|After|Life Adjustment

Chapters

Prologue: The Princess of the Sun, and The Lord of the Light.
Chapter 1: The Darkness Within.
Chapter 2: Magic, Exorcisms, and Trials.
Chapter 3: The Valley of Death.

Prologue: The Princess of the Sun, and The Lord of the Light.

Later In The Evening, Within Canterlot Castle's Throne Room...

A tall bipedal figure with a gargoyle-like face, a pair of pure white angelic wings, goat's legs, and a lion's tail stood in front of Celestia, with his right fist over his chest, in a warrior-like salute, while Celestia bowed her head in return.

The figure then spoke in a low-pitched voice. "It has been done, Princess Celestia... his memories of our future, along with the memories he spread towards the others, have been hidden... to an extent." Then, he cleared his throat. "Although I decided to let them keep the memories of their encounter, and the friendships they've formed with each other."

Celestia raised her head, and nodded. "Thank you... but I take it that by 'to an extent', he will regain access to them, but only when the events unfold?" The mysterious figure nodded his head. "I'm guessing that you also wish to hide my knowledge of the events, as well?"

The figure nodded again, while his expression turned from a neutral one to a serious one. "As it stands, just his awakening has already thrown the balance of the world off-course in minor details... it is for your own good that you also forget what he told you, so the effects don't risk harm on your side of the Threads of Fate. I do hope you understand the importance of my task. Also, with the knowledge of the future already known, it could delay or even hinder the progress of your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle's ascension... and that, in turn, could result in history repeating itself again, only this time, it will be the Equestrian race that will fall."

Celestia nodded her head again. "Would that be the results of the attack he mentioned by Lord Tirek, your brother?" The figure shuddered at the sound of his brother's name. "Scorpan, you know that you have already proven yourself as a noteworthy friend! If this is what you need to do, then by all means... I will not stop you."

Scorpan nodded his head, and raised his right hand towards Celestia's horn. "Then I will do as I've done for the human... whenever the events unfold, you too shall gain that portion of your memory." He paused for a moment, and sighed. "But before I take your memory, I should at least answer your question... no. Tirek is not the threat I speak of." His hand glowed a dark blue color, while he finished his sentence. "It will be a much bigger threat than that." Right when he finished saying that, Celestia's eyes slowly closed, while she fell to the floor, landing gently in a cushion that Scorpan materialized.

Once she was gently placed back on the throne, the cushion disappeared, while Scorpan turned towards the doorway. When he opened it, however, the halls were not there. Instead, there was a pure white room on the other side of the doors that, seemingly, had no end, no floor, no ceiling, and no walls within. Then, Scorpan walked through the door, and stood on the other side, appearing to be levitating, since he wasn't casting a shadow. "It was an honor to see you again, Princess Celestia. When the time comes, I shall return here, to aid you and your subjects... for now, though, my kingdom beckons me to return to my subjects."

When the door closed, the light of the outer room vanished, while Celestia's eyes slowly opened up again. Giving an audible yawn, she looked at the time, and lightly chuckled. "Whoops... I must've fallen asleep on the job, again!" Then, she placed her right hoof under her snout, and hummed. "Perhaps I should let Luna know it's time to raise the moon again..." She silently said to herself. "After all... she hasn't done so in a thousand years." Her smile faded for a second, as she shuddered at the memories that haunted her during the last thousand years. Then, after shaking her head, her smile returned, completely casting out the pain she felt mere seconds before. After standing from the throne, she trotted towards the doorway, and opened it, revealing the long, red-carpeted hallway, with a few guards walking to-and-fro, bowing their heads as she nodded to them, and made a left-turn into a smaller hall, where she knocked on a door, and entered her sister's room, who was giving an audible yawn. "Good evening, my sister! Did you sleep well?" Celestia's voice asked, as the door to the Princess of the Night's room closed behind her.

Within The Mysterious Light...

Scorpan stood there, arms crossed, with an expression that could say that he was "waiting for something to happen". Then, after thirty seconds of waiting, a young lady rose from a light blue portal that manifested in front of Scorpan. The lady appeared to have pure golden hair, tied in a ponytail, and was wearing a light orange dress with red trimmings, with a golden crown that rested on top of her head. A noteworthy factor of her wasn't her dress, though. The most distinguishing feature about her was her race. At first glance, one could probably tell that she was a human, and from the looks of her crown, it was clear she was also a queen.

Opening her formerly closed eyes, her blue gaze rested on Scorpan, who smiled when she was completely materialized. Her expression, however, wasn't entirely happy. "Scorpan, the Elements' powers are growing relentless... something tells me another one has been released from their prison, recently!"

Scorpan's smile soon faded, and was replaced with concern. "I wasn't aware there were any more Elements of Harmony... and what do you mean 'relentless'? Isn't the powers of the Elements run by friendship?"

The queen shook her head again, and replied, "Indeed it is... but it isn't those Elements that I speak of!" At once, Scorpan's eyes widened, as realization hit him. Then, the queen closed her eyes, and turned her back towards Scorpan. "Indeed, your expression says it all... the Elements of Death are rising again... and their powers just grew stronger, yesterday!"

While scratching his chin, Scorpan sighed. "Well, it would seem our guest either is, or has spiritual ties with the Elements of Death somewhere... but hey, look on the bright side, Megan! At least he's with us, and not the other Elements!"

"How do you know that he can remain on our side, though?" Megan asked, to which Scorpan chuckled, and patted her back in response.

Then he answered in a cheerful tone, "Well, don't forget who it was that turned a Farmer into a Queen!" Megan lightly blushed at that statement, but nodded in understanding.

"So, then... we wait for his powers to awaken, then what?" Megan asked.

Scorpan replied, "Then, my dear, we help him protect those dearest to him!" As he said that, a circular portal-like picture appeared in front of them, revealing the faces of Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash, each of which standing in a circle with Justin in the center, caught in a group hug, while everyone smiled. "After all, if he happens to truly be the last Element, there's no doubt the others will know, also... and hunt him down, starting with the Elements of Harmony, should they intervene... which is a guaranteed possibility."

Megan nodded, while the picture disappeared. "In that case, I will guard the Tree of Harmony from the Plunder Plants... though I have no idea how much longer the magic can last... and with the Elements of Death more powerful, that could make it turn into a threat earlier than the Threads of Fate have intended!"

"I have that one taken care of already, Megan." Scorpan replied, while lifting his right hand up, which was grasping a large blue spherical light that resembled the aura when he sapped memories. "I have already locked their memories, only to be returned once the events have either passed, or have been skipped." Then, Megan smiled, and nodded her head. "Trust me, Megan... everything will turn out for the best in the end... and I know we will win this battle, regardless of what happens! You know why?"

Megan's smile faded when she looked at him, and following that, she shrugged. "I don't know, Scorpan... you know that there's also the chance that Justin isn't the Element you speak of!" Scorpan patted her shoulder, and nodded.

"Indeed, the Threads of Fate can be... confusing, at times... even to those of us who have ascended further than Princes, Kings, and even Lords." As he said that, he was brushing Megan's hair, and straightening her crown, which won a smile from her face. "But there's one thing that I do know, according to your report..."

"...If he isn't the Element we speak of, then there's no doubt he's still related in some way, shape, or form... and that's all that's all that is needed for him to face the original one, and claim it's title for himself."

Chapter 1: The Darkness Within.

Two Days Later, Inside The Golden Oak Library...

Twilight sighed, as she continuously tried waking Justin up, who was asleep on the bed she lent him, which was on the opposite side of the room, and facing the opposite direction of where her bed was. So far, she already tried waking him up by yelling in his ears, shaking him around furiously, and even popping his head with her hooves, which only made her groan even more. Finally, she decided she had no other choice.

Quickly, she trotted out of the room, while the sound of a sink filling a wooden bucket could be heard. Seeing this opportunity, Justin's eyes quickly darted open, while he reached behind his back, and pulled a few extra pillows from the ground level, while quietly sliding out of the blankets, placing the pillows where he was in the process. Then, he snuck behind the door within the room, which was cracked slightly open, and waited for his moment to "strike", while pretending to be reading a book on the desk.

Whenever Twilight trotted in, she had the bucket levitating behind her, while Justin barely managed to keep himself from laughing. Then in a normal, yet louder-sounding tone, Justin said, "Good morning, Twilight!"

The moment he said that, a large grin formed on his face, as Twilight jumped straight into the bucket, while the bucket itself was no longer in her magic barrier, due to her spell being dispelled via "loss of concentration". The next thing they knew, Twilight was standing there, soaked to the core in water, while Justin immediately burst out laughing, followed by Spike, who just entered the door before the events took place.

Twilight, of course, wasn't amused at all. In fact, her glare that she was giving the two of them made it quite clear enough to Spike. Justin, however, was still smirking, before asking, "What? I was just reading a book, and said 'Good Morning' when you walked in!" The next thing he knew, he had a pillow thrown into his face, before Twilight angrily trotted out of the room, giving him a glare. Justin, of course, noticed that she was giving him a playful glare, since he's already seen what a real glare looks like from her. "I regret nothing!" He said, shortly after she closed the door behind her.

Justin looked at Spike, and shrugged, before they both continued their laughing. "Holy guacamole, Justin! That was so hilarious! Whoever taught you how to prank must've been a genius, or something!"

The compliment caused Justin to scratch the back of his neck, and reply, "Thanks, Spike! But I'm kinda worried I might've overdone it... perhaps I should be the one to mop up the mess." He pointed at the puddle on the floor where Twilight stood, to which Spike turned to face. Then, he looked back at Justin, and smiled.

"Nah, I got it, Justin! You go see what Twilight wants you to-" Before Spike could finish his sentence, the loud sound of the wooden bucket hitting the ground caused the two of them to turn around, and face the entrance to the door. Then Twilight called their names in an angry-sounding yell, which caused the two of them to run out of the room, with Spike yelling, "On our way!" as a response.

The second they reached the bottom step, however, they were both greeted by a sack of flour which burst right in their faces, covering them both entirely in the powdery bread-makers. Then it was Twilight who burst into laughter, while Justin and Spike looked at each other, and joined in the laughter.

"Dang, Twilight! I didn't take you for a prankster!" Justin said, to which Twilight's laughter lowered down a bit. Spike nodded his head in agreement, but was still laughing hysterically.

"Hey, you'd be surprised what kinds of books you can find in this library!" She replied, while her horn glowed it's usual bright lavender color. The next thing they knew, the flour was gone, and the floor below them was clean again. This, of course, confused Justin greatly.

"Wait, how did you do that?! I'm Undead, so I'm immune to magic!"

"Well, duh! Just because you are immune, doesn't necessarily mean that the things on you are, as well!" She smiled, while writing that statement in a scroll that Justin somehow missed, which was floating in the air beside Twilight, along with a quill and an ink pot.

At once, Justin nodded his head, having figured out what was going on. "So I take it that 'Prank' was also something you wanted to use, in order to research something that's been bugging you?"

Twilight's eyes widened when he said that, while Spike stared at the two of them confusedly. "Wow! That's... very observant of you, Justin! How did you know that?"

With a shrug, Justin replied, "Eh, it just seemed rather obvious to me. I mean, why else would you just conjure up a piece of parchment, a quill, and a little ink, directly after covering me in flour, and managing to get rid of the flour almost as quickly?" Then, Spike placed his forehead in the palm of his right claw, and walked into the kitchen, mumbling something about science-talk and eggheads.

Twilight, however, had a smile forming on her face. "Y'know what, Justin? You could probably be a great scientist here in Ponyville, with that quality of observation! That is... if you want to! I happen to have a ton of books on Science, Geometry, Chemistry, and of course-"

Spike groaned from the kitchen, "Twilight! We need more flour, if we're gonna have pancakes for breakfast!"

Both Justin's and Twilight's ears perked up at, in the given order; Justin with the mention of pancakes, and Twilight with her name being called. In an instant, she immediately ended the conversation there, looked back towards the busted flour bags, and grinned sheepishly, before replying, "Oh... whoops!"

Then, her stomach started to grumble lightly. "I... shoot! I almost forgot that Applejack needed me for something in Sweet Apple Acres!" With a sigh, she looked at the front door, and weakly smiled. "Well, I guess I'd better go see what Applejack needed me for. Hey, Justin! I know this is sudden, but would you mind going to see Pinkie Pie, and ask her if I can buy a couple more sacks of flour?" As she was saying that, Twilight was trotting towards a small bag, which she opened, and levitated towards herself, while pulling out twenty bits, and placing them in a separate bag. Then, the separate bag was telepathically placed in Justin's right hand, while the former bag was levitated back to the bigger bag. Justin looked at the bag, and suddenly found himself lost in thought.

"Hold on... I can't believe I haven't thought of this yet! I've been here, like, three days now, and I still have to find a job for me to pay Twilight! Heck, I haven't even stepped out the front door the past couple days, except for when she needed me to do something... and she's been lending me her home, and putting up with my playful nature, yet I haven't done anything in return!"

With a smile to hide his concern, Justin nodded his head, and replied, "Sure thing, Twi! Oh, and while you're at Applejack's, do you think you can ask her if she needs an extra hand?" Twilight stared at him confusedly at the word "hand", but Justin already caught onto the reason, and placed his face in his palm. Then, he pointed at his hands, while wiggling the fingers of the hand being pointed at. "These things."

With a resounding "oh" coming from Twilight, she nodded her head, and replied, "Of course!" Then, she opened the door, and the two of them stepped out of the door, only to be greeted by the feeling of the earth shaking.

Justin lowered his knees, and maintained balance, while looking around. Then, he felt a tingling in the back of his ears, while time itself seemed to slow down around him. For a split second, his eyes seemed to glow pure blue, while the world around him supposedly went the speed of a snail. Finally, he caught a glimpse of a pitch black arrow flying towards Twilight at the same speed as the world, but when he managed to see it, time started to slowly speed back up again.

Deciding to take action, Justin immediately pushed Twilight out of the impact zone of the arrow, while she flew off the front porch, and into her garden. As he did that, she looked at him with a hint of shock, anger, confusion, and fear in her eyes, until the arrow landed right in Justin's right leg, pinning him to the ground. Then, the fear was all that showed.

"Oh my gosh! Justin!" Twilight screamed, which made Justin chuckle slightly. "W-what's so funny?! You just-"

"Don't forget, Twilight... I'm Undead!" Justin replied, while pulling the long, black arrow out of his leg. "I can't feel anything! Remember?" Once it was completely out, Justin looked at his leg, and found that his clothing was torn, but his skin seemed to not even have a hole in it. The arrow, however, have a long smear of blood on it. "Well, that's interesting, to say the least!"

A couple seconds after he pulled the arrow from his leg, a dark-coated pegasus stallion wearing black armor quickly flew up to them, and practically yelled, "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to shoot that arrow here! I was just practicing my archery for Princess Luna, when suddenly the earth started shaking, and I tripped with the bow!" Then, he looked around, and saw Twilight in the mud, while Justin was holding the arrow he accidentally shot. Seeing the situation, he realized that he nearly ended the life of, not only a mare, but an Element of Harmony, as well. "Oh, no... please don't tell me I nearly shot Twilight Sparkle, as in THE Element of Magic, and Princess Celestia's Faithful Student, herself?!"

Twilight stood from the dirt, and brushed herself off, before smiling at the guard. "It's alright, Storm Shadow. I won't tell the Princess!" Then, she looked around, and asked, "But still... why is the earth even-"

"STAMPEDE!" Rainbow Dash yelled, which broke the three from their conversation, and made them look in the direction Rainbow Dash was screaming. Sure enough, from the distance they could see a large number of cows running in a collision course for Ponyville. At once, Justin's eyes shined blue again, but this time, instead of time being slowed down, a small clip from an episode of the show he watched played through his mind... the one that proved to him that the cows in Equestria are sentient.

"Oh, no! If they reach Ponyville with that speed, they might accidentally destroy the buildings!" Storm said in a worried tone. "I need to quickly rally up a large number of pegasi and earth ponies to... to... Twilight? Where'd that strange biped go?" Twilight's gaze turned from the stampede to Storm Shadow, before seeing that Justin was no longer standing on the porch, but rather, was on the other side of the stacks of houses.

Justin was rushing towards the stampede, but wasn't facing it. Instead, his eyes were locked onto a large pole that had four giant megaphones on it, and a microphone on the lower level of it. Then, once he reached it, Justin yelled in the mic, "STOP!"

After closing his eyes, and praying for a miracle, he realized that the quaking has calmed down. Opening his eyes, he saw that the cows were standing there at the front of Ponyville, but none of them were moving anymore. Then, Justin's gaze shot towards the Everfree Forest, where he blinked his eyes a few times, and noticed, what appeared to be, a tall, white gargoyle disappearing for a split-second. As it disappeared, however, his eyes glowed again, and at once, more of his memories of the episode returned; where it was Applejack and Winona that saved Ponyville from the stampede, and not himself.

Suddenly, his mind became clear again, and he could hear the sound of cheering coming from around him. The cheering, however, didn't make him smile, as he couldn't shake a strange feeling he was getting. It felt like something was off. Looking into the crowd, he saw that Applejack was nowhere to be seen. Twilight noticed his concerned expression, and galloped up to him, asking, "Justin? What's wrong?"

Justin opened his mouth to respond, only to grip his head in pain, and groan. After seeing his sudden pain, the mayor backed away from the crowd, originally smiling to give him a reward, but now looking worriedly at the pained human. Before Twilight could ask him anything, however, Justin looked at her, and said in a serious tone, "Something's wrong with Applejack!"

Meanwhile, In Sweet Apple Acres...

Applejack was sweating, glaring, and panting heavily, while a tall, thin, pale-skinned, long white-haired, elf-like man towered over her, smiling, with his pointy teeth showing. He was wearing a long, black cloak with a hood that dangled on his back, while below it was a black plated set of sleeveless armor, with a white trim that coated the dents of the armor where the plating ended, while three large plates coated his entire stomach; two on the chest, and a large, tilted hexagonal-shaped one below the chest piece. His waist was covered in a white and black-trimmed belt that rose just inches above the stomach piece, and his legs were covered in black chained leggings, with white plated boots that had black trimmings on each foot that spiked in the tips, and rose up an inch above his ankles. His hands were covered in similar-colored gauntlets that rose where his elbow joints were, and his fingertips were spiked like his boots, only instead of curving an inch up, they curved downward, similar in shape to a cat's claws.

Applejack appeared to also have a couple scratch marks spread across her entire body and face, while the mysterious figure appeared unscathed. Holding her glare, Applejack angrily said through clenched teeth, "Ah don't know who in Equestria ya think ya are, but I can guarantee ya won't be taken as a friend, after what ya gone and done ta Big McIntosh and I!"

The figure's smile only widened, as he said in a medium-pitched, vampire-accented tone, "Ah, but your brother had it coming, anyways! He was destined to hurt his back at some point... though I'm not sure if it were supposed to be today originally... ah, well! I'm sure the Threads of Fate are willing to accept that change!"

Applejack glared at this figure even more, before lifting her lasso from the ground in front of her fore hooves with her mouth, but when she was facing up again, the figure was already just inches away from her. Before she could react, the figure already kicked her in the gut, which sent her flying near a tree behind her a few meters away. Then, the figure ran up to her, and held her by the throat with his clawed left hand, while his right one was held in a threatening stance; stretched backwards, with the claws' tips rubbing against each other, giving a rustic metal sharpening sound.

"I suppose I'll just have to be straightforward, to save us both some time." The figure said, before releasing Applejack's neck from his sharp grip, and picking up her lasso. Then, with his right claw, he cut the lasso in two, while asking her in a casual tone, "Where is the Element? Y'know, the one that stands out from the rest?"

While spitting a small hint of blood on the ground in front of her, Applejack replied, "Ah ain't gotta tell you nothin'!"

"Ah, the typical stubbornness of the Element of Honesty... I should've guessed!" Then, he stretched his right hand outwards, and towards the side, while facing Applejack. "If I can't get the answers I seek..." Suddenly a long, black, curved scimitar appeared in his right hand, with a dark red aura flowing around it. "... I'll just have to cut the answers out of you, and your so-called 'friends', who weren't even there to save you."

Slowly walking up to Applejack, who suddenly found herself caught in a spell that held her in place, he smiled dementedly again, while she closed her now tear-filled eyes, and her head turned towards the bottom-right corner of her neck, bracing for the impact from the sword... but it never came.

The next thing she knew, a loud, metallic 'bang' could be heard, followed by the figure flying a couple meters backwards. When she opened her eyes, the first thing she realized was that she was no longer caught in the spell, so she looked around, and spotted Twilight Sparkle standing there behind a tree. As fast as her legs could take her, Applejack galloped towards her friend, then turned to face the figure, who just finished standing back up when she reached Twilight.

The figure started to chuckle, before saying, "Ooh, what have we here? Another 'Element of Harmony' before me! This just keeps getting more and more interesting!"

Twilight, now showing even more anger than Applejack after seeing the condition she was in, replied, "Who are you, and what is your purpose?!"

After his grin lowered a small bit, the figure replied, "Sorry, Twilight... I don't take orders from you." As soon as he said that, he warped in front of the two mares in a flash of shadowy mist, which caught them both off guard. Then, at the snap of his right fingers, he launched Applejack into a tree, knocking her unconscious in the process, while Twilight was covered in a shielding spell.

"Applejack!" Twilight yelled, while turning to face her fallen friend, only to be gripped in the neck by the figure again.

While ignoring Twilight's choking noises, the figure smiled, and said, "A Unicorn... perfect! You shall be the perfect host." Soon, his eyes started to glow green, while Twilight's eyes, after being closed, slowly opened up again, and the irises of her eyes started turning green, while the white colors of her eyes started blackening. "You are a very resilient one, Twilight! It's a shame you won't be able to resist forever, though! Maybe when I have you broken, you can tell me where-" Before he could finish his sentence, he was greeted, yet again, with a metal object, only this time, it was a shovel bashing him in the head, sending him flying left, and into another nearby tree.

Opening his eyes, he slowly glared at the mysterious intruder, before standing up. Then, his eyes widened when he saw just who it was. "The Element! I'm so glad you could come!"

Justin glared at the mysterious figure, while holding the shovel in a defensive stance. "Element? What the hell are you talking about?!"

The figure replied, "Why, an Element of Death, of course!" in a 'you-should-know-this' type of tone.

Justin's glare intensified, while he asked, "Wait, so you did this," he pointed at both, Applejack and Twilight, who was still standing there, although her eyes stopped blackening, even though the black coloring around her eyes was still there halfway, "to find out where I am?! Why?! What is your purpose here, exactly? While I'm at it, who in the name of Celestia are you?!!"

The figure smiled in a more casual way, before replying, "I have come to collect you. You have to rendezvous with your fellow Elements, so that we may bring them all back as a whole, and take over this world while it's still weak!" Justin's right eyebrow raised, confused at why this figure was being so descriptive towards him. "Oh, and my name... I have none. I am what's known as a 'Shadow Figment'... a creature born of the imagination of the darkest of hearts. I can either be controlled by an Element of Death, or killed by the Threads of Fate!" In an instant, he teleported closer to Justin, who took a step back from the unexpected close-up. "So come along, then! We don't have all day!" The Figment asked, stretching his right hand out, to which Justin looked at, before glaring at the Figment.

"And if I say 'no', then how would you react?" Justin asked, raising the shovel again.

The Figment's smile dropped at that statement, and was replaced with a glare. "Then I'll just have to take you there by force, of course!" At once, the figment tackled Justin to the ground, and began placing his right hand on Justin's forehead, chanting an incomprehensible spell in the process.

Once the spell finished, however, nothing happened, much to the Figment's surprise. "W-what?!" He asked, before Justin reached his right hand up, and began pushing his thumb into the figment's left eye. As he did, he also gripped the figment's right arm. Then, the two points where he gripped started ejecting a thick black smoke, while the Figment yelled in pain, jumping off of Justin, and gripping his left eye with his right hand, and his right arm with his left.

"Y-you! What have you done?!" The Figment asked, removing his right hand from his eye. The entire left side of his face was turning into a red, volcanic color, while his left eye resembled lava at that point. "H-how did you..."

Justin stood back up, confused as well about what just happened. "I don't know... but if you get that close again, I won't hesitate to take your other eye!"

Then, the Figment backed away, before groaning. "Very well, then... this isn't over, though! One of these days, I will return, and when I do, I shall be the one to collect you!"

Justin glared again, and replied, "No, you won't!" As soon as he said that, a pair of golden threads appeared on the Figment's wrists, tied in a knot, and dangling loosely, while coming straight out of his arms. He groaned in pain, as the threads appeared to shift around.

"Fine... I won't return..." the Figment said, resulting in the threads disappearing from his wrists. "But who knows? Perhaps we'll... meet again!" After saying that, the Figment snapped his left fingers. Then, the shadow below him grew in size, before lifting itself up, and engulfing him completely. Then, it lowered to the ground, and vanished in the blink of an eye.

Justin looked around, and asked no one in particular, "What... the Hell... was that all about?!" Before he could get an answer from himself, or a possible onlooker, he heard the sound of a body falling onto the ground. Looking towards the source, he noticed just who it was. "Twilight!" Justin yelled, before rushing up to her. Then, he looked at Applejack, who was still lying there in front of the tree.

Quickly, he lifted Twilight up, and placed her over his left shoulder, while running to Applejack, and lifting her on his right. "Thank goodness, y'all are lighter than you both look... don't worry, y'all are gonna be safe!" As he was saying that, he was running towards the nearby health clinic.

"Help is just a few steps away!"

Author's Note

:Sneak-Peek:

"Whenever life gets you down, sometimes it takes a true friend to bring you back up." Justin's voice echoed.

"What's going on? What in Celestia's name is he doing?!" Doctor Haywick's voice yelled.

"Maybe there's more to my arrival than meets the eye." Justin said, staring at his hand, which had a blue fire hovering over it.

"Halt! You're under arrest for intruding in Official Business, and the use of Forbidden Magic! Anything you say can, and will, be used against you in the Royal Court of Her Highness, Princess Celestia!" A Sun Guard fiercely told Justin.

"I swear, in the name of Princess Celestia herself... if you so much as mistreat him, then I'll make sure you end up behind bars!" Rainbow Dash said, glaring at the guard.

To Be Continued...

Chapter 2: Magic, Exorcisms, and Trials.

One Hour Later... Within Ponyville Intensive Care...

Justin just sat there, outside the door to the room Twilight was in. She was being examined thoroughly, along with Applejack in the room across. The first one to get progress was Applejack, having passed out due to trauma and blood loss. The pony who was in charge of taking care of her was Nurse Redheart, while Doctor Haywick had to take care of Twilight.

Justin already received a report on Applejack's health status by Nurse Redheart just mere minutes after their arrival. Of course, he was originally ambushed by a few ponies thinking he was responsible for the conditions his friends were in, but after a run-in with Rainbow Dash, they agreed to listen to Justin's testimony, where he explained the situation that they got themselves out of.

Sure enough, after hearing reports of an apple shortage in the market, Justin told the former pursuers to look around Sweet Apple Acres, to make sure that Big McIntosh wasn't hurt in the craziness. He then received word that he was found lying in bed, with a severe back injury, and nothing more.

Rainbow Dash was sitting next to Justin, rubbing her hooves on the floor, and glancing around nervously. Justin turned towards her, and weakly smiled. "Hey, at least we know Applejack's okay, right? And if I don't know any better, it was her who had the worst beating out of the two... so I'm sure Twilight's okay!" He brushed her mane, which made her look up at him, and smile.

"Y-you're sure?" She asked, before her ear started twitching at the unusual, yet soothing feel of his hands brushing on her mane.

"As positive as multiplying two negative numbers!" Justin replied, which made Rainbow Dash look at him confusedly. Justin sighed, then said, "Sorry, I'm trying to think of catch-phrases right now... y'know... take my mind off of things."

Rainbow Dash stared at him even more confused, before shrugging his odd way of words, and ask, "So tell me... what happened out there?"

Justin closed his eyes, and looked down. "It was... terrifying, to say the least." When his eyes opened, he was staring at his right hand, and rotating it around, viewing the front and back. "During the stampede incident, I had an odd feeling in my head... like a sixth sense of some kind... a spiritual vision of what was going to happen in a split second. Time itself seemed to move slower, and as a result, I managed to save Twilight from a flying arrow."

Rainbow's jaw dropped right there. "W-wait... somepony tried to harm Twilight?!" Her glare itself gave Justin the idea that she was about to make the wrong assumption, so he quickly shook his hands defensively.

"Actually, it was the opposite! The stampede just made him trip, and his arrow lost course as a result!" Then, Rainbow Dash sighed, and sat back down, then motioned for him to continue.

"So anyways, after you yelled the phrase, I somehow... had a memory from some time ago, telling me that the cows in the world are sentient... when they weren't when humanity was around." Rainbow nodded her head. "After I had that vision, I chose to do what instinct I knew best... protect my friends."

Rainbow smiled at that statement, and nodded her head. "Hey, I hear Twilight's supposed to write friendship reports to Princess Celestia! Would you mind telling me one, since it might benefit her as well?" She asked.

Justin placed his right hand under his chin, and hummed for a second. Then, he looked at the door to Applejack's room, and smiled. "While it may not go with the current events, I can remember what my mom told me, before I went to High School..." After clearing his throat, he looked at her, and said, "When life gets you down, sometimes it takes a true friend to bring you back up."

"Wow..." Rainbow Dash said, with her eyes widened. "I didn't know you of all ponies... err... creatures... could sound both, intelligent and awesome!" Then, she chuckled. "But if you tell anypony I said that... I'll deny it!"

Justin chuckled, before replying, "Hey, don't worry! Your secret's safe with-"

Suddenly, the door to Twilight's room burst open, followed by Doctor Haywick galloping out of it, and into Applejack's room, yelling, "Something's terribly wrong, here! We need Princess Celestia here, ASAP!" Just the sound of that caught both Justin's and Rainbow Dash's attention, and in unison, the two of them rushed towards the door, only for Rainbow Dash to get caught in a spell, while Justin walked in the room freely. Doctor Haywick, of course, was confused and worried when he realized that his spell to catch the two of them only worked halfway. "Hey, HEY! Don't go in there!" He yelled to Justin, before the door to Twilight's room slammed shut.

When he stepped inside, Justin looked around, and saw that Twilight was strapped into the bed from the chest and waist, by a pair of leather straps, while the bed appeared to have four opened metal clamps on the upper and lower side corners of the bed. She seemed to be breathing unusually calmly, though, despite the situation and condition she was in. Her eyes were emitting a black aura from the edges, but the white around her irises were still there, and her snout was opened, revealing her teeth, which were slowly turning into sharp nail-like fangs. Around the room, Justin saw the tools, papers, and a lot of other miscellaneous equipment floating around. The walls, however, were unusually purple and black, with the black appearing like a mist that flowed upwards in the purple background. It was clear to Justin that this wasn't just an ordinary wallpaper.

Suddenly his eyes flashed blue again, only this time, it stayed that way, rather than turn back to normal in a heartbeat. Within Justin's mind, time stopped again, and in a split-second, he became aware of the proper actions he had to take.

Justin Daniels's Mind/POV...

I must remain calm... and prepare myself to face a horror that I'm more than likely to deal with more than once...

First, I block off the door, avoiding any unwanted visitors, and grab a thick sheet of cloth from the counter by the door. Afterwards, I roll the sheet into a rope, and rush to Twilight. Seeing the type of bed she's in, I'm more than capable of locking her hooves on the clamps in the sides... so I'll do just that.

Start with the upper-left hoof, while dodging her attempted bite, and catching her upper-right hoof, clamping it down after. Then, I lick my right finger and thumb, and douse her attempted spell from her horn by placing the fingers on the tip. No doubt the saliva will extinguish the spell, while the contact will give the Dark Spirit a sharp pain. Using that to my advantage, I tie the rope over her snout, and on the back of her head. This should be the time where she would try breaking free. A double-knot is a must.

Catch her lower-right hoof, for it will attempt a kick to the face, and could easily succeed, giving her Equine Anatomy. Clamp it down on the bed as well, catching her lower-left hoof, and repeating the process. Now that she is bound, there's no other chance of escape, as the hooves are locked, the body is bound, and the horn is suffering pain, and is too sore to cast anything else.

Then, I run up to her forehead, grasping it with my left hand, my middle and ring fingers around the horn, and my palm on her forehead. She will start screaming, so I have to act fast with my right hand. Quickly, yet carefully, I place my right middle finger between her eyes, right thumb on her right cheek, and right pinkie finger on her left cheek. While doing so, I have my right pointing finger and ring finger directly in front of her pupils, which entrances her eyes to stare, while the smoke from my hands start balling up towards my right palm. Carefully, I hold it there, and draw the Dark Spirit into my hand. When the smoke stops flowing, it is at the tip of her soul, and is too weak to hold on. That's where I pull it out, and crush it with my right hand, absorbing it's powers, and sealing it's fate right there.

Since I'm Undead, the chances of it taking over my body is impossible, and due to my immunity to Magic, I will be able to withstand any and all spells it would attempt to cast into me.

It would also seem likely that I will be able to cast whatever the Dark Spirit knew, which in this case, as the room would appear, would be a mixture of fire and wind magic.

Then, I explain the results to Doctor Haywick, who will be rushing inside, questioning what they saw on the Security Cameras.

That, of course, is for later concerns.

Back In Reality...

After the flash of the plan was in place, Justin's eyes continued their glow, but he regained control of the situation. Hearing hoof steps in the hallway, his plan instantly went into motion. Quickly, he locked the door, and blocked it off with a table, while grabbing a sheet. Then, he tied the sheet in a rope, and rushed to Twilight. There, he bound her with the clamps, tied her snout with the rope, and in fifteen seconds, he had the Dark Spirit crushed, right as the table flew out of the doorway.

The first pony to rush in, of course, was Doctor Haywick, who stared at Justin worriedly, then looked around, and saw the purple and black foggy wall was back into it's regular light-blue paint, and the objects were no longer floating, although they were still scattered around the floor. Then, he opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, Justin's eyes went back to it's normal blue-green color.

"D-did you just use... Magic?!" Doctor Haywick stuttered, to which Justin looked at his fingers, and shrugged, unable to hide the confusion in his expression.

"I don't know... did I?" Was the confused human's response. He could remember the events that just took place, yet he couldn't help but feel confused at how he suddenly knew what to do at that situation.

Before anyone else could speak, a Sun Guard rushed into the room, carrying a long white spear, while saying, "Halt! You're under arrest for intruding in Official Business, and the use of Forbidden Magic! Anything you say can, and will, be used against you in the Royal Court of Her Highness, Princess Celestia!"

Justin's right eyebrow raised up, before he asked, "Um... okay? I don't know what you're going on about, but I need to see Princess Celestia, anyways, so please lead the way!" As he said that, he lowered the spear the guard was holding from his chest, and positioned it to his left.The guard, of course, wasn't amused.

He raised the spear again, but this time, he pointed it at Justin's neck, much to his discomfort, and yelled, "Do I look like I'm playing?!"

With a sigh, Justin replied, "You're serious?"

Suddenly, a rainbow blur shot into the room, and in a split-second, Rainbow Dash stood between both, Justin and the guard. Then, with a glare, she yelled, "What the hay is wrong with you, you foolish guard?! Don't you even know who he is?!"

Justin, however, patted her back, and said, "It's alright, Rainbow Dash... I'm new here, yes, but as such, I still need to abide by the laws of the land, regardless of whether or not I knew what I did wrong." Then, he looked back at Twilight, who was breathing normally, but was in a deep sleep. "When Twilight and Applejack wake up, I want you to tell them where I am, alright? Maybe they can be the proof I'll need to drop the charges."

Rainbow Dash was silent for a moment, glaring at the guard, who seemed unfazed by Justin's surrender, before her eyes closed, and her head lowered, while a single tear fell from her right eye. "Fine... but you better not go to jail for protecting your friends!" Then, she turned towards the guard again. "I swear, in the name of Princess Celestia herself... if you so much as mistreat him, then I'll make sure you end up behind bars!" After her statement, the guard rolled his eyes, and dragged Justin out of the building.

Once outside the building, the guard looked both ways, before escorting Justin towards the Everfree Forest, where two other guards joined them. At this point, Justin's memories of the location Canterlot was in hasn't returned yet, so he followed through without question.

It was when they walked towards the ruins of the Castle of the Two Sisters that his suspicions began to rile up.

One of the guards, a brown stallion with the same Sun Guard armor, turned his head towards Justin, and said, "Now, then... you need to jump into the well up there." He pointed towards an ancient-looking well that sat behind the decrepit gates. "It will take us to where we need to be, so we can explain things better."

Justin's right eyebrow raised, while he stared at them in confusion. "Weren't we going to Canterlot to face a trial, though?!"

The first one that Justin met shook his head, and replied, "I'm sorry... it was a cover-up to something much more bigger we need to discuss... but we've already sent our message to our leader, so she understands what's going on."

At first, Justin doubted their words, and thought that they were nothing more than bandits, and that the well thing was a hoax, until the other two of them literally dived head-first into the well. Justin stared in awe, as he couldn't hear the sound of anything landing inside.

"You have to jump in upside-down, though... as the saying goes, 'Sometimes, you'll have to get down to go up'." Justin slightly smirked at the irony of the phrase, but understood, and nodded his head, while the guard leaped in. Justin looked inside the well, and could see that inside it was nothing more than a few rocks that literally went only a couple feet below the outside walls of the well.

"Okay, then..." He said, before standing on top of one of the stone walls of the well. "... I can do this." With that, he jumped up as high as he could, and while in the air, made a dive, only to land flat on his face on the rocks within the well. In that very instant, his spine cracked, his breath ceased, and everything around him faded into darkness.

Within Diamond Heights Ruins...

When Justin's vision became clear again, he rose from his old rugged bed, and looked around. "What the..." Whenever he looked around, he couldn't find anyone inside. He groaned in annoyance. "Did I really just die again?!"

Before he could say anything else, the guards' voices replied from outside his closet door frame, "Yes, but you were drawn from the surface, and brought back to where you began. This is, however, where you needed to go. Now, then... this way, please..." Their sudden appearance from outside his closet door frame, placed in the far-right corner of the golden portal door, startled Justin enough to jump up, and look their way. There they stood patiently, and waited for him to follow suit. When he did, the four of them walked along the old, deserted streets, until they reached the end of the road.

"Now, then..." the leader of the group began, "to carry on, you must clear your mind of the lower levels. Only walk straight ahead, and you will reach the end of The Valley of Death... worry, though, and you will fall into the lava, only to wake up in your bed again."

Justin's eyes widened at that statement, as he stared into the distance, and couldn't even see the slightest bit of landscape for well over twenty miles or more.

"Time has been slowed down for us while we're in here, by the way... so you won't have to worry about any of the others out there until this trial ends." The third stallion, a black-coated one, said.

Justin looked at them confusedly. "Wait... this is the trial?!"

They nodded their heads, while the leader replied, "And no, you don't have to worry about jail, either! That, too, was just a cover-up... and we're sorry, but the exit to Canterlot has been dispelled for the time being, so there's no escaping this... it's for the fate of the world, after all. Our leader will explain everything to you when you get there... deal?"

Justin sighed, and shook his head, unable to comprehend what's going on, but he soon nodded his head, and said, "Alright, then... but if I make it to... whoever your leader happens to be, then may I please at least have some answers that also relate to this whole 'Element of Death' thing?" With a smile, the three stallions nodded their heads, and walked off of the edge of the road. As they did, however, Justin's eyes widened when he saw that they were walking on nothing but air.

"When you fall, and we can tell you will, then we'll wait patiently until you reach us again." They said in unison.

Justin nodded his head, and stepped forward, only to realize a slight problem... he didn't stop moving down. The next thing he knew, he was back in his bed again, while in the distance, one of the stallions sighed, and said, "Ugh... this might take a while..."

Meanwhile, In Canterlot City...

Celestia looked worriedly at a guard who was bowing his head on the ground. She asked him, "And you're sure that they weren't one of us?!" The stallion gulped, and nodded his head.

Then, Rainbow Dash bolted through the door, dodging a few spells that the guards from the hallways were firing at her, until she landed in front of Princess Celestia, and bowed her head, while the guards burst through the door, only to catch Celestia glaring at them. Seeing that it was pointless to stop Rainbow now, they backed away, while Celestia looked back at Rainbow Dash. "Rainbow Dash! What is the matter?!"

Rainbow couldn't control her tears, as she tried answering the question, only to stutter beyond comprehension. Seeing the pain her subject was in, Celestia quickly trotted towards the emotionally torn mare, and wrapped her left wing over her, cooing, "Shh, it's okay, Rainbow... it's going to be okay... deep breaths. Take deep breaths. It'll calm you."

Rainbow nodded, while her breathing slowed, yet her breath intake and outtake increased. When she was calm enough, she looked up at Celestia, and stuttered, "I... I d-don't know how it happened, but... J-Justin was taken by three guards posing as your own! They headed into the Everfree Forest!"

Celestia's eyes widened, while the guards began talking amongst themselves in a worried manner. "B-but that's not all!" Rainbow said, which silenced the guards from chatting amongst themselves. "According to what Justin said, some guy that called himself a 'Shadow Figment' hurt Applejack, and put some sort of curse on Twilight!"

The guards that were at the entrance all gasped at once, while Celestia's worried look turned to one of shock, and anger. Then, she trotted towards her window that overlooked the Everfree Forest, and lowered her head, before closing her eyes. "Those traitors..." Her mane flowed more quickly, while a pure white aura started emitting from her entire body. "So they think they can just harm my subjects like that, and expect us to do nothing about it?!" Her breathing intensified, while her rage was beginning to get frightening even for Rainbow Dash. "And they think they can just harm my Faithful Student like THAT?!" Her final word echoed through the whole room, and her right fore hoof slammed onto the ground, shaking the room in the process, which caused the guards inside to shiver with fear.

Finally, one of the guards looked at her with tears of fear in his eyes, before asking, "W-what should we do, Y-Your Highness?!" She turned from the window, and gave them one of her most serious-looking faces they've ever seen. Then, she spoke in a voice that struck terror into those within the whole castle that heard it... her "Royal Canterlot Voice".

"We must send word to Ponyville at once! Our newest citizen has been abducted, and the Elements of Harmony are in grave danger!"

Author's Note

:Sneak-Peek:

"Twilight! You're okay!" Doctor Haywick's voice echoed.

"W-where's Justin?!" Twilight asked in a worried tone.

"Ah don't know, sugarcube... but ah'm about to find out!" Applejack replied.

"W-what can I do to help, though?" Rainbow Dash asked Fluttershy.

Softly, Fluttershy replied, "I... don't know..."

"Well, I say we go, and save our friend!" Pinkie Pie yelled at the top of her lungs, followed by the approval of the other five mares.

"So who exactly is your leader?" Justin asked.

"We're sorry, but we aren't authorized to tell you, but don't worry! She's kind and benevolent, so you don't have to worry about-" One of the stallions replied, only to be interrupted by Justin falling into the lava again. With a sigh, he mumbled, "Well, at least he made it past one hundred steps, this time!"

To Be Continued...

:Note From Author:

Before anyone asks, the answer is yes. "The whole 'Mental Plan' scene from this chapter WAS inspired by the famous 'Sherlock Holmes Fight Scene', and yes, more moments like that WILL happen later on!" :twilightsmile:

Chapter 3: The Valley of Death.

Deep Within A Dark Jungle, Surrounded By Shadows And Fog...

Justin, after what felt like many hours' worth of walking over nothing, stood there, holding a torch he made from the glowing mushrooms and a branch from one of the many dead trees that surrounded him. The entire area was pitch-black, with a white fog that clouded most of the exterior, save for the ten meters of light that the mushroom projected.

He groaned, as he continued looking around, trying to find any signs of where the guards might've appeared into, after they vanished. Soon minutes turned into hours, and hours turned into days, as Justin quickly felt a large hint of fear build up with each passing hour.

Once he was sure he saw a pony in the shadows, he ran up to it, and said, "Thank goodness! I was wondering where y'all went!" When he got close enough to see it, his cheerful mood turned into fury, as he lowered the torch in front of the figure, only to find that it was a statue of a tall, strong stallion guard, standing up to Justin's chest, instead. This caused Justin to growl out of anger, and stomp his right foot on the ground. "DANG IT!" He yelled, while his voice echoed through the entire valley he was in.

As soon as his echoes faded, he sighed, and lowered his head downwards. "Well, it looks like I've either failed this trial, or I've been gypped!" Then, he kicked the tree that the statue of the guard was standing in front of, and griped even more. Afterwards, he sat down below the tree's shade, and stared at the mushroom for a minute, cooling his anger by trying to find comfort in the bright blue-green mushroom.

His calmness was lost once he looked to his right, and saw the statue again. Standing up, he looked closer at it's face, and realized something that made his fear only intensify. "W-why does this statue look like it's... screaming?!" Then, he heard the sound of a voice coming from behind his right shoulder.

It was too far for him to understand what words were being spoken, but it didn't stop him from moving towards it to find out. When he was within reach, he saw a stallion guard, but he didn't seem like any of the other three. Instead, this one was blue, transparent, and his hooves didn't make a sound, even though he was trotting onwards. His height, however, surprised Justin, the most, since most of the ponies from above were one third his height. This one was slightly above his chest in height! Justin could tell at first glance that this was, without a doubt, a ghost. When Justin was close enough, the spirit stopped moving, and looked at him, before walking towards him, and in an echoed, whisper-like voice, he began to speak.

"They lied to me... they made me believe I was the fifth 'Element of Death', only for them to reveal their true forms..." Then, he walked through Justin while continuing to speak. "They made me believe I was going to return to Everfree Village, where I would guard my beloved wife, Twilight..." The spiritual stallion stopped in front of the statue, and sighed. "Then, they killed me, before I could even scream... and now, I may never see my beloved wife, or my daughter again..."

Justin slowly approached the spirit, and asked, "Sir... are you okay?"

The spirit looked at him, while his eyes widened. "C-can you see me?" Justin nodded his head, while the spirit trotted towards him. "Can you... can you hear me, too?!" Another nod, before the spirit laughed. "Praises to the Queen, I'm SAVED!" Then, his laughter died down. "Please forgive my ill manners... I am King Solaris, of Ponyland!" He extended his hoof, but lowered it when he looked at his own hoof. "Or rather... I was King Solaris... until those blasted Sirens went and turned me to stone!"

Justin tilted his head, and asked, "Wait... so you're a king from where, now?"

"Ponyland, of course! Haven't you seen it on the maps?" Then, his expression turned to a glum one. "Oh, wait... you're a human. Sorry... I know it isn't easy to find places in these dark times, what with Lord Tirek destroying your cities, and-"

"Wait, WHAT?!" Justin asked, now surprised at this recent discovery, as a few of his memories of the name returned. Tirek, the Centaur from mythology (and Generation One of his favorite show), was the one that captured the ponies, and turned them into monsters to do his bidding. "You mean to tell me that it was Tirek that wiped humanity off of the face of the Earth?!"

Solaris's eyes widened again. "Wait, he did WHAT to humanity?!" Then, his eyes formed a glare. "He drove the human race into EXTINCTION?!" When he yelled that, his voice echoed deeply into the whole forest, or at least close to that level of volume. "The humans were our most reliable allies in history, though! Just HOW long have I been dead?!" His head lowered, while his breathing turned both, heavier and slower. "Then it is true, isn't it? Ponyland is no longer around... and my family is most likely dead, too."

Justin walked closer to the spirit, and shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not sure, to be honest... I was put in some kind of sleeping spell for a hundred thousand years, so I'm kinda new to this whole thing, myself. What I do know, however, is that I'm Undead, so I sometimes question the truth... and wonder if the word 'Human' even describes me, anymore."

Solaris looked back up at Justin, and smiled. "Of course, you're still human! Any race can turn Undead!" Then, his eyes closed. "In fact, that's what I was, before the Sirens did this to me." At once, Justin's eyes shot up.

"Wait, so these sirens can kill an Undead?! How?!"

"By Magic, of course!" Solaris replied, followed by a confused stare by Justin.

"I thought being Undead makes someone immune to Magic, though... right?"

Solaris sighed, and nodded his head. "That was what I thought... until they used a forbidden class of Magic that could harm an Undead... by restoring their souls to normal, again."

Quickly Justin looked around, worried that they might've been following him this whole time, until Solaris sighed. "The Class of the Magic they used was the forbidden one... 'Blood Magic', or as most humans would call it, 'Necromancy'." Justin nodded. "The Magic of the Dead... and with it, they brought me back to life, by..." Suddenly, Solaris's eyes glowed blue, similarly to Justin's, and at once, memories started filling his head.

"I... remember..." A ghostly tear fell from his eyes, and went through the ground. "They said... before they showed me their true forms... they needed to sacrifice somepony dearest to me, in order to bring me back to life, as the Rituals of Blood would require... they chose..." He began to slowly cry in pain, as he stuttered, "...T-they chose... my wife, Twilight!" At that statement, he burst into relentless tears, only for the tears to all fade into the ground.

Justin bowed his head, and walked up to the ghostly king, and tried to pat him on the back of his right shoulder, only for his hand to go through. "I'm... sorry for your loss... I know how it feels."

Solaris glared at Justin, and yelled, "You do not! How would you feel if you lost your one true love, and you knew you couldn't do anything about it?!"

At once, Justin's concerned look turned into an equal-leveled glare, as he replied, "Oh, don't even get me started there! Do YOU realize what I've been through, since my wake?! Look at me! I'm a freakin' HUMAN! A race that's actually gone extinct, and yet YOU are a Pony, the MAIN sentient being in the world to this day!" He stared the spiritual king down, while the king's glare soon weakened, and turned into an even more saddened expression. Justin, however, didn't stop there. "Yeah, you knew that your wife was dead, but you know what? She probably didn't have to deal with hearing about your suffering, because she probably died quickly, and painlessly! You know how my family died? Natural causes, with a hint of sorrow and confusion, because some of them thought I was dead, and some of them thought I just shut them out of my life, while most of them knew that I was asleep, and was going to probably wake up after they died, even leaving me messages that told me so! While hearing that, do you have any idea how I felt?!" Solaris was lowered down to the ground level, while he shook his head nervously. "Picture this, then! You go to sleep one casual day, everything is alright, your family and friends are all healthy, and doing well, while you just feel like you need to take a little nap. Anyways, you go to sleep, expecting it to just be an hour's worth of rest, or so. Then when you wake up, all of your family and friends are guaranteed dead, your whole race is guaranteed dead, you didn't even see it coming, and they never saw you wake up for the rest of their lives, even though you were still alive, and unable to wake up, while they were unable to even go near you! How would you compare to that, when you were even given a fair warning before you died?!"

Solaris stared wide-eyed at Justin, who had tears forming in his eyes. Then Justin sighed, sat on the ground below the tree again, and stared at the torch he made once more, trying to find peace. The peace, however, was quickly broken, when Solaris spoke again. This time, however, it was in an apologetic tone. "I'm... I'm most terribly sorry... I don't know why I snapped like that, when it actually is clear that you seem to have it worse than I. Please forgive me."

Justin took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. "It's alright, Solaris... we've both been suffering a lot more than most could take." Then, he smiled, and stood back up. "Oh, and my name's Justin, by the way." Solaris nodded again, before turning his head to the torch that Justin was holding. Then, his eyes widened even more.

"W-wait... what's that on the edge of that torch, there?" Solaris asked, motioning his head to the mushroom. "Would that happen to be a... yes, the smell confirms it! That's an Everglow Mushroom, isn't it?!"

Justin looked at the Mushroom again, and raised his right eyebrow. "I don't know... but I guess so, yeah! Why, do you have a plan on getting us out of here?"

Solaris nodded his head, and pointed towards the statue. "That statue there... I want you to place half of the mushroom in it's mouth, while you eat the other half." Justin was about to ask why, until he interrupted him. "The Everglow Mushroom is a rare thing that projects eternal light, yet in a Spiritual method, it brings the spirits of the Undead back into their body, while restoring their body through death. When you eat it, you will die, and you will return to your 'Resting Place'. By the way, where exactly is your 'Resting Place', though?"

Justin scratched the back of his neck, and replied, "Are you familiar with 'Diamond Heights', by any chance?" Solaris tilted his head in confusion. "The town you have to go through in order to reach this place, right before you go through the invisible road?" Then Solaris nodded his head, making Justin sigh in relief.

"Then meet me in the entrance to the invisible road when you wake up. There, we can both find a way out of this wretched landscape!"

Looking up, Justin smiled, and said, "Yeah... okay, then. You ready?" Solaris nodded, while Justin plucked the mushroom from the branch, and snapped it in half, before placing one half in the statue's mouth. As soon as it reached the statue's tongue, Solaris's spirit began glowing, and in a manner that resembled water going through a straw, his spirit was pulled inside the mouth of the statue, before the eyes of it glowed pure white. Then, the stone around the statue began to fade, and was soon replaced by armor that highly resembled a set of Canterlot Elite armor, only the pattern of the Coat of Arms was a golden sword that went through a blue hoof on a black surface. His coat was a white color, while his mane was a dark purple, with a golden highlighted strip of hair close to the edge of his tail.

When he opened his gold-colored eyes, he began chewing on the mushroom, before swallowing it, and choking. "Don't forget our plan!" were his final words, before he fell to the ground, and vanished into thin air.

Justin stared wide-eyed at the spot, before looking around, and nodding. Then, after concealing the branch in his black hooded jacket, he sat where Solaris was, and took a bite from his half of the mushroom. The taste wasn't good, yet it wasn't bad to say the least. Like a jelly, made up of grass, with a hint of dirt added to the mix. In an instant, Justin's vision started to blur, before his breathing stopped. Then, in the matter of seconds, everything faded to darkness.

When he woke up, again, Justin sighed a breath of relief when he saw the golden door at the entrance to his room. He stood up, and was about to open it, when Solaris's voice rang through his head. "Don't forget our plan!" Thinking back on Solaris, he agreed to himself that he was real, and not a strange hallucination. Turning around, he began to walk towards the bed to think of a plan, only to be interrupted by the sound of hoof steps on the road outside. Turning around, he rushed out of the house, and into the streets, only to be face-to-face with a completely unexpected stallion that he recognized from the start; the leader of the three that took him into the Valley of Death. The stallion, however, wasn't nervous when he saw Justin, but was smiling, instead.

"It took you long enough to figure it out..." he said, before smiling. "Don't worry, though... it won't be long now, until your friends start looking for you in the Everfree Forest. Then we can complete the ritual, perform your revival, and enjoy the title of 'The Fifth Element of Death', ourselves!" Then, he looked both ways, and said, "Though in the end, only one of us will take that title... and it will be me!"

"Like hell you will!" Justin replied, before rushing towards the stallion with his right arm stretched back, and ready to strike, while the stallion floated backwards in an otherworldly way. Then his armor faded into his fur, which turned from pure white to black, while his body folded itself into a black glob, which made Justin stop running, and back away slowly, while the glob only got bigger, until it was twice the height of Justin. After it reached it's maximum height, the glob molded itself to slightly resemble a skeleton wearing a pitch-black robe, while it's feet were missing, and it was floating in the air, shifting left and right. At the sight of it's face materializing, Justin realized that he shouldn't look it directly in the eyes, and turned his head away.

In a demonically low voice, it asked, "Now that you know our true forms, we can finally be rid of our annoying disguises!" With his eyes closed, Justin gulped, as he started trying to get his brain to work it's magic.

As if by a stroke of luck, he remembered some of the interesting features from some of the old movies he saw. How Medusa's gaze was avoided by using tools that had reflective surfaces. Quickly, Justin reached into his pocket, and pulled out his Cell Phone. Then, after tapping the power button, he silently cursed to himself. "Why did I even bother turning it OFF?!" he thought to himself, before hearing a bone-chilling scream come from the siren. He didn't even have to see it to realize that it was flying after him.

Quickly, he ran towards the right, while checking the screen of his phone, using the reflective surface of the back of it, and the light from the numerous mushrooms, to see the Siren indirectly. What he saw next was the most horrifying feature that this siren had... swords for fingers. "Blade Magic?! I'm going against a siren that knows BLADE MAGIC?!" Justin thought to himself, while gaining speed in his running.

He was about to make a sharp turn to the left, when the siren said in it's demonic voice, "You know there is no escaping from me! I'm a Dark Spirit, so I can easily go through the walls!"

At once, Justin's eyes widened, while that last statement gave him an idea. "Dark Spirit, you say?!" he asked, while continuing to run the path he planned out.

Finally, after going behind the wall of a fallen building, he quickly climbed on top of a counter, and waited. Then, once the siren went through the wall, his eyes glowed blue again, while time froze for him, and his conscience gave him a plan of action.

Justin Daniels's Mind/POV...

This one's going to prove to be quite a challenge, due to the fact that this time, it is armed with physical weapons that are known to cause harm to an Undead. Using that as a precaution, I have to deal with this threat as if my very existence depends on it...

To start it off, I'll need to pull the branch from my jacket, and leap towards the siren. No doubt it'll strike with it's right claws, as it's left one is too close to me to do much damage compared to the other, besides maybe a weak stab, even a poke. So, I deflect it's upcoming attack with the branch, while catching it's retaliating left claw with my left hand, burning it due to the contact.

Then I release the branch, and close my eyes to block it's gaze, while getting my phone from my pocket again, and using it to view my next actions, while opening the camcorder app. Enraged, it will attempt a tackle at this point... dodge in it's lower-right direction, catching it's right claw, which will burn it again, as well.

Out of pain, it will attempt to turn around, and use it's glare, even moving up to my face, while I hold the phone in my right hand. Unaware of human technology, though, it will not see that I'm looking directly at it through my phone. Therefore, I use my left hand to grip it's forehead, while blindly, it will attempt a few swings with it's left hand in a thrusting pattern towards my chest. Release forehead, and catch the incoming thrust, burning it again, resulting in an attempted right claw slice to the neck. Deflect with left arm again, while switching hands for the phone, then gently place on the counter. Finally, when it tries to sneak-attack me with it's eyes, block my vision from it's gaze by placing both of my hands over it's face, burning it, while drawing it into my hand via the previous method with Twilight.

Conclusion; it will most likely give me Blade Magic, and enhance my Wind Magic, due to it's levitation capabilities, although as I can already tell from the results of the last soul, I will either have to study up on how to cast it, ask for lessons from Twilight, or somehow run into the way how to cast it manually. All in all, this battle will be won, but not the war, as there are still two more I need to hunt down, before the others end up in this dark abyss.

Back In Reality...

When his plan was set in motion, it worked smoothly. Drawing the branch from his jacket, Justin quickly jumped from the counter, and deflected the Siren's right jab, before doing the other actions he foretold.

When it was close to his face, it said, "Feed me your soul!"

At that point Justin glared at it's face through his phone, and replied, "Nah, but you can eat this, instead!" while deflecting the Siren's left blow, and placing his phone on the counter. Then, as soon as the Siren saw the opening, it's eyes glowed red, while it's mouth opened widely... until Justin placed his left hand on it's forehead, which stopped the glowing immediately, while it's face started to erupt into black smoke. While screaming in agony, it swung it's left claws high, only for Justin to remove his hand from it's forehead, and catch the blades, now incinerating the entire arm into dust. Then, in a quick fight against time, he placed his left hand on it's forehead again, while his right hand hovered over it's face, middle finger on it's forehead, right thumb on it's right cheek, pinkie finger on it's left cheek, and his pointing and ring fingers hovering over it's eyes. In the matter of ten seconds, the Siren started vaporizing into a smoke, until all that was left floating over Justin's right hand was a purple orb with a black core.

With a small chuckle, Justin looked at the orb, and said, "...And you can feed me your soul, instead!" before crushing the soul with his right hand, while it's black and purple aura flowed over his arm, and around his whole body, until it vanished inside him.

With a sigh, he walked out of the house, only to smile at the sight he saw before him. "Huh... no wonder they crowned you king!" He said, as he walked towards King Solaris, who was standing over top of the other two Sirens in their true forms.

Solaris looked at Justin, and smiled. "Well, hey! You'll get there, someday!" Then, he looked at the two Sirens, and smirked. "These two weren't even worth the effort, to be honest! It's a shame they didn't have their leader to bark orders to them!" Looking behind Justin's left shoulder, he asked, "Wait... where exactly is their leader?"

Then, Justin explained the situation he just went through, while Solaris nodded in understanding, only for his eyes to widen at the whole "Soul Absorption" part. "Wait... you mean to tell me that you were able to absorb it's soul?!" Then, he looked at the other two sirens, and back at Justin. "Can you... show me with these two?"

Justin nodded, before walking up to the two Sirens, and flipping their unconscious bodies to where they faced him. Then, one after the other, he repeated the process, resulting in a gasp from Solaris. "By all that is Holy..." He looked at Justin wide-eyed, before smiling. "It would seem that perhaps it is you who may be the Fifth Element, after all!" Then he turned around and sighed. "But if it is true, then that would mean that I... have no purpose anymore."

Seeing the mood change in Solaris's personality, Justin walked up to him, and shook his head. "That ain't true, Solaris! You may not be king anymore, but that doesn't mean you can't be a respectable citizen! Come on, let's get out of here while we still can, in case more of those show up!" Before Solaris could refuse, Justin walked in front of him, and placed his hands on his shoulders. "I know some friends who can help you fit in. So there's no turning back now, okay?"

Solaris stood there silently, before a smile formed on his face. "Very well, then... please lead the way."

In the matter of minutes, they were back in Justin's house, where the two of them stood in front of the golden door. Then Justin turned towards Solaris, and smiled. "Within this door is a portal that will hopefully take us to Canterlot... the current Capital City... Are you ready?" Solaris nodded, but said nothing. "Alright, then... here goes nothing..." With that, he opened the door, as the two of them were greeted by the blinding light of the room where the Elements of Harmony's chest stood, opened widely, and standing out from the pure white room with it's purple and golden colors, rested on the marble table in the center of the room. Justin walked in, while Solaris backed away, hiding from the light, so his eyes can adjust easier.

Justin was about to look around and feel the walls for a secret way out, until the wall facing the left side of the golden door glowed light blue in the center, and slowly opened, revealing an angry-looking Twilight Sparkle, a happy-looking Pinkie Pie, a bandaged Applejack, a worried Rarity, a hiding-behind-the-nearest-pony Fluttershy, and a hunched-down-and-ready-to-charge Rainbow Dash. Each of them were wearing their Elements on their necks, save for Twilight, who wore her crown over her head. Their expressions soon changed to a shocked one when the doors were fully opened. At that second, all of their gazes, including the gazes from the ten guards in the room, were all on Justin.

With a smile, Justin waved his right hand, and said, "Hey, everyone! How long was I-"

Before he could finish his sentence, he was tackled to the ground by the group of mares, and caught in a possibly bone-crushing group hug, as all six of the mares wept, and called his name. Then, he lightly chuckled, while asking, "Um, ladies? What's with the long faces? I wasn't gone that long, was I?"

Twilight, who was wrapped around his chest, looked up at him, and replied, "Try THREE days! Where in Equestria WERE you?!"

Justin looked back at the golden door, and shrugged. "I honestly don't know, other than in some vivid nightmare of a jungle." Then, Celestia and Luna rushed into the room. In the matter of seconds, their eyes widened, and they soon rushed to Justin, and helped him back up, once the mares ended their hug. After that, Justin explained the events that he went through, although he didn't mention Solaris, until the end.

"...But I didn't go through the whole trial myself. Ladies, I'd like to introduce y'all to a new friend I made in there. Come on out, buddy! It's safe!"

As soon as he said that, all eyes turned to the golden door, until the tall figure that stood taller than Celestia herself trotted out of the room. Once he, Celestia, and Luna all locked eyes, their jaws dropped immediately, while Justin and the others stared at them blankly. Solaris tried saying something, only ending in stutters. Finally, Celestia managed to say something comprehensible.

"F... Father?!"

Author's Note

:Sneak-Peek:

"Hear-ye, Hear ye! From Princess Celestia of the Kingdom of Equestria! To celebrate the return of King Solaris, the Father of Princess Luna and I, we are hereby giving you a personal invitation from your three rulers themselves, with tickets to the 'Grand Galloping Gala'! Sincerely, Princess Celestia." Spike's voice echoed.

"Oh, come on! It can't be that bad, can it?" Twilight asked Justin, who had his back turned, his arms crossed, and his face hung low.

"It's not that, Twilight! It's just that... well... I don't really know how to dance, and I don't feel comfortable learning how to, either. Not to mention the fact that, due to my sudden disappearance, there's already rumors around Ponyville that I might be some sort of monster, giving the fact that I used Blood Magic to draw the dark spirit from you two weeks ago!"

"If it helps... we could go together! When they see an Element of Harmony around you, then there's no doubt that they might see you for who you truly are!" Twilight said, smiling at him, and placing a hoof on his shoulder, while he sat on the floor.

"Yes, but just who am I, exactly? I'm Undead, I'm Human, and I've already been given suspicious stares from just about anything that moves! Honestly, Twilight? What else could I possibly be?" Justin asked, before Twilight looked concernedly at him.

To Be Continued...
...In Another Story...