The Hero Withinby SomeAssembleRequiredChaptersBeyond DarknessFamilliar FacesThe Key to EvolutionRoyal MeetingRevelationsSharp and pointyJoined ForcesThe CouncilRailsConfessionHighway to hellPortable MagicRebirthThe Last StandEpilogueBeyond Darkness" Yuuuupeeey! " Pinkie Pie was the only pony, who was enjoying the ride through the portal. It's shadows weren' t very laughable, but Pinkie enjoyed, as if it was a waterslide. The ride lasted unusually long. Even the Princesses and Vortex were riddled. Dim light made the ponies visible and the ride wasn't so scary... if there weren't the Voidians. Horrible scratching, screaming, yelling and other sinister sounds were to be heard from outside of the tunnel. However, this gave Twilight long enough time to think over what happened and discuss it with the others: " So, where do you think he'd be sending us? " " With our bad luck - strait to Tartarus. " Pony replied, but his humor didn't lift anypony's mood this time. The iron Stallion looked confused from this, so he just let the conversation to the others. " What did he mean with " more like when " ? " the other armoured pony in the crew, Rainbow Dash, was however interested. " Princess, is there anyway he might be sending us back in time? Or in the future.... wait a second. " an unexpected memory slowly re - appeared in Twilight's mind. How once her future self tried to warn her for something, that was going to happen in the near future. However, the time- travelling spell didn't proof good enough and the future Twilight vanished before she was able to finish her profound. Back than, the lavender mare had tried everything to prevent " the Apocalypse " , since future twilight looked horrible: she was wearing a strange " ninja " outfit with many " katana " holes in it, as Pinkie had later commented, she had a scar under her left eye, an eyepatch on the right and her mane looked like it was electrified - it stuck in all directions. Eventually, Twilight's paranoya made her look exactly the same and when the time for " the Apocalypse " came, Twilight just realized her future, or her present, self was just trying to tell her not to worry about stuff so much, but when she tried to tell this to her past self, she just ended repeating the words of her future self, which panicked her earlier. " But... you were only able to stay in the past for mere seconds! " Dash noted, after the alicorn refreshed her friends' memories. " And what if he used the power of the Void to stabilize this process? " the young princess replied and looked at Vortex. He just made a strange muzzle and replied to her stare: " Time is a strange thing: the construction of the spell you have used took Starswirl the Bearded months. However, he wasn't a Chaotic... and he only focused on the travelling back in time. Travelling faster and ending up in the distant future is something, that hasn't been researched... ever. But time in the Void, or in a portal, flows differently. With the power of the Chaotic it could easily be manipulated to be turned to a worm hole, leading to the future... perhaps. But I fear what we might face on the other of the tunnel. " " If we ever exit it. " Blaze commented A cry was heard from the back part of the group. ' Rarity. ' Twilight thought. Since Rarity realized what Hase did to save her from becoming Nightmare Rarity again, she wasn't able to hold in her tears. That had a weird effect on her new body. Her coat emitted weaker light, and her mane waved in a synchron with her cries. Twilight was concerned. First Rarity realized, that she is the new Queen of the Moon, and now this... Rarity had just fell in love for Hase for the second time and he had to sacrofice himself. Of course, this just made her love stronger. The unicorn had a broken heart. The alicorn sighed. She didn't know where ( or when) they were going, she didn't know what to say to Rarity, she didn't know what to do after they reached their destination, she didn't know absolutely anything. However, she knew one thing, and was pretty sure the others would of agreed: they were going to bring Hase back, to cast this Essence of Death of him. " Something's coming. " Hawk spoke and stretched his bow. The end was near. The glorious trip ended with falling in the garbage. A week - long adventure, which proved fateful for a whole realm, with a bad end . Celestia wasn't even sure if the Prequestrians have really defeated sabredance. No matter how much grief she felt, a small feeling she was trying to ignore untill now sneaked into her mind: she was right. From the beggining. It was a great risk to accept Hase for a member of the team. He was friendly, loyal, good... hero? Maybe. But the signs... the Elements of Chaos. A.I.M. . Vortex. The Weapons of Destruction. The Nightmare Spirits? It was obvious he would end up evil. The princess of the day bit her lip. Now the pegasus just dumped them somewhere at sometime and was probably already preparing his army for an invasion of Equestria. The almighty alicorn... was helpless. Blasted into oblivion. At least she didn't have to look at the fall of her kingdom. ' I wouldn't say so. ' the telepath Emma Frost spoke in her mind. The princess slowly raised her head from the pile of scrap. There was something familliar about the landscape. These low houses, those dust- covered streets, this square... it was the square in front of the mayor office. Ponyville. Yet something was different. The sky was clear and what was visible shook the both of the Princesses. The sun. And the moon in front of it. Solar eclipse was considered to be rare. Usually Celestia and Luna made this on April's Fool day, one of their small jokes, that remembered them, that no matter that they are the almighty rulers, masters of the sun and the moon, they were also just two sisters, who enjoyed a good joke. But the Moon wasn't joking. The sky object looked more threatening and dark than ever. It looked like if it consumed light. And it did consume, because it was way darker than ususal. It was probably just noon, and it was dark like if it was dusk. " What has happenned to the Moon! " Light Warrior and the other Moon Ponies looked far more worried than the others. It was their home world, after all, so Celestia understood them completely. She didn't like how the Moon hid the sun. All of that light was for the ponies. She focused. A huge amount of energy flowed in her horn. The sun sped up it's movements. It was working. The sun left the moon behind and it's light spread. The Princess smiled. The others cheered. And something unexpected happened. The moon also sped up it's movements, leaving a trail of darkness behind. The celestial object stood in front of the star and once again the eternal dusk. Celestia angrily stared at Luna, but her younger sister looked more sad even than her. Her anger dissapeared and she asked: " Is there anything wrong Luna? " " It ... doesn't obey my orders. The Moon moved by itself. I.. I can't move it. " Luna looked confused and worried. celestia tried to imagine what would happen if she wasn't able to control the sun anymore. That thought horrified her, so she tried to think of something else. Luckily, soon the group had to focus on something else. The creature was hungry. It snarled. The others also moved forward. It was time to feast. " Holy moly! " Applejack looked surprised from the unnoticed appearance of the beasts. Celestia, Luna and Vortex stood in front of the others. The creature laughed... was this really laugh? Suddenly, completely unexpected, the beast spoke: " You even don't now what I am, do you, newbies? Fury is getting more desperate than I have possibly imagined. " " You are a Voidian. " Twilight replied The rest of the beasts laughed together with their leader. There were all kinds of beasts... octopie, giant snakes, gigantic vultures, dog- like creatures, and the leader was something, that resembled a lion with wings, a snake for a tail and long dragon claws. The only thing in common, was that they all were pitch black and their lines were a little smudged. The leader revealed his teeth and replied: " You get an A, hornhead. Most of my lunches think me for a chymera. So you'll have the privilege to be eaten last and to choose from whom. " Do you actually know who are you talking too? " the Iron Patriot's turret aimed for the beast. This just made the Vodian Chymera smirk, again revealing his sharp teeth. " Let me guess... three a - la - minutes, ten main dishes and the rest are for desert. " the beast taunted them, counting them with one of sharp nails on his claw. " No, you are currently speaking to three princesses, a queen, an emperor, 7 lords, a master archer, a pony with breath - taking anger problems, a master - assasin, a small squadron of master magicians, a genius, technocrate... " Dash didn't quite remember the full list of Pony Stark's titles, so the technocrate genius had to join in himself: " Equantropist, billionaire, playcolt. " he nodded her to continue. " ... and the best flyer in Equestria. Believe me, you won't ever forget this. " the War Marechine finished her profound and her shoulder turret fed a dozen of energy bullets to the Chymera- like Voidian. Unlike the Nightmare Spirits before, it proved effective. The beast fell apart. Inside her suit Dash grinned and the fight began. Rockets and magic were most effective. Stark and Dash still had some left from their trip, and they fired untill their clip was empty. But they still got the pulse minigun, repulsors and unibeams. 5 Voidians were obliterated by Mark 42's Unibeam. The Voidians didn't stand a lot of chance. Luna, Celestia and Twilight had formed a circle and magical bolts killed every Voidian. Thunders and Tesseract bolts ( or Tessabolts, as Loky called them ) were wiping out whole squads. The group had fought in many fights and had a lot of experience. The Lords of the Elements were guarding their backs. Streams of flame and water stopped the Voidians from coming too fast. Landrock just hit the ground and several Voidians turned to a shish - kebab after a huge crystal stuck from the ground. The dirt under the hooves of some of the pony - like Voidians engulfed them and they sunk in the ground. A Voidian Cocatrix tried to rip off Glace' head, but Hydro hit him with a water stream like with a whip, which bought Glace enough time. He spun and freezed his head. Luckily, it didn't petrify him. " Just crappy replicas. Were we really that afraid from those guys? " he asked, as Vortex passed nearby, opening portals to the Void under the feet of a group of Voidians. His chaotic skills proved useless, but with some creativity they worked again. One of the Voidians got it's head turned to a mug and fell directly into the portal. The Emperor of Darkness replied: " They are usually more fierce. It's like if they wish us to get distracted from something. " " Look! " Applejack noticed something scary. A whole pack was running away from the fight, frightening the ponies, who had gotten on the street. " Oh, ya'r nat killin' mah hometown ' ponies. " Captain Equestria threw his shield at one of them, who was going to hit a filly. It broke his concentration for long enough, so that AJ could get her shield back and hit the Voidian in the head. " The Avengers! " the filly cheered. " More of them have fled. " Hawk was standing next to her, together with Light Warrior and Natasha Romanoff. " We shouldn't let them hurt more civillians or break in further in the town. It's almost like they are looking for something. " the red- maned mare noted. Applejack nodded. Hawk fired several arrows, each one of them made a Voidian fell. Some of them were still alive, as the trio caught up, so the Black Widow performed a spectacular kick, which broke the necks of three of them. But there were still some of them alive. Light Warrior got out his sword and his horn was surrounded by a light oreol. The sword turned to a crescent, that emitted light, and the moon pony threw it at the Voidians. It slashed through the air, eliminated the danger for the civilians, and returned back to him, again turning in a sword. Light Warrior smiled and together with Hawk, AJ and Natasha ran back to the fight. " SHYULK SMAAAASH! AAARGH! " Shyulk was just having fun. He grabbed two Voidian birds and used them as boxing gloves to hit another two Vodians. After they fall apart and turned to darkness, Fluttershy grinned and hit the ground with her forehooves. A crack opened and two Voidians unintentionally ended in Shyulk's reach. A strong punch made them fly high in the sky and turn to smoke . The Voidians were much more than they originally thought. It was a whole batallion. No matter how fierce they fought, there were still many of them. From using the repulsors too often Dash and Stark had to rest for a while, waiting for the weapon sistems to become operational . Thorse and Loky were getting tired too, they already had some wounds. The Lords barely held the line. The only ponies, that weren't that tired yet, were the Scarlet Witchmare, Emma Frost and Johny Blaze. Arcane magic certainly wasn't good for the Voidians. A magical shield guarded the trio. Whenever a Voidian tried to strike, the attack backfired right at him. Pink balls of energy rained upon the enemies, causing random hillarious effects, as a cup - headed pony Voidian , some birds with no legs and other kinds of hex. The Voidians' minds were also open for an attack. Emma made some of them fall on the ground and attacked the ones, that tried to breach Wanda's shield in her diamond form. After they fell, Emma smiled at Wanda : " A mare's best friend. " The Voidians had no souls, which automatically made them immune to the Penance Stare. However, heated chains proved their weak spot. The Ghost Biker swung his chains at a Voidian. It wrapped around him and the Biker pulled it, turning his enemy to ashes. The ones, who the chain missed, were ran over by the Biker's sinister ride with flaming tires. But the three of them were also at the limit of their powers. The whole group desperately needed somepony. Finally, they ended up surrounded by the remaining Voidians. The ugly creatures laughed at them and tightened the circle. ' is this the end? ' Twilight thought worried, as the monsters' grip tightened and tightened. Familliar Faces" Reinforcements incoming, newbies! " a voice sounded over the creepy laugh of the Voidians. One of the creatures actually said: " Oh, no. " Sudden fog covered the whole square. The ponies weren't able to see anything. They just heard other ponies and the Voidians' screams. From time to time there was a sudden outburst of red or white light, and sometime there was a weaker purple one, but otherwise nothing outside of the group was visible. " Hey, we might want to see something from this, if you don't mind? " Loky turned to Breeze. The six - winged pegasus nodded in responce. A strong wind, guided by his front wings, his bat wings, split the fog in half, but before Twilight was able to see anything, the fog thickened again and a strange voice warned them: " Hidden you must stay, otherwise... you're prey. " " Hey, wasn't that Zecora? " Rainbow Dash was confused. And after she thought about it, Twilight realized, that the voice really sounded like the one of Zecora. Well, it would of been nice, if they had a friendly pony, zebra in this case, to explain them what's happening here. But something was still unclear. What was Zecora doing? Was she actually fighting Voidians? The purple mare knew, that Zecora mustn't be underestimated, but yet... fighting Voidians? That was way beyond her possibilities. Emma Frost was also confused. The fog looked like it followed somepony's orders. Emma Frost didn't ever get to know Zecora personally, altough she had to spy on her once or twice to be sure, that she wouldn't be able to find A.I.M.'s secret Everfree facility. The unicorn wondered what had happened to A.I.M.. She hoped, that the ponies, that stood bellow her with Wanda, Johny and Hase, were going to run the facilities and catch up with Stark Industries. But what if they were just doing nothing? Emma's thoughts were interrupted by an unknown presence. Unknown mental presence. She quickly closed her mind for the unknown attacker and warned the others: " They have a telepath with them! " That wasn't good. The screams of the Voidians have stopped, but Twilight wasn't sure if those " reinforcements " were friendly or hostile. When she heard Emma, the alicorn got even more scared. An unknown pony was now reading hers and everybody else's minds! But before she can perform a mind- protecting spell, the mare heard a voice in her head: ' Ttt...twilight? ' the purple alicorn recognized this voice pretty easily. She didn't believe her ears... or in this case her head. This voice couldn't possibly belong to the pony she was thinking of, but yet she replied: ' Sweetie Belle? ' ' Yes! her excitement could even be felt in her head ' Girls, where have you been? ' ' What do you mean? We were on a mission, that was well - known, according to Princess Celestia. ' ' The Princess is.... with you? ' Sweetie Belle hardly believed her words. But in her mind there wasn't use of lying, since Sweetie, with her yet to be explained telepathic powers would of been able to check this quite easily. She was silent for a minute, obviously checking the words of Twilight, so Twilight spoke again: ' Both of the Princesses are with us, yes. They decided to join us near the end of the journey. But what do you mean under " Where have you been? " We were gone only for a week! ' ' A week? Twilight, dear, you'll see, that it isn't just a week. ' ' Since when does Sweetie use " dear " in a conversation ? ' Twilight thought, this thime to herself. There was something strange about Sweetie, asides from the telepathic skills. Her voice sounded too mature for just a filly, it was something like a mixture of hers and Rarity's voice. Apparently really more than " just a week " had passed. The alicorn mare once again wondered what Hase had done. But her doubts were ended with the reveal of four figures. On the left side was a unicorn mare with a white coat and purple - pink mane. No doubt, that was Sweetie Belle... but she wasn't a filly anymore. She was about Twilight's size. Her mane style resembled the one, that Rarity used to have before turning to the Queen of the Moon. She smiled, but not half as widely as she did while she was a filly. On her chest there was a strange badge: a circle with an " X " in it. But the most strange thing about her, was that a weird purple sword, emitting the same light as her horn was floating next to her. Twilight left with her mouth open. The other figures also looked somehow familliar. On the right side there was a yellow earth pony mare, who kind of looked like Applejack. However, her red mane was shorter. Applejack smiled, threw away her shield and rushed at the mare, yelling: " Applebloom! Cam here, yah filly! " But as Applejack nearly touched her sister, who was now obviously her age, something strange happened. Applejack passed through Applebloom. It was like this was just an image of Applebloom. The Captain was confused. Applebloom looked towards Sweetie. The purple- pink maned mare nodded: " They... they are real, dear. " Now it was Applebloom's time to smile. The two sisters ran at eachother, bumped and fell on the ground laughing. " So nice tah see yah, sister. It's been so long! " Applebloom even cried. That confused AJ: " It's been justa week, Applebloom! " Her sister looked back at her strange. She didn't believe her. And than Applejack noticed a strange symbol on her chest. A badge, consisting from a circle and a X. The other two mares also joined the reunion. One of the mares had an orange coat and a purple mane. The mask of the Iron Patriot armour lifted and Rainbow flew towards the grown - up Scotaloo. She landed nearby and smiled. Scotaloo raised her head and smiled back. But something about the orange pegasus scared Dash: on the place of her eyes there was a pair of strange looking sunglasses. Not exactly a pair, actually. A long, red glass or something like that hid both of her eyes and was attached to metal parts. It didn't hide her forehead, but it looked weird. And very sci - filly too. " An... interesting choice of sun glasses. " Rainbow nodded and Scotaloo's smile somehow faded. " It isn't just about style, Rainbow Dash. " the orange pegasus spoke while hugging Dash. A badge with an X fell on the ground. Scoot picked it up and put it back on place. Some kind of magic held it. And the last mare... was Zecora, but not the way they knew her before. Her mane was longer than usual and fell free, instead of being held in the zebra's traditional manecut. She was wearing a gray hood with an X badge on the chest and was floating above the ground. She smiled to Twilight and her eyes became white. The fog vanished and her eyes came back to normal. That made Twilight shivver. " Your noble team I must esteem. Finally returned you have and fly again may the peace dove. " Zecora smiled at the Princesses. " Errr.... what does the striped want to say? " Pony Stark was confused. Zecora turned to him and replied: " Rare will I not speak in rhymes, and to make them difficult is... sometimes. " " That is confusing. I must hire a translator. " the Iron Stallion noted. Pinkie laughed. Scotaloo stepped in front of the other three and spoke: " Well, let's leave the santimental part for later. We have a long story to tell and it's getting dark. You don't want to stay outside when it gets dark. " " I like your style, young filly. " Rainbow smiled and landed next to Scoot. The mare smiled back and answered: " Thanks, Dash, but it has been a lot of time since we were young fillies. The world has changed. But we must go. " Twilight was interested. What has happened? Rogue Moon, Voidians, adult Cutie Mark Crusaders... it was going to be a long story. ' You are absolutely right, Twilight, you have to know what happened. I'll explain. ' Sweetie Belle spoke in her mind, and than spoke for real: " Guys, do you have any idea how long it has been since your departure? " " One week? " Dash made a guess. Sweetie waved her head: " It has been 15 years. " When Celestia heard that, her heart stopped for a second. She and Luna were missing from Equestria for 15 years? No wonder the moon was behaving so strange. " But what has happened to Equestria without us? " she asked. Zecora frowned and replied : " In your absence many evil things happened had. To tell it I won't be glad. This story to Psylocke I shall leave, otherwise my rhymes can deceive. " " Who is Psylocke? " Dash was confused. " I am Psylocke. " Sweetie replied. " Come on, Sweetie, I'm sure you were able to think of a better name! " Rarity came to the front of the group, with Light Warrior behind her. Now it was Sweetie's turn to be confused: " Rrrarity? What has happened to you? " she spoke after hugging her. Before Rarity was on the back of the group and Sweetie probably didn't see her. " Always your older sister. " Rarity joked " Well, it is a sad story. " the eyes of the unicorn mare filled up with tears again. " You haven't heard ours yet to decide what's sad. " Scotaloo nodded. " Oh, it is sad. " Rarity replied through tears. It was hard for her to speak right now, so Light Warrior took the responcibility to tell the story: " Released from the poisoning effect of the Nightmare, Rarity was elected to be the new Queen of the Moon and the folk of the Moon Ponies. Now she has to take the throne, since our king-to-be, Hase , sacrificed himself for our whole folk. Even if we can't bring him back to good, we shall never forget his noble deed. " " What do you mean? I though the Princess of the Moon was Luna? " Sweetie Belle was even more confused. " She is the Princess of the Night and the Ruler of the Dreams. There is a difference. " the unicorn responded. " And why haven't we never heard of the so - called moon ponies? " Scoot asked. Light Warrior didn't have any trouble answering to that either: " You may know us... as the Nightmare Spirits. But Hase, the beloved of our queen, willingly took the curse of our whole folk upon himself, turning to a villain. Now Rarity is our Queen, the Queen of the Moon and the Master of the Bright Side of the Moon. " " Wait... that's new. What is the Bright Side of the Moon. " Rarity had stopped crying, only her eyes were still a bit red. " It's obvious, my queen. " Light Warrior replied " The two rulers of the Moon represent it's two sides: the Bright... and the Dark. Sometimes the Queen is the Bright, sometimes the Dark. It isn't set to a specific ruler, it's different for every one. As you can understand from your shining coat, you represent the Bright Side, my Queen, the one, that the ponies in Equestria see... or used to see. The two rulers of the Moon have mysterious magical powers, based on their Side of the Moon. After the crown appears on your head, my Queen, I shall start to train you. I fear, that those powers may prove importrant for bringing our King back. " " Wait... if you rule the Bright Side... does this mean... " Sweetie murmled " Our King rules the Dark Side, yes. " Light Warrior frowned. " Well, that kinda explains da Moon's freaky beheivia' " Applebloom said. " What's so freaky about the Moon? " Luna got interested. " It's easy to tell, your Highness. " Light Warrior's frown got even more sad " Without you or my Queen to navigate the Moon, Hase had taken it over. And now Equestria faces... the Dark Side of the Moon. It explains why it's so dark. As you probably know, the Bright Side of the Moon reflects the Sun's light and shines, throwing light over the world, especially on full moon. As it's position changes, it looks like the Moon becomes thinner and thinner, but this isn't the Dark Side, just the half of the Moon is in shadow. The Moon reflects the sunlight, because the sand in the Bright Side contains Moon glass and other light- reflecting crystals. But the Dark Side's sand... is made mostly of lumendevorantis crystals. " " Lumen de what? " even Luna was confused from the name. " Lumendevorantis - translated from the anient language of our ancestors - Lunlatin, it means light - devouring. This mysterious mineral absorbs light and stores it as energy. We suspect, that in ancient times, those dark crystals were created with magic, because they are very strange: they can store an unlimited amount of energy, and they never run out. If they did, we should of exhausted them millenia ago. But no, they grow back. That's why there is only one lumendevorantis mine - there isn't any need for another. " " What kind of villain should of created those crystals of darkness? " Luna wondered out loud, but Light Warrior just laughed at this profound: " Villain? Princess Luna, those crystals are the reason our technology is so more advanced than yours. A crystal, only a week old, no matter of the size, if constantly exposed to the sun, can power a three ton machine! Month old crystals can be recharged only one day per week and it will still be able to power that machine! With the age the number of recharge needs becomes lower and lower. The oldest crystal of them all is the Moon's core. Probably the first lumendevorantis crystal ever created, it is the reason for the moon to be populated. Without it, the gravity would of been 6 times lower than the one of your world, " the unicorn knight told the Princess of the Night " , Princess Luna. With so much magic built in, it holds our atmosphere in place. You see, the Moon is soaked with magic. It's heart is magic. " he smiled. " And how does the core recharge? I suppose it isn't directly exposed to the sun. " Celestia became curious. If she only knew the Moon was so special... " That's right. " Light Warrior nodded " Princess Celestia, the reason, that the core of the Moon doesn't lose power is the so - called intentiometaphora phenomenon. " " Could you please stop using your ancient latin terminology? " Luna interrupted the unicorn. " OK, than charge transfer. If the lumendevorantis crystals are touching eachother, over time they will equalize their energy, I mean in percents. The core is always fully charged, most of the crystals are too. Even though the core hasn't got any access to sunlight, the whole dark side of the moon charges it. That's why this ore is so importrant - the crystals are able to recharge themselves, and we dig them fully charged. We have other sources of power too, but those crystals aren't just the key to our civilisation, it's the reason the Moon is being populated. " Light Warrior finished. " But let's return to the other thing. Why are they calling you " Psylocke " ? " Rarity asked her sister. " This is my code name. My hero name. " Swetie Belle replied. " Your hero name? " the purple- meaned unicorn was confused. " Yes, you know, the name I use while using my powers and rescuing ponies together with the rest of the Avengers... duh? The same way Pony is the Iron Stallion, Fluttershy is the Shyulk, etc. " Sweetie ended her sister's confusion " Last time I checked you weren't part of the Avengers. " Pony joined the conversation. Sweetie Belle laughed and answered him: " The ponies won't call you the Avengers anymore. You are known as the original Avengers, the ponies, that started it all. The team, known as the Avengers, now includes far more ponies, far more heroes, split in three groups: the Technocrates, the Living Miracles and ... the X- Ponies. " " Oh, so that's what the X stands for! I was going to say... X- citing! X - treme! " Pinkie bounced nearby. " We would appreciate a proper explanation. " Celestia noted. " Yes, dear. And why are you all part of the third? " Rarity asked. " The Technocrates are the ponies, whose superpowers origin from technology. You, " Scoot turned to Pony " , will join them. Their leader, however, is a bit ... extreme. Her name is Omega Sentinel... She's ... well, she's Vinyl. " " So... what are ha' super powers? Leave da town for a week and ol' of ya become superheroes. " Applejack wondered. A fair procent of Ponyville's villagers were now superheroes. That was confusing... a lot. " Her powers... " Scotaloo was unsure " ... is connected to a long story, including our own. You sure you wanna listen for so long? " ' I'm tired of stories. ' Rainbow thought. This week's stories were probably able to fill up a normal - sized book. But anyway, they were going to hear this story now or later, so Dash preferred to hear it now. " Go on, tell me about it. We'll have to hear a lot of stories these days anyway. " the pegasus sighed. " It's the whole story of the mutants: mutants consist the X- ponies. Before this team was separate from the Avengers, but after Hase' army took over Manehatten, we had no choice but to move. " Scoot spoke " The X - ponies exist thanks to Dr. Charles Xavier. It is a very old organisation, it exists since 40 years... " " You mean it existed when we left? Was it hidden? Equestria had heroes 25 years before us? " Twilight was confused. " You see, we had to hide. Mutants weren't accepted well in the society, as Wanda and Emma told you 15 years ago. And yes, they are mutants too. The definition for a mutant is a pony, who has extraordinary skills since the day he or she is born. Even if we stop Hase and you return 15 years ago and this apocalypse never happens, we'll still be mutants. We found about our powers 2 months after you left. Most of the ponies doubted you'll ever return, so we all lived by Granny Smith and Big Macintosh. But than strange things began to happen... " " Ah found out ah could walk through walls... for real. My mutation is the ability tah phase my body and anything that I touch. It was a bit confusing when my hooves went through the apple tree insteada hitting it. " Applebloom blushed, as she remembered about it. " One question, sugarcube. Is Big Mac a mutant? " Applejack asked her sister. " Yep. Usually the mutant genes cover da whole family. We call 'im " Colossus " . He's able ta turn his own skin ta steel and possesses big power. About yah... sometimes there are exceptions, but anyway, you're like us. " Applebloom replied. " Except that they would probably send you to Living Miracles, since you aren't a mutant. " Scoot noted. " Anyway, the year after... after Granny Smith died we were approached by an adult stallion - Professor X ... " " I would ask you to use the normal names together with the hero ones, If you don't mind. we're getting very confused. " Rarity said Scoot. " Alright, we were approached by Professor Charles Xavier a.k.a. Professor X . He offered us to learn us how to control our powers. We agreed, and Big Mac said " yep. " and so we moved to Manehatten, where Professor X' s mansion used to be. We were given codenames. ... " " Sorry, but what were your powers,kid ? " Dash asked. " Dash, I asked you not to tell me I am a kid! " Scoot got a bit cross. " OK, than what are the rest of the pack's superpowers, bub? " Scotaloo stopped walking for a second. Everypony stopped too and wondered what had just happened. Scoot's muzzle wrinkled. She got even more cross than before. " Don't.... use... that... word... Never... again. " she growled. " Ouch! " Sweetie noted and her expression became a little unpleasant. " What? it's just a casual word! " Dash defended herself. " No, no... Scoot is having a kind of a quarel with a pony, who uses this word. Better don't use that word again. Use " Cyclops. " " Sweetie told the pegasus. " Your code name, I guess? " Dash spoke " Yes. " Scotaloo chilled a bit, but it became obvious, that Sweetie had to continue the story. " So... you want to know about our superpowers? As you saw, all of us are mutants. My code name is Psylocke. I have telepathic skills like Professor X and Emma, but I can also create things out of magic... like that blade I used during the battle. However, they aren't real and dissapear as soon as I end my magic, so I mainly use it for weapons. You heard about Applebloom's powers from herself, she just missed to tell you, that her code name is Apple's Pride. " That made Applejack make a wide smile. The Apples shouldn't of been underestimated. " Scoot... her power... well, it destroyed the Sweet Apple Acres farm. " Sweetie became even more worried. Scoot got cross again. She didn't need to be reminded, that she had destroyed her own home. The pegasus just sighed and joined the conversation: " My eyes are portal to another dimension, only consisting of energy. It can not be closed and as a result of this, if open, my eyes constantly unleash a destructing beam of red energy, destroying everything on it's way. It can be only blocked by ruby quartz, my visor is made from it, vibranium and adamantium. When my power first manifested I cut the farm in half. Sorry AJ! " Applejack looked more cross than Scotaloo. Luckily, Applejack only asked: " What's adamantium? " Cyclops shut up again. This question was obviously a taboo for her. Twilight wondered what kind of pony was able to make Scotaloo so angry. Usually she was very friendly. The alicorn wasn't sure she wanted to meet that pony. " It's an alloy of vibranium. " Sweetie quickly answered the question and changed the topic " On the way to Manehatten, near the Everfree, Zecora joined us too. She has the ability to control the weather with her mind... " " From now on, you may call me Storm. " Zecora suddenly spoke " .... yes, that's her code name. In the professor's mutant training facility, masked as Xavier's school for gifted youngsters, we learned how to control our powers and use them for good, since there were many villainous mutants, that believed we should rule over Equestria, because we are better than " the dicease called Equine Sapiens! " , I am quoting Magneto. Yes, for a while Magneto was our primary enemy, but the year after we joined, the other villains, led by his right hoof - a changeling mutant, called Mistique, took the rule. Realizing they want the world for themselves, not for mutantkind, Magneto joined the X- ponies. That's our story. " Sweetie finished. " And what about Vinyl ? " Twilight reminded her. " Oh, right. Thanks Twilight. " Sweetie smiled nervously " But first, are you absolutely certain you want to hear about it? The story is very sad. It reveals only a part of the horrors Hase had brought upon this land. " " Sweetie, this isn't our Hase. I'm sure you remember how caring he was, while he was taking care of you three. " Twilight tried to defend her firend " We must bring him back. For his and our sake. " " You think we haven't tried? This is way harder than separating Luna from Nightmare Moon, I must warn you, Twilight. " Scoot said the purple alicorn " We didn't have the Elements of Harmony, really, but Cadence and Shining Armour tried really hard, and it didn't work. I mean at all. " " Shining! Are they with Cadence OK? " Twilight got worried. She didn't want to lose her brother. " They are both OK. They're now the rulers of Equestria. " Scoot calmed her down. " But if love can't stop him, will friendship be able to deal with him? " " We don't know. " Dash told her " But we must try. Anyway, what was the story? " " It's about.... Octavia and Vinyl. " Sweetie began " You know, that they are best of friends. Though their interests are completely different, they've been friends since their foalhood. How things turned out to be... for a while Octavia's heart was broken. " " Why? " Rarity was confused " Octavia has ... an unpleasant mutation. Mostly for herself. When she touches ponies, she drains their strength and gets their abilities for a while. She's a part of our team, but she will never be able to touch anypony. Her code name is Rogue. " " Oh. " Rarity felt sorry for Octavia. Such a talented mare was limited by her mutation. Not able to touch anypony.... Rarity felt awful only from the thought of it. " But as Professor X came to recruit us, the Professor detected Octavia's mind. Mutant minds feel more different than the normal ponies. So the Professor decided to recruit Octavia too, if possible. Octavia was happy she was going to learn how to control her powers and stop hurting ponies, but she insisted on bringing Vinyl with her. The Professor, unlike Magneto before he joined us, was tolerant to normal ponies, so he agreed. On the way to Manehatten, our group was attacked by masked ponies. They didn't know what they're dealing with, of course, but something strange happened. Vinyl ripped Octavia off the hands of one of the attackers, but Octavia's powers didn't affect her. Instead, electric sparks ran across her and her hooves opened.... " " Wait, what do you mean by opened? " Vortex was surprised by Sweetie's choice of words. " I mean they opened... literally. All kinds of flamethrowers, plasma blade projectors and dart guns started popping out of her hooves. Parts of her skin were actually covers. When they opened, we saw, that inside of Vinyl there's no bones and muscles... but metal and wires. Vinyl was a robot. We still remember how back than she rushed at us, fired and only Applebloom's phasing skills, Zecora's winds and Scoot's eye beams saved us from being killed. Vinyl stopped for a second, obviously struggling against herself. " " That sounds... unbeliavable. " Twilight commented " How weren't we able to find out she was a robot before? " " She isn't just a robot. " Sweetie frowned " She is the only Omega Prime Sentinel ever constructed. " " OK, time out. " Dash crossed her hooves, which sounded strange because of the War Marechine suits " What are the Sentinels? " she asked. " Sentinels are mutant - killing machines. " Scotaloo replied " They are programmed to find and destroy mutants. " " But why do they exist? Who has created them? " Twilight wondered. " Actually... Hase had created them. Thousand years ago. " Sweetie replied. This answer left the most ponies from the group speechless. " While he was still working for Princess Celestia, before she assigned him with the job to create an invincibility potion, many mutants stole his ideas, constructed machines and tried to take over cities. Hase knew, that mutants weren't evil, but still... he needed protection. So he designed the 30 feet tall sentinels, horrible pony- like robots. They detect any mutants nearby and hunt them to death. The only mutants, that the Sentinels are programed not to attack, are Emma and Wanda. We found that out from a defeated sentinel like 2 years ago. " " You mean they still exist ? " Twilight was horrified. " Yes. 10 years ago Hase attacked, but we, the X- ponies, stopped him. But sadly he is a quick learner. He re- activated all of his Sentinels, who he had hid after his act of treason, and started building new ones. The Sentinels learn during the battle and memorize your moves. It's hard to defeat one of them, not to speak of an entire army. We had to flee to Ponyville, and Hase took over the Crystal Empire, engulfing Equestria in fear and horror. But let's return to Vinyl. Vinyl is the supreme Sentinel. Her powers outmatch any normal Sentinel. That's because she was designed to guard Hase' personal laboratory. Now Vinyl doesn't want to have anything in common with her former master. The mutant hunting protocol was erased from her mind after she was captured by Royal Guards. Now she fights for us. And, colt, we need it. We need all the help we can get. " Sweetie finished. " And there we are. " A big part of the space between the Everfree forest and Ponyville was occupied by a big, big base. The Helicarrier was on it's roof, so obviously this was S.H.I.E.L.D. 's new base. Nearby there was a big and beatiful palace on a hill, which kind of looked like the Canterlot castle. " S.H.I.E.L.D. base and the Royal Castle. " Scoot spoke " Now prepare to get tested. " " Tested for what? " Luna grew suspicious. " If you're real or just a decoy of darkness, sent by Hase. If you are the second, you won't live for a long. " Scoot replied. Twilight quietly swallowed and the group entered the base. The Key to Evolution" This way. " Scotaloo's left wing showed a door. The S.H.I.E.L.D. base surely looked like one. Only corridors, many doors and one big hall. The door next to Scotaloo was circular and had a big black X over it. Applebloom opened it and the group entered the big white hall, big enough to fit the whole group. There was another door on the other side, but an old bald stallion in a wheelchair stood in front of it. He had a white coat. The pony smiled, his muzzle wrinkling. Twilight nervously smiled back. ' Don't be worried, Princess Twilight Sparkle. I shall do you no harm. After all, you're real. a quiet voice echoed in her head. Obviously the others had heard something simillar, because most of them were confused. The pony smiled again and quietly spoke: " Your friends are real, Scoot. They may come in. " Scootaloo also smiled. This wasn't just an illusion! Her friends... were real. After the group passed through the door, the enviroment dramatically changed. Now it resembled an old two - stories house, like many other houses in Ponyville. But before Twilight could even express her confusion, the voice spoke in her mind again: ' We have arranged our part of this building to our comfort. This is how our house in Manehatten looked like... before your friend let the Voidians destroy it. ' even now the voice was completely calm. Twilight blushed and replied, in her mind: ' This isn't his true self... Professor Charles Xavier, wasn't it? ' ' I see you have some experience in mind conversations. You are well aware of it's advantages. ' the voice became a little surprised. ' Well, you're actually the third telepath I'm speaking to, Professor. ' the alicorn answered. ' Indeed I am. ' the Professor agreed ' I felt your friend Emma before she even entered. Telepathy is a lot more common gift than it's considered.' ' Really? ' Twilight felt confused. ' Yes. But know I have some introduction to make, so excuse me. ' The wheelchair got ahead of the group and caused it to stop. A big group of ponies was now in the main room, staring at them. They probably didn't believe their eyes and Twilight knew how they felt. She was able to recognize Big Mac in that group, tough he was now even taller and was wearing a strange striped suit. " Come hiah, big bro! Family hug! " Applejack and Applebloom rushed to Big Mac. It surely felt nice to AJ to re- unite with her family, Twilight thought. She noticed Octavia, who didn't believe what she was seeing too. Obviously, the group wasn't expected to ever return. " I see you're eager to make a family reunion, but I am afraid I first must show you something. Follow me. " the Professor noted and his wheelchair moved forward. When they reached a stair, that led down, two pincers got up from the floor and caught the wheels of the wheelchair. It moved down and the group followed it. The Professor stopped at the end of the corridor in front of them. There was another circular door and a pony with a red- purple helmet and cloak. " You may find Magneto a little... strange. " Scoot whispered in Twilight's left ear. After the Professor neared him, the pony turned around, revealing the disaproof on his face. The old stallion spoke: " The Original Avengers, huh? I've always planned of testing their skills before, but now apprently we would be joining forces. Charles told me, that there are two powerful mutants among you. Please step forward. " his voice sounded a little threatening, but mostly it was a voice of a commander. Emma and Wanda stepped in front of the others. Magneto's face looked approving, when he glared upon Emma, but when he looked at Wanda, his face looked really strange. " Err, why does Mr. Magnet look like he had swollen 5 cupcakes at once without chewing? " Pinkie asked. " I guess he had swollen 5 cupcakes in the past and something caused him to remember of it. " Loky replied, whispering. Than suddenly Magneto called: " Quicksilver! " Something really, really fast passed through the stairs and the corridor, making the ponies' manes wave in front of them. When Twilight turned to the front again, she saw a young unicorn with short white mane. The unicorn weared a strange green suit with a single lightning crossing it. When Wanda and Quicksilver looked at each other, their muzzles reflected a mixture of feelings, but finally Wanda yelled : " Pietro! " And Quicksilver yelled: " Wanda! " The two unicorns rushed at each other. Scoot whispered in Twilight's ear again: " Forgot to tell you: Pietro Maximoff is Wanda's brother. They are both foals of Magneto.It's confusing, since he's an earth pony, but I guess they only got the mutant gene from him. " " What? It is impossible, Wanda lived 1000 years ago!" it was Twilight's turn to whisper in the pegasus' ear. " Magneto stole a vial of Hase' eternal life formula while he was being chased by the Royal Guard. Therefore he is alive since 1000 years. " Scoot replied. Magneto, together with Wanda and Pietro, who were talking to each other, left the corridor, while the circular door behind Professor X opened. " The space is small, I fear. Only 4 of you may enter, together with me. " Charles told the group. After a minute of discussion, the group agreed, that Twilight, the two Princesses and Pony Stark must enter. " That's the most circular room I've ever seen. " the playcolt commented upon entering the room. It was basically a huge sphere with metal plates on the wall. A single bridge let to the center of the room, where there was a machine with a helmet on it's top. The Professor went to it and put the helmet on his head. The wires, connecting it to the machine, shone and the door closed. The lights went out and suddenly the wall was full with images of ponies. " I call this place Cerebro. " the Professor spoke " It amplifies my telepathic reach and helps me locate mutants. However, it requires a certain level of control, thus only I am able to use it so far. " " Can you find normal ponies with it too? " Twilight asked. " Yes. " the Professor confirmed and showed an image of two guards outside of the S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ. Compared to the mutants, their images were more blurred, but still clear enough to recognize what they were doing. " Why haven't you just located Hase with this helmet? " the Iron Stallion asked. " I'm afraid the Helmet of Supremacy makes him invulnerable to any telepathic reach. Even if he hadn't got it, it would of still been dangerous. " Professor Xavier replied. " Why? " Twilight knew, that ponies are able to feel the telepath only if the pony reveals itself. Spying on hase shouldn't of been a problem. " I don't know if anypony told it to you, but Hase... is something like a mutant. " Charles answered. " A mutant? " even Princess Celestia was surprised. " Not exactly. " the Professor noted " His mind doesn't feel like the mutant's minds. But he's got powers, that can only be explained this way. " " You mean except the Chaotic skills. And the Weapons of Destruction.... " Twilight asked " ... and the power of the Dark Side of the Moon, and his power over the Essence of Death. Yes. " Professor X finished the list of Hase' powers. " The last one's new. " Stark noted. " Yes, but I'll leave explaining it to the Prince and the Princess. However, Hase has some other powers, about which none of his other skills provide an explanation. Like, for an example... he's able to perform magic, tough he's a pegasus. His magic energy level is greater than yours, Ms. Sparkle, actually it's equal to the one of the Princesses. Again, we have no valid explanation for this. And except that.... he can feel when a telepath is in his mind without that the pony revals itself. He is a skilled telepath himself. Once I thought I had caught him off- guard and entered his mind with the help of Cerebro. But apparently, it was a trap. He obviously felt me and I fell for his plot. Reversing the connection, a thing impossible even for me, he managed to find out crucial details about the mutants, including our location. I struggled, but black waves inside of his mind prevented me from stopping him in any way. In a result our mansion was destroyed, and he built improved Sentinels, even more deadly to mutants than the ones before. I fear he has unusually powerful telepathic skills, and unlike my friend Magneto's helmet, the Helmet of Supremacy stops only the ponies , who try to enter his mind. Even now he might be inside this room, spying on us, and if his skills are better than mine, he'll be able to hide this from me. I don't feel anything, so probably he's more powerful than me. I want only safety for mutantkind " the Professor looked worried " I want you to investigate how is his body able to hold so many mutations at once without he being destroyed or losing his sanity. I haven't shared this to anypony outside of the X- ponies, because this will cause panic, but I need somepony with more information about him to take on the research. I am assigning your group. If you fail... our biggest secrets will be secrets no more. " the door opened and the Professor tried to look happy, as the four ponies exited the room with Cerebro. " Madmoiselle... " a stallion with a long coat, brown mane with small strands of purple in it and a deck of cards levitating around him was trying to speak to Rarity, but she remained resillient. " That's enough, Gambit, we're not in New Oileans! Rarity... doesn't need your help. " Scootaloo was trying to get the lover pony away from Rarity, but even as she dragged the unicorn backwards, he continued to do tricks with the deck of cards, trying to impress Rarity. She sighed in relief, as Scoot managed to drag him upstairs. " Remi Le Bau. A mutant, able to charge objects with energy and use them as weapons... and a lover pony. Boy, he just loves good manecuts, and he found Rarity's ... astonishing, as he said. " Applebloom cleared the situation to Twilight. " This way, ladies and gentlecolts. " Professor Xavier stood next to another corridor, who led away from the main one. The group followed him, untill the corridor ended with another door, saying " Laboratory " " This is our science laboratory. My friend Dr. Hank McCoy has been developing a serum, which will help block unnoticed access to our brains to prevent Hase from spying. Dash was quietly listening to what Twilight was whispering. Her doubts became deeper and she looked at Vortex. Was he responcible to what has happened to Hase? Did he create this forced mutations? Did he make him a master telepath? On the one side, the pegasus was sure, that the villain certainly had something to do with it. On the other side, she doubted Hase' father could of done something to him. He was probably involved, but it wasn't his fault. The group entered the laboratory, which looked exactly like one - plenty of beakers with strange multicoloured mixtures inside them, steaming beakers and frozen beakers. A pony with a blue coat was working over them, but they only saw his back with the white apron. " Henry, those ponies are the original Avengers. " the Professor spoke to him. When the pony turned around, Twilight got a little scared. The doctor's blue coat was long and his muzzle looked like a face of a beast. His yellow eyes with dagger - like pupils finished his look. When he smiled, it was revealed, that his canines were also longer than usual. The pony looked like a mixture of a blue lion and a pony. " Dr. Furr... I mean Henry McCoy, I guess? " even Stark didn't want to mess up with the doctor, since he didn't look like a pony to be messed with. Luckily, the doctor just smiled and replied: " I guess you're Mister Stark? We needed you. At least S.H.I.E.L.D. needs you. We haven't yet succeeded to wield the Arc Reactor technology completely, and this may prove useful, if used against our Smokey. " " Woot! Who's Smokey? " Pinkie suddenly appeared in front of everypony else and not fearing the doctor even a little bit jumped around him. The others looked worried, so Professor Xavier had to calm them down: " Altough his mutation makes him look a bit hostile, I assure you, that Dr. McCoy isn't of any danger to you ... " " ... unlike somepony else, who likes to sniff around. " Scoot sighed and touched the doctor as a proof he isn't a threat. Eventually, everypony calmed down and circled the laboratory. " You've got some excellent formulae here, Doctor. " Pony noted " Tough I don't focus over potions, I still know when one of them is good or bad. " " It's good that somepony finds it useful. Those S.H.I.E.L.D. goons find it useless if it can't turn you to a fighting machine. " the long- coated pony smiled. " Yeah... it's a kind of their habit. " Stark agreed. " The serum is currently a work in progress. Luckily, this room is vibranium plated. No telepath can break through. " the doctor nodded. " Wait... why don't wah just use vibranium helmets? " Applejack wondered. " The amounts of vibranium ore are insignificant on a world- wide level. Our primary source, a kingdom, neighbouring to Zebrica, called Wakanda, isn't able to deliver it anymore. Hase has blocked the borders. " McCoy replied. " Prince T' Challa won't risk trying to pass them if he isn't certain... even though Storm is his wife. He must care for his country. " " Be careful, Beast. An offence to my housband from you I have expected at least. " Zecora said him. " I guess Beast is your code name? " Rarity guessed and Hank nodded " Oh, Celestia, aren't you able to come up with better names? Like Blue Furyor Furry Paw, for instance? " " Well, Rarity, you can say that to Agent Coulson. " the Professor interrupted the mare. " That fanboy has been coming up with ridiculous names since it all started. " Beast agreed " One more thing before the Professor takes you back to the main door. Captain, don't get too confused when he asks you to sign his Captain Equestria trading cards. " " Trading cards? " Applejack was confused. " It's a vintage set. He's very proud of them and he has you all. On cards, I mean. " the doctor smiled, once again revealing his sharp teeth. " Wanda and Emma will be staying here. " the Professor spoke. The group was outside of the main door in the corridor, while Professor Xavier with Scoot, Applebloom and Sweetie were at the door. " Coulson should be arriving any moment. Good bye for now and don't forget your mission. " " We won't . " Twilight replied. " Aha, here you are. " Coulson appeared from out of nowhere " Thank you for finding them, Professor. " " You're welcome. " Scoot nearly laughed as she closed the door with the big X. " We want to meet Cadance. " Celestia spoke to the agent. " Sure, princess. But I'll interrogate you on the way, if you don't mind. " Coulson walked and the group walked after him. Royal Meeting" So, if I get it right, Hase liberated your whole race and Rarity and this way turned to the villain he is today? " Coulson asked. " Yes. " Light Warrior confirmed. " Director Fury will be interested. " the agent noted " You look pretty young. " Stark noticed, that Coulson looked exactly like before. " Yeah, you're also pretty spry for older fellows. Director Fury engaged " Eternia " protocol. All of the ponies who mattered something to our defence had to drink eternal life potions. Beast replicated Hase's formula. " Coulson succeeded to joke and explain at the same time. Twilight noticed something strange about the castle. A covered bridge came out of a tower and ended in mid- air. It didn't hang at all and the alicorn wondered what kind of magic was holding it and what was it's purpose. " The Flying Bridge. " Coulson guessed what she was looking at. " Actually it isn't flying at all. Just the half of it is invisible. It connects the main castle and Sombra and Chrysalis' tower. " " You've built a new prison for them? " Twilight was surprised. " No. " Coulson smiled " Altough I wish it was so. The two of them decided to join us when Hase took over the Crystal Empire, but they have yet to prove their loyalty. It is a well - known fact that they are now on our side, but nopony trusts them. Since the tower looked sinister and made some ponies doubt if Cadance and Shining Armour can be trusted, they were asked to make it invisible. You can only see their tower if you are inside of the castle. " This reminded Twilight she had to talk to Chrysalis. The mare had to find out what was the spoiler alert Hase was speaking of. The last hint - " more like when " - proved surprisingly accurate, so the lavender alicorn was sure this trail led to something importrant. " By the way, AJ... I mean Captain... " the agent became nervous " You know... they are in a vintage set. " Both Applejack and Dash laughed and the earth pony gave the armoured pegasus 5 bits. Earlier Rainbow bet, that Coulson will ask AJ about the cards before even 10 minutes had passed by. She had guessed right. The agent felt little uncomfortable and put back the deck of cards he had just brought out. " By the way... hmm... you'll be meeting Director Fury together with the Princess and the Prince. Hmm... that's it. " obviously the agent felt really uncomfortable, since he didn't speak at all after that. The palace resembled the Canterlot one and Twilight guessed they have used the same plans. The interior was also the same. The only difference, even Celestia didn't know why, was that half of the guards were unicorns. Before the percentage of unicorns in the Royal Guard was low, so Luna and Celestia wondered what had caused it's increase. The throne room brought them old memories, but the stained glass windows revealed other scenes than those the Canterlot palace used to have. It were the stories, which began with their first adventure with Hase, while he was still just a landicorn, wielding the Elements of Chaos. The lords felt a bit unsure. The first glass showed the lawn in the Everfree forest. The Mane 6 were surrounding Hase, while a multicoloured oreol surrounded him. The clouds were grey and some of them had the same colours as Hase' oreol. The next glass showed their whole group: The Mane 6, the two Princesses, the Avengers and the Lords of the Elements of Chaos. Twilight noticed, that Hase was missing from that picture. On the next picture Hase' front hooves were shining in red, as he, together with the Iron Stallion and the War Marechine were taking out A.I.M. 's armours. The artists had drawn the rockets, coming out from the Mark 42 surprisingly good. The other stained glasses lacked some details. The next showed just Hase and Wanda next to the freshly awakened Vortex, and the next showed just the group together with Sif in the Bifrost. However, the last picture worried Twilight seriously. It wasn't just glass, it was a real painting. On it, the left tower of the Crystal Palace of the Crystal Empire was falling with trails of smoke behind it, and the Crystal Ponies were running. On a hill in the center of the painting stood an unusually big pegasus. Scale armour covered his chest and hooves. Dark mantle covered his back, except for his two long black wings, which were spread. The Spear of Hatred and the Whip of Rage floated in the air around him. A dark helmet covered a part of his muzzle, but let his multicoloured mane wave behind him. His dark purple eyes left a trail of darkness behind them. The evil grin on the stallion's face revealed his evil intentions. There was nothing good in Hase anymore. On the other side of the room, on two thrones sat Princess Cadance and Shining Armour. Both the rulers and the group ditched the etiquette and rushed at each other. Twilight turned out in her brother's lap: " Twiley! " her brother's happiness could match Pinkie's " It's so good to know you're alive. " " The feelings are mutual. " the alicorn replied. The mare saw Cadance coming nearby and smiled. " Sunshine, sunshine... " Cadance began " Ladybugs away... " Twilight replied " Clap your hooves... " the princess continued " And do a little shake! " the purple alicorn finished the special hoofshake and hugged the pink Princess. " A ladybug... I haven't seen one for years. " Cadance frowned. " Any sign of happiness had dissapeared from this land. " " We'll make them re- appear. " Dash' s answer caused Cadance to smile for a while, but than she frowned again: " You have no idea what you will be facing. The friend, the ally, the beloved... " she looked at Rarity. The Princess of the Love had her ways to know what's going on. " .... everything good is gone from Hase. He is now only darkness. His only feelings are rage, hatred, bloodthirst, hunger for vengeance... just like his weapons. He's worse than anything we've ever faced. Worse than Nightmare Moon. Worse than Discord. Worse than Chrysalis or Sombra. " " Iiii... think you're overdoing it. How bad exactly is the situation, Princess? " Rainbow spoke. " Well, it's pretty bad. Think about it, Dash. Hase is a villain, who uses his brain. He took advantage of your absence and made it longer, so that he can be unstoppable. And by far he was. No hero was able to stop his conquer. Not even the power of Love was able to defeat him... " Cadance became even more sad than before. The group began to whisper and twilight understood them. If love hasn't stopped him, would friendship be able to ? " But... I thought love could stop anything! " Twilight replied " It stopped a whole army of changelings and kept the whole Crystal Empire safe for days! " " Yes... but he blocked it with hatred. We don't know exactly how he did it, but a field of pure hatred protected him and his army. Love bounced of it like a ball bounces off the floor. " Shining Armour replied. " I think we need a debrief about his full list of powers. " Stark noted. " And I'll be glad to debrief you, Mr. Stark. " the one- eyed director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Nick Fury jumped out of the shadows and stood next to the two royalties. He clicked something on a remote control. The glass behind the two thrones darkened and the logo of the spy organisation was revealed. A second after that it vanished and a list of heroes was revealed on the screen. " The S.H.I.E.L.D. Hero Roster includes everything about the Avengers. " Fury spoke " Real names, code names, biographies, powers and abilities. However, we also have this, " he clicked another button and the screen went read. Unlike the various names of the heroes, most of the villains here were just named " Voidian " and a number after it. " This is the S.H.I.E.L.D. Top Wanted list. It includes the most dangerous Voidians we know. The only one you've ever fought was Number 22: the Chymera Voidian. And your buddy is on the top. " Nick Fury revealed, that the top wanted villain was Hase. he clicked another button and Hase's personal file opened. There were several pictures and the Biography. Twilight carefuly read it: Hase was born as an earth pony in Canterlot, with father Emperor Vortex and mother ( unknown ) . Since he didn't have any magical possibilities at this time, he was tormented by the school foals. At this time he first met the infamous Wanda Maximoff, daughter of the earth pony mutant Magneto, Emma Frost and Johny Blaze, a.k.a the Scarlet Witch, the White Queen and the Ghost Biker. After he saw a poster of Celestia's scientist list, he became obsessed with science, since it could of made him equal to the foals in his class. Working hard, eventually he won the event and gained access to the Royal Library. There he spent the next several years studying the science books. After he finished, he was appointed Royal Scientist. However, once Princess Celestia asked him to invent an invincibility potion. He gladly accepted this offer, but later, guided by his wish for evenity, he developed it into the Alicorn Formula, which marked the beggining of his carrier as a villain. Refusing to drink the antidote, he was captured in the Eternal Bonds by the Princess, which made him get vengeful. Unable to use the Formula, with the help of his telepath friend Emma Frost he mindwashed civilians and created the Eternal Army - an army with mechanized wings and horns. After this organisation wrecked havoc through Canterlot Celestia had no other choice but to send her Royal Guard to capture Hase. After the rebell was captured, he was sent to prison. However, there he assembled a rocket and fled to Cloudsdale, where it is believed, that he had cloned Thunder Fighter, a famous Wonderbolt, 's DNA, because he was a landicorn - a mixture of a pegasus and a unicorn. Using his rocket he fled again, this time to the Everfree forest. In the next 1000 years his DNA was being reconstructed into the DNA of a landicorn. After he awakened with the intentions to wield the chaotic power of the Elements of Chaos, a chaotic storm, striking for the first time after 10 000 years ago, the same storm that caused the death of the Princesses' father - Primal Shine, struck again. Celestia and Luna joined the wielders of the Elements of Harmony - two earth ponies, Applejack and Pinkie Pie, two pegasi, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, a unicorn, Rarity and the newest Princess, Princess Twilight Sparkle. However, delayed by his machinery, the team failed to stop him from gaining the power he craved for. They only managed to chain him again and bring him back to Ponyville, where he tricked them and sent them to the dimension of New Equestria. There they had to face the Lords of the Elements: Hydro, Blaze, Breeze, Landrock, Helios and Dusk. Since at this time Hase wasn't completely evil, he also provided them 5 allies : the friendly Lord of Ice named Glace, the archer pony Clint Barton a.k.a Hawk, the brilliant inventor Pony Stark a.k.a Iron Stallion, the Horsegardian gods of mischief and thunder, Loky and Thor. This back - up proved enough to defeat all of the Lords and they triumphantly returned to Equestria with Hase on their side, wielding not only the Elements of Chaos but also the forms who helped them. So that he wouldn't lose friends Hase even made the citizen of Ponyville immortal. While in New Equestria, some of the Mane 6 even became superheroes, part of the Original Avengers - Fluttershy was inhaled with drones, who irradiated her with gamma radiation, which caused her to turn to the mindless green beast, known as the Shyulk, whenever she gets angry. The earth pony Applejack was injected with the Super Soldier Serum and entrusted a vibranium shield together with a suit, which marked the beggining of her carrier as Captain Equestria. One year after these events Equestria was threatened by a mysterious terrorist, called the Mandarin. Hase took on this case, together with his friend Rainbow Dash, who he had entrusted with the War Marechine battle armour, built after his Mark II. After a series of horrible blasts shook Equestria, the two armoured heroes eventually found out, that the Mandarin was just an actor, hiding the deeds of Advanced Idea Mechanics - Hase's former company, now run by his old friends the Scarlet Witchmare, Emma Frost and the Ghost Biker. After they confronted, the two of them together with the rest from the group were eliminated, after Emma tricked Hase into powering up a force field with the Elements of Chaos, thus freeing himself from their presence, which gave him horrible headaches. This however made him unstable and soon all of his forms gained their own bodies and later, now together with the Lords, who had learnt friendship together with Hase, confronted A.I.M.'s battle armours after Hase convinced the soldiers, the Extremis and even two of his friends to join him. Wielding the Extremis, he fought against his own creations. But they were too late to stop Wanda's plan. Using an evil clone of Twilight Sparkle, the mutant freed the Dark Emperor Vortex, which eventually brought to the truth about Hase' beeing revealed and he regained his real pegasus form. Later, after a show in Cloudsdale, the whole group was called on an interdimensional mission from the Horsegardian Sif and they weren't seen ever again. Only Hase returned two years after that. Not revealing his arrival to anypony, since he was now evil, he secretly grew an army of Voidians and 7 years later attacked the Crystal Empire, spreading fear through whole of Equestria. Now he is considered S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top wanted villain. Twilight felt scared after she finished reading the biography. But she was about to get even more scared, because Fury started reading the Powers and Abilities list, which was pretty long: " For a start, your pal has increased reflexes and strength, " the brown earth pony stallion played a video. On it Hase dodged a hit, that would of killed any unarmoured pony, except probably the Black Widow or Applejack, and hit the pony with bare hoof, sending him 12 feet away. Fluttershy shivvered. " Let's not forget what the Professor told you: he is a skillful telepath. He can even be reading our minds right now and we aren't able to do anything about it. But that's just half of it. He has also the so- called " Mind Control " . Whenever a pegasi or, Celestia knows why, beg my pardon, changelings approach him, he can just look them straight in the eyes and my top ponies are turned into his personal flying monkeys. " " Flying monkeys? Ah don't get tha. " Applejack noted. " The Wizard of Fuzz came out a year after you left. Foals love it. " Shining Armour noted. " Anyway, let's continue. " the director spoke " He can do magic of any kind and is as powerful as an alicorn. His Chaotic skills are far greater than we have ever imagined. He's able to wipe out whole squads just by opening portals beneath their hooves. Let's also not miss his powerful Weapons of Destruction. Arrows, that cause different effects, shield, that everypony are afraid from, a mysterious magic- conducting spear... S.H.I.E.L.D. agents aren't trained for such things. " the director complained. " But the bad part is... that he gains power from death. " Cadance became sad " As our troops fall, his power rises. Death feeds him vital energy. With his weapons, it's achievable quite easy. Instead of getting tired, he just grows stronger and stronger. If a battle continues for more than 3 or 4 hours, we would be hopelessly outguned, if he leads his army. He also draws power from darkness... . Without the sun, we are doomed. " the Princess finished and together with Shining Armour sat back on the throne. " And no explanation for such a wide arsenal of miscellanous powers. " Shining Armour spoke again. " That might change, brother. " Twilight smiled " He has given us a hint. " " Or a trap. " Nick Fury noted " Have you thought of that, Ms. Sparkle? " " We'll have use of any hint, even if it's a trap. What was the hint, Twilight? " Cadance asked " He told us... to ask Chrysalis. " the alicorn replied. Fury knit his brows: " Sounds suspicious, doesn't it? " " Yes, but we must ask her. She won't dare to attack if we are all together. To the tower! " Princess Cadance replied to the Director and stood off the throne. Together with Shining she joined the group, as a guard let them to the Flying Bridge, ready to enter the Dark Tower. Revelations" Hhhere, Princess. " after he led them the guard quickly ran as fast as he could to get away more quickly. Obviously the camouflage was only having effect on the tower's exterior, since now the sinister interior of the flying bridge was perfectly visible. Miniature statues of bat skeletons were holding torches and lit the way. The group tried not to make any noise, while the ponies were moving on the bridge. After it ended, Twilight looked upwards and saw, that a lot of stair climbing awaited them. Last time she met Chrysalis, the changeling Queen tried to take Equestria over and use it as a feeding ground for her evil minions, the changelings. Later the alicorn mare had realized, that this is just their nature and Queen Chrysalis was just protecting her folk, as Celestia and Luna did, but still... there was something personal. Before they left for Pre- Equestria, on the A.I.M. adventure, Celestia had shared with her, that once the changelings were graceful creatures, that suffered a Voidian's curse. However, together with Chrysalis Luna and Celestia might of came to some kind of solution, but instead they left her nation to handle on theirselves. No wonder Chrysalis was mad. Kinf Sombra, however, didn't have such noble reasons. He just wanted to rule the Crystal Empire as he once did, and he would of ruled it again, if it weren't for Twilight and her friends. Two totally different villains. Why would they team- up? Was the liason between them Hase? Twilight thought for a while, and suddenly she realized the stairs should of ended a long time ago. As she looked back, the only ponies, that weren't tired like if they ran for 20 miles without stopping were Dash and Pony Stark. She slowly realized what had just happened. " SOMBRAA! " she yelled angrily. Way further upstairs, a taunting laugh was heard. " Infinite stairs. A flat joke. " Twilight spoke to Pony and Rainbow and began making a magic. Suddenly, all of the ponies ended up on the ceiling, sliding upwards. After a minute of sliding, the group was thrown into a dark hall and fell on the ceiling, and fell again after Twilight stopped her spell. As the alicorn looked forward, she saw two familliar figures. Sombra was still laughing, which looked strange, since his face reflected pure hapiness, something unusual for a tyranic ruler. Chrysalis was also barely holding it in. " A cup of tea? " Sombra spoke and the both of them with Chrysalis fell on the floor laughing. Meanwhile all of the ponies were up and looke either confused or angry at the two villains, who rolled on the floor laughing. " Ahem. " Twilight spoke and this ended the villains' laughing session, which was a weird combination of Sombra's deep voice and Chrysalis' scratchy voice. Not a pleasant combination. " Yes? What would you like, Twilight Sparkle? " the Queen spoke, like if she was ordering one of her changelings. " Being polite will be good for a start. " the Iron Stallion aimed for Chrysalis' muzzle. The ruler of the changelings grinned, but changed her tone immeadietly. " Alright, Mr. Stark. What do you need, young princess? " " The truth. " Twilight's answer was surprising to the two villains " What is your relation to Hase? " " The job. Altough he had greater success than us. He took over the whole country. " Chrysalis looked angrily at Sombra, after he replied to Twilight. " Sombra, you'll spend the next year in a cocoon if you say something like this again. " she told him. " And you will spend the same year in a cage of dark crystals. " Sombra kept his smile. Chrysalis' frown also changed to a smile: " I liked that! High hive! " the two villains slapped eachother's hooves. The friendly conversation riddled most of the others, but Twilight remained in her role of an interrogater: " I doubt only the profession is the connection between you. What are you hiding? " " You seem to trust your informer. " Chrysalis replied " Who is he? " " Hase himself. " Twilight replied. The expressions on the villains' faces immeadiatly shifted to a riddled one. " He knows. " Sombra looked surprised, after he said it out loud. Perhaps this wasn't supposed to be said out loud, since Chrysalis looked like she was going to kill him. It was now twilight's turn to grin: " I knew it. Leave the fighting for later. Now, what's your connection? " " Ah, none. He spoke of somepony else. " Chrysalis' tried not to look Twilight in the eyes, as she was saying that. The queen was obviously lying. " Be careful, Queen Chrysalis! We might claim you for a villain again.. and banish you from Ponyville. " Cadance noted and Chrysalis looked scared. Twilight felt confused from the fact, that the queen was actually afraid of this option. What was the reason? Meanwhile the changeling sighed and spoke: " You're right. There is a connection. Follow me. " Did Chrysalis actually sound sad? Her voice sounded like if she was. Twilight wondered what about Hase had caused her to get so sad. Did he kill somepony she loved? The purple alicorn thought about this option. No, Chrysalis didn't love anypony, she feeded with love. So what was making the ruler of the changelings so santimental? Envy? Hatred? The two villains led them to a throne hall. On the south side there was the throne of Sombra, his half of the hall was covered in dark crystals and red carpets. The other side of the throne room looked like a cave and a throne, made out of rock, stood on the north side. However, none of the two villains sat on the throne. Instead, they got to the center of the room. The thrones magically moved towards the center, on rails. The two thrones connected and flipped over, leaving a hole in the floor. A table appeared from it, with something familliar on it: a toy, that Twilight remembered seeing, while a week ( or 15 years ) ago, Hase' s locked memories of his real father - Emperor Vortex - were projected over the lawn. She remembered seeing that toy in the bed, where Hase has lain, while in the dream his father and mother were standing next to the bed. Twilight usually didn't remember such details, but there was something strange about this toy, that had made her an impression. The toy was a plush changeling. What sort of mother would of bought a plush changeling toy? Except if... Twilight slowly neared Chrysalis. If what she was thinking was true, some of Hase' traits would of made perfect sence. At first his wish to control the world, but later his deep friendship. If he was a half changeling, he would of been more sensible to friendship and love. She looked Chrysalis in her eyes. Was this true? As if Chrysalis knew what she thought, she nodded. " Hase is... my only son. " she spoke, which caused several " ah " s and " ooh " s. " Wait a minute... Hase is a pegasus. If he was the result of the liason between you and Vortex, the result would of been something like an alicorn - alicorn changeling hybrid. " Dash asked. The queen became even more sad, and suddenly Vortex stood next to her and tried to calm her down. " You... love Vortex? " Luna was more confused than ever. " Changelings can love. " Vortex obviously got offended from this " The fact, that they feed off ponies' love doesn't mean they can't love. " Unfortunately, Hase is much more than just their son. " Sombra noted. The group became even more confused, as they heard Sombra say this. Was he involved too? But how? The horns of Chrysalis and Vortex shone. The glass behind Sombra's throne darkened and torches were litten. " This story is enchanted. We are only able to say it if all three of us are present and on the light of a torch. " Chrysalis began. " This is a story about our ultimate plot. " Vortex continued " A plot, that would of ended your rule, " the dark alicorn spoke to Celestia and Luna " , forever. A plot, that is so perfect, that even you aren't able to stop it. " " We failed. Every time. " Chrysalis' voice became even more sad " Vortex was turned to stone for centuries. My invasions always fail and my folk is starving. Sombra still wasn't defeated, but a fortune teller had predicted it. No matter what we do, we weren't , we aren't and we will never be powerful enough to defeat you two together. Not even Vortex, since he was on his own. Forming an alliance wasn't an option. We have other things to do, except taking Equestria over. We needed a new figure in our game. A pony, more powerful than all of us, more powerful than Luna and Celestia. This was the beggining of the Dark Mist project. " Twilight shivvered, as she listened to this. " This all began after we and Vortex agreed to ally our forces. We were repelled, since one of Vortex' troops betrayed him and we were defeated before we even exited the Changeling Caves. Altough we lost, our alliance didn't end. And eventually, united by our evil intentions, our alliance became something different. A spark... and the fire of love shone in our souls. For the first time ever we saw the beatiful side of life, instead of constantly focusing over our plans. While we had our love, Equestria had it's peace. This were our greatest days... " Chrysalis and Vortex kissed. ' This was unexpected. ' Twilight actually felt great for the two of them. Love is the same for all of the ponies, no matter heroes or villain. It was great to learn, that the villains aren't what all ponies think they are. " And the result of this love wasn't late. I was pregnant. We were happier than ever. But we knew, that our foal wouldn't live the life of a normal foal. It would of spent it's foalhood in the Canterlot dungeons, together with us. We didn't want this for our foal. But we had no choice. " A tear ran across Celestia's cheek. She has never seen this side of Chrysalis and Vortex. What would of it been like, if she was the villain? " Than we all came out with an idea. You wonder what's my role in all of this? Well, villains stick to each other. I was a kind of their family's best friend. You know - the one, who's always late for the party, but brings pizza? Well, one night at the Changeling Caves, we came out with an idea. " Sombra spoke " The stars were aligned at full power... " " What do you mean? " Twilight asked. " Some spells are affected by stars, some even need their energy. " Chrysalis replied. " The stars were aligned perfectly for our plot. And so we began our magic. We changed Hase while he still wasn't born. He was enchanted forever. Usually such a spell requires a great amount of energy, which the stars provided us. He was ment to be better than all of us. We gave him superpony strength and agility. He kept the ability of the changelings to shapeshift. The magic also turned him to a pegasus, so that he could fit more easily into the society. We wanted him to be the pony who turns the folk against it's rulers, so we also gave him perfect leadership skills. We also gave him the power to use normal and Chaotic magic, amplyfying his potential to 100% . The magical level of the Princesses. But we also didn't wish for him to turn against us or die before he can complete his noble deed. So deep in his subconciousness, the spell changed two things: he became invincible to you, Princess Celestia... " " You mean, really invincible? " Celestia got worried. How would of they defeated Hase, after he was invincible? " Yes. He was designed to destroy you, after all. And we all know you are able to find even the smallest hole in an armour and exploit it to the end. " Vortex sounded angry. Probably he remembered how the two Princesses used his son against him. " You'll be able to do him no harm. He is immune to all kinds of spells, related to the sun or the moon. Thus none of your poweful magics will have effect over him. But the second was more importrant. We wanted him to be like us. So in his subconciousness, we coded our greatest wishes... to make everypony even again. " Vortex said with hope " To care for his folk... " Chrysalis spoke " To take you off the throne... forever. To give us a second chance... the things you never did. " Sombra finished. " However, now our good intentions are being twisted by the Essence of Death. We all hate the Destroyer. Every living being hates him deep inside. But the Essence of Death found a perfect soul to settle in. Hase. " a tear ran down Vortex' cheek " He grew far more powerful than we have ever imagined. But he'll destroy everything we once fought for : evenity, justice, peace. And his hive... are the Voidians. " Chrysalis cried too. " His potential to rebuild... will be used to destroy. " Vortex continued " We can only bring him back if we work together. But... we first want you to promise something. " he looked at Luna and Celestia. " What? " the Princess of the Sun looked at them suspiciously. " A second chance. " Chrysalis replied " Evenity. The changelings should no longer be treated as beasts. Give them a chance. Give us all a chance, as you gave Luna. You don't have to reform us, as you did with Discord. You only have to think of us as ponies, who wish they have their own spots bellw the sun. " " Royal Council! " Luna proclaimed. She, together with Celestia and Twilight, got 20 feet away from the group and Celestia whispered: " We cannot give them a second chance. They are villains. They are dangerous. Luna, do you agree? " Luna nodded. " Twilight, do you agree? " " No, Princess. Everypony deserves a second chance. If we make friends with the changelings perhaps this will break the Voidian's curse. We must only trust them. " the purple alicorn spoke to her. " Queen Chrysalis just wanted the best for her folk. And Vortex only wanted his son to live in a better world. " " I'm sorry, Twilight, but my sister is right. " Luna told her " What if they attack us two months after we make peace? We must defend the ponies of Equestria, not the changelings! Our land will suffer if we agree. What about Sombra? He didn't have such noble intentions as Chrysalis and Vortex. I partially agree with you - we can trust Chrysalis and Vortex for now - but if Sombra strikes, guess who is going to back him up? " " But, Princess Luna! Think what would of you done, if you were King Sombra. You would of tried to take over your kingdom again, since you believe you ruled it right. He saw he's wrong. Now all he needs is a little reforming and he can become good, as we did with Discord. As for Chrysalis and Vortex, they just wish they had justice. Justice for Hase and the changelings. What would of we done, if the changelings ruled and we were banished? We would try to convince them we're good. But if they don't believe us - and we have never trusted them - they'll have no choice but to use force. With Hase it is the same. Tell me - was there a moment from our adventures you trusted him completely? " Twilight asked the two Princesses. They both blushed and none of them was willing to take the word. Twilight had made the Princesses feel ashamed. " You are right, my most faithful Twilight. We were blind. " Celestia admitted " But... if you rule over such a peaceful and good nation as the ponies for 3000 years, they become more precious to you than your own life. You must understand our point of view. " " Princess, I understand you completely. All we have to do is to trust. If we all trust eachother, the villains of Equestria would of been much fewer. Think about it - if you trusted Luna and let her bring out a bit longer night for a year or two, Nightmare Moon would of never existed. If you have tried to reform Discord before, again with trust, we wouldn't have to do this 3000 years later. If we have accepted changelings in our society earlier, Queen Chrysalis would of never attacked. If you tried to reason Sombra instead of defeating him, he probably would of been more kind to the crystal ponies. If you have tried to explain why there cannot be eternal life for everypony , he wouldn't of been our enemy from the beggining. The same with Hase. The power of Friendship doesn't come from here, " Twilight pointed her crown " , it comes from here. " she touched Celestia's chest, exactly where the heart stood. The two Princesses smiled and went back to the group. " We accept. We are so sorry for being so ... so... " from excitement Celestia couldn't find the right words. " With such limited vision. " Sombra suggested. " Yes. Thank you, King Sombra. " suddenly, Celestia hugged Sombra. The king obviously didn't expect this, because he nearly jumped. " From now on, all changelings shall be accepted into our society. We swear in our father! " Luna spoke " And, to earn your trust, we'd like you to help us with the rule of Equestria. " Celestia smiled. This made everypony's jaws, except for the two Princesses, drop to the ground. " King Sombra, from now on we pronounce you for count of Sombrero region, which will spread from the Canterlot mountains all the way to the Crystal Empire. " Luna shook Sombra's hoof. " Count Sombra... " Sombra grinned " That actually sounds 20% cooler than King Sombra. " " Queen Chrysalis, " Luna continued " We pronounce you the Baroness of the West. You'll help us rule the land from Vanhoover to the north to Las Pegasus to the south. " In the moment the Princess of the Night said that, something strange occured. A mysterious spell lifted Chrysalis in the air and made her shine. The ponies had to cover their eyes. When they opened them again, they saw something completely unexpected. Queen Chrysalis looked totally different. Instead of gray, her coat was now white. The holes were gone from her hooves and body.Her green mane and tail were brushed and her vampire teeth were missing. She looked more graceful and beatiful even than Celestia. Her horn looked completely normal and on her back there was a pair of butterfly wings, big, green and beatiful. As she smiled, her half of the hall changed to a beatiful throne room. " I believe this was the key. " her voice was sweet like honey, nothing like it's earlier scratchy version " I gladly accept this offer. Princess Luna, you have broken our curse. From now on the race of the changelings will prosper again. Integration shall be much more easier. I am grateful. " the Baroness hugged Luna. " And finally, Vortex. " Celestia spoke to what once was her greatest enemy " Is it too much to ask you to be our royal advisor? " " Not much at all. " he replied, but he also whispered something in Celestia's ear while she was hugging him. " We can bring him back. " Celestia shook as she heard that. Was it possible that her uncle was speaking of her father? " My Queen... it is gone, the curse is gone! " a beatiful pegasus with dragonfly wings ran into the room. Chrysalis smiled and replied: " Yes, Dragonflight, the curse is gone. Now we shall take full battle actions. It is time to snap my son out of the dark dream he is dreaming. " Chrysalis smiled. " Well, I haven't participated in such major battle actions for millenia. What about we show them the old power of the sun and the moon, Luna? " Celestia and Luna nodded at eachother. " Let's burn this world and start from a scratch. " Blaze agreed. " We have a problem! Code 247! " Coulson ran into the room, yelling on his hoof free com device. " Ah... what do you mean ? " Celestia said him. " Oh, sorry for panicking, Princess Celestia. " Coulson felt uncomfortable " S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters' defence system has been hacked. Nopony can get out of it. Vinyl is working on it, but it will take time. Meanwhile a big squad marches from the north. Intelligence says, that Hase himself is leading them. " ' He knows we're here. ' Twilight thought. " The bad part is, that except us only three heroes aren't trapped in the HQ. It makes me proud, this is my squad. They're controlling the situation so far, but we quickly need to back them up. " the Agent reported. " The first action. " Chrysalis said and a a grin, which didn't look as mean as it once used to, appeared on her face. " Let's show him some action! " Loky spoke. " Good. I'll debrief you on the way. " Coulson replied and the group, now together with Sombra and Chrysalis, left the hall. Sharp and pointyExcept for the group, two squads - one of moon ponies, who always supported Rarity, and one of the gracious changelings, who protected Queen Chrysalis, were going to back - up the three heroes. Most of the ponies in the group possessed destructive super powers, but was this enough for them to defeat a whole army? " You know... " Agent Coulson was debriefing them " Two of them aren't exactly team players. And the third... he's a bit strange. " Anyway, who are they? " Dash asked him. " The first one's codename is Wolverine. " the pony smiled " He is a mutant. Possessing a healing factor, that would heal any injuries for seconds, this earth pony is the ultimate warrior. But this isn't his only mutation. Three 8 - inch bone claws come out of each of his forehooves. He also possesses feral sences and increased ability to smell." " Wait... than how does he fight ? Or walk? Don't they stick in the ground and make him fall? " Dash was confused. " He has also an improved balance. Also, his claws are retractable. He can bust them out whenever he wants. Suffering an extremely painful procedure by an organisation, that used mutants as mercenaries, adamantium, an extrememly strong alloy of vibranium, that can cut through anything, except vibranium and itself, was bont to his whole skeleton, including his claws. He nearly died. We don't know how old he is. He can be easily two centuries old. However, obviously as a result of him being constantly hunted, his close ponies probably got killed. Now we are his only friends. He is a funny person, once you know him. " Coulson said. " Scotaloo mistrusts him, since because of him the X- Ponies, who are something like her family, were in great danger several times because of him. Logan, on the other side, thinks she is being overresponcible. " " And... what about the other two? " Twilight hoped, that the other two ponies were going to be a bit more friendly. " With Deadpool it's funny. " a smile appeared on Coulson's muzzle " He knows how to make a pony laugh, and his combat style is hillarious. But his story is really dark. Wade Wineson was a mercenary from the same group, that experimented with Wolverine. Even tough he left, the organisation still kept part of Logan's DNA. After the unicorn found out he suffered from cancer and it wasn't curable, he gave up bounty hunting. Since he was one of their best mercenaries, the best with the sword and the handgun, they didn't want him to quit. By the way, some gangs had these a year after you left.It is believed, that they had stolen the designs from S.H.I.E.L.D. . Wade agreed. The organisation tried to give him Wolverine's healing factor. It worked. But at a great cost. His cancer reacted agressively. He constantly felt, and he is still feeling great pain. But he wasn't able to die, since the healing factor kept him alive. The organisation ditched him. Eventually, he was driven partially insane. He continued his carrier as the Merc with the Mouth and weared a red costume with black elements. From than on he was known as Deadpool. Deadpool turned against his organisation and teaming up with Wolverine, he destroyed them. He is one of Wolverine's few friends. We aren't sure Deadpool is with S.H.I.E.L.D., but he isn't with the Voidians either. He isn't actually an Avenger, since Fury mistrusts him. He is on trial, as all of us. They are on trial if they are responcible enough to be real Avengers, and I am on trial for my leadership skills. Only the doctor isn't on trial." Coulson finished. " And... what about the strange pony? " Celestia asked, riddled by Coulson's strange team " Doctor Steven Wincent Strange is the Sorcerer Supreme, the world's main defender against magical threats. " Coulson replied to the Princess. " He was once a selfish plastic surgeon. But after an accident something inside of him broke and he wasn't able to use magic to hold the instruments of his profession. In a result he lost his job. He circled the world in a search for a cure, he spent all of his money for doctors and psychologists, but without success. In the Crystal Mountains he met a hermit, known as the Ancient One. The hermit at first refused to help Strange, but than he saw his good side, beyond Strange's selfishness and trained the doctor to care more about the other ponies. Later, after Strange already was his apprentice, but the Ancient One hasn't restored his ability to use magic, the Ancient One introduced himself as Baron Mordo and asked Strange to join him in his conquer of Equestria. Trained to care abouth the others, Strange refused and fought Mordo with his bare hooves. After he defeated him, Equestria was saved. That was about the time Sombra tried to conquer the Crystal Empire. After that a mystical being from another world, that Strange reffers to as Balthakk, gave back Strange's ability to use magic and made him a great magician. Eventually Strange became Sorcerer Supreme and protected Equestria from magical treats. Why I said he is strange? Well, most of the time he uses his wizard terminology, which includes some phrases like " The Eye of Agamotto " , " Bolts of Balthakk " , " Crimson Bands of Cyttorak " and others like these. Honestly, no matter how long he explains me about " Vishanti " and other magical mambo - jumbo, I won't understand a thing. " Coulson laughed " But you'll soon be meeting them personally, since we're near. " It was true. Twilight could hear the sounds of a battle and Voidians could be seen. Suddenly, one Voidian jumped out from a rock and pounced at Twilight. The mare closed her eyes and only heard a single sound: ' Snikt! ' When she opened her eyes again, she saw the dead Voidian and a strange pony next to it. He was standing on his hindhooves and claws with metallic shine stuck out of his forehooves, three on each hooves. They retracted, which produced the same sound. His mane was short and stuck to the sides of his head. He had a beard - something uncommon for the most ponies - consisting of two sideburns, that nearly met on his chin. He smiled and spoke: " I suggest being more careful next time, madam. War isn't for pretty mares, " Rarity sniffed and said " How rude! " " , war is only for the best there are. How bad exactly are the things, Coulson? " " The HQ is still blocked. " the agent replied " We are on our own. " " Great. " the Wolverine smiled " I don't need monocles to interrupt me anyway. " The pony jumped back into the combat and the distinctive " Snikt! " was heard, after he cut off one of the Voidians' head. Thor flew towards him to back him up. After he made two of the Voidians fly back, hit by his hammer, the Wolverine smiled: " The Original Avengers... you still got it! Agree with me most of the problems can easily be solved with, " he was interrupted by a pegasus Voidian. The earth pony jumped on it's back, swiping through it's face. The monster fell on the ground and Logan cut his throat. " With good old fashioned close combat! " he finished his sentence and quickly made a backflip, sticking his clwas in the neck of a Voidian, who was otherwise going to stab him with a spear. " Agreed. " the Odinson answered, after his hammer went through 5 Voidians. The Voidians were coming from all directions. Thor had no choice. " Better jump! " he yelled at Logan. The earth pony jumped in the air, while the thunder god summonned a lightning and hit the ground. A huge shockwave, that broke the ground, spread in all directions, eliminating the Voidians on it's way. The Wolverine smiled and returned to jumping, slashing and stabbing. " Ha! Whea're da others? " Applejack asked, after she hit one of the Voidians strait in the muzzle. Another 5 rushed at her, but something colourful jumped in their way. It was a unicorn, holding two katana swords with his magic. He was wearing a red and black suit and had pouches on his belt. He attacked the Voidians without any pattern. just spinning the two swords like crazy. The Voidians hit him one or two times, but he regenerated. Finally, thet had to retreat from his spinning blades and Hawk eliminated them with arrows. " Good work, Stickthrower! " the unicorn turned around and spoke ironically. " Two moah behind yah back! " AJ saw, that two other pony- like Voidians sneaked up behind the pony's back. " It's time for my kung - fu fiesta! Arrrrivvaaa! " he shouted, while he was spinning in the air, his swords slashing everything in a radius of 5 feet. The Voidians tried to attack, but Deadpool blocked them with his swords behind his back. The stallion turned around and stabbed the two of them in the face. " Double Combo! Bonus Points awarded! " he noted and jumped happily. " Now... let''s see. Who are you? Oh, let me guess! The Patriotic Shield! " he pointed at Applejack " Actually, it's Captain Equestria. " the earth pony mare replied. " Darn it! " he cursed " You are ... Karate Red? " he asked the Black Widow. " Black Widow. " Natasha noted, little angry. " Before you ask, I'm NOT Stick Thrower. I'm Hawk. " the archer smiled. " Ohhh! " Deadpool got dissapointed " And what about you, Pink Mane? " " I'm actually not a superhero. I just keep the party going. Together with Loky! " Pinkie replied. The mask's eyes widened somehow: " That's wonderfuuul! You'll be my deadly sidekick: Fighting evil by Deadpool and Pool Girl! " he jumped at Pinkie. " That sounds lame. " Rarity noted, after a crystal stuck out of the ground and pierced a nearby Voidian. The expression on the mask became sad. " Ohhh, you're so right, Floating Mane! I play better in Singleplayer! " he got two guns out of his pouches and fired at the Voidians without stopping. His clips shone. While shooting, he kept repeating " Pew! Pew! Pew! " or " Bang- bang - bang! " " Magical unending clips. Only they can feed Deadpool's hunger for bullets. " Coulson noted, after he shot one Voidian. " But Deadpool, remember our top weapon is the respect. The Voidians won't respect you if you just fire at them, saying " Pew! " the agent siad him and than got away. " Ha! Gaaaay! " Deadpool yelled after him. " I heard that! " the agent shouted. " Oops! Sorry, boss! " Deadpool excused himself. Some of the Voidians were flying around and one of them hit Pinkie with a bolt of darkness. The joker unicorn immeadietly jumped in gront of her and shot a bullet in the Voidian's head. " Come on brother! We'll finish them together! " Thor and Loky rushed at the Voidians, but suddenly they ran in mid - air. When they turned around, they saw, that everything around, including them, was caught in a dark - purple oreol. The mysterious magic separated the Voidians from the group and a horrible laugh was heard, as a tall figure got in front of the Voidians. " Greetings! I see your trip had a delayement... but not longer than scheduled. " Hase taunted. Princess Celestia got angry from these words and a bolt of light flew towards Hase. It hit his chest and flickered for a part of a second before it vanished. " That... was supposed to throw you 10 feet away! " she was confused. Her confusion just made the pegasus smile: " Obviously I listen more carefuly than you, Celestia. Even tough I wasn't inside the room, I heard my father saying to you, that I am immune to your solar spells. " " So it's true! You're a telepath? " Twilight asked. Hase' grin widened even more, as Twilight felt an agonyzing pain inside of her head, that made her fall on the ground. As she held her head, she heard a deep voice: ' Our little Princess, Twilight Sparkle! As always, ready to help her friends and bring good back to Equestria. However I must warn you, weakling, the powers of your precious Elements won't stop me, neither would your omniscious Princesses. " and than the pegasus left her head. " The Elements! " Twilight shouted and the rest of the Mane 6 gathered around her. The alicorn closed her eyes, while all of the other Elements fired a beam at her crown. After a second she opened her eyes and her tiara launched a deadly rainbow at Hase. He looked scared before the rainbow covered him. " How was it tha' easy? " Applejack wondered. " It *wasn't* . " a Royal Canterlot Voice echoed through the air. Twilight raised her head and saw Hase with a multicoloured shining ball in front of him. " And it won't be. Would you ever listen? " he complained " I'm surprised you were able to fire that thing at all. My magic was ment to keep you dizzy, " he spoke to Twilight " , but anyway, you forget one thing: those Elements were born from Chaos, no matter that they are the Elements of Harmony. Magic runs through my veins, so magical atributes of any kind aren't the key to my defeat... " " By the Eye of Agamotto, you will yield! " a strange unicorn jumped in front of the group. He was wearing a long red cape with a collar. His mane was brushed backwards and he had a strange yellow sign on his blue clothe. A strange medalion with an eye was hanging next to him, held with his magic. Hase sighed: " Seriously, don't you ever listen to what the villains said to you without using the Royal Canterlot Voice? I dislike yelling to my future peasants. But anyway, put the Eye down, Dr. Strange. None of your enchanted weapons and attributes will work against me. You can only use your illusionist tricks on my subjects the Voidians. However, don't kill too much of them. I must protect my hive, right mother? " he glared upon Chrysalis " You have your hive, I have mine. And also, I must thank the Horsegardians for taking me on their nice trip. Otherwise, I wouldn't of unleashed my full potential. So actually I owe you a favour. And I know exactly what will I do... " Hase' horn shone and Loky suddenly flickered with yellow light. " What's happening, Loky? " Sif was worried. " It isn't Loky. It is just an illusion. " Hase smiled, as suddenly Loky dissapeared for a second and reappeared again. But this wasn't the same Loky. Instead of his golden armour, he was wearing a black vest with some golden elements under a long green cloak. His face looked more insidious and his helmet was missing. The only thing in common was his scepter, which was now extended to it's full size. Loky smiled with an evil grin. Thor swung with his hammer, but it past through, this was still an illusion. " Hello ... brother. " Loky's copycat smiled. Joined Forces" Loky! " Thor was angry " What is happening? " " Well you tell me, son of Odin! " the hologram said the last words scorning " How did it happen that my illusion has tricked you for so long? Perhaps I am the better son... and I deserve the throne of Horsegard! " " Loky, I don't know what you have done but there is still a chance for you to end this madness! " the pegasus spoke to his brother. " Well, let me think.... I don't think so! " Loky taunted. " You'll face Horsegardian justice! " Sif warned him. Loky just laughed: " How will I face Horsegardian justice after I rule Horsegard? Yes, you heard me right, brother! Horsegard is mine. When I lost from the New Equestrians and the Chitaupi chased me, I hid in the only possible place - Horsegard. You only found my copy, who was going to get his redemption and stop the search for me. This eventually allowed me to take Horsegard over from the inside. Don't ever return if you want to stay alive, Odinson! " the hologram vanished after saying the last words. " We'll fix this after we go back in time, after we fix this situation here! " Twilight whispered in his ear. Thor nodded and looked at Hase. " How did you know? " he asked and aimed his hammer for the pegasus, threatening him. " When you're a telepath it's easy to sence when somepony has no mind at all. But I guess your friend Emma never doubted Loky to look behind the pathetic copy of conciousness he had. One of the many drawbacks of friendship - it leaves you blind for the truth. " Hase smirked. " If you crave for vengeance, don't worry. Horsegard is the first realm I'm going to target after Midgard. " " Unless if we stop you right here! " a voice was heard behind them. When Twi turned around, she saw Vinyl Scratch, Octavia, Scotaloo, Sweetie, Applebloom and Big Mac. A strange device got out of Vinyl's front left hoof. There was also a pony in an armour, that resembled the Iron Stallion, but Twilight wasn't able to recognize the pony. Wanda and Quicksilver were also there. " You shall pay for your horrors! " Octavia yelled and touched a nearby Voidian with her forehooves. She wasn't wearing boots. In a result of this, the poor Voidian's eyes closed as he fell stunned, while Octavia turned to black smoke and moved towards Hase. He just smiled and suddenly she regained her form in mid- air, as she was pushed backwards by the magic of the pegasus. " You think a small squad will be enough? " the black - coated stallion laughed " Let's see... most of you are mutants. " " So wha? " Big Mack asked with his deep voice and his skin turned to steel. " That leaves you quite vulnerable... " Hase flew two inches over the ground and lifted his forehooves . " Phill, how exactly bad is the situation? " the armoured pony was obviously a mare. Pony knew that voice, so he replied: " His first name is Agent, Pepper? " " Pony? " Pepper raised her head and noticed the Iron Stallion, who she hadn't earlier seen. " You're using my suits... perhaps I should fire you. " the playcolt joked. " This is my own suit... and you can't fire me. You can't remember a single thing without me. " the mare responded and flew to Pony " I can! " he defended himself. " Really? What's your social insurance number? " After the Iron Stallion concentrated fully over this question, finally he came with an answer: " 5. " " And the other 8? " the mask of Pepper's suit lifted, revealing her smiling face. " Alright, I give up. I've got you for the other 8. " Pony's mask lifted too and the two armoured ponies kissed. " Were have you been? " Pepper asked him. " The usual: saving the world. " the visionaire replied. " For so long? " the red- maned mare grinned. " The time zone difference. I'll explain later. And what happened to you? " " I'll be more than happy to debrief you, Mr. Stark. " Coulson interrupted them " We needed a pony, that used technology. You with War Marechine were still gone, and we still haven't reprogrammed Vinyl. So Pepper agreed to be our mare for the job and became Rescue. However, she refused to be used as a living weapon, so her suit focuses mainly over defence mechanisms, such as S.H.I.E.L.D. 's latest nanotech heal and deflector shielding technology. She's our so - called " armoured nurse " . " Pepper punched Coulson in the shoulder. " I think you just made that up. " Wolverine commented " Hey, wha's happening? " Applebloom shouted and drew everypony's attention. Some kind of mechanical boots have appeared on Hase' forehooves. An antenna was on the left one and it was making circles. Hase pointed it at Vinyl and suddenly it stoped spinning and got back in the gloves. " Have you ever wondered how much damage a buggy, or even worse, reprogrammed by your pathetic S.H.I.E.L.D. scientists Sentinel can do? It hurts me when my inventions attack their own creator. " Hase threw a death stare at Vinyl " So I invented this: the wireless reprogrammer. You'll understand what it does by it's nickname some of the Voidians gave it: Robot Remote Control. Vinyl and Octavia's eyes widened in horror. " Run! Quick! " Vinyl yelled. The group turned around, but faced a dark wall. " Why leave so early? " another antenna stuck out of the left boot and Hase aimed for Vinyl " You have yet to see the full potential of Omega Prime Sentinel! " The tip of the antenna glowed in red. Vinyl's eye rings fell apart to rectangular figures with different sizes, which span around her pupils. Vinyl Scratch was silencely staring. No matter how much Octavia shook her, she remained still. " No use of that, Rogue. " Hase taunted " Untill my device finishes uploading and installing the special new software I've designed for my bodyguard, she will be like a statue. A levitating statue. " " Take that remote control! " Coulson shouted and Thor flew towards Hase. He stopped in mid- air and fell on the ground. " Ts- ts. " the pegasus disaproved " You may of used a bit more subtle tactic. " " What more subtle than that? " Logan replied from behind their enemy's back and stabbed the device with the claws on his left hoof. It flickered and sparks jumped out of it. Before the stallion can materialize his Berserker Mace and swish, Logan has already jumped back to safety. Vinyl's eye rings go together again and she grinned at the pegasus: " Thanks for the update. " With these words she flew forward, firing stun darts at the Voidians. When one of them got too close, plasma blades got out of her forehooves and she cut the monster in half. Hase smiled: " There is no use for me to stay here anymore. The battle wouldn't be fair, because you can't defeat me. I'll leave for now, but I'll send you some of my buddies... " he was interrupted as Shyulk grabbed him for his hindhooves and hit him against the ground 6 times. The insidious smile vanished from his face and was replaced by an angry one. He glared upon the monster and spoke: " Few ponies had succeeded to really make me that angry. But now my anger... is limitless!!! You destroy my hive, you destroy my machines, you even dare attack me!! You shall pay for that... with your lives! " A huge red oreol surrounded Hase and pushed the Shyulk back. The transformed Fluttershy roared and slammed it, but without success. The infamous whip materialized next to Hase. The pegasus glared upon it and sniffed: " Rage! This word is too small to express my anger! This weapon... it's also too weak! It has been forged for a pony, that had billion times less anger in himself, compared to my anger now!! You threaten my new world, you destroy everything I fight for. I am...furious!And now it's time to reforge this pathetic Whip and adjust it to my needs! " " Did 'e just say, tha 'e is goin' to reforge tha' Whip? " Applejack asked, while hitting Voidians with her shield. " It's impossible! Nopony can have more anger than the Destroyer! He must be really billion times angrier. And he isn't. He's bluffing! " Vortex replied, as he sent a pack of Voidians back to the Void. " NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE! " Hase yelled and the Whip of Rage shone in red. " No! It's impossible! " Chrysalis was horrified. The whip became longer. It's handle now got more ornaments, and the end of the Whip split in 9. Now the scene on the handle was Hase slaying Crystal Ponies in the Crystal Empire. The pegasus grinned, as he unfolded his new weapon. He swiped with it at Octavia. This made no sence, she was more than 60 feet away. But the Whip became longer during the swipe and hit Octavia. The spiked balls on the nine ends slammed her and she fell 10 feet away. " Now that's a weapon! As furious as me! " Hase triumphed " But how should I name it? The Whip of Rage sounds too ordinary. How about.... Nine - Tailed Fury? " As if in responce, the Fury stood in the air and covered in fire. It growed in size, untill the fire- covered whip was now with the size of a dragon. Dragon heads of fire formed on the nine tails. " Real fury! Now hunt them down! " the pegasus commanded and the fiery beast flew towards the defenders. " Over this beast there is no defeat. Perhaps time it is to retreat! " Zecora, who had obviously just arrived, drew the attention of the others from the group, who were concentrated on the Voidians. When they saw what's coming, they thought, that Zecora's advice was wise. " How did he succeed to reforge the whip? And how did he turn it to a nine- headed dragon of fire? " Twilight wondered, while the group ran back to Ponyville. " He used his endless fury. " Vortex replied " Now whenever he is very furious, like now, the whip, or the Nine- Tailed Fury, will turn to this beast. When he isn't as angry, he'll still be able to use it like he did with Octavia. " " Is she OK? " Twilight was worried for the earth pony. " She's fine. Some leftover energy from that Voidian reduced the power of the hit. " Vinyl hovered nearby. " But this weapon worries me deeply. If he reforges all of his weapons to be more deadly... we had a rough time dealing with them before, but now.... " " I doubt all of his weapons will be able to do so. " Vortex responded " The rest of the feelings are more controlled. However, i'm sure he'll find another way to make them deadlier. " The drake had stopped chasing them and S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ was seen. The doors opened for the group and closed behind the ponies' backs. " We'll have to make a new strategy. " Coulson spoke to Twilight " If the Elements of Harmony won't work against him, we've got serious trouble. Princess Twilight, we'll discuss the situation together with Director Fury, Princess Luna, Princess Celestia, Vortex, Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armour. The others must stand by. " Twilight nodded and together with the rest of the alicorns walked behind the agent. The purple alicorn turned around. Pony was speaking with Pepper, while Vinyl was next to Octavia. She smiled and followed the agent . The Council" The situation is critical. " Nick Fury began " Your pal is reforging his old weapons, and as Coulson said me, this results in a great improval of his already deadly asset. You say me, " the brown stallion turned to Twilight ", that your Elements won't work against him, because he's made out of magic. " " Not really... " Vortex began explaining. " It doesn't matter. " Fury interrupted him " What matters is that our most powerful weapon has no effect. It was our only hope. We've barely managed to keep up with him for 15 years, and we've succeeded only because he didn't treat us seriously. He is playing with us. " the director knit his brows " Any suggestions? " " Actually, I have one. " Celestia replied Fury turned around, which revealed his riddled face. Luna looked begging at Celestia, but she spoke however: " Luna and I didn't want to use this... it is our final resort. We had the chance to use it with Discord, but as you know, we didn't. This is the only thing, that our father has left us. It's called the Spell of Solar Extermination. " " It isn't safe to use it. " Luna continued " If we tried it when we were young, it might of went wrong. And believe me, you don't want this spell to go wrong. " " This spell, " Celestia took the word again " , harnesses the destructive potential of the sun. " Vortex shook slightly. Twilight was confused, but she decided, that probably Primal Shine had used this spell once and Vortex knew of it's destructive potential. " Used properly, it can obliterate an enemy in mere seconds. " Celestia spoke " However, if something goes wrong, we can deal significant damage to what's left of Equestria. " Luna said the rest of the council. " The whole land will be irradiated with solar radiation. " shivvers went down the Princess of the Sun's spine " But if we manage to control it, and I think I'm ready, we can turn Hase to ashes. " " Princess, isn't that a bit extreme? " Twilight was worried. Unlike the two Princesses, she still believed, that there is still some good left in him. She couldn't just destroy him. " And what if it's the only way? " Celestia turned to her ex- student " Twilight, I know Hase was once your friend and you will never stop believing in him... but what will you choose? Equestria or him? " " And what if it doesn't work? " the solar Princess was surprised by the words of S.H.I.E.L.D. 's director. " " As far as I can recall, Vortex and Chrysalis had created Hase to be the ultimate weapon against YOU, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Vortex, as we see, is aware of the existence of such spell. What if this pegasus is immune even to this spell? " " Nothing is immune to this spell. " Vortex replied instead of Celestia " It hurts me, that you're going to destroy my son, but really, nothing is immune to that spell. You see, this spell won't stop untill it destroys it's target. That's why it is so dangerous: if it's used unproperly, it can target the whole world and destroy it. Perhaps Hase' defences will grant him a minute or two, but that will be it. But there is a problem. As you heard from Celestia and Luna , this spell isn't ment for normal unicorns. Thus it can be only be used by the pony who created it - Primal Shine - or by an alicorn, able to wield the sun, when he holds the Scroll of the Sun. This Scroll has got only one copy. It is in the Starswirl the Bearded section of the Royal Library. Locked within a box with a Royal Seal, which prevents the normal ponies from opening it. With all of these requirements, today the only pony who's able to use it is Celestia " he looked at his niece " Well, than we've got a problem. " Fury said him " Canterlot has been turned to a stronghold of evil, Hase's capital city. Sneeking into Canterlot will be hard, I admit, but sneaking into the castle is impossible. The place is guarded by batallions of Voidians and also a squad of Sentinels. Not to mention, that Hase' would immeadielty feel if you enter his castle. " " You don't need to worry about that! " Dr. Hank McCoy rushed into the room " My serum is complete! " " Well done, Dr. McCoy! " Coulson shook his hoof . " We haven't got any choice. " Celestia spoke to Fury. " Alright, alright. " a holographic map appeared on the table in the center of the room. It showed Canterlot and Ponyville and the lands between them. " You'll use the train. " Coulson spoke " We'll mask it as a mining train, delivering coal. With some costumes I think you should be able to pass the checkpoint of Canterlot. You can successfully reach the train station. " " And than comes the hard part. " Fury noted " No matter Voidians or not, the Voidian Guards won't let you in. You have to join the Patrol Squad. It passes by the train station on every hour. With your disguise you should join the back rows of the Squad. Only than will the Guards let you in. Once you're in the palace, you should be extremely careful. Avoid Sentinels... " " Why should we be using mutants, if this makes the sutuation more dangerous? " Luna asked. " You see, most of the others are injured by previous battles. We can't send them in. The disguise will confuse the Sentinels to think you really are Voidians. But you should avoid getting closer than 20 feet. It isn't perfect, after all. " Coulson replied. " You should also avoid Voidians. Some of them are smart and may foil our scheme. " Fury continued " In the library you won't find anypony; only Hase enters the library sometimes. If we're lucky, he'll be gone. If you aren't... well, you should be extremely careful. Once you find the box, you must get the scroll. Sneak to the throne room, or if Hase is still in the library, hide untill Celestia is ready. Than you'll unleash the sun and end all of this. You'll have to ditch your disguise and ran to the train. Without a leader, the Voidians will be vulnerable. We'll end this war. " Fury finished. " But who will participate? " Coulson asked. " Only the most responcible: Cyclops, Psylocke, Colossus, Apples Pryde. Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witchmare probably too. However, the rest of your group - the Horsegardians and the original Avengers - must stay here. We don't need a crowd. This is our last chance. Don't waste it. " RailsThe group was ready. It's members were determined: Twilight, the two Princesses and Chrysalis, Dash and some of the X-ponies : Scoot, Sweetie, Applebloom, Zecora, Wanda and her brother Pietro. Wolverine was also somehow a part of the crew, altough Scoot had protested against it several times. The original Avengers, together with the Elemental Lords and the rest of the Mane 6 were watching as the train left. " I hope they'll be OK. " Rarity was worried. The wind blowed through her floating mane. " They can't be more prepared. " Coulson replied. " Did ya convince Fury ta include Logan? " Applejack grinned, as she saw the agent smile. " He's the best warrior amongst them. " Phill answered " However, sometimes he is a bit too fierce. " " I don't know... I still think we should be there with them. " Rarity told him " Two of my best friends and my sister are on this train. " " Most of you are exhausted. Don't forget you also fought in Pre- Equestria. You deserve a rest. And we should also give your powers a time to manifest. " the agent responded. " He's absolutely right, my queen. You need a rest. " Light Warrior supported the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent " Once your true power is revealed, you can enter the battle again. Untill than, we'll make the Voidians fear the moon for you. " " That's very kind, but I don't fancy being lazy while the others fight. " the unicorn worried " We won't fight eitha' . We also need a rest. " Applejack spoke " Yah won't be tah only mare not fighting for a while. " Twilight observed the train station, as the train left. This mission was more risky than anything she's done before. But was she able to fight Hase? Memories of her friend ran wild through her head, distant echoes of him. The purple alicorn just wasn't able to believe there is no way to bring that stallion back. As she thought about the last fight, the headache, that first appeared when the black coated pegasus broke in her mind violently, returned. It wasn't intense as before, but it was enough to not let Twilight forget about it. Celestia and Luna were in the same wagon as her. They were currently looking through the window, to Canterlot. " Do you know, once Hase dreamed of building a town right beneath Canterlot. " Celestia told the lavender mare " A simple town like Ponyville, where earth ponies and pegasi wouldn't be considered ponies of the lower class. He dreamt of connecting it to Canterlot with pipes. " that memory obviously cheered Celestia. " Air pipes, that would of been able to transport ponies. " " Princess, is this really the only way? " Twilight wasn't so ecxited about the non- existing town. " You know, I think I'll show you something, that only Luna and I know. " Celestia smiled " But I would suggest to stay back. " Both Twilight and Luna got three feet away. " Watch this. " Luna whispered. Suddenly flames engulfed Celestia and a totally different pony was revealed in front of them. It's coat was brownish- red, a flame mane and tail waved behind of it and it's armour was the same like the one of Nightmare Moon, except that it's colour was orange. The pony was an alicorn mare. She grinned and Twilight noticed, that her eyes had the colour of a flame. Big flames covered the pony and once again Princess Celestia stood in front of them. " Now Twilight you're the third pony in the history of Equestria to witness my sisiter's darker form, Solar Flare! " Luna proclaimed. Twilight had no words to express her confusion. " I thought you must know Twilight. Each alicorn... has his or her dark side. Whenever fear, anger, envy or another dark thought overwhelms us, we become different. Multiple times have the villagers of Pre- Equestria, where we grew up with our father , suffered from Nighmare Moon and Solar Flare. Well, at least untill dad taught us how to control ourselves. " Celestia blushed. " We taught it to Cadance. And now we teach it to you. A Princess should always be in control of herself. " " Wait... does that mean, that Nighmare Moon has nothing to do with the Nightmare Spirits? " Twilight asked " Yes... and no. " Luna replied " My first attack as Nightmare Moon in Equestria was caused by my envy, so it didn't have anything to do with the Spirits, yes. But while I was exiled, my presence awakened them. 1000 years later, with some help of their Queen I struck again... only to be stopped by you. However, once the Nightmare Queen liked to say, that I owe my magnificence to her, while I was Nightmare Moon, I mean. Of course, those are only old mare's tales. " " So... what's Cadance... evil self? " Twilight asked " Bleedheart. " Celestia replied " Once Cadance was very angry and this resulted in her turning to Bleedheart, a alicorn, that takes love for a play and enjoys breaking hearts more than anything else. The broken hearts give her energy, and she threatened to destroy the love on the world. Luckily, we were able to stop her on time. " " And what do you guess... " Twilight gulped " Would my evil form be like? " " It would be an alicorn with immense magical powers. " Luna replied " But we would be happy if you don't try to found out more about your dark side on yourself. " " That's why we always have to take the hard decisions without wondering. Because if we wonder about something, dark feelings may overcome us... and result in a disaster." The train was slowly climbing the mountain and the ponies inside of it were unaware, that they were being watched. A lonely raven flew off a dead tree and headed back towards Ponyville. Suddenly, he turned to a dark cloud and continued with great speed. " Voidians! " Hase yelled " You underpowered creatures! " " My lord... " a very pony- like Voidian was next to Hase. It resembled a stallion and only it's yellow eyes and some holes in his hooves suggested, that he's actually a Voidian. " It isn't good to yell at your hive like this. it discourages them. " " Very well... " the pegasus grinned " But you should know, that my hive isn't like my mother's . Here I will rule with an iron hoof. This is... more like a wolf pack. If you stay with me, you'll earn lives in my new world, but if you're weak... you won't survive. " The Voidians got even more nervous. Usually nopony could of gotten them to be so worried. But by so far the Chaotics had followed their will, now it was the other way around. The raven landed on Hase's throne. It spoke something, that only Hase heard. The evil pony smiled and exclaimed: " At last! My subjects, as we have expected, the ponies hope to get to Canterlot. I am not aware of their intentions, but I do know one thing: they won't reach their destination! " " However, that doesn't answer my question, Princess. Is this the only way? " Twilight repeated her question. " It isn't . " Celestia sighed " But the other way is... much more dangerous. " " More dangerous than a spell which is able to destroy the world? " Twilight was confused. " Yes. Much more dangerous. " the princess of the day replied " Theoretically, it is possible to combine the power of the two. " " Which two? " the purple alicorn asked. " Oh. Sorry. " the solar princess apologised " The Elements of Harmony, The Entity of Love, those two .... " " The Entity of Chaos, for the Elements of Chaos? " Twilight suggested " No. " Celestia smiled " Although Vortex only summoned the Elements of Harmony from the Void and gave them new forms, the Elements of Chaos are his own invention. However, the most confusing about them, is that they aren't connected to the Chaos in any way. Their power comes from nature. So their power is limited, which is the reason they didn't turn against us as soon as they were summonned, instead of bothering with Hase. The Element of Fire actually is more related to forest fires than to the fire itself. You get it? " " But Blaze also controls the volcanoes. " Twilight replied " Not fully. Though his tail is made out of lava, volcanoes are a different teritory. There isn't nature inside of them. That's why he is only able to partially control them and cause a single small erruption with his ultimate and most difficult skill. It is quite a spectacle, but if you compare it to natural erruptions, it's pretty small. " Celestia answered " When Vortex created them, he didn't focus over volcanoes, but over nature. This caused them to be powerful, but not invincible, as you proved. " " Wait... I'm confused. How are Hellios and Dusk able to control Light and Darkness, than? " the purple alicorn asked " Natural light and natural darkness. Since nature doesn't have much to do with either light or darkness, their powers are very little and probably harmless. However, with some training they have probably adapted their strength: they use more disorientation and confusion in their battles, instead of pure force. Actually, only their army and their reputation kept them safe from Thor, while he was in New Equestria. That's also why they teamed- up against us. " the princess of the sun responded. " Now, if you want to see true darkness, you should probably look at Hase. " the three Princeses were surprised to see Chrysalis on the door " His power comes from the darkness itself. The true darkness is able to do much more. It can destroy, build, make somepony mad... It is very dangerous. " " When were you planning to say that? " Luna was surprised " I... I thought they have told you already. That he wields the darkness. " " Well, yes. " Luna remembered, that either Fury or Cadance had mentioned it " But we didn't suppose it is the true Darkness. " " Could you give me some more information, please? " Twilight wondered if her friends felt that way when she was speaking about books and magic. ' I hope that they don't . ' it was really annoying to not know half of the things the others are talking about, the purple mare thought. " The true darkness... is darkness itself. It is a little hard to explain, but imagine it this way, " Celestia explained " Before my father and Vortex created the sun, the moon and the stars, there was only darkness. Darkness is dangerous. Not as much as the Void, of course, but it is still pretty dangerous. Combined with Chaotic skills and the powers of the Master of the Dark Side of the Moon, it is pretty much all a pony needs to take over the world. Darkness gives strange abilities, that are hard to explain. No, wait a second... you know dark spells, right? " " Yes, but I thought they are forbidden to use. " " Yes, they are, and there is a reason for that. " Celestia looked sad " Using too much dark power will eventually cause the process " dissolving " . Since everything was created by darkness, the user might die and turn to darkness. As I said, it isn't as dangerous as the Void, since this would only cause the death of one pony, and won't open a hole in the dimension. But it's still pretty dangerous. Darkness isn't corrosive as the Void, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be careful. " " It was Sombra's idea, actually. " Chrysalis noted " With a little power from the darkness he became the king of the Crystal Empire. With the full power of darkness at his command, Hase would of been able to control the world. And boy he did. " " Doesn't that mean he can destroy the world? " Twilight was interested. " Yes. He can. " Celestia replied. " But anyway, did you say, that our powers combined are able to do this too? " the purple mare asked " Yes. Indeed it is possible. But if you fail, the result will be the same as the backfire of the solar extermination. And there isn't a great chance for success. In fact, it's lower than the one of the Solar Extermination. Great powers of such attitude don't like to be combined. " the princess of the sun answered. " But.... love and friendship are so easilly combined! " Twilight was confused. " Really? How do you think Rarity felt when Hawk broke her heart and said he wants them to remain friends? " Chrysalis' words were true. After Twilight thought about it, there couldn't of been love along with friendship. It's either the first or the second. Suddenly, the train stopped. " Oh, what know? " Chrysalis got her head out of the window. However, the reson couldn't be seen, since the train has jut been turning right and Chrysalis was looking through the left window. They walked through the other wagons. When they reached the exit, they saw, that everypony else is outside. So the queen and the three Princesses got off the train too. " Engine failure? " Twilight suggested. " I wish it was. " Scotaloo replied. The lavender alicorn followed the gaze of the mutant. A single Voidian was standing on the way. That wasn't such a great obstacle, but behind him the rails were... broken. The other end of the rails was 20 feet away. " We'r not gettin' da train over tha' . " Applebloom noted. " So now we're just sittin' here and waiting for that bub in front of us to move. " Logan spoke through his teeth. Apparently he was angry. " So... why don't we just attack him? " Chrysalis asked. " It might turn out to be a well - hidden trap. " Sweetie replied. And in that moment they heard a yawn. " Don't get sleepy. " Dash spoke. The ponies looked at each other. Nopony looked sleepy at all. So where did the yawn come from? The Voidian? Voidians didn't sleep. A pony with a ridiculous red and black spandex jumped from the top of the train. " Are we there yet? " Deadpool asked with a sleepy voice. Than he saw the Voidian. Before anypony could warn him, he got out a machine gun and fired at the Voidian, yelling: " Yippie- kay - yeah, orange bucker, now get off the road! " A second before the bullets reached their destination, darkness shrouded them and they dissapeared. Pure darkness. " So there's more than it meets the eye in this fella. " the merc with a mouth complained " We have to go in ninja mode! " He pulled his katanas, but Dash flew in front of him: " You saw what happenned to those bullets. It would be pity to loose your katanas, don't you think? " the Iron Patriot spoke to him. " Nah, you're right. " Deadpool put the twin swords back in place unwillingly. The Voidian threw the circular shield he was carrying on the ground. A tower of black smoke of pure darkness raised from it and Hase's gigantic holographic image appeared in it. " You're late. I expected Cadence and the big Shiny Armour to pull off that trick a lot earlier. " the pegasus smirked " Honestly, I have no idea what you want to do in Canterlot and I don't care. You won't get past the thousands Voidians anyway. And only 5 ponies from your team aren't mutants! Tartarus, those Sentinels will find you for T minus one minute. " " Don't be so sure! " Scoot shouted. " Ts, ts. " Hase disapproved " Three talanted mares. I once foal sitted you and now you turn against me. Don't you understand I'm fighting for a better future? Scotaloo, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, " for a second bright blue sparkles appeared in Hase' eye rings. For a moment his dark violet mane faded to dark blue. But than he shook his head and the dark violet colour returned. " , why would you fight me? Join me and I promise I'll destroy all of the Sentinels. Except Vinyl, if you demand. " " We know your tricks. " Scotaloo spoke, but she was a bit unconfident. Probably she thought what Twilight was thinking - did this blue colour mean, that the real Hase was still inside? " Fine than. This poor Voidian out here was weak. " the pegasus spoke " Now, he'll be strong. " The hollogram vanished, but the body of the Voidian started sucking darkness. It became unusually sunny, as the pony grew and grew in size, untill it was had thrice the height of the train. Darkness was flowing through his eyes and even his ears. The ponies gulped. ConfessionHase pushed the shield aside. This was going to keep them occupied. But now he got greater problems than them. Obviously, Fury and the royalties had finally realized, that the best defence is attack. The pegasus had to admit, their army was magnificent and the heroes were cutting through the lines of the Voidians as if they were ghosts. Actually, they were something like ghosts, but they should of been very dangerous. The dark ruler got cross. Celestia and Luna had constantly murmured how dangerous and powerful the Voidians are, and obviously this was either a lie or Hase had summonned the weakest of them all. He focused over the fight. One of the heroes was getting suspiciously close to his throne. The pony sighed and summonned the Spear of Hatred, firing a multicoloured bolt at the attacker. But surprisingly, it was blocked. The pegasus smiled. This was going to be interesting. Hase jumped off the throne, exactly in front of the pony. The Voidians tried to sneak behind his back, but their dark ruler commanded them: " No need for assistance. I'm taking this one. " " Your dark powers are no match for my armour, because I'm the Black Knight, holder of the Ebony Blade! " the unicorn, who was indeed wearing a black armour and helmet, together with a cape ( such a cliché ) swung his sword at the pegasus. Hase dodged this one, but it was close. He got angry. This knight made him look like an amateur. " Fine. " the ruler of the Voidians laughed " Than this fight will be decided with the skills of the... " he was going to say "sword ", but remembered, that he got no sword. Hay, didn't that Destroyer know, that the sword is the best weapon? The most functional weapon? The dark blade of his adversary broke his line of thought. Hase quickly made his spear vanish and his mace appear. But it was too short for the longsword of the knight and eventually the pegasus had to make some steps back. Angry, he threw the mace aside and pushed the Shield of Horror right in the face of the pony. The notorious Black Knight ran frantically. Hase sighed. Matched to his new powers and new enemies, those weapon were unefficient. A sudden idea came to his mind. ' What if... ' he thought and the Berserker Mace replaced his shield, as he yelled and attacked the Royal Guards. They were no match for him and soon the Mace built up it's red oreol. But enhancing it with magic, Hase continued to reap the enemies, as the oreol got bigger and bigger. Eventually, it was 10 times Hase's size. He stopped and made all of this energy of war suck into the mace. What used to be a small mace changed dramatically. Now with a handle, long as one of Hase's huge wings, with ornaments of Hase slaying the Crystal Ponies, it ended with a huge spiked ball with a diameter of at least 3 feet. The frightened Royal Guards formed a circle around him, pointing their spears and swords at him. " Surrend... " Shining Armour was going to offer the pegasus to surrender, but the words stuck in his throat, as he saw the reforging of the Berserker Mace. " This weapon used to be extremely .... you think I'm going to say powerful, but no. " Hase grinned " It was unproper. I admit it, against the short swords in Pre- Equestria it did a fine job but here it's barely keeping me alive. Now it will certainly serve me better. Not the Berserker Mace, but the Cleaving Morningstar. " Suddenly, Hase's red oreol surrounded him again as he spun his morning star and knocked out the soldiers threatening him. " Immeadietly gives me the Oreol of war i had to wait for. " the ruler of the Voidians smiled and caressed his new weapon. " If I were you, Shining Armour, I would suggest you to get away. " Hase warned the unicorn. But standing out from his army, Shining Armour pounced at Hase, holding his sword with magic. " Brave... but silly. This will bring tears to Cadence's eyes. " the pegasus swung with the huge weapon and the spiked ball slammed against Shining Armour's torso, sending him further than anypony can see. The villain watched with an evil grin on his face, when suddenly something unexpected happened. He suffered another one of his transformations. Blue and purple fought in his eyes, in his mane and tail. Taking advantage of this, the guards caught him within the Eternal Bonds. When he came back to conciousness, the pegasus cursed himself. What was happening to him? He opened his eyes. Chains, reinforced with magic were holding every possible part of his body. He was able to turn his neck, however. So he gave the room a better look. It was circular and white, and inside of it there was nothing but him. Windows covered most of the wall. When he looked through them, he noticed a smiling Nick Fury and a really, really angry Cadence. This made him laugh. " I don't see what's so funny. Caught in a prison you can't get out of. " the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. told him. " You realize breaking this room won't be hard for me, don't you? " Hase replied. " Try it, " Fury pressed a button. Hase looked through a window on the floor he hadn't noticed earlier. The huge steel floor moved and revealed a deep pit with lava in it's end. " If you even touch that glass, you'll fall straight down. Even if you survive the fall and the lava, down there it's too narrow to fly and too slippy to climb. " Fury smiled. Hase was surprised, that they were able to create such a clever trap. He tried to summon his helmet, which would allow him to turn to a shadow and exit this place, but he couldn't. " Those chains won't allow you to perform magic of any kind. We have confiscated any tech we found. You're stuck here. " Fury smiled. " And be grateful we didn't do as Cadence offered. Even I am not that cruel. But I'll let you alone. I'm sure she has a lot to tell you. " Fury slowly walked down the stairs. After the steel doors closed behind him, Hase was left with Cadence. For a first time since many years, the pegasus felt little afraid. For a moment he was even glad there was a wall between them. But that moment past and his smile returned. Cadence slowly walked on the pathway and reached the wall. She hit the glass with her hoof and Hase felt how his prison got a little lower. " You know, Hase. " she started speaking " Once you were a hero. " The usual " Come back to the good side " pep talk. The ruler of the Voidians sighed. " Don't you sigh on me! " Cadence sounded threatening " You're lucky, that Shining only had some broken rips. " " Awww! Boooo! " Hase disapproved " You ruined my pleasure! While I was swiping with that mace I was imagining how his whole spine broke in pieces and now you're telling me, that he has only got several broken rips? You're stealing my show! " " Your demonic Mace... " " Now Morningstar, officially. " the pegasus noted. " Your demonic Weapon would of broken his whole skeleton if it wasn't for my enchantments over his armour, does that make you happy? " Cadence yelled " Actually, yes. " Hase's evil laugh haunted the entire room. " Why, Hase? Tell me, why? Why are you destroying everything I once fought for? Why are you destroying your home world? Isn't there love in you? " the princess asked. " There isn't. " the king of the shadows sounded unconfident and Cadence knew he was lying. She smiled. This was a sign, that not everything is over. " Oh yes, there is. " her voice was a mixture of happiness and a well-hidden taunt " Rarity, right? " Hase stared at her. His eyes were filled with hatred, but this was the truth. " I love nothing. " he replied " I hate everything. " " You do love Rarity. " Cadence protested. " Do you know what it feels like to be stuck in darkness, which is slowly digesting your body, forever? No? Well, that's how it feels to be a Voidian. Evenity. It's needed. " Hase replied. " Evenity is good, but it shouldn't be caused by chaos. " the princess replied. " Can't you create them a world without destroying one first? " " No. It's the way of the universe. " a part of the pegasus' mane fell in front of his eyes. " Buck the universe! " Hase was so surprised, that his mane lost it's floating skills for a second. " Where's the pony, that once always fought against the rules? " Cadence asked. " Some rules can not be fought against. " the pony's voice sounded sad " Even if I don't want to, it's coded inside of me, have you forgotten? " Hase raised his face and saw, that there were tears inside of his eyes. " The purpose of my existence is such. Evenity. I am nothing for both Chrysalis and Vortex! Just their weapon, just like the Furious Nine- tail is mine! " the ruler of the Voidians yelled and shook his chains. " It isn't so! " Cadence tried to calm the pegasus " Hase, they love you with all of their heart. They... they just never had the chance to show it. " " You're right. " the stallion stopped shaking his chains " Do you know whose fault it is? " Cadence bit her lower lip. Her words now had other effect than she wished. " Celestia and Luna! " Hase spoke with scorn " The two Princesses! Everything my father and mother fought against. Symbol of conservatism and enemies of evenity. But they shall fall soon. The Prince of Progress will ride his fury! " With these words suddenly the chains broke and all of the windows exploded. Cadence was too slow, but found out, that a dark cloud was already keeping her safe from the shards. When it dissapeared, she saw Hase standing right in front of her. The prison was missing. However, the usual evil laugh of Hase wasn't heard. His eyes were filled with something like happiness. As if Hase had finally understood his purpose of life. " Thank you. " Cadence was surprised to hear those words, coming out of Hase' mouth. As S.H.I.E.L.D. agents broke into the room, the pegasus spread his wings and flew away, destroying the roof of the HQ. Cadence followed him with eyes and ignored the agents, who surrounded her and asked if she's OK. Hase was feeling different than usual. The constant hatred, that once filled him up was gone. he wasn't going to give up his cause. But he wasn't going to destroy his home. ' Citizen of Ponyville. ' he sent his thoughts to everypony, that were around. Ponies rushed to the streets and watched as he flew. ' I have made a new decision. Your world will not be destroyed. However, you'll have to share. And I'm going to eliminate the cause of the injustice right away! ' Most of the ponies got happy and cheered, as Hase flew over them. They thought the war was finally over. " You are going to eliminate Celestia and Luna, right? " a hostile voice sounded. Hase turned. it was one of the X- ponies, the four winged Angel, whose wings were even longer than Hase's . " Anything against it? " Hase turned around and flew backwards. " Yes, you're certainly not destroying our favourite and beloved rulers! " Angel shouted. " What if I told you they ruined my life? What do you really know about me, Angel? " the peagsus asked. " That you have fooled many to follow your schemes. But since Dr. McCoy finished his formula, now your enchantments won't work against me. Without your illusions this battle will be to the death! " the mutant exclaimed. " I don't wish to begin this era of peace with yet another murder. But illusions... you gave me an idea. " Hase spun and the Robe of Illusions floated in front of him. Angel covered his eyes. " Your serum should be able to withstand the power of the Robe... at least before I reforge it. " the mantle's holes filled in, the robe became longer and gained a dark violet colour. " The Phantom Mantle. " he smiled " As I said, I won't fight you. He will. " Angel's curiosity caused him to open his eyes. A pony, that strangely resembled him, flew next to Hase. However, this stallion's coat was blue, he was wearing a black suit and his eye rings were red. Without any warning he attacked. " Now, you'll soon find out that those aren't just illusions... they're pretty real. " the mutant got distracted from the fight by those words, which enabled his evil clone to land a succesful strike. His hard wings cut Angel's hoof. However, this made him even more enthusiastic. Eventually, he knocked out his evil copy and struck Hase. The pegasus manouvered quickly and avoided being hit. " In these days Rainbow Dash probably isn't the most fastest flier in Equestria, but she is the most agile one. And I am her student. " Hase performed a stunt, that would of been impossible for Angel and his 4 wings: he made a backflip in mid- air. If the mutant tried out something like this , his wings would surely tangle. This gave the ruler of the Voidians the upper hoof. The pegasus jumped on his enemy's back. That was surely an unexpected move. Angel turned over, but Hase held for his mane. After Angel returned to his normal position, the pegasus jumped off his back, but before the mutant can turn around, he felt how something stuck in his left front hoof. An arrow. Ignoring his pain, the four- winged pegasus turned around to see, that now Hase's bow was much longer and with more ornaments. However, it didn't look as threatening as his other weapons. " Not vengeance, but retribution. " Hase spoke to him " I now name this weapon the Righteous Scorpion. Nothing can stand in the way of retribution. " Shadows covered Angel's eyes as he fell. Hase didn't want him to get hurt, so he created a black cloud near the ground. After he got sure, that his enemy is well, he flew to Canterlot. ' Justice will preveil. ' he thought. Highway to hell" Ah just don't get it. " Applebloom told Twilight. The alicorn didn't understand it either. At first the Voidian, that Hase had upgraded, was attacking furiously, without any target. But now it was cautiously avoiding everypony but Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. This made it easier for the rest to attack the Voidian, but the damage they dealt was like if a bee had stung the giant. Celestia and Luna were barely retiliating now. A sudden idea came to Twilight's mind. The edge was near. What if... " Scoot! " she yelled. After a second the lavender mare recognized the pegasus mare. She was flying around the Voidian and shot multiple optic beams at him, but no effect. " What? " Scotaloo asked after she landed nearby. " Do you think you can blind him? " the alicorn glared at the monster. The two Princesses' magical shields were quickly melting. " Should be pretty easy. " the orange pegasus flew off to the Voidian. Nearby there was Wanda and a miniature green tornado near her. Twilight knew what caused it. " Quicksilver! " she called and before she even finished his name the unicorn already stood before her. " Any ideas how to deal with this? " he nodded at the Voidian. " Push him to the edge. " the purple mare suggested. The hero smiled. A lot of shouting was heard, after Cyclops succeeded to blind the Voidian. Quicksilver got him near the edge. Guessing her friend's plan, Rainbow Dash fired a rocket, which caused the giant to fall from the edge. " Hey! Look! " Wanda exclaimed. After she turned around, Twilight got confused. The rails weren't broken anymore. " An illusion of some kind, I guess. " Luna supposed " Tricks of darkness. " After they got back on the train, they heard, that the comm device was beeping. Twilight reached it first, but since she had no idea which button to press, she stepped aside and Scotaloo got in front of it instead. After the correct button was pressed, Fury's worried face apeared on the small screen. " I need Twilight and the two Princesses. Where are they? " " Right here, Nick. " Luna spoke. She got in front of the device together with Twilight and her sister. " What's the case? " " I've got especially good news, but also pretty bad news. " Fury spoke " First, we caught Hase. But before you cheer, listen up. We got him in our special prison chamber and we let Cadence speak with him. The results were better than we have expected. We can say, that now Hase is almost the pony he once was. He gave up destroying our dimension and killing us all. Instead, he offered us to share Equestria with the Voidians. But there is a catch. The session with Cadence caused him to realize the real reason for all of the misery he and his parents had suffered. You. Now his entire hatred is focused on you, Princess Luna, Princess Celestia. We sent Angel to stop him, but in that fight, he reforged the Bow and the Robe. Before that he also reforged the Mace. So be careful! Your trip to Canterlot might lead you to a trap! " The transmission ended. Deep inside, Twilight was happy. But sad too. Was the price for the old Hase the death of Luna and Celestia? " All underestimate us! It's time to show them the power of the sun and the moon! " Celestia spoke. Canterlot was no further than 5 or 6 miles away. But, strangely, there were no Voidians at all. " Shouldn't this place be overflowing with them? " Dash referred to the servants of Hase. " It should. " Scoot replied " This leads me to the thought this is probably a trap. " " It's a trick. " Celestia agreed and looked through the window. The city was close. " But I start to wonder, why did he make it so obvious? " This couldn't be explained. Twilight was still thinking. Why would Hase, an excellent tactitian, make his trap so simple? It was obvious, that all of the Voidians didn't just vanish. But the more importrant question was: Where were they hiding? " Can't we locate the Voidians by magic? " she turned to Luna. The princess of the Night shook her head in responce. " For years he has been shrouding this place with dark concealing magic. On a magical level Canterlot is covered with thick layers of mist. " " So... we'r just waitin' ? " Logan wasn't very happy to hear that. " Sad but true. " Sweetie answered his question. After 10 minutes the train finally reached the gates of Canterlot. Even there there weren't any Voidians. The train didn't meet any obstacles all the way to the train station. As the group got out of the train, they saw, that the station was also completely empty. " Is he trying to turn it into a ghost town or something? " Dash asked Twilight. " I'm not sure. " the purple alicorn studied her surroundings. Indeed the whole station was empty. The ponies slowly made their way to the exit. They expected an ambush, but again, there was nopony. " This is getting too easy. " Luna threw a suspicious look at the streets. Either the Voidians were the best in hide and seek, or Hase had learned his lesson in concealing magic. The group tried not to make any noise as they followed the street to the castle. And still, nopony was tracking them and nopony was attacking them. " Maybe that dark guy is trying to scare us to da bones! " Deadpool suggested " If we are frightened from his ghost town, we can't shove a katana in his muzzle! " " Nopony is going to shove a katana in his muzzle! We don't kill ponies! " Twilight spoke to the unicorn with the red spandex. " Oh, come on! It sounds bad the way you say it! We're just going to unalive him or K-word him! " sometimes Deadpool sounded like if Pinkie Pie went crazy. No wonder- he was partially crazy. " Twilight's right! Killing him isn't part of the plan... oh. " Luna just remembered what they'd came for. " Princess, after he's now closer to being himself, can't we use another plan? " Twilight turned to Celestia. " I know you and your friends had became close to him. But he doesn't realize the truth about the Voidians and he'll never accept it. He takes them for innocent victims, that will be satisfied after he grants them a homeworld. Bu the truth is, that the Voidians are monsters. Few Chaotics have succeeded to change the Voidians. Their true nature is destroying everything on their way. They feed off dimensions. If we are defeated and Hase bargains, eventually Equestria will be destroyed. Hase will defend his " folk " , but he will never realize, that all they want is destruction. We need to stop him now. " Celestia replied. " Well, well, well. " a dark figure landed on their way. After it came a little closer, Twilight recognized Hase. Now his mane had a little more light purple colour. The stallion was unarmed, so Luna took immediate actions. A blue bolt of magic flew to the pegasus. He didn't try to dodge it, but stopped it with his chest. Now Twilight noticed, that instead of the scales sacristy, now he had a silver armour with beatiful ornaments. Dragon heads stood on his shoulders. " Instead of the Armour of Extinction, that sounds too cruel, why not the Dragon Doom? It will withstand not only dragon fire at it's maximum temperature, but it also makes me immune to any hostile spells, if fired at it, of course. But let's play fair. " the Dragon Doom vanished and in front of them now there was a pegasus with no armour at all. " At least your last battle, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, will be fair. You have no armour, so I won't be armed too. " the pegasus told the two alicorns. Than he looked at Twilight. Dash in the Iron Patriot landed nearby. Only happiness could be seen in his eyes. " Hase... you don't have to do it. " the purple alicorn hoped her friend would listen to her. " I wish I could. " the pegasus sighed " But they... they are the reason for everything bad, that happened during my whole life. We met in three ages. In all of them they ruined my life and tried to destroy me and my family. " he stared at the Princesses with hatred. " Hase, you don't know the true nature of the Voidians. They won't just live peacefuly. They'll destroy Equestria! " Celestia tried to convince the vengeful pegasus. " How could you be so sure, Celestia? Where does your knowledge originate from ? Books ?!? From my point of view, anypony can be changed. " the ruler of the Voidians answered. " Anypony but the Voidians. " Luna spoke to him. Suddenly Hase vanished, leaving behind some trails of darkness. " I'm afraid I don't have time to chat. " Twilight couldn't find out where the sound came from " Celestia, Luna, prepare for the fight of your life. The others - I would suggest you leave Canterlot. Now! " his voice sounded desperate. Instead of running, the group made a circle around the two Princesses. " There's nothing easier for me than killing them, but protecting you. " an arrow stuck exactly between the two Princesses. When she looked up, Twilight saw a sillouethe hiding in a cloud. The arrow exploded and shrouded everything around them in darkness. Twilight felt she was being pushed away. When the darkness dissapeared, she saw the two Princesses were trapped in an energy field and everypony else were out of it. It was quite big, so the royalties had space for manouvers, but their back- up was blocked. " You never fight your own battles. " Hase materialized from darkness inside the field " Once, you sent Starswirl the Bearded. During my service, you have sent me numerous time to eliminate dangerous criminals and even skillful magicians. 15 years ago you sent my future friends to stop me and imprison me once and for all. Now it's time to see how do you battle by yourself. " Outside the Iron Patriot was trying to breach the shield with her whole arsenal. Nothing seemed to work, but rainbow Dash kept trying. Untill suddenly Hase threw the Furious Nine- Tail outside of the shield. It transformed into the fire drake and swirled around the field. " I would be grateful if you don't interrupt me exactly now, Dash. Everything is going to be as it once was as soon as I deal with the ghosts of my past. " Hase told her and summonned the Cleaving Morningstar. " I thought you said it was going to be a fair fight? " Celestia knit her brows. " Oh, right. I did. " the horrible weapon dissapeared, together with Hase and the force field. " However, you'll have to guard eachother's backs. " balls of pure darkness started pouring at the two Princesses. They guarded eachother's backs. Twilight tried to rush at them, but the fire drake landed in front of them. " Nah- ah - ah! " Hase spoke " Two vs. one. We don't need more. " " Hase, if you're planning to defeat us with these, you underestimate us greatly! " Luna challenged the pegasus. The balls stopped pouring and now Hase's voice was heard again: " I am not underestimating you nor am I overestimating you... " The drake flew away and the silence returned. The ponies regrouped. Than Celestia and Luna noticed something. A big pony was running towards them. This pony resembled... " Father? " both Luna and Celestia ran to the pony, but when they were on the half way there, a hole to the Void opened and the pony fell inside. The two alicorns fell on the ground. When Twilight neared them, she heard, that they were crying. " Reborn to be destroyed. " Hase taunted from the darkness. " Princess... this was probably a trick. Do you remember? Only ponies with power, equal to that of 5 alicorns can bring back from the dead. Hase hasn't got such power. " Those words brought the two princesses back on their hooves. " You're right. . But what was the point of this? " Celestia wondered. " Fear for the closest ones. it isn't just fear, there's something... primal inside of it. Everypony are equal when facing their fears. And your fears, dear Princesses, gave me what I needed. So much fear, enough for me to reforge my shield and create.... the Dreadful Guardian! " Hase appeared from the shadows with a shield, that was as long as him and had rectangualr form. Unlike it's previous form, this one had ornaments and many horrible details. " Face your nightmares come true! " the pegasus triumphed, as dark figures got out of the shield. This reminded Twilight of the enchanted mirror, that once Sunset Shimmer used. The figures became clear and everypony gasped in horror. There was one of the figures for each of the group. " The Headless Horse... with 4 rusty horseshoes? " Scotaloo shivvered. One of the figures was indeed a pony with no head. Those rusty horseshoes made a horrifying noise. " The Scorpion of the Desert Heat! What awaitens us is defeat! " Zecora gasped, as a huge yellow scorpion pinched the near street lamp, cutting it in half. " Jelly! " at first Quicksilver's primal fear sounded ridiculous, but when twilight looked at the figure, that stood against him, she understood him. The jelly was full of junk and had two hollows for eyes and a third for mouth. The creature smiled and opened it's mouth wide. Wanda was also very afraid, so she obviously shared her brother's worst fear. " Your style is horrible! " a pony, that slightly resembled Photo Finish, yelled at Sweetie. The unicorn began to cry. " I am the Great and Powerful Tiara! Nothing can match my magical strength! " a grown up Diamond Tiara alicorn was facing Applebloom. The earth pony was hiding behind a crate. One of the few, that faced their fears, was Logan. He was growling. In front of him there was a pony, covered in yellow furr. The Wolverine's opponent smiled, revealing his beast- like teeth. " Victor. " Logan spoke " Jimmy. Well, nice to meet you again. " Victor replied. Did he just call Logan Jimmy? "Oh, Celestia. Noooo! " Deadpool yelled. Against him there was a clown. Deadpool was afraid of clowns? In front of her and the Princesses there was nothing. Because Hase was their fear. They feared they might lose him forever. " Go away! " Deadpool got out his katanas and jumped over the clown. Before his enemy could react, he stabbed him in the back. The clown fell apart and vanished, levaing only his clothes behind. " That's it! " Twilight guessed the right strategy against the feared " Face your fears! " she yelled at her friends. When she heard that, Zecora smiled. She got over her fears and unleashed a lightning at the scorpion. The monster hissed and vanished. Following Zecora, the twins Wanda and Pietro attacked the jelly. While Quicksilver was distracting it, the Scarlet Witchmare shot a magical blast in it's face. Scotaloo took advantage of the fact, that her enemy had no eyes and made him fall on the ground. While the headless horse was trying to get back on his hooves, Scotaloo eliminated him with an optic blast. Nearby Sweetie jumped over the head of the stylist pony and stabbed him in the back. On Scoot's other side Applebloom jumped and sunk in the street. While the fake Tiara was wondering where was she, she jumped out behind her and kicked her. The fake alicorn rolled down the street. Meanwhile Logan pretended to jump and Victor jumped for real. The Wolverine slid under him and stabbed him with his adamantium clwas. " I wish he was the real one. " Logan commented. " You're brave, I admit. " Hase spoke to them, after all of them got together " But why proect a ruler, that hasn't done anything good for you? " After saying those words the pegasus vanished again. There were still no Voidians or Sentinels and the ponies decided to use that while they can. The group continued on their way to the castle. Portable Magic" I still can't believe we stumbled upon no Voidian or Sentinel. " Logan noted. " I guess it doesn't matter. We're here now. " Luna stood in front of the big gates. They opened and revealed the huge royal library. Guided by Luna and Celestia, the ponies reached the Starswirl the Bearded quite quickly. " Now where could that box be hiding? " Luna wondered, as she searched the rows. " Princess, this section is enormous. isn't there some kind of magic, that would help you locate the box? " Twilight turned to her ex- mentor. " You're right, Twilight. " Celestia agreed. The alicorn concentrated. Yellow oreol surrounded the princess' horn. Yellow flashes of light studied the shelves and the rows. Eventually, a small wooden box appeared in front of her. It was a simple and ordinary box. Nothing special about it. No ornaments, no silver, no gold - nothing. The only thing, that made it clear it isn't somepony's forgotten lunchbox was the shining white seal on it's lock. The seal resembled a sun and a big alicorn stallion stood in it's center, spread his wings. " Your father had a beard? " Scoot's comment broke the mystic athmosphere. " It was modern back in these days. " Celestia replied and touched the seal with her horn. The seal changed it's colour to yellow and now Celestia's figure was in it's centre. The box's cover lifted, revealing an old piece of perchament. " I'll take that, thank you very much. " a familliar voice spoke. Before anypony could react, the scroll was engulfed with darkness and vanished. After they turned around, they saw Hase standing on one of the long stairs, that were used to get books from the upper shelves. " Such a small piece of perchament contains such a powerful spell, interesting. " the pegasus noted and touched the scroll. However, it emitted strong white light and burned Hase. Cursing, he dropped it onto the floor. Before he got it again, Celestia held it with her magic and tried to open it. At her wish the scroll slowly opened, revealing long lost words. " Recipe for... " Celestia started reading. This was the wrong scroll! " Looking for something? " the real scroll waved in front of Hase. Obviously he hadn't touched it at all. One of Celestia's solar bolts flew towards Hase. Before melting in darkness, he threw the scroll away, only to catch it after he re- appeared right bellow it. " You want it badly, huh? " he smiled. " I must say, I'm dissapointed. I thought you were my friends, " he turned to Twilight, Rainbow Dash and the former Cutie Mark Crusaders " , but obviously, you aren't. Wouldn't none of you try to prevent them from melting me? " " Hase, you're confused. " Twilight thought, that if Cadence had success with words, it was worth a try. " The Voidians... aren't as you think they are. They want only destruction, since it feeds them. They won't just simply settle down. " Hase thought for a second, and than came his reply: " Actually, most of them really are scum. But everypony deserves a second chance. I'll give it to them. But first... " a small portal to the Void opened and Hase threw the scroll in it. Before he could even hear Celestia and Luna's yelling and before their destructive spells flew towards him he teleportated away. " It's useless. " Wanda held her head with her forehooves. Everypony's mood was way down. They have failed. For Luna and Celestia it was even a greater failure, since they had lost the one thing, that had left from their father. Nopony, even Deadpool, found any use of continuing. The battle was lost. ' We were so close... ' Twilight thought. For the moment he was thinking what to reply, his mane had changed it's colour several times. And now he would find out about his mistake too late. By the time they returned his army would of destroyed Ponyville. Finally she understood why there were no Voidians or Sentinels - Hase had mobilised them in case the citizen of Ponyville attacked him . All of his Voidians were currently awaiting their main dish - Ponyville. When nopony expected it, a thud was heard. When everypony turned around, they saw, that something big blocked the view of the night sky. The group got out on the balconee. One of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s transport planes was waiting for them. The Helicarrier was waiting high in the skies. Fury and Cadence got off the vehicle. " How was it? " the director asked. " He threw it in the Void. " Luna replied sadly. " That's... not exactly the end. " another voice told her. Luna raised her head to see Vortex. " We're going to bring in some back - up. " he grinned. Rebirth" The situation is horrible. There seems to be no way out. I would like to prove everypony wrong and say: yes, there is a way! " Vortex spoke. The two Princesses, together with Cadence, twilight, dash and Fury had gathered around the table in the Helicarrier's control room. While Mare Hill was controlling the enormous flying machine, Vortex was speaking about his plan. " So... what do you suggest? " Celestia got interested. " The only ways to use this spell is either that Celestia reads it from the scroll, which is now impossible, or that Primal Shine himself conjures it. " " But... that doesn't make any sence! You can't bring somepony back from the dead! " Luna told him. " Yes, there is. Because there is one tinyyy catch, that allows us to do so. He isn't dead. He was destroyed. " Vortex spoke " This gives us an unexpected adavantage. The Reincarnation spell would only work with ponies, that died because of a spell. In the case with your father, who was killed by the Elements of Chaos' elemental magic, that's exactly what we need. Haven't you never heard of it? " " I have. " Celestia knit her brows " But I'm not sure if Twilight is ready for such a procedure. " " I don't doubt, that she's ready. " Vortex smiled " She's the Element of Magic, after all. I am worrying more about what happens after the spell. Even though the power of 5 alicorns is gigantic, such power would knock us out for at least a day. If my son decides to attack the Helicarrier during this day, from a wizard's point of view, we're sitting ducks, because we can't hope, that Primal Shine is going to be in top condition. He might of lost some training. However, we have no other choice and it would be better if we start right away. But Fury, " the alicorn stallion turned to the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. " , we have to perform this spell outside. We should stop the Helicarrier. " " If we do so, we would be sitting ducks not only from a wizard's point of view. " Fury answered. " So you better be quick. " The aircraft hung in mid- air. Twilight and the other alicorns headed for the deck. It was silent. The calm before the storm. " Remember, Twilight. We're all together, together with you. " Celestia whispered in her right ear. Everypony closed their eyes and the magic began. Twilight knew what to do. She just had to imagine the process. The mare imagined the alicorn stallion rising and removing Hase's curse with a swish of a horn. She imagined him ending all of this, putting an end to this apocalyptic future. Obviously the magic worked, since the purple alicorn heard a strange sound and than another one, which sounded like flowing sand. She felt her energy draining to the center of the circle the 5 alicorns have formed. Slowly, a body appeared from their magic. Twilight was sure about it, although she didn't know why. She kept on with the magic. The body soon gained wings, horn, mane and tail. The lavender mare was now barely keeping on her hooves. Finally, when she had no more energy, she collapsed. Her eyes didn't see the success of this spell. Darkness. Light. Fire. Water. Earth. Wind. That were his last memories, or more like the 6 of them combined in a dreadful storm. However, when the stallion opened his eyes, none of them was present. He was on a platform of some kind. It was soaring in the clouds. There was nothing familliar to him on it. Some strange....things with steel wings and the weird material beneath his hooves. When the stalion took it a closer look, he finally noticed something familliar. He was in the centre of a circle. A circle, formed by 5 ponies. Was he being worshiped or something? No, because the ponies were... sleeping. The pony sighed. He would have to wait if he wanted answers. Than he noticed something, that brought him his memories back. " Vortex! " Primal Shine whispered and neared his brother. His greatest enemy was on the ground. Well, he wasn't going to reply him any soon. So the alicorn decided to examine the other bodies. All of them were alicorns. Two of them were completely unknown, but the other two.... Primal Shine's heart beat quickly. The last two alicorns resembled... it couldn't be! That were Celestia and Luna! But both of them looked grown - up. How much time had passed since he.... wait, he shouldn't of been alive. He should of died in the Elemental Storm. And if he didn't, why didn't he have any memories reaching this place. The truth came to the alicorns's mind. He died back than. But now... was he alive again? ' A spell. Death by a spell. ' the ruler thought and grinned. His two smart fillies, apparently reinforced by his brother... had brought him back to life. Obviously Vortex wasn't the beast he once knew . Primal Shine felt a cold breeze blow in his back. The alicorn turned around and saw a pegasus, that was about his size and looked pretty much like Vortex, except that his mane had only one colour - a strange mixture of purple and blue. The pony looked shocked from the fallen ponies. Primal Shine would of been happy to finally ask somepony where he was and what was happening... and which year it was, too. Hase had no words to express his anger. His father, Twilight, Cadence.... were they dead? The pegasus put his left front hoof on Twilight's chest. Luckily, her heart was still beating. The stallion sighed in relief. But who was that alicorn? His coat was white and his cuty mark was a big sun, that somehow looked more threatening than the one on Celestia's flank. His coat and mane were golden, and he also had... a beard with the same colour? If it was longer, Hase would of thought this was a hermit of some kind. But it all fit together... Celestia and Luna weren't able to conjure the extermination spell, so they have summonned the only pony, who can... their big, bad daddy. Hase had no idea how strong Primal Shine was and he didn't want to try it out... yet. The pony against him looked confused. The king didn't know why was this pegasus so tall. Usually the pegasi were half his size. perhaps he ate all of his vegetables? This thought almost made the alicorn laugh, but he held it in. Primal Shine didn't know if this pony was friendly or hostile. Anyway, he decided it would be inpolite to not introduce himself: " Good greetings, noble knave. Sound the trumpets, because forsooth hast thee king returned! " Primal Shine spoke with the Royal Canterlot Accent. The royalty didn't expect laugh. But nothing else came from that pony against him. He was literally rolling on the floor laughing. Primal Shine was just going to demonstrate some of his power, when the stallion got back on his hooves and replied: " Nopony speaks like that since at least a millenia, your highness. The common language is now even used in the palace. Only Luna used to use it briefly after she returned from her exile, but even she got used to, as she called it, the simple language. " " Exile? " this word scared Primal Shine. his daughter has been... exiled? But by whom? He though he would finf that pony and turn him to stone. " Actually, it was Celestia. Luna threatened to bring eternal night... Tartarus, why am I even telling you this? " Hase just remembered he first intended to destroy Primal Shine while he was still vulnerable. " What do you mean? " the father of Celestia and Luna was confused of the sudden interruption. Wait... did he just use " Tartarus " instead of " Primal Shine " ( or probably " Celestia " ) ? Did this mean... Dark smoke surrounded Hase. His long dark purple mane and tail changed their shades as they waved behind the pegasus. The alicorn against him just looked at him suspiciously. " I must admit Nightmare Moon is the queen of the dramatic appearance. However, I'm better when it comes to action! " The pegasus came back to the ground and introduced himself: " Shivver! For this is me, Hase, Master of the Darkness, worse even than the Destroyer! " Primal Shine's heart felt like if it was covered with ice. Worse than the Destroyer? Now he knew why the moon was in front of the sun - this villain was controling it! He was going to kill him and probably his two foals. And now that was something that Primal Shine wasn't going to let happen. His horn shone with golden light. The sun shone from behind the moon. Every time the moon tried to catch up, it was repelled. Eventually, the sun got exactly over Hase. " What, you're going to sunburn me to death? " the pegasus taunted. " Something like that. " the alicorn replied and his horn shone even brighter. Before his enemy could react, a beam of solar light fired from the sun, aiming for him. No sound. Just silent destruction. Nothing could be seen in the blinding beam of light. The sun continued to rain destruction upon the spot where Hase used to stand. Primal Shine smiled victoriously, at least until a small trail of darkness appeared in the light. The alicorn became curious and neared it. The beam was rejected by another beam, darker than any night. Fired from the Spear of Hatred. Hase's feathers were burned and his coat was smoking, but he was still alive. The Spear was surrounded by dark oreol and slowly changed. It kept it's length, but looked more sinister. Instead of just three horns, now the head of the spear represented three ponies - an alicorn, a unicorn and a pegasus. The pegasus and the alicorn were with their back at the ball of darkness in the center of the head. Their wings were forming it's top. The unicorn was facing the dark ball and it's horn was touching it. The darkness became more intense. As sun and darkness fought, the sky lightened and the earth darkened. Eventually, the darkness pushed the energy beam all the way back to the sun. The moon caught up and covered the celestial objest once again. The dusk returned. Hase turned to the alicorn. something more than hatred could be seen in his eyes. " The Staff of Scorn. " Hase ran his hoof across his reforged weapon " Now are you convinced, that I am your worst nightmare? " " Indeed I am... " Primal Shine made a step back " ... but how did you survive this? Nothing can withstand the power of the sun! " " Darkness covers everything! And now I shall finish my deed, destroy you and your heirs! " Hase raised his staff and prepared to unleash a destructive attack upon his enemy, when S.H.I.E.L.D. agents got out and opened fire. Hase looked annoyed, like if the bullets were nothing more than some wasp stings. " Enjoy your last day of living. For tomorrow at this time I shall attack with full power! You and your foals would either surrender and save this land... or I would do it for you. " the pegasus ran to the edge and jumped off it. He spread his dark wings and flew in direction Ponyville. The Last StandEverything was smudged the moment Twilight opened her eyes. It was like if she was trying to open her eyes while in the Ponyville river. A second or two later everything became clear again. She was in the healing room of the castle. Pink drapes separated her from the other beds. Except them and her bed she only saw a small table. The purple mare stood up and sat on her bed. She sighed. Everything was over. Primal Shine had killed Hase and now all what left to them was to figure out a way to go back to the past. She couldn't be happier when one of the curtains was pulled aside with light blue magic and Rarity appeared. Her unicorn friend rushed to the bed. Sitting on the bed, Twilight was with the exact height of her friend. After the hug, which was inevitable, Twilight asked: " Rarity, when are we leaving? " Rarity's smile faded. Twilight wondered was this because of her true love was dead... or probably somepony else also was. " We're not there yet, Twilight. Hase survived, as Fury guessed before. It's unclear how, but now his full arsenal is reforged and he's mobilized all of his armies. Now they are on the north entry to Ponyville. Dash took a flight to see if some rockets from her suit can bring rocks from the mountains down, to smash the Voidians. The armies spread at least half the way to Canterlot. We have no chance of winning. Hase had only given us one - the Princesses and Primal Shine must surrender to him in, " Rarity stared at the watch on the wall, that could be seen. It was next to a big window, that was probably a door which handle couldn't be seen, since there was a big balconee behind the glass. Out there, Twilight could recognize Cadence, Vortex, Luna and Celestia. There was also a fourth alicorn with a white coat and a golden mane. The purple mare guessed he was Primal Shine. " The others got up about a minute before you did. " Rarity knew what she was looking at " So far they can't get Celestia and Luna out of their father's hug. " Twilight laughed. Her unicorn friend never lost her sence of humor. But than she remembered, that there was something more importrant " Rarity, " she turned to the Queen of the Moon " , how is it going with you and the others? " " Nothing new, actually. " the unicorn replied " Hase is keeping his squads on a leash. There were few impatient groups, but Pony and Pepper took care of them. I guess it's their way to reunion. " Twilight slipped off the edge of the bed. Her hooves were barely keeping her up. The alicorn felt Rarity's magic slightly lifting her up in the air. The lavender mare was grateful for her friend's help. The two mares got out. In the hall, outside of the pink curtains, there were her friends, awaiting her. None of them were wearing their superhero outfits, like if it was a long time ago, when the only villains they had to worry about were Discord ,Chrysalis and Sombra. Ironically, now all of these supported them, and one of their friends was their enemy. " Sic transit dies. " Rarity's words had no meaning to Twilight. Usually it was the other way around, so the purple mare looked at her friend with confusion. The unicorn blushed and the reply came immeadietly: " Light Warrior thinks I should be able to speak fluent Lunlatin, since I am the Quuen of the Moon. It means something like " That's how the time passes by. " " " Have you... found about your new powers yet? " the lavender alicorn asked. Her friend's smile became a frown as she explained: " Not really. Even Light Warrior can't find out why. He believes it should appear latest tomorrow. The problem is, that there would be no tomorrow. The final battle is today - one way or another. " Rarity sighed. Twilight's friends neared and greeted her. Than Rarity relinquished Twilight from her magic's grip and, with the help of Applejack, got to the balconee. The other alicorns turned around and nodded as a welcome. After Twilight nodded in responce, Primal Shine thanked her for bringing him back: " I am extrememly pleasured you have participated in my rebirth. " he said. " Believe me, from the two I was the more rebellious one. Primal Shine... well, he was stuck with the fans, up around the point of Celestia's... multiplied by one thousand. It will take him some time to forget his royal etiqette. " Vortex whispered in the purple alicorn's ear. She smiled and replied to Vortex's brother: " Leave the etiquette for later. We're all friends here. " " Very well. " Primal Shine sure sounded a lot better when he wasn't speaking like before " I am indeed very happy I am back. I guess that's normal enough. I'm also happy to see you two. " he rubbed Luna and Celestia's muzzles with his left hoof, which kind off made the atmosphere more relaxing. The two Princesses blushed as their father described Celestia's foal pink mane and Luna's light blue one. Luckily, he laughed, remembering of the old times, and returned to the main topic. " So, you've told me how you're doing and about these two, " his wings spread, pointing Twilight and Cadence " , young fillies, but this still doesn't explain a lot. I don't understand what is my brother, obviously reformed, doing here, and who is our enemy? " " I'll take it from here. " Vortex told Luna and Celestia " Your spell... obviously you didn't hate me enough to make the spell permanent. I awakened ages after that, only to find out your fillies have taken the lead. At first I was planning to conquer Equestria. I found somepony with simillar interests... " Queen Chrysalis got through the door. Twilight admitted, that she looked dazzling: her white coat was in full contrast with the dark sky and her green mane and tail were waving behind her. Her butterfly wings were catching the small amount of light there was and emitting it reflected. She smiled nervously. The purple alicorn knew she wouldn't smile honestly until she has her son in her hug. " O -ho -hoo! Vortex, you old diamond dog! " Primal Shine pat his brother, which made the Dark Emperor grin nervously. " When are you two planning to expand the family tree.... wait a second. " Primal Shine turned back to Chrysalis " We've met before. The Changeling dimension. You're the queen of the changelings, right? What are you doing here? " " My dimension... was consumed. " Chrysalis' beatiful void reflected her grief. " Well, I'm sorry for that. " Primal Shine lost his optimism for a while. " So anyway, who's our enemy? " " He's our son. " Vortex replied " He was magically modified to be the perfect pony to face your foals. Back than they were still unexperienced and I believed I could do any better... " the alicorn shook his head. " I'm responsible for all of this. " " So... actually I would be fighting my nephiew? " Primal Shine asked " Obviously, fighting eachother runs through our veins. " " Now it comes to strategy. " Cadence joined the conversation " How do we defeat an enemy, immune to the power of the sun, the moon, love and friendship? Let's also not ignore his army. " " This won't work. " Twilight was surprised to see Rarity arrive on the balconee " No matter what we threw at him, nothing worked. Except one. " the unicorn looked at Cadence. " Talking? " Cadence guesed. " He won't talk to us, Rarity. " Celestia said the Queen of the Moon " He hates us... and I think we deserve it. We were the ones, who ruined his life. " " His life isn't ruined, your highness. " Rarity smiled " Nopony's life is ruined when she or he has somepony to love her or him. And I love him. You're right, blinded in his hatred, he won't talk to you. But he will talk to me. " 'A.. are you sure? Rarity, I will not risk your life... " Rarity put a hoof on Twilight's mouth and smiled: " Nopony says the power of Love or Friendship works only with it's bearer. I have suffered for too long. But I will not surrender and fall on my faint couch. I shall fight in the name of love! " An oreol with the same colour as Rarity's magic surrounded her. Blinding light made everypony around close their eyes. When they opened them again, they saw, that Rarity's back was covered with a silver armour and a strange scepter levitated around her. With a simple design - a long silver stick, resembling a column with a crescent on it's top - it indicated, that now Rarity was truly the Queen of the Moon. " Are we saving Equestria or what? " she asked. Time was running out quite quickly. After an hour Hase would have no choice but to let the Voidians attack. He wondered how did he even become their ally. If he didn't think they were just innocent victims he would of never done such things. Those monsters were making him nervous. Luckily, the first squad was entirely Sentinels. First Hase thought them for his ultimate creation, but now he realized they were nothing more than killing machines. The pegasus swore to himself he would dismantle all of them ( maybe except Vinyl ). What was it? A large group was coming from Ponyville. Were those troops Royal Guards or Celestia's escort? He could of sent a Voidian raven, but he didn't want to. The ruler of the Voidians decided to wait and see for himself. As the ponies neared, Hase saw, that there were all of Ponyville's heroes. Big Mack, who had taken the form of the Colossus, was slowly walking, making the ground shake beneath his hooves. Near him Applebloom was sinking in the ground and than jumping out of it. The reflection from Scotaloo's visor could be seen from miles away, but now after she was near... What were the light reflections doing there? Hase looked up and saw the moon setting. He tried to stop it but somepony as strong as him, helped by Luna , was keeping it down. Only one pony had such power and Hase hoped she wouldn't appear. But there she was. Rarity was walking between Twilight and Celestia. If there was one thing Hase would never do it was hurting Rarity. Why the hay was she there? Hay? He stopped using " hay " and replaced it with "Tartarus " 15 years ago! What was happening?!? Those, who weren't mutants, were his old allies. Fluttershy showed signs she was going to turn to the Shyulk if something went wrong, as the green sparks in her eyes indicated. The Mark 42 iron Stallion looked as if it was new and was acompanied by the Iron Patriot and Rescue. Previously Hase craved for such technology, which he would use to upgrade the Sentinels, but now, as he compared the two kinds of war machines, he realized, that if he had put some more effort in quality over quantity in those Sentinels the mutants would be extinct by this moment. He cursed. If he was thinking for technology and not destruction when building those they would of been much better. Now, after he looked at them, they looked as old, rusty 30 feet robots, compared to Pony Stark's iron Stallion suit. Probably this was because Pony had whole 41 upgrades of his armour and most of his Sentinels were still first or second version. And, Celestia, they were buggy. Hase thought that if he didn't dismantle them, he would at least upgrade them to the max and turn them to beatiful statues, that would defend the towns if somepony attacked. He liked that idea. The group stopped 35 feet away. Rarity continued to walk forward. That made Hase even more nervous. Was she going to speak with him? The pegasus flew to her. If he was going to speak to her, at least he wanted it to be away from his army. " Rarity... you shouldn't of come. " Hase spoke sadly, as he landed. " Why? Are you... afraid of me? " the unicorn smiled. " You know, that I can't ever possibly hurt you. Why do you torture me by coming here? You also know, that I am not giving up my cause. " he caressed her face with the end of his right wing. " There is always hope, Hase. You're almost there. Just ask yourself, what do you know about the Voidians? " Rarity neared the pegasus. " This doesn't matter... " the stallion tried to retilliate. " It matters, Hase. What if you're wrong? What if you're being kind and caring to those monsters and ignoring your friends and making them take hard decisions? " the Queen of the Moon was worried. " Ask them. Just for me. If you're right, I shall no longer bother you. " Hase frowned and turned around. At a telepathic command another pegasus flew to him. However, when he neared, Rarity saw, that he had holes, filled with darkness, on few spots. This Voidian had a good disguise. " I have made a decision I didn't ask you for. " Hase spoke to him. " Well, of course, my lord. You're our king. " Rarity disliked his obvious flattery. " It's about... the condition. I've agreed to make a compromise - you will not destroy this dimension. Instead, you will be reformed by me and you'll live together. " Hase surely didn't expect for his subject to laugh: " But, your highness, what are you speaking about! We need to feed. Otherwise we can't reform. And most of us will overeat. You see, we are true gastronoms... " Hase summonned the Furious Nine- Tail and slapped the Voidian across the face. " You're speaking about billions of lives! Don't be so ignorant! " he shouted. " They've had their time. Now it's ours. Lead or step aside, my king. " the words of the Voidian were surprising for Hase. So after all this he had fought on the side of.... monsters? The pegasus held his head in his forehooves, as his wings flapped and kept him an inch over the ground. What had he done? Well, anyway, it wasn't late to fix it. " You've failed my expectations! Return to the Void! " the stallion commanded. The Voidian just shrugged his shoulders nad smiled. Than he yelled: " There has been a change in the command! Voidians, attack and take no prisoners! " Hase was stunned. His own subjects had tuned against him. He had no choice but to command: " Sentinels! Thetha Protocol! " A weird calculation noise was heard from the machines as the four- legged pony- resembling Sentinels turned around. Simillar robotic voices kept chanting: " THETHA PROTOCOL: BETRAYAL. ELIMINATE FORMER ALLIES. AT ALL COST. " The stupid ponylike monster sure didn't expect that. While he was blankly staring at the robots, Hase summonned his staff and turned him to dark trails of smoke and ashes. Meanwhile the Sentinels were unleashing their full arsenal. Rockets flew chaotically and smashed in the countless Voidians. The Sentinels' hoof beams ( complete imitation of the repulsors of the Iron Stallion, but, hey, imitation is a flattery) were also doing a fine job, but the Voidians were a lot more than the Sentinels. The giant robots would grant them about two minutes. Now Hase flew back to Rarity. His mane was now with a srange colour between violet and dark blue. " Who would guess. You're right. As you always are. " he smiled. " Well.... " Rarity didn't have time to reply because soon she found out she was in Hase's grip. The two of them hugged and looked in each other's eyes. The violet had permanently dissapeared, leaving Hase with dark blue mane and tail and stunning blue eyes. The two ponies looked at each other for a second and than their lips joined for a kiss. " Score! " Deadpool noted and played a triumphant tune on his weird looking instrument, that was a combination of a piano, a violin and DJ equipement. Meanwhile the iron Patriot dismantled spontaneously and Dash fell out. The Element of Loyalty on her neck shone and so did everypony else's, except for Rarity's. Cadence was separated from Shining Armour, as the pink oreol of love surrounded her. It fired at Rarity and the Elements of Harmony fired at Hase. The two of them shone so brightly, that the sun looked like a small flame. After the two of them landed, it was revealed, that now Hase's armour reflected him being the King of the Moon. The others rushed to them and greeted Hase. " You're a stubborn pony. Kind of reminds me of your father. " Primal Shine smiled. Hase separated from Rarity and nodded at his father. The both of them stood and closed their eyes. A huge hole in the matter of the world opened, slowly sucking all of the Voidians and Sentinels inside. As Twilight looked at it, she saw many things that once were or would be. The Void wasn't like Hase's darkness. It was tempting, really, but Twilight knew those were just the same illusions that made Hase believe the Voidians were good. 4 minutes later, as the last Voidian was sucked in, the primal portal closed. Hase and Vortex opened their eyes. " Well, you lead us. How do we stop that future of happening? " the Dark Emperor asked his som. " Quite simple, actually. We must return to the time when we first fought Sabredance. Our obsolete versions will vanish and we'll only have to return to Equestria on time. " the pegasus replied. " That's why we also need Chrysalis and Sombra to come along. We won't need to reform you, mom, or Sombra either. " Two groups were formed. The first was consisted of the Mane 6, the Elemental Lords, the Avengers, the two Princesses, Hase, Chrysalis, Sombra, Primal Shine and Vortex. The rest were staying. " Make sure I don't destroy the barn. " Scootaloo spoke to Dash. She nodded and that was the last thing the second group saw before their guests from another time vanished in a portal. " Let's don't forget the main attraction... " waves of light flickered as a portal opened and the future selves of the confused participants in the pre- Equestrian expedition poured out, causing a chaotic blast. Twlight only remembered how confused she looked like. Now the roof was gone and the stars could be seen. " Nice job. " Crescent noted. Twilight turned around and saw their Prequestrian friends sitting around a knocked out Sabredance. Obviously the destruction of the roof had caused a stone to fall on his head. " You too. But now farewell, Ms. Crescent. " Thor noticed and bowed. The prequestrians tried to immitate the gesture and for the second time the time travellers ended up in a portal. " Wrong adress? " Derpy was staring blankly at a letter, when suddenly a hole of darkness opened and a big group of ponies fell on her head. " Now that's just great! " the postmare got a bit cross, but it turned to a surprise when she saw what landed on her head. " Princess! " she tried to bow, but her lower half was burried. The group certainltly drew a lot of attention, so the ponies had no choice but to stop by Stark Mansion ( Pepper was surprised by Sombra ringing the bell, which ended with some bruises under his left eye ) and equip the non- flyers with PFDs. Twilight decided she could fly, but realized she had practised even less than Hase. " Don't worry about that. " Dash spoke after she got into the Iron Patriot. " I'm going to teach it to you very soon. " In the late May night a strange group of wings and turbines flew towards Canterlot. Nopony had ever seen such flying fair before. EpilogueBoth Hase and Rarity were nervous. ' That's probably how Twilight felt when she was being crowned. ' the unicorn thought. Celestia's voice could be heard from the balconee: " ... so after I mentioned, that my beloved father and uncle, the long lost Vortex and Primal Shine, have neen announced for our royal advisors and our dear friends Sombra and Chrysalis kindly agreed to help us with the rule over Equestria, it's the moment you've all been waiting for - please greet the new King and Queen of the Moon, Hase and Rarity! " The two tall ponies walked out on the balconee. The crowd cheered so loudly they couldn't hear their own thoughts. Down in the crowd they could recognize their friends: Applejack as Captain Equestria, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash in the Iron Patriot suit, Pony Stark without the suit togther with Pepper, Pinkie Pie was hidden behind an enormous cake, The Lords, Hawk, the Black Widow, Thor and even Nick Fury. His black clothes were in full contrast with the crowd. It surely was more pleasant later, in the café. All of them were celebrating Rarity's and Hase's crowning with Pinkie's cake. As for the paparazzi, Hase had covered the windows with pure darkness and Blaze had molten the keyholes of the front and the back doors. " What do you plan doing next? " Twilight asked. " I should go to the Moon, of course. Rarity decided to stay here for a month more. Anyway, she would take her former form. We don't need another wave of paparazzi in Ponyville. " Hase smiled " For one month the Moon should be ready to meet it's new queen. " Rarity smiled and delivered Hase a small kiss on the cheek. Spike was sitting aside, so hase neared him and whispered in his ear: " I heard there are dragonesses with scales like silver on the Moon. probably you should pay me a visit some time in the future. " " Yes, but for now I would just prefer to taste Pinkie's extremely delicious looking cake. " the small dragon noted. Everypony agreed. THE END
Beyond Darkness" Yuuuupeeey! " Pinkie Pie was the only pony, who was enjoying the ride through the portal. It's shadows weren' t very laughable, but Pinkie enjoyed, as if it was a waterslide. The ride lasted unusually long. Even the Princesses and Vortex were riddled. Dim light made the ponies visible and the ride wasn't so scary... if there weren't the Voidians. Horrible scratching, screaming, yelling and other sinister sounds were to be heard from outside of the tunnel. However, this gave Twilight long enough time to think over what happened and discuss it with the others: " So, where do you think he'd be sending us? " " With our bad luck - strait to Tartarus. " Pony replied, but his humor didn't lift anypony's mood this time. The iron Stallion looked confused from this, so he just let the conversation to the others. " What did he mean with " more like when " ? " the other armoured pony in the crew, Rainbow Dash, was however interested. " Princess, is there anyway he might be sending us back in time? Or in the future.... wait a second. " an unexpected memory slowly re - appeared in Twilight's mind. How once her future self tried to warn her for something, that was going to happen in the near future. However, the time- travelling spell didn't proof good enough and the future Twilight vanished before she was able to finish her profound. Back than, the lavender mare had tried everything to prevent " the Apocalypse " , since future twilight looked horrible: she was wearing a strange " ninja " outfit with many " katana " holes in it, as Pinkie had later commented, she had a scar under her left eye, an eyepatch on the right and her mane looked like it was electrified - it stuck in all directions. Eventually, Twilight's paranoya made her look exactly the same and when the time for " the Apocalypse " came, Twilight just realized her future, or her present, self was just trying to tell her not to worry about stuff so much, but when she tried to tell this to her past self, she just ended repeating the words of her future self, which panicked her earlier. " But... you were only able to stay in the past for mere seconds! " Dash noted, after the alicorn refreshed her friends' memories. " And what if he used the power of the Void to stabilize this process? " the young princess replied and looked at Vortex. He just made a strange muzzle and replied to her stare: " Time is a strange thing: the construction of the spell you have used took Starswirl the Bearded months. However, he wasn't a Chaotic... and he only focused on the travelling back in time. Travelling faster and ending up in the distant future is something, that hasn't been researched... ever. But time in the Void, or in a portal, flows differently. With the power of the Chaotic it could easily be manipulated to be turned to a worm hole, leading to the future... perhaps. But I fear what we might face on the other of the tunnel. " " If we ever exit it. " Blaze commented A cry was heard from the back part of the group. ' Rarity. ' Twilight thought. Since Rarity realized what Hase did to save her from becoming Nightmare Rarity again, she wasn't able to hold in her tears. That had a weird effect on her new body. Her coat emitted weaker light, and her mane waved in a synchron with her cries. Twilight was concerned. First Rarity realized, that she is the new Queen of the Moon, and now this... Rarity had just fell in love for Hase for the second time and he had to sacrofice himself. Of course, this just made her love stronger. The unicorn had a broken heart. The alicorn sighed. She didn't know where ( or when) they were going, she didn't know what to say to Rarity, she didn't know what to do after they reached their destination, she didn't know absolutely anything. However, she knew one thing, and was pretty sure the others would of agreed: they were going to bring Hase back, to cast this Essence of Death of him. " Something's coming. " Hawk spoke and stretched his bow. The end was near. The glorious trip ended with falling in the garbage. A week - long adventure, which proved fateful for a whole realm, with a bad end . Celestia wasn't even sure if the Prequestrians have really defeated sabredance. No matter how much grief she felt, a small feeling she was trying to ignore untill now sneaked into her mind: she was right. From the beggining. It was a great risk to accept Hase for a member of the team. He was friendly, loyal, good... hero? Maybe. But the signs... the Elements of Chaos. A.I.M. . Vortex. The Weapons of Destruction. The Nightmare Spirits? It was obvious he would end up evil. The princess of the day bit her lip. Now the pegasus just dumped them somewhere at sometime and was probably already preparing his army for an invasion of Equestria. The almighty alicorn... was helpless. Blasted into oblivion. At least she didn't have to look at the fall of her kingdom. ' I wouldn't say so. ' the telepath Emma Frost spoke in her mind. The princess slowly raised her head from the pile of scrap. There was something familliar about the landscape. These low houses, those dust- covered streets, this square... it was the square in front of the mayor office. Ponyville. Yet something was different. The sky was clear and what was visible shook the both of the Princesses. The sun. And the moon in front of it. Solar eclipse was considered to be rare. Usually Celestia and Luna made this on April's Fool day, one of their small jokes, that remembered them, that no matter that they are the almighty rulers, masters of the sun and the moon, they were also just two sisters, who enjoyed a good joke. But the Moon wasn't joking. The sky object looked more threatening and dark than ever. It looked like if it consumed light. And it did consume, because it was way darker than ususal. It was probably just noon, and it was dark like if it was dusk. " What has happenned to the Moon! " Light Warrior and the other Moon Ponies looked far more worried than the others. It was their home world, after all, so Celestia understood them completely. She didn't like how the Moon hid the sun. All of that light was for the ponies. She focused. A huge amount of energy flowed in her horn. The sun sped up it's movements. It was working. The sun left the moon behind and it's light spread. The Princess smiled. The others cheered. And something unexpected happened. The moon also sped up it's movements, leaving a trail of darkness behind. The celestial object stood in front of the star and once again the eternal dusk. Celestia angrily stared at Luna, but her younger sister looked more sad even than her. Her anger dissapeared and she asked: " Is there anything wrong Luna? " " It ... doesn't obey my orders. The Moon moved by itself. I.. I can't move it. " Luna looked confused and worried. celestia tried to imagine what would happen if she wasn't able to control the sun anymore. That thought horrified her, so she tried to think of something else. Luckily, soon the group had to focus on something else. The creature was hungry. It snarled. The others also moved forward. It was time to feast. " Holy moly! " Applejack looked surprised from the unnoticed appearance of the beasts. Celestia, Luna and Vortex stood in front of the others. The creature laughed... was this really laugh? Suddenly, completely unexpected, the beast spoke: " You even don't now what I am, do you, newbies? Fury is getting more desperate than I have possibly imagined. " " You are a Voidian. " Twilight replied The rest of the beasts laughed together with their leader. There were all kinds of beasts... octopie, giant snakes, gigantic vultures, dog- like creatures, and the leader was something, that resembled a lion with wings, a snake for a tail and long dragon claws. The only thing in common, was that they all were pitch black and their lines were a little smudged. The leader revealed his teeth and replied: " You get an A, hornhead. Most of my lunches think me for a chymera. So you'll have the privilege to be eaten last and to choose from whom. " Do you actually know who are you talking too? " the Iron Patriot's turret aimed for the beast. This just made the Vodian Chymera smirk, again revealing his sharp teeth. " Let me guess... three a - la - minutes, ten main dishes and the rest are for desert. " the beast taunted them, counting them with one of sharp nails on his claw. " No, you are currently speaking to three princesses, a queen, an emperor, 7 lords, a master archer, a pony with breath - taking anger problems, a master - assasin, a small squadron of master magicians, a genius, technocrate... " Dash didn't quite remember the full list of Pony Stark's titles, so the technocrate genius had to join in himself: " Equantropist, billionaire, playcolt. " he nodded her to continue. " ... and the best flyer in Equestria. Believe me, you won't ever forget this. " the War Marechine finished her profound and her shoulder turret fed a dozen of energy bullets to the Chymera- like Voidian. Unlike the Nightmare Spirits before, it proved effective. The beast fell apart. Inside her suit Dash grinned and the fight began. Rockets and magic were most effective. Stark and Dash still had some left from their trip, and they fired untill their clip was empty. But they still got the pulse minigun, repulsors and unibeams. 5 Voidians were obliterated by Mark 42's Unibeam. The Voidians didn't stand a lot of chance. Luna, Celestia and Twilight had formed a circle and magical bolts killed every Voidian. Thunders and Tesseract bolts ( or Tessabolts, as Loky called them ) were wiping out whole squads. The group had fought in many fights and had a lot of experience. The Lords of the Elements were guarding their backs. Streams of flame and water stopped the Voidians from coming too fast. Landrock just hit the ground and several Voidians turned to a shish - kebab after a huge crystal stuck from the ground. The dirt under the hooves of some of the pony - like Voidians engulfed them and they sunk in the ground. A Voidian Cocatrix tried to rip off Glace' head, but Hydro hit him with a water stream like with a whip, which bought Glace enough time. He spun and freezed his head. Luckily, it didn't petrify him. " Just crappy replicas. Were we really that afraid from those guys? " he asked, as Vortex passed nearby, opening portals to the Void under the feet of a group of Voidians. His chaotic skills proved useless, but with some creativity they worked again. One of the Voidians got it's head turned to a mug and fell directly into the portal. The Emperor of Darkness replied: " They are usually more fierce. It's like if they wish us to get distracted from something. " " Look! " Applejack noticed something scary. A whole pack was running away from the fight, frightening the ponies, who had gotten on the street. " Oh, ya'r nat killin' mah hometown ' ponies. " Captain Equestria threw his shield at one of them, who was going to hit a filly. It broke his concentration for long enough, so that AJ could get her shield back and hit the Voidian in the head. " The Avengers! " the filly cheered. " More of them have fled. " Hawk was standing next to her, together with Light Warrior and Natasha Romanoff. " We shouldn't let them hurt more civillians or break in further in the town. It's almost like they are looking for something. " the red- maned mare noted. Applejack nodded. Hawk fired several arrows, each one of them made a Voidian fell. Some of them were still alive, as the trio caught up, so the Black Widow performed a spectacular kick, which broke the necks of three of them. But there were still some of them alive. Light Warrior got out his sword and his horn was surrounded by a light oreol. The sword turned to a crescent, that emitted light, and the moon pony threw it at the Voidians. It slashed through the air, eliminated the danger for the civilians, and returned back to him, again turning in a sword. Light Warrior smiled and together with Hawk, AJ and Natasha ran back to the fight. " SHYULK SMAAAASH! AAARGH! " Shyulk was just having fun. He grabbed two Voidian birds and used them as boxing gloves to hit another two Vodians. After they fall apart and turned to darkness, Fluttershy grinned and hit the ground with her forehooves. A crack opened and two Voidians unintentionally ended in Shyulk's reach. A strong punch made them fly high in the sky and turn to smoke . The Voidians were much more than they originally thought. It was a whole batallion. No matter how fierce they fought, there were still many of them. From using the repulsors too often Dash and Stark had to rest for a while, waiting for the weapon sistems to become operational . Thorse and Loky were getting tired too, they already had some wounds. The Lords barely held the line. The only ponies, that weren't that tired yet, were the Scarlet Witchmare, Emma Frost and Johny Blaze. Arcane magic certainly wasn't good for the Voidians. A magical shield guarded the trio. Whenever a Voidian tried to strike, the attack backfired right at him. Pink balls of energy rained upon the enemies, causing random hillarious effects, as a cup - headed pony Voidian , some birds with no legs and other kinds of hex. The Voidians' minds were also open for an attack. Emma made some of them fall on the ground and attacked the ones, that tried to breach Wanda's shield in her diamond form. After they fell, Emma smiled at Wanda : " A mare's best friend. " The Voidians had no souls, which automatically made them immune to the Penance Stare. However, heated chains proved their weak spot. The Ghost Biker swung his chains at a Voidian. It wrapped around him and the Biker pulled it, turning his enemy to ashes. The ones, who the chain missed, were ran over by the Biker's sinister ride with flaming tires. But the three of them were also at the limit of their powers. The whole group desperately needed somepony. Finally, they ended up surrounded by the remaining Voidians. The ugly creatures laughed at them and tightened the circle. ' is this the end? ' Twilight thought worried, as the monsters' grip tightened and tightened.
Familliar Faces" Reinforcements incoming, newbies! " a voice sounded over the creepy laugh of the Voidians. One of the creatures actually said: " Oh, no. " Sudden fog covered the whole square. The ponies weren't able to see anything. They just heard other ponies and the Voidians' screams. From time to time there was a sudden outburst of red or white light, and sometime there was a weaker purple one, but otherwise nothing outside of the group was visible. " Hey, we might want to see something from this, if you don't mind? " Loky turned to Breeze. The six - winged pegasus nodded in responce. A strong wind, guided by his front wings, his bat wings, split the fog in half, but before Twilight was able to see anything, the fog thickened again and a strange voice warned them: " Hidden you must stay, otherwise... you're prey. " " Hey, wasn't that Zecora? " Rainbow Dash was confused. And after she thought about it, Twilight realized, that the voice really sounded like the one of Zecora. Well, it would of been nice, if they had a friendly pony, zebra in this case, to explain them what's happening here. But something was still unclear. What was Zecora doing? Was she actually fighting Voidians? The purple mare knew, that Zecora mustn't be underestimated, but yet... fighting Voidians? That was way beyond her possibilities. Emma Frost was also confused. The fog looked like it followed somepony's orders. Emma Frost didn't ever get to know Zecora personally, altough she had to spy on her once or twice to be sure, that she wouldn't be able to find A.I.M.'s secret Everfree facility. The unicorn wondered what had happened to A.I.M.. She hoped, that the ponies, that stood bellow her with Wanda, Johny and Hase, were going to run the facilities and catch up with Stark Industries. But what if they were just doing nothing? Emma's thoughts were interrupted by an unknown presence. Unknown mental presence. She quickly closed her mind for the unknown attacker and warned the others: " They have a telepath with them! " That wasn't good. The screams of the Voidians have stopped, but Twilight wasn't sure if those " reinforcements " were friendly or hostile. When she heard Emma, the alicorn got even more scared. An unknown pony was now reading hers and everybody else's minds! But before she can perform a mind- protecting spell, the mare heard a voice in her head: ' Ttt...twilight? ' the purple alicorn recognized this voice pretty easily. She didn't believe her ears... or in this case her head. This voice couldn't possibly belong to the pony she was thinking of, but yet she replied: ' Sweetie Belle? ' ' Yes! her excitement could even be felt in her head ' Girls, where have you been? ' ' What do you mean? We were on a mission, that was well - known, according to Princess Celestia. ' ' The Princess is.... with you? ' Sweetie Belle hardly believed her words. But in her mind there wasn't use of lying, since Sweetie, with her yet to be explained telepathic powers would of been able to check this quite easily. She was silent for a minute, obviously checking the words of Twilight, so Twilight spoke again: ' Both of the Princesses are with us, yes. They decided to join us near the end of the journey. But what do you mean under " Where have you been? " We were gone only for a week! ' ' A week? Twilight, dear, you'll see, that it isn't just a week. ' ' Since when does Sweetie use " dear " in a conversation ? ' Twilight thought, this thime to herself. There was something strange about Sweetie, asides from the telepathic skills. Her voice sounded too mature for just a filly, it was something like a mixture of hers and Rarity's voice. Apparently really more than " just a week " had passed. The alicorn mare once again wondered what Hase had done. But her doubts were ended with the reveal of four figures. On the left side was a unicorn mare with a white coat and purple - pink mane. No doubt, that was Sweetie Belle... but she wasn't a filly anymore. She was about Twilight's size. Her mane style resembled the one, that Rarity used to have before turning to the Queen of the Moon. She smiled, but not half as widely as she did while she was a filly. On her chest there was a strange badge: a circle with an " X " in it. But the most strange thing about her, was that a weird purple sword, emitting the same light as her horn was floating next to her. Twilight left with her mouth open. The other figures also looked somehow familliar. On the right side there was a yellow earth pony mare, who kind of looked like Applejack. However, her red mane was shorter. Applejack smiled, threw away her shield and rushed at the mare, yelling: " Applebloom! Cam here, yah filly! " But as Applejack nearly touched her sister, who was now obviously her age, something strange happened. Applejack passed through Applebloom. It was like this was just an image of Applebloom. The Captain was confused. Applebloom looked towards Sweetie. The purple- pink maned mare nodded: " They... they are real, dear. " Now it was Applebloom's time to smile. The two sisters ran at eachother, bumped and fell on the ground laughing. " So nice tah see yah, sister. It's been so long! " Applebloom even cried. That confused AJ: " It's been justa week, Applebloom! " Her sister looked back at her strange. She didn't believe her. And than Applejack noticed a strange symbol on her chest. A badge, consisting from a circle and a X. The other two mares also joined the reunion. One of the mares had an orange coat and a purple mane. The mask of the Iron Patriot armour lifted and Rainbow flew towards the grown - up Scotaloo. She landed nearby and smiled. Scotaloo raised her head and smiled back. But something about the orange pegasus scared Dash: on the place of her eyes there was a pair of strange looking sunglasses. Not exactly a pair, actually. A long, red glass or something like that hid both of her eyes and was attached to metal parts. It didn't hide her forehead, but it looked weird. And very sci - filly too. " An... interesting choice of sun glasses. " Rainbow nodded and Scotaloo's smile somehow faded. " It isn't just about style, Rainbow Dash. " the orange pegasus spoke while hugging Dash. A badge with an X fell on the ground. Scoot picked it up and put it back on place. Some kind of magic held it. And the last mare... was Zecora, but not the way they knew her before. Her mane was longer than usual and fell free, instead of being held in the zebra's traditional manecut. She was wearing a gray hood with an X badge on the chest and was floating above the ground. She smiled to Twilight and her eyes became white. The fog vanished and her eyes came back to normal. That made Twilight shivver. " Your noble team I must esteem. Finally returned you have and fly again may the peace dove. " Zecora smiled at the Princesses. " Errr.... what does the striped want to say? " Pony Stark was confused. Zecora turned to him and replied: " Rare will I not speak in rhymes, and to make them difficult is... sometimes. " " That is confusing. I must hire a translator. " the Iron Stallion noted. Pinkie laughed. Scotaloo stepped in front of the other three and spoke: " Well, let's leave the santimental part for later. We have a long story to tell and it's getting dark. You don't want to stay outside when it gets dark. " " I like your style, young filly. " Rainbow smiled and landed next to Scoot. The mare smiled back and answered: " Thanks, Dash, but it has been a lot of time since we were young fillies. The world has changed. But we must go. " Twilight was interested. What has happened? Rogue Moon, Voidians, adult Cutie Mark Crusaders... it was going to be a long story. ' You are absolutely right, Twilight, you have to know what happened. I'll explain. ' Sweetie Belle spoke in her mind, and than spoke for real: " Guys, do you have any idea how long it has been since your departure? " " One week? " Dash made a guess. Sweetie waved her head: " It has been 15 years. " When Celestia heard that, her heart stopped for a second. She and Luna were missing from Equestria for 15 years? No wonder the moon was behaving so strange. " But what has happened to Equestria without us? " she asked. Zecora frowned and replied : " In your absence many evil things happened had. To tell it I won't be glad. This story to Psylocke I shall leave, otherwise my rhymes can deceive. " " Who is Psylocke? " Dash was confused. " I am Psylocke. " Sweetie replied. " Come on, Sweetie, I'm sure you were able to think of a better name! " Rarity came to the front of the group, with Light Warrior behind her. Now it was Sweetie's turn to be confused: " Rrrarity? What has happened to you? " she spoke after hugging her. Before Rarity was on the back of the group and Sweetie probably didn't see her. " Always your older sister. " Rarity joked " Well, it is a sad story. " the eyes of the unicorn mare filled up with tears again. " You haven't heard ours yet to decide what's sad. " Scotaloo nodded. " Oh, it is sad. " Rarity replied through tears. It was hard for her to speak right now, so Light Warrior took the responcibility to tell the story: " Released from the poisoning effect of the Nightmare, Rarity was elected to be the new Queen of the Moon and the folk of the Moon Ponies. Now she has to take the throne, since our king-to-be, Hase , sacrificed himself for our whole folk. Even if we can't bring him back to good, we shall never forget his noble deed. " " What do you mean? I though the Princess of the Moon was Luna? " Sweetie Belle was even more confused. " She is the Princess of the Night and the Ruler of the Dreams. There is a difference. " the unicorn responded. " And why haven't we never heard of the so - called moon ponies? " Scoot asked. Light Warrior didn't have any trouble answering to that either: " You may know us... as the Nightmare Spirits. But Hase, the beloved of our queen, willingly took the curse of our whole folk upon himself, turning to a villain. Now Rarity is our Queen, the Queen of the Moon and the Master of the Bright Side of the Moon. " " Wait... that's new. What is the Bright Side of the Moon. " Rarity had stopped crying, only her eyes were still a bit red. " It's obvious, my queen. " Light Warrior replied " The two rulers of the Moon represent it's two sides: the Bright... and the Dark. Sometimes the Queen is the Bright, sometimes the Dark. It isn't set to a specific ruler, it's different for every one. As you can understand from your shining coat, you represent the Bright Side, my Queen, the one, that the ponies in Equestria see... or used to see. The two rulers of the Moon have mysterious magical powers, based on their Side of the Moon. After the crown appears on your head, my Queen, I shall start to train you. I fear, that those powers may prove importrant for bringing our King back. " " Wait... if you rule the Bright Side... does this mean... " Sweetie murmled " Our King rules the Dark Side, yes. " Light Warrior frowned. " Well, that kinda explains da Moon's freaky beheivia' " Applebloom said. " What's so freaky about the Moon? " Luna got interested. " It's easy to tell, your Highness. " Light Warrior's frown got even more sad " Without you or my Queen to navigate the Moon, Hase had taken it over. And now Equestria faces... the Dark Side of the Moon. It explains why it's so dark. As you probably know, the Bright Side of the Moon reflects the Sun's light and shines, throwing light over the world, especially on full moon. As it's position changes, it looks like the Moon becomes thinner and thinner, but this isn't the Dark Side, just the half of the Moon is in shadow. The Moon reflects the sunlight, because the sand in the Bright Side contains Moon glass and other light- reflecting crystals. But the Dark Side's sand... is made mostly of lumendevorantis crystals. " " Lumen de what? " even Luna was confused from the name. " Lumendevorantis - translated from the anient language of our ancestors - Lunlatin, it means light - devouring. This mysterious mineral absorbs light and stores it as energy. We suspect, that in ancient times, those dark crystals were created with magic, because they are very strange: they can store an unlimited amount of energy, and they never run out. If they did, we should of exhausted them millenia ago. But no, they grow back. That's why there is only one lumendevorantis mine - there isn't any need for another. " " What kind of villain should of created those crystals of darkness? " Luna wondered out loud, but Light Warrior just laughed at this profound: " Villain? Princess Luna, those crystals are the reason our technology is so more advanced than yours. A crystal, only a week old, no matter of the size, if constantly exposed to the sun, can power a three ton machine! Month old crystals can be recharged only one day per week and it will still be able to power that machine! With the age the number of recharge needs becomes lower and lower. The oldest crystal of them all is the Moon's core. Probably the first lumendevorantis crystal ever created, it is the reason for the moon to be populated. Without it, the gravity would of been 6 times lower than the one of your world, " the unicorn knight told the Princess of the Night " , Princess Luna. With so much magic built in, it holds our atmosphere in place. You see, the Moon is soaked with magic. It's heart is magic. " he smiled. " And how does the core recharge? I suppose it isn't directly exposed to the sun. " Celestia became curious. If she only knew the Moon was so special... " That's right. " Light Warrior nodded " Princess Celestia, the reason, that the core of the Moon doesn't lose power is the so - called intentiometaphora phenomenon. " " Could you please stop using your ancient latin terminology? " Luna interrupted the unicorn. " OK, than charge transfer. If the lumendevorantis crystals are touching eachother, over time they will equalize their energy, I mean in percents. The core is always fully charged, most of the crystals are too. Even though the core hasn't got any access to sunlight, the whole dark side of the moon charges it. That's why this ore is so importrant - the crystals are able to recharge themselves, and we dig them fully charged. We have other sources of power too, but those crystals aren't just the key to our civilisation, it's the reason the Moon is being populated. " Light Warrior finished. " But let's return to the other thing. Why are they calling you " Psylocke " ? " Rarity asked her sister. " This is my code name. My hero name. " Swetie Belle replied. " Your hero name? " the purple- meaned unicorn was confused. " Yes, you know, the name I use while using my powers and rescuing ponies together with the rest of the Avengers... duh? The same way Pony is the Iron Stallion, Fluttershy is the Shyulk, etc. " Sweetie ended her sister's confusion " Last time I checked you weren't part of the Avengers. " Pony joined the conversation. Sweetie Belle laughed and answered him: " The ponies won't call you the Avengers anymore. You are known as the original Avengers, the ponies, that started it all. The team, known as the Avengers, now includes far more ponies, far more heroes, split in three groups: the Technocrates, the Living Miracles and ... the X- Ponies. " " Oh, so that's what the X stands for! I was going to say... X- citing! X - treme! " Pinkie bounced nearby. " We would appreciate a proper explanation. " Celestia noted. " Yes, dear. And why are you all part of the third? " Rarity asked. " The Technocrates are the ponies, whose superpowers origin from technology. You, " Scoot turned to Pony " , will join them. Their leader, however, is a bit ... extreme. Her name is Omega Sentinel... She's ... well, she's Vinyl. " " So... what are ha' super powers? Leave da town for a week and ol' of ya become superheroes. " Applejack wondered. A fair procent of Ponyville's villagers were now superheroes. That was confusing... a lot. " Her powers... " Scotaloo was unsure " ... is connected to a long story, including our own. You sure you wanna listen for so long? " ' I'm tired of stories. ' Rainbow thought. This week's stories were probably able to fill up a normal - sized book. But anyway, they were going to hear this story now or later, so Dash preferred to hear it now. " Go on, tell me about it. We'll have to hear a lot of stories these days anyway. " the pegasus sighed. " It's the whole story of the mutants: mutants consist the X- ponies. Before this team was separate from the Avengers, but after Hase' army took over Manehatten, we had no choice but to move. " Scoot spoke " The X - ponies exist thanks to Dr. Charles Xavier. It is a very old organisation, it exists since 40 years... " " You mean it existed when we left? Was it hidden? Equestria had heroes 25 years before us? " Twilight was confused. " You see, we had to hide. Mutants weren't accepted well in the society, as Wanda and Emma told you 15 years ago. And yes, they are mutants too. The definition for a mutant is a pony, who has extraordinary skills since the day he or she is born. Even if we stop Hase and you return 15 years ago and this apocalypse never happens, we'll still be mutants. We found about our powers 2 months after you left. Most of the ponies doubted you'll ever return, so we all lived by Granny Smith and Big Macintosh. But than strange things began to happen... " " Ah found out ah could walk through walls... for real. My mutation is the ability tah phase my body and anything that I touch. It was a bit confusing when my hooves went through the apple tree insteada hitting it. " Applebloom blushed, as she remembered about it. " One question, sugarcube. Is Big Mac a mutant? " Applejack asked her sister. " Yep. Usually the mutant genes cover da whole family. We call 'im " Colossus " . He's able ta turn his own skin ta steel and possesses big power. About yah... sometimes there are exceptions, but anyway, you're like us. " Applebloom replied. " Except that they would probably send you to Living Miracles, since you aren't a mutant. " Scoot noted. " Anyway, the year after... after Granny Smith died we were approached by an adult stallion - Professor X ... " " I would ask you to use the normal names together with the hero ones, If you don't mind. we're getting very confused. " Rarity said Scoot. " Alright, we were approached by Professor Charles Xavier a.k.a. Professor X . He offered us to learn us how to control our powers. We agreed, and Big Mac said " yep. " and so we moved to Manehatten, where Professor X' s mansion used to be. We were given codenames. ... " " Sorry, but what were your powers,kid ? " Dash asked. " Dash, I asked you not to tell me I am a kid! " Scoot got a bit cross. " OK, than what are the rest of the pack's superpowers, bub? " Scotaloo stopped walking for a second. Everypony stopped too and wondered what had just happened. Scoot's muzzle wrinkled. She got even more cross than before. " Don't.... use... that... word... Never... again. " she growled. " Ouch! " Sweetie noted and her expression became a little unpleasant. " What? it's just a casual word! " Dash defended herself. " No, no... Scoot is having a kind of a quarel with a pony, who uses this word. Better don't use that word again. Use " Cyclops. " " Sweetie told the pegasus. " Your code name, I guess? " Dash spoke " Yes. " Scotaloo chilled a bit, but it became obvious, that Sweetie had to continue the story. " So... you want to know about our superpowers? As you saw, all of us are mutants. My code name is Psylocke. I have telepathic skills like Professor X and Emma, but I can also create things out of magic... like that blade I used during the battle. However, they aren't real and dissapear as soon as I end my magic, so I mainly use it for weapons. You heard about Applebloom's powers from herself, she just missed to tell you, that her code name is Apple's Pride. " That made Applejack make a wide smile. The Apples shouldn't of been underestimated. " Scoot... her power... well, it destroyed the Sweet Apple Acres farm. " Sweetie became even more worried. Scoot got cross again. She didn't need to be reminded, that she had destroyed her own home. The pegasus just sighed and joined the conversation: " My eyes are portal to another dimension, only consisting of energy. It can not be closed and as a result of this, if open, my eyes constantly unleash a destructing beam of red energy, destroying everything on it's way. It can be only blocked by ruby quartz, my visor is made from it, vibranium and adamantium. When my power first manifested I cut the farm in half. Sorry AJ! " Applejack looked more cross than Scotaloo. Luckily, Applejack only asked: " What's adamantium? " Cyclops shut up again. This question was obviously a taboo for her. Twilight wondered what kind of pony was able to make Scotaloo so angry. Usually she was very friendly. The alicorn wasn't sure she wanted to meet that pony. " It's an alloy of vibranium. " Sweetie quickly answered the question and changed the topic " On the way to Manehatten, near the Everfree, Zecora joined us too. She has the ability to control the weather with her mind... " " From now on, you may call me Storm. " Zecora suddenly spoke " .... yes, that's her code name. In the professor's mutant training facility, masked as Xavier's school for gifted youngsters, we learned how to control our powers and use them for good, since there were many villainous mutants, that believed we should rule over Equestria, because we are better than " the dicease called Equine Sapiens! " , I am quoting Magneto. Yes, for a while Magneto was our primary enemy, but the year after we joined, the other villains, led by his right hoof - a changeling mutant, called Mistique, took the rule. Realizing they want the world for themselves, not for mutantkind, Magneto joined the X- ponies. That's our story. " Sweetie finished. " And what about Vinyl ? " Twilight reminded her. " Oh, right. Thanks Twilight. " Sweetie smiled nervously " But first, are you absolutely certain you want to hear about it? The story is very sad. It reveals only a part of the horrors Hase had brought upon this land. " " Sweetie, this isn't our Hase. I'm sure you remember how caring he was, while he was taking care of you three. " Twilight tried to defend her firend " We must bring him back. For his and our sake. " " You think we haven't tried? This is way harder than separating Luna from Nightmare Moon, I must warn you, Twilight. " Scoot said the purple alicorn " We didn't have the Elements of Harmony, really, but Cadence and Shining Armour tried really hard, and it didn't work. I mean at all. " " Shining! Are they with Cadence OK? " Twilight got worried. She didn't want to lose her brother. " They are both OK. They're now the rulers of Equestria. " Scoot calmed her down. " But if love can't stop him, will friendship be able to deal with him? " " We don't know. " Dash told her " But we must try. Anyway, what was the story? " " It's about.... Octavia and Vinyl. " Sweetie began " You know, that they are best of friends. Though their interests are completely different, they've been friends since their foalhood. How things turned out to be... for a while Octavia's heart was broken. " " Why? " Rarity was confused " Octavia has ... an unpleasant mutation. Mostly for herself. When she touches ponies, she drains their strength and gets their abilities for a while. She's a part of our team, but she will never be able to touch anypony. Her code name is Rogue. " " Oh. " Rarity felt sorry for Octavia. Such a talented mare was limited by her mutation. Not able to touch anypony.... Rarity felt awful only from the thought of it. " But as Professor X came to recruit us, the Professor detected Octavia's mind. Mutant minds feel more different than the normal ponies. So the Professor decided to recruit Octavia too, if possible. Octavia was happy she was going to learn how to control her powers and stop hurting ponies, but she insisted on bringing Vinyl with her. The Professor, unlike Magneto before he joined us, was tolerant to normal ponies, so he agreed. On the way to Manehatten, our group was attacked by masked ponies. They didn't know what they're dealing with, of course, but something strange happened. Vinyl ripped Octavia off the hands of one of the attackers, but Octavia's powers didn't affect her. Instead, electric sparks ran across her and her hooves opened.... " " Wait, what do you mean by opened? " Vortex was surprised by Sweetie's choice of words. " I mean they opened... literally. All kinds of flamethrowers, plasma blade projectors and dart guns started popping out of her hooves. Parts of her skin were actually covers. When they opened, we saw, that inside of Vinyl there's no bones and muscles... but metal and wires. Vinyl was a robot. We still remember how back than she rushed at us, fired and only Applebloom's phasing skills, Zecora's winds and Scoot's eye beams saved us from being killed. Vinyl stopped for a second, obviously struggling against herself. " " That sounds... unbeliavable. " Twilight commented " How weren't we able to find out she was a robot before? " " She isn't just a robot. " Sweetie frowned " She is the only Omega Prime Sentinel ever constructed. " " OK, time out. " Dash crossed her hooves, which sounded strange because of the War Marechine suits " What are the Sentinels? " she asked. " Sentinels are mutant - killing machines. " Scotaloo replied " They are programmed to find and destroy mutants. " " But why do they exist? Who has created them? " Twilight wondered. " Actually... Hase had created them. Thousand years ago. " Sweetie replied. This answer left the most ponies from the group speechless. " While he was still working for Princess Celestia, before she assigned him with the job to create an invincibility potion, many mutants stole his ideas, constructed machines and tried to take over cities. Hase knew, that mutants weren't evil, but still... he needed protection. So he designed the 30 feet tall sentinels, horrible pony- like robots. They detect any mutants nearby and hunt them to death. The only mutants, that the Sentinels are programed not to attack, are Emma and Wanda. We found that out from a defeated sentinel like 2 years ago. " " You mean they still exist ? " Twilight was horrified. " Yes. 10 years ago Hase attacked, but we, the X- ponies, stopped him. But sadly he is a quick learner. He re- activated all of his Sentinels, who he had hid after his act of treason, and started building new ones. The Sentinels learn during the battle and memorize your moves. It's hard to defeat one of them, not to speak of an entire army. We had to flee to Ponyville, and Hase took over the Crystal Empire, engulfing Equestria in fear and horror. But let's return to Vinyl. Vinyl is the supreme Sentinel. Her powers outmatch any normal Sentinel. That's because she was designed to guard Hase' personal laboratory. Now Vinyl doesn't want to have anything in common with her former master. The mutant hunting protocol was erased from her mind after she was captured by Royal Guards. Now she fights for us. And, colt, we need it. We need all the help we can get. " Sweetie finished. " And there we are. " A big part of the space between the Everfree forest and Ponyville was occupied by a big, big base. The Helicarrier was on it's roof, so obviously this was S.H.I.E.L.D. 's new base. Nearby there was a big and beatiful palace on a hill, which kind of looked like the Canterlot castle. " S.H.I.E.L.D. base and the Royal Castle. " Scoot spoke " Now prepare to get tested. " " Tested for what? " Luna grew suspicious. " If you're real or just a decoy of darkness, sent by Hase. If you are the second, you won't live for a long. " Scoot replied. Twilight quietly swallowed and the group entered the base.
The Key to Evolution" This way. " Scotaloo's left wing showed a door. The S.H.I.E.L.D. base surely looked like one. Only corridors, many doors and one big hall. The door next to Scotaloo was circular and had a big black X over it. Applebloom opened it and the group entered the big white hall, big enough to fit the whole group. There was another door on the other side, but an old bald stallion in a wheelchair stood in front of it. He had a white coat. The pony smiled, his muzzle wrinkling. Twilight nervously smiled back. ' Don't be worried, Princess Twilight Sparkle. I shall do you no harm. After all, you're real. a quiet voice echoed in her head. Obviously the others had heard something simillar, because most of them were confused. The pony smiled again and quietly spoke: " Your friends are real, Scoot. They may come in. " Scootaloo also smiled. This wasn't just an illusion! Her friends... were real. After the group passed through the door, the enviroment dramatically changed. Now it resembled an old two - stories house, like many other houses in Ponyville. But before Twilight could even express her confusion, the voice spoke in her mind again: ' We have arranged our part of this building to our comfort. This is how our house in Manehatten looked like... before your friend let the Voidians destroy it. ' even now the voice was completely calm. Twilight blushed and replied, in her mind: ' This isn't his true self... Professor Charles Xavier, wasn't it? ' ' I see you have some experience in mind conversations. You are well aware of it's advantages. ' the voice became a little surprised. ' Well, you're actually the third telepath I'm speaking to, Professor. ' the alicorn answered. ' Indeed I am. ' the Professor agreed ' I felt your friend Emma before she even entered. Telepathy is a lot more common gift than it's considered.' ' Really? ' Twilight felt confused. ' Yes. But know I have some introduction to make, so excuse me. ' The wheelchair got ahead of the group and caused it to stop. A big group of ponies was now in the main room, staring at them. They probably didn't believe their eyes and Twilight knew how they felt. She was able to recognize Big Mac in that group, tough he was now even taller and was wearing a strange striped suit. " Come hiah, big bro! Family hug! " Applejack and Applebloom rushed to Big Mac. It surely felt nice to AJ to re- unite with her family, Twilight thought. She noticed Octavia, who didn't believe what she was seeing too. Obviously, the group wasn't expected to ever return. " I see you're eager to make a family reunion, but I am afraid I first must show you something. Follow me. " the Professor noted and his wheelchair moved forward. When they reached a stair, that led down, two pincers got up from the floor and caught the wheels of the wheelchair. It moved down and the group followed it. The Professor stopped at the end of the corridor in front of them. There was another circular door and a pony with a red- purple helmet and cloak. " You may find Magneto a little... strange. " Scoot whispered in Twilight's left ear. After the Professor neared him, the pony turned around, revealing the disaproof on his face. The old stallion spoke: " The Original Avengers, huh? I've always planned of testing their skills before, but now apprently we would be joining forces. Charles told me, that there are two powerful mutants among you. Please step forward. " his voice sounded a little threatening, but mostly it was a voice of a commander. Emma and Wanda stepped in front of the others. Magneto's face looked approving, when he glared upon Emma, but when he looked at Wanda, his face looked really strange. " Err, why does Mr. Magnet look like he had swollen 5 cupcakes at once without chewing? " Pinkie asked. " I guess he had swollen 5 cupcakes in the past and something caused him to remember of it. " Loky replied, whispering. Than suddenly Magneto called: " Quicksilver! " Something really, really fast passed through the stairs and the corridor, making the ponies' manes wave in front of them. When Twilight turned to the front again, she saw a young unicorn with short white mane. The unicorn weared a strange green suit with a single lightning crossing it. When Wanda and Quicksilver looked at each other, their muzzles reflected a mixture of feelings, but finally Wanda yelled : " Pietro! " And Quicksilver yelled: " Wanda! " The two unicorns rushed at each other. Scoot whispered in Twilight's ear again: " Forgot to tell you: Pietro Maximoff is Wanda's brother. They are both foals of Magneto.It's confusing, since he's an earth pony, but I guess they only got the mutant gene from him. " " What? It is impossible, Wanda lived 1000 years ago!" it was Twilight's turn to whisper in the pegasus' ear. " Magneto stole a vial of Hase' eternal life formula while he was being chased by the Royal Guard. Therefore he is alive since 1000 years. " Scoot replied. Magneto, together with Wanda and Pietro, who were talking to each other, left the corridor, while the circular door behind Professor X opened. " The space is small, I fear. Only 4 of you may enter, together with me. " Charles told the group. After a minute of discussion, the group agreed, that Twilight, the two Princesses and Pony Stark must enter. " That's the most circular room I've ever seen. " the playcolt commented upon entering the room. It was basically a huge sphere with metal plates on the wall. A single bridge let to the center of the room, where there was a machine with a helmet on it's top. The Professor went to it and put the helmet on his head. The wires, connecting it to the machine, shone and the door closed. The lights went out and suddenly the wall was full with images of ponies. " I call this place Cerebro. " the Professor spoke " It amplifies my telepathic reach and helps me locate mutants. However, it requires a certain level of control, thus only I am able to use it so far. " " Can you find normal ponies with it too? " Twilight asked. " Yes. " the Professor confirmed and showed an image of two guards outside of the S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ. Compared to the mutants, their images were more blurred, but still clear enough to recognize what they were doing. " Why haven't you just located Hase with this helmet? " the Iron Stallion asked. " I'm afraid the Helmet of Supremacy makes him invulnerable to any telepathic reach. Even if he hadn't got it, it would of still been dangerous. " Professor Xavier replied. " Why? " Twilight knew, that ponies are able to feel the telepath only if the pony reveals itself. Spying on hase shouldn't of been a problem. " I don't know if anypony told it to you, but Hase... is something like a mutant. " Charles answered. " A mutant? " even Princess Celestia was surprised. " Not exactly. " the Professor noted " His mind doesn't feel like the mutant's minds. But he's got powers, that can only be explained this way. " " You mean except the Chaotic skills. And the Weapons of Destruction.... " Twilight asked " ... and the power of the Dark Side of the Moon, and his power over the Essence of Death. Yes. " Professor X finished the list of Hase' powers. " The last one's new. " Stark noted. " Yes, but I'll leave explaining it to the Prince and the Princess. However, Hase has some other powers, about which none of his other skills provide an explanation. Like, for an example... he's able to perform magic, tough he's a pegasus. His magic energy level is greater than yours, Ms. Sparkle, actually it's equal to the one of the Princesses. Again, we have no valid explanation for this. And except that.... he can feel when a telepath is in his mind without that the pony revals itself. He is a skilled telepath himself. Once I thought I had caught him off- guard and entered his mind with the help of Cerebro. But apparently, it was a trap. He obviously felt me and I fell for his plot. Reversing the connection, a thing impossible even for me, he managed to find out crucial details about the mutants, including our location. I struggled, but black waves inside of his mind prevented me from stopping him in any way. In a result our mansion was destroyed, and he built improved Sentinels, even more deadly to mutants than the ones before. I fear he has unusually powerful telepathic skills, and unlike my friend Magneto's helmet, the Helmet of Supremacy stops only the ponies , who try to enter his mind. Even now he might be inside this room, spying on us, and if his skills are better than mine, he'll be able to hide this from me. I don't feel anything, so probably he's more powerful than me. I want only safety for mutantkind " the Professor looked worried " I want you to investigate how is his body able to hold so many mutations at once without he being destroyed or losing his sanity. I haven't shared this to anypony outside of the X- ponies, because this will cause panic, but I need somepony with more information about him to take on the research. I am assigning your group. If you fail... our biggest secrets will be secrets no more. " the door opened and the Professor tried to look happy, as the four ponies exited the room with Cerebro. " Madmoiselle... " a stallion with a long coat, brown mane with small strands of purple in it and a deck of cards levitating around him was trying to speak to Rarity, but she remained resillient. " That's enough, Gambit, we're not in New Oileans! Rarity... doesn't need your help. " Scootaloo was trying to get the lover pony away from Rarity, but even as she dragged the unicorn backwards, he continued to do tricks with the deck of cards, trying to impress Rarity. She sighed in relief, as Scoot managed to drag him upstairs. " Remi Le Bau. A mutant, able to charge objects with energy and use them as weapons... and a lover pony. Boy, he just loves good manecuts, and he found Rarity's ... astonishing, as he said. " Applebloom cleared the situation to Twilight. " This way, ladies and gentlecolts. " Professor Xavier stood next to another corridor, who led away from the main one. The group followed him, untill the corridor ended with another door, saying " Laboratory " " This is our science laboratory. My friend Dr. Hank McCoy has been developing a serum, which will help block unnoticed access to our brains to prevent Hase from spying. Dash was quietly listening to what Twilight was whispering. Her doubts became deeper and she looked at Vortex. Was he responcible to what has happened to Hase? Did he create this forced mutations? Did he make him a master telepath? On the one side, the pegasus was sure, that the villain certainly had something to do with it. On the other side, she doubted Hase' father could of done something to him. He was probably involved, but it wasn't his fault. The group entered the laboratory, which looked exactly like one - plenty of beakers with strange multicoloured mixtures inside them, steaming beakers and frozen beakers. A pony with a blue coat was working over them, but they only saw his back with the white apron. " Henry, those ponies are the original Avengers. " the Professor spoke to him. When the pony turned around, Twilight got a little scared. The doctor's blue coat was long and his muzzle looked like a face of a beast. His yellow eyes with dagger - like pupils finished his look. When he smiled, it was revealed, that his canines were also longer than usual. The pony looked like a mixture of a blue lion and a pony. " Dr. Furr... I mean Henry McCoy, I guess? " even Stark didn't want to mess up with the doctor, since he didn't look like a pony to be messed with. Luckily, the doctor just smiled and replied: " I guess you're Mister Stark? We needed you. At least S.H.I.E.L.D. needs you. We haven't yet succeeded to wield the Arc Reactor technology completely, and this may prove useful, if used against our Smokey. " " Woot! Who's Smokey? " Pinkie suddenly appeared in front of everypony else and not fearing the doctor even a little bit jumped around him. The others looked worried, so Professor Xavier had to calm them down: " Altough his mutation makes him look a bit hostile, I assure you, that Dr. McCoy isn't of any danger to you ... " " ... unlike somepony else, who likes to sniff around. " Scoot sighed and touched the doctor as a proof he isn't a threat. Eventually, everypony calmed down and circled the laboratory. " You've got some excellent formulae here, Doctor. " Pony noted " Tough I don't focus over potions, I still know when one of them is good or bad. " " It's good that somepony finds it useful. Those S.H.I.E.L.D. goons find it useless if it can't turn you to a fighting machine. " the long- coated pony smiled. " Yeah... it's a kind of their habit. " Stark agreed. " The serum is currently a work in progress. Luckily, this room is vibranium plated. No telepath can break through. " the doctor nodded. " Wait... why don't wah just use vibranium helmets? " Applejack wondered. " The amounts of vibranium ore are insignificant on a world- wide level. Our primary source, a kingdom, neighbouring to Zebrica, called Wakanda, isn't able to deliver it anymore. Hase has blocked the borders. " McCoy replied. " Prince T' Challa won't risk trying to pass them if he isn't certain... even though Storm is his wife. He must care for his country. " " Be careful, Beast. An offence to my housband from you I have expected at least. " Zecora said him. " I guess Beast is your code name? " Rarity guessed and Hank nodded " Oh, Celestia, aren't you able to come up with better names? Like Blue Furyor Furry Paw, for instance? " " Well, Rarity, you can say that to Agent Coulson. " the Professor interrupted the mare. " That fanboy has been coming up with ridiculous names since it all started. " Beast agreed " One more thing before the Professor takes you back to the main door. Captain, don't get too confused when he asks you to sign his Captain Equestria trading cards. " " Trading cards? " Applejack was confused. " It's a vintage set. He's very proud of them and he has you all. On cards, I mean. " the doctor smiled, once again revealing his sharp teeth. " Wanda and Emma will be staying here. " the Professor spoke. The group was outside of the main door in the corridor, while Professor Xavier with Scoot, Applebloom and Sweetie were at the door. " Coulson should be arriving any moment. Good bye for now and don't forget your mission. " " We won't . " Twilight replied. " Aha, here you are. " Coulson appeared from out of nowhere " Thank you for finding them, Professor. " " You're welcome. " Scoot nearly laughed as she closed the door with the big X. " We want to meet Cadance. " Celestia spoke to the agent. " Sure, princess. But I'll interrogate you on the way, if you don't mind. " Coulson walked and the group walked after him.
Royal Meeting" So, if I get it right, Hase liberated your whole race and Rarity and this way turned to the villain he is today? " Coulson asked. " Yes. " Light Warrior confirmed. " Director Fury will be interested. " the agent noted " You look pretty young. " Stark noticed, that Coulson looked exactly like before. " Yeah, you're also pretty spry for older fellows. Director Fury engaged " Eternia " protocol. All of the ponies who mattered something to our defence had to drink eternal life potions. Beast replicated Hase's formula. " Coulson succeeded to joke and explain at the same time. Twilight noticed something strange about the castle. A covered bridge came out of a tower and ended in mid- air. It didn't hang at all and the alicorn wondered what kind of magic was holding it and what was it's purpose. " The Flying Bridge. " Coulson guessed what she was looking at. " Actually it isn't flying at all. Just the half of it is invisible. It connects the main castle and Sombra and Chrysalis' tower. " " You've built a new prison for them? " Twilight was surprised. " No. " Coulson smiled " Altough I wish it was so. The two of them decided to join us when Hase took over the Crystal Empire, but they have yet to prove their loyalty. It is a well - known fact that they are now on our side, but nopony trusts them. Since the tower looked sinister and made some ponies doubt if Cadance and Shining Armour can be trusted, they were asked to make it invisible. You can only see their tower if you are inside of the castle. " This reminded Twilight she had to talk to Chrysalis. The mare had to find out what was the spoiler alert Hase was speaking of. The last hint - " more like when " - proved surprisingly accurate, so the lavender alicorn was sure this trail led to something importrant. " By the way, AJ... I mean Captain... " the agent became nervous " You know... they are in a vintage set. " Both Applejack and Dash laughed and the earth pony gave the armoured pegasus 5 bits. Earlier Rainbow bet, that Coulson will ask AJ about the cards before even 10 minutes had passed by. She had guessed right. The agent felt little uncomfortable and put back the deck of cards he had just brought out. " By the way... hmm... you'll be meeting Director Fury together with the Princess and the Prince. Hmm... that's it. " obviously the agent felt really uncomfortable, since he didn't speak at all after that. The palace resembled the Canterlot one and Twilight guessed they have used the same plans. The interior was also the same. The only difference, even Celestia didn't know why, was that half of the guards were unicorns. Before the percentage of unicorns in the Royal Guard was low, so Luna and Celestia wondered what had caused it's increase. The throne room brought them old memories, but the stained glass windows revealed other scenes than those the Canterlot palace used to have. It were the stories, which began with their first adventure with Hase, while he was still just a landicorn, wielding the Elements of Chaos. The lords felt a bit unsure. The first glass showed the lawn in the Everfree forest. The Mane 6 were surrounding Hase, while a multicoloured oreol surrounded him. The clouds were grey and some of them had the same colours as Hase' oreol. The next glass showed their whole group: The Mane 6, the two Princesses, the Avengers and the Lords of the Elements of Chaos. Twilight noticed, that Hase was missing from that picture. On the next picture Hase' front hooves were shining in red, as he, together with the Iron Stallion and the War Marechine were taking out A.I.M. 's armours. The artists had drawn the rockets, coming out from the Mark 42 surprisingly good. The other stained glasses lacked some details. The next showed just Hase and Wanda next to the freshly awakened Vortex, and the next showed just the group together with Sif in the Bifrost. However, the last picture worried Twilight seriously. It wasn't just glass, it was a real painting. On it, the left tower of the Crystal Palace of the Crystal Empire was falling with trails of smoke behind it, and the Crystal Ponies were running. On a hill in the center of the painting stood an unusually big pegasus. Scale armour covered his chest and hooves. Dark mantle covered his back, except for his two long black wings, which were spread. The Spear of Hatred and the Whip of Rage floated in the air around him. A dark helmet covered a part of his muzzle, but let his multicoloured mane wave behind him. His dark purple eyes left a trail of darkness behind them. The evil grin on the stallion's face revealed his evil intentions. There was nothing good in Hase anymore. On the other side of the room, on two thrones sat Princess Cadance and Shining Armour. Both the rulers and the group ditched the etiquette and rushed at each other. Twilight turned out in her brother's lap: " Twiley! " her brother's happiness could match Pinkie's " It's so good to know you're alive. " " The feelings are mutual. " the alicorn replied. The mare saw Cadance coming nearby and smiled. " Sunshine, sunshine... " Cadance began " Ladybugs away... " Twilight replied " Clap your hooves... " the princess continued " And do a little shake! " the purple alicorn finished the special hoofshake and hugged the pink Princess. " A ladybug... I haven't seen one for years. " Cadance frowned. " Any sign of happiness had dissapeared from this land. " " We'll make them re- appear. " Dash' s answer caused Cadance to smile for a while, but than she frowned again: " You have no idea what you will be facing. The friend, the ally, the beloved... " she looked at Rarity. The Princess of the Love had her ways to know what's going on. " .... everything good is gone from Hase. He is now only darkness. His only feelings are rage, hatred, bloodthirst, hunger for vengeance... just like his weapons. He's worse than anything we've ever faced. Worse than Nightmare Moon. Worse than Discord. Worse than Chrysalis or Sombra. " " Iiii... think you're overdoing it. How bad exactly is the situation, Princess? " Rainbow spoke. " Well, it's pretty bad. Think about it, Dash. Hase is a villain, who uses his brain. He took advantage of your absence and made it longer, so that he can be unstoppable. And by far he was. No hero was able to stop his conquer. Not even the power of Love was able to defeat him... " Cadance became even more sad than before. The group began to whisper and twilight understood them. If love hasn't stopped him, would friendship be able to ? " But... I thought love could stop anything! " Twilight replied " It stopped a whole army of changelings and kept the whole Crystal Empire safe for days! " " Yes... but he blocked it with hatred. We don't know exactly how he did it, but a field of pure hatred protected him and his army. Love bounced of it like a ball bounces off the floor. " Shining Armour replied. " I think we need a debrief about his full list of powers. " Stark noted. " And I'll be glad to debrief you, Mr. Stark. " the one- eyed director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Nick Fury jumped out of the shadows and stood next to the two royalties. He clicked something on a remote control. The glass behind the two thrones darkened and the logo of the spy organisation was revealed. A second after that it vanished and a list of heroes was revealed on the screen. " The S.H.I.E.L.D. Hero Roster includes everything about the Avengers. " Fury spoke " Real names, code names, biographies, powers and abilities. However, we also have this, " he clicked another button and the screen went read. Unlike the various names of the heroes, most of the villains here were just named " Voidian " and a number after it. " This is the S.H.I.E.L.D. Top Wanted list. It includes the most dangerous Voidians we know. The only one you've ever fought was Number 22: the Chymera Voidian. And your buddy is on the top. " Nick Fury revealed, that the top wanted villain was Hase. he clicked another button and Hase's personal file opened. There were several pictures and the Biography. Twilight carefuly read it: Hase was born as an earth pony in Canterlot, with father Emperor Vortex and mother ( unknown ) . Since he didn't have any magical possibilities at this time, he was tormented by the school foals. At this time he first met the infamous Wanda Maximoff, daughter of the earth pony mutant Magneto, Emma Frost and Johny Blaze, a.k.a the Scarlet Witch, the White Queen and the Ghost Biker. After he saw a poster of Celestia's scientist list, he became obsessed with science, since it could of made him equal to the foals in his class. Working hard, eventually he won the event and gained access to the Royal Library. There he spent the next several years studying the science books. After he finished, he was appointed Royal Scientist. However, once Princess Celestia asked him to invent an invincibility potion. He gladly accepted this offer, but later, guided by his wish for evenity, he developed it into the Alicorn Formula, which marked the beggining of his carrier as a villain. Refusing to drink the antidote, he was captured in the Eternal Bonds by the Princess, which made him get vengeful. Unable to use the Formula, with the help of his telepath friend Emma Frost he mindwashed civilians and created the Eternal Army - an army with mechanized wings and horns. After this organisation wrecked havoc through Canterlot Celestia had no other choice but to send her Royal Guard to capture Hase. After the rebell was captured, he was sent to prison. However, there he assembled a rocket and fled to Cloudsdale, where it is believed, that he had cloned Thunder Fighter, a famous Wonderbolt, 's DNA, because he was a landicorn - a mixture of a pegasus and a unicorn. Using his rocket he fled again, this time to the Everfree forest. In the next 1000 years his DNA was being reconstructed into the DNA of a landicorn. After he awakened with the intentions to wield the chaotic power of the Elements of Chaos, a chaotic storm, striking for the first time after 10 000 years ago, the same storm that caused the death of the Princesses' father - Primal Shine, struck again. Celestia and Luna joined the wielders of the Elements of Harmony - two earth ponies, Applejack and Pinkie Pie, two pegasi, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, a unicorn, Rarity and the newest Princess, Princess Twilight Sparkle. However, delayed by his machinery, the team failed to stop him from gaining the power he craved for. They only managed to chain him again and bring him back to Ponyville, where he tricked them and sent them to the dimension of New Equestria. There they had to face the Lords of the Elements: Hydro, Blaze, Breeze, Landrock, Helios and Dusk. Since at this time Hase wasn't completely evil, he also provided them 5 allies : the friendly Lord of Ice named Glace, the archer pony Clint Barton a.k.a Hawk, the brilliant inventor Pony Stark a.k.a Iron Stallion, the Horsegardian gods of mischief and thunder, Loky and Thor. This back - up proved enough to defeat all of the Lords and they triumphantly returned to Equestria with Hase on their side, wielding not only the Elements of Chaos but also the forms who helped them. So that he wouldn't lose friends Hase even made the citizen of Ponyville immortal. While in New Equestria, some of the Mane 6 even became superheroes, part of the Original Avengers - Fluttershy was inhaled with drones, who irradiated her with gamma radiation, which caused her to turn to the mindless green beast, known as the Shyulk, whenever she gets angry. The earth pony Applejack was injected with the Super Soldier Serum and entrusted a vibranium shield together with a suit, which marked the beggining of her carrier as Captain Equestria. One year after these events Equestria was threatened by a mysterious terrorist, called the Mandarin. Hase took on this case, together with his friend Rainbow Dash, who he had entrusted with the War Marechine battle armour, built after his Mark II. After a series of horrible blasts shook Equestria, the two armoured heroes eventually found out, that the Mandarin was just an actor, hiding the deeds of Advanced Idea Mechanics - Hase's former company, now run by his old friends the Scarlet Witchmare, Emma Frost and the Ghost Biker. After they confronted, the two of them together with the rest from the group were eliminated, after Emma tricked Hase into powering up a force field with the Elements of Chaos, thus freeing himself from their presence, which gave him horrible headaches. This however made him unstable and soon all of his forms gained their own bodies and later, now together with the Lords, who had learnt friendship together with Hase, confronted A.I.M.'s battle armours after Hase convinced the soldiers, the Extremis and even two of his friends to join him. Wielding the Extremis, he fought against his own creations. But they were too late to stop Wanda's plan. Using an evil clone of Twilight Sparkle, the mutant freed the Dark Emperor Vortex, which eventually brought to the truth about Hase' beeing revealed and he regained his real pegasus form. Later, after a show in Cloudsdale, the whole group was called on an interdimensional mission from the Horsegardian Sif and they weren't seen ever again. Only Hase returned two years after that. Not revealing his arrival to anypony, since he was now evil, he secretly grew an army of Voidians and 7 years later attacked the Crystal Empire, spreading fear through whole of Equestria. Now he is considered S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top wanted villain. Twilight felt scared after she finished reading the biography. But she was about to get even more scared, because Fury started reading the Powers and Abilities list, which was pretty long: " For a start, your pal has increased reflexes and strength, " the brown earth pony stallion played a video. On it Hase dodged a hit, that would of killed any unarmoured pony, except probably the Black Widow or Applejack, and hit the pony with bare hoof, sending him 12 feet away. Fluttershy shivvered. " Let's not forget what the Professor told you: he is a skillful telepath. He can even be reading our minds right now and we aren't able to do anything about it. But that's just half of it. He has also the so- called " Mind Control " . Whenever a pegasi or, Celestia knows why, beg my pardon, changelings approach him, he can just look them straight in the eyes and my top ponies are turned into his personal flying monkeys. " " Flying monkeys? Ah don't get tha. " Applejack noted. " The Wizard of Fuzz came out a year after you left. Foals love it. " Shining Armour noted. " Anyway, let's continue. " the director spoke " He can do magic of any kind and is as powerful as an alicorn. His Chaotic skills are far greater than we have ever imagined. He's able to wipe out whole squads just by opening portals beneath their hooves. Let's also not miss his powerful Weapons of Destruction. Arrows, that cause different effects, shield, that everypony are afraid from, a mysterious magic- conducting spear... S.H.I.E.L.D. agents aren't trained for such things. " the director complained. " But the bad part is... that he gains power from death. " Cadance became sad " As our troops fall, his power rises. Death feeds him vital energy. With his weapons, it's achievable quite easy. Instead of getting tired, he just grows stronger and stronger. If a battle continues for more than 3 or 4 hours, we would be hopelessly outguned, if he leads his army. He also draws power from darkness... . Without the sun, we are doomed. " the Princess finished and together with Shining Armour sat back on the throne. " And no explanation for such a wide arsenal of miscellanous powers. " Shining Armour spoke again. " That might change, brother. " Twilight smiled " He has given us a hint. " " Or a trap. " Nick Fury noted " Have you thought of that, Ms. Sparkle? " " We'll have use of any hint, even if it's a trap. What was the hint, Twilight? " Cadance asked " He told us... to ask Chrysalis. " the alicorn replied. Fury knit his brows: " Sounds suspicious, doesn't it? " " Yes, but we must ask her. She won't dare to attack if we are all together. To the tower! " Princess Cadance replied to the Director and stood off the throne. Together with Shining she joined the group, as a guard let them to the Flying Bridge, ready to enter the Dark Tower.
Revelations" Hhhere, Princess. " after he led them the guard quickly ran as fast as he could to get away more quickly. Obviously the camouflage was only having effect on the tower's exterior, since now the sinister interior of the flying bridge was perfectly visible. Miniature statues of bat skeletons were holding torches and lit the way. The group tried not to make any noise, while the ponies were moving on the bridge. After it ended, Twilight looked upwards and saw, that a lot of stair climbing awaited them. Last time she met Chrysalis, the changeling Queen tried to take Equestria over and use it as a feeding ground for her evil minions, the changelings. Later the alicorn mare had realized, that this is just their nature and Queen Chrysalis was just protecting her folk, as Celestia and Luna did, but still... there was something personal. Before they left for Pre- Equestria, on the A.I.M. adventure, Celestia had shared with her, that once the changelings were graceful creatures, that suffered a Voidian's curse. However, together with Chrysalis Luna and Celestia might of came to some kind of solution, but instead they left her nation to handle on theirselves. No wonder Chrysalis was mad. Kinf Sombra, however, didn't have such noble reasons. He just wanted to rule the Crystal Empire as he once did, and he would of ruled it again, if it weren't for Twilight and her friends. Two totally different villains. Why would they team- up? Was the liason between them Hase? Twilight thought for a while, and suddenly she realized the stairs should of ended a long time ago. As she looked back, the only ponies, that weren't tired like if they ran for 20 miles without stopping were Dash and Pony Stark. She slowly realized what had just happened. " SOMBRAA! " she yelled angrily. Way further upstairs, a taunting laugh was heard. " Infinite stairs. A flat joke. " Twilight spoke to Pony and Rainbow and began making a magic. Suddenly, all of the ponies ended up on the ceiling, sliding upwards. After a minute of sliding, the group was thrown into a dark hall and fell on the ceiling, and fell again after Twilight stopped her spell. As the alicorn looked forward, she saw two familliar figures. Sombra was still laughing, which looked strange, since his face reflected pure hapiness, something unusual for a tyranic ruler. Chrysalis was also barely holding it in. " A cup of tea? " Sombra spoke and the both of them with Chrysalis fell on the floor laughing. Meanwhile all of the ponies were up and looke either confused or angry at the two villains, who rolled on the floor laughing. " Ahem. " Twilight spoke and this ended the villains' laughing session, which was a weird combination of Sombra's deep voice and Chrysalis' scratchy voice. Not a pleasant combination. " Yes? What would you like, Twilight Sparkle? " the Queen spoke, like if she was ordering one of her changelings. " Being polite will be good for a start. " the Iron Stallion aimed for Chrysalis' muzzle. The ruler of the changelings grinned, but changed her tone immeadietly. " Alright, Mr. Stark. What do you need, young princess? " " The truth. " Twilight's answer was surprising to the two villains " What is your relation to Hase? " " The job. Altough he had greater success than us. He took over the whole country. " Chrysalis looked angrily at Sombra, after he replied to Twilight. " Sombra, you'll spend the next year in a cocoon if you say something like this again. " she told him. " And you will spend the same year in a cage of dark crystals. " Sombra kept his smile. Chrysalis' frown also changed to a smile: " I liked that! High hive! " the two villains slapped eachother's hooves. The friendly conversation riddled most of the others, but Twilight remained in her role of an interrogater: " I doubt only the profession is the connection between you. What are you hiding? " " You seem to trust your informer. " Chrysalis replied " Who is he? " " Hase himself. " Twilight replied. The expressions on the villains' faces immeadiatly shifted to a riddled one. " He knows. " Sombra looked surprised, after he said it out loud. Perhaps this wasn't supposed to be said out loud, since Chrysalis looked like she was going to kill him. It was now twilight's turn to grin: " I knew it. Leave the fighting for later. Now, what's your connection? " " Ah, none. He spoke of somepony else. " Chrysalis' tried not to look Twilight in the eyes, as she was saying that. The queen was obviously lying. " Be careful, Queen Chrysalis! We might claim you for a villain again.. and banish you from Ponyville. " Cadance noted and Chrysalis looked scared. Twilight felt confused from the fact, that the queen was actually afraid of this option. What was the reason? Meanwhile the changeling sighed and spoke: " You're right. There is a connection. Follow me. " Did Chrysalis actually sound sad? Her voice sounded like if she was. Twilight wondered what about Hase had caused her to get so sad. Did he kill somepony she loved? The purple alicorn thought about this option. No, Chrysalis didn't love anypony, she feeded with love. So what was making the ruler of the changelings so santimental? Envy? Hatred? The two villains led them to a throne hall. On the south side there was the throne of Sombra, his half of the hall was covered in dark crystals and red carpets. The other side of the throne room looked like a cave and a throne, made out of rock, stood on the north side. However, none of the two villains sat on the throne. Instead, they got to the center of the room. The thrones magically moved towards the center, on rails. The two thrones connected and flipped over, leaving a hole in the floor. A table appeared from it, with something familliar on it: a toy, that Twilight remembered seeing, while a week ( or 15 years ) ago, Hase' s locked memories of his real father - Emperor Vortex - were projected over the lawn. She remembered seeing that toy in the bed, where Hase has lain, while in the dream his father and mother were standing next to the bed. Twilight usually didn't remember such details, but there was something strange about this toy, that had made her an impression. The toy was a plush changeling. What sort of mother would of bought a plush changeling toy? Except if... Twilight slowly neared Chrysalis. If what she was thinking was true, some of Hase' traits would of made perfect sence. At first his wish to control the world, but later his deep friendship. If he was a half changeling, he would of been more sensible to friendship and love. She looked Chrysalis in her eyes. Was this true? As if Chrysalis knew what she thought, she nodded. " Hase is... my only son. " she spoke, which caused several " ah " s and " ooh " s. " Wait a minute... Hase is a pegasus. If he was the result of the liason between you and Vortex, the result would of been something like an alicorn - alicorn changeling hybrid. " Dash asked. The queen became even more sad, and suddenly Vortex stood next to her and tried to calm her down. " You... love Vortex? " Luna was more confused than ever. " Changelings can love. " Vortex obviously got offended from this " The fact, that they feed off ponies' love doesn't mean they can't love. " Unfortunately, Hase is much more than just their son. " Sombra noted. The group became even more confused, as they heard Sombra say this. Was he involved too? But how? The horns of Chrysalis and Vortex shone. The glass behind Sombra's throne darkened and torches were litten. " This story is enchanted. We are only able to say it if all three of us are present and on the light of a torch. " Chrysalis began. " This is a story about our ultimate plot. " Vortex continued " A plot, that would of ended your rule, " the dark alicorn spoke to Celestia and Luna " , forever. A plot, that is so perfect, that even you aren't able to stop it. " " We failed. Every time. " Chrysalis' voice became even more sad " Vortex was turned to stone for centuries. My invasions always fail and my folk is starving. Sombra still wasn't defeated, but a fortune teller had predicted it. No matter what we do, we weren't , we aren't and we will never be powerful enough to defeat you two together. Not even Vortex, since he was on his own. Forming an alliance wasn't an option. We have other things to do, except taking Equestria over. We needed a new figure in our game. A pony, more powerful than all of us, more powerful than Luna and Celestia. This was the beggining of the Dark Mist project. " Twilight shivvered, as she listened to this. " This all began after we and Vortex agreed to ally our forces. We were repelled, since one of Vortex' troops betrayed him and we were defeated before we even exited the Changeling Caves. Altough we lost, our alliance didn't end. And eventually, united by our evil intentions, our alliance became something different. A spark... and the fire of love shone in our souls. For the first time ever we saw the beatiful side of life, instead of constantly focusing over our plans. While we had our love, Equestria had it's peace. This were our greatest days... " Chrysalis and Vortex kissed. ' This was unexpected. ' Twilight actually felt great for the two of them. Love is the same for all of the ponies, no matter heroes or villain. It was great to learn, that the villains aren't what all ponies think they are. " And the result of this love wasn't late. I was pregnant. We were happier than ever. But we knew, that our foal wouldn't live the life of a normal foal. It would of spent it's foalhood in the Canterlot dungeons, together with us. We didn't want this for our foal. But we had no choice. " A tear ran across Celestia's cheek. She has never seen this side of Chrysalis and Vortex. What would of it been like, if she was the villain? " Than we all came out with an idea. You wonder what's my role in all of this? Well, villains stick to each other. I was a kind of their family's best friend. You know - the one, who's always late for the party, but brings pizza? Well, one night at the Changeling Caves, we came out with an idea. " Sombra spoke " The stars were aligned at full power... " " What do you mean? " Twilight asked. " Some spells are affected by stars, some even need their energy. " Chrysalis replied. " The stars were aligned perfectly for our plot. And so we began our magic. We changed Hase while he still wasn't born. He was enchanted forever. Usually such a spell requires a great amount of energy, which the stars provided us. He was ment to be better than all of us. We gave him superpony strength and agility. He kept the ability of the changelings to shapeshift. The magic also turned him to a pegasus, so that he could fit more easily into the society. We wanted him to be the pony who turns the folk against it's rulers, so we also gave him perfect leadership skills. We also gave him the power to use normal and Chaotic magic, amplyfying his potential to 100% . The magical level of the Princesses. But we also didn't wish for him to turn against us or die before he can complete his noble deed. So deep in his subconciousness, the spell changed two things: he became invincible to you, Princess Celestia... " " You mean, really invincible? " Celestia got worried. How would of they defeated Hase, after he was invincible? " Yes. He was designed to destroy you, after all. And we all know you are able to find even the smallest hole in an armour and exploit it to the end. " Vortex sounded angry. Probably he remembered how the two Princesses used his son against him. " You'll be able to do him no harm. He is immune to all kinds of spells, related to the sun or the moon. Thus none of your poweful magics will have effect over him. But the second was more importrant. We wanted him to be like us. So in his subconciousness, we coded our greatest wishes... to make everypony even again. " Vortex said with hope " To care for his folk... " Chrysalis spoke " To take you off the throne... forever. To give us a second chance... the things you never did. " Sombra finished. " However, now our good intentions are being twisted by the Essence of Death. We all hate the Destroyer. Every living being hates him deep inside. But the Essence of Death found a perfect soul to settle in. Hase. " a tear ran down Vortex' cheek " He grew far more powerful than we have ever imagined. But he'll destroy everything we once fought for : evenity, justice, peace. And his hive... are the Voidians. " Chrysalis cried too. " His potential to rebuild... will be used to destroy. " Vortex continued " We can only bring him back if we work together. But... we first want you to promise something. " he looked at Luna and Celestia. " What? " the Princess of the Sun looked at them suspiciously. " A second chance. " Chrysalis replied " Evenity. The changelings should no longer be treated as beasts. Give them a chance. Give us all a chance, as you gave Luna. You don't have to reform us, as you did with Discord. You only have to think of us as ponies, who wish they have their own spots bellw the sun. " " Royal Council! " Luna proclaimed. She, together with Celestia and Twilight, got 20 feet away from the group and Celestia whispered: " We cannot give them a second chance. They are villains. They are dangerous. Luna, do you agree? " Luna nodded. " Twilight, do you agree? " " No, Princess. Everypony deserves a second chance. If we make friends with the changelings perhaps this will break the Voidian's curse. We must only trust them. " the purple alicorn spoke to her. " Queen Chrysalis just wanted the best for her folk. And Vortex only wanted his son to live in a better world. " " I'm sorry, Twilight, but my sister is right. " Luna told her " What if they attack us two months after we make peace? We must defend the ponies of Equestria, not the changelings! Our land will suffer if we agree. What about Sombra? He didn't have such noble intentions as Chrysalis and Vortex. I partially agree with you - we can trust Chrysalis and Vortex for now - but if Sombra strikes, guess who is going to back him up? " " But, Princess Luna! Think what would of you done, if you were King Sombra. You would of tried to take over your kingdom again, since you believe you ruled it right. He saw he's wrong. Now all he needs is a little reforming and he can become good, as we did with Discord. As for Chrysalis and Vortex, they just wish they had justice. Justice for Hase and the changelings. What would of we done, if the changelings ruled and we were banished? We would try to convince them we're good. But if they don't believe us - and we have never trusted them - they'll have no choice but to use force. With Hase it is the same. Tell me - was there a moment from our adventures you trusted him completely? " Twilight asked the two Princesses. They both blushed and none of them was willing to take the word. Twilight had made the Princesses feel ashamed. " You are right, my most faithful Twilight. We were blind. " Celestia admitted " But... if you rule over such a peaceful and good nation as the ponies for 3000 years, they become more precious to you than your own life. You must understand our point of view. " " Princess, I understand you completely. All we have to do is to trust. If we all trust eachother, the villains of Equestria would of been much fewer. Think about it - if you trusted Luna and let her bring out a bit longer night for a year or two, Nightmare Moon would of never existed. If you have tried to reform Discord before, again with trust, we wouldn't have to do this 3000 years later. If we have accepted changelings in our society earlier, Queen Chrysalis would of never attacked. If you tried to reason Sombra instead of defeating him, he probably would of been more kind to the crystal ponies. If you have tried to explain why there cannot be eternal life for everypony , he wouldn't of been our enemy from the beggining. The same with Hase. The power of Friendship doesn't come from here, " Twilight pointed her crown " , it comes from here. " she touched Celestia's chest, exactly where the heart stood. The two Princesses smiled and went back to the group. " We accept. We are so sorry for being so ... so... " from excitement Celestia couldn't find the right words. " With such limited vision. " Sombra suggested. " Yes. Thank you, King Sombra. " suddenly, Celestia hugged Sombra. The king obviously didn't expect this, because he nearly jumped. " From now on, all changelings shall be accepted into our society. We swear in our father! " Luna spoke " And, to earn your trust, we'd like you to help us with the rule of Equestria. " Celestia smiled. This made everypony's jaws, except for the two Princesses, drop to the ground. " King Sombra, from now on we pronounce you for count of Sombrero region, which will spread from the Canterlot mountains all the way to the Crystal Empire. " Luna shook Sombra's hoof. " Count Sombra... " Sombra grinned " That actually sounds 20% cooler than King Sombra. " " Queen Chrysalis, " Luna continued " We pronounce you the Baroness of the West. You'll help us rule the land from Vanhoover to the north to Las Pegasus to the south. " In the moment the Princess of the Night said that, something strange occured. A mysterious spell lifted Chrysalis in the air and made her shine. The ponies had to cover their eyes. When they opened them again, they saw something completely unexpected. Queen Chrysalis looked totally different. Instead of gray, her coat was now white. The holes were gone from her hooves and body.Her green mane and tail were brushed and her vampire teeth were missing. She looked more graceful and beatiful even than Celestia. Her horn looked completely normal and on her back there was a pair of butterfly wings, big, green and beatiful. As she smiled, her half of the hall changed to a beatiful throne room. " I believe this was the key. " her voice was sweet like honey, nothing like it's earlier scratchy version " I gladly accept this offer. Princess Luna, you have broken our curse. From now on the race of the changelings will prosper again. Integration shall be much more easier. I am grateful. " the Baroness hugged Luna. " And finally, Vortex. " Celestia spoke to what once was her greatest enemy " Is it too much to ask you to be our royal advisor? " " Not much at all. " he replied, but he also whispered something in Celestia's ear while she was hugging him. " We can bring him back. " Celestia shook as she heard that. Was it possible that her uncle was speaking of her father? " My Queen... it is gone, the curse is gone! " a beatiful pegasus with dragonfly wings ran into the room. Chrysalis smiled and replied: " Yes, Dragonflight, the curse is gone. Now we shall take full battle actions. It is time to snap my son out of the dark dream he is dreaming. " Chrysalis smiled. " Well, I haven't participated in such major battle actions for millenia. What about we show them the old power of the sun and the moon, Luna? " Celestia and Luna nodded at eachother. " Let's burn this world and start from a scratch. " Blaze agreed. " We have a problem! Code 247! " Coulson ran into the room, yelling on his hoof free com device. " Ah... what do you mean ? " Celestia said him. " Oh, sorry for panicking, Princess Celestia. " Coulson felt uncomfortable " S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters' defence system has been hacked. Nopony can get out of it. Vinyl is working on it, but it will take time. Meanwhile a big squad marches from the north. Intelligence says, that Hase himself is leading them. " ' He knows we're here. ' Twilight thought. " The bad part is, that except us only three heroes aren't trapped in the HQ. It makes me proud, this is my squad. They're controlling the situation so far, but we quickly need to back them up. " the Agent reported. " The first action. " Chrysalis said and a a grin, which didn't look as mean as it once used to, appeared on her face. " Let's show him some action! " Loky spoke. " Good. I'll debrief you on the way. " Coulson replied and the group, now together with Sombra and Chrysalis, left the hall.
Sharp and pointyExcept for the group, two squads - one of moon ponies, who always supported Rarity, and one of the gracious changelings, who protected Queen Chrysalis, were going to back - up the three heroes. Most of the ponies in the group possessed destructive super powers, but was this enough for them to defeat a whole army? " You know... " Agent Coulson was debriefing them " Two of them aren't exactly team players. And the third... he's a bit strange. " Anyway, who are they? " Dash asked him. " The first one's codename is Wolverine. " the pony smiled " He is a mutant. Possessing a healing factor, that would heal any injuries for seconds, this earth pony is the ultimate warrior. But this isn't his only mutation. Three 8 - inch bone claws come out of each of his forehooves. He also possesses feral sences and increased ability to smell." " Wait... than how does he fight ? Or walk? Don't they stick in the ground and make him fall? " Dash was confused. " He has also an improved balance. Also, his claws are retractable. He can bust them out whenever he wants. Suffering an extremely painful procedure by an organisation, that used mutants as mercenaries, adamantium, an extrememly strong alloy of vibranium, that can cut through anything, except vibranium and itself, was bont to his whole skeleton, including his claws. He nearly died. We don't know how old he is. He can be easily two centuries old. However, obviously as a result of him being constantly hunted, his close ponies probably got killed. Now we are his only friends. He is a funny person, once you know him. " Coulson said. " Scotaloo mistrusts him, since because of him the X- Ponies, who are something like her family, were in great danger several times because of him. Logan, on the other side, thinks she is being overresponcible. " " And... what about the other two? " Twilight hoped, that the other two ponies were going to be a bit more friendly. " With Deadpool it's funny. " a smile appeared on Coulson's muzzle " He knows how to make a pony laugh, and his combat style is hillarious. But his story is really dark. Wade Wineson was a mercenary from the same group, that experimented with Wolverine. Even tough he left, the organisation still kept part of Logan's DNA. After the unicorn found out he suffered from cancer and it wasn't curable, he gave up bounty hunting. Since he was one of their best mercenaries, the best with the sword and the handgun, they didn't want him to quit. By the way, some gangs had these a year after you left.It is believed, that they had stolen the designs from S.H.I.E.L.D. . Wade agreed. The organisation tried to give him Wolverine's healing factor. It worked. But at a great cost. His cancer reacted agressively. He constantly felt, and he is still feeling great pain. But he wasn't able to die, since the healing factor kept him alive. The organisation ditched him. Eventually, he was driven partially insane. He continued his carrier as the Merc with the Mouth and weared a red costume with black elements. From than on he was known as Deadpool. Deadpool turned against his organisation and teaming up with Wolverine, he destroyed them. He is one of Wolverine's few friends. We aren't sure Deadpool is with S.H.I.E.L.D., but he isn't with the Voidians either. He isn't actually an Avenger, since Fury mistrusts him. He is on trial, as all of us. They are on trial if they are responcible enough to be real Avengers, and I am on trial for my leadership skills. Only the doctor isn't on trial." Coulson finished. " And... what about the strange pony? " Celestia asked, riddled by Coulson's strange team " Doctor Steven Wincent Strange is the Sorcerer Supreme, the world's main defender against magical threats. " Coulson replied to the Princess. " He was once a selfish plastic surgeon. But after an accident something inside of him broke and he wasn't able to use magic to hold the instruments of his profession. In a result he lost his job. He circled the world in a search for a cure, he spent all of his money for doctors and psychologists, but without success. In the Crystal Mountains he met a hermit, known as the Ancient One. The hermit at first refused to help Strange, but than he saw his good side, beyond Strange's selfishness and trained the doctor to care more about the other ponies. Later, after Strange already was his apprentice, but the Ancient One hasn't restored his ability to use magic, the Ancient One introduced himself as Baron Mordo and asked Strange to join him in his conquer of Equestria. Trained to care abouth the others, Strange refused and fought Mordo with his bare hooves. After he defeated him, Equestria was saved. That was about the time Sombra tried to conquer the Crystal Empire. After that a mystical being from another world, that Strange reffers to as Balthakk, gave back Strange's ability to use magic and made him a great magician. Eventually Strange became Sorcerer Supreme and protected Equestria from magical treats. Why I said he is strange? Well, most of the time he uses his wizard terminology, which includes some phrases like " The Eye of Agamotto " , " Bolts of Balthakk " , " Crimson Bands of Cyttorak " and others like these. Honestly, no matter how long he explains me about " Vishanti " and other magical mambo - jumbo, I won't understand a thing. " Coulson laughed " But you'll soon be meeting them personally, since we're near. " It was true. Twilight could hear the sounds of a battle and Voidians could be seen. Suddenly, one Voidian jumped out from a rock and pounced at Twilight. The mare closed her eyes and only heard a single sound: ' Snikt! ' When she opened her eyes again, she saw the dead Voidian and a strange pony next to it. He was standing on his hindhooves and claws with metallic shine stuck out of his forehooves, three on each hooves. They retracted, which produced the same sound. His mane was short and stuck to the sides of his head. He had a beard - something uncommon for the most ponies - consisting of two sideburns, that nearly met on his chin. He smiled and spoke: " I suggest being more careful next time, madam. War isn't for pretty mares, " Rarity sniffed and said " How rude! " " , war is only for the best there are. How bad exactly are the things, Coulson? " " The HQ is still blocked. " the agent replied " We are on our own. " " Great. " the Wolverine smiled " I don't need monocles to interrupt me anyway. " The pony jumped back into the combat and the distinctive " Snikt! " was heard, after he cut off one of the Voidians' head. Thor flew towards him to back him up. After he made two of the Voidians fly back, hit by his hammer, the Wolverine smiled: " The Original Avengers... you still got it! Agree with me most of the problems can easily be solved with, " he was interrupted by a pegasus Voidian. The earth pony jumped on it's back, swiping through it's face. The monster fell on the ground and Logan cut his throat. " With good old fashioned close combat! " he finished his sentence and quickly made a backflip, sticking his clwas in the neck of a Voidian, who was otherwise going to stab him with a spear. " Agreed. " the Odinson answered, after his hammer went through 5 Voidians. The Voidians were coming from all directions. Thor had no choice. " Better jump! " he yelled at Logan. The earth pony jumped in the air, while the thunder god summonned a lightning and hit the ground. A huge shockwave, that broke the ground, spread in all directions, eliminating the Voidians on it's way. The Wolverine smiled and returned to jumping, slashing and stabbing. " Ha! Whea're da others? " Applejack asked, after she hit one of the Voidians strait in the muzzle. Another 5 rushed at her, but something colourful jumped in their way. It was a unicorn, holding two katana swords with his magic. He was wearing a red and black suit and had pouches on his belt. He attacked the Voidians without any pattern. just spinning the two swords like crazy. The Voidians hit him one or two times, but he regenerated. Finally, thet had to retreat from his spinning blades and Hawk eliminated them with arrows. " Good work, Stickthrower! " the unicorn turned around and spoke ironically. " Two moah behind yah back! " AJ saw, that two other pony- like Voidians sneaked up behind the pony's back. " It's time for my kung - fu fiesta! Arrrrivvaaa! " he shouted, while he was spinning in the air, his swords slashing everything in a radius of 5 feet. The Voidians tried to attack, but Deadpool blocked them with his swords behind his back. The stallion turned around and stabbed the two of them in the face. " Double Combo! Bonus Points awarded! " he noted and jumped happily. " Now... let''s see. Who are you? Oh, let me guess! The Patriotic Shield! " he pointed at Applejack " Actually, it's Captain Equestria. " the earth pony mare replied. " Darn it! " he cursed " You are ... Karate Red? " he asked the Black Widow. " Black Widow. " Natasha noted, little angry. " Before you ask, I'm NOT Stick Thrower. I'm Hawk. " the archer smiled. " Ohhh! " Deadpool got dissapointed " And what about you, Pink Mane? " " I'm actually not a superhero. I just keep the party going. Together with Loky! " Pinkie replied. The mask's eyes widened somehow: " That's wonderfuuul! You'll be my deadly sidekick: Fighting evil by Deadpool and Pool Girl! " he jumped at Pinkie. " That sounds lame. " Rarity noted, after a crystal stuck out of the ground and pierced a nearby Voidian. The expression on the mask became sad. " Ohhh, you're so right, Floating Mane! I play better in Singleplayer! " he got two guns out of his pouches and fired at the Voidians without stopping. His clips shone. While shooting, he kept repeating " Pew! Pew! Pew! " or " Bang- bang - bang! " " Magical unending clips. Only they can feed Deadpool's hunger for bullets. " Coulson noted, after he shot one Voidian. " But Deadpool, remember our top weapon is the respect. The Voidians won't respect you if you just fire at them, saying " Pew! " the agent siad him and than got away. " Ha! Gaaaay! " Deadpool yelled after him. " I heard that! " the agent shouted. " Oops! Sorry, boss! " Deadpool excused himself. Some of the Voidians were flying around and one of them hit Pinkie with a bolt of darkness. The joker unicorn immeadietly jumped in gront of her and shot a bullet in the Voidian's head. " Come on brother! We'll finish them together! " Thor and Loky rushed at the Voidians, but suddenly they ran in mid - air. When they turned around, they saw, that everything around, including them, was caught in a dark - purple oreol. The mysterious magic separated the Voidians from the group and a horrible laugh was heard, as a tall figure got in front of the Voidians. " Greetings! I see your trip had a delayement... but not longer than scheduled. " Hase taunted. Princess Celestia got angry from these words and a bolt of light flew towards Hase. It hit his chest and flickered for a part of a second before it vanished. " That... was supposed to throw you 10 feet away! " she was confused. Her confusion just made the pegasus smile: " Obviously I listen more carefuly than you, Celestia. Even tough I wasn't inside the room, I heard my father saying to you, that I am immune to your solar spells. " " So it's true! You're a telepath? " Twilight asked. Hase' grin widened even more, as Twilight felt an agonyzing pain inside of her head, that made her fall on the ground. As she held her head, she heard a deep voice: ' Our little Princess, Twilight Sparkle! As always, ready to help her friends and bring good back to Equestria. However I must warn you, weakling, the powers of your precious Elements won't stop me, neither would your omniscious Princesses. " and than the pegasus left her head. " The Elements! " Twilight shouted and the rest of the Mane 6 gathered around her. The alicorn closed her eyes, while all of the other Elements fired a beam at her crown. After a second she opened her eyes and her tiara launched a deadly rainbow at Hase. He looked scared before the rainbow covered him. " How was it tha' easy? " Applejack wondered. " It *wasn't* . " a Royal Canterlot Voice echoed through the air. Twilight raised her head and saw Hase with a multicoloured shining ball in front of him. " And it won't be. Would you ever listen? " he complained " I'm surprised you were able to fire that thing at all. My magic was ment to keep you dizzy, " he spoke to Twilight " , but anyway, you forget one thing: those Elements were born from Chaos, no matter that they are the Elements of Harmony. Magic runs through my veins, so magical atributes of any kind aren't the key to my defeat... " " By the Eye of Agamotto, you will yield! " a strange unicorn jumped in front of the group. He was wearing a long red cape with a collar. His mane was brushed backwards and he had a strange yellow sign on his blue clothe. A strange medalion with an eye was hanging next to him, held with his magic. Hase sighed: " Seriously, don't you ever listen to what the villains said to you without using the Royal Canterlot Voice? I dislike yelling to my future peasants. But anyway, put the Eye down, Dr. Strange. None of your enchanted weapons and attributes will work against me. You can only use your illusionist tricks on my subjects the Voidians. However, don't kill too much of them. I must protect my hive, right mother? " he glared upon Chrysalis " You have your hive, I have mine. And also, I must thank the Horsegardians for taking me on their nice trip. Otherwise, I wouldn't of unleashed my full potential. So actually I owe you a favour. And I know exactly what will I do... " Hase' horn shone and Loky suddenly flickered with yellow light. " What's happening, Loky? " Sif was worried. " It isn't Loky. It is just an illusion. " Hase smiled, as suddenly Loky dissapeared for a second and reappeared again. But this wasn't the same Loky. Instead of his golden armour, he was wearing a black vest with some golden elements under a long green cloak. His face looked more insidious and his helmet was missing. The only thing in common was his scepter, which was now extended to it's full size. Loky smiled with an evil grin. Thor swung with his hammer, but it past through, this was still an illusion. " Hello ... brother. " Loky's copycat smiled.
Joined Forces" Loky! " Thor was angry " What is happening? " " Well you tell me, son of Odin! " the hologram said the last words scorning " How did it happen that my illusion has tricked you for so long? Perhaps I am the better son... and I deserve the throne of Horsegard! " " Loky, I don't know what you have done but there is still a chance for you to end this madness! " the pegasus spoke to his brother. " Well, let me think.... I don't think so! " Loky taunted. " You'll face Horsegardian justice! " Sif warned him. Loky just laughed: " How will I face Horsegardian justice after I rule Horsegard? Yes, you heard me right, brother! Horsegard is mine. When I lost from the New Equestrians and the Chitaupi chased me, I hid in the only possible place - Horsegard. You only found my copy, who was going to get his redemption and stop the search for me. This eventually allowed me to take Horsegard over from the inside. Don't ever return if you want to stay alive, Odinson! " the hologram vanished after saying the last words. " We'll fix this after we go back in time, after we fix this situation here! " Twilight whispered in his ear. Thor nodded and looked at Hase. " How did you know? " he asked and aimed his hammer for the pegasus, threatening him. " When you're a telepath it's easy to sence when somepony has no mind at all. But I guess your friend Emma never doubted Loky to look behind the pathetic copy of conciousness he had. One of the many drawbacks of friendship - it leaves you blind for the truth. " Hase smirked. " If you crave for vengeance, don't worry. Horsegard is the first realm I'm going to target after Midgard. " " Unless if we stop you right here! " a voice was heard behind them. When Twi turned around, she saw Vinyl Scratch, Octavia, Scotaloo, Sweetie, Applebloom and Big Mac. A strange device got out of Vinyl's front left hoof. There was also a pony in an armour, that resembled the Iron Stallion, but Twilight wasn't able to recognize the pony. Wanda and Quicksilver were also there. " You shall pay for your horrors! " Octavia yelled and touched a nearby Voidian with her forehooves. She wasn't wearing boots. In a result of this, the poor Voidian's eyes closed as he fell stunned, while Octavia turned to black smoke and moved towards Hase. He just smiled and suddenly she regained her form in mid- air, as she was pushed backwards by the magic of the pegasus. " You think a small squad will be enough? " the black - coated stallion laughed " Let's see... most of you are mutants. " " So wha? " Big Mack asked with his deep voice and his skin turned to steel. " That leaves you quite vulnerable... " Hase flew two inches over the ground and lifted his forehooves . " Phill, how exactly bad is the situation? " the armoured pony was obviously a mare. Pony knew that voice, so he replied: " His first name is Agent, Pepper? " " Pony? " Pepper raised her head and noticed the Iron Stallion, who she hadn't earlier seen. " You're using my suits... perhaps I should fire you. " the playcolt joked. " This is my own suit... and you can't fire me. You can't remember a single thing without me. " the mare responded and flew to Pony " I can! " he defended himself. " Really? What's your social insurance number? " After the Iron Stallion concentrated fully over this question, finally he came with an answer: " 5. " " And the other 8? " the mask of Pepper's suit lifted, revealing her smiling face. " Alright, I give up. I've got you for the other 8. " Pony's mask lifted too and the two armoured ponies kissed. " Were have you been? " Pepper asked him. " The usual: saving the world. " the visionaire replied. " For so long? " the red- maned mare grinned. " The time zone difference. I'll explain later. And what happened to you? " " I'll be more than happy to debrief you, Mr. Stark. " Coulson interrupted them " We needed a pony, that used technology. You with War Marechine were still gone, and we still haven't reprogrammed Vinyl. So Pepper agreed to be our mare for the job and became Rescue. However, she refused to be used as a living weapon, so her suit focuses mainly over defence mechanisms, such as S.H.I.E.L.D. 's latest nanotech heal and deflector shielding technology. She's our so - called " armoured nurse " . " Pepper punched Coulson in the shoulder. " I think you just made that up. " Wolverine commented " Hey, wha's happening? " Applebloom shouted and drew everypony's attention. Some kind of mechanical boots have appeared on Hase' forehooves. An antenna was on the left one and it was making circles. Hase pointed it at Vinyl and suddenly it stoped spinning and got back in the gloves. " Have you ever wondered how much damage a buggy, or even worse, reprogrammed by your pathetic S.H.I.E.L.D. scientists Sentinel can do? It hurts me when my inventions attack their own creator. " Hase threw a death stare at Vinyl " So I invented this: the wireless reprogrammer. You'll understand what it does by it's nickname some of the Voidians gave it: Robot Remote Control. Vinyl and Octavia's eyes widened in horror. " Run! Quick! " Vinyl yelled. The group turned around, but faced a dark wall. " Why leave so early? " another antenna stuck out of the left boot and Hase aimed for Vinyl " You have yet to see the full potential of Omega Prime Sentinel! " The tip of the antenna glowed in red. Vinyl's eye rings fell apart to rectangular figures with different sizes, which span around her pupils. Vinyl Scratch was silencely staring. No matter how much Octavia shook her, she remained still. " No use of that, Rogue. " Hase taunted " Untill my device finishes uploading and installing the special new software I've designed for my bodyguard, she will be like a statue. A levitating statue. " " Take that remote control! " Coulson shouted and Thor flew towards Hase. He stopped in mid- air and fell on the ground. " Ts- ts. " the pegasus disaproved " You may of used a bit more subtle tactic. " " What more subtle than that? " Logan replied from behind their enemy's back and stabbed the device with the claws on his left hoof. It flickered and sparks jumped out of it. Before the stallion can materialize his Berserker Mace and swish, Logan has already jumped back to safety. Vinyl's eye rings go together again and she grinned at the pegasus: " Thanks for the update. " With these words she flew forward, firing stun darts at the Voidians. When one of them got too close, plasma blades got out of her forehooves and she cut the monster in half. Hase smiled: " There is no use for me to stay here anymore. The battle wouldn't be fair, because you can't defeat me. I'll leave for now, but I'll send you some of my buddies... " he was interrupted as Shyulk grabbed him for his hindhooves and hit him against the ground 6 times. The insidious smile vanished from his face and was replaced by an angry one. He glared upon the monster and spoke: " Few ponies had succeeded to really make me that angry. But now my anger... is limitless!!! You destroy my hive, you destroy my machines, you even dare attack me!! You shall pay for that... with your lives! " A huge red oreol surrounded Hase and pushed the Shyulk back. The transformed Fluttershy roared and slammed it, but without success. The infamous whip materialized next to Hase. The pegasus glared upon it and sniffed: " Rage! This word is too small to express my anger! This weapon... it's also too weak! It has been forged for a pony, that had billion times less anger in himself, compared to my anger now!! You threaten my new world, you destroy everything I fight for. I am...furious!And now it's time to reforge this pathetic Whip and adjust it to my needs! " " Did 'e just say, tha 'e is goin' to reforge tha' Whip? " Applejack asked, while hitting Voidians with her shield. " It's impossible! Nopony can have more anger than the Destroyer! He must be really billion times angrier. And he isn't. He's bluffing! " Vortex replied, as he sent a pack of Voidians back to the Void. " NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE! " Hase yelled and the Whip of Rage shone in red. " No! It's impossible! " Chrysalis was horrified. The whip became longer. It's handle now got more ornaments, and the end of the Whip split in 9. Now the scene on the handle was Hase slaying Crystal Ponies in the Crystal Empire. The pegasus grinned, as he unfolded his new weapon. He swiped with it at Octavia. This made no sence, she was more than 60 feet away. But the Whip became longer during the swipe and hit Octavia. The spiked balls on the nine ends slammed her and she fell 10 feet away. " Now that's a weapon! As furious as me! " Hase triumphed " But how should I name it? The Whip of Rage sounds too ordinary. How about.... Nine - Tailed Fury? " As if in responce, the Fury stood in the air and covered in fire. It growed in size, untill the fire- covered whip was now with the size of a dragon. Dragon heads of fire formed on the nine tails. " Real fury! Now hunt them down! " the pegasus commanded and the fiery beast flew towards the defenders. " Over this beast there is no defeat. Perhaps time it is to retreat! " Zecora, who had obviously just arrived, drew the attention of the others from the group, who were concentrated on the Voidians. When they saw what's coming, they thought, that Zecora's advice was wise. " How did he succeed to reforge the whip? And how did he turn it to a nine- headed dragon of fire? " Twilight wondered, while the group ran back to Ponyville. " He used his endless fury. " Vortex replied " Now whenever he is very furious, like now, the whip, or the Nine- Tailed Fury, will turn to this beast. When he isn't as angry, he'll still be able to use it like he did with Octavia. " " Is she OK? " Twilight was worried for the earth pony. " She's fine. Some leftover energy from that Voidian reduced the power of the hit. " Vinyl hovered nearby. " But this weapon worries me deeply. If he reforges all of his weapons to be more deadly... we had a rough time dealing with them before, but now.... " " I doubt all of his weapons will be able to do so. " Vortex responded " The rest of the feelings are more controlled. However, i'm sure he'll find another way to make them deadlier. " The drake had stopped chasing them and S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ was seen. The doors opened for the group and closed behind the ponies' backs. " We'll have to make a new strategy. " Coulson spoke to Twilight " If the Elements of Harmony won't work against him, we've got serious trouble. Princess Twilight, we'll discuss the situation together with Director Fury, Princess Luna, Princess Celestia, Vortex, Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armour. The others must stand by. " Twilight nodded and together with the rest of the alicorns walked behind the agent. The purple alicorn turned around. Pony was speaking with Pepper, while Vinyl was next to Octavia. She smiled and followed the agent .
The Council" The situation is critical. " Nick Fury began " Your pal is reforging his old weapons, and as Coulson said me, this results in a great improval of his already deadly asset. You say me, " the brown stallion turned to Twilight ", that your Elements won't work against him, because he's made out of magic. " " Not really... " Vortex began explaining. " It doesn't matter. " Fury interrupted him " What matters is that our most powerful weapon has no effect. It was our only hope. We've barely managed to keep up with him for 15 years, and we've succeeded only because he didn't treat us seriously. He is playing with us. " the director knit his brows " Any suggestions? " " Actually, I have one. " Celestia replied Fury turned around, which revealed his riddled face. Luna looked begging at Celestia, but she spoke however: " Luna and I didn't want to use this... it is our final resort. We had the chance to use it with Discord, but as you know, we didn't. This is the only thing, that our father has left us. It's called the Spell of Solar Extermination. " " It isn't safe to use it. " Luna continued " If we tried it when we were young, it might of went wrong. And believe me, you don't want this spell to go wrong. " " This spell, " Celestia took the word again " , harnesses the destructive potential of the sun. " Vortex shook slightly. Twilight was confused, but she decided, that probably Primal Shine had used this spell once and Vortex knew of it's destructive potential. " Used properly, it can obliterate an enemy in mere seconds. " Celestia spoke " However, if something goes wrong, we can deal significant damage to what's left of Equestria. " Luna said the rest of the council. " The whole land will be irradiated with solar radiation. " shivvers went down the Princess of the Sun's spine " But if we manage to control it, and I think I'm ready, we can turn Hase to ashes. " " Princess, isn't that a bit extreme? " Twilight was worried. Unlike the two Princesses, she still believed, that there is still some good left in him. She couldn't just destroy him. " And what if it's the only way? " Celestia turned to her ex- student " Twilight, I know Hase was once your friend and you will never stop believing in him... but what will you choose? Equestria or him? " " And what if it doesn't work? " the solar Princess was surprised by the words of S.H.I.E.L.D. 's director. " " As far as I can recall, Vortex and Chrysalis had created Hase to be the ultimate weapon against YOU, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Vortex, as we see, is aware of the existence of such spell. What if this pegasus is immune even to this spell? " " Nothing is immune to this spell. " Vortex replied instead of Celestia " It hurts me, that you're going to destroy my son, but really, nothing is immune to that spell. You see, this spell won't stop untill it destroys it's target. That's why it is so dangerous: if it's used unproperly, it can target the whole world and destroy it. Perhaps Hase' defences will grant him a minute or two, but that will be it. But there is a problem. As you heard from Celestia and Luna , this spell isn't ment for normal unicorns. Thus it can be only be used by the pony who created it - Primal Shine - or by an alicorn, able to wield the sun, when he holds the Scroll of the Sun. This Scroll has got only one copy. It is in the Starswirl the Bearded section of the Royal Library. Locked within a box with a Royal Seal, which prevents the normal ponies from opening it. With all of these requirements, today the only pony who's able to use it is Celestia " he looked at his niece " Well, than we've got a problem. " Fury said him " Canterlot has been turned to a stronghold of evil, Hase's capital city. Sneeking into Canterlot will be hard, I admit, but sneaking into the castle is impossible. The place is guarded by batallions of Voidians and also a squad of Sentinels. Not to mention, that Hase' would immeadielty feel if you enter his castle. " " You don't need to worry about that! " Dr. Hank McCoy rushed into the room " My serum is complete! " " Well done, Dr. McCoy! " Coulson shook his hoof . " We haven't got any choice. " Celestia spoke to Fury. " Alright, alright. " a holographic map appeared on the table in the center of the room. It showed Canterlot and Ponyville and the lands between them. " You'll use the train. " Coulson spoke " We'll mask it as a mining train, delivering coal. With some costumes I think you should be able to pass the checkpoint of Canterlot. You can successfully reach the train station. " " And than comes the hard part. " Fury noted " No matter Voidians or not, the Voidian Guards won't let you in. You have to join the Patrol Squad. It passes by the train station on every hour. With your disguise you should join the back rows of the Squad. Only than will the Guards let you in. Once you're in the palace, you should be extremely careful. Avoid Sentinels... " " Why should we be using mutants, if this makes the sutuation more dangerous? " Luna asked. " You see, most of the others are injured by previous battles. We can't send them in. The disguise will confuse the Sentinels to think you really are Voidians. But you should avoid getting closer than 20 feet. It isn't perfect, after all. " Coulson replied. " You should also avoid Voidians. Some of them are smart and may foil our scheme. " Fury continued " In the library you won't find anypony; only Hase enters the library sometimes. If we're lucky, he'll be gone. If you aren't... well, you should be extremely careful. Once you find the box, you must get the scroll. Sneak to the throne room, or if Hase is still in the library, hide untill Celestia is ready. Than you'll unleash the sun and end all of this. You'll have to ditch your disguise and ran to the train. Without a leader, the Voidians will be vulnerable. We'll end this war. " Fury finished. " But who will participate? " Coulson asked. " Only the most responcible: Cyclops, Psylocke, Colossus, Apples Pryde. Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witchmare probably too. However, the rest of your group - the Horsegardians and the original Avengers - must stay here. We don't need a crowd. This is our last chance. Don't waste it. "
RailsThe group was ready. It's members were determined: Twilight, the two Princesses and Chrysalis, Dash and some of the X-ponies : Scoot, Sweetie, Applebloom, Zecora, Wanda and her brother Pietro. Wolverine was also somehow a part of the crew, altough Scoot had protested against it several times. The original Avengers, together with the Elemental Lords and the rest of the Mane 6 were watching as the train left. " I hope they'll be OK. " Rarity was worried. The wind blowed through her floating mane. " They can't be more prepared. " Coulson replied. " Did ya convince Fury ta include Logan? " Applejack grinned, as she saw the agent smile. " He's the best warrior amongst them. " Phill answered " However, sometimes he is a bit too fierce. " " I don't know... I still think we should be there with them. " Rarity told him " Two of my best friends and my sister are on this train. " " Most of you are exhausted. Don't forget you also fought in Pre- Equestria. You deserve a rest. And we should also give your powers a time to manifest. " the agent responded. " He's absolutely right, my queen. You need a rest. " Light Warrior supported the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent " Once your true power is revealed, you can enter the battle again. Untill than, we'll make the Voidians fear the moon for you. " " That's very kind, but I don't fancy being lazy while the others fight. " the unicorn worried " We won't fight eitha' . We also need a rest. " Applejack spoke " Yah won't be tah only mare not fighting for a while. " Twilight observed the train station, as the train left. This mission was more risky than anything she's done before. But was she able to fight Hase? Memories of her friend ran wild through her head, distant echoes of him. The purple alicorn just wasn't able to believe there is no way to bring that stallion back. As she thought about the last fight, the headache, that first appeared when the black coated pegasus broke in her mind violently, returned. It wasn't intense as before, but it was enough to not let Twilight forget about it. Celestia and Luna were in the same wagon as her. They were currently looking through the window, to Canterlot. " Do you know, once Hase dreamed of building a town right beneath Canterlot. " Celestia told the lavender mare " A simple town like Ponyville, where earth ponies and pegasi wouldn't be considered ponies of the lower class. He dreamt of connecting it to Canterlot with pipes. " that memory obviously cheered Celestia. " Air pipes, that would of been able to transport ponies. " " Princess, is this really the only way? " Twilight wasn't so ecxited about the non- existing town. " You know, I think I'll show you something, that only Luna and I know. " Celestia smiled " But I would suggest to stay back. " Both Twilight and Luna got three feet away. " Watch this. " Luna whispered. Suddenly flames engulfed Celestia and a totally different pony was revealed in front of them. It's coat was brownish- red, a flame mane and tail waved behind of it and it's armour was the same like the one of Nightmare Moon, except that it's colour was orange. The pony was an alicorn mare. She grinned and Twilight noticed, that her eyes had the colour of a flame. Big flames covered the pony and once again Princess Celestia stood in front of them. " Now Twilight you're the third pony in the history of Equestria to witness my sisiter's darker form, Solar Flare! " Luna proclaimed. Twilight had no words to express her confusion. " I thought you must know Twilight. Each alicorn... has his or her dark side. Whenever fear, anger, envy or another dark thought overwhelms us, we become different. Multiple times have the villagers of Pre- Equestria, where we grew up with our father , suffered from Nighmare Moon and Solar Flare. Well, at least untill dad taught us how to control ourselves. " Celestia blushed. " We taught it to Cadance. And now we teach it to you. A Princess should always be in control of herself. " " Wait... does that mean, that Nighmare Moon has nothing to do with the Nightmare Spirits? " Twilight asked " Yes... and no. " Luna replied " My first attack as Nightmare Moon in Equestria was caused by my envy, so it didn't have anything to do with the Spirits, yes. But while I was exiled, my presence awakened them. 1000 years later, with some help of their Queen I struck again... only to be stopped by you. However, once the Nightmare Queen liked to say, that I owe my magnificence to her, while I was Nightmare Moon, I mean. Of course, those are only old mare's tales. " " So... what's Cadance... evil self? " Twilight asked " Bleedheart. " Celestia replied " Once Cadance was very angry and this resulted in her turning to Bleedheart, a alicorn, that takes love for a play and enjoys breaking hearts more than anything else. The broken hearts give her energy, and she threatened to destroy the love on the world. Luckily, we were able to stop her on time. " " And what do you guess... " Twilight gulped " Would my evil form be like? " " It would be an alicorn with immense magical powers. " Luna replied " But we would be happy if you don't try to found out more about your dark side on yourself. " " That's why we always have to take the hard decisions without wondering. Because if we wonder about something, dark feelings may overcome us... and result in a disaster." The train was slowly climbing the mountain and the ponies inside of it were unaware, that they were being watched. A lonely raven flew off a dead tree and headed back towards Ponyville. Suddenly, he turned to a dark cloud and continued with great speed. " Voidians! " Hase yelled " You underpowered creatures! " " My lord... " a very pony- like Voidian was next to Hase. It resembled a stallion and only it's yellow eyes and some holes in his hooves suggested, that he's actually a Voidian. " It isn't good to yell at your hive like this. it discourages them. " " Very well... " the pegasus grinned " But you should know, that my hive isn't like my mother's . Here I will rule with an iron hoof. This is... more like a wolf pack. If you stay with me, you'll earn lives in my new world, but if you're weak... you won't survive. " The Voidians got even more nervous. Usually nopony could of gotten them to be so worried. But by so far the Chaotics had followed their will, now it was the other way around. The raven landed on Hase's throne. It spoke something, that only Hase heard. The evil pony smiled and exclaimed: " At last! My subjects, as we have expected, the ponies hope to get to Canterlot. I am not aware of their intentions, but I do know one thing: they won't reach their destination! " " However, that doesn't answer my question, Princess. Is this the only way? " Twilight repeated her question. " It isn't . " Celestia sighed " But the other way is... much more dangerous. " " More dangerous than a spell which is able to destroy the world? " Twilight was confused. " Yes. Much more dangerous. " the princess of the day replied " Theoretically, it is possible to combine the power of the two. " " Which two? " the purple alicorn asked. " Oh. Sorry. " the solar princess apologised " The Elements of Harmony, The Entity of Love, those two .... " " The Entity of Chaos, for the Elements of Chaos? " Twilight suggested " No. " Celestia smiled " Although Vortex only summoned the Elements of Harmony from the Void and gave them new forms, the Elements of Chaos are his own invention. However, the most confusing about them, is that they aren't connected to the Chaos in any way. Their power comes from nature. So their power is limited, which is the reason they didn't turn against us as soon as they were summonned, instead of bothering with Hase. The Element of Fire actually is more related to forest fires than to the fire itself. You get it? " " But Blaze also controls the volcanoes. " Twilight replied " Not fully. Though his tail is made out of lava, volcanoes are a different teritory. There isn't nature inside of them. That's why he is only able to partially control them and cause a single small erruption with his ultimate and most difficult skill. It is quite a spectacle, but if you compare it to natural erruptions, it's pretty small. " Celestia answered " When Vortex created them, he didn't focus over volcanoes, but over nature. This caused them to be powerful, but not invincible, as you proved. " " Wait... I'm confused. How are Hellios and Dusk able to control Light and Darkness, than? " the purple alicorn asked " Natural light and natural darkness. Since nature doesn't have much to do with either light or darkness, their powers are very little and probably harmless. However, with some training they have probably adapted their strength: they use more disorientation and confusion in their battles, instead of pure force. Actually, only their army and their reputation kept them safe from Thor, while he was in New Equestria. That's also why they teamed- up against us. " the princess of the sun responded. " Now, if you want to see true darkness, you should probably look at Hase. " the three Princeses were surprised to see Chrysalis on the door " His power comes from the darkness itself. The true darkness is able to do much more. It can destroy, build, make somepony mad... It is very dangerous. " " When were you planning to say that? " Luna was surprised " I... I thought they have told you already. That he wields the darkness. " " Well, yes. " Luna remembered, that either Fury or Cadance had mentioned it " But we didn't suppose it is the true Darkness. " " Could you give me some more information, please? " Twilight wondered if her friends felt that way when she was speaking about books and magic. ' I hope that they don't . ' it was really annoying to not know half of the things the others are talking about, the purple mare thought. " The true darkness... is darkness itself. It is a little hard to explain, but imagine it this way, " Celestia explained " Before my father and Vortex created the sun, the moon and the stars, there was only darkness. Darkness is dangerous. Not as much as the Void, of course, but it is still pretty dangerous. Combined with Chaotic skills and the powers of the Master of the Dark Side of the Moon, it is pretty much all a pony needs to take over the world. Darkness gives strange abilities, that are hard to explain. No, wait a second... you know dark spells, right? " " Yes, but I thought they are forbidden to use. " " Yes, they are, and there is a reason for that. " Celestia looked sad " Using too much dark power will eventually cause the process " dissolving " . Since everything was created by darkness, the user might die and turn to darkness. As I said, it isn't as dangerous as the Void, since this would only cause the death of one pony, and won't open a hole in the dimension. But it's still pretty dangerous. Darkness isn't corrosive as the Void, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be careful. " " It was Sombra's idea, actually. " Chrysalis noted " With a little power from the darkness he became the king of the Crystal Empire. With the full power of darkness at his command, Hase would of been able to control the world. And boy he did. " " Doesn't that mean he can destroy the world? " Twilight was interested. " Yes. He can. " Celestia replied. " But anyway, did you say, that our powers combined are able to do this too? " the purple mare asked " Yes. Indeed it is possible. But if you fail, the result will be the same as the backfire of the solar extermination. And there isn't a great chance for success. In fact, it's lower than the one of the Solar Extermination. Great powers of such attitude don't like to be combined. " the princess of the sun answered. " But.... love and friendship are so easilly combined! " Twilight was confused. " Really? How do you think Rarity felt when Hawk broke her heart and said he wants them to remain friends? " Chrysalis' words were true. After Twilight thought about it, there couldn't of been love along with friendship. It's either the first or the second. Suddenly, the train stopped. " Oh, what know? " Chrysalis got her head out of the window. However, the reson couldn't be seen, since the train has jut been turning right and Chrysalis was looking through the left window. They walked through the other wagons. When they reached the exit, they saw, that everypony else is outside. So the queen and the three Princesses got off the train too. " Engine failure? " Twilight suggested. " I wish it was. " Scotaloo replied. The lavender alicorn followed the gaze of the mutant. A single Voidian was standing on the way. That wasn't such a great obstacle, but behind him the rails were... broken. The other end of the rails was 20 feet away. " We'r not gettin' da train over tha' . " Applebloom noted. " So now we're just sittin' here and waiting for that bub in front of us to move. " Logan spoke through his teeth. Apparently he was angry. " So... why don't we just attack him? " Chrysalis asked. " It might turn out to be a well - hidden trap. " Sweetie replied. And in that moment they heard a yawn. " Don't get sleepy. " Dash spoke. The ponies looked at each other. Nopony looked sleepy at all. So where did the yawn come from? The Voidian? Voidians didn't sleep. A pony with a ridiculous red and black spandex jumped from the top of the train. " Are we there yet? " Deadpool asked with a sleepy voice. Than he saw the Voidian. Before anypony could warn him, he got out a machine gun and fired at the Voidian, yelling: " Yippie- kay - yeah, orange bucker, now get off the road! " A second before the bullets reached their destination, darkness shrouded them and they dissapeared. Pure darkness. " So there's more than it meets the eye in this fella. " the merc with a mouth complained " We have to go in ninja mode! " He pulled his katanas, but Dash flew in front of him: " You saw what happenned to those bullets. It would be pity to loose your katanas, don't you think? " the Iron Patriot spoke to him. " Nah, you're right. " Deadpool put the twin swords back in place unwillingly. The Voidian threw the circular shield he was carrying on the ground. A tower of black smoke of pure darkness raised from it and Hase's gigantic holographic image appeared in it. " You're late. I expected Cadence and the big Shiny Armour to pull off that trick a lot earlier. " the pegasus smirked " Honestly, I have no idea what you want to do in Canterlot and I don't care. You won't get past the thousands Voidians anyway. And only 5 ponies from your team aren't mutants! Tartarus, those Sentinels will find you for T minus one minute. " " Don't be so sure! " Scoot shouted. " Ts, ts. " Hase disapproved " Three talanted mares. I once foal sitted you and now you turn against me. Don't you understand I'm fighting for a better future? Scotaloo, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, " for a second bright blue sparkles appeared in Hase' eye rings. For a moment his dark violet mane faded to dark blue. But than he shook his head and the dark violet colour returned. " , why would you fight me? Join me and I promise I'll destroy all of the Sentinels. Except Vinyl, if you demand. " " We know your tricks. " Scotaloo spoke, but she was a bit unconfident. Probably she thought what Twilight was thinking - did this blue colour mean, that the real Hase was still inside? " Fine than. This poor Voidian out here was weak. " the pegasus spoke " Now, he'll be strong. " The hollogram vanished, but the body of the Voidian started sucking darkness. It became unusually sunny, as the pony grew and grew in size, untill it was had thrice the height of the train. Darkness was flowing through his eyes and even his ears. The ponies gulped.
ConfessionHase pushed the shield aside. This was going to keep them occupied. But now he got greater problems than them. Obviously, Fury and the royalties had finally realized, that the best defence is attack. The pegasus had to admit, their army was magnificent and the heroes were cutting through the lines of the Voidians as if they were ghosts. Actually, they were something like ghosts, but they should of been very dangerous. The dark ruler got cross. Celestia and Luna had constantly murmured how dangerous and powerful the Voidians are, and obviously this was either a lie or Hase had summonned the weakest of them all. He focused over the fight. One of the heroes was getting suspiciously close to his throne. The pony sighed and summonned the Spear of Hatred, firing a multicoloured bolt at the attacker. But surprisingly, it was blocked. The pegasus smiled. This was going to be interesting. Hase jumped off the throne, exactly in front of the pony. The Voidians tried to sneak behind his back, but their dark ruler commanded them: " No need for assistance. I'm taking this one. " " Your dark powers are no match for my armour, because I'm the Black Knight, holder of the Ebony Blade! " the unicorn, who was indeed wearing a black armour and helmet, together with a cape ( such a cliché ) swung his sword at the pegasus. Hase dodged this one, but it was close. He got angry. This knight made him look like an amateur. " Fine. " the ruler of the Voidians laughed " Than this fight will be decided with the skills of the... " he was going to say "sword ", but remembered, that he got no sword. Hay, didn't that Destroyer know, that the sword is the best weapon? The most functional weapon? The dark blade of his adversary broke his line of thought. Hase quickly made his spear vanish and his mace appear. But it was too short for the longsword of the knight and eventually the pegasus had to make some steps back. Angry, he threw the mace aside and pushed the Shield of Horror right in the face of the pony. The notorious Black Knight ran frantically. Hase sighed. Matched to his new powers and new enemies, those weapon were unefficient. A sudden idea came to his mind. ' What if... ' he thought and the Berserker Mace replaced his shield, as he yelled and attacked the Royal Guards. They were no match for him and soon the Mace built up it's red oreol. But enhancing it with magic, Hase continued to reap the enemies, as the oreol got bigger and bigger. Eventually, it was 10 times Hase's size. He stopped and made all of this energy of war suck into the mace. What used to be a small mace changed dramatically. Now with a handle, long as one of Hase's huge wings, with ornaments of Hase slaying the Crystal Ponies, it ended with a huge spiked ball with a diameter of at least 3 feet. The frightened Royal Guards formed a circle around him, pointing their spears and swords at him. " Surrend... " Shining Armour was going to offer the pegasus to surrender, but the words stuck in his throat, as he saw the reforging of the Berserker Mace. " This weapon used to be extremely .... you think I'm going to say powerful, but no. " Hase grinned " It was unproper. I admit it, against the short swords in Pre- Equestria it did a fine job but here it's barely keeping me alive. Now it will certainly serve me better. Not the Berserker Mace, but the Cleaving Morningstar. " Suddenly, Hase's red oreol surrounded him again as he spun his morning star and knocked out the soldiers threatening him. " Immeadietly gives me the Oreol of war i had to wait for. " the ruler of the Voidians smiled and caressed his new weapon. " If I were you, Shining Armour, I would suggest you to get away. " Hase warned the unicorn. But standing out from his army, Shining Armour pounced at Hase, holding his sword with magic. " Brave... but silly. This will bring tears to Cadence's eyes. " the pegasus swung with the huge weapon and the spiked ball slammed against Shining Armour's torso, sending him further than anypony can see. The villain watched with an evil grin on his face, when suddenly something unexpected happened. He suffered another one of his transformations. Blue and purple fought in his eyes, in his mane and tail. Taking advantage of this, the guards caught him within the Eternal Bonds. When he came back to conciousness, the pegasus cursed himself. What was happening to him? He opened his eyes. Chains, reinforced with magic were holding every possible part of his body. He was able to turn his neck, however. So he gave the room a better look. It was circular and white, and inside of it there was nothing but him. Windows covered most of the wall. When he looked through them, he noticed a smiling Nick Fury and a really, really angry Cadence. This made him laugh. " I don't see what's so funny. Caught in a prison you can't get out of. " the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. told him. " You realize breaking this room won't be hard for me, don't you? " Hase replied. " Try it, " Fury pressed a button. Hase looked through a window on the floor he hadn't noticed earlier. The huge steel floor moved and revealed a deep pit with lava in it's end. " If you even touch that glass, you'll fall straight down. Even if you survive the fall and the lava, down there it's too narrow to fly and too slippy to climb. " Fury smiled. Hase was surprised, that they were able to create such a clever trap. He tried to summon his helmet, which would allow him to turn to a shadow and exit this place, but he couldn't. " Those chains won't allow you to perform magic of any kind. We have confiscated any tech we found. You're stuck here. " Fury smiled. " And be grateful we didn't do as Cadence offered. Even I am not that cruel. But I'll let you alone. I'm sure she has a lot to tell you. " Fury slowly walked down the stairs. After the steel doors closed behind him, Hase was left with Cadence. For a first time since many years, the pegasus felt little afraid. For a moment he was even glad there was a wall between them. But that moment past and his smile returned. Cadence slowly walked on the pathway and reached the wall. She hit the glass with her hoof and Hase felt how his prison got a little lower. " You know, Hase. " she started speaking " Once you were a hero. " The usual " Come back to the good side " pep talk. The ruler of the Voidians sighed. " Don't you sigh on me! " Cadence sounded threatening " You're lucky, that Shining only had some broken rips. " " Awww! Boooo! " Hase disapproved " You ruined my pleasure! While I was swiping with that mace I was imagining how his whole spine broke in pieces and now you're telling me, that he has only got several broken rips? You're stealing my show! " " Your demonic Mace... " " Now Morningstar, officially. " the pegasus noted. " Your demonic Weapon would of broken his whole skeleton if it wasn't for my enchantments over his armour, does that make you happy? " Cadence yelled " Actually, yes. " Hase's evil laugh haunted the entire room. " Why, Hase? Tell me, why? Why are you destroying everything I once fought for? Why are you destroying your home world? Isn't there love in you? " the princess asked. " There isn't. " the king of the shadows sounded unconfident and Cadence knew he was lying. She smiled. This was a sign, that not everything is over. " Oh yes, there is. " her voice was a mixture of happiness and a well-hidden taunt " Rarity, right? " Hase stared at her. His eyes were filled with hatred, but this was the truth. " I love nothing. " he replied " I hate everything. " " You do love Rarity. " Cadence protested. " Do you know what it feels like to be stuck in darkness, which is slowly digesting your body, forever? No? Well, that's how it feels to be a Voidian. Evenity. It's needed. " Hase replied. " Evenity is good, but it shouldn't be caused by chaos. " the princess replied. " Can't you create them a world without destroying one first? " " No. It's the way of the universe. " a part of the pegasus' mane fell in front of his eyes. " Buck the universe! " Hase was so surprised, that his mane lost it's floating skills for a second. " Where's the pony, that once always fought against the rules? " Cadence asked. " Some rules can not be fought against. " the pony's voice sounded sad " Even if I don't want to, it's coded inside of me, have you forgotten? " Hase raised his face and saw, that there were tears inside of his eyes. " The purpose of my existence is such. Evenity. I am nothing for both Chrysalis and Vortex! Just their weapon, just like the Furious Nine- tail is mine! " the ruler of the Voidians yelled and shook his chains. " It isn't so! " Cadence tried to calm the pegasus " Hase, they love you with all of their heart. They... they just never had the chance to show it. " " You're right. " the stallion stopped shaking his chains " Do you know whose fault it is? " Cadence bit her lower lip. Her words now had other effect than she wished. " Celestia and Luna! " Hase spoke with scorn " The two Princesses! Everything my father and mother fought against. Symbol of conservatism and enemies of evenity. But they shall fall soon. The Prince of Progress will ride his fury! " With these words suddenly the chains broke and all of the windows exploded. Cadence was too slow, but found out, that a dark cloud was already keeping her safe from the shards. When it dissapeared, she saw Hase standing right in front of her. The prison was missing. However, the usual evil laugh of Hase wasn't heard. His eyes were filled with something like happiness. As if Hase had finally understood his purpose of life. " Thank you. " Cadence was surprised to hear those words, coming out of Hase' mouth. As S.H.I.E.L.D. agents broke into the room, the pegasus spread his wings and flew away, destroying the roof of the HQ. Cadence followed him with eyes and ignored the agents, who surrounded her and asked if she's OK. Hase was feeling different than usual. The constant hatred, that once filled him up was gone. he wasn't going to give up his cause. But he wasn't going to destroy his home. ' Citizen of Ponyville. ' he sent his thoughts to everypony, that were around. Ponies rushed to the streets and watched as he flew. ' I have made a new decision. Your world will not be destroyed. However, you'll have to share. And I'm going to eliminate the cause of the injustice right away! ' Most of the ponies got happy and cheered, as Hase flew over them. They thought the war was finally over. " You are going to eliminate Celestia and Luna, right? " a hostile voice sounded. Hase turned. it was one of the X- ponies, the four winged Angel, whose wings were even longer than Hase's . " Anything against it? " Hase turned around and flew backwards. " Yes, you're certainly not destroying our favourite and beloved rulers! " Angel shouted. " What if I told you they ruined my life? What do you really know about me, Angel? " the peagsus asked. " That you have fooled many to follow your schemes. But since Dr. McCoy finished his formula, now your enchantments won't work against me. Without your illusions this battle will be to the death! " the mutant exclaimed. " I don't wish to begin this era of peace with yet another murder. But illusions... you gave me an idea. " Hase spun and the Robe of Illusions floated in front of him. Angel covered his eyes. " Your serum should be able to withstand the power of the Robe... at least before I reforge it. " the mantle's holes filled in, the robe became longer and gained a dark violet colour. " The Phantom Mantle. " he smiled " As I said, I won't fight you. He will. " Angel's curiosity caused him to open his eyes. A pony, that strangely resembled him, flew next to Hase. However, this stallion's coat was blue, he was wearing a black suit and his eye rings were red. Without any warning he attacked. " Now, you'll soon find out that those aren't just illusions... they're pretty real. " the mutant got distracted from the fight by those words, which enabled his evil clone to land a succesful strike. His hard wings cut Angel's hoof. However, this made him even more enthusiastic. Eventually, he knocked out his evil copy and struck Hase. The pegasus manouvered quickly and avoided being hit. " In these days Rainbow Dash probably isn't the most fastest flier in Equestria, but she is the most agile one. And I am her student. " Hase performed a stunt, that would of been impossible for Angel and his 4 wings: he made a backflip in mid- air. If the mutant tried out something like this , his wings would surely tangle. This gave the ruler of the Voidians the upper hoof. The pegasus jumped on his enemy's back. That was surely an unexpected move. Angel turned over, but Hase held for his mane. After Angel returned to his normal position, the pegasus jumped off his back, but before the mutant can turn around, he felt how something stuck in his left front hoof. An arrow. Ignoring his pain, the four- winged pegasus turned around to see, that now Hase's bow was much longer and with more ornaments. However, it didn't look as threatening as his other weapons. " Not vengeance, but retribution. " Hase spoke to him " I now name this weapon the Righteous Scorpion. Nothing can stand in the way of retribution. " Shadows covered Angel's eyes as he fell. Hase didn't want him to get hurt, so he created a black cloud near the ground. After he got sure, that his enemy is well, he flew to Canterlot. ' Justice will preveil. ' he thought.
Highway to hell" Ah just don't get it. " Applebloom told Twilight. The alicorn didn't understand it either. At first the Voidian, that Hase had upgraded, was attacking furiously, without any target. But now it was cautiously avoiding everypony but Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. This made it easier for the rest to attack the Voidian, but the damage they dealt was like if a bee had stung the giant. Celestia and Luna were barely retiliating now. A sudden idea came to Twilight's mind. The edge was near. What if... " Scoot! " she yelled. After a second the lavender mare recognized the pegasus mare. She was flying around the Voidian and shot multiple optic beams at him, but no effect. " What? " Scotaloo asked after she landed nearby. " Do you think you can blind him? " the alicorn glared at the monster. The two Princesses' magical shields were quickly melting. " Should be pretty easy. " the orange pegasus flew off to the Voidian. Nearby there was Wanda and a miniature green tornado near her. Twilight knew what caused it. " Quicksilver! " she called and before she even finished his name the unicorn already stood before her. " Any ideas how to deal with this? " he nodded at the Voidian. " Push him to the edge. " the purple mare suggested. The hero smiled. A lot of shouting was heard, after Cyclops succeeded to blind the Voidian. Quicksilver got him near the edge. Guessing her friend's plan, Rainbow Dash fired a rocket, which caused the giant to fall from the edge. " Hey! Look! " Wanda exclaimed. After she turned around, Twilight got confused. The rails weren't broken anymore. " An illusion of some kind, I guess. " Luna supposed " Tricks of darkness. " After they got back on the train, they heard, that the comm device was beeping. Twilight reached it first, but since she had no idea which button to press, she stepped aside and Scotaloo got in front of it instead. After the correct button was pressed, Fury's worried face apeared on the small screen. " I need Twilight and the two Princesses. Where are they? " " Right here, Nick. " Luna spoke. She got in front of the device together with Twilight and her sister. " What's the case? " " I've got especially good news, but also pretty bad news. " Fury spoke " First, we caught Hase. But before you cheer, listen up. We got him in our special prison chamber and we let Cadence speak with him. The results were better than we have expected. We can say, that now Hase is almost the pony he once was. He gave up destroying our dimension and killing us all. Instead, he offered us to share Equestria with the Voidians. But there is a catch. The session with Cadence caused him to realize the real reason for all of the misery he and his parents had suffered. You. Now his entire hatred is focused on you, Princess Luna, Princess Celestia. We sent Angel to stop him, but in that fight, he reforged the Bow and the Robe. Before that he also reforged the Mace. So be careful! Your trip to Canterlot might lead you to a trap! " The transmission ended. Deep inside, Twilight was happy. But sad too. Was the price for the old Hase the death of Luna and Celestia? " All underestimate us! It's time to show them the power of the sun and the moon! " Celestia spoke. Canterlot was no further than 5 or 6 miles away. But, strangely, there were no Voidians at all. " Shouldn't this place be overflowing with them? " Dash referred to the servants of Hase. " It should. " Scoot replied " This leads me to the thought this is probably a trap. " " It's a trick. " Celestia agreed and looked through the window. The city was close. " But I start to wonder, why did he make it so obvious? " This couldn't be explained. Twilight was still thinking. Why would Hase, an excellent tactitian, make his trap so simple? It was obvious, that all of the Voidians didn't just vanish. But the more importrant question was: Where were they hiding? " Can't we locate the Voidians by magic? " she turned to Luna. The princess of the Night shook her head in responce. " For years he has been shrouding this place with dark concealing magic. On a magical level Canterlot is covered with thick layers of mist. " " So... we'r just waitin' ? " Logan wasn't very happy to hear that. " Sad but true. " Sweetie answered his question. After 10 minutes the train finally reached the gates of Canterlot. Even there there weren't any Voidians. The train didn't meet any obstacles all the way to the train station. As the group got out of the train, they saw, that the station was also completely empty. " Is he trying to turn it into a ghost town or something? " Dash asked Twilight. " I'm not sure. " the purple alicorn studied her surroundings. Indeed the whole station was empty. The ponies slowly made their way to the exit. They expected an ambush, but again, there was nopony. " This is getting too easy. " Luna threw a suspicious look at the streets. Either the Voidians were the best in hide and seek, or Hase had learned his lesson in concealing magic. The group tried not to make any noise as they followed the street to the castle. And still, nopony was tracking them and nopony was attacking them. " Maybe that dark guy is trying to scare us to da bones! " Deadpool suggested " If we are frightened from his ghost town, we can't shove a katana in his muzzle! " " Nopony is going to shove a katana in his muzzle! We don't kill ponies! " Twilight spoke to the unicorn with the red spandex. " Oh, come on! It sounds bad the way you say it! We're just going to unalive him or K-word him! " sometimes Deadpool sounded like if Pinkie Pie went crazy. No wonder- he was partially crazy. " Twilight's right! Killing him isn't part of the plan... oh. " Luna just remembered what they'd came for. " Princess, after he's now closer to being himself, can't we use another plan? " Twilight turned to Celestia. " I know you and your friends had became close to him. But he doesn't realize the truth about the Voidians and he'll never accept it. He takes them for innocent victims, that will be satisfied after he grants them a homeworld. Bu the truth is, that the Voidians are monsters. Few Chaotics have succeeded to change the Voidians. Their true nature is destroying everything on their way. They feed off dimensions. If we are defeated and Hase bargains, eventually Equestria will be destroyed. Hase will defend his " folk " , but he will never realize, that all they want is destruction. We need to stop him now. " Celestia replied. " Well, well, well. " a dark figure landed on their way. After it came a little closer, Twilight recognized Hase. Now his mane had a little more light purple colour. The stallion was unarmed, so Luna took immediate actions. A blue bolt of magic flew to the pegasus. He didn't try to dodge it, but stopped it with his chest. Now Twilight noticed, that instead of the scales sacristy, now he had a silver armour with beatiful ornaments. Dragon heads stood on his shoulders. " Instead of the Armour of Extinction, that sounds too cruel, why not the Dragon Doom? It will withstand not only dragon fire at it's maximum temperature, but it also makes me immune to any hostile spells, if fired at it, of course. But let's play fair. " the Dragon Doom vanished and in front of them now there was a pegasus with no armour at all. " At least your last battle, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, will be fair. You have no armour, so I won't be armed too. " the pegasus told the two alicorns. Than he looked at Twilight. Dash in the Iron Patriot landed nearby. Only happiness could be seen in his eyes. " Hase... you don't have to do it. " the purple alicorn hoped her friend would listen to her. " I wish I could. " the pegasus sighed " But they... they are the reason for everything bad, that happened during my whole life. We met in three ages. In all of them they ruined my life and tried to destroy me and my family. " he stared at the Princesses with hatred. " Hase, you don't know the true nature of the Voidians. They won't just live peacefuly. They'll destroy Equestria! " Celestia tried to convince the vengeful pegasus. " How could you be so sure, Celestia? Where does your knowledge originate from ? Books ?!? From my point of view, anypony can be changed. " the ruler of the Voidians answered. " Anypony but the Voidians. " Luna spoke to him. Suddenly Hase vanished, leaving behind some trails of darkness. " I'm afraid I don't have time to chat. " Twilight couldn't find out where the sound came from " Celestia, Luna, prepare for the fight of your life. The others - I would suggest you leave Canterlot. Now! " his voice sounded desperate. Instead of running, the group made a circle around the two Princesses. " There's nothing easier for me than killing them, but protecting you. " an arrow stuck exactly between the two Princesses. When she looked up, Twilight saw a sillouethe hiding in a cloud. The arrow exploded and shrouded everything around them in darkness. Twilight felt she was being pushed away. When the darkness dissapeared, she saw the two Princesses were trapped in an energy field and everypony else were out of it. It was quite big, so the royalties had space for manouvers, but their back- up was blocked. " You never fight your own battles. " Hase materialized from darkness inside the field " Once, you sent Starswirl the Bearded. During my service, you have sent me numerous time to eliminate dangerous criminals and even skillful magicians. 15 years ago you sent my future friends to stop me and imprison me once and for all. Now it's time to see how do you battle by yourself. " Outside the Iron Patriot was trying to breach the shield with her whole arsenal. Nothing seemed to work, but rainbow Dash kept trying. Untill suddenly Hase threw the Furious Nine- Tail outside of the shield. It transformed into the fire drake and swirled around the field. " I would be grateful if you don't interrupt me exactly now, Dash. Everything is going to be as it once was as soon as I deal with the ghosts of my past. " Hase told her and summonned the Cleaving Morningstar. " I thought you said it was going to be a fair fight? " Celestia knit her brows. " Oh, right. I did. " the horrible weapon dissapeared, together with Hase and the force field. " However, you'll have to guard eachother's backs. " balls of pure darkness started pouring at the two Princesses. They guarded eachother's backs. Twilight tried to rush at them, but the fire drake landed in front of them. " Nah- ah - ah! " Hase spoke " Two vs. one. We don't need more. " " Hase, if you're planning to defeat us with these, you underestimate us greatly! " Luna challenged the pegasus. The balls stopped pouring and now Hase's voice was heard again: " I am not underestimating you nor am I overestimating you... " The drake flew away and the silence returned. The ponies regrouped. Than Celestia and Luna noticed something. A big pony was running towards them. This pony resembled... " Father? " both Luna and Celestia ran to the pony, but when they were on the half way there, a hole to the Void opened and the pony fell inside. The two alicorns fell on the ground. When Twilight neared them, she heard, that they were crying. " Reborn to be destroyed. " Hase taunted from the darkness. " Princess... this was probably a trick. Do you remember? Only ponies with power, equal to that of 5 alicorns can bring back from the dead. Hase hasn't got such power. " Those words brought the two princesses back on their hooves. " You're right. . But what was the point of this? " Celestia wondered. " Fear for the closest ones. it isn't just fear, there's something... primal inside of it. Everypony are equal when facing their fears. And your fears, dear Princesses, gave me what I needed. So much fear, enough for me to reforge my shield and create.... the Dreadful Guardian! " Hase appeared from the shadows with a shield, that was as long as him and had rectangualr form. Unlike it's previous form, this one had ornaments and many horrible details. " Face your nightmares come true! " the pegasus triumphed, as dark figures got out of the shield. This reminded Twilight of the enchanted mirror, that once Sunset Shimmer used. The figures became clear and everypony gasped in horror. There was one of the figures for each of the group. " The Headless Horse... with 4 rusty horseshoes? " Scotaloo shivvered. One of the figures was indeed a pony with no head. Those rusty horseshoes made a horrifying noise. " The Scorpion of the Desert Heat! What awaitens us is defeat! " Zecora gasped, as a huge yellow scorpion pinched the near street lamp, cutting it in half. " Jelly! " at first Quicksilver's primal fear sounded ridiculous, but when twilight looked at the figure, that stood against him, she understood him. The jelly was full of junk and had two hollows for eyes and a third for mouth. The creature smiled and opened it's mouth wide. Wanda was also very afraid, so she obviously shared her brother's worst fear. " Your style is horrible! " a pony, that slightly resembled Photo Finish, yelled at Sweetie. The unicorn began to cry. " I am the Great and Powerful Tiara! Nothing can match my magical strength! " a grown up Diamond Tiara alicorn was facing Applebloom. The earth pony was hiding behind a crate. One of the few, that faced their fears, was Logan. He was growling. In front of him there was a pony, covered in yellow furr. The Wolverine's opponent smiled, revealing his beast- like teeth. " Victor. " Logan spoke " Jimmy. Well, nice to meet you again. " Victor replied. Did he just call Logan Jimmy? "Oh, Celestia. Noooo! " Deadpool yelled. Against him there was a clown. Deadpool was afraid of clowns? In front of her and the Princesses there was nothing. Because Hase was their fear. They feared they might lose him forever. " Go away! " Deadpool got out his katanas and jumped over the clown. Before his enemy could react, he stabbed him in the back. The clown fell apart and vanished, levaing only his clothes behind. " That's it! " Twilight guessed the right strategy against the feared " Face your fears! " she yelled at her friends. When she heard that, Zecora smiled. She got over her fears and unleashed a lightning at the scorpion. The monster hissed and vanished. Following Zecora, the twins Wanda and Pietro attacked the jelly. While Quicksilver was distracting it, the Scarlet Witchmare shot a magical blast in it's face. Scotaloo took advantage of the fact, that her enemy had no eyes and made him fall on the ground. While the headless horse was trying to get back on his hooves, Scotaloo eliminated him with an optic blast. Nearby Sweetie jumped over the head of the stylist pony and stabbed him in the back. On Scoot's other side Applebloom jumped and sunk in the street. While the fake Tiara was wondering where was she, she jumped out behind her and kicked her. The fake alicorn rolled down the street. Meanwhile Logan pretended to jump and Victor jumped for real. The Wolverine slid under him and stabbed him with his adamantium clwas. " I wish he was the real one. " Logan commented. " You're brave, I admit. " Hase spoke to them, after all of them got together " But why proect a ruler, that hasn't done anything good for you? " After saying those words the pegasus vanished again. There were still no Voidians or Sentinels and the ponies decided to use that while they can. The group continued on their way to the castle.
Portable Magic" I still can't believe we stumbled upon no Voidian or Sentinel. " Logan noted. " I guess it doesn't matter. We're here now. " Luna stood in front of the big gates. They opened and revealed the huge royal library. Guided by Luna and Celestia, the ponies reached the Starswirl the Bearded quite quickly. " Now where could that box be hiding? " Luna wondered, as she searched the rows. " Princess, this section is enormous. isn't there some kind of magic, that would help you locate the box? " Twilight turned to her ex- mentor. " You're right, Twilight. " Celestia agreed. The alicorn concentrated. Yellow oreol surrounded the princess' horn. Yellow flashes of light studied the shelves and the rows. Eventually, a small wooden box appeared in front of her. It was a simple and ordinary box. Nothing special about it. No ornaments, no silver, no gold - nothing. The only thing, that made it clear it isn't somepony's forgotten lunchbox was the shining white seal on it's lock. The seal resembled a sun and a big alicorn stallion stood in it's center, spread his wings. " Your father had a beard? " Scoot's comment broke the mystic athmosphere. " It was modern back in these days. " Celestia replied and touched the seal with her horn. The seal changed it's colour to yellow and now Celestia's figure was in it's centre. The box's cover lifted, revealing an old piece of perchament. " I'll take that, thank you very much. " a familliar voice spoke. Before anypony could react, the scroll was engulfed with darkness and vanished. After they turned around, they saw Hase standing on one of the long stairs, that were used to get books from the upper shelves. " Such a small piece of perchament contains such a powerful spell, interesting. " the pegasus noted and touched the scroll. However, it emitted strong white light and burned Hase. Cursing, he dropped it onto the floor. Before he got it again, Celestia held it with her magic and tried to open it. At her wish the scroll slowly opened, revealing long lost words. " Recipe for... " Celestia started reading. This was the wrong scroll! " Looking for something? " the real scroll waved in front of Hase. Obviously he hadn't touched it at all. One of Celestia's solar bolts flew towards Hase. Before melting in darkness, he threw the scroll away, only to catch it after he re- appeared right bellow it. " You want it badly, huh? " he smiled. " I must say, I'm dissapointed. I thought you were my friends, " he turned to Twilight, Rainbow Dash and the former Cutie Mark Crusaders " , but obviously, you aren't. Wouldn't none of you try to prevent them from melting me? " " Hase, you're confused. " Twilight thought, that if Cadence had success with words, it was worth a try. " The Voidians... aren't as you think they are. They want only destruction, since it feeds them. They won't just simply settle down. " Hase thought for a second, and than came his reply: " Actually, most of them really are scum. But everypony deserves a second chance. I'll give it to them. But first... " a small portal to the Void opened and Hase threw the scroll in it. Before he could even hear Celestia and Luna's yelling and before their destructive spells flew towards him he teleportated away. " It's useless. " Wanda held her head with her forehooves. Everypony's mood was way down. They have failed. For Luna and Celestia it was even a greater failure, since they had lost the one thing, that had left from their father. Nopony, even Deadpool, found any use of continuing. The battle was lost. ' We were so close... ' Twilight thought. For the moment he was thinking what to reply, his mane had changed it's colour several times. And now he would find out about his mistake too late. By the time they returned his army would of destroyed Ponyville. Finally she understood why there were no Voidians or Sentinels - Hase had mobilised them in case the citizen of Ponyville attacked him . All of his Voidians were currently awaiting their main dish - Ponyville. When nopony expected it, a thud was heard. When everypony turned around, they saw, that something big blocked the view of the night sky. The group got out on the balconee. One of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s transport planes was waiting for them. The Helicarrier was waiting high in the skies. Fury and Cadence got off the vehicle. " How was it? " the director asked. " He threw it in the Void. " Luna replied sadly. " That's... not exactly the end. " another voice told her. Luna raised her head to see Vortex. " We're going to bring in some back - up. " he grinned.
Rebirth" The situation is horrible. There seems to be no way out. I would like to prove everypony wrong and say: yes, there is a way! " Vortex spoke. The two Princesses, together with Cadence, twilight, dash and Fury had gathered around the table in the Helicarrier's control room. While Mare Hill was controlling the enormous flying machine, Vortex was speaking about his plan. " So... what do you suggest? " Celestia got interested. " The only ways to use this spell is either that Celestia reads it from the scroll, which is now impossible, or that Primal Shine himself conjures it. " " But... that doesn't make any sence! You can't bring somepony back from the dead! " Luna told him. " Yes, there is. Because there is one tinyyy catch, that allows us to do so. He isn't dead. He was destroyed. " Vortex spoke " This gives us an unexpected adavantage. The Reincarnation spell would only work with ponies, that died because of a spell. In the case with your father, who was killed by the Elements of Chaos' elemental magic, that's exactly what we need. Haven't you never heard of it? " " I have. " Celestia knit her brows " But I'm not sure if Twilight is ready for such a procedure. " " I don't doubt, that she's ready. " Vortex smiled " She's the Element of Magic, after all. I am worrying more about what happens after the spell. Even though the power of 5 alicorns is gigantic, such power would knock us out for at least a day. If my son decides to attack the Helicarrier during this day, from a wizard's point of view, we're sitting ducks, because we can't hope, that Primal Shine is going to be in top condition. He might of lost some training. However, we have no other choice and it would be better if we start right away. But Fury, " the alicorn stallion turned to the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. " , we have to perform this spell outside. We should stop the Helicarrier. " " If we do so, we would be sitting ducks not only from a wizard's point of view. " Fury answered. " So you better be quick. " The aircraft hung in mid- air. Twilight and the other alicorns headed for the deck. It was silent. The calm before the storm. " Remember, Twilight. We're all together, together with you. " Celestia whispered in her right ear. Everypony closed their eyes and the magic began. Twilight knew what to do. She just had to imagine the process. The mare imagined the alicorn stallion rising and removing Hase's curse with a swish of a horn. She imagined him ending all of this, putting an end to this apocalyptic future. Obviously the magic worked, since the purple alicorn heard a strange sound and than another one, which sounded like flowing sand. She felt her energy draining to the center of the circle the 5 alicorns have formed. Slowly, a body appeared from their magic. Twilight was sure about it, although she didn't know why. She kept on with the magic. The body soon gained wings, horn, mane and tail. The lavender mare was now barely keeping on her hooves. Finally, when she had no more energy, she collapsed. Her eyes didn't see the success of this spell. Darkness. Light. Fire. Water. Earth. Wind. That were his last memories, or more like the 6 of them combined in a dreadful storm. However, when the stallion opened his eyes, none of them was present. He was on a platform of some kind. It was soaring in the clouds. There was nothing familliar to him on it. Some strange....things with steel wings and the weird material beneath his hooves. When the stalion took it a closer look, he finally noticed something familliar. He was in the centre of a circle. A circle, formed by 5 ponies. Was he being worshiped or something? No, because the ponies were... sleeping. The pony sighed. He would have to wait if he wanted answers. Than he noticed something, that brought him his memories back. " Vortex! " Primal Shine whispered and neared his brother. His greatest enemy was on the ground. Well, he wasn't going to reply him any soon. So the alicorn decided to examine the other bodies. All of them were alicorns. Two of them were completely unknown, but the other two.... Primal Shine's heart beat quickly. The last two alicorns resembled... it couldn't be! That were Celestia and Luna! But both of them looked grown - up. How much time had passed since he.... wait, he shouldn't of been alive. He should of died in the Elemental Storm. And if he didn't, why didn't he have any memories reaching this place. The truth came to the alicorns's mind. He died back than. But now... was he alive again? ' A spell. Death by a spell. ' the ruler thought and grinned. His two smart fillies, apparently reinforced by his brother... had brought him back to life. Obviously Vortex wasn't the beast he once knew . Primal Shine felt a cold breeze blow in his back. The alicorn turned around and saw a pegasus, that was about his size and looked pretty much like Vortex, except that his mane had only one colour - a strange mixture of purple and blue. The pony looked shocked from the fallen ponies. Primal Shine would of been happy to finally ask somepony where he was and what was happening... and which year it was, too. Hase had no words to express his anger. His father, Twilight, Cadence.... were they dead? The pegasus put his left front hoof on Twilight's chest. Luckily, her heart was still beating. The stallion sighed in relief. But who was that alicorn? His coat was white and his cuty mark was a big sun, that somehow looked more threatening than the one on Celestia's flank. His coat and mane were golden, and he also had... a beard with the same colour? If it was longer, Hase would of thought this was a hermit of some kind. But it all fit together... Celestia and Luna weren't able to conjure the extermination spell, so they have summonned the only pony, who can... their big, bad daddy. Hase had no idea how strong Primal Shine was and he didn't want to try it out... yet. The pony against him looked confused. The king didn't know why was this pegasus so tall. Usually the pegasi were half his size. perhaps he ate all of his vegetables? This thought almost made the alicorn laugh, but he held it in. Primal Shine didn't know if this pony was friendly or hostile. Anyway, he decided it would be inpolite to not introduce himself: " Good greetings, noble knave. Sound the trumpets, because forsooth hast thee king returned! " Primal Shine spoke with the Royal Canterlot Accent. The royalty didn't expect laugh. But nothing else came from that pony against him. He was literally rolling on the floor laughing. Primal Shine was just going to demonstrate some of his power, when the stallion got back on his hooves and replied: " Nopony speaks like that since at least a millenia, your highness. The common language is now even used in the palace. Only Luna used to use it briefly after she returned from her exile, but even she got used to, as she called it, the simple language. " " Exile? " this word scared Primal Shine. his daughter has been... exiled? But by whom? He though he would finf that pony and turn him to stone. " Actually, it was Celestia. Luna threatened to bring eternal night... Tartarus, why am I even telling you this? " Hase just remembered he first intended to destroy Primal Shine while he was still vulnerable. " What do you mean? " the father of Celestia and Luna was confused of the sudden interruption. Wait... did he just use " Tartarus " instead of " Primal Shine " ( or probably " Celestia " ) ? Did this mean... Dark smoke surrounded Hase. His long dark purple mane and tail changed their shades as they waved behind the pegasus. The alicorn against him just looked at him suspiciously. " I must admit Nightmare Moon is the queen of the dramatic appearance. However, I'm better when it comes to action! " The pegasus came back to the ground and introduced himself: " Shivver! For this is me, Hase, Master of the Darkness, worse even than the Destroyer! " Primal Shine's heart felt like if it was covered with ice. Worse than the Destroyer? Now he knew why the moon was in front of the sun - this villain was controling it! He was going to kill him and probably his two foals. And now that was something that Primal Shine wasn't going to let happen. His horn shone with golden light. The sun shone from behind the moon. Every time the moon tried to catch up, it was repelled. Eventually, the sun got exactly over Hase. " What, you're going to sunburn me to death? " the pegasus taunted. " Something like that. " the alicorn replied and his horn shone even brighter. Before his enemy could react, a beam of solar light fired from the sun, aiming for him. No sound. Just silent destruction. Nothing could be seen in the blinding beam of light. The sun continued to rain destruction upon the spot where Hase used to stand. Primal Shine smiled victoriously, at least until a small trail of darkness appeared in the light. The alicorn became curious and neared it. The beam was rejected by another beam, darker than any night. Fired from the Spear of Hatred. Hase's feathers were burned and his coat was smoking, but he was still alive. The Spear was surrounded by dark oreol and slowly changed. It kept it's length, but looked more sinister. Instead of just three horns, now the head of the spear represented three ponies - an alicorn, a unicorn and a pegasus. The pegasus and the alicorn were with their back at the ball of darkness in the center of the head. Their wings were forming it's top. The unicorn was facing the dark ball and it's horn was touching it. The darkness became more intense. As sun and darkness fought, the sky lightened and the earth darkened. Eventually, the darkness pushed the energy beam all the way back to the sun. The moon caught up and covered the celestial objest once again. The dusk returned. Hase turned to the alicorn. something more than hatred could be seen in his eyes. " The Staff of Scorn. " Hase ran his hoof across his reforged weapon " Now are you convinced, that I am your worst nightmare? " " Indeed I am... " Primal Shine made a step back " ... but how did you survive this? Nothing can withstand the power of the sun! " " Darkness covers everything! And now I shall finish my deed, destroy you and your heirs! " Hase raised his staff and prepared to unleash a destructive attack upon his enemy, when S.H.I.E.L.D. agents got out and opened fire. Hase looked annoyed, like if the bullets were nothing more than some wasp stings. " Enjoy your last day of living. For tomorrow at this time I shall attack with full power! You and your foals would either surrender and save this land... or I would do it for you. " the pegasus ran to the edge and jumped off it. He spread his dark wings and flew in direction Ponyville.
The Last StandEverything was smudged the moment Twilight opened her eyes. It was like if she was trying to open her eyes while in the Ponyville river. A second or two later everything became clear again. She was in the healing room of the castle. Pink drapes separated her from the other beds. Except them and her bed she only saw a small table. The purple mare stood up and sat on her bed. She sighed. Everything was over. Primal Shine had killed Hase and now all what left to them was to figure out a way to go back to the past. She couldn't be happier when one of the curtains was pulled aside with light blue magic and Rarity appeared. Her unicorn friend rushed to the bed. Sitting on the bed, Twilight was with the exact height of her friend. After the hug, which was inevitable, Twilight asked: " Rarity, when are we leaving? " Rarity's smile faded. Twilight wondered was this because of her true love was dead... or probably somepony else also was. " We're not there yet, Twilight. Hase survived, as Fury guessed before. It's unclear how, but now his full arsenal is reforged and he's mobilized all of his armies. Now they are on the north entry to Ponyville. Dash took a flight to see if some rockets from her suit can bring rocks from the mountains down, to smash the Voidians. The armies spread at least half the way to Canterlot. We have no chance of winning. Hase had only given us one - the Princesses and Primal Shine must surrender to him in, " Rarity stared at the watch on the wall, that could be seen. It was next to a big window, that was probably a door which handle couldn't be seen, since there was a big balconee behind the glass. Out there, Twilight could recognize Cadence, Vortex, Luna and Celestia. There was also a fourth alicorn with a white coat and a golden mane. The purple mare guessed he was Primal Shine. " The others got up about a minute before you did. " Rarity knew what she was looking at " So far they can't get Celestia and Luna out of their father's hug. " Twilight laughed. Her unicorn friend never lost her sence of humor. But than she remembered, that there was something more importrant " Rarity, " she turned to the Queen of the Moon " , how is it going with you and the others? " " Nothing new, actually. " the unicorn replied " Hase is keeping his squads on a leash. There were few impatient groups, but Pony and Pepper took care of them. I guess it's their way to reunion. " Twilight slipped off the edge of the bed. Her hooves were barely keeping her up. The alicorn felt Rarity's magic slightly lifting her up in the air. The lavender mare was grateful for her friend's help. The two mares got out. In the hall, outside of the pink curtains, there were her friends, awaiting her. None of them were wearing their superhero outfits, like if it was a long time ago, when the only villains they had to worry about were Discord ,Chrysalis and Sombra. Ironically, now all of these supported them, and one of their friends was their enemy. " Sic transit dies. " Rarity's words had no meaning to Twilight. Usually it was the other way around, so the purple mare looked at her friend with confusion. The unicorn blushed and the reply came immeadietly: " Light Warrior thinks I should be able to speak fluent Lunlatin, since I am the Quuen of the Moon. It means something like " That's how the time passes by. " " " Have you... found about your new powers yet? " the lavender alicorn asked. Her friend's smile became a frown as she explained: " Not really. Even Light Warrior can't find out why. He believes it should appear latest tomorrow. The problem is, that there would be no tomorrow. The final battle is today - one way or another. " Rarity sighed. Twilight's friends neared and greeted her. Than Rarity relinquished Twilight from her magic's grip and, with the help of Applejack, got to the balconee. The other alicorns turned around and nodded as a welcome. After Twilight nodded in responce, Primal Shine thanked her for bringing him back: " I am extrememly pleasured you have participated in my rebirth. " he said. " Believe me, from the two I was the more rebellious one. Primal Shine... well, he was stuck with the fans, up around the point of Celestia's... multiplied by one thousand. It will take him some time to forget his royal etiqette. " Vortex whispered in the purple alicorn's ear. She smiled and replied to Vortex's brother: " Leave the etiquette for later. We're all friends here. " " Very well. " Primal Shine sure sounded a lot better when he wasn't speaking like before " I am indeed very happy I am back. I guess that's normal enough. I'm also happy to see you two. " he rubbed Luna and Celestia's muzzles with his left hoof, which kind off made the atmosphere more relaxing. The two Princesses blushed as their father described Celestia's foal pink mane and Luna's light blue one. Luckily, he laughed, remembering of the old times, and returned to the main topic. " So, you've told me how you're doing and about these two, " his wings spread, pointing Twilight and Cadence " , young fillies, but this still doesn't explain a lot. I don't understand what is my brother, obviously reformed, doing here, and who is our enemy? " " I'll take it from here. " Vortex told Luna and Celestia " Your spell... obviously you didn't hate me enough to make the spell permanent. I awakened ages after that, only to find out your fillies have taken the lead. At first I was planning to conquer Equestria. I found somepony with simillar interests... " Queen Chrysalis got through the door. Twilight admitted, that she looked dazzling: her white coat was in full contrast with the dark sky and her green mane and tail were waving behind her. Her butterfly wings were catching the small amount of light there was and emitting it reflected. She smiled nervously. The purple alicorn knew she wouldn't smile honestly until she has her son in her hug. " O -ho -hoo! Vortex, you old diamond dog! " Primal Shine pat his brother, which made the Dark Emperor grin nervously. " When are you two planning to expand the family tree.... wait a second. " Primal Shine turned back to Chrysalis " We've met before. The Changeling dimension. You're the queen of the changelings, right? What are you doing here? " " My dimension... was consumed. " Chrysalis' beatiful void reflected her grief. " Well, I'm sorry for that. " Primal Shine lost his optimism for a while. " So anyway, who's our enemy? " " He's our son. " Vortex replied " He was magically modified to be the perfect pony to face your foals. Back than they were still unexperienced and I believed I could do any better... " the alicorn shook his head. " I'm responsible for all of this. " " So... actually I would be fighting my nephiew? " Primal Shine asked " Obviously, fighting eachother runs through our veins. " " Now it comes to strategy. " Cadence joined the conversation " How do we defeat an enemy, immune to the power of the sun, the moon, love and friendship? Let's also not ignore his army. " " This won't work. " Twilight was surprised to see Rarity arrive on the balconee " No matter what we threw at him, nothing worked. Except one. " the unicorn looked at Cadence. " Talking? " Cadence guesed. " He won't talk to us, Rarity. " Celestia said the Queen of the Moon " He hates us... and I think we deserve it. We were the ones, who ruined his life. " " His life isn't ruined, your highness. " Rarity smiled " Nopony's life is ruined when she or he has somepony to love her or him. And I love him. You're right, blinded in his hatred, he won't talk to you. But he will talk to me. " 'A.. are you sure? Rarity, I will not risk your life... " Rarity put a hoof on Twilight's mouth and smiled: " Nopony says the power of Love or Friendship works only with it's bearer. I have suffered for too long. But I will not surrender and fall on my faint couch. I shall fight in the name of love! " An oreol with the same colour as Rarity's magic surrounded her. Blinding light made everypony around close their eyes. When they opened them again, they saw, that Rarity's back was covered with a silver armour and a strange scepter levitated around her. With a simple design - a long silver stick, resembling a column with a crescent on it's top - it indicated, that now Rarity was truly the Queen of the Moon. " Are we saving Equestria or what? " she asked. Time was running out quite quickly. After an hour Hase would have no choice but to let the Voidians attack. He wondered how did he even become their ally. If he didn't think they were just innocent victims he would of never done such things. Those monsters were making him nervous. Luckily, the first squad was entirely Sentinels. First Hase thought them for his ultimate creation, but now he realized they were nothing more than killing machines. The pegasus swore to himself he would dismantle all of them ( maybe except Vinyl ). What was it? A large group was coming from Ponyville. Were those troops Royal Guards or Celestia's escort? He could of sent a Voidian raven, but he didn't want to. The ruler of the Voidians decided to wait and see for himself. As the ponies neared, Hase saw, that there were all of Ponyville's heroes. Big Mack, who had taken the form of the Colossus, was slowly walking, making the ground shake beneath his hooves. Near him Applebloom was sinking in the ground and than jumping out of it. The reflection from Scotaloo's visor could be seen from miles away, but now after she was near... What were the light reflections doing there? Hase looked up and saw the moon setting. He tried to stop it but somepony as strong as him, helped by Luna , was keeping it down. Only one pony had such power and Hase hoped she wouldn't appear. But there she was. Rarity was walking between Twilight and Celestia. If there was one thing Hase would never do it was hurting Rarity. Why the hay was she there? Hay? He stopped using " hay " and replaced it with "Tartarus " 15 years ago! What was happening?!? Those, who weren't mutants, were his old allies. Fluttershy showed signs she was going to turn to the Shyulk if something went wrong, as the green sparks in her eyes indicated. The Mark 42 iron Stallion looked as if it was new and was acompanied by the Iron Patriot and Rescue. Previously Hase craved for such technology, which he would use to upgrade the Sentinels, but now, as he compared the two kinds of war machines, he realized, that if he had put some more effort in quality over quantity in those Sentinels the mutants would be extinct by this moment. He cursed. If he was thinking for technology and not destruction when building those they would of been much better. Now, after he looked at them, they looked as old, rusty 30 feet robots, compared to Pony Stark's iron Stallion suit. Probably this was because Pony had whole 41 upgrades of his armour and most of his Sentinels were still first or second version. And, Celestia, they were buggy. Hase thought that if he didn't dismantle them, he would at least upgrade them to the max and turn them to beatiful statues, that would defend the towns if somepony attacked. He liked that idea. The group stopped 35 feet away. Rarity continued to walk forward. That made Hase even more nervous. Was she going to speak with him? The pegasus flew to her. If he was going to speak to her, at least he wanted it to be away from his army. " Rarity... you shouldn't of come. " Hase spoke sadly, as he landed. " Why? Are you... afraid of me? " the unicorn smiled. " You know, that I can't ever possibly hurt you. Why do you torture me by coming here? You also know, that I am not giving up my cause. " he caressed her face with the end of his right wing. " There is always hope, Hase. You're almost there. Just ask yourself, what do you know about the Voidians? " Rarity neared the pegasus. " This doesn't matter... " the stallion tried to retilliate. " It matters, Hase. What if you're wrong? What if you're being kind and caring to those monsters and ignoring your friends and making them take hard decisions? " the Queen of the Moon was worried. " Ask them. Just for me. If you're right, I shall no longer bother you. " Hase frowned and turned around. At a telepathic command another pegasus flew to him. However, when he neared, Rarity saw, that he had holes, filled with darkness, on few spots. This Voidian had a good disguise. " I have made a decision I didn't ask you for. " Hase spoke to him. " Well, of course, my lord. You're our king. " Rarity disliked his obvious flattery. " It's about... the condition. I've agreed to make a compromise - you will not destroy this dimension. Instead, you will be reformed by me and you'll live together. " Hase surely didn't expect for his subject to laugh: " But, your highness, what are you speaking about! We need to feed. Otherwise we can't reform. And most of us will overeat. You see, we are true gastronoms... " Hase summonned the Furious Nine- Tail and slapped the Voidian across the face. " You're speaking about billions of lives! Don't be so ignorant! " he shouted. " They've had their time. Now it's ours. Lead or step aside, my king. " the words of the Voidian were surprising for Hase. So after all this he had fought on the side of.... monsters? The pegasus held his head in his forehooves, as his wings flapped and kept him an inch over the ground. What had he done? Well, anyway, it wasn't late to fix it. " You've failed my expectations! Return to the Void! " the stallion commanded. The Voidian just shrugged his shoulders nad smiled. Than he yelled: " There has been a change in the command! Voidians, attack and take no prisoners! " Hase was stunned. His own subjects had tuned against him. He had no choice but to command: " Sentinels! Thetha Protocol! " A weird calculation noise was heard from the machines as the four- legged pony- resembling Sentinels turned around. Simillar robotic voices kept chanting: " THETHA PROTOCOL: BETRAYAL. ELIMINATE FORMER ALLIES. AT ALL COST. " The stupid ponylike monster sure didn't expect that. While he was blankly staring at the robots, Hase summonned his staff and turned him to dark trails of smoke and ashes. Meanwhile the Sentinels were unleashing their full arsenal. Rockets flew chaotically and smashed in the countless Voidians. The Sentinels' hoof beams ( complete imitation of the repulsors of the Iron Stallion, but, hey, imitation is a flattery) were also doing a fine job, but the Voidians were a lot more than the Sentinels. The giant robots would grant them about two minutes. Now Hase flew back to Rarity. His mane was now with a srange colour between violet and dark blue. " Who would guess. You're right. As you always are. " he smiled. " Well.... " Rarity didn't have time to reply because soon she found out she was in Hase's grip. The two of them hugged and looked in each other's eyes. The violet had permanently dissapeared, leaving Hase with dark blue mane and tail and stunning blue eyes. The two ponies looked at each other for a second and than their lips joined for a kiss. " Score! " Deadpool noted and played a triumphant tune on his weird looking instrument, that was a combination of a piano, a violin and DJ equipement. Meanwhile the iron Patriot dismantled spontaneously and Dash fell out. The Element of Loyalty on her neck shone and so did everypony else's, except for Rarity's. Cadence was separated from Shining Armour, as the pink oreol of love surrounded her. It fired at Rarity and the Elements of Harmony fired at Hase. The two of them shone so brightly, that the sun looked like a small flame. After the two of them landed, it was revealed, that now Hase's armour reflected him being the King of the Moon. The others rushed to them and greeted Hase. " You're a stubborn pony. Kind of reminds me of your father. " Primal Shine smiled. Hase separated from Rarity and nodded at his father. The both of them stood and closed their eyes. A huge hole in the matter of the world opened, slowly sucking all of the Voidians and Sentinels inside. As Twilight looked at it, she saw many things that once were or would be. The Void wasn't like Hase's darkness. It was tempting, really, but Twilight knew those were just the same illusions that made Hase believe the Voidians were good. 4 minutes later, as the last Voidian was sucked in, the primal portal closed. Hase and Vortex opened their eyes. " Well, you lead us. How do we stop that future of happening? " the Dark Emperor asked his som. " Quite simple, actually. We must return to the time when we first fought Sabredance. Our obsolete versions will vanish and we'll only have to return to Equestria on time. " the pegasus replied. " That's why we also need Chrysalis and Sombra to come along. We won't need to reform you, mom, or Sombra either. " Two groups were formed. The first was consisted of the Mane 6, the Elemental Lords, the Avengers, the two Princesses, Hase, Chrysalis, Sombra, Primal Shine and Vortex. The rest were staying. " Make sure I don't destroy the barn. " Scootaloo spoke to Dash. She nodded and that was the last thing the second group saw before their guests from another time vanished in a portal. " Let's don't forget the main attraction... " waves of light flickered as a portal opened and the future selves of the confused participants in the pre- Equestrian expedition poured out, causing a chaotic blast. Twlight only remembered how confused she looked like. Now the roof was gone and the stars could be seen. " Nice job. " Crescent noted. Twilight turned around and saw their Prequestrian friends sitting around a knocked out Sabredance. Obviously the destruction of the roof had caused a stone to fall on his head. " You too. But now farewell, Ms. Crescent. " Thor noticed and bowed. The prequestrians tried to immitate the gesture and for the second time the time travellers ended up in a portal. " Wrong adress? " Derpy was staring blankly at a letter, when suddenly a hole of darkness opened and a big group of ponies fell on her head. " Now that's just great! " the postmare got a bit cross, but it turned to a surprise when she saw what landed on her head. " Princess! " she tried to bow, but her lower half was burried. The group certainltly drew a lot of attention, so the ponies had no choice but to stop by Stark Mansion ( Pepper was surprised by Sombra ringing the bell, which ended with some bruises under his left eye ) and equip the non- flyers with PFDs. Twilight decided she could fly, but realized she had practised even less than Hase. " Don't worry about that. " Dash spoke after she got into the Iron Patriot. " I'm going to teach it to you very soon. " In the late May night a strange group of wings and turbines flew towards Canterlot. Nopony had ever seen such flying fair before.
EpilogueBoth Hase and Rarity were nervous. ' That's probably how Twilight felt when she was being crowned. ' the unicorn thought. Celestia's voice could be heard from the balconee: " ... so after I mentioned, that my beloved father and uncle, the long lost Vortex and Primal Shine, have neen announced for our royal advisors and our dear friends Sombra and Chrysalis kindly agreed to help us with the rule over Equestria, it's the moment you've all been waiting for - please greet the new King and Queen of the Moon, Hase and Rarity! " The two tall ponies walked out on the balconee. The crowd cheered so loudly they couldn't hear their own thoughts. Down in the crowd they could recognize their friends: Applejack as Captain Equestria, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash in the Iron Patriot suit, Pony Stark without the suit togther with Pepper, Pinkie Pie was hidden behind an enormous cake, The Lords, Hawk, the Black Widow, Thor and even Nick Fury. His black clothes were in full contrast with the crowd. It surely was more pleasant later, in the café. All of them were celebrating Rarity's and Hase's crowning with Pinkie's cake. As for the paparazzi, Hase had covered the windows with pure darkness and Blaze had molten the keyholes of the front and the back doors. " What do you plan doing next? " Twilight asked. " I should go to the Moon, of course. Rarity decided to stay here for a month more. Anyway, she would take her former form. We don't need another wave of paparazzi in Ponyville. " Hase smiled " For one month the Moon should be ready to meet it's new queen. " Rarity smiled and delivered Hase a small kiss on the cheek. Spike was sitting aside, so hase neared him and whispered in his ear: " I heard there are dragonesses with scales like silver on the Moon. probably you should pay me a visit some time in the future. " " Yes, but for now I would just prefer to taste Pinkie's extremely delicious looking cake. " the small dragon noted. Everypony agreed. THE END
