings of a bat to fly silently."

"...Does the Day Guards have something similar?" Jason asked.

"Solar Guards," Shining corrected "and we do, sort of, Princess Celestia enchants the Solar Guards with the Light of Sol she calls it, so whenever we stand in sunlight we are fuelled by the suns energy and light, our magic is boosted and our strength is doubled."

"Huh, interesting," Jason mused, he glanced at the main gates and spotted a familiar colourful group heading towards them.

"Looks like Twilights back," he said.

The Mane Six came through the main gate sporting saddlebags and travelling cloaks, Twilight trotted up to Jason wearing a deep purple cloak with swirling runes on its tail. In her magical grip she carried Jason's small green day bag and passed it to him.

"I told Roseluck about where we are going," Twilight said.

"She wasn't happy?" Jason asked.

"She wasn't happy," Twilight confirmed.

"Wanted to come with us?"

"Wanted to come with us."

"And you said no right?"

"Well..." Twilight hesitated "about that..."

"So what is this city called again?" Roseluck's voiced echoed from the main entrance, she trotted up to the ranked guards and pushed through them with quick apologies given as she push through "oh, hello Jason," Rose said, she walked up an nuzzled Jason's leg. She was adorned in her own saddlebags and dark red cloak that matched her mane.

"Uh... Hi... Rosy," Jason said, kneeling down and giving her a quick hug "but... Uh... What're you doin' here?"

"Well I'm coming with you of course," Roseluck said a bit too cheerfully "after all, you wouldn't go traveling into the Southern Unknown with the girls and not me, right?"

Jason gulped "of course not."

"Good," Roseluck said with a smile, behind her Rainbow Dash was snickering silently and making a motion with her hoof that looked suspiciously like she was cracking a whip.

"Train is here," Shining Armour called out "grab your equipment and mount up, we make for Appleoosa and we hoof it from there, move out!"

The troops didn't take long and soon Jason and the girls were sitting in their own booth, listening to the gentle click-clack of the trains wheels, and Twilight's barrage of questions. Roseluck had fallen asleep with Jason as her pillow and the other five mares conversed with each other, leaving Jason to quench Twilight's thirst for knowledge.

"So Jason," Twilight said eagerly, leaning forward in her seat "what do you know about thus city, Rome?"

"Well," Jason began "it was often called The Eternal City, everyone thought it would stand forever, and apparently so far it has, in its glory days Rome was the centre of the largest Human Empire to have ever existed, the Roman Empire. The city has also played host to numerous social, religious, and political reforms that shook Human society, Rome is... The greatest Human city to have ever stood."

"Wow," Twilight "but... If the city is so important historically and culturally, why would the modern day Human's not reclaim it?"

Jason refused to meet her gaze "I couldn't tell you," he said with a controlled voice.

"Mmmm... Well maybe we'll find answers when we get there? We might even find other Humans there!" Twilight said excitedly.

"Yeah, maybe," Jason said with a decisive lack of optimism.

"What's wrong?" Twilight asked worriedly "aren't you excited that you could possibly meet more of your kind?"

"Of course I am," Jason lied "I just don't want to get my hopes up just to be disappointed."

"Jason," Twilight said, in a slightly motherly tone "it's okay to have hope."

Jason slowly smiled "your right, it is."

"Besides," Twilight said "the city is still standing isn't it? That's pretty impressive for a city founded before recorded history."

"Yeah, I suppose it is."

They arrived in Appleoosa at around midday, the grass plains had given way to dusty desert and orchards of apple-trees similar to that of Sweet Apple Acres.

"Mah cousin Braeburn owns these orchards," Applejacked piped in "basically runs Appleoosa he does."

The train slowed and pulled into the station with a hiss and a whistle, immediately Shining Armour's troops and the Night Agents began unloading themselves and their gear.

"You have and hour and a half for a quick lunch!" They heard Shining call "after that we will be moving again meal or no meal!"

"Come on! Ah can introduce ya'll to Braeburn," Applejack said, jumping from her seat and gesturing for them to follow, each of them followed in turn with Jason and Roseluck taking up the rear as Jason had to wake Rose from her slumber.

Applejack lead them off the train and into Appleoosa proper, the town had the look of an old western movie. With dusty wooden buildings with thatch roofs and a dirt roam leading through the town, as Jason watch a tumbleweed rolled through the middle of the road and disappeared behind a building.

No signs of life came from the buildings, the place was a ghostown.

"Where is everyone?" Jason wondered out loud, before anyone could answer the farthest building opened up to reveal a light orange stallion clad in a brown Stetson, jacket, and a strap around his middle that held a lasso and a large knife.

"Cousin!" the newcomer said, trotting towards them.

"Braeburn!" Applejack said back, meeting him half way and embracing him "come meet mah friends!" She said, leading Braeburn towards them.

"Of course! I'm Braeburn and-" Braeburn's green eyes alighted on Jason "what're you?!"

Applejack slapped Braeburn on the back of his head, knocking the Stetson right off his head, revealing fiery orange hair underneath.

"Hey!" He said but caught Applejack's meaningful look "oh... Um, I mean... Who're you?" Braeburn said in forced politeness.

"That's Jason," Applejack said as Braeburn retrieved his hat "and this is Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Roseluck," Applejack pointed to each of them in turn.

"Well, it's mighty nice to meet ya'll!" Braeburn said, his hat squarely on his head "and welcome to Aaaapplleeoooooossssaaaa!" He exclaimed, rearing up and flailing his front hooves before hitting the ground again.

"So where're the townsfolk Brae?" Applejack questioned.

"Oh! They're all harvesting the last of the apples before winter gets here," Braeburn said "come on I'll show ya'll!"

Braeburn led them past the sheriffs office and into a large orchard where the apple trees were spaced apart evenly, only half a kilometre in they spotted more and more cowboy-looking Earth Ponies harvesting the apples.

"Apples are in high demand during the winter," Braeburn explained "so the last few harvests are really important."

Jason was about to ask a question but a distant rumbling reached him ears, the sound quickly became louder and louder and he could here several of the townsfolk yell in warning.

"STAMPEDE!" Braeburn yelled "GET BEHIND A TREE!" Braeburn dived behind the nearest Apple Tree, in a panic Jason grabbed Roseluck and did the same, hoping that the girls did the same.

A thought came to Jason "what the fuck is stampeding?!"

His answer came in huge, furry beasts running past them in the hundreds and heading towards the town.

"Buffalo!" Roseluck exclaimed.

Rome will have to wait.

Chapter 24- All Roads Lead To Rome

"I came. I saw. I conquered"

-Julius Caesar

South Field, Appleoosa, Equestria, Friday, 15th of January, 1:27pm, 2206 AC

The Buffalo ran past like a thunder storm, the ground shook with their collective hoofbeats. Jason estimated several hundred ran past them before the river became a trickle and then faded away as the herd stampeded out of the woods and towards Appleoosa proper. Braeburn and his fellow townsfolk came out from their tree cover, looking in horror as the Buffalo neared their town.

"Git back to the town! Don't let those natives take anything!" Braeburn yelled, running forward along with the settler ponies. Jason came out from behind his own tree with Roseluck close by, the Mane Six conjugated around him as they watched the townsfolk gallop towards Appleoosa.

"Natives?" Jason asked.

"Yeah, the Buffalo are native to these lands and lived alone until Ponies started settling in the south," Twilight explained "I'd imagine there's probably tension between them."

"You got that right," Applejack said "Braeburn's always writing to me about how the Buffalo always trample through their orchards and harass the town and sometimes things will go missin' he says, small things, Braeburn thinks that the Buffalo are ta' blame."

"Wait a minute; don't the Buffalo have a right to do whatever they want? I mean they were here first," Rainbow Dash argued "the settler Ponies shouldn't be taking their lands way from them."

"Hey! I know! Let's all go see what's happening at the town! Come on gang!" Jason said way too cheerfully and began to walk away way too quickly. Roseluck quickly caught up as did the rest of the girls.

"Awkward topic?" Roseluck asked.

"Rosy my dear, you have no idea," Jason said tiredly.

Their group re-entered Appleoosa in a timely manner, the Buffalo had stopped stampeding and stood segregated from the Ponies as they faced off. One Buffalo stood in front of the group; he was larger than the others and his head being adorned with a feathery headdress that was rather familiar in design for Jason. Next to the large lead Buffalo stood a decisively smaller one, small in frame and with her head adorned with only a couple feathers that was more similar to the headdress that the majority of their herd wore, they both stood off facing Braeburn and another pony that sported a black Stetson a moustache and a sheriff’s badge.

"Ah told ya' once Thunderhooves and I'll tell ya' again, we can't just move hundreds a' trees!" Braeburn said as Jason and his lot came within ear shot.

"And I have told you, Braeburn, that those trees should not have been planted in the first place. The Thunder Clan has been stampeding over these lands for thousands of years, and we will not stop simply because you Ponies cannot keep to your own borders," Thunderhooves said in retort.

"Our own borders? These are our own borders! We settled here! Traveled far and wide before comin' here! And we ain't gunna leave just because ya'll Buffalo can't run somewhere else!"

"We have been stampeding here for generations! My father did it! And his father before him and his father before him and his father before him! We will not change our ways on the whims of Ponies!"

Braeburn looked like he was about to retort viciously but Twilight stepped forward and cleared her throat.

"Excuse me, I'm sorry to intrude, but what is the issue here?" She asked.

"No offence Miss, but this ain't really your problem." Braeburn said dismissively, Twilight frowned but Applejack beat her to the punch.

"Trust her cuz, she's the smartest Pony I've ever met, she can help," she said, eliciting a smile and a faint blush from Twilight at the praise.

"Well if yer sure, ah suppose it couldn't hurt," Braeburn relented before looking back at Twilight "Well you probably guessed from our little spat, but basically these here Buffalo keep runnin' all over our orchards for no good reason, we've told 'em ta' stop but they just won't."

"No good reason?!" Thunderhooves rumbled "we have all the reason you should need! These are our lands! Our tradition holds that we must stampede over these lands every turn of the season!"

"But, to what end?" Twilight asked.

"It's tradition!" Thunderhooves bellowed.
"But... What purpose does it serve? Practically speaking?"

"To honour our ancestors! Who stampeded before us!"

"...But..."

"Come on Twilight," Rainbow cut in "it's not like Ponies don't have traditions that don't make sense, it's just something they've always done and now the settlers are getting in their way, on their land."

"Now wait just a minute," Applejack said "these folk worked their tails off building this town and maintainin' this orchard, and I can tell ya' they have the best apples of the south, better than my own farm. What do these Buffalo do with their runnin' around?"

"Uhhhh... How about compromise?" Jason offered unsurely.

"I do not think that compromise is possible..." Thunderhooves said but then paused when his eyes lay on Jason.

"Go on, say it," Jason said tiredly.

"By the ancestor! A Golden One! “The Chief asked.

"I'm a Hum-wait, what?" Jason said.

"A Golden One! Those who lived before the time of the Great Ancestor! During the mythical Era of Fire!" Thunderhooves exclaimed.

"I... Have no idea what you’re talking about," Jason admitted.

"But... The Ancestors Words speak of your kind! 'Beings of Gold, living in a time of fire. Before your ancestor, they ruled all lands and all oceans, tall, two-legged, and powerful, they flattened the ground to make way for the stampeding grounds of the ancestor and all his children' this describes your kind does it not?" Thunderhooves said excitedly.
Jason looked at Twilight for help but she only offered a shrug and a sympathetic smile

"Humans were wide spread back in the day," she said "it's no surprise that they have a part of a culture, this probably won't be the first time we come across something like this."

"Well poop," Jason said, before looking back to Chief Thunderhooves "look, I'm not... Whatever you think I am, but I and my friends are more than happy to help solve this spat of yours."

"I am grateful for your offer Golden One, but I do not think a compromise can be reached," Thunderhooves said sadly.

"But wait," Jason said "you need to stampede where the orchard is but the trees are in the way, the settlers can't move their trees because it would be too much unnecessary effort, but couldn't the settler Ponies just remove a few trees? A path through the orchard for you guys to run through."

Both Braeburn and Thunderhooves took a moment to consider that, exchanging glances before coming to a conclusion.

"I can see that working." Thunderhooves said

"So do I, shouldn't be too much trouble replantin' a few trees rather than the whole orchard." Braeburn admitted.

"What?!" The moustachioed Sheriff exclaimed "ya' can't do that Braeburn! Ya' let these natives have any leeway! First we're lettin' them runnin' through our orchards, next thing ya' know they're makin' us sacrifice foals and eat cactuses!"

By forces unexplained, but have been around since before the dawn of man. Jason's right appendage lifted from his side and came to embrace the face of its owner, the palm making contact with the forehead in a perfect fit that evolution had crafted over thousands of years.

"There's always one of them..." Jason mumbled into his hand.

"That's just stupid," Rainbow Dash said "you can't seriously think they would demand anything that ridiculous."

"She's right sheriff," Braeburn said "this option is the best for everypony, I'll even organize the whole thing myself."

"Mark my words! Nothin' can come from dealin' with Buffalo," the Sheriff grumbled before storming off.

"Well, fuck him," Jason said casually "I'll leave you lot to work out the solution, we gotta head back to the station, I'm pretty sure our escort it waiting for us."

"Jason right, come on girls," Twilight said and led them back towards the train station, with Jason sparing a look and a wave behind him before following through.

"I can't believe it..." Thunderhooves said wispily "A Golden One, here, in the flesh, and then he just leaves.... I neglected to ask him his name! What if he knew the ancestor!"

"He told me his name was Jason," Braeburn said.

"Strange, he seemed to know nothing of the fame of his people."

"I don't know about that, but I think we should start makin' that path through the orchard."
"I agree, we will help of course."

Shining Armour was waiting in front of his soldiers who were formed up in ranks but in a relaxed stance. Their equipment and kit packed up as they were made to wait nearly half an hour, many of them grumpily saying 'hurry up and wait' in bitter joke.

"What took so long?" Shining asked when Jason and his posse arrived; he had that bitter edge to his voice of an officer who had been made to wait.

"Something came up in the town," Twilight said "but we can get going now,"

"Good, we need to make up for lost time," Shining said "I want you and your friends in the middle of the battalion with the 2nd Cohort; they'll protect you if we run into trouble."

"Um... Is it dangerous where we're going?" Fluttershy said softly.

Shining looked to her in sympathy "We're going into the unknown here, literally, we don't know what we'll find, or even if we'll find anything, but of I promise we'll keep you safe."

"Okay..." Fluttershy said, with slightly more confidence.

"Jason, I want you in the front with me and Green Breeze, to navigate," Shining said.
Jason nodded, he noticed that Rose didn't seem too happy with the placements; Jason knelt down to her level.

"I'll only be a little ways in front," he assured her "if anything goes wrong I'll head straight to you."

"Good, then I can keep you from getting yourself hurt," Roseluck said, grinning, Jason grinned back and the party moved into place.

"We move at medium pace! Follow the lead exactly and do not deviate from our course, keep a weather eye about you! We march into the Southern Unknown! Never before has these lands been explored by our kind! Go forth and make your Princesses proud!" Shining Armour called, his voice echoing to the ears of all his troops.

"Lead the way, Jason," Green Breeze said, Jason nodded and pulled out his map that Celestia had given him, and the small pocket compass that had come with him from home.

With a simple method Jason set in a south-east heading into his compass, he then turned his body to match the needle into the red marker on the compass wheel. With a deep breath and stolen confidence he began walking forward. The first ten kilometres or so was flat barren desert, they passed by Appleoosa and the accompanying orchard, already Jason could see the settlers and the Buffalo's clearing a path through the trees to be used for stampeding.

The barren landscape lasted another three kilometres before they crested a smell hill and spotted green in the distance, jungle, thick and tall loomed before them. Already they could hear the chirping and clicking of creatures unknown inside, they stopped just outside the entrance to the woods.

"The Southern Unknown," Green Breeze stated "we are on course then?"

"For now," Jason said "but we're aiming for a peninsula, it's possible that we could end up swinging wide of it, see if you can't hear or smell the sea while we go."

"Sir," one of the scouts spoke up "there's a game trail leading forward over there, sir," the stallion pointed to their right at a path through the foliage that would speed their progress.

"Good eye," Green Breeze complimented "let's keep moving."

The path was a relatively even one, with only the occasion hill or root. Jason had tucked his map away and only checked their heading ever few minutes or so, as they went Jason's mind was filled with his own thoughts. What would they find at Rome? There was a vague hope of a secret civilization of Humans that had survived the war, but it was a faint hope and Jason squashed if before it could drudge up darker thoughts. He then thought of what he planned to do, should I really tell them? Jason could imagine his friends reactions to the fact of his race being all but extinct, with him being the last.
They would contort him of course, angry and confused by the lie of course but the well being of their friend was of more import. But then Jason would tell them why, why the Humans were gone, how his race was almost responsible for the extermination of the Alicorns that would eventually give way to Ponies.

They would hate him.

Jason shook the dark thoughts from his mind; he didn't want to focus on such things right now. Instead he referenced his compass again and looked around, the Appleoosan sands were long behind them and the jungle was a thick as ever. The sun streamed through what little breaches in the thick leaves that existed, Jason squinted through and spotted something odd.

"Are those... Mountains?" Shining said, looking trough the thick branches, he was right a series of mountains lay together throwing everything around them in shadow.

"Oh yeah..." Jason said.

" 'Oh yeah'? What do you mean 'oh yeah'?!" Shining Armour bellowed.

"Well, there're mountains in our way," Jason stated.
"Oh you don't say?" Shining said sarcastically "and I suppose they just slipped your mind? I thought you've been here before!"

"Hey, wait a minute, who said I've ever been here before? I'm goin' offa memory and the map Celestia gave me, I thought you knew that." Jason said defensively.

"Y-you never..." Shining Armour stuttered, before slamming his forehead on a nearby tree.

"I hate you," he mumbled.

Green Breeze guffawed "oh lighten up Shiny! You’re with the scouts! We've been through uncharted lands with even less info!" He looked to Jason "do you recall if there are any passes through the mountains?"

"There should be a bunch, both natural and Human made, if we're lucky we might be able to find a road or a highway and have an easy passage through and all the way to Rome," Jason said.

"You see? It's not so bad," Green Breeze said positively, he glanced back at the sky, the sun was almost kissing the tallest peak of the Alps "we'll find a place to camp for now, brave the mountain pass in the morning."

They found a decently sized clearing near the base of the mountain, they entire way there Shining Armour had been silent, only sparing Jason angry glances from time to time.

Green Breeze took charge and quickly had his troops set up camp, a large fire and cooking their food rations.

Green Breeze tossed Jason a bundle of fabric that was bound together rope "I assume you know how to pitch a tent?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Jason said, or so he thought. As it turned out the tent was Pony sized, not Jason sized, he would have to curl his legs on to fit comfortably.

"Um... Jason?" Roseluck's voice said behind him, uncharacteristically bashful, Jason turned and saw that her cheeks were bright red and she wouldn't look him in the eye.

"Uh... I was thinking... That you know.... We could... Share a tent?" Rose said, meeting Jason's eye. With delayed reaction Jason came to a conclusion, his eyes widened and his face grew hot.

"D-do you mean-" he stuttered.

"No! No! That's not what I meant!" Roseluck stuttered, her face as red as her hair "it's just there aren't a lot of tents and the soldiers said to get a tent partner! So I thought-"
"Grubs ready! Come get yer supper!" Applejack called, rattling a spoon on a metal pot, she had taken over cooking from the soldiers.

"Oh look! Foods ready! We should go eat!" Roseluck said loudly and trotted off as quickly as she could without looking like she was running away.

Jason let out a breath, these Ponies are gonna give me a heart attack.

Supper consisted of a thick broth with noodles, carrots and peas all swimming in tomato sauce. As Jason gulped it down with slow spoonfuls he secretly fantasized about juicy steaks, seasoned pork, and tender moose meat, but was dragging back to reality as he continued to eat. Roseluck joined him on his log-turned-chair; they faced away from the camp, looking into the jungle and the face of the mountains.

"Sorry about earlier," Rose said sheepishly "I didn't mean to scare you."

"Nah, it's my fault, I shouldn't jump to conclusions." Jason said "We can still share a tent if you want.... Although it might be a bit small with the two of us."

"It's okay," Rose said, the conversation trailed off and they both contently sipped at their stew. Roseluck looked up at the tall mountain peaks, her curiosity peaked at the prospect of seeing ancient lands that had not been inhabited since... Well since Jason's time.
She looked at the Human, as he stared at the ground, slurping at his soup. It dawned on her that she was sitting next to someone older than history, who had lived long before her entire race had even been conceived, Rose had never really considered this, she'd had always seen Jason as just that, Jason.

"Hey," Rose said "I overheard you talking to Shining Armour; you've never actually been to Rome?"

"That's right, I haven't," Jason said "but it's not exactly going to be hard to find, my guess is that crossing over the Alps, these mountains here, will be the hardest part."

"And... When we get to Rome, what will find there?"

"...I don't know," Jason admitted "the city itself is obviously there, but I don't know in what condition, as for anything else it's impossible to say."

"Could there be other Humans there?" Rose asked.

"No, the city has been abandoned for centuries," Jason stated, not meeting Rose's eyes.

"How can you know?" Rose asked.

"The Gryphon's letter didn't make mention of any, and I don't think they could have gone unnoticed, especially for this long," Jason said.
"You shouldn't think like that, it's not healthy." Rose said.

Jason grunted and knocked back the rest of his soup "Let's get some sleep," he said "we have a long climb tomorrow."

~~*~~

Base of the Alps, Southern Unknown, Saturday, 16th of February, 6:25am, 2206 AC

Jason awoke to the sound of commotion outside his tent, hoofbeats moving to and from, voices calling to each other with a distinct lack of subtlety. Jason could feel the fuzzy warmth radiating from Roseluck who was curled up next to him, her head resting in the crook of his shoulder, her steady breathy caressing his cheek, Jason sighed contently. He really, really, really, really, didn't want to get out of bed.

Roseluck shifted and opened her eyes, a small smile on her lips.

"Morning," she said.

"Sleep well?" Jason asked.

"Yeah."

"You know we have to get up, right?"

"I know," Roseluck wrapped her hooves around Jason tightly.

"Rose..." Jason said.

"Hush," she answered.

"We have to get up..." Jason said.

"Fine, but I want to ask you something first," Rose said softly, meeting Jason's eyes.

"Shoot."

"Well... I... I wanted to..." Rose stuttered, heat flushing her cheeks "a-ask you about..."

"Oi!" An angry voice yelled, as their tent began to shake back and fort "outta bed you two! Y'all gonna need some food for passin' through these mountains."

Roseluck slipped out of Jason's arms before he could react, she exited the tent without a word. Jason stared after her, confused by her strange behaviour. He laced up his boots and crawled out of the tent, the moment Jason was clear of the tent it was set upon by three soldiers who disassembled it and packed the tent away in mere seconds, all the other tents and gear had been packed bar the cooking equipment that was currently making breakfast.

Roseluck had sat down with the Mane Six, all of them munching down on bowls of shredded wheat. Jason grabbed a bowl for himself and sat down with them, deciding not to mention Roseluck's odd behaviour.

"So, Jason," Twilight said "Shining told us that the scouts found a road that takes us through the mountains; they said they found a lot of strange black rocks on it."

"Asphalt," Jason guessed "it's what most roads were made of."

"Sounds like fun!" Pinkie exclaimed "We're going to go walking! With lots of talking! And then we'll get there and someone will di-"

"Yes, Pinkie, that's the plan," Rarity said "I am just glad that we will have easier passage, my hooves are aching from this rough ground."

"I wouldn't count of it," Jason said "out of everything, Human roads aren't exactly the most lasting thing, and I expect the asphalt is all rubble now."

"Oh, lovely." Rarity said sarcastically.

"You'll live." Jason said with a smile.

They ate and packed quickly, the soldiers reformed their ranks, with one of the scouts joining Jason, Shining, and Green in front to lead them to the road. It was only a kilometre or so away, a clear path that winded up the mountains and through them, just as they started up the slope Jason spotted something off to the side, concealed by the jungle.

"No way," Jason said, he leaped down and ran over to it "...Holy shit, it is!" He exclaimed, pulling out his knife and hacking away at the vines that had claimed it.

"Jason?" Shining called "What the buck is that?"

Jason grinned "It's a car!"

Defiantly a Mercedes model, the poor thing was in terrible shape. Every centimetre of it was claimed by rust and overgrowth, the tires had long since disintegrated into nothingness leaving the rims behind that were well on their way of joining them. Even as Jason shifted plant life off of the vehicle, whole chucks of the body fell off and turned to orange dust, Jason refrained from touching it further for fear of getting an infection.

"What the buck is a car?" Shining asked, as he arrived next to Jason.

"A vehicle that moves by itself," Jason explained "a Human's favoured way of transport back in the day, this one must have been as recent as possible for it to be still here."
Without warning Twilight was besides him, practically bouncing at the sight of the Human technology.

"How does it work?" She asked eagerly.

"Well... Uh... It works off of gasoline, a combustible liquid, the explosions push out pistons that create movement that through a series of gears makes the motion to push the shells and the car forward," Jason said "or at least that's how I understand it."

"I would love to study it!" Twilight said.

"I don't think you can," Jason said "even touching it makes the thing turn to dust, and if it's even nearly as old as me than you can't do any magic with it either."

"We're wasting daylight," Shining said "come on sis, let it go."

"But...but...." Twilight said sadly.

"But nothing," Shining said "let's get moving."

Twilight pouted but complied anyway, they got back onto the road and continued on their way. The mountains grew in size around them, the round twisting up the face until evening out and leading them straight through a canyon of sorts, the sun partly obscured by the rocks.

"I don't like this," Green Breeze said "perfect place for an ambush."

"Do you think that's likely?" Jason asked.

"The Gryphons like ambushing, we're assuming they don't know we're here but they could easily have been tracking us the entire way," Green said "keep a sharp eye about you lads," Green told the troops behind them.

The walls narrowed around them, until their path became blocked by a thicket of branches and vines. Green Breeze tried parting them but with no avail, Shining attempted to slash them away with his own sword but the blade got stuck in one of the branches.

"Strange, that should have gone straight through, it's enchanted with magically induced sharpness," Shining said.

"Magic huh?" Jason said, running his hand along one of the branches "I don't think magic will work very well from now on, this is old land."

Jason took out his knife; it sliced through the thicket cleanly and parted the branches out of the way. Jason replaced his knife and stepped through the gap, the mountain walls ended there and Jason was temporarily blinded by the flare of sunlight, his eyes adjusted and he looked out from the natural balcony onto a beautiful sight.

"Italy," Jason said, as Shining Armour and Green Breeze joined him, the Italian peninsula laid out before them, the Mediterranean Sea bordered it. On the south half of the peninsula, just at the edge of Jason's visual range was a point of light, a city of marble glowing in the midday sun.

"Is that Rome?" Green Breeze asked.

"Yeah," Jason said quietly.

"Let's have a brief rest and snack, and then continue on," Shining said, before turning around and relaying the orders to the troops.

Jason simply found a comfortable patch of ground and sat, gazing out towards Rome with mixed feelings. Both anticipation and dread, on one hand they were almost to Rome, fucking Rome, who knows what they could find there? But on the other hand, Jason hadn't forgotten what he had promised to do, rather what he inevitably had to do, tell the truth about the fate of his species, not something Jason looked forward to. Rose sat down next to Jason, leaning against his side.

"So that's Rome?" She asked.

"Yeah, the Eternal City itself," Jason answered "just wait until we get up close, it's a sight to see."

"You've never been there before?"

"No, I've only seen pictures, back when it was mostly still standing."

"Mostly?"

"Even back then parts of the city were in ruins, I'd imagine all of it crumpling to dust at this point."

"Still, it's amazing that's it's stood for so long."

"I guess it is."

The path down was less steep than the path up had been, but was longer. It snaked down the side of the mountain until levelling out, the path they followed was still relatively clear of trees, only the occasional root or fallen log to bar their path. Occasionally Jason would spot pieces of asphalt or even marble, sometimes stone pieces that looked like they had once been apart of some larger structure. Eventually the came across several wide pillars that had broken long ago, not of marble but of a grey construction-quality stone, Jason guessed that there may have been a highway there at some point.

Their path took a small incline; they crested the hill and were greeted with the majestic sight of Roma, only partially hidden by foliage and the once mighty wall that ran around its limits.

Shining halted the battalion "Sweeping formation! I want eyes on every corner as we move, Twily? I want you and your friends up here with me now, so I can keep you safe."

Twilight gasped as she came atop the hill "this must be the largest historical sight ever discovered! Imagine what we could discover with an archaeology team!"

"Imagine what the Gryphons have already found," Shining said.

"We haven't seen them yet, we may have missed them," Green Breeze said.

"Best move in otherwise, see if we can find anything the featherheads missed."

"No one touches anything," Jason said suddenly.

"What?" Green asked.

"I said don't touch anything, this place is over a billion years old, I don't want it collapsing on us."

"Well that's all well and good, but what if we find an artefact or something of importance?" Shining asked.

"I'll take care of it then, just don't disturb the ruins, this place has been sacked, razed, occupied, burned, and invaded hundreds of times, and I’m not keen on finding out if something was left behind."

"Fine. Let's get moving," Shining said.

The city grew around them and the full extent of the damage to the city was Madame obvious, the narrow stone streets were pot-marked with holes and cracks. The buildings laid in ruin, huge piles of rubble were at their bases, the entire area was eerily quiet.

They exited the street into a city square; in the middle of it was a tree that had overgrown massively, its roots breaking the marble around it. Shining hummed in thought as his troops spilled into the square, scanning for foes.

"Where do you think the Gryphons are?" Shining asked.
"If it was me, I would set up camp somewhere near the centre, or an otherwise obvious land mark," Green Breeze suggested "Any ideas, Jason?"

Jason thought for a second, his eyes scanned around them until the focused on a tall spire in the distance, towards the centre of the city. He stared at it fir a solid minute, before the info clicked in his brain.

"Well, there's Vatican City," he said.

"Vatican City?" Twilight interrupted.

"Another city?" Shining Armour deadpanned.

"Well not really, Vatican City is a religious area, smack dab in the middle of Rome, on paper it's technically it's own city but in practice it's a part of Rome," Jason explained.

"Why in the world would you put a city inside another city?" Shining asked, rubbing his temples.

"Oooooooh! City-ception! Bwaaaaammmp!" Pinkie interrupted suddenly.

Everyone stared at Pinkie Pie for a few seconds as she bounced contently. Jason blinked before regaining his thought process.

"I have no idea why it's like that, it just kinda... Is," he said.

"Fine then," Shining sighed "it's as good a place to start as any, what way?"

Jason pointed towards the distant spire "That should be it there."
Their continued journey was made in relative silence, permeated only by the chorus of hoofbeats echoing off the ruined marble buildings and the rapid quill-scratches coming from Twilight as she noted down various observations about the city.

The streets were narrows, but allowed a path straight forwards with little to no deviation.
They passed many sights of grandeur that retained their impressiveness even in disrepair; the Ponies were clearly impressed by the city although many of them- Shining Armour -tried to hide it.

It took them no longer than two hours to navigate through the city; they turned a corner and arrived in a huge open circle with a tall marble spire that was broken towards the top. They were surrounded by tall marble pillars that curved in to meet with a huge temple; all of this went largely unnoticed because of the group of dead Gryphons sprawled around St. Peter's Square.

"Check for survivors," Shining ordered, the Royal Guards spread out, turning over the dead Gryphons.
Jason went over to one of the bodies, this was the first time he had seen a Gryphon in real life. This one was large, dark mahogany feathers covering his body and wings while snowy white ones coated his eagle head, his eyes were still open revealing his lifeless yellow eyes. A sword was stuck in his chest, dried blood caked his underbelly, the expression on the dead face was not one of surprise as Jason was expecting but one of desperation.

"How do you think they died?" Green Breeze asked, walking over to were Jason was.

There was a traveling bag next to the body, gently Jason picked it up and emptied the items inside. There was a water skin, a small dagger, a few quills and a bottle of ink, and a small leather-bound journal, Jason opened the journal and read what was inside.

12th of Icewind, 462 7E

When I set out on this expedition, I had my doubts of course but never could I have imagined what I would eventually find. This was supposed to be a step in a process, a way of locating Lost Artefacts but instead we found a city!

Rome, it had only existed in the most obscure of texts but here it stands the, Eternal City, it baffles the mind to think that this place was once home to Forerunners but now is not the time to dwell on such things, it's only a matter of time before the Equestrians learn of our movements, I imagine their spies have been following our trail, honour-less swine.

I've sent Ironbeak to bring a message to the High King, we will need more of us to search the city in its entirety, and to defend it from our enemies should they find us.

13th of Icewind, 462 7E

We have searched the temple from top to bottom, nothing, the surrounding building have given us no clues either. The frustration is great and it shows on the others, I will have to be careful lest they plan treachery, that us so etching I cannot afford.

This place has an aura around it; it feels off, like it is missing something. The others whisper of curses and ghosts, ridiculous notions clearly.

14th of Icewind, 462 7E

Ironbeak has not returned, nor have any reinforcements arrived. We must assume he was intercepted by the Equestrians, meaning they know what we are doing, no matter, I doubt those cowards could navigate the Southern Unknown let alone find this place as we have.
Sleep has become difficult, the others complain about horrid nightmare and I share in their plight. It is strange because we seem to share in our nightly visions; all of us hear whispering voices that speak of war and pain, of empires long dead. We see shadowy images of Ponies that have both horns and wings, like those heretic Princesses, and we see golden shadows of what I swear to be Forerunners, they talk to us, promising bliss and happiness in exchange for something but they never say what.
Clearly the stress is getting to us; we must ignore these nightmares and continue our search.

The writing stopped for three pages, the last words were messy and rough unlike the eloquent script that was used before, no date accompanied thus entry.

I... I see now, I understand what they want, the others understand as well. There is price to be paid, if we want to see the truth.... We must escape this plane, onto the next, that is where we will find our treasure, it makes sense! The artefacts do not exist on this world! They only truly exist in Eitheruim! Yes, the Forerunner's chant the word, Eitheruim, a price must be paid.

A price of blood.

Jason handed the journal over to Green Breeze; he read it quickly before hailing Shining Armour over. Shining read through the journal as well, he frowned in thought.

"So they took their own lives?" He asked.

"It looks that way," Green Breeze said.

Shining hummed "We need to find more clues," he said, and then called out "search for anything of interest! Be thorough but don't go too far!"

Green Breeze and Shining Armour trotted off, Jason stood up and looked around, trying to piece together what exactly went down here. His thoughts were interrupted by the tap on his leg; Twilight looked up at him with a strange look on her face.

"Jason... Could I talk to for a second?" She asked quietly.

Jason had a bad feeling "Uh... Sure."

Twilight lead him away from everyone else, not speaking until they were out of earshot.

"When we were moving though the city, something occurred to me," she said, getting straight to the point "this place is still intact on a large scale, it still could harbour a large population with little work."

"I guess so." Jason said neutrally.

"So I had a thought, why isn't it inhabited? I'm sure the modern day Humans could manage it," Twilight continued "and something else, assuming that there was a high enough Human population to sustain itself then logically they should have some sort of population growth, meaning they would spread, which begs the question why no word of their location or even their existence gas been reported?"

"Twilight..." Jason said softly.

"But I'm sure there's an explanation, other wise it wouldn't make much sense would it?" Twilight said her tone unsure.

"Twilight... There's something you need to know," Jason said, forcing himself to look at her.

"Jason?" Twilight asked "What..."

"I've been lying to you," Jason said "to all of you."

"No... Don't," Twilight shook her head, taking a step back.

"I only did it because Celestia wanted me to, for your sake, and I guess because I liked pretending."

"Jason, stop it..." Twilight said, tears were beginning to form in her lavender eyes.

"I'm not just a Human," Jason said "I'm the last of the Humans, everyone else... They're all gone, that's why the city isn't inhabited, and that’s why you've heard nothing about Humans before me, because there were none."

"No... W-why... H-how," Twilight said, tears streaming down her face "how did they die?"

Jason looked at her sadly, he saw the betrayal in her eyes, and he couldn't bring to hurt her further, not now.

"I-I don't know," he lied, guilt immediately hitting him.
Twilight slowly started to back away, hurt written all over her face.

"Twilight... I..." Jason said weakly, but was too late as she galloped away. Jason sighed, nearby was a bench and Jason sat down on it, resting his head in his hands and trying to keep the tears at bay.

After a while hoofbeats approached and Jason looked up, Roseluck, she stood there with a neutral look on her face.

"Why?" She asked simply.

"It was Celestia's idea, but I went along with it," Jason said "she didn't want anyone worrying about me, especially not the Element bearers, and I... I didn't want anyone worrying either."

Roseluck sighed before taking Jason's head in her hooves, kissing his forehead and cradling his head to her chest.

"You're such an idiot," she said, Jason didn't respond he merely hugged her back and laid his face into her chest with much regret on what he had done.

~~*~~

Jason calmed down after a few minutes, by that time Twilight had told her friends everything. None of them would speak or even look at Jason, on a few occasions Jason spotted Fluttershy crying to the comfort of the others who spared Jason only betrayed and angry looks, the more intense glares coming from Rainbow Dash.

The soldiers had found nothing in the area; Shining and Green Breeze had been discussing ideas for five minutes or so. Jason decided that he needed something to distract him so he decided to help out with the search.

When Jason approached, Shining Armour gave him a look that told him he knew the truth. Fortunately Shining didn't press, Green Breeze on the other hand seemed as friendly as ever.

"Ah, there you are Jason," Green said "we've searched the entire area and turned up nothing, so now we're going to search the temple here, but I know it's kind of a... Sacred place, so I'm willing to let you go in first."

"Thanks for the thought, but it doesn't matter to me," Jason said "we can all go in together."

Shining rounded up the first cohort, ordering the rest to set up a watch and warn if anyone approached. They burst open the doors to the Vatican and quickly entered, the interior was in decent shape with only minor damage to the walls and mosaics that coated them, the shrine and statue of Jesus Christ was in surprisingly good condition.

"Who's that supposed to be?" Green Breeze asked, gesturing to the likeness of crucified Jesus.

"I'd really rather not talk about it..." Jason said quietly, walking way.

Jason walked over to the shrine, admiring the ornate design of the entire thing. As he looked over it he noticed something, on the smooth top of the shrine there was a small round bump that poked out, curious Jason ran his finger over it.
With a small click the bump pushed inwards, it was a button. There was a series of clicks and gear grinding notices and a small square panel flipped open smack dab in the middle of the shrine, it had a metal border and a lack screen centre.

"No fucking way." Jason said, placing his hand on the black screen.

A green light flashed from the screen and a static-full female robotic voice spoke from somewhere.

Human DNA verified, please stand back for the chamber to open, welcome brother.

The ground underneath Jason began shuttering violently, Jason quickly stepped away just before the stone floor fell inwards and separated into two panels bad slid away to reveal a dark metal staircase that lead down so far that Jason couldn't see past the darkness.

"What in the name of Celestia?" Shining said, walking over with Green Breeze.

"It's a chamber of some sort," Green Breeze "should we explore?"

"I think I should, you guys should keep back." Jason said.

"Absolutely not, we don't know what's down there," Shining argued.

"It opened because I'm Human, clearly anything that isn't Human isn't supposed to be in there," Jason said back "I don't like it either but chances are, and I’m the only one who will be safe down here."

"Fine," Shining said unhappily "but after an hour we come get you."

"Okay," Jason agreed. Green breeze gave Jason his short sword, and a torch that Shining lit with his horn.

"One hour," Shining reminded him; Jason nodded and entered the darkness.

The torch quickly became the only source of light; it illuminated the cold metal floor and walls. The stairs gave way to a straight hall, Jason carefully followed the path with Green Breeze's sword held out in front, the hall continued on until the torch illuminated an open doorway.

The room was round and dark, glass and metal shined from the torches light. Jason spotted something, a small red light on the far end of the room, it blinked on and off, and Jason approached the light. It was a lever, the end blinking like an emergency light.
Against his better judgement, Jason pulled the lever.

There was a click and then a very familiar humming sound, Jason was nearly blinded by bright artificial lights. His eyes adjusted and he could see the room in its entirety now, lining the round walls were control panels coated in buttons, levers and all sorts on things that Jason had no name for. In front of him was a large screen that was ill imaged with power now, green letters glowed on it.

Power Status: Unstable

Security System Status: Active

Security Perimeter Status: Breached

File /Intro/ Status: Corrupted

File /Primary Objective/ Status: Available

Activating File /Primary Objective/

Playing Video

The text was replaced by the image of an elderly man, clothed sharply with a lab coat over top. He spoke to the camera with a slight accent that seemed similar to British but not quite.

"Are we rolling? Ah good, ah-hem, Hullo, I am Dr. Haden. Head researcher for Project Isaac. And what is Project Isaac you ask? Well ever since the war began, the Academy has been very interested in what the Alicorn's call 'magic' Project Isaac is just one of many operations dedicated to unlocking the secrets of magic, in particular how magic can benefit Humanities military might."

"In our case, we study the concept of resurrection; bringing living things back from the dead. Until recently it was not considered in the realm of possibility, but the Alicorn's changed everything, it seems the feat is possible through their magic and we aim to harness this power."

An image popped up in the bottom right corner, a simple scroll on a pedestal.

"Thanks to the research done by the Academy, the ability to capture magical abilities into simple parchment scrolls has been developed. This is the Resurrection Scroll, it contains the spell to summon warriors from the dead, unfortunately, this one just like the others, and it summons only warriors from ancient times, who once garrisoned this city. It is good progress but our goal of bringing back men who fall in battle has not been met yet."

There was a click and a panel opened in front of Jason, out of it rose the same scroll that the video had described. Jason carefully took the scroll in his hands and examined it, it seemed normal to him.

The screen exploded into static and Dr. Haden was back, looking annoyed.

"A new development as occurred, the Academy has secured an Alicorn artifact, this one taken from a battlefield in the British isles, from one of the Alicorn generals that think they're gods. For some reason the Academy sent it to us, something about studying it away from the populace? I don't know and I don't care, it's ridiculous, were a development project not an artefact research project!"

An image appeared, showing a stall pole topped with a pony skull that was surrounded with black feathers.

"It's called the Staff of Morpheus, we have no clear idea what exactly the effect of the artefact is but of course we are tasked with finding out..."

The screen went to static again before going black; green texted began to line the screen again.

File /Update 1/ Status: Corrupted

File /Update 2/ Status: Corrupted

File /Update 3/ Status: Corrupted

File /Update 4/ Status: Corrupted

File /Update 5/ Status: Corrupted

File /Update 6/ Status: Available

Playing Video

With a burst of static the doctor was back, but this time he wasn't in a right state. His hair was long and unkempt, bags hung from his eyes and he had a look of respiration and insanity about him.

"Yes... Yes it makes so much sense now, the Staff... Ooooohhh the Staff, it's a key! A key to the truth! We have to escape this plain, onto the next, they... They call us to them, the Alicorns, those who gave up their physical form for true enlightenment! They call themselves gods because they are! They beckon us to them! To Eitheruim! But a price must be paid... A price, a price of blood."

The image shifted and it showed the Staff again, it stood in the middle of a white room. Surrounded by yellowed Human skeletons, all of them looking like they had died strangling each other.

Jason's breath became ragged; his heart beat spiked as he took fearful step back. His brain scrambling to decide what to do, it decided to run. Jason sprinted out of the room, the scroll clutched in his hand, the hall now illuminated by artificial lights; he reached the stairs in minutes.

As he did Jason heard a voice calling his name, he reached the edge of the stairs to see Roseluck stepping through the entrance, Shining and Green Breeze scrambling to pull her back, clearly caught off guard by Rose rushing past.

"Jason are you down there? You've been gone for nearly half an hour!" Roseluck called.

"No! Wait! Get back!" Jason said in a panic.

As Jason yelled, the ceiling over the staircase opened up and a large machine fell down, it fixed it's barrel on Roseluck and opened fire.

Chapter 25- The Battle of Rome

"The die is cast."

~Julius Caesar

The Vatican, Rome, Southern Unknown, Saturday, 16th of February, 10:37am, 2206 AC

"Jason I'm so-"

One, two, three, four, five bullets pierced Roseluck's body, three in the stomach and two on her neck. Jason stared in shock as Roseluck's eyes widened in surprise until they glassed over, the warmth and life in her eyes that Jason had become accustomed to simply died, and her body slumped to the floor like a rag doll.

The turret began to click multiple times, indicating that it probably had no more ammunition, then, it simply drew itself back into the metallic ceiling.

"Roseluck..." Jason whispered to himself and ran towards her,

Jason's boots splashed into the pool of blood that slowly seeped from Roseluck's many wounds. Gently but with panicked trembling Jason lifted her limp head onto his lap, blood splattering over his hands and clothes, her eyes remained shut and no breath filled her lungs.

"Rose..." Jason called weakly. No answer. He put his hand on her neck searching for a heartbeat, but there was none.

"Rose!" Jason called, dread filling his heart and tears stinging his eyes. "Roseluck!" He finally screamed.

Still no answer came, Jason looked up at where Shining Armour and Green Breeze stood atop the stairs, not willing to descend and be caught in the same trap.

"Do something! Help her!" Jason yelled, the two stallions just exchanged troubled and sad glances, Jason quickly dismissed them and continued calling Roseluck's name with decreasing levels hope behind them.

One of Green Breeze's scouts flew in and saluted, giving Jason a surprised and confused look as Green saluted back.

"What do you have to report soldier?" Green Breeze asked.

"Sir, our sentries have spotted movement just outside the city, lots of it, sir... We believe it's the Gryphons."

"Celestia damn it!" Green Breeze cursed. "Get the civilians inside here, and have our troops prepare for battle."

"Jason!" Shining called. "You need to move!"

"I'm not leaving her!" Jason screamed.

"Jason! We are about to be attacked! Get up here now!"

"I-...I can't!" Jason sobbed, holding Roseluck's lifeless body closer to his chest.

"Jason! There will be time for grieving but it's not now! Carry her up here if you must but we need to close this tunnel so the Gryphons can't get in!"

Fighting back tears and panic Jason lifted Roseluck as if she was a child and carried her up the stairs, the tunnel closed behind him with the robotic voice that called out as the stone slid back into place.

"Farewell, brother." it said.

Jason laid Roseluck on the floor just as the Mane Six entered the room, Fluttershy gasped and galloped over, taking Roseluck's head in her hooves and checking her vitals. The others slowly crowded around, shocked expressions all around, Fluttershy frowned and looked up at Shining Armour with an annoyed look.

"Can't you do anything?" She asked in as surprisingly loud and demanding voice.

Shining frowned and sparked his magic, he lower his horn towards Roseluck. Waves of his purple magic washed over her, blood ran back into her wounds and slowly one by one the bullets each popped out of her body, pinging onto the floor, the wounds closing in behind them.

Jason felt a small spark of hope but it was crushed as Fluttershy took vitals again and shook her head sadly.

"I'm sorry," she said, her voice back to its usual quiet demeanour.

"Sir!" A soldier suddenly called. "The Gryphons are flying right towards us!"

"All of you stay here," Shining said as he and Green Breeze galloped outside.

The Mane Six all wrapped their hooves around Jason as he held Roseluck close, no words were spoken but it was more comfort and support than Jason could have asked for. Outside sounds of battle could be heard, clanging and scraping of metal, the yells of the Royal Guards and the screeches and roars of what Jason could only assume to be the Gryphons.

"I have to go out there," Jason said in a low-pitched voice, almost emotionless.

"No way partner!" Applejack said immediately.

"Jason, your in no condition to run into a fight, you need time to heal," Twilight said.

"This is healing," Jason said angrily, breaking away from their grasp and laying Roseluck back down on the floor. "The only way I know how."

Jason sprinted out of the the Vatican and outside, the troops and formed up in the middle of St. Peter's square, all of them pointing their weapons upward, the Pegasi flew around in the sky as if patrolling. As Jason looked he saw at least twenty or so stallions who lay lifeless on the stone ground, large claw marks raking their faces, many of them looking like their throat had been torn out or their eyes pecked to nothing by a sharp beak.

"Jason! Get back inside, now!" Shining yelled at him in a demanding voice.

Before Jason could respond he heard a cry that sounded like a large eagle which swiftly transitioned into a lions roar. Suddenly the sky was filled with hundreds of winged beasts, the Pegasi chased down some but were quickly mobbed, they fell from the sky with wings ripped from their bodies. Many of the Gryphons dived towards the group of Ponies only to be skewered on the end of a spear, a worrying amount though, managed to rain in near-lethal blows before flying off again.

As Jason looked around, he spotted a Gryphon speeding towards him, yellow eyes filled with hate and his claws encased in metal, extending them several more inches and gleaming in the sunlight. Jason dived to the side and the Gryphon slid across the marble ground, his claws screeching and carving scratches into the ancient stone, Jason drew his knife and charged the Gryphon but he flared his wings and took off, disappearing into the clouds.

In seconds the sky was empty of Gryphons and the square had gained quite a few fallen soldiers, Jason ran over to where Shining and Green Breeze stood.

"Are they retreating?" Jason asked, confusion spread across his face.

"No, this is how the Gryphons fight, they attack in mass and leave just as rapidly, again and again until they whittle us down to nothing," Shining said. "FORM CIRCLE!"

The Royal Guard reformed themselves, creating a circle worth layers of soldiers, all of them pointing their spears at different angles.

"Oh, Jason, it would be wiser to use a sword, these Gryphons are very hard to hit with a tiny knife such as yours. Take this." Green Breeze offered. Jason accepted.

But before he could thank him, as in a flash, the Gryphons were on them again, the troops held a firm position and many Gryphons fell on the formation's spears, their bodies joining their brethren on the ground.

Several Gryphons charged Jason who managed to duck and dodge their attacks, even manage to slice across the side of one, sending him skidding across the ground. Again the Gryphons disappeared and the troops were allowed a moment to reform, filling in the missing spots in the circle left by their dead comrades.

Again the Gryphons attacked, this time flying in at low altitude, they caught many of the troops of guard and carried them high into the air only to drop them. The stallions screamed throaty screams before smashing into the ground, bones crushed and heads cracking open with sickening thumps.

Just as Jason dodged another charging Gryphon he spotted Green Breeze taking down one Gryphon just as another grabbed him from behind and lifted the stallion into the air. Green Breeze tried to hack at the Gryphons legs but his captor took hold of the Pegasus' wings and tore each one off, with Green Breezes blood dripping down and his screams echoing off the marble buildings the Gryphon tossed Green Breeze away who landed on the ground with a crack and a splatter, limp and lifeless.

"Forest Fire! You're acting second in command!" Shining called out.

"Yes sir!" An Earth Pony who must of been Forest Fire yelled back. "And if I may sir, we need reinforcements!"

Forest Fire was right, Shining's guards were dropping rapidly while taking few Gryphons in turn. When the Gryphons fell back again their number had diminished from the original forty to about twenty-six or so, now formed into a tight circle.

"Negative!" Shining yelled. "Even if we managed to get a message out reinforcements wouldn't get here in time!"

"Then we should retreat!" Forest Fire yelled.

"No! We cannot allow the Gryphons to possess the secrets of this city! I'm prepared to die for my country and the Two Princesses, are you?!"

"Begging your pardon sir!" Forest Fire said, as the Gryphons could be seen flying towards them. "But I have a family waiting for me!"

"Then make them proud soldier," Shining said grimly. "Make them proud."

As the Gryphons closed in, Jason had zoned in on something, reinforcements.

"This is the Resurrection Scroll, it contains the spell to summon warriors from the dead, unfortunately it summons only warriors from ancient times, who once garrisoned this city."

Jason reached into his pocket where he has stuffed the scroll, he stared at it thinking whether or not what he was about to do was smart.

Then Jason figured that he would die anyway, so he took the chance. He dropped his sword and unfurled the scroll.

The world around Jason melted away into a plane of white nothingness, then, just as fast, the city of Rome was being built around him again but it was different. No cracks patterned the buildings and streets, no plants grew in the crevices, and there was no Vatican or St. Peter's square, rather there was a long marble street bordered by cheering and clapping crowds, a chariot pulled by the first non-sentient horses that Jason hadn't seen in a year moved down the street.

The man in the chariot was tall and impressive, he wore a golden-bronze chest plate and a red cape, a golden wreath adorned on his head. He waved to the crowd as they rained flower pedals down on him, a small smile of victory on his lips. Jason swore he saw the man look directly at him, and suddenly Jason knew exactly who that man was.

Behind the chariot marched an entire Legion, three thousand men in plated armour, shields and capes red as blood. They held their spears leaned against their shoulders and short swords sheathed at their sides, several in front held horns which they blew loudly in a echoing war horn.

Suddenly, in a blink of an eye, Jason was back in reality, staring up at the tall decaying buildings and Shining Armour who looked down at him in concern.

"You passed out just as the Gryphons attacked, are you alright?" Shining asked.

Jason sat up, he searched for the scroll, only to discover that it had dissolved into golden dust that blew away as he opened his hands. Jason felt strange, more energetic, like he had just eaten a lot of sugar and it sent a buzz through his entire body, almost like power lines in the summer, humming with energy.

"I'm not su-" Jason was interrupted by a familiar horn echoing from afar, Shining drew his sword and the remaining Royal Guards readied themselves.

"The Gryphons don't usually sound horns," Shining Armour commented.

"I... Don't think that's the Gryphons," Jason said as the sound of marching feet reached their ears, turning around a corner, lead by their Centurion, was an entire legion of Roman soldiers. Jason and the Ponies gaped at them as they marched into St. Peters square before halting at the command of the Centurion, then about faced towards them, the Centurion approached where Jason and Shining Armour were.

Shining readied his sword but the Roman ignored him, he stared at Jason from under his red plumed helmet. The man banged his fist to his chest and held out his arm straight in a salute, he lowered his arm and stood still, as if waiting.

Jason stared at the Centurion before him, hundreds of thoughts running through his head. As he stood up, Jason noticed that the Roman was slightly transparent, almost as if he was a ghost, and he bore no shadow, Jason couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Uh..." Jason stuttered, then had a thought. "Defend this square, don't let any Gryphons through and keep them-" Jason pointed towards the Royal Guards "-alive."

The Centurion spared a glance towards the Ponies before nodding and walking back to his Legion, barking out what had to be orders in Latin.

"Clausus autem semita! stare adversum nostrum hostibus!" the Centurion paused. "PAX!"

"ROMANA!" the Legionnaires chanted back, they broke their formation, groups of soldiers filling in each entrance to the square and locking shields, the rank behind them holding their shields above them. One soldier ran towards the centre, carrying a long metal pole with a red cloth rolled up near the top and was topped with a golden eagle, as the soldier stamped it down into the ground the cloth unfurled to show an image of a gold eagle with words 'Legio XIV SPQR' underneath it, the soldier ran off to join his brothers.

"They're... Like you, Humans," Shining said, staring at the soldiers.

"Romans," Jason breathed. "That scroll I had was designed to resurrect dead soldiers but they could never adjust the time period in which they came from."

"Can we trust them?" Shining asked.

"They seem to want to listen to me, so I think we can relax, you wanted reinforcements didn't you?" Jason said back, as he spotted the Gryphons again.

The Gryphons flew towards them from all sides and something was made clear; they could simply fly over the Roman formation, Jason was about to say something but the Centurion cut him off.

"PILUM PROMTUS!!" He yelled and every Legionary hoisted their arms back, preparing to throw their spears.

"NUNC!," The Centurion yelled and the spears were thrown, the Gryphons flew right into the attack, most of the spears hitting their mark and taking down many Gryphons.

"GLADIIS!" the Centurion commanded and his troops drew their gladuis's, the Gryphons flew above the Romans and dived down to attack, the Legionaries held their shields above them where the Gryphons would land unable to attack or grab hold of anything, meanwhile the Romans darted their blades through the gapes in between shields to stab at the Gryphons, taking down a fair few with constant stabs.

The Gryphons retreated and the Romans reformed, the Royal Guards maintained their circle in case the Roman lines broke. In minutes the Gryphons were upon them again, flying directly over the Legionaries before flipping around and attacking from behind the Romans, with another group attacking the circle of guards.

"TORNARE!" The Centurion ordered, drawing his own blade and stabbing a Gryphon who charged him. The Legionaries simply turned to face behind them, the men previously in the back now held their shields out front where the Gryphons were caught and stabbed, their lifeless bodies slumping to the ground, painting the marble in their blood.

"TESTUDO ITINERA!" The Centurion called, immediately whatever Legionaries were not engaged formed up together, locking their front shields and holding the rest above each other, swords poked out of the gapes and they slowly marched towards where the Royal Guards. The marching mass of red shields drew the Gryphons away from the Ponies as they attacked the new threat with little success as they were caught on the shields and stabbed to death.

As the Gryphons fell back it was apparent that the Romans had not bee completely successful, several of the retreating Gryphons carried Legionnaires whom they dropped. The Romans seemingly accepted their fate as they slammed into the ground, their bodies and equipment dissipating into golden dust on impact.

"MASSSA CIRCULARIS TESTUDO!" the Centurion yelled and his remaining men began to form into a circle formation, the Centurion pointed towards Shining and the remaining Royal Guards.

"Stare simul atque consequatur victoria!" He said to Shining.

"What's he saying?" Shining asked.

"I think..." Jason paused, looking at the Centurion gesture between the Royal Guards and his own Legionaries. "I think he wants your men to form up with his."

"Fine!" Shining replied in an irritated tone. "Royal Guards! Form up with the Humans!"

Shining's troops looked at him as if he was crazy "sir?" Forest Fire asked.

"Just do it! That's an order!" Shining barked springing his troops into action, the Royal Guards entered into the Roman formation where the Legionaries accepted them, making room for the Ponies to level their spears through the shield wall.

When the Gryphons where seen flying towards them again, Jason took note of their lowered number. St. Peter's square was littered with the bodies of the dead, Gryphon and Pony alike but with their Roman allies Jason regained confidence about the outcome of this battle.

The Gryphons struck but it was clear they were being more cautious this time, they would attack the formation viciously, trying to break the line before darting back and trying again. Many of them now began to target Jason, Shining, and the Centurion, they stood together staying off any attackers while still keeping an eye on the main formation.

"This attack seems to be lasting longer than normal," Jason said when they had a moment.

"Their numbers are low, so they're throwing everything they have at us," Shining said back.

The Centurion said nothing, but he looked behind them and pointed urgently. Jason and Shining Armour turned to see a small group of Gryphons entering the Vatican.

"Twilight!" Shining said in a panic, sprinting after the Gryphons with Jason and the Centurion following behind.

Twilight and her friends were backed against the shrine, the Gryphons slowly advancing on them like lions. Before anyone could say anything a spear flew through the air and pierced the head of one of the Gryphons, the Centurion drew his sword again and advanced on the remaining three Gryphons who turned their attention to him, the Mane Six simply stared in fearful awe as Shining and Jason stood with the Centurion against the Gryphons.

The first attack came towards the Centurion, the Gryphon pounced towards him but missed as the Roman sidestepped and slashed open the Gryphons side as it passed, spilling his organs onto the floor when it landed. The next went towards Shining Armour who pierced his brain through the eye, the third found himself surrounded and attempted to fly away but was quickly felled by a bolt of magic from Shining's horn.

The Mane Six were left in a stunned silence, Twilight didn't seem to notice as her brother ran up and gave her a comforting hug. She stared at the Centurion who was nudging the dead Gryphons with his sandalled feet, Twilight was having a hard time comprehending what she was seeing.

"B-but Human... And he just... Jason... Huh?" She sputtered.

"I'll explain later," Jason said, out of breath. "Come on, I think the fighting stopped."

They exited the Vatican to see that the Gryphons had indeed been defeated, their bodies lay strewn across St. Peter's square. The Romans had formed up, standing in wait for a command as the remaining Royal Guards galloped to and fro, tending to their wounded as best as they could.

Fluttershy went off to help as Jason, Shining and the Mane Six approached the Centurion who stood in front of his Legion waiting for them.

"Thank you for your help," Jason said, the Centurion responded with a Roman salute, then he reached to his side and unlatched his Gladuis. The Centurion offered the ancient weapon to Jason who took it. As soon as Jason touched the sword it lost its ghostly transparency and suddenly gained weight, Jason looked back up to the Centurion.

"Pax Romana," The Centurion said softly.

"Pax Romana," Jason said back, and with a sudden gust of wind the Legion turned to golden dust and blew away.

"Sir!" Forest Fire suddenly said. "The wounded will not survive for much longer! They need professional healers!"

"Right!" Shining said, sparking his horn. "Twily! Come help me."

Twilight followed Shining Armour, clearly still stunned at seeing a large group of Humans just blown away into dust. Shining and Twilight sparked their magic. Suddenly Jason felt a tug, almost if someone was pulling him, before Rome melted away in a flash of gold.

When the light cleared, Jason, Shining, the Mane Six and the Royal Guards stood in the middle of the Hall of Harmony, in front of a very surprised Celestia and Luna.

"Jason? Shining Armour? What-" Celestia began.

"Princess! These soldiers need healing right away!" Shining cut her off with urgency.

"Of course," Celestia said, a flash leaving her horn. In seconds, three unicorns dressed in white and gold robes burst into the hall, they immediately went to aid the wounded soldiers.

"Take them to the infirmary," Celestia said. "Guards, you are dismissed, get some rest." the robed unicorns nodded and teleported away in flashes of gold, the remaining soldiers left to go rest.

"What happened in Rome!?" Luna demanded. "Did you find a Lost Artifact? And where is Green Breeze?"

Together, Shining and Jason recounted what had happened in Rome. Jason left out one or two details about the video log he had seen, wary of Twilight and her friends standing right behind him.

"-and then I teleported us out if there, I left a beacon though, so next time we can teleport directly there," Shining finished.

"But then how is Jason here?" Luna asked, staring at the Human. "He is immune to magic like all Humans, how did you teleport him as well?"

Shining Armour shrugged. "I don't know, I reached out and I felt a magical presence where he was."

"Mmm... Jason, you said you used a magical scroll?" Celestia asked.

"Yeah, some scientists there were trying to bring people back from the dead but they weren't able to get the time period right."

"You don't think..?" Celestia looked at Luna.

"It is possible," Luna said back.

"Mmm... I need time to think this over," Celestia concluded. "You should all get some rest, I'll summon you when I am ready."

"Wait a minute!" Twilight yelled, stomping forward, anger and sadness over her face. "I'm not going anywhere until I get answers!"

"Twilight!" Celestia said in astonishment.

"You lied to me!" Twilight yelled, tears springing from her eyes. "You forced Jason to lie! You told me there were more Humans!"

"I...I-" She stuttered in her own words after such outburst. It was clear that she was caught off guard.

"I want to know everything!" Twilight demanded. "Do you know how the Humans died?!"

"I..." Celestia. "...Jason didn't tell you?"

"You... Knew?!" Twilight asked furiously, turning a betrayed look to Jason.

Jason felt more hurt than before, Betraying a friend wasn't easy for him, much less a second time in a single day. But he tried contain himself. He was about to apologize when he was cut off.

"Tell me everything," Twilight demanded, turning to Celestia.

"Very well," Celestia sighed. "It happened so long ago, very few that were there still stand..."

Chapter 26~ Trust

"There is little that can withstand a man who can conquer himself."

Louis XIV, King of France

"Jason, I'm so sick of you."

Roseluck's eyes were filled with contempt that was totally uncharacteristic of her, there was the sound of gunshots and her body was suddenly riddled with holes that spewed blood like a tap. Her mouth dribbled the liquid as well as her burning eyes, soon Rose was picked up by a screeching Gryphon that took her into the swirling tornado of death birds.

The Gryphon's dived down and pecked at Jason's flesh with shining metal beaks, the tore whole chucks is his flesh until the bone could be seen. The Gryphon's disappeared, carrying Roseluck and a lifeless Green Breeze along with them, suddenly Jason's wrist were bound and hid back exploded into hot pain, a raspy laugh coming from behind him.

"You must learn, Pony-Friend-Thing," the voice said, lashing him again. "Learn that you are weak."

"This is just to make you stronger," a deeper and more familiar voice said. "You have to learn how to endure pain if your going to get anywhere in life."

The whip cracked again and reality faded away.

Castle of the Two Princesses, Canterlot, Equestria, Monday, 18th of February, 5:37 am, 2206 AC

Jason jolted awake, sucking in a sharp breath to satisfy his racing heart. This had not been the first nightmare he had experienced since Rome, it seemed every time he closed his eyes Jason would be tormented, it was something he would just have to get used to. With a sigh, Jason decided that he wouldn't be getting back to sleep, so he might as well go for a walk. He sat up and pushed the expensive silk blankets off of himself. After Celestia recounted the truth- All of it -to Twilight and her friends they had left, with Jason staying behind at the request of Celestia, plus they both figured that the Mane Six needed time to process what they had learned.

Jason pulled on a pair of simple brown pants, a green t-shirt, and strapped on his boots. He wondered over to the desk that sat against the far right wall, on it laid his combat knife and the Roman Gladius. Jason hooked his knife into the backside of his belt and took this opportunity to examine the sword. It was short and straight, meant for the close-quarters combat that the Roman's excelled at, it's crosspiece was short and its pommel was light. It was a weapon meant for close scraps rather than straight-on sword duels, still it would probably prove useful at some point, so Jason figured he might as well get comfortable using it, he strapped it to his side.

On he way out Jason grabbed his brown longcoat, winter was setting in and while it was not as harsh as it would be in Jason's previous home right about now it still chilled the bones. The drowsy guard jumped in surprise when Jason suddenly walked out of his room. The guard offered to accompany him, but Jason waved off the stallion.

"Just taking a stroll, I won't go far," Jason said. "Thanks anyway."

The guard nodded and shifted into a more comfortable position, his eyes almost immediately beginning to droop again. Jason grinned to himself as he traversed the empty castle halls until he turned into the main hall and out the front door. Celestia raised the sun at six, so only the moon's light reflected off of the light layer of snow that had fallen during the night. Jason's boots crunched softly in the snow as he passed a few castle staff who were clearing the stuff from the courtyard, they offered friendly waves before getting back to work.

Jason exited through the main gate and casually strolled down Canterlot's incline, he marvelled at how quiet the usually bustling city was at night, it was slightly eerie. The only ponies that Jason passed were the occasional patrol of Night Guards... Er... Night Agents, that moved in small groups without the aid of a torch or lantern, they offered Jason no acknowledgment other than a look before they faded back into the shadows.

Jason strolled out to one of his favourite spots in Canterlot, a small park with a single tree that still clung to some of its orange leaves. Jason sat down on the bench next to the tree and stared out into the night sky, admiring the twinkling stars and a bright crescent moon, as much as he and Luna didn't get along Jason had to admit, she was truly the master of her domain.

At some point, Jason had drowsed off on the bench. His sleep seemed short to him, as he started to awake later. Rubbing his eyes Jason looked at the sky, the moon had moved to somewhere behind him and the horizon showed the approaching light of the sun, and as Jason sat watching the dawn, he was bathed in warm comforting light of the Earth's life-giving star.

Guess that means Celestia's awake.

Jason stretched and enjoyed the sunrise as best he could, he would have to head back to the castle soon, but not too soon. Just as Jason began nodding off again, someone cleared their throat just behind him, Jason started and turned to see a Day Guard standing behind him.

"Pardon me sir, but Princess Celestia has requested you to join her for breakfast in the dining hall," the Guard said.

"Of course, tell her I'm on my way," Jason said, the Guard nodded and cantered off.

Jason sighed and stood up, stretching his back and getting a satisfying crack! in the process. He gave the tree a pat goodbye before heading back up the hill. Luna's Night Agents had disappeared, replaced by the far more friendly Day Guards who were starting their first set of rounds for the day. On his way to the castle Jason spotted several shopkeepers readying their stores as well as market stalls being set up, selling everything from jewellery to fine materials to rare enchanted items of unknown ability.

Jason arrived back at the castle, he was let in by a pair of guards who recognized him. He strolled through the halls and opened the door to the dining room, Celestia sat at the end of the long table and waved him over. Jason sat down next to her and was quickly served a plate of mixed fruit and nuts, Jason sighed internally as he longed for the sweet taste of bacon.

"Have a good sleep?" Celestia asked, taking delicate bites of her crisp hay.

"Good enough," Jason lied, earning a look from Celestia.

"Okay, okay, I had a nightmare."

"I see," Celestia pursed her lips in concern. "Have you been having these often?"

"Every now and again, but is gotten more frequent since Rome," Jason answered.

"Because of Roseluck?" Celestia asked, Jason refused to meet her eyes.

"I'm sorry, I know it's a sensitive topic but...."

"Don't," Jason said harshly. "I'm dealing, just... Let's not talk about it."

"Just know that her body was recovered and returned to her sisters in Ponyville," Celestia said.

"How did they take it?" Jason said in worry.

"About as well as you are, which is to say not very well at all."

"I said I'm dealing."

"Yes, but you cannot shoulder your pain forever Jason," Celestia pressed.

"Look, I don't want to talk about it, I'm fine, lets just change the subject," Jason said. "What are your plans with Rome anyway?"

"Fine, you should know that we have been sending troops into Rome via teleportation gates and they have been working non-stop in recovering the staff as well as searching and securing the rest of the city," Celestia said. "With luck we can stake a claim to the land and ensure that anything there doesn't fall into the wrong hooves."

"That's good I suppose," Jason said absentmindedly, playing with his food.

"Jason... How have you been feeling of late?" Celestia asked.

"I said I'm fine, I'm dealing," Jason said harshly.

"It's not that, I've been thinking-"

"Always a bad sign," Jason said, getting Celestia to crack a smile.

"Quite, but I've been thinking about that scroll you found in Rome, the one that resurrected those dead soldiers? I've seen another like it."

"The one your father used?" Jason asked.

"The very same," Celestia stated. "That one was Human-made as well and I can't help but think that there may be other scrolls hidden in other parts of the world, and what power they hold? Not to mention if there are any more Lost Artifacts hidden away with them?"

"If there are, then we need to find them," Jason said. "Like you said, if anyone gets their hands on one of those scrolls, or another Alicorn artifact, that could spell trouble for everyone."

"I agree," Celestia said. "I shall see about searching for other Human locations and artifacts, perhaps we can turn something up, but that's not why I asked how you were feeling."

"Then why did you?"

"I had a thought, when my father used that scroll, it claimed his life in payment, I can't help but wonder what the Resurrection Scroll did to you."

"I feel fine," Jason said.

"Yes, but do you feel normal?" Celestia asked. "Have you felt anything different since you used the scroll? Think hard as anything the scroll did could hinder you health." Jason racked his brain for any noticeable changes, there was one.

"Well... I have been feeling... I don't know, more energetic?" Jason said uncertainly. "Like there's a lot of energy going through me but not really doing anything, if that makes sense."

"Mmm... I wonder..." Celestia hummed, she then sparked her magic and before Jason could react he felt his hair get pushed back slightly, like a light wind had blown through it.

"You... Just... used magic on me..." Jason stuttered, astonished. "How?"

"The scroll," Celestia said. "While it was a Human construct, the principles behind it are rather simple, the scroll contains a pre-made spell that when opened castes the spell inside, using whomever opened the scroll as a catalyst for casting the spell."

"For a non-magical being like a Human, this means that their body is suddenly rushed with magical energy, thus the body can either reject or accept the new energy, yours did the latter and you became connected to the magical fields."

"So I can be affected by magic now?" Jason asked.

"It seems so, congratulations, you are now a magical being," Celestia said casually, leaning back and taking a sip of her tea. Jason took a moment to think about that, he would have to be more careful around Unicorn's and any other magic-users in the future, still he felt like he was a part of something that up until now everyone had been a part of, but him.

"So, besides having to remember not to piss off Twilight, what else does being magical mean?" Jason asked.

"Well..." Celestia began. "Are you at all familiar with the Laws of Magic?"

"I'm going with no."

"I guess Twilight hasn't rubbed off on you yet," Celestia said with a smirk. "Anyway, magic is governed by laws like anything else, the first of which states very clearly that all magic must manifest, magic cannot simply be static, it must be used in some way."

"In Earth Ponies it gifts increased stamina and endurance, not to mention a connection with the land, in Pegasi it makes them as light as air and allows them to manipulate weather to their will, and Unicorns can cast powerful spells with varying affects," Celestia explained. "That's why many Unicorns experience what's called 'magical build-up' when they do not cast spells for too long, it's their magical energy trying to manifest, left unattended magical build-up can cause severe headaches, major brain damage, even death."

"Sounds terrific," Jason said sarcastically. "So what? Will I be able to cast spells?"

"I'm uncertain," Celestia said. "This is the first time in my experience that a Human has become magical, you could gain the ability to cast spells, or perhaps gain something closer to Earth Pony magic, you may even develop something completely unique, we'll have to wait and see."

"Maybe I can ask Twilight help me try and cast some spells, at least once she's talking to me again."

"She'll come around, Twilight isn't one to hold a grudge," Celestia paused. "But about these nightmares of yours, you said they have become worse and more frequent since Rome?"

"Yep," Jason said, taking a sip of tea. "Why?"

"Well, you used that scroll in Rome and became connected to the magical fields in that instant," Celestia said. "Meaning any magical affect in the area would affect you too."

"...The Staff of Morpheus," Jason concluded.

"The staff indeed, Shining Armour and the soldiers who survived the journey have been experiencing nightmares not unlike your own, and I'd wager Twilight and her friends may be suffering from the same plight," Celestia said. "Fortunately my sister can lift the shadows from their minds, and now that you are magical as well then she may be able to do the same for you."

"Do you really think that's a good idea? Letting her muck around in my dreams?" Jason asked in a rather loud tone.

"I understand that you and Luna aren't exactly fond of each other, but my sister would never misuse the Dream Magic, never has, never will," Celestia insisted. "Besides, you saw what the Staff did to those Gryphons, not to mention your fellow Humans before them, if you leave this unattended it could progress into something worse."

"Alright, I get it, doesn't mean I have to like it," Jason said.

"I suggest talking to Luna directly about it, she's never dream travelled into a Human's mind before, best she knows, before she stumbles upon it by accident," Celestia said. "And... Try to be nice? Please?"

"Alright," Jason said in defeat, then added. "How do you convince me to do these things?"

"I have my ways," Celestia said with a smile and a wink. "Now go on, Luna should still be awake, you can catch her if you hurry."

Jason nodded, got up from the table and walked off. He was a fair ways down the hall before he realized he had no idea where Luna's chambers were, rolling his eyes Jason found the nearest guard and asked if he knew where the Night Princess was.

"Of course sir," He said. "Just follow me."

The guard led Jason to the northern quarter of the castle, where he had never been before. They climbed a winding set of stairs that lead up to the topmost floor of the castle, then it was a few short turns until they entered a long dimly lit hallway, at the end of which was a small, yet ornate door inscribed with swirling runs and several depictions of stars and the moon cycle.

"Here we are sir," the guard said as they reached the door.

"Thank you," Jason said, making to knock.

"...just as a word of advise, sir," the guard said suddenly. "Princess Celestia and Luna tend to be the... Jealous types."

"...and what does that have to do with me?" Jason asked, turning to look at the guard.

"Nothing sir, just try and avoid making either of them... Upset," the guard said. "Good day," and then he left.

Jason shrugged "weirdo," he said before knocking on Luna's door, he was rather surprised when it opened instantly and without anyone behind it.

Luna's Chambers were as dim as the hallway, the dark blue curtains were drawn tight against the sunlight that would otherwise stream through the windows, the only real light coming from the abundance of candles. The entire room was a large circle, with a slightly raised platform next to the windows and two doors on the other side of the room, one leading left the other straightforward. Bookshelves, star charts, and paintings hung from the walls or sat on top of the thick purple carpet, as Jason stepped in he noted how the carpet absorbed his footfalls so little sound was made.

Jason couldn't see Luna anywhere, he did however notice a painting that remained on a stand, seemingly because it had recently been painted. It depicted the darkening dusk... Or perhaps the dawn? Jason couldn't really tell, but the colours used and expertise behind the strokes certainly captured the beauty of a sunrise, or sunset, which caught Jason's eye.

"I think it turned out rather well, do you?" A voice said.

Jason jumped and resisted the urge to draw his sword, he turned to see Princess Luna sitting down facing the doorway, a small table in front of her with a teapot, a few pastries, and a steaming cup of tea on it. Luna herself blew gently at her own tea, before taking a small sip, looking sideways at Jason.

"Do not be shy, come sit, have some tea with me," Luna said, gesturing to the other end of the table were a small sitting cushion had appeared without Jason's notice.

"You haven't answered my question," Luna said, as Jason sat down.

"Sorry?" Jason said as he took hold of the tea cup in front of him.

"My question," Luna repeated. "I had asked you if you thought my painting turned out well."

"I...uh..." Jason stuttered. "I thought it was good, you used mixed colours well... I guess."

"And do you think it is a dusk or dawn?" Luna asked, locking her eyes with Jason.

"I don't know, I was going to ask you," Jason said, experimentally sipping his tea, the brew immediately filled him with all the warmth of a campfire.

"But what do you see," Luna asked, leading slightly forward.

"Uh..." Jason said, glancing at the painting again. "Dusk I suppose, the oranges look more like they're fading than getting brighter."

"Ah, interesting," Luna said, leaning back. "So, what brings you to me?"

"Oh, uh..." Jason stuttered, forgetting his purpose after being asked his artistic opinion. "Celestia, suggested I came to you for help."

"Help? With what?"

"Nightmares," Jason said. "I had them before but they've gotten worse since Rome, Celestia thinks I've been affected by the Staff of Morpheus."

"Indeed!" Luna said. "You spoke to Celestia about this?"

"Yeah, the scroll I used, apparently using it floods me with magic."

"Yes, yes that does make sense," Luna agreed. "The other members of your party have been affected by the machinations of Morpheus, it seems you have as well."

"Who's Morpheus anyway?" Jason asked. "Another Alicorn?"

"He was," Luna said, looking down. "Many considered me and him to be similar yet opposites, while I preside over night and give good dreams to my subjects, Morpheus was the Alicorn of nightmares and fear."

"Before the war we would get into minor squabbles, he would sew seeds of fear into the minds of our kin, always claiming that a dose of fear was good for them," Luna continued. "We were often at odds with one another, but when war broke out Morpheus used his power to terrorize our Human enemies, and even his own soldiers."

"He gave his soldiers nightmares depicting Humans, they became so afraid that they would lash out violently at the mere night of your kind, and it worked for a time," Luna explained. "But he was overrun in what's now the Gryphon Kingdom, we assumed Morpheus had been captured or killed and his staff now in the hands of the enemy."

"They sent it to Rome," Jason realized. "The scientists there had been experimenting with magic, they created the Resurrection Scroll so they had probably ended up becoming magical, so when the Staff was brought over..."

"It drove them all mad," Luna concluded. "Poor souls, I can not imagine the torture they faced."

"But you can reverse it right?" Jason pressed. "I don't fancy loosing my mind." Jason said in a rather comic way.

"Mmm, I have never entered a Human's dream before," Luna mused. "I would imagine it would be different than a Pony's."

"I wouldn't know," Jason shrugged. "But it's worth a shot isn't it?"

"But do you trust me to try?" Luna asked.

"Sorry?"

"Do you trust me?" Luna repeated. "I would be entering your mind, your dreams, perhaps seeing things that you would rather no one see, I will only do it if I have your confidence."

"Well... I..." Jason stuttered, unsure of how to answer.

"I understand if you don't," Luna said. "Most wouldn't, and I haven't been exactly... Cordial with you."

"That's kinda an understatement,"

"True," Luna agreed. "The point is my sister trusts you and you have proved a valuable ally, despite the... History, between our two races it would be foolish and selfish of me to hold that against you, I apologize."

"...Well, I guess I understand," Jason admitted sadly. "You fought my kind for what must seem like forever, you associate evil with Human."

"You are correct, when I first saw you I had to resist an overwhelming urge to attack," Luna said. "To work alongside you is something I have trouble comprehending."

"Celestia seemed to be able to understand rather easily," Jason said a bit bitterly.

"She always hated the war, but never Humans," Luna explained. "In fact, I think she was secretly fascinated by your kind, rather like our father, but she never acted on for fear of rejection from some of our kin."

"Why would she be rejected?" Jason asked. "I mean I know they were your enemies but what's the harm in curiosity?"

"Well... You must understand that the Alicorns were not exactly united," Luna said. "Many Aligned Alicorns simply refused to fight, and many objected to the Unaligned being forced to fight."

"Aligned Alicorn's?" Jason asked.

"Has Celestia not explained this to you?" Luna asked.

"Let's go with no."

"Well... How to explain this," Luna mused. "You see, like Ponies today, Alicorns had what are now called 'Cutie Marks'... Where this band came from I can't say, but unlike modern Ponies, Alicorns didn't get their marks for just anything."

"Today a Pony may find that they are talented in any mundane thing, from gardening to woodworking, but Alicorns always found their mark in something cosmically significant, something profound. The moment they do said Alicorn realizes their place in the universe, they become a God of their domain, a master of it, this is what all Unaligned Alicorns strived for, but unfortunately they were made to be soldiers, the numbers of our ranks while the Aligned were generals."

"So after the war what happened to the Unaligned Alicorns?" Jason asked.

"They were left alone, most of the Aligned departed this world, ascended to the non-physical realm of Eitheruim, leaving the Unaligned and the Dragons to inherit the planet," Luna explained. "Me and my sister hid ourselves away, too ashamed to face our kin again, we slumbered for a millennia, without any guidance the Unaligned never ascended they began to fade into three forms, Pegasi, Earth Ponies, and Unicorns, and thus we come to today's world."

"So now you and Celestia are the only two Alicorns left?" Jason asked.

"Well no," Luna asked. "There are in fact three Alicorns, Princess Cadence being the third."

"Cadence..." Jason repeated. "And how come this is the first time I've ever heard of her?"

"Well... It didn't seem important before."

"Another Alicorn isn't important?"

"Until now," Luna corrected. "Suffice to say that Cadence was not around during the war."

"What? Really? How?"

"Well Cadence has only been an Alicorn for about eighty or so years now," Luna explained. "Before that she was a mortal Pegasus."

"Wait, so how'd she become an Alicorn then?"

"Much like how Unaligned Alicorn's became Aligned, Cadence mastered and completely understood a comically-significant concept," Luna said. "Thus the ancient magic took hold and her mortal body was dissolved and she was reborn as an Alicorn."

"So, what's she the Goddess of then?" Jason asked.

"Cadence is the Goddess and embodiment of Love," Luna said. "Somehow she came to completely understand love and all it entails."

"Are there any other Ponies-turned-Alicorns I should know about?" Jason asked.

"Cadence is the only one that has succeeded, though others have tried," Luna said. "Celestia hopes others will follow her path and perhaps with more Alicorns on Equus we can coax our kin back down from the heavens."

"Weird," Jason said. "Well, I've made up my mind, you can start reversing my nightmares."

"Are you sure?" Luna asked. "This is a rather... Personal thing."

"I'm sure," Jason said. "Just... Don't make me regret it."

"And you won't," Luna said. "Expect more restful sleep in the future."

"Thanks, I appreciate it," Jason said, placing down his relativity untouched tea. "I should be heading back to Ponyville now, hopefully Twilight is willing to talk to me... Not to mention Lily and Daisy."

"For what it's worth, I do think you did the right thing," Luna said. "The secret of Humanity's demise should not be one, and despite by sisters worry I predict that her efforts to keep the knowledge hidden will be in vain."

"Well, thanks anyway," Jason said, standing up. "Have a nice day."

"And you as well," Luna said, sipping her tea contently as Jason left her chambers.

Jason returned to his own room only to discover that he really didn't have much to pack in the first place. Only his small day bag that contained the map Celestia had given him and his compass, both of which were already packed away so Jason simply grabbed the bag and walked out.

When he came out onto the courtyard Jason spotted a familiar face, Shining Armour seemingly taking a stroll when he noticed Jason. Shining approached him.

"Heading back to Ponyville then?" He asked.

"Yeah I've spent too much time here, time to get things back to normal," Jason said.

"Whatever that is," Shining said. "Make sure Twilight is okay for me would you? I don't think she's completely recovered from what happened."

"Yeah, but I don't think she'll talk to me," Jason said.

"She's not really the grudge type," Shining assured.

"You're like the third person to tell me that," Jason said.

"That's because it's true."

"Yeah, okay," Jason said unconvinced. "Well I best be going."

"Wait a sec," Shining stopped him. "If it's any consolation, I'm sorry about Roseluck, I should have stopped her or... I don't know, I feel partly responsible."

"Don't," Jason sighed. "I don't want you beating yourself up about it, I'll deal with this my own way."

"You say I don't need to beat myself up about it, what about you?" Shining said. "You need to move on Jason, I've seen a lot of good soldiers loose their way because of one bad incident."

"Yeah, well I'm not a soldier," Jason said harshly, walking off.

"That's exactly my point," Shining sighed, but Jason was already out of earshot.

The market was already in full swing when Jason passed through it, stalls selling everything from fabric to precious gems. A large crowd filled the marketplace, Ponies from all walks of life browsed and bartered happily for their desired items, the crowd was thick but it strangely parted in at if Jason who walked unhindered through the market.

The morning train had just pulled in, spilling out a fresh batch of newcomers to the capital. Just as they exited, Jason entered in after them along with other commuters. Jason got himself a seat and spent the trip staring out the window as the train sped forth.

Celestia's sun bathed the landscape in its light, the light was reflected back by the fresh white snow that covered the ground. Jason enjoyed none of it through as it sped by, the light seemed harsh and the snow was a shadow to the giant drifts that Jason was accustomed to at this time of year, not to mention he was dreading what was to come.

The train arrived in Ponyville much faster than Jason would of liked, he stepped off reluctantly out onto the familiar sight of the small town. Jason sighed and made his way towards Golden Oak Library, the tree seemed a lot more ominous as it seemed more grey than Jason remembered.

Steeling himself Jason knocked softly, half-hoping that no one would answer, his hopes were crushed when Spike opened the door.

"Oh, it's you," He said unhappily, giving Jason the Dragon-Stink-Eye. "Twilight's in the book room... She's still upset, by the way."

"Yeah, I'd figured as much," Jason said, stepping in and meeting Spike's angry glare with his own steady one. "I'm sorry, by the way, for lying to you."

"You shouldn't be telling me that," Spike said harshly, turning his back. "Like I said, she's in the book room."

Spike pattered off, leaving Jason feeling worse, if that was impossible. He closed the door and walked into the library proper, it was quite as usual with the only sound being Jason's own footfalls. He turned into the main book room to find Twilight right where she ought to be, sitting down on her plush cushions reading a large tome with a neutral expression on her face.

Jason stood in the doorway awkwardly, think what, if anything, to say. There were so many things he wanted to say, that he was sorry, that he would tell the truth for now on, that he would do anything to gain Twilight's trust back. All these words died in his throat when he was faced with the sight of her, they were replaced by a small but rather rude clearing of the throat.

"What's Celestia doing about Rome?" Twilight asked neutrally, not even looking up.

"She's teleporting troops there and having them secure the city, and she's planning on staking a claim to the land leading up to and including Rome," Jason answered.

"Good, that way no one else will get hurt," Twilight commented.

"Yeah... I guess so, but Twilight I-"

"Roseluck's body arrived this morning but I had already told her sisters, Daisy and Lily... They aren't doing so well."

"Maybe I should drop in on them? Make sure they're doing okay."

"Probably not the best idea, they were blaming you last time I saw them."

"Well..." Jason stuttered. "I'll think about it but Twilight I really wanted to say-"

Whatever Jason was about to say was interrupted as Twilight magically slammed the book that she was reading startling Jason, Twilight stared intensely at the cover before speaking.

"I'll give you one chance," She said shakily. "To tell me exactly why you lied to me."

Jason was caught off guard for a moment, the emotion behind Twilight's words hit him hard with all the sharpness of a blade.

"I-it.." He stuttered. "At first it was because Celestia asked me to, when we first met down in the basement, she told me the whole story, then asked me to keep it from you and everyone else, all of whom I haven't even met yet."

"I wanted to tell you, but I was... Scared, I thought you'd hate me not only for lying, but also because my people were almost responsible for the extinction of what would eventually become your species... I don't know how all of you would handle it."

Twilight sighed, she placed a hoof on the cover of the tome in front of her as if caressing it. She sparked her magic and took hold of the book then levitated it over to Jason who took it in his hands, Twilight magic tickling as it flowed freely through him.

"On the subject of Humans and Humanity by Starswirl the Bearded," Jason read output. "...what? I don't understand."

"It's technically an illegal book," Twilight said. "I found it hidden away and had been reading through it looking for a clue to where the remaining Humans were, but now... Well... You know."

Jason looked on in shock, Twilight had been breaking the law simply to help him. She had risked serious consequences just so she could help Jason, this fact pushed the spear of guilt deeper into Jason's gut.

"Knowing what I do now makes the book obsolete," Twilight was saying. "Starswirl was one of the greatest scholars in history, he had no idea that he was searching for something that had been hidden away by his own Princess."

"Twilight I'm so sorry," Jason said. "I had no idea-"

"You would tell me wouldn't you?" Twilight said fiercely, locking her eyes with Jason's. "If the Pri-Celestia was hiding anything else from me?"

"Yes!" Jason said. "I don't want any more secrets."

"You say that," Twilight said coldly. "But how can I ever believe you?"

Her words stung like a whip and Jason struggled to keep it all contained within, even so he could fell the beginning of tears form in his eyes.

"...I'll just... Go and check in on Daisy and Lily like I said."

"I think that's best, and feel free to keep the book."

"Right," Jason said in a broken voice, before turning back the way he came, dropping the book and his bag in the hallway and leaving the library.

Roseluck's flower shop was in the market square which wasn't really in swing at the moment, few stores were open and fewer market stalls were set up with merchants trying half-heartedly to sell their wares. In a small town like Ponyville a death of one of their own affected everyone, even those who hadn't known her well.

The flower shop was predictably closed as well, the windows dark and a small sign saying to seek out a different florist. Jason walked in to the darkened store, no candles were lit so the only light came from the window which showed that the normally diverse selection of flowers had all been replaced by roses. The entire store was dominated by the flower, every pot, vase, cup, every available centimeter was full of the red flower, something else was obvious as well; the roses were dry, pedals had fallen off and most of them had long since run out of water.

All of the roses were dead.

Jason heard a sound coming from the back room, it sounded like sobbing. Carefully he walked across to the far door that was left slight ajar, he pushed it open soundlessly. Lily was sitting there, softly crying her eyes out, in front of her on a table was a white sheet with a familiar shape under it, more dead roses surrounding the lump, Jason's throat tightened as he quickly realized what he was looking at.

Lily must have heard him, because her ear twitched and she turned her sorrowful gaze towards Jason. He braced himself for what she had to throw at him but instead of angry yelling he surprisingly got panicked whispering."

"What are you doing here?" Lily hissed. "Get out!"

"Lily I just wanted to say I'm so-"

"It doesn't matter!" Lily cut in. "You need to go! If Daisy sees you-"

"Then I'll apologize to her too, this is my fault after all," Jason said. "And... I wanted to pay my respects."

"Fine! The funeral is later today, at two o'clock, feel free to come," Lily said, now trying to push Jason back through the door. "But you need to go now!"

Jason finally started complying, he began backing out of the room and back into the store proper. As he did he passed the stairway that lead up to the second level of the building, where the bedroom must have been, atop the stairs was Daisy.

She looked at Jason with one of the most angry glares he had ever seen, her teeth were grit to the point of cracking, her eyes burned into Jason and every inch of her spot pure disgusted fury.

"You..." Daisy said then she launched herself down the stairs, before Jason could react she landed in front of him, pivoted, then bucked Jason hard in the gut. Sending him flying at least a meter onto his backside, Jason was too stunned to do anything as Daisy began her tirade.

"How dare you show you show your face here! How dare you!" Daisy shouted. "YOU MONSTROUS DISGUSTING UNNATURAL CREATURE! YOU TOOK MY SISTER AWAY FROM ME! HOW DARE YOU SHOW YOUR FACE HERE! GET OUT!"

Jason got to his feet an ran from the store, Daisy yelling every obscenity in the dictionary at his back. Jason stumbled off, not knowing where he was going, all he knew was a racking pain that took hold over his body as he ran.

~~*~~

It was a small funeral, in relative speaking. Few people actually showed up, Daisy and Lily of course and Twilight and her her friends, a few other townsfolk. There was also what appeared to be priest, a kindly old unicorn stallion adorned in golden white robes decorated with the likeness of the sun.

A grave had already been dug and a coffin constructed, two undertakers stood by the coffin waiting for their cue. They were two pale thin unicorns, dressed sharply in dark suits and hats, they didn't seem affected by the somber scene they found themselves in, in fact one of them lit a pipe and began to smoke contently.

"The sun represents new beginnings," the priest began. "Do not think of death as the end of something beautiful but think if it as the beginning of something even more so, Roseluck was a good mare, a strong mare, she brought joy and happiness and beauty with her delicately cared for roses, let her find peace in the sun's warm embrace and may her spirit be blessed by the Two Princesses so it may find itself in Elysuim, amen."

The undertakers took that as their cue and lifted the coffin magically, they lowered it into the hole carefully. One by one everyone there paid there respects, some simply gave a nod of acknowledgment, others prayed, most left flowers- particularly roses -on the coffin. Daisy and Lily were last, the former using the latter for support as she let tears freely flow from her eyes, the two sisters produced a beautifully arranged bouquet with daisies, lilies, and of course roses all included in it, they placed it on Roseluck's coffin before Daisy broke down completely and Lily with the consoling help of the priest had to nearly carry her back.

The undertakers didn't seem to care and once everyone had done their bit they took hold of the mound of dirt that had been displaced and pushed it into the grave, burying Roseluck and crushing the flowers. The crowd didn't remain long after that, Daisy and Lily were the last to go with the priest offering to help them with their grief, spiritually of course.

A minute passed, the graveyard grew silent again. Until the sound of snow crunching under boot could be heard through the tranquil silence, Jason walked over to Roseluck's grave, in his hand were a rose and a maple leaf, entwined at the stem, Jason placed them at the gravestone and stood back up.

He stared at the gravestone for a moment, it was simple and cheap, grey stone with the words having been magically carved into it. Here lies Roseluck, sister to Daisy and Lily, Daughter of Snow Pedal and Rose Pedal, a caring sister and friend. Under the words was a depiction of Roseluck's cutie mark and a small rune the priest had put there to ward off evil spirits.

"I never wanted this for you," Jason said, seemingly to no one. "But I guess that doesn't really matter does it?"

"Ever since I came here, I felt like I didn't belong, I still sorta do, but you, my friends, you all changed that, I was happy. But then I let you down, I failed to protect you, Daisie's right... It's all my fault."

"... I might not have been able to save you, but I will save everyone else," Jason said intently. "No else dies because of me, I swear it, but it's just..."

It had begun to snow, a gentle snow but with big flakes. The snowflakes landed on Jason's cheeks, melting instantly and running down his face in a stream of liquid from his eyes.

"It's just..."

The snowflakes kept coming, on and on in a constant stream that flowed from Jason's eyes. He caught one with his tongue and he tasted salt.

"It's just.. I wish it hadn't been you," Jason said finally, and as he chest tightened he knew he could linger any longer. Steeling himself Jason brought his chin high, gave a respectful nod forward before turning on his heel and walking away, wiping the melted snowflakes from his eyes.

~~*~~

Celestia cantered down the rather dark hall, rare was it that she found a reason to visit her sister in her chambers. They usually talked at meals or when free moment was at hoof, but recently that had only cause to speak when pressing matters vied for their attention.

Celestia reached the ornate door, she didn't even have to knock as it swung open magically to reveal Luna carefully putting paint to canvass, it brought a small smile to Celestia's lips.

"It's nice to see that your getting back into the habit Luna," she said, walking over to her sister who was totally engrossed in her work. "You were always the better artist."

"You sell yourself short," Luna said, dipping her brush into her bottle of blue. "You just need to practice more, I've missed your particular style."

"Maybe I'll get back into it eventually," Celestia said.

"I look forward to it, but you didn't come just to talk art did you sister?"

"You right, forgive my delaying," Celestia said. "Jason and I had a conversation before he left, I assume you two did as well?"

"We did," Luna stated, putting her brush down and turning to her sister. "He asked me to help him with his nightmares, which means you confirmed that he is indeed magical?"

"He is now," Celestia answered. "We just need to wait until his newfound magic manifests itself."

"That should be an interesting thing to witness," Luna said.

"Indeed," Celestia agreed. "But there's something else, we also discussed what happened in Rome, we agreed that if an entire city survived this long, not to mention a Lost Artifact and a Human research facility, who to tell what else is out there?"

"You want to go searching for the Lost Artifacts," Luna realized.

"And any Human sites left standing," Celestia said. "It is clear that there are those that wish to seek them out and we cannot allow anything to fall into the wrong clutches."

"Then I shall send out my Night Agents," Luna said. "They will seek out theses artifacts for us."

"No, we must not be that obvious," Celestia said. "There are... Other ways we can seek out the Lost Artifacts."

"...I know what you speak of sister," Luna said cautiously. "But you cannot be that desperate."

"I am," Celestia stated, sparking her magic. Suddenly Luna's chambers faded away and the two princesses found themselves in a torch-lit stone hallway, just in front of a set of large double doors inset with intricate glowing runes.

"Elders preserve me," Luna said, sparking her own magic, together the sisters deactivated the runes and the doors slowly opened.

Inside was a large circular room, lit by magical green torches. In the center was an ornate pedestal designed to look like a dragon's hand, it clasped a dark orb that seemed to be completely black, the orb gave off an eerie green glow.

"Are you sure about this sister?" Luna asked, as they approached the Orb. "You know that using it can do you your mind."

"Lesser minds perhaps," Celestia countered. "But I am prepared, it will not dominate my mind."

"Just be careful, we do not know enough about it yet."

"I shall be careful," Celestia said, lowering her horn to bear with the Orb. When it made contact the Orb filled with swirling greyish greening smoke, images began to fade in and out of sight.

"Reveal to me the artifacts that are lost," Celestia said wispily, as if in a trance. "And show me what mountains I must cross."

Chapter 27~ Not Out Of The Woods Yet

"It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves."

~William Shakespeare

A rainy wind tore at Jason's clothes and hair, his boots dug into the wet sand and pushed forward despite the hurricane force wind. It was dark, pitch dark and Jason couldn't see anything, it must have been nighttime but Jason couldn't see the stars or the moon through what must have been dark clouds coating the sky. The only light visible to him now, was a single beam of white light that rotated around at the top of a tall wide lighthouse atop a cliff which Jason was walking up towards. Yet, he didn't know why.

The wind screamed in his ear, it screamed words too, voices of people he knew..

"I'm so sick of you Jason!"

"Give up Pony-friend thing!"

"There's no point son! Stop wasting your energy! Your not getting anywhere!"

"Stop being so stubborn!"

"Turn back!"

Jason ignored them and kept going.

Sand turned to rock and suddenly Jason recognized this lighthouse. Somewhere, somehow he had seen it before, not just another lighthouse that looked the same, but this specific lighthouse. He reached it and leaned against the wet stone that it was made of. Next to him was a large wooden door, he pushed against it and met resistance... Somehow the hurricane had gotten inside the lighthouse and was impeding his progress but he pushed harder still.

That was until he heard an echoing voice call his name. Before he entered he turned around and saw the once dark clouds part to reveal a full moon. As he stared, the moon got brighter and brighter until it blinded him completely and turned his vision white as he felt himself fall backwards into a soft mattress and a blanket cover over him.

His vision cleared and he opened his eyes.

Goldenoaks Library, Ponyville, Equestria, Wednesday, 27th of February, 6:37am, 2206 AC

Jason awoke from one of the more restful slumbers that he has had in the past week, ever since he left Canterlot the nightmares had gotten less frequent and they almost always ended like the one he just had, a full moon, Luna's voice, and Jason awaking feeling much better.

He sat up in his bed and looked out his window, a full winters moon sat in the clear night sky, accompanied by bright stars, Jason grinned out at them.

"Thanks Luna, you're the best," He said to the night and he swore he saw the stars twinkle back at him.

Well and truly awake now, Jason decided he might as well get up. He swung himself out of bed and quickly got dressed. Boots, blue pants, white collars ,shirt, brown long coat and a scarf that Rarity had made him for winter. He strapped on his knife and gladius and then quietly opened his door and tip-toed through the hall and down the stairs, while Twillight and Spike were still asleep. Apparently ponies didn't have Daylight Savings Time.

Things had been rather chilly between Jason and Twilight lately, the rest of the Mane Six had managed to forgive him in varying levels of speed. But Twilight had taken the deception to heart, perhaps it was because her own mentor had lied to her as well? Perhaps it was because so much of the history she thought she knew was wrong? Or maybe because she thought Celestia might be hiding more from her?

Jason had to admit, she may have a point on that last one.

He stepped outside. It had snowed in the night so Jason's boots crunched into three centimeters of snow. A cold breeze bit at him making Jason grateful for his scarf and warm clothing. He trudged into the night, not really feeling like doing his usual morning run. In reality, Jason wanted company but everyone was either asleep or not in the mood to talk to him.

Instead, Jason found himself at the edge of the Everfree Forest. Fleetingly, he thought it was probably a bad idea, but he was too out of it to really care. He entered the forest's edge and as he walked, the snow got slightly deeper, the tree branches blocked out the moon and suddenly it became very, very dark. Jason heard movement in the dark, some large form moving through the woods rapidly, twigs snapped and leaves rustled, the beast leaped out of the woods and next to Jason, rubbing against his leg with an affectionate purr.

"Hullo Sebastian," Jason said with a grin, scratching behind the Manticore's ear.

Sebastian purred affectionately and patterned along next to Jason as he strolled further and further into the forest, any fear he might've had here have gone now. Jason was reasonably confident that Sebastian would scare off most of the other creatures in the Everfree, as long as they avoided the centre, from Jason understood that's where the most dangerous creatures resided.

Suddenly the Manticore that he had been petting, dashed out right in front of him. Sebastian looked at Jason with his earnest eyes, like he wanted him to follow. Jason raised an eyebrow at that but followed none the less, Sebastian seemed to be sticking to the path anyway. Deeper and deeper they went into the dark woods and Jason began to worry that this Manticore was leading him right into the lair of some greater beast.

The sky was beginning to lighten when Jason entered a small clearing, a small wooden hut sat in the middle of the clearing. 'Hut' being a loose words as it appeared to be a very craggy old tree with a door on the front, that wasn't the strangest part, a mask of some sort was hung over the door and bottles of unknown content were tied to the tree's branches and swung gently in the breeze.

Sebastian laid down by the door, panting more like a dog than a cat. Jason patted him on the head and approached the door, he knocked politely but no answer came, instead the door simply creaked open as if inviting him in.

"Creepy," Jason said to himself. "Hello? Anyone home?"

Of course no answer came, so Jason let himself in. The inside was an odd view: a large black cauldron sat in the centre, the walls were decorated with many masks and bottles hanging by strings, there were shelves full of potions and jars of different herbs and even small creatures, from frogs to insects to things Jason had no name for. Even as he closed the door, he noticed something strange; a Dreamcatcher, now that was something he hadn't seen in a while.

Jason stepped over the cauldron and peered inside, there was some sort of green liquid swirling around, it smelled foul and caused him to quickly recoil back. It was then he heard a noise, done by a sort of constant humming like from a machine... Or a person, it was coming from a small room that was separated only by a thin cloth.

Jason stepped through the cloth and into a small room and was met yet again with another odd sight, these were becoming so common they were loosing their oddity. Laying on the floor with a small mat under her was a zebra mare, she wore jewellery, good bands around her left front legs, earring, and even rings around her neck which was strange. Her mane was striped and styled into a mohawk, and on her flank was a swirl design with several triangles pointing in different directions around it.

She was also humming, her eyes closed and a serene look upon her face. Jason was only guessing but he thought she might be mediating, although he hadn't ever heard of a Pony doing that before... On the other hand she was a zebra not a pony. Jason sat down across from her on a spare mat, him waiting patiently as he felt like it would be rude to interrupt.

He didn't have to wait long, incidentally the mediating Zebra heard him come in as she stopped humming and opened her eyes to reveal piercing blue irises that seemed to look right through him.

"What sort of creature do my eyes see?" She asked through a thick accent. "One that has come uninvited into my homely tree."

"Uh, my name's Jason, I'm a human," Jason answered. "Who are you? And if you don't mind my asking, what are you doing in the middle of the Everfree?"

"Tell of humans I have never heard, to sooner learn of you I would have preferred," the Zebra said. "Zecora is my name although you may find it lame, as to why I am here that's because of the herbs and plants, I fear."

"So your an alchemist then?"

"You could call me that but it would only be part of the fact."

"...Ookay then," Jason said. "So... Uh... Not to be rude, but why are you speaking in rhyme?"

"Ah, a good question so I will give you a confession," Zecora said. "You asked me if I was an alchemist and I said yes, but to much greater powers I will confess."

"Greater powers?" Jason asked in confusion. "I don't understand, what does that have to do with-"

"Not all zebras speak in rhyme, for that would take too much time," Zecora explained. "But for those who seek the powers of a Witch, then speaking in rhyme can heavily enrich."

"So speaking in rhyme gives you power?" Jason asked.

"Magic works in mysterious ways, but the power it gives me will amaze," Zecora said. "But enough about me, I'm curious about you, don't you see?"

"Uh, okay, what do you want to know?"

"How did you come to find this place, that is home to my little base?"

"Well I was lead here, by a manticore named Sebastian," Jason paused. "And I just realized how ridiculous that sounds."

"Ridiculous it may be, the fact that it is truthful is key," Zecora said. "The beast clearly wanted you here, perhaps because of something you fear?"

"Something I fear? But I'm not afraid of anything." Said Jason unconvincingly

"Are you not? A lie I think I have caught," Zecora said with a smile. "Tell Zecora of your ills, I promise I will not run for the hills."

"Well... I..." Jason stuttered, he felt like he shouldn't tell some random Zebra about his dreams, but for some reason he felt like she could help him.

"I've been having nightmares, bad ones, usually they were all the same but this one was really different," Jason said. "I didn't see much as Princess Luna pulled me awake before I could get further than I was."

"What was so different about this dream? Was it something that made you scream?"

"Well no, the difference here was I was outside during a storm and there was a lighthouse, I wanted to get to the lighthouse, I don't know why."

"Have you seen this lighthouse before? Where did it stand? On a cliff, or the shore?" Zecora asked.

"It was on a cliff," Jason said. "And... It did seem familiar, somehow, but it could also be just any old lighthouse."

"Dreams are never so clear," Zecora warned. "Let me explore your dreams for you fear."

Zecora rose from her mat and beckoned for Jason to follow her, she lead him back into her hut proper and over to her cauldron. The green liquid was still there and as Zecora approached it began to glow and stir as if her mere presence sparked life in it.

"What's in there anyway?" Jason asked, peering into the cauldron.

"This is my magical brew, used for using my powers anew," Zecora answered. "Now let me peer into your mind and see what sort of future I shall find."

Jason stood opposite of her with the cauldron in between them, Zecora began waving her hooves over the liquid with it frothing and moving with her, she began talking in a language that Jason didn't recognize. The room became dark like the sun had gone behind a cloud.

"Show me what plagues this man," Zecora chanted, closing her eyes and swaying back and forth. "And I shall help him with all the powers of my clan."

Zecora swayed back and forth a few more times before she froze for a moment and her eyes snapped open, her blue eyes were gone and replaced with the same glowing green of the liquid she was chanting to.

"Zecora?" Jason asked worriedly, more than a little freaked out.

"Reveal to me the artifacts that are lost," Zecora chanted, her voice was not her own and was replaced by a wheezy tone that echoed unnaturally. "And show me what mountains I must cross."

Jason heart was thumping hard, he broke out in a sweat and his body screamed to run and rouse the nearest angry mob to come and perform a witch trial. But he found himself trapped in her otherworldly gaze, all traces of Zecora were gone at this moment, it was this power that was speaking to him.

"You shall go to a land of ice and snow," she chanted. "And find the treasure of a dreadful foe."

"To a greater journey your findings will lead, and godly blood will come to bleed.
Visions of the night will come to pass, and the ground beneath you will be but glass.
Three of a key shall lead to six ,so hold on tight for a ride of tricks, but these items you seek are out of reach, so listen to what these words shall teach.

Two will live, two will die
Some will laugh, others will cry.
One shall surrender, the other is blind.
All shall perish, none shall thrive.
And more than one have lost their mind.

From the past this menace comes, marching in to the sound of drums.
All he desires is the taste of spite, his revenge will come through the night.
The cause of your sorrow will be discovered, but years will pass and your heart has not recovered.
Contend your will with a machine of time, and the bells of fate will undoubtedly chime.
Gods of the past come forth and fight, but will surprise all when its on the side of the light.

The road will be long, the journey tough.
You'll have to be strong, to get far enough.
Your heart will be cold, your mind will be set.
The future you hold, is filled with regret.
You must keep the darkness at bay.
Lest the colour within us fade to grey.
The end may not be beautiful, ideal, or glorious.
But at least you shall be, if anything, undoubtedly victorious."

Jason stood in shock and terror as the glow faded from the cauldron and Zecora's eyes, she blinked and the glow was gone, her normal blue eyes were back and she seemed to return to this plane of existence.

"My mind had darkened I fear, from my mouth what did you hear?" She asked.

"Y-you were talking, but it wasn't your voice, you said... It sounded like..."

"Like I was telling the future?" Zecora asked and Jason nodded. "I know, because I feel like I need a suture."

"B-but none of that made sense!" Jason said, still very terrified.

"Prophecies rarely do even though it may seem blue," Zecora said. "In my mind I saw ice and snow, what thus means I do not know."

"But what about my nightmare? The lighthouse?"

"I see snow and you see light," Zecora said. "I think you should seek these places outright."

"Seek? But I still have no idea where either of them are! Besides, why would I go looking for a lighthouse and some random arctic tundra?"

"In the end it is your choice, but if you refuse this path I doubt you will rejoice."

Jason shook his head, this was way too much to process in one go, he needed time to clear his head and think about this.

"Look, thanks for your... Help, I think I'll head back to town now," he said.

"You are tired and weary I can see," Zecora said, Jason assumed she was trying to comfort him. "But I still hope that you will eventually come visit me."

"Yeah... sure."

Zecora followed Jason to the door. Outside, Sebastian was rolling around happily in the grass, completely unaware of the magical bullshit that had just gone down. Jason walked over to him and stroked his mane, Sebastian purred and rubbed up against Jason's leg.

"This creature has bound itself to you," Zecora said from the doorway. "I was wondering if you knew."

"Bound himself? What do you mean?" Jason asked.

"For your protection he shall strive, he shall follow you around and keep you alive," Zecora answered.

"It's never straight forward with you is it?" Jason asked, shaking his head.

Zecora laughed and gave him a knowledgable wink, while Jason gave a wave goodbye and started strolling back towards Ponyville. The words of Zecora's prophecy spinning around in his head.

To a greater journey your findings will lead, and godly blood will come to bleed.

Godly blood? Well, there's only two kinds of people I know of who could fit that

All shall perish, none shall thrive.

See that? That sounds absolutely horrifying.

Jason shook his head clear, he needed to talk to Celestia about this, Twilight could probably help too. Jason exited the Everfree, giving Sebastian a goodbye scratch behind the ears and leaving him to do whatever manticores do when no ones looking.

Dawn had long since broken, and many ponies were going about their morning routine, some gave Jason friendly waves and other averted their eyes and closed their shutters. Jason arrived at Goldenoak's library, he immediately heard running hooves and Twilight run into the main hall with a panicked look and a piece of parchment held in her magical grasp.

"Twilight I need to talk-"

"Pack your things, Celestia's summoned us to Canterlot," Twilight cut in.

"What now?" Jason said with a scowl. "Can't she wait a week?"

"Apparently a Lost Artifact has been located," Twilight said, shoving the parchment over to Jason. "We're going to Stalliongrad."

You shall go to a land of ice and snow, and find the treasure of a dreadful foe.

Well, that explains that part.

Chapter 28~ To Stalliongrad I went...

"One thousand paces forward and not one step back."

~Joseph Stalin

Castle of the Two Princesses, Canterlot, Equestria, Wednesday, 27th of February, 7:00am, 2206

"Your team has been briefed then?" Princess Luna inquired.

"Yes ma'am," Captain Nightshade confirmed. "Although it would help if we actually knew what we're looking for."

"I'm afraid that's not an option, Captain," Luna stated. "The smaller the circle the better, my sister wants to keep knowledge of this artifact secret for now."

"I understand that ma'am but..."

"But?"

"It's just... No offence meant ma'am but sometimes I think you're a tad too submissive to Princess Celestia," Nightshade said, getting a furious look from Luna but he cut her off. "Please hear me out ma'am, I understand you love your sister but the way I see it you and her are suppose to be equal in rule, I may be imagining it but I think Celestia has gotten too comfortable calling all the shots in your absence."

"Nonsense!" Luna exclaimed. "I follow my sisters direction simply because I see the wisdom behind it!"

"Do you though?" Captain Nightshade asked. "You never keep secrets from me ma'am, except when Celestia asks you to, I think that you're too eager to please her because... Well, you feel guilty about your actions all those years ago and you think by blindly following your sisters' wishes you can gain her forgiveness."

"You presume much Captain," Luna said angrily, her eyes just barely conveying the raw power age had at her disposal, but Nightshade met her gaze steadily.

"I don't say this to upset you, I say this because I consider you a friend," he said, softening Luna's gaze. "I will continue at your side and follow your orders, my soldiers are at your back my lady, but I implore you to consider what I have told you."

Nightshade gave Princess Luna a bow and cantered off, leaving the Princess to her thoughts. The Captain of Night exited out of the Hall of Harmony and out of the palace, into the courtyard, where his team was waiting, all of them engaged in their own conversations before their Captain approached.

"You've all got an understanding of your mission then?" Nightshade asked.

"Yessir," Blossom said, magically running a brush through her ice-blue mane. "What did the Princess say about giving us more info?"

"She as selected to keep that intel to herself," Nightshade replied. "But I think if we're patient then our Princess shall come around."

"Preferably sooner," Blossom replied, now brushing her dark blue coat. "How can she expect us to operate effectively without knowing all the facts?"

"Curiosity is one thing but that sort of talk is uncalled for," Nightshade said harshly. "We may not have all the facts but we have enough, protect the Human called Jason and his companions as they search through Stalliongrad."

"But searching for what?" Sunshine cut in as he sheathed one of his many daggers. "And why have we never heard of a Human before? Seems like something we should know about as apparently this one is our ruler's new pet project."

"Is that how you feel?" Nightshade asked. "And how about the rest of you? Do you all she the same feelings?"

"I think I understand why Princess Luna wants to keep this from us," Sunshine said. "Some things need to be kept confidential yeah? Why is this any different?"

"It isn't," Silver Shot said, adjusting his black stetson. "We're the best team in all ó N.I.G.H.T, even without all the facts we can still operate effectively ain't that right?"

"Either way we have our orders," Nightshade stated. "I have to stay behind, can I trust you lot to perform this mission despite being out if the loop?"There was a chorus of confirmation and Nightshade grinned.

"That's what I like to hear, dismissed."

~~*~~

The train chugged along the tracks leading up to Canterlot, Jason stared out the window at the valley in which Ponyville sat in as it steadily got father away from them, a sight he was tiring of quickly. Not many passengers were taking the trip to the capital that day so Jason and the Mane Six essentially had a whole car to themselves, a fact that they took advantage of with spreading themselves out rather than cramming into one compartment. Jason himself was sitting alone with his boots laying on the seat across from him when Applejack slipped in and sat down.

"Howdy," she greeted.

"Hullo," Jason said back.

"How're you holdin' up?" AJ inquired.

"Fine," Jason said neutrally.

"I can tell when you're lying Jas," Applejack said said in concern. "Your keepin' it bottled up, just like I did last harvest remember? I was too stubborn to accept help and I ended up blowin' up, I don't want that to happen to you."

"This is different," Jason insisted. "I'm not bottling it up, I'm dealing, grieving you know? You don't need to worry I just need time to bounce back."

"If you say so, but remember you can always come to me if you need to talk."

"Yeah, sure," Jason said, turning back to the window.

The train ran around the mountain several times before entering the tunnel just before they came across Canterlot in all its glory, although every time Jason visited the city it seemed to loose its charm. With one last long whistle the train pulled into Canterlot station and screeched to a halt before spilling its passengers into the city, Jason and the Mane Six stepped off and made a beeline towards the castle. The guards out front let them in without question, the sight of Jason and Twilight were familiar to them at this point. Celestia was waiting in the main hall, apparently deep in her own thoughts, she did brighten up as Jason approached though.

"I'm glad you could all make it here as quickly as you did," She said.

"We should really mix up where we meet," Jason commented, crossing his arms. "It's to the point now that I'm considering reserving a seat on that train."

"Duly noted," Celestia said. "But moving on, I said in my letter that I was sending all of you to Stalliongrad but I assume up you're wondering why."

"Just a tad," Jason quipped.

"Well it seems that a Lost Artifact lies within Stalliongrad's borders," Celestia said.

"Really?" Jason said in surprise. "How'd you work that out so fast?"

"Luna's agents are very skilled," Celestia said, sparking her magic and making a map appear out of nowhere and levitated over to Jason "But that's not the point, we believe that a Lost Artifact lies within Stalliongrad, now I need to know, does the area around the city have any significance to Human history?"

"I see Rome's on the map now," Jason commented, taking the map in his hands. "It's that a public thing now?"

"Relatively public," Celestia said. "I couldn't stake a claim to the land without being public about it, Rome is in fact on the map now but I've cut it off to anyone not authorized, I'll consider opening the city to the public once it's been explored in its entirety, Sir Red Hill of the Solar Knights is leading the excavation of the city."

"Right, of course, so Stalliongrad then..." Jason said looking over the map. "Well it seems that Stalliongrad consists of at least part of the territory that used to be a country called Russia, as for the area calling it historically significant would be an understatement."

"How so?" Twilight piped in.

"Well long story short Russia was home to several significant revolutions and a important part of some... Major wars. " Jason said, rolling up the map.

"I think you'll need to elaborate on some of that," Celestia said.

"Yes, right, well," Jason said, feeling rather uncomfortable about discussing such a topic. "I'd rather not."

"Of course," Celestia said, sensing that the topic was getting uncomfortable. "So it's settled that all of you will travel to Stalliongrad and-"

"Now hold on a sec," Jason cut in. "Why are we being sent to Stalliongrad? You said Luna's agents discovered the possibility of a Lost Artifact there, why can't they find it? Or anybody else? You have soldiers to spare and loyal knights to command don't you?"

"The last time we went on an expedition the Lost Artifact was in a Human facility that only opened for Human's," Celestia said.

"The last time we went on an expeditions Roseluck died along with Green Breeze and countless of your loyal soldiers," Jason countered, shutting Celestia up. "I'd rather not repeat that experience."

"Stalliongrad is an allied territory," Celestia argued. "There is little chance of opposition there."

"Little chance is still a chance," Jason quipped.

"Please Jason," Celestia pleaded. "Now that I know we can find these artifacts we must do so before someone else does."

Jason sighed heavily and rubbed the bridge of his nose, as much as he hated to admit it Celestia did have a point.

"Alright, alright," Jason ceded. "But after this I don't want any part of your search, at least for a while alright?"

"I can accept that," Celestia agreed. "And you be pleased to know we're doing things a little differently now, I can't just march an army into Stalliongrad can I? So instead I'm sending you along with one of Luna's teams. They'll keep you safe and assure your activities go unnoticed by anyone."

"Is there a reason we need to go unnoticed?" Jason questioned.

"There are others who may be searching as well, namely the Gryphons," Celestia explained. "Additionally I don't think the Duke of Stalliongrad would appreciate my snooping around in his territory so it's best he doesn't know." Jason exchanged glances with Applejack and Twilight respectively before turning back to Celestia.

"Fine then," Jason conceded. "We'll head off then."

"Luna's team is waiting for you outside," Celestia said. "Get to know them and get each other up to speed, and be careful."

"When am I never?" Jason said with a grin then followed the Mane Six out the door. Jason lagged behind the group as he lost himself in his own thoughts, he only broke out of it when he heard his name being called but not through his ear, h heard the voice in his head.

Jason stopped and looked around and almost immediately noticed Princess Luna standing off to the side, slightly concealed in the shadows. Jason told his friends to go ahead without him and approached Luna.

"You look like you need to say something," Jason commented.

"Not here," Luna said softly. "Walk with me."

Jason walked along side Luna down the deserted hallway, no servants, no guards, no tourists inhabited the hall, no one to overhear them.

"Something has been recently brought to my attention," Luna began. "I wanted to discuss it with you?"

"With me?" Jason asked. "And where does this newfound trust come from?"

"Don't flatter yourself, I still don't trust you completely," Luna said harshly. "But, I believe that you need to be aware of this as it does somewhat effect you."

"Fair enough," Jason said. "So what's on your mind?"

"My sister," Luna stated. "I have been made aware that in my absence she has become... Controlling, paranoid even, there are those who believe that my sister is become too secretive and deceptive."

"Well she is one-half the ruler of Equestria," Jason said. "I can understand exercising some control."

"Ruling is not the same as controlling, Jason," Luna said with a shake of her head. "But I'm afraid I have been enabling her, I am... Too eager to please Celestia because of the guilt I feel in my heart."

"It's okay that you want to make your sister happy," Jason said. "But I do think you have a point l especially if you're correct in her being deceptive."

"She has been, I believe she told you my agents discovered a possibility of Lost Artifacts in Stalliongrad?"

"Yes."

"They did no such thing," Luna said. "In reality my sister discovered the whereabouts of the Lost Artifact by using another one, The Orb we call it, Celestia used it to look into the future and scry where the Artifact was."

"She saw into the future," Jason said. "Huh."

"What is it?"

"Nothing, nothing," Jason said. "But... Why'd she lie? I mean you're the one who doesn't trust me and here you are telling me Celestia's the liar?"

"She lied because she doesn't fully trust anyone with the information," Luna said. "Celestia was... Very lonely when I was gone, without me around and all her mortal friends lost to time she had no incentive to interact with anyone. She was Equestria's ruler and that was it, because of this she must have become secretive, finding no value in trusting her subjects and thus retreated within, then I returned home and... And nothing changed, because she hadn't forgiven me, because I had betrayed her, because I could not be trusted. And thus we went on with a false pretence of perfect siblings before you came, when you did my sister simply latched onto you, a person who somewhat understood her plight and had never wronged or betrayed her and despite the acts of your race she trusted you, but still she hides things from both of us, old habits die hard I suppose."

"You're saying your own sister doesn't trust you?" Jason asked in concern, seeing the barely-contained emotion in Luna's eyes.

"I'm saying that my sister is hurting and there is nothing I can do about it," Luna said, her voice finally cracking. Without hesitation and acting purely on instinct Jason scooped up the Alicorn into a comforting hug, Jason felt Luna stiffen immediately and he realized that hugging someone who had slaughtered hundreds of his kind without thinking. Jason was right to worry as every fibre of Princess Luna's immortal being screamed at her to obliterate what she had for so long perceived as her enemy. Something stopped her though, perhaps it was because she realized he was trying to help, perhaps it was also because she knew that of her short list of trustworthy people this lone Human was one of the top names, or maybe it was simply because she was so vulnerable at that moment.

Still stiff as a board Luna accepted the hug, it was comforting in a strange way but she didn't dare hug back as she was still trying to decide how she should feel or relate to this sort of contact with a Human.

"Thank you," Luna said stiffly, reining in her emotions. Jason sensed her discomfort and quickly released her, there was a moment of awkward silence before Jason cleared his throat.

"So now that I know all this what do you want me to do about it?" He asked.

"You are the only one she'll really talk to, so I want you to do just that," Luna said. "At every opportunity, whenever you can, talk to her and try and pull her out of her shell that she's put herself in."

"And what makes you think I'll have any effect?" Jason asked.

"You may not but you're the only option at this moment," Luna said. "All I ask it that you try."

"Fine, I'll do what I can."

"I suppose that's all I will get," Luna said. "I thank you, now you must go join your friends before they miss you."

"Yeah sure," Jason said, turning to leave. He walked off with his head a buzz with thoughts, he did spare one glance behind but saw that Luna had gone, only the shifting shadows left in her wake.

Jason joined his friends outside who were conversing with what must have been Luna's team, there was three of them and they all seemed relatively professional.

"Well, you must be Jason," One of them said, a dust-coloured pegasus stallion in a black duster and stetson. He looked Jason over as he lovingly polished the crossbow in his hooves. "Name's Silver Shot but ya'll can just call me Silver, I'm our teams marksman and- "

"I can see that," Jason cut him off. "And your friends?"

"That's Sunshine," Silver said, pointing to the dark yellow pegasus who was clad in leather and at least a dozen daggers."And then there's Blossom," Silver pointed to the dark blue unicorn who was chatting up Rarity.

"Nice to meet you all," Jason said. "I think we're all ready to go, what about you?" Before Silver could say anything back Applejack got Jason's attention, Fluttershy and Rarity was standing with her.

"About that Sugarcube," AJ said. "I'm afraid Rares, Flutters, and I can't come this time, we all have our own commitments back in Ponyville and I'm afraid we can't shirk off work any longer, I hope y'all understand."

"Yeah, I understand," Jason said. "You all have lives of your own, no worries, the other three will keep me company." Applejack stepped closer and Jason kneeled down to her level so they could speak.

"Y'all keep safe ya' hear?" Applejack said softly. "I haven't forgotten what happened in Rome, and neither have you, so keep outta trouble okay?"

"I'll try," Jason said, accepting the hug that Applejack offered before her, Rarity, and Fluttershy said their goodbyes and headed back towards the train station.

"And then there was three," Jason said once they had gone. "I guess it'll be just us then?"

"Hey, it'll still be awesome," Rainbow said. "Let's get going! Stalliongrad is waiting!"

~~*~~

Snow fell relentlessly onto Stalliongrad's grey stone streets, the many statues that depicted the heroes of the Northfolk were coated so completely one could barely recognize their faces. Most of the residents that lived in the frozen city state didn't mind the cold much so the grey streets still held many ponies who were going along with their day to day business, so the priest was able to move along without being noticed which served his purposes nicely.

Then again he wasn't exactly hiding, anyone who looked at him could see his tailored black priest cloths and would know he was a stallion of faith. However the Alicornist Church didn't like anyone who hadn't taken their oaths knowing of their business, thus the priest was thankful for the crowd and thick snow to conceal his movements.

Eventually he made his way to the far eastern edge of the city, where his home and place of worship stood out of sight and out of mind. It was a humble little chapel all things considered, especially compared to the cathedrals that the Church of the Two Princesses had, but the Northfolk of Stalliongrad were not particularly faithful and so any church that found itself setting up shop there was on its own. The Alicornists had managed to place this small church in any case, with a flat top and wide base, it was made out of cut grey stone like everything else in the north but it was still home to the priest.

He pushed open the small wooden door and stepped into the warm welcoming encompass of the chapel, the priest closed the door against the cold and had barely begun to remove his scarf when one of the Chapel Brothers ran over to him.

"Father Snow!" The colt called.

"Brother Spark?" Snow asked. "What is the matter my child?"

"Her Holiness just had a vision," Spark gasped. "She divined that a party of Equestrians is travelling to Stalliongrad in search of the blade."

"They wouldn't dare!" Snow said. "Was she able to divine whom these heretics are?"

"She did not but I think we can assume that the Church of the Two Princesses has its ignorant hoof in this."

"I agree," Father Snow said. "Brother, make sure the blade is secure and send word to the rest of our brothers, we must be prepared to defend our church, I will remain here and pray for our victory."

"Of course Father," Spark said, bowing and taking off. Meanwhile Father Snow approached the far end of the church where nineteen shrines were arranged in a semi circle, Snow knelt before them.

"For our salvation I pray..." He began. "In the name of Celestia, Luna, Erotia , Mars, Drax, Kronos, Nemesis, Aethra, Ignis, Solaire, Morpheus, Gaia, Belivas, Osiris, Conspira, Dispono, Hecate, Lyr, and Soragnavir... Please, grant is your children victory over these heretics..."

~~*~~

The train pulled into Stalliongrad's station with its usual hiss and whistle, the snow was coming down hard and one could barely see more that two meters in front of them.

"Let's keep our heads down," Silver said. "I know a place we can hide out and get information, but let's take some back streets, I want as few ponies as possible noticing Jason."

Silver Shot poked his head out as the trains doors as they opened, he saw very few people on the platform and the worsening blizzard gave them some ample cover. With quick movements they left the train and then purposefully moved onto lesser-used paths with Silver guiding them along. The blizzard tore are their cloths and drained the warmth from their faces and in Jason's case fingers and toes. Mercifully Silver's hideout wasn't far from the train station. He pushed open the heavy wood door and lead them into what looked like a tavern but it was empty besides what must have been the owner, he was an ugly old stallion with a balding head and black beard like coarse wire, he sported many scars across his face and muzzle including one that went through his left eye, blinding it and turning the whole ball white.

"The sun rises at midnight," he croaked out through a thick northern accent.

"And the moon dominates at midday," Silver responded.

"Your entrance into city was noticed by all," the old stallion croaked critically. "I expected more subtly from a Nightcrow, yet you come galloping to the north like a knight riding to war."

"There wasn't much choice, you know the roads, it would have been folly to travel this far north with winter upon us," Silver cut back. "But be ready to send a fast message anyway and those knights of ours will come riding into the north."

"You say so, but Stalliongrad is strong and the North will not yield."

"Alright, enough you two," Blossom cut in. "We don't have time for this, will you help us or not gramps?"

"I help," Gramps grunted. "Not for South though, only for the gold I am given."

"We'll take what we can get," Blossom said. "I suppose the rooms are upstairs."

"Yes, but I no innkeeper, you find own room and cook own food, I spend time protecting house from Grey Guards," Gramps gave one look at Jason that said everything he thought of the Human but the Northerner spat it out anyway. "Freak" and then he left.

"Well he was cheerful," Jason said. "So what do we do now?"

"We ain't doing anything," Silver stated. "Me and Blossom are heading out to gather some Intel from a few choice contacts, Sunshine will stay behind with you lot to keep you out of trouble."

"Now wait just a minute!" Rainbow cut in. "You don't expect us to just sit here with our hooves up our asses!"

"Whoa, language," Jason said.

"Don't say you wouldn't agree!" RD said.

"I certainly do," Twilight added. "If only to gather more information I am also very interested in the history and culture of Stalliongrad."

"Yeah! And these grumpy-wumpy north-folk need to know how to party!" Pinkie declared.

"Fine! Fine," Silver relented. "I suppose you three can walk around a bit but only if you use fake names and don't draw attention to yourselves, as for you Jason I want you to say here."

"Say what now?" Jason asked.

"You heard me, it's one thing to let a few foreigners loose in the city, it's another entirely to let a fucking Old God go wondering around Stalliongrad, so yes you're staying out."

"Fine, whatever," Jason said sullenly. "Go have fun then, I'll just stay here."

~~*~~

Silver shivered uncontrollably as he trudged through the empty streets of Stalliongrad, it had been a harsh enough winter in Equestria, here in the north your eyeballs could freeze in your skull if you weren't careful. Silver defiantly wasn't enjoying it, he was born in the southern plains, where flat grasslands gave way to scorching desert that continued on for an eternity interrupted only by hopeful little oasis's, the northfolk had no idea what an oasis was.

The Night Agent struggled into the centre of the city, from there he tried to search for an inn, partly to gather information there but mostly to get out of the cold. His efforts were in vain however as the wind worsened and picked up great wafts of snow that obscured Silver's vision to the point where he was practically blind, the howling of the wind in his ear was as loud as a hundred war drums and the bitter cold was like a dagger in his heart. He was caught in a blizzard Silver realized and he felt a spike of fear, like the great duststorms of the south a blizzard could swallow you up until there was nothing left, just the wind, a few meters of snow and a frozen corpse a few months later when spring came.

Not willing to accept that fate Silver forced his frostbitten legs to move, he couldn't see where was he was going but moving was better than sitting on his ass and freezing to death, eventually he hoped he would walk into a building and find a haven to warm himself in. That hope waned as he continued to slog onward without an end in sight, he could see no buildings not even the shadow of one and fearfully Silver wondered if he was even still in the city but his more rational mind told him that he was probably still basically where he had been and had somehow missed every building so far. Still the intensity of this blizzard was odd, even unnatural and it sent a chill down Silver's spine that had nothing to do with the temperature.

Over the screaming wind Silver's ears picked up something else, the crunch of snow under hoof that he knew wasn't himself, someone was nearby!

"Hello!" Silver called out. "Is anyone there? I'm lost! I could use some help!"

The hoofbeats quickened, then stopped, then started again in a completely different spot. There was several of them and from the sound of it and they were surrounding Silver, the agents felt another shard of fear enter his heart, he was not used to being the one in the dark fearing beings in the shadows but he stood his ground none the less.

"I'm warning you!" Silver shouted, taking out his crossbow. "Back off and you won't be harmed."

The hoofbeats stopped but the wind picked up, it was deafening, the constant drone of rushing air in his ear. It blocked out everything else and was frankly driving Silver a bit mad, he was so focused on the wind he never heard them coming. Before he could move, the hoofbeats were upon him and a blunt object hit him in the back of the head and Silver's world became nothing but darkness and cold.

~~*~~

Blossom pushed the door open into the warm crowded tavern, the scent of sweat, grog, and other unsavoury things assaulted her nose. Choking back a cough Blossom entered, the room was packed with large imposing males, most of them looked like miners who had just got off work, the rest were just local drunks warming themselves. Blossom made her way to the bar were the barkeep eyed her, he was a large grey stallion with a furious pot belly and heavy jowls, his short black mane lay flat on his head and his unimpressed steel-grey eyes sized her up.

"What's yer poison lass?" He grunted.

"Information," Blossom said back.

The general din of the crowd lessened slightly when she said that, many eyes turned to look at Blossom and she felt them on her, she didn't acknowledge them though for to do so would be her end. The northerners would tear you apart should you look at them the wrong way.

"And why would a pretty little southern flower like yourself want information?" The Barkeep belched.

"Why isn't the question," Blossom said, placing a Bit on the counter. "It's 'what do you want to know?'"

The Barkeep eyed the bit for a few seconds and looked like he was going to take it before he looked up at someone behind Blossom.

"Brother Spark? What are you-" that's all Blossom heard before a cloth was put over her mouth and nose and she was dragged into a heavy drug-induced slumber.

Meanwhile, outside the blizzard had lessened considerably and a pink ball of void energy bounced through the white streets in search of merriment. Pinkie Pie's mind raced with the party possibilities that could go down in Stalliongrad, Freezing Your Behind Party? Or a Welcome To Stalliongrad Party? But then that would be throwing a party for herself, oh! How about a Colder Than Celestia's Cu-

"Psst! Hey! You!" A voice said from besides her, Pinkie turned and spotted a smallish Stallion lurking in an alleyway, he was clothed completely in black robes and a heavy cloak, his face hidden behind a black hood.

"Want some candy missy?" The shadow stallion said, holding out a hoof full of brightly wrapped sweets.

"Do I?!" Pinkie exclaimed, swiping the candy and stuffing the whole lot in her mouth wrapper and all. She chewed and swallowed then stood smiling for only a moment or so before her head his the snow with a thump!

~~*~~

Twilight entered the library, it had been hard to find as it just looked like every other building in Stalliongrad; cold and grey stone. The only indication was a metal sign bolted to the front that simply read: library, so Twilight entered and was met with a pitifully small collection of books, it was barely the size of Twilight's own collection which was a personal one stuffed inside a small library in a small town.

The books were guarded by an elderly library, she was grey with a black mane and tail and bland grey eyes hidden behind thick half-moon glasses. She stared at Twilight as she approached with a look that was half boredom and half disgust, at what she was disgusted at Twilight had no idea.

"Um... Hello," Twilight said uncertainly, bartering no response from the librarian. "I was wondering if you could point me towards the history section."

"No history," the librarian grunted. "History of Stalliongrad still being written."

"But... You became independent nearly a century ago!" Twilight exclaimed. "Surely there's something!"

"No history," the librarian shrugged, Twilight stood dumbstruck for a few moments before she heard the door open behind her, the cold air ruffled her fur and then the door closed again.

"Brother Ice the answer is still no," the librarian said tiredly towards whomever had entered.

"Now now Ms. Ink you're being unreasonable," a smooth voice said from behind Twilight, she turned and saw that the newcomer was a handsome young unicorn stallion with white fur and a light blue mane, his crystal blue eyes had a twinkle in them that Twilight couldn't quite place.

"Rules are rules," Ms. Ink said. "The Duke himself has ordered it, so no, I cannot out your holy books in stock."

"But surely it's important to spread the good word of the nineteen?" Brother Ice argued. "Lest the good ponies of Stalliongrad fall into sin or worse... Worship false Gods."

"No means no," Ms. Ink said stubbornly.

"Alas," Brother Ice said sadly, he then took notice of Twilight who had been observing the encounter. "Pardon our little show here my dear, I've been trying to convince our good librarian here to add some of the church's books to her collection?"

"What sort of books? And which church?" Twilight asked curiously.

"Well books spouting the almighty word of course! 'The Secrets of Hecate' 'Words of Solaire' or 'Children of Belivas' to name a choice few, all are available in Their Blessed Alicornist Church not a kilometre away from here."

"Alicornist church? Isn't that the belief in eighteen identified gods and goddesses that take the form of Alicorns?" Twilight asked.

"That is correct my dear, you are quite informed for an Equestrian," Brother Ice paused. "You are an Equestrian yes? Your accent suggests so."

"Yes, I can on the train this morning," Twilight said.

"Really? Along with those Night agents and the Human?" Brother Ice asked coldly.

"Yeah that's ri-" Too late did Twilight realize her folly, her ears dropped and her eyes widened as Brother Ice's horn glowed and Twilight's world became a blinding white light.

~~*~~

Sunshine sat in one of the seats that wasn't too broken, of course he got stuck with guard duty it was just typical. He was the greenest of the team an thus got stuck with these sort of jobs, deep down Sunshine understood why this was so, they had to make sure he could follow orders and get things done even with the boring jobs, it made sense but that didn't mean Sunshine had to like it.

It was all he could do to not scream like a filly and run when the rainbow Pegasus crashed through the window.

Rainbow Dash burst through the old dirty window, shattering the glass everywhere in tiny deadly shards. She hit the ground with a very unhealthy thump!, she skidded a ways across the floor until Rainbow rested not three meters away from where Sunshine was sitting in shock. Rainbow was clearly injured, she was covered in tiny but deep cuts across her body from the window including one across her forehead that bled into her eye and her left wing stuck out at an odd angle.

After getting over the shock, Sunshine rushed to his hoofs and went over to Rainbow Dash, her eyes were closed but she moaned in pain softly and twitched all over.

"Miss Dash?" Sunshine called urgently. "Can you hear me? Can you speak? What happened?"

Rainbow muttered something weakly that Sunshine couldn't catch, he lowered his ear to mouth as she muttered the bone-chilling words.

"Run, it's a trap."

As she spoke the front door burst open, in came dozens of soldiers. Their armour was a heavy grey iron that covered almost all of their body, the parts that weren't covered were wrapped in thick grey cloth. All of their faces were hidden behind full helms that covered all of their faces besides their eyes that peered out from small slits, at their hips were heavy broad iron blades that looked like they could easily hew a Manticore in half.

"The Grey Guards," Sunshine hissed to himself.

One of the guards came in dragging something with him, he tossed it just in front of Sunshine and Rainbow. It was groaning and covered in bruises and cuts, the odd angles of its limbs suggested severely broken bones.

It was Gramps.

"Sir," one of the Grey Guards said, his voice echoing in his helmet giving it a disturbing metalling tilt. "What should we do with this scum?"

The stallion who the guards must had been addressing stepped forward, his black helmet plume and grey cloak marked him as an officer. He looked over Gramps as a lion might look over its wounded prey, he lifted his hoof and stamped down hard Gramps's already broken hind leg. The old stallion barely had enough life in him to cry out, but he did, tears welled in his old eyes and sweat glossed his blading head to a shine.

"Mercy sir," Gramps croaked pathetically. "Please."

The Grey Captain shook his head.

"No mercy for the traitorous," he said cruelty. "Kill him.

Instantly a Grey Guard stepped forward, drew his blade and pierced it right through Gramps's neck, almost decapitating him. Gramps gurgled on his own blood for a moment before dying right there, the Grey Guard retracted his blade and sheathed it without bothering to wipe the blood from it. Gramps's blood began swiftly spreading across the floor, washing over the Grey Guards iron hooves and staining Rainbows feathers.

Sunshine jumped to his hooves and drew a dagger and the Grey Guards just laughed.

"It's no use Night Agent," the Captain taunted, before Sunshine could reply he was hit in the back of the head by something heavy. He fell to the floor right on top of Rainbow who moaned in pain, Sunshine's vision swam and tunnelled but he managed to hear what the Captain said next.

"And don't think your Forerunner friend will escape, we saw him exit through the window, he will not get far."

Sunshine gave one last hopeful thought before he lost consciousness, if all else failed they would need someone to get word back to Canterlot.

Run Jason, run as fast as you can and don't look back.

~~*~~

Like hell I'm sitting here on my ass.

As soon as Jason heard everyone leave he opened his bag and began to change. He had noticed the moment he had stepped off the train that his current clothing wasn't enough to keep him warm. Luckily Rarity had made him some thicker winter gear a few weeks ago and Jason thought this was a good opportunity to use them, so he dressed in thick dark grey pants, high-topped black boots, wooly long-sleeved black sweater and a thick black longcoat overtop.

After securely strapping his knife and gladuis to his side Jason moved over to the window, Sunshine would obviously see him if he tried to just walk out the front door so the scenic route was necessary. Jason popped the window open and swung his legs over, he landed in the snow with a soft woof! before getting up, dusting of his hands and continuing on his way.

As he went Jason didn't see anyone about, so he didn't bother hiding too much, however he wasn't walking in the middle of the street either. Mostly he stuck to the alleyways, always checking around corners and watching his back, he may have been going against what Silver had said but he wasn't stupid. Eventually though his mind began to wonder, he thought about how much history had taken place in this city, it appeared that none of the buildings were Human made however judging from the map the city only partly encompassed what used to be Stalingrad. Perhaps the remains of Moscow or some other Russian city was hiding out in the tundra or buried in the snow? The thought excited Jason and made him forget his surroundings.

Which is how they got him.

It began as a prickling feeling down the base of his spine but little by little Jason began to realize he was being followed. He tried to rationalize it, maybe they were just heading the same direction as he was? That theory was squashed as they continued their pursuit as Jason twisted and turned and even went back the direction he came from. He had to face them, the question was where? An alleyway was too small and didn't have enough room for him to move, but the street would allow them to surround him and block his escape, unfortunately for Jason he never got to make the choice.

Suddenly out of every alley came a Grey Guard, they fixed their cold eyes on Jason and drew their swords, shouting for him to halt and surrender. Not one to follow directions Jason gave chase, he weaved through the streets heading in no particular direction all the while hearing the thundering iron hooves of the Grey Guard not far behind him, their heavy armour seemingly to impeding their speed.

It wasn't long until they caught up, they surrounded Jason in the middle of the street, broad iron blades pointed at him waiting to send Jason to the beyond. Desperately he looked for an escape, the street was blocked, so were the alleyways, but... Wait, there! A older stallion in black robes leaned out from a large wide building with huge doors, he beckoned to Jason and he was all too happy to oblige. Throwing some snow up to distract the guards, Jason slipped past them and into the building where the stallion in black slammed the door shut and bolted it securely.

"Thanks," Jason said as he gasped for breath.

"No trouble my son," the stallion said, he was an older unicorn with a fading white mane and pale fur, his eyes a crystal blue. "Why were the Grey Guards chasing you?"

"No idea, but I don't like it," Jason said, looking around. "I'm Jason by the way and... What is this place?"

"I am Father Snow and this is my church," Father Snow said. The church was made up of a signed large rectangular room with six pews set in rows facing a half-circle alcove where seventeen shrines stood on small pedestals above rows of candles.

"What sort of church?" Jason asked uneasily, feeling nervous for some reason. Father Snow didn't answer, he simply moved over to the shrines with Jason in tow and began magically lighting the candles.

"You will be safe here," Father Snow said almost absentmindedly. "They would not dare desecrate this holy place."

"I guess the church is very respected then?" Jason asked.

"Hardly, the citizens in this city mock to the beliefs of the Alicornist Church," Father Snow said. "The Grey Guards however, they have all converted by way of persuasion, that's how I got them to lead you here, Forerunner ."

The side doors burst open and scores of Grey Guards marched in and levelled their swords at Jason who stood in shock.

"I thought it would be harder to capture you, Old God," Father Snow said as the guards relived Jason of his weapons. "Obviously the legends have exaggerated the grandness of your people, you three bring him down to the ritual chamber, the rest of you assure we are not disturbed."

There was a chorus of 'yes father' and Jason was corralled by three grumpy Grey Guards through a side door a down a long set of stairs, Father Snow lead the way with his horn a glow in the dark.

"You should feel honoured," Snow said. "No outsider has seen this before."

"Somehow I don't feel very lucky," Jason said as they went further into the dark.

Eventually they came to a heavy wooden door which one of the guards pushed open, they entered a large circular room with what looked suspiciously like an altar in the centre. It was a black slab of polished obsidian with the likeness of a prancing Alicorn on the sides, lain on top of the altar was a long thin ornate wooden box that seemed mildly important. To the left of the altar was Jason's friends and the three Night Agents, all of them looked beat up especially Rainbow Dash who was covered in cuts, they were all bound and gagged and were looking at Jason with wife fearful eyes.

"Let's not waste any time, bring him over to the altar," Father Snow commanded, ruffly the Grey Guards pushed Jason over to the altar so his back was to it, meanwhile Father Snow was fiddling with the wooden box.

"I suppose you are wondering why I brought you all here?" The Father said.

"The question had crossed my mind," Jason said shakily, staring down the edge of a grey blade.

"You were spotted upon your arrival, hard to miss an Old God wondering through Stalliongrad is it? When word reached my ears that the rumours about a Human still alive were true, my mind filled with the possibilities, you see the Alicornist Church like any church depends on the faithful and those are in short supply these days. We are blessed enough to have the vast majority of the Grey Guards on our side but in the south we have barely a presence, the Church of the Two Princess dominates there but slowly we have been growing our influence, do you know how?"

"Uh, hard working missionaries?" Jason asked.

"No, the favour of the Gods themselves, as long as we appease them we are blessed with more and more followers," Father Snow explained. "And how to we keep their favour? Not through praying day after day, no, the Gods desire more tangible proof of our devotion, they require blood."

Father Snow finally opened the box and carefully extracted an ornate dagger, it was long and straight, made out of polished black metal with a smooth crosspiece and a hilt inlaid with red jewels.

"Cain's Blade," Snow named it. "The holy relic of Nemesis the God of revenge, imagine his blessings when we sacrifice a Human in his name, we will be blessed indeed."

Jason began to move but of the Grey Guards held him down with a harsh magical grip, Jason was lifted off his feet so he was lying on his back on top of the altar. Jason struggled to no avail as Father Snow stood over him and hoisted Cain's Blade over his head.

"The Gods of today take revenge on the Gods of Old," Father Snow said as he prepared to strike, Jason tried to move, to cry out, to do anything, but he couldn't. This is how he would die, struck down by a mad priest thousands of kilometres from home, Jason closed his eyes and waited for the blow to come.

But it didn't.

The Gods are more cruel than that.

Father Snow's throat opened up like a burst balloon as a metal-encased claw ripped it open from behind, he feel to the floor as Jason felt the magical grip on him release. The Grey Guards didn't have time to react as Gryphons piled in and ripped them apart with ease, in a matter of seconds Jason and his friends went from one group of captures to another.

"Found it sir," one of the Gryphons said, delicately holding up Cain's Blade and placing it in the box. "Pity we had to kill these ones, such faith in them."

"Right Gods, wrong faces," another said.

"Sir!" One said addressing his commander, a bored-looking Gryphon in plate steel armour and a red cloak with a sword at his hip. "These ones are Night Agents."

"Mmm," the Gryphon Captain mused. "Kill them, I know for a fact they won't talk even under harsh torture."

Still stunned by the arrival of the Gryphons Jason had no time to react as swords where shoved through the three Agents's chests, Subshine, Silver, and Blossom all gave death gurgles before their executioners pushed them off their swords before the three slumped down on the ground.

"Now for these three," The Captain continued, looking over Twilight, Rainbow, and Pinkie. "Clearly not Night Agents, government officials perhaps? Researchers? Civilian consultants? No matter, we shall take them with us for questioning."

"And the Golden One milord?" Another asked who was holding his blade to Jason's throat.

"I hadn't planned on him being here but I suppose it gives us a chance to deal with him," the Captain said as if Jason was an annoying pest. "He is an oddity and a nuisance, let us dispose of him but... We cannot just kill him here, too much risk of his body being found, no... I have a better idea, give him his weapons."

Still with a blade to his throat Jason was handed back his knife and gladuis which he carefully strapped to his belt, fighting wasn't an option there was too many, all he could do was wait it out.

"Now bring the unicorn over here." A Gryphon grabbed Twilight by the mane and dragged her before the captain, all the while she screamed against her gag and tears streamed down her cheeks. The Captain reached into a travel bag he carried with him and pulled out what looked like a single shackle with jewels ingrain into it.

"You recognize this don't you unicorn?" The Captain asked Twilight, removing her gag. "Identify it."

"T-that's a... A Mage Shackle, they're forged by the Diamond Dogs of the Crystal Mountains, used for nullifying and... C-controlling a Unicorn's magic, they're illegal in Equestria."

"But not in Stalliongrad," the Captain said with sick amusement, he placed the Mage Shackle on Twilights horn and placed his claws on the jewels in a peculiar way.

"Now, Human," the Captain spat. "it is said that your people could survive anything, let us see if that is true ,shall we? I rather doubt it though, your blood will freeze and your flesh will shatter, I hope the Gods make it painful."

Jason had one last look at Twilight who tearfully whispered 'I'm sorry' before there was a flash of purple and Jason's world become dominated by unyielding white, bitter cold, and the howling scream of wind in his ear.

He screamed.

Chapter 29~ Walls Cannot Hold The Winter

"Winter Is Coming"

~G.R.R Martin

North-Eastern Unknown, Stalliongrad, Wednesday, 27th of February, 9:42am, 2206 AC

It's so cold.

God help me its so cold

Jason held his coat tightly around his body as the wind tore at it like an excited lover, he grit his teeth as painful tears welled in his eyes. The cold burned, it ripped and sunk deep into his flesh in a way that Jason had never felt before, he was no stranger to winter either, his home had seen its harsh winters and long snowfalls. This was something completely different, this wasn't some chill in the air to be kept at bay with thick clothing and a hot drink, no, this was a cold that sunk deep into your bones and stuck there, it made your very soul shiver. Jason's teeth chattered so much his jaw began to ache, his hands which he had stuck in his armpits stung from a lack of blood as his body began drawing the warmth inward to try and fight for the most important organs, it was a loosing battle.

One trudging footstep after another Jason moved forward, he had no idea where he was or where he was going. The world was a sea of white flakes, cold hard earth, and a roaring wind that felt like it was trying to bite Jason's ears off, he could see nothing, no land marks, there was no sign of settlement or even a cave to take shelter in, just him and the cold. Still, somewhere in Jason's slowly freezing brain he figured that if he let moving then the blood would keep circulating and maybe prolong his becoming part of some glacier.

Jason essentially put himself on autopilot as he walked forward, deciding that with this visibility direction didn't matter too much, so his thoughts were mostly to the fate of his friends. He hoped beyond hope that they would not be harmed, but seeing what the Gryphon's had done to the agents didn't barter much positivity. Still, the Gryphon's hadn't seemed to be very interested in them, only the Dagger, so maybe they could stall long enough for Celestia and Luna to catch wind of what had happened.

Jason meanwhile had bigger problems.

Castle of the Two Princesses, Canterlot, Equestria, Wednesday, 27th of February, 1:35pm, 2206 AC

Luna sat on her balcony, over looking the western half of Canterlot and the lands that stretched before it. Despite the sun beginning the settle into the centre of the sky, Luna found herself unable to sleep, a creeping sense of unease and worry had worked its way into her heart but for what reason she couldn't fathom. So Luna relaxed on her perch, enjoying a cup of brazing coffee rather than the calming teas that her sister enjoyed in moments like these. It was perhaps fate that she was already awake when a Royal Guard knocked politely on her door and told her that Celestia requested her presence in her quarters.

Requests? Or demands? Luna thought to herself as she placed her cup down and followed the guard out into the hall. Her thoughts had been swimming with Nightshades echoing words, was she just eager to please her sister? Was she too submissive to Celestia? She remembered the years before her fall, Luna had been the countering voice to Celestia's own. They had argued often, opposing ideals of two seemingly polar opposite sisters, at first Luna had always assumed thus was a good thing that they kept each other in check. Slowly though it had begun to weigh down on them both, Tia had begun to anger at how Luna was constantly questioning her, why her word that should be respected, how she was the eldest and knew better. It was this and many other things that lead to Luna's fall and the rise of Nightmare Moon.

Celestia was waiting on her room like the guard had said, she was pouring tea into the cup of none other than Nightshade himself. The Captain looked terrible, heavy bags lay under his bloodshot eyes, like he had been crying recently, Celestia herself looked as calm an poised as ever.

"Good morning sister," Celestia greeted.

"Good evening," Luna corrected. "What has happened?"

Celestia didn't answer, she simply sipped at her tea as Nightshade spoke up.

"Contacts in Stalliongrad reported that Agents Blossom, Silver Shot, and Sunshine as well as their civilian assets were attacked by a local religious fundamentalist group known as the Alicornist Church, they were taken into the local chapel where a group of Gryphon's preceded to enter only moments afterwords," Nightshade explained. "They remained inside for three minutes before exiting with the three Element Bearers bound and gagged, our contacts entered the chapel afterwords and found several dead priests, local guards and... Agents Blossom, Silver, and Sunshine were also found dead, the asset Jason was nowhere to be found."

Luna's reaction was slightly delayed but slowly the reality of the situation dawned on her, first came shock, then sorrow as her heart dropped into her stomach, and then came the fury. It burned in her gut and boiled over as the rage consumed her, how dare they she thought and swore on her fathers grave that she would enact revenge that would make Nemesis himself proud.

"Where are they now?" Luna demanded.

"Border forces reported a party of Gryphon's crossing the northern border, it's them," Nightshade reported tiredly.

"Then I shall send a team of agents to track them down and bring them to justice, Captain Nightshade make sure-"

"No," Celestia interrupted.

"No?!" Luna repeated incredulously.

"I didn't stutter," Celestia said calmly, sipping her tea. "Your Agents have done enough Luna, let me handle this."

Luna was about to offer a rebuttal but was interrupted by a knock at the door, Celestia allowed the entrance and seven armoured Ponies walked in and knelt. They were all adorned in heavy steel breastplates and with capes blazoned with the sigil of Equestria on them, at their sides they all carried heavy longswords. Luna turned an angry gaze back to her sister.

"The Knights of Two?" She asked.

"Princess Celestia requested our assistance, Your Majesty," Ser Iron Fire said, still lowering his head.

"They shall find these Gryphons and return the Bearers to us," Celestia explained.

"Their's in not your blood to spill," Luna growled. "They murdered my agents, let them avenge their brothers-"

"No Luna, you're too young to understand but-"

"Don't," Luna interrupted with a shake to her voice. "Don't say that to me, don't you dare."

Without another word Luna stormed out, ignoring the Knights who bid her a peasant farewell and her sisters voice at her back as she explained the situation to them.

"Ser Iron Fire, take Ser Red Petal, Ser Clear River, Ser Cold Ice and Ser Leaf Green and find the Element Bearers-"

Luna burst back into her room and slammed the door behind her, she began pacing angrily as the emotions took her. She had known Blossom, Silver, and Sunshine as she did all her Agents, they had been Nighshades' personal team, she could scarcely imagine how he was feeling. She hungered for the blood of those damned Gryphons, how they had slaughtered her Agents, how they had kidnapped Twilight and her friends, even the thought of what they may have done to Jason stoked the fire of her fury. And Celestia denies her the justice she deserves, because of what? Because she didn't trust her sister, not as much as those trained hounds she called Knights.

With a yell of frustration Luna magically flipped her desk, then with tears stinging her eyes she kicked the desk with enough force that it slid across the floor and slammed into the far wall. Her anger was out of control, she needed to direct it, to inflict pain of something, anything. Turning to the nearest wall she slammed her head hard into it so much that she began to bleed, golden godsblood began running down her face before the wound baked itself. It hurt, but the pain felt good, it was somewhere for this anger to go, better on herself than those around her. Again and again Luna slammed her head into the wall, any damage being done healing in second but the pain was real, soon her entire face and the wall was plastered with golden Ichor.

"GIVE THEM BACK!" she yelled, slamming her head with every word. "GIVE THEM BACK!"

"GIVE THEM BACK!"

"GIVE THEM BACK TO ME!"

"GIVE ME BACK MY AGENTS!"

Near Vanhoover, North-Eastern Equestria, Wednesday, 27th of February, 6:27pm, 2206 AC

The bed was lumpy and uneven, with way too many feathers and it also stank like wet cat, and it moved too like a rocking ship a rhythmic beat. Rainbow Dash opened her eyes but found that she was still blind, she tried to yawn but her mouth was full of cloth that tasted awful , suddenly the pain returned to her, Rainbow's head pounded like a chorus of drums and her legs stung from what felt like tight leather that bound them together. Suddenly the memories came back to her and she struggled against her bonds, screaming in vain through her gag.

"This one's awake!" A voice near to her said. Rainbow Dash felt the movement stop and she was grabbed by what terrifyingly felt like claws, she was thrown roughly to the ground where she then heard the sound of a blade. Rainbow struggled fiercely against her bonds until she felt them release as the blade cut through them, her blindfold was removed too and her eyes were assured by bright daylight.

"Get the unicorn over here to tend to this one!" The same voice said next to her, as Rainbow's vision cleared she could finally explore her surroundings. She was sitting on a dirt road, one that was clearly not used much, not to mention that she was surrounded by Gryphons, all male and big carrying swords that looked very sharp. As she watched one of them approached her and drag Twilight along by her hair, the lavender unicorn cried wordlessly as her mane was torn to pieces by her captors claws.

"Heal your friend, unicorn, or I'll make you," the Gryphon holding her said, still tearful Twilight sparked her magic and the pounding in Rainbow's head stopped. One of the Gryphon's approached her and knelt down, with surprising gentleness he inspected her head and wings and then removed her gag from her mouth.

"What's your name?" He asked.

"Rainbow Dash."

"My name is Silverbeak, now, can you walk?"

"I think so," Rainbow answered, her legs felt stable enough.

"Good, then walk," Silverbeak's claws turned rough and hauled Rainbow to her hooves, a rope was tied around her wings and was used as a leash. The Gryphon's paid her no mind after that as they continued to move forward, Rainbow fell back with her friends who where all leashed and pulled along by the biggest Gryphon RD had ever seen.

For the most part her friends looked unharmed, bruised and scared out of their wits but fine for now. Pinkie just stared at the ground with her hair lying flat on her head, Twilight was shaking like she was freezing and tears formed a constant river beneath both her eyes. Rainbow frowned and worked her wings free of the rope that bound them so the loop wrapped around her neck instead, the Gryphon's didn't notice so Rainbow extended her wings and enveloped her two friends with them, drawing both of them close.

"You both alright?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"N-no," Twilight said shakily, Pinkie didn't respond.

"What happened anyway? I can't remember a thing."

"T-the priests captured all of us and brought us into their church, they were going to sacrifice Jason before the Gryphon's showed up, T-then they..." Twilight trailed off as tears welled again, Rainbow squeezed her tighter until she spoke again. "T-hey killed Blossom, Silver, and Sunshine and then... Then they put this on my horn," she pointed to the shackle that bound her horn.

"It lets them control my magic so they made me... They made me teleport Jason, I don't even know where... Somewhere in the tundra."

Rainbow frowned in thought as she inspected her surroundings in more detail, there was somewhat sparse woods around them and a fresh layer of snow sprinkled on top. The cool air tickled RD's feathers and her breath formed an icy cloud. They were still in the north, not in Stalliongrad no but if her sense of direction was correct they shouldn't be too far from Vanhoover, the northernmost city in Equestria.

"Okay..." Rainbow said softly. "In a little while we'll be near Vanhoover I think, I might be able to tell by the sky, when I say so I'll cause a distraction while you two book it for the city."

"B-but what about you?" Twilight asked.

"I'll find a way to get free don't you worry," Rainbow gave a confident smile to hide her true intention.

"No you won't," Pinkie cut in, looking up. "You're going to stay behind so we can escape, you don't want to get away."

"I just want you two to be safe," Rainbow argued. "You can get word to Celestia and she can send help, hopefully catch up to us before long."

"No," Pinkie insisted. "We're not going anywhere without you."

"Pinkie's right," Twilight said. "We go together or we don't go at all."

Rainbow sighed, her friends could be very stubborn at times but she supposed they were right. It was a sparse hope that anyone would find her and her captors should Twi and Pinkie escape, they would cover their tracks extra carefully. RD smiled and held them both close, their shared warmth boosting all of their moral.

"Well, we'll have to think of something else then."

North-Eastern Unknown, Stalliongrad, Wednesday, 27th of February, 7:14pm, 2206 AC

The sun was beginning to dip down towards the horizon and with it it stole any warmth that was left in the land, the wind hadn't died down and it threw great waves of frost into Jason's face. The winters chill had sunken deep into his bones and it felt like even his thoughts were freezing over, his steps were turning into staggering strides like he was about to collapse any moment.

Jason felt tired, so very tired. It would be so simple just to lay down, to die, it would be the most logical course of action. It's not like anyone would get to him in time anyway, he would freeze to death before that happened. No, he was doomed to this fate.

It took a while, as the wailing of the wind drowned out all other sounds but eventually Jason's ears picked it up. A low-toned call, like some large animal was screaming into the cold, the sound echoed through the tundra, stopped, and then stated again. Jason paused in his step and looked around, he saw nothing but a godsforsaken landscape in every direction, the thought had never occurred to him that he was in danger from some form of beast rather than the cold.

He heard the noise several times, and it was only once he covered his ears to try to warm them and help his hearing ability that Jason realized that there was no noise. He was hearing the call in his head. Immediately after discovering this Jason was hit with a splitting headache, as if an ice splinter was growing in his brain Jason doubled over and retched. What little food and bile that was left in is stomach landed on the ground and thawed the snow and ice slightly before freezing itself. Jason's vision blurred and swam, he found it hard to keep his footing and as he was dragged into the darkness he felt the sensation of falling, just before something grabbed him and he felt the sensation of being pulled.

When he woke, Jason was lying on a smooth surface and he was no longer cold, in fact he was pleasantly warm. Rising to his feet Jason saw that he was in some sort of cave, only the floor, ceiling, and walls were all thick clear ice, as if Jason had found himself inside of a glacier. Looking around he saw that there was no detectable entrance or exit, it was like an air bubble inside of a larger ice cube.

Still reeling from waking up in this strange place Jason tried to rationalize the situation. He began feeling along the walls for some sort of crack that he may have been slipped through, the question of what put him in there wasn't as important as finding away out. Just as he began to despair that he would not find a way out, Jason was hit by another splitting headache, his vision darkened for a moment as he doubled over. The pain was gone as quickly as it came and his vision cleared, Jason looked up.

And before him stood a man.

An honest to goodness, living, bipedal, male Human being was standing right there in front of Jason. He was almost a foot taller than Jason, older too as he was at least fifty, with grey curly hair and messy grey stubble and dressed in simple black pants and shoes with a white collared shirt under a black overcoat. In his right hand was a cane that was clear all the way through, as if it was made of ice, the man leaned on it heavily to take the pressure off his right leg. His sharp icy blue eyes stared at Jason intensely.

Jason stared back, completely stunned that in front of him was an actual living Human. His mind and body were a whirlwind of emotions that he couldn't even process them, excitement, confusion, fear, happiness, elation, hope, so many contradicting things that Jason's big dumb mind couldn't even begin to work through. The man before him seemed to be locked in the same dilemma, his eyes reflecting his own internal reaction.

"H-hello," Jason eventually sputtered out.

"Hullo," the man said back, in a slightly accented voice.

"W-whe... W-who..." Jason choked. "Are... Are you real?"

"I think so," the man said, seeming genuinely perplexed by the question. "And you, you are real as well?"

"Hopefully," Jason said. "Who are you?"

"I'm..." The man paused, looking extremely confused. He turned away and limped away, he looked around as if looking for something. "T-they gave me a name, those... Four-legged things... I think they worship me, silly really but they gave me a name, yes... Yes..." He looked at Jason with piercing blue eyes that seemed to glow with energy.

"Glalÿir-Hux," he said. "I am the Man in the Ice."

"W-what..." Jason was more confused than he had ever been. "Are you Human?"

"I was," Glalÿir-Hux said. "A very long time ago I think, I don't know exactly, but you, you are almost pure Human, only recently flushed by magic right? And.... Yes, that energy I felt almost a year ago, that rip in time... That was you wasn't it?"

"H-how do you know?" Jason asked.

"It is written plainly on your face."

"Whatever that means," Jason said. "But who are you really? Glalÿir-Hux is not your real name, and if you know so much then explain to me how you're living in a glacier or how you're alive when-"

"When the rest of Humanity is dead," Glalÿir-Hux finished, he seemed to ponder for a long moment, running his thumb over the ball of his cane. His jaw muscles contorting as he ground his teeth behind his lips.

"Edward Howl," he finally said. "That was my name."

"I was the leading scientist of a research branch under a larger much more ambitious project," Edward explained, finally looking at Jason. "In the year 3067."

"During the war," Jason concluded.

"Correct."

"But that was thousands of years ago," Jason stated. "How are you here? Alive?"

"How indeed," Edward mused. "Let's see... I think... Yes... Okay... Project Issac."

"Project Issac?" Jason repeated.

"The research project I was a part of, Project Issac was started with the sole purpose of researching ways of preserving the longevity of Humanity as well as exploring the possibilities of advancing the Human condition as to more effectively combat the threat of the Alicorns."

"Advance the Human condition?"

"Yes, although that wasn't my area," Edward explained. "My department dealt with the idea of mass cryo-freezing, the idea of freezing a Human's body in stasis to make it last much longer."

"So, is that what happened to you?" Jason asked. "Is all this just you freezing yourself so you can't die?"

"In a way, although this was never my intention," Edward stated. "The Academy was obsessed with magic, we were all obsessed with it, too much I'd say, we thought it was the answer to our prayers, energy without limit."

"So, we experimented with it, we flushed our bodies full of the stuff so we too could wield the power that our Alicorn rivals did, we dreamed of moving the heavens and rocking the earth with a mere wave of our hands. We ignored the pain we were causing, so many good men and women died simply from being flushed with magic."

"How though?"

"Magic is like a virus to us, if our bodies detect it before it consumes us then it tries to fight back, magic is a funny energy, it has its own rules and boundaries and sometimes it almost seems like it has a mind of its own," Edward frowned and looked at Jason like a specimen. "The magic fights back, it mutates and alters our very being to serve to host itself better."

"Host itself?" Jason asked. "Like a parasite?"

"Second Law of Magic, magic must have a conduit," Edward explained. "Magic does not exist without something to flow through, atoms, molecules, us, it needs us and can't live without us, so when our bodies try to get rid of it, the magic tends not to like that. So it fights back and in the mean time it goes ahead and makes itself more comfortable in the body, altering it beyond recognition."

"The result is what the Academy affectionately named 'Abominites' or 'The Rejected' if you prefer, grotesque things, many of them forget who they were or that they were even Human to begin with. Those who survive unscathed should consider themselves very lucky, I certainly did when I had the procedure, I was too eager to experiment, so we started seeing how we could use magical means to further our cryogenic research," Edward sighed. "I went too far, started doing riskier experiments, everyone said that I needed to be careful around the magic but I didn't listen... So I experienced a delayed rejection, my body spontaneously tried to fight off the magic. My colleagues tried to help by body win over, oh they tried but no, to preserve itself the magic had to preserve me, so it did the only thing it new how to do."

Edward limped over to the far wall of the glacier and wiped his hand over it, wiping away the frost that laid over the ice revealing a dark shadow in the ice. Jason approached and peered inside and what he saw almost made him puke again.

"It froze," Glalÿir-Hux said, looking inside the ice at the body of Edward Howl like looking into a mirror.

"...So if... If you're in there, then what am I standing next to right now?" Jason asked, staring uncomfortably at the frozen body.

"A projection, your mind thinks I'm here when I'm really there," Edward said. "Over the years the magic had grown, doubled in power and I've learned to direct it."

"Is that how I got in here?" Jason asked. "You teleported me?"

"Correct, I had felt your energy from afar, I wasn't going to believe that you were real until I saw for myself," Edward paused. "I hope I didn't hurt you, I haven't teleported someone in a while."

"I've felt worse," Jason reassured, then a thought occurred. "But something I still don't understand, even if you were stuck in here at the time how did you survive the scroll? You do know about that don't you?"

"Of course, I felt it when it was activated."

"Then-"

"The scroll was originally designed to exterminate all Alicorn life in existence," Edward explained. "Somehow a traitor stole it from the Academy and gave it to the Alicorns and they twisted it around on us, made the scroll lock onto Human DNA and... Well you know the rest, anyway, I believe the scroll did not destroy me because..." He sighed sadly.

"...because I am no longer Human," Edward finished, Jason frowned and looked at this man, no longer fearing him rather feeling sorry for him.

"If you ask me the scroll got it wrong," Jason said. "You seem just as Human as me or anyone else, maybe more so, you know why?"

"Why?" Edward asked, looking at him.

"Because you haven't given up have you?" Jason said, smiling now. "Your still here, you haven't lost hope, heck you seemed to be pretty okay with the whole thing."

"I've come to peace with it yes," Edward agreed. "That doesn't mean I don't want out of here though."

"I'll tell you what," Jason said. "When I get out of here I'll make sure to find a way to rescue you, I won't forget about you."

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Edward questioned. "This ice is thick and even if you chipped away at it, the magic might retaliate, destroying me in the process."

"Let's just say I have some powerful friends, they'll know what to do."

"If you say so, believe me I would like nothing more than to believe that it is possible."

"I'm sure it is," Jason reassured, Edward didn't say anything he just stared at Jason with a strange look in his eye.

"So if you survived, could there be others?" Jason asked. "Other Human who survived I mean."

"Perhaps," Edward mused. "I know of other circumstances not unlike my own, I suppose it's possible that others survived much the way I did."

"So... Human's may not be as endangered as everyone thought," Jason said, his chest filling with the elation with the possibilities, if Edward could still be alive how many others still survived? Hidden away safe from the world, the thought put a smile on his face.

"Jason," Edward said suddenly, getting Jason's attention immediately, he hadn't said his name.

"How did you-"

"I'm in your mind Jason, I can see your name," Edward dismissed. "Anyway I need to know something."

"What?"

"I need to know what you plan to tell the Alicorns," Glalÿir-Hux's eyes glowed slightly brighter as he asked this. "Celestia and Luna I believe their names are, the Sun and the Moon."

"I was-"

"-going to tell them about me," Edward finished. "In the hope that they would be the ones to release me?"

"That was the idea," Jason stated. "I'm sure they can help..."

"Or destroy me without a thought," Edward stated solemnly. "Think Jason, I am a Human with extreme magical ability and an extreme threat to them, why should they even allow me to exist?"

"They're different."

"Are they?" Edward said, shaking his head. "And even if they are the pinnacle of their kind, why should they think that I am the pinnacle of ours?"

"I'll convince them, they trust me," Jason insisted.

"One does, the other not so much, and it's who's who that is really surprising."

"Look, whatever happens I promise you I'll find a way to free you, if there's even a chance I'll take it... You and me, we're the last of them and I'm not about to let to wast away in the ice."

"Jason I-" Edward paused, his vision suddenly shifted to something past Jason, fixing on it with a strange intensity. Jason turned around and saw nothing but the ice that encompassed them, Edward seemed to though as he began to speak to himself.

"Mmm... I see, yes, that does make sense, interesting yes..." His vision turned back to Jason, with a knowing look in his eye. "You are an interesting one aren't you?"

"I don't understand," Jason said, confused.

"Hush, you'll be out of here soon enough now," Glalÿir-Hux reassured. "I need to warn you though, if there are other Humans left, if anything of ours is left behind, don't go looking for them."

"But, why wouldn't I-"

"No time now," Glalÿir-Hux interrupted, placing his hand of Jason's shoulder. "The sun is approaching, you need to listen closely, find a way for me if you can, but the Alicorns cannot be trusted, especially Time, don't trust him at all, and don't go to the lighthouse. You can reverse it all if you can, change the whole course, even if it means I never get out of here, you take that chance and you stop it all."

"What..." Jason suddenly felt drowsy, his vision began fading and there was some really bright light coming from the far end if the ice cave. He squinted his eyes and tried to block the light to no avail.

"Promise me Jason," Edwards voice sounded a kilometre away.

"I p-promise... Promise that I'll release you," that's all Jason could manage before he blacked out as his body was encompassed with a warm feeling that sucked out the cold.

Castle of the Two Princesses, Canterlot, Equestria, Wednesday, 27th of February, 10:27pm, 2206 AC

Celestia cantered down the torch-lit hallway, she had sent her Knights away to track and find the three Element Bearers and their captors. She thought about what Luna had said, about their blood being hers and whatnot, she sympathized really but revenge wasn't the way to go and Luna's agents were becoming too unreliable for her liking. Luna was still young in her mind, those years on the moon had not aged her as well as Celestia so she still kept much of her youthful ignorance. Still young or not it would do Luna much more good to just listen to Celestia's judgement.

Shaking her head if such thoughts Celestia turned her mind to the task at hoof, Jason was missing and while she trusted her Knights with the recovery of Twilight and her two friends but Jason was another story. She had no idea where exactly he was but she had the perfect way to find out.

Celestia's horn lit with powerful magic which interacted with the runes on the huge double doors, one by one the runes glowed and unlocked themselves. The doors creaked open and inside The Orb sat, already glowing and swirling with that greyish-green mist like it was expecting her. Celestia reached out with her magic and The Orb met her halfway, the sensation was a unique one. She was encompassed by The Orb's own energy, it was different then anything else, pleasurable really in an odd way and secretly Celestia found herself liking it.

She thought of Jason, his cheeky smile, his stormy silver eyes, she focused on the fact that despite everything, she did consider him a friend. Images began to flood in her mind, an icy tundra, howling winds and a huge mound of ice laying trapped on the earth and inside it Jason stood... And something was there with him.

Wasting no time Celestia retracted her magic from The Orb and teleported as soon as she was able, she materialized among the chilling wind and frozen earth. The cold had no effect on her, she was heat, she was fire, the very air around her steamed and evaporated, Celestia shot across the sky in a fiery blaze. Her light growing more intense by the second, had anyone been looking up from the ground they would of sworn they saw the sun streaking across the sky faster than a shoring star.

It wasn't long before she arrived at the ice mound, a fortress of solidified water several meters thick. The walls of ice simply feel apart before the sun, great clouds of steam were thrown up into the air as Celestia entered the ice. In a moment she entered a large air bubble within the ice and inside was Jason who at this point was lying on the floor as if peacefully sleeping, Celestia's light faded as she gently lifted Jason with her magic and placed him on her back, he rested comfortably between the crook of her wings. She made sure that he was unharmed before facing forward again and then being frozen solid at what she saw.

Glalÿir-Hux stared at Celestia from the far end of the cave, his cold chill pushing against Celestia's solid heat. Their eyes locked as they studied each other, Celestia was caught completely off guard, she could sense the magic pulsing off this Human and it was like nothing she had ever felt. Despite the clear power this man wielded she sensed no hostility from him, in fact the look he gave her was full of sadness, his icy blue eyes glowing with power and sorrow. They stood off against one another, gods of ice and fire and there was some sort of understanding that passed between them, beings of great power had a way of communicating beyond mere words and somehow Celestia knew that this man meant no harm.

Without a word Celestia blinked out of existence and the ice formed to close the hole left by her, soon all memory of the heat of the sun or the echo of Human voices were gone. It was just the ice, the cold, and the lonely man who resided there.

Near Vanhoover, North-Eastern Equestria, Thursday, 28th of February, 1:15am, 2206 AC

Ser Green peered through his spyglass down the hill, the darkness his most detail but the knight could clearly see the shapes of tents and one alert guard in the bushes. He and his fellow Knights had tracked the Gryphon's all day and had lucked out at finding their camp, Ser Green credited himself for thinking of moving during the night as well.

The Knights had surrounded the camp, Ser Green, Ser Ice and Ser River flanked from the north and Ser Fire and Ser Petal came from the south. Suddenly a whistle came echoing through the night, to any commoner it was the call of some nocturnal bird. The Knights of Two were no commoners and so they drew their longswords and advanced forward.

The Gryphon's slumbered under the night sky, one, Silverbeak, was left as a guard whilst the rest slept. Their three captives were having a harder time of it, Silverbeak had tightened their bonds when they had stopped for the night to make sure they didn't slip away under cover of darkness. The chafing and rough bonds madden sleep nearly impossible, Rainbow particularly found the binds around her wings extremely stressful, she felt trapped with her flight disabled.

Silverbeak was drowsy though, he nodded off a few times before shaking himself awake. Every time he did so Rainbow tried to work free of her bonds before he could notice, she was met with limited success as the rope was expertly tied. She paused as the whistle faintly reached her ears and she paused, her mind when to birds but somehow the sound didn't seem right, her suspicions were heightened when the whistle was followed by the soft rustling of bushes and what sounded like light hoofbeats.

Silverbeak didn't seem to notice though, he didn't react when the hoofbeats grew closer, nor did he move when they grew louder and faster. He didn't even seem to notice when steel flashed through the air and sliced cleanly through his neck. He still seemed to be dosing as his head hit the ground followed closely by his body.

Rainbow shot up and peered into the darkness, the night was suddenly full of rapidly moving shadows, cries of surprise and the sickening sound of steel on flesh. There was a round of curses as Rainbow spotted a form that looked like one of the Gryphons flying away rapidly into the night sky. Somebody lit a torch and Rainbows eyes were assaulted by the sudden burst of light.

"My Lady? Are you alright?" An unfamiliar voice asked, Rainbows vision cleared and she could see the stallion before her. The torch illuminated his features and reflected off his polished breastplate, throwing the blood smear that tainted it into harsh relief.

"Y-yeah, I'm okay," Rainbow said as the stranger cut through her bonds and checked her for wounds, her friends were getting the same treatment by two other armoured strangers.

"You're the Knights of the Two," Twilight realized with a gasp.

"That's correct, Ser Leaf Green at your service My Lady," the one nearest to Rainbow said. "That's Ser Iron Fire," pointing to the one tending to Twilight. "And that's Ser Clear River," pointing to the one near Pinkie who was looking much happier. "Princess Celestia sent us to find and rescue you."

"Ser Green!" Another Knight called, cantering over to Leaf Green. "The dagger is gone."

"Damn," Green said. "We can't pursue him we need to get these three to Canterlot, but mark my words nothing good will come from Gryphon's with the power of a God."

Chapter 30~ A Wedding of Red

"That is ever the way. 'Tis all jealousy to the bride and good wishes to the corpse."

~James M. Barrie

Castle of the Two Princesses, Canterlot, Equestria, Thursday, 28th of February, 5:23am, 2206 AC

Tumbling cascades of icy particles swirls around in an otherwise empty void, blue eyes watched them go, full of sadness, as he leaned on a frozen cane. Again and again in a rising chant passionate voices chanted his name, Glalÿir-Hux! Glalÿir-Hux! Glalÿir-Hux! Glalÿir-Hux! Glalÿir-Hux! Sunlight cut through the cold, it warmed the body and brightened the air. It fell on him like a soft blanket, no, it was a blanket....

Jason opened his eyes, he was lying on his back on a soft bed. Wrapped in several layers of bedding, he stared up at the high wooden ceiling with tired eyes. There was the scratching of quill on parchment and Jason turned to see Band Aid sitting by his bed, he was wearing a ruffled lab coat and golden spectacles which rested on his muzzle. He magically wrote notes on a clipboard, apparently unaware that Jason was awake until he coughed.

Band Aid looked up from his writing, he dropped the clipboard and ran his horn over Jason, checking him over magically. He then felt Jason's neck with his hooves, checked his eyes, ears, and fingers.

"What's my name?" He asked.

"Band Aid."

"Who rules over Equestria?"

"Celestia and Luna."

"Brain function seems fine," Band Aid mused, writing something down on the clipboard. "Do you remember what happened?"

"I..." Jason paused. "I was in the Arctic, I passed out, and then Celestia came and got me out... Wait, is Twilight, Rainbow, and Pinkie okay?"

"They're alright, Her Majesty sent her Knights to rescue them, they're recovering as we speak," Band Aid answered. "At least from what Her Majesty told me, and everything else checks out too. Now, there is something else..."

"What's that?"

"Well... It's just that there is no damage, you were in severe Arctic conditions for almost a full day, you should have massive frostbite and honestly, should be dead from hypothermia... Unless I'm severely underestimating the Human ability in cold conditions?"

"No, that's what's normal for us but... Why not me?"

"I have a theory," Band Aid said. "I was made aware that you were recently flushed with magic yes? You now have magic flowing through you?" He questioned.

"Yeah."

"Well as you may already know, the first law of magic is that it must manifest, it seems yours has manifested in the form of some increased healing ability. That's the only explanation I can find for your lack of hypothermia and frost bite," Band Aid explained. "However, this ability is rather mundane and minor compared to what usually happens, I suspect that you might find other small abilities popping up."

"Oh goody," Jason said, not really excited about the whole thing. "Listen, is Celestia around? I need to see her."

"Well, you check out physically, although... You're taking this rather well."

"What do you mean?"

"You've just been through a traumatic experience Jason, not your first, no, but you're not exactly handling those in the best way either. Might I suggest finding a professional to talk to about this?"

"What, like a shrink?" Jason asked sceptically. "No thanks, I'm fine, really."

"Still, if you change your mind, I know a good doctor in Trottingham," Band Aid said, writing down something on a small slip of paper and handing it to Jason. "Here's his address."

"Well, thanks anyway," Jason said. "Now Celestia?"

"Ah yes, I'll send for her," Band Aid began gathering his things. "See you back at Ponyville, take it easy you hear?"

"Yeah, see ya' later."

Band Aid left and not soon after Celestia replaced him. She looked as good as ever, especially for someone who'd just flown several hundred kilometres and back in a fiery blaze of righteousness. She smiled and cantered over to Jason quickly to entrap him in a big warm fuzzy hug, and after spending a considerable amount of time in much colder places Jason really couldn't complain.

"I'm glad you're okay," Celestia said into his hair.

"Me too," Jason answered, returning the hug.

"Now, you need to tell what happened, to the letter, from your perspective," Celestia said urgently, breaking the embrace. Jason recounted the entire ordeal, right up to where Twilight was forced to teleport him into the tundra, he stopped there though as he was still thinking of how to approach the topic of Edward.

"Goodness, so the Gryphons really do have the Dagger."

"What're you going to do about it?"

"Nothing for now," Celestia said, surprising Jason. "There's nothing to do, I cannot simply march into Gryhonia and strip search the entire country, relations with High King Bloodbeak aren't exactly the best right now and I'd rather not start a war."

"But we can't just sit around and do nothing," Jason insisted.

"I agree, but I think we have at least some time, no doubt the Gryphons who have the Dagger have no idea how to use it. I'd say that gives us at least a few months to come up with a more tactful plan."

"I guess so..." Jason said unsure. "Listen, we need to talk about-"

"The Human that is currently residing in a glacier," Celestia finished. "I saw him when I came to get you, he... Radiated power, I haven't felt something like that since the Alicorns still walked the earth."

"His name is Edward," Jason said. "And he needs our help."

"Explain," Celestia said patiently, sitting down on her haunches. Jason recounted the entire story including everything Edward had told him about how he had become that way, Celestia listened carefully and didn't interrupt nor give any visual sign of her feelings. Not until Jason finished and she gave a long thoughtful breath before speaking.

"Jason..." She said calmly. "We cannot trust this man."

"Yes we can," Jason insisted.

"We don't even know if he's telling the truth."

"We don't know that he's lying."

"I can't take that chance."

"He's been stuck in the ice since the war."

"Which only reinforces the fact that we cannot assume he bears to ill will towards my citizens."

"He's harmless, if you'd just give him a chance-"

"I can't, he wields too much power, not to mention he's-"

"Human?" Jason finished bitterly which shut Celestia up. "You trust me, why can't you give him at least a chance?"

"Fine," Celestia relented. "I'll talk it over with Luna, this isn't a decision I want to rush into, and even then, from what you've told me most of this man's magic is wild and out of his control, if we attempt to free him and something goes wrong then we could easily end up killing him... Now is just not the time."

"Fine, but I need to know your real answer as soon as you have it," Jason stated.

"Okay," Celestia said, sounding disappointed. "But for now I have other matters to attend to, like this wedding for that matter."

"Wedding?" Jason asked. "Who's getting married?"

Royal Guest Room, Castle of the Two Princesses, Canterlot, Equestria, Thursday, 28th of February, 9:41am, 2206 AC

Princess Cadence smiled to herself has she rain the brush through her candy-coloured mane, looking at herself in the mirror as she did so. She heard the door open and close, Shining Armour was reflected too. He was carrying several bags in his magical grip and didn't look towards his future wife as he placed down the bags.

"Hi honey," Cadence greeted, not turning.

"Hey sweetie," Shining said back. "Sorry I took so long, they had to remeasure everything just to be sure."

"It's fine," Cadence said. "I remember it took hours to get my dress ready."

"Yeah, but at least I got the sword cleaned well enough," Shining Armour said, hoisting the ceremonial weapon. "Did I ever tell you that-" Shining stopped as he finally looked up at his wife, horror filled his eyes but was quickly replaced by rage as he drew the sword he was carrying and pointed it towards Cadence.

"Where. Is. My. Wife," he demanded, Cadence only smiled.

"What do you mean dear?" She asked innocently, turning around and locking eyes with him. "I am your wife"

Shining Armour looked confused for a moment, he squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head violently. The sword went clattering to the ground as he grabbed his temples as if he was having a migraine, he then stopped and his eyes shot open but his irises were glowing a sickly green.

"Sorry sweetie," Shining said, the green glow fading. "I lost my train of thought there, what was I saying?"

"You were just showing me the sword, honey," Cadence said.

"Oh right, well it's nothing special just a standard ceremonial..."

Cadence let him rattle on as she turned back to the mirror, continued to brush her mane and gave herself a smile. Showing off her long sharp fangs that were hidden behind the gums.

Castle of the Two Princesses, Canterlot, Equestria, Thursday, 28th of February, 9:52am, 2206 AC

Twilight paced back and forth across the infirmary floor as she had been doing to for the past hour or so. Bandages were wrapped around her horn that were soaked with a healing salve to repair the damage done by the horrible Mage Shackle that the Gryphon's had forced upon her. She shuttered at the memory, why such a cruel device was ever crafted in the first place she would never understand.

"Come on Twi, you're driving me nuts," Rainbow's voice called out from her bed. "I'm as worried as you are but you don't see me flying in circles." Twilight bit her lip and refrained from pointing out that Rainbow Dash couldn't have flied even if she wanted to, the roughening the Gryphon's had given her was more serious than they had originally thought. Besides several broken ribs, have bruising and cuts Rainbows right wing had been broken and she hadn't even noticed until they were back at Canterlot. Apparently she had been to busy focusing on getting Twilight and Pinkie out to realize one of her vital limbs was almost broken in two. It would take almost a month to heal properly, and several weeks after that to regain complete flight ability even with constant healing magic being poured into it. Bones were tricky that way.

"But I don't know what to do, that's the problem," Twilight said. "A group of Gryphon's whom we know nothing about other then they are after The Lost Artifacts and mean Equestria ill will, now have possession of an extremely powerful and dangerous weapon, not to mention the fact that we don't know what they plan on doing with it. Then just throw on the fact that Jason is laying unconscious in a bed right now with Celestia-knows how much damage, then there's you who won't be able to fly for a month and a half and, of course, My brother's getting married and he didn't tell me!"

"I know right? The nerve of that guy!" Pinkie exclaimed, bouncing on her own bed. She was more or less unharmed and seemed unaffected by the turmoil she had just been through, although Twilight suspected she was dealing with it in her own way.

"And I'm sure there's a reason, probably just wanted to keep it a surprise," Rainbow said. "Anyway I think it's not the most important thing here, but we can't do anything about the rest of it either, all we can do is hope that Jason gets better soon and Celestia figures out what to do about the Gryphon's. Until then we have to wait and frankly even I need a rest from all this."

"I guess you're right," Twi said.

"Of course she's right!" Pinkie said. "Besides, Jason's fine! He's about to walk in in three-" Before Pinkie could continue the door opened and Jason stepped in and smiled.

"Hey, glad to see you guys are alright," he said as Twilight sprung forward and wrapped her hooves around his legs.

"I'm so sorry!" She nearly sobbed. "I couldn't stop myself! They had complete control over my magic!"

"Hey, it's alright," Jason said soothingly, patting her mane. "I'm fine anyway, Celestia came and got me quickly enough."

"Yeah but you were still out there for almost a day, how're you not frozen?" Rainbow asked.

"Apparently it has to do with my magic, I have some sort of healing ability."

"Really?" Twilight asked, her eyes sparking with interest. "That's how your magic manifested? Interesting, I wonder why that is?"

"Dunno, but... That's not all, there's something I need to tell you," Jason recounted what he had said to Celestia about Edward, he left nothing out, he was done lying to his friends.

"Wow!" Pinkie exclaimed. "So there's more Humans! That means I need to throw a Congrats-You're-Not-The-Last-Of-Your-Species-Party!"

"But he's still stuck in the ice you said?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah, his magic's gone wild or something like that, he can't completely control it," Jason. "Celestia said she would look into it, but.. Well.. She doesn't really trust him."

"You have to understand though, she has a lot of history with your species, all things considered, it's surprising she trusts you at all but seeing as this man is extremely magically powerful, she has to be cautious," Twilight explained.

"I guess that makes sense," Jason said uncertainly.

"I'm sure she'll come around, the Princess isn't cruel," Rainbow cut in.

"Yeah! She's probably just wants to make sure she doesn't hurt Eddy when she thaws him out!" Pinkie said.

"Thanks guys," Jason smiled. "Anyway, enough about that, how about this wedding huh? Shining Armour and Princess Cadence right?"

"Yeah," Twilight said a bit bitterly. "Which Shining neglected to mention to me, at all."

"Did you even know they were dating?" Jason asked.

"No! I didn't even know they knew one another! How did Shining end up proposing to one of the three Alicorns alive?"

"Search me," Jason said. "But you gotta admit, marrying the Goddess of Love? That's one hell of a score."

"He's got you there Twi," Rainbow said. "Your going to be nobility by Royal association."

"That's not the point!" Twilight exclaimed. "I don't even know this mare!"

"You're overreacting Twi," Rainbow assured. "She's probably really nice, I mean, she is the goddess of love, how bad could she be?"

Lower Solar Street, Canterlot, Equestria, Thursday, 28th of February, 10:54pm, 2206 AC

The sound of hooves echoed off the marble buildings as Star Shine cantered home, she usually wasn't out this late but unfortunately she had to cover for someone who was sick and take the closing shift. Canterlot was dark and quiet at this time of night, with only Luna's moon to guide any late-goers.

A cold breeze ruffled Star's fur and made her shiver, she wasn't a fan of the dark and was all to eager to get home. Her fear was heightened as out of the corner of her eyes she saw some sort of movement on a dark ally, she stopped to look but saw nothing. Then all of a sudden, she heard a sound of breaking glass, like someone had dropped a bottle behind her. She swore she heard soft hoofbeats that were almost unnoticeable over her own, Star's heart rate increased.

"H-hello?" She stuttered to the dark. "Is anyone there?" No response, but suddenly a new sound came. Like the clocking and hissing of an insect but much louder, and it seemed to echo from everywhere.

"I-I'm warning you," Star said to the darkness. "My husband is waiting for me at home, and of I don't get there soon he'll come looking for me." Still nothing, even the clicking stopped and everything was dead quiet, Star let herself calm down a bit, until she happened to glance to her side into a nearby alleyway.

Two reflected points of light stared at her from the alleyway, they were eyes. Slowly the figure moved into the light, first it's head came into view. Small, narrow, and black, with long fangs that dripped clear spittle that fell onto the ground in a constant sticky stream. It's legs were black as well, covered in chitin with rigged holes running through them, insect wings twitched on the creature's back and as it got closer to Star she could see her horrified face reflected back at her in its insectoid eyes.

Star Shine's mouth stretched as the scream built in her throat but she was too late, the creature pounced at her and tackled her to the ground. It's spit splashed and stuck like glue to her fur as a black hood pressed down on her throat, cutting off her airway. With her last breath Star managed to let out a panicked scream that echoed in the night silence before her throat was closed completely, fortune shone on her that night as that scream carried just far enough.

"Hey! Stop right there!" A voice boomed from further up the street, the creature looked up as lights shone upon the scene. Several Royal Guards galloped towards it, light from their horns illuminating their way and reflected on their drawn swords. The creature didn't hesitate, it's wings extended and it took off with rapid fluttering flaps and sped away into the night with two Pegasi guards in hot pursuit.

"Are you alright ma'am?" One of the guards asked, kneeling to inspect Star Shine.

"I *cough* t-think so," Star spluttered. "W-what was that thing?"

"A Changeling," the guard said grimly. "You're lucky we got here, the private here will take you home. The rest of you follow me, the Princess must be notified immediately."

"But sir, what was a Changeling doing this far north?"

"I don't know private, but it gives me a bad feeling..."

Celestia's Chambers, Castle of the Two Princesses, Canterlot, Equestria, Friday, 29th of February, 7:37am, 2206 AC

Celestia stared solemnly out the window, a steady peppering of fresh snow was cascading from the sky in a great display of cold beauty. Yet it had no real effect on her as the news she had just received threw a dark shadow over her mind.

"I should've predicted this," she said.

"There's no way you could have," Cadence assured. "This isn't your fault."

"Even still we must take precautions," Luna stated. "I shall fly south and look for evidence of Changeling activity, what shall you do in the meantime sister?"

"Mm, Shining Armour has a shield spell that is very powerful, perhaps he can maintain it for the duration of the wedding."

"Is that really necessary?" Cadence asked. "How're we sure that this wasn't an isolated incident? I don't want to worry everyone, nor put strain on Shining."

"I don't believe in coincidences," Celestia stated firmly. "You must realize that their is great animosity towards you from her, you cannot be too careful, she is still very powerful even in her corrupted form."

"If you insist," Cadence said reluctantly. "I shall bring the news to Shining then."

"Before you do, I want you to meet someone," Celestia said, her horn sparking to life briefly. "The Human I told you about, Jason, he's recovered, no doubt he's as interested in meeting you as you are him."

"I suppose."

"Anyway, I shall be off," Luna said, sparking her horn. "Do try and not have Canterlot collapse in my absence." And then she teleported away in a blue flash. In a moment afterwards there was a knock at the door and a guard opened it to reveal Jason, looking healthy and in a new change of clothes that must have been brought from Ponyville by his friends who had remained there.

"Ah, Jason," Celestia greeted. "I'd like you to meet Cadence, the Alicorn of Love."

"Oh, uh, hey," Jason said awkwardly, holding out his hand. "It's great to meet you."

"Ah, yes, you too," Cadence said, eyeing the Human hand in front of her for a moment before tentatively placing her hoof into it for Jason to shake in greeting. "I've heard a lot about you."

"Yeah, I could imagine," Jason said, dropping her hoof. "Anyway, marrying Shining huh? When'd you guys meet?"

"Back when he had just become captain of the guard," Cadence answered with a genuine smile. "He guarded me during a visit, the rest is history I suppose."

"And that brings us to the point at hoof," Celestia cut in, getting Jason's attention. "I believe that Cadence is in danger here, her wedding day may be the date for some sort of attack."

"Really?" Jason asked, surprised. "What makes you say that? Who would want to attack her?"

"The Changelings," Celestia said. "Namely their queen, Chrysalis, she and Cadence share a history."

"And that is?"

"Mm, well you deserve to know I suppose," Celestia mused. "Before she was Chrysalis, she was Aphrodite, the original Alicorn of Love. After the war she became... greedy, instead of spreading love she began to desire it, to... Consume it. She corrupted her purpose."

"Like Discord? Or Luna for that matter."

"Yes, we Alicorns have our laws, we all have a purpose to fulfill, Luna and I share the same one; to maintain the cycle of day and night. When Luna attempted to create an eternal night she... Morphed, changed into the creature we know as Nightmare Moon. The same more or less happened to Discord, and to Chrysalis. She consumed love energy for food, harnessed its power, and in turn she morphed into the first Changeling. Insect-like creatures that replace loved ones to feed of the love of their family or spouses, or even kidnap people to forcibly take the energy for themselves. When she changed she changed her followers with her, a rather large population of unaligned Alicorns, and created the Changeling race."

"So Cadence here replaced her as the Alicorn of Love, which probably doesn't make this Chrysalis the biggest fan," Jason concluded.

"Precisely," Celestia said. "We discovered one Changeling attempting to replace a poor mare out late last night, they usually do not travel as far north as Canterlot, this has me very concerned, we don't know how many other Ponies have been replaced, but to stem the tide, I've had Shining Armour cast an advanced shield spell that screens for deception spells like the ones the Changelings use."

"Yeah I noticed that," Jason said. "That big purple dome over the city, pretty impressive."

"And effective, hopefully it will stop any more Changelings from entering the city."

"Well, I'm here to help if I can."

"That's why I called you up here," Celestia said. "I want you guarding Cadence at every available opportunity, the Changelings will be targeting her and I want someone I can trust by her side... I can't be certain who has or who hasn't been replaced by Changeling doppelgängers, I can't even trust my own guards and knights."

"What about Shining though?"

"He has his hooves full with keeping the shield up, it's taxing on him so I think it better we have another sword at Cadance's side."

"Okay," Jason looked at Cadence who wore a neutral expression. "And you're okay with this?"

"...I suppose it's for the greater good," she said. "Of course, you can't be with me all the time, I do need private moments."

"O'course, I'll just tail along with you when you leave you're chambers, you won't even know I'm there."

"Good," Celestia mused, looking back out the window. "Let us hope that we can all get through this in one piece."

Private Rooms, Castle of the Two Princesses, Canterlot, Equestria, Friday, 29th of February, 7:42am, 2206 AC

Cadence had retreated to her own chambers rather quickly, assuring Jason to return in ten minutes or so, she wanted to take a walk around the city and check on the preparations for the wedding. So Jason simply headed back to the room that he and the girls were all sharing, only to find Twilight on one of her paranoid trades again.

"Twilight dear, if you'd just stop pacing for just a moment I could measure you for your dress," Rarity was saying uselessly as Jason entered, Twilight was indeed pacing a rut into the floor. "Really you're acting foolish..."

"Tch, just because I don't trust some random Pony that's marrying my brother doesn't make me foolish," Twilight countered. "Even if she's an Alicorn, it doesn't mean anything."

"Look Twi, your brother's marrying a stranger, we get it," Rainbow said, holding a book labeled 'Daring Doo and The Temple of Boom' up to her nose. "But she ain't a witch who's stealing your brother away, I mean, if Shining loves her, how bad could she be?"

"Stallion hearts are weak," Twilight said coldly, with a worrying twitch to her eye.

"Well I thought she was nice enough," Jason interjected, taking a seat on a nearby sofa next to Fluttershy, giving her a ruffle of the mane as he did so. "I just met her."

"Really? Oh what was she like?" Fluttershy asked. "It's so exciting to meet the Alicorn of Love."

"Well she seemed average, a little awkward but I think that was because of me," Jason paused. "Although she's the only Alicorn without baggage with Humanity, so it's kinda nice that I don't really have work to get her to trust me."

"Well that's great darling, but why did Princess Celestia call for you in the first place?" Rarity asked.

"Other than introducing me to Cadence? She wanted me to act as Cadence's protector while the wedding is going on."

"Because of the Changeling threat?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Shining told me when I spoke to him this morning, same reason he's put up that shield."

"Well it will at least give you a chance to get to know her, you may become good friends in time," Rarity assured. "You might even find it prudent to have Twilight tag along, maybe if she actually talked to Cadence she would stop worrying about it."

"Actually, I think that's a great idea," Twilight said in a way that gave less hope to her reconciliation with Cadence.

"Well she told me she was going to take a walk around Canterlot and check on the wedding preparations, I guess she wouldn't mind with you along, come on," Jason turned to go but not before Rarity's curt voice stopped him.

"Not dressed like that you're not! You've been assigned as a Princess' personal guard! And you must look the part," She said, and magically thrust a garment bag in Jason's face. "Now change."

Jason sighed but relented, he slipped into the washroom and quickly changed. The outfit was nice of course, heavy place pants and high-topped boots, a simple white shirt under a tight black tunic with gold buttons and epaulets, and finally a red scarf and black gloves to tie the look together. Jason came out a minute later, smoothing his tunic over his chest.

"Better?" He asked.

"Better," Rarity confirmed, magicking over his gladuis. "Now, off with you."

Jason strapped his sword to his side and began walking back towards Cadence's chambers with Twilight, who herself had put on a scarf, coat, and beret all am off-shade of purple, in tow. When her door came into view, Cadence was just exiting, she gave Jason a small friendly smile that faults red instantly once Twilight came into view.

"You brought company," she said, not seeming excited by that fact. "You must be Twilight, Shining's little sister, it's really great to finally meet you."

"Well I would hope so, seeing as I'm your future sister-in-law," Twilight said, not bothering to keep the bitterness out of her voice as she eyed Cadence like a paranoid conspiracy theorist. "You don't mind that I tag along do you?"

"Uh, no, of course not, the more, the merrier," Cadence said, clearly trying to sound genuinely okay about it. She failed.

When they walked out of the castle the snowfall had shifted to a light flurry, which they were all grateful for. As they entered the city proper decorations could be seen, flags, banners, streamers, and magical lights were being placed in every available surface. The residents each bowed in turn to Cadence, some complimented her, others wished her well, some even inquired as to the possibility of a child on the way. Cadence took each of these encounters in stride however Jason couldn't help but notice there was a sort of... Awkwardness to her responses, a strange look in her eye, as if she wasn't used to talking to people on a day to day bases which was strange as Jason would expect the Alicorn of Love to be, well... Loving. Instead Cadence seemed to put forward a plastered smile and simple responses that just didn't feel really genuine or natural. But Jason dismissed most of these instances as his imagination, perhaps Cadence was just uncomfortable around people she didn't know very well, it was entirely possible.

"So, you and Shining huh?" Twilight asked suddenly.

"Oh, yes, you're probably interested in how that came about aren't you?" Cadence asked.

"Very."

"Well like I told Jason here, Shining was tasked to guard me on a visit a few years back," Cadence explained. "He was very charming and one thing lead to another, we dated for a time and he proposed, so we find ourselves here."

"Yes I know all that, but... How'd you fall for each other? What'd you actually feel?"

"Well..." Cadence paused. "I suppose... Well it's hard to put it into words, love can't be clearly explained like that. You understand right?"

"Of course," Twilight said curtly.

"Look, I understand you're only being protective of your brother, I get it really, but I want you to know that I love him with all my heart, and I would never do anything to hurt him," Cadence said, looking Twilight straight in the eye. "Okay?"

"...Alright," Twilight relented.

They slipped into silence after that, a very tense slightly awkward silence but the matter seemed to have dropped for now. They came onto a larger building in which a sign identified as a bakery, the sounds of crashing pits and pans and rather mad giggling could be heard from inside. Cadence entered with Jason and Twilight in tow. Inside was a mess with bits of floor and batter everywhere, as well as several hundred pans full of cupcakes of every shape, size, and colour. From out of another room appeared Applejack who was carrying a tray of what appeared to be baked apple slices, she laid them on a nearby countertop and turned to greet them.

"Well howdy there Princess Cadence," she said, tipping her hat in respect. "Come tah check on the confectionaries?"

"That's right, how're you coming along?"

"On schedule, Princess," Applejack assured. "Me and Pinkie Pie have been working mighty hard, but it's an honour to be makin' the snacks for yer wedding."

"Well, Princess Celestia told me of your... Prowess, in cooking," Cadence said. There was another crash and a blur of pink and suddenly three more trays of cupcakes joined its brethren in the quickly growing legion of sugary baked goods.

"Hi Cadence! Hi Jason! Hi Twilight!" She exclaimed. "Can't talk! Must bake! Pinkie! Awwwwaaaayyyy!" And with that she practically flew into the kitchen.

"...Very productive then," Cadence said awkwardly. "Well I won't bother you any longer."

"It was no trouble, Princess," AJ assured, then turned to Twilight. "We still good for lunch today?"

"Of course, see you then," Twilight answered.

They headed back to the castle after that, Cadence leading them down a hallway that Jason didn't recognize. They turned into a door to reveal Rarity, who was running back and forth across the wide space she had been given, sewing something here, hemming a skirt there. She seemed to be baking the work of ten different dresses at once, as well as a tuxedo that was clearly meant for Jason. Rarity didn't notice them as they entered, she was too engrossed in her work, until of course, Cadence cleared her throat. Rarity halted in her tracks, several needles and string spools floating magically around her.

"Ah, Princess Cadence!" She said. "Here to check on the dresses yes?"

"That's right," Cadence confirmed. "How're you coming along?"

"Oh very good Princess," Rarity assured. "You and your bridesmaids shall look positively lovely... Have you... Decided on whom those might be? I need to get their sizes you see."

"Oh, um, I shall let you know as soon as I do," Cadence said. "Keep up the good work."

"Of course, Princess."

They left as swiftly as they came, only stopping in the great hall to check on the decorations -- Cadence assuring the decorators that it indeed looked fine, it took no more then ten minutes -- before Cadence retired to her chambers once more. Stating she would eat privately and that Jason shouldn't expect to be called back to guard her until later that afternoon, when the rehearsal was taking place.

So Jason just followed Twilight who was being oddly quiet for a paranoid obsessive-conclusive, but Jason took it as a sign that maybe she had come to terms with her brother's marriage. She led him back into the city where they met up with the rest of her friends outside a small little café.

"So Twilight dear, how have you taken to Princess Cadence? Or are you still convinced she's an evil sorceress from Saddle Arabia?" Rarity asked, perusing the menu. Twilight didn't answer at first, only sipped absentmindedly at her smoothy for a moment before responding firmly.

"There's something off about her." She said, which received a trade of exasperated reactions from her friends.

"Oh really, Twilight."

"Horseapples."

"Oh for fuck's sake."

"No, listen, listen," Twilight insisted. "I watched her all day today, she can barely look ponies in the eye, only speaks if necessary. It's like she hasn't had any contact with Ponies in ages. How can the Princess of Love not be able to talk to others?"

"So? She's a little socially awkward," Jason dismissed. "So are you."

"That's not the point here," Twilight growled angrily.

"Tha's right," Applejack jumped in. "The point is that you've been doin' nothin' but prattlin' on about, what? What exactly is yer problem? That you don't like her? Because I'm afraid to tell ya' but yer big brother loves that mare. Now if you're really that concerned about this marriage then maybe you should talk to her brother about it, rather then stalking Cadence like a creep." Twilight frowned at her smoothy for a moment before getting up and angrily trotting off.

"That was a bit harsh," Jason remarked.

"She needed to hear the truth," Applejack stated firmly. "She needs to learn that like it or not, Shining Armour can marry whomever he wants without her input."

"I guess so," Jason said, delving into is own thoughts as he sipped at his tea.

Private Rooms, Castle of the Two Princesses, Canterlot, Equestria, Friday, 29th of February, 2:26pm, 2206 AC

Jason leaned against the wall as the girls gushed and chattered, they were all clad in beautiful dresses that normally Jason would've appreciated much more if something hadn't been nagging on his mind.

"So Cadence... Made all of you her bridesmaids?" He asked.

"Yes! Last minute I know, but Cadence doesn't have many friends in Canterlot, and since we're the friends of her soon-to-be sister-in-law then we were a clear choice!" Rarity said excitedly.

"I suppose so," Jason said, frowning to himself. The girls chattering and laughing faltered as the door literally flew open as Twilight came racing in, coming to a skidding halt and heaving and puffing like she had run a marathon.

"Twi? What's the matter?" Rainbow Dash asked in concern.

"It's Cadence!" Twilight exclaimed. "I was right! I had just gone to my brothers room to talk to him and I overheard him and Cadence talking, well arguing actually, the door was open a bit so I looked in, and then my brother got this headache and... And Cadence used some sort of spell on him! And then suddenly he just agreed with Cadence!"

"Guys... I think Cadence... I think Cadence might have been replaced by a Changeling, and Shining Armour is being mind-controlled by it."

"Now that is just plain ridiculous!" Rarity said. "Now Twilight dear, I understand that you are going through a rough time but you cannot simply create a fanciful story to vilify Cadence, it's childish, even if what you saw actually happened It is more likely that Shining Armour is having magical strains from keeping that shield up the poor dear, and Cadence is helping him with it. Besides do you honestly think that a mere Changeling could not only overpower Cadence, an Alicorn mind you, but also pull the wool over the eyes of Celestia herself? Surely not."

"Now we are all going down for the rehearsal, you're needed there as well because you're the best mare. I hope that you will get over this obsession of yours before you get there, come along everypony." The Mane Six minus Twilight exited the room, leaving just her and Jason left. Jason stood up from his leaning position and approached Twilight, standing before her.

"I guess you don't believe me either?" She asked bitterly.

"Let's suppose that I do," Jason said. "What're you going to do about it?"

"I'm going to stop her.... I'm going to save my brother, even if I have to do it alone."

"I won't stop you," Jason said. "But I will ask you to really consider the consequences before acting, and... Try not to be stupid okay?" Twilight didn't say anything as Jason walked out of the room too.

He caught up with the rest of his friends in the great hall, which was now brightly decorated with banners, drapes, flowers, and other things. Celestia, Cadence, and Shining were there too, with Celestia acting as the priest of minister or whatever. Shining himself was in uniform but also looked like he hasn't slept in a while, with a tired blank look in his eyes.

"Alright, so bridesmaids over there, Shining you're here, Cadence you just stay here we're just practicing the ceremony today, Jason here, besides me... Yes..." Celestia said, directing everybody to their places. "Now... Wait where is Twilight?"

"I'm here." Came the voice, and then there was Twilight whom was standing solidly in the open doorway, and began to trot determinedly towards the end of the hall were everyone was situated.

"I will not stand next to her," she declared, and then pointed to Cadence with her hoof. "Because she is evil, she is not the true Cadence, this creature is a Changeling who has replaced my brother's true wife and taken control of his mind, it must be disposed of immediately."

It was amazing, how fast Jason's palm met his forehead.

"W-why?" Cadence sobbed, tears springing to her eyes. "W-why would you say that to me? Why?" And before she could get an answer she ran out of the hall, crying her eyes out.

"Twilight!" Shining barked angrily. "Why did you do that?"

"Can't you see?" Twilight said. "That creature has you wrapped around her hoof! You need to fight it!"

"That is the mare I love and the one I want to marry," Shining said. "A and if you can't accept that, fine, don't, but keep your feelings to yourself... And out of my life, and if you're truly that against this marriage then you can forget about being my best mare." And with that Shining trotted past her.

"B-b-but... I..." Twilight stuttered, and looked to her friends but there was no sympathy in their eyes.

"Come along girls," Rarity said curtly. "Let us go comfort Princess Cadence." The girls agreed and followed Rarity out, sparing Twilight nay a glance.

"I... I'm," Twilight tried to say, as Celestia walked right past her and gave her only a small response.

"You have a lot to think about," she said in disappointment then exited the hall. That was the last straw for Twilight, her legs gave out and she fell to the floor in despair, tears dripping from her eyes to wet the floor. Jason hadn't moved from his position nor made a sound the entire time, now he gave a heavy sigh whilst ribbing the bridge of his nose between this thumb and his finger. He walked up behind Twilight as without a word pulled her head close to his leg, keeping his hand steady on her mane.

"You know, for someone who's really smart," he said. "That was stupid."

"...W-what have I done?" Twilight asked no one in particular. "I could've gained a sister, but instead... I lost a brother." They remained like that for a while, for only a minute or so before the sound of approaching hooves brought Jason's gaze back up, it was Cadence, all signs of tears gone from her eyes. Twilight looked up two, her eyes a river in their own rights.

"I-I'm sorry," She said pathetically.

"No, it's my fault," Cadence said, wiping a tear from Twlight's cheek. "I should've have done something to put you at ease, made you understand, I pushed you to this."

Jason's eyes narrowed, something wasn't right.

"Oh, and I'm sorry to you too, Jason," Cadence said, looking up and then she capturing him in a hug. "I've put you through all this too."

Jason passively accepted the hug, still very confused by this sudden turn of events. It was only until Cadence lifted her mouth to his ear, and her hot breath caressed his skin when she spoke that Jason's heart took a sudden plummet into the abyss.

"The Alicorns send their regards."

Suddenly Jason as Twilight were shoved back both physically and magically, send sprawling onto the floor. Before they could recover green flames burst around them, creating a circle to entrap them. The flames reflected in Cadence's smug eyes as a magical done covered over them and they both felt a sensation of being dragged down, Jason got one final look at Cadence's cold flame-filled eyes before his world became darkness.

Chapter 31~ Godly Blood Will Come To Bleed

"I do not concern myself with gods and spirits either good or evil nor do I serve any."

~Lao Tsu

The Royal Caverns, Canterlot, Equestria, Friday, 29th of February, 2:30pm, 2206 AC

"Shit, ass, cunt, motherfucker, fucking, frig, crap, God fucking damnit..."

Jason groaned and swore as he rolled over onto his side, his whole body hurt. His tailbone throbbed uncomfortably and the scrapes on his joints stung painfully, after using up the rest of his available cusses Jason did eventually sit up and took in his surroundings. It was very dark, save for some dim ambient light that seemed to radiate off of some strange purple crystals that surrounded him. The sound of a groan hit his ears and Jason searched the darkness for a moment before he could just barely make out a familiar form in the gloom, it was Twilight.

"Hey," Jason said. "Hey, Twi, can ya' hear me?"

"Ughghhhh... Buck me," Twilight groaned. "My everything hurts."

"Yeah, that was one fucking hell of a fall," Jason said. "Can you give us some light?"

"Yeah, just give me a sec..." There was a pause before Twilight's magic sparked and came to light, shining across the bare rock and reflecting off the crystals that surrounded them.

"Where are we?" Jason asked, now trying to sound less irritated.

"Royal caverns, a natural deposit of Purple Crystallite right under the palace. It used to serve as a prison for powerful Unicorns back in the day," Twilight said. "That Changeling must've teleported us here."

"About that..." He began, "Sorry I didn't believe you about Cadence, well Fake-Cadence anyway."

"It's alright, I guess. I wasn't exactly boosting confidence with my paranoid rants," Twilight admitted. "Anyway, that's not important, I don't know what the Changelings are planning exactly but we need to get back to the surface before the wedding."

"Right you are, now..." Jason looked around, with the aid of Twilight's horn he could see much farther. However it didn't seem to matter as they were completely surrounded by solid Purple Crystallite, no exits, no paths, nothing.

"Well, what now?" Jason asked. "I don't suppose you can just blast through this, can you?"

"No, that's why it was used as a Unicorn prison, each individual crystal has a unique molecular structure. To break through them you have to magically map out each particle and vaporize the crystal completely, most Unicorns can't do it."

"...Can you?"

"Foal's play," Twilight said with a smirk on her face. Her horn burned brighter and it reached out to a nearby crystal which began to glow a bright purple. Twilight closed her eyes and her brow creased in concentration, nothing seemed to happen for a moment or two before the crystal began to shake and then slowly dissolve into dust. Within a few seconds the crystal evaporated into the air revealing a wide cavern.

"Come on," Twilight said, opening her eyes.

The cavern continued on straight for about forty meters or so, before it gave way to a much larger chamber. After further looking, they discovered that there was several branching paths all leading to different directions, some straight, others went up or down.

"Well now what?" Jason asked.

"What about that way? It goes up after all," Twilight suggested.

"Maybe... But, what about..." Jason trailed off as a sound reached his ears, the faint sound of hooves on stone. It was coming from one of the paths to their left, Jason gripped the hilt of his Gladuis tightly as he peered into the darkness. The hoofbeats seemed deafening as both Jason and Twilight tensed up in extreme anticipation until finally, the source of the sound stepped into the light.

It was Cadence.

Twilight acted immediately, her horn brightened to a blinding level and she shot a powerful beam of magic at Cadence. It never hit its mark as immediately a pink shield was thrown around the Alicorn which absorbed the energy with ease, Twilight tried to push against it, but she was no match for a goddess. Her horn began to smoke, overheating, and Twilight was forced to stop, once she did Cadence lowered her shield.

Jason stepped forward and began to draw his blade before the Alicorn raised her hoof.

"Wait! I'm not a Changeling!" She said rather desperately.

"How can we believe you?" Twilight demanded.

"Here, I'll prove it," Cadence said, her horn glowed pink and the light constructed itself into a transparent dagger, before Jason or Twilight could react she brought the blade to her forearm and drew it across. Golden Ichor began spilling down her fur and onto the stone ground, it glittered and shined from the light of Cadence's horn.

"See?" Cadence said, dispelling the dagger. "Golden blood, pure Alicorn, believe me now?"

"Chrysalis is an Alicorn," Jason stated suspiciously. "How do we know you're not her?"

"No," Twilight said, surprising Jason. "It wouldn't make any sense, why would she leave Shining alone without her to keep him under her spell? Not to mention it would seem very suspicious to everyone she's already fooled... You're really Cadence aren't you?"

"Yes," Cadence said, a smile gracing her features. She cantered closer as the tense air dissolved. "And you're Twilight right? Shiny's little sister?"

"Yeah, sorry we had to meet like this."

"Better late than never," Cadence commented, she looked at the Human in the room. "Jason, right?"

"Yep, nice to meet'cha."

"Same, Celestia speaks highly of you," Cadence paused. "I suppose you two met our resident Changeling Queen then?"

"You could say that," Jason said. "How's she get the drop on you anyway?"

"It was on our way to Canterlot, she ambushed me, I should've seen it coming honestly."

"Well, cé la vi," Jason said. "So any ideas on how to get out of here?"

Cadence frowned at the expression, but shrugged it off, "No idea, this place is like a huge maze, even when I break down the Crystallite I can't find a way out," Cadence said. "I haven't been here though..."

"Well that's a start at least," Twilight said. "We know we're the exit isn't."

"How do we know there even is an exit? We did get teleported down here after all," Jason said.

"No, there must be a physical way out, when this was a prison they didn't teleport ponies down here," Cadence said. "The question is; how do we find it?"

"There might be a way..." Twilight said, deep in thought.

"Go on."

"Well there is one spell, Clairvoyance, it's extremely difficult and complicated," Twilight said.

"Well it's worth a shot, right?" Jason asked.

"I could try... Cadence, would you... Be willing to help me with it?" Twilight asked. "Only if you're comfortable, I know a lot of Unicorns think Magical Linkage is rather... Personal."

"We're sisters aren't we? It's fine," Cadence said warmly, Twilight nodded and they both sparked their magic. Pink and purple reached out and mixed with one another and both mare's faces contorted in concentration, nothing seemed to happen for a while before a smoky blue trail bloomed across the ground. It lead across the floor and into one of the paths that mead upwards where it disappeared around a corner.

"Come on," Twilight said, her eyes opening and her magic fading from her horn, the trail remained. "Before it dissipates."

They broke out in a run, the magical trail lit the way as the cavern curbed upwards. It seemed to go on farther with not much change until eventually the dim cavern gave way into a huge chamber with no roof, sunlight streamed into the cavern and set the crystals on fire.

"Take a deep breath, both of you," Cadence ordered as her horn flared brightly, within seconds all three of them were encompassed in her pink magical field and with the sound of a whip the world melted away. By Jason's perspective it was only a second of two before the world reconstructed itself around them, they were standing just outside the maw of what must have been the entrance to the caverns; a dirt trail lead up the steep mountain slope where Canterlot rested not far in the distance.

"Come on, no time to waste," Cadence said, her voice becoming strained as the worry for her husband became greater.

Grand Hall, Castle of the Two Princesses, Canterlot, Equestria, Friday, 29th of February, 2:57pm, 2206 AC

Cadence smiled to herself as the door to the grand hall creaked open magically, all the heads in the crowd turned to look at her, her, the bride. Beautiful in her white dress that not only made her look like the princess she was but also hugged her slim form just enough to announce to everypony just how much of a mare she was, yes many stallion's eyes were immediately smitten with her as she began to walk regally down the aisle. It gave a form of pleasure inside at the thought that so many wanted her so badly and yet they couldn't have her, it made her smile grow.

At the end of the aisle, standing by the altar of the Two Princesses stood her soon-to-be husband. His eyes were glazed over as he stared dumbly right through her. He belonged solely to Cadence, the love practically radiated off of him and gave Cadence strength. It almost seemed to drown out the aura of Celestia who stood nearby, a small ignorant smile on her lips, yes she was such a fool, she didn't even know one of her kin was right under her nose...

Everything was going perfectly, Cadence found herself swelling in self pride. Indeed, this day was going to be perfect. At least that's we she thought, as she climbed the few steps and stood next to Shining Armour and as Celestia began to speak.

"We are gathered here to bear witness to the union of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Captain Shining Armour by the gods, if there are any whom object to this may they speak now or-"

Suddenly the doors slammed open, startling everyone. They were even more surprised when they saw what appeared to be a roughed-up dirty but still unmistakable Cadence standing in the doorway, accompanied by Jason and Twilight. A ripple of pure confusion made its way across the sea of guests, many began swiveling their heads between the two, trying to dis concern what in the world was going on.

"I object!" Cadence declared. "That is not the true Cadence! I am! She is an imposter! A Changeling!"

Scared murmuring bloomed like disease in the crowd as they looked to the supposed Changeling who stood at the alter, as they watched she slowly closed her eyes and took a calming breath.

"Damn," she said, almost to herself. "It almost worked."

Without warning green fire bloomed around her and seemed to consume her entire form. The crowd took this opportunity to turn tail and run, the hall cleared within minutes leaving only Celestia, Cadence, Jason, the Mane Six and a few guards left with the Changeling. The fire began to dissipate and reveal the creature within, it was some sort of insect with dark flesh underneath thick black chitin with the occasional hole through it. Clear insect wings sprouted from her back, her hair grew long and stringy, turning from pink to a greenish blue. Her horn grew long ragged and curved and her eyes, her eyes glowed with the sickly green light of the fire she cast.

"No matter," Chrysalis said, she began to descend the steps and walk into the centre of the hall. "I'm always one to have a backup plan."

"Do you?" Celestia said behind her and began to circle around her, Cadence joined her and soon Jason found himself doing the same. His hand on the hilt of his Gladuis, the three of them slowly circled Chrysalis who seemed amused at the sight of them.

"Twilight," Celestia said. "Take your friends and retrieve the Elements of Harmony, guards go with them."

"Are you sure Princess?" Twilight asked.

"Quite sure," Celestia confirmed. "Us three can handle this."

"Confident are you?" Chrysalis said as Twilight left, accompanied by her friends and the few guards that were there. "Unfortunately for you they won't get far, Shining, my love?"

"Yes, dear?" Shining said dumbly.

"Do lower the shield, dearest."

"Of course," Shining said, his horn glowed and there was the sound of thunder in the distance followed by what sounded like thousands of mirrors shattering around them and the buzzing of a million flies.

"Good, now," Chrysalis said, her own horn beginning to brighten with magic. "Perhaps you would all consider surrendering?"

"No, I don't think so," Celestia said. "But... Why? Why do this? We are no threat to you, I was content to leave you and your... Children, alone."

"Yes, no threat at all, but what would you do if you watched your subjects slowly starve to death with only the most meagre of scraps, this nation of yours is a beacon of nourishment for us and yet we cannot even cross your borders. You've given me no choice, we must take what we need," Chrysalis said.

"And this is the way you do it?" Cadence cut in. "How dare you control my husband and how dare you ruin my wedding!"

Cadence's horn sparked to life and the air beside her began to shimmer, sparks of pink fire bloomed into existence and knit together forming a familiar shape. The fire died down leaving a long polished rapier with a hilt jewelled with heart-shaped rubies, Cadence gripped it with her magic and pointed the blade at Chrysalis. Celestia then stepped forward and stopped her hoof on the ground causing the entire hall to shake, the sun shifted behind her casting a brilliant and blinding light to enter the hall. Orange flames burst forth on the floor and slowly out of them came a tall golden warhammer, the entire weapon glowed with power as Celestia began swinging it in a slow deadly arc.

"I haven't seen that in a while," Chrysalis admired, staring at the hammer. "Back then it would only smite Humans, and now.... It fights besides one."

Chrysalis' glowing green eyes shifted to Jason who felt quite small as he drew his Gladuis, why was he even here among these gods? The mere magical aura coming off the three was enough to make Jason's hair crackle like he had been given an electric shock. For the first time since he arrived in Equestria Jason wondered how in the world the Humans fought such power for so long, and even began to win.

"Well," Chrysalis said casually. "Let's just cut the fat here shall we?"

Without warning her horn flared to life and shot a green beam of magic at Jason, time seemed to slow to a crawl as the blast inched itself towards him. There was no time to dodge out of the way so Jason found himself throwing up his free arm in a fruitless effort to shield himself. The blast struck but... He felt nothing, nothing except a jarring buzz in his arm, Jason opened his eyes and looked up. The blast met his hand and then curved around him, as he watched his hand began to glow with a silver light and a transparent silver shield formed around him.

Chrysalis ceased her assault and the shield dissipated, leaving Jason to stare at his glowing hand that seemed to be wreathed in an ethereal silver flame. His entire body buzzed like he had been given a shot of expresso and then shocked with lightning, his head pounded painfully and his vision swam. But... This power, this magic, it felt good.

"Well, what do you know," Chrysalis commented, staring at Jason curiously which distracted her from Celestia launching herself at her back and swinging her warhammer to meet full force with the side of Chrysalis' head.

Chrysalis went flying into the nearby wall, smacking full force into it which cracked her chitin and crunched her bones. She slide down to the floor leaving the golden stain of Ichor on the now crumbling wall, for a full moment Jason thought she was actually dead before she began to shift. As they watched the flesh began to knit itself back together and the chitin fused close, her flesh shifted like loose dirt for the bones reconstructed themselves with the sound of snapping and crackling that made Jason want to puke. Chrysalis' eyes shot back open and her horn flared to life, she teleported herself next to Cadence with a long curved sword now in her grasp which she swung at Candace.

Candace caught the sword with her rapier and was immediately pushed back magically, her hooves skidding across the floor leaving sparks in their wake. Chrysalis then dodged out of the way as Celestia launched forward and swing her hammer overhead, it missed but hit the ground and shook the hall violently, the entire weapon was now smoking with an intense heat. Jason took this opportunity to rush toward and try a thrust, Chrysalis blocked it sideways but Jason punched forward with his free hand that was still consumed by silver flames, he struck true on her chest and the force sent them both stumbling backwards from each other.

Seizing the moment Cadence blink-teleported forward and began a rapid assault, her sword tip became a blur and she put Chrysalis on the defence who was just barely able to block her rapid attacks. That was until Celestia came in with another powerful swing that caught the Changeling in the side, sending her flying once again. She managed to catch herself this time and began flying around, her horn glowed brightly and with small bursts of green fire she summoned thousands upon thousands of what appeared to be locusts into existence around her, she's grinned cruelly and with a flick of her head, the insects shot forth towards Celestia with an angry buzzing.

Celestia met them with fire, they burned easily and fell to the ground as ashes. Once the bugs had been dealt with Celestia began whipping her head in a slow with circle, slowly a long string of flame came out of her horn and began to follow her heads movements. With an expert flick of her neck she lassoed the flame whip around on of Chrysalis' hooves and brought her swiftly down to crash to the floor. Jason was on her in a second, he had taken a moment to concentrate the magic inside of him through his sword arm an into the blade. The Gladuis glowed silver and appeared to be transparent, Jason swung it at Chrysalis' head and it passed right through her like it didn't exist. Yet as it did so it seemed to partially drag something with it, some sort of ethereal double image of Chrysalis was pulled away from the corporeal version for a few centimetres before it dissipated into nothingness.

Whatever it did it seemed to work as Chrysalis howled like an injured animal and fell to her knees, too weak to follow up with another magical attack Jason tried to swing his now fully corporeal sword conventionally only to meet a shield. He wailed on it with no avail, Cadence joined him but even together they couldn't seem to break through but they kept trying until they heard Celestia call forth.

"The Dawn shall take you!" She yelled, she launched high into the air and brought her warhammer, which was now fully wreathed in flame, down to bare with the shield. There was an explosion of blinding light and searing heat that would have caught both Cadence and Jason it it as well if it wasn't for the formers quick shield. As the blast dissipated they saw that the shield was still there but was now consumed in thick green flames, Chrysalis spoke from within and her voice echoed around the hall.

"Enough of this," she said and the fire exploded outwards, tossing all of them back onto the floor. They hadn't a moment to react before she struck, she came for Cadence first with a deadly arcing strike, Cadence managed to deflect it away from her face but the blade still caught her ear and sheered it off, splattering her golden blood onto the floor. Cadence screamed in pain and teleported away with a loud crack! she rematerialized at the opposite end of the hall. She staunched the floor of blood from her severed ear with her hoof as the wound sparked magical lightning as her ear slowly began to reform itself.

Chrysalis then turned and caught Celestia's swing with her blade, a shockwave was produced by the opposing forces that shook the ground. Cracks were beginning to form on the floor and along the walls, Jason worried that the ceiling might crumble in on them. Celestia and Chrysalis pushed against one another and seemed equally matched, Jason was too far away to charge and land a hit so he began focusing that energy once again. His head was pounding like a drum but Jason forced himself to ignore it, his Gladuis began to glow silver and bolts of magical lighting arced from its tip and to the ground. Jason took a step forward and slashed the blade through the air in a wide arc, launching a wide blast that flew across the hall and struck Chrysalis in the side and toppled her over. It was all Jason could muster as he toppled to his knees, the pounding pain in his head becoming too great.

The attack was followed up by Celestia, swimming her hammer down with Chrysalis only just rolling out of the way. She thrust her own sword forward and slashed across Celestia's cheek, drawing the Godly blood out. Celestia grit her teeth and lifted her weapon for another stroke but not before she was struck in the chest by Chrysalis' magical blast. Her hammer went flying out of her grasp and clanked to the floor, Chrysalis was on her in seconds casting a powerful blast that bound Celestia to the floor via thick slime that coated her hooves and body.

"Do you not see this is pointless?" Chrysalis said. "I have won, as my mind shall always win, the time of the Old Gods are over, both you and the Human are relics of the old world. It is time for my kind to rise and retake the land."

"Your kind?" Celestia asked. "Fallen, corrupted Alicorns? You had a purpose and you threw it away... Aphrodite."

Chrysalis shook her head as if confused and her entire formed seemed to flicker, in a moment her dark flesh and chitin was replaced by soft pinkish white fur and a long golden mane, her eyes were emerald and as beautiful as the jewel. Aphrodite looked like Cadence in the way, at least from what Jason could tell before her flesh turned black and the chitin returned.

"That is not my name," Chrysalis said defiantly.

"Just as mine is not truly Erotia?" Cadence called from her end of the hall, she was still mending her ear. "You cannot deny who you are forever."

"And whom decides who I am?" Chrysalis demanded. "Who proclaims to twist our fates and guide to paths? And what given them the right? No, I am whom I say I am."

Before anyone could do anything more the double doors burst open and the Mane Six were dragged in by several Changelings, the lot of them were bruised and battered but seem relatively unharmed for now.

"Ah, there we are," Chrysalis said as Twilight her friends were tossed to the floor. "Good, now go and feed my children, you must be starving." The Changelings left at once leaving Chrysalis to canter over and smile down at Twilight who glared defiantly up at her.

"Fret not little ones," Chrysalis said, placing her hoof under Twilight's chin. "I shall be a fairer Queen than Celestia or her part of a sister were, unlike them, I shalt not force you into a destiny that does not favour you nor shall I try to control your path."

"What are you talking about?" Twilight asked angrily.

"Oh dear, she hasn't even told you yet, no matter my child, I have better plans for you..."

Jason grit his teeth and slowly began to stand up, Chrysalis was too preoccupied with her taunting to notice. Jason's head was pounding and his vision swam, the magic he had been performing was an extreme drain on him, somewhere in his muddled mind questions flared like wildfire about how he was able to perform such feats. Looking around Jason searched for options, Celestia was still stuck underneath the slime and didn't seem to be escaping soon, Cadence was still healing her ear but seemed able to move, Jason managed to catch her eye and the shared an understanding nod.

Cadence's horn flared and the healing sparks around her ear dissipated, she teleported across the hall stuck forth with her rapier. Chrysalis was quick enough to catch it with her own blade, Cadence disengaged her sword and followed up with a rapid assault. While Chrysalis was distracted, Jason began concentrating what energy he had left. He remembered when he had charged his Gladuis with his magic, that had seemed to have the greatest affect so Jason began doing just that. The blade began to glow and spark before it turned transparent, Jason wondered why it did that, but his head felt like a nail was being driven into his skull so he reserved the thought for later.

He knew he couldn't maintain the energy for long so gritting his teeth Jason broke out in a charge, his glowing sword leaving tendrils of silver magic in his wake. As he neared her, Chrysalis pushed Cadence away and turned to face Jason but she wasn't quick enough time time, she only presented her chest for Jason to run her through. Like before the Gladuis passed through her as if it didn't exist, immediately Chrysalis' sword clattered to the floor and dissipated into smoke. Jason eyes met hers, those green eyes were filled with confusion and fear as her entire form shimmered and shook, she seemed to disappear for a few moments leaving nothing but a small glowing white orb in which Jason's blade was piercing. She reappeared and continued to shimmer, a piercing pain shot through Jason's head and the world seemed to melt away.

The hall was replaced by a city, tall white buildings surrounded Jason as he made his way down golden streets. In the distance a tall spire reached up into the clouds and what seemed like giant birds circled around it. As he made his way down the street Jason saw... Alicorns, hundreds of them, big, small, young, old, most without a Mark but all stopped to acknowledge him as he passed.

"As lovely as ever, Lady Aphrodite," one said.

"More radiant than Lady Celestia's sun, My Lady," another complimented.

"Thank you, thank you!" A voice that was not Jason's said, it sounded like Chrysalis but was much happier and full of joy. The scene shifted and suddenly Jason was in a different part of the city, a huge crowd of Unaligned Alicorns both male and female of varying ages stood before him.

"Please Lady Aphrodite! Can you not allow us this pleasure!"

"We all desire you, My Lady, we are willing to share!"

"Can you not claim your superiority over the other Aligned? You are clearly the fairest, the wisest, the most powerful!"

"Please, please!" Aphrodite said. "I-I'm flattered, but you're all under a spell! This is just a by-product of my magic! You must learn to love others besides me, I should not be the focus of all love in the world!"

"Why not?" The unanimous answer was, the world shifted once again before Jason could her Aphrodite's reply. This time he found himself inside a large room, the floor was covered in a thick carpet with silks, pillows, and blankets piled everywhere. Scented candles purveyed the air and created a thick haze that seemed to dull the mind. Aphrodite stood above a kneeling Unaligned who seemed to be kissing her hooves.

"You're sure?" Aphrodite asked.

"Of course, My Lady! I would know what to do if you fell in battle!" The Unaligned said.

"I know it's just... You'll be weakened for weeks, maybe months, you won't even be able to levitate anything," Aphrodite said in concern.

"A small price to pay to preserve the beauty My Lady, fairest of all creatures and highest of the Aligned!"

"...Right," Aphrodite said. "Well, just... Think about someone you love and, uh, just relax alright?"

"I have been thinking about whom I love since I entered your home, but please proceed My Lady."

Aphrodite nodded and sparked her magic, green tendrils reached out and grasped the Unaligned's horn. Sparks shot out and Aphrodite felt like she was being filled with energy, which she was, it felt... Good, really good, it caused a swelling in her chest and a flutter in her heart. It was if she was young and she had just spotted her crush, or the feeling she had when her mother wrapped her in a warm hug and told her everything was going to be fine. Within a moment Aphrodite retracted her magic leaving the Unaligned to almost fall over, he caught himself and managed to stand on shaky legs.

"T-thank you," Aphrodite said a tad breathlessly. "Perhaps you should go rest?"

"Yes I think you're quite right, My Lady," the Unaligned answered woozily and staggered out of the room.

The room melted away and was replaced by what appeared to be the inside of a temple, with wide pillars lining the sides and tall windows streaming light through. Aphrodite stood on a lifted platform above a crowd of Unaligned Alicorns whom cheered and chanted her name.

"My children!" Aphrodite said, her voice echoing powerfully. "Your faith shall be rewarded! Your love returned! I only ask that you profess your love for me!" There was a unanimous positive answer from the crowd, Aphrodite smiled largely and reached out with her magic. Hundreds of green tendrils shot out at lighting speeds, they latched onto every Unaligned horn in the room, suddenly everyone shared the same dull glowing green eyes for a moment as Aphrodite absorbed their love as pure magical energy. It took a minute or two but eventually Aphrodite pulled back her magic, she was glowing brightly at this point, the entire massed swooned as the ritual ended.

"Return home my children! Rest! Remember, my love goes with you!" Aphrodite called, soon all of her followers staggered out. Aphrodite made to follow them but an all-too familiar voice stopped her.

"You walk a dangerous path, My Lady."

Aphrodite turned to face the direction of the voice, there standing partially obscured by shadow was King Aeon himself. Had stepped into the light which threw his tired and worn face into sharp relief.

"My Lord Aeon," Aphrodite greeted. "Whatever do you mean?"

"Don't feint ignorance," Aeon said tiredly. "Your purpose is to spread love, not horde it, that is not the purpose of Ap'Rhol whom you play host to."

"And who are you to declare that?" Aphrodite said defiantly. "Am I not entitled to love as well?"

"I do not think it is the love you crave, rather the power it gifts you," Aeon said sadly. "Do not do this my dear, continue as you are and you will end up as Dispono has, corrupted, fallen, mad."

"Dispono was mutilated, tortured, I am nothing like him!" Aphrodite shouted and stormed out of the chapel.

"You're right," Aeon said at her back. "Dispono was forced into his fate, you chose your path all your own."

The temple crumbled away and suddenly they were standing on the steps outside a huge palace, it's walls reached high with marble turrets and tall windows. The tall spire that they saw before was closer now and pierced the dark clouds above that thundered and spewed rain atop of them. The water only added to the salty liquid that flowed down their cheeks as Aphrodite stared down at her hooves, magic sparked from her as her flesh seemed to boiled and froth like soup. Chucks of it slid off and splattered to the ground to reveal darker flesh and black chitin underneath, soon the water washed away Aphrodite's sift fur and beautiful mane leaving a ragged and twisted insectoid form underneath.

"I-I didn't know!" Chrysalis sobbed, looking up at Aeon who stood at the top of the steps looking down at her in disappointment.

"I warned you," he said. "Over and over, you failed to heed me."

"Please, please, just help me!" Chrysalis cried desperately.

"You are beyond my help," Aeon said sadly. "You have corrupted your purpose and thus Ap'Rhol has left you, you are no longer the Goddess of Love... I am sorry, truly."

"You lie!" Chrysalis yelled. "You wanted this! You couldn't allow me to gain so much support lest your rule be challenged! But if I go then my children go with me!"

Chrysalis' shorn flared a sickly green and before Aeon could act a magical shockwave shot forth in all directions and spread out through the city. In the distance the sound of screaming could be heard along with the buzz of what sounded like thousands of insects.

"Let this be known, if you can't learn to give us love then we will take it from you," Chrysalis growled.

"So be it," Aeon said, and his own horn flared a bright white. "I, Aeon, God of Eternity, hereby banish you and your children henceforth from the realm of the Alicorns... On pain of death."

Aeon's horn exploded into a blinding white flash and the world melted away. Jason returned to reality, his Gladuis still stuck in Chrysalis' chest, the flesh around the blade glowed silver and suddenly Jason was pushed back. He landed several meters away on his back with his Gladuis clattering to the ground we'll always from him, Jason looked up to see that Chrysalis hadn't budged. She caught his eye and Jason saw a hint of fear in there before it was covered up by anger and defiance.

"This isn't over," she said. And suddenly cracks began to form along her chitin, thin openings that glowed gold and spread across her body, fully encompassing her. And in a moment she shattered, Chrysalis' body broke apart by the seams into a thousand pieces which dissolved into golden dust leaving only the glowing white orb that Jason had seen before, and even that faded away in seconds.

Taking a breath Jason laid back down on the floor, very content to lie there and rest. He was soon joined by Cadence and Celestia, the latter had escaped from the slime she had been entrapped in.

"Hey, good job guys," Jason said tiredly. "What'cha say we take five and retry for that wedding hey?"

"Sounds fine to me," Cadence said, her ear sparking and beginning to heal again.

"Cadance?" Shining called from his spot at the end of the hall. "What's going on? What happened? What's wrong with your ear?"

"I'll explain later, dear," Cadence said, laying her head down.

Castle of the Two Princesses, Canterlot, Equestria, Friday, 29th of February, 3:21pm, 2206 AC

Cadence and Shining were married quickly, with Celestia rushing a shorter version of the ceremony, they didn't even bother to call the guests back in. Soon after everyone retired to their respective chambers for much needed rest, with Jason accompanying Celestia on a walk.

"So any idea what I did back there?" Jason asked.

"I'm not sure on the details but it appears your magical abilities have fully awoken, this is good," Celestia answered. "I shall have Twilight begin tutor you, we might as well try and understand your new powers while we can... You will be remaining in Canterlot yes?"

"Might as well, seems I'm almost always needed here," Jason said. "What will you be up to?"

"Oh, well after order is restored I think I shall do a bit of traveling," Celestia said as they stepped out onto a balcony.

"Travelling? Where?"

"North, with Luna, I think the both of us need to meet this Edward that you spoke of."

"Really? Are you going to free him?"

"We are going to meet him," Celestia said. "We will see what happens after that, that is all I can promise."

"Okay," Jason said. "Just one more thing, what-"

Before Jason could complete his thought there was the sound of flapping wings and a shadow was cast over them. Luna alighted on the edge of the balcony, she looked quite worried.

"Sister!" She exclaimed. "I saw the damage from the air, did something happen? Did I miss anything?" Celestia seemed a tad too shocked to respond but Jason was all too happy to oblige.

"Fuck you, Luna."

Chapter 32~ Dr. Edward Howl, PhD

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."

~Abraham Lincoln

Castle of the Two Princesses, Canterlot, Equestria, Tuesday, 4th of March, 3:21pm, 2206 AC

Celestia sipped contently on the warm tea, it was a new brew this time, a spicy herb from Saddle Arabia and Celestia had to admit she like it more than the local brand. She allowed herself to enjoy the warm feeling it gave her as she gazed out the window at the bright day that she had grace upon the land. Celestia tried to enjoy the warmth and light while she could, where she was going they were both on short supply. The soft sound of hoofbeats on carpet approached from behind Celestia and were soon joined by a voice.

"How come every time I find you you're drinking tea while staring out a window?" Luna asked

"Mm, no idea," Celestia said, placing her cup down. "Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Luna answered. "I still can't help but think this is unadvised."

"I made a promise to Jason, we can at least talk to this man."

"I suppose, and the prospect of a magical Human of such power is intriguing."

"Isn't it?" Celestia said. "I imagine he'll have much to say, shall we?"

"We shall," Luna agreed with a small grin, both their horns flared to life.

Celestia glowed bright and was slowly consumed by a blinding white light, with a flash her form disappeared and a blazing trail could be seen soaring across the sky like a shooting star. Luna on the other hand seemed to darken, the shadows around her shifted closer and dark tendrils reached out and latched onto Luna like whips, the shadows consumed her and she melted into the darkness and disappeared.

Several thousand kilometres away from the warm sun that shines on Canterlot, was where the sisters reappeared. Deep in the north they were, the deep snow reached halfway up their long legs and a cold wind blew at their fur. Towering before them was a glacier, it was stuck into the ground with its back half touching the northern sea, the ice was thick, dark, and massive, like a mountain.

"So... Do we knock?" Luna asked.

"Mm, no, last time I had to melt my way in, I suppose it's our only option," Celestia answered, her horn burst into flame, the fire shot out and struck the ice structure. Slowly, but surely, the ice began to melt away on a cascade of water that fell down onto the ground in a waterfall, carving a wide hole in its wake. Eventually the fire broke through into the hollow interior of the glacier, the two sisters exchanged glances as Celestia retracted the flames and extinguished them. With a flap on their wings they ascended into the entrance of their newly created cave, as they carefully began to walk further in, the ice behind them began to reform itself. The moisture in the air solidified and replaced what Celestia had burned away.

The farther in they went, the colder it became, all around them the ice cracked and buzzed as if charged with electricity. As Celestia and Luna entered the large dome-like chamber, they could feel it all around them, power, power without direction or intent. It was wild magic, gone rogue, freezing everything around them, and, had the two sisters been but mere mortals they would have froze to death. Both of them could feel the power, it reached out to them, attracted to their own inherent energy, Luna couldn't help wondering what sort of being could be the source of such awesome power.

"Ladies," a voice greeted.

Celestia and Luna whipped around to spot Glalÿir-Hux, Edward, leaning on his cane casually with an unreadable expression on his face. The two sisters seemed stunned at his sudden appearance but he didn't seem to notice.

"And what do I owe the pleasure of having such two lovely ladies as my company?" Edward said courteously, he limped a tad closer, peering at them. "I believe... You are the two Alicorn Princesses of... Equestria is it? I, uh, hm, I'm terribly sorry but I don't actually know your names, my attempts at, oh what's it called? Scrying? Yes, well, my scrying has only given me the snippets of information. Anyway, perhaps I should properly introduce myself..."

"I am Edward Howl," He continued. "Technically Doctor Edward Howl but I don't think my degree really counts anymore, I'm also been called Glalÿir-Hux or The Man in the Ice by some."

"Charmed," Luna spoke first. "I am Luna, Alicorn goddess of the Moon, this is my sister, Celestia."

"A pleasure, truly," Edward said, he seemed jittery. "...Forgive me but... You are the first Alicorns I've seen for real, right in front of me, you're... As amazing as I've imagined, a marvel of natural evolution."

"You've... Never seen an Alicorn before?" Celestia asked.

"Not outside of propagandist posters or scientific images, I might have seen more had my field been the study of your species, but what can you do?" Edward shrugged. "But you haven't answered my question, to what do I owe the pleasure of your presence?"

"We have questions for you," Luna said. "The discovery of not just a Human, but a magical Human, one that supposedly has been around since... The war, is very intriguing to us as you must understand."

"Yes, of course, we're all curious," Edward said. "But I suspect that you are not here simply to gape at an oddity, no, Jason's asked you to release me didn't he?"

"He did," Celestia confirmed.

"But you are not quite sure if I can be trusted, yes?"

"Correct," Luna responded. "We thought perhaps meeting you could ease our fears."

"Perhaps, I'll definitely do anything to get out of this place," Edward gestured to the ice around them. "Horrible heating let me tell you."

"Could you tell us how long you've been here?" Celestia asked. "And how you got in this state in the first place?"

Edward paused, running his thump across the ball of his icicle cane. His eyes stared into nothingness as the memories came back to him, it had been too long since Edward had reminisced like this. It was often to painful and terrible to remember, his mind suppressed the memories to a large extent for the sake of his sanity. Sometimes though, Edward feared he had already lost his mind, and that terrified him.

"As I said, I was a doctor, a scientist," Edward said. "I worked at... For, an institution known as The Academy of Human Sciences or just The Academy-"

"We know of this 'Academy' too well," Luna interrupted, bitterness in her voice. "Torturers, defilers, meddlers, if I recall they were infamous for capturing Alicorns and experimenting on them, Discord behind a result of such practices."

"...Yes, well, not my department," Edward said, awkwardly scratching his grey hair. "Uh, I was in charge of Cryogenic Preservation, we wanted to perfectly preserve Humans to be later awakened with no residual tissue damage, thus we turned to magic for the answer."

"Of course you did," Celestia said.

"You must understand, I wasn't alive when the Academy first discovered magic but I know that we were all obsessed with it," Edward explained. "Almost infinite energy, at our fingertips, capable of fulfilling our every wish, it was like mana from heaven."

"So what happened to you specifically?" Luna asked.

"Well, when I flooded myself with magic I began to use it rather... Well... Excessively, Human bodies aren't exactly designed to handle extreme levels if magic, you see," Edward explained. "So I experienced a delayed rejection, my body spontaneously began trying to fight off the magic but it inevitably it lost, magic tends to act independently at these levels as if it has a will of its own. Usually this results in grotesque mutations, I am a rare case, I was able to resist just barely and retain my mind, unfortunately my magic still ran wild and my comrades... They tried to destroy me but couldn't, so they tossed my frozen body into the ocean to float away."

"...How long?" Celestia asked after a long pause.

"By my reckoning? Four-thousand years-ish," Edward said. "Big guess though, my perception of time isn't the best."

"Four thousand years of cold isolation..." Luna said quietly, almost to herself "Longer than even what I have experienced."

"That is not dead which can eternal lie," Edward recited. "I've come to terms with it, or at least, I've endured. Doesn't mean I wouldn't very much appreciate getting out mind you."

"All this time were you ever discovered? Anyone outside of Jason and us?" Celestia asked. "We need to know how many know of your existence."

"Mm, it's a tad... Fuzzy, this is the most active I've been in what seems like forever," Edward's brow creased in concentration. "There was... Some, some of them were your people, uh, Ponies yes? Others were of other species, I think... They were worshiping me, I'm not sure, what I do know is that they're the ones that gave me the name Glalÿir-Hux, from what I can tell it's a hog-pog of Human words."

"Mm, some sort of Human-centric cult?" Luna wondered. "It's not unheard of."

"Maybe..." Celestia mused. "We're there any others?"

"There was... Something, I think anyway... I don't know, probably just my imagination," Ed shrugged. "The whole time is was sorta a haze."

"Mm, interesting," Celestia mused.

"Interesting enough to get me out of here?" Edward asked hopefully, Celestia seemed to consider it but Luna wasn't having any of it.

"I'm not convinced," Luna said. "You've only scratched the surface, I want the full story, from start to finish, how you became like... This."

"If you want," He shrugged. "I've got all the time in the world..."

District 72, North-Western D.C, The United Human Republic, Thursday, 6th of June, 7:30am, 3066 AA (After Alicorns)

A long winded siren echoed through the warm morning air and jolted Edward Howl awake, for a split second his heart thumped in panic as he thought fearfully that the day had finally come, the Alicorns were coming, that he would look out the window and see the city on fire. The feeling passed as Ed actually bothered to look outside, no fires, no winged beasts in the sky, just the sparkling city that hummed with energy. It was just the morning siren that sounded, every citizen of the U.H.R had to wake at seven-thirty and begin work whether they liked or not, Productivity must drive you! inspirational posters and graphics would say, Laziness will let the Alicorn Menace win!

Edward yawned and cracked his aging bones, not for the first time he wished the wake-up call could have an exception for seniors. But no matter, today he didn't want to sleep in, today was the most important day of his life. After piles of paperwork and months of screening, finally he had been cleared for Magical Introduction, finally he would get to experience what so many others in The Academy were constantly going on about, power, pure power, soon to be at his fingertips. The possibilities were endless.

Wrestling back his focus, Edward slipped out of bed and turned on the light with a snap of his fingers, his small apartment was thrown into relief. It wasn't much, just his bed, a closet, a screen built into the far wall, and a bookshelf. Edward searched for the small remote that went to the screen, annoyingly having to look under his bed to get it, there were Implants for this sort of thing but they were so expensive these days not to mention non-compatible with Magic, or at least he was told. Finally finding the remote Ed switched on the screen, it immediately went to the news, which Ed considered no listening to, it was always depressing, but he left it on anyway.

"This is Emily Cretch with Sentinel News, the Republic's one and only source for prime news both domestic and on the front," the anchorwoman said. "Breaking news from D.C, yet again a large group of so-called Pro-Human and Anti-Magic protestors gave gathered outside The Academy of Human Sciences in protest of supposed abuse of Magic and breech of human rights, we'll now go to our reporter on sight, Joseph?"

"Hope that won't make me late," Ed muttered to himself as he wrestled his pants on.

"Thanks Emily," Joseph said, there was a large crowd behind him, hundreds of angry men and women toting signs that declared things such as 'Keep yourself pure!" And 'No Magic For Me!' Next to the reporter was one of said protestors. "I'm here with Mr. Wroclowski who claims to speak for these protestors, Mr. Wrocklowski would you like to tell us about your movement and why you oppose The Academy?"

"It is clear to us the dangers and impurity of Magic," Wrocklowski answered passionately. "Magic doesn't exist naturally in the Human body, and despite what the Academy says, introducing it forcibly into the Human body will always result in serious mutations and often death."

"Tell me more, you working class school drop-out," Ed muttered as he tried to decide which tie looked best.

"And what about The Academy itself?" Joseph asked.

"It stands for everything wrong with the Republic! No morals! Completely comfortable with the experimentation on Humans and which zero accountability or transparency with the people," Wrocklowski ranted. "What are they doing in there? What are they hiding? How can they explain the several thousand reported disappearances throughout the Republic? We demand answers!"

"It's clear you're very passionate about this, but you are aware that The Academy's activities are specifically kept secret due to national security? Imagine if the Alicorns got ahold of such knowledge-"

"That's bullshit!" Wrocklowski interrupted. "The Alicorns have no interest in Human tech, why would they? They naturally have Magic, why would they need anything else? This is just more lies-"

"Thank you, Mr. Wrocklowski," Joseph said, reclaiming control on the conversation. "Well that's the situation here in front of The Academy of Human Sciences, D.C, back to you Emily."

"Thanks Joseph," Emily said, as the channel cut back to her. "We now head into our daily update on the war effort..."

The screen filled with a graphic representation of the Western European coast, the British Isles and a small sliver of land along the northern French coast was all shown in blue to represent the Human territory. The rest was coloured red and marked as Alicorn territory.

"The Republic's stronghold in the British Isles is as secure as ever and the fighting on mainland Europe has been going well, as you all know our brave soldiers have captured the beaches and coast of an area known as Normandy and have been under constant fire ever since, despite this they have managed to hold onto their holdings and even gain ground, let our wishes go out to those on the front, that was our daily update on the war effort, next up is the morning address by High Consul Emil Halaz right after these messages..."

"Mm, I still have plenty of time, maybe I should get breakfast..." Ed mused as he slipped on his loafers. "Oh wait, no food or liquids, right, well I'll just chill here then..."

"Hello there brothers and sisters!" the man on the television was saying, he was a tall handsome man with a slick beard and clever brown eyes, behind him was several androids that stared ahead with glowing yellow lights for eyes. "I'm Howard D. Wolfe of Wolfe Incorporated, your number one provider of domestic technology and the only supplier of advanced weaponry for our brave soldiers on the front, I'm here to talk to you about my newest model of Synthetic Android! The H-245 Model, we have made great strides in processing power and behaviour software! Now the Andy's will appear even more Human-esque in their mannerisms to create an authentic companion experience!"

"Andy 62-22," Howard Wolfe said, turning towards the nearest Android. "How're you feeling today?"

"Very well, Mr. Wolfe," 62-22 answered in a smooth female voice that seemed natural as if it was coming out of a flesh-and-blood Human. "I'm so excited to get to work! The advances of Wolfe. Inc are incredible and only make me want to share these advances with everyone."

"As amazing as always Wolfe," Edward commented as he grabbed the newspaper from under his door. "The Academy taught you well."

"There you have it folks!" Wolfe said grandly. "Purchase your model today to your local Andy Shop! Good day!"

"We now go to the daily address from High Consul Emil Halaz," Emily's voice announced and the television cut to a small man with darkish skin, short curly black hair and dark brown eyes. His voice was enticingly deep and authoritative, a controlled level of passion behind every word.

"My fellow Human beings, brothers, sisters..." he began. "For the past several thousand years we as a species have been at war, at war with a powerful force the likes of that we have never seen before, the Alicorns. With seemingly limitless power at their disposal, one can almost understand their claim to divinity and infamous arrogance when it comes to their own place in the world. It is easy to feel inferior, to feel afraid, but I say ,nay, my comrades, I say that we, Humans, far surpass anything these Alicorns can muster. A billion years of evolution and hardships behind us has made us the uncontested master of this planet, we will succeed, we will not fall, we will not crumble, we shall stand eternal. Humani Victoria!"

"Humani Victoria," Edward repeated, switching off the television before heading out the door. He grabbed his sky blue longcoat that marked him as a member of the Academy and his cane, although, he wondered if he would need it after today.

Ed limped into the lift and clocked the button with the butt of his cane, the lift shuttered and began to lower him slowly down from his room on the sixtieth floor. He arrived quickly enough, the doors sliding open with a ding and Edward limped through the empty main foyer and out onto the street. Outside the sidewalks were full of people heading to work and the like, the roads were filled with the Streetrails, electrically power buggies which carried people to their destination via rails dug into the pavement. Ed stepped up to one of the the stops, he didn't have to wait long before a Streetrail pulled up and stopped with a ding of a bell, he stepped onto it and was joined by several other people who took their seats.

In place of a driver was a android that was built into the floor of the Streetrail, it's cylinder head held a single lens that was fixed permanently on the road. Next to it was a young man in the black and red uniform of the Military Police.

"Good morning, Mr. Howl," the young man greeted politely.

"Morning, Nick," Edward said back, taking his seat in the front, grateful for the pressure off his leg. "How's the rounds?"

"Dull, nothing ever happens on my patrol," Nick answered, he turned to address the android who was driving the Streetrail. "Isn't that right Joe?"

"Affirmative, regular patrol course for Sergeant Nicholas Fullock does not yield any hostilities nor discrepancies," Joe answered in a heavy computerized voice.

"Exactly, but hey at least I get paid," Nick said with a shrug. "Better than being on the front."

"Undoubtedly," Ed agreed, absentmindedly rubbing his bad leg.

"Never understood why you never got an Implant for that leg of yours, Mr. Howl," Nick said. "There's a Wolfe Shop just down the street from your apartment, or you could always get a muscle reconstruction if you want to keep the flesh."

"Ah, I can't Nick, no implants, no augmentations, Academy is convinced they mess the flow of Magic," Edward explained.

"Oh yeah, I remember you going on that about that, talked my ear off if I remember right," Nick said wryly with a raised eyebrow. "You bluecoats do love your magic and shit, never shut up about it, when do you get it anyway?"

"Today actually," Ed said as the Streetrail took a turn onto the main road, tall buildings flanked them at all sides. "It's very exciting."

"I'm sure it is, just don't go around flaunting it, you know how those Human Purists get on about that shite," Nick warned.

"I'm not silly enough to use it to do the dishes, only for research and only on Academy grounds my friend," the Streetrail pulled to a stop with a ding and Edward struggled to his feet. "Good day, Nick."

"Good luck, Mr. Howl," Nick said, tipping his cap respectfully as the Streetrail pulled away. Edward walked the short ways down the sidewalk and turned a corner of an office building so The Academy came into view. A tall marble wall surrounded the compound which was several kilometres in diameter, a guarded silver ornate gate marked the entrance to the grounds. In the centre of the compound was a large wide dome with a tall metal tower in the centre of it, smaller versions of this dome filled each of the four corners of the compound. Ed knew that these were just what people saw, the vast majority of The Academy lay underground.

The front gate was crowded by the Anti-Magic protestors that were on the news earlier, taking a deep breath and stealing his courage Edward limped slowly up behind them. At first none noticed but soon they all turned to look at the newcomer and at the sight of his Academy coat they began to leer and shout at him, none actually stopped him, none were so bold as they parted way for Edward but their verbal assault was relentless.

"What are you hiding in there?!"

"Do you have magic?! Huh?!"

"Fuck you, bluecoat!"

"You should just kill yourself!"

"Monster!"

Eventually Ed made it to the gate where two Military Policemen guarded the sides, the man on the left looked sympathetic as he checked Edward's ID and opened the gate for him. Ed took a sigh of relief as he stepped inside the safety of the Academy, this had always been a home to him, a place of quiet learning, of science, knowledge unhindered and free from the shackles of society, it was a beautiful place. Edward limped down the main path which was made of fine white stone, on either side of it lush grass grew and as he neared the main dome statues of great scientists of the past lined the sides. Edward didn't know half their names and that was something he deeply regretted, they were the reason they were here in the first place, he did smile as he reached the likeness of one of the few he did recognize. The statue depicted a small crumpled ban bound to a wheelchair with a computer hooked up to him, which Ed knew had allowed him to speak when he was alive. Underneath the statue words were carved.

Stephen Hawking, Astrophysicist
"In my mind I am free"

Ed smiled and tapped his cane against the base of the statue "If you could only see us now," he said before continuing on. He reached the main dome and entered, inside it was brightly lit and clean-smelling like it had been overly washed. A desk was there with a secretary tapping away at a computer, a hall was to her right and to her left was several lifts in waiting. Edward bid a polite 'hello' to the woman before stepping into one of the lifts and pressing the button labelled 'Sector 7- Magical Sciences.'

The lift sped downwards and opened up to a thin hallway, Edward made his way straight through it. Passing several locked doors which he ignored, the hallway gave way to a large cirri, a room full of computers and monitors that were being worked on by man and women in blue. A small metal chamber sat in the centre of the room, it was what was usually referred to as the Introduction Chamber. Standing next to the chamber was a tall man with short blond hair and green eyes and a rather short Asian girl with long black hair who seemed to practically bouncing on the spot.

"Miss Yun?" Ed said to the girl as he approached. "Didn't look to see you here."

"I wouldn't miss this for the world!" Yun exclaimed, standing on her toes so she could give Edward a big hug. "And I told you to start calling me Gia!"

"Fine, fine, it's good to see you Gia," Edward laughed, returning the girl's hug. Gia had only recently finished her training in the Academy and had been attached to Cryogenic Preservation for work and lab experience. In the short span of her time there she had come to admire Ed who in turn enjoyed her bubbly attitude, although he would never admit it publicly, Gia had become almost like a daughter to him.

"Leo, always a pleasure," Ed greeted the man as Gia untangled herself from him.

"Dr. Howl," Leo said back, shaking Edward's hand. Leo was head of the Introduction Department, he assured that the Magical Flooding went smoothly and assisted in the teaching of magical usage for those who's introduction had gone well.

"Are we ready?" Edward asked, his heart fluttering in excitement as he struggled to keep the childlike joy out of his voice, no avail judging by Gia's smile.

"Yep! I'll just take your cane and you can step inside," Leo said. "You know the drill, grab the scroll and rip it, there's a glass of water in there for you. The scrolls a freezing one, we thought it appropriate no?"

"Very," Ed agreed, handing over his cane.

"Just step inside and wait for our word," Leo instructed, taking Ed's cane and gesturing to the chamber. Edward nodded and limped inside, the door swung close behind him and sealed shut, he glanced back through the small window as saw Gia giving him a thumbs-up. He grinned and waved before looking foreword, in front of him was a small metal table with two items on it; a tall glass of water and a rolled up piece of parchment. Leo's voice came over the intercom inside the chamber.

"Alright, dampers are up, chamber's sealed, levels normal, whenever you're ready Eddy," Leo said.

"Hm, 'Eddy' is bit much don't you think?" Edward said back.

"Just rip the scroll ya' fossil," Leo snarked back. Ed rolled his eyes before turning back to the task at hand, he limped up to the table. He took several calming breaths, his heart was beating faster than a hummingbird's wings and his hand shook. All his life he had dreamed of this moment, of gaining this power that was a privilege very few had. He picked up the scroll, feeling the rough parchment in his hands, it buzzed a little bit, like it was charge with static electricity. Edward could feel the power on his hands, he wanted it, taking another breath he gripped the opposite ends of the parchment and paused for a moment.

"Geronimo," he said before tearing the scroll in two.

Immediately Edward was almost knocked onto his back as the scroll practically exploded, the world melted away and shifted into something else entirely. The landscape was frozen and white for kilometres in every direction, wind howled in his ears and the cold, oh god the cold. It was everywhere, it bit into his flesh and pierced right to his bones, Ed could feel the soft skin on his cheeks hardening and the edges of his eyes crystallized in the cold. His hair felt like glass and shattered, he felt like he would soon join it. The cold burned, burned hotter than any fire Ed had experienced, it turned his fingers grey and his blood to slush.

Edward felt like he was drowning, it was too much, too much. He couldn't focus, his vision flashed bright blue and his heart thumped painfully, he felt like he was having a stroke or perhaps a heart attack. Like several shots of adrenaline had been pumped into his body and all that energy had no where to go, was this magic? Was this the power he wanted? It hurt, it burned, it froze, it felt good. The sensation was exhilarating, Ed couldn't help but smile and laugh, he felt the cold retreat and the burning stop in its tracks, leaving only the tingle and buzz of pure magical energy. It was his, it was all his. Reality returned and Edward was still in the chamber, he looked down at his hand and saw in glowing with icy blue tendrils coming off it like smoke.

Ed's eyes shifted towards the glass of water, he held out his hand and concentrated. A blue tendril shot out and hit the glass, the water froze immediately and the glass cracked. Frost rapidly spread across the table and across the floor and walls, soon the entire interior of the chamber was covered in a thin layer of ice and frost.

"Remarkable," Edward said softly, he could feel the power inside of him. It was in his skin, his blood, his gut, it buzzed and warmed him like a stove and made him feel light and breathless. It was amazing, intoxicating, Edward was in pure awe.

The door to the chamber cracked and shattered the ice around as it opened, Edward limped out, still staring at his glowing hand. Gia was the first to greet him, she looked just as shocked as he was.

"Edward?" She asked softly, Ed looked up at her and she gasped. "Oh my gosh, your eyes... They're beautiful."

"My eyes? What do you mean?" Edward asked, Gia grabbed a small handheld mirror from a nearby table and handed it to him. Edward looked down at his own face and was shocked to see that his once green eyes were now a glowing ice blue.

"All in all I think it went well," Leo said as he approached, he offered Ed his cane as he handed the mirror back to Gia. Edward stared at the cane for a second before looking at his hand again, his brow creased in concentration and the glow returned. Ice began to form from the air as water particles solidified, they morphed together and formed into a slim transparent cane which Edward used to take the pressure of his leg.

"That's new,' Leo said, laying the wooden cane down to examine Edward's eyes with a small light. "Usually it takes several weeks for any sort of control over abilities, you seem unusually natural at it, still we need to do a full physical examination and begin tutoring you."

"Of course," Edward said, he grinned at Gia who was still amazed. "This is just the beginning, my dear."

The Academy of Human Sciences, North-West D.C, The United Human Republic, Sunday, 20th of September, 2:22pm, 3066 AA

It had been almost four months since Edward had gained this power and in that time he had come to master it. They started out small of course, moving balls across the floor, freezing things but with Ed's swift mastery of such tasks, it sped the process considerably. Soon they moved onto more complicated abilities, destroying steel targets, creating complex objects out of ice synthesized from the air, healing wounds. Edward had been particularly interested in the last one, hoping to heal the damaged muscle in his leg and regain full walking ability. Try as he might he was unable to do it, healing in general was a complex process and recreating a muscle seemed impossible at this stage. Implants or bio-regrowth wasn't an option either now that he had magic in him, Edward was disappointed of course but got over it quickly, besides he was quite fond of his new ice cane, his colleagues jokingly referred to him as 'Ice-Man' or 'Frosty' sometimes 'Old Man Winter' was one that Leo was particularly fond of.

Still, every moment he used his magic, every time it flared up inside of him Edward felt exhilarated. It felt good, felt powerful, despite his inability to heal his leg Ed felt like he was twenty years younger and as spry as ever. It was like a constant fire of power in his belly that kept him warm at night and flared pleasantly whenever he used his magic, the more he used it the bigger that fire grew and the better Edward felt. He had stopped getting sick, he slept little and ate less but yet never withered, truly this power was the key to unlocking the cure to every Human disease, the extension of the Human lifetime, and the end of Human suffering. These thoughts and more swirled around in Edward's mind each day as he not only practiced under Leo's gaze but on his own when no one was looking, in his home he would casually create ice cubes in his drink or levitate items over to him. Magical personnel were banned from using their power outside of the Academy but what management didn't know wouldn't hurt them, would it?

Gia had noticed a change, or at least noticed how proficient Edward had become and how much he seemed to be focused on developing his magic. She often expressed her concerns about the negative affects of Ed's rapidly growing abilities, people whispered she said, rumours circulated that some people who don't survive the Introduction don't just die, they mutate, loose their minds, become grotesque beings unable of anything besides savage violence. Abominites some people said in hushed whispers, always fearful that the higher-ups might be listening in. Edward dismissed these concerns, he had already survived the Introduction and there was no evidence to support the idea that magic held any danger to the Human body long-term, Gia was obviously just overly concerned for his safety, sweet but misguided.

All this still had a goal of course, Cryogenic Preservation. That was Edward's primary field of research and today would be their first real attempt, there had been experiments of course, mice, pigs, dogs. Ed would magically freeze them only to thaw them out later, they had experienced mounting success with every test and finally they had been cleared to begin experimentation on willing Human participants. It had been hard to find someone, they needed a person of relative good health and free of implants, after several weeks of searching they found one. A Ms. Talia Hunt, one hundred and seven years old, she had never had any augmentations nor implants or anything else. Her long age was simply due to a good diet and exercise, a naturalists through and through, she had agreed to the experiment, expressing that she was going to die soon anyway and might as well make it useful while she's at it.

Edward flipped through Ms. Hunt's file, it contained important information such as blood type, medical history, family history, heritage, age, diet, date in which she had been introduced to magic, any variables that could affect the results of the experiment. Even though it wasn't relevant to the actual procedure Edward found himself reading the file over and over again, memorizing the details, it helped calm his nerves and focus his mind.

It wasn't long before Gia came in, followed closely by Ms. Hunt. A thin lady with well-kept white hair and strong features, she carried herself strong and tall despite her age, her arms showed evidence that she had once been fairly fit with strong muscles still lining her bones. She walked unhindered into Edward's lab, Ed couldn't help but feel a tad miffed at that, he was half her age and yet he hobbled around on a cane. Maybe there was some merit to this naturalist lifestyle? He would have to look into it later.

"Ms. Hunt, very good to meet you," Edward said, rising to his feet and shaking the women's hand. "Thank you so much for doing this, words cannot express how grateful I am."

"You're quite welcome," Ms. Hunt said. "This is all for the greater good after all, yes?"

"Of course, of course," Edward assured her. "Now if you'll just lie down over here we can begin."

There was a small cubby-like bed that they had designed, it was an open cylinder with a padded service and medical equipment built in. They could monitor Ms. Hunt's vital signs as the procedure took place, she did so just then, lying down and shifting into a comfortable position.

"Comfortable?" Edward asked, pushing himself over on the wheels of his chair. "Just going to get your baseline now, okay? Won't take a moment."

With a click of a button the cubby began to hum, it's systems checked in and it immediately began scanning the woman inside. Recording her heartbeat, temperature, and other information and putting it up on a screen for Edward to see.

"Alright, I think we are ready to begin," Edward said, taking deep breaths. "Ms. Hunt?"

"Ready," she said, taking her own slow breath. Edward squeezed her wrist briefly in support, having all the respect in the world for this brave woman.

"Just relax," Edward said, closing his eyes. He breathed and felt his energy build inside of him, the cold magic coalesced and manifested around his hands in an icy glow. With deep concentration Edward reached out with his magic towards Ms. Hunt, as he made contact her flesh began to pale and some light frost coated her, her breathing slowed and stopped all together as Edward captured her in his magical grasp and slowly froze her solid.

Edward retreated from her and returned to reality, he looked at the monitor, her vitals had flatlined, clinically she was dead. He glanced over to Gia who had already begun the stopwatch, two minutes, that's how long she would remain. It was the lowest time they could have a subject frozen to have proof of concept, one and a half minute, Ms. Hunt appeared to be dead but Edward hoped she wouldn't stay that way, thirty seconds, this must work, twenty, please, ten seconds, this has to work. Five, four, three, two, one...

"Mark," Gia said and Edward reacted immediately, his magic flared to life and he poured it into Ms. Hunt. Warming her, forcing her blood to flow, bringing her back to life.

"Ms. Hunt?"

Nothing.

"Ms. Hunt can you hear me?"

She wasn't breathing.

"Ms. Hunt can you hear me?!"

The monitor lit up, her vitals were still flat. Large red letters at the bottom marked her as 'Deceased.' Edward s breath became strained and haggard as he stared at the cold dead face of Talia Hunt.

"No..." He hissed. "No! Damnit!"

Edward stood up abruptly, no, it wasn't supposed to go this way. Damnit! He turned to look at Gia who was staring at him with a horrified expression on her face, her hand cover met mouth. Edward realized then that he had just killed someone, a living breathing woman with an entire life behind her and time ahead of her. How could this happen? It wasn't fair! Anger flared inside Edward's gut and unknowingly to him his entire body began glowing, icy blue tendrils floating off of him like an ethereal fire.

The wrath settled like an ice pick in his gut, Edward screamed and smashed his fist into the monitor that told him that he had failed. It exploded with a bang and its pieces began to first over as they fell to the ground, Ed barely noticed as he slammed his fist into the wall. Cracks formed and filled with ice, frost spread across the wall and soon the entire room was as cold as winter, Edward didn't feel it, he was on fire, the wrathful heat was extreme and the power... Oh god it felt good, good to let go, to let the magic run free, yes...

"Edward!" Gia yelled, snapping Ed back to reality. The poor girl was crying, snow in her hair and eyelashes, she was shaking, whether from the cold or from fear Edward couldn't know.

"T-there was always going to be failures," she blurted. "She knew t-the risks."

"But why her?!" Edward demanded, feeling tears sting his eyes. "Our animal tests were overwhelmingly successful, why did we fail here?!"

"I don't know," Gia. "The only thing we can do it try again-"

Without warning Ed's hand struck across Gia's face, leaving a big red mark in its wake. Edward stared in fury as Gia held her cheek and looked at Edward with pure terror.

"You want to kill more people?!" Edward yelled. "Don't you care?! You're not better than a sadist!"

Gia didn't respond, only whimpered. Edward looked at her and it slowly dawned on him what he had just done, horrified he looked over at the half-smashed monitor on the ground. It reflected his face back at him and showed Edward to be practically smoking with energy and his eyes a burning bright blue.

"Oh god... Gia I'm so sorry, I don't why I did that," Edward's words were useless as Gia ran out of the lab, he slumped back into his chair and felt the burning magic inside of him simmer down and the full affect of what he had done hit him. What had come over him? He had just been so angry, at himself and at Gia for some reason. His mind became muddle as the shame washed over him, he was drowning in his own sorrow when Leo walked in.

"What do you want?" Edward asked grumpily. Leo didn't say anything, he checked Edward's eyes with a small light and his pulse with his finger.

"What are you doing?" Ed asked as Leo frowned.

"Take a week off," he said firmly. "No magic, nothing, eat, rest, meditate even."

"Why?"

"You've been using too much magic to fast, your body can't cope," Leo explained. "It can cause increased aggression, hysteria, psychosis, all sorts of shit, so do as I say and take a week off, okay?"

"Okay."

Edward didn't listen. After returning home early that day he became more and more determined to succeed. The next two and a half months were a stream of constant attempts all ending in failure, men and women would enter Edward's laboratory and never leave. It killed him inside, every failure resulted in a rage-filled breakdown from Ed in which he trashed then completely froze the entire laboratory. Gia limited her contact with him, entering the lab only with the subjects and escaping immediately, Edward began to resent her, the one person he thought he could count on now wanted nothing to do with him, how dare she.

Leo popped in from time to time, constantly warning Edward of his increased use of magic to which he completely ignored. Ed began using his power for everything he could, both in and outside the Academy, everything from levitating things his way to tying his shoes. He had even begun experimenting with teleportation, managing to move himself from one end of his apartment to another with only nausea and disorientation as a side affect. Every day his power grew and with it his proficiency at it, soon it became like second nature to him, the magic would perform tasks without Edward even having to think about it, like it had a mind of its own. It felt good, to have this power, an ally that was with him in everything he did, it was the only thing he had left at this point.

Then came the day that Gia spoke to him again. He had just failed yet another attempt but strangely Edward found himself not caring, he felt nothing but the comforting cold presence of magic inside of him. He sat in his chair, staring at nothing when Gia stepped meekly in, clearing her throat politely to get his attention.

"Edward," she said in a small voice. "We've... You've failed forty-seven times now, that's forty-seven people... Dead.... Edward, maybe... Maybe you should stop? I think this experiment has run its course, I think we need to accept defeat."

"You... Want me to stop?" Edward asked, anger beginning to flare already. "You want to negate the sacrifices of those people?! How dare you stand there aloof to what they gave up! How dare you ask me to give up when you had abandoned this project long ago!"

"I'm only trying to help.." Gia said, backing away.

"You want to help?" Edward said and without a thought he grabbed Gia with his magical grasp, halting her movement. "Then why don't you participate my dear?"

"Edward, no! Please! Stop!" Gia cried as frost began to form on her flesh, within a minute she was frozen solid in mid-panic. Edward released her and she fell to the ground with a smashing of ice and bones, he stared down at her body for a moment but as his magic began to fade back to normal the realization hit him like a train.

"No."

"No!"

Edward was frozen in place, staring at Gia's body. He heard a sound and looked up just in time to see Leo by the door, he didn't look scared, just... Sad. Before Edward could react Leo slammed a button next to the door, an emergency blast door fell down and the lights turned red, an automated voice spoke calmly from the speakers.

"Dampeners activating."

Immediately the building power inside Edward reacted, the entire lab began to hum. He convulsed and fell over as pure magical energy began arcing like lighting from his extremities, he could feel the magic struggling inside, it burned and twisted, it felt like his cells were being destroyed utterly. Edward felt feverish, his throat clogged up and his bowls shot with pain, his head pounded and his eyes watered, looking at his hand Edward could see he had lost all colour and a sheen of sweat coated his flesh. He felt as if he had a very severe sickness that his body was trying to fight off and failing to do so, Leo watched from outside the lab, shaking his head in disappointment. Wrath flared amongst the wild magic, how dare he!

"You won't keep me prisoner!" Edward yelled weakly, his vision was beginning to fade as the strain in his body became too much, he was able to catch Leo speaking to someone he couldn't see.

"Too bad, I was hoping he'd be different from the others... Well there's nothing for it, retrieve the girl's body and make preparations to dispose of Dr. Howl the usual way, the ocean should suffice for him I think."

What happened next was a blur of pain and flashing lights, the energy inside Edward soared and raged and tore at him. He felt himself being moved, he felt the air rush past his skin and cold water consume him and fill his lungs. Edward managed to open his eyes to see the crushing blackness of the oceans rushing in and the light of the sun being refracted on the surface, only a second of light before ice formed around his head and body. Darkness was all he knew for the longest time, darkness and pain, he battled with that power inside of him, the magic pushed and burned and ripped at his mind trying to push him out completely to make room for itself. This battle would be all Edward knew for what seemed like ages.

At some point he became aware of some other presence, several in fact, he slums occasionally look and squint at their forms. Four legs. They would come, kneel, mutter nonsense for a while then leave, it was more of an oddity than anything else but then they started coming en masse, huge followings of robed individuals whom stood amongst his ice and they praise him, called him divine, the even granted him a name and chanted it to the heavens, it echoed through the ancient halls and whispered in places that Edward would never see.

Glalÿir-Hux! Glalÿir-Hux! Glalÿir-Hux! Glalÿir-Hux! Glalÿir-Hux!

Edward's Glacier, The Northern Unknown, Tuesday, 4th of March, 4:12pm, 2206 AC

"And thus, I find myself here," Edward said tiredly, he seemed to have grown older and more worn as he told the story. "What happened weighed on me for an age, but being trapped for four thousand years tends to give you a lot of time to reflect on your life choices."

Celestia's face was unreadable, but Luna found herself feeling a growing sympathy and even trust for Edward. She couldn't stop herself from drawing comparisons to her own fall and and entrapment, the similarities were almost eerie and as Luna looked into the sad tired eyes of Edward Howl she came to the mist surprising conclusion that she did trust this Human. She felt no danger from him, the fact that she could even feel such a way towards a Human of all things astonished her more than anything else.

"I believe... I believe that your imprisonment here has served more than enough as a punishment for any crime or fault you have committed," Luna said, getting a look from her sister. "I do think you can be released."

"You... You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear that," Edward broke out in a huge smile. "You won't regret this I swear, thank you! Thank-"

"There's just one issue," Celestia interjected. "I do not think we are able to."

"W-what?" Edward asked, his smile and mood dropping instantly.

"From what you've told us, and from what I can tell myself, your magic is... Wild, feral even, to try and contain it and bring you back into full control could end disastrous," Celestia explained. "Remember what happened the last time someone tried to contain you? Your friend Leo tried to do just that and it nearly killed you, if we tried the same it could result in your death or worse the magic could destroy you utterly and leave your body nothing more than an empty husk for it to live in."

"Empty husk... What do you think I am now?" Edward asked bitterly, he took a breath. "So there is nothing you can do?"

"Not at this stage, not now," Celestia said. "There are too many unknowns, but out of respect to Jason I will pursue this and I will do what I can to set you free, you have my word."

"I should've known as much," Edward said in defeat. "I'll... I'll be here then... Waiting."

"Do not fret Edward Howl," Luna said in soft comfort, giving her sister a doubting look and stepping towards Ed. "You will not be forgotten, you will be free, you breath the air of the outside and feel warmth once again. I swear on my life I will assure this to you."

"You are very kind, Lady Luna," Edward said, smiling slightly. "For an Alicorn."

"And you are very respectable," Luna answered with her own smile. "For a Human."

"Let us go," Celestia said. "Farewell Edward Howl, this has been... Very educational."

"Good luck," Edward waved. "Do me a favour and take care of Jason eh? Good lad that one."

"Will do," Celestia said before she blasted her way out.

Thus Edward was left alone yet again, only minutes after the two Alicorns left his mind became muddled. Images of the past floated in and out of his sight mixed with something else, a blue glow, a strange echoing tick-tock, drums, lots of drums. As Edward began retreating back into his own mind, the projection he had created of himself began to fade, he spoke once before it did so completely and it was only to himself.

"Even death may die."

Chapter 33~ All Shall Perish

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

~Arthur C. Clarke

Castle of the Two Princesses, Canterlot, Equestria, Wednesday, 5th of March, 8:22am, 2206 AC

Jason's jaw popped in an almost satisfying way as he yawned loudly. He had been sleeping a lot lately. He reasoned it was probably to due with how surprisingly quiet the castle was on a day to day basis, servants moved silently, guards patrolled starkly, all was calm. All this was in stark contrast to the chaotic trend that Jason's life usually had. Equestria was many things, boring wasn't very often one of them. Yet the next few days promised to be relaxing and interesting as Twilight would begin to tutor Jason on magic, she had asked for time to prepare and reminded Jason to bring a notebook and quill, which he did, but also requested he bring his gladius for some reason. She didn't say why.

Luna had directed them to a room they could use for study and practice, her own. The cool, mysterious but welcoming atmosphere simply shouted 'magic' at least, from what Jason could tell when he first visited it. He had that same sense now as he quietly opened the door to Luna's chambers, the dark blue, the heavy calming haze of incense, the shelves lined with times both ancient and forbidden, and the intricate paintings of abstract design.

Twilight lay among some soft cushions that covered the floor, a stack of dusty books were piled next to her along with some parchment, ink, and a few quills. She motioned for Jason to sit and he did, unclipping his blade and laying next to him, he then cracked open his notebook and dipped his quill into his ink well and looked up in expectation. Twilight smiled at him and reached forward, she gently closed his notebook and placed it on the ground for him, followed closely by his quill into the well. Jason gave her a quizzical look as Twilight held his hand in her hooves, she seemed to be studying it.

"Jason," she finally said. "What is magic?"

"Uh," came Jason's intelligent response. "Well I was hoping you'd tell me."

"There's no real wrong answer," Twilight said, her fur was soft against Jason's hand. "What do you think it is? What do you feel it is?"

"Well... From what I've seen, I would fathom a guess it's a form of energy, like light, heat, or electricity, it's present in the atmosphere around us and flows through living things. Certain creatures like you or I can tap into it and use magic to affect the world around us... At least that's what I think."

Twilight nodded as Jason spoke, smiling gently.

"Good, like I said there's no real wrong answer," Twilight said. "When it comes to studying magic there are two major schools of thought, the spiritual and the physical. Many, like me, like to think about magic in a physical, scientific way, I could spend all day telling you complex calculations to perform every spell in existence."

"We're not going to do that are we?" Jason asked dreadfully, Twilight giggled.

"No, it's just that's how I perform magic, I do the math, I know the reactions and processes behind it all. You, I think, may find a more spiritual approach more comfortable," Twilight related. "Many believe that magic is a binding energy, a driving force behind the universe and what happens in it. They believe that to use magic is a way to tap into ones soul and inner being, many groups think it is the way to achieve enlightenment."

"Well... I dunno about that."

"It's okay, we won't be touching on any of that unless you want to, now, I want you to manifest your magic."

"Manifest?" Jason asked, Twilight nodded.

"First law of magic; magic must manifest," Twilight explained. "You know how an electric current always follows the path of least resistance to get to the ground? It's a similar concept, magic cannot exist in stasis, it cannot rest, it must be used or manifested. Often when a unicorn doesn't use their magic for too long they experience headaches which progress to migraines then seizures and eventually death simply from the magic trying to escape."

"So I should use magic as often as I can?" Jason asked.

"No, too must at once and you'll burn yourself out, it's like exercise, pace yourself. Now, when I say 'manifest' I mean bringing your magic forth, let it leak, like how my horn glows when I use magic? Like that, but don't do anything other than that, you need to exercise control."

Jason frowned and stared down at his hand, he could feel the energy deep inside of him, pulsing and arcing within him like a cup of expresso. It was wild, untamed even, it pushed against the boundaries of Jason's mortal form like a beast in its cage. Cautiously Jason reached out to it, almost immediately the magic lurched forward, it flooded his veins making his hairs stand on end and his eyes glow silver. It was almost overwhelming, a tsunami of pure chaotic energy washed over Jason's mind and body and struggled to be freed, to do anything, it took a great force of will not to let it do so. Jason managed to rein in his rouge power and focused it, a much more difficult task without adrenaline pumping through his veins, slowly his hand began to glow silver and burst into the ethereal flame that smoked and reached out with silver tendrils.

It didn't last long, Jason's hand began to shake. Pain shot through his head like a bullet and the glow faded from his hand, the magic surged once again as it tried desperately to escape its bounds. It took a great mental effort not to allow it to do so, within a few moments the energy retreated and fell back into place, nestled deep within Jason ready to be called upon again.

"You alright?" Twilight asked in concern.

"Yeah," Jason said shakily. "I think so,"

"You always need to exercise control Jason, remember you are simply a conduit to the magic," Twilight explained.

"A conduit eh?" Jason asked, reining in his breath.

"Yes, second law of magic; magic must have a conduit," Twilight said. "Magic doesn't exist outside of matter, it lives inside the atoms that make up the world around us, as magical beings we play host to magic. Unicorn's have an advantage in this, our horns are a complicated set of bone, organ, and other things, it allows us to process large amounts of magic easier."

"But I don't have a horn," Jason stated.

"Exactly, your magic flows through you raw, untempered, wild," Twilight said, putting emphasis on her words. "This is why you must have more control than even me, because for you the consequences could be much more dire than a simple headache."

"Well that's comforting, but... Why?"

"Third law of magic," Twilight spike solemnly now. "Magic has a mind."

"A mind?" Jason asked, his eyebrows raised. "Like it's intelligent?"

"No, not in the same sense as you or me, magic is like... A virus, all it does, all the time, is try and become bigger and bigger. To do this it will morph matter, affect weather patterns, take control of our very beings. Unicorns, and Alicorns as well, are specifically designed by nature to process and use magic. Humans are not, that's why you have to be careful, because I don't have any idea what will happen if you loose control."

Jason stared with an ashen face into Twilight's concerned look, he swallowed this information and his mind could help but go dark.

He felt cold, glowing blue eyes stared at him from the darkness and distant impassioned voices raised themselves in chant. Glalÿir-Hux! Glalÿir-Hux! Glalÿir-Hux!

"Okay," Jason said softly.

"Good, now let's move on," Twilight brightened up a bit, she motioned to the gladius on the floor. "Pass me your sword for a moment."

Jason did so and Twilight took the blade in her magical grip, she unsheathed it and inspected the edge, mumbling to herself. Her brow creased in concentration and the gladius began to glow silver and turn transparent briefly before the light faded and it became opaque again. Twilight seemed satisfied with the result as she continued to look the sword over.

"Like I thought..." She said.

"What?" Jason asked.

"This sword.. It's a Ghostblade," Twilight said.

"A who the what now?"

"Mm, how to explain this... Have you ever heard of a Magical Niche?"

"Let's assume I haven't."

"Well, hm... Alright, you understand what Cutie Marks are right?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah, they represent what makes you special and all that," Jason answered.

"Correct, now in Unicorns and supposedly Alicorns it goes even deeper, our Marks will determine our Magical Niche which is more or less the type of magic we are most naturally gifted in."

"For, say, Rarity," Twilight continued. "It would be synthesis magic, the ability to manipulate fine materials and share them to your liking. For me, well, I'm in a rather unique position, my Mark represents magic thus my Niche covers all types of magic."

"Okay..." Jason said slowly. "But what does this have to do with my sword being a ghost-whatzit?"

"I'm getting to that," Twilight assured him. "Now, you're Human and don't have a Mark but the same rules still apply, you need a Niche, a type of magic that best suit you. So without any Mark to latch onto, your magic just went with the first spell you ever cast."

"Jason, the scroll you found in Rome, what did it do?"

"It... Summoned dead soldiers," Jason said in realization. "Summoning the dead..."

"Summoning them, communing with them, bending them to your will," Twilight said. "You're a Necromancer, Jason."

Without hesitation Jason's oh-so-pleasant mind conjured up images on rotten corpses dragging themselves from their graves, sorrowful spirits wandering decrepit halls, and shadowy robed men chanting around a circle of candles with a dead goat in the centre.

"Let me make something clear, Jason," Twilight spoke, taking notice of the look on Jason's face. "There. Is. No. Such. Thing. As. Dark. Magic. Magic is not evil, it is not good, there are no dark and light mages nor any forbidden magic. Magic is power, it all depends on how you use it, you hear me? It's not who we are inside that define us, but the actions we take with the life we have."

The words sunk deep into Jason and fought away the darker thoughts that had almost filled him. In the back of his mind, cold corpses still moved and spirits wailed, but he did what he could to suppress such thoughts.

"I understand," Jason said. "And what about the sword?"

"Well, like I said it's a Ghostblade, a weapon from beyond the view, made in the land of the dead, the afterlife," Twilight explained. "By itself it acts as a normal blade, but when wielded by a skilled Necromancer it can damage not just the flesh but the very soul."

"Like... When I fought Chrysalis," Jason concluded.

"From what I saw, yes," Twilight said. "Your blade pierced her very soul."

"That explains what I saw, I had visions, of the past, when Aphrodite became Chrysalis," Jason said.

"What was it like?" Twilight asked, her curiosity piqued. "Seeing history like that?"

"It was like a dream, or a nightmare," Jason shivered a bit. "I'd rather not do it again."

"I can only imagine how intense it must have been," Twilight said. "Anyway, we should move on, now, I can't really teach you much about Necromancy because it's a practice that's... Well... Not really in style these days, texts on it are scarce, experts scarcer, so I'll be teaching you basic magic over the next couple days. Things every Unicorn, or Magical Human, should know."

"Then who'll teach me Necromancy then?" Jason asked.

"Who else? Luna, when she gets back."

So they began, it was a long and tedious process. The Human mind and body are of course is not at all designed for magic and its uses, but eventually Jason did begin to catch on. They began with levitation, which in theory would be the most simple, in practice it was very draining. By the end of it Jason could hover small objects shakily and big objects only for a few moments before the headaches hit, Twilight assured him that this was no fault of his only the limitations of his biology. Thus they moved on, to creating fire of all things, this was actually very easy, Jason simply had to imagine heat and it came forth, the only challenge was controlling the fire and not burning down Luna's chambers.

One and on they went, practicing, learning, studying, there were things Jason seemed unable to do of course. Scrying was disaster, Teleportation ended in blowing up several practice balls, he could produce only a few magical bolts before becoming tired, his attempts at Life Magic were the most worrying. When Jason attempted to make a simple flower bloom he made the plant rot and die right before his eyes which ended those lessons right there and then. All in all Jason thought it was a very poor Mage, yet Twilight assured him he was doing fine, he did begin feeling more powerful. The rush he felt when calling upon his magic increased and was a source of great pleasure to Jason, he began using his magic more and more in everyday life to increase his endurance and to always get that rush out of it.

Twilight advised against such things, warning that she was worried how his body would react. Jason, for the most part ignored her, that was until one day he happened to look himself in the mirror and saw glowing silver eyes staring back at him. He stopped using magic so much after that but found himself missing the rush and thrill of it. He didn't know which scared him more, the fact that he missed the sensation or the silver eyes that haunted his dreams along with icy blue ones.

Eventually, Luna and Celestia returned to the castle, and it was time for the real lessons to begin.

The Canterlot Cemetery, Canterlot, Equestria, Monday, 10th of March, 8:35pm, 2206 AC

The night was quite warm, the claws of winter were retreating back to allow for a more colourful spring. Jason couldn't help but think of his home, where the snows would still be falling, interrupted only by cold rain, hail, and sleet as the Maritime weather fought tooth and nail to keep spring at bay until at least April to which it almost always won. Strange as it was Jason couldn't help but smile at the memory of grey skies, cold winds, and grumpy faces bundled in damp clothing while gloved hands shovelled yet another pile of salt onto the pavement. He wondered how much Nova Scotia had changed in the last four thousand years, in defiance of logic and reason, Jason felt like his home province had survived all change that time brought with it. Stupid, but it brought a little smile to Jason's face.

"Jason," Luna's soft voice called from the darkness, Jason turned to see the Night Princess emerging into the Moonlight. "You seem in good spirits."

"Just... Thinking of home," Jason said.

"Ah, sorry, I did not know, you must miss your home terribly."

"It comes and goes," Jason said. "But you know, what can you do? Anyway, how was your trip... What did you think of Ed?"

"Mm, he's... An interesting character, with an interesting story," Luna said. "I must admit I feel sorry for the man, he has spend far too long trapped away in some far corner of the world."

"So, you're going to free him then?" Jason asked hopefully.

"We, my sister and I that is, want to but Celestia fears that attempting to break him free could kill him, wretch what little control over his magic he has and turn him into some mindless slave to his own power. No one wants that, thus we must consider carefully how to proceed before we try, you understand of course," Luna explained.

"I do, I'd rather him not lose his mind... Again," Jason said.

"Exactly, now, Twilight tells me your Magical Niche is Necromancy, this is true yes?" Luna asked.

"Yeah, she thinks it's because the scroll I used in Rome was a Necromantic one."

"A sound theory, and might I add that you should count yourself very fortunate, Necromany is a skill few can master and fewer have a natural talent for it. The last mortal master of it was the greatest Mage that has ever lived in my opinion."

"Starswirl?" Jason guessed.

"Who else?" Luna sighed a little bit. "I miss that mad old stallion... Bah, listen to me, I sound like a decrepit maiden remembering her lost love. We are here to discuss Necromancy, walk with me Jason."

The two of them began to stroll through the silent cemetery, hooves and booted feet crunched into dry dead grass and leaves. The tombstones that they passed were simple in nature and with varying age of the stone, some were almost blank from erosion and with cracks beginning to form on their edges. Luna was silent for a while until they were deeper inside the cemetery, when they were completely cut off from everyone, just them and the dead.

"Jason..." Luna began, her usually soft voice seeming oddly loud in the silence. "Are you religious?"

"Uh, no, not really," Jason answered honestly.

"No? I was under the impression that Humans had their own gods and beliefs."

"Well, we did," Jason explained. "There were several major religions during my time, one called Christianity was very wide spread but I never really bought into it."

"You use last tense, has your time in Equestria changed your perspective?" Luna asked.

"I think that's a bit of an understatement," Jason said. "Magic, talking Ponies, Gryphons, fucking immortal Alicorn gods, yeah my eyes have been opened up a bit."

"But?" Luna pressed.

"I still don't believe in an omnipotent force that created our universe," Jason said with confidence. "Now that I understand magic I know everything else just fits into science as I know it, Alicorns like yourself aren't really gods, you're just an alpha species. What nature and evolution chose as the replacement for Humanity, so no, I don't really believe in god... Unless you're about to tell me how the universe was created by your grandpa or some shit."

"No, Jason," Luna actually laughed, a smooth clear sound that made Jason smile in turn. "In fact, I have no idea of the origins of our universe and nor does any of the Alicorns no matter how much they like to give that impression, not even Hecate the Alicorn of Knowledge and Magic was able to discover such secrets. Personally I find it ludicrous that such things would ever be discovered by anyone whether Human or Alicorn, thus I don't trouble myself with such thoughts."

"Now, the reason I asked you about your faith in the first place is because we shall be dealing with things such as the soul and the afterlife, as you are very aware there are many interpretations and beliefs both old and relatively new that all claim to know exactly how these things function. Unfortunately for the priests of the world, the truth is objective."

"First, the afterlife," Luna continued, she briefly sparked her magic and cleared the clouds above to allow the starlight to shine down on them. "When we die, are souls leave our body, and they are collected by an Alicorn known as Osiris."

"Alicorn of death I'm assuming," Jason guessed.

"Precisely, he's actually quite the gentle being, he simply gets a bad reputation for what he does. Anyway, Osiris guides the souls to... Well, the afterlife, now..." Luna paused in thought. "It's not a physical place, not really, it's sort of... Another plane of existence... It's rather hard to explain. But I do know it takes the form of a great empty ocean that is dotted with islands, these islands are were the souls reside, depending on how Osiris judges them. It's a very long and convoluted process if you ask me, sometimes he spends what seems like years judging just one soul. No wonder he used to complain about his workload."

"So you knew Osiris well, then?" Jason asked.

"Oh yes, we had something of a friendship, we stopped talking when... When the war started that is..." Luna seemed a bit awkward. "Like I said, he had a big workload."

"Yeah, I get it," Jason felt a bit queasy.

"Good, now, when we use Necromancy we interact with these souls, talk to them, summon them," Luna paused. "It used to be that a Necromancer's main task was to guide lost souls to the other side, nowadays the popular approach is to exorcize the poor thing."

"Is there a difference?" Jason asked, Luna seemed a tad offended.

"A massive one, exorcism is violent, painful, damaging to a soul that is already lost and afraid. That's how so-called ghosts are created, souls that fail to pass on and linger here until they go mad. A Necromancer can properly communicate with the spirit and coax it to let go, a much kinder process."

"Okay, but what about summoning spirits? Like I did in Rome?" Jason inquired.

"Well you should be made aware that I doubt you shall ever get to the level of prowess required to perform such a spell again, you were aided by a scroll remember?" Luna answered. "However, it's not impossible, summoning souls is a tricky business. It more or less involves convincing the spirit to aid you and the more strong-willed the soul the harder it is. The souls of warriors tend to be very strong-willed."

"Makes sense," Jason said. "So what're we doing first?"

"First, you shall learn how to build a connection to a spirit, this is the most fundamental skill for a Necromancer," Luna gestured to the tombstones. "That is why I brought you here, you may not have heard it but rumours have spread across the city, whispered warnings to not venture here at dark. Apparently a spirit has been appearing here, a young filly most say, one that died a year or so ago, lost on a fire the child was, so she is restless and you must rectify that."

"Hunting spooky ghost children at night. Awesome! Shame I didn't bring my proton-pack," Jason said with sarcasm. "So what do I do exactly?"

"First you get her to appear, then you must.. Well, talk to her, explain the situation, get her to let go," Luna explained.

"Really? Talk to her? Can't just anyone do that?" Jason questioned.

"Necromancers have a sort of... Calming aura to spirits, makes them more docile, it's a tad hard to explain but with a normal person the spirit would flee... Or attack."

"Okay, so how do I summon her?"

"Gently manifest your magic, she'll be attracted to it, and then usually spirits have something that they're connected to that will draw them out. Some like particular foods, others certain it seems or treasures, these can be found out with some digging into local lore and rumours."

"What does this ghostly-girl like then?" Jason asked.

"Singing," Luna stated, Jason slowly turned his head to give Luna a death stare, the princess meanwhile looked a little too pleased with herself.

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"You have to."

"The only things I have to do are eat, drink, breath, and produce waste, everything else is optional."

"You're the one who wanted to learn Necromancy."

"Yeah, but I didn't realize that meant being a contestant on Equestria's Got Talent."

"It's not that hard, just a little song."

"Can't you do it?"

"I'm not the Necromancer here."

"Neither am I!"

"Says the one who summoned a legion of dead warriors to his side."

"That was with a scroll!"

"Hush, less yelling, more singing, go on," Luna gave Jason a little shove and he stumbled forward until he was standing amongst the tombstones. He shot a her glare, who made a 'get on with it' motion with her hoof, Jason sighed and sparked his magic. The silver glow of his power cut through the darkness, Jason cleared his throat and slowly, reluctantly, began to sing.

"Farewell to Nova Scotia, the sea-bound coast,
may your mountains dark and dreary be.
For when I am far away on the briny ocean tossed,
Will you ever heave a sigh or a wish for me?

The sun was setting in the west,
The birds were singing on every tree.
All nature seemed inclined to rest,
But alas there was no rest for me.

Farewell to Nova Scotia, the sea-bound coast,
may your mountains dark and dreary be.
For when I am far away on the briny ocean tossed,
Will you ever heave a sigh or a wish for me?"

As Jason finished his short, slow and rather mournful rendition of Farewell to Nova Scotia a cold wind blew past him, but other than that nothing seemed to happen. He looked back to Luna whom looked at him only briefly until her eyed widened and she kidded to something behind him. Jason slowly turned away and had to resist a scream, sitting not two meters away from was a small Pegasus filly, and she was transparent. Her entire form was white and glowed like the moon, wisps of energy floated off of her and dissipated into the air, in the centre of her body Jason could see an opaque white sphere that seemed to be the source of the apparition in from of him.

She was facing away from Jason, hunched over and staring at the ground. Jason wanted to say something, anything, but his throat dried up, his face damned. He couldn't say anything as he stared at the thing that defied all his comprehension of the universe, for better or for worse, it was the ghost that spoke first.

"You have a pretty voice," she said.

Jason may have imagined it, but he swore he heard Luna snort down a laugh.

"Uh, thank you," Jason said awkwardly, he paused and slowly sat down on the ground. "You like music?"

"Yes, mama used to take me to the concert hall all the time, I would talk to the singers there, they would give me advice," the ghost said.

"Your mom sounds nice..." Jason bit his lip, he had no idea how to talk to the child... Ghost... Ghost child, in front of him. "Uh... My name's Jason by the way, what's yours?"

"...." The child turned to show transparent eyes, but sad eyes none the less. "Dew Drop."

"It's very nice to meet you, Dew Drop," Jason spoke as softly and as gently as he could, not wanting to scare the child away. "Listen... Do you know where you are?"

Drew Drop seemed perplexed by the question, she turned her body around to fully face Jason before taking in her surroundings slowly, eventually she shook her head in negative response.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Jason pressed.

"There was... I... It was hot, I couldn't breath, mama was screaming, papa was screaming, everything was so bright... Then it was really dark, and cold, I was scared... I still am scared."

"You don't need to be scared, it's all right," Jason was lying and he knew it. "There was a fire, that's what happened, your home caught fire."

"...My mama? My papa?" Dew Drop asked worriedly.

"They're waiting for you," Jason said, unsure if that was actually true but it felt right to say. "On the other side, you just need to let go."

"That's what the other one always says," Dew said in mistrust.

"The other one?"

"The white stallion, the one with both wings and a horn, he's come every night except this one. He keeps trying to get me to come with him but I never do, I know he's trying to trick me, mama said never to trust strangers."

"Your mama was smart, but you can trust this stallion," Jason said. "He wants to bring you to your parents, to a nice place where you'll be happy and safe."

"...do... Do you promise?" Dew Drop asked quietly, Jason smiled.

"I promise."

"Okay... But, before I go can you... Can you sing again? I want to remember your pretty voice," Drew Drop asked sweetly, Jason bit his lip but gave in.

"Farewell to Nova Scotia, the sea-bound coast,
may your mountains dark and dreary be.
For when I am far away on the briny ocean tossed,
Will you ever heave a sigh or a wish for me?

I have three brothers and they are at rest,
Their arms are folded on their chest.
But a poor simple sailor just like me,
must be tossed and turned in the deep dark sea.

Farewell to Nova Scotia, the sea-bound coast,
may your mountains dark and dreary be.
For when I am far away on the briny ocean tossed,
Will you ever heave a sigh or a wish for me?

The drums do beat and the wars to alarm,
The captain calls, I must obey,
So farewell, farewell to Nova Scotia's charms,
For it's early in the morning and I'm bound far away."

As the song came to a close Dew Drop began to fade, she was smiling now. The transparent form of the filly retreated into the white orb at it's centre which glowed brightly, Jason may have been imagining things but just before the soul disappeared he swore he saw another form appear. A large stallion, white like the soul, his wings massive and his horn long, his eyes glowed white as well before he and the soul both disappeared leaving only the wind and the dark behind.

The exhaustion hit Jason all at once, he rest faint and light-headed, he almost fell over when he tried to rise from the ground. He did manage to make his way back to Luna who was smiling in approval.

"Well done, very well done," she said, allowing Jason to lean on her for support. "You didn't realize it but every second you talked with Dew Drop you were using your magic to communicate and connect to her."

"I wasn't even trying, I was just talking to her..." Jason gasped.

"Your Magical Niche is Necromancy, it is like second nature to you, but you should always try and monitor yourself and not overdue it," Luna cautioned. "I think we should retire for tonight hm?"

"I second that," Jason said weakly, Luna chuckled and began to help him out of the cemetery. It was on their way out that Jason spoke again, a thought had been bouncing around his head for sometime and he needed an answer.

"Luna..." He began. "You mentioned talking with the dead, summoning them, interacting with them but... What about resurrecting them? Completely that is."

Luna's expression turned very grim and a little but sour and Jason instantly wished he hadn't asked, for a while it seemed like she wouldn't answer but Luna tentatively spoke.

"Why do you ask?"

"Just.. Curious," a lie.

"There have been... Attempts, by many mages, but never successful. Many are of the opinion that it is impossible, most think it is sacrilege to even try. I will speak no more on the matter."

"Right, sorry," Jason said and they delved into an awkward silence, it wasn't until they had left the cemetery that Luna began giggling stupidly.

"What?" Jason asked.

"You really do have a pretty voice," Luna laughed.

"Shut the fuck up, Luna."

The Ponyville Cemetery, Ponyville, Equestria, Tuesday, 18th of March, 6:45pm, 2206 AC

The next week or so was filled with the souls of the dead. Luna taught Jason much, he learned not only how to find spirits but how to summon them. The easiest was was to summon a spirit he had already interacted with, Luna suggested Dew Drop but Jason wanted to let the poor girl rest a while before dragging her soul back to the world. So they found another one, this time an old stallion in Trottingham who was haunting his old estate, one of those 'too stubborn to die' types, Jason actually had to argue with him to pass on.

And his training progressed Jason found himself sleeping less, he wondered if it was a byproduct of his magic or spending so much time with the nocturnal Luna. Either way Jason found himself wandering the halls of the castle, deep within his own thoughts, it wasn't too long before Luna noticed this behaviour and joined him in his strolls. They would talk for hours on end about everything one could imagine, magic sometimes, strong opinions another, battle tactics, constellations, the events of the past and their wishes for the future. What divide that had once existed between them slowly closed in those long nights with naught but the moon to bear witness.

There was still that thought though, that thought that had pushed Jason to ask that taboo question on their first night of Necromacy. The thought that drove Jason mad as it grew and coalesced in his brain like some form of cancer, the thought that was the true reason Jason had originally spend so many nights without sleep. The thought that made Jason scour both the Royal Archives and Luna's own personal collection when she was not looking, he searched for every black and dark book on the art of the dead, any book that might hold an answer to that that thought. That thought, it had a name, a name it shared with the tombstone that Jason now stood in front of:

Roseluck.

Jason clenched and unclenched his hands as he rise the torrent of emotion that this simple slab of rock created. Pain that he had suppressed for so long now it was but a slow burning sensation in his gut. His sleep, for what he had of it, was often haunted by the final moments of the sweet sweet mare that has under that stone. Jason, as it was, was a living ghost, he refused to move on.

All doubting thoughts were drowned out by the emotion, and thus Jason steeled himself. Carefully he reached into his pocket and held out a single rose, he stared at it, took in every detail of its petals and thorns before taking a deep breath and bringing his magic forth. There was silence for several moments, nothing, nothing, more nothing. Seeds of doubt began to root into Jason's but eventually he heard a heart-achingly familiar voice call out from behind him.

"Jason?"

He turned around and yes, she was there, transparent but there. Roseluck, oh god Roseluck, Jason choked and fell to his knees as it became too much for him, tears sprang forth and stung his cheeks. He didn't know if he was happy, sad, horrified or some combination of all three. The words came in a torrent of hoarse whispers.

"Roseluck, oh my god Roseluck, I'm so sorry, oh god..."

"Jason?" Rose repeated, she looked rapidly around her surroundings. She looked confused, scared even. "What's happening? Where am I?"

"You're home Rosey," Jason said, smiling and crying at the same time. "I brought you back."

"Brought me back? What? No..." Roseluck seemed to be in some state of panic. "Jason, this isn't right, I shouldn't be here, no, you need to stop this, it doesn't feel right."

"It's okay," Jason said in a way that was no where near soothing. "C-can we just talk? Please? Oh god I miss you so much."

"Jason, please, t-this is hurting me," Roseluck said in fear. "I feel trapped, I can't move, please, just let me go!"

"B-but, I wanted to, but..." Jason couldn't understand, why wasn't she happy to see him? There was the sound of flapping wings and Jason saw Luna land softly on the ground, no! She was only here to ruin things!

"Go away! You couldn't ever understand!" Jason yelled angrily. Luna ignored him and instead approached Roseluck, sparking her magic as she did so. Jason felt his own magic forcibly retreat from Roseluck and shoved back down inside of him, it wasn't a very pleasant experience.

"I apologize that he disturbed your rest," Luna said to Rose. "Go now, return to where you belong."

"Thank you," Roseluck said, and she faded away, leaving Luna to turn and face Jason who was sobbing into the ground. She sighed and approached him, wrapping her hooves and wings around him in a comforting hug.

"What... What is the point?" Jason cried into Luna's chest. "What is the point of all this power if I can't even save the people I love?"

Luna didn't say anything at first, merely squeezed Jason and planted a kiss atop his head, then she spoke.

"That is our curse," Luna said. "We gods of this world."

Chapter 34~ None Shall Thrive

"Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
~Lord Acton

Several Thousand Kilometres North-East of Stalliongrad Borders, Thursday, 9th of April, 2:22am, 2206 AC

The northern winds whipped and screamed across a barren wasteland, snow shot through the air like bullets, and not a single speck of life could be seen here. To the east one could scarcely make out the huge lumbering forms of black mountains that stretched across the horizons, within that rocky landscape lived large creatures of fur and horns. The only spot of civilization for a thousand kilometres in any direction, such has it been for a millennia.

Such was not to last.

Cracks spread across the ice, curving and moving along the fields. From these cracks bled a strange ethereal energy, it was purple tinged with blackness and it rose into the air like a noxious gas. It was followed by light, a bright blue and cleansing light. The two entities seemed to mingle, almost battle one another in the crisp northern air before the entire earth began to shake. Ice broke away and fell down into a dark chasm below. The blue light began to solidify, come together in a huge semi-transparent dome that blocked out the snow and seemingly the cold along with it. The last pieces of ice was smashed to dust as sharp objects pushed themselves upwards, light reflected off of the polished crystalline surface as the city pushed itself to the surface. A bright light shone from the top of the highest peak and cast shimmers across the vast city of crystal, rays of blue light pulsed off of that point in a heartbeat pattern until slowly the star-like object lowered itself and disappeared.

Outside of the blue dome the black has continued to bleed, it coalesced and formed together as a single cloud. Black tendrils reached out and probed the dome only to recoil as if pain, a long wail echoed across the land. Reaching both the mountains to the east and a city to the west, it spoke of hunger, of anger, of untempered desire. Something had awoken.

Castle of the Two Princesses, Canterlot, Equestria, Thursday, 9th of April, 2:22am, 2206 AC

Luna gasped in horror as she shot up in her bed, a cold clammy sweat damped her fur as she caught her breath. The vision had been so vivid, so real, it had been an age since any such premonition had reached Luna, the last time it occurred the world had been thrown into a long and bloody night by her own doing. Without a thought Luna threw off her blanket and ran out of her chambers, not sparing a thought to properly groom herself or don her regalia, she caught her guardsmen completely off guard as she burst through her chamber doors and took off down the hall.

"Y-your majesty!" One of them called, Luna ignored him.

When she entered the main hall Celestia was already there, looking just as frazzled as Luna was, with a grim look upon her face, several guardsmen were with her as well as what looked like a courier Pegasus. Luna came barreling in and stopped to catch her breath, barely gasping out her message.

"...Tia, I had... A dream... The crystal... Sombr-"

"I know," Celestia said solemnly, holding up two letters that were unsealed. "From Stalliongrad and Yakyakistan."

"Wake Shining Armour and Princess Cadence," she said to the guards. "They must leave at once to assess the situation, and summon Jason and the Element Bearers to the throne room."

"Yes your Majesty, but..." One of the guards hesitated. "What is going on?"

"Something I did not calculate," Celestia answered. "The Empire has returned."

Jason's Assigned Quarters, Castle of the Two Princesses, Canterlot, Equestria, Thursday, 9th of April, 2:34am, 2206 AC

A loud knocking woke Jason up, his eyes opened lazily and took one through the window before Jason concluded he would brutality murder whomever was knocking in his door without mercy and defile the body. As he slowly pulled himself into a up-right sitting position he formulated his escape plan, by the time he drummed up the energy to pull off his blanket and swing his feet off the edge of the bed he had already planned out how he would defect to the Gryphon Kingdom and gain status as a political refugee. The knocking continued and Jason sighed before standing up, he calmly walked over and opened the door.

A guard stood in the other side, luckily for him Jason was too nice to murder him right there and then. Although he considered Celestia as a target as the guard informed him that their dear sunbutted princess wanted him down in the throne room. Why does she always need [my help?

"I'll be there in a minute," Jason said drowsily.

It took him nearly ten minutes.

When Jason did eventually drag himself from his room he made his way down to the throne room. Celestia and Luna were waiting with the main six and Spike whom looked both worried and annoyed when a drowsy zombie-like Jason stumbled in.

"Glad you could join us, Jason," Celestia said.

"Yep, speedy-like that's me," Jason mumbled as he rubbed the gunk from his eyes. "So what's so important?"

"The Crystal Empire has returned."

Jason was lucky his hands were already so close to his face. Had they not been, he probably would've sustained injury from the sheer force of them hitting his face. Fortunately a simple wrist turn and his face was held in his hands as he wondered if druggies experienced shit like this. He decided they probably didn't and if they did they would quit whatever they were smoking immediately.

"The what has returned?" Jason asked in exasperation when he emerged from his hands.

"The Crystal Empire," Celestia repeated. "An ancient land that was powerful and prosperous but fell to the whim of a dark tyrant. King Sombra, he utilized dark and cruel magic to subjugate the Crystal Ponies and wage a war with a young Equestria. One that we won, but he managed to escape into some sort of shadow realm and taking the entire empire with him."

"Of course he did," Jason said with a raised eyebrow. "So what's so special about this empire? Besides the fact that it was kidnapped by a guy with a Spanish name."

"It is the home of an extremely powerful object," Luna explained, she had a forlorn and almost stricken look on her face. "The Crystal Heart."

"Really?" Jason asked, his curiosity piqued. "What's the story behind this heart then?"

"It's one of the Lost Artifacts, wielded by an Alicorn," Celestia said. "One you've already met. The Crystal Heart was the artifact of Aphrodite whom is now Chrysalis as you well know,"

"Oh goody, so what's this heart do? Spew glowy love radiation like Cadence does?"

"It's an object of pure power with no real direction," Luna said solemnly. "It essentially allows the wielder to have unlimited magical energy. The catch is that the heart gets this energy from the emotions of the Crystal Ponies and it reflects that in how it acts. Ideally it reflects a positive and good energy but under Sombra's tyrannical rule it only produces a dark and damaging magic."

"So El Sombro wants the magic rock, got'cha," Jason concluded. "I assume to continue the enslavement of the Crystal Ponies and go all Germany across the world."

"Well, perhaps we should explain more," Celestia said. "Once Sombra was the legitimate king of the Crystal Empire, he was fair and just but also tough and strong. A good King all around, but he grew… Obsessed with not only gaining power but the Crystal Heart itself. It corrupted him, and no matter what we did or said… There was no saving him from himself.”

"Magic has a mind," Jason said, nodding his head in understanding. "So what's our task then?"

"Candace and Shining Armour are there already," Celestia explained. "Cadence is maintaining a shield around the city to keep both Sombra and the harsh Arctic storms out, but she can't hold it forever. Your task is to locate the Crystal Heart and bring it to her for she is the Alicorn of Love thus she can wield it properly and hopefully take on Sombra."

"It shouldn't be too difficult," Twilight said although she seemed nervous. "We just need to save an entire empire from a extremely powerful tyrant, no pressure."

"You'll do fine, Twilight," Celestia said kindly. "No go on, times a wasting."

"Of course, come on girls!" Twilight said as she lead her friends out of the throne room. Jason went to follow them but Celestia's voice stopped him.

"One more thing, Jason," she said. "Sombra wasn’t just trying to gain power for no reason… He sought to ascend himself to be an Alicorn.”

"...Okay, now I'm not so eager to go. Was there any particular reason why he sought that out?" Jason

“We… We were… I mean,” Luna stuttered, the pain on her face made Jason feel for her and for Celestia to place a comforting wing over her back. “We were… Betrothed. To be married, it was a smart and calculated decision at first, a way to unite our two pony nations and hopefully set a trend for the rest of pony kind. But it became… More then that… I… I developed feelings for him, he was gallant, kind, and strong. He truly loved and care for me, I thought… And I believe it was that passion that lead to his doom. It wasn't long before he realized exactly what it would mean to love an immortal Alicorn and he began to study deeper and deeper into the ancient magics and history of the Alicorns. He assured me it was simply to satisfy curiosity, oh how naïve he was… I only realized he was lost to me when it was too late. And still I refused to even consider engaging him, I couldn't… Until his people began to escape and seek sanctuary in Equestria from his wrath..”

"...Luna I'm so sorry,"

“I wish not to speak of it further,” Luna said. “But this is why we must stay behind, Sombra… He is too personal for us, for me. I don't think I have the will to face him.”

“I understand,” Jason said gently. “I'll handle it, and Cadence ain't a pushover either.

"I shall see you out,” Luna said, and she and Jason turned to go."

“Jason..” Celestia calked once more, a strange feeling to her voice. Jason turned around and stared at the look on Celestia’s face, on the surface it was a neutral expression. But somehow that amplified the unbridled and clear rage that was hidden under that mask. For the first time in quite a while Jason felt afraid of Celestia and he couldn't help but be reminded of the raw destructive power this Sun Goddess wielded. “Show him no mercy, Jason. Not one inch.”

“…I’ll do my best,” Jason said with a meek voice before trying not to run out of the room. Luna and him walked through the halls of the palace towards the entrance in silence, the only sound was the echoes of hoofbeats and footfalls alike as they made their way. Jason kept glancing at Luna whom was clearly upset by all this but he resigned himself to silence, she would talk when she needed to.

And inevitably she did.

“When Sombra fell..” Luna said. “I couldn't accept it, I thought I could help him, save him, somehow. My sister and I we fought often about it, it destroyed us as siblings and we barely spoke outside of curt words and angry screams. So foolish was I that I didn't believe he was truly lost, not when dark takes reached my ears from the kingdom of the north, not when his armies could be seen patrolling every road and passage. Only when those poor ponies lay themselves at my hooves and begs is to save them… Even then I barely fought him, it was mostly my sister who took his corruption as a betrayal of me and destroyed him for it. It was the bloodiest battle I have ever witnessed since the war, and even still we did not truly win. At the apex of his defeat my lov- Sombra, he showed his power that day as he opened a tear into… Somewhere. I've heard tales of the Void but to see it open there before me was horrifying, it bled ancient and dark magic that was alike that which Sombra himself was wielding. He pulled himself and the entire Crystal Empire into the Void leaving nothing but the howling of the cold winds to mark where it had once stood.”

“Celestia and I, we were never the same after that. We spoke less, clashed more, I became distant, lonely, withdrawn. I began to blame my sister for my turmoil, I… Hated her,” Luna’s look was of sorrow and regret. “The seeds were planted and they grew and… I think you know what they became.”

“Yeah, I get it.” Jason said and drew Luna in for a hug. “You’re too good a person for all this you know? I'll never understand how you feel but what I can't do you is spare this from happening again. Sombra… He won't hurt you, ever again. You hear me?”

“Please be careful,” Luna said, her face full of worry. “He's as powerful as any Alicorn.”

“Yeah?” Jason said with a grin and a raised eyebrow as he held Luna at arm's length. “Well then he won't be a problem for a Human will he? See you later, Luna.”

“Farewell, Ser Jason.”

Jason caught up with the main six and their dragon companion at the train station. They were off without delay and Jason's eyes were soon greeted with the unpleasantly familiar grey craggy rocks and frozen tundra of Stalliongrad. They stooped briefly at the city before the train continued along a track that was marked "Wilderness Track" that extended east for several hours. The snow slowly picked up even in what was supposed to be spring. Soon enough visibility was nonexistent and all sight lines were replaced by a wall of white and the occasional grey shadow of something off in the distance.

The train came to a stretching halt next to a rather make-shift train station. It was really just a small platform made of out off some-low quality wood that was frozen solid. Jason and company were careful not to slip as they stepped off the train. The wind whipped at them, tearing like an angry animal set upon killing them brutally. The world was a bright blaring sea of white light with the sun seemingly shining from all directions. Jason could barely even open one of his eyes let alone both of them, but through his limited vision, he saw a figure struggle through the wind towards them.

"Twily!" Shining Armour exclaimed, pulling his scarf down from his mouth and pushing his goggles up.

"BBBFF!" Twilight said back, and they embraced.

"Yay, love, friendship is magic and all that shit. Can we do this somewhere else? Preferably somewhere that I can't use my balls to cool a drink," Jason said.

"This way, and keep close. You don't want to get lost out here," Shining replaced his goggles and scarf before leading them into the harsh tundra. Jason knew the cold and the snow but this was a whole other level, and he was reminded of the last time he was caught in a blizzard. He really doubted Ed was nearby to save him this time. The snow was hard and his his skin like small bullets, they stung and and turned his flesh red and raw.

Yet it was not the cold that fuelled Jason's anxiety. It was an unknowable sense of fear that radiated from the landscape. Constantly Jason though he saw something move just out of sight, barely in his range of peripherals. It was formless, a shadow that moved in the dark. It made Jason's skin crawl, his blood thin, and set his teeth on edge. The fear led to anger and before Jason could question why he was furious. At the snow, at the cowardly being that taunted him, and at his friends. Why'd have to drag him along through this fucking cold? Why did he have to save their asses half the time? Maybe he should just ditch them, or teach them a lesson. He did have his sword after all...

"Look out!"

At Rainbow Dash's cry Jason snapped out of his enraged state and whipped around. Behind him rose a huge black cloud of smoke. It shot towards him like a wild animal and Jason jumped backwards just barely out of the way of it. He tumbled into the frozen ground and the snow burned cold along his hands and face. Jason slipped and fell as he tried to get away from the smoke cloud in a rabid state of panic. If it wasn't for Spike's firm claws pulling him up he probably would've been swallowed by the shadowy demon that pursued them. Without hesitation the whole lot of them broke out in a sprint as the cloud descended upon them like an angry storm. They climbed a hill and were nearly blinded by the sparkling city before them, ornate towers of red, green, and blue crystal shines beautifully in a light that shined down from the cities tallest spire in the centre of it all. Like a smaller sun brought close to the earth by some greater power.

None of them really had time to admire or even truly register the existence of the city outside as understanding that it was haven from the darkness. When they reached the edge of the city a somewhat transparent barrier came into view. It encompassed the entire city and was a very familiar shade of pink. Jason passed through it and felt sparks run up his arms and spine as the powerful magic passed through him, when he did so the cold disappeared instantly along with the wind. When Jason looked back he saw the black smoke pressing against the pink barrier but unable to breach it.

"W-what was that?" Spike asked, cowering on the ground.

"That," Shining said breathlessly. "Was the shade of Sombra. Come on, let's get to the keep Cadence is waiting for us."

As they moved into the city proper Jason had time enough to catch his breath and actually take a proper look at the city. The Crystal Empire certainly lived up to the 'crystal' part of its name (although Jason questioned the 'empire' part seeing as the place only seemed to contain one city.) Tall buildings lined wide streets that were scarce for the most part, said building were of course made of crystal. Large slabs of the stuff were carved into bricks and walls that sparkled and shined. At what appeared to be the centre of the city was a tall spire with three legs supporting it, like a huge crystal Eiffel Tower to which the top of shone a brilliant white light down upon them. It seemed to carry warmth as well, and as a warm wind tinkled Jason's face he realized that somehow the city maintained an oasis like state in the middle of an arctic desert.

"You said that... Thing was the shade of Sombra? As in, not actually Sombra himself?" Jason asked Shining.

"Yep, some sort of magical projection that Sombra cooked up to keep people inside the city. His physical form we think is somewhere in the tunnels below but he's using most of his energy maintaining that shade and without the Crystal Heart he can barely whip up a blizzard let alone stage an attack," Shining answered.

"Right, Crystal Heart... Where is that then?"

"We know it's in the palace," Shining said, pointing at the bright light that shined down upon them from the distant spire. "It's the thing keeping us warm right now but it's not doing its full potential. According to the locals it's also supposed to shield the city from the arctic conditions, but without someone to wield it most of the Heart's power is gone. Cadence is maintaining the barrier you see now, but it's draining her strength and I don't know how much longer she can keep it up."

It was about then that Jason began to notice the residence of the Crystal Empire. The aforementioned Crystal Ponies walked aimlessly through the streets and most of them seemed confused or unawares of the world around them. Jason had to admit he was expecting more... Sparkles, sure the Crystal Ponies definitely had a gem-esque quality to them with smooth coat like cut Quartz and such. However, the whole lot of them seemed dim in every meaning of the word, their colours were muted and they all carried themselves in such a defeated manner that Jason couldn't help but feel pity.

"Cheery bunch," Jason commented as one of the passerby residents avoided his gaze. "But I suppose these aren't exactly cheery times for them."

"It goes beyond that I think," Twilight said. "Think about it, Sombra enslaved them for years when he was in power and this is the first time they've had any freedom from him. It's been thousands of years in reality but for them it's only been a matter of days since they were an oppressed peoples. That takes some adjusting."

"I guess that makes sense…” Jason said, the downtrodden way the Crystal Ponies carried themselves wasn't exactly comforting. He would've preferred it had they stared at him like most people did, but instead they didn't even acknowledge his presence.

They made their way to the central spire in a timely manner and Jason was quite taken aback by how tall the thing was. It easily blocked out the sun and probably would overshadow the Palace of the Two Princesses. They entered the tower and were immediately greeted by a wide spilling staircase that seemed to go on forever. Jason’s legs ached just at the sight of them and he quietly wondered why there wasn't a magic elevator of some sort to spare his poor knees. Alas, it was not to be and Jason soon found himself huffing and puffing up the endless trials of upwards stairs.

Eventually, painfully, they did eventually climb the whole of the tower to where Cadence was waiting. They found her lying on the floor and staring blankly ahead with her horn alight with power, and Cadence looked terrible. Bags lined her eyes, her hair was unwashed and frazzled, her coat matted and greasy, and if Jason wasn't mistaken he could have sworn that she was thinner.

“Sweetheart,” Shining went to her immediately and nuzzled his wife. “Twilight, Jason, and the rest have arrived. Cadence?”

“Mm?” Cadence blinked as if coming out of a trance and her tired eyes looked to them. She offered a weak smile that didn't mask her exhaustion. “I'm glad you could come, thank you.”

“Wouldn't leave you hanging, love-butt,” Jason said, kneeling down besides the Alicorn. “How’re you holdin’ up?”

“Oh, I'm just peachy,” Cadence rolled her eyes. “Shielding a city twice the size of Canterlot from a very determined undead King, plus a very angry blizzard isn't exactly what I'd call an enjoyable experience.”

“Point taken,” Jason said. “So what's the plan?”

“That's fairly simple,” Twilight spoke up. “You, me, and Spike will search the castle for the Crystal Heart. The rest of you will head back down and try to cheer up the people. The heart reflects the emotions around it right? If you can get the entire city to be cheerful it could be enough to push back Sombra’s dark presence.”

“You've come to the right pony!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “I'll turn their frowns upside down! Woo! Crystal Empire party! Let's go!” She shit out of the room like a bullet but the rest remained.

“Are you sure you don't want us helping you find the Crystal Heart? We could cover more ground with all of us. Not to mention I suspect Sombra may be lookin’ for the heart too. What if you run into him?” Applejack said in concern.

“No!” Twilight snapped, surprising everyone. She took a deep breath. “No, I have to do it. Besides, Jason’ll take care of me, but finding the heart is my test.”

“If you say so,” Applejack said, her brow still furrowed in concern. “C’mon girls.” They all left leaving Jason, Twilight, and Spike alone with Shining and Cadence.

“Don't give up yet,” Jason said, giving Cadence a comforting pat. “We’ll find the heart soon enough.”

“We need to hurry,” Twilight goaded. “We should probably check-“

“The library,” Jason, Cadence, Shining, and Spike all recited getting a glare from Twilight.

“Yeah… That,” she said.

“Let’s a-go then,” Jason said as he stood up.

They left the room and made their way down the epic journey that was the staircase before taking a turn that led into the castle's library. It was as if at least nearly as big as the Canterlot Library was. With tall wife bookshelves filling the walls top to bottom and times both ancient and new filling them. Immediately Twilight lost her shit as she squeed and magically grabbed what looked like thirty-percent of the library's content before sitting down and beginning to read them. Jason simply walked over and grabbed one of the few books that had survived the wrath of the purple nerd and sat down to read it.

A Humble History of the Crystal Empire by Silver Comet

The founding and creation of the Crystal Empire is shrouded in mystery and myth. The only information one could find is old tales and legends that tell of the fabled Age of Alicorns and their war with the Humans. According to most popular accounts of the story, the Alicorn Goddess of Love Aphrodite had wielded a powerful artifact known as the Crystal Heart, and this is where the contention over whether or not the story is true or not comes from. The Crystal Heart is very real as it floats high above the Crystal Empire as these words are being written, but many are loathe to believe in the frankly ridiculous tales of a war, of gods, and of other things.

Regardless of that the story goes that Aphrodite gave up her ownership of the Heart and use it to create a city in the far north. A haven for her followers and supporters that would be protected and plentiful due to the Crystal Hearts protection. After that accounts become even more vague and wild but for one reason or another, Aphrodite supposedly disappeared never to return or be seen again.

According to the legends a guardian was chosen to be the caretaker of the heart, to protect it and act as the ruler of the Crystal Empire. This task would be passed down through the generations and if one were to believe these tales, it would end with our current King. The Great Honourable and Wise King Sombra whom has reined for almost twenty-three years now and for all intents and purposes is the caretaker of the Crystal Heart. It should also be known that it is widely believed that the Crystal Heart possess some form of consciousness, and while this author is not suggesting that a magical artifact possess the complexity of mind on par with a Pony. It is not completely far fetched to suggest that such a high concentration of Magic could show reaction to its environment and act without direction. After all the Third Law of Magic is that ‘Magic Has a mind.’

It is because of this theory that one much also consider that the Crystal Heart may possess the ability to consciously protect itself. Including perhaps influencing its guardian and the people he rules…

“….Hey, Twilight?” Jason called.

“Mm?” She answered.

“It says here that the Crystal Heart is… Alive. Sorta, or at least it has some sort of self-determination.”
“Really?” Twilight said, perking up.

“Yeah, here,” Jason said, he tossed the book and Twilight caught it in her magic. She read through the first few chapters quickly.

“I have an idea,” Twilight said, she placed down the book and flared her horn bright. Jason felt his skin prickle as his own magical aura reacted to the waves Twilight was releasing. It continued for a solid minute before she drew her magic back in with a surprised look on her face.

“And that was…?” Jason asked.

“A search spell,” Twilight explained. “When ponies are distressed their magic gives out a certain wavelength. I theorized that if the Crystal Heart has any sort of self-determination it would be under distress right now. I found a wavelength that's nearby but I can't exactly place where it is… It felt below us but also above.”

“Well that helps,” Jason said. “What now?”

“Well we-“ Twilight was cut off as she jumped away from the quickly collapsing floor. The stone bricks fell away into a dark void and reassembled themselves into a long staircase that led down into the darkness.

“Huh,” Jason said and suddenly he felt a warm breeze run by him. It made him feel comfortable and at ease but also caused silver sparks to jump across his arm hair.

“Feel that?” Twilight asked. “It's the Heart. I think it wants us to find it.”

“That's… Slightly creepy,” Jason said, patting the sparks away. “Into the darkness then?”

“You sure we can't stay up here?” Spike said shakily.

“No Spike, we need to find the Heart as soon as possible,” Twilight said, lighting her horn and descending into the void. “Coming?”

“Why is this my life?” Spike said in defeat.

“We’re following a purple unicorn into a dark staircase of death… I see no way this could go wrong,” Jason said, tightening his sword hilt to his side. “Come on. Cardio will be good for you and those stumpy legs.”

“I'm not stumpy!” Spike barked as they followed Twilight downwards.

Twilight’s horn barely illuminated herself. Jason snapped his fingers a few times and a silver orb of light burst to life in the palm of his hand and he held it out in front of him, but with minimal effect. The darkness was like a thick fabric that nearly suffocated him and he found himself loosing focus of where he was and sometimes loosing sight of Twilight. He kept track of Spike by the pattering of his scaled feet on the strobe steps and similarity Twilight my the clop of her hooves. However, both faded to an echo and with a blink Jason found himself alone with nothing to mark the disappearance of his companions.

He concentrated and flared his orb of light brighter and revealed that he no longer stood on stairs but in some sort of sewer tunnel. With a rounded stone ceiling, a damp rocky ground and walls coated in hard sludge and filth. The tunnel continued seemingly infinitely both toward and backwards with no sign of the staircase that has supposedly brought him there.

“Lovely,” Jason said. With no clear direction to take Jason was completely lost, but not without options. With a flick of his wrist Jason extinguished the light in his palm and he was shrouded in darkness once again. He then focused his energy so it accumulated and crackled around him in waves that probed through the darkness.

It took a while but soon something reacted as a small white orb phased through a wall and floated over near Jason. Their auras interacted and caused sparks of silver and white to fly and sizzle to the ground and with a small push of his magic Jason made a connection to the soul. The white orb grew and expended, morphed, shifted, and changed into the familiar form of a pony. He filled with the colours of dark blue fur and golden eyes with a lighter blue mane as the long-dead Crystal stallion formed right in front of Jason.

“W-what?!” the stallion said in panic as his head whipped around in search of familiar locale. “Where am I? W-where's Diamond?!”

“Whoa, whoa, hey now…” Jason said as calmly as he could to the ghost. “Take a deep brea- hm, well I guess you can't do that uh… Just calm down huh?”

“I… What… Huh?” the stallion blinked in confusion. “W-who are you… What are you?”

“My names Jason, I’m a Human, and I'm not going to hurt you,” Jason said soothingly. “What's your name?”

“It… My names Quarts Quarter.”

“And what's the last thing you remember, Quarts?”

“I… I was mining with my friend, Diamond Dust,” Quarts Quarter said shakily. “We had been ordered down here for punishment labour. We had been starvin’ from the famine you see and we could help but steal some extra rations. Worst mistake of my life ‘cause I have never seen a place as dark or accursed as this. The last thing I remember was loosing track of Diamond before I felt something touch my… Neck”

“…Listen, Quarts…”

“I'm dead aren't I?” Quarts said with a strange resolve. “I… I think I knew. It's been so long with me just… Floating in not dark nor light and unable to speak or breath. I felt shackled but also free at the same time.”

“You died an unnatural death,” Jason said with a nod of respect. “You weren't able to let go completely and we're stuck between this world and the next. I pulled you over here and out of limbo and when I’m done here I'll send you forward.”

During his training Luna had stressed that no spirit should be tethered to the world forcibly or left abandoned on the wrong side of the veil. Not only was it unimaginably cruel to do so but often such spirits went mad and became troublesome and even violent.

“I’ll do what I can to help....”

“Thanks, now can you tell me what you were supposed to be mining down here?”

“Magic deposits, supposedly a lot of magic seeped into the ground around here a long time ago and after hundreds or maybe even thousands of years it solidifies into the rare purple crystal. The Mage-types can draw a lot of energy from these crystals so you can imagine why Sombra would want ‘em,” Quarts explained.

“And did you ever find any?” Jason asked.

“A couple small deposits, but the detection spell we use isn't fully reliable. There's a lot of interference down here – some sort of powerful magical signal that drowns out everything else.”

“The Crystal Heart,” Jason concluded.

“You think?”

“It's worth a shot,” Jason shrugged. “Can you detect it now?”

“Yeah, I guess being a ghost makes you more in tune with the magical fields. It feels like I'm on a beach and the tide is lapping at my legs.”

“Alright, lead me to it.”

“Okay, but be warned there's a lot more than just crystals down here…”

Elsewhere

“H-hello?” Twilight called. “Spike?”

“I'm here,” the Dragon said shakily. “Can you give us some light?”

“Yeah, just a moment,” Twilight said, there was a spark and hum of magic before a purple light illuminated the damp and muddy tunnel that they had arrived in. Water dripped from the ceiling an in places one could see sparkling gemstones poking out of the walls.

“Where are we?” Spike asked.

“Some sort of mining tunnel,” Twilight said. “Under the palace…”

“Wait… Where's Jason?”

“Oh Celestia, Jason!” Twilight’s voice echoed through the deep. “Jason!”

No answer came, and Twilight stood on shaky hooves and looked up and down the seemingly endless tunnel. Her horn flared as Twilight attempted to cast a detection spell that would seek out Jason’s unique magical wavelength. She immediately flinched and yelped in pain as a splitting headache struck, all around her was a constant and overwhelming magical presence. It was hostile, somehow Twilight knew that.

The caves melted away into liquid shadow and everything shook violently as reality was torn asunder. A malevolent darkness fell upon Twilight as her magical light was snuffed out in an instant. It wasn't cold but nor was it warm, there was simply a lack of temperature in any meaning of the word, a lack of sensation, a lack of any feeling or wisp of reality. There was a lack of air as well, and Twilight struggled for air, struggled to keep her body going in this endless and overbearing Void.

Within this void was a presence, not the one she had felt just earlier but a much more potent and.. Angry power. The magical presence from just before had been strong but familiar, as if a powerful unicorn was maintaining some sort of power. But as Twilight clenched her jaw from the skull-splitting pain she felt she knew the thing out there in the darkness was no unicorn. No, it was much too chaotic, too boundless, too wild, if it weren't for the potency of it all Twilight might had mistaken the magic to be Jason. The field, the wildness, the feeling that control could be lost at any moment, that the power that held her was fuelled by will and emotion rather than wisdom and knowledge. Whatever this darkness was it felt distinctly Human.

A name came to Twilight through the dark. Whispered in dark tones and dead tongues and soon it reverberated through her bones and flesh like the angry chants of fallen warriors.

Nyxeresith.

Nyxeresith

Nyxeresith

“Nyxeresith,” Twilight breathed.

“W-what? What you say Twi?” Spike asked shakily.

“What?” Twilight blinked. “I didn't say anything, Spike.”

“But I thought you said…”

“You must be imagining things,” Twilight said. “C’mon, we need to find Jason.”

No response came from Spike and in a panic Twilight whipped her head around to where she thought her dragon friend had been, he wasn't. Instead just an empty solid mass of shadow filled where Spike had once been, as if the dragon had never existed.

“Spike?” She called, dread blossoming through her as she brightened the light on her horn. “SPIKE?” Her voice echoed through the caverns with no reply… For a solid twenty seconds.

“He's not here, Twilight,” Celestia said. Twilight spun around again and standing there in all her splendour, but something seemed… Off. The Princess didn't give off the warm and comforting glow she usually did, instead the light from Twilight’s horn cast ugly shadows across Celestia’s face leaving only part of her visible. The one eye Twi could see was filled with… Something, for some reason the look made Twilights muscles tense and her ears droop. If she wasn't mistaken the look was filled with contempt, and fury.

“C-Celestia?” Twilight said tentatively. “What are you doing here?”

“I knew you couldn't handle this, Twilight,” Celestia said without a hint of emotion to her voice. “I knew you were useless, pointless, it was Luna who convinced me to take you on as a student did you know? I should have never had agreed, you were a complete waste of my time. You’re a failure.”

“W-what?” Twilight said, tears stung her eyes. Why was Celestia saying this?

“I would say I was disappointed, but I never even diluted myself into thinking you would be worth teaching. Goodbye Twilight, perhaps you shall find somewhere that can handle your ineptitude,” Celestia turned and walked into the darkness disappearing instantly.

“C-Celestia? CELESTIA?” Twilight called, her voice cracking with emotion. She broke out into a run after her long term mentor. “COME BACK!”

She ran, she ran and ran and ran and ran some more. Her hoofbeats echoes across the Rock and came back to her minutes later making her feel as if she was being chased, the light from her horn casting wild shadows on the walls that danced and flickered like dancing demons. Twilight soon forgot why she was running, was she running towards something? Away? Her head was so confused and full of fear that she couldn't think straight. Eventually she had to stop, her legs and hooves were aching like crazy and she felt nauseous, Twilight slowed and came to a halt. She breezed heavily and without warning her stomach clenched and she vomited out her breakfast along with a good amount of bile.

Her nose and eyes streaming Twilight stumbled further down the cavern, her horn flickered as she barely had the energy to keep it lit. She bumped into the walls, fell down a few times, her head was spinning. She managed to keep what remained of her breakfast down as she stumbled a few more meters, but even through the haze and lightheadedness she couldn't miss the figure crouched on the ground.

His cloths were in tatters, his skin was pallid and hung off his bones like he had been starved, brown hair was long, wild, and greasy. And as Twilight stared in horror a pair of glowing silver eyes turned to look at her, they were wild and filled with a mad hunger that Twilight had only ever seen hints of when he used his magic too much.

“J-Jason?” Twilight whispered shakily.

Jason didn't respond, he only opened his jaw wide revealing cracked and sharp teeth. Silver wisps of magical energy bled from Jason's eyes and mouth like smoke. Twilight took a step back as Jason released a low throat-based growl that was completely and utterly inhuman.

Twilight screamed.

Wherever Jason Is

Jason never thought he'd willingly follow a ghost into a dark underground tunnel. Yet, here he was.

Quarts’ hooves left ghostly wisps behind as he trotted with a purpose, however neither his ghostly glow nor Jason’s magical light could effectively pierce the solid shadow around them. Quarts Quarter didn't seem phased at all, but then again there's not much to fear when you’re a ghost. Jason on the other hand couldn't shake the constant feeling like there was something watching him, studying him, following in his footsteps…

Jason shivered, it had been getting steadily colder as they went deeper and deeper into the caverns. The air was stale and it stung his lungs and dried his throat with every breath, Jason’s limbs were becoming heavy, his eyes often drooped but he forced them to stay open. He needed to concentrate on the task at hand not to mention maintaining the magical tether between Quarts Quarter and the mortal world. But he was just so tired, a yawn escaped his mouth, then another, what's the harm in just closing your eyes for a bit? A small voice in his head told him. Just rest your head, relax.

Jason closed his eyes.

Immediately a chanting filled his ears, a thousand impassioned voices called put a name into the darkness that surrounded them That name echoed across mountains and rock and reached the deepest parts of the void where its owner resided.

Nyxeresith! Nyxeresith! Nyxeresith! Nyxeresith! Nyxeresith!

This wasn't the only name called, no. Others joined the chorus and with every name uttered a new sensation washed across the land, darkness, biting cold, the air escaping ones lungs. Jason’s head spun and his ears hurt from the raving and screaming of the rabid sounding chorus.

Glalÿir-Hux!

Gofanvul!

Hongwilfion!

Druaash-Xoch!

Chaereuraphy-Aeth!

Nyxeresith!

The sounds of battle, marching troops, and the death screams of thousands roared in Jason’s ears. He saw a horde of Alicorn’s charging a trench full of Human soldiers, he saw great fireballs raining from the sky, he saw buildings topple and the ground shake and tear away. He saw great tsunamis crash against tall cliffs while smashing what looked like battleships against the rocks. He felt pain, he felt fear, but most of all he felt angry. A primal and unbridled rage bubbled up from inside Jason and it filled his entire body. How dare they How dare they A mass of Alicorn’s and Human’s created a giant moshpit of clashing blades, gunfire, the heat of magic and fire. How dare they He saw a clock tower, Big Ben? Already in ruin but soon it would shake and rock with explosions until there was no sign that it had ever existed. How dare they He was chained to a rock, an Alicorn who's face was hidden behind a deep hood stood before him. It drew its dagger from its claim and swiped it through the air and as if tearing through fabric the knife tore through… Reality, it was hard to comprehend what he was seeing. The world moved away from the tear in a waving and unstable barrier between the universe and what lay beyond. A endless and all encompassing void of darkness, a scream escaped his throat. A primal and guttural sound that sounded more animal then human, the scream became more twisted and desperate as that void closed in and he was consume by it. That fear was replaced by anger and anger led to rage, an unbridled and uncontainable fire that burned through his very spirit. All outward sensation was gone, his body froze and died a thousand times over but yet he remained. Why? It was simple, the fire within him was stronger then the darkness around him.

“Nyxeresith,” Jason felt himself saying as he came to, he was lying on the floor of the cavern with sore limbs and a sour taste in his mouth. Above him the ghostly form of Quarts Quarter stood, looking concerned or as concerned as a dead stallion could look.

“Your connection to me got severed for a moment,” he said. “What happened?”

“I-I'm not sure,” Jason said, shakily getting up.

“Hm, well I'd thought you'd like to see this,” Quarts pointed a transparent hoof to what at first appeared to be a pile of rocks, but when Jason managed to magically bring forth light he saw that it was actually the skeleton of a unicorn. Long dead it seemed, bones yellow and brittle with the horn bone cracked at the tip. It wore the moth-eaten and rotten reminisce of a robe of some sort that had long since lost any colour. A leather saddlebag with several holes eaten through it was strapped to the skeletons side. Jason moved to crouch next to the body, wondering why this pony had been down here.

“Sorry, mate,” Jason said as he carefully opened the saddlebag. Inside there was quills broken and rotten, ink bottles dry as a bone, and several tomes of varying sizes. Jason pulled them out carefully, they were all old, dusty, and with yellowed pages. The first was a thick and heavy one, Legends, Myths, and Tales of Equestria and Beyond by Rune Stone. Not very interesting, it just detailed folk legends and such. The second book did catch Jason’s eye however, because he had seen it before in Twilight’s own library. On the subject of Humans and Humanity by Starswirl the Bearded, now why did this particular Mage have an interest in Humans? And why would he bring such a book with him into a place that seemingly had no connection to Jason’s people. The third book had no title, it was leather bound and appeared to be some sort of journal. With curiosity driving him Jason opened it up and began to read.

This is the account of testimony of Brother Winter Star of The Followers, I have been tasked with exploration and documenting of the caverns beneath the Crystal Empire. It it the belief of our most learned scholars that the good King Sombra has come into contact with one of the holy Eternal Men. My heart quickens at the chance to meet him! The knowledge and power he must wield! Enough to take on the defiant and arrogant Alicorns whom sought to overthrow the First People's. Truly it would be an honour to simply stand in the presence of one of the last living members of such an ancient and holy race.

I've done my research and compiled my notes and I am convinced, Sombra’s recently growing power comes not from that Alicorn trinket but from the end, see power of the Void itself. And if the lore books are to be trusted there is only one true unchallenged master of the eternal darkness, Nyxeresith, The Man of the Darkness. I've studied his tale and I shake with emotion every time I think of it, so justified his anger! I wonder why he chose to assist Sombra but perhaps the good King is worthy of such gifts and perhaps… Perhaps I may be worthy too! Nevertheless I must find where Nyxeresith’s magic is strongest, but truly the prospect that an entire nation may soon be under the holy hand if a Human is an exciting one indeed...

The rest was unreadable, but Jason really didn't want to read anymore anyway. His head was spinning, he felt sick, but this wasn't from some strange magic in the air no, this was from what he had just read. Eternal Men? The Follower’s? And the way this stallion had clearly revered Humanity as gods… It made Jason very uncomfortable. And then there was that name again Nyxeresith, the one that still echoed in the darker reaches of Jason’s mind. This was just too much, it would have to wait until later. Jason slipped the journal into the satchel he carried with him and followed Quarts further into the dark.

Another sound echoed to Jason’s ears, a rapid breathing, distressed moaning, and a distant voice. Jason and his ghostly friend headed towards it and the sounds became louder and clearer until Jason could make out the the voice.

“Come on Twilight!” Spike’s panicked voice cracked with emotion. “You gotta get up!”

Jason turned a corner and his macias light illuminated a worrying scene, Twilight was lying on her side as limp as a corpse, her eyes wide open and glassy, her mouth was wide open as her breath went in and out twice as fast as normal. Spike was desperately shaking her as tears streamed down his face, calling her name but to no avail. Jason knelt down next to Twilight and felt her head, she was cold as ice and shaking as if in a stage of hypothermia. Jason frowned, he knew some basic healing magic but this was beyond his ability or comprehension to heal. Spike stared at Jason with tears in his eyes.

“P-please, help her…” He sobbed. “She's… She's all I have.”

“Spike..” Jason began, he wanted to tell him that he couldn't help Twilight, that he didn't have the power. But his words died in his throat, his chest hurt, he couldn't do it. Once again he wondered what was the point of wielding such power when it failed you when you most needed it? Jason sighed and gently pushed the loose strands of Twilight’s mane from her face and behind her ear.

“There is a way,” Quart’s Quarter spoke up. He was staring at Twilight, Jason looked at Spike whom didn't seem to be privy to Quarts’ presence. “Can you feel it? Her soul is waning, as if something is slowly pulling it out. If we don't act soon she shall be lost… Not dead, no, a shell empty of everything that made her… Her.”

“What do we do?” Jason asked softly, Spike didn't notice him speaking to seemingly no one.

“Whatever is devouring her essence it only wants one soul… And it doesn't matter which one it is,” Quarts Quarter looked at Jason sadly. “I don't know her, I barely know you but… I've never been a stallion of great importance, I've been stuck down here so long I don't even think I could move on. You, her, call it some sort of intuition but… I feel as if you still have much to do in this life. Me… There's nothing for me here or on the other side, at least this way… This way I can make a difference”

“Quarts… I can't ask you to do that,” Jason said. “I don't know what will happen to you.”

“What is dead may never die, my friend,” Quarts said. “Who knows? It might be nice where I'm going.”

“…You’re sure?”

“Strangely, yes. I'm not sure why but… Something is telling me this is right, it's like destiny you know?”

“No, but… If you’re sure about this. I don't know how to thank you Quarts, really.”

“I know how you can,” Quarts said with a smile. “Remember me, kid.”

“Always,” Jason said, sparking his magic. There wasn't a spell for this, he wasn't even sure exactly what was doing but just as Quarts was guided by instinct to make his decision Jason somehow intuitively knew what to do. Gently he took hold of Quarts’s soul and guided towards the weak energy that was Twilight’s own soul. A dark force was there, tugging and tearing at Twilight’s essence and with a push of magic Jason pushed it away briefly before basic allying shoving Quart’s soul into the maw of the beast. He didn't resist and within seconds, everything that Quarts Quarter was, had been, or ever would be was gone from existence and the dark magic retreated. Twilight's breathing steadied, her shifted and blinked before weakly speaking up.

“W-what happened? Jason…”

“Twilight!” Spike exclaimed, embracing Twilight around the neck and squeezing her hard. “I thought, I thought….”

“Urk! Spike! Ow!” Twilight gasped.

“Sorry!” Spike exclaimed, releasing her.

“Are you alright?” Jason asked.

“I feel weak but… I think I'll be alright,” Twi answered. “Help me stand, Spike?”

“Right!” Spike exclaimed and Twilight shakily got to her hooves while leaning heavily on Spike. “We need to keep going.”

“Take it easy, okay?” Jason said.

“Well, I don't think I have to go far,” Twilight gestured to something behind Jason. He looked around and saw that the endless tunnel that had backed him before was now replaced by a short hall that lead to a tall wooden door flanked by two torches wreathed in purple magical flame.

“Well that's not suspicious,” Jason commented. “Come on, let's see what's behind door number one.”

They moved slowly due to Twilight but Jason soon creaked open the heavy door and they entered cautiously. The room on the other side was well lit which was a welcome change, it was huge and circular with a domed roof, more of that green fire along torches illuminated the room. And in the centre, sitting on a rugged throne made of sparkling crystal and rock was King Sombra himself. Jason had to raise an eyebrow at his appearance. His coat was pure black and brushed to a shine but most of it was hidden under a steel plate armour suit that covered his entire body bar his neck, head, and underbelly. His back was covered in a warm looked red cape trimmed with a white fluff border, his mane was long wild and an oily black and his horn was long black with a tip coloured an angry red, but it was his eyes that were most disconcerting. They were and angry red surrounded by a sickly green rather then white and from the corners of his eyes bled what appeared to be magic, purple tendrils bled from his eyes in smoky wafts as he stared right at Jason.

“Who approaches the King in the North?” Sombra asked, his voice deep and even. It was casual, highborn, not challenging nor overtly intimidating either. Jason carefully stepped forward into the light, gesturing for Twilight and Spike to remain behind. Sombra perked up as Jason entered his gaze, he seemed genuinely surprised at his presence. “A Human? You… You are not Nyxeresith no… Who are you, Old One?”

“My name is Jason.”

“Not one of the Eternal Men.”

“I uh.. No?”

“I see,” the king rose from his throne and slowly approached Jason. “I am Sombra of the Eternal Dark.”

“…Charmed,” Jason said, standing his ground as the unicorn approached him. He could feel static crackling along his fingers and hair, this being was very magically powerful there was no doubt about that.

“I did not know of any Forerunner other then the seven Eternal Men,” Sombra stated.

“I've been… Away,” Jason said, trying not to focus on the fact that there was supposedly seven of these “Eternal Men” he tried to focus on the task at hand.

“I see, I welcome you to my empire. God of the Old World,” King Sombra said, with a small respectful bow. “To what do I owe the honour of your visit?”

“I.. I come at the bid of my friend, Cadence, Alicorn of Love,” Jason said.

“Ah yes, I sensed her spirit above. Strong, she has resisted both my shade and the stroke of the north all without the Crystal Heart,” Sombra looked steadily at Jason.
“And that is what you seek, the Heart?”

“I'm afraid it is.” He said, trying to sound casual.

“A shame,” Sombra said, he sounded genuinely disappointed. “Regardless, it's always an honour to meet one of the few Forerunner’s. Goodbye, Jason.”

Without warning Jason was violently thrown back, he flew through the air and slammed against the ground before rolling over several times and coming to a halt. Twilight and Spike were at his side quickly, helping him to his feet. Sombra stood still, but the magic bleeding from his eyes began to intensify and his entire body was soon giving off a dark magical aura that evaporated off of him like wood smoke.

“I am done waiting,” Sombra said, a clear rage held in his voice despite his actual tone not changing. “I am Sombra of the Eternal Dark, Rightful King of the Crystal Empire, Guardian of the Crystal Heart, King in the North, Slayer of Dragons, First Sword of Nyxeresith of the Void, and the God of Darkness. I shall no longer tolerate this infringement upon my kingdom's sovereignty, I have given this Cadence every opportunity to leave but my mercy only extends so far.”

Sombra lifted a hoof and slammed it down, the entire cavern shook violently and torches dimmed as the shadows lengthened. The darkness moved and collected together on the floor next to Sombra like some dark liquid, it bubbled and frothed before a form began to rise and take shape from the pool of darkness. It was the largest sword Jason had ever seen, taller then he was and wider then both his hands together, the greatsword was polished ebony and the tip extended in a large heavy spike. Sombra gripped the hilt magically and hefted the sword over his back as if it weighed nothing at all. Then his throne began to shake and crack apart and from within it burst what could only be the Crystal Heart, it was a sparkling pink jewel that was as bright as a star and glowed and crackled with energy and it made Jason’s own silver magic manifest around him in response. The Heart came to float next to Sombra whom gave Jason one last look.
“Long live the King,” he said and with a flash of darkness he was gone.

“Hold on to me,” Twilight said through gritted teeth. “I'm bringing us to the surface.”

“Are you sure? You’re still weak,” Jason said.

“I'm fine,” Twilight said defiantly, her horn sparking and smoking with power. “Take a breath-“

There was a crack! and the powerful rush of wind as Jason’s vision became a blur of colours. He landed flat on his back and squinted his eyes against the bright light that assaulted them. He was disorientated and dizzy but the sounds of screams and destruction were as clear as day. Jason sat up and looked around as his eyes adjusted, they were indeed back topside. The palace stood silhouetted against the sun and around it smoke rose from the city, several fires burned and the howling of wind carried the ashes through the air like snow. As Jason watched several Crystal Ponies ran for their lives past him, he turned to where they ran from and sure enough spotted Sombra. He stood solidly, staring up at at palace. There was the crack and boom of something breaking the sound barriers and a shockwave slamming into Jason and a blur shit past him and the next thing he knew Cadence had appeared in full plate armour and had thrust her rapier towards Sombra’s chest whom in turn caught the blade with the flat side of his greatsword. The raw power of two godly beings pushed against one another and shook the ground and buildings around them, they cancelled each other out and both of them were send skidding back on their hooves. Cadence spared Jason a glance before brandishing her rapier again, the blade was glowing and magical lighting the colour of Cadence’s magic sparked from the tip to the ground.

“Relinquish the Heart and yield, Sombra,” she demanded. While her body was wreathed in a magical glow Jason could see she wasn't at her best, her eyes were tired, her stance had a weakness to it. Compared to Sombra whom looked well rested and mighty Jason was very worried for Cadence.

“A shame,” Sombra said calmly. “You are fairly beautiful, you could make a good queen. Alas..”

He shot forward suddenly, propelled by his magic and swing his greatsword through the air the mere action of which created a gust of wind. The blade swung towards Cadence’s neck but she ducked under with the ability of a cat and came up with a slash at Sombra’s face but he simply pulled his head back and swung his sword around to chop towards Cadence’s back. Thus began their deadly dance, neither of them seemed to land a solid blow but the fight was only in the realm of the physical so far.

That changed when Sombra’s horn glowed more intensely and the Crystal Heart which floated by him. The Heart was consumed by the dark aura of Sombra’s Magic and suddenly the sun above did not seem so bright, the shadows lengthened and took solid form before shooting towards Cadence who was forced to step back and surround herself in a shield which the assault of shadows beat against. Jason could see that is was wearing Cadence down, he needed to do something but… He was frozen, he felt weak, he didn't know if this was Sombra’s magic or his own cowardliness but Jason couldn't bring up the will to manifest his magic, he was stuck, useless.

“You cannot defeat me,” Sombra said evenly, almost as if addressing both Jason and Cadence. “There is none whom can challenge my power.”

“I would not be so sure of that, my dear,” a soft and familiar voice echoed powerfully. Sombra was suddenly sent flying into a nearby wall which allowed Cadence to collapse onto the ground, her energy spent. The sky grew dark but it was not the black shadows of Sombra’s making but the cool blue hue of nighttime that was dotted with stars, the sun was gone and replaced by the bright pale light of a full moon which highlighted the figure how flied above. Her eyes were as bright as the moon, her body cloaked in a fabric that shimmered and flowed with the power of nighttime, she landed and Jason saw that over her shoulder was a long metal pole topped with a curved silver blade that glowed with energy.

“Sombra, it has been too long,” Luna said, her scythe spinning in a slow but deliberate circle that left a light trail as the blade cut through the air.

“Luna.. My love,” Sombra said, climbing to his hooves and eagerly approaching the Princess. “Finally, we can be together agai-“

Luna didn't hesitate before she shot forward like a bullet, her scythe cut through the air with a him of metal and with a clear sound of impact she slashed right through the middle of Sombra’s horn. She halted so she was standing just beyond him, her back turned to her former lover but her eyes set straight forward.

“I care not for your poison words,” she said as Sombra’s greatsword and the Crystal Heart clattered to the ground with loud crashes.

“B-but.. You can't do this, I am the God of Darkness..” Sombra choked, his eyes wide and full of pain.

“No, my dear,” Luna said sadly. “That would be me.”

Sombra didn't move as the Crystal Heart slowly rose from the ground seemingly of its own accord, it flew past Sombra and came to hover just over Cadence whom remained on the ground but raising her head weakly to look at it. She began to glow with the Heart’s energy and as Jason watched as the weakness left her, her legs strengthened and Jason could’ve sworn he saw her grow ever so slightly larger. She rose to her hooves with a small smile on her lips, her coat sparkled and shone with power and she began to slowly but deliberately approach Sombra.

“No.. No!” He said both in anger and fear, his magic gone completely as the cracks along his horn lengthened. “You are not of royal blood! How!?”

“All Hail to the Crystal Queen” Luna said, and with that Cadence’s horn glowed and white cracks spread across Sombra’s form and he roared as his very being was ripped apart and cast from reality.

Outskirts of the Crystal Empire, Thursday, 9th of April, 6:12am, 2206 AC

Jason and Luna walked together just outside of the city, the Crystal Heart shone above them like a star and the protective shield it cast was just barely visible. Inside the shield it was warm and comfortable, they had left the care of the empire to Cadence naturally as it seemed that she would be its sovereign. Jason was a little confused about how that worked, but he was happy for her all the same.

Luna had been quiet for most of their walk, Jason spared her occasional glances. Her face was neutral and contemplative, the light of her moon danced across her eyes and ethereal hair and Jason was once again reminded of her beauty. He wanted to say something but he thought it better to let her start if at all.

“You needn't worry about me, Jason,” she said. “I let Sombra go a long time ago, this was just business.”

“You lived with him,” Jason stated.

“Once, fleetingly, it was little more then a flare of passion doomed to fail I think,” Luna said. “I was young… Younger, but it's over now. I can move on.”

“I’m glad,” Jason said, paused, then he added. “You’re too pretty for him anyway.”

Luna giggled, it made Jason happy just hearing it.

“Your capacity for humour in light of dark times is a joy,” Luna said, she reached up and pecked Jason on the cheek. “I'm glad for your help, even if it came down to me to stop Sombra. You’ve once again proven yourself a good friend and… I'm glad to know you.”

“Aw, stop I'm blushin’ darnit,” Jason said.

“Hm, but one thing worries me,” Luna said, pondering. “Sombra’s power.. It was beyond that of the Heart. I felt it when my blade touched his horn, the heart was there but something but more… Malevolent was also present.”

“I think… I think I know why,” Jason said, he reached into his bag and pulled out the leather bound journal that he had found in the caverns. Luna took it and frowned as she opened it and read. Jason spoke as she did.

“What do you know about the Eternal Men?”

Chapter 35 ~ The Kingdom of the Sky

“Birds born in cages think flying is a disease,”

~Alejandro Jodorowsky

Edward’s Glacier, The Northern Unknown, Saturday, 11th of April, 8:13am, 2206 AC

Ed casually licked his thumb as he leafed through the journal while mumbling to himself, he leaned against the wall of ice behind him with his cane hooked on his arm. He was totally absorbed in every word of the book or at least what he could decipher from it, his inner thoughts being hidden from Jason, Celestia, and Luna whom stood waiting. Jason glanced at Luna whom looked back and gave a small shrug, Edward continued taking his time, seemingly memorizing every word in the tattered journal.

“It doesn't look like something a mad person would write,” he finally said. “And the fact that it mentions me by name, alternative name may it be, gives it a significant amount of validity.”

“But what about the other figures mentioned throughout?” Luna asked.

“Ah yes, my fellow “Eternal Men” as they are referred. Yes, there are six of them including myself. And later in this the author describes each in turn, their stories as it were, many are unreadable or complete blather. One does seem to be legible though, and it regards this “Nyxeresith” that Jason mentioned.”

“Yeah, that's the name I.. That I heard in my head, several times actually. And Sombra mentioned him too, although briefly,” Jason added.

“Perhaps further clues can be obtained from this passage?” Celestia said.

“Indeed, let's see…”

“Once, there was a boy who knew only pain and loneliness. He had heard stories of before, when the city was better and the people didn't die, but to him they were only just that; stories. This boy had no home but the flooded and bloody streets that were abandoned by the ruling class, these streets did not exist on any map nor did anyone but those inside of it know it truly existed. Yet, people lived there, and the bodies, well they were dumped there.

None wanted the boy, they called him filthy, tainted, but he was no more tainted then the rest or so he reasoned. The boy knew that the adults could be cruel and he learned that through their shut doors and their harsh words, but it was the other children whom were truly evil. The only escape from the beating, the biting, and and cutting was the darkest of alleyways where the boys only company was the rotting corpses and the rats.
The boy didn't notice as the man approached, only when he felt a warm hand on his shoulder did he turn to look. The man smiled, comforted him, and told him that he could make things better that he could give the boy a better life. The orphan boy believed him without thought and followed the man who took him to the place that was only spoken about in whispers. The adults would talk fearfully of it, a place of witches and black magic, but the boy never believed the stories nor more then he believed the ones of a better city.

He shouldn't of believed the man's stories either.

He didn't feel pain anymore, not as his body was ripped apart and infused with magic, no the boy only knew the darkness that would consume him. The void that would fuse with him, and the power he felt at his fingertips. They boy wasn't afraid anymore, he wasn't alone either, and when the time was right the boy returned to the man whom had given him this gift and he thanked the man for what little life he had left. And as the man's eyes began to weep red the boy would take the man's bones and on these bones he would carve his mark, no child was ever lonely after that day. Always they would find the bones, gnawed and chewed to ovals, left in the darkest alleyways and lonely places that only equally lonely children could find. And those children would always pray and make their eyes weep for the boy whom would always come, just as that man did, and place a warm hand on their shoulders.”

Edward looked up at the dark looks from his guests and he carefully closed the journal and tucked it under his arm. His own thoughts were admittedly in a tizzy, the information he had was so limited yet suggested so much that it drove him mad not knowing a clear answer.

“So what your thoughts, Ed?” Jason asked softly.

“Putting aside the delightful little short story, it seems that this journal suggests that there are other human individuals not too dissimilar to myself. Extremely magically powerful and revered by some form of religious group,” Edward scratched his beard. “I've mentioned this before but… There was always rumours floating around the Academy when I worked there, people would talk about projects gone wrong, unsanctioned experiments, people going missing without trace both from within the Academy and from the streets. I.. I can't say for sure if there's any truth to that.”

“Let's do away with such things for the time being,” Luna said. “There stands the matter of the passage towards the end, the one regarding-”

“Regarding Gryphonia, yes,” Edward said, flipping to the page in question. “Seems that this individual had been planning on returning to a safe house of his order, one located in the Gryphon Kingdom.”

“So now that's two groups I've run into that are linked to Gryphonia,” Jason added. “The Gryphons whom were in Rome and Stalliongrad, who attacked us and killed… Anyway, they have Cain’s Blade remember? And god knows what they want to do with that. Now we have these human worshippers whom supposedly have a presence in Gryphonia.”

“Then the course is clear,” Luna said. “We thank you, Edward, for your input on this matter.”

“Huh?” Ed looked up from the book. “Uh, yeah, sure… You mind if I keep this? Not every day you find a book that you’re in. Gives me something to read too.”

“If you want I'm sure we can get you books to read, I think Twilight’s been begging to meet you anyway,” Jason. “Stay cool, Ed.”

“Always a pleasure Jas- wait was that a pun?” The trio had already teleported away before Edward could finish his sentence. He sighed and turned his attention back to the book in his hands.

“Glalÿir-Hux,” he read aloud. “There was once a man of great knowledge who wanted to cheat death as the Alicorns had. He wanted to freeze death in place so it could not touch him or anyone else…”

Castle of the Two Princesses, Canterlot, Equestria, Saturday, 11th of April, 9:00 am, 2206 AC

“Spike! Where’s To Live in the Sky by Brother Moonclaw the Fourth?” Twilight called from one end of the royal library.

“Right here!” Spike called back from the far side of the library. “What about A Complete Study of Gryphons by Snowbeak the Eighth?”

“Oh! Good idea! Take it!”

Jason rolled his eyes at Twilight’s and Spike’s voices as they echoed down the hall to him, he passed the guards outside the library. Celestia had created a new branch of the royal guards to protect Equestria’s precious knowledge in light of recent events, shadowy groups searching for magical knowledge and artifacts can make one paranoid. This the Masked Guard had been created, and they were creepy as fuck, with a metal mask that hugged their face and hid all expression. The eye sockets glowed with an enchantment that allowed them to see magical signatures of both living beings and artifacts, including Jason which was probably why the creepy fuck watched him walk past.

“You really think you’re gunna need all these books?” Jason asked as he walked in and leaned against a bookshelf.

“Of course! Gryphon's have a complex and unique culture! If I'm going to help Princess Celestia in this visit I'll need to learn all I can about them!”
“Right,” Jason said. “You tell the girls about this trip?”

“Yeah..” Twilight said sadly. “They were disappointed, but understanding. It's weird, we’ve been on so many adventures together it's different not having them around on this one.”

“Well, from what I know relations ain't the best. I don't think having Pinkie there would help much.”

“True…” Twilight said, then sighed. “Some of them… Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, even Rainbow Dash they all seemed relieved. I could tell… They never wanted to go, they… Don't like this lifestyle. Adventures every day, going off without little to know notice… And then there's the danger. I know that Rainbow and Pinkie aren't over what happened in Stalliongrad, they've been having nightmares or so Luna has told me. Jason… They’re just normal ponies and I'm… Well, I don't think I am normal. At least not like they are, before I came they worked, lived, and enjoyed life like any average citizen. I'm not average, I'm not so naïve to say otherwise but I'm afraid that… I'm afraid that as this goes on as my apprenticeship to Celestia comes to a head that I'll only lose them further..”

Twilight looked up from the book cover she was staring at to meet Jason’s gaze.

“Sorry, I know you didn't ask for that.”

“It's okay,” Jason said. “And if it helps, I don't think your friends are going anywhere. Sure, they can't go on every dangerous adventure with you but who could? When you get the chance you should do something more mild with them, get a change of pace.”

“I'll give it a shot,” Twi said. “Right now I want to focus on this visit. You all packed?”

“Yep, got a redshirt.. Er.. Guard to carry my shit to the boat. It's a couple days trip to Gryphonia yeah?”

“Just about, Luna’s asked be to give lessons to her and you while we travel. So we can all avoid insulting anyone by mistake.”

“Oh goody, lectures,” Jason said with a roll of his eyes, Twilight stuck her tongue out at him as Spike came over which a sack full of books galore.

“I think that's.. All of them,” he huffed.

“Great!” Twilight exclaimed, strapping on her modestly sized saddlebags full of books. “Let's head down to the docks, Celestia and Luna should be down there soon.”

“Sounds good,” Jason agreed.

It was a clear and pleasantly warm day outside, the last grips of winter being pushed away by the spring’s warmth. Already Jason dreaded the scorching hot days of summer that made one soaked with sweat, sticky and gross. Jason never liked the heat, couldn't handle it, winter but more so autumn was his favourite seasons. Not to mention spring meant storms, which meant choppy waters, which considering they were embarking on a several day long ship ride wasn't a pleasant thought at all.

The docks were lined with ships of varying shapes and sizes as one would expect it to be, but it was almost immediately obvious which one was to be their transport. It was the largest, with a wide frame and huge sails, the Equestrian standard flying proudly from its mast and the name The Ulysses painted in gold lettering upon its dark blue painted hull.

“Who chose the name?” Jason wondered aloud, recognizing the name after a second of thought.

“Probably the captain,” Twilight answered, with just a hint of sarcasm. “Look, Celestia is speaking to him. Come on.”

Indeed, Celestia along with Luna was standing on the dock proper speaking to a grizzled old Pegasus stallion. He had a dark blue goat and a wild black mane paired with bushy eyebrows and an equally bushy moustache hiding his lip. One of his eyes had been scratched out by… Something with three claws and was covered by an eyepatch, his other good eye was a piercing green. The captain wore the appropriate black tricorn hat and a lighter blue frock coat which hide most but not all of a long cutlass that hung sheathed at his side.

“…the straight will be gettin’ right choppy this time-ó-the-year, you and yer company be best down below in them waters. Ó-course I can't rightly order a princess to so anythin’ even on me ship…” The captain was saying, his voice accented in a manner that was distinctively of northern origin and spoke of years of travel.

“I'll defer to your judgment on this, Captain,” Celestia replied, she took notice of Jason’s and Twilight’s approach. “Ah, I would like you two to meet Captain Salty Shores, Equestria’s most skilled privateers and explorers. Captain, this is Jason and my student Twilight.”

“A pleasure, m’lady,” Salty said with a courteous bow to Twilight who smiled, the captain then squinted at Jason with an unreadable expression.

“When you sail as I have, Human. You ‘ear a lot-ó-stories and myths about things and a fair few of ‘em are ‘bout the Golden Folk of Old and not all of ‘em are good.”

“Jason has proven himself a valuable asset to me, captain,” Luna chimed in. “You have nothing to fear from him.”

“Ó-course,” Salty said, his gaze unwavering. “As long as ‘e keeps out of way of me crew then we’ll have no problems. Speaking-ó-which I gotta get the lads ready to set sail, we’ll await your word Princess.”

“Thank you, captain,” Celestia said and the captain trotted to his ship.

“Pleasant fellow,” Jason commented.

“Seafarers are over cautious and superstitious folk, I wouldn't think anything of it,” Luna assured him. “I think we should get underway soon, however.”

“I still think we should both go,” Celestia admitted. “If High King Bloodbeak is somehow connected to a higher conspiracy then it would do best to have a more powerful presence there to put a stop to it.”

“Perhaps,” Luna said.” “But, not only do I suspect that the good King has no idea about any of what we have witnessed I also must insist that one of us always remain to actually run the country, sister. You and I both know parliament would burn down Canterlot with both of us gone.”

“True enough, but my worries will not cease.”

“I know,” Luna said and hugged Celestia tightly whom returned the gesture.

“Be safe,” Celestia said softly.

“I always am,” Luna quipped back.

Celestia went over to Jason and Twilight and the shared a hug together which the princess.

“The sea be calm where you sail,” Celestia said. “And may the winds be kind as you wonder in the kingdom of the sky. Return to me safe and tell me what you've learned, that is what's most important. I want no brave challenging of whatever evil shares its bed with Gryphons, I simply want its name. Understand?”

“You worry too much,” Jason said, patting Celestia’s back. “I'll take care of them, they’ll take care of me. It's a round robin of caring, we’ll be fine. See ya’ later Tia.”

“I'll give you a report on modern Gryphon culture when I get back!” Twilight called as the three of them boarded the Ulysses.

“Captain,” Luna said, as she took her place next to Salty Shores whom manned the helm. “Set off.”

“Yes, m’lady,” Salty Shores said before yelling out to his crew, an equally grizzled and salty bunch as their captain whom were already running to and fro preparing to cast off. “Half mast to start and full mast when we clear the bank! Tack the wind and adjust bearing by thirty degrees! We sail west to Talonguard! We sail to Gryphonia!”

“Aye, captain!” The crew changed back as the sails were unfurled and the Ulysses pulled away from the Canterlot docks towards open waters.

Aboard the Ulysses, The Dragon Passes, The Everwinter Sea, Saturday, 11th of April, 1:00 am, 2206 AC

Jason could feel the ship bobbing softly beneath his feet as they navigated the complicated stretch of sea that the crew called The Dragon Passes, but Jason recognized as the straights from the Baltic Sea, through Denmark, and out into the open ocean. Twilight had called him and Luna below to a large compartment that they would use as a make-shift classroom, it was there they gathered now.

“Y’know, I'm surprised you don't already know all you need about Gryphons,” Jason said to Luna.

“Well, it's been a while and one can always use a refresher,” Luna lowered her voice to mumble in Jason’s ear. “Plus I couldn't handle the moping from Twilight if I said no.”

Jason snorted just as Twilight entered, practically skipping her way past with a bag full of books in her magical grasp. She trotted to the front and turned to face them with a beaming smile that Jason had to admit was pretty fucking adorable.

“Alright! We should start with the basics,” Twilight exclaimed, pulling out one of her books and opening it. “As we all know, Gryphons are a race of large four-legged avians, studies on the Gryphon physiology show that they ultimately have more in common with birds then they do with mammals. Such as laying eggs when giving birth and general natural behaviour.”

“Culturally speaking probably the one thing that anyone planning on interacting with Gryphons at large us to remember that they are a very proud people, there's hundreds of ways to offend a Gryphon’s honour and that can mean harsh words at best and violence at worse. Gryphons conduct themselves according to a struck code of honour, not unlike a knightly code or oath. Naturally there is some variation is how faithfully the individual Gryphon adheres to this unspoken code but many are very serious about it.”

“So on that note, some things to know above all else: When a Gryphon bows to you, you bow back regardless of rank, status, or otherwise. This is their way of greeting, Gryphon’s believe that all peoples even their enemies are deserving of this basic gesture of respect. Imagine someone coming up to you and insulting your family, your friends, your ancestors, and your country all at once in the most insulting and vulgar way they could. That's the equivalent of not sharing a bow with a Gryphon.”

“Similarly but more obviously we should all remember to use the appropriate titles, Your Majesty, My Lady, Ser, and so forth should always be remembered…”

It went on like that for most of the two day trip to Gryphonia, it wasn't terrible or anything in fact Twilight was a half decent teacher whom managed to put enough excitement in her own voice that it rubbed off on her students. They learned more or less what they needed to know about Gryphon’s, a people that Jason learned were like an entire race born of samurai and medieval Knights. Borderline obsessed with honour, chivalrous, prideful, and making sure every waking moment was detected to serving ones Clan, family, country, and King.

“Land ho! The cliffs! Adjust course cap’n!”

“Aye!”

Jason stood at the bow with Luna and peered across the sea, the sun hung high in sky and set fire to the unmistakable pure white cliffs that practically sparkled in the light. And at the highest peak stood Talonguard, a tall tower and castle that gave way to a expansive city made almost exclusively of what appeared to be marble with smaller spires dotted within the city proper. Even from this distance one could see large figures circling in the air, some diving, other flying away in the distance in some errand.

“Rhanor’s Cliffs,” Twilight said in a hushed voice. “Even more beautiful then I imagined..”

“Who's Rhanor?” Jason asked, feeling sad all of a sudden.

“No one knows,” Luna piped in. “They’ve always been called that, even when I was a child.”

“No,” Jason shook his head. “They were called something else first.”

They had to swing south to the only landing spot for several kilometres. A drop off in the cliffs wherein there was an impressively sized harbour and a large town to go with it. As they approached three dots were spotted flying towards them and before anyone could so much as yell the deck was impacted by the weight of three Gryphons landing on it. Two of them were clearly guards of some sort, with silver chestplates, full helms, and spears, the third whom in between the others was cut from a different cloth. With a shiny and intricate steel breastplate, a fine silken blue cape, and a longsword at his side. The Gryphon’s feathers showed care and almost obsessive cleaning to the point where they shined with a glossy sheen.

“Your Majesty,” He said as the three Gryphons bowed gracefully, Luna, Twilight, and Jason were quick to return the gesture.

“It is this ones great honour to welcome you to the great city of Talonguard, Seat of the Winged Throne and His Majesty High King Bloodclaw the Eighth, Sword of The Wind, Lord Paramount of Talonguard, Patriarch of Clan Blood, and the King of the Sky whom welcomes you to his domain. I, Ser Goldbeak, First Knight of the Holy Sky, have been bid to escort Her Majesty Princess Luna of the Night Sky and her companions to Gryphonstone Hold wherein His Majesty the King awaits them.”

“We thank you for your hospitality,” Luna said in a formal tone. “And may I say that it is a great honour to be granted the audience of His Majesty the High King, and to see the holy city of the sky once again.”

“Of course,” Ser Goldbeak said, his eagle eyes shifted to Twilight and then Jason where they lingered. “May this one inquire as to the appropriate titles of Her Majesties companions, as to introduce them properly to His Majesty the King.”

“Indeed, this is Lady Twilight of House Sparkle, First Attending to Her Majesty Princess Celestia of the Sun, Bearer of the Element of Magic, and the Sorceress of the South,” Luna listed, Jason raised his eyebrows. He had heard literally none of those titles before and he wondered how many of them Luna had just made up. Luna then looked at Jason and paused for a moment before speaking. “And this is Ser Jason of Rome, Blade of the West, Liberator of the Lupa Mines, and the Last of the Lost Peoples.”

“This one thanks you,” Ser Goldbeak said, still sparing Jason a fair few looks.

Jason ignored him and gave Luna a raised eyebrow at her impromptu titles, she gave a subtle shrug as Captain Salty Shores began bellowing orders at his crew to prepare for docking. The Ulysses was expertly pulled into port and tied off so it wouldn't float away. The crew lowered a walkway for them, the knight and his guards led them off the ship and through the harbour town to where a long winding road stretched along the smooth green fields to where Talonguard stood.

The city was as large as Canterlot, perhaps larger in terms of the area it covered. Every building was constructed upwards which gave the city the appearance of a series of obelisks clustered together that large birds were roosting in. It only seemed to grow as they approached, Ser Goldbeak escorting them along with more Silver Guards whom joined them to form a large company to guard them. Gryphons of every shape and size flitted between the tall buildings above them whom were bound to the ground, Jason quickly noticed that not all Gryphons were of the token eagle and lion hybrid. Some were all black, they had the head of a crow and the body of a black panther, others had falcon heads and the bodies of sand tigers, and some even more interestingly had the heads of snow owls and the bodies of snow tigers.

Naturally, they garnered stares, ponies were rare here, Alicorns rarer, and Humans the rarest. So soon enough the rooftops were lined with fascinated birds looking down at them like vultures (quite literally as many of them appeared to be part vulture.) Twilight was writing notes furiously much to the pain of Spike whom kept her supplied with parchment that he carried in a big mound strapped to his back, Luna with all the grace of royalty took the attention in stride and kept her head up and her gaze forward which was respectable, Jason just kept his head down and tried not to look like a weirdo.

“Gryphonstone Palace stands before us,” Ser Goldbeak chirped. “Seat of Clan Blood for an era, the last hold to stand against the Imperalists during the Conflict of Talons, the Palace of the Sky, and the grand temple to the Church of the Enlightened.” The knight said the last fact with a backwards glance at Luna and Jason, it was almost accusing.

The palace itself was very impressive, constructed of three levels with the last being the palace proper. Huge polished marble steps that looked like they were made for giants lead up the slop to the monolithic palace, a square tower with four round towers gracing its corners the Palace of the Sky reached up into its namesake for… Well, what seemed like forever. Jason couldn't believe that something so tall could exist, he had heard (and seen) some tall constructs in his day but somehow this Titan of stone and marble dwarfed them as it reached up and pierced the clouds like the spear of a god.

The front entrance was a huge set of beautifully cut and carved stone, with intricate depictions of Gryphon’s in battle covering every inch of it. It took all six of their Silver Guard exports plus the two whom stood by the door to shove the massive slabs of stone open for them to enter. Inside was a large and lavish antechamber, it was wide with a domed roof and tall marble pillars supporting it. At the edges of the room clear sparkling water flowed from small grates into a thin channel that ran around the room. The carvings from the door seemed to continue inside as the pillars and the ceiling were beautifully decorated. As Jason took in the impressive architecture he felt a spark of familiarity from it all, the pillars, the carvings, the obsession with marble yes everything the Gryphons built seemed to be very very… Roman.

Jason pushed the thought out of his mind, he didn't want to think about it.

After they closed the ridiculously heavy door the guards dispersed into doors which lined the sore walls, leaving the Equestrian delegation alone with Ser Goldbeak whom turned to them.

“His Majesty the King awaits you in the throne room, this one bids to be respectful in his presence,” the knight told them before they approached the mercifully lighter set of wooden doors.

The throne room wasn't all that different of the one in Canterlot. Although there's only so much customization one can do with a room that's sole purpose is to host a chair. A short but wide stretch of floor led to a few short steps up to a raised platform wherein the throne in question held the Gryphon they came to meet. The throne itself was metal and tall backed with two carved wings spreading out from either side, which was probably where the “winged” title came from. Then there was the king himself.

“Presenting, to see His Majesty the King, Her Majesty Princess Luna of the Night Sky, Spirit and Guardian of the Holy Moon, Sentinel of Sleep, and Lady of the Eve. With her is Lady Twilight of House Sparkle, First Attending to Her Majesty Princess Celestia of the Sun, Bearer of the Element of Magic, and the Sorceress of the South and finally Ser Jason of Rome, Blade of the West, Liberator of the Lupa Mines, and the Last of the Lost Peoples.”

High King Bloodbeak the Eighth was clearly an older Gryphon, his white head feathers were greying and many were silver. The dark mahogany brown feathers that covered his body and wings were peppered with greying ones and many were parted around long scars, the Kings beak was long and sharp and had a noticeable nick taken out of it where one could see into Bloodbeak’s mouth. His eagle eyes were sharp as ever, piercing and with a wisdom that spoke of his years. The right eye was scarred as well with three very defined talon marks from another Gryphon, his head was topped with a splendid golden crown in laid with jewels. Clasped to his neck was a long blue cape which only partially hid a longsword with a golden hilt strapped to his side. A golden chestplate carved beautifully held it all together.

“You may leave, Ser,” The High King said and Ser Goldbeak bowed and left which left them alone with the king.

Bloodbeak climbed from his throne and approached them, once near he bowed low and the returned the gesture as per the custom. When the king rose he peered first at Luna, briefly at Twilight, and then his eyes lingered longest on Jason.

“It has been too long, Luna,” Bloodbeak said, a small smile creasing his beak. “Almost a thousand years I think, and you’re still as beautiful as ever.”

“And you’re still a shameless flirt,” Luna quipped with a smile before stepping forward to embrace the king warmly, Twilight was shocked, Jason raised an eyebrow.

“You've grown old..” Luna said sadly as she drew back.

“Everything does, my dearest,” Bloodbeak said, and looked at Jason again. “But we can catch up later, I believe you come here with grave and somewhat urgent topics to speak of. Most of which relate to your curious friend here.”

“Yes, this is..”

“Jason, yes, I heard Goldbeak announce him,” Bloodbeak said, approaching Jason who stood a little still. Naturally his impression of Gryphons wasn't overly high and having a lion-sized predator approach you tends to set you on edge.

“A Forerunner, gods within me I never would have thought..” The king shook his head. “I know what happened in Rome, and I know what happened in Stalliongrad. Every detail and I must make this clear, I am not the orchestrator of such wanton slaughter but I shall do all within my power to help bring these evil curs to justice.”

“Yeah, forgive me if I don't believe that for a second,” Jason spat, not realizing how angry he was.

“Jason!” Twilight gasped in horror.

“No, his disrespect is expected and understandable,” High King Bloodbeak said. “But you are not the only ones whom have suffered through strife from these groups whom hide themselves in the shadows and dishonour the name of Gryhonia.”

“What has happened, my friend?” Luna asked with concern.

“Silence, the loudest kind. Seemingly random deaths, threats, and disappearances. My court has shrunk to a third of its usual size from these events, there is discontent and animosity amongst the other Clans towards my rule. And then there are these groups of seemingly independent Gryphons operating with training and supplies, whom seem to have royal funding without my knowledge. Try as I might I cannot find the answer, I am isolated from the goings on with very few allies.”

“But, you’re the King, don't you have your soldiers? Supporters?” Twilight asked.

“Alas my dear, the one whom perches on the tallest peak nests alone. I can't trust anyone, the only ones that I think are loyal are my knights but they are few still and can only achieve so much.”

“So you say that whatever ails us also plagues you,” Luna lamented. “This means that whomever these individuals are they have the courage, or at least the stupidity, to defy your rule. Have you any clues that would lead us to them.”

“Only some, I know that there are at least two groups involved in a larger conspiracy, but even more fascinatingly they seem to be in conflict. Small street fights always resulting is death have broken out, these are no random duels of honour but random and wild aggression. It took some time but eventually we did manage to secure a survivor of one of these brawls, and after some extensive interrogation of the violent nature he spilled his secrets to us.”

“What exactly did he say?” Jason asked.

“First, he told us of his brothers and sisters that resided in a lovely little cult that he called the ‘Followers of the First’ or just the ‘Followers’ for short,” Bloodbeak looked at Jason. “It seems you have admirers, Ser Jason, the gentlemen lamented that they worshiped humanity as a god race. Even mentioned you, and their plan to destroy the group that attacked what they believe is the holy city of Rome. Mostly he babbled about the Eternal Men though.”
“Tis worse then we imagined,” Luna said. “A radical cult, an emboldened one, but that begs the question whom in the world they at arms with.”

“Whom else do religious folk war with? They lash against the Church of the Enlightened.”

“The what?” Jason asked.

“Church of the Enlightened, tis quite possibly the most favoured faith of my people. They believe that the gods, such as Luna here, are truly Gryphons in their godly forms and that Gryphons are the children of the gods not ponies. I believe that their explanation for Luna and her sister is that they are disappointed in the Gryphon people and thus take a weaker form to shame us and it is only through honour and chivalry that we may win them back. Although some branches simply deny the existence or divinity of the sisters.”

“And what do you believe?”

“The goddess of the moon is standing not five meters away from me and is clearly an Alicorn,” the High King drawled. “Call me sceptical, although I realize now my distaste for the religion may have lead to my unpopularity.”

“And so you suffer as we have,” Luna. “In Rome, and in Stalliongrad..”

“The church trying to beat the children to the punch, and succeeding at first, but ultimately failing… except in Stalliongrad, wherein I am told that while yes those dastardly flyers were hunted down one did escape with none other then the fabled Cain’s Blade.”

“Tis the truth,” Luna confirmed.

“So the real question is,” Jason piped in. “Where do we begin.”

“Fortunately, I think I can answer that,” High King Bloodbeak ran a claw down his beak, in a motion that wasn't unlike someone stroking their chin. “There is a den nearby, a den and a safe house for these Followers of the First. I have not made a move on it yet for fear that they would simply catch wind and leave, however I think you Jason may have more luck then a host of possibly corrupted Silver Guards.”

“O-kay,” Jason said. “That takes care of the eldritch God, but what about the moon princess and the purple unicorn?”

“As I said, my court is littered with betrayal and I must root it out if any action can be taken. My Ladies Luna and Twilight shall attend the Holy Court of the Sky and assist me in weeding the garden as it were.”

“This is a sound plan of action, methinks,” Luna agreed.
“Fine,” Jason said unhappily. “But, I want neither of them harmed understand?”

“Jason, we'll be fine,” Twilight rolled her eyes. “I'm not exactly a stranger to conflict and Luna’s skill is legendary.”

“Not to say that I would die before I allow harm to come to either of them,” Bloodbeak said, meeting Jason’s gaze. “My vices laid bare, and my life on the line, I would defend them. To do otherwise would be to dishonour myself, to relinquish my rights as King, and to make all my fears forfeit. We must work together, unquestionably, so this conspiracy may be stopped before more innocent lives are lost.”

There was a pause, and suddenly Bloodbeak seemed ten times older as he sighed and looked at Jason with real regret and sadness in his eyes.

“I'm sorry for all of them, Green Breeze was a brave stallion I am told, not to make light of the unsung courage of the three loyal agents. Blossom, Sunshine, and Silver Bolt. Four more names I shall remember for the rest of my life, because I am responsible, because I failed to act or to see and while all the fault may be mine I know you cannot deny that you want to hurt the true criminals. Work with me, and I can guarantee you revenge.”

Another pause.

“Deal.”

The Downwater District, Talonguard, Gryphonia, Saturday, 11th of April, 4:23 pm, 2206 AC

The King had Ser Goldbeak escort him to the safe house. They took the less beaten paths to avoid too many states or people noticing where they were headed, as they went Jason noticed a distinct change in the scenery. The tall spires became smaller as they entered almost a miniature valley. The streets became narrow and claustrophobic and the race texture changed from the grand marble spires to downtrodden stone hobbles, this was where the unwanted, the unheard, and the unseen lived.

The safe house itself was a small hovel of stone with a stars and thatch roof, it looked like it had once been a bar but had been condemned at some point. The windows and door were all boarded up and plant life grew from the cracks in the stone, three other knights awaited them there and after the customary bowing and greeting that these cat-birds seemed obsessed with with they prepared to enter.

“Would Ser Jason like to go first?” Ser Steelclaw asked. “This one has heard of the courage of the Golden Folk, and would like to see it for himself.”

“Ehh, sure why not?” Jason said and drew his blade, he flipped it around in his hand just to show off before kicking the door in.

Inside was an absolute shit show.

At least twenty bodies, Gryphon and Pony alike, were strewn about the place in various levels of damage and decay. Crusted and congealed blood plastered almost every square inch of the floor and the solid smell of death hit Jason’s nose like a punch to the face. He carefully inched his way inside and approached the nearest body, that of a Gryphon, his wings had been torn off and thrown away and his face ripped to pieces by the angry claws of one of his countrymen. Around his neck was a metal chainlink with a pennant of some description clasped to it, upon further inspection Jason realized the pennant was in the shape of a clenched fist.

“Dear Osiris, it ‘Twas a massacre,” Ser Goldbeak commented as he and the other Knights entered behind Jason, swords at the ready.

“Something definitely wanted them dead alright,” Jason said as he moved to the next body, that of a Pegasus mare with a white coat and an ice blue mane caked with her own blood. Her attackers had torn her stomach open and let the guts spill out onto the floor.

“And look here,” Ser Steelclaw spoke up, he approached the far wall where the blood of one of those crow-Panther Gryphons had been used as ink to write a message: Hail Gryphonia.

“Hail Gryphonia” Goldbeak read. “This one believes that is the phrase many of the radicalized Enlightened use. It is clear that they beat us here, the only challenge now is to determine what happened and where they went.”

“I think…” Jason sighed. “I think I know a way but I need you three to step out for a while.”

“May this one ask why?” Steelclaw asked in suspicion.

“You can ask, but I won't answer.”

“Come, if His Majesty trusts that one then this one does as well,” Goldbeak chirped and lead his two knight-brothers out.

Jason steadied his breathing, he didn't want to just flaunt his powers at every opportunity. As Luna had mentioned there was a significant prejudice against Necromancers, and something about the Gryphon code of honour told him they wouldn't approve of this sort of magic.

He focused, and breathed in, then out. There was magic here already, violent death created it, almost like a scar in the flesh of reality. It took the shape of those who had died here and with a little convincing it could be made to show what happened. Jason took a knee and closed his eyes, his entire body glowed with silver fire that danced from his skin as its tendrils reached out to the scar tissue and penetrated through.

Ghostly figures appeared, of Gryphons and Ponies alike, they stood in a rough circle. Their voices came in echoes as if they were shouting down and long tunnel and their forms shimmered however the connection steadied and they began to speak.

“We must strike now!” a Gryphon demanded. “They are heathens with a heathen artifact that must be destroyed. We must strike as soon as possible and without warning, as Nyxeresith commands.”

“Nyxeresith may command the rightful slaughter of the heathen, but Hongwilfion teaches us patience in all things,” a Pegasus mare added.

“Hongwilfion, Peh.. That new wave malarkey is nothing but hearsay and ramblings by that fool Blue Horizon. I don't believe for a second he put one hoof in the fabled lands,” the Gryphon retorted.

“I for one believe every word, but just to appease skeptics like you I hear the masters are launching a full expedition to verify all written in Human’s Imperia and you bet your feathers I'll be on that ship,”

“As will I. If only to prove you wrong.”

“Alright that's enough now,” another Gryphon cut in. “Focus, we need to-“

The figures faded but left with the echoing screams of death in Jason’s ears, not to mention the headache. Jason was frustrated, he didn't learn much and he didn't think he could muster up the energy to repeat the trick again.

“Old fashioned way then,” he mumbled to himself.

Indeed the old fashioned way pulled off, after locating the body of the Pegasus mare who's spirit he had seen Jason discovered a journal hidden under her. It was damp and sticky with blood but still more or less legible. Jason skimmed the entries and focused in on the two most interesting ones.

“24th of Frostfall, 2205 AC

Such wonders! To think that there are seven of the Eternal Men instead of five! How ignorant we were, how blind. Hongwilfion the Man of Many a Faces and Gofanvul the Man of Metal, they shall be added to my prayers indeed! Blue Horizon is an inspiration to as all and folly I say to those whom call him liar!

Indeed, it does seem fantastical that a single stallion could make such pilgrimage to the fabled lost world. However, if my research proves correct he may not have been the first for after reviewing many accounts it can be deduced that none other then the famed mage Starswirl the Bearded may have made the journey prior to Blue Horizon. However, the mage kept what he learned in secret and all knowledge hidden away, it is said that all of Starswirl’s collected research can be deciphered using some form of code. How to possess this code I have no idea but I intend to find out.

For now, I must focus on local battles. The heathens are growing restless and many theorize they are planning a major move, the Enlightened are misguided and don't know they are worshiping Alicorns. A resurgence of Alicorn power cannot be allowed and we must do all we can to block their efforts, not three kilometres from our own safehouse lies a den of the enlightened which we believe may be the location of their vile rituals…

“Why is it always dens?” Jason mumbled to himself as he took the journal and headed back outside to meet with his knightly companions. “Why can't it be a pleasant beach front or a nice cabin?”

His Majesties Holy Court, Gryphonstone Palace, Talonguard, Gryphonia, Saturday, 11th of April, 4:30 pm, 2206 AC

“Today we welcome two honoured guests to our court, Her Majesty Princess Luna of the Moon and the Sorceress of the South, Twilight Sparkle.”

The lords and ladies of the Holy Court glared at them with the most intense and unwelcoming stink eyes that Twilight had ever seen. Their bowed were stiff and full of bitterness and their beaks were all constantly pointed up in disgust whenever they were forced to speak to the equines in the room. However, they never fully crossed the line of to dishonour their guests, they were still Gryphons after all.

They weren't all bad though, one such actual friendly individual by the name of Lord Nightclaw, Lord Paramount of Skyhold, Patriarch of Clan Night, Warden of the South, struck up a conversation with Twilight.

“It's rather baffling,” he was saying. “Our government systems are so similar, feudal noble rule answering to a king or in your case a Diarchy of princesses.”

“Yes, but…” Twilight added. “Equestria enjoyed democratically elected officials that make up a parliament. This allows everyone to have a say in how the country is run.”

“Which I am unsure of, how can you trust that the common folk can make the most educated of decisions? They are not all taught in law.”

“That's why the crown is there, as a check and balance. Besides, free education like we have assures that everyone understands how their vote can make a difference in at least a base level.”

“I submit that point, however, what if this education is ineffective? What then?”

“Are you suggesting we make stupidity illegal?” Twilight quipped with a raised eyebrow.

“My my, well said my lady,” Nightclaw nodded in approval. “You have won the battle but you shall not win the war I say.”

“We’ll see,” Twilight offered him a small smile, she liked this lord. He was chivalrous in an unobnoxious way, funny, clever, and dare she think it rather handsome with his glossy feathers and polished beak. “Let's change subjects then.”

“To?”

“The King,” Twilight said casually, watching the gryphons face. No sign of reaction outside of intrigue.

“Oh-ho? I did not take you for the gossiping type, my dear.”

“What can I say? I like to listen,” Twilight leaned closer with her chin on her hoof. “What do you think about him?”

“His Majesty the High King? Protector of us all and ruler of Gryphonia?” Nightclaw said with mock pride and a puffed out chest. “He's a muddled old fool.”

“What makes you say that?” Twilight pressed.

“Don't mistake me, I respect our king very much. He is a fine warrior and the only reason that this entire kingdom wasn't drowned in civil war during the Conflict of Talons,” Nightclaw spared a glance to Bloodbeak whom was speaking with Luna. “But the keyword in that statement is warrior. Indeed, in his prime no Gryphon, pony, or Dragon faced the Sword of the Wind and lived to tell the tale. But the years are long and time is a harsh mistress upon the body, it's been some time since that blade has tasted blood and I doubt it would cut with the same sharpness as before.”

“But my grander point remains, His Majesty was crowned, coronated, and is most famed for being king during the majority of the Conflict of Talons. We sharpened his claws in that war and it formed the kind of king he would become. Which isn't a very great one in my humble opinion, he is overly cautious, stubborn, he shall avoid conflict to a bitter end but when force to fight he doesn't understand the concept of reasonable level of force. In short, my dear, soldiers don't make good kings.”
“That's a very strong opinion for a lord in the Kings own court,” Twilight stated.

“Oh the High King encourages us to be candid with him, it is one of his redeeming qualities. He has an unusual high tolerance to personal insult, and thus I have previously made him aware of my… Let's call them comments, upon his performance.”

“How’d he take it?”

“He seemed to take it all in stride, I want the only one with things to say mind you. I swear Lord Ironbeak could write a thesis with the spiel he gave.”

“Oh really? What sorts of things…?”

At the head of the table Luna and Bloodbeak spoke with their mouths, exchanging pleasant chit chat expected of national rulers. Beyond the veil however, in a place only the could hear but not see or touch they communicated through thought alone. Luna maintained the connection without so much as a glimmer of her horn, it was an extremely complex technique to pull of but one can master many a skill with a thousand years of free time.

“Whom do you trust here?” she asked.

“All of them, and yet none of them,” Bloodbeak replied. “They sit around me, puttering, flattering, bribing, vying for power, climbing the latter endlessly. Yet, to a fault many of them would defend me and this country and I cannot deny that their love for their family and clan isn't genuine which in its own way shows their integrity. Now if only it wasn't a pain in my wings.”

“I must say, Your Majesty,” Luna said aloud. “As must as I enjoy it you cannot lead me to believe that your court sessions consist only of pleasant conversation.”

“Indeed,” Bloodbeak took the switch in stride. “My Lords and Ladies let us begin, scribe?”

“Your Majesty,” Scribe Grayfeather responded dutifully and dipped his quill into a bottle of ink and prepared to write.

“Let the records show that the eighty thousandth Holy Court of the Sky convened on the eleventh of Rain’s Claws or April as Equestrians know it. During this convening of the Sky Lords we welcome two honoured guests to our assembly, Her Majesty Princess Luna and Her Ladyship Twilight Sparkle. To their honour we drink, to their lives we chant; hail!”

“Hail!” The court chorused back with mostly feinted enthusiasm.

“Onto business then,” Bloodbeak said. “Lord Silverclaw? Please read the agenda for today.”

“At once, Your Majesty,” an elderly Gryphon at the middle of the right side of the table spoke up, he unfurled a scroll and began to read.

“Firstly, Lord Nightclaw wishes to report that once again the Croui living in the Nightfall Woods have demanded an increase to their borders by at least twenty kilometres to encompass the better part of Old Feather Ridge.”

“I refuse to give it,” Nightclaw stated solidly. “The lowborn have been demanding land since it was first given, they need to learn the authority of the crown.”

“The Croui are a recognized clan no less noble then your own, my lord. Why should they be corralled into the woods like animals I ask? Besides, for what purpose do you need this particular ridge?” The King countered.

“It is a militarily strategic position.”

“Against?”

“…the Croui.”

“Of course,” Bloodbeak said. “Grant them the ridge, I'm sure they shall thank you for it.”

For a moment, a brief moment. There was fury in Nightclaw’s eyes as he gave a death stare to the High King whom in turn met the gaze with calm stoicism. The battle of willpower ended after a few moments with Nightclaw un

“Yes, Your Majesty,” The Lord said thinly.

“Very good,” The High King said dismissively. “Let's move on, Lord Silverclaw?”

“Ah yes, the next item on the list is the tax refunds for this quarter…”

The Gods District, Talonguard, Gryphonia, Saturday, 11th of April, 4:57 pm, 2206 AC

The Church of the Enlightened clearly had less budget problems then the Followers of the First did.

When the journal described the place as a ‘den’ that's what he expected, something akin to the low end waterhole made occult safe house that he had just raided. However, Ser Goldbeak assured him that this was the only possible location where the Enlightened were held up.

It was a fucking cathedral.

Tall wide pillars of the purest marble supported a towering roof with a tower that reached far into the sky, banners bearing the sigils of lords fluttered from the top. Beautifully crafted stained glassed windows depicted Gryphons of divine bearing captured in moments of glory. Jason focused in on one depiction that showed a female Gryphon with her wings outstretched and her claws appealingly grasping the sun, another similar window depicted a female in a similar pose but with the moon. Jason hummed at that before looking back at the host of knights that waited dutifully, Jason quite liked having armed personnel escorting him everywhere, it made him feel important. No wonder Celestia did it all the time.

“Sooo… Should we knock?”

“This one believes that we can simply enter for it is a public place,” Goldbeak lamented.

“You sure? I'm pretty sure I'm considered a demon in their beliefs, and this is holy ground, won't I burst into flames or something?”

“This one finds that unlikely.”

“Fine, but you’re paying my medical bill if it happens.”

“We have free healthcare for emergencies.”

“Smartass.”

“Twat.”

“Oh-ho?” Jason grinned. “Looks like the prime and proper knight can shitalk too.”

“This one would do no such thing, to do so would be to dishonour myself,” Goldbeak said, the ghost of a smile gracing his beak.

“You win this time, featherhead,” Jason winked. “Anywho, let's kick down gods door shall we?”

“We shall.”

They walked up the wide steps to the front entrance, through the tall double doors that lay open was exactly what Jason expected; lines of pews on smooth floors all facing not one not two but eighteen separate altars arranged in a tight semi circle. Mercifully there was no one praying at this time other then one or two of what appeared to be priests, both hooded and robed in the purest white.

“This one greets the honourable guests to the gods’ holy household,” one of the greeted in a friendly tone. “This one hopes you good fortune and an enlightening time within our humble church, good day.”
“There is something amiss,” Goldbeak commented as the priest shuffled away to go beat his head with a bible or something.

“What's that?” Jason asked.

“As you said you are a demon in the beliefs of the Church, by all accounts he should have cast you out, belittled you, perhaps tried to call upon the gods strength to smite you down. Yet he welcomed you as a friend.”

“I’m glad you’re concerned about someone being nice to me,” Jason quipped. “Clearly this is a disparity that must be corrected, where is the asshole priest?”

“If you would cease your unfunny sarcasm for a few moments you'd see the point,” Goldbeak shot back. “The fact that he did not react to you means he was expecting you, which means they want you here, which means this is a trap.”

“Well you know what they say about traps; find them, poke them, and see what happens.”

“…We are doomed.”

“You’re doomed,” Jason countered. “C’mon, there’s definitely a secret passageway around here if popular fiction has taught me anything.”

They spread out to search the cathedral, the priests paid them no mind and continued doing whatever the hell priests do. Nothing seem out of the ordinary anywhere until Jason climbed up to the altars and looked up at the one in the centre, the statuette accompanying it showed a male Gryphon in flight holding a heart in one claw and what appeared to be the planet in the other. The etching underneath read: Aeon, God of Existence and Sentient Life, Crafter of Worlds, Maker of Spirits, King of the Gods.

Jason walked along the rest of the altars looking at the names and statues of each of the gods, trying to imagine what their actual Alicorn forms looked like. Morpheus, God of Nightmares. Kronos, God of Time. Mars, God of War and Honourable Battle. Aethra, Goddess of the Sky. Soragnavir, God of Loyalty and Family. Gaia, Goddess of the Earth. Lyr, Goddess of the Sea. Hecate, Goddess of Magic and Forbidden Knowledge. Ignis, Goddess of Flame. Drax, God of Peace. Conspira, Goddess of Conspiracy. Belivas, Goddess of Beasts and Monsters. Osiris, God of Death. Dispono, God of Order..

Jason paused and took a look at Gryphon Dispono, a bookish looking male holding a shield and nothing else. Jason moved on to the last altar in the row.

Nemesis, God of Revenge

Jason hummed. Nemesis, revenge. The Alicorn that sacrificed himself to destroy humanity purely out of spite, it was his artifact; Cain’s Blade, that the Enlightened currently possessed. Jason looked up at the Gryphon likeness of the God, he knew that wasn't what he actually looked like but still the cruel grin on the statues’s beak and the ugly satisfaction that it's stone eyes conveyed weren't comforting. Jason found himself running his hand along the top of the altar until he heard and unexpected click and his finger hit some sort of concealed button. The entire statue shook violently until it retreated back into the wall to reveal a dark tunnel leading downwards.

”Welcome, brother.”

Suddenly Jason wasn’t standing in front of an altar to Nemesis, but to Jesus Christ. He recognized St Peter’s square, he saw Rome, he saw the dark tunnel leading to the twisted science that his fellow Humans dabbled in, and he saw Roseluck in his arms dying from the last ditch effort of those humans to protect their dark secrets.

Jason blinked as he returned to reality, he heaved a sigh and pushed the images to the back if him mind with deep breaths and the willpower to focus. He looked back at Ser Goldbeak whom thankfully hasn't noticed Jason miniature emotional break down.

“He look,” Jason gave a smile he knew was weak. “Secret passage. Told ya’ so.”

Gryphonstone Palace, Talonguard, Gryphonia, Saturday, 11th of April, 5:37pm, 2206 AC

After court had adjourned for the day Twilight found herself wondering alone in the long winding halls of Gryphonstone. In hindsight this wasn't a very smart decision but Twilight always found solitude to the best way for her to focus and organize her thoughts.

The palace was large and very airy, there always seemed to be some sort of breeze tickling her fur as she went. That tall wide ceilings and the fact that all the paintings a memorabilia was orientated higher off the ground suggested that one was meant to fly through the palace. Unfortunately Twilight didn't currently possess wings so she was stuck staring at marble tiles and bare walls.

Voices, a lot of them, raised in argument met her ears in a soft echo that traveled down the hall to her. Twilight’s interest was piqued immediately, she usually wasn't the nosy type but in a political atmosphere wherein she was meant to root out treason she had to be a little snoopy from time to time, like now. She stealthily followed the sounds down a side hall and to a small unassuming door that was cracked just a little open, she put her ear to it.

“…anticipate that they would get involved, we should move before they find something incriminating.”

“This was a reckless plan from the start, you can count Clan Moon out.”
“Is that so? And would you have us turn our legions to your hold? Hm?”

“You dare threaten me…?”

Twilight recognized the voices as the lords and ladies of the court, not just some of them but most of them. The more she listened the more it seemed like the entire Holy Court of the Sky was convening without the consent or even knowledge of the King, surely they couldn't all be conspiring against him?

“The pieces are in place,” Lord Sunclaw was saying. “Our allies are preparing the ritual, they can execute it immediately if needed.”

“No!” Lord Moonclaw snapped. “It is premature, we must bide our time to have the greatest effect.”

“Are you scared you cur? I find no honour in this shadow stalking, we must fight like honourable Gryphons to win the throne.”

“Oh I agree, Lord Sunclaw. However, I believe our conversation is no longer private,” Lord Nightclaw’s voice reached Twilight’s ears and she only a quick second to take a step back before the door slammed open and two Silver Guards stepped out with swords pointed at her.

“Ah, the beautiful Lady Twilight, an honour again,” Nightclaw said. “Unfortunately you were not meant to hear that, a shame. I would but have minded a consort when I am king…”

“Why do this? Why betray your king? I was taught the Gryphons are beings of honour. What honour is there in this?”

“You poor naïve child, did you know that this isn't the first time Equestria has interfered with the affairs of Gryphonia,” Nightclaw scowled. “Five centuries ago it twas not Clan Blood that sat the throne but my own Clan Night. My great grandfather ruled that era and he rules fairly, firmly, and honourably for his entire life but quarrelled often with the Two Princesses. So during a diplomatic visit I suppose your dear Celestia decided that enough was enough because she laid the foundation for the bloodiest civil war prior to the Conflict of Talons.”

“Do you want to know how she did it?” Nightclaw didn't wait for an answer. “Just before she left she passed by the court, one of whom was Lord Blood himself and all she said was “Dost he not look tired?” Then she left. Two days later there were soldiers at the gates and the city was on fire.”

“I.. Don't believe you,” Twilight said uncertainly.

“As you say, but the time has come for Clan Night to regain its right. This Rein of Blood shall cease and it shall cease today, and you shall not interfere with that, my revenge shall be complete. Kill her.”

The two Silver Guards advanced on Twilight with their swords raised, time slowed, Twilight could feel her heard beating hard and fast and her breath quickening. She remembered Stalliongrad, the Gryphon's that attacked her then, never again, never again, never again. She sparked her magic.

A bubble shield bounced the two swords off it like it was made of solid stone, it quickly dispelled as Twilight took a telekinetic grip on the sword to her right and yanked it out of the guards claws before hitting him square in the chest with a force push. He was knocked flying into a wall where his helmet hit the marble enough to crack it but even as the guard slid down to collapse on the ground he continued breathing. Twilight then whipped around to catch the other Silver Guard’s blade with a crude spike of magic, with a quick change that spike became a solid purple crystal spike. It began to grow and spread rapidly down the sword connected to it before binding the guards claws to the hilt with crystal shards. The crystal never stopped and rapidly consumed the guards body, the gryphon became more and more panicked as it neared his head and beak.

“Oh gods please no, please!” He cried.

Just as the crystals neared his beak Twilight cast a simple spell and they stopped just short of cutting of the guards air supply. She then turned to the nobles to see several advancing on her, while the rest escaped, Lord Sunclaw and Lord Moonclaw were unarmed but the damage claws could inflict was nothing to sneeze at. As they lunged at her Twilight blink teleported just behind them to leave the lords stumbling, she then began to whip her head around in a circular motion as a stream of purple magic streamed out and with a flick she threw the magic lasso around the two lords where it pulled them together and bound them tight.

Twilight began running, the other lords – including Nightclaw – had already escaped but that didn't matter now. She didn't know what their plan was but she wouldn't let them get away with it. She had to warn Princess Luna, she had to warn the King!

Underneath The Gods District, Talonguard, Gryphonia, Saturday, 11th of April, 3:23pm, 2206 AC

Jason held a small ball of magical fire in his hand fir light as they carefully followed the tunnel deeper into the earth, shadows danced across the cut stone walls and Jason on several occasions heard the echoes of… Something crowing from the darkness. He reflected on the amount of times he ended up in a dark hole in the ground and wondered what bad decisions he had made to get to this point.

“This one finds this place to be unsettling,” Goldbeak stated.
“Well dark tunnels aren't exactly pleasant meadows.”

“It is not just that, the air here is different, old, tainted.”

“…We’re underground.”

“You are missing this one’s point.”

“I think you’re just grumpy ‘cause you can't flutter around like a song bird.”

“Do shut up.”

The tunnel levelled out from its decent before leading to an unassuming wooden door stuck into the dirt and loosely hung by rusty hinges, it had been there a while. Jason out his ear to it and sure enough he could hear voices on the other side, muffled yes but they sounded like chanting.

“Let's get a better look,” Jason said, dispelling the light he carried. “With an element of stealth preferably.”

“This constant sneaking is a dishonourable tactic,” Steelclaw growled.

“Your face is dishonourable,” Jason countered. “Now shut yer beak.”

“This one would let it go, Ser,” Goldbeak said.

“See, you are not shutting up despite the fact that I have, several times now, told you to shut the fuck up,” Jason grumbled.

After assuring that the two featherbrains had indeed shut their fucking beaks, Jason carefully pushed the door open and it in turn mercifully didn't squeak. He peaked through the crack at whatever spoopy shit was going on in this hole in the ground. Indeed, the door gave way to a complete vertical cylinder that dug downwards twenty meters into a pit wherein the aforementioned spoopy shit was going down.

Seven white robed Gryphon stood in a circle around a stone altar, they were all holding golden staffs topped with lit candles. Upon the altar, unmistakably, was Cain’s Blade and it appeared to be glowing a faint red which seemed to be slowly increasing with the intensity of the chanting which grew and grew from a low hum to a heavenly choir.

O Deus, captatam, illumina nos ad formam,
O gloriosa fuere captum,
O veterem, et dimitte nobis debita nostra illustrare,
O fortis est ut mors lugentes,
O exaltavi te mane surgere.

“My brothers,” one of the priests announced. “Today is the apex of years of preparation, of searching, of loss, of triumph, and if struggle. Through it all it is only through our faith and our love in the gods that we have achieved all that we have, now let us make history. Let us prove that our race is god chosen to be the leaders of the world, let us set the foundation for the Gryphon kingdom to become the Gryphon empire. Hail Gryphonia!”

“Hail Gryphonia!” The others chanted.

“Bring the accursed scroll! Let the creation of the forerunner’s revive their greatest enemy!”

Without warning another robed priest flew down from above carrying something in his claws, it was only when he landed and presented the item that Jason saw what it was. A scroll, yellowed with age, tightly rolled, and nearly bleeding magical energy, a familiar energy, a very very familiar energy.

“Oh fuck me,” Jason said softly. “Where the hell did they get that?”

The Gryphon placed the Resurrection Scroll upon the altar next to Cain’s Blade which practically burned red at this point, the priests formed a perfect circle around the altar and hefted their staffs.

“Ash from ash, dust from dust,” they chanted. “Rise again, rise again, rise again.”

In unison they lowered their staffs so that the flames of their candles met in the middle and the Resurrection Scroll caught fire. As the flames consumed the parchment the spell was released, magic paused forth and Jason’s own aura reacted, manifesting around him in a bright silver fire. Luckily the priests were too busy bowing to notice, Jason watched in awe and fear as the spell interacted with Cain’s Blade which began to levitate before striking down to penetrate the stone altar. The stone began to glow red and bubble like it was liquid, like blood put to a burner and slowly from the pool a figure began to rise. It was large, tall, it had a horn and wings and as the red liquid fell of it dark fur and a darker mane was revealed.

“-revenge,” Nemesis said, as if finishing a sentence before letting out a chuckle. The Alicorn was tall, more so then Celestia, and had grey almost black coat with a long wild black mane. Nemesis stretched his wings which extended to almost the edge of the pit, then he lit his horn and pulled Cain’s Blade out of the altar to wield it at his side.

“Oh it does feel good to be in corporeal form,” he said, smiling to himself.

“My lord Nemesis, Spiteful God, it is an honour to-“ it was at this point that the Gryphon priest looked up and shock struck his face, horror even. “N-no!”

“Yes,” Nemesis said disinterestedly. “It must be disappointing to discover your entire faith is based on lies. The gods take the form of Alicorns you pathetic sycophant, although despite your impressive stupidity I must thank you for through your arrogance I live to spite once again.”

“Truly, we have been misguided in our beliefs and now we have the proof of that,” the priest said, he sounded defeated and broken. “However, you are still our lord and we shall serve you all the same.”

“Indeed,” Nemesis sounded disinterested. “From what I have seen, it is one Nightclaw that calls upon me. He wishes to complete his revenge, one that is two centuries in the making. One might think that the hatred would cool after so much time but you know what I've always said. Revenge is best served cold.”

“So you will help mi’lord Nightclaw?” The priest asked tentatively.

“Of course, of course,” Nemesis said, casually spinning Cain’s Blade in the air. “But first I have my own business to attend to, isn't that right Jason?”

Before he could react Jason was grabbed by a powerful magic and dragged through the door and into the pit wherein he was thrown violently against the nearest wall and left to slide down and collapse on his backside.

“Do you know what the greatest pleasure is? Killing my enemies, taking my revenge,” Nemesis lamented simply, twirling his blade. “Revenge for what you may ask, well let's see. You and your ilk have done… What? Killed my brothers and sisters, destroyed my home, ruined the glory that was the Alicorn Imperium, had the arrogance to upset the natural order of things and now you have the gall to EXIST?!”

Nemesis breathed heavily, the fury breaking as his red magical aura consumed him in ethereal fire. Cain’s Blade glowed brightly as it morphed and grew, it's hilt and blade both growing until it formed a full length sabre, sharp and deadly. Slowly, almost lovingly Nemesis brought the blade to his lips and gave it a kiss before setting his sights back on Jason and swinging his sword in a deadly arc towards him.

In the seconds he had Jason desperately tried to for, a shield around himself, he knew it wouldn't go up in time but as it happens he didn't need it at all as he was tackled from the side by something large, furry, and covered in feathers. Jason and Goldbeak rolled in the first before coming to a halt, the knight immediately jumping up and drawing his sword, he stood between Nemesis and Jason.

“And who is-“ before Nemesis could so much as finish his sentence there was the screech of an eagle followed by a blur that flew down rapidly, drawing its blade across the Alicorn’s face. Nemesis hissed in pain as golden godsblood weeped from the wound. Ser Steelclaw landed next to his brother, his longsword shining with the Ichor that it drew.
“Hear this one as he speaks, Alicorn,” Ser Steelclaw said. “We have been charged by His Majesty the King with the protection of Ser Jason, while we draw breath no harm shall befall him and on our honour we shall defend him. This one give you one single chance to stand down with honour and avoid bloodshed.”

Nemesis wiped the last bit of Ichor from his cheek as the wound closed itself unnaturally fast. “You shall pay for this.”

“So be it, have at you.”

The two knights split and flew in opposite directions before swimming back rapidly to attack Nemesis from both sides, the Alicorn blocked Goldbeak’s blade with his own and Steelclaw practically bounced off a magical shield that Nemesis put up. They recovered quickly and swiftly counter attacked, Goldbeak landed a solid blow along the Alicorn’s leg which caused a large enough distraction for Steelclaw to slice his ear clean off.

Nemesis screamed and his horn burned with energy, both of the knights were taken into a magical grip before being smashed into the nearest wall and then thrown back towards Jason. They collapsed in a heap by his feat, stunned and shocked to a point where they struggled to recover. Nemesis gave to respite as he charged his horn and threw a powerful blast towards them, Jason didn't think but rather acted as he stepped out in front and threw all his magic into his blade which came out before him. The blast his the gladius and plot along its edge to form to beams on either side with pulverized and glassed the dirt behind them, the struggle lasted only a moment or two but once done Jason could barely stand, his energy spent.

“We need to… Run,” Jason said weakly to his companions.

“No… Retreat, no surrender,” Ser Steelclaw growled as he stood, pointing his blade at Nemesis.

“Brother.. What point is there in dying here? What honour is there in that? We must warn the king,” Goldbeak argued.

The gears turned in Steelclaw’s head, his face contorting and relaxing as he went over the honourable texts and the code he lived his life by. Considering, thinking, reflecting.

“So be it,” he said.

“Jason, on this one’s single you shall jump upon his back-“ Goldbeak began.

“Wait, what?”

“Hush, you shall jump upon this one’s back and this one shall fly you out of here, Ser Steelclaw you lead, Jason please do try to block the inevitable magical fire being sent our way. Or at least give fair warning. On three.”
“I don't like this.”

“One.”

“This is a terrible idea.”

“Two.”

“Can you even lift me?”

“Three.”

“Fuck me.”

Taking the plunge Jason jumped onto Goldbeak’s back and hugged around his feathery neck, he felt the Gryphon’s wings flap as they took to the air and Steelclaw shoot ahead of them. They flew back into the tunnel from which they came but unfortunately Nemesis was right on their tail. They exited back into the cathedral and neglected the front door in favour of the nearest window, Jason felt glass scrap across his arms but ignored it as they gained altitude and flew towards Gryphonstone palace.

Jason felt his skin tingle as magic honed in on them, he yelled over the wind at Goldbeak to dodge and then held on desperately as he spun in the air and banked violently left. The blasts came coming, none hitting their mark but Jason slowly realized that wasn't the point, they were being forced away from the palace and away from the city, soon all Jason could see was forest underneath.

His warning came too late as the blast clipped Goldbeak’s side and carried on to hit Steelclaw’s wing. Falling, they were falling, the wind screamed in Jason’s ears, he held on desperately to the limp form of Goldbeak as they tumbled from the heavens, gritting his teeth Jason reached out with a magical grip to find Steeclaw and hold onto him tight. With all his might he did his best to lift all three of them, to slow their decent, it worked to a degree yet still when they hit the branches they hit hard and fast. Jason heard the cracking of bones and the splatter of blood that he could not identify, they hit the ground and the last thing Jason saw was the azure sky above before he blacked out.

Gryphonstone Palace, Talonguard, Gryphonia, Saturday, 11th of April, 5:42pm, 2206 AC

Twilight found the king and princess in the throne room, six other Gryphon's were there too. In steel armour and blue capes, the High King had gathered what remained of his knights around him.

“Your Majesty, Luna!” Twilight said breathlessly, coming to halt before them.

“Twilight? Whatever is the matter?” Luna asked.

“L-lord Nightclaw, he.. He…” Twilight was beginning to hyperventilate.

“Calm yourself, child,” Bloodbeak said soothingly. “Collect yourself.”

“Indeed, something of great import must have occurred to distress you so,” Luna said in concern. “What could-“

A shiver when through Luna’s body, her horn sparked as if electrically charged and her eyes widened.

“This.. This cannot be,” she said softly.

“I'm afraid it is,” Lord Nightclaw said as he entered the room, with him was what remained of the court and a whole host of Silver Guard which surrounded the king. The Knights formed their own circle around them and drew their blades.

“What is the meaning of this treachery? Dishonourable swine! All of you!” Bloodbeak growled. “I shall have your heads for this!”

“Nay, it is your head that shall roll my king, for you sit upon a stolen throne and pretend your right to it is divine,” Nightclaw drew his own sword. “No longer, false king Bloodbeak, I Lord Nightclaw the rightful King of the Sky hereby challenge you to a duel of honour for the Winged Throne!”

There was a moment of shocked silence as everyone processed exactly what that challenge meant, it was the Knights of the sky that reacted first. They sheathed their weapons and backwards away as the king let out a heavy and very tired sigh, he slowly drew his own sword.

“…but… He can refuse, can’t he?” Twilight asked.

“Books only tell you so much, my dear Twilight,” Luna said sadly. “A dual of honour is the most sacred of rituals, to refuse one is to relinquish all honour and all respect, you become less then alive, an unspeakable, to refuse would mean giving up the throne none the less.”

“But… He would live..” Twilight said weakly.

“We outsiders will never truly understand, to this day I still don't,” Luna explained. “But there is not a Gryphon alive who would choose dishonour before death, no, if the throne is to be lost it shall be lost in battle and nothing less.”

The two warriors approached one another, they presented their swords I front of their faces before bowing deeply to one another, never breaking eyes contact for a moment. They began to circle one another, the king old and slow, the lord young and spry.

It was over in a matter of seconds.

Bloodbeak blocked the first few blows, but weakly and barely, it was the fifth strike that struck home. Nightclaw plunged his sword straight through the High King’s neck and left it there, he then grabbed the Sword of Kings from Bloodbeak’s claws as he toppled to the floor.

“Long live the king,” he said.

“Long live the king! Long live the king!” The Silver Guards chanted.

“Arrest the foreign intruders,” Nightclaw ordered, and the Silver Guard began to close in on Luna and Twilight. Before they could react they were once again surrounded by the Knights of the Sky.

“Your Majesty, we bid that you escape with Lady Twilight,” Ser Windbeak said.

“Indeed, I do believe I have pressing matters to attend to outside,” Luna said. “You are all honourable warriors, your songs shall be sung for generations to come.”

“Go with the wind, Princess Luna of the Moon,” Ser Cloudclaw said. “Tell the world of what happened here.”

“Farewell,” Luna said, as she teleported herself and Twilight away.

The reappeared at the palace steps and saw that the city was on fire, Silver Guards clashed with their loyalist brothers and with Knights of every clan loyal to the king. People panicked in the streets and above it all a figure flew above, occasionally killing someone from above and lazily making his way towards the palace.

“Who… What,” Twilight stared at the Alicorn above in shock.

“My dear Twilight, there is no time, find safety, find Jason if you can, and return to my sister,” Luna said solemnly as her horn glowed and a scythe was summoned into existence next to her. “Tell her what has happened, tell her Nemesis was resurrected.”

“Nemesis, but…” Twilight paused. “Princess what shall you do?”

“I shall stall him, now go,” Luna shot into the air with such force that it shook the ground beneath her. She rapidly flew towards Nemesis and swung her blade in an arc that would've cut his head off weren't it not for Cain’s Blade with blocked it. Nemesis’s smiling face appeared inches from her own.

“Well, well, it has been too long, my dear,” Nemesis said. “I have heard from very nasty things about you, even in the underworld the talk is you've gone soft on Humans. Need I remind you of the countless.. COUNTLESS, amount of our brothers and sisters they have slaughtered?”

“No need, swine,” Luna said, struggling against her foe’s strength.

“Indeed, then I suppose you are just here for a dance, in that case..” Nemesis pushed Luna away and cast a spell with wreathed his blade in fire. “I'm always looking for a partner, shall we?”

“So be it, have at you.”

As gods clashed above, the kingdom below tore itself apart.

Chapter 36 ~ Battle of the Sky

“If peace cannot be maintained with honour, it is no longer peace.”

-John Russel

Somewhere, The Kingdom of Gryphonia, Saturday, 11th of April, 7:13pm, 2206 AC

Falling.

Falling really sucks.

Jason groaned as the pain hit him, granted it could've been a lot worse given the circumstances, but still. The aches and bruises now covering his entire body would hurt for the next few days, no doubt. He lay upon soft lush grass, trees and their branches blocked much of the dying light of the sunset, the forest becoming very dark. Jason stared at the orange sky for a few moments before a noise reminded him that he wasn't alone, he looked over and saw his two knightly companions. Ser Goldbeak seemed unharmed enough, some scrapes here and there, most likely from branches during the fall; Ser Steelclaw on the other hand lay upon the ground, his face was lined with pain and his feathers spattered with blood, a huge gash spilled blood into the knight’s previously well-groomed feathers and into the grass.

“It.. It was the Alicorn, yes? He hit this one with a spell or perhaps a blade, in glorious battle?” Ser Steelclaw asked, his eyes clamped shut and his words coming out with difficulty. Jason looked at the sound, it was rough and uneven, no blade nor spell caused that and when Jason met Goldbeak’s tortured gaze he knew that the knight had come to same conclusion. He watched him hesitate, sorrow and guilt weighed his shoulders down as he responded.

“Yes,” Goldbeak lied. “You died in honourable combat, in service to crown and country, your tale shall be sung by bards and shall inspire children, you shall be granted entry into the Hall my brother, this one promises.”

“This one dies content,” Steelclaw moved weakly, grasping for his sword, Goldbeak helped him and placed the blade in his claws, Steelclaw held the sword over his chest. “For the king, for the kingdom, for Gryphonia, the oath honoured to the end.”

“Fly now, my brother,” Goldbeak said, his voice cracking. “Fly now in that peaceful place beyond, fly with your ancestors and the kings of old, know rest, know peace.”

For a moment it seemed like Steelclaw would say something else, but he released the breath in a shuttering gasp, his body relaxed, his face became serene. Goldbeak released the sob that he had been holding in his throat, he leaned forward and gently closed Steelclaw’s eyelids before pressing his beak gently into Steelclaw’s forehead. Goldbeak straightened himself and took several deep breaths before wiping the moisture from his eyes, he looked at Jason whom had sat himself up, Goldbeak’s sorrow was outlined by the approaching night.

Without a word, Goldbeak walked into the woods, his form disappearing into the darkness. He returned shortly with a bundle of sticks in his beak, he placed them down next to Steelbeak before leaving once again to return with yet more sticks. Jason stood when Goldbeak returned a third time and followed him into the woods, they gathered wood and tinder together and slowly they formed a pyre around Steelclaw.

“Do you know the flower, Daffodil?” Goldbeak asked, his voice hoarse.

“Yeah?” Jason said.

“Gather as much as you can,” Goldbeak said.

There was a surprising amount of Daffodils growing along a small stream that ran not too far away. They gathered whole bundles of the stuff and brought it back to the pyre where Jason watched as Goldbeak carefully placed each flower around his brother, wreathing them into his wings.

“Do you have a flint?” Goldbeak asked once he was finished.

“No, but…” Jason kneeled down and summoned fire to his hand, the flames caught the kindling and spread across the pyre. Jason stood back up as the flames began to cover Steelclaw.

“You should rest,” Goldbeak said softly. “Recover.”

“Shouldn't you?” Jason asked.

“This one must remain on guard until his brother has been returned to ash, he must honour him.”

“…Alright,” Jason said, he remembered what Luna had said; outsiders would never understand these Gryphons. He laid himself down on the soft grass, the heat of the pyre washing over him. For a while there was only the sound of the crackling fire and the forest around them, until, softly at first but with rising volume…

“ Qui canitis ad me,
Longe me in mortem somno,
Cum iter ad mortem ire
Et hoc track et conculcabit
Frigidum frigida, et frigus.

Quaesivi et Missa,
Et misit ad cantica.
Et in profundissimum puteum
Lacrimis ita mihi durum
Ex pignus fratrum.

Ego nihil scio, mei regis
Semper paratus sum mori,

Qui canitis ad me,
Longe me in mortem somno,
Unde iter ad mortem ire
Et hoc track et conculcabit
Frigidum frigida, et frigus.

Mane vel in fine diei,
Corvus tamen scit si ceciderit.

Cum stabitis ad portam
Cumque lacerare liber
Ego sequi te
Super montes mea.

Vincula et ligabunt te carere,
Inter se vinculis liberatus es tu

Tangit mortuum,
Amicis mortuis,
Sic moriaris oportet.
Si hoc
Et non moriatur;
Honestate unus honos.

Fratres die,
Amicis mortuis,
Sic moriaris oportet.
Unum scio,
Ut non moriatur;
Iudicium defuncti militis vitam.”

Jason said nothing, he allowed himself to slip into sleep to the sorrowful song of a mourning knight.

Talonguard, Gryphonia, Saturday, 11th of April, 7:34pm, 2206 AC

“Hm, Celestia brought the moon out a tad early,” Luna commented, staring up at the sky from her position on her back, the collapsed building that she had crashed into forming rubble piles around her.

“Well, at least she did it for you, it's the thought that counts,” Nemesis replied, he himself being in the same situation as Luna, having crashed into the building with her.

“I suppose, anyway, shall we continue?” Luna asked.

“Why not?”

The two dark Alicorns shot out of the ruined building and into the air, below them Talonguard was on fire. A mass moshpit that had evolved long past loyalist versus traitors and into a mad clash of pure bloodlust and rage, there were no sides anymore, only death.

Luna summoned her scythe to her side and without hesitation she became shadow, her form melting into an ethereal form that shot towards Nemesis at speeds unimaginable. Her blade collided with Nemesis’ sword with the force of a titan, the resulting shockwave rocked the ground beneath them. Wasting no time, Luna teleported to the side and went for another blow which was once again blocked, the two Alicorn’s exchanged blows back and forth with neither making any headway. Luna eventually twitched tactics, and teleported far away. She reached out to the moon, it's light graced her and she felt it’s strength seep into her, this was her time. The moonlight glinted off her scythe and became a solid blade of silver which shot forth and pierced Nemesis’s eye, he screamed in agony as he cried godsblood.

Nemesis disappeared and reappeared next to Luna, they grappled with each other and Nemesis dragged her down with him. The two Alicorn’s tumbled from the sky and crashed into the marble streets below. Luna recovered quickly and faced her foe once more, it had been a long time since she had faced something worthy of her skill, she had to admit, this was enjoyable.

“Why do you fight me, Luna?” Nemesis asked, with a tone very distant from that of, which confused Luna. “I remember such a time when you desired revenge yourself, first against the Human’s, then against your sister no less…”

“SILENCE!” Luna shouted, her voice thundering the heavens. “SPEAK NOT OF THAT TIME AS IF YOU UNDERSTAND! FIEND! CURR! FOULEST DEMON!”

“Oh, but I do,” Nemesis smiled, the moonlight spike still stuck in his eye giving him a grotesque appearance. “How dare they love her more than you, how dare they fawn and scrape before while giving you naught but queer and frightful looks.”

“I said… Silence,” Luna growled, she was beginning to shake, her entire body smoked with magical energy.

“Can you not see? Your revenge was never complete, your whore of a sister stopped you from taking back what was yours, but I can help you, set things right,” Nemesis magically pulled the spike out of his eye, the wound beginning to heal instantly. “That is what I do, I set things right, I am balance, I am justice, I am fairness, Clan Blood stole that throne from the rightful line of kings, now Nightclaw comes to bring it all into balance, the Human's slaughtered our brethren so I have sworn to slaughter them all in turn including your pet, Jason.”

The shadows grew around them, the fires dimmed to an eerie glow as the stars slowly faded away, including the moon itself, as the world slowly became nothing but darkness. Luna’s entire form glowed with an ethereal blue flame and her eyes shined the same colour, the marble at her hooves began to crack and crumble from the pure energy.

“You could have it again,” Nemesis continued, his voice excited as he walked undeterred towards Luna. “An eternal night, your sister kneeling at your hooves along with the people, if you'd just stand aside, I can give you your revenge.”

Luna smiled.

“You are nothing but a molding pile of excrement.”

The shadows descended upon Nemesis and tore into him like an animal, his flesh was torn from the bone and the bones themselves were crushed to dust. Every cell of his body was utterly destroyed until there was naught a speck of him left, the shadows retreated and the stars and moon came back. The city had grown quiet of battle leaving only the crackling of flames and the howling wind to refill the silence. Luna could barely stand after that feat, shadow magic was a toll even had she been in her prime.

Nodding in satisfaction that she was victorious Luna turned to leave, there was still the new king to deal with after all. She made it not three steps before a noise reached her ears, the sparking of magic, the sound of flesh impacting flesh, the snap of bones, and a slowly growing laughter, she turned around.

Bone by bone, with flesh, muscle, and sinew growing on them like fungus grows on a corpse Nemesis reformed. Before Luna’s eye’s she saw powerful ancient magics at work reconstruct the god piece by piece until he stood before her once again, the fur and hair growing back into place.

“Not possible,” Luna said, feeling true fear. “I… That's…”

“One of the few ways to truly kill an Alicorn,” Nemesis finished. “I know, how do you think that scroll killed me in the first place? Destroyed every piece of me until there was nothing left.”

“Then how are you...?” Luna frowned, something wasn't right, she needed time. Gathering her magic she began to fade away.

“No!” Nemesis lunged forth and stabbed towards Luna, but his sword hit air as Luna teleported away.

“I WILL FIND YOU!” He screamed, taking flight. “YOU HEAR ME, I WILL FIND YOU!”

Elsewhere in the City, Talonguard, Gryphonia, Saturday, 11th of April, 5:50pm, 2206 AC

When Luna and Nemesis began to clash in the skies, Twilight knew she had no business being there. After snapping out of her awe-struck state, she broke out in a run towards the nearest exit to the city. Nightclaw must’ve had his army nearby because soon Gryphonian warriors bearing the sigil of Clan Night descended upon the city and clashed with the loyalists. Madness and chaos soon ensued as Twilight almost swore that every Gryphon within a fifty kilometer radius took up arms, and began to wantonly slaughter their kinsmen. All Twilight could do was run for her dear life.

She didn't know where Jason was, but she hoped beyond hope that he had found a way out of the city and to safety. She had to get to safety , she had to find Jason, she had to warn Celestia, yes, Celestia would know what to do. At the very least she could stop Gryphonia from drowning in it’s own blood. Twilight turned a corner, avoiding the main street which was currently being used as an impromptu duelling arena, as a Gryphon challenged the honour of anyone who would dare pass through him.

Unfortunately the alleyway wasn't much better, as Twilight entered it, she spotted six figures standing over a seventh. They had just finished off their prey when they spotted Twilight, they approached, their blood-stained surcoats bearing the sigil of some Gryphon Clan.

“Stay still so this one can get a look at you..” The leader said, his eyes crawling across Twilight’s body. “Yes, this one thinks he’ll have you, please don't resist, wouldn't want to claw up that pretty face.”

Twilight scowled in disgust and manifested her magic, she grabbed the hilt of the soldiers sword and pulled it out of its sheath. Before he could react Twilight had slashed it across his neck, opening a deep wound that spilled blood upon the cobblestones, she then threw his limp body into his comrades knocking down four of them. A thunderbolt crackled forth from Twilight’s horn, striking the remaining Gryphon square in the chest, the electricity arced through his body, burning his feathers to a crisp and exploding his eyeballs with bloody popping noises. Twilight then took hold of the sheath that belonged to the sword she carried and pulled it away from the dead Gryphon. As as the remaining four struggled to stand up, Twilight summoned a fire which scorched them all. At least, she fled the scene, leaving them burning to death.

She made it only about twenty meters forward before her stomach gave out; retching and puking up disgusting bile and acid. Twilight shook and sobbed, she had just killed six Gryphons, six people, regardless of their crimes they didn't deserve to die! Especially in such a violent manner. Twilight wasn't even sure where half those spells came from, she had never really studied combat magic outside of the theoretical. Twilight looked at the sword she was still holding in her magical grip, it was long wide and curved slightly, if she remembered correctly this manner of sword was called a Falchion, with its blade splatter in blood.

Quickly Twilight shoved the Falchion back into its sheath, she fit the straps around herself and tightened them before continuing on her way. The memory of what she had done was shoved to the dark recesses of her mind -- now was not the time to have a breakdown, she was almost out of the city and she couldn't stop now.

Somewhere, The Kingdom of Gryphonia, Sunday, 12th of April, 6:26am, 2206 AC

When Jason awoke Goldbeak was in the same spot he had been last night, the pyre had burned itself down to a pile of smouldering ashes. Goldbeak was sitting up but his head was down resting on his chest, clearly asleep. Jason sat up and rubbed the gunk from his eyes he looked up. The sun was just beginning to leak over the horizon. Dailight would reach its peak soon,and they needed to get moving, he had no idea how far they had drifted from Talonguard but he hoped it wasn't far. Jason gently roused Goldbeak who woke without much fuss, but the tired look in his eyes and the streaks in his feathers told Jason that last night had not been restful for the knight.

“We need to get moving,” Jason said softly. Goldbeak silently nodded, he unclasped his blue cape and laid it out next to the ash pile, we quickly yet carefully picked up all the ashes and placed them onto the cloth, once he had all of them he closed up the cape to create a makeshift bag. He tied it tightly and stuffed it into his chestplate.

“This one thinks we landed in the Noct Forest, it's the closest forest to Talonguard,” Goldbeak said.

“That would make the most sense,” Jason agreed. “Question is, where exactly are we in said forest? Which way is Talonguard?”

“No idea.”

“Well couldn't you like… Fly up and look?”

“…No.”

“…Why?”

“Because…” Goldbeak looked embarrassed. “Because my wing is broken.”
“Your wing is…” Jason’s hand gravitated to his face. “…Why didn't you mention this earlier?”

“This one was ashamed,” Goldbeak admitted. “A Gryphon who cannot fly is no Gryphon at all, he is better off dead.”

Jason sighed heavily and rubbed his temples, honour it seemed came at the expense of common sense.

“Which wing?” He asked eventually.

“The left.”

Jason moved over to examine the break, it wasn't visible which Jason took as a good sign but when he gently ran his finger down the length of the wing Goldbeak yelped in pain.

“My bad,” Jason apologized.

“You are forgiven,” Goldbeak said thinly. “Just don't do that again.”

“Right, well we’ll have to splint it so it doesn't move and it can heal properly,” Jason rubbed his chin. “Hold tight for a second, I'll be right back.”

Jason went into the woods, it was there he grabbed two long sturdy sticks that he estimated to be the length of Goldbeak’s wing. He brought them back and then removed his coat, using his knife he cut two lengths of fabric from it, he had Goldbeak lie of his good side (it took some convincing) so Jason could lay the sticks above and below the wing and secure it all together with the fabric.

“It’ll have to do,” Jason said. “But you’re grounded until that heals.”

“My ancestors would scorn me for shaming our clan,” Goldbeak said unhappily.

“Oh suck it up,” Jason said. “C’mon, walk like a normal person.”

“You are insufferable.”

“That's just a synonym for loveable.”

“Do shut up, this one is in pain.”

“Fight me.”

“This one is a predator with sharp claws and a beak, you are a pale squishy thing.”

“Hey, I am a manly pale squishy thing.”

Goldbeak let Jason have the last word and continued on with a grumpy huff, but Jason knew he saw a small smile on that beak of his whether he would admit it or not. They walked rather aimlessly for what felt like a fair amount of time, the trees were fairly evenly placed apart and there was game trails everywhere making the trek simple enough. Yet after at least two hours it didn't feel like they were making much headway.

“So how big is this forest?” Jason asked.

“Large.”

“How big is large?”

“Bigger then a wood but smaller then a jungle.”

“That's helpful.”

“You asked, this one answered.”

“You know, for a supposedly honourable knight you’re awfully sarcastic.”

Goldbeak stopped in his tracks, Jason turned to look at him. The knight seemed both deeply offended and completely terrified. Looking at Jason with wide eyes.

“Are you… Questioning my honour?” He asked, carefully but very deliberately.

“No you dunderhead, calm yer feathers.”

“Good, this one really didn't want to declare a dual of honour,” Goldbeak sounded legitimately relieved and continued walking, Jason just silently shook his head and followed closely behind.

The forest grew dark around them, thick branches blocking the light and casting all into shadow. With a snap of his fingers Jason summoned a magical flame that illuminated the area around them in an eerie silver slight, the flickering cast wild shadows everywhere which wasn't too comforting. At many points Jason could've sworn he saw movement just beyond his vision, something or several somethings moving in the dark, he hoped it was his imagination.

It wasn't.

The arrow flew right by Jason’s cheek, just brushing him with the fletching before slamming and embedding itself in a tree just behind him. Both Jason and Goldbeak went for their swords but before they could even draw them halfway they were surrounded with bows pointed at them from all angles. It was only then that Jason was able to get a good look at them, they were Gryphon's clearly yet they were clearly one of the subspecies, these had the heads of ravens with long black beaks and glossy black feathers, and their bodies were that of black panthers.

“Croui,” Goldbeak mumbled.

“What is your purpose here, Aquila, you know these woods are forbidden to you,” one of the “Croui” said, a female and clearly the leader judging by her rather ornate steel chestplate and sword.

“A thousand pardons, fair lady,” Goldbeak said, easily slipping into a bow which the Croui returned. “But this one did not intend to intrude upon your sacred lands, for you see we had been fleeing Talonguard when we were struck from the sky… This one’s comrade was lost in the fall, and his wing was broken.”

“We have heard of the battle raging in and above Talonguard,” the Croui said as she signalled for her men to relax. “But it must truly be a horrific thing to cause a Knight of the Sky to flee… It is Ser Goldbeak is it not?”

“At your service, Lady..?”

“Ser Starbeak, of Clan Star,” Starbeak said, she then turned her ebony eyes to Jason.

“Oh that is-“

“Ser Jason, yes, I know,” Starbeak titled her head as she examined Jason. “Her Majesty sent us to find you.”

“Her Majesty? Luna?” Jason asked.

“The Princess, yes.”

“In that case we would be most honoured if you would see our safe passage through your lands and to where Her Majesty awaits us,” Goldbeak said.

“Of course, my is honour bound by the Princess of the Moon, and I would not go back on such a pledge,” Starbeak said. “Come, we must make haste, from what my scouts have told me the armies of treachery already march across the kingdom, time is not with us.”

Outskirts of Talonguard, Fields of Ashfall, Kingdom of Gryphonia, Sunday, 12th of April, 6:34am, 2206 AC

Twilight had been on the run for what felt like forever, just outside of Talonguard the landscape became nothing but large empty fields and rolling green hills dotted with small woods, patches of tall grass or marshes. In all honesty, Twilight had no idea where she was going, there was nothing but a desire to escape fuelling her. She had ran full tilt the first few minutes out of the city, but it wasn't long before years of physical inactivity in favour of reading caught up to her and she was forced to stop and try not to puke again. The images of those six Gryphon's burned in her mind, the splattering of blood, the electricity by her own manifestation stopping a heart, the death gurgles of the one with the slashed throat... Oh Celestia…

Night fell quickly, and with it came an exhaustion that Twilight simply could not fight off, her eyes dropped and she stumbled blindly forward through the dark. Her mind too muddled and her body too tired to conjure any light, she stumbled into a patch of trees and fell asleep under the stars.

It wasn't a restful sleep as almost immediately after Twilight’s eyes closed she experienced the sensation of falling, branches whipped at her and her ears were filled with the sound of wind and fluttering wings. In the midst of splattering blood and death screams there was something else, a whispering, getting louder and louder, a familiar soft voice from the either.

“Twilight! Twilight! Follow the ravens!”

Twilight awoke with a sharp gasp, the sun was making its first peak over the horizon and its splendid orange light cut across the landscape like a blade. Twilight’s head pounded from lack of sleep and water, her legs were sore as was her throat, she stood weakly and rubbed her head. What had that dream been? Never before had she experienced something so… Intense, and that voice had been so familiar yet so distant “follow the ravens” it has said. Twilight glanced up and evidentially there were no ravens in the sky, no birds at all, including the non-talking kind, thankfully.

She was safe for now, so at the very least there was time to formulate a plan. Think, think, think, c’mon Twilight what if-

The screech of an eagle followed closely by the angry lions roar set Twilight’s heart into overdrive as no less than six shadows dotted the sky above her, they immediately dived towards her and before Twilight could even so much as move she was surrounded with swords pointed at her.

“You’re a hard girl to find, mi’lady,” one of them said. “But now we have and we need you surrender peacefully, it is dishonourable to harm a female but we will if we have to.”

There was no way out, Twilight’s head felt like an overused drum she just couldn't summon her magic, concentrating only made the headache worse. The Gryphon’s closed in around her, except…

“What is that noise?” One asked, looking up at the sky.

“Sounds like… Crows?”

“No… Ravens,” Twilight found herself saying.

It happened in an instant, the air was filled with black feathers, the flapping of wings, and the cawing of ravens. The six Gryphon’s cried out in agony around Twilight while she remained unharmed, it wasn't long before it was all over and her six pursuers were reduced to nothing more but bloody piles, slashed and cut to pieces with eyes pecked or clawed out. The ravens settled around her, no wait, Croui, half raven and half black panther they peered at her with black eyes.

“Lady Twilight?” One asked, a male. “Are you unharmed?”

“Y-yes, yes,” Twilight said shakily. “W-who are you? How did you find me?”

“We were bidden by your Princess of the Moon, she guided us using her magic.”

Follow the crows!

“Luna,” Twilight said relieved.

“Indeed, it would be my honour to fly you to her mi’lady, let us away.”

Heart of the Noct Forest, Hold of Clan Star, The Kingdom of Gryphonia, Sunday, 12th of April, 7:00am, 2206 AC

Luna carefully ran the stone along the edge of her scythe, the metallic shiiiing! sound was soothing, reminiscent of the tense hours before one of her many battles of the past, wether during the war or not. It wasn't a pleasant feeling, but it was a familiar and comfortable one that Luna slipped into easily.

“Your Majesty?”

“Hm?”

“Ser Jason has arrived.”

“Ah, splendid.”

Luna laid her weapon down carefully before stepping out of the tent that Clan Star had provided her. Her eyes swept across the camp which was made up of a hastily constructed collection of tens, fire pits, a makeshift smithy, armoury, and even some defences in the form of watchtowers in the trees. Luna soon spotted her friend walking into the camp escorted by Ser Starbeak, with him was that Knight of the Sky Goldbeak, they were both battered, bruised, and dirty but nonetheless, alive.

When she approached them Goldbeak and the rest of the Gryphon’s immediately fell into steep and respectful bows which Luna of course returned, Jason always the charmer, nonchalantly waved his hand.

“Wassup?” He said casually.

Magically pulling him closer Luna wrapped Jason in a warm hug, a rare gesture from the reclusive Princess and one that Jason returned without question.

“I'm glad you’re alright,” Luna said.

“So am I,” Jason said. “What about Twilight? Is she alright?”

“This is the first I've seen of either of you for several hours, I have been preoccupied as you must understand,” Luna explained.

“My scouts spotted Lady Twilight escaping Talonguard, I send a rescue party to retrieve her,” Ser Starbeak said. “That was no less than an hour ago, with luck she shall arrive momentarily.”

“Well, seeing as there is a large group of raven-looking Gryphons flying this way, I would hope that the moment of arrival is conveniently right now,” Jason said, pointing to above the treeline where indeed the shadows of six flying creatures where silhouetted against the sun, as they approached it became obvious that one of them was carrying something, and that something was revealed to be Twilight.

The moment her hooves touched the ground Twilight broke out in a sprint that nearly tackled Jason to the ground in a hug, burying her face in his shirt as sobs and tears flowed rather freely. Jason stroked her mane with a small smile on his face.

“Look, I know I'm ugly but it's nothing to cry over,” he joked, getting a good-natured punch to the shin by Twilight.

“You are both exhausted and worn, take the time to rest and gather your strength, there is yet more we wait upon until we must strike back, use this time wisely,” Luna said.

“A moment, mi’lady, a thousand pardons,” Goldbeak interjected uncharacteristically. “But you and Lady Twilight were in the palace with His Majesty… What happened?”

“Oh my brave knight,” Luna said softly, she looked sad. “The King died in an honourable duel for the throne and your brothers in arms.. The last I saw of them they were surrounded in their defence of us.”

“The King… The King is dead?” Goldbeak said in distraught. “We have failed, our order is destroyed, oh gods how..” Goldbeak held his beak with his claws. “How could this have happened?”

“Tis not your fault, Ser Knight,” Luna said softly. “But mark my words, you will have revenge.”

“Revenge is what caused their deaths in the first place, Your Majesty,” Goldbeak said, before bowing and taking his leave.

“You should all get rest,” Starbeak interjected, after a long pause. “There's some spare tents in the north quarter, a fire pit too, I’ll have food and water brought over.”

Jason, and Twilight made their way over to the aforementioned campsite. Twilight refused to leave Jason's side the entire walk over and resigned herself to using him as basically a pillow as they watched Goldbeak get a fire going. They sat in silence for a fair while, listening to the crackling of the fire and the sounds of the forest. As promised, food and water was brought over but both were left untouched in favour of the ale, which all three indulged in. It was only past the third cup or so was when the silence was broken.

“So, are you going to tell me what happened?” Jason asked as gently as he could. “You’re upset, but you wouldn't be if something bad hadn't happened while you escaped the city.”

Twilight didn't answer at first but Jason didn't really expect her to, she merely my fiddled with the Falchion which was laid on the ground before her: pulling it slightly out of its scabbard before pushing it back in. Her eyes never left the blade even as she finally began to speak.

“Just before I was able to get out of Talonguard I ran into these Gryphons, there was six of them and.. They wanted to.. To… They wanted to use me, for.. Pleasure..”

“Dishonourable swine,” Goldbeak said angrily. “To try and force themselves upon a female, disgraceful, how did you get away mi’lady?”

“That's just it, I thought I couldn't,” Twilight explained, a tint of sorrow entering her voice. “I was surrounded, I was too scared to concentrate and teleport so I… I… I lashed out, I didn't even think -- the magic just came out of me, and before I could even know what I was doing they were all… Oh Celestia..” Tears sprung to Twilight’s eyes again.

“Hey, hey now,” Jason said, pulling her close. “You defended yourself, there's no shame in that.”

“But, but… I know hundreds of pacification spells, dozens of paralyses spells, I didn't have to kill them, yet the first thing I did was cast lethal magic, why? Why did I do that? Why didn't I think? Why did I instinctively kill?” Twilight was becoming hysterical.

“It's never as easy as to kill or not to kill,” Goldbeak suddenly said, his voice uncharacteristically soft and gentle. “Most of the time it's you or them, and it's then when all thoughts of mercy or non-lethal actions go out the window and your mind selects the most efficient way to remove the threat, which happens to be killing your attackers.”

“This one’s kind speaks of glory, of honour in death,” Goldbeak continued, staring into the fire. “In truth there is no glory in death, no honour in war, no, these things come after, in how we shepherd in the peace we fought and killed for; On how we carry ourselves with honour afterwards so that those souls taken by our blades never go in vain, you have that responsibility now, mi’lady, and trust me when this one says that it is the greatest of burdens as well and the highest of honours.”

Twilight stared at Goldbeak’s eyes for a few moments before speaking.

“I think… I think I understand, thank you.”

Silence fell upon them again, Jason didn't have anything to add as he himself was contemplating Goldbeak's words in reference to his many deeds.
“What happened to you two, anyway?” Twilight asked, breaking the tension.

“We sorta.. Fell outta the sky,” Jason explained. “Flyboy here crashed us into the woods, broke his wing too, we lost… He lost one of his brothers.”

“Oh Celestia.. I'm so so sorry,” Twilight said sincerely. “Your wing though, how bad is it?”

“Fractured in several places, this one is afraid, “ Goldbeak said, glancing at his broken appendage. “He won't be able to fly for months, let alone fight in the battle to come.”

“We’ll see about that, come here,” Twilight said suddenly determined, she beckoned for Goldbeak to come closer. Although bewildered, Goldbeak obliged, when he came close enough Twilight stood and manifested her magic before bringing her horn to Goldbeak’s broken wing. There was a humming sound as the light from her horn intensified, Jason’s makeshift splint fell away as Twilight’s magic retreated.

“Go on,” she said. “Stretch it.”

Goldbeak did and his previously broken wing extended to it’s full length without a hind of pain or injury.

“You.. You have healed me,” Goldbeak said in astonishment.

“Well, I suppose we’ll need your help soon,” Twilight said with a smile, but then without warning Goldbeak took hold of her hoof and fell to the ground in a kneeling/bowing position.

“You have restored this one to health, whatever you desire mi’lady Twilight, however this one can repay you, name it and it is yours,” Goldbeak said passionately.

“Um..” Twilight said, taken aback. “That's really not necessary…” Twilight became slightly worried as Goldbeak began to shake rather violently, his beak nearly touching the ground his bow was so low.

“You do this one… so much honour,” he said, sounding quite emotionally moved. Twilight looked to Jason for help but he jerky shrugged as Goldbeak continued to grovel at Twilight’s hooves.

After they calmed Goldbeak down, him and Twilight soon fell asleep, taking Luna’a advice of rest. Jason remained awake, absentmindedly stoking the fire. Eventually Luna joined him.

“Wassup, Lulu?” He asked.

“Ser Starbeak has sent word to every clan still loyal to their late King,” Luna said. “Including Bloodbeak’s only living family member, Bloodclaw.”

“The legal successor to the throne?” Jason asked.

“Technically.. No, Nightclaw’s challenge was legitimate, he won the dual of honour, by rights he is king,” Luna explained. “However, for obvious reasons, his reign isn't exactly favourable to us, Bloodclaw is the only one with a strong claim, he's been in the Northern Unknown for the past sixty years, allegedly hunting for dragons.”

“You think he can take on Nightclaw?”

“If we can eliminate Nemesis, then yes.”

“Right, and how do we kill a god again?”

“I have a theory, but I shall explain it only when it is time to execute,” Luna said, she looked sideways at Jason. “I never asked before, but did you discover anything in your incursion?”

“A few things,” Jason said. “First that there was a Human cult operating in Talonguard, the Followers of the First, and that the were frequently in conflict with the Gryphon church.”

“And?”

“Well after consulting some.. Apparitions, it turns out that there was an expedition conducted by these Followers… To North America, what you know as the Humanlands.”

Luna fell silent as she reflected on this information, her jaw clenched and unclenched as she visibly chewed her lip in thought.

“This news is concerning but not the object of focus at this time,” Luna said eventually, ever the pragmatist. “Was there anything relevant to the fight before us?”

“Well, I saw Nemesis resurrected,” Jason said. “The worshippers used a human-made scroll, just like the one I found in Rome, only this one just resurrected one person, that being Nemesis.”

“Indeed! Well that certainly adds to the equation,” Luna said thoughtfully. “For now… Well even I must rest…” Luna yawned.

“Go ahead and sleep then, even the Goddess of dreams needs sleep, right?” Jason joked but then Luna draped a wing around him and pulled him close, laying her head stop his.

“I will if you do,” she said.

“Promise you’ll keep the nightmares away?”

“Always.”

Heart of the Noct Forest, Hold of Clan Star, The Kingdom of Gryphonia, Sunday, 12th of April, 3:00pm, 2206 AC

Jason awoke to the sound of stone on steel, he opened his eyes and saw Goldbeak running a stone along the edge of his blade. Luna was gone and Twilight remained fast asleep to Jason’s right, the sun hadn't even leaked beyond the horizon yet.

“How you holdin’ up?” Jason asked.

“This one is weary of this fight,” Goldbeak said. “Not because I am tired, but because I fear that our efforts may be misguided.”

“Misguided?” Jason asked. “That's surprising coming from you, I'd thought you be excited to strike back at the people who slew your king and brethren.”

“Revenge is a cycle best left broken,” said Goldbeak. “Killing in spite would not resurrect his majesty nor my comrades, there's no honour in it.”

“So you're not going to fight with us?” Jason asked, feeling disappointed, having Goldbeak's sword by his side was definitely a comfort.

“This one will fight, but not for revenge,” Goldbeak said, staring into the fire. “This one has come to respect you as a man of virtue and of bravery, and he owes his health to the purple one, it would dishonourable upon him and his clan to abandon you both in your time of need.”

“Ser Jason of Rome, this one failed in his duty to protect his King, but the last command he was given was to protect you with his life, to regain this one’s honour and to respect the final command of His Majesty High King Bloobeak the Eighth this one does hereby pledge himself to your service,” Goldbeak had approached, lain his sword at Jason’s feet and slipped into a deep bow. “With his blade and with his claws he shall fight for you, his heart shall be dedicated to you, every breath he takes shall be to honour you, my lord, Hail Jason of Rome, Blade of the West, Liberator of Lupa, and Last of the Lost Peoples."

Jason, to his credit, didn't interrupt this display until it was clear Goldbeak was finished, he raised an eyebrow at the blade lain in front of him and at Goldbeak who’s beak was practically stuck into the ground his bow was so low. Jason sighed a rolled his eyes.

“Oh god you're serious,” he said, putting his face into his palm. “I don't suppose I can say no?”

“Refusing this one’s pledge would be an insult to his honour and he would be forced to challenge you to a duel,” Goldbeak said grouchily from his bowed position.

“Riiight… Uh,” Jason scratched his beard, why was everyone such a weirdo but him. “I, uh, accept your service and… Yeah.”

“You do this one honour, mi’lord,” Goldbeak said, rising from his bow and picking up his blade.

“Okay, my first command is to not call me ‘mi’lord’ okay?”

“Would you prefer, lord?”

“No.”

“Your Majesty?”

“No..”

“Master?”

“No, that's creepy.”

“Your Grace?”

“No!”

“Your Excellency?”

“Oh for fucks sake. No!”

“What about..”

“Just… Call me Jason, please, goddamnit,” Jason said, already feeling the headache coming in.

“As you wish, Jason,” Goldbeak said, a stupid little smirk on his beak.

“I hate you.”

“Now, now, that's no way to treat your loyal knight, Jason,” Luna said as she cantered over, her smile saying she witnessed everything.

“I hate you too,” Jason said grumpily.

“A knight sworn to your service, you’re certainly moving up in the world are you not?” Luna mused, regarding Goldbeak. “And serve him well I trust, ser knight?”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Goldbeak exclaimed, puffing out his chest a little with pride.

“So what's going on, Lulu?” Jason asked.

“Are most esteemed guest has finally arrived, with a host of warriors too, Bloodclaw is eager to speak to both you, wake Twilight as well she wouldn't want to miss this,” Luna said.

They woke a very grouchy Twilight, but she perked up once they relayed what was going on and all of them made their way over to the command tent and entered. There was Ser Starbeak but also several very rough looking Gryphons in worn plate and mail armour with scars and burns allegedly from hunting dragons, but it was the one that Ser Starbeak was speaking to that caught Jason’s attention.

He looked like Bloodbeak had, same snowy white head and shade of brown on the body but that was where the similarities stopped. Bloodclaw was missing an eye, a claw-shaped scar running through it and an eyepatch covering the would, he had long scars all across his swings and face, his feathers appeared thicker and his claws more worn and used. None of the polish and gilded gold of the former High King, no, this one was a soldier.

“And you must be this Jason I've heard so much about, an honour,” Bloodclaw gave him a stiff bow, a movement that he clearly hadn't done in a while. His voice was gruff and booming, used to crying battle commands over the wail of arctic blizzards and the roar of angry Dragons.

“Wassup, you must be Bloodclaw,” Jason said, bowing.

“Indeed, and apparently king now, as my brother is dead.”

“Sorry about that.”

“My brother was a good King..” Bloodclaw said. “But also a fool, he thought that honour alone would hold this kingdom together, that some abstract code would keep the chaos at bay.”

“You disagree?” Jason asked.

“Boy, my time outside of the kingdom have taught me many things, and the recent events in Talonguard have confirmed my suspicions,” Bloodclaw scowled. “Honour is dead, and it's about time these oversized peacocks realized that.”

Jason glanced at Goldbeak whom to his credit said nothing, merely frowned, Bloodclaw continued speaking.

“That being said, do you have a plan for taking back my throne, your majesty?”

“Indeed I do,” Luna said. “Your rule will only be accepted if it is done in the old way, wether you believe in honour or not my friend it is with a duel.”

“You can defeat him, yes?” Goldbeak asked skeptically. “Nightclaw bested your brother after all.”

“My brother was skilled in his time but he’s been sittin’ on that bloody chair for two centuries, that could make anyone fat, I've slain forty dragons in the past three decades, I'd like to see this high and mighty lord go up against an angry Ice Drake.”

“…Fair 'nuff,” Jason said. “But what about Nemesis?”

“The Alicorn revenge God back from the dead?” Bloodclaw asked.

“Yeah, that's the one.”

“It is there that the complication lies,” Luna said. “Nemesis shall be near, protecting Nightclaw, he will have to be distracted and eventually defeated.”

“But he's too powerful for you, yeah?” Jason asked.

“On the contrary, I surpass him quite handedly, in fact I killed him at least once before fleeing,” Luna explained. “The problem is, he apparently cannot die.”

“…Okay, does that have anything to do with the fact that he's, you know, a God?” Jason asked.

“Jason you should know by now, we Alicorns are powerful -- I will not deny truth, but we are not immortal, and we are certainly not gods,” Luna said. “Titles only mean so much, no no, for you see, Nemesis thought ahead, and make himself into a litch.”

“Oh… Oh no,” Jason said.

“Wait… What does that mean?” Goldbeak asked.

“A litch is someone who attaches their soul to an object in order to become nearly immortal,” Twilight explained. “So long as the object in question remains intact of course. But it can only be destroyed by a very powerful Necromancer.”

“Which means me, fuck, why do I have to do everything?” Jason complained.

“Wait, Necromancer?” Goldbeak asked.

“Yeah, the guy you just pledged your sword and life to is also a Necromancer whom frequently summons and communes with dead spirits, cheers,” Jason snarked.

“O-oh?” Goldbeak looked like he was questioning his life choices.

“So what would his object be? And where would he hide it?” Jason asked.

“Fortunately Nemesis is rather arrogant, so he didn't put wards around it, I was able to scry its position last night,” Luna said. “It’s Caine’s Blade, apparently his sword is simply a projection the true weapon lays within the very chamber where Nemesis was resurrected.”

“So here is the plan in full; myself and Bloodclaw shall lead the charge into Talonguard, I shall keep Nemesis at bay while our troops engage Nightclaw’s soldiers, giving Bloodclaw a window to enter the palace and challenge Nightclaw to a duel, meanwhile Jason shall enter quietly from behind, find Nemesis’s litched object, and destroy it.”

“Kill the bad guy, rescue the princess, save the world,” Jason said. “Second one's already been done, so this should be simple.”

“As you say, but the battle will only get more perilous the longer we take, we must be swift,” Goldbeak said. “This one shall stay by your side and protect you so you may reach your destination.”

“Princess, what would you have me do?” Twilight asked, stepping forward with a look of determination on her face.

“Twilight..” Luna said, her voice and eyes softening. “I did not look to you to be in this battle.”

“But I want to,” Twilight stated. “I.. Ive killed already, this is no different, I'm not going to let you guys risk your lives while I sit on my flank.”

“You are a mage, are you not?” Bloodclaw cut in, approaching Twilight and practically towering over her. “I could use magic at my side as I storm the palace, and can you use that blade you carry?”

“Um, yes?” Twilight said nervously.

“Good, you shall need that too,” Bloodclaw said.

“Very well,” Luna said, a hint of reluctance and worry for Twilight. “We attack at noon, I suggest you all rest for the coming battle…”

Talonguard, The Kingdom of Gryphonia, Sunday 12th of April, 12:00am, 2206 AC

The world grew dimmer as the moon slowly moved in front of the sun, Nemesis stared up the the celestial anomaly with a frown.

“Luna,” he growled. “They’re coming.”

Nemesis shot into the air and would clash steel with Luna who met him halfway, thunder cracked across the eclipsed sky as thunderclouds rolled in. Not far behind the storm front was a different form of cloud, this one made of thousands of warriors and Knights swooping down upon the city.

“You know how this will end, Luna,” Nemesis said, struggling against her. “You may have skill but I hold the cards.”

“I wouldn't count on it,” Luna said, smiling as she teleported above Nemesis and struck him on the back, sending him plummeting to the ground.

Meanwhile Twilight had watched with growing anticipation as Luna and the first wave descended upon Talonguard, from their hidden position in the woods she, Bloodclaw, and Ser Starbeak awaited.

“Shouldn't we attack soon? Don't let the enemy have time to organize?” Twilight asked.

“No, let Nightclaw do his thing; This is all we have, let him commit all of his swords, so our attack is much more effective when we commit ours,” Bloodclaw said.

“I… See,” Twilight said, making a mental note of the Gryphon's words.

The only visible part of the battle was the clash of gods above it which even at this distance was a spectacle. Twilight found a new appreciation for the power of Alicorns as their battle crafted a storm around them, buildings were toppled from mere missed blows, and the dimmed sky lit up with the light of magic so bright it could be seen from far distances.

“I believe it is time to go, sir,” Starbeak said, after they had let the initial attack draw out a little longer

“Indeed, prepare the warriors,” Bloodclaw said. “Mi’lady Twilight, you cannot fly nor teleport the distance to the city can you?”

“That's right, I was planning on creating a long range teleportation circle and drawing energy which would allow me to-“

“No need, you shall ride upon my back.”

“I… What?”

The next thing Twilight knew, she was soaring through the air clutching to dear life on the feathered back of Bloodclaw. She couldn't help the terrified squeal she let loose as Bloodclaw went into a steep dive straight towards the firm ground, fortunately she spread his songs at the last moment both to slow their decent and to direct his landing so he landed on a enemy knight, sinking his claws into the back of the Gryphon's neck spraying blood across the cobblestones.

Once he landed Twilight immediately teleported off of his back and drew her Falchion, a knight swung his longsword overhand at her which she blocked with her blade before blasting him back with a powerful telekinetic push. The Gryphon slid across the stones which his claws screeching in an effort to stop himself, and before he could recover he was grasped in a magical grip to be thrown at another charging Gryphon, the two would collide and be knocked out.

Twilight had a few seconds to get her bearings, long enough to see Bloodclaw and Starbeak pushing up the steps to the palace. Gritting her teeth Twilight teleported again to their side just in time to block a spear thrust that would've hit Bloodclaw and sending a lighting bolt up the metal shaft to electrocute its owner. The trio rapidly stormed the palace to confront Nightclaw…

“Welp, that's our cue,” Jason said as he saw Bloodclaw engage the remainder of his forces. Jason and Goldbeak lay at the outskirts of the city much closer than the army had been, where they waited for everyone to be distracted so they could sneak in.

“This one doesn't like sneaking around,” Goldbeak said as they entered a city via an alleyway “Tis a dishonourable tactic.”

“You know, no one asked your fucking opinion, featherface,” Jason chided under his breath, checking a corner.

“You are a model that every lord must follow,” Goldbeak said with deadpan sarcasm.

“Oi, I work for a living, I ain't no lord.”

The two of them snaked their way between the spires, the alleyways were like a maze. Goldbeak knew the streets well enough that he landed both him and Jason into the church which was the entrance to where their target lay. Unfortunately there appeared to be a group of no less than five Knights guarding the entrance.

“Well easy wouldn't be a challenge now would it?” Jason mumbled. “Alright, you charge ‘em and get their attention and I'll come up from behind.”

“Got it,” Goldbeak said, drawing his longsword and shooting forward with powerful flaps of his wings, he sped across the ground like a missile and beheaded one of the Knights in passing before skidding across the cobblestone to a stop. The forces of Clan Night Swordsmen turned to face him which was when Jason took his opportunity to run up behind them. He threw one against the church’s outer wall with a magical push and did away with another with a swift stab to the neck before either of them really noticed he was there. Goldbeak charged from the front and knocked away the blade of his adversary before delivering a death blow to his neck. Jason quickly dispatched the remaining knight with a powerful magical bolt from his blade which send the Gryphon flying.

The two of them entered the empty church and swiftly descended into the chamber wherein they first saw Nemesis being summoned, and sure enough, there in the altar glowing an angry red, was Caine’s Blade.

“Okay, I swear if I grab this thing and a boulder falls down on my face...” Jason said, approaching the altar and grabbing the blade. The second he did, a magical blast sent him, the blade, and Goldbeak flying against the wall as Nemesis teleported in with murder in his eyes. He swung towards Jason whom rolled out of the way and would've done it again had it not been for Goldbeak attacking from behind distracting the God.

“Hurry!” The knight said, desperately dodging lethal attacks.

Jason searched around frantically before finding Caine’s Blade laying in the dirt, he dove fore it and grabbed it in his hands. He felt the magic in it, but also something else, something much more powerful, a soul, bringing his necromantic powers forth Jason reached out to the soul and grabbed it. Nemesis screamed in pain as his very form began to crack, white light bled from the cracks that formed along his body along with golden godsblood which practically flooded the room.

“No! No! I am not finished! It's not fair! I am spite! I AM NEMESIS GOD OF-“ Nemesis exploded outward in a burst of energy which tossed Jason like a rag doll across the room and against the wall where his head would smash against the rock and the world would be consumed by the darkness of unconsciousness.

Chapter 37 – End of Act II – Revenge

"While seeking revenge dig two graves, one for yourself,"

- Douglas Horton

The Emerald Isles, The Alicorn Imperium, Thursday, 4th of February, 5:22am, 2097 AA

“INCOMING!”

Nemesis desperately threw up a shield around himself as shells came down from the heavens like a rain of fire. Those around him whom did not fall in his protection were blown apart, obliterated to dust by the onslaught of artillery.

“Orders, sir!” Achlys yelled, Nemesis’s second in command. Nemesis peered across the battlefield, he could see a mass movement of steel across the hills as the humans advanced.

“HOLD THE LINE AND MIND THE SKY!” Nemesis ordered as his soldiers re-organized themselves, he hefted Cain’s Blade. “Achlys, follow me we shall perform a counter charge and…”
Nemesis looked to his side and realized Achlys was no longer there, rather he saw blood and gore splattered to the wind as his head exploded and his body fell to the ground. He was entranced, stunned, he couldn't move, he could see Achlys’ smile, his laugh, the twinkle in his eye when he looked at Nemesis, the nights they spent together alone…

“CENTURION! GET DOWN!”

Nemesis snapped around just to catch the bayonet of the Centurion, he clenched his jaw in anger. Centurions were the elite of the humans, murderers, clad in a thick armour coloured a pale blue their weapons spat fire and their bayonets were as sharp as any blade.

Nemesis screamed in fury as he pushed the Centurion back, he went skidding across the earth but then pointed his weapon at the Alicorn. Nemesis teleported to the side just in time to avoid the shot which dug a small crater where it hit. Again and again he had to teleport as the Centurion barraged him with a hail of fire which ripped asunder the earth below their feet. Seizing an opening, Nemesis blinked in close and knocked the weapon from the human's grip before bringing his blade up in a vicious uppercut. The Centurion dodged backwards but not quite far enough as the very tip of Cain’s Blade caught his helmet and sent it flying, revealing the rough face of the human underneath, he drew his combat knife and dodged under Nemesis’ sweep. The Centurion tackled the Alicorn roughly to the ground and made to cut his throat, but Nemesis deflected it so the knife only tore open his ear, godsblood tainted the ground in shining gold.

“Die Alicorn scum!” the Human spat.

Nemesis kicked him off and teleported himself so he stood above the Centurion. With a wrathful roar he plunged his sword through the humans face and then began to violently twist the blade. Bone cracked as blood pooled in the crater in the skull, Nemesis screamed again as tears stung his eyes and he stabbed downwards again and again. Bone turned to powder and flesh to a stain as Nemesis lost himself, before finally releasing his wrath through his magic as fire exploded forth setting the landscape ablaze around him.

A calm washed over Nemesis as he caught his breath, the sounds of battle had diminished to only the occasional crack of thunder that was human weaponry. Magic washed over him -- not his own, yet familiar all the same. The last vision Nemesis saw of the land he had been defending for almost a century was piles of Alicorn corpses ablaze in his the fury that was his revenge.
When he regained his senses, there was a large room, marble floor, white stone walls line with paintings of battles or ancient weaponry. A large table sat in the centre of the room with a highly detailed map of the Alicorn Imperium and the lands around it with what looked like coloured chess pieces placed around, only two pieces were used: Knights and Rooks. An Alicorn looked over the map: He was tall and had a soldier's build, a rough iron chestplate decorated with scratches, dents and a tattered red cloak around his throat. His fur was an even darker red, his mane and full beard a dark brown, and tired brown eyes.

His name was Mars, Alicorn God of War, First Knight to the Crown, and General of the Grand Army of the Imperium.

“The Emerald Isles are lost,” Mars said. “As I recall it, it was thee whom touted the importance of staging a mass defence even though the majority of the islands had been taken, my fault I suppose, I should not have let thine emotions affect the strategy.”

“I could not let my soldiers deaths mean nothing!” Nemesis declared. “For every brother lost twice as many humans must die.”

“Vengeance is not a viable battle strategy,” Mars said tiredly as he moved the knight chess piece off of the British Isles and replaced it with a rook.

“Vengeance is in my nature just as thine's nature is of war,” Nemesis said, sheathing his sword.

“Thine's vengeance has become obsession just as this war has become pointless slaughter.”

“…They killed Achlys.”

Mars looked up at him, his face softened and he seemed to grow older as he moved around the table and drew Nemesis into a soft hug. It was then that Nemesis began to sob again, his tears absorbed by Mars’ red cape.

“It… It's just not fair, it’s not fair! It is NOT fair,” Nemesis cried.

“War never is,” Mars said.

They remained like that for quite a while until Nemesis collected himself, the tears dried up leave naught but an aching dryness behind. Mars released him from the embrace and regarded Nemesis, one of his most vicious commanders, but more importantly someone he cared greatly for.

“We should make a report to His Lordship,” Mars said. “And then thou art to stay here in the capital, rest, grieve.”

“What!?” Nemesis said angrily. “The scum shall surely press their advantage, we must counter attack before they can! You need me on the front!”

“Thee just not moments ago refused to retreat and would have perished on the battlefield had I not sensed your danger and transported yourself here,” Mars said strictly. “I need thine mind in its proper state, not consumed by bloodlust and obsession, thou shalt rest and return to the front when thine's body and mind are healed, thou art no use to me in this state.”

“Ve-… Very well…” Nemesis relented, yet in his mind a fire still burned with the image of a thousand slaughtered humans before him, the thought calmed him.

The two of them left the room and entered the bright day outside. Compared to the dreary fog of war that Nemesis had been fighting in the past century, Celestia’s bright sun nearly blinded him. When his vision adjusted he looked out upon the great capital of the Alicorn Imperuim... It had many names, Zion, Eden, but Nemesis was fond of the name Olympus. Clean white marble and stone glimmered in the sun; imposing spires reached upwards towards the sky to look out upon the land around them, right in between great keeps, cathedrals, archives, public forums and libraries. Banners of a hundred different names flew from the tallest towers and Alicorns, both aligned and not, rode the wind above or roamed the streets. There was a buzz and a joy to the city, a euphoria and carefreeness that was in great constrasr to the fire and destruction that razed the earth not overly far from this area, it was that manner of arrogant decadence that led to the proclamation that some amongs them were Gods upon the earth. Nemesis had been fighting along time, he had seen the power they faced, he had no illusions about the divinity of the Alicorns.

Mars and Nemesis walked the streets together towards the tallest and most grand structure in Olympus, the Palace of the Gods. They were recognized by the hundreds of nameless Unaligned that they passed... Of course they were considered Unaligned, for even the most minor Aligned Alicorn was a god even amongs their own people, a hero and a symbol of what anyone can become. Males shouted his name and asked of what glory he had brought the Imperium, females swooned or declared their love, it was a religious experience for them to see the best amongs their race. Nemesis did his best to tune them all out, not for any feeling of superiority but for the guilt he felt at he sight of those whom were his brethren, yet were trapped in such a religious craze that they did not realize that they were very much second-class citizens in the eyes of many of the so-called Gods.
It was when they reached the steps of the palace that they met someone Nemesis actually wanted to see. He was standing halfway down the steps, as if he had paused in the middle of walking and seemed to be staring into nothingness with an unblinking stare. His eyes were a deep blue and carried heavy dark bags under them, his mane was an oily black and rather unkempt while his fur was a dark grey. He wore armour that was a black metal that was cracked and very worn with a blue cape torn to pieces on his back, a long greatsword was sheathed at his side.

“If is it not the Voidwalker himself,” Nemesis said, managing a smile for an old friend. “How are thee Arawn?”

Arawn didn't respond at first, his eyes looked at Nemesis in confusion as if he didn't recognize him all. The moment passed and Arawn broke into a tired grin, but a happy one nonetheless.

“Ah, thou flatters me, old friend,” Arawn said. “They call thee the Blade of Spite from what I hear, great warrior, defender of the Imperium.”

“Do they say that? Oh dear, well, I simply do my duty as thou does,” Nemesis frowned.

“Speaking of duty, how fair thine crusade? Last I heard you had left for the Far East to face the darkness once again.”

“You heard correctly,” Arawn confirmed. “Far from here the ancient dragons, unknown to me until I travelled there, some amongst them were tempted by the Void and they had torn asunder the world to make a covenant with the darkness, and so I slew them, I pushed the Void back once more.”

“Then hail Arawn, God of Darkness,” Nemesis said happily.

“Save thine praise, for the fight goes on,” Arawn sighed, the weight clearly shown on his shoulders. “Not two days from returning I have caught wind of a breach, in the south, the Iberian Peninsula, dangerously close to our borders, should it’s corruption spread to an Alicorn… I do not wish to think on it.”

“Do be careful, friend,” Nemesis said in concern. “I would hate to see thou fall to the Void.”

“Worry not, for this is my duty, and I shall not falter,” Arawn said with a weak smile. “Nemesis, Mars, good fortunes to you both.”

As Arawn went on his way, Mars finally spoke after being rather quiet during the exchange.

“There's one I could only dream to have in my command, the power and will enough to plan himself before the Void and to keep it at bay... Alas, his duty is grander than war.”

“It weighs on him,” Nemesis said, as they continued up the steps. “He’s tired, I can see that, but I cannot fathom what horrors the darkness tortures him with.”

“Indeed these are trying times for all of us,” Mars lamented as they passed through the archway and into the palace proper. They came to the grand double doors, golden things that were heavy and thick, Mars summoned forth his power and these hundred ton doors swing open like they were weightless.

“I shall address His Majesty first, then thou shalt be summoned in after, I shan't be long,” Mars said before entering the throne room.

Nemesis waited patiently and took the time to admire the fine craftsmanship of… Well everything, it had been so long since Nemesis had seen finery like this, so it came off as almost unreal to him. He was given a fright when he looked at himself in the polished, mirror-like surface of the floor, not even an hour ago he had been in battle -- and it showed. His fur and mane were long and shaggy with bits of dirt and mud caked in, a wild beard had sprouted from his face and he had circles under his eyes darker than the night. What a state to meet the king in…

The sound of magic and the doors opening drew Nemesis’ attention, but it wasn't Mars that stared down at him no it was the Two Princesses, Celestia and Luna. Nemesis had seen them before, always flanking their father during his appearances, the eldest radiated, she was the ideal mare in the eyes of many, her golden armour glamorous and bright. The younger though had a quieter, more humble beauty, eyes as deep as the night sky and and soft features. Nemesis bowed, he was only a commander after all, aligned though he may be.

“Your Majesties,” he acknowledged.

“Thou art Nemesis? The one tasked to the defence of the Emerald Isles?” Celestia said.

“I am, My Lady,” Nemesis said, rising.

“I did not give thee permission to rise,” Celestia said curtly.

“My… My apologies Your Majesty,” Nemesis said, taken aback.

“No matter, thou shalt tell me, why did you fail in thine duty?”

“I… Pardon, mi’lady?”

“Has thine mind been damaged in battle? Thou were tasked to defend the sovereign land of the Imperium and thou failed, why? The task was rather simple.”

“I…mi’lady we were overrun,” Nemesis said, looking between Celestia and her stern expression and Luna with her unreadable one. “There nothing which I could do.”

“I find that unlikely. Clearly you are not as competent as Lord Mars thought, more the pity to your troops whom thou haste led to slaughter,” Celestia said.

“Sister,” Luna said softly. “He has just lost a dear friend.”

“Hm, then he died for nothing, it would appear,” Celestia spat.

Fury, unadulterated and primal. It lit like a fire and drew every ounce of strength that Nemesis had, his entire body glowed with magic as he made for his blade with the full intention of completely destroying the haughty mare before him. Yet, he was stopped by another force, his blade half-drawn he looked over to see Luna’s aura glowing, she magical grip absolute but the look in her eye was soft as always. Celestia was furious.

“Thou dares to raise his blade against the imperial princess?! I should have you execut-“

“Sister,” Luna interjected, not raising her voice even a little. “Thou offered him great insult, he has been fighting for the past century, he is not one to insult right now.”

“I fear not this renegade,” Celestia declared.

“Then thou art a fool, for were it not for my intervention thou would have perished this day,” Luna said, meeting Celestia’s offended gaze evenly.

“Surely thou speakest in jest! For I am Celestia of the Glorious Sun!”

“And they are an angered soldier who just lost a brother,” Luna countered. “They would destroy thee without so much effort...! Now, do thyself a favour and go ahead for thou has much to prepare for our journey.”

“Thou does not command me!” Celestia said.

“And yet, thou shalt leave anyway,” Luna said calmly. Celestia looked at her angrily for a moment before turning her nose from both of them, but not before Nemesis got the last word.

“Celestia,” he said, getting her attention. “I shall remember what thou hast said to thyself today, and thou shalt come to regret it, thou hast my word,”

Celestia scowled but held her tongue as she left with a huff. Nemesis turned to look at Luna whom regarded him cooly, still holding his sword in place, though he had long since stopped struggling.

“Thou shalt not draw thine weapon against me?” Luna asked.

“No, my princess,” Nemesis said respectfully.

“Good,” Luna said, releasing her grip upon him. “Thou must understand, I could not allow you to murder my sister, no matter how insolent she is.”

“I meant what I said, to thine sister,” Nemesis said. “I shall not forget.”

“I know,” Luna said. “Do take care, Nemesis, we’ll meet again I am sure.”

Nemesis watched her go, she disappeared from his sight just as Mars called him forth, taking a calming breath Nemesis entered the throne room to face his king.

He stood at the far end of the room, not on his throne but staring out a nearby window, the only others in the room were the masked Imperial Guards. King Aeon radiated power, a raw energy that hit one firmly and remained as a constant reminder. In Alicorn society, the rulers were not chosen or followed because of blood or even divine right, no, Aeon ruled because he was simply the most powerful.

“Thou art Nemesis,” Aeon said, his voice soft, yet carried far and rumbled like thunder.

“Aye, that I am, my liege,” Nemesis bowed low.

“During the battle, could thou determine their numbers?” The King didn't even look at him.

“No, your majesty, but I would not put it under a million strong,” Nemesis said.

“What you see, and what is true, may be different.”

Nemesis sensed him before he saw him, in a room where the Gods of Revenge, War, and Life itself stood, his power still was prevalent amongs them. He stepped out of the shadows and into the light of the window, his face and body hidden in a deep hood and heavy robes, but this did nothing to disguise the fact that he was a human. He leaned forward to whisper something in the king’s ear and Nemesis felt rage once again, this scum, this human, who knew what poisonous lies he fed the king? Yet his majesty could not see it! The human leaned back and met Nemesis’ eyes with his own, glowing orange irises burning with raw power, a gift for his loyalty to the Imperium.

The world seemed to melt away, bleeding away all but that human and his eyes, even as it all coalesced in a ball of light in the palm of Jason’s hand, the last image he saw were those eyes and he felt anger. Jason blinked and stared at the pulsating ball of energy in his grasp, he knew what it was but couldn't truly grasp it, but there it was nonetheless, contained within that small orb was rage, wrath, suffering, and most of all: power.

“Jason?” Came Goldbeak’s voice, he clamoured over, bruised but alive. “What is that thing?”

Jason didn't recognize his own voice when he spoke “The soul of an Alicorn, of a God.”

At the moment Jason didn't truly understand what he was doing, looking back on it perhaps it was instinct or even the call of the power he held in his possession at that moment. Jason tightened his grip on the soul, finding to his surprise it was tangible in some indescribable manner, it burned his hand, searing the flesh with an angry crackling like it was an open flame... But Jason ignored the pain and drew the soul closer. It resisted, or rather, it was repelled, not unlike two magnets repel ling each other if facing the same way. Jason forced it closer though, pushing the soul towards his chest before it passed through and entered his body, Jason’s magic immediately flared up and he was consumed in a bright sliver fire more potent than anything Jason had summoned before. Power burned within him and that burning felt good, it felt right, Jason found himself smiling as he stared almost entranced by the silver light, he stared at his own hand like it was the most beautiful object in the world.

Jason looked up to see Goldbeak looking at him in worry, and a twinge of fear. Jason smiled and reached out to him with his magic, Goldbeak recoiled but the silver aura surrounded him soon enough. Jason could feel the injuries, the cuts and bruises and with a twist of his hand he willed them to nothing before releasing Goldbeak whom checked himself over in astonishment.

“I am healed, and… No longer tired, how…?”

“I'm not sure..” Jason said, fascinated. He frowned and tried to rein his magic back in, this was a mistake. The migraine hit Jason like a bus and the pleasant burn within him had turned to an agonizing boil, it felt like his innards were being roasted. Jason howled and doubled over, Goldbeak took him into his claws but was at a loss of what to do as Jason’s struggled and writhed in pain.

The sound of wings was heard and Goldbeak looked up to see Princess Luna land next to him, her scythe tossed uncaringly to the side.

“Please, you must help him!” Goldbeak cried. “This one doesn't understand what is wrong with him!”

“There is nothing I can do,” Luna said, shaking her head, he sat next to them.

“Please… This one cannot loose another brother, he is all this one has left,” Goldbeak said in distress.

“This is something Jason must overcome alone, for he has chosen this path and he must see it to it’s end, whether he will be victorious or not remains to be seen,” Luna said solemnly.

“But what is happening?”

“He is experiencing what is called a Rejection, his body is trying to force the magic from him and his magic is fighting back, violently.”

To Jason, the world had melted away.

Great cascades of kaleidoscope colours fell upwards in a rising waterfall to evaporate into rainbow hued clouds which released a chocolate rain from within. A gust of wind wiped these away and left not but dark in their wake, a great depthless void which seemed dead, yet alive all around it, shifted and heaved like the great ocean and swelled against the world. It heaved against this Great Barrier Reef which separated reality from not, light from dark and in the middle tame flowed. A machine, a great machine turned and clicked and hummed in the ever marching tune of time which never ended, it surrounded all and flowed a quite linear fashion to the first of several cogs. Yet, this gear was abnormal, yes, for it was connected to no machine or any apparatus at all yet it floated in a great expanse of space by its own accord, a gear mind you made not of copper, steel, or any element that could be named but a ethereal blue material that seemed solid and not at the same moment. It glowed with a powerful and eldritch power indescribable to the mind. It turned, ceaselessly, it turned with apparently nothing propelling it... Or them, for there were three cogs and they interlocked together and turned as one. Ticking, moving, a Machine of Time, keeping reality in check.

Jason turned back to the darkness, fascinated by its vast emptiness and yet not empty. It moved, yes, there, a figure stepping into the last cast by the world, a man, a human, his eyes a glowing purple with not but a name whispered. Nyxeresith.

The dark retreated, seemingly by command of him, the man in the darkness. And left a pale grey landscape in its wake, and it was when the void retreated, that six more beings came into sight. Jason recognized Edward immediately, only here he was known not by that name but by the name Glalÿir-Hux. The Man in the Ice.
The faces of the rest were obscured by some fog or mist, yet their power was not. Jason had been in the presence of gods and spirits, yet the combined aura of these men outweighed them all. And even though Jason had no way of knowing, he knew that they were the beings known as the Eternal Men.

They were joined by many more, hundreds, thousands, millions of humans, some with pale wisps of magic but most with none at all. Humanity, a people, diverse and united, they were waiting expectantly. As they faded away Jason was left to fall back into the darkness with only the endless ticking of time to follow him, that and the endless sensation of being watched.
A cave, rough, narrow, and dark. Jason felt a burning pain on his back, the sting of a whip, he cried out in severe pain. The barking of dogs echoed everywhere, laughter, raspy and sinister it taunted him.

“Give up hope Pony-Friend thing.”

A vast ocean extended endlessly to a distant horizon. Light glimmered across the surface from some invisible sun. The waves shifted and lurched and the sea heaved to give way to eldritch powers which influenced these natural forces, and it was beneath the depths that they lay. Dormant, asleep, but very much alive, their souls at feast and their bodies preserved. Yet, the sea crashed back around them, silencing their cries and in their wake a primal roar would shake the very fabrics of reality as a monolith of a creature began to rise from the sea, it's shadow basking all else in darkness.

A great weight settled itself, like the world upon the shoulders of Atlas. Jason staggered to a knee under it, struggling against it with might alone. Yet, his strength was fleeting, and it was not enough, lower and lower he was pushed, it would crush him soon and he would be no more. Being so close to oblivion is a funny thing, the lines begin the blur, the veil is not so thick, and ones eyes may be able to see just far enough.

Light streamed through a window, a blue sky was being consumed by the grey clouds of rain. Yet it was warm, it was safe, the smell of fresh pancakes and real maple syrup wafted through the air and made Jason’s stomach yearn for them.

“When will they be ready, Mum?”

“Soon, sweetling, it'll be over soon.”

“It's so hard sometimes, waiting, are you sure I won't be waiting forever, mommy? What if it doesn't go okay? What if something bad happens?”

“That's always possible, but we mustn't give up hope, what else makes us human?”

Hope.

Hope.

Hope

Hope

The weight returned, yet it was not strength that Jason met it with, but will, conviction, hope. Perhaps it was temporary madness, perhaps it was ludicrous to think it was possible but yet, Jason held out hope. For a better future, for his friends, and as he thought of those six girls, of that grumpy Gryphon, of so many others, suddenly the weight of the world didn't seem so heavy and a purple face smiling up at him came into view. He had hope, he had friendship.

“And friendship is magic.”

Jason gasped for breath as his eyes snapped open, Goldbeak and Luna coming into focus immediately as all his senses came rushing back to normalcy. There was surprisingly little pain, yet Jason could feel something new, something strong burned within him, and it felt good.

“You have prevailed,” Luna said softly, clearly holding back her emotions.

“Are you hurt? Jason! Look at this one, do you require healing?!” Goldbeak asked in worry.

“I'm… Fine,” Jason said. “Just tired… And confused, I don't… Really know what happened.”

“Something I thought to be impossible,” Luna said, laying down next to Jason and examining him carefully. “When you destroyed Nemesis’ litched object, the blade, you released his soul, it should have moved on, yet… You took it within you absorbed the very essence of what was Nemesis into yourself to gain his sheer power.”

“I… What?”

“Jason, you have just consumed the soul of a god,” Luna said. “You were flushed with magic, and your body reacted. You experienced a rejection, something very unique to magical humans as you know, and it is a wonder that you did not succumb.”

“I didn't even realize I was doing it.. It just.. Felt right,” Jason stared at his hand which glowed with a faint silver light.

“…Ser Goldbeak, could you give us a moment?”

“It's alright,” Jason said, and Goldbeak nodded, flying out of the cave promptly.

“Jason…” Luna began softly. “You must understand the gravity of this, my sister… Elders know how she shall react.”

“I… Saw, things, Nemesis, memories,” Jason said, frowning. “Why?”

“A soul is everything a being is, Jason, for an Alicorn we are much more in tune with our ethereal selves… What did you see?”

“I saw… A battle, I… Nemesis lost Achlys and… He met you, and Celestia for the first time,” Jason said, his thoughts were muddled.

“I remember that day.”

“Celestia insulted him.” Jason said, almost surprised.

“She did, my sister was very prideful in her youth, headstrong, fiery and passionate like the sun, she still is, she's just less of an idiot about it nowadays,” Luna smiled softly. “Nemesis wanted to kill her.”

“You stopped him,” Jason frowned in thought.

“I did, he would've killed her easily otherwise.”

“Earlier… You said… You said you were more powerful than Nemesis, that you could defeat him easily,” Jason said.

“Well, I am not one for boasting, but those are the facts.”

“But doesn't that mean… You're more powerful than Celestia?”

Luna smiled sadly at Jason as she considered him for a moment.

“During the war it became obvious whom was the finer warrior,” Luna chuckled to herself. “Ah, my sister was an inspirational character, a good tactician when a calm environment was maintained, yet, in battle, she was fire, she burned hot and bright and passionately but was reckless and just too arrogant at times, she uses a big hammer as a weapon, I think you can imagine her personal battle strategy.”

“You actually are a lot like her,” Luna giggled. “Always running headfirst at a problem, tackling it with force and will and expecting nothing less than total victory.”

“I never cared about the attention during the war, there was much more important things to be worried about, perhaps once or twice I felt a hard bitterness that Celestia was heralded as a war hero often for victories I was a large part of, but I kept it all to myself, telling myself that defeating the enemy was much more important.”

“And then it ended, in a blink of an eye, the great foe was defeated and the singular purpose I had devoted my life to simply… Vanished, what was I to do? What were any of us to do? Four thousand years of war, of pain, ended, and what was left behind? Ruins, destruction, despair, we were the gods of a broken world.”

“So they left, all of them, I don't know who was the first, but they all left, abandoned this world one by one for that spiritual realm of Etheruim, Gaia was the last, so reluctant to abandon her beautiful earth, and so just me and Celestia remained, well, us and millions of the Unaligned.”

“The cruelty hit me then, and it hit my sister too, that these people, so alike us yet missing just that one piece to bring them to what they considered divinity, it was the Unaligned Alicorns that named us gods, do you understand? They built temples and statues in our names, we were everything to them... They were so obsessed by our powers , that they would throw themselves into the death machine of Humanity because we declared them demons.”

“They soon realized that they had been deceived, and they cast us out, we roamed for a while, me and my sister, no one but each other, the rejection was hard on Tia, she had been basking in the unconditional love of these people for so long it hit her hard to see them now... I believe this was the first time she questioned so much of her views.”

“We hid ourselves away, in a time largely undocumented bar from myth and legend, we lay dormant, thinking, meditating for what seemed like an eternity, and in that time, what was left of our imperium and our war had been buried, even the Unaligned had altered, separating into the three tribes of ponies we know today, and when the time was right, in an act of pure arrogance, we emerged once more, Goddesses of the heavens, and declared ourselves the Two Princesses of Equestria.”

“Arrogance?” Jason asked. “But you led Equestria to greatness didn't you?”

“Perhaps, but was that the goal or a product of our power play? How different were we from the rest of our kind which had manipulated the Unaligned into worshipping them? We are gods of a forgotten age, Jason, just like you, nobody even believed we were real, the past should have been left to die, we should have left with the others, but we just couldn't let it go, and I often wonder… what would the world be like if we had let the new world rise from the ashes we left the old one in?”

“It was then that I saw the Celestia of old return, only in a new way, she still basked in the love of the masses but this time she played not the part of war hero but of the ever forgiving goddess, the mother saint, the wise ruler, it was… Patronizing, and the citizenry drank it all up, bowing scraping and all, she was kind, always, never angered nor shouted only loved unconditionally…”

“Jason… Have you ever hated someone because they’re just too perfect?” Luna didn't shy away from Jason’s gaze.

“I… Can't say I have?” Jason said.

“I envy you, and that was the problem, envy, because I realized then that this new world had no use for a warrior such as I, there were wars without any doubt, but they paled, nay, they were laughable in the face of what me and Tia had seen produced by Humanity, if we wanted to, we could simply obliterate everyone and everything in our way...” Luna said. “And for a while… That is what we did, headstrong Celestia and cynical me, we carved out our Equestrian empire from the Neverending Ocean to what's now Stalliongrad and the edge of the Eastern Unknown, we should have learned, but we just didn't, I think perhaps we were intoxicated, drunk upon this dream of re-creating our lost Imperium and hopefully bringing back the Alicorns.”

“The first crack was the Crystal Empire, Sombra and his dark pacts, he was an enemy that we could not simply blow away for the power he wielded was akin to an Alicorn, and even in our moment of triumph he denied us a true victory, and this spoke to the world that we were not the gods we claimed we were.”

“And then, there was me,” Luna smiled. “I've always known that I was… More magically gifted than my sister, that I could best her in battle, and, for the first time, I decided that that power gave me the right to rule, and only me.”

“So when it came for day to break, I didn't not lower the moon, I defied my sister and committed the ultimate sin of the Alicorn, I corrupted my very purpose, what I was meant to do.”

“I was not the first Fallen Alicorn,” Luna said. “And perhaps in that moment, had I considered the legacy I was following, of Dispono and Aphrodite, I would have stopped myself, but I was too late, and I was transformed, my very form corrupted into a being known as Nightmare Moon.”

“When me and my sister inevitably clashed she realized very quickly that I was the stronger, that she could not best me, and I remember that reality hitting her, and I loved it, she needed to be humbled Jason, I needed to show her that she was not the all powerful being that she thought she was, and I needed to be the one to put her in her place.”

“It is from that day that my sister would learn humility and control and I would cast away the darker feelings within me,” Luna took a breath. “And it is for these reasons that I do not regret my actions, I do not regret Nightmare Moon, not for a second.”

“You have power now, Jason, akin to that of an Alicorn,” Luna said. “I know not of your ability to wield it or if you shall ever be able to achieve your full potential, however, you must not be like us Jason, you mustn't give in to arrogance nor greed, you’ve seen both how this affects Alicorns and Humans, power corrupts all if we let it.”

Jason stared back at Luna, and maybe for the first time ever, appreciated the ancient and powerful creature before him. All that knowledge and will behind a pair of soft blue eyes which looked to him with concern, with expectation, was he kin to this goddess now? It was an overwhelming thought.

“I can't promise you I'll be perfect,” Jason said. “But I intend to learn how to control this, I've learned what I can from you, from Alicorns, there's someone else I need to talk to now...”

Talonguard, the Kingdom of Gryphonia, Sunday 12th of April, 1:12pm, 2206 AC

There were many amongst the dead that day.

The city was filled with a thousand fires, but not from an inferno that consumed the city, rather from the funeral pyres constructed for each and every of the fallen Gryphons. Those loyal to Bloodbeak and Nightclaw alike, none were dishonoured, and the Kings own pyre was put together by his brother. Bloodclaw said no words, sang no songs, he never believed such things mattered.

“Honour is as simple as a fire,” he said.

Jason didn't stick around for the Kings' funeral or the subsequent crowning on the new High King. He knew that things would never be the same for these people, a kingdom of honour had just been torn apart by betrayal and civil war. You don't recover from that.

He found Goldbeak outside the city, in the middle of a sparse field wherein he stood before five pyres. Twilight sat by side side, a comforting hoof on his back, she looked back at Jason sadly as he approached. Jason sat down next to Goldbeak who didn't look at him.

“The Order of the Sky is dead,” he said sadly. “This one’s brothers… this one is the last of his kind.”

Jason stared into the fire, feeling it's heat waft over him as he put a hand on Goldbeak’s back.

“Yeah... I've been there,” He said.

Chapter 38 – Act III - Unlimited Power

“I am more powerful than God, for I exist.” - Unknown

Golden Oaks Library, Ponyville, Equestria, Wednesday, 15th of April, 10:37am, 2206 AC

“Again!”

Jason and Twilight struck forward with their blades, they stood in the yard behind Twilight’s library. It was a hit dry day with nary a cloud in the sky, the heat beat down on them in waves coating both of them in layers of sweat. Goldbeak stood by, his armour and other adornments long shed and piled neatly next to him. His longsword stuck point-first into the ground as he watched Jason and Twilight with a critical eye.

“Overhead slash!” He commanded.

“Thrust!”

“Left slash!”

“Right! Keep momentum!”

“That's enough,” Goldbeak said. “Take a rest.”

Jason sat down in the grass, wiping the sweat from his brow. Strangely, even after over an hour of extensive training with Goldbeak he was not tired, an energy burned within him strongly, writhing and burning, fuelling everything he did. It had been so since what had transpired in Gryphonia, on the trip home Jason tried to understand what had changed, digesting the words Luna had shared with him. The Princess had seen them go back to Ponyville instead of Canterlot, citing their need for rest, and assured them both that she would tell Celestia all that had transpired. To which Jason felt more than a little anxious about, somehow he doubted Celestia would approve of what could only be described as the consumption of a divine soul.

Of course while the plan had been to rest and recover from the ordeal Goldebeak would have none of it, insisting that they must use this time to home their swordsmanship, a skill which he felt was desperately lacking.

“This one saw you two fight, you have spirit, you have courage, but you lack discipline and skill,” Goldbeak had said.

So what followed was an hour of slashing and cutting, footwork, stances of both the offensive and defensive nature, all very basic stuff Goldbeak told them. He was actually quite the good teacher, encouraging them often, always gentle with his criticisms and praising their achievements with legitimate pride. Jason knew this would be useful so he humoured the Gryphon, but Twilight seemed almost too eager, perhaps it was just her studious nature that compelled her to learn, yet, she swung and stabbed with such a ferocity with an almost wrathful determination that Jason could only assume that being surrounded by violence so often had affected her.

“Now, there is something you should both keep in mind,” Goldbeak said, interrupting Jason’s thoughts. “Your weapons are fundamentally different, as should be obvious, so they must handle differently, different techniques, different strategies.”

“Jason, your sword, a gladius, you named it, a short weapon made for stabbing, but this one notices you tend to slash more which is instinct with a blade, but you’re at an advantage when you close the distance,” Goldbeak explained, examining the Roman blade. “Against a longer weapon it is in your best Interest to get as close as possible, so your opponent's longer and heavier weapon shall work against them, use quick stabs, almost like you are using a dagger.”

“As for you, m’lady Twilight,” Goldbeak said, turning to her, Twilight smiled up at him. “You carry a Falchion, primarily a slashing weapon, but you as a Mage-- a most talented one may this one say - do not need to follow the rules of convention, you can move your blade in ways incapable of one wielding their weapon physically, remember that.”

“I will,” Twilight said, her smile widened when Goldbeak grinned back, she had this strange look in her eye. “And thanks for doing this, something tells me we’ll find more trouble soon enough.”

“Trouble always does tend to follow you around,” said Spike, emerging from the library carrying a tray with several glasses of water. “Wanted to keep you guys hydrated.”

“Thanks, man,” Jason said, grabbing the water, he observed Spike for a moment. “Hey, since when have you been so big?”

“Huh?” Spike said, indeed, the Dragon whom had once barely stood as tall to Jason’s knees now levelled past his waste, his legs longer and more muscular a trend copied by his arms, his snout was almost longer and more defined, spikes on his back which was his namesake were longer, and his teeth more prominent. “Oh, yeah I have been getting a lot of growth spurts lately.”

“I remember when you were just a hatchling,” Twilight sighed. “How the years fly…”

“This one has not encountered many dragons, only the few that dared to raid the north of Gryphonia,” Goldbeak said. “Of which this one has slain only the one, how did you come into the service of the lady Twilight, master Spike? Your kind is not known for its servitude.”

“Oh! Twilight hatched me as part of her entrance exam to the Canterlot School of Magic, she practically raised me,” Spike rubbed the back of his head. “So… Goldbeak was it?”

“Ser Goldbeak, Knight of the Sky, First Blade to Jason,” Goldbeak said proudly, puffing out his chest and ruffling his feathers.

“…Right,” Spike said, he glanced at Jason who shrugged.

“He's a right peacock but he's a good man,” Jason said.

“This one is neither a peacock nor a man, you know this,” Goldbeak said.

“Says the one who flashes his feathers at every given moment,” Jason retorted.

“Least this one does not look like a deformed Minotaur with a hair disorder,” Goldbeak shot back.

“Why you little --!“

“Boys, boys, no more fighting, we have company,” Twilight said, looking back towards the library, a knock would be heard coming from the front door a moment later.

“Twilight, remember when we talked about you using scrying like that and how creepy it is?” Spike said, Twilight rolled her eyes.

“I was just being helpful, go answer the door,” Twilight said, producing a brush, some cloths, and a bucket of water with the purple flash of her magic, she promptly went about wiping her face and straightening her frizzy mane. Jason took the opportunity to wipe himself down quickly as well.

“Twilight, darling!” Came Rarity’s carefully enunciated greeting, and lo she appeared in the doorway to the backyard with a smile on her pretty face. “Oh, it has felt like an age darling, give us a hug, come now.”

“It's good to see you too, Rarity,” Twilight said, embracing her warmly. “Sorry for not telling you and the girls that we came back, it was only just today and we were settling in.”

“Oh, it's no trouble darling, no doubt you’ve had quite the journey, you can tell us all about it later,” Rarity said, she looked to Jason. “And Jason dear, I see you've let that terrible beard of yours grow out.”

“Hey! I look good with a beard!” Jason said, running his hands through his steadily thickening beard.

“Nonsense, it covers too much of your handsome face,” Rarity said with a wink. “Now come here, you get a hug too.”

“You ponies and your hugs,” Jason said, rolling his eyes, but he obliged none the less and accepted Rarity’s hug warmly.

“Of course the prevailing question is, who is this handsome bird?” Rarity said, turning to Goldbeak with a raised eyebrow.

“Ah, this one is Ser Goldbeak of Clan Gold, Knight of the Sky and of his late Majesty High King Bloodbeak the Eighth,” Goldbeak proclaimed proudly, bowing low. “Tis an honour to meet you fair lady.”

“Oh my, a gentlemen and a knight?” Rarity said, fluttering her eyelashes. “Why this is an honour… Um, ser? Shall you stop bowing now?”

“You gotta bow back,” Jason said. “It's a Gryphon thing, how they greet, although I don't know why he expects everyone to know that.”

“Oh, I see,” Rarity gave a graceful bow. “A most curious custom you have there, Ser Goldbeak.”

“Tis our way to honour each other,” Goldbeak said. “As this one says it is the greatest honour to meet a friend of lady Twilight and Jason, whom this one owes his life, thus you are a friend of his as well.”

“And it is an honour to meet one of the legendary knights of Gryphonia, no doubt you have seen many an adventure and fell many a foe,” Rarity said flirtatiously, Goldbeak to his credit took it in stride.

“This one has seen his fair amount of battle, of adventure as you say, and what of you m’lady? Tales of the Six Elements reach even Talonguard, of those whom fell Discord the Mad and Sombra of the Eternal Dark, it seems you have claim to more adventures than this one,” Goldbeak said with praise.

“Well it was not just me, darling, you should meet the rest of the girls, in fact…” Rarity turned to Twilight. “The others would be eager to see you again, darling, we should tell them, get them here, we can catch up and introduce Ser Goldbeak here, they’d love him I'm sure.”

“That's a wonderful idea, Rarity - Spike? Do you mind going around town and telling the girls? Have them come here,” Twilight said.

“Sure thing, Twi,” Spike said, leaving to do as he was told.

“Rarity? You mind helping me around the kitchen? I'd like to prepare something small for everyone to eat,” Twilight asked.

“Oh, but of course darling, it is of no trouble,” Rarity said.

“Lady Twilight it would be dishonourable of this one to not assist you in some manner,” Goldbeak said dutifully.

“Of course, Goldbeak,” Twilight said with a laugh.

So they went about prepping some light snacks for the gathering, well, all aside from Jason whom took the time to wash up and then lounge in the library proper. Absentmindedly browsing Twilight’s most impressive collection of literature, he wasn't looking for anything in particular, just passing the time. However, one book did catch his eyes, it was rather old and bound with old cracked leather of some manner. The title was faded and marked the text as Greater Magicks of Eitherium, the works of Mage Meadowbrook of the Eastern Unknown.

Jason opened the book to the front page and was greeted by an intricate set of runes and a diagram of what looked to be some kind of summoning circle, vaguely resembling a pentagram in design. Small handwritten text which appeared messy and hastily printed in areas, as if the author’s thoughts were too fast for the speed of his quill. It was hard to decipher it all its scrawling nature but Jason’s curiosity was already stirred, thus he squinted and read slowly to make out the words.

“Three gates bar the way to the promised land, three gates guard the Truth, a toll must be paid at each and three keys for each gate must be found.

The body is but a conduit, not unlike a bolt of lighting which uses a tree to reach the ground, but are we as the living earth bound to be the tree or can we ascend to be like lighting? Can these gates be opened? If so what is the toll?

A child is born, it grows, it dies, it renters the either, the dead may pass and yet never die in that eternal plane wherein only gods remain. What of us, the Mage, the conduit, the tree, roots so deep we are one with this plane while the ascended exist in all, do we contend our will with the machine or do we march on as the gears command?

One must use a needle to pierce a membrane and so to with the membrane if here and of now, of all and of one, if we are to reach Truth we must discover the needle…”

“What the fuck am I reading?” Jason said to himself, placing the book back, the text was very vague and yet the runes and that circle flashed around in Jason mind long after he had abandoned the book, most odd indeed.

Whatever thoughts Jason was having her distracted and interrupted by a rapid if not urgent knocking upon the front door of the library, Jason informed Twilight that he would answer it. A decision he regretted the moment he opened said door and was hit with a powerful force which knocked him onto his back, said force was bouncy, it was hyper, and it was pink.

“Jason!” Pinkie Pie said, her smile a ray of light as her entire form seemed to glow with a radiating excitement and happiness. “How was Gryphonia? Did you meet many Gryphons? Was Gilda there? What about the unique and detailed culture which the author worked sooooooo hard on and no one seem to appreciate? Did you try the food? I heard the food is great! Oooh! The party possibilities that come from all this!”

“Now, now, a Pinkie Pie,” Rarity called, poking her head out from the kitchen. “We’ve talked about this, you can't just tackle people and go on a tirade like that, it puts people off.”

“Oh right!” Pinkie said, stepping of Jason. “Sorry about that! Rarity’s been teaching me to act more uh… What did you call it Rares?”

“Socially acceptable,” Rarity said happily. “And you've been doing much better Pinkie, remember it's okay to be excited…”

“…Just not so much that it scares people, thats right!” Pinkie Pie finished happily. “Oh, buts still so good to see you Jason, I've missed you!”

“I've missed you too, Pinkie Pie,” said Jason, patting Pinkies mane affectionately. “Are the others coming?”

“Yep! They’ll be here soonish!”

And it was soonish indeed they came as the rest of Twilight’s best friends piled through the door, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack, they greeted Jason warmly and assembled in the main library to sit and chat, Rarity joined as well and when Twilight emerged with tea and cookies she nearly dropped them from the group hug she received.

“Aw, it's so good to see you girls too,” Twilight said happily. “It was a rough trip, believe you me.”

“Nothing that you couldn't handle though, right Twily?” Rainbow said boastfully.

“That's right Dash,” Twilight chuckled. “Gryphonia was interesting to say the least, we met some interesting characters, speaking of whom… Goldbeak? Come out here and meet our friends!”

Goldbeak did as he was told and emerged from the kitchen, if Jason wasn’t wring he swore that Goldbeak, so normally proud, actually seemed awkward under the gaze of the opposite gender ponies before him. Seeming more fascinated with his claws and the floor than meeting the gaze of anyone in the room.

“Hello, this one is Ser Goldbeak, it is an honour to meet all of you,” Goldbeak said, confidently enough but the line was so practiced that Jason wasn’t surprised, Goldbeak then essentially used the subsequent bow to hide his face from his audience.

“A knight? That's so cool!” Rainbow was the first to speak, walking over and giving a surprisingly graceful bow back. “I remember hearing about you guys from other Gryphon's back in my flight school.”

“You did?” Goldbeak asked, rising.

“Yeah! They said you guys were awesome-- warriors who fought monsters and beasts, that's pretty cool if ya ask me,” Rainbow said, offering her hoof. “Rainbow Dash, nice to me ya Goldbeak!”

“Tis an honour to meet you, Rainbow Dash,” Goldbeak said. “This one did not know that there would be many Gryphons in Equestria, recent history still standing.”

“Some schools didn't allow it back then, dunno why, the Second Gryphon War ended over five hundred years ago,” Rainbow shrugged. “Luckily, Cloudsdale academy was pretty accepting-- you Gryphons are damn good flyers, ain't that right Flutters?”

“Oh! Uh, yeah, they were all pretty good,” Fluttershy said softly, bowing to Goldbeak. “My name's Fluttershy, it's very nice to meet you Ser Goldbeak.”

“A great pleasure,” Goldbeak said, bowing. “And please, there is no need for titles amongst friends.”

“Such a humble gentleman,” Rarity sighed to herself, just loud enough for others to hear. Jason rolled his eyes.

“Goldbeak here is going to stay in Ponyville with me,” Jason said. “Guy saved my life and I saved his, now I can't get rid of him.”

“And by staying with you I think you mean staying with me,” Twilight said with a roll of her eyes. “Your lucky imperial privilege makes living here so cheap, otherwise I'd charge you rent.”

“It would be dishonourable of this one to take advantage of your hospitality, Twilight,” Goldbeak stated. “This this one shall do what he can to help you with any tasks to repay you for allowing this one to stay here.”

“An honest worker huh?” Applejack piped in. “Good, I'm Applejack by the way.”

“Charmed,” said Goldbeak.

“Likewise, and I'd be mighty interested to hear how you got roped in to all this.”

“Yeah, Twi, quit stalling and tell us what happened!” Rainbow said eagerly.

“Alright, well you see, when he got to Talonguard the king…” Twilight trailed off for a moment as her eyes unfocused, as if in a trance, when she next spoke her words had a strange enunciation to them. “A stranger approaches.”

“What?” Jason said, slightly worried, but in a moment there was a purposeful knock on the front door. Jason gave Twilight a searching look which she avoided before rising to greet the stranger, opening the door revealed a unicorn whom wore a shell chestplate over a set of dark blue robes inlaid with intricate runes, a necklace hung from his next bearing the likeness of the sun with a crescent moon within it.

“Uh, how can I help you?” Jason greeted.

“Good day, my name is Sergeant Star Shine of the Imperial Battlemage Corps and I have been bid by Royal order to retrieve you Jason, Lady Twilight Sparkle, and Ser Goldbeak of Gryphonstone and transport you to Canterlot effective immediately,” he said.

“Right, I’m assuming this comes from Celestia?” Jason asked.

“The Princess has summoned you three, that is correct, are the others here as well?” Star Shine asked.

“Yeah, just a sec,” Jason asked back in to the questioning look of his friends. “Twi, looks like Tia wants you, Goldbeak, and me to come to Canterlot, I guess Luna didn't explain well enough.”

“Aw, but you just got here!” Pinkie whined.

“Sorry girls, but duty calls,” Twilight said sadly, standing.

“It seems to me that duty calls too often as of late,” Rarity huffed. “Forgive my heresy but it seems to me Princess Celestia is more concerned with using you as her agent than letting you live your life.”

“Rarity, I have duties, I'm both an imperial representative and a noble lady of the land, I swore an oath, and I can't just renege on my duties for the sake of…” Twilight trailed off.

“Your friends?” Rarity finished.

“That's not what I meant,” Twilight said defensively. “The nation must come first.”

“Ever the patriot, Twilight,” Rarity said, almost sadly. “Well go on then, don't let us keep you, but you will find the time to get us up to speed, okay?”

“I can promise you that,” Twilight said, before turning to Jason and Goldbeak. “Lets go.”

The three of them stepped outside, Twilight raised an eyebrow at the sight of Star Shine.

“An imperial battlemage? Does Celestia want to us in Canterlot that badly?” Twilight asked.

“The Princess stressed speed, I shall teleport you directly to her,” Star Shine said. “Grab on.”

“Can't say this one has ever teleported before,” Goldbeak said, cautiously placing a claw upon Star Shine’s back.

“Close your eyes and don't try to hold your breath, it'll be fine,” Twilight said encouragingly.

With all of them holding on Star Shine brought forth his blue magic, there was a snap and the boom of thunder and the rushing of wind, a miasma of colour, the sensation of falling, and suddenly they all stood just outside the great hall in the royal palace.

“The Princess is awaiting you, good day,” Star Shine said and he promptly left, his task apparently completed. With exchanged glances the trio wasted no time entering the great hall, Celestia and Luna were immediately obvious as being present, both didn't look overly happy with the situation at hand and even from the distance, Celestia’s barely controlled wrath was evident. Yet, there was a third in the room, a Mage of some sort with extravagant yellow robes, a deep hood, and cloak, their cloak bearing some sort of sigil that Jason couldn't make up. The Mage and the Princesses turned to look the approaching group.

“Well ain't this a party,” Jason said. “What's up?”

“You are the Human, Jason?” The Mage asked, he spoke oddly.

“Last I checked, but who are you?”

“A representative of the Council of the Ancients,” the Mage answered. “We have been watching your actions for a while now, Jason, but judgment has not yet been past.”

“Judgment is not for you to make, not in my realm,” Celestia said, her patience was clearly already wearing thin. “You’re lucky I do not toss you from my hold, your mere presence here is an affront.”

“The Council isn't interested in your petty politics,” the Mage spat. “Only in the artifacts you horde, which should be under our protection, regardless, I am here on a different manner. Jason, we understand you have found evidence of the Followers planning to conduct an expedition to the fabled human lands, yes?”

“Yeah, that right,” Jason said uncertainly, looking at Luna whom only showed a neutral expression.

“I see, it is also known that you have come into possession of an artifact known as Caine’s Blade,” the Mage stated. “This is also correct?”

“Yes,” Jason said, brushing his fingers along the daggers' bone hilt, it was sheathed by his side.

“I will give you this opportunity to relinquish the artifact to the Council.”

“Excuse me?”

“The Council of the Ancients seeks to protect the world by assuring objects of extreme magical power are not used by malevolent forces,” the Mage said. “As one of the Lost Alicorn Artifacts the blade is extremely dangerous and must be kept safe, I ask that you relinquish it.”

“Uh…” Jason shared a look with Luna. “No thanks, I think I'll hang onto it.”

“A shame, but I cannot force you to do anything,” the Mage said. “One last item of business, the Council detected a strange magical anomaly radiating from Talonguard at the same time you were known to be present there, what do you know of this?”

“Well, an Alicorn God was there, that may have something to do with it?” Jason suggested, although something told him that wasn't what this council had detected.

“Hm, and do you have any affiliation with the House of Necromancy?” The Mage asked accusingly.

“The what? No,” Jason said, confused.

“…That shall be all, we shall speak again I assure you, the Council has taken an interest in your activities Jason, tread carefully,” the Mage said, Jason felt his magic crackle in response to the Mage lighting his horn and disappearing with a loud crack!.

“Okay, what was that all about?” Jason asked.

“Don't think you can deflect the matter at hand,” Celestia said, that fiery wrath burning behind a stern face. “The Council of the Ancients were not the only ones to feel that anomaly, what happened? What did you do? That amount of dark magic isn't normal.”

“…There's no such thing as dark magic,” Jason said with a frown.

“There's no such thing as…” Celestia’s eyes narrowed as she looked at Luna whom met her gaze steadily. “What nonsense have you been filling his head with?”

“I taught him how to use magic like you asked me to,” Luna said calmly. “I told him that magic is simply power to be used, which is true, and I helped him develop his magical niche.”

“Which is?”

“Necromancy, of course.”

“Necro-“ Celestia looked disgusted and angry at the same time. “You taught him forbidden magic without consulting me?! What were you thinking?!”

“I was thinking that prejudice shouldn't stifle the natural talent Jason possesses.”

“Natural talent, Luna listen to yourself your talking about a Human who…”

“Who happens to be right here,” Jason said, getting angry. “Who are you to tell me how I can and cannot act, huh? This power has saved mine and many others lives, why should I reject it?”

“Oh Jason you couldn't possibly understand…” Celestia said, as if talking to a child, Jason felt his wrath spark aflame.

“Don't patronize me! How much have I done for you? How many times have I risked my life for you? Do I not get a little faith for that? Hm?” Jason said, his voice rising as he and Celestia squared off.

“And how can I trust you when I know not what foul things you did in Gryphonia? Out with it! I will be lied to no longer!” Celestia demanded.

“Jason consumed the soul of Nemesis,” Luna informed her calmly. “He had created a phylactery for his soul, Caine’s Blade itself, and only Jason had the power to destroy it.”

“He…” Celestia was visibly shaken. “This is how it starts.”

“How what starts?” Jason challenged.

“The want, the desire, just one taste of power and your kind will never ever let go,” Celestia looked scared, as if remembering. “Ever onward you shall march towards gaining more and more without satisfaction until you are a husk empty of all but that need, t'is the folly of humanity, just look at your kin, Edward, he envied the Alicorns and look at where that got him.”

“I don't envy you, Celestia,” Jason said dangerously. “Don't give me that glory of the gods shit, don't you forget who came before you, and don't you dare for a second think that I’m just another one of your dutiful soldiers, there are people out there who would drop to their fucking knees and worship me like a god, my race set the foundation for your country's existence, I am the giant who's shoulders you stand upon, you ain't got nothing on me, bitch.”

“So here's what's going to happen, I've been thinking of giving Ed a visit, seems to me like he's the only one who could help me understand the power I have, and while I'm there I will find a way to free him because I don't believe you for a goddamn second when you say you plan to free him.”

“You shall do no such thing! I forbid it!” Celestia declared.

“You do not command me,” Jason shouted back, his magic sparking to life and wreathing him with silver fire. “I do not recognize your authority nor shall I bend my knee to you!”

“This is my realm and I am Celestia of the Eternal Sun!” Celestia’s voice boomed like thunder as she too glowed, golden light pouring from her eyes. “I shall be obeyed or-”

In a moment Luna stood between them, facing Celestia defiantly. Her magic wasn't summoned, yet still she stood a rock against the raging hurricane.

“Enough,” she said, calmly yet forcibly.

“Step aside, Luna,” Celestia ordered, her flame dimmed when faced of her sister.

“I shall not.”

“I said step aside!”

“I shall not,” Luna repeated. “You do not command him nor do you command me, Tia, you needn't fear the things that you cannot control, Jason is our ally and yet you stand here accusing him as a villain, this must stop.”

Celestia simmered for a moment, staring angrily at her sister whom cooly met her gaze. Before suddenly there was the crack of thunder and a flash as Celestia teleported away, leaving them all in the wake of her wrath.

“I shouldn't have to take that from her,” Jason said. “Who the hell does she think she is?”

“Celestia, Goddess of the Sun,” Luna sighed, rubbing her face. “I think it best that you leave, go to Edward, with luck my sister shall cool down by the time you return, go now before she decides to burn you at the stake.”

“Yeah, sure,” Jason said and stormed out of the hall, Twilight and Goldbeak close behind. His heart was pounding and his head hurt, it had been a long time since Jason had felt angry like that, not since… His father. Stopping outside the great hall Jason leaned against the wall and took deep breaths, in through the nose out through the mouth, his heart would soon slow and his magic would recede. Twilight sat next to him, she looked visibly shaken and upset, and it occurred to Jason how the argument must have looked to her.

“I'm sorry you had to see that,” He said gently. “I know Celestia’s your teacher and all that.”

While Twilight was shaken and wide eyed, as she stared at the ground she slowly shook her head.

“No… Celestia was wrong,” Twilight said, the words came out like they were a lump in her throat, but they needed to be said. “It's just I've never seen her so… Wrathful, so paranoid.”

“It appears to this one that Celestia desires a world where power is only given to the complacent,” Goldbeak said thoughtfully.

“Do tell,” Jason said thoughtfully. “Because I just thought she might just pass off as a massive cunt.”

“This one can't claim to understand magic,” Goldbeak shrugged. “However… During this one’s time in service to the king he was a member of his court, he held influence, power, both political and martial, had this one wished it he could had levied support for himself and easily defeated His Majesty in a dual of honour, claiming the throne not unlike Lord Nightclaw had, yet this one never did.”

“Why? T'was not for lack of ambition for it was ambition that allowed me to rise in the ranks and gain recognition enough to be knighted, one might say it was this one’s sense of honour and duty, his loyalty to the king, and yet, the king propagates and maintains the very society which instilled those ideals into this one’s heart, so is it genuine or crafted? Was it this one's morals which kept him from rising to the top or was it a system that allowed those alike with him to rise just enough but never too far?”

“This one often asks himself what could entice him to abandon his ideals, and if doing so was truly an evil to be feared, it's the same burden and question that we all must live with, soldiers and kings, if you wield power, of status, of life and death, or of strength, we all must ask if a moral code and ideals to live by, are the only thing keeping us from darkness or the one thing keeping us from reaching our full potential?”

“Celestia wishes for a world much alike Gryphonia methinks, where true power is only wielded by those with a rigid set of rules in which to govern oneself by, which is why she fears someone like you Jason, whom is capable of great power but not adherent to her control, this only fuels her paranoia.”

“In the end, we can only do what feels right, what we believe to be the correct course of action by whatever justification we must use, this is not a perfect way but is the only honest one, people will still be hurt along the way, lives will be lost, but that's the choice we all make when we reject to be complacent in whatever system we find ourselves , the moment we allow that ambition to drive us, and to wield power,” Goldbeak hummed. “This one doesn't completely understand what you did back there Jason, regarding Nemesis and his soul, but this one does not feel you to be evil and by my honour I have sworn to you, for better or for worse, this one shall follow you to whatever end, and that will be enough for him.”

“And… I'm grateful for it, truly,” Jason said. “Don't know what I did to deserve a friend like you, but I’ll always be grateful.”

“You do this one honour,” Goldbeak said, smiling warmly.

“Heh, well, I guess that's why Luna didn't tell Celestia that I was a Necromancer, she knew that Tia would flip her lid,” Jason said, then a thought occurred. “Speaking of which, why did you never tell Celestia, Twilight? Better yet, it's weird you didn't seem to share her beliefs when you were teaching me magic for the first time, which is strange considering your Celestia’s prize pupil and all that jazz.”

“Celestia taught me about dark magic when I was young, to fear it and to never use it,” Twilight said with a sigh. “It was something that I've always disagreed with but have been… Too afraid of her disappointment to bring up, so I studied it in secret, I believe that magic is a tool and while parts of it are more dangerous than others that is not cause to fear it, fear only creates more danger to a thing, personally I find it funny that some people are completely comfortable with a fire spell roasting a pony alive yet not with communing with the dead, I ask what exactly is so sacred about death that we are expected to respect is so more than life? Just doesn't make sense to me, I've always felt that if you're careful with the knowledge, even if that be Necromancy, isn't and can't be wrong, knowledge isn't good or evil and neither is power.”

“Well, it's knowledge that I'm after,” Jason said. “Ever since what happened it's like I'm chasing something just out of reach, if I'm going to live with this power I want to understand it to the best of my ability, and I think Edward can help me with that.”

“This one shall be coming with you, of course,” Goldbeak said. “Although you must explain to him whom this Edward character is on the way there.”

“That's a long story.”

“I'm coming as well,” Twilight said, smiling. “I've wanted to meet this man since you told me about him.”

“Well,” Jason said, looking at his friends. “Tally ho! as they say.”

Chapter 39 – On the Road Again

“Sometimes the wrong train takes you to the right station.” – Anonymous.

Aboard the Hermes Express, The Border of Equestria and Germaneigh, Thursday, 16th of April, 4:33am, 2206 AC

They had boarded the first train heading east, it was amazing how fast one can get transport when they have a friend with imperial privilege. One mention of her name and Twilight gets escorted to a private car by the conductor himself. They left Canterlot by late afternoon, the fields and hills of Equestria whipping by too fast to see, and soon the sky would darken and night would come. With night came sleep, and with sleep came dreams.

Jason dreamt of the ocean, vast and dark. With a hand he parted the waves to reveal the dark below, 'twas a graveyard of forlorn souls. A thousand men and women whom cried out in their unnatural sleep, trapped trapped and trapped. The oceans crashed back around them as they screamed in terror.

Jason awoke to the gentle shaking of the passenger car. It was early morning, the world outside had a pale blue tint to it as the sun’s light had not yet peaked the horizon. The compartment that Jason lay in was dimly lit by a single magical lantern which flooded the space with a pleasant golden light. Goldbeak lay opposite of Jason, curled up with his head laying on his claws, his breaths slow and peaceful in sleep. Next to him sat Twilight whom was scanning through a rather thick book, a cup of coffee hovering next to her.

“Hey,” Jason said, sitting up and stretching.

“Hey,” Twilight said, looking up from her book. “We crossed the border into Germaneigh about an hour ago.”

“You've been up that long?” Jason asked. “Reading? And where'd you get the book, I didn't notice you bringing one with you.”

“I used a reclamation spell, tricky stuff but if done right I can summon any item from anywhere as long as I know exactly where it is,” Twilight explained, she showed the cover to Jason and it read Greater Magicks of Eitherium, the works of Mage Meadowbrook of the Eastern Unknown. “I noticed you looking at it before we left Ponyville.”

“Yeah, I was just browsing,” Jason said. “I couldn't make sense of it.”

“I don't blame you, this is pretty advanced stuff,” Twilight said. “Ethereal transposing, astral projection, the magic of Eastern Unicorns is very complex and a hard study.”

Jason hummed in agreement. He then watched Goldbeak shifting in his sleep, getting closer to Twilight and practically using her as a pillow, Twilight didn't seem to mind.

“You like him,” Jason observed, gesturing to Goldbeak

“He's a good friend I'm glad he's with us,” Twilight said.

“You know what I mean,” Jason said with a grin, getting a mild blush out of Twilight.

“He is handsome,” Twilight giggled.

“Not as handsome as me though, right?” Jason said with a mock charming smile.

“Oh, of course,” Twilight said, rolling her eyes.

They slipped into a pleasant silence, Jason watched as raindrops began to patter on the cabin window. Absentmindedly Jason pulled Caine’s Blade from his belt and began to fiddle with it, studying the finer details of the artifact. T'was strange, for when Nemesis wielded it the dagger was metal and finely crafted. Yet, in Jason’s hands it was bone, the blade was a sharpened jawbone, the hilt made from spine and other bone fragments, the whole thing bound together by rough leather. Jason tested its weight, experimentally flushing the dagger with magic and wreathing it in silver fire. Within, Jason could feel a quiver, something responded to Caine’s Blade-- a power within him, one that laughed at his expense.

“Twilight?” Jason said.

“Yes?” Twilight replied, looking up from her book.

“The Council of the Ancients,” Jason said. “What do you know about them? I didn't get to ask Celestia or Luna, so I was hoping you'd might know something.”

“Ah yes, most curious that was, they seemed very interested in you, didn't they?” Twilight mused. “I'm afraid I don't know much, only legends, lies, and conjecture, but most accounts agree they’re a group of extremely powerful mages interested in hoarding magical artifacts.”

“Well whatever their intent they seemed very suspicious of me, and what happened in Talonguard,” Jason sighed. “Seems the list of people who don't like me is getting longer by the day.”

“Well it's to be expected, there's many whom consider what you did in Talonguard to be taboo, an unforgivable sin,” Twilight stated.

“Do you?”

“I think what happened, happened, and there's nothing you nor I can do to change it,” Twilight said in consolation. “This power is a part of you now and the best you can do is to understand it, which is why we’re here, you've learned all you can from the mages and gods of Equestria, now it's time to learn from one of your kind.”

“My kind…” Jason mused. “Human, or Eternal Man?”

“What do you-“ Twilight’s eyes widened as her horn flashed. “Something's coming.”

“What-“ Jason was cut off by the screech of the train suddenly throwing on the breaks, the ear-splitting sound continued several moments as the car shook like it was about to topple over. The train skidding for at least a kilometre before coming to a rather abrupt stop, nearly throwing Jason from his seat.

“What in the King's name was that?” Goldbeak said, being awoken suddenly by all the noise, his claws gripped his sword hilt.

“The train’s under attack,” Twilight said, she lit her horn and closed the curtains on their window tightly.

“How many?” Goldbeak asked, drawing his blade.

“At least thirty,” Twilight said and she frowned in concentration. “Now hush, I need quiet to cast this spell.”

Goldbeak and Jason exchanged looks but said nothing as Twilight closed her eyes and started to move her head in a wife circle. A glowing purple trail left in its wake with sparks of energy coming off the tip of Twilight’s horn as she carefully constructed a summoning circle before their eyes. With a pentagram in the centre and runes lining the edges. Finishing the circle Twilight reached a hoof through it and seemingly from no where pulled her Falchion, scabbard and all, from the circle. Twilight promptly dispelled the circle and strapped the weapon to her side.

“Well that's the coolest thing I've seen all week,” Jason said.

“Aw, thanks,” Twilight said with a smile. “Come on, they’re getting closer.”

The three of them exited their compartment into the narrow hallways which ran the length of their private car. From the other cars in front and behind them they could hear screams and sounds of fighting, clashing of steel, the casting of magic. Then, without warning there was the smashing of glass as a hooded unicorn dove through a nearby window before brandishing a spear towards Jason.

Jason dodged the assailant's thrust by stepping to the side, his left hand shot out and gripped the unicorn's face hard. Channeling his magic, Jason gripped the stallion's spirit and with a violent claw-like motion Jason dragged the unicorns soul clear of his body. The transparent ghost of the dead unicorn wailed like an unnatural beast as Jason squeezed his very essence between his fingers. Three more attackers would burst through the windows only to be met with a screaming spirit thrown at their hooves, the unicorn begged for mercy before disappearing all together. The three new attackers were stricken and frozen in terror.

“B-by the gods…” One managed to stutter out.

They were all too shocked to even try and fight back as Goldbeak dashed forward and relieved them of their heads in a single deadly arc. The bodies hit the floor with loud thuds, shaking violently post mortem from the severed nerves as blood spewed from their cut necks. Another crash was heard behind and Jason turned just in time to see Twilight grip a Pegasus in her magic and violently pull him forward straight to the edge of her Falchion, spilling the stallion's guts upon the floor with a wet splash.

The safety door to the car was forced open by a unicorn brandishing an axe. His charge was met with Goldbeak’s blade as the two fervently contested magic and muscle. Jason spotted movement through his peripheral vision and turned to see a Pegasus climbing through the broken window. Without hesitation, Jason dashed forward and delivered two quick stabs with his gladius, one in the eye and the other in the stallion's throat. Blood splattered upon the window frame as the stallion slid off Jason’s blade and fell to the ground. Jason peered out the window in an attempt to spot any more of the assailants, only to jerk his head to the side as an arrow shot past him an embedded itself into the wood of the floor.

“Mind the windows!” Jason yelled.

“Duly noted!” Goldbeak yelled back, opening his opponent's throat before plunging his sword into the chest of the attacker right behind the last.

Jason glanced over to see Twilight duelling with three different unicorns. Swords had been abandoned as Twilight whipped her head deftly, blocking spell after spell but ultimately being on the defensive. Jason was about to intervene before Twilight apparently became fed up with the game and with a sweeping motion of her horn, all three of the unicorns heads twisted around in almost a complete circle with sickening cracks!. Jason barely had time to be impressed before the was the flash and bang of teleportation and no less than three more assailants were teleported into the car.

With a flick of his wrist, Jason shot a forceful blast towards the trio of attackers, sending them stumbling about. Rushing forward, Jason delivered two quick stabs to the first stallion's chest, he gasped in death before falling to the ground. The next attempted an overhead slash with a sabre, to which Jason deflected the blow sideways and delivered two solid punches to the stallion's snout, breaking his nose. Jason then drew his combat knife and stabbed it into the stallions right eye before tossing his lifeless body to the side. The third attacker barely had time to do anything before Jason magically gripped him by the throat and lifed him into the air. The stallion gasped for air before Jason violently smashed his head into the nearby wall several times until his skull cracked. Blood and brain matter leaked out and splattered the wall before Jason released him, letting his lifeless body slump into the ever growing pile of corpses.

Jason took a breath, the car stank of metal and blood. He observed his companions for a moment, Twilight had felled four more attackers by way of carefully aimed lightning bolts and she was currently duelling with a fifth. Goldbeak had held the door effectively, and had slain three further attackers whom tried for the windows once again. Jason watched as Goldbeak cut another down with a heavy sweep which cut another stallion's legs and then a slash to the throat to finish the job. The attacker's ranks were running thin, and they were growing more desperate.

Jason once again leered out the window only to once again have to dodge an arrow that would have skewered him had he not been careful. Steadying his breathing, Jason manifested his magic and reached out with it. Tuning out the noise of the fighting and the smell of death, Jason focused on the life essences that surrounded him. To anyone observing Jason, he would have been wreathed in silver flame, his eyes glowing the same colour. He could see them all, the souls of his two companions, of the few fighters whom remained, of the numerous shades of the fallen which lingered after their violent deaths. And… There, on a hill not thirty meters from the train… The archer.

Without warning, Jason stood in the line of fire once more, but before the archer could even get a shot at him, Jason's glowing hand extended in a gripping motion. The stallion archer froze as his very life essence was dragged out of his body.

“You’re mine,” Jason growled as the soul was dragged across the distance to land squarely in Jason’s grip. Jason then slammed the transparent stallion into the ground and slashed his gladius through him, the ghostblade dissipating the apparition. As he took hold of his magic, Jason saw his two friends finishing off what appeared to be the last of their attackers.

The car was a gore fest, guts, blood, and body parts galore splattered and dirtied the floor and walls. The whole scene created a musk stinking of flesh and gore, which was especially dangerous to weak stomachs.

“I believe we are safe for the moment,” Goldbeak said, panting. He had sustained a few minor cuts but was overall unharmed. He carefully wiped the blood off of his longsword.

“Looks like it,” Jason said. “You alright, Twi?”

“Yeah,” Twilight said, also out of breath. Her horn was smoking from magical heat generated and her hooves were a dirtied with blood and gore. “Can we step out? It stinks in here.”

“Yeah, okay,” Jason said, and the three practically stumbled from the train car to the fresh air outside. The sun had risen and the morning was pleasantly dry and warm with a red sky to greet them. The three of them slumped up against the train as they caught their breath.

“Wait a second…” Jason said suddenly, a thought occurring. “What about the other passengers? And the crew?”

Twilight’s horn sparked and flashed for a moment before she sighed and looked sorrowful.

“I… Can't detect any life on the train,” She said sadly. “There weren't many… Maybe forty if you count the crew, but still…”

“They didn't deserve to die,” Jason said angrily, clenching his fists. “Fuck me, who are these assholes anyway?”

“This one is afraid we may never know, for they have all been slain,” Goldbeak said, shaking his head.

“Death is relative,” Jason said, standing and sheathing his blade. He stepped over to the corpse of a Pegasus which lay nearby, the one that had died to Jason’s blade while attempting to enter through the window. His eye and throat leaked blood onto the gravel in a still-growing pool. Recently dead, a violent death. Too easy. thought Jason.

Surprising himself with the amount of magical energy he still had after that fight, Jason sparked his magic. Carefully he reached out seeking the lingering soul that had once been attached to the body, and like the gathering on mist he appeared. Standing over his own body was that Pegasus, short cropped hair, barely a tail, wings rough from lack of preening. He looked scared and confused.

“P-please! Don't hurt me!” the Pegasus begged in terror.

“It's okay, I won't hurt you,” Jason said gently, it wouldn't do him any good to scare a spirit. “What is your name?”

“M-my name? It… It's Grey Wind,” the Pegasus said, still very nervous.

“Hello Grey Wind, my name's Jason, and I'm your friend,” Jason continued. “Hm, how about you tell me why you attacked this train?”

“O-orders from… His Holiness, prophet of our Alicorn Lords, t-to seek out the demon known as Jason and… Kill him, him and his heretic companions,” Grey Wind gulped. “Please O' mighty Jason, spare my life and I shall seek not to harm you further.”

“I'm afraid it's too late for that, go in peace,” With a wave of his hand Jason send the spirit on his way before sighing and putting his head in his hands. “Twilight… How many passengers and crew were on board?”

“Forty… Jason this isn't your fault,” Twilight said gently.

“Yes it is!” Jason snapped, slamming his fist into the gravel. “They came for me and because of that, forty innocent people are dead, God fucking damnit!”

Jason slammed his fist into the ground again and again, yelling in anger. He breathed heavily and began to shake with emotion as tears dampened his eyes.

“For all my power over the souls of the dead, I cannot restore them to life,” Jason spat bitterly, he then felt a touch on his shoulder and looked to see that Goldbeak had placed a claw upon his shoulder in consolidation.

“Grieve the dead and let them to pass to the next world, that is all we can do,” Goldbeak said. “Let not your necromantic abilities give you any illusion, Jason, we cannot control life or death, not truly.”

“And yet we still try,” Jason sighed, and wiped his eyes. “...Help me with the bodies?”

“Of course,” Goldbeak said, Twilight nodded as well.

And so together they moved each and every body to the side of the tracks, the zealots, passengers, and crew alike. They arranged them into several lines before Jason stood before them. Once again he drew upon his magic and reached out to the souls aplenty which lingered in torment, their lives ended too quickly and too soon. The dead stood in solidarity with one another, victims next to their murderers, no vengeance in death it seemed. They stared at Jason in expectation and with a certain amount of reverence.

“Go now in peace, leave this place for the next,” Jason said, and with a simple breeze they were swept away like sand. Jason rubbed his temples, just the hint of a headache forming from all this magic.

“We should away into the forest,” Goldbeak said. “It shall not be long until the train will be due at its destination and people notice something is amiss, and it would not due us well to be amongst such a scene in a foreign land, especially one that allows such zealots free reign.”

“Goldbeak’s right,” Twilight said. “Celestia’s influence can't help us here, we have to leave.”

“Alright, lest go,” Jason said with determination.

And so, the three off them disappeared into the wilderness, with nary a glance behind them. Word would spread of what happened there that day, rumours and stories to scare the little ones. To this day no one truly knows what happened at the Hermes Train Massacre.

The Black Forest, Germaneigh, Thursday, 16th of April, 6:27am, 2206 AC

“Closest city should be Cloudsburg,” Twilight said. “If we head north we’ll hit the coast then we just follow that until we find civilization.”

“Well it's not like we have many options, do we?” Jason said, taking in the sights as they walked. The forest was dense yet the landscape flat and the trees evenly spaced. “So, history question for ya’ Twi, mostly ‘cause I'm bored. But what's the deal with Germaneigh? They’re ponies too ain't they? Why are they independent from Equestria? Come to think of it there's a lot of pony nations that question could be applied to.”

“Well it all harken back to what's usually called the age of succession,” Twilight explained. “There's a lot of background of course, Prance, Germaneigh, and Stalliongrad were all a part of the original Equestrian Imperium united under the Two Princesses, but during the Age of Darkness or the Tribal Era depending who you ask, those three natiosn were the three pony tribes, the Unicorn Lords, the Pegasi Imperium, and and the Earth Chancellory.”

“It wasn't until Discord appeared that things began to change, the three tribes formed an uneasy alliance known as the Everfree Pact with the sole purpose of defeating Discord, but their efforts of course would be in vain and Discord’s inane grip upon the world would continue for years undocumented until Celestia and Luna emerged wielding the Elements of Harmony and freeing the world from tyranny, declaring that day to be the formation of the First United Equestrian Imperium under the Diarchy of the Two.”

“What, and people just went with that?” Jason asked.

“Well considering that two divine beings wielding artifacts of legend just overthrew the tyrannical demon which had plagued the lands for several generations, yeah I'd say there was some incentive to just go with it,” Twilight said, giving Jason a look. “Equestria as we know it, was the centralized imperial province, a melting pot of all three tribes while the outlaying territories maintained their traditional cultural identity.”

“The triggering event was… Well it was Princess Luna’s fall that began it, think about it, one half of the Diarchy suddenly ceasing the cycle of night and day and plunging the imperium into civil war? Suddenly the rule of the Alicorns wasn't so divine, with Luna gone, Celestia was just another flawed leader.”

“Prance was the first, and the most violent, the Prench revolution was the bloodiest conflict to occur before the Gryphon Wars ravaged the continent, and with almost one third of the imperium ceceding, it sent a message. Stalliongrad would stage a revolution of its own and Germaneigh soon after.”

“Fun times,” Jason said. “So… Are you sure you know where we’re going?”

“Of course I'm sure, but I suppose it doesn't hurt to check..” Twilight stopped for a moment and began to cast a spell, forming a summoning circle once again from which she produced a pair of saddle bags. From the bags she produced a map which she unfurled for everyone to see.

“Hm, is it just me or does the map seem different from the last one I've seen?” Jason mused.

“I think you’re imagining things, the map’s always looked like this,” Twilight said.

“So where are we by your reckoning?” Goldbeak asked.

“Around here,” Twilight said, pointing to a large unmarked area in Germaneigh. “The Black Forest, the train track went directly east towards Cloudsburg and we went north from the track, so the coast shouldn't be too far.”

“Well let's not waste any time,” Jason said. “We should travel as far as we can while the day is with us.”

Palace of the Two Princesses, Canterlot, Thursday, 16th of April, 6:35am, 2206 AC

Celestia swept her gaze along the horizon, setting it ablaze with her sun. The light of the sun seemed more intense, almost blinding this day, the heat coming off in waves across the land. It was reflective of the fire that raged within Celestia’s mind.

“Why does it bother you so? What Jason said?” Luna asked, walking up from behind and sitting next to her sister.

“You should be asleep,” Celestia said, not sparing Luna so much as a glance.

“Perhaps, but you did not answer my question,” Luna said. “Why does it bother you? Because you cannot control him?”

“I am not so petty,” Celestia said defiantly.

“I don't accuse you of pettiness, but what I observe is fear--” Luna said gently. “of what you cannot control. This has always been your folly sister, we cannot control all and despite all who claim so, we are not gods.”

“Are we not?” Celestia mused. “What makes a god than one whom holds dominion over the natural world and whom is worshiped as a divine being?”

“Don't be so arrogant Tia, it suits you not,” Luna chided.

“I'm just observing the world as I see it,” Celestia shrugged.

“Do you recall the stories Father would tell us, of how the war started?”

“Of course, he told us that peace existed between Alicorns and Humanity for hundreds of years before the war,” Celestia thought for a second. “And then the Alicorns declared themselves gods.”

“And the Humans were non-believers,” Luna added. “Be honest, sister, of all you know of his kind, did you really expect Jason to bend to your will?”

“I thought he was different,” Celestia sighed.

“You thought he was like you, he is not, he is something that you cannot control,” Luna said. “In truth there is much you cannot control, me, the vast majority of our subjects no matter how much you delude yourself into thinking you can.”

“Did you only come here to insult and belittle me?” Celestia said bitterly.

“No Tia, only that you shouldn't let fear and hate control you,” Luna said. “If there is one thing I have learned from all my mistakes is that the sins of Humanity is no different from the sins of our own.”

“Must you always be so cryptic?”

“It's a passion.”

“Yet... Perhaps you are right,” Celestia sighed. “I cannot control everything.”

“That's the spirit,” Luna said before planting a kiss upon her sisters cheek. “Have a good day Tia.”

“You too Lulu,” Celestia said as her sister left. “Sleep well.”

Luna left and Celestia continued to stare at her glorious sun, musing over her sisters words.

“I can't control everything,” she repeated. “But you can't blame a girl for trying.”

Chapter 40 – What Is Dead Never Dies

“The act of dying is one of the acts of life.”

-Marcus Aurelius

The Black Forest, Germaneigh, Thursday, 16^th of April, 4:33am, 2206 AC

An unnatural mist had rolled in. Lowering visibility considerably. That and coupled with the overcast sky and the thick canopy of leaves and branches above them made the entire wood very dark and not at all inviting. Twilight led the way, the light of her horn cutting through the fog like a blade.

“So, you’re sure you know where you’re going?” Jason asked, checking behind him for what must have been the twentieth time in the past minute. Something wasn’t right about this place.

“I’m doing the best I can,” Twilight said. “But I’ve never travelled through Germaneigh on hoof before, we’re going off of guesswork here, mostly.”

“Well that’s comforting,” Jason said sarcastically. “Let’s just hurry, something about this place doesn’t feel right.”

“Could it be you are simply becoming paranoid, Jason?” Goldbeak piped in. “This one sees nothing abnormal in this wood.”

“It’s not that, I dunno…” Jason sparked his magic, he reached out with it. Sensing the world around them. He almost wished he hadn’t for the second he brought forth his power he became morbidly aware of them. Hundreds, thousands maybe, crying out in pain wishing an end to their suffering, a grotesque mass of souls bound to the earth by the unnatural means of their death. They were all human. Their screams filled Jason’s mind, languages he did not speak, words he could never know. Feeling overwhelmed Jason shut them out in a panic. Gasping for breath as he suddenly discovered he had collapsed upon the ground, his friends standing over him.

“Jason! What’s wrong?” Twilight asked in concern.

“I’m alright, that was a mistake what I just did,” Jason said, sitting up and clutching his head. “People died here, a lot of people, and they died violently.”

“Humans?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah.”

“Was there some manner of great battle here?” Goldbeak asked.

“No no, it didn’t feel like that, no these people weren’t soldiers, no… This feels so different than anything else I’ve felt, so much pain…” Jason trailed off. All around he could feel them, a swirling mass, grotesque in its construction and disturbing in its presence. Jason had sensed the dead before, he could feel them when they were near, he could see into their pasts, feel their pain. Yet this, this was on another level entirely. What had happened here?

“Lemme see the map,” Jason asked, Twilight handed it to him and Jason carefully considered the borders of the different nations.

“Looks like Germaneigh occupies more or less the land area that Poland once did.”

“Poland? A country from your time?” Twilight asked.

“That’s right. Now if we took the train through the woods here and we headed… Which direction?”

“South,” Goldbeak said, glancing at the sky.

“South… South Poland… Why does that sound familiar?” Jason tore through his memory; his knowledge of human history wasn’t perfect. But something about south Poland rang a bell, he just wasn’t sure what it was.

“Well, in any event, we must continue, regardless of how haunted these woods are,” Goldbeak stated. “Unless the spirits are violent?”

“Spirits don’t tend to harm people, only scare the ever-loving shit outta people,” Jason said distractedly.

“Let’s get going then, we’re wasting daylight,” Twilight said, snatching back the map and taking the lead once more.

So, they continued through the dark misty wood. All the while Jason was plagued by the wails of the dead and the uneasy feeling that he was forgetting something. South Poland. What happened in south Poland? There were several moments where Jason could have sworn he spotted figures moving amongst the trees. Just out of sight, white wraiths, forlorn and miserable. A child here, and elder there, people, running, walking, living. Jason knew that their deaths must have been all at once en masse. Yet these people were just that… People, not soldiers in some battle. Why did they die in such a way? How? Jason felt stupid for not understanding.

As they walked, the mist only became thicker. The uneasy feeling spread to the rest as well. Soon, they were all checking over their shoulders at regular intervals. Jason was so distracted he nearly tripped over something. He looked down and saw a male Unicorn lying near a tree. He was dead, no visible wounds, nothing.

“How would somebody end up all the way out here?” Twilight asked.

“Well, we did, perhaps he became lost and died of thirst? It happens,” Goldbeak suggested.

“Why don’t we ask him?” Jason said, cautiously he sparked his magic. Immediately the wailing filled his mind, tortured screams which harrowed his soul. Gritting his teeth Jason concentrated on finding the one soul he was searching for rather than the horde that surrounded him. Yet, he found nothing. Only the foul stench of corrupted humanity hung in the air, not a single pony soul.

“His soul isn’t here…” Jason said, snuffing his silver light.

“Not here?” Twilight asked. “Where else would it be?”

“No idea…” Jason knelt down and examined the body closely, he spotted something on the underside of his front right hoof. It was a crest of sorts carved into the hard material of the hoof, a winged sun with a crescent moon facing upwards within it.

“That’s the sigil for the Church of the Two,” Twilight said. “They worship Celestia and Luna specifically, a very Equestrian-centric group by all accounts.”

“And those were Alicornists on the train…” Jason frowned. “Somethings not right, it can’t be a coincidence that both these groups have a presence here, and then there’s all these souls around…”

“It all certainly seems disturbing,” Goldbeak nodded. “What do you propose we do?”

“You know me, when something’s not right I believe the appropriate reaction is to find it and poke it with a stick,” Jason said, standing and pointing in a south-eastern direction. “The source of all these restless spirits seems to be concentrated in that direction, so let’s go find it.”

“And poke it?” Goldbeak asked, straight-faced.

“Yes, and poke it,” Jason confirmed with a sagely nod.

“You two will be the death of me,” Twilight sighed.

“Aw, ya’ know you love us, come on.”

As they continued through the forest, the mist progressed to a thick unnatural fog, so thick that they almost ran straight into trees or each other. Soon enough the trees began to thin and the forest came to an end, yet the fog persisted. As they moved beyond the tree line, Jason’s magic began to spark along his hands in small arcs of silver lightning, a shiver ran down his spine and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He developed a small headache that grew more and more painful as they progressed. Something was nearby.

“Twilight, perchance you can part this fog so we may see?” Goldbeak asked.

“I can give it a shot,” Twilight said. She sparked her magic and slowly the fog began to dissipate and their vision cleared up. Jason almost wished they hadn’t. For they stood in a rocky landscape empty of anything except for what lay directly in front of them. High stone walls topped with rusty barbed wire and a gatehouse with a tall tower overhead. A steel weather-worn gate hung open with the words above it reading “Arbeit macht frei”

Jason clutched his head and screamed out in pain and terror as his mind was suddenly assaulted by the will of thousands of tortured souls. His body became wreathed in silver ethereal fire as he fell to the ground and lost his grip on reality. They stared at him. Eyes, eyes, eyes. Marching in through those gates, children taken from their mothers, blood, shots, men shouting, they stared at him. Choking, burning, this place stank of death, starving, thirsty, work, work, work shall set you free.

“Jason! Jason snap out of it!”

A slap to the face by a hoof was one way to drag Jason back to reality. He struggled to recapture his breath as his friends stood over him in concern.

“You shouldn’t make a habit of collapsing randomly, Jason,” Goldbeak said. “It’s not healthy.”

“Duly noted,” Jason said, he sat up. A mistake, he immediately felt nauseous.

“This must be the source of all the spirits then,” Twilight said softly, rubbing Jason’s back. “What is this place? Some sort of castle? What does it say above the gate there?”

“It…” Jason sighed, he did not want to be here, he didn’t want to talk about it. He wanted to run away and let the past die, and yet here it was, standing defiantly before him. “…Twilight, I never… I never told you as much about human history as I should have, there are some things in our past that I’d rather forget, but I can’t keep the truth from you when it’s standing right here in front of you.”

“It’s okay, take your time,” Twilight said gently. Jason took a breath, collecting his thoughts.

“This is Auschwitz,” Jason said. “Those words above the door are written in German. If I remember correctly, they say ‘Work Shall Set You Free’ though I’m not sure.”

“What was it? A prison?” Goldbeak asked.

“No, not exactly. No, the official term is Death Camp,” Jason felt sick again. “This place was built for one purpose and one purpose only -- the mass genocide of people whom were deemed inferior, thousands of people, women, children, everyone, the apex of human technology at the time utilized for the express purpose of killing as many people as quickly as possible.”

“They… They would put them in chambers and flood them with poison gas, shove people into furnaces to be burned alive, the guards would randomly shoot people just for looking at them, they were starved, beaten, experimented on… Even during my time, we still don’t know the full extent of the slaughter, and this wasn’t even the only Death Camp.”

“…Why?” Twilight asked, horrified.

“Honestly, what’s the point in rationalizing it? I could give you a long-winded explanation that could possibly give some sort of context, yet what reasoning could anyone have for doing this?”

“What monsters would orchestrate such a place?” Goldbeak asked, disgusted.

“That’s just it,” Jason said, shaking his head. “They weren’t monsters, they were Humans, no different from the people they were killing, no different from me…”

“It’s okay, you don’t have to talk about it any more…” Twilight was obviously trying to be comforting, but Jason could tell she was shaken even by his brief explanation. Jason could only imagine what she would think if he went into more detail. “We should leave this place; some things are best left forgotten.”

“No,” Jason said defiantly. “Something isn’t right here and we need to figure out what.”

“What do you mean?” Goldbeak asked.

“These spirits shouldn’t still be around like this, 'least not in this capacity. By the time I came of age, what happened here, happened a long time ago. It’s been much longer now,” Jason shook his head. “No, something’s awoken them.”

“What could… Wait, you don’t think there’s another Necromancer here?” Twilight asked.

“That’s exactly what I think, I felt a very powerful magical presence when we came out of the forest,” Jason said.

“We cannot simply storm the compound, we are only three,” Goldbeak said. “And as you say, there are many souls here, this Necromancer could raise an army to meet us at a whim should they be so powerful.”

“You’re right, we should keep a low profile and see what we can see,” Jason agreed.

“This one assumes that there shall be no convincing you to turn around and leave this place be?” Goldbeak asked.

“Nope.”

“Thought as such.”

“What should we be ready for?” Twilight said, looking uneasily into the compound.

“If there is a Necromancer around, they’ll have a lot of ammunition,” Jason said solemnly.

“But doesn’t that mean you do as well?” Twilight asked.

“I’m not going to summon spirits here, these people have suffered enough,” Jason shook his head sadly. “It’s cruel enough that they’re being dragged back here, to this hell.”

“Well then, shall we get under way?” Goldbeak asked.

“Yeah, just move carefully and… Just stay close okay?”

They passed through the gate and into the compound proper. A gravel trail with rusty marks of what used to be train tracks led them further inside. Abandoned buildings in a state of utter disarray dotted the perimeter; most notably, the barracks where prisoners were kept, fallen over or near about to.

While they moved around the place, Jason could feel it - A strong magical presence... Yet this one was different, for it felt like it was not one being, but thousands all writhing and moving beneath their feet. It made Jason’s skin crawl.

The mist returned, pooling close to the ground in a shin-high ocean. And with the fog, came the wraiths. They were faint at first. Wisps of cloud in vague shapes which moved through the air briefly before disappearing. As they continued though they became much more defined, a man walked by, he was short, bald, flesh hung from his emaciated body, his eyes sunken in, he marched past.

“Is that…” Twilight watched the man walk by, frozen in terror.

“Yeah,” Jason said. “Whatever is causing this, it's powerful enough that the spirits can be seen by you guys as well.”

“So, where is this Necromancer then?” Goldbeak asked, he was clearly on edge.

“I’d guess the main compound,” Jason said, pointing towards the tall grey building. “Seems like the most obvious place.”

It was a utilitarian concrete building, cornered by guard towers. The main entrance was rusted over steel and was locked and chained shut, after a moment of examination Jason pulled forth his magic and two giant spectral hands appeared before him to grip the door and rip it straight off it’s hinges. Upon opening the doors, a corridor shrouded in darkness was presented before them.

“A tad overkill, don’t you think?” Goldbeak quipped,

“I do what I want,” Jason said, sparking a silver light in his palm. “Keep your wits about you, enough people have died here.”

They stepped inside. Twilight’s purple light joined Jason’s silver as they both illuminated the decrepit hallway. The walls were stripped of all paint and were eroded to the point were they no longer held any semblance of their former shape. The mere presence of fresh air caused dust to be displaced and several chunks of concrete to fall off the walls. These chunks would fall into sheer a soundless abyss, for the floor had long since given away to nature's abuse. So much so in fact, that a seemingly endless pit had been carved out of the floor. A void of solid darkness awaited them as they stared down into the nothingness below.

Jason stared slack-jawed down into that void, he could feel them below. Hundreds, no thousands, writhing in a grotesque mass. It made his skin crawl, his stomach turn. The malevolence of what he felt, the power, it felt gigantic, it felt familiar.

“He’s down there,” Jason said.

“He?... The necromancer, you mean? How can you tell?” Twilight asked.

“Can’t you feel it? It’s like… people, but there’s only one thing down there, it’s not dead, none of it is, but nothing lives down there either… it’s hard to describe.”

“Clearly, but if you say it’s down there then I guess we’re going down.”

“Is teleportation an option?” Goldbeak asked.

“No. I need to see where I’m going or at least be very familiar with my destination, and, well, it’s dark and I’ve never been here before,” Twilight explained.

“Yeah, too bad none of us can fly…” Jason slowly turned to look at Goldbeak whom glared back, Twilight looked back and gave him a heart-melting smile which made him sigh in exasperation.

“This one hates both of you,” he said grumpily.

“You love us and you know it,” Jason said with a weak smile.

The result was Goldbeak gliding down into the darkness with Jason on his back. The stale wind whipped past Jason’s ears like a hurricane as they descended into the ludicrously deep abyss, it felt like it went down for miles. Yet, the ground came after several minutes of falling and it was only Goldbeak’s skill as a flyer that saved them from hitting the bottom. He detected the ground approaching via the shift in the air and then spread his powerful wings, catching the air and guiding them into a safe, if rough landing.

“Again! Again!” Jason said in a mock-childish voice.

“If you do not get off this one’s back in the next three seconds, then he will have to take it as- “

‘-an insult to your honour, yeah, yeah, I know the drill,” Jason said, climbing off Goldbeak’s back. “Now go get Twilight you grouch.”

“From knight to ferry, oh how the mighty have fallen,” Goldbeak sighed, taking flight and disappearing into the darkness.

Jason sparked his magic into a light and illuminated his surroundings. He stood in a cavern, rough bedrock made up the walls and floor. Before him the cave continued in a forward path, it appeared as if it had been dug by something or someone. The dark presence Jason had been feeling this entire time was ever more present down here, washing over him like the tide of the sea.

“Why is it always caves?” Jason asked out loud. “Why can’t it be a pleasant field? Or a lovely beach?”

Goldbeak was swift to return with Twilight sat upon his back. Interestingly, he didn’t seem nearly as annoyed with Twilight wrapping her hooves around him as he had been with Jason. Twilight did get off Goldbeak’s back without prompt, though, for she was very clearly interested in this place.

“There’s a strong magical presence resonating from deeper within,” she said, setting alight her horn.

“You can feel it too then? We must be close,” Jason said.

“This one will assume you two know what you are talking about,” Goldbeak said. “Shall we continue with caution?”

“Yeah, let’s maintain a semblance of stealth for now. As far as we know, we’ve gone undetected.”

Just within the cavern proper was what appeared to be a small workstation. A table lined with chemistry equipment and magical implements without name. Sitting in a chair next to the table was the corpse of a unicorn. It had clearly been there for a while, chunks of rotting flesh hung loosely from yellowed bones, the organs had pooled and dried out into a solidified mass which sat rested against the pelvis. Most curiously, several glass tubes had been connected to the corpse in key areas: The right eye, the mouth, and the ear. A gentle wheezing pump pushed a glowing blue liquid from a large flask into the corpse, to what end was not clear.

“What manner of magic is this?” Goldbeak asked, mildly disturbed.

“No idea, Twilight?” Jason asked.

“I’m… not sure,” Twilight said thoughtfully. “Not without studying whatever that substance is.”

“No time, let’s keep going,” Jason said.

More oddities would await them further in. Next, was the corpse of a Gryphon pinned to the ground via several steel spikes, a circle of complex design was etched into the ground under the corpse. Glass tubes full of more of the blue substance snaked their way into the corpse. They elected not to stop and wonder the purpose of the setup, even Twilight’s natural curiosity was curtailed by the unnatural aura of this place.

A pile of bones, thousands of them, they nearly blocked the quickly narrowing cavern. Jason knelt to examine some of the bones in the pile, most appeared to be Pony, some Gryphons, some came from creatures Jason was not familiar with. He wondered how all these people got here, whether they died naturally or were killed for the dark purpose of this place. Unfortunately, Jason could not simply ask them directly, for their souls were already the captives of the one whom resided here.

The dark presence that rested upon Jason’s mind was at it’s most potent here. Like someone was pressing their hands hard on his temples with the intention of crushing his skull. Dark whispers lingered at the back of his mind, telling of a torturous existence, of forced servitude, they screamed for deliverance.

“We’re close,” Jason said, rubbing his temples.

“Jason… I honestly think we should think about turning back,” Twilight said tentatively. “What ever is down there, it’s obviously very powerful, and we’re three people. I understand that you're emotional right now because of the history here, but you aren’t thinking rationally.”

“What should we do then?” Jason snapped, his wrath coming swiftly and without warning. “Just leave and act like we saw nothing? Whoever or whatever is here it has no problem desecrating the memory of this place, of the people who died here, I won’t let them get away with it, they have to pay.”

Not waiting for a reply Jason scrambled over the bone pile and continued onward. Beyond the pile was a short tunnel which would swiftly be opened into a large dark chamber, so dark in fact, that Jason could not see an inch in front of himself. Jason could hear his companions struggling to catch up behind him.

“Jason!” Twilight hissed is distress.

“I know you’re here!” Jason called into the darkness, he was angry. His magic sparked forth in ethereal fire as he drew his blade. “Show yourself and face me!”

No response. Though the overwhelming presence was so great here, it was as if the shadows themselves produced a gravitational pull, it was as if they breathed. A weight upon his mind, the toiling grotesque amalgamation of souls.... And, also, laughter, cruel and familiar laughter which echoed in his mind. The two things were not the same.

“I said show yourself!” Jason yelled in anger, his friends were coming up behind him.

“Do you not know death when you stand before it, boy?”

Jason’s blade clattered to the ground as he clutched his head and cried out in agony, it was as if water was filling his skull adding upon the pressure which threatened to burst free. Through tearful eyes Jason saw Twilight and Goldbeak struggling under a similar torture as all three of them were nullified by the thing that now spoke.

“Worms, pests, whom disturbs the king’s court? SPEAK”

The pain lessened just enough for Jason to force words out of his mouth, all his strength both magical and physical was useless against the force that dominated him.

“W-who is it that names themselves king?” Jason said, still managing defiance.

“You presume much with your tone, Forerunner, I have consumed much, I have consumed many of your brethren, their minds a collective subjugated mass under my rule, you are nothing compared to them, you are nothing compared to me”

The ground shook violently as something moved in the shadows, the mere weight of it’s movements caused pieces of rocks to crumble from the cave walls and dust to be dislodged from the tremors. By way of Jason’s light, produced by his still-reacting magical aura, the monstrosity came into view. It was a grotesque collection of bones, shadow, and half-decomposed body parts of a random variety.

“I tire of this intrusion upon my house, and I hunger, starving, I have not tasted the soul of a Forerunner since I first came to this place, and yet… you are not merely one but two, indeed!”

Jason caught Twilight’s eye, an understanding passed between them. All Twilight needed was the opportunity and the proper amount of energy. Within Jason stirred the fury of a god, he struggled with it, desperately trying to gain control over it’s great strength. The silver fire that raged around him only grew in light and intensity. Jason pushed against the great weight which imprisoned them.

In that moment he was Atlas, lifting the world despite the seemingly apparent futility of his struggle, he could alleviate the weight just for a moment.

“Impossible…”

“Think again, bitch,” Jason growled.

Purple lighting sparked forth from Twilight’s horn and arced about the cavern, it formed a glowing circle around the trio. The circle began to spark and smoke as power crackled in the air and the smell of ozone flooded the nose as a magical haze engulfed them.

“Deep breath,” Twilight said, before there was a loud crack! and reality slipped away in a blur of colours and sounds, a primeval roar following them from the depths of the void.

They found themselves outside of the compound gates once again, yet only briefly. For once their eyes adjusted to the light the mist thickened around them to consume the prison from sight once more. Jason, still crackling from energy untampered, willed the mist to part and yet once he did so Auschwitz was no more. Leaving only a barren rocky landscape in it’s wake.

“Where… where did it go!?” Jason yelled angrily.

“I… don’t know,” Twilight said weakly, the power she expended leaving her weak. “An illusion? Mass teleportation? That thing was so powerful anything could be possible.”

“Well we have to find him!” Jason said in fury, in contrast to Twilight his power practically dripped from his every pour. “I will not let him desecrate that place! I will not let him!”

“Jason, we may not have a choice,” Goldbeak said gently. “We have no way of finding him, and even if we did what do you propose we do against a being of such power?”

“Rip him apart one soul at a time until there’s nothing left,” Jason growled. “He can’t get away with this, I will have my revenge.”

“Jason! Listen to yourself, you aren’t thinking, you need to let it go,” Twilight said. “It isn’t your duty to undue every wrong in the world, there’s no more we can do than to warn others.”

“Move on!?” Jason snapped. “Don’t you care about the people he’s torturing!? It is my duty! I am balance! I am revenge! I am Nemes- “

Jason caught himself as he realized to his horror the words that he was speaking, he saw the scared looks of his friends and suddenly he felt ashamed and scared. He could feel the wrath within him burning uncontrollably, and it no longer made him feel powerful, no, he felt sick. The light that surrounded him dimmed from fire to embers as Jason fell to his knees and clutched his face with shaking hands.

“W… what’s happening to me?” he said, terrified.

Twilight swiftly approached Jason and pulled him into a hung, Goldbeak wrapped them both in his warm wings. They sat like that for a few moments, taking strength from each other.

“I’m not sure what’s happening,” Twilight said softly. “But I know the man who might, let’s go see Edward.”

Chapter 41 – Ice and Blood

“They say blood is thicker than water,
but I say ice, can be more solid than blood, when times get cold.” -Anthony Liccione

Edward’s Glacier, The Northern Unknown, Wednesday, 26th of April, 11:00am, 2206 AC

Glalÿir-Hux pressed his forehead into the cold wall of ice which was his prison, he stared unblinkingly through the clear surface where the frozen body of Edward Howl lay dormant. Energy crackled around the icy cavern as Glalÿir-Hux gripped his cane hard in concentration.

“My… my name is…” Glalÿir-Hux squeezed his eyes shut, fighting off the headache lurking just below the surface. “My name is…”

“Glalÿir-Hux”

“No, no, that’s not my real name, no, my name is…”

“Glalÿir-Hux”

“No! No, my name, my name is… fuck! It start’s with an E…”

“Glalÿir-Hux”

“Will you shut up already, I’m trying to remember… E… EEEE… ED.. wait! That’s right Ed! Yes!”

“Glalÿir-Hux”

“Bugger off will you? Now, Ed is short for something isn’t it? Yes, Ed, Ed, Ned? No, that’s not it? Eddard? No that’s a silly name who’d call themselves that? Ed, Eeeeeedddd, Edwa… Edward!”

“Glalÿir-Hux”

“Oh you’d like that wouldn’t you, not today, yes, Edward, I am Edward, and I am-“

“The Eternal Man, Glalÿir-Hux”

“Nothing so arrogant, no that’s what the funny little creatures call me, they come here every so often to bow and scrape and ask me to solve their problems, It’s sad really, unless their problem is a melted popsicle I’m not much help, oh, what are the little creatures called again?”

“Ponies”

That’s right, and they come from… Equestria, a rather on-the-nose name for a nation, I’ve always thought. Hmmm, they have two rulers and I’ve met them, what are their names?”

“Alicorn’s, enemies”

“No, no, they aren’t my enemies.”

“Genocidal monsters.”

“The war is over.”

“They live, the war is never over”

“Their names are Celestia and Luna,” Edward grit his teeth. “They promised to free me.”

“Liars”

“No no, another promised me, he assured me, he… who is he… I have another friend don’t I? What was his name?”

“He approaches”

“Who?”

“Death”

Outside Edward’s Glacier, The Northern Unknown, Wednesday, 26thth of April, 11:00am, 2206 AC

Jason stood in the shadow of the glacier, it was more like a mountain. Fused with the ground as it was unclear where the ice stopped and earth began, layers of snow coated the outside along with rocks and other debris that must have been picked up when the whole thing was floating in the ocean. Mercifully today it did not snow, yet the sun was only a pale shine barely able to pierce the grey clouds.

Their journey had taken several weeks of hard travel, stopping only for meals and to rest. They had decided it was best to avoid towns as much as possible, with Goldbeak, the least infamous of the trio, going into nearby towns only to purchase provisions. The risk of being targeted was ever present as they crossed the border from Germaneigh to Stalliongrad, and from Stalliongrad into the wastes of the Northern Unknown seeking a man stuck in the ice.

A shadow hung over Jason’s mind, like a predator always stalking his thoughts. Often he would lie awake at night staring at the stars or would winder alone away from his friends. Every now and again, in the times of quiet when they were walking or resting, Jason could hear things in his head. Faint whispers of a dark origin and he would feel rage, uncontrollable wrath which would boil up and burn within him. When he did find sleep, Luna’s protection was revealed to no longer help him, for nightmares would plague him, he would see mass battlefields filled with blood, fire and metal would rain from the skies as his friends dropped around him. Yellow gas choked and burned, made one puke, explosions so powerful they would tear the flesh from an Alicorn’s body. How dare they..

“So, how does one enter this place?” Goldbeak asked, breaking the silence.

“Not sure, first time I came here he teleported me in when he sensed me nearby. I was rather hoping he’d do the same this time,” Jason said. “When Celestia came to get me she just burned a hole right to where we were, we could try that.”

“Do you have a sun goddess readily available to perform such a feat?” Goldbeak asked.

“Nah, what about you, Twilight?”

“I’m sure I could melt through it… given a hundred years,” Twilight lamented. “Perhaps we should try knocking?”

“Worth a shot I suppose,” Jason said, and he stepped closer to the wall of ice. First he laid his hand on the cold smooth surface, there was power behind the ice, he could feel it. Small sparks of lighting arcs emitted from his fingers as his magic reacted. Frowning, Jason curled his hand into a fist and sharply rapped his knuckles on the ice. For several moments nothing happened and Jason felt a fool, but then a rumbling could be felt as the ice began to crack and shake. Before their eyes a schism formed, wide enough to accommodate their entrance. After an exchange of looks, the trio cautiously entered the cavern. The path steadily rose up in a mild incline until it opened up into a familiar cavern where stood Edward Howl.

He didn’t seem to notice them at first, no, instead he stared at the wall opposite of them, to where Jason recalled his physical body to be frozen. Jason frowned and gestured for his friends to remain where they were while he cautiously stepped closer to Edward.

“Ed?” Jason said softly, trying not to startle him.

Edward turned around and Jason was a little taken aback as Edward’s eyes glowed an icy blue and bled pure energy as he stared without flinch at Jason. There was no recognition in his eyes, only cold power writhing and toiling behind the projection before him.

“Ed… It’s me, Jason.”

“…Jason,” Edward said, he squeezed his eyes shut tight and when he opened them again his irises had returned to their natural blue colour. He smiled weakly. “What brings you to my little corner of frozen hell?”

“That’s… a long story, but first things first,” Jason stepped to the side and gestured to where Twilight and Goldbeak stood, both of them staring. “I brought friends.”

Twilight was the swiftest to approach, Edward actually knelt down to her level despite his bad leg. He tilted his head in curiosity as her and Twilight did rather the same.

“A unicorn, one of the three tribes spawned from the Alicorns, yes? Your name madame?”

“Twilight Sparkle, a pleasure.”

“Dr. Edward Howl, always good to meet a friend of Jason’s”

“You’re a doctor?” Twilight’s eyes lit up. “Of what field?”

“Well," A weak smile in his lips, "I got my doctorate in anthropology but I received a masters in several other fields like biology, chemistry, and so forth.”

“Anthropology?” Twilight asked, curious. “Not familiar with the term.”

"I imagine the field is rather dead at the moment... Anthropology is the study of Humans, to be colloquial about it,” Edward explained. “But of course there’s not much time to study… no time at all, hmm, is that a Gryphon?”

“That’s Goldbeak,” Jason said. “He followed me home.”

“This one is honoured to meet you, Edward Howl,” Goldbeak bowed in his usual fashion.

“Hmm, this one is metal and faith, and has his mind concluded,” Edward said, his voice afflicted by something which made Jason concerned. The moment passed and Edward looked around wide-eyed at them all. “Not that I’m complaining but why have you brought so many visitors?”

“Well… it’s kind of a long story, a lot of things happened since I last saw you,” Jason said. “You remember when I told you we were going to the Gryphon Kingdom?”

“Ah yes, I suppose that’s where you picked up the cat who wants me to bow back,” Edward regarded Goldbeak with a raised eyebrow. “I’m a cripple mate, have mercy on an old man.”

“…Very well,” Goldbeak said, rising, clearly exasperated.

“Now, Jason, are you going to introduce me to the fourth?” Edward said, not turning to look at Jason.

“The fourth?” Jason asked. “What do you mean?”

“I can feel the Knight, faithful and brave, the Sorceress, calculating and knowledgeable, and you, Jason of Rome, regretful, but a fourth remains who I sense but do not see, he is rage and fury and… revenge,” Edward slowly turned to look at Jason, his eyes glowing with power once more. “Why have you brought an Alicorn here, Jason?”

“Edward I-“ Jason began, but then Edward laid a hand on his shoulder. A seemingly innocent action which had much larger ramifications. Lightning shot through Jason’s spine as a thousand images whipped past him in a manner most disorientating. He flew over the ocean, an ocean on fire-- dead fish rotting on the surface of oily waves while a haze of noxious gases tainted the air. Deep muddy trenches lined evenly across a vast battlefield of destruction and fire while shells rained down everywhere like brine. A Forest thick with trees, untouched still, an ambush! Jason catches the bayonet of a charging soldier with Caine’s Blade. The soldier is young, his blue eyes filled with hate, some brown stubble lining his chin, sweat dripping down his face from underneath his helmet. Jason hated him back.

A large room, full to the brim with his fellow Alicornss all sitting in their own personalized thrones. The room buzzed with an energy both of the magical kind and of another as a rumble of chatter echoed about the room like the low growl of thunder before the storm. Jason tuned it all out, these lords and their politics missed the real point, half of them didn’t know the true danger they were in.

“This war has gone on long enough!” One cried out. “Can any of this council telleth me what the objectives of this war art? The meaning, what, praytell, hath the last two thousand years of fighting been for? Can anyone? No! For the only one eldest enough to recall eternity’s beginning was thy Majesty, so I beg thee mine liege, why doth we not treat with the Republic? Treat with the Humans? Wherefore art we sending generation after generation of our children to die in this war?”

Jason felt a twinge of anger at the suggestion of peace, no, there would be no peace. Not after all they had done. Not until his revenge was complete. He considered what he’d do if peace was declared this day, and he decided he would continue the war himself if he had too.

“We has't lost the Everwinter Sea, we has't lost the Emerald Islands,” Now spoke Drax, Alicorn God of Peace. “I has't no desire to see this Imperium crumble, but we art fast approaching the point whither-- we may not has't a choice in how this conflict ends, I propose we calleth a ceasefire, at the very least this would giveth us time to consolidate our position, even if negotiation fails..”

“Hear, hear!”

“Coward!”

“We should launch an attack upon their mainland!”

“Idiot!”

“Dig in says I! Let them bleed against our iron walls!”

“Do you forget the fire they make rain from the very sky? Would you send our troops into a funeral pyre!?”

Jason could feel his anger mounting, they were wasting so much time! Even now the enemy was preparing to march upon them. He had held his tongue until now, but he had to speak!

“Your Majesty! King Aeon!” Jason’s battlefield commander voice boomed across the chamber, hushing the crowd.

King Aeon did finally look at the Alicorn, for until that moment he had been seemingly admiring the new tapestries that had been put in recently. His perpetually glowing orange eyes fixed upon Jason with a neutral gaze.

“The Crown recognizes your voice, Lord Nemesis,” Aeon said, not needing to raise his voice for it to boom like thunder.

“I know that all here know my thoughts,” Nemesis said. “I, whom have fought for this Imperium since I was a child, avenging every drop of Alicorn blood spilt, yes, I wish to see every Human a rotting corpse and their homes to ash, yet, I believe I speak for all in this council when I say that we all wish to hear the word of the king!”

“Aye!”

“Hear! Hear!”

The King looked around at the expectant crowd, his face did not change. For a moment, he appeared as if he would say something, but then something shifted in the room. In the gathering pace of all the gods, this newcomer would still be noticed, so small he seemed as he walked calmly into the light. Standing quite average for his species he was cloaked from head to foot in heavy white robes the only true features about the Human was his orange eyes which glowed with power from under his dark hood.

Murmurs spread throughout the crowd at the appearance of the Human, most knew of his presence or at least had heard rumours. Yet, he was rarely seen, and never so publicly. The whispers would continue as the Human climbed up to stand next to the king whom sat upon his throne, he would lean forward and whisper something of his own in the king’s ear. Aeon would nod before speaking.

“The Crown recognizes the voice of Antecainllia-Bru, so he has been named,” the king stated.

The Human stepped forward, this 'Antecainllia-Bru' and Jason felt anger. How dare he, the enemy, stand before them and speak as if he had the right. Yet speak he did, his voice was soft but still he commanded a presence with it.

“Peace is not and has never been an option,” Antecainllia-Bru said. “From the beginning, the Republic has maintained a state of total war, wherein every aspect of their society is harnessed for the sole purpose of warfare, this is why you are losing, and why peace is not an option. They are fully committed now and they can smell your fear, to achieve victory you must do whatever possible, you must be ruthless.”

Antecainllia-Bru looked up and he would stare at Nemesis, his orange eyes burned into him as the world melted away. Leaving only the glow of his eyes and the feeling of his power burning like fire.

Jason stumbled away from Edward as he clutched his pounding head, he felt feint but managed to keep on his feet for the time being. Edward stared at him with a calculating look, he stroked his messy beard.

“Interesting,” he said.

“W-what was that?” Jason asked, unsteadily.

“If my theory was correct, a memory,” Ed explained.

“A memory? I don’t understand.”

“Hm, Miss Twilight?” Edward asked, still studying Jason like he was something in a lab.

“Yes?” Twilight responded curiously.

“You are a woman of learning, yes?”

“Uh… yes?”

“Then humour an old man, what is the Equestrian scientific interpretation on what a soul is?” Edward asked.

“Well, that question has many answers, it really depends whom you ask,” Twilight said thoughtfully. “According to the Equestrian Infinite volume one, there is no such thing as a soul at all, that the concept is merely a religious fixation... Although there have been many studies stating that the opposite is most likely true, for example Archmage Whispersong wrote in his book, The Deconstruction of the Common Equestrian, that when a pony died all detectable traces of magic would exit the body swiftly afterwards, suggesting that the magic was not connected to the body itself but something else which Whispersong suggested may be the soul.”

“Other mages would recreate his experiments, Mage Mythicbinder discovered that extreme and prolonged use of magic by a unicorn would lead to death, despite no physical causes being present, suggesting a connection between magic and a pony's life force, Starswirl the Bearded would then go on to claim that the soul is a manifestation of magic taken to the extreme, that the eventuality of the third rule of magic, which states that magic has a mind, that magic will and has formed a mind, that the very consciousness that makes us who we are is a result of this process.”

“So, we are magic?” Jason asked.

“That’s more or less the idea,” Twilight said. “Starswirl was known for his radical theories, but it was this one that really caused the divide between him and the Institute of Equestrian Magic.”

“Well, let’s say that this Starswirl 's theory was correct,” Edward said. “Jason, when you came into contact with this soul you believed that it was simply energy, raw energy for you to use like a battery, we must now accept that this is not the truth, we must accept that you in fact absorbed the very essence of an Alicorn God, and I imagine he is not very pleased with you.”

“So, what, he’s trying to escape?” Jason asked.

“No doubt, whether or not that is possible I don’t know, but, I doubt If it was possible that it would end well for you.”

“Then what do I do? I can’t exactly walk around with an angry soul inside of me, bad for the heart,” Jason said.

“Indeed, a solution must be found,” Edward said.

“But what sort?” Twilight mumbled.

Goldbeak looked between the three of them as they passed into a state of contemplation. He was completely lost, he hadn’t truly understood most of what was said since introductions had been made. Twilight had sounded like she was talking gibberish when she “explained” what a soul was. In truth Goldbeak felt quite inept in this intellectual atmosphere. Even Jason was seemingly having no trouble keeping up, Goldbeak felt stupid in comparison. Desperately he tried to think of anything to contribute to the conversation and he ended up blurting out the first thing that came to his mind.

“Why doesn’t he just talk to him?” Goldbeak said suddenly. Why did you say that? They shall mock you now.

The three of them turned to look at Goldbeak, Edward with wide eyes as he processed what Goldbeak had said.

“Say that again,” Edward commanded.

“Well… if Nemesis is still alive inside Jason… why doesn’t Jason just talk to him?” Goldbeak said unsurely.

“Your name was Goldbeak, yes?” Edward asked.

“Ser Goldbeak.”

“Ser Goldbeak, you are a goddamned genius,” Edward said and turned to Jason leaving Goldbeak to swell with pride. “Jason you need to communicate with the soul within you, with this Nemesis.”

“Okay, that seems all well and good-- but how the fuck do I do that?” Jason asked.

“You’re a Necromancer are you not? And Nemesis is a dead soul,” Edward grinned. “Do your thing.”

“Well, this will officially be the weirdest thing I’ve done all week,” Jason rubbed his temples. “God I thought it would stop with the whole talking ponies thing, but no, they keep throwing these plot threads at me and expected it to be coherent.”

“Go on then, give it a try,” Edward encouraged.

Jason sighed and sat down, as he didn’t want to fall over with the inevitable loss of consciousness. He crossed his legs in a comfortable position and closed his eyes after a few deep breaths. Jason then sparks fourth his magic and began to search.

Souls had a scent of sorts, a necromancer can sniff them out much like a hound, Jason could smell the souls of his friends, and two others. One burned hot and glowed like a star, the other was more alike an ember, clinging onto life just barely, seemingly fueled by pure will and defiance. With a cautious hand Jason reached out.

Dark was swiftly cut away by flame like a blade to fabric, as light flooded forth as water over stones. Trees grew, grass rose from the ground, birds sang the song of life as the sky flooded blue and the sun was placed in the sky. Jason sat as he had before, his eyes scanned the dense forest that surrounded him with a sense of familiarity about the forest.

His eyes did come to rest upon Nemesis whom sat in a manner rather like Jason, not five meters away, in full battle gear with Cain’s Blade by his side, he ran a stone along its edge with magical grasp and produced a sharp sound that was strangely calming.

“Where are we?” Jason asked. Finding his strangely calm though he knew not why.

“This question depends upon it’s nature,” Nemesis said after a moment, his voice sounded different. Perhaps it was because he was not angry in this moment, his voice was deep and smooth with a hint of an accent.

“Explain,” Jason said.

“In the context of what you see, this is the Everfree Forest, yet in the modern day much of the forest has been driven back to be replaced with towns and farmland, and in the distant past, your past, this place had another name.”

“…The Argonne,” Jason said, realizing where he was.

“Indeed, it is here that the Republic made its final push into imperium territory,” Nemesis mused. “I wonder to what significance it owes you? For both our souls exist in this place, there must be some connection.”

“…A battle took place here a very long time ago, World War One if I remember correctly,” Jason said.

“Ah, the connection is blood, typical,” Nemesis chuckled to himself, the genuine amusement again sounding very odd coming from this Alicorn. Jason studied him for a moment before speaking again.

“Why are we here?” he asked.

“I believe you know the answer to that one, Necromancer.”

“I… summoned you but… why didn’t you simply appear in front of me like any other ghost?” Jason wondered. “Except… your soul was within me, it had a host body.”

“I suppose one’s body does not react well to having a soul forcibly ripped out of it,” Nemesis mused.

“So… I’m dead?”

“Hope not, because that’s the end of me too, no, I believe the spell worked as it is meant to, however since it knocked you unconscious I am simply communicating directly with your unconscious mind.”

“Then… why are we in a forest?”

“Honestly? No idea, I am not an expert on such things,” Nemesis examined the edge of his blade. “Though I imagine you did not summon me to discuss the many mysteries of necromancy.”

“No,” Jason said.

“Then answer the question Jason, why are we here?”

“I want to… make a deal,” Jason said.

“A deal… Jason, what is my name?”

“…Nemesis.”

“And what does Nemesis mean?”

“…Enemy.”

“Now knowing that, do I really sound like someone interested in making a deal?” Nemesis regarded Jason with contempt. “Especially with the likes of you?”

“Not to be that guy, but you don’t really have any other option,” Jason said. “Your soul is mine, we are one in almost every meaning of the word.”

“So be it, I shall do all within my strength to make every moment of your existence as painful as possible.”

“Why? To what end? It gets us no where.”

“Why? WHY!?” Nemesis projected wrath as he stood up right and pointed Cain’s Blade at Jason. “You dare ask me why when your kind set fire to the west, who spilt enough Alicorn blood to fill the sea! Whom took Achlys away from me! Who saw the very foundation of the greatest nation to ever grasp the earth crumble! You dare ask me why?”

“I had no part in any of that!” Jason snapped, standing up as he felt his own anger boiling up. “But you, I know what you did, it was the first thing I was told when I came to this fucking place, that my entire species had been wiped off the face of the planet by a psychopath with a chip on his shoulder, and you have the gall to talk to me about loss?

"I have been forced to live in the shadow of a war I didn’t fight in, everywhere I go I’m stared at like a freak, I’ve been imprisoned, enslaved, tortured, mutilated, I lost the woman I love, and to top it all off every night I go to sleep and pray that Luna’s able to keep me from seeing all that again and even then she can’t block out the constant, wailing, of the dead that haunts me everywhere I go! Everywhere I go is just more dead things, and you, I should just find a way to kill you and save myself the trouble!”

“Then do it!” Nemesis tossed his blade towards Jason, it landed at his feet. “Do it! Do it if you’re not a coward! Do it!”

Jason picked up the blade, in his hand it morphed from a sword of high craftsmanship to a dagger fashioned from a jawbone, hilt carved from spine, and it all bound together by rough leather. It was primal and wild, as as Jason felt the weight of the weapon in his hand he felt a fury, primal and wild. A great untamed beast which yearned for blood, thirsted for it. He looked up at Nemesis, his nemesis, his enemy and he wanted to kill him. He who instigated a nearly complete genocide of his people, why should he not hate him, why should he not take revenge?

Jason didn't realize he had been moving towards Nemesis but he closed the distance fast and with a violent thrust he did plunge the Cain's Blade deep into Nemesis' chest, right where his heart ought to be. Golden godsblood seeped from the wound and yet Nemesis did not move, in fact he hadn't so much as flinched. No, he merely smiled as if victorious.

“Well you're not a coward at least,” Nemesis said, very calm for someone whom had just been stabbed. “Unfortunately you can't kill ghosts.”

“Tell me, how did it feel? To take your revenge? The rush? The satisfaction?”

Jason felt sick and ashamed at himself, to think that he had let himself do that. He stared at his hands which were splattered with the blood of a god. It was disturbing, the thought that he could be made to kill in anger, in spite. That was not the person Jason thought himself to be, yet that appeared to be the person he was.

“I shouldn't of done that,” Jason said.

“But you wanted to do it, you needed to do it, what is morality in the face of what all nature craves? Balance,” Nemesis. “Revenge isn't evil nor am I, we're fair.”

“Then let's be fair,” Jason said, putting his hands down. “You can't exist without me, you leave this body you go back to being dead, and it's likely that I am fully able to drag you out of me.”

“Then why don't you already?” Nemesis scoffed.

“Because it's no guarantee that I can exorcise you without killing myself, or at least putting me in a coma, and on more practical terms, having you around seems to give me significantly more power, an asset seeing as I'm less popular by the day.”

“And why exactly should I not go with my aforementioned plan of simply making your life as hellish as possible?”

“Because, in case you haven't realized yet, if I die you die too, so it's in your best interests to keep me alive,” Jason said. “Because you've already died once, and I'm guessing you don't want to go back do you?”

Nemesis' looked afraid for just a moment before it was covered up by an angry frown and a glare, the two of them stared off at each other. Bitter enemies now forced into an alliance. All the while blood still dripped from Jason's hands and Nemesis' open wound.

“A pact made in blood and for selfish survival, not for virtue,” Nemesis said and he offered a hoof which Jason cautiously took it into his hand but the moment he did so Nemesis violently gripped his wrist via magic and dragged him close to that all Jason could see was his angry green eyes. “It appears we must both make a deal with the devil.”

A dark laugh accompanied Jason as he slowly returned to reality, Nemesis faded away from his vision and was replaced by Edward whom stood over him, passively observing.

“Ah, you're back,” he said. “How did you fair?”

“Well I got him to stop trying to kill me from the inside out for now at least,” Jason said. “We struck some manner of deal.”

“Are you sure you can trust him to keep his word?” Twilight asked.

“Absolutely not, but luckily I have significant leverage over him, so we're safe for now,” Jason said.

“Jolly good, then what is next for you my friend?” Edward asked.

“Next is getting you out of this ice-cube,” Jason said, standing up.

“I'm sorry... what?” Edward said, taken aback.

“You heard me,” Jason affirmed. “I promised you I'd get you out of here, and since I don't trust Celestia to melt you out then it's up to us to find another way.”

“Jason... I appreciate the sentiment, really I do-- but it's all for not. This is my eternal prison, best I don't entertain delusions. I sinned so I must accept the punishment. Jason,”

“And I say fuck that,” Jason said. “Fuck accepting life just as it is, fuck rolling over, and fuck complacency, no, Ed we just proved that power can be controlled, and if I can do it you absolutely can.”

“It isn't the same thing,” Edward said in distress. “My magic isn't a conscious soul that I can bargain with, t'is like a wild animal, feral.”

“Then tame it,” Jason said. “You're a Human, we're apex predators, top of the food chain, if it's an animal make it bow to the king.”

“Jason I do-”

“-No, you can't sit here wallowing in your own misery for eternity. You and I are part of a very small race of people and no longer can we remain in the shadows like his,” Jason could feel Twilight's eyes on him but he never looked away from Ed.

“You became what you are by enviously chasing what the Alicorns had, well I say you have nothing to envy-- And if it's power you want, then stop coveting it and do what our race was born to do and take what's yours”

Edward was taken aback, so much that he averted his eyes, choosing instead to look down upon his cane. He considered Jason's words for a moment, feeling shame as he suddenly noticed his own reflection in the ice at his feet. A sad old man, crippled and broken, hopeless, it was a pathetic sight and Edward hated the sight of it. It was in that moment he considered the past several thousand years, a blur of monotonous decay, and he felt anger, he felt determination, and for the first time in an eternity, he felt hope.

“You best dress warm,” Glalÿir-Hux said, as he looked up, his eyes glowing with ice blue hued power. “It's about to get cold.”

Glalÿir-Hux's entire form began to glow with powerful energy as cracks formed along the ice floor, wind whipped past Jason, Twilight, and Goldbeak backed away. Chunks of ice broke off from the walls and crashed down as bolts of lightning shot out from Glalÿir-Hux. As Jason watched he slowly tuned and walked towards the far wall of the glacier. Where Edward's body was.

The ice parted for him, like Moses had parted the sea, and Edward's lifeless body fell forward to be caught in the arms of the spectre of Glalÿir-Hux. There was a moment when the two entities existed at the same time before Glalÿir-Hux faded away leaving only his cane behind as Edward fell forward onto the ground. In a moment the chaos ceased and all the energy that had been dispersed seemed to be drawn into Edward's body, and so everything settled. The trio ran over to Edward whom lay on the ground, seemingly lifeless, Jason shook him violently.

“Ed? Ed!” Jason called out in distress. “Twilight?”

“Hold on,” Twilight set alight her horn and she waved it over Edward's body. “...No pulse, no breathing, no anything.”

“Can you help him?” Jason asked.

“I'll certainly try,” Twilight began to concentrate as her horn glowed brighter.

“Jason...” Goldbeak said, a wing draped over his back. “Perhaps it was too much for him.”

“No, no I can't accept that, no he's strong,” Jason was beginning to panic, the crushing feeling of loneliness was surrounding him. He felt like he was going to drown.

“Jason- look out!” Goldbeak pushed Jason out of the way just as a deadly slab of ice crashed into the spot where Jason had been just seconds ago.

“What the fuck...” Jason looked up, the ceiling was quickly forming larger and larger cracks and pieces of it were beginning to crumble and fall. “Shit! A cave in.”

“Damn it,” Twilight said, breaking her concentration to look up as well.

“What are you doing? Help him!” Jason yelled.

“Jason if I don't do something we'll all freeze to death or be crushed, now calm the fuck down and help me with a shield!” Twilight commanded, and her voice managed to pull Jason's head above water. They huddled close as they projected their magic forth into a shield around them as the glacier collapsed. A mountain of ice piled on top of their shield as the ground shook violently. It felt like an earthquake and an avalanche occurred together as they were buried.

It was several minutes before it all settled and after taking a breath. Jason and Twilight managed to magically shift all the snow and ice off from on top of them. Revealing the bright day sky above where only a few clouds hovered and the sun shone surprisingly bright and warm.

The sound of coughing caught Jason's ears and he looked down to see Edward moving , he painfully drew a breath as his eyes snapped open, the irises their natural blue. Jason knelt down next to him but Edward had other ideas as he struggled to sit up and even stand.

“Take it easy!” Jason said in worry as Edward struggled to his feet only to then collapse on his crippled leg. Jason caught him in time and helped him up as Twilight picked up and offered him his cane which he graciously accepted, leaning nearly all his weight onto it. Waving off Jason's help Edward limped forward a few steps only to stop and look up. Taking deep hungry breaths like he hadn't properly breathed in years, which was most likely true. He held up a hand to shield his eyes from the sun.

“H- ho-... How do you feel?” Jason asked.

“I feel...” Edward gazed up into the bright sky and a wide smile creased his old face and tears welled in his eyes as he stuttered out a laugh. “I feel warm."

Chapter 42 – Planning the Past

“While the past cannot yet be changed, the future is in your power.”
- Unknown

Canterlot, Equestria, Saturday, 6th of May, 2:00pm, 2206 AC

Sugar Drop yawned as she opened the fridge and frowned. She had neglected to go shopping this week, a mistake, as it severely limited her options for supper. She was ashamed to admit it but they may have to go out for dinner again... Damn it.

“Mommy! Mommy! Come look!” Dew Drop called from the living room, no doubt her daughter wanted to show her another drawing. Where is cheap but healthy? Dew is getting pudgy I need to watch what I'm feeding her.

“Come're mom!”

“Alright! Alright! I'm coming,” McHays is cheap, oh but the salt...

“Mommy look! It's snowing!”

“Snowing? Sweetheart don't be silly it's the middle of...” Sweet Drop looked out the window and her jaw dropped. “...Spring.”

Indeed, despite the bright, sunny, and seemingly warm day that it was, a steady flow of flurries fell from the sky. Frost coated the edges of the window as the temperature outside noticeably dropped several degrees in the space of only a few seconds. The goings on of the city paused as the ponies of Canterlot looked up and contemplated the most bizarre anomaly.

“What in Celestia's name...” Sweet Drop said, the sight defied all logic.

“Mommy look! What's that?” Dew Drop pointed to a group walking down the street.

Jason was the most recognizable from said group-- There was a never newspaper printed without some article talking about him. Walking alongside him was Twilight Sparkle, the Princess' personal student, and a Gryphon which wasn't as recognizable. Yet most fascinatingly, was a being whom appeared to be very similar to Jason, he walked with a limp like one of his legs was hurt and his entire body seemed to glow blue.

“They do like to stare,” Edward commented, noticing Dew Drop staring at him through the window. The filly waved at him with a smile and he waved back as they walked by.

“You get used to it,” Jason said, rubbing his hands together.

“Do you truly not have any control over this, Mr Howl?” Goldbeak asked, shaking the snow off his back.

“Hm? Oh that, no not really, I believe it's just excess energy finding something to do,” Edward shrugged. “Should wear off, probably, don't know really.”

“I'm sensing a pattern in regards to you Humans,” Twilight mused.

“And what's that, Ms Sparkle?” Edward asked casually.

“No one ever knows what's going on.”

“Hm, I think you're onto something my dear,” Edward said in mock thoughtfulness, Jason snorted.

They crested the hill and the Royal Palace came into view, there was a certain buzz about the castle, as word of their approach had already reached the ears of Celestia.

“So the idea here is to not piss her off,” Jason said. “That could end badly.”

“I don't see why you're so worried,” Edward said. “Last time I spoke to the sisters they were ever so lovely, I quite look forward to talking with them again.”

“See the thing is...” Jason said slowly. “Last time I was here me and Celestia had bit of uh... falling out...”

“Well I'm sure it's nothing we can't-”

“-And before I left she very strongly forbade me from freeing you, which as you're probably aware I did anyway.”

“She...” Edward stopped and put his face in his hand. “That would've been nice to know several days ago.”

“I wanted you to enjoy the first couple days of freedom at least,” Jason said definitively.

“Well there's nothing for it,” Edward sighed. “Here's hoping she won't kill us on sight.”

“Personally I doubt it,” Goldbeak added.

“Thank you, Ser Positivity,” Jason quipped.

They came to the gates and the guards let them in without so much as a question, either by order of Celestia or maybe they realized it was probably pointless to try and stop them. They climbed the steps, well, most of them climbed the steps, Edward sort of half-limped half-shuffled his way up. Two guards opened the main doors for them and they walked into the main hall and then swiftly into the throne room. It was there where Celestia and Luna awaited them.

The throne room was uncomfortably quiet as they approached the sisters. Only the sound of foot, claw, and cane echoed off the walls. Celestia glared daggers at all of them from atop her throne, Luna on the other hand seemed pleased to see them, wearing a light smile. It was a rather ironic switch of demeanour for the two, as typically the opposite was true for both.

“I see you were successful, Jason,” Luna greeted. “How do you fair, Edward Howl?”

“Very well, Your Majesty,” Edward said with a bow. “It is truly a great thing to breath the free air once more.”

“I must say I can understand the feeling,” Luna said. “What shall you do with your newfound freedom?”

“Oh I plan on accompanying young Jason here, whom has told me that he has many a travel still in mind,” Edward explained.

“Travelling where?” Celestia spoke up, sounding accusing in her tone.

“Here and there,” Jason said vaguely. “Nowhere concrete yet, but a few places in mind.”

“Such as?”

“If I told you then you would tell me not to go,” Jason shrugged.

“And this is meant to comfort me?” Celestia asked.

“Your comfort isn't my concern, you have servants for that.”

“Your disrespect is most telling,” Celestia said bitterly. “I remember when we first met, we thought it best to not let divisions of the past affect us... Yet here you are standing in defiance of my authority and with a newfound ally to challenge me.”

“My dear Celestia,” Edward said softly. “No one stands against you, least of all me, I am but a very tired old man and I've seen what war does to a people, I have no desire to pursue such actions.”

“And how can I trust your word?” Celestia accused. “Either of you, whom wield the power you hold like a child with a toy, no adherence to authority or restrictions, chaotic.”

“That's enough, sister,” Luna said.

“This is my kingdom, I shall have my say,” Celestia spat.

“This is our kingdom, and I say that you have said enough,” Luna said firmly.

“You are too lenient.”

“And you presume too much.”

“If I may interject,” Edward said, he did not raise his voice yet it still carried. “Celestia, is there anyway we can have your trust once more? I believe I speak for all of us when I say that we have no desire to be or be perceived as your enemy.”

There was silence as Celestia seemingly considered the question, she regarded Edward with cool unhappiness before she visibly relented with a heavy sigh. Her angry and bitter demeanour seemed to melt away as she spoke more softly.

“I just wish to know where you plan on going and to what end,” she said. “If nothing else because I do, despite everything, care for all of you as well as what this band's recklessness may bring.”

All eyes turned to Jason, who stood in a defiant stance. His arms crossed stubbornly as he frowned in thought for a moment.

“Give me a day to think about it,” Jason said. “Like I said I haven't planned anything out yet, I'll get back to you tomorrow and I'll tell you everything.”

“That sounds reasonable-”

“-But,” Jason interrupted. “No matter what it is, you won't try and stop me.”

“But-”

“Promise me.”

“I... very well,” Celestia sighed as she slumped back in her throne.

“You are welcome to stay here in the palace, of course,” Luna said. “Stay as long as you need.”

“Thanks Luna,” Jason said, he turned to leave and his friends made to follow him before Celestia spoke up again.

“Not you Twilight,” Celestia said gently. “We both wish to speak to you first.”

Twilight looked at Jason who shrugged and gestured for her to go.

“I'll catch up with you,” Twilight said, turning around to walk back towards the Princesses.

A couple guards escorted them to one of the expansive quarters for them all to share, there was a spacious living area, five bedrooms, a washroom, a fireplace, and so on. The floor was warmly carpeted and the walls a well-maintained marble.

“This is cozy,” Edward said, limping over to a nearby bookshelf and pulling out one of the texts.

“Go ahead and make yourself comfortable, I think it's a good idea we take a few days rest here at least,” Jason said.

“Oh? I'd thought you rather eager to be underway with this mysterious journey you are supposedly planning,” Edward said with a raised eyebrow. “To which you have yet to share the destination thereof.”

“That's because I'm not sure,” Jason said in frustration. “It's been a wild time as of late, I need a day off, besides, you need to properly enjoy being free, when was the last time you ate something anyway?”

“You know, it's funny. I haven't felt hungry or thirsty this entire time,” Ed mused, scratching his beard. “Though now that you mention it what I wouldn't give for a nice platter of fish and chips, do they have fish here?”

“This one certainly hopes so,” Goldbeak sighed. “Weeks of salted beef have not been very fulfilling.”

“You're preaching to the choir here, man,” Jason said. “I've been eating nothing but potatoes, nuts, and the occasional eggs the entire time I've lived with these hippies.”

“There should be some meat sold somewhere in this city,” Twilight said as she suddenly appeared in the doorway, carrying a book.

“You're back, what did yin and yang want?” Jason asked.

“Well they asked me how my studies had been going and what sort of stuff I'd learned,” Twilight said, she gestured to the book she was carrying, it was roughly bound in leather with depictions of swirling stars all over and text in a language Jason couldn't read. “They gave me this, Celestia said it was my project to decipher it, and i quote, reap the rewards as they come.”

“Is this usually how she teaches?” Jason asked. “Cryptically pushing you in a direction and waiting for you to discover something before taking credit for it later?”

“Pretty much, yeah,” Twilight said, cracking open the book and skimming a random page.

“Well good luck with that,” Jason said. “I'm going to make myself busy by picking up food, hopefully fish. You coming?”

“No, I think I'll stay behind, I need a shower and a nap,” Twilight yawned.

“Ed?” Jason asked.

“Best not scare the local population too much, I'll have a look later,” Edward paused. “Unless there's a shop somewhere that happens so sell garments for humans.”

“No, I get all my shit custom-made from a designer in Ponyville, Rarity,” Jason explained.

“I don't suppose she would mind taking on another human customer?”

“I can write her a letter,” Twilight said. “In fact I should probably write everyone a letter so they aren't left to worry.”

“You do you, come on Goldbeak,” Jason said, walking out the door.

“Oh sure, ask everyone else if they want to go...” Goldbeak grumbled but followed anyway.

Castle of the Two Princesses, Canterlot, Equestria, Saturday, 6th of May, 7:00pm, 2206 AC

Celestia gently guided the sun past the horizon where it would alight the far side of the world and she passively observed as Luna raised her moon, expertly bringing the stars into their place rather like an artist forms a painting.

“Something is bothering you,” Luna said it like stating a fact.

“Is it that obvious?” Celestia asked.