The Black Eyes of the Nightmare

Victor and Groves turn back into their normal states. Victor tells Groves about all that happened since their fight. They sit at a table they found that wasn't destroyed by them, along with Jin, Celestia, and Luna.

"...and that's how we're here," finishes Victor.

"I still don't understand the ponies. Seriously. Why ponies?" says Groves, shifting his eyes to the two sisters.

"I can't explain that either. The white one's Celestia, and the blue one's Luna. They're both princesses in their world."

"Why would two princesses be hanging around in another world, while they got their cushy castle?"

"Because these two are awesome."

"I don't see it. They just look like a bunch of ponies to me."

"Just ponies?" says Luna, annoyed. "Choose thy words careful, Groves. We know what you did."

"It may not look like it," says Victor, "but they're both strong."

"And why do they have drawings on their butts?" asks Groves.

"It's kind of a symbol for their specialty."

"I would not prefer some symbol stuck on my ass."

"Groves, be nice!" commands Victor. "They're goddesses!"

"We know like, seven immortals, Vic," says Groves. "Princess or not, I am NOT letting them be above me."

"You do know we have no authority whatsoever in this realm, right?" says Celestia.

"Still, I despise royalty."

"I must ask, Groves. You don't have a good past with Victor, but are you a human?" asks Celestia.

"I am. Somewhere around his age as well."

"Why do you wear that helmet?" asks Luna.

Groves sighs, trying to remain calm. That question is a nuisance to him. Everyone asks about the helmet. That metal dome's been shielding his head for as long as he could remember, and he never takes it off. "Because I'm smart enough not to look at the world with uncovered, fragile eyes."

"Don't get the idea that I actually care for you, Groves," scolds Victor, changing the subject. "You still killed Moon Fox, yet if I didn't have to go get her back, I wouldn't have met these two lovely sisters. So I must say..." Victor looks like he's going to throw up. He starts to murmur out indistinct sounds, attempting to get something out. "...thank you."

"Ironic," agrees Groves.

"Come on, Victor. I know he's a murderer, and I can't tolerate that," says Celestia. Her eyes glisten at Victor's glaring ones. "But everyone deserves a second chance. Have you ever done something that disappointed you so much? Something that made the whole world turn against you?"

Victor looks down. Sadness starts to cover his anger. "Groves was only the murderer, but I was the one responsible for leading Moon Fox to her fate. She died because I was stubborn."

"But it's the past, my comrade," says Jin. "Can't do nothing about it."

"It's going to be a long time before I can forgive Groves, or even forgive myself," says Victor. His voice hints to his spirit rising slowly. "But for now, we need firepower, and this bastard right here's got plenty of it."

"I'm okay with Groves, since he regrets doing all that," says Jin.

"Groves," says Luna. Groves turns to the dark blue mare. "Even for what you have done, I cannot seem to hate thee. It's strange."

"I understand," says Groves. "But the damage I caused was undone, not to mention that I was the one who killed the Overlord of that godforsaken order."

"Only for his power..." mutters Victor.

"Victor!" shouts Celestia, stomping a hoof on the table. It causes a weak tremor on the ground. "That is enough! How would YOU feel if someone kept dragging back something terrible you did, even though you want it forgotten? Completely! He knows what he did! He knows he's a murderer! ALL HE'S ASKING FOR IS FOR A CHANCE TO FIGHT ON THE RIGHT SIDE ONCE MORE!"

The park is silent. Victor stares blankly at Celestia's eyes, seeing a fire burning rapidly within the pupil. The only audible noise is Victor's silent hyperventilating. Celestia is right over him, glaring him down.

"Remember that sweet, little boy I sat with at the castle?" she continues. "Remember that boy having fun with Twilight and her friends? Remember that boy I talked to up in the clouds?" Celestia's glare diminishes. Her eyes change from emitting anger to sorrow. "Why can't you stay like that?"

"Oh, Mom," says Victor, quietly. Jin, Luna, and Groves start to get confused. They stare at Victor with wide eyes. "You're always so worried, Celestia. Even when I'm a world apart, I can't get away from her. Corvus, Moon Fox, now you."

"What are you talking about?" asks Celestia.

"All of those girls acted just like my mom at some point. So worried, so concerned."

"I AM concerned!"

"Don't be," says Victor, standing up then turning away. "It's only going to distract you. Let's think for a moment. How did Groves get here?"

"The only he could've traveled to Earth is the arc," answers Luna.

Victor turns to Jin. "Jin," he says. "Where is the arc in Vremena located?"

"It's in the large house you settled in with Adam and Nick," says Jin.

Victor looks at Groves, feeling a little suspicious. He being a thinker, Victor tends to deduce. "Groves could've never entered the arc because he didn't know where we lived. After our fight, we settled in Peake City, far from Rottoe, the capital where it all ended. So far, the only one back in Vremena who can understand the multiverse travel is Twig, and if Groves is here, then that means Twig let him through, but why?"

"Didn't I already tell you?" says Groves. "I'm here as your ally."

"No..." says Victor, coldly. The air around them somehow cools as he says that little word. "It's bigger than that. I already told Twig about Groves, and he knows about his potential. Groves is quite the formidable opponent, and he'd be very useful to have when this disaster comes, but we already have a good amount of power as it is." He looks at the two sisters. "Two goddess monarchs..." He turns to Jin. "...Jin and I, two humans who learned a new league of fighting, and later a destructive transformation..." He finally looks up at the sky. "...and three Settlers, all immortal."

"I'm not following," says Jin.

"Don't you get it? We don't need Groves!" says Victor. Celestia starts to glare at him again, but Victor holds a hand up, gesturing to wait. "Unless...the disaster is coming sooner than we expected."

                                                                *                                *                               *

"Wait, come again?" says Corvus.

"Groves is here," answers Jin.

It's the next day, around the late morning. Everyone takes a place keeping a watchful eye on the city. Jin and Victor were both wearing their combat gear yesterday and they haven't taken it off. They need to be ready in an instant. Last night, after the little quarrel, Luna told Moon Fox, Edward, and Corvus about Groves. They were all shocked, and willing to go after him, but Luna assured he's here as an ally. Not truly understanding their past with him, they all glare at the poor princess.

"Come on, Prettybird, Luna already told you," says Jin, annoyed. Prettybird is what he nicknames Corvus.

"How are you okay with this?" asks Corvus.

"Because he understood his mistake, and that's good enough for me."

"I still feel like he needs to be punished. I dunno..."

"He's already been punished. Getting his ass kicked by Victor, left alone with no one turn to. I think he learned his lesson."

Corvus turns to the tree arc, still glowing on a building not too far from them. "Remember when you first...you know. Turned into me?" she asks.

Jin laughs. "How could I forget that? That was a pretty weird moment for me. I never expected a transformation."

"Me neither. Confusing how yours was based on me, then Victor's was based on the Moon Fox. Also..." Corvus looks away.

"Also what?" asks Jin.

"I'm getting the strangest feeling that I've been here before..."

                                                                *                                *                               *

Yet another stormy day in Equestria. Rainbow Dash is flying fast through Ponyville. Ever since the two princesses left to help defend Earth, it's been stormy day after day. The folks in Equestria are beginning to miss Celestia's sun. Even if Princess Celestia and Princess Luna aren't here, they somehow left an influence on the Sun and the Moon, allowing them to rise and set independently for a while, but neither one have been seen very much. Only the light from the two glowing orbs break through the cracks in the swirling clouds.

Most of the ponies complain about how the pegasi are doing a lousy performance in their jobs, but the pegasi keep claiming that they are not responsible for the current weather. For days, Rainbow Dash has been oppressed by every non-pegasus pony in Ponyville for it, and she's sick of it. She swoops into Twilight Sparkle's library and slams the door shut.

"Ugh! I can't take anymore of this!" she says, annoyed. Twilight, searching for a book, only glances at her friend for a second, then returns to searching. "Did you find anything?"

"I'm afraid not," answers Twilight, disappointed. "But one thing's for sure, this is not an ordinary storm."

"The rain just turns on and off, but the clouds don't move..."

"I know," says Twilight. "Oh, I hope Princess Celestia and Princess Luna come back soon..."

"They SHOULD be back so they could explain all this stuff so everypony can stop blaming me!" yells Rainbow, crossing her arms, or front legs. "It's really pissing me off."

"They must've had a good reason to leave Equestria," answers Twilight. She puts the book down, and gives her friend full attention. Rainbow Dash hovers down. A spark flashes in Twilight's eye. "Maybe we could figure out why they left."

"Fox only told us something about going back."

"Rainbow, what is the Moon Fox?"

"Uh...a demon fox that can fight really good."

"And boy, she did a lot of fighting," says Twilight, laughing. "Us, the Ursa, even Celestia!"

"So, they...left to fight...stuff?"

"Maybe."

The ground shakes, making the blue and purple mare to lose their balance. A flash of light blinds them, along with the rest of the room.

"What was that?" asks Rainbow Dash, worried.

Twilight bursts out of her house, and stops after not even five gallops. She sits, bending her neck back. Rainbow wonders what she's staring, so she also looks up. Same reaction. The swirling are rising, and shrinking. They're also spinning fast. They condense into a spinning orb, charged with thunder and lightning. The charge grows stronger, giving off a strong gust of wind in all directions.

"The clouds!" shouts Twilight. "What is going on with those clouds?"

Beams of pink light crack out of the orb of clouds, until it turns to a massive explosion, engulfing all of Equestria. Everypony is blind and helpless.

                                                                *                                *                               *

"Hey, Prettybird," says Jin. "Uh, is it me or is the sky going all weird again?"

Corvus looks up, and the clouds are condensing. Her purple eyes shrink. She grabs Jin and jumps off the building. Her wings appear out of nowhere, its feather glistening to the missed sunlight. Corvus is capable of hiding her wings for when they're not necessary. They can be inconvenient at times, so instead of tucking them in like Edward, Celestia, or Luna, she can make them banish.

"Hey! What gives?" asks Jin, confused.

"Oh, I just thought we'd pay a little visit!" answers Corvus, nervously. The condensing are starting to charge like the ones in Equestria. Corvus glances at them for a moment, and she knows something bad is about to happen. She gulps and jets toward the building that has the tree arc on it. She tosses Jin aside and rushes to it. "Hello?" she shouts into the portal.

"What's your problem?" says Jin, annoyed. Then he looks at the condensed orb of clouds shining brighter and brighter in the sky. Many cars stop and let out people. By the hundreds, the people of New York hold still and stare at the bomb of light, about to explode. "I guess this is it. What we came for..."

Corvus turns back to Jin, shedding a tear. Jin turns to her as she gives him a weak smile. "Exactly," she says, quietly.

The light consumes them. It consumes all. Jin and Corvus can hear the shouts of millions of tortured souls. It's torture itself listening to it all. But they see nothing. The light is too strong, and all that is visible is white. Jin can only feel something wrapping around him. It must be her friend Corvus. He wonders how his other friends are reacting to this, but at least he knows he's with her.

                                                                *                                *                               *

"Some light," says Twig.

Jin and Corvus rub their eyes and look around. The light still blinds them, but they notice they're somewhere else now. They're home. In Vremena. They notice that they're in the same room where the tree arc appeared in their world. Victor, Celestia, Luna, Edward, and the Moon Fox are also in the same scenarion as them: blind and confused.

"What just happened?" asks Celestia.

"Beats me," responds Moon Fox, "Just this blinding light."

"I dragged you all back here to talk," answers Twig. Celestia turns around and finally sees Twig in person. It's surprising to her. He's like Corvus, Edward, and the Moon Fox: anthropomorphic. Twig is a blue dinosaur with purple stripes in some parts, wearing a sleeveless shirt and a black pair of pants, slightly less baggy than Edward's. He seems unpleasant, having yellow, snakelike eyes, or one eye. The other is covered with bandages. He's slightly shorter than Edward, and he appears a bit middle-aged. "So these are your friends, Fox?"

"Save it," says Moon Fox, feeling a bit hostile. "You've got lots to explain, Twig. How are you even here? You died a long time ago!"

"I'm as stumped as you are. But unlike your friends, I still remember..."

"So no memory loss? That's convenient."

Twig smirks. "I know your name."

Moon Fox's eyes widen. She slowly shakes her head at Twig. Twig nods back, then turns to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. "My, my. You two are quite the elegant mares."

"Thank you," responds Luna. "So thou must be Twig. My name is Luna, and this be my older sister Celestia."

"Guys, aren't we forgetting something?" interrupts Victor. "We got a crisis here! What was up with all those clouds building up together?"

"You might wanna look out the window," says Twig, pointing a claw at a window. Victor runs to it and looks outside. Celestia and Luna run behind me and also look outside, but they're more intrigued by the structure of Peake City. Victor steps back, terrified.

"Holy crap..." he mutters.

"Wow, this city looks even more amazing than New York!" says Celestia, looking at all the tall buildings.

"Girls! Look up!" says Victor, still shocked. They listen to him. Like Victor, they're also shocked.

"That's impossible..." mutters Luna.

"Why is Earth up there?" asks Victor, confused and shocked.

"And why is our world right next to it?" asks Celestia.

"Don't forget the portal in between," says Twig.

Victor looks out the window again, terrified by the sight of an aura floating high up in the sky. Vremena, Earth, and Equestria are all aligned in a triangle in space, and a massive sphere of aura floats in the center.