Moon's Blade and the Crystals of Chaos

Chapters

Chapter 2: Arrival
Chapter 4: The Book
Chapter 5: Memories
Chapter 6: The Woods
Chapter 7: Storm
Chapter 9: Canterlot
Chapter 10: White Peak Mountain
Chapter 11: Desire
Chapter 12: Twin Crystals
Chapter 13: Chaos Crystal
Chapter 14: The Past
Chapter 15: The Grand Finale
Chapter 16: Farewell
Chapter 1: The Nightmare
Chapter 3: The Tomb
Chapter 8: Morgana

Chapter 2: Arrival

Chapter 2:
Arrival

After hours of flying I arrived above a small village. According to the map I received from Wise, this would be Ponyville. I descended to an open place. Suddenly the village wasn't that small any more.

The first thing I had to do was figuring out where the crystals went. In order to do so, I had to find someone who would know about them, somepony who possessed a lot of knowledge.

I asked the very first person I saw if he'd know somepony like that, and as a response he said "Well, that's obviously the librarian."

"Who's the librarian?" I asked.

The other pony looked somewhat surprised. He probably didn't see me descending from the sky. "Well... That's Twilight Sparkle, a lavender unicorn," he continued, "She lives in that library over there." He pointed at a house shaped like a tree.

I went to the library and knocked on the door, but there was no response. I concluded that she wasn't home, so I decided to explore the village a little bit in the meanwhile, and try again later.

I quickly arrived at the market place of the village, where all kinds of things were being sold. Jewels, apples, oranges, bananas and even furniture. I had only a few bits, just enough to buy some apples, so I did. After a while I decided to return to the library, to see if Twilight was home.

It was evening when I arrived. Just before I wanted to knock on the library's door, it opened. In front of me was a pale white unicorn with red and orange manes. She kept staring at me angrily, then pushed me aside.

"Hey, what's your problem?" I asked slightly angered.

"My problems are none of your concern." she responded.

"Then explain yourself. Who are you any ways?"

"My name is Morgana."

After she said that, she walked away. The door was still open, so I walked inside.

"Hello? Anypony in here?" I shouted.

"Just a moment!" A voice responded.

After a few seconds a lavender-coloured unicorn came down. "How can I help you?" she asked.

"I'm looking for Twilight Sparkle, the librarian."

"Oh, that's me. I'm Twilight Sparkle," she responded, "What can I help you with?"

"I need some help searching for something, and ponies around here said you could help me with it."

I explained the whole situation to her, about the nightmares I've had and what Wise told me.

"Well, that's funny," Twilight said, "Another pony just came in and borrowed a book about those crystals. I'm afraid I won't be getting it back soon, but I can still remember a bit of it."

I asked her to help me in any way she could.

"I remember that one of the crystals is hidden in a tomb somewhere in the Everfree Forest," she said, "But the tomb is a very dangerous place with many traps. Finding it will be difficult too, but some of my friends might help me."

I were relieved that she could help me.

"I'll have them come over tomorrow." she said. "Hey, do you actually have somewhere to stay?" she asked.

I totally forgot about it! I didn't even have a place to stay!

"Uhm, no, I don't think I do," I responded.

"I guess I still have a spare bed somewhere. Just let me get it."

I followed her upstairs, where she pointed at a bed, which looked like it hasn't been used in a while. Nonetheless I were grateful for her offer and I accepted it as it was. After all, it was better than sleeping on the street. I went to bed early that day.

The next day she introduced me to her friends. A white unicorn named Rarity, a pink earthpony named Pinkie Pie, an orange pony named Applejack, a light blue pegasus named Rainbow Dash and a yellow pegasus named Fluttershy. After a small introduction we went straight to the point. We all decided to look around the Everfree Forest for the tomb mentioned by Twilight.

"So, where do you come from?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"White Peak," I responded, "A mountain to the far North-West."

"Never heard of it, what's the place like?" she asked.

"Uhm..." I wasn't sure what to tell her. "It's snowy there, the snow doesn't melt either."

"I get that..."

"And, uhm, there are dragons..."

"Dragons? A lot of them?" She seemed kinda enthusiastic.

"Plenty of them," I responded, "In the canyon below the mountain are plenty of dragon lairs. There are all kinds of dragons there."

"Boy, I'd love to see that." She said.

"Anyways, let's focus on the task at hand." I quickly said.

After that, she went the other way. She did seem kinda disappointed that she couldn't talk any further with me.

After a while we found the tomb's entrance. It was kinda spooky, and some other ponies, unaware of what traps might be in there, had already gone in.

"How did they find this?" Twilight wondered, surprised by the fact others found it before us.

"I'd rather worry about the fact they are probably unaware of the dangers that may lie in here." Rarity said, slightly concerned, "I'd hate to get my manes all dirty, but I guess it has to be done."

"Oh, I can't wait to see what's inside!" Pinkie said, followed up by Applejack.

"Calm down now, Pinkie, if yer going to be careless inside there, who knows what might happen."

We kept looking at the entrance for a few seconds.

"Well, let's be careful, everypony. Who know what might be inside." Twilight said.

"Hey, where's Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash mentioned, "She was here just a moment ago."

"She probably fled," Rarity stated, "Might be better. Who knows what would happen if she seems something rather unpleasant."

After that we walked into the dark, damp tomb.

Chapter 4: The Book

Chapter 4:
The Book

It has been several days since we entered the tomb. The last few days I've learned more about Ponyville and it's surroundings, as well as its inhabitants. I've spent most of my time together with Rainbow Dash, which seemed oddly interested into adventuring. She showed me a book starring a pony called 'Daring Do'. I've read several pages, and I actually started to enjoy reading those stories. It was all familiar, it almost resembled the adventure we had a while back in the tomb.

I were walking through the village, on the market. I've recently gotten myself a small job to earn some bits. I were helping out Pinkie Pie at Sugarcube Corner, and she paid me really well.

"As long as it makes you smile it's okay to give you this much!" she had said to me.

After buying some food, Morgana walked towards me.

"I know what you're doing," she said.

I knew she was angry, but her face showed no emotion.

"Stop it. Stop it right now."

"You can't know that. Unless..." I said, but before I could finish my sentence I were interrupted by Morgana.

"The crystals are mine. I need them more than you do."

"Did you send those ponies in?"

"Yes, but they were too weak and careless to take care of the job."

We were silently looking at each other for a few minutes.

"I'll make it easy for you," Morgana continued, "Hand over the crystal and nothing bad will happen."

I hesitated for a minute, then responded "I can't. It's my duty to collect them. You know that, don't you?"

"I thought you'd be smarter than you'd look," she said, "I guess I were wrong."

She walked away from me, stood still and said "We'll meet again." Then she walked away.

I wondered what was wrong with her, why she wanted the crystals so badly. So badly that she even sacrificed ponies for it.

It became evening after being confronted with Morgana, so I went back to Twilight's.

"Hey, uhm, could you do me a favor?" Twilight asked.

She seemed kinda troubled and kind of unsure to ask me, but I asked what I could do for her.

"You see," Twilight started, "With just a single crystal Ponyville nor Equestria has been saved."

"Sooo?" I asked.

"So we need the other crystals. I'm afraid I don't know their location, so we will need the book I gave the other pony."

I already had the feeling what she was going to say.

"So you want me to steal it from her?"

"No, not stealing!" Twilight said troubled, "Just... Taking it back."

I nodded and agreed on searching the book.

"Thank you!" Twilight said relieved, "Applejack sells her a lot of apples, so she might know her pretty well. You should ask her if she know anything."

I nodded and left for the Sweet Apple Acres.

Upon arriving at the farm I saw Applejack being busy with the barn. I walked toward her.

"Hello?" I shouted at her, "Could you help me for a moment?"

"Sure thing." Applejack responded.

I asked her if she'd know anything of Morgana's location.

"I'm sorry, I don't know," Applejack said somewhat sadly, "But she usually drops by at Rarity's Boutique. Maybe she knows something I don't."

I thanked her for the information and were about to walk away until Applejack asked me why I needed to know this, so I told her what I knew about Morgana.

"What?!" Applejack screamed, "So she's the one responsible for those deaths?"

I nodded in response.

"She won't be getting any of my apples anymore."

We laughed for a while, then said goodbye. I went toward Rarity's Boutique.

I knocked on the door of Rarity's home.

"Come in, come in." a familiar voice said and the door opened.

Rarity stood in front of me.

"Oh, it's you. How are you doing? Do you want a cup of tea?"

I smiled, and entered.

While drinking our tea we discussed life a little. After a while Rarity asked "So, what are you here for?"

I explained to her about Morgana and the book. After telling her about the sacrifices she screamed and spilled her tea all over the floor.

"Oh no!" she said, "Not my fabulous carpet! It's a disaster! I worked on this carpet for so long!"

She stood up, "Don't mind me, I'll go get something to clean it with." She said as she walked away.

After waiting for a few minutes she cleaned the carpet, and I decided to help her. After a while the carpet was all clean again.

"Thank you for helping me," Rarity said, "So what can I help you with? Oh, right, her location..."

We sat down, and Rarity took a while to think about it. After a while she said "I don't know her exact location, but by the end of the day she always walks toward Fluttershy's home, so I guess her home is somewhere near there."

I thanked Rarity for telling me what she knew.

"I'm sorry I can't help you any further," she said, "If you need a dress, come see me."

So I went to Fluttershy's farm.

Fluttershy was playing with the night animals in her garden.

"Hey, could you help me for a moment?" I said, but she was startled and fled into her house.

She looked out of her window anxiously, but when she saw me she came out of her house and slowly neared me.

"Sorry for startling you like that," I said sorrily, "Especially at this time of the day... Night..."

"Oh, it's no problem..." she responded quietly, "Is there anything I can do for you..?"

I asked her if she knew anything about Morgana and her location.

"You mean that pale white unicorn that ignores anything around her?"

I nodded.

"She's a meanie. She almost kicked one of the bunnies."

Fluttershy seemed kinda angry, yet sad. "I'll help you!" she said, with a face that clearly said 'revenge'.

She told me everything she knew about Morgana, including where she lived.

"I've seen her going inside the abandoned house, not far from here," Fluttershy said, "It's a bit inside the Everfree Forest, but if you follow this path I'm sure you'll find it."

I thanked her and went on my way.

Chapter 5: Memories

Chapter 5:
Memories

I stood in front of a shack that looked like it could collapse at any moment. The lights were still on, so I waited for a few minutes, then they went off. I assumed Morgana went to sleep, so I investigated the shack for any way to get in.

After not too long I found an open window. I silently climbed inside and looked around to see if there was anything suspicious around me, besides from myself breaking in.

The hallways were filled with old paintings. One would think those were of Morgana's family, but none of them resembled her in any way.

I went to a random door, slowly opened it and looked inside the room.

The room was filled with bookcases, and on the end of the room was a desk with a small book on it.

I decided to go in. I picked up the small book and opened it.

I read the first few pages. It seemed like some kind of diary, the dates were faded, though. One page peeked my interest.

"Dear diary,
My father told me the war had gone out of hand. The unicorns were continuously attacking our earthpony settlement, and it wasn't safe anymore, so we have to find another place to stay. Another village."

It seemed there had been a war between the races. I wondered what it was they were fighting for. I kept on reading.

"Dear diary,
Father has decided to move to another village. He said the village is hidden well in the cold north-west, in the mountains. There are unicorns there and pegasi, which made me feel a little uncomfortable, but father said they were friendly unicorns and pegasi, from the bloodline of a goddess, the one of the moon."

I were positive it was about white peak, the mountain I came from. However, I did not know the native villagers were of a goddess' bloodline. I kept on reading.

"Dear diary,
The war seems to be at a conclusion. It seemed one person had defeated the three armies. Nopony is talking about him aloud, but rumours say he uses some kind of artefact to cause chaos. Father says we don't have to move away anymore. I'm afraid of the new leader."

It sounded like it was about the crystal, and Discord was the one who concluded the war, but became a bigger threat than the war itself was.

I looked outside of the window, where the sun was rising. I were alarmed by the fact I've spent so much time reading this diary that I dropped it immediately.

I went outside of the room. I had the biggest chance to find the book I were looking for in Morgana's room.

After looking in several rooms I found Morgana sleeping in a bed. Next to her bed was a desk, with on it the book she carried the first time I met her.

It had to be the book I were looking for. I quietly walked towards the desk, grabbed the book and quietly left the room and went through the window.

I ran away from the shack, towards the village, towards Twilight's library.

"What took you so long?" Twilight asked me as I handed over the book.

I explained to her about the diary.

"You don't think..." she said doubtfully, "that you're... Right..? I mean..."

"I don't know. I do come from that village, and both my parents were pegasi," I said, "but my grandfather was an unicorn."

"I guess it could be possible..." Twilight said unsure, then opened the book.

She read through a few pages, then started reading.

"The crystals have split up in seven different pieces. Each piece has its own attribute."

Twilight looked up to me. "Do you remember what it's colour was?"

I thought deep, then remembered it. "It was red?"

Twilight continued, "In that case we've gotten the Blood Crystal, whose special ability is to absorb the souls of death ponies in its surroundings."

We both shivered at the thoughts of it. No wonder it was hidden in a tomb filled with deathly traps.

"When it gains the soul of a single pony, it can give power to the other crystals for several months."

"But that means..." I said, "That means it could give power to the other crystals now?"

"I guess it could," Twilight said, "We'll have to hurry and find the other ones before it's too late."

I nodded.

"The next crystal we should search for is the Mind Crystal, which can control the minds of other creatures," Twilight said, "Its looks are familiar to me, I think I've seen it in a rock somewhere in Whitetail Wood. We should head there as soon as we can. We'll meet up with the others this afternoon."

I nodded in agreement. In the meanwhile I went to the market to buy some food.

On my way to the market I came across an angered Morgana.

"I know you've stolen it."

Her expression was as monotone as it could be.

"I'll tell you once more," she continued, "Stay out of my business, or you'll regret it!"

I were not even the slightest bit intimidated by her threats. She pushed me and walked away.

After buying some apples I went back to Twilight's home. By now she should've gathered the others, so we'd go to Whitetail Wood, where we'd hopefully find the second crystal. The mind crystal.

Chapter 6: The Woods

Chapter 6:
The Woods

It was filled with maple trees and birds that were singing their songs and flying as they pleased. It was hard to believe that such dangerous object would be here, in this forest of everlasting autumn.

We were following Twilight to where she had seen the rock with the crystal before, while Fluttershy was distracted by the animals in the surroundings.

It was an adorable sight to see her play with the animals she found on her way. Sometimes it even looked like it were the animals that found her. I could not let such a beautiful sight be disrupted by any kind of disaster the crystals would cause.

We walked around for several minutes until Twilight started to doubt herself.

"That's weird," she said, "It used to be around here..."

"Don't tell me we're lost!" Rarity said somewhat panicky.

"No, I do know the way back, honestly!" Twilight responded to her and groaned afterwards.

I looked around me, searching for anything suspicious. I told the other ponies to do so as well.

After a while Pinkie said "Is that maybe something suspicious?" while she pointed at a deer with a single, long horn on its head that came rushing straight towards us.

"That's obviously a monoceros," Twilight said, "They usually aim for the softest part of a body with its horn, but they're usually calm."

"Then, why does it look like it's attacking us?" Dash said.

"I don't know!" Twilight responded.

"Maybe something angered it." Applejack mentioned, but I were positive it was something else.

"The crystal." I said.

The others asked me what I meant.

"It might be that the crystal is trying to make it attack us with its powers."

"I have an odd feeling about this," Applejack said, "But for now do what you gotta do!"

I nodded and grabbed my sword.

The monoceros neared Rarity, and as she screamed I pushed her out of the way and quickly dodged the beast itself.

It turned around and aimed for me.

I ran toward it, jumped over it and were ready to attack it from behind.

"Stoooooooooop!" Fluttershy screamed.

She ran towards the monoceros, which had decided to go for Fluttershy herself. She angrily looked at the beast.

"She's not... Is she?" Applejack said, followed up by Pinkie whom confirmed it.

"Yes, she is."

The monoceros still ran towards her, but then it slowed down, and stopped with its horn pointing at Fluttershy's forehead.

"We're not here to harm you," Fluttershy said and the monoceros raised its head. "What angered you so badly?"

The monoceros made noises I couldn't understand, but apparently Fluttershy could.

"Is that so? Oh... Oh, I see... So she...? Ah, yes, okay. Thank you." And the beast walked away.

"What did it say?" Twilight asked.

"He mentioned that he was attacked by another pony," Fluttershy explained, "He was just eating some grass near a mystical stone when some unicorn shot flames at him. When he tried to attack her, she pulled some weird crystal out of a rock, and that crystal started to glow. He doesn't remember what happened afterwards."

It seemed that her 'stare', as the others called it, had the ability to draw animals out of their berserk.

"Wait, does that mean the crystal isn't there anymore?" Pinkie said. And she had a good point.

If it's true what the monoceros told Fluttershy, then it's most likely that someone else took it. It was clear to me who did so.

"I wonder who would do such thing..." Twilight said, and I responded quickly after she said that.

"It was Morgana. I'm positive about it."

"How do you come to that conclusion?" Applejack asked.

"She was responsible for the death of the bounty hunters back in the tomb," I explained, "It is most likely she's after the crystals, but who knows for what reason."

"Whatever that reason is, we must stop her from doing so," Twilight said, "She must be around here somewhere."

"But where do we search?" Pinkie asked.

"The beast did mention about being shot at with fireballs, right?" I said and the others nodded. "In that case, it would be most likely that some of the trees may have caught fire. Let's go search for it!"

Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and I went looking from the sky, the others waited until we found it. After a good look Rainbow Dash came rushing towards me.

"It's horrible!" She said, "If we don't act quickly, the whole forest may burn down!"

I started to see clouds of ashes in the distance. We informed the others about it and rushed towards the fire.

Fluttershy was horrified by the burning woods.

"And how exactly are we gonna put this fire out?" Applejack asked.

"Good point..." Rarity responded.

Twilight thought for a second, then came up with an idea. "Rarity and I will use our magic to use the water from the pools to extinguish the fire." She then looked at the others. "Pinkie and Applejack, you should help Fluttershy evacuate the animals. Dashy, Moon, you should try to find Morgana or whoever is responsible for this."

We concurred and Dash and I started looking for clues.

Not too long after searching we found hoofsteps in the ashes. It was pretty far from the rest of the group, so we decided to chase them down as fast as we could.

Eventually we saw a white pony running away from the fire. Rainbow Dash was ready to run into her, but I stopped her and whispered to her.

"We shouldn't attack her straight away, we need to know why she's doing this." Dash nodded and calmed down. "After all, it seemed like she could use that crystal to make us fight each other."

"So what do we do then?" Dash asked me.

"Let's chase her, and see where she goes to."

Dash nodded again, and we hid in the bushes and silently chased Morgana.

After a while we arrived at the shack she resided in. We slowly sneaked in and spied on her. Morgana was talking to herself.

"Finally, another step closer to what I want," she said as she looked at the yellow crystal, "Once I've gotten them all, I'll know everything. Everything will become clear."

She laughed insanely for a few seconds, then started talking again.

"If only those other ponies wouldn't interfere." She growled a little when said my name. "That darned Moon's Blade. Who does he think he is? He knows nothing about me, the crystals. Not even himself."

Did she truly know more about me than I do?

"The other crystals are reacting to the blood crystal. I must take that crystal for myself. Sooner or later its power will weaken, and so will the other crystals," She said, "It must be reloaded soon. It will take a sacrifice, but it'll be worth it."

She sighed, then looked up and laughed a bit again.

"Maybe I can both snatch that crystal and make its sacrifice in one hit. Not only will I have the crystal and have it reloaded, but I'll also rid myself of that pesky Moon's Blade!" She laughed insanely, hid the crystal in a chest under the floor and turned around.

Dash and I quickly hid ourselves.

"And what do we do now?" Dash asked me.

"Leave." I said, not knowing what to do either. "We should leave, I don't think there's anything we could do now."

"How about the crystal?"

"We'll have to come back for it later, but we'll have to find the others before she does," I said, "For now, let's see how the others are doing."

Dash nodded, and we went out through an open window and flew with out highest speed towards the burnt down forest.

We arrived at a burned down place, it was full of ashes and burnt corpses of animals that didn't make it out in time. There were no more flames. The others were tired and Fluttershy was crying.

"Found anything?" Twilight asked.

"It seems Morgana is indeed after the crystals," Dash explained, "We don't know what she's after, but she can strike at any moment, so that she can claim the crystal we have, as well as.."

Dash sighed.

"As well as killing Moon..."

The others gasped.

"Didn't she mention she had multiple crystals?" I asked Rainbow Dash, and she nodded in response. "I guess we're falling behind then." I concluded, "We should search for another one tomorrow."

Twilight nodded.

"We'll meet again tomorrow morning," she said, "I'll look up where the other crystals may be, but for now we should go home and rest."

The others agreed and we went back to Ponyville.

After a long walk we arrived back at Ponyville. We said each other goodbye and goodnight. Fluttershy was still sad and crying. For someone who loves animals with such passion as she did it must be extra hard to see them die.

I felt sorry for her and I apologized to her.

"It's not you fault," Fluttershy sobbed, "You couldn't do anything."

I tried to comfort her, but it almost seemed in vain.

"I'll take care of her," Applejack said, "You'll go home now, it'll be a hard day tomorrow..."

Applejack walked away with Fluttershy, and the rest of us, except Rainbow Dash and me, went home.

"You know..." Dash started, "You were pretty amazing back there."

She looked at me as if she was flirting.

I thanked her.

"Maybe we should... You know..." It seemed she had trouble getting out of her words. "Maybe we should spend some more time together."

I nodded.

"I mean, with only the two of us."

I were slightly surprised. Shyness filled me and I started to blush against my will and out of embarrassment I looked away. Dash seemed alarmed by my reaction.

"N-no! It's not like I'm... You know, in love with you or anything!" She said.

"No... Stupid me..." I said quietly.

"I mean, we're just friends," she said, "And we should spend time together."

I nodded and smiled. I felt some delight in my heart, a feeling I've never felt before in such a long time. I refused to believe it.

"I guess we'll see each other tomorrow, then." I said.

"Yeah..." Dash said slightly concerned, "See you tomorrow..."

And she walked away, and by every step she took my heart filled a bit with sorrow.

Chapter 7: Storm

Chapter 7:
Storm

I opened my eyes. It was deep in the morning, but it was a brand new day. However, there was an odd atmosphere. I could see the light from the sun fall through the curtains, but as I opened them I saw a dark cloud in the distance.

I ran out of my room, toward the main room of the library, where Twilight was studying already as usual.

"What's the matter?" She asked, "You look like something is troubling you."

"Do you know the weather forecast for today?" I asked.

"Yes, it should stay sunny today, and a little bit cloudy in the midday. It might drizzle in the afternoon."

"Does drizzle come from black clouds?"

"No, as far as I know it doesn't."

I told her to take a look outside.

"That's odd," she said surprised, "It isn't supposed to storm until next week." She looked worried. "Maybe Rainbow Dash might know something. If you search for her, I'll do some research on the crystals."

I nodded and went outside.

I arrived at Rainbow Dash's cloud and knocked on the door. A tired Dashy came out and asked me what's the matter.

"Did you come just to see me?" She asked, whereas I responded with a no. I asked her about the odd weather.

"A storm? Heading this way?" She said surprised. It was clear that this was not planned and something else had to do with it. "It isn't supposed to storm until next monday!" she said angrily, "What do those other weather ponies think they're doing?"

"Maybe it isn't their fault," I said, "I suspect something else might be going on. We should ask Twilight."

Dash agreed and we went back to the library.

"Ah, I've been waiting for you," Twilight said, "You see..."

She could not finish her sentence, because Rarity and Pinkie came in loudly. "Have you seen that black monstrosity in the sky?" Rarity asked Twilight.

"I've heard from other ponies something is wrong at Cloudsdale!" Pinkie shouted out loudly.

"Yes," Twilight rephrased herself, "As I wanted to say, o-" But she was abruptly interrupted again by Fluttershy and Applejack who entered.

Fluttershy looked like she had hurried over here. "Listen!" She shouted out loud, then started to speak fast and incomprehensibly.

"Calm down, sugarcube," Applejack said to her, "If you're going to speak that fast, nopony is going to understand."

Fluttershy took a breath, and rephrased what she had said. "I were feeding the chickens when I suddenly saw Morgana running toward a suspicious storm, I think she's up to no good!"

"That," Twilight said, "Was exactly what I wanted to say. Cloudsdale has a museum that claims to have a piece of the chaos crystal. Comparing the description from the museum to that of the book about the crystals, we're dealing with the disaster crystal."

She took a breathe and started talking again. "The disaster crystal is a crystal that can cause natural disasters, such as earthquakes, floods, hurricanes and even volcanoes. If we don't do anything, Equestria may be destroyed! We must go to Cloudsdale as soon as possible."

Twilight decided to cast a spell upon the non-pegasi that would allow them to walk on clouds.

"Now, listen," Rainbow said, "These kind of storms are no jokes, they must be approached with care. One fatal mistake and you'll get electrified by a thunderbolt from that storm." She sounded like a drill sergeant.

"Whatever happens, do NOT come to close near the storm. After all, only pegasi are meant to deal with them." After saying that she went to her usual enthusiastic self. "Are we ready?"

"Yeah!" everyone answered.

"Let's go!" Dash said as we went off for Cloudsdale.

As we neared it, the storm only seemed to get bigger. It was no ordinary storm, it was, in fact, a hurricane of some kind. Lightning bolts were flashing through the skies and regularly struck the earth beneath it. The pegasi were flying with their wings, the others were following us in a hot-air balloon.

At last, we arrived at Cloudsdale. Rainbow Dash has described it to me before, and certain things she mentioned were there, but the peace there used to be was no more there.

Pegasi were flying around in panic and lightning struck in several clouds, causing them to tear apart.

"No... This can't be..." Dash said, "Cloudsdale... It crumbles apart..." She was struck with fear.

"I guess we'll have to do something about it, then." I said, "But I doubt that simply removing the crystal won't stop the disaster. We'll have to deal with that first."

"Ain't ya afraid Morgana will come in and take the crystal away in front of us?" Applejack asked doubtfully.

"Yeah, we need to make sure that doesn't happen." Twilight said. I smiled.

"Why are you smiling like that?" Rarity asked uneasily.

"Isn't it obvious?" I said, "Morgana is an unicorn, not a pegasus. She'll be having a lot of trouble getting up here, and if she does, we'll most likely be able to see it."

The others understood that and started to concur.

"First of all, we have to find out how to stop this hurricane," I said, "Does anypony have an idea how?"

Dash walked forward and came up with a plan. "We pegasi are the only ones who can take care of it," she said, "First of all, the storm is moving counter clockwise, so we have to fly as fast as we can clockwise. The others should gather more pegasi to help us stop the hurricane. Understood?"

The others nodded.

Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and I went up in the sky as the other split up and started gathering pegasi. We started to build up speed and went to the eye of the storm and started flying against it's direction.

"Come on, I know you can go faster than that!" Dash shouted at Fluttershy and me, and I tried to fly faster, but it was hard. It was scary, since a thunderbolt could strike me or my friends at any moment.

Our flying seemed to have no influence at all, but slowly more pegasi started flying against the storm. After a while it looked like the entire city was helping us. I never felt so great before. The storm started to weaken and eventually dissolved into thin air. The damage to the city was minimal.

We went down on a cloud and Dash suddenly hugged me.

"We did it! We stopped the hurricane!" She said with tears of joy in her eyes. Then she quickly let go of me.

"Let's pretend we didn't do that." She said while blushing.

The others came to us.

"Now that we've dealt with that, how about we claim our prize?" Rarity said, and we all agreed.

"The museum is this way." Twilight said, and we started following her.

We almost arrived at the museum until we saw another hot-air balloon flying up. In it was a familiar face. Morgana.

"Quick, we have to hurry!" Twilight said.

"Leave it to me!" Dash responded and she flew with top speed towards the museum.

A few seconds later she came back with a cyan crystal in her hooves. "I guess that makes it 2-2." She said as we cheered.

I saw Morgana running into the museum. "Maybe we should head home now..." I said, feeling uncomfortable for what would happen if Morgana returned with empty hooves, knowing that it would probably us who took the crystal.

The others nodded and decided to go back to the library.

Back at the library Twilight came up with the results of further research.

"There are still four crystals left, of which Morgana possesses one," she said, "Our best bet would be to search for more clues."

"But what clues should we look for?" Rarity asked.

"Things such as somepony having terrible nightmares, distortion in time, illusions and distortion in space," Twilight answered, "Those are the abilities of the remaining four crystals, but I have no idea where they might be."

"We'll do anything to find them!" Pinkie said enthusiastically as she jumped up and down.

"Someone should keep an eye on Morgana, though." I suggested, whereas Fluttershy quickly accepted the job.

"I'll do that, to make it good that I ran away when you entered the tomb."

"Oh, you honestly don't have to do that," Applejack said, "It's not your fault you chickened out."

"No," Fluttershy responded, "I'll make you proud of me. I'll follow every single step she takes, even if it's the last thing I do! And there's nopony who's going to stop me!"

She was so sure of her case that we decided to leave that job to her. For now, everyone decided to go home. To ready themselves for what might come next.

Chapter 9: Canterlot

Chapter 9:
Canterlot

It has been several days since that night that Morgana tried to kill me. Ever since that night none had seen her again. Not much later Fluttershy went missing. She had most likely done what she had promised she'd do. Follow every of Morgana's single step. We were worried about her, but there was nothing we could do.

I spent most of my time working at Sugarcube Corner, to earn some bits. In my spare time I used to visit Rainbow Dash. We had a lot of conversations, races and outings. Why she wanted them, I did not know, neither did I care. As long as I could spend some time with her.

"So..." Rainbow Dash started, "What do you think Fluttershy is doing right now?"

"I don't know," I replied, "But I'm sure she's alright."

I sighed. Even I doubted what I said. "She doesn't seem like the kind of pony that would run right into the danger."

"I guess you're alright. But it still bothers me..."

"What bothers you?"

"I still remember that what we saw inside the tomb. Those corpses."

"You mean the corpses of those hired adventurers?"

"Yes, those. Morgana sent them, didn't she?"

"Yes, but I doubt they were mainly there for feeding the crystal. I guess it was just a coincidence that they managed to feed the crystal with their blood. Morgana just took the advantage of it."

"Aren't you afraid that Fluttershy..."

"Like I said, she's not the kind of pony to run into danger. You know that better than I do, Dashy."

"You're right."

"Let's look at what we can do now. Fluttershy will be alright."

"Yes, but we'll have to find her eventually."

"We will." I sighed, "But we need a clue first. If only we'd know where Morgana went, we'd know where Fluttershy went."

We were silent after that conversation. We watched the sunset together. After sunset we decided to go home.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow then," I said, "Maybe we'll find out something about Morgana or Fluttershy."

Dash nodded, but she was still concerned. "Goodnight." She said and flew away. I went back to the Library.

The next morning I were awakened by Twilight, which wanted to talk to me.

"What is it?" I said sleepy.

"We've been invited by the princess," Twilight said somewhat stressed, "She's awaiting us at the Canterlot Palace. We can't let her wait."

I got out of bed and looked at Twilight a bit annoyed. "Couldn't you tell me earlier?" I asked.

Twilight responded annoyed as well. "I wanted to, but you were with Rainbow all day long. It's not my fault I couldn't inform you."

I apologized to Twilight, as it was true that she was already asleep when I came back the other day.

We went outside, where the others awaited us and afterwards we went to Canterlot.

Once arrived, we walked straight to the Canterlot Palace. The path to it was made of white bricks with a little bit of gold. In the middle of the road was a small square where ponies, mostly unicorns, gathered. In the middle of that square was a big fountain made out of marble and gold. On the end of the road was a golden gate, guarded by two unicorns in armour.

The guards seemed to recognize Twilight and let us in immediately. Inside the palace we went straight to what seemed to be the throne room. On the throne was a white mare with both wings and horn. It was clear to me that this was none other than the princess herself. Princess Celestia.

"I'm glad you came," the princess started, "I've heard from my student, Twilight, all about your adventures and your quest. You've been through many hardships already, but it is not yet the end. I understood that your friend is missing and that you don't have a single clue where she, nor the remaining crystal could be."

We all responded by nodding.

"There's not much I can do, but I will try to help you as much as I can. First by sharing my knowledge with you."

"Thousands of years ago, when Discord still reigned over Equestria, there was a certain object. A crystal. It was the same crystal you currently seek, only in one part. Discord used this crystal, the chaos crystal, to succumb the chaos he used into power he could use to create even more chaos. By doing so, he'd greatly increase in power. The ponies of Equestria were suffering, though. Back then we, my sister and I, were but goddesses."

She took a deep breath, then continued. "After years of Discord's terror, we could not stand it anymore. We decided to descend from the heavens to put an end to his reign. We used six celestial instruments to destroy the crystal. The elements of harmony. But it seemed that the crystal opposed the six elements, therefore it could not be destroyed. Instead, the crystal's power gained form. It became a creature of it own. The beast, as it's existence is to stay in balance with the six elements, could not be defeated. Therefore, we used the power of the elements to seal it back in the crystal. After that, the crystal split up in seven parts, each contained a fraction of the whole crystal's power."

"After that we defeated Discord, and the years have passed since then. Luna and I feared that the crystals would not stay separated forever, but there's nothing we could do against it. Someday somepony had to arrive who wanted to reunite the crystals and recreate the chaos crystal. That inevitable day is nearing now, and we need you to prevent any further disasters. Therefore I give you these."

She gave Twilight a small box. "Open it when the chaos crystal has been recreated, by the time you need to use its contents you'll know how to use them."

"The second way I'll help you is by sending troops when the time's there. I'm sure they'll take good care of you."

We thanked the princess.

"I'm sorry I can't help you finding the remaining crystals, but I'm pretty sure you'll find them someday."

"It's no problem, your highness." Twilight said smiling.

"Leave it to us!" Rainbow Dash said enthusiastically.

The six of us left the palace and returned to Ponyville.

Back in Ponyville Rainbow and I decided to spend some more time together.

"I wonder what's in that box she gave us." She said, "I guess it's what I think it is, but I'm not sure."

"We'll find out." I responded.

"If only we had a clue to where the other crystals could be..." As soon as she finished her sentence a shadow appeared in the distance.

As the shadow came closer it gained the form of a dragon.

"Whoa, that's amazing!" Dash shouted out loud, but then her smile disappeared. "W-wait, is it coming this way?"

I were about to grab my sword until I realised I've seen that dragon before. "It isn't... Could it be?" I said.

"What's the matter?" Dash asked anxiously.

"Are you afraid of dragons?"

"N-no, of course not!" She obviously lied, "They're a piece of cake to deal with!"

I sheeted my sword. "Well, have fun dealing with him then."

Dash looked at me scared, yet surprised.

"What? I thought you said you could handle them easily."

"It's not like I.... I mean, are you seriously not going to help me?"

"Fine, I'll deal with him myself, then. You just stay here."

"W-wait!" She shouted as I flew towards the dragon.

The dragon descended and so did I. When I approached the dragon I recognized his scarred face.

"So, how have you been?" I asked.

"I've been fine, why you ask?" He responded.

"Look, there's something you have to do for me right now," I said, "Are you willing to help?"

"I am born to serve your people. Of course I will!" He responded.

I whispered in his ear.

I returned to Rainbow Dash.

"So, what did you do?" she asked.

"I tamed him," I responded, "Look at this." I shouted at the dragon. "Naga, come over here!"

The dragon flew towards us. "What can I do, master?" Naga said.

"T-that's impressive." Rainbow said flabbergasted. "B-but I think I'll be off for now! See ya!" And she flew away with high-speed.

"Have I done well?" Naga asked.

"Yes, perfectly," I responed happily, "What is it that you came for?"

"It's about the mountain." He said.

Come to think of it, Naga is our guardian, he shouldn't leave his place unless something truly terrible is happening.

Chapter 10: White Peak Mountain

Chapter 10:
White Peak Mountain

The guardian usually didn't leave its village, but there was no doubt about it. This truly was Naga standing in front of me.

It happened only a few times in the history of White Peak that the guardian dragon had left the village, mostly to just deal with another aggressive dragon that could destroy a great part of the village in a single blow. This time it was different, he had something else to tell than a simple dragon.

"It's about the village," Naga started to explain, "Since a while time and space have been distorted around the mountain."

I looked up at him. "Are you sure?" I asked, although I did not doubt a single word of what he had said.

"Yes," he replied, "The mountain is trapped inside a growing dome of distortion that could drive any animal, including us dragons, insane."

"But the mountain is home to many dragons! How could you leave them like that?" I replied furiously.

"I did not, I warned them when the dome was still smaller," Naga explained, "The dragons have fled by now and so have the animals. Only the villagers I could not save, but it shouldn't matter. They can last long within this distortion without losing their sanity."

His words slightly relieved me, but it still worried me. "I'm afraid I'm of no use anymore," Naga continued, "So I need your help. I'll fly you to the mountain as soon as you're ready."

I looked away for a second, then looked back and said "I'll bring some friends with me. They'll be a great help."

Naga accepted it and I gathered the others.

When the six of us arrived back at Naga, I introduced them to him and vice versa. Rainbow Dash seemed somewhat angered that I tricked her, but forgave me quickly.

"These are the ones you spoke of?" Naga laughed. "You think these puny, little ponies can assist you?" I looked at Naga angrily. He quickly realised I were serious and stopped laughing. "Fine," he said, "Get on my back and hold tight." And so we did.

After several minutes we neared a dome. It was unclear what was inside the dome, but it quickly changed from light to dark and from dark to light.

When we neared the border, Naga descended.

"I can not go any further," he explained, "If I do so, the distortion would drive me insane."

We understood him and stepped off.

"Take care!" Naga said as we started to enter the dome.

"Let's be careful," Twilight suggested, "We don't know what's on the other side."

We slowly crossed the border. For a moment everything seemed blurry, then everything inside the dome became clear.

Everything inside the dome was visible. The distortion was so great that it felt like another place. It wasn't like White Peak anymore. No, this had become a totally different place. Days passed in what seemed minutes. The sun didn't went down, instead it turned invisible for a while, then became visible again. Besides of the time being distorted, the landscape differed from the original too. Pieces of land were missing from the surface and were floating in mid-air.

We couldn't fly up the mountain, since not all of us were pegasi. So I came up with another route, that hadn't been used in years.

"You want us to go through the valley?" Twilight asked, "Is that even safe?"

I nodded in response.

"Spooky..." Pinkie said silently as we walked into the valley.

Not long after entering the valley we started to talk.

"So, how's this valley called? Or does it have no name at all?" Twilight asked me.

"The valley's called the Dragon Valley," I explained, "The valley is called so because it used to be the home of many dragons."

"Many dragons?" Rainbow asked enthusiastically.

"More than you could imagine."

"How many?" Pinkie asked.

"I don't count them. There are too many of them anyways."

"But where are they now?"

"Naga warned them about the distortion and they fled. The dragons are usually very obediently towards Naga, purely because they're afraid Naga will slay them if they don't do what he says."

It was silent for a moment, until Rarity started to speak again.

"There's something I've been thinking about," she said. We looked at her, interested by what she was about to say.

"If time and space are distorted here," she continued, "Wouldn't it be obvious that two of the remaining crystals reside somewhere here?"

She had a point. Twilight mentioned earlier that two of the remaining crystals had the ability to manipulate space and time.

We agreed, and after that it was silent again.

After a while we arrived in front of a gate that seemed to be made out of a material that strongly resembled brass. The gate had a symbol on it that seemed familiar to me, but I couldn't place what it was.

"Fine, how do we get past this?" Twilight wondered, but Pinkie came in quickly with a solution.

"Oh! Oh! Try to touch it!" She said to me.

I followed her advice and touched the symbol. Not long after that a shining light came from the other side of the door, but quickly faded away. The gate slowly opened and a cavern became visible. I remembered the cavern from stories I've heard. We went inside the cavern carefully.

It was dark inside, so Twilight casted a light spell and a bright light shined from her horn.

The cavern seemed one long hallway. The walls were littered with candles that had burnt out many years ago. On the end of the hallways was a contraption that seemed to be made out of the same material as the gate. I recognized it as the ancient elevator built by unicorns thousands of years ago from the stories that I've heard of.

Wise Knowledge used to lecture me about these kind of things, magic contraptions, wars and the history of the village and the mountain it resides on.

"What do we do now?" Rarity asked slightly frustrated.

I examined the contraption. It mainly was a huge, round platform with in the middle an orb. On one side of the contraption was something that seemed like a control panel.

Wise had taught me about these kind of contraptions and how they worked, including the control panel. My memories about them, however, were rather vague.

I tried to remember how the machines worked. I tried pressing several buttons, but nothing happened.

I wondered what I were doing wrong, but then I remembered that the machine works on magic. It must have ran dry since the last time it was used.

I examined the orb, which was the battery of the contraption, as far as I remembered. The orb was slightly damaged, but it should work. However, magic would leak out of it as soon as it entered it.

I asked Twilight to focus her magic on the orb. As she did, the orb slowly started to glow, but became dim again rather quickly.

It had no use, her magic alone wouldn't feed the battery.

Rarity decided to focus her magic on the orb too. The orb started to glow and it's power seemed stable. As long as they kept this up, the system would stay operable.

I tried some buttons to see what they did. By pressing one of the buttons the elevator seemed to try to go down, by pressing another button the elevator stopped moving at all.

I assumed that simply having the elevator go up would cause it to go at a high speed and crush us between the platform and the ceiling. As the unicorns started to tire out, I pressed the remaining button.

The elevator slowly started to increase in speed. After a while the elevator was rushing up, so I pressed the button that would stop it.

The elevator slowed down and finally stopped in the middle of the shaft. I finally understood how the machine worked. I made the elevator go up, and tried to keep it at a calm speed.

The unicorns started to tire even more, so I had to hurry. After not too long we neared the top. I pressed the stop button and the elevator slowed down. It almost seemed not to stop in time and crush us, but on the last second it stopped.

"Ho boy, that sure was close." Applejack said, relieved by the fact the elevator didn't crush us.

We jumped off the platform. Another dark hallway stood in front of us. This time, Twilight was too tired to cast the light spell, but it did not matter. There was light visible on the end of the hallway. The light came from a crack in the wall.

"Let me take care of this." Applejack said and kicked the wall, which then crumbled and a small passageway became visible.

We went through it and arrived behind the village's shrine, in Naga's lair.

"We finally made it!" I said happily. I rushed out, but stood still for a moment. An icy chill filled my body. It was like I were paralysed, by the shock of what I saw.

Chapter 11: Desire

Chapter 11:
Desire

It was dark outside. It was the midst of the night, but nonetheless there were still some ponies awake. An unicorn ran through the forest, running away in fear. She was followed silently by another, a pegasus. The unicorn did not seem to notice she was being followed. She was too distracted with fear. Fear for the death.

The unicorn arrived at an open spot in the forest. She fell down and started to cry. "No!" she cried, "No! This is not what I want! This is not what I am!"

The pegasus, who hid herself in the bushes, shed a tear.

"I don't want to do this!" the unicorn continued, "B-but if I don't...".

The pegasus slowly came out of the bushes and slowly approached the unicorn.

"Stay away from me!" the unicorn yelled and backed off.

"I don't want to harm you..." the pegasus responded quietly.

The unicorn calmed down a little, but was still anxious.

"Do you care, uhm, explaining yourself?" the pegasus asked hesitantly.

The unicorn sat down and started to talk.

"I am but a monster," she said, "I've been selfish. I've sacrificed innocent ponies, but for what? Only to know the truth." She bursted out in tears again.

"What truth?" the pegasus asked surprised.

The unicorn looked up. "D-do you really care?" she asked, "I mean, about me?"

The pegasus nodded. "I do, and if I could understand you I can help you."

The unicorn hesitated for a moment, then started to explain.

"I want to know the truth," she said, "The truth about myself. Who I am and why I am here."

The pegasus seemed worried about the unicorn and came closer and comforted her. "What do you mean?" she asked, "Don't you know who you are?"

The unicorn nodded. "The first thing I can remember is that I awoke in a shed, on a desk," the unicorn explained, "Next to me was a book about seven crystals that were spread across these lands. I recognized the drawings of those crystals."

She sighed and continued. "I assumed that if I'd find them all I'd know who I am and why I am here. I remembered nothing, but how to use the crystals. After that, I came in this village. I asked people about what they knew about these crystals, but they all claimed not to know anything about it, until I asked this lavender unicorn."

The pegasus shuddered. "Twilight?" she spoke out loud and astonished, then lowered the volume of her voice. "I mean, you mean Twilight?"

The unicorn nodded. "She told me to follow her to her library, where she searched for a book that could help me."

The unicorn continued explaining, "She borrowed me the book. Back at the shed I studied the book for days. I were obsessed with getting to know the truth, so I hired a group of adventurers to go search for the crystal that could power the others. I realised that they'd die in the process, which would feed the crystal and activate the other crystals. That way, it would be easier for me to find those others." She sighed and looked away. "But the way I tried to get them..."

The unicorn started to cry even more. The pegasus tried hard to comfort her, and eventually the unicorn could speak again.

"The way I tried to get them," she continued, "It was just terrible. I were so obsessed by them that I ignored the feelings of others, even their lives were worth nothing compared to the knowledge I could obtain."

She looked down. "I shouldn't have been in this world at all. I even tried to kill your friend."

The pegasus looked at the moon, then back to the unicorn.

"I-I'll help you!" She said, slightly doubting but filled with courage.

"What?"

"You heard me! I'll help you, but only if you promise not to harm anypony ever again!"

The unicorn seemed slightly confused, but then she stopped crying and smiled.

"Thank you."

"Come, we'll have to search the remaining crystals. Which ones do you already have?"

"All of them. I stole them before I attacked your friend."

"Let's go."

"Do you even know where the crystals may be?"

"No," the pegasus answered. She closed her eyes for a moment, then spoke again.

"But I do have an idea where one or more of them may be."

The unicorn looked up to her.

"Have you ever been to the mountains, in the far North-West of Equestria?"

The unicorn shook her head.

"Let's go there." The pegasus said and the unicorn agreed. Together they went towards the mountains.

After several days of walking the two arrived at the foot of a huge mountain. Probably the hugest mountain in Equestria. A small, dark bubble was on the top of that mountain.

"T-That's it!" the unicorn shouted out loud, "That's where two of the remaining crystals must be!"

"How do you know?" the pegasus asked surprised.

"Two of the three remaining crystals are also know as the distortion twin crystals," the unicorn explained, "They are always together. They work together to cause distortion in time and space."

"Sounds like they're friends."

"Yes... It does..." The unicorn shook her head and smiled to the pegasus. "I guess it doesn't matter what or who you are, you can always be friends, regardless if you're alive or dead."

The pegasus smiled.

The unicorn suddenly seemed worried.

"What's the matter?" the pegasus asked worried as well, "You seem worried about something..."

"The crystals are working, so that means..." The unicorn shuddered. "So that means that the blood crystal must have been fed with death."

"It doesn't matter," the pegasus said, "Nothing lives forever. Everything has to die sometime, and there's nothing we can do against it."

The unicorn smiled again.

"We need to make our lives the best we can, so that we can die peacefully and have wonderful memories."

The unicorn smiled and the two kept on walking up the mountain.

A dragon flew away from the mountain as the two were climbing the mountain. The dark bubble on top of the mountain grew bigger. The two kept looking at the dragon until it disappeared at the horizon.

"There's no time to lose," the unicorn said, "That field of distortion is expanding as we speak, and it might consume the whole mountain soon."

The two looked at each other and as if it encouraged them to climb on they proceeded up the mountain. It became darker and the field of distortion neared them.

"Do not fear," the unicorn said, "It will not hurt us. It will be weird inside it, but it's the only way to get to the crystal."

The pegasus nodded and climbed on.

Chapter 12: Twin Crystals

Chapter 12:
Twin Crystals

I stood there, paralysed of what my eyes had met.

Several houses lay in ruin. I asked a villager what happened.

"Ever since this dark force field surrounded us everything went the wrong way," he explained, "It was just a matter of time or sometimes we were pulled down by something invisible or being pushed up. It's as if gravity is fighting against us."

"Is everypony alright? I need to speak with Wise." I responded anxiously.

"Wise is alright, you can meet him in the shrine," the pony responded, "He and a few others have locked themselves in until the crisis is all over."

The pony ran away into a house that was still standing.

As he told us, the shrine's door was sealed off. Without hesitating I grabbed my sword and stabbed the centre of the seal. For a moment the seal shined bright, then slowly faded away and the door of the shrine opened.

"Are you out of your mind?!" A familiar creaky voice shouted at me angrily. It was Wise Knowledge, who settled down when he saw me. "Oh, it's you," he said, "I knew ye would come, ye know?"

We both smiled as we embraced each other.

"Long time no see, gramps." I said happily to see him alive.

"I assume ye didn't come here for nothing, am I right?" Wise said.

I nodded in response.

"We need to know where the crystals are," Twilight explained, "You see, these crystals..." But she was quickly interrupted by Wise who was offended by her thought that he wouldn't know about the situation.

"I know about it! I may be old, but I'm not stupid!" Wise shouted out angrily at the lavender unicorn, who seemed somewhat scared of his reaction. "Since it started there, I can only assume the crystals are located at the top of the mountain."

Wise sighed and looked down. "But nopony has ever dared climbing up that high. The weather up there is dangerous."

He looked at me faithfully. "One should take great care, but I believe you'll succeed."

"I'll fly up there in no time!" Rainbow Dash shouted out high-hearted.

"Let me prepare a nice spot on the graveyard for you." Wise said angrily.

"What do you mean?" Dash asked.

"The weather up there is too dangerous to fly through," I explained, "Doing so would result into you being blown out of the sky and crushing your bones on the surface below."

The other ponies looked painfully at me.

"There is, however, another way to get up there." I added.

"Let me show you," Wise said, "Follow me!".

We followed Wise and arrived at another gate, which was similar to the one that lead to the ancient cavern. However, some of the patterns were different.

"I wish this day would've never come," Wise said, looking down and sad, "But there's no other choice."

"What do you mean?" Pinkie and I asked simultaneously.

"This gate is a blood-bound gate," Wise explained, "In order to open it, it requires the blood of the sage's descendant. Not only that, but the blood must be fed to the gate by the descendant of the ancient hero."

"What hero?" Twilight asked.

"It's a long story," I explained, "But to keep it short, there was once a great war in Equestria, fugitives came to this mountain until the war was over. Usually they could reach the village easily, but once upon a time there was a group of fugitives, including a descendant of the goddess of the sun."

I took a moment to catch my breath, then continued explaining. "They wanted to reach the village, but the Dragon Valley was filled by new and aggressive dragons, who saw the fugitives as a snack. A hero came down from out village and let them up safely, defeating an aggressive dragon in a fight. When they arrived at the village, the goddess of the moon came down to thank the hero for saving the descendant of her sister."

I showed them my sword. "To express her gratitude, she gave us the sword that I'm currently holding in my hooves. The Moon's Blade. We stored the sword in the shrine, which the sages then guarded with their lives."

"Anyways," Wise started again, "It's time for the ritual."

I nodded with a painful feeling in my heart.

"As the last of the sages, this will break the bloodline of those that have kept the sword in safety for thousands of years," Wise explained, "But it's for the sake of our village, no, of the entire world."

I slowly lifted my sword.

"Isn't there another way to do this?" Twilight said panicky.

"N-no, this is the only way." Wise said. Tears ran from his eyes, which he then closed.

I readied my sword.

Tears filled my eyes.

Blood dripped down on the ground beneath Wise, as he slowly fell down motionless. While the blood on my blade was fresh I thrusted my sword into the gate. The gate slowly crumbled and a strong wind came from the other side. We slowly walked in, leaving the corpse of Wise behind.

We climbed the staircase that was in front of us, and eventually we reached the top. It was cold, and there was a strong and icy wind.

Not far from us were two crystals, circling around each other. I ran towards them and grabbed them. Slowly the dome that had imprisoned the mountain in a state of chaos started to disappear. The flow of time returned to normal and the floating pieces of land fell down to the surface, where they belonged.

With two of the seven crystals in hoof, I turned around, ready to leave the mountain when suddenly a familiar face stood in front of the exit. Morgana. Next to her was the pony we had been worried about for a long while. Fluttershy.

"Fluttershy!" Pinkie shouted out loud, happy to see her again.

"We've been so worried about you." Rarity said, delighted by the fact Fluttershy was alright.

"What have you done with her?" Rainbow Dash asked angrily.

"She's done nothing wrong." Fluttershy said.

The six of us were shocked by what she said. Did she choose the side of Morgana? The one who had been trying to kill us all?

"Are you out of your mind?" Twilight asked surprised, "That's Morgana! The one who tried to kill us, remember?"

"Morgana..." Fluttershy said quietly while looking at her.

"I'm sorry," Morgana said, "I'm sorry for what I've done."

Sorry? Sorry is all she could come up with? After everything she had done?

I quickly grabbed my sword and rushed toward Morgana, which then quickly dodged. Next Rainbow Dash rushed toward her and pushed her to Applejack, which kicked her in the face.

After that Morgana summoned five swords. In response Twilight casted several spells, which Morgana then blocked with her swords, but she kept her defensive position.

Next, Rarity and Pinkie jumped onto her.

"Now is your chance!" They shouted at me.

I ran towards them and lifted my sword.

"STOOOOOOP!" Fluttershy shouted out as loud as she could.

We all stood still, as if paralysed by her shout.

"Don't you ever dare to threaten my friends," she said furiously, "Dare to stab her and I'll stab you."

I looked surprised at her. She didn't sound like the Fluttershy we knew at all.

"Morgana isn't bad, she's just misunderstood."

"Misunderstood?" Twilight asked surprised, "She nearly killed all of us!"

"She was obsessed with knowing the truth," Fluttershy explained, "The truth about herself."

After Fluttershy explained Morgana's story I sheathed my sword and apologized to Morgana, which surprisingly gladly accepted it.

"Sorry for all of this." Twilight said.

"No, I'm the one that should be sorry," Morgana replied.

We looked at each other for a minute.

"In order to fully apologize, I'll help you find the remaining crystal. The crystal of illusion, if not mistaken."

Morgana nodded and thanked me.

Suddenly the crystals started to shine. They started to float in the air. A dim, pink light came from Morgana's chest.

It was obvious now. The final crystal was inside Morgana. The final crystal is Morgana herself.

We looked as she and the crystals floated in the sky and a bond started to exist between the crystals. I had no doubt about it. The crystals were fusing together again. They were becoming the Chaos Crystal again.

The search was over.

Chapter 13: Chaos Crystal

Chapter 13:
Chaos Crystal

It was storming, the wind was strong and there was lightning all over the sky. A bright light came from the crystals. There was no doubt about it. They were fusing. They became that what they had been long ago, the dreaded, yet fairly unknown Chaos Crystal. Eventually the light became so bright that we had to close our eyes.

After a while the light faded. In the sky floated the thing I feared the most, the same thing as from my dreams, my nightmares. The giant crystal. The Chaos Crystal.

It kept floating in the sky for a while, and after a few seconds it fell down.

We fell over from the huge shockwave that the crystal caused. The ground cracked too.

We slowly neared the crystal and suddenly a figure appeared in the crystal's reflection. I turned around. In front of me was the shadow that had tried to eat me in my dreams. I quickly grabbed the sword on my back. This time it wasn't a dream. This time I had to fight back and slay the beast.

It growled at me.

"What is this thing?" Rarity asked.

"I don't know," Twilight said, "But whatever it is, it can probably do the same the crystals could."

I looked the beast in the eyes, then rushed towards it and tried to stab it, but it warped as soon as the tip of my blade was about to touch him. The very next moment he was the one who dealt a blow to me.

I fell on my back, quickly stood up and grabbed my sword, ready for another assault.

"Wait!" Twilight shouted out, "We should work together, only then we may defeat him!"

She was right. Alone I would only end up hurting myself, but together we'd be able to deal some blows to him.

We all came up with a plan. I quickly charged at the shadow and tried to stab him again. He warped away again. This is where Twilight and Rarity came in.

They quickly casted a spell that trapped him in it's position. After that, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy quickly flew around him, causing a tornado to appear which then caused the shadow to be dizzy and, hopefully, be unable to warp away. Applejack and Pinkie started to attack him, and I charged at him and stabbed him.

The beast screamed out in pain, regained its focus and warped away from its position. It growled at us with a deafening sound.

We kept repeating our strategy, but the beast learned from its mistakes and eventually our plan became useless.

"Bah, we'll have to come up with another plan," Applejack said, "But what?"

I thought for a moment, when I suddenly remembered the box the princess gave us.

"Twilight!" I shouted.

Twilight looked at me. "What is it?" she said, under pressure by the failing strategy.

"The box!" I shouted, "You remember the box, right?"

"Yes! You're right!" she shouted back.

She grabbed the box and opened it. Inside were six jewels.

"Everyone! Over here!" She shouted and everyone gathered near her.

She handed out the jewels, which they then equipped. Without asking Twilight explained to me what they were.

"These are the elements of harmony, which we do represent." She looked a bit worried. "I don't know how we're going to use them together with you, but we'll try everything we can."

The jewels were reacting to each other, filling Twilight with power. I held my sword up high, and eventually Twilight casted something upon my blade. I felt power flowing through my sword.

I ran toward the shadow, which was on its way to assault the other ponies. As soon as it tried to hit them I struck it with my sword.

Once my sword touched the shadow, a blinding light came from my blade and caused the shadow to dissolve in thin air. However, it was not over.

The shadow reconstructed behind me and hit me away. My whole body hurts, but I had to carry on.

In the distance I saw a whole army of pegasi appear, dressed in golden and black armour. It were the armies of the princesses of Equestria. Above them flew Naga, who seemed to want to join the fight, as well as protected the soldiers from the storm.

As the army neared the mountain top, the shadow started to attack them as well. The soldiers fought back, but some were being crushed into flat ponies. Blood and flesh was spilt all over the mountain top, it was a horrible sight.

Naga tried to attack him as well with his sharp claws, but it all seemed in vain. Every time the shadow seemed to be defeated, it reconstructed itself.

"It is time that you learn how to use that sword of yours," a familiar voice said.

I turned around and in front of me stood princess Celestia herself. Next to her stood a smaller alicorn, which I assumed was the sister of Celestia.

"My sister will help you with that." She continued and pointed at the smaller pony next to her.

"Let me introduce myself first," she spoke, "I am princess Luna. I used to be the goddess of the moon, as well as the creator of the blade you currently carry with you."

"Y-you are my ancestress?" I asked hesitantly.

"Yes and no," she replied, "I did not give birth to your ancestors, but I did create them. I created them to serve us princesses and to protect the citizens of Equestria. In order to use the true power of your blade, you have to know how your ancestors used it."

I nodded.

"Therefore, we will send you back in time, when your ancestors needed it."

"So the sword has been used before?" I asked, and the princess nodded.

"It has, but the story has been erased from the memories of your village."

"Are you ready?" Celestia asked.

I took a deep breath. "Yes."

The princesses started to cast a spell. Everything in front of me became bright, and suddenly everything faded away.

Chapter 14: The Past

Chapter 14:
The Past

I slowly opened my eyes. I were in the middle of a group of ponies, who were all listening to another pegasus. It took a while for ears to recover, but I finally understood what the pegasus was saying.

"It will be dangerous, but whatever happens, stay behind me."

The pegasus carried a sword, it was not the Moon's Blade, however.

"If any of the dragons assault us, stay away from me and the dragon and search for a safe spot to stay."

The pegasus turned around and started walking and everyone started to followed him, so I did that too.

I examined my surroundings. We were at the foot of White Peak, the mountain where we, in the present, are fighting the shadow of the crystal. In front of us, where we walked into, was the Dragon Valley. This time, however, it was littered with dragons. The sky was full of them, like I used to be able to see back when I were but a little colt.

The air was damp and cold. It was hailing and the wind was icy. The group slowly progressed through the valley.

After several minutes a dragon circled above us. It was a sign that dragons usually gave that they were going to attack.

"Search for safety!" the pegasus shouted out, "We're about to be ambushed!"

I tried to grab my sword, but it wasn't there. The group split up and searched for a safe spot. I followed a group of other ponies, who hid behind a rock.

"Hey, are you alright?" one of them asked, "I were kind of worried when you passed out."

"You should worry more about our lives right now!" another one said angrily.

I looked from behind the rock to the pegasus, who was fighting the dragon.

The dragon tried to bite the pegasus, but he quickly dodged the attack, jumped onto the dragon's head and stabbed the dragon in its forehead. The dragon roared in pain and slowly fell down and became motionless.

We slowly returned to the pegasus.

"Everypony there?" he asked, "Let's continue on, and hope no other dragon tries to ambush us."

He started walking again, this time faster. The group followed.

At last we ended up at the gate that led to the elevator. The pegasus touched the door and it opened in the same way as it did when I opened it.

"Come inside," he said, "At the end of this cavern is an elevator. Please do not push others off it."

We walked into the cavern. It was the same, long hallway, but this time the torches were lit.

We all gathered on the platform of the elevator.

"Everypony ready?" the pegasus asked.

Everyone confirmed his question. The pegasus operated the elevator and it went up at top speed. Half-way it slowed down, and when we arrived at the top, it stopped. We stepped off and there was yet again the hallway.

After a walk we ended up in a village. It was the same village I used to live in, only younger and smaller. The storm had ended and a night-sky was visible. At the place the shrine used to be stood a younger version of princess Luna and an unicorn that strongly resembled Wise Knowledge.

The pegasus neared them and the rest of us gathered around them.

"Child of the sun, cometh here." Luna spoke out loud.

A white unicorn with flaming red and orange hair came to her. Morgana? Could it be Morgana? No, that wasn't possible.

"Does thou agree with us if we say this stallion deserves a reward for his bravery?"

The unicorn nodded.

"Then we shall." Luna responded.

She started casting. In the sky, under the light of the moon, a figure appeared. It had the shape of a sword and a blinding light was coming from it. It slowly floated down to the pegasus, which then grabbed it. The light dimmed and the sword took colour. It was the Moon's Blade.

"Thy shall need this blade," Luna said to him, "A greater evil is about to make its appearance, and when it does, we will need thine strength and bravery."

"It will be a honour." The pegasus responded.

After he said that, everything started to blur again.

A moment later I opened my eyes again. We were in the ruined halls of the Canterlot Royal Palace. In front of me stood four other ponies. The pegasus, the unicorn, Celestia and Luna. They surrounded what seemed to be the Chaos Crystal.

"It's time for the ritual." Celestia said.

The pegasus held the Moon's Blade skyward. The crescent moon was visible through a hole in the ceiling.

A shadowy figure became visible in the crystal. Not much later the figure stepped outside of the crystal.

"Now!" Celestia shouted, and six symbols became visible.

It were the six elements of harmony. They surrounded the shadow, which growled in pain and anger.

The Moon's Blade was shining. The pegasus aimed at the shadow, and bolts of lightning came out of the tip of the sword. After a few minutes the earth started to shake and the unicorn started to panic.

"It's not going to work!" she shouted out loud, "Stop it! It's going to destroy us all!"

The others ignored her.

"Stop it! Please! Anypony!"

But none of them listened to her.

After a while she started to rush towards the shadow and tackled it into the crystal. The shadow slowly returned to the crystal, but grabbed the unicorn in the process. The pegasus quickly ran towards the crystal and tried to rescue her, but it was too late. Not only the shadow, but also the unicorn were absorbed by the crystal.

Cracks started to appear in the crystal, and a blinding light came off of it. The very next moment there were seven crystals. They split up and flew away, only to be found again thousands of years later.

"No..." The pegasus started to cry, and the princesses embraced him.

"After all we did to protect her, this happened..." Tears left his eyes and fell on the ground.

"We did everything we could," the young Celestia said, "She'll be fine, she's still alive. I can sense it."

The pegasus cried even harder.

"We don't know what will happen to her," Celestia explained, "But as long as the crystals do exist, she'll exist. She has fused with the crystals."

It now made sense. The unicorn was Morgana indeed. It did explain why the last crystal was inside her. So Morgana was the child of Celestia? It was vague, but also clear.

"We missed an element too." Luna said.

"We wonder what it could've been." Celestia added to that. "We will have to worry about it in the future, though. Another era is about to begin, once we defeat Discord."

The pegasus stopped crying and stood up.

"Let's go." Celestia said, and they ran to the end of the hall.

My vision started to blur again and slowly faded away.

I were returning to the present, to my time. Back to the battlefield. I now knew what I needed to know, but it was still not enough to defeat the shadow. I had to figure that out as soon as possible. The final showdown neared.

Chapter 15: The Grand Finale

Chapter 15:
The Grand Finale

I opened my eyes and waited until everything became clear.

I looked at the fight. Only a handful of soldiers were left. They struggled in their fight against the shadow. The mountain was littered with corpses. Smashed, crushed, pierced. Blood and flesh was all over the place. The only ones who were left were the princesses, the six other ponies, I and some soldiers, who were quickly slain by the shadow.

"You've returned," Celestia said, "Are you ready to perform the ritual?"

I nodded.

The princesses started to cast a spell that paralysed the shadow. After that the other ponies used the elements of harmony again. They focused the power of the elements on my blade, which I held skyward, pointing to a hole in the storm through which the crescent moon in the sky was visible.

It was as if my sword started to charge up. The ponies then focused the elements on the shadow, which started to roar in pain. I then pointed my sword towards the beast. Bolts came out of my blade and struck the shadow. Slowly, the shadow started to retreat into the crystal.

After a while the shadow had fully disappeared in the shadow. The sky cleared up and the night-sky was fully visible.

"Is it over?" Twilight asked.

"I guess it is." I replied to her.

"I expected him to put up more of a fight!" Rainbow Dash said lofty.

The other ponies looked angrily at her.

"But maybe it's better that it didn't..." She said, a bit ashamed of what she said earlier.

We started to laugh.

The Chaos Crystal was still there however.

"Do not let your guard down!" Celestia said, "I still sense power emanating from the crystal."

"But we defeated that evil shadowy thing!" Pinkie said.

"I'm afraid it was just one of its illusions," Luna explained, "The crystal is capable of much more. Should have known that we had to target the crystal itself..."

"So, when is it going to strike again?" Pinkie asked.

But as soon as she had said that, the crystal started to float up in the air again. The world around us started to disappear and after a while it looked like we were standing on a piece of floating land in the middle of space.

"What happened?" Twilight asked.

"It has sent us back to the beginning of time," Celestia explained, "Even before Luna and I existed."

We gasped.

"Will we ever be able to return to our time?" Rarity asked panicky.

"Maybe we will," Celestia said, but she doubted her own words, "But we'll have to defend ourselves."

We agreed.

"There's no other choice left," I said, "We must fight the crystal."

The others concurred and we prepared for battle.

The crystals summoned several shadows, much like before, but seemingly smaller and weaker. We fought them together as a team, the unicorns and princesses with their magic, me with my sword and the rest with purely their own strength. The crystals kept summoning shadows, as if there was no end to it.

"It's no use," Twilight said, "They'll keep coming. Maybe we should stop and give up, it's hopeless anyways..."

"Why do you think of giving up so easily?" I asked her, surprised by her giving up so easily.

"Because it's no use, it's stronger than we are." She didn't sound like Twilight at all.

"She's possessed by the crystal!" Applejack shouted out, which explained her unusual behaviour.

Her shouting seemed to trigger a change, and Twilight started to fire spells at me. I narrowly dodged them and knocked Twilight away. She seemed unconscious for a moment, then awoke.

"What happened?" She asked, and I quickly explained to her what happened in a nutshell.

After that, we continued fighting the shadows. It was still as if there was no end to it.

"Screw the shadows, let's fight the crystal!" Rainbow said, and as reckless as it sounded, I agreed.

I finished off the shadow that I were fighting and flew towards the crystal. Several other shadows started to target me.

"Could you get rid of them?" I asked.

Dash and Twilight started to focus on the shadows that were targeting me, and they quickly got their attention.

I tried to stab the crystal, but it was too hard to damage.

"Bah, we'll need something else to finish this thing off..." I muttered.

I looked at the others, hoping I could find a clue in them. Then I suddenly realised we still had the elements of harmony. It may not have succeeded in destroying the crystal before, but another try would be worth it.

"We need to use the elements of harmony!" I shouted out, "There's no other way to destroy the crystal!"

The others were too busy fighting off the shadows to notice, so I started to assist the others and told them my plan.

"First, we'll have to find a safe spot, next we'll need the princesses to cast a barrier that will protect us. After that, we'll need to charge up my sword and it is then that I'll strike the crystal with all I have."

One after the other they started to collect at an open spot.

We fought off a few shadows and at last the princesses casted a barrier. Twilight and the rest started to use the elements of harmony again, and again I held my sword skyward. Slowly my sword filled with power.

"We can't keep up any longer!" Luna said tiredly.

At last my sword was fully charged. The princesses were too exhausted to keep up the barrier, and thus it shattered. I had to finish it. It was our only chance. To save Equestria, no, the world!

I rushed towards the crystal, ignoring all the shadows that tried to stop me. At last I jumped and were ready to stab the crystal. Suddenly all my memories of Ponyville rushed through my mind. The time we've spent together. It couldn't be over. I had to do this, for my friends.

"For Equestria!" I shouted as I neared the crystal.

My sword pierced through the crystal, which started to shine bright. Cracks appeared in it and a huge explosion appeared and blew me off the floating platform, into deep space.

My sight slowly faded. It was over, I had accomplished that what I had to do. The crystal was destroyed, and with it was I. I could only hope for a golden age.

An age where Equestria and its citizens would live in peace.

Chapter 16: Farewell

Chapter 16:
Farewell

I slowly opened my eyes. A clear blue sky was visible. I tried to stand up, and when I looked around me I saw several cloaked ponies. One of them took off his cloak. It was a familiar face.

"A-am I dead?" I asked him.

"No," he responded, "But you almost were. Your friends will explain everything to you when you truly wake up, but in the meanwhile we have something else to discuss with you."

It was Wise Knowledge. I thought he died. No, I'm sure about it. I killed him after all.

"In the meanwhile," Wise continued, "We have summoned you to the afterlife. There are things to discuss."

I were full of worries, but Wise's face seemed calm.

"The Chaos Crystal is fully destroyed, but you have not fully mastered your full powers yet."

"But I knew how to use the Moon's Blade's full power. Isn't that enough?"

"A blade can't fight on its own. It needs somepony to hold it. In this case, that pony are you. Knowing how to use the sword alone isn't enough, you must know your own strength."

He walked towards me as he spoke.

"In order to grow stronger I want you to start travelling. You may need to overcome many hardships, but you'll be fine. I know it."

"I don't want to leave my friends, nor do I even know where to go."

"There may come a time that your friends are in danger and that they need you again. If you aren't strong enough at that moment, then you will fail to protect them."

I sighed, but continued listening to his explanations. It was still vague to me.

"To prevent this failure, you must become stronger yourself."

"I understand."

I took a moment to realize what he's been saying.

"But I still don't know where to go from here."

"We are the fallen sages, together we carry all the knowledge, maybe even more than Celestia and Luna together. We will be the ones to guide you on your path, but the decisions are all yours to make. To learn from failure and to understand from success."

I nodded in response. The worries that haunted me before had gone and I smiled again.

"Now, it is time to go back to the world of the living. Take the time you need to say farewell and follow your instincts. And don't forget, a weapon is a mere extension of your own power."

I couldn't do anything else besides nodding and smiling. I closed my eyes and slowly returned to the world where my friends lived.

"Hey!" a familiar voice shouted, "He's waking up, girls!"

I slowly opened my eyes. It was Pinkie who was enthusiastic that I were alive. I tried to get in a sit-position and looked around me. I were surrounded by my friends. Everyone was there, but Rainbow Dash.

"What happened?" I asked, "What happened back there?"

"You don't remember?" Twilight asked surprised.

I shook my head in response.

"When you stabbed the crystal," Applejack explained, "It exploded and you were thrown far away."

"Yes, and when that happened Rainbow Dash quickly came in action and flew after you. Not a moment later she brought you back to us, but you were passed out." Rarity added.

"How did we come back?" I asked.

"I don't know," Twilight said, "For a moment it seemed we were stuck there forever, but then a blinding light appeared and in a few seconds we were back at the top of the mountain. After that Naga flew us back to Ponyville."

A blinding light brought them back? I wonder what it could've been. It makes me wonder who had actually interrupted the nightmare in which Morgana was trying to kill me. Those were questions even my friends could not answer.

"Hey, where is Rainbow Dash?" I asked, surprised that she wasn't here.

"We don't know," Pinkie replied.

"After we brought you here she was watching over you all the time," Applejack explained, "But she isn't here anymore."

"I wonder where she could've gone to..." Fluttershy said.

I had the faint feeling that I knew where she had gone to. I asked the others if it was okay to leave my bed, and they nodded in response, as long as I would come back to them at the Canterlot Royal Palace, where the princesses had to talk to us.

I went to the cloud Rainbow Dash and I used to watch the sunset, and there she was. She sat on that cloud, staring to the sky with a face full of worries. She looked around and smiled as she saw me appear.

"Y-you're alright!" she said happily.

We hugged each other for a moment. The I remembered the flower I plucked at the shrine on that faithful day my adventure started.

"This flower remembers me of you." I said as I handed over the odd flower.

She smiled and gratefully accepted the gift. She blushed for a moment, then gave up. She didn't want to hide her feelings anymore and gave me a kiss. We decided to return to the others, who were awaiting us at the Canterlot Royal Palace.

We stood in the throne room. It was full of ponies, and in front of the throne stood Celestia and next to her stood Luna. We slowly walked towards her. Here and there some ponies took pictures of us, others cheered.

"We are in debt of your actions," Celestia said, "To show you our gratitude, we will now entitle you as Knight Moon's Blade of Equestria."

I were amazed by the amount of cheering ponies, but not as amazed as the fact I were a knight now.

Time passed on as we celebrated the victory and eventually I were summoned by Luna, who wanted to talk to me.

"I am grateful that you helped us all," Luna said, "I've been watching over your village for ages, and the day you were born I knew you would be an important pony."

I smiled, knowing she hadn't forgotten our village after such a long time.

"Since then I've tried everything to protect you. Remember that night that that white unicorn tried to attack you?"

I nodded. "Yes, I do."

I remembered that in the dream a black mare appeared and pushed Morgana away at the moment she was about to kill me.

"When you were about to be slain, I interfered with the crystal's power and forced myself into the dream and pushed her away." Luna explained.

"You weren't the one who brought us back to our time, were you?" I asked out of curiosity.

"No, I did not recognize the magic," she answered, "But there was a familiar presence, one that I haven't felt in ages."

"Morgana?"

"Who's Morgana? You mean the white unicorn?"

"Yes, that one."

"Her name is White Flare, she disappeared the first time we tried to destroy the crystal. We thought she was gone forever, but it could be possible it was her."

She sighed for a moment. "But I doubt that somepony as mortal as her would still be alive in all these years. It must have been something else."

We returned to the others. The time to say farewell had come. I had to depart, to become stronger.

"So, now that your goals are achieved, what are you going to do?" Twilight asked.

"You are going to stay with us, aren't you?" Rainbow Dash asked, thinking it was an obvious answer to that question.

"That would be so much fun!" Pinkie said.

"We'd really appreciate it." Rarity added to that.

They all seemed so happy to have me around. It only made it harder.

"Well..." I started, but a painful feeling struck my heart and I shed a tear.

The smiles the others had slowly faded away in sad faces.

"You can't stay, can you?" Applejack asked.

I shook my head.

"You will come back, right?" Fluttershy asked.

I nodded.

"A sword is nothing but a mere extension of its wielder's power," I explained with the words of Wise, "I may have mastered the ability to fully use this sword, but that alone isn't enough. There will be one time I'll need to fight again, and if I'm not prepared, who knows what might happen."

I took a deep breath and continued explaining. "Therefore I will go on a journey, to become stronger so that I can protect you even more."

"A wise decision." Celestia said.

"We will miss you..." Fluttershy added.

"After all we have gone through, this is where we part," I said, shedding several tears, "But we will meet again, I'm sure about that."

"Goodbye!" The others said, and we all started to shed tears. "We will miss you!"

I flew away, in a direction that seemed to feel the right direction, ready to face more challenges.

When I flew over the mountains, I saw something white with red and orange running along with me. I wondered if it could be her, but then I shook my head. It couldn't be.

I am Moon's Blade. I am not a hero, I am just a pony that does what he has to do. I am on my journey to become stronger, so that I can protect those who are dear to me and those around them. So that I can pretend to be a hero when needed.

THE END

Chapter 1: The Nightmare

Chapter 1:
The Nightmare

There I stood. In a dark, yet familiar room. In front of me was a huge crystal, surrounded by magic runes. I did not know what it was, but I had seen it before. In fact, I did not realize it by then, but it was the same nightmare I've had the last few weeks.

I took a step toward the crystal. I had a sword in my hooves, and I knew I'd have to use it when 'it' would appear. I walked closer toward the crystal. The more steps I took, the harder it became. At last, I couldn't move at all. Suddenly a black figure appeared in the crystal. It was hard, but I looked behind me. There it was. The same shadow that had been haunting my dreams for weeks.

"What are you?" I asked, scared of the shadow.

It did not answer, but I somehow knew it didn't know that either. It looked at me for a few seconds, then it quickly headed for me, trying to eat me in one try. But then. Then a blinding light appeared out of nowhere. Six symbols surrounded the beast and drove it back inside the crystal. After that, the crystal shattered in several pieces and everything started to blur.

I woke up in my bed. I looked around me, but everything seemed the same. I were in the same old house I used to live in. It was morning, and the sun was shining through my window. It was a nice day, the weather was fine and the birds flew around. I washed myself and decided to take a walk outside. If I had the chance, I could consult the village elder about the nightmares I had.

I'm Moon's Blade, a male dark blue pegasus from White Peak, a mountain in the far North-Western corner of Equestria.

The mountain only had one village, which was mainly populated with unicorns and pegasi, because it was impossible to reach by an earthpony. The only way to get to the village is through a cavern or by flying up the mountain. The cavern had an ancient elevator, built by unicorns thousands of years ago, and thus they could only be operated through the magic of unicorns.

Climbing the mountain was almost an impossible task. Not only were there steep cliffs, but there were many avalanches as well as a lot of bad weather. And the worst of all was that there were a lot of aggressive dragons around. They did not harm the village, because the village had its own guardian, Naga, a friendly dragon that lived here for ages. Most other dragons feared him, but there were some stubborn dragons that did dare to try to attack the village, but they were either burnt to ashes or had their eyes clawed out by Naga.

I decided to walk around for a bit. The village, being high up in the mountains, was covered in a thick layer of snow. In the very back of the village was Naga's lair, and in front of it was a shrine, where an ancient sword was kept. The sword was once given to a hero by the mare of the moon, but it currently rests there until the time comes that its power is needed again. In fact, I were named after that sword.

I took a look at the shrine. The door was sealed off, as usual. I kept looking at it for a few seconds. A small, unusual flower caught my eyes. It had seven petals with the colours of the rainbow. I plucked it and then turned around.

I went to the house of the village elder, Wise Knowledge. I knocked on his door to see if he was there. The door slowly opened and I went in. A grey stallion with a silver mane stood there, staring at me. After a while he spoke.

"Can I help ye?" he said slowly.

"Uhm, yes, it's about a nightmare I've had for several weeks now. It really starts to bother me." I responded hesitantly. I explained the whole story to him, and without a word, he started searching through some bookcases.

"A crystal... A crystal..." He mumbled.

After a while he shouted "Aha!" and picked a book. He opened the book and read through a few pages.

"The crystal you described is the same as this book describes it," he said and started reading.

"The Crystal of Chaos was created by Discord. It was made to spread chaos amongst the citizens of Equestria, increasing Discord's power. However, after the defeat of Discord, two mares attempted to use the Elements of Harmony to destroy the crystal, but instead of doing so, the crystal shattered in 7 pieces, which flew to different places. After that, nopony knew where they were, but one thing was for sure. The danger the crystal possessed was not gone entirely, and it was just a matter of time until the pieces themselves would spread the chaos."

I were intrigued by the story, and somehow had the feeling I had to do something with it. My feelings were quickly confirmed by Wise himself.

"You know what that means," he started, "It's you who must seek the crystals and finally destroy them."

I nodded slowly. "The location where the crystal was split up, was near a village called 'Ponyville'. You must go there and search for clues," Wise continued, "But I doubt it will be a safe travel, so there's something I have to tell you."

I were surprised by his words. He asked me to follow him.

We stopped in front of the door of the village shrine. Wise used his magic to break the seal on the door.

"Thousands of years have passed since the sword was put in this shrine. My very ancestors sealed the door and passed the unlock spell on to their children," He said, "But not only the spell was passed on, but the entire story. And if there's one thing I certainly don't doubt about that story, then it is that you carry the blood of the hero himself."

I were shocked, yet surprised.

"So today," Wise continued, "your adventure will start. It will be dangerous to go alone and unprepared, so take this sword. Only you can carry it, but you need to grow in power in order to use its full power."

I drew the sword from the pedestal it has been resting in for ages. It felt heavy, but I were used to carry swords around. I've been practising sword fighting for several years, just in case something like this might happen. In my hooves I carried the sword I could only dream of. The very sword I were named after. Moon's Blade.

Outside the shrine Wise confronted me. "There's no time to lose," he said, "who might know what when the crystals will cause trouble? You must head to Ponyville this instant!"

I were slightly confused by all the sudden events that had occurred. Wise handed over a map.

"You'll need this in order to find your way around," he said, "I'll eagerly await your return."

I walked toward a cliff. "Goodbye, crazy old man," I said, "Goodbye, lovely village of mine..."

I took a deep breath, took a step backward, spread my wings, ran toward the cliff and jumped. I were on my way to Ponyville, where my biggest adventure would start. Who knows what might happen there. Who knows who I might meet there.

Chapter 3: The Tomb

Chapter 3:
The Tomb

It was dark inside the tomb, I could barely see, but Twilight cast a spell that emitted light from her horn, making the inside of the tomb a lot clearer. It reeked of rotten meat in the tomb.

"Why did we come in here, again?" Rarity questioned, and was quickly answered by Twilight.

"Because we're looking for a crystal, which could be used for terrible things. Please watch your step..."

I were nervous of what to expect. It seemed the group that had entered before us had avoided the first few traps, but then again, they weren't hidden very well either.

I took a step forward, but then I were suddenly interrupted and startled by a scream. It was Rarity, who was shocked by the sight of a skeleton.

"Well, at least it ain't a fresh corpse..." Applejack said, probably in an attempt to calm Rarity.

All of them seemed kinda anxious, and I couldn't hide that feeling either.

"Let's stay close, and watch our steps." I said.

We ventured further into the tomb, and the traps became seemingly more well-hidden. I slowly walked in front of the rest. It all seemed to go well, so far.

I took another step, and suddenly my hoof sank a bit deeper in the ground. Without hesitating I duck a little, when suddenly a huge axe came swinging by. It stopped swinging quickly. Everyone was pale with fear.

"Everyone alright?" I asked, fearing to look backward and seeing a split-up body.

"Y-yes." Twilight said.

"I-I guess s-so!" Pinkie confirmed, too.

We walked a bit further, until we started hearing some sounds from in the distance.

"Might those sounds be from the others?" Dash wondered, "The ones that entered before us?"

"I hope so..." Applejack answered anxiously.

"Whatever the case is, we must carry on." Twilight said.

We went on, deeper into the dungeon. Then we stood still. What we saw was indescribable. It was disgusting.

"I guess you weren't kidding when you said this was a dangerous place, Twilight..." Applejack said with fear.

One of the ponies that entered before we did had apparently activated a trap by accident. On the wall was the fresh corpse of a pony being pierced through his chest and head. His body was covered in blood, and beneath him was a puddle of that blood.

I felt like puking, but I tried not to look and walked on.

Not much further inside we stumbled on yet another fresh corpse, flattened by a huge boulder that seemed to have fallen from a trapdoor in the ceiling. The whole floor was littered with blood and some organs were scattered around. It was hard to get past the boulder, but it was possible.

After a while we started hearing someone crying.

After walking a bit further we found a large room. On the other side was the last remaining pony of the group that had entered the dungeon.

I ran towards him.

"My friends..." he said, "My friends are all dead!"

I did not know what to say.

"Why did you enter this place in the first place?" Pinkie asked.

"Some other pony hired us. He wanted us to go inside and get the treasure hidden in here." He cried, "I don't want to go any further!"

"You don't have to." I said, trying to comfort him, "We'll make sure you'll get out here in one piece."

"No." He said. He seemed to have lost it all. "You don't have to. Without my friends, I have no reason to live anymore."

"What are you talking about?" Applejack said, "Of course you do. You'll surely find new friends."

"Yeah," Pinkie said, "They won't replace your old ones, but losing someone dear to you is something that happens to everypony!"

The other pony did not seem convinced.

"No! It doesn't matter!" He shouted and ran toward the next room.

After a few seconds we heard a scream and a loud bang. Shocked by what he'd done we stood still, looking at each other. After a while of calming down we went on.

After a while, Twilight started talking.

"It shouldn't be far anymore."

"Let's hope so..." Dash responded nervously.

I had the feeling we were being followed, but I didn't see anyone besides us.

Finally, we arrived in a large room. In the middle was a pedestal, and on that pedestal was a small, red crystal object.

"That's it. No doubt about it." I said.

"I don't quite trust it..." Twilight said, "What if it's a trap?"

"Only one way to find out." I said as I walked toward the pedestal.

At last, I stood in front of the pedestal.

"I guess it's safe..." Twilight said.

"Go grab it already!" Rarity commanded, "I want to get out of here before my mane gets dirty!"

I picked up the crystal from the pedestal.

"Let's get out of here." I said.

I walked toward the hallway we came in from, until suddenly a spider fell down. I looked up. The whole ceiling was covered in a thick layer of poisonous spiders.

"There's only one thing we should do right now..." Dash said, "RUN!"

We ran as fast as we could. The spiders followed us. While running we activated several traps, which we then avoided barely.

At last the exit was visible, but the danger wasn't over yet. The doorway seemed to close slowly, we had only a bare few seconds left before we were locked in as spider food.

First one to escape was Rainbow Dash, followed by Pinkie and Rarity. The doorway was almost closed, Twilight and Applejack just went through it. It was almost impossible to go through, but in the end I barely managed to escape.

The tomb was shut tight behind us. There's no way anyone could ever enter. Or leave.

"Are we all alright?" Applejack asked, and everyone nodded slowly, tired of this horrifying adventure.

"Do you have the crystal?" Twilight asked.

I showed them the crystal.

"You know..." Rarity started, "I could use that in a dress of mine."

"No, you can't." Applejack said.

"Don't you remember what Twilight said?" Rainbow said, "These crystals can do terrible things."

"Thanks for helping me," I said, "I really didn't want to have you involved into this..."

I felt guilty for dragging them into this.

"It doesn't matter, you didn't know it would end up like this," Twilight said, "After all, if Equestria is in danger, we might as well gather the other remaining crystals. In the meanwhile, let's head home."

Chapter 8: Morgana

Chapter 8:
Morgana

There I stood. In a dark, yet familiar room. In front of me was a huge crystal surrounded by magic runes.

It has been a while since I had this dream. I knew that the crystal in front of me was the chaos crystal. The crystal that currently did not exist. The chaos crystal had the colours of each of its separate parts. Green, red, yellow, blue... All of them, mixed together. It looked like a friendly object, with the colours of the rainbow. But the truth was hard. This thing could potentially destroy Equestria.

I knew this dream. This nightmare. I did not grab my sword. I knew that 'it' would appear and that 'it' would not harm me. A black figure appeared in the crystal, and as usual I turned around. I stood face to face with the creature.

"What do you want?" I asked, "What are you going to do?"

It looked back at me, but did not do anything.

"I know what you're going to do..." I said, and not long after that the beast tried to eat me. Again.

A blinding light appeared from behind it, six familiar symbols appeared and drove it back into the crystal. Even nowadays I did not know what those symbols were, nor what they represented.

Everything blurred away.

A while later I opened my eyes. I were inside a wooden house, the windows were open and a blinding light fell through it. It was too bright to see what was outside. I were lying in a bed.

"Am I still dreaming?" I asked myself, as if I could answer that question.

I recognized the house as my own. Was all that happened just a dream? My entire adventure at Ponyville was just a terrible nightmare? I should be relieved, but it felt odd. The events that had happened were too realistic and too long to be just a terrible dream.

I walked out of my bed and opened the door. It was foggy outside, but the sun did shine.

Usually people were walking, talking and working outside, but this time there wasn't even a single soul outside.

I walked to the shrine. The door was still sealed. I tried to grab my sword, but it wasn't there. I decided to go to Wise Knowledge's house.

Wise was standing in front of his house.

"How are ye?" He asked me.

"I'm fine," I said, "but something is suspicious..."

Wise looked at me confused. "What do ye mean? It's an ordinary day, isn't it?"

For a second I thought he had gone senile. But it couldn't be. I wanted to turn around and walk back to the shrine, but someone else was standing behind me. It was a grey pegasus, a mare. She carried a bow on her back. I recognized her as an old friend, Silver Arrow.

"Is there something wrong?" She asked.

Something felt wrong. She looked and sounded exactly like Silver, but I had the odd feeling she was not.

"No," I answered, "Nothing is wrong." I did not know what to say.

"I'm feeling a bit ill, that's all." I said.

"You're feeling a bit ill?" Silver said, "Wise surely has a potion for that, don't you?"

"Yes, I happen to have it with me," Wise replied to that. "Here, take this," he said as he handed me over a weird brew, "You should drink it all in a single gulp."

I looked at the brew. It was oddly green and had a terrible smell. I recognized it as a poison. I looked at Wise angrily.

"You're not Wise, are you?" I asked.

"Of course I am!" 'Wise' lied.

I jumped onto him and tried to strangle him, but as I did I felt an arrow in my back.

"Maybe you should've drunk the poison," Silver said, "It might have saved you from a lot of pain..."

Her voice fainted, as did my vision.

I opened my eyes yet again. I were standing on the marketplace in Ponyville. But instead of being busy it was dark and empty. The lights of the houses were off and there was no moon nor a single star in the sky. I still didn't had my sword.

I walked around town for a couple of minutes, when I arrived at Morgana's shack.

"Look who we've got there," a familiar, unpleasing voice said. I turned around and saw Morgana standing in front of me.

"What do you want from me? What happened to Ponyville?" I asked.

"I told you to stay out of my business," Morgana said, "Now, look what you've done."

The fog cleared and in the sky was a huge crystal visible. It was the crystal from my dreams. The chaos crystal.

"You're the one responsible for this," Morgana continued, "I'm using a time spell to move you forward into time, to explain to you what happened, to make sure this won't happen. The destruction of ponykind."

I were alarmed by her words. I took a better look around me. Everything lay in ruins. There were corpses everywhere. Blood and rubble lay everywhere. Did I do this? Did I destroy Ponyville?

"That faithful day, ten years ago," Morgana started to explain, "You collected all crystals but two. The ones I had."

She looked sad. "You walked into my house, knocked me down and tried to kill me," she continued, "But I escaped quickly. I spied on you from a distance. I saw you steal the crystals. After that, you went to Twilight Sparkle's library."

I were drawn into the story. "I did not see what you did inside that library, but after a while a weird glow came out of that place, and before I knew it..."

She took a breathe, looked away and then continued, "And before I knew it that giant crystal appeared out of nowhere. All kinds of monsters came out and killed the ponies and destroyed the buildings. I quickly made my way out, and I hid myself for these ten years." She looked back at me. "Now it's time to do what I should have done, on that faithful day ten years ago."

She summoned five swords. All five swords were floating in the air by her magic. She slowly neared me, pointing the swords at me, when suddenly a black mare pushed her away. I could not see who it was, but everything started to blur. Maybe it was a dream after all?

I woke up in the middle of a forest. I recognized it as the Everfree forest. I could feel my sword on my back.

Not far from me lay Morgana. She stood up, groaning from pain. She summoned the same five swords as she did in my dream.

"Bah, I thought it would work," she said, "If only she hadn't interrupted me. The power of the crystals are almost fully drained. I need to make a sacrifice, and you'll be that sacrifice."

I did not hesitate and grabbed my sword. Morgana slowly neared me, and with every step towards me, I took a step backward.

Eventually she rushed toward me, pointing all the swords at me. I quickly stepped aside, and slashed my sword. Blood flew from her body as my sword went through her skin, leaving a small cut behind.

She groaned, pointed the swords at me and tried to stab me. I quickly backed off. I readied myself to strike again, but she outsmarted me and slashed my sword away. I fell over.

She slowly neared me again. It was over. She could easily pierce through me now. She readied her swords and was about to strike me when she suddenly fell down. Her swords disappeared and she gasped for air.

I stood up and ran toward my sword. I picked it up and ran towards Morgana. I could finish her. I jumped and readied my sword, but as I were about to hit her, she warped away. I saw her running away in the distance. I wondered why she gave up so easily.

"Moon!" A familiar voice shouted. "Are you alright?" Twilight asked, who was breathing heavily, "What happened?"

I explained to her about the dream and the fight with Morgana.

"She must've used the nightmare crystal," Twilight explained, "Not only does it allow you to turn someone's dream into a nightmare, you can also step into it or even view the victim's memories."

It worried me. "I've got bad news, too!" she said, while she looked disappointed. "About the crystals..."

I already knew what she was going to say.

"Morgana took them with her. She didn't leave a single one behind..."

I fell down and tears came up. All the work for nothing! All we did, all the suffering we had when collecting the crystals, just for them to be stolen.

I were tired. Twilight and I went back home. Not a single word was spoken again that night.