Shattered Dimensions: Hero of Equestria

Chapters

An Unexpected Meeting
Rising Storm
Broken
Twilight's Deal, Part 1
Twilight's Deal, Part 2
Slumbering Power
Planning Ahead
Friendly Competition
Like Father, Like Son
Preparing for Battle
Houses Crumble, Armor Shatters
Keep Your Enemies Closer
Tying Up Loose Ends
Fall of a King
Ascension
Epilogue: More Than a Feeling
Prologue
Reparations
Eclipse

An Unexpected Meeting

“...And with that, I, Princess Celestia of Equestria, hereby dub Allen an honorary member of the Equestrian Royal Guard,” Celestia said proudly as I stood before her in the royal throne room of Castle Canterlot. I kneeled before the majestic white alicorn respectfully, looking down at my now-armored body. My friends and I had arrived in Canterlot a few days ago, and Celestia decided I should receive some sort of reward for saving the world. She stood a few feet away from me now, with Princess Cadence and the beautiful Princess Luna at her sides. I’m not usually one to accept huge honors like this, but I have to admit it was pretty cool. Along with the armor, which was a whitish platinum color with gold and blue trim, they also gave me a sword that looked a lot like the one she had given me during my previous visit; because of that, when I saw for it the first time, I requested having my friends’ cutie marks etched into the blade, just as the Elements of Harmony had embedded themselves into the old sword when I needed them most. The symbol of my position now sat on my back in a white sheath.

“Allen, on behalf of all Equestria, I thank you for your noble service and sacrifice to save a world that was not your own,” she said gratefully, and the entire room let out a cheer. I nodded thankfully, grinning a little when I saw my friends standing off to the side, smiling proudly. I stepped forward.

“Thank you, Celestia,” I started nervously, but quickly gathered myself into a proper speech-giving tone, “but the honor is not mine alone,” I said, turning to my six friends who had so warmly welcomed me into their society. “These six ponies, who have already done so much for Equestria before I arrived, helped me find the courage and resolve to keep fighting for what’s right, and they deserve as much thanks as I do.” As the words left my mouth, the crowd burst into another wild cheer, and Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy all stepped forward from the crowd and stood next to me.
“You really mean it, Allen?” Twilight asked, smiling as the crowd continued cheering. I grinned back.
“Of course,” I said certainly, “I wouldn’t have been able to fight that guy in a million years if I didn’t have you girls by my side.” I looked up at Celestia, who nodded approvingly.

Just then, a guard burst in the room, panting heavily, and ran to Celestia and whispered something in her ear. The princess nodded slowly, and turned to me.
“Allen,” she began, “are you ready for your first assignment?”
I nodded quickly, glad that I was already being given a mission after having been a royal guard for about thirty seconds.
“I want you to accompany Princess Cadence on her trip back to the Crystal Empire. There is some sort of disturbance there, and I want you to make sure it isn’t dangerous,” she said as Princess Cadence stepped forward, and I nodded respectfully to the pink alicorn.
“It would be an honor,” I said proudly, and Princess Luna ran over to my side and smiled at me.
“I’m coming with too!” she said excitedly. I smiled, remembering our reunion the day after I had returned.

~-~-~-~-~

I slowly ascended the steps towards the throne room of Castle Canterlot, glancing back as my friends encouragingly shooed me away. I quickly ran up towards the massive double doors, climbing two steps at a time, and slowly entered the room. As I did, I reached into my pocket and felt a small, golden ring I had bought back in Ponyville. I didn’t think I would need it that particular day, but I just got the feeling it would be a good idea to have it.
I slowly walked down the red carpet, looking around in awe at the beauty the room held. It seemed like only yesterday this room had been practically demolished by the events of the previous year, but now it looked just like it did in the show and when I first arrived in Equestria.

I looked up at the golden throne to see a white alicorn with a gently flowing rainbow mane smiling at me.
“Hello, Allen. I trust you had little trouble returning to Equestria?” she asked softly.
I nodded. “It took me a bit to figure out the words I had to say, but I got it,” I said proudly. “How have things been around here?” I asked casually.
The solar princess sighed. “I must admit, it does not seem as if anything has changed, but it is quite different without you around. Which reminds me,” she said, looking behind me at a door that led to the princesses’ bedrooms, “I believe there is somepony who will be extremely happy to see you.”
I looked back and saw the door, immediately realizing where it led.

“You mean…?” I trailed off, and Celestia nodded.
“It’s the first door on the right,” she said gently. “She’s probably taking a nap, but I don’t think she’ll mind an interruption from you.”
I nodded respectfully and turned back to the room, when Celestia stopped me.
“Oh, Allen, I was wondering if you and the others would be willing to stay in Canterlot for a few days? I must arrange a ceremony marking your return,” she asked hopefully.
I shook my head and held up my hands apologetically. “It’s really touching that you want to do something like that, but it’s not necessary,” I said humbly, but the princess pressed on.
“Oh, I insist! Not only is it for your return, but I must also properly thank you for what you did to help us. I would like to make you an honorary member of the Canterlot Royal Guard!” she proclaimed, and my eyes widened with surprise.
“Me? A member of the guard? Well, I guess I can’t refuse now, can I?” I asked rhetorically.

Celestia nodded, happy she had finally convinced me. “Now that that’s settled, go on; my sister may be hard to read when she wants to, but her subconscious reveals her true feelings; I have occasionally heard her calling your name in her sleep,” she said, smiling as she looked at the door that lay behind me. I nodded and ran off without another word.

“Luna?” I whispered as I entered the dim bedroom. I saw a large bed pressed against the opposite wall, and lying behind a see-through, silk curtain lay a sleeping, midnight blue alicorn. The blankets rose and fell with her soft breathing, and I smiled as I quietly walked over to the side of the bed.
“Luna?” I asked again, a little louder this time, and the lunar princess shifted a little and yawned.

“Oh, Celestia, I told you to not bother me; I’m still worn out from last… huh?” she moaned tiredly, her expression suddenly changing from tired and grouchy to completely surprised when she saw it was not her older sister waking her up, but me.
“Hey,” I said gently as I sat down on the edge of the bed. Luna got up and crawled over by me, studying my face in disbelief.
“Allen?” she asked finally, recovering from the initial shock. I smiled.
“Were you expecting someone else?” I asked jokingly, and she suddenly leaped on top of me, knocking me down and hugging me excitedly.

“I’ve missed you so much! How did you get back?” she cried happily, and I laughed at the alicorn’s sudden happiness.
“Celestia visited me through the crystal a few days and told me of a way back. I’ve been here for a couple of days and figured you would want to see me," I explained. "Guess I was right,” I added with a chuckle as the alicorn continued hugging me.
I reached into my pocket, my fingertips just barely touching the golden ring, but they suddenly darted back out as I removed my hand.

No, I thought with determination, it’s too soon. Maybe another time.

~-~-~-~-~

I inspected my sword as we sat on the train, heading for the Crystal Empire so I could complete my first mission as a guard. It wasn’t blessed with the incredible strength like my original crystal sword had been, but since the threat of the Sentinels had been destroyed along with Drayke, I figure it didn’t matter too much.
Suddenly, I saw something out the window of the train car: a massive blue beam shooting straight up into the sky, creating a shockwave of energy that knocked out the power and stopped the train dead. I looked at my friends and the two princesses worriedly.

“I’d better go check that out!” I said, rushing for the door, but Applejack stopped me.
“Allen, don’t! You don’t know what’s out there!” she said worriedly, but I grinned.
“I don’t think it’ll be much of a problem. Besides, what kind of royal guard would I be if I just let something like that go unexamined?” I asked, and the orange mare nodded. I exited the train car as Twilight, Pinkie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Cadence, and Luna all followed close behind. I reached a hill, convinced that the source of the disturbance lay just beyond, and quickly jumped up and held my sword out defensively.

The sight that awaited me wasn’t the most shocking thing it could have been, but it was still pretty unexpected.

Sitting just on the other side of that hill was a small camp, with several large tents lined up in rows. The strange thing about it was the creatures that bustled in and out of the tents busily.
“Humans?” Cadence asked, confused, and I nodded.
“You guys stay here,” I said, sheathing my sword as I walked towards the camp, “I think it’d be best if I was the only one they saw.”

The first one of the people to notice me was a young soldier, who aimed a dangerous-looking rifle at me.
“Stop right there! Who are you? How’d you get here?” he demanded, not giving any hint that he would lower his weapon. I held up my hands.

“I could ask you the same thing,” I said coolly, and suddenly another, older man appeared behind the soldier and cleared his throat.
“Sergeant, would you like to explain why you are aiming a weapon at this boy?” he asked in a gruff tone, and the soldier lowered his weapon, suddenly sounding nervous.
“He just walked up to the camp, sir. I wasn’t sure how to react,” he said, his voice no longer sounding as confident as it did when I approached.

The man, who I assumed was the commanding officer, shooed the sergeant way. “I’ll handle this,” he said, and approached me. “Now, tell me, kid, how did you get here?” he asked.
I glared at him. “I’ll give you the same response I gave the other guy: I could ask you the same thing,” I said angrily.
The man shrugged and motioned for me to follow him into the camp as he introduced himself.

“I am General Warrens. I am the Head of Defense of Project G.E.M. This program was started because about a year ago, unidentified creatures attacked Earth, and suddenly disappeared shortly afterwards. The government wanted to know why they came, how they got to Earth, where they came from, who sent them, and what made them vanish,” he explained.

I stopped and gave him a serious look. “The where is pretty obvious right now, the who and why is a man named Drayke, who wanted to conquer both this world and Earth, the how is a portal between the two worlds that was subsequently destroyed, and the what is me,” I said bluntly. “Now that you have that information, how about you tell me a little more about what’s going on here? And on top of that, how did you get here?”
The General looked at me, surprised. “You’ve got a lot of spirit, kid,” he complemented me.
I nodded thankfully. “So, how did you guys get here?”

General Warrens brought me to a portal in the center of camp, which they had built some sort of containment unit around. He explained Project G.E.M.’s research, which eventually led to creating a portal to this “strange, new world”, and mankind taking its first steps into an alternate universe.

“Not its first,” I corrected, “I came here about a year ago, spent a week, went back to Earth, and returned a few days ago,” I said simply. “And even before that, ancient humans found natural portals that led here, but that led to a huge war, and ended with all but one of the portals being destroyed. I destroyed the last remaining one so that wouldn’t happen again.”
The General looked surprised. “This world has intelligent inhabitants? Where? What are they?” he asked excitedly.
I smiled. “You’re probably not going to believe me, but here goes…”

I explained to the General that this “new world” was in fact Equestria, the setting of the popular cartoon "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic", and its inhabitants were the characters of a children’s television show. He took it pretty well; after all, I was the only person who had seen them, so he had no choice but to take my word for it. After hearing my explanation, his face suddenly lit up.
“Oh, I should bring you to Doctor Greathouse! He’ll want to hear this all as well!” he said, and led me to a tent a few yards away from the portal.
Doctor Greathouse? I thought, thinking it was funny that someone else who had entered this world had the same last name as me. My amusement was cut short, however, when I saw just who this was.

I entered the tent slowly, and sitting in a metal folding chair was a middle-aged man with shoulder-length brown hair, a short stubble on his face, and wire-framed glasses. He looked up at me from his book with wide brown eyes, filled with the emotion of seeing someone they thought was lost forever.

It had been twelve years since we had last seen each other, but I recognized him instantly.

“Allen,” the man said disbelievingly, his voice so quiet I could just barely hear him.

“Hello, dad,” I said flatly.

Rising Storm

My father stood up and slowly walked over to me, slightly smiling like a little kid that got the toy he asked for on Christmas morning and just couldn’t believe it. I, on the other hand, was staring at him like somebody who found a hair in their salad and was getting ready to call the waiter.

“Allen, I… what are you doing? How did you get here?” he asked me so many questions all at once, barely giving me time to answer. I probably wouldn’t have answered them anyways; I was so angry. This man had completely walked out on me and my mother and went ghost for twelve years.

And here he was now, asking me questions like he had been away on a week-long vacation and wanted to catch up with his pal.
I sat there, glaring at him in the dim lamp-lit light as he went on and on and, without noticing, I started curling my fingers into a fist.
He quickly wiped his glasses with his sleeve as he got down on his knees and placed his hands on my shoulders.
“Son,” he said, suddenly getting over the initial shock of seeing me and taking on a serious expression, “I know you must be pretty upset with me, and I understand that, but if you just hear me out-”
I held up my flat hand, struggling to keep a steady arm and voice.

“No, no, I get it. It’s fine,” I lied, and my father’s sudden change in expression told me I had done a good job at acting.
“Son, I just want to let you know that-” he began, but was cut off when I swung my clenched fist, catching his jaw and knocking to the side. Right then, all my anger that I was struggling to contain, the anger that had been building for twelve years, came exploding out.
“Do you know how long I waited?” I screamed at him as he stared at me in terror, holding his jaw with his hand and peering between his fingers. “Do you have any idea what it’s like to sit on your porch for years and years, waiting for a father who you know is never coming home, but that small, hopeful part of your mind tells you he will?”

The General sat in the entrance to the tent awkwardly while I had my little outburst. After several minutes, I collapsed in the folding chair, panting and glaring at the dull green wall as I recomposed myself.
The General stepped over to me and placed a careful hand on my shoulder. “I’m going to have to ask that you don’t do that again. It’s only because we aren’t on American soil, and because I can sympathize with what you’re going through right now, that I won’t have you locked up and punished. Doctor Greathouse,” he said, turning to the middle-aged man that was shakily getting to his feet. “Are you alright?”
He nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he said as he rubbed his jaw a little, “glad to know my son’s got a good arm, though!” he added jokingly. I rolled my eyes and stood up.

“Anyways, General Warrens, thank you for the info, but I actually have something I’ve got to be doing. Which reminds me, when the train I was on came past, it was stopped by some energy surge from your portal. What was that?” I asked, refusing to look at my father.
The General nodded. “The portal’s frame is still fragile, and a lot of the parts are wearing out incredibly fast. If they aren’t replaced right away, some of the energy shoots out of the portal. We still haven’t completely figured out what it does, but we have recorded strong electromagnetic pulses,” he explained.

I nodded, finally satisfied. “Well, that’s all, I guess. If you’d excuse me, I’ve gotta go.” I exited the tent and started back for the train, but General Warrens ran out after me.
“Actually, Allen, before you leave,” he said hopefully, “I was wondering if you’d be willing to take a few of our men with you, so they can record and document some things in this world.”

I thought about this for a moment. Perhaps if humans were able to get to know more about Equestria and its inhabitants, than things would go better this time around, and we could all live in peace.
“Yeah, I guess that would be alright,” I said, nodding, “the train is over that hill just south of here. Send ‘em over when you have it all sorted out, and we should be ready to go. Just warn them they won’t be dealing with… humans.”
The General nodded, pleased. “Great. I’ll have a team there in about ten minutes. Good luck on your mission, Allen!” he called as I ran back to the train, glad to finally be away from that man I called my father.

~-~-~-~-~

“Well, that could have gone better,” Robert said humorously as he stood next to General Warrens with his hands behind his back as he watched Allen run off.

“On the contrary, I think that was your best-case scenario,” the General said slowly, smiling as he turned to Robert, and saw his expression had saddened as the doctor sat down, suddenly looking much older than the energetic doctor who had started this innovative project.

“He hates me,” he said quietly, staring down at his lap. General Warrens frowned and walked over to Robert’s side, placing a comforting hand on his friend’s shoulder.
“All children hate their parents at some point or another; that’s only natural. All you can do is wait and hope he will eventually forgive you.”

Robert nodded, but Warrens could tell that the doctor was unconvinced. Sighing, he added, “I suppose I could throw you into that little research group, and you could try and get a little closer to your kid.”
Robert wasted no time in jumping up and rushing out of the tent to gather his things for the trip. “No need to thank me,” the General said, laughing as the scientist disappeared behind the flap of one of the other tents.

~-~-~-~-~

Sanguis stalked the edges of the Crystal Empire’s magical barrier, dragging his skeletal fingers along the near-invisible wall. The ponies had seen him, and would watch him in fear as he would give them a horrifying, toothy grin. He loved that look of unfiltered terror on their faces when they watched him pass. It only enhanced the thrill of what was yet to come.
He had read through his ancient tome on the way to the Crystal Empire, memorizing a few of the more useful spells, and then incinerated the book to ensure its ancient secrets were safe from any possible foes that might rise to challenge him.
As he continued to torment his quadrupedal prey, he knew there was no way he was getting in just yet. So he waited, like a predator circling its trapped prey, with literally all the time in the world to spare.

~-~-~-~-~

“No, no, NO!” I protested when I saw my father approaching the train car, and I quickly went to the back and sat in the booth, putting my head down on the table. My friends and the princesses all stared at me in confusion, except for Applejack, who could tell what I was dealing with. During my initial stay in Equestria, she was the only one of my friends I had spoken to about my family.

“What’s the matter, Allen?” Pinkie inquired.
Applejack spoke up. “That’s your dad, isn’t it, Allen?” she asked gently.
I nodded, my forehead pressed against the table, and Luna placed a comforting foreleg around me.
“What happened back there?” she asked soothingly, and I sighed as I explained my encounter at the camp.

“Well, I found out my father is the head of a secret organization that opened a somewhat-unstable portal between Earth and Equestria, and he acted as if he hadn't disappeared from my life twelve years ago. So I…” I trailed off, feeling a little ashamed about admitting my violent outburst to my friends.
“What did you do?” Luna asked quietly.

I looked up and stared at the opposite wall blankly. “I punched him in the face,” I said in a monotonous voice. The others all gasped when the words left my mouth.
“Allen!” Fluttershy cried scoldingly, “I know you’re angry with him, but that is no reason to-” the yellow mare was interrupted by the sound of the door opening.

“Amazing!” my father cried as he stared at the ponies, followed by a few scientists and soldiers who sat down at one of the booths at the other end of the room, “this is… incredible!” He ran over to Rainbow Dash and carefully stretched her wing. “Bird-like wings? Capable of flawless aerial support?” He shot over by Rarity and stared at her horn. “Unicorns?” he gasped in disbelief, and saw Luna and Cadence. “Fusions of the two? Allen, what is this wondrous world we've found?” he asked, smiling broadly, but stopped when he saw my scowl.

“If you’ll excuse me,” I growled, “I have some very, VERY, important things to attend to in the next car over.” Saying this. I stormed to the door at the end of the room and quickly exited, finding myself in the bedding car. I lied down on one of the fluffy mattresses and silently fumed.

~-~-~-~-~

Robert Greathouse stared after his son sadly, and noticed the other ponies were staring at him strangely. An orange mare with a brown, cowboy-style hat was the first to speak.
“Excuse me, sir, but, you’re Allen’s father, right?” she asked slowly. The tone in her voice told Robert that his son had told them what had happened in the past.

“...Yes,” he said after a long pause, “but I can explain why I did what I did.” He looked at the ponies, relieved that they were more willing to listen than his son was.
“I know what I did was wrong, and I’ve felt bad about it since day one. But I left because I wanted to be able to do something big, and I was offered a position in a very important, very secret scientific group, and I wasn’t allowed to tell my family about it,” he looked up desperately at the ponies surrounding him. “I swear, looking back now, I realize that if I could take it all back, I would have rejected the offer. I would have done my best to be a better father.”
The mare narrowed her eyes, studying him for a few seconds, but her gaze suddenly softened.

“I believe you,” she said softly, and Robert smiled as the others suddenly softened their expressions. “My name’s Applejack,” she said, holding out a hoof for him to shake.
“Robert,” he said thankfully, and the others introduced themselves. He was surprised to find the two hybrids were considered royalty in this world. “So, you’re all my son’s friends?” he asked casually, and a midnight-blue hybrid-pony, who he learned was named Luna, nodded enthusiastically.

“Oh, yes. Well, not as much with Cadence,” she added, motioning towards the pink princess, “but yes, we’re all very close.”

Something about the way Luna said that seemed… off, like there was more to it than she was letting on.

Ignoring this, he continued asking questions. “How did you all meet him?” he inquired, folding his hands and taking a seat in one of the booths.
The six smaller ponies all smiled at each other broadly, and the cyan pegasus, called Rainbow Dash, spoke up.
“It’s a pretty long and confusing story, but luckily for you, you’ve got the six mares perfect for the job. It all started about a year ago…”

As Rainbow Dash and the others told Robert the story of his son’s accomplishments, Cadence couldn’t help but feel sorry for the boy. She didn’t know him very well, but she couldn’t stand seeing a son have so much hatred for his own father. She crept away and slipped into the car that Allen had sneaked into.

~-~-~-~-~

I heard the door latch click as someone entered the room, and I looked over to see Cadence quietly trotting over to me.
“Hey,” I said quietly, looking back at the ceiling. “What brings you here?”
I heard her sigh as she sat on the bed across from me. “It doesn’t seem right for a son to hate his father,” she said quietly.
I glanced over at her, narrowing my eyes. “I think the fact that he left without a word twelve years ago kind of justifies that,” I said flatly.

“Allen, he’s your family, and he feels horrible about what he did. Can’t you-” she started, but I cut her off.
“Good! I hope he feels horrible, because he deserves that much,” I snapped, rolling over so my back was facing the pink alicorn, and added, “he may be biologically related to me, but as far as I’m concerned? That man is NOT my father.”
Cadence started to protest. “How can you say something like that about him?” she asked, shocked.
I didn’t respond; I had made up my mind on the subject. If he wanted forgiveness, he was going to have to work pretty damn hard for it.

Just then, I heard the conductor call over the speaker, “We will be arriving at the Crystal Empire in just a few minutes. Make sure you have your things gathered before we reach the station.”
I sighed and got up, reaching under the bed for a large suitcase that held my armor, and looked up at Cadence.
“I don’t mean to be rude, but I kinda need some privacy,” I said awkwardly, and she nodded as she stood up and headed for the door.

“Please think about it,” she said pleadingly as she exited, and I scowled in my solitude.
“I already have,” I said darkly as got undressed, slid into my bodysuit, strapped on my armor, and left the train, eager to solve whatever problem I had been called in to solve. Anything to get my mind off of the events of the past hour.

Broken

I stepped off of the train and onto the landing platform and stretched, my armor making a clanking sound as I rolled my shoulders back. I saw a few guards approaching me breathlessly, and raised an eyebrow at their tired expressions.

“What’s the matter, guys?” I asked casually, and one of them caught his breath just enough to coherently describe the situation.
“It’s good you came as quickly as you did; we’ve seen a strange creature prowling the edges of the city, and it looks like it’s trying to find a way in,” he explained, bewildered.

I nodded. “What sort of creature?” I asked, and the guards looked at each other nervously.
“It looked a lot like you, only… different. It had pale, decayed skin, the lower part of its face was missing, and it had long, patchy, black hair. It wore a pretty heavy-looking suit of armor, and some say it used magic to create a massive sword. Ever since it showed up, all it’s done is run its hand across the magical wall surrounding the city, and the spots it touches turn black for a few moments. Any idea what it could be doing?” he asked, almost sounding fearful. I thought about this for a moment.

“He’s probably looking for a weak spot in the wall,” I responded, and suddenly got an idea. “If he wants to get in so badly, why don’t we let him in?” I said, brandishing my sword. “You just make sure there aren’t any civilians around, and I’ll take care of him,” I said confidently.
The guard eyed me nervously. “Are you sure about this?” he asked slowly, “I mean, no offense, but you don’t look like you will be a match for him.”

I laughed. “How hard can it be? He’s an armored zombie, not the Obsidian King!” I said humorously, remembering my epic battle the previous year. “Tell me, where is he now?”
The guard pointed down the main street. “We’ve been tracking his movements since he arrived, and he should be on the other side of the city by now. Good luck,” I heard him add doubtfully as I ran off with my friends, the princesses, and the other humans following close behind.

~-~-~-~-~

Sanguis Cruciatus stroked the invisible wall, watching it become darker and take on a broken glass texture as he did, only to suddenly reform when he moved away. He was getting tired of this; it was time to see how much his power had stood against the ages.

He set down his massive claymore and pressed both hands against the barrier, watching it become broken and sickly black. He forced all of his power into his hands, watching as the affected area looked worse and worse, until the section of the wall he was touching shattered.
The warlord picked up his sword and stalked onto the crystal streets as a pony guard approached him.

“Halt!” The guard shouted, trying to stop Sanguis’s approach, and the warlord let out an unearthly growl. He swiped at the guard, grabbing him by the throat and lifting him into the air.

“You have something I need,” he said in a whisper as cold as the grave, and his hands suddenly darkened, and the guard’s eyes widened as his life was drained out of his body. His tan pelt slowly turned gray, and his eyes rolled back in his head. Sanguis narrowed his eyes, tossing the limp body aside, and continued to stalk the streets.
Just then, he saw a young boy flanked by several ponies, all blocking his path. The boy wore a suit of white armor, and held a large crystal sword at his side.

This boy thinks he can stop me? the warlord thought, confused. Let’s show him just how wrong he is...

~-~-~-~-~

I stood in an open area near the edge of the city, where the creature I had been warned about had just busted open a hole in the magical barrier and killed a guard.

“Alright, dead-head,” I said loudly to the armored zombie that had just tossed aside the dead guard, “I’ll give you one chance: you can either leave now, and we’ll forget you ever came here, or I’ll make you regret ever coming out of the ground.”
It stared at me with glowing blue eyes, confused, and turned around and started walking away.

“Huh. That was eas-” I started to say, but I suddenly jumped to the side as the creature had suddenly leaped into the air, smashing his sword into the spot I had occupied moments before.

Luna, Cadence, Twilight, and Rarity all tried blasting him with magic as he approached, but he shrugged off the bolts like pellets. The four human soldiers shot him with their assault rifles, but their bullets just stuck inside his body, barely doing anything. He waved a hand at them, knocking them to the ground with an invisible force, and proceeded to decapitate them one by one and in quick succession with his impossibly huge sword as they lay on the ground, stunned. With each one he killed, I saw a dark stream of energy flow up his blade and into his body, and realized, horrified, what was happening.

He’s stealing their vitality, I thought, and saw him turn to me. Half of his face had been restored, and he now glared at me with one normal eye, which still seemed to glow an icy blue in the iris. His hair that lay on that same side had gone from being patchy and black to long and silver. His half-lip curled into a snarl, and he charged at me with the sword held behind him.
I quickly dodged to the side, deflecting his swing as he passed, and tried to lead him away from my friends and my “father”.

“Get out of here, now!” I shouted at them, and they ran off, making sure they kept me in sight.
I hope they stay away, I thought as my adversary began to rapidly slash at me, I don’t want anything to happen to them. Even though I blocked every strike, the shock still made it a painful fight.
Who or what is this thing? I thought as his blade just barely grazed me, creating a long scratch across my chestplate. I ducked under a horizontal swing and kicked at his leg, knocking him to his knees, and brought my blade down on him. It sunk into his shoulder, cutting him halfway down his chest, and I smiled with sick satisfaction. My victory was cut short, however, when I heard him… laugh.

“A courageous effort,” he said in a deep voice as he stood up, dropping his sword and pulling my own out of his chest, “but you’ll have to do better than that.” As he said this, the massive gash I had made in his upper body sealed, and he tossed my blade behind him with one hand, pushing me backwards with his magic using the other.

I jumped to my feet and held up my hands defensively. “Who are you?” I demanded, and he laughed, a strange mixture of a healthy, human laugh and a cold, raspy chuckle.

“You may call me Sanguis Cruciatus. I’ve awoken from my eternal slumber to finally take back what should have been mine since the days of the war: this world!” he shouted triumphantly as he spread his arms, gesturing around him, and kept advancing on me.

I scowled and threw a sucker punch when he was about a foot away from me, but he responded by reaching up and catching my fist, crushing it in a bony hand like a soda can. I screamed as I felt my fingers snap, and I held my hand gingerly as I backed away. My gauntlets didn’t make it any better, as the metal had twisted and stabbed into my already-injured hand.

He held up a hand, which I now saw held a curved, black dagger, and he swung it at me as I jumped out of the way, landing on my side. I struggled to crawl away as he drew near, but he planted a foot on my back, holding me in place.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve gotten to torture anyone like this,” he whispered as I struggled to free myself, “so I’ll thank you for that much. But, you’re still an obstacle that must be removed.”

Just then, he drove the dagger into my back, and I felt the metal blade scrape against my shoulder blade. I cried out in pain as he twisted it, tears streaming down my face in buckets as he pulled the knife back out ever so slowly. He gave me a twisted smile as he stepped on my elbow and stomped, shattering the joint. I thrashed painfully, screaming continuously now, and was able to throw myself a good distance away from him. I was running on basic instincts now, like when you see an animal already wounded by a predator. I ran over and grabbed my sword in my good hand and started to wildly slash at my enemy, my anger and pain further fueling my attack. I severed one of his arms and broke his exposed skull, which was finally enough to make him start to retreat. I started to run after him, until I suddenly lost all feeling in my limbs, and collapsed on the ground. I saw my friends running after my attacker, continually blasting him with spells that seemed to actually work now that he was wounded, but he suddenly vanished, as if he turned invisible. I struggled to get to my feet, but my legs and good arm suddenly buckled beneath me, and everything went black.

~-~-~-~-~

“Allen!” Robert cried as he ran to his son’s side while the ponies chased off the strange man. Allen had fallen unconscious, and Robert pressed his head to the child’s chest to find he was still alive, but knew it wouldn’t be that way for long.
“We have to get him to a hospital!” He shouted, lifting Allen in both hands as he tried to carry him away, but Cadence stopped him.
“Robert, there’s nothing we can do. Our hospitals aren’t outfitted to care for humans,” she said worriedly.

Robert narrowed his eyes. “Don’t you have some kind of pony magic you can use to fix this?” he asked desperately.
The pink alicorn shook her head sadly, and Luna approached, gasping when she saw the extent of Allen’s injuries.
“Our magic can’t heal something like this in a human,” she said sadly, and Robert fell to his knees hopelessly. Luna hugged Allen’s near-lifeless body with her forelegs, and Robert suddenly realized why it had seemed so strange when she had talked about his son on the train.

She loves him, he thought, unsure of what to think of this change in events.

“Cadence, isn’t there anything we can do?” Luna begged, and the princess of love thought about this for a moment.
“There is one thing we can do, but it will have... consequences,” she said slowly. Robert looked up at her quickly.
“What is it?” he asked hopefully, “what can save Allen?”

Cadence looked at the human seriously. “It will change him. He won’t be entirely human anymore, but he will still be the Allen we all know. Are you sure you want to go through with this?” she asked him, and he nodded vigorously.

“Anything to save my son,” he said certainly, “I owe him that much.”

Cadence nodded, and turned to Luna and Twilight. “I’ll need you two to give me some magic; this is a very draining spell,” she said as the two alicorns began charging their horns, and Cadence began glowing with a mixed blue and purple aura. Then, her own horn glowed a bright pink, and there was a flash of light as she touched her horn to Allen’s chest.
When the spell’s effects had finished, Robert couldn’t stop staring at what lay before him.

“We had better get him to a bed,” Luna said quietly, “so we can explain when he wakes up.”
Robert nodded, his expression unchanging, and carried the still form away, guided by eight ponies, who all wore grim expressions on their faces.

~-~-~-~-~

I snapped my eyes open to find myself lying in a hospital bed, my entire body wrapped in bandages. I looked around the room, bewildered, and looked down at my arm, the one that had been mangled during my fight with Sanguis. It was bent in a strange way, and I couldn’t feel my fingers.

Oh my god, they cut them off! I thought, letting out an involuntary moan, and stood up quickly, suddenly overcome with a dizzying sensation. I staggered out of the room as a couple of nurse-ponies stopped me.

“You can’t be walking around yet!” they protested, and I broke into a limping dash down the hall as they pursued me. I slipped and fell as I turned the corner, and after quickly using the wall to return to my feet, took shelter in a nearby bathroom. To my relief, I heard the galloping nurses pass by my hiding place.

Let’s see what happened, I thought shakily, and turned to a mirror. My head was wrapped in white bandages, just like the rest of my body, but something about it seemed different.
“Oh god,” I said aloud, tentatively poking at the massive spike that jutted from my head and through the bandages: a large, grey horn.

I reached my shaky hand to my face and slowly pulled off the white wrapping, finding my face looked just as I remembered it looking. I sighed, somewhat relieved as I pulled the rest of the bandages that covered my head, and froze when I saw where my ears once were; the spot was empty. Further unraveling revealed they had traveled to the top of my head, and had taken on a shape that matched a pony's ears.

I suddenly had a bad feeling about why I couldn’t feel my fingers, and unwrapped my stump hand to find my suspicions were true: where a normal, five-fingered hand used to sit was a dark grey pony’s hoof. Unwrapping the rest of my arm revealed that it was bent so awkwardly because it was actually a foreleg. I had also become aware of a lump on my back, and when I completely revealed myself, I found there was a single, grey, feathered wing.

I stood there, staring at my underwear-clad reflection as the revelation slowly dawned on me.

I’m… I’m half pony, half human, I thought, my eyes as big as dinner plates.

I gawked for a few more moments at my strange new appearance, and suddenly gagged as I swayed and fell to the floor, unconscious once more.

Twilight's Deal, Part 1

You know the one bad part about my life in Equestria, aside from constantly being on the edge of death, is? There is absolutely no bacon to complete my breakfast. On the bright side, they do have orange juice, which wasn't so bad. I mean, come on; no bacon OR orange juice at breakfast? I probably would have gladly handed myself over to the Crystal Sentinels during my first week here.

I sat alone at the massive table in the royal dining room, sipping away at a glass of orange juice and slicing through a stack of pancakes, which was not an easy task when I had only one hand. I struggled to hold the plate still with my hoof as I cut the golden flapjacks with my knife, but the slightest bit of pressure sent the plate sliding ever so slightly to the side, preventing me from enjoying the syrupy breakfast I had worked so hard on.

“You know, I really should have thought this through,” I grumbled to myself as I set the knife down in defeat. A few moments later, the knife floated into the air and began to slice my breakfast into neat little squares right before my eyes. I turned around and saw Twilight trotting over to me, smiling as her horn glowed a bright purple. She sat down next as the knife rested back on the plate, and I happily began to shovel the meal into my mouth.

“You looked like you could use a little help,” Twilight giggled as I hungrily devoured the helpless pancakes.
I nodded as I swallowed. “What really sucks is I won’t be able to write anything anymore,” I said as I sadly waved my hoof in the air.
Twilight looked confused. “But you still have another hand. Couldn’t you write with that one?” she asked.
I shrugged. “Humans are usually more suited to using one of their hands for tasks like writing, while the other one is absolutely horrible at it. If I did use that one to write, nobody would be able to read it!” I explained.

Just then, the door at the other room swung open, and two armored guards strode in. Not just any guards, however; it was Flash Sentry and Shining Armor!
“Morning, Twily!” Shining said happily to his sister, then turned to me. “You’re Allen, aren’t you?” he asked.
I nodded. “Honored to meet you, Captain,” I said formally.

He shook his head, smiling. “The honor is mine, Allen, after all you’ve done for Equestria. Saving the world and chasing off that thing the other day? Celestia was right in making you a member of the royal guard!” he exclaimed.
I smiled and shrugged. “Well, if I didn’t do it, who would?” I asked modestly.

Shining Armor nodded. “Well, I hope you will be able to join the guards and I for some training some time this week. I would be glad to see how you fight in person,” he said as he trotted away.
Flash Sentry looked over at Twilight. “How are you this morning, Princess?” he asked Twilight, who suddenly looked panicked.
“Who, me? I’m fine,” she said nervously, blushing violently under the orange pegusus’s gaze.
He smiled. “Well, that’s good to hear. I’ll see you later,” he said as he followed his captain out the door.

I slowly turned to Twilight, a huge, teasing smile plastered to my face. “Something on your mind, ‘Twiliy’?” I asked her, barely able to contain my laughter.
Twilight glared at me, still blushing. “No,” she said stubbornly.
Twilight was way to obvious when she was embarrassed, so I knew she was full of it. On top of that, I had seen Equestria Girls way too many times to not know about the Twilight-Flash ship.

If you were in that situation, would you have passed up the chance to tease her a little?

I sure as hell didn’t.

Do I regret it? A little, yeah.

“I dunno, Twilight,” I said slowly, “”I think somebody has a crush on a certain member of the guard…”
“I do not!” she said, her voice full of denial.
I looked upwards thoughtfully. “You know, maybe I should tell him!” I said as I stood up and ran to the door and stuck my head into the hallway. “Hey, Flash, wait! Twilight has something she wants to tell you!” I called just as Twilight tackled me and we tumbled out through the doorway.

Flash Sentry walked up to us as Twilight pinned me down, one hoof planted over my mouth.
“What is it, Princess?” he asked nonchalantly.
Twilight looked up at him, smiling broadly. “Oh, I just wanted to say your armor looks very nice today!” she said quickly.
Flash smiled proudly. “Thanks! I just polished it last night,” he said happily, and then ran off to catch up with Shining Armor.

Twilight let out a relieved sigh as she let me go.
“What was that for?!” I shouted angrily as I got up and rubbed my arms. She may have been half my size, but she had one hell of a hold.
“What, you expected me to just let you get away with that?” she shot back, “how would you like it if I did something like that to you?”

I held up my hands defensively. “Hey, for one thing, Luna already knows I love her. In fact, I’m actually planning on-” I slapped a hand over my mouth, keeping my incredibly secret plan from spilling out.
Twilight smiled suspiciously. “Planning on what, Allen?” she asked sweetly.
I shook my head. “Nothing, nothing,” I said meekly.

Twilight shrugged. “I’ll have to ask Luna about this. And if she doesn’t know, I’m sure she’ll be anxious for you to tell you,” she said slowly as she walked away.
I sprinted ahead of her and dropped to my knees pleadingly. “Please, PLEASE don’t tell her I said anything; I would really prefer if she did not find out about this before the time is right!” I begged.

She thought about this for a moment. “Okay, but only if you tell me what you're planning,” she said finally.
I hesitated, but eventually decided I could trust Twilight. “Okay, but you HAVE to promise you won’t tell Luna. I need to do this myself,” I explained.
Twilight rolled her eyes, “Okay, okay, I promise. Now, what are you planning?” she asked impatiently.
I took a deep breath and pulled the ring out of my pocket. “I’m going to ask Luna to marry me,” I said quietly.

Yes, I know I’m young for marriage. But look at it this way; the laws and such are different in Equestria, so there isn’t really any law saying I can’t propose. And on top of that, I love Luna very much, and don’t want to have to live without her.

If you have ever been in love yourself, which I am sure you have, I'm sure you know how I felt.

Twilight’s eyes got huge. “What?” she asked disbelievingly, “That’s great!”
I nodded. “Yes, but I have no idea of what to do! Hell, I can hardly ask a girl out on a date back on Earth!” I said helplessly.
Twilight rolled her eyes, smiling. “Allen, like you said, Luna knows you love her. I’m sure she’ll be thrilled no matter how awkward you are!” she said happily.

I know she was trying to be helpful, but her words made me even more nervous. She must have seen this, because she spoke up right away.

“Here, why don’t I give you a little advice on how to approach the situation? Maybe you won’t be as nervous about it when the time comes,” she suggested.
I scoffed. “You could barely handle talking to Flash back there! How could you give me any advice on proposing?” I asked, rolling my eyes.
Twilight nudged me with her foreleg. “Hey, this is different! I actually have a good idea of how Luna would like her special somepony to propose to her!” she protested.

This got my attention. “You do?!” I said, grabbing Twilight’s shoulders and shaking her a little. “You have to tell me, please!” I begged.
She pretended to think about this for a moment. “Okay…” she said slowly, “but you have to do something for me in return!” she added.
I raised a suspicious eyebrow. “What sort of favor?” I asked cautiously.

“I want you to talk to Flash and see what he thinks about me!” she declared dramatically.
I raised the eyebrow just a little bit higher. “That’s it?” I asked. Twilight nodded, and I shrugged. “Alright, you’ve got a deal. Now, how would Luna want her special somepony to propose to her?”
Twilight smiled. “Follow me!” she said as she took off down the hall. I followed close behind, eager to know how to plan out how I would ask the lunar princess for her hand - or, hoof - in marriage.

~-~-~-~-~

“It’s all right here!” Twilight said as a small, blue book levitated off of a bookshelf and towards me. She had led me to the library not far from the castle, where she and the others had searched for information on how to free the Empire from King Sombra’s evil influence.
“'Royal Courtship Rituals, Volume 2’ ? What am I looking at here?” I asked, completely unsure of what I was in for.
Twilight nodded. “In the past, I’ve heard Luna talking about how she would love for her special somepony to propose to her just like in one of these books. I’ve looked over a few out of curiosity, and I think this one has some more romantic ones,” she said with certainty.

I flipped open the book and started to skim some of the setups, then gave Twilight a bored look. “Uh, Twilight? I could have thought of some of these in my sleep. I mean,” I looked back at the book again for an example, “a bed full of rose petals? How cliche can you get? And what is… oh, jeez,” I said, suddenly slamming the book shut and blushing violently, “what am I reading?” I asked, giving my friend a demanding look as my face ever so slowly returned to its natural color.

Twilight smiled guiltily. “I probably should have warned you about Chapter 3, huh?” she said thoughtfully. “Anyways, everything you need is in that book. Just pick one you like, and I’m sure Luna will be thrilled!” she exclaimed, which was followed by a stern “shush!” from the other end of the library.

I nodded and stared at the book I held. “Any one, huh?” I asked myself aloud, and suddenly looked back at the lavender alicorn. “I should probably avoid Chapter 3, huh?” I asked in a serious tone.
Twilight shrugged. “She never said anything about there being anything in these books she wouldn’t like,” she said, but noticed my blush had returned. “But, I wouldn’t take any chances,” she added quickly.
I let out a relieved sigh. “Okay. Now that that’s settled, we had better get back to the castle,” I said, and started heading for the exit.

Twilight ran up beside me. “Hey, what about your end of the deal?” she asked.
I smiled. “Trust me, I’m on it. I’ll talk to him about it next time I see him. In fact, when we get back to the castle, I’ll head out to the training grounds and talk to him right away. Piece of cake,” I said reassuringly.

~-~-~-~-~

Less than one hour later I found myself with my back against the brick wall of the training ground with a rather sharp blade aimed straight at my face.

“So much for 'piece of cake',” I muttered as sunlight glinted off the weapon.

Twilight's Deal, Part 2

I quietly stepped through the crystal archway that led to the training grounds, and was impressed by the sight that lay before me. It was a large clearing, about the size of a highschool football field, and was covered in all sorts of training equipment. Obstacle courses and practice dummies of all shapes and sizes dotted the area, and there was even a large track encircling the grounds.
I whistled appreciatively, and looked to my right at the sound of my name.

“Allen!” Shining Armor called as he ran over to me, “You’re just in time! Could you help us with something over here?” he asked as he led me over to a group of soldiers.
“Uh, actually I needed to…” I started to say, but I trailed off when it was obvious he couldn’t hear me. I jogged over to see what was going on.

“You see, Allen, we have this new weapon we’ve been keeping under wraps, but with the threat of that warlord, I think it’s time to pull it out for a test-drive,” he explained.

I looked around, not seeing any fancy weapons; just the ten or so guards that stood around us expectantly. “Uh… what exactly are we looking at here?” I asked, confused.

Shining Armor widened his eyes. “Oh, of course!” he exclaimed, and nodded to one of the guards. “Tell Flash everything’s all ready,” he said, and the guard saluted and ran off.

“It’ll be just a moment,” Shining said, slightly embarrassed, and suddenly the ground shook a little as the ground a few yards away from us suddenly slid away, and some strange, metallic-grey object rose from beneath the training grounds. My mouth fell open as I stared at Shining Armor’s “weapon”.

It stood nearly ten feet tall, with legs and arms as thick as tree trunks, and in the center was a large metal cube that looked like it could hold a pony inside. Its right arm was cut off at the wrist, ending in a blade rather than a hand. It let out a loud, siren-like sound as the two floodlights on the front lit up a light blue, and the monstrosity started to move.
“Everything seems operational, Captain!” I heard Flash Sentry call from a speaker on the behemoth’s cockpit. I turned to Shining Armor, my eyes as big as saucers.

“You have a mech?!” I asked, bewildered.

The captain of the royal guard nodded. “We had it designed shortly after you defeated the Obsidian King, but we never found any reason to use it until now. We were actually hoping you could see how it maneuvers for us, so we get an idea of its combat capabilities,” he explained.

My face lit up. I get to drive a mech? I thought excitedly. “Yeah, let’s go!” I said, unable to wait.

Shining looked relieved. “Okay, great! Just wait for the rest of us to get out of the way, and you can start,” he said, and started to walk away, but stopped after three steps to fire a spell at me. My body had a blue glow for a moment, and then it was gone.
“What was that?” I asked, suddenly unsure of what was going on.

He gave me a slightly apologetic look. “It’s a spell that will temporarily improve your resistance to injury. We don’t want you getting hurt in a practice fight, do we?” he asked rhetorically.
I suddenly got a panicked look, which only worsened when I heard the mech start to shift behind me.

They don’t want me to test-drive that thing, I said, pulling out my sword and holding it defensively, they want me to test-fight it!

~-~-~-~-~

Robert Greathouse sat in his room, unsure of what to do. His son had gone out for the day, so he was unable to try and connect with him again, and he felt a little uncomfortable around the ponies. It wasn’t because he thought they were terrible creatures or anything, just that he was always uncomfortable around others. He tried passing his time by writing some notes on the inhabitants of this “Equestria”, but that could only occupy him for so long. Then he remembered something.

“The General!” he cried, pulling an earpiece from his pocket, “I should give him a status report!”
There was a long, static-filled pause, before the other line picked up. General Warrens's gruff, slightly annoyed voice spoke up on the other end.

“Go for Warrens,” he said expectantly, his voice slightly muffled; he must have been eating one of those god-awful M.R.E.s.
“General, this is Doctor Robert Greathouse with a status report,” he said in a professional tone.

The General suddenly brightened his mood a little. “Ah, Robert! Good to hear from you. What’s the status?”
Robert sighed. “We arrived at the “Crystal Empire” my son had been sent to yesterday. We were attacked by some sort of armored, zombie-like creature. He killed all of the men you sent with, and almost killed my son,” he said sadly. He was upset he didn’t feel much remorse for the lost soldiers, but he did not know any of them well enough to be impacted by their loss. He mostly kept to himself during his time in this world.

The General let out a surprised noise. “A zombie? Are you… never mind; after learning about the normal creatures living here, that’s the last thing I should be questioning. You say my men are dead? How?” he demanded, “How did some armored zombie kill off five professional soldiers?”

Robert shrugged involuntarily. “He just walked right up to them, as if their gunfire wasn't affecting him. On top of that, it seemed that killing them restored his life force. After some of the inhabitants finally chased him off, he looked like half of his body had been returned to a much younger state,” he explained.

The General stayed silent for a while, probably confused by the whole ordeal. “Well, if he only gets stronger the more he kills, it would be stupid to send any more men over there. But if I don’t, there won’t be anything stopping him…” he said uncertainly. “What am I going to do, Doctor?”

Robert smiled. “Don’t worry about it; the inhabitants of this world are quite resilient, and handled themselves well yesterday. On top of that, they have my son, who is quite the hero, as it turns out,” he said proudly.
Warrens laughed. “Speaking of which, how are things going between you two?” he asked casually.

Robert sighed sadly. “Well, he hasn’t hit me, which is a start. I’m pretty sure he still hates me, though,” he said quietly.
“Hmm,” Warrens said, unsure of what to say to comfort Robert. “I’ve never had kids, so I don’t know what advice to give you in this situation. Just give him some time to think this over. He’s your son, for God’s sake! He’s gotta have some love for you in there somewhere,” he said cheerfully.

Robert chuckled a little. “Thanks, I needed that. I’ll contact you if anything else comes up,” Robert said thankfully, then switched the communicator off and slid it back into his pocket as he sat down on the bed, and noticed he had sat on something. He stood up and found it to be his personal Smith and Wesson Model 500 handgun. He had tinkered with it during his time here after it was given to him “just in case something happened”. Although he didn’t plan on using it, taking it apart and reassembling it gave him something to do.

He set the sidearm down on a nightstand next to the bed, and looked out the window at the beautiful city below.
“I can only fear what will happen when more of us come to this place,” he said darkly to himself as he watched the ponies go about their business, unaware of the human that quietly observed them from above.

~-~-~-~-~

I leaped over a couple of guards doing crunches as I ran away from the mechanical monstrosity that chased me around the Crystal Empire training grounds. It appeared that my desire to not get pummeled by a giant, metal fist wasn’t going over well with my audience.

“Come on!”
“Fight, you cowardly foal!”
“I thought you were some kind of hero!”

These less-than-inspiring shouts were silenced by a commanding whistle by Shining Armor, who then called out to me as well. “Don’t worry about getting hurt, Allen; the suit is on safety mode, so it can’t seriously injure you! On top of that, the spell I used on you will protect you in case something goes wrong!” he shouted comfortingly.
I narrowed my eyes and slowed my sprint.

Well, as long as I can’t get hurt, I thought as I turned around to face my pursuer, and if only to make these asshole guards suck it!

I pulled my sword from my back and held it as best as I could with my non-dominant human hand, and braced myself.

My bravery was immediately responded with a massive metal fist that sent me flying, and slammed my back against the wall surrounding the training grounds.

Whatever spell Shining had used, it sure as hell worked; I looked down at my body in disbelief to find not a single bone was broken, and not a single bit of skin was cut. I looked back up to see the mech’s bladed arm was inches from my face.

“So much for a piece of cake,” I muttered, and quickly dove forward between my opponent’s legs, swiping at the plated pillars as I passed. It didn’t do much, but I gave myself credit for trying.

The mech turned around and charged at me once again, but I was ready this time. We ran at each other head-on, and I jumped as it swung its huge, bladed arm at me, missing by millimeters, and I buried my sword in the center of the cockpit. The hole I made sparked violently, and the mech staggered around for a few seconds before collapsing. I jumped off and rolled away just before it hit the ground, and gave Shining Armor, who looked very impressed, a thumbs up.

“How’d I do?” I asked nonchalantly as I pulled my sword from my fallen opponent, giving the guards who had teased me a smug look.

Shining nodded appreciatively. “That was great! It’s too bad we’ll have to do some more work on the mech, but it was great seeing how well you fight!” He looked passed me at the crippled mech. “You okay in there, Flash?” he called out.
I froze. Flash was actually in that thing? I thought suddenly, I could have killed him!

There was a pneumatic hiss as the cover of the cockpit slid open, and Flash Sentry leaped out looking completely unharmed.
“Yeah, I’m alright,” he said modestly, “but that was insane! What were you thinking?”
I shrugged. “It just came to me, I guess,” I said honestly. I remembered the last time I fought an enemy much bigger than I was, I had beaten it using that same move; I guess it’s my go-to attack when it comes to big opponents.

I jogged over to Flash. “You sure you’re alright?” I asked, still worried.
Flash nodded, smiling. “I’m fine, but I gotta admit I was worried for a moment; your sword stabbed through just inches away from me!” he said, and laughed.

I let out a relieved sigh, and then remembered why I came here in the first place. “Oh, by the way, I had something I wanted to ask you,” I said, and the orange pegasus nodded intently. “How do you feel about Princess Twilight?” I asked seriously.
Flash froze for a moment. “Twilight? Oh, she seems pretty cool,” he said nervously. “Why do you ask?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know, just the way you two were talking earlier made me think you’d make a good couple, I guess. But, it’s none of my business,” I said, and gave him a friendly wave as I headed back to the castle.
Flash, however, wasn’t done talking yet. “Why? Did she say something about me?” he asked excitedly.
I chuckled. “Sorry, but I’m sworn to secrecy,” I said mischievously.

Flash looked kind of dejected, so I added, “but, I can say I have a feeling she likes you.”
This brightened his spirits. “You do?” he said happily.
I nodded. “Yeah, just look at the way she gets all flustered when you’re around! I may be wrong, but that’s a sure sign of her liking you,” I explained.
Flash nodded. “Thanks, Allen!” he called as he ran back to the other soldiers.

I smiled as I continued to walk back to the castle. It was getting pretty late, I was dead tired, and I was supposed to help Fluttershy with her job setting up for the Fair tomorrow.
“Let’s hope it doesn’t get as complicated as today did,” I said wistfully as I strolled down the street.

Slumbering Power

Sanguis jumped down from his skeletal steed into the black, rocky soil as they approached a massive, hole-filled mountain. He looked up at the gloomy, smog-filled sky as hundreds of insect-like creatures buzzed in and out of the hive. He walked confidently towards one of the caverns as a group of the creatures landed heavily in front of him, hissing menacingly.
“What brings you here, creature?” one of the changelings asked in a low, threatening voice.

Sanguis stood his ground, holding his sword over his shoulder casually. “I am here to speak with your queen,” he growled in an equally threatening tone.
Four of the creatures laughed, but their leader hissed sternly, silencing its companions. “What business do you have with Queen Chrysalis?” it asked suspiciously.

Sanguis’s gaze didn’t waver. “I only need to speak with her,” he said reassuringly, “nothing too complicated. I have a proposition that may interest her.”
More of the changelings started landing around Sanguis, and started closing in on him.
“And what is this ‘proposition’ you speak of, stranger?” it asked, eyeing the warlord curiously.

Sanguis chuckled darkly. “I am on a mission of conquest. When I have reached my goal, I shall have control of all of Equestria, and will be willing to give up a certain piece of it if she were willing to help me. A piece, I am certain, she will be very interested in taking.”

The changelings took a few steps back, surprised. “Canterlot,” several of them whispered, and the lead creature nodded to Sanguis. “Follow me. Chrysalis will want to hear what you have to say immediately,” it said, motioning for the human to follow it.

Sanguis nodded respectfully as the crowd parted, allowing him to enter the hive.

~-~-~-~-~

I found myself lying in the middle of a barren field, my sword stabbed into the ground just a few feet away from me. I stood up slowly, investigating my surroundings as I did to find I was completely alone under an orange sky. I shivered as an ice-cold wind blew past, slightly rustling the yellow-brown grass at my feet.
“Hello?” I called out, concerned. Where were my friends? Where was… anyone?

I was about to give up hope, when I glanced over my shoulder and saw several ponies lying on the ground behind me: Twilight, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie! I let out a relieved sigh and rushed over to them.
“Hey! Are you guys okay?” I asked gently, slightly nudging Twilight’s shoulder. There was no reaction from her, or the others as I nudged them. My blood turned to ice when I noticed something that had escaped my attention when I was approaching.

They weren’t breathing.

I took a shocked step back, unsure of what to do or say. My emotions had completely shut down, and my mind was buzzing like an enraged hornets’ nest. I bent over, dropping to one knee and planting my hoof on the ground, and closed my eyes as tight as I could.

Who did this? I silently demanded, WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?!

I heard a scraping sound behind me, and quickly stood to find that zombie that attacked me, Sanguis, walking up to me, dragging his massive sword behind him. His restored human side wore a smug, predatory grin as he drew near. I stood up as another freezing breeze blew past, but I was too angry to feel it as I pulled my sword from the dirt and faced my enemy.

~-~-~-~-~

Twilight stood outside Allen’s room with her friends as they listened to the strange sounds coming from behind the door. They exchanged confused looks as they listened to their human friend’s terrified sounds.

“What’s he doing in there?” Applejack asked her friends, her voice filled with concern.
“Why don’t we find out?” Rainbow Dash declared as she burst through the door, and the six ponies gasped at what they saw.

The room was a complete mess. The blankets, sheets, and pillows from the bed were thrown to opposite ends of the room, and the bed itself had been thrown against the wall. There was a smashed lamp in the corner, and the hands on the wall clock were spinning incredibly fast… in the wrong direction.

The six ponies looked left and right, seeing no sign of their friend until they looked up. He was floating in the center of the room, curled up in a fetal position with his back to the door. He was mumbling and whimpering incoherently as he hovered in the air, trembling violently.

“He’s having a nightmare!” Twilight exclaimed, and they all started shouting for Allen to wake up.
“Allen, please wake up!” Twilight begged as her horn glowed, struggling to see if magic could wake him.
“Come on, buddy! Wake up!” Rainbow Dash pleaded as she and Fluttershy flew around him.
“You gotta snap outta it, sugarcube!” Applejack called.

Pinkie pulled out her party cannon and fired it off rapidly, bouncing around the room with every fun-filled blast.
Rarity looked around, noticing that the miscellaneous items that were strewn about the room had suddenly started floating in the air. “Um, girls?” she said nervously, “I think we should get out of here…”

Allen’s eyelids snapped open, and Twilight got a good view of his blank, white eyes just as he room exploded.

~-~-~-~-~

I slashed at Sanguis madly, screaming as he deftly dodged each and every strike, that smug smile still on his face. I threw my sword aside and jumped backwards, making some distance between myself and the warlord.

“Let’s try this,” I growled, and focused all of my might on my foe as I became surrounded with a white-blue aura.
“You really think a little glow will stop me, boy?” Sanguis shouted as he ran at me, sword held out at his side, but I was ready; just as it reach me, I bent backwards, the blade passing inches above my face, and I quickly stood up and shot him in the back with a blast from my horn.

I hovered over to where he lay sprawled on the ravaged ground, and began to rapidly fire bolts of blue magic at him, each one exploding as it made contact and driving him deeper and deeper into the ground.
I landed at the lip of the crater, which was now so deep that the bottom was completely shrouded in darkness. I narrowed my eyes and started to walk away, but the sight waiting behind me stopped me dead.

Sanguis stood there, still grinning wickedly, as two figures stepped from behind him.
“I really don’t understand the ponies’ need for friendship,” he said as he gestured to his companions.

“After all, the only one you can truly count on is yourself,” a second and third Sanguis chided in mockingly.

~-~-~-~-~

Twilight stood up slowly after being thrown out into the hallway with her friends, and rushed back for the room. Everything was flying through the air wildly as she looked up at her friend.
“Allen! You have to wake up!” she cried.

Allen stood upright now as he floated in the center of the room, staring straight ahead with glowing white eyes. Twilight ducked as a small table barely hit her in the head, and looked back at Allen worriedly.
“Twilight!” a voice called from the doorway. Twilight turned to see Princess Luna standing there, her eyes wide with concern, “get out of there!”

Twilight ran back into the hallway just as the bed slammed into the doorway, preventing re-entry.
“Princess Luna, what do we do?” Twilight asked worriedly.

Luna looked to the sealed room with determination. “He is having a nightmare, and it’s causing his magic to run wild! If we don’t wake him, he could destroy the castle!”
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “And how are we going to do that? In case you haven’t noticed, he’s sealed the room!” she pointed out, annoyed.

Luna sat down in front of the doorway. “I will have to go in myself,” she murmured as she closed her eyes. The six ponies sat and waited for the princess of the night to end their friend’s torment.

~-~-~-~-~

The three Sanguises surrounded me as I rapidly shot them with magic blasts, but they either had no effect, or were deflected by the massive swords they each wielded. I put my hands together above my head, concentrating my power into a ball the size of a semi truck, and threw it at my feet, causing a massive explosion that threw my enemies back.

I was surrounded in a veil of dust and dirt, but a gust of wind blew past as I stood there panting, and saw one single Sanguis lying before me. He stood up slowly, and as he did he began to split into several copies, until I was staring at an army composed of hundred of exact duplicated of the warlord.

I screamed as I focused all of my power at once, causing me to glow blindingly. The Sanguis Clones averted their eyes at the sight of my aura, and I swept the crowd with my gaze.

“I’m going to destroy you,” I said, my voice low and shaking. I raised my hand into the air, about to unleash my attack, when I felt a strange sensation. I turned around to see Luna standing behind me, smiling gently.

“Allen,” she said softly, “It’s okay. None of this is real. You have to wake up, because your powers are affecting the physical world as well as this one.”

I stared at her disbelievingly. “But… I saw them… on the ground,” I said, my voice breaking as my aura brightened.
Luna stepped over to me and wrapped her forelegs around me comfortingly. “None of it was real, Allen,” she whispered in my ear as she hugged me tightly.

I stared straight ahead as the realization slowly dawned on me, and the glow surrounding me faded away as I tightly hugged Luna, tears of relief streaming down my face.

“Oh, Luna, I’m so sorry,” I sobbed as the imaginary world around me started to fade.

“I understand, Allen,” she whispered gently, “nightmares are a terrible enemy, for they know all of our weaknesses and deepest fears. After everything you have gained during your time here, it is no surprise that you have so much to fear as well.”

~-~-~-~-~

I woke up on the floor of my room, gasping and looking around wildly. The furniture had been thrown around the room, and my bed was blocking the doorway.

“Jeez,” I said aloud as I observed the damage my passive use of magic had done.

Good thing Luna woke me up; who knows how bad this could have gotten, I thought as the door burst open and my friends rushed in, tackling me to the floor.

“Don’t ever scare us like that again!” Fluttershy scolded as my friends hugged me tightly.

I laughed lightheartedly, and looked to the doorway to see Luna, smiling gently at me.

I’m going to marry that mare, I thought happily as my friends continued squeezing me.

~-~-~-~-~

“So, you want me to join you and use my army to help you conquer all of Equestria?” Chrysalis asked the strange creature that had demanded an audience from her as she sat on a chitinous throne, “what makes you think I will be so willing to trust you?”

Sanguis got to one knee and bowed his head. “Because I am giving you my word,” he said confidently. The changeling queen snorted at this, so he added “also, when my campaign is finished, I will give you control of Canterlot and its citizens.”
Chrysalis thought about this for a moment. “Hmm. It would be nice to get my revenge on those ponies for driving me out to this wasteland…” she pondered the warlord’s deal for a moment before standing up and looking slyly at the human, “Sanguis Cruciatus, you said your name was? You have a deal. I shall join you in your attack on the Crystal Empire, and then all of Equestria. With your army of the undead, and my army of changelings, we shall be a force that cannot be stopped. Not even by Celestia herself!” she declared, and began to laugh evilly.

Sanguis grinned at the queen’s happiness. “I have a base of operations in the north where my army is waiting. I’ll meet you there in a few days, but first I have one more possible ally I must recruit,” he said darkly, and exited the throne room without another word.

Planning Ahead

“What do you mean, 'Allen almost blew up the entire bedroom wing of the castle'?” Cadence asked with wide, concerned eyes as we gathered around the Crystal Throne. Luna was standing to my right, Twilight at my left, and my other friends were right behind us.

“Seeing as I was unconscious for the whole event, I think you two should be the ones to tell her,” I said quietly.
Twilight stepped forward. “Princess, we think-”
Cadence cut her off with a gentle smile. “Twilight, I’ve told you before, just call me Cadence. Not only have I known you since you were a filly, but we’re practically related!” she said.

Twilight blushed. “Right, sorry. Anyways, Allen might be unknowingly harboring some kind of great, magical energy. This morning, we found him having a nightmare, and his panic inside his dreamscape was affecting the physical world as well; he made furniture fly around his bedroom while he levitated in the center, and almost unleashed a shockwave that would have destroyed most, if not all of this castle,” she explained.

The pink alicorn nodded understandingly. “I see. Do you have any idea of what could have given him so much power?” she inquired.
Luna suddenly looked concerned. “I think I may have an idea,” she said, and stepped in front of me. “Hold still, Allen,” she said softly as her horn glowed brightly, and she swept it across my body, like one of those wands they use at an airport to see if you’re concealing a weapon. When she was finished, she looked up at me.

“What did you do to get back to Equestria?” she asked in a low voice.

I shrugged. “Celestia told me how to use my crystal to reopen the gateway between worlds,” I said innocently.

Luna pressed on. “Where is your crystal now?”

“Gone. It turned into a pile of dust on the way in,” I said slowly, “Why? Is something wrong?”

Luna widened her eyes. “Wrong? Well, for starters, if it weren’t for your half-pony state, you would probably be dead right now!” she said hotly.

I held up my hands calmingly. “Woah, what do you mean, I’d be dead?” I asked, completely confused by what was going on.
“I can’t believe my sister didn’t remember how dangerous it was to exert all of a crystal’s energy without proper protection,” she said angrily, and then looked back at me. “When you used the crystal’s full power to return here, you were directly exposed to a massive release of magical energy. To a pony, it would have simply passed through them, since they already have magic in them. But to a human,” she trailed off.

“It would immediately fill them to the brim,” Twilight finished. “You would have unknowingly carried all of that magic inside of you until your body, unaccustomed to having any magical energy inside of it, simply gave out.”

My eyes widened. “What?” I yelled, panicking, “What happens now? Can all that energy still kill me?”

Luna shook her head. “Fortunately, that danger has passed now that you are part pony, because now your body has adapted to having magic inside of it. The only problem we have now is since you have so much energy inside of you, it’s going to be hard to control. You will have to keep your emotions in check, and I will have to spend the night with you to ensure your nightmares don’t cause any more… episodes,” she said with the slightest glint of humor in her eyes.

Cadence stepped down from the throne. “So everything is sorted out?” she asked, and we all nodded. “Good. Allen, I need you to come with me. There is something I need to show you,” she said darkly as she led me out of the throne room.

After a long walk to the lower levels of the castle, we eventually arrived at a massive set of crystal double-doors, deep beneath the castle’s inhabited levels.

“Is this…?” I asked, looking nervously at the princess of love.

Cadence nodded. “The Crystal Empire Royal Archives,” she said dramatically as she led me inside. It was a large, circular room, with bookshelves lining the walls. There were several columns throughout the room, each one standing three feet high and topped with some strange artifact. We kept going until she stopped at the center of the room, where I saw something that gave me a sharp pang of dread.

Sitting on top of that one pillar, dead center of the room, sat a jet-black crystal, about as long as my hand.

“Why do you have this?” I demanded as I stared at the weapon of my old enemy, Drayke.

“We kept it here so it could be protected by the Empire’s magic, and no dark forces could get to it. Now, with the threat of that warlord, we know that isn’t going to be good enough,” she explained, and looked up at me. “You have to make sure Sanguis Cruciatus does not reach this room. If he does, he will have control of the strongest army in all of Equestria, and not even myself, Luna, and Celestia will be able to stop it,” she said darkly.

I remembered what Drayke could have done with that thing. In just one week, he made a suit of near-impenetrable armor, an army of near-indestructible crystal soldiers, and put all of Canterlot and the surrounding areas in a state of oppression and imprisonment.
I nodded. “So, what do we do? Can we destroy it?” I suggested, but Cadence shook her head.

“We tried that already. The most damage we could do was reduce it to fragments, but they would immediately come together and reform into a solid mass again. No matter what we do, this crystal just has too much power to be destroyed,” she explained. “No, Allen, what you must do will require the ultimate sacrifice: if Sanguis ever finds out about this crystal, and seeks it for himself, you must use it to leave Equestria and return to Earth, permanently removing it from Sanguis’s reach.”

I stared at her for a moment. “I just got back here a few days ago, and now you expect me, if worse comes to worse, to just up and leave again?” I asked, upset.
Cadence nodded sadly. “I understand that I am asking a great deal of you, but it is for the greater good of all. I am certain that Equestria will be able to fend for itself against him with whatever he has now, but if he gets his hands on that crystal, it will all be over,” she said with finality.

I glared at that black rock with pure hate. Even in death, Drayke was still finding ways to screw me over.

“I understand what must be done,” I said sadly, but then grinned dangerously, “which is why I’m not letting Sanguis get his hands on this thing!” I declared. Cadence stared as I went on dramatically, starting to pace. “I’ll stop him dead at the gates this time! My friends all saw the power I have; I just need to learn how to control it! And then,” I said, mostly to myself as I stared at the crystal, “then he’ll regret ever threatening me or my friends.”

~-~-~-~-~

Because of the coming threat of an attack from an ancient, undead warlord, and the stories he had heard of thr dangerous creatures that inhabited Equestria, Robert Greathouse decided it would be a good idea to start getting in shape. So, after the incident concerning his son was sorted out, he went off to join the guards for their training. He felt rather foolish doing so, as they were much more well-trained than he was, but he didn’t want to rely too heavily on others if a time ever came when he would need to defend himself.

He started by following the guards on a ten-mile run through the empire, which he was able to make about one-and-a-half before falling down at the side of the road. Several ponies giggled at his collapse, which he could admit was a little melodramatic. A few moments later, a white unicorn with a two-toned blue mane walked up to him; Robert had seen him with the others before, so he assumed he had broken off for a moment.

“You okay?”” he asked, a slight laugh in his voice.

Robert smiled as he stood. “I’m fine. I’m just not used to extreme runs like this; the only time I break into a sprint is when I am needed in the lab, or if I’m late for a board meeting,” he said, still panting.
The unicorn nodded. “You were a scientist in your world?” he asked curiously.

Robert nodded as he stretched his aching legs, and started to walk down the street with the unicorn by his side. “I was a member of a top-secret group that was trying to break the bonds of our universe. Which, as you can see,” he said, gesturing to himself, “was pretty successful. Other than that, my organization didn’t do too much. I guess our shareholders and supporters were relieved when that portal finally opened,” he added with a laugh.

The unicorn nodded, grinning. “Hey, my name’s Shining Armor,” he said, holding out a hoof.

Robert shook it firmly. “Robert Greathouse,” he said clearly, appreciative of his name. The Greathouse mantle had belonged to his father, grandfather, and even further predecessors, a fact his family was quite proud of.
Shining Armor raised an eyebrow. “Greathouse? Are you Allen’s father?” he asked nonchalantly.

Robert nodded. “By blood, yes, but I don’t think he thinks of me that way. He’s… kinda ticked at me right now,” he said sadly.
Shining nodded. “He seems like a good guy. I’m sure you’ve heard of his exploits?” he asked the man.

Robert shrugged. “A little bit; just enough to know he saved the world,” he chuckled. “I guess that makes ‘Greathouse’ an even grander title, huh?”

Shining Armor laughed. “It sure does. He’s definitely no fluke, either. He trained with us the other day, and left some of the senior guards speechless!”

Robert laughed. “What did he do, beat down a giant robot or something?”

Shining rolled his eyes humorously. “Well…”

~-~-~-~-~

I stared at my target intensely, a splitting headache ravaging my brain as I focused on the target in front of me. It was evening, but I had lost track of time because of my determination. I was back in the throne room, once again struggling to master the Bolt spell.
“How long has he been standing there?” I heard Rainbow Dash ask Applejack over to my left.

“About fifteen minutes, give or take,” she replied.

I narrowed my eyes. “Shh, I’m trying to concentrate,” I said, gritting my teeth through the pain.
Luna trotted over to me and rested a gentle hoof on my shoulder. “You should give it a rest, Allen. If you keep this up, you could hurt yourself,” she said worriedly.

I stared straight ahead. “I need to learn how to use my magic, in case that guy comes back. No matter what it takes,” I said grimly as I forced more and more willpower on the target, an effort which was answered with nothing.
Luna sighed heavily and grabbed my head, turned it sharply to face her, and kissed me. We sat there for what felt like ages as the buzzing in my head faded rapidly, and I felt light as a feather. I heard my friends gasp behind me as we broke the kiss, and I looked over my shoulder.

“What?” I asked sheepishly, “you all know Luna and I are togther!”
Twilight shook her head. “Allen, look down!” she said, pointing a hoof towards my feet.
I looked down at my brown shoes, which were in much better condition than I could have hoped, given what I had been through in the past year. Only one thing seemed out of the ordinary, however.

The ground lay a good three inches below them.

“Holy crap!” I shouted, suddenly flailing my arms and rolling forward until my back was facing the ground. “I’m floating!” I said, looking around excitedly.

“You don’t say,” Luna giggled as she walked around me. “I think I know how to help awaken your powers,” she murmured as she placed a hoof on my chest and gently brought me back down to the ground.

I shot up like a board. “Really?! How? Anything to avoid these insane headaches!” I said happily, rubbing my head for emphasis.
Luna nodded, smiling. “Thanks to this morning’s display and what we have all just witnessed, I am certain that your powers are directly influenced by your emotions; anger and fear make you destructive, and happiness and comfort make you float. Perhaps there are other secrets to be unlocked?” she asked herself aloud as she walked away, motioning for me to follow.

I looked behind me to my friends, more specifically to Fluttershy. “Sorry I wasn’t able to help out with the fair today,” I said apologetically, “I just really need to make sure I get these powers under control.”

She nodded, smiling understandingly. “It’s okay, Allen. I understand you want to keep everyone safe. Just remember you’re not the only person who’s worried about their friend, okay?” she asked, and the others all nodded in agreement.

I smiled. “You know I won’t,” I called as I followed Luna, unsure of what awaited me.

Friendly Competition

“ALLEN! You’ve gotta wake up!” I heard a high-pitched voice call just after the bedroom door burst open. I felt a rush of wind as my blanket was ripped away from me, and then a pair of hooves grabbed my ankle and pulled me out of bed.
I blinked my eyes a few times, my vision still blurred by sleep, until everything before me was clear: Pinkie Pie was directly in front of me, bouncing repeatedly, and Luna was peeking over the edge of the bed, a hoof covering her mouth as she giggled.

I stared at Pinkie with a confused and slightly irritated look on my face. “Why, exactly, do I have to wake up at-” I glanced at the clock “-8 o'clock in the morning? And by the look on your face, I know there isn’t any danger,” I pouted.
Pinkie giggled. “Oops, sorry! I forgot you and Luna were snuggle-buddies at night now!” she said with a wink. I blushed heavily as Luna lost control of her giggling, and rolled onto her back in a laughing fit.

“That is not what it is at all!” I said angrily. “She’s just helping me with my nightmares so I don’t accidentally destroy the castle!”
My rather annoying pink friend rolled her eyes. “Whatever you say, pal. Anyways, Shining Armor sent me to get you! In preparation for the Crystal Fair, the guards are hosting a tournament, and they want you to participate!” she said excitedly.

I shrugged. “Eh, why not. Other than magic practice, I don’t have much else to do,” I said, then looked over to Luna, who had finally gathered herself. “I mean, if that’s alright with you?” I added.
She nodded. “I’ll probably have to attend as well, being a princess,” she said contently. “Besides, it might be a good idea for you to hone your blade skills as well as your magical ones.”

I smirked and grabbed my sword from the corner of the room. “I don’t need training; I’m a sword master!” I called as I tried to twirl the blade in my hand, which ended with the elegant piece of crystal being embedded in the ceiling. I heard Rarity shriek in the room above us, and I cringed.

“Sorry, Rarity!” I called nervously, and then looked back to Luna and shrugged. “Okay, maybe I’m just a little rusty. If only Sanguis had broken my left hand, and not my right,” I muttered.

~-~-~-~-~

Sanguis stalked through the frozen wasteland several miles from his tomb, scanning the endless white landscape for his prize. He had only heard rumors of the whereabouts of his next potential ally, but they were his only clue, and he couldn’t pass up a chance at having this powerful being on his side; after all, his hatred for what the residents had done to him would be a powerful incentive for assistance.

After several hours, his eyes rested on a small, black and red object poking out of a snowbank, and a smile stretched across Sanguis’s half-regenerated lips

“Finally,” he breathed as he picked up and examined what he had suspected was only a legend; it was smooth, as if it were polished, and felt untouched by the harsh, eternal winter. It was curved like a fang, and jagged at the end as if it had been broken off of something.

He clutched the evil thing in his fist and held it near his chest as he channeled power into it. A stream of red light flowed down his arm, through his wrist, and into his hand, causing a bright, red glow to filter from between the cracks in his fingers.
When he felt he had done his part, he set the glowing spike on the ground and stepped back as it started to hover in the air, glowing brighter every second. Before long, it exploded into a massive, inky cloud, from which an angry face emerged.
And now you live once more, Sombra, true King of the Crystal Empire, Sanguis thought with a wicked grin as the creature stared at him expectantly.

“King Sombra,” the warlord called in a mighty voice, “I have a proposition for you.”

~-~-~-~-~

I found myself strapping on a set of gold-and-platinum armor as Shining Armor sat at my side in the stadium foyer. It was kinda like a doctors office, except way more exciting; groups of ponies gathered together, excitedly discussing what they hoped to see, while others crowded at booths, slamming bits on the counters and scrutinizing chalkboards covered in various names; one of them, I knew, was mine.

“Is it too late to back out?” I said nervously when I saw who I feared would be my first opponent: an incredibly buff earth pony that looked a lot like Bulk Biceps, except this one was black with a dark grey mane, and was heavily armed.

Shining Armor snorted. “Is this Allen Greathouse, the mighty Slayer of the Obsidian King I’m talking to?” he said teasingly, but smiled and nudged me encouragingly when he saw who was worrying me. “Don’t worry, they set up the matches so they’ll all be fair fights. You aren’t on until later,” he reassured me.
I sighed, slightly relieved. “Any idea who I am fighting?” I inquired.

Shining Armor shook his head. “Nope, the fights are random for the most part. We just make sure everypony is sorted into groups based on their skill and strength,” he explained, “then we just pull names out of a hat.”
I nodded. “Well, at least I don’t have to worry about being clobbered,” I sighed, and sat down heavily. “I needed this, you know. The Crystal Fair, I mean,” I said quietly, “especially now, with all that’s going on.”

The white unicorn laughed. “I think we all need something like this to take our minds off of the danger around us,” he said tiredly. The tone in his voice told me he was thinking about all the dangers Equestria had faced in the past, especially the ones he had faced in person. I smiled sadly.

“Yeah, but some more than others,” I said, which was answered with a questioning look. I went on to explain Cadence’s request that I return to Earth with Drayke’s crystal if Sanguis tried to take it for himself. He nodded intently as I spoke, my words getting faster as I got closer to the end of my story.

“I knew that the crystal had been kept in the archives,” he admitted, “but I didn’t like the idea; that thing gave me a bad vibe whenever I was around it. Like I was being watched or something. Anyways, I wouldn’t worry about it too much, you know? Doing the right thing no matter the consequences can’t be anything new to you,” he said lightly.

I smiled sadly. “I know, but it’s just really bad timing right now. I mean, I just got back last week, and I don’t want to go so soon. And,” I said, pulling the gold ring from my pocket and staring at it as tears tugged at the edges of my vision, “I was going to ask Luna to marry me. If I leave, what’s going to happen then?” I asked, more myself than the pony beside me.

He nodded. “I’m sure it won’t come to that, Allen. Heroes may suffer a lot in their journeys, but they always get their ultimate goal in the end,” he said encouragingly.
I nodded, his words cheering me up a little bit, but one doubt in my mind still kept my hopes from getting too high: I may be in a fictional world where everyone gets their happy ending, but what was happening to me right now was no fairy tale.

~-~-~-~-~

Sombra lay on the frozen ground in his true physical form, gasping for breath as a massive blade pressed against his throat. This stranger that had awoken him was much stronger than he looked, and had subdued the ancient king in minutes.

“I shall ask you again, Sombra,” the human growled as his sword pressed just hard enough to cause pain, but not to cut his throat, “I am moving to attack the Crystal Empire, and the rest of Equestria will fall shortly after. If you help me, I will give you the Empire to do with what you wish. You can even remove it from this realm and shroud it and its citizens in darkness for another thousand years if you wish. Just help me in this one battle, and you can reclaim your throne,” he said in a commanding yet persuasive tone.

Sombra gasped a few times. “I… shall,” he said finally, “but why do you need my help?”

The human withdrew his weapon, allowing Sombra to stand. “There is another human, like me, in that kingdom. He has a strong-willed spirit that gives him a slight advantage against me, and with the help of his friends he was actually able to drive me me away from the Empire. I want to make sure that doesn’t happen again, so I am amassing an army,” he said, and motioned for the dark king to follow as he walked toward his lair. “I have already recruited the changeling army, and I have an army of undead soldiers, human and pony alike, that will obey my every command. You are simply the one extra mile to ensure nothing goes wrong,” he said cruelly.

Sombra nodded, his smile matching the human’s. “So, what is your master plan?” he asked wickedly.

Sanguis chuckled. “I cannot reveal the full details of it, but I can tell you this: we attack the Crystal Empire tonight!” he declared, and summoned a skeletal horse in a puff of black smoke, which he immediately jumped on and rode off.
Sombra let out an evil laugh, thrilled by the coming battle as he leapt into the air, taking on his massive, shadowy form, and raced after his ally over the snowy landscape.

~-~-~-~-~

“So, Shining,” I asked my unicorn companion nonchalantly, “how did you and Cadence get together?”

He laughed. “It’s quite the story, actually. It was a dark and stormy night, and she was on her way home from the market,” he began dramatically. “It was late, and a couple of shady ponies had been trailing her for quite some time. She ran from them, eventually getting caught in a dark alleyway with no escape. They were just about to attack her, when-”

“Shining Armor, that is not how it went!” Cadence said sternly from behind us.

Shining turned around, blushing and smiling broadly. “Cadey! What are you doing here?” he said innocently.
The princess of love rolled her eyes. “Princesses are required to attend these events. Anyways, did I hear you giving Allen an exaggerated version of how we met?”

Shining widened his eyes. “What? No! I have no idea of what you’re talking about!” he said, still smiling.

Cadence walked around the bank of chairs and sat next to me. “Maybe I should be the one to tell it. It was a beautiful spring afternoon, and we were just walking out of school after a long day of tests and lectures,” she began. She had a loving look in her eyes as she spoke, as if she could perfectly picture the scenario. “I was walking down the street, when I heard hooves rushing up to me. I turned around just in time to see some moron in a Canterlot High football uniform crash in to me head-on. He kept apologizing over and over again, and I assured him everything was okay, but he kept going on and on. It was kind of cute, actually.

“‘Please, let me make it up to you in some way!’ he had said, still looking me over to make sure I wasn’t injured. He seemed like a really nice colt, especially compared to some of the other jocks on the team. So, I told him if he was really that desperate to make up for tackling me, he could take me out for dinner the next night,” she said, smiling at the memory.

“And it just took off from there,” Shining said as he smiled at his wife.
I grinned. “Well, I don’t think my and Luna’s meeting was as poetic as that, but it was pretty nice.”

Just then, a gruff voice called from the doorway facing us. “Greathouse! You’re on next! Make sure your armor’s on and you’ve chosen a weapon from the armory, and get to the pit!”
I stood up slowly. “I guess that story’s gonna have to wait for another time,” I sighed as I walked over to the doorway. “Wish me luck!” I called back to Cadence and Shining as they smiled supportively.

“You’ve got this, pal!” Shining called as I left the lobby and headed for the pit, where my first public match awaited me.

~-~-~-~-~

Shining Armor looked over at Cadence. “I told him the fights were totally random, and matchups were based on skill level. I didn’t lie to him, did I?” he asked his wife cautiously.

Cadence looked ahead blankly. “Only half; the fights are sorted by the participants ability, but Allen’s opponent is in no way an accident,” she said mysteriously.

Shining raised an eyebrow. “He isn’t going against who I think he is, is he?” he asked slowly.

Cadence only responded by looking her husband deeply in the eyes.

Shining Armor looked away and sighed heavily as he stood up. “I think I’ll have to go into the stands. This should be an interesting match,” he said, and Cadence followed close behind.

~-~-~-~-~

“MAY THE FIRST COMBATANT STEP OUT FROM THE PIT!”

I stepped out from the darkness of the pit into an open field surrounded by a rounded wall. It looked just like what you’d see in a movie about roman gladiators: the screaming crowds, the sandy floor, and the bars stuck in the wall every few feet for spectators to get an up-close view of the fight.

I shielded my eyes from the sudden change of light, and when my eyes finally adjusted, I scanned the crowd for my friends. I saw Luna and Cadence in the royal booths way up at the top, and my friends had taken front row seats so they could make sure their encouraging cheers were heard. I smiled when I saw that Twilight was sitting next to Flash Sentry, and looked like she was striking up a quiet conversation with the handsome stallion.

“Well, I’m glad that worked out,” I said to myself as the announcer continued.

“This young human found himself lost in our world one year ago, and quickly proved himself to be one of the mightiest heroes Equestria had ever seen. Let’s give it up for… ALLEN GREATHOUSE!”

The crowd let out a wild roar as I pumped my hoof in the air heroically. I was always pretty humble about any accomplishments I made, but I was in a freaking gladiator arena, and the crowd was going wild; there was no way I was going to just idly walk out like I was on a casual stroll.

“Are you not entertained?!” I shouted with my arms spread wide as the cheering continued, and the announcer spoke up again.

“COMBATANT NUMBER TWO, STEP OUT FROM THE PIT!”

I looked over to the other edge of the field, unable to see exactly what I would be facing because of the pit’s darkness.
I really hope Shining was right, I thought nervously as I remembered the muscular pony from the lobby.

Who my real opponent was made me question rather I would prefer that hulk over who I was currently pitted against.

“And now, an all new challenger, the likes of whom we have never seen! Let’s hope he gives us a good match, mares and gentlecolts. Let’s give it up for… ROBERT GREATHOUSE!”

A man strode from the darkness of the opposite pit, clad in a suit of armor similar to mine and with a rapier holstered at his side. He looked almost exactly like me, but he was slightly taller, with a decent amount of facial hair and about twenty-five years on his face.

He smiled nervously as he approached me in the center of the arena.

“Hello, son,” he said quietly as we faced each other, awaiting the announcer’s next words.

Like Father, Like Son

“Attention, combatants! The rules are as follows: whoever knocks their opponent to the ground receives a point. The first one to receive three points will be crowned the winner, and will receive the title of Crystal Champion. During the fight, you will both be protected by a spell that will prevent any injuries. Now, both of you go to the opposite ends of the field, and we will start the countdown!” The announcers booming voice called from the speakers around the arena. I looked over at my father, confused.

“Dad, what the hell are you doing here?!” I asked worriedly as he walked past me on his way to the edge of the arena.
“What does it look like? I’m participating in the competition,” he said with a lighthearted laugh.
I rolled my eyes. “And why, exactly are you in this competition? In case you haven’t noticed, it’s a fighter’s contest,” I explained.
My father laughed again. “Don’t worry about me, Allen; there’s no way I can get hurt, remember? And on top of that, your old man could surprise you. Now, you had better get over there!” he called as he gestured to the opposite end of the arena.

I quickly jogged to the edge of the arena and faced my father as I pulled out my sword and held it at the ready as the announcer spoke up again.

“ARE BOTH COMBATANTS READY?!” the loud voice called.

“Yes!” my father and I said in unison. I saw he now held his rapier at his side with a casual yet firm grip on the handle, and there was a serious look in his eyes, like he was studying everything about his opponent.

“THREE!”

I let out a shaky breath as I tightened my grip on my weapon.

“TWO!”

My father and I took a simultaneous step forward.

“ONE!”

We both grinned slightly at one another.

“BEGIN!”

We charged at each other, weapons held out at our sides as we approached the center of the arena, and swung our blades in perfect concert so they collided with a clang that could be quite easily heard over the roaring crowd. I quickly pulled back and swung towards my father’s legs, but my strike was easily blocked when he pressed the tip of his rapier into the ground, causing my sword to bounce away harmlessly. I widened my eyes, which made my father smile.

“Surprised, huh?” he said as he twirled his sword with one hand and held it sideways in a defensive position, “I was on the fencing team back in my college days you know, and I was unrivaled!” he cried as he took a wide slash at my legs, hitting me in the back of the knee and causing me to fall flat on my face.

“One point goes to Robert Greathouse!” the announcer cried excitedly as I slowly got to my feet.

It looks like I’ll have to be a little more careful, I thought as I went on the defensive and my father let out a flurry of swings, each of which I blocked with a simple turn of my wrist on each strike.

“You’ve got to remember one thing, Dad: we aren’t back in your college days!” I cried just before I saw my opening. I swung at his leg, which threw off-balance and made him catch himself by using his sword as a crutch. I followed this with a powerful strike at the blade, knocking the rapier to the side and my father to the ground.

“One point goes to Allen Greathouse!” the announcer called as my father got to his feet and retrieved his rapier, and the crowd let out wild cheers.

“It seems we have ourselves some fans,” my father said as he held his blade at the ready, “what do you say we give them a show?” he asked with a smile.

I nodded, grinning as I twirled my sword between my fingers and tossed it in the air. “If it’s a show they want, it’s a show they’ll get!” I cried as I snatched my sword out of the air and laughed as we charged at each other once more.

~-~-~-~-~

Up in the royal spectator’s box, Cadence turned to Luna and smiled smugly. “See? I told you I could make them get along,” she said with a giggle as Allen and Robert battled in the arena below them.
Luna nodded, impressed. “I must admit, I half expected them to end up at each others throats. Well, I guess they are, but at least they don’t want to kill each other.”

Shining Armor approached and smiled at his wife. “Looks like you were right, Cadey,” he said with a laugh, “they’re finally getting along. On top of that, the crowd is loving them! We’ll have to see if they would be interested in participating in next year’s event,” he said thoughtfully.

Cadence nodded. “Yes, but don’t get too excited about it; we don’t know what Robert plans for the future. He may want to return to Earth when his project is finished.”

Shining scoffed. “Are you kidding? Look at those two! They’re having the time of their lives down there. I doubt Robert will want to leave his son, especially since he wants to be a good father to Allen.”

Luna nodded. “I’m not sure if Robert will stay or not, but I do know there is a good chance that wherever Allen goes, he will follow,” she said, and turned her attention back to the arena where the contest was getting quite intense.

~-~-~-~-~

“Alright, are you ready, dad?” I called to my father as the final round began. We were tied 2-2, so this match would decide it all.
“I’m ready if you are, kiddo!” he called from the other end of the arena. He started the fight by whirling his rapier around his finger and throwing it at me like a dart, and I quickly ducked back as the slender blade passed over my nose and buried itself in the wooden doorway behind me. Then, I charged at my father, sword held forward, as he ran and leapt over my head, his shoes sliding across the ground as he landed, and he yanked the blade out of the wall and turned back to me. We ran at each other once again, this time locking our blades when we reached the center and using all our strength to overpower the other. Unfortunately, I didn’t quite think that part through properly, since my father’s twenty-five year age advantage also gave him a good strength advantage as well.

Fortunately, however, I had been in a similar situation one year earlier outside Fluttershy’s cottage, and I knew how to avoid a mistake I had made back then.

I pressed my hoof on the flat of my blade and shoved my father’s sword to the right, causing him to lose his grip on his weapon and toss it aside. He shot a distressed look at his weapon, and turned back to see me holding my sword right at his chest as I smiled teasingly.

My father smiled and bowed his head. “Looks like you take after your old man more than you think, huh?” he said as the crowd went wild. I saw a few ponies toss their wager slips on the ground and stomp on them, while other jumped joyously in the air and waved their winning papers around excitedly.

“AND THE WINNER IS ALLEN GREATHOUSE!” the announcer screamed excitedly as my father wrapped an arm around my shoulder and raised his fist in the air proudly, and I smiled as I raised my hoof in a similar fashion.

~-~-~-~-~

“So, my son is Crystal Champion of the Crystal Fair. I may have only known what that was for about a day, but I’m proud of you, Allen,” my father said as we clinked together a pair of celebratory glasses of cider at a Applejack’s snack bar later that evening.
“You didn’t make it too easy, Dad,” I said modestly, and took a sip of the apple-flavored drink.

How does Applejack make that stuff so good?

“Hey, Dad, can I ask for some advice?” I asked nervously.
My father nodded. “Of course! Isn’t giving their sons advice one of the things fathers are supposed to do?” he said rhetorically.
I nodded, smiling. “Well, this one may seem a little… out there,” I said slowly.
He raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean, 'out there'?” he asked humorously. “Did you want some tips on asking a girl out?”
I shrugged. “Well, it’s a little bigger than that…” I said quietly.

My father nodded understandingly. “I know what you’re talking about, son; I saw the way that blue pony acted before you were healed the other day,” he said comfortingly. “You don’t need to worry, Allen. Just ignore all your courage and ask her. Hell, that’s how I proposed to your mother!” he said with a laugh, and suddenly looked serious. “I wonder if she would take me back,” he added sadly.

I patted the man’s shoulder comfortingly. “I’m sure she would if you explained what had happened. If you can get me to forgive you, I’m sure convincing mom will be a piece of cake.”
My father smiled. “I’m sure she would,” he said quietly, “but I don’t think I’ll be finding that out any time soon.”
I gave him a confused look. “What do you mean? I thought you wanted to get back to mom and start living a normal life.”

He nodded sadly. “I did, but I expected you to be a part of that life. Seeing the friends you’ve made and hearing the things you’ve done, I’m sure you’re planning on staying here. And if that’s the case,” he said as he rested his glass on the counter and looked me in the eye, “then so am I.”

I widened my eyes. “Really?” I said disbelievingly.

He nodded. “I want to make up for the twelve years I’ve missed watching you become the strong young man you are today. I’m going to stay here in Equestria, and help you out as best as I can in your adventures,” he said happily.

I smiled gratefully. “That really means a lot to me, Dad,” I said honestly, “but I’ve got an adventure I need to go on right now that I need to face alone,” I said as I pulled the golden ring out of my pocket.

My father smiled proudly and nodded. “Go get her, son,” he said, and I rushed off without another word.

~-~-~-~-~

I sat on the balcony of the Crystal Palace, nervously cracking my knuckles. A few minutes earlier, I had left a note on Luna’s bedroom door asking her to meet me at this spot, knocked at the door, and ran off almost as fast as Rainbow Dash. I flinched at every passing guard, thinking that their approaching hoofsteps belonged to my princess.

Just when I had given up hope that she would arrive, I heard a soft voice behind me.
“Allen?” I turned around to see Luna standing in the doorway, eyeing me expectantly.
I sighed. “Hey, Luna,” I said nervously, “how are you tonight?”

She stepped out onto the balcony and looked at the glimmering cityscape below. “I’m fine,” she said quietly, “but you seem a little high-strung. Is something wrong?” she asked in a concerned tone.

I smiled and waved a dismissive hand. “What? No, nothing’s wrong. How could anything be wrong with you around?” I said, which made the lunar princess blush slightly.
“Well, why did you need me to come out here? You know if you needed to talk, I would have been more than happy to invite you in my room,” she said, a hint of suspicion in her voice.

Now is the time! I thought as I took the ring out of my pocket and held it behind my back, and kneeled in front of Luna.

“Princess Luna,” I said clearly as I stared at the floor beneath me, “ever since I met you, I have been happier than ever before. There is no being, human or pony, that I feel that I should be with more than I do with you. And now, I’m asking you tonight, if you would make me the happiest human in the world.”

I looked up at Luna, who was staring at me with huge eyes. She looked like she was going to start crying.

“Princess Luna, will you-”

My voice was cut off by a monstrous roar coming from the Empire’s gates, followed by frantic cries from the guards throughout the city. One guard saw us on the balcony from the hallway and ran to tell us what was going on.
“The Empire is under attack!” he shouted, motioning for me to look behind me. I looked out across the streets to see an unthinkable sight just beyond the Empire’s magical barrier.

There was a massive army almost completely surrounding the Empire, made of all sorts of undead humans and ponies. I could also see they were flanked by a massive number of changelings, and a black shadow cloaked the side of the shield were the gates lay.

“I think this can wait until later," I said quickly, and Luna nodded as I sprinted for my room to get suited up for the coming battle.

Preparing for Battle

“Flash! What’s going on out here?” I cried to the orange pegasus who sat with his battalion near the gates of the Crystal Empire. I could see just beyond the Empire’s protective shell, there lay an immense army of undead humans and ponies, all of them clad in worn, ancient-looking armor and wielding a variety of weapons. What was worse, for every one enemy soldier, there was two changelings to back them up.

On top of all this, it looked like they had the smoke monster from Lost on their side as well, which really didn’t surprise me.

I mean, considering the circumstances.

Flash Sentry looked at me grimly. “This army just showed up out of nowhere; I don’t know how any of our lookouts couldn’t have warned us sooner!” he called as I approached. I looked over the heads of the guards to see the numerous enemies were pounding at the magical wall with their hooves or weapons. Even though their blows had no effect on the shield, they didn’t look like they were going to let up anytime soon.
“Is there anything we can do to push them back?” I asked no one in particular, which was answered by some shrugs and a few uncertain looks.

That’s when he showed up.

A small section of the attacking army stopped their assault and parted, revealing the mastermind behind this whole ordeal.

“Sanguis,” I breathed, glancing down at my pony-fied arm; a token of our last meeting. The warlord drew close to the wall, dragging his massive sword behind him. I saw his armor had been repaired since our last meeting, and he wore a helmet adorned with massive, forward-swept horns.

He stopped inches from the Empire’s protective wall, a cold look on his face.

“I will give you one chance, and one chance only, to surrender. If you do not comply, we will mercilessly slaughter each and every pony that stands in our way,” he said in a booming voice.
I stepped forward from behind the group of guards, revealing myself to the warlord. His expression took on the slightest look of surprise.

I held my sword at my side and looked him defiantly in the eyes.

“We will fight,” I said simply.

He smiled wickedly. “Then you will all die,” he replied darkly.

He walked back into the gap in the crowd, where the massive black cloud that shrouded the army had condensed and formed a pony silhouette, which eventually took on the form of the one and only King Sombra.
The guards started to panic at the sight of the evil king who had previously locked them in an endless state of fear and torment, but I tried my best to boost their morale.
“We don’t have to worry about him,” I said reassuringly, “the shield is too strong for them to break through.”

Just then, Sombra re-entered his smoke form and rushed the shield at blinding speed, large cracks forming at the spot he hit.

“Okay, I might be wrong on that one,” I muttered as I ran to the guard barracks to see who else was planning on showing up.

~-~-~-~-~

“What?!” Princess Luna screamed in her now rarely-used Royal Canterlot voice as she confronted Cadence in the throne room, “why wasn’t Allen told about this? Or myself or my sister, for that matter?”

Cadence took a nervous step back. “I’m sorry Luna, but we didn’t want you or Aunty Celestia to panic. After we checked the crystal and found out what was inside… we just thought it would be best that nopony knew. Besides, nothing bad has happened! It just sits in the archives all day, gathering dust,” she explained calmingly.

Luna wasn’t convinced. “You don’t understand, Cadence. Oh, this makes everything worse… if Sanguis gets his hands on that crystal, we’re going to have something a lot worse than an army of Sentinels,” she said angrily, but groaned defeatedly and turned to the doorway. “I have to go; Allen may need my help in the battle.”

The princess of love was surprised. “Luna, you don’t mean you intend to fight, do you?” she asked in a quiet voice.

The princess of the night smiled dangerously and nodded. “That human was going to propose to me tonight. I would gladly fight by his side any day,” she said triumphantly as she ran for the barracks, Cadence following close behind.

~-~-~-~-~

“Shining! We need every soldier in the Empire at the gates now!” I shouted as I leapt from the stairs into the guard barracks, breathing heavily. I looked around to find the room… empty. The weapon plaques on the walls were empty, and the armor mannequins were bare.

Just then, a voice from the far end of the room caught my attention. “Allen!” I looked up and saw my father poking his head from behind a massive, steel door. “They’re bringing out the big guns back here; you’re going to want to see this!” he cried giddily.

I followed my father through the door into a massive, open room filled with all sorts of weapons and soldiers preparing said weapons. I saw Shining Armor slipping into a padded jumpsuit on top of a platform in the center of the room.
“Allen!” He called happily as I approached, “I was hoping you’d show up down here; Flash, bring the ‘special weapon’!”
I turned around to see an armor-bound Flash running towards me, carrying a small, leather-wrapped object. I took it carefully and removed the covering to reveal an elegant crystal; it looked almost exactly like the one Celestia and Luna had given me shortly after my fight with the Crystal Sentinels a year earlier.

“We’ve been cooking this up for a few days,” Shining explained, “Your original crystal was a Sentinel’s heart, so it was able to naturally recharge after a little while. We were able to get a crystal able to hold magic on the same level as the hearts, but it only works for a limited time,” he explained.

I nodded as I inspected the crystal; you couldn’t find a better-looking gem on the Shopping Channel no matter how rich you were.
“How much of a charge are we talking here?” I asked with an inquiringly raised eyebrow.
Shining smiled. “We held it against the Crystal Heart for a couple seconds; if the stories about your epic battle last year are true, you should be working with the kind of firepower you used against the Obsidian King,” he explained, and nodded to a labcoat-wearing pony nearby.

The engineer rushed to a control panel and smashed his hoof onto a large red button. There was a loud hiss, and a large portion of the platform we stood on shifted and slid away, a huge blast of steam billowing from the void. I heard a loud clanking noise, and I watched as the mech I had fought just a few days ago rose from the floor.
“Looks like you’ll get to see what this thing can really do!” Shining cried as he ran to the mech and climbed inside.

I would have been jealous, seeing as he got to drive the giant killer robot, but I knew quite well what I was capable with one of these crystals. I held it forward and pictured the crystal armor I had worn during my epic battle the previous year, and watched as the crystal glowed a bright white, and my body became covered in an elegant suit of crystal mail. Then, several large gemstones appeared on my arms and shifted until they became thinner and more plate-like. I looked up at the cockpit of the mech and watched as Shining Armor disabled the safety mode.

Several plates folded away from the mech to reveal four three-inch-wide barrels beneath each one. The blade on the right arm glowed blue straight down the center, and the left hand retreated into the arm, being replaced by a massive energy cannon moments later.

“Let’s kick some flank,” Shining called from the loudspeaker. I nodded and followed him to the massive exit doors on the far side of the room as my helmet formed around my head, and a crystal visor covered my face.

~-~-~-~-~

My father sprinted to catch up to us as we exited the building. He wore a suit of armor similar to m royal guard’s armor, and had the same rapier strapped to his belt that he had used in our fight earlier that day.

“I’m going with you!” he called when he was a few feet away, smiling and huffing.

I shook my head. “No, Dad,” I said dismissively, “I’m not letting you get hurt.”

My father crossed his arms. “I wasn’t asking, son,” he said flatly. “I’ve already watched you go up against Sanguis once, and you almost died. I will not stand around and do nothing as that happens again.”
I narrowed my eyes and stared at him for a moment, then softened my gaze and smiled behind my helmet. “Okay, Dad. We’ll fight together,” I said, and continued to follow Shining’s mech to the gates.

“Fighting legions of undead humans and ponies side by side. Hell of a father-son activity, huh?” he asked with a laugh.

I nodded. “It’s the kind of thing you’ll have to get used to around me,” I said apologetically as we approached the gates. I could now clearly see that the damage Sombra was inflicting on the shield was starting to get serious.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” I heard my father say as we joined the crowd of guards. I looked around and saw our army was outnumbered a good ten to one when it came to soldiers, but we also had myself, Shining Armor’s mech, and miscellaneous placed catapults and ballistae on some of the nearby rooftops.

I quickly found out we also had the assistance of two alicorns.

“Luna? Cadence?” I asked, confused as I approached the princesses, “what are you doing here?” They were each wearing a majestic-looking suit of armor; Luna’s was a bright silver, and Cadence’s was a radiant purple.
Luna giggled. “Helping you fight, of course,” she said, levitating a halberd from off her back. I saw the blade was appropriately moon-shaped. Cadence had a similar weapon, except hers was adorned with hearts.

“And don’t you dare tell us we aren’t fighting!” Cadence shouted to her mech-piloting husband.
Shining’s laughter reverberated from the speakers. “Come on, Cadence; if Allen is willing to let his father fight, it’s only fair I let you join in too,” he said humorously. “Just promise you’ll be careful?” he added worriedly.
She nodded, smiling broadly. “You know I will,” she said reassuringly.

Luna turned to me, her eyes narrowed teasingly. “I assume you’ll ask me to return to the castle so I’m safe?” she asked in an equally teasing tone.
I smiled and shook my head. “Not a chance,” I said quietly, and held out my hoof-hand as my armor enveloped it, effectively turning my whole arm into a blade as I unsheathed my sword.

“Soldiers of the Crystal Empire!” I called out as Sombra continued his relentless attack on the only thing standing between Sanguis and us, “This is our finest hour! This is when everyone here, Pegasus, Unicorn, and Alicorn; Mare and Stallion; Pony and Human, will show what they are truly made of! We will not disappear into myth as the doomed soldiers that died as they faced impossible odds; this is where we fade into legend as the proud warriors who faced their greatest threat, and WON!” I screamed, resulting in a resounding cheer from the crowd.

I held my blade arm straight forward and shouted with all my breath, my voice amplified by the magic in my helmet and my anticipation for battle, “LET’S KICK SOME ASS!”

At that moment, the shield shattered like glass, the shards fading before they came close to touching the ground, and the battle for the Crystal Empire began.

Houses Crumble, Armor Shatters

“Allen! Heads up!” my father cried from my right, and I ducked just as an undead soldier’s blade swept inches above my nose. I quickly straightened my self and stabbed through my attacker with my bladed arm, throwing them aside into another enemy. I looked over to see my father rapidly swinging his blade in a flurry of strikes as he pinned a group of enemies against a wall. I was too focused on fighting to see what happened next, but I’m sure those guys wouldn’t be getting up anytime soon.

“You know, most dads would take their kids to the batting cages!” I shouted as I threw my sword at a zombie pony like a throwing knife, hitting it in the side, and tore through it as I ran past and retrieved my weapon.
My dad shrugged and stabbed behind him, stopping the soldier trying to sneak up on him, and then spun around, slicing several surrounding enemies in half.

“Would you really prefer the batting cages over this?” he said, quickly raising a questioning eyebrow.
I blocked a downward swing with my crystal-encased arm and glanced over my shoulder to see Luna, her mane blowing dramatically as she whirled her halberd around her, knocking down enemy after enemy as they tried to get a clean hit against her.
“Not in a million years,” I said happily, swinging upward at my attacker and running to my father’s side.

It was only a few moments later we found ourselves surrounded by a group of changelings and undead soldiers. One of the changelings stepped forward and stood on its hind legs, taking on an exact imitation of my armored form as it did.
“Surrender, and we might let you live,” it said in a cold, emotionless imitation of my own voice.
I glared and held my weapons in a defensive stance, and saw my father holding his rapier straight forward and at the ready.

“Never,” I growled in a convincing brave tone, but I knew there was a good chance we were done for.
Just then, my doppelganger was reduced to a pile of ashes after a blast of blue light hit him dead-on. I looked over to see Shining Armor’s mech aiming its arm cannon at the group.
“Back off,” he said as the canon flashed and fired several blasts, thinning the numbers that surrounded us as we broke from the group.

“Thanks!” I called as Shining followed us with long, heavy steps.
“No problem!” he replied as a massive pillar of smoke slammed into him. I saw a pair of monsterous hands emerge from the cloud and hold down the mechs arms, and King Sombra’s face peered out and stared right at the cockpit with immeasurable hatred.
“YOU!” he bellowed as he tried to tear the mech’s arms off. I ran to his aid, but a familiar face stepped in my path.

Sanguis held his massive sword straight in front of him and pointed it at me.
“You are mine,” he growled, and charged at me with his huge blade at his side.
I held my sword and blade-arm in an X-formation, catching the weapon as Sanguis swung down, and quickly pushed it aside as I got some distance between myself and the warlord.
“Have you no honor?!” he bellowed mockingly, “come and face me!”

I ignored his attempts to psych me out, and instead focused on more of the soldiers that swarmed the streets. Sanguis still pursued me, pushing aside anything that stood in his way uncaringly.

Eventually I ended up in the same spot I started my escape in, where Shining Armor was still grappling with Sombra.
“Okay, I’ve had enough of this!” I heard the mech’s loudspeakers shout as a panel on the front of the cockpit slid away, revealing a massive cannon aimed right at the demon-pony’s head.

Sombra had literally one second to widen his eyes before he was blasted with a beam of white light that would impress the artists of Dragonball Z.

“All right!” I shouted, pumping a fist towards Shining. He returned the gesture, and suddenly threw his sword in my direction. It stabbed into the ground right next to me, blocking a swing from a previously-unseen Sanguis.

“You want Allen?” Shining shouted as he threw a massive punch that the warlord dodged, “you’ll have to go through me first!”
I retreated to a safe distance as Sanguis smiled cruelly. “Very well, then!” he bellowed as he threw his sword behind him and held out his arms, which were sparking with black lightning.
Shining rushed at Sanguis for another punch, but the warlord simply held out his hands and caught the mech’s fist, stopping it in its tracks.

“Do not deny me my vengeance!” he cried as a surge of energy traveled from himself up the mech’s arm, right into the cockpit. I heard a pained scream come out of the loudspeakers as the mech jerked violently and fell over.

The glass covering of the cockpit folded away, and I saw Shining Armor struggling to stand inside the metal shell, but his legs wouldn’t listen as he collapsed with his upper body hanging out of the mech.
“Shiny!” Cadence cried from behind me, and I turned to see her struggling to cut through a crowd of enemies so she could aid her husband.

I turned back to the wounded unicorn and heard a robotic voice sounding through the speakers.

[SYSTEM OVERLOAD. SELF DESTRUCT IMMINENT.]

“SHINING!” I shouted as I ran through the crowd, either pushing or slicing any enemies that stood in my way. As I drew near, I saw Shining slowly pushing himself up; there was no way he could stand, let alone get out of there, but I knew what was happening. And I didn’t like it.

Shining Armor looked me in the eyes and smiled comfortingly through his immense pain. It was a smile that told me he accepted what was coming next.

“NO!” I shouted moments before a massive explosion from the mech’s core knocked me backwards, sending me spinning and any soldiers nearby flying away from the source. My armor helped me survive the collision with a building, but it didn’t keep me from feeling sore.

I looked up and saw Sanguis standing over me, blade held at his side.
“No one, human or pony, defeats Sanguis Cruciatus,” he said as he raised his sword high in the air, the moonlight glinting off the edge.

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out, silencing the fighting and causing Sanguis to violently jerk his head to the side. I turned and saw my father standing several yards away, holding a revolver in his right hand with a dead-serious look on his face.

“Get the fuck away from my son,” he said plainly, and continued to fire.

Sanguis marched over to him, dragging his sword behind him as he approached.
“DAD! NO!” I shouted as I got to my feet and staggered after the warlord, but I could only watch helplessly as the gunshots turned to clicks, and Sanguis drove his blade through my father’s chest.

I watched in horror as he withdrew his sword, letting the limp body fall to the ground. He turned back to me, all of the taunting that had been in his expression before was gone; he was pissed now.

Then again, so was I.

I threw my sword aside and held up the crystal Flash had given me, causing my armor to fade away and the crystal to turn to dust. My advance on Sanguis started as a tense walk that eventually became a growling jog, and eventually became a screaming sprint.
I drew back my hoof as I drew near, which I just noticed was glowing a bright white, and slammed it into the warlord’s chest, sending him crashing through several buildings and flying in the direction Shining had sent Sombra earlier.

Luna and Cadence stood behind me as more and more enemies surrounded us.
“Find Twilight and the others, and get to the Archives,” I said in a low voice, “I’ll hold them off and meet you there.”
Luna started to protest, but I turned to her, giving her a good look at my now-glowing eyes.

“I said, run.”

She turned and ran for the castle with Cadence following close behind as I faced my attackers blankly.

“I’ll give you all one chance to retreat before I destroy you all,” I said, my voice vibrating from the energy that my anger had awakened.
One of the changelings laughed and tried to leap at me, but I simply grabbed it out of the air, pinned it to the ground, and snapped its neck without a single word.

The rest of them gasped at the sight, and a few of the more cowardly ones turned and fled, but the rest charged at me all at once.

I swept my hand in front of me, causing a wave of white magic to slam into the attackers and knock them away. At this point, several other enemies had noticed what I had done, and I alone faced the near-entirety of Sanguis’s army.
I held my hoof high in the air as it glowed white, and with tears streaming down my face and a violent scream, I slammed it into the ground, causing everything around me to vanish in a sea of blinding white light.

When my vision returned, there was no sign of the attackers. The guards that had survived the onslaught looked around, confused at their enemies sudden disappearance, but suddenly cheered at their victory.

I dropped to my knees, unable to process everything that just happened. Shining was dead. My father was dead. What else was I going to lose?

Just then, A shadow fell over me, and I jumped back an instant before a massive blade struck the spot I had previously occupied. Sanguis had recovered from my attack.

I stood up and made a mad dash for the castle, slamming the doors behind me as I entered. I knew it wouldn’t hold him back long, but I needed all the time I could get.

~-~-~-~-~

“Cadence! Give me the crystal!” I cried as I sealed the doors to the Archives. Cadence wasted no time in levitating the evil gem into my hands, and the others gave me a questioning look.
“Okay, I have no idea if this is going to work, but it’s worth try,” I said as I gripped the crystal tightly and focused on my friends that surrounded me.

“What do you mean, ‘it’s worth a try’? What are you doing?” Rainbow Dash demanded as my eyes started to glow again.
“I’m getting as much energy from this crystal as I can. Twilight, you’re good at teleportation spells, right?” I asked quickly as a loud cracking sound came from the door.
The purple alicorn looked confused. “Yes, but why?” she asked slowly.

I gave the door a panicked look, and then turned back to my friends. “We need to teleport back to Canterlot, NOW!” I shouted as I wrapped my arms around Twilight, causing the excess energy I had absorbed to flow into her. My eyes faded as hers glowed brightly, and everyone in the room became surrounded with a violet aura.

Just then, Sanguis exploded through the door, a look of pure rage on his face.
“You will not escape me!” he screamed rushing towards me at full speed.
I saw a dark-blue blur fly into my plane of vision as Luna tackled the warlord, sending herself and Sanguis into the far wall of the room.

“Luna, NO!” I cried as I ran to help her. I leapt at Sanguis, who held the lunar princess by the neck, but just as I could land a solid hit I was transported to the Castle Canterlot throne room. I hit the marble floor with a thud as Celestia ran to see what had happened.

“Allen! What are you doing here?” she cried as she helped me to my feet, and saw my changed appearance. “Why do you have a horn.. and a wing? What has happened to you?” she asked worriedly.

I looked at my feet sadly. “That disturbance you asked me to check out was-” I began, but Applejack’s worried yell cut me off.
“Uh, Allen? You may want to save that for later; it looks like we had an extra passenger on our trip!” she cried as she pointed a hoof to my left.

I looked over to where she was so worried about, and my heart stopped. I saw a familiar figure groaning as he got to his feet, and he looked around as he ran a hand through his shoulder-length blonde hair. He smiled viciously when his green eyes fell on me.

“Well, isn’t this a surprise,” Drayke growled in a mocking tone as he cracked his knuckles and telekinetically called his crystal to his hand. “So what is it, Allen? You ready for round two?”

Keep Your Enemies Closer

Sanguis stood facing away from his two subordinates, his hands folded neatly over the pommel of his sword as he scanned the deserted streets of the Crystal Empire. All of the citizens had either fled the Empire or were killed, and to a warlord who merely wanted to take control of this place, it would have been a satisfying victory.

Alas, there was one thing that was angering Sanguis.

“That boy escaped. He was supposed to be mine. Tell me, Sombra, why weren’t you able to subdue the mech?” he said, glaring over his shoulder as the dark king bowed respectfully.

“I am sorry, Sanguis, but it was too powerful for me,” he growled apologetically, “even my dark powers could not have defeated it.”
Sanguis laughed coldly. “Really?” he said, letting his blade fall to the ground as he turned to look Sombra in the eye, “Because if I remember correctly, I was able to defeat that hunk of metal with ease. Your power does not subsede mine as much as you think it does; you should have been able to destroy it within moments! Perhaps my faith in you was misplaced…”

Sombra winced at the human’s words, and Sanguis turned his disapproving gaze to Chrysalis. “And you. You promised me an army like no other, but your changelings fell almost as easily as my soldiers did! And they’ve been dead for thousands of years, trapped in the frozen wasteland that surrounds this Empire!” he shouted at the changeling queen.

Chrysalis gave Sanguis an angry look. “Keep in mind that your ‘soldiers’ didn’t do a good job fighting either. Why are you blaming us when the real problem here is your horrible leadership?” she said hotly as she approached the warlord unflinchingly until her face was merely inches from his.

Sanguis narrowed his eyes. “I may forgive your current insolence if you return to your former position and apologize!” he growled through gritted teeth, his one regenerated eye holding enough anger to make Chrysalis back down. “Now, normally the punishment I would serve to my underlings who have failed in this manner would be to cast them out into the frozen tundra to die. And, of course, I would send some sort of unnatural creature to hunt them and ensure they did not return or try to undermine my future plans,” he said with a slight predatory grin, which made Sombra and Chrysalis shudder, “but you are powerful allies, and have gotten me control of this Empire; a feat that does impress me just the slightest bit. It would be a shame to waste such potential by banishing you,” he said as he rested a comforting hand on Sombra’s shoulder, which made the king let out a light sigh of relief.

“Which is why I am going to kill you and absorb your powers.”

Sombra suddenly froze, his eyes wide as a stream of energy flowed from his body and up the warlord’s arm. His pelt lost its brilliant, black shine, and faded to a ragged, patchy grey. The evil king let out a choked gasp as he collapsed on the ground, his breathing heavy at first, but slowly faded into silence.

Sanguis turned to the Changeling queen, who was taking slow, panicked steps back as her horn glowed a poisonous green. She fired a beam of energy at him as she entered a dark alleyway, a beam that had defeated the mighty Princess Celestia, but Sanguis simply held up a hand and completely blocked the attack.
“You should be more careful who you disappoint,” Sanguis said in a low voice as he picked up his sword. With her back against a wall, Chrysalis stared in pure terror as the warlord drew closer to her.

A long scream filled the Crystal Empire for a few moments, but was abruptly silenced. After about a minute, Sanguis emerged from the shadows, his body fully regenerated to the state it was when he was sealed away ages ago. He looked back to where his two servants stood before and grinned at the midnight-blue mare that lay on the ground, her body wrapped in black, spectral chains.

“If you’re going to kill me, just do it. No need to for the theatrics you used on the others,” she spat angrily.

Sanguis chuckled. “Kill you? No, no, my dear; you have great power within you, which would normally be incentive enough to end your life, but I have different plans. I know the way you and the human boy feel for each other; the way you leapt to save him from me, and the way he rushed to rescue you. Killing you is not at all a part of my plan,” he said as he drew near, his voice suddenly dropping to a whisper, “Something far worse awaits you.”

Suddenly, he held a tight hand over Luna’s muzzle and wrapped his arm around her, a black aura flowing from Sanguis to the lunar princess. She struggled and tried to scream, but her movements eventually slowed and her eyelids grew heavy as she fell unconscious.

Sanguis stood up as her blue pelt darkened like a night sky without stars, and her mane lengthened and became more ethereal. Her body grew so she stood nearly as tall as an Earth horse, and she snapped open her now-wicked green eyes and laughed evilly.

“I AM REBORN!” Nightmare Moon shouted to the heavens, followed by a long string of maniacal laughter.

~-~-~-~-~

“Okay, okay, I give up!” Drayke said urgently as I pinned him face-down with one arm behind his back, “Just get off of me! I have an issue with being in physical contact with other dudes.”
I stood up and brushed myself off, and nodded to the others. “Keep him in one spot,” I said urgently, and they all nodded and formed a circle around the former Obsidian King.

I turned to Celestia and Cadence, a sarcastic smile across my face. “Princesses. Would you care to explain to me HOW IN THE HELL HE IS STILL ALIVE?!” I screamed violently.
Celestia gave Cadence a shameful look. “I do not know how Drayke survived; after the battle, that crystal was given to Cadence and Shining Armor for safe-keeping. If anyone knows what is going on, it’s her,” she said scoldingly.

I turned to the princess of love. “Well?” I asked impatiently, my eyes wide with anger.

Cadence glared and walked right up to me, staring me down. “Do not raise your voice at me,” she said in a quiet, rage-filled voice. “I just watched my husband die right in front of me, so before you start playing the blame game, why don’t you make sure you know what everypony else is dealing with!” she snapped.

Twilight gasped. “My brother is...dead?” she asked in a shaky, disbelieving voice.

I ignored her and narrowed my eyes. “You don’t need to remind me Shining Armor is dead. I was there too, remember? He died for me. On top of that, so did Luna, AND SO DID MY FATHER!” I screamed right in the pink alicorn’s face. “You wanted me to bond with him? Well, you got that wish; we were the perfect family right up to the moment Sanguis ran him through with a fucking broadsword! So why don’t you stop guilt-tripping me, because I’ll say whatever I damn-well please!” I shouted. Cadence stepped back, surprised by my sudden and intense hostility.

Celestia spoke up. “Allen,” she said gently, “please come down from there.”
I gave her a confused look, and suddenly realized I was hovering about a foot in the air, a white aura radiating from my body.
“I don’t remember him being able to do that,” I heard Drayke mutter from behind me, “what the hell did I miss when I was locked up?”

I glared over my shoulder at him, and suddenly pushed past Applejack and Rarity to grab him by the neck.

“Why aren’t you dead?” I growled at him.

Drayke smiled coolly. “My crystal can do a lot more than give me epic armor and an instantaneous healing factor,” he said plainly. “When you stabbed me - kind of a dick move, by the way - I was absorbed into the crystal until someone else could release me. You poor suckers ended up being my ticket to freedom,” he said, pushing my arm down and walking to the center of the throne room. “And now, it’s time for some good, old-fashioned revenge.”

I laughed. “Your crystal doesn’t have any power, Drayke,” I said coldly, “I absorbed most of it to get us out of the Crystal Empire.”
Drayke scowled. “Yeah? Well… well… fuck you!” he said in defeat.
I smiled slightly. “Actually, I have an idea. Celestia,” I said, turning to the white alicorn, “would you be able to charge Drayke’s crystal like you did mine?” I inquired.

She nodded as I went on: “Alright, asshole, here’s the deal: we’re in the middle of a shitstorm. An ancient warlord from the human-pony war has been revived, and he has control of the Crystal Empire. He’s killed a good friend of mine, my father, and probably even my girlfriend,” I explained.
Drayke let out a hysterical laugh. “Dude, you’re banging a horse? What the hell, man? I mean, it looks like you’re technically one of them already, but… JESUS! That’s weird!” he cried, wiping a tear from his eye.

I narrowed my eyes and punched him in the face, my hoof leaving a cut on his cheek.
“SHUT UP!” I bellowed, my cry bordering on the Royal Canterlot Voice. “Now, you are going to help me kill this guy and end his conquest, or else all of Equestria will be his.” I finished calmly.

Drayke nodded thoughtfully. “So, you’re telling me that there’s an ancient, powerful warlord brought back to life, and has his mind set on ruling Equestria, and you need my help to stop him?” he asked rhetorically.
I nodded slightly.

Drayke grinned. “Well. Sucks for you,” he said dismissively as he turned to the door.

He got about three steps in before I threw an energy ball that hit him square in the back, knocking him on his face.
“Either you help me,” I said, my voice shaking with fury, “or I kill you again. And this time, there’s no guarantee you’ll just pop back into the crystal.”

He got to his feet and glared at me for what seemed like forever, until he sighed and rolled his eyes.
“Alright. But I’m not doing jack shit until I get my crystal back to full power!” he declared.
I narrowed my eyes. “You’ll get enough power to use your armor and scythe, and nothing else!” I shot back.

There was no way I was going to risk giving him the power to summon an army of Sentinels.

He rolled his eyes again. “Fine,” he said dramatically, and tossed the black gem to me. I caught it and brought it to Celestia.
“I need his help,” I said reassuringly when she looked uncertain about my plan.
“I trust you, Allen, but I do not trust him. Make sure you keep an eye on him,” she said in a low voice. “and bring my sister back safely.”

Drayke tapped his foot impatiently. “Are we going to charge my crystal and give me my powers, or are we going to just talk about me behind my back?” he asked no one in particular.
Celestia sighed and shot a beam of magic at the crystal, and it glowed a bright red for a moment before returning to its previous, jet-black state. I tossed it back to Drayke, who smiled thankfully.

Just then, an explosion of black smoke surrounded him, and everyone jumped back as he emerged from the cloud, donning his signature, black armor.

“Hail to the king, baby,” he said in a warped voice as he summoned his scythe. “Let’s ditch this joint, Allen; we’ve got stiffs to slay.”

Tying Up Loose Ends

“So, Allen, you wanna tell me what happened that made you… whatever the hell you are now?” Drayke asked teasingly from beneath his black visor as we walked through the halls of Castle Canterlot.
I glared, staring straight ahead as I walked along. “During my first run-in with the guy we’re going to kill, I was almost killed. Since the others didn’t know how to heal humans, they did the only thing they knew to keep me alive: they made me half-pony,” I said angrily. “Oh, and by the way, I’m not ‘banging’ her.”

Drayke laughed. “What?” he asked, confused.

I glanced back at the armor-clad asshole that followed me. “What you said earlier, about me ‘banging a horse’. That is not at all what is going on between us,” I said hotly.
Drayke shrugged as we exited the front door, and scanned the courtyard below us. “Whatever you say, pal,” he said, and leaped into the air to take off.

I walked past the black pile that lay at the bottom of the stairs nonchalantly. “You don’t have wings this time, jackass,” I said smugly as Drayke leaped to his feet.

“I shouldn’t have to be dealing with this shit,” he grumbled as he ran to catch up to me. “Remind me, why am I listening to you again?”
I whirled around and held my hoof near his face, which had suddenly taken on a dangerous white glow. “My father is dead. A close friend of mine is dead. My girlfriend is a prisoner, or, more likely, also dead. All of this is because of the same guy, and all of my emotional trauma has awakened an incredibly powerful magical energy inside of me, and I plan to use it to its fullest to wipe him off the face of the multiverse. You are helping me because I’m feeling pretty unstable right now, and will probably obliterate anyone that isn’t on my side. Questions?” I asked, a hint of insanity in my voice.

Drayke stared at me through his visor, and for the briefest of moments I could see fear in those bright-green eyes.

To be honest, it felt good.

“None whatsoever,” he said finally.
I nodded and put my hoof down, the white aura fading rapidly. “Okay. We have to get to the train station, otherwise it could take us days to get to the Crystal Empire.”

~-~-~-~-~

I stared out the window of the train as Drayke wandered up and down the aisle of our car. Thanks to the panicked cries of several civilians and a quick surrounding from a group of guards, he had decided it would be a more convenient choice to put away the evil armor and death scythe until we got into a dangerous situation, and now wore a pair of blue jeans and a white t-shirt.
“Could you not?” I said as he started doing cartwheels right past where I happened to be sitting.

He stopped, upside-down, with an upset look on his face. “Why?” he asked challengingly, “I need to burn off some energy. In case you've forgotten, it’s been nearly a year since I’ve been able to move freely. Thanks for that, by the way,” he said, practically spitting the words.

I turned back to the window to stare at the rolling hills as they went by. “I have a lot on my mind right now, and I don’t need your hyperactivity distracting me,” I said quietly.

Drayke stood up and crossed his arms. “You have a lot on your mind? You have a lot on your mind? Jesus Christ, kids nowadays,” he said with a heavy sigh.
I turned back to him with a glare. “Yes, I have a lot on my mind. In case you missed it, the fate of this world is at stake because of an ancient warlord who has recently killed my father and a good friend of mine, kidnapped my girlfriend, and taken over an entire empire. You don’t think that’s a lot to have on your mind?” I said calmly.

Drayke leaned into the booth. “Okay, kid, you may have the weight of the world on your shoulders, but you have magic and talking ponies on your side. Me? I grew up with an abusive father, a drug-addicted mother, and an asshole of a younger brother; turning 18 and being able to live on my own was the greatest thing that ever happened to me. And even that wasn’t an escape, because I was hardly able to afford a place to live! When I didn’t live in a shitty apartment, I was staying with one of my friends in their shitty apartment! The only good point in my life was when I was with my girlfriend, but even that-” he suddenly broke off his rant and stared out the window blankly for a few moments before scowling again. “I don’t need to explain myself to you. I just need to kill this asshole and then…” he trailed off and glanced at me, confused. “What am I getting out of this?”

I looked him in the eye. “As soon as Sanguis is dead, we are taking you back to the castle, and you're going to use your crystal to return to Earth,” I said matter-of-factly.

Drayke’s eyes widened. “No. There is no way I’m going back to Earth!” he said, panicking. “I would rather stay here and get the shit beaten out of me by you in a fight all over again then go back to that endless hell!”
I shrugged. “I let you stay here, and there’s no guarantee you’ll behave,” I said plainly. “Besides, with your asshole personality, I don’t think you would enjoy it here very much.”

Drayke sat down in the seat opposite me, sighing heavily, and held his head in his hands. “Look. I’m going to level with you. Did you ever wonder how I found that portal in the first place? The one that brought us here?” he asked, his voice taking on a more sensitive tone.

I rolled my eyes. “Can’t be any sadder than how I found it,” I said, thoroughly bored.

Drayke went on with his story. “It all started about a few months before I found that thing. I was in a relationship with a girl, and my life was finally starting to take a turn for the better. We lived under the same roof, and we got along almost perfectly. We played video games together, we watched TV together. Hell, we even did corny stuff like watching the stars at night; it didn’t matter how sappy it was, though, because we loved each other more than anything,” he said happily, but his expression suddenly darkened. “And then… there was the accident.”

I shifted into a more attentive position. “Accident?” I asked, concerned.
Drayke closed his eyes and nodded. “Four way intersection. A drunk driver came out of nowhere and hit us from the passenger side. I was fine, except for a few cuts and bruises. She, however,” he said, taking a deep breath as his voice started to get shaky, “she wasn’t as lucky. She had several cracked ribs, a broken arm, and both of her legs were broken. The legs didn’t matter as much, since the wreck caused her to be paralyzed from the waist down.”

His head was bowed at this point and shielded by his hands, but I could see a few tears dripping onto the table. “She was in a coma until the day she died. They didn’t even have to pull the plug on her, even though her family was considering having it done,” he said with a humorless laugh. “So I left. She was my whole world, and just like that she was gone. So I hopped a coach bus and headed to my hometown. Looking back I have no idea why I was headed there, but that’s where I went. Unfortunately, I guess fate had other ideas, because we broke down near a crapsack town somewhere in the midwest, and were forced to wait around for the driver to fix the problem.

“I decided to stroll around in the woods, seeing as the only other option was talking to the other passengers, and I wasn’t much of a talker at the time. So, I’m walking through the woods, and I happen across this stone archway-”
I held up a hand, my expression now much softer than it had been before he started his story. I could tell this was painful for him.

“That’s enough,” I said softly.

He looked up at me with a confused look on his face, his eyes red from the tears.

“I’ll talk to Celestia about you staying here.”

He sighed, relieved. “Thanks, kid,” he said, leaning back in the seat.
I looked at him comfortingly. "What was her name?" I asked kindly.

He looked out the window, smiling as if he was picturing her face.
"Gwen," he said happily, "Her name was Gwen. I was going to ask her to marry me that night."

Suddenly, I jumped up. “We need to stop!” I cried, and yanked a “Request Emergency Stop” cord. The train skidded to a halt, and a few seconds later the conductor burst through the door.
“What’s the matter?!” he cried, bewildered.
I held my hands up calmingly. “Nothing is wrong, I just need to stop for a minute,” I said as I opened the door to the cabin and ran out to the hills.

Drayke ran to catch up to me. “What are we doing?” he inquired.
We reached the top of the hill, and I pointed to the camp below. “I need to warn them about Sanguis. We need to make sure he can’t use that portal to return to Earth,” I explained.
He nodded. “I’ll just stay up here,” he said quickly, and I rushed for the camp.

~-~-~-~-~

“Hey, you aren’t authorized to-” the guard started to say, but a glowing hoof silenced him.
“I need to speak with Warrens,” I said calmly.
The man stood his ground. “I’m sorry… kid,” he said, unsure what to call me, “but this is official business only,” he finished firmly.
I laughed emptily. “Okay, pal, I’ll tell you what: you escort me to the general, or you’ll be riding a vertical round-trip to the ground,” I said, holding my hoof in a position that suggested I was about to uppercut the poor guard.

Fortunately for me, and I guess him as well, this guy wasn’t as foolish as the one on duty the first time I stopped by, and I was immediately escorted to the center of camp.

“Allen!” the General greeted warmly, “it’s good to see you! i was trying to contact your father, but he wouldn’t answer his walkie,” he said worriedly.
“Robert Greathouse is dead,” I said flatly. “Listen, I need you to pack up here and go back to Earth. If you don’t, a warlord from that ancient war I told you about may very well use your portal to return to Earth. If he does,” I said darkly, “then we’re all screwed.”
The General nodded stiffly. “I wouldn’t normally shut down an operation like this solely on the words of a teenage boy, but I respected your father. We’ll be out of here by tomorrow,” he said, and marched off.

“And, General,” I called after him.
Warrens turned around. “Yes?”

I looked him dead in the eye. “On behalf of Robert Greathouse, I am cancelling Project G.E.M. When you get back to Earth, I want all traces of this project erased, especially any information on how to build another portal. Mankind has no business in Equestria. Not yet,” I said with finality.
Warrens laughed. “Well, you are pretty solid proof of that, huh?” he said, gesturing to my strange appearance. “Best of luck to you, Allen,” he said, and returned to his task.

I nodded to myself, satisfied to have completed my task, and walked back towards the train.
Now I’ve taken care of the issue of humans getting here, I thought grimly, now I just need to keep one from getting out.

Fall of a King

We had the conductor stop the train a few miles away from the Crystal Empire, just in case Sanguis had some reinforcements guarding the surrounding area. At the moment, the element of surprise was our greatest asset, and there was no way I was going to waste it.

Drayke, on the other hand, was not as excited about sneaking around as I was.

“So, how are we doing this?” he asked with a dangerous grin as we peeked over a snowbank. We were both shivering violently, so I knew we had to get inside fast. “Should I run in with my scythe drawn and tear through the guards, or did you want to blast them with some of your new powers?”

I shook my head. “We can’t make a scene; if we can sneak in and avoid Sanguis’s troops, we can get to the castle. If he isn’t there, then at least we’ll have the high ground to plan out our next move,” I explained thoughtfully.
Drayke groaned loudly, causing me to shush him sternly. “Come on, man, I’ve got a suit of murder armor and a giant-ass scythe of doom; stealth isn’t exactly my strong point right now!” he whispered.

I glared at him. “Then make yourself a better outfit, because we need to be unseen and unheard!” I growled.

Drayke shrugged and suddenly became cloaked in a cloud of thick, black smoke that floated around him for a moment before solidifying in the form of a ninja-like outfit. It was very similar to his original armor, with spiked shoulderpads and knee guards, but this looked like it was made of cloth for the most part.

“Is this better?” he asked, gesturing to his new attire.

I stared at him for a moment. “Do you really have to be so dramatic with your clothing?” I asked helplessly.
“Hey, you’re the guy that looked like an angel when we last fought. How’s that for symbolism?” he shot back.
“Okay, first off, I didn’t have control of my armor. Secondly, fair enough; at least you don’t look like you’re there to break down every wall in the place,” I muttered. “Come on, we need to get in there.”

~-~-~-~-~

Drayke and I had scoped out a point where we could enter the city without being spotted, and quickly ran hid behind a house as a group of undead soldiers passed by. I held my breath until they passed, and sighed in relief as I continued to lead Drayke to the castle.

“This is a really bad idea,” Drayke murmured from behind his mask.
I glanced back at him as I silently pushed open the doors to the palace. “What makes you say that?” I asked quietly.
Drayke shrugged. “I don't know. It’s just… we’re taking the front door to a castle in the center of enemy territory. I just feel like this is some sort of trap.”

I smiled as we entered the main hall. “Don’t be ridiculous. They have no idea we’re here,” I said with smug certainty.

Just as the words left my lips, a group of Sanguis’s guards rushed from every doorway and surrounded us, each holding swords, spears, and other weapons straight at us.

“I fucking knew it!” Drayke growled as he pulled out a jagged, black crystal katana and charged at the enemies.

“Drayke!” I cried cautioningly, but my protest was came too late as Drayke began cutting through several of our attackers, his katana cutting clean through each and every one he hit.
“And that’s why I like those things so much!” I said as my hand and hoof took on a white glow, and I punched an oncoming soldier right in the face, causing to slam into an opposing wall. I turned around and saw one of them drawing a bow to strike at Drayke, so I lowered my head and focused on the attacker; as I did, a beam of white energy shot from my horn, hitting the would-be assassin head on and reducing him to a pile of ash.

“Thanks!” Drayke called as he parried a swing from a sword and spun in a 360, slicing the heads off of seven enemies. “I am the BEST!” he cried, flicking his wrist at the one remaining enemy who fell to the ground instantly, a shard of crystal sticking out of his forehead.

“Is that all?” Drayke cried victoriously, his arms held straight outward, “is that everything they’ve got?”
I sighed sharply. “You really need to learn when to keep your mouth shut,” I said angrily.
Drayke turned his head towards me. “Why?” he asked incredulously, “I just killed a ton of soldiers without breaking a sweat; I deserve to celebrate!”

Just then, a loud scraping noise sounded from the far end of the main hall. Drayke and I turned to the source of the sound to see Sanguis marching towards us slowly, dragging his sword behind him and grinning wickedly.

“That’s why,” I muttered, focusing my energy back to my hand and hoof.

“This the asshole we’re gonna fight?” he whispered, his voice quivering with anticipation.
I nodded. “Feel free to don the murder armor; I don’t think sneaking around is going to help anymore.”

Drayke smiled. “My pleasure,” he growled, and his outfit shifted and warped into his original Obsidian King armor, and his scythe grew from the katana.

Sanguis looked impressed by Drayke’s new equipment. “I was not aware you had such powerful allies, boy,” he said in a low voice. “Perhaps I shall test his strength before I fight you?”
I took a step forward. “This is between you and me, Sanguis,” I said bravely. “What have you done with Luna?”

Sanguis’s grin grew more malicious. “Oh, be patient, child; our fight will come soon enough, if you can earn it. I just want to warm up first. As for ‘Luna’-she no longer goes by that name, by the way-why don’t you ask her yourself?” he said as he took a few steps to the left, revealing a pitch-black alicorn that stood behind him. She regarded me with pale, green eyes that were filled with confused anger.

“Nightmare Moon,” Sanguis said commandingly, “kill him and consider your debt to me fulfilled.”

Then the warlord turned to Drayke. “You. State your name,” he demanded.

Drayke stepped forward. “Drayke Blackwood,” he said clearly.

Sanguis narrowed his eyes. “Drayke? You mean, you’re the Obsidian King?” he asked incredulously, “Why are you working with this boy? From what I have heard about you, I would assume you are here to join me,” he growled.

Drayke shrugged. “We have a deal worked out at the moment,” he replied nonchalantly.

Sanguis grinned. “Well, although I am a man of honor, I do not believe there is much point in keeping your word when it means your downfall.” he said, and marched up to Drayke with a friendly hand extended. “Join me, and we can rule this world with iron fists! I would be your commander, and you… my king."

I looked at Drayke helplessly as his helmet folded away, revealing his contemplating face. “You know, I was already a king not too long ago, until the title was snatched away from me,” he said angrily, and slowly extended his own hand, gripping the warlord’s in a business-like way.

Sanguis smiled victoriously, but his triumph quickly turned to confusion when he found Drayke wasn’t letting go of his hand.
The warlord looked Drayke in the eye suspiciously as the Obsidian King’s helmet reformed quickly, and he spoke in a distorted tone.

“And believe me, it was nowhere near as fun as I thought it would be.”

Just then, he threw Sanguis behind him, causing the warlord to smash through the front doors and tumble out onto the streets.
Drayke turned to me. “I’ll hold him off. You save your girlfriend,” he said quickly, and ran out of the palace.

I turned to Luna, who was still studying me curiously.

“Strange,” she said quietly, “I can hear Luna’s cries of desperation every time I look at you.”
I took a few careful steps toward the lunar princess. “Luna, please, you don’t have to do this,” I said pleadingly.

I couldn’t believe that such a kind and gentle mare like Luna could be such a monster. Sure, I had seen the show and knew about Nightmare Moon, but it was a whole other experience seeing her in person.

My plea was ignored, however, and she smiled viciously, giving me a clear view of her razor-sharp teeth, their whiteness completely contrasting her black coat.
“Let’s make her cry some more, shall we?” she growled alluringly, and roared as she leapt at me.

~-~-~-~-~

“You are powerful, Blackwood,” Sanguis said, impressed, through gritted teeth as he pressed his blade against Drayke’s scythe, “why would you ally yourself with that boy? What are you getting out of fighting on his side?”
Drayke shrugged. “He’s one of the few people I’ve met worthy of my respect,” he replied, shoving Sanguis back a few feet. “Not that I’d ever tell him that to his face,” he added.

The warlord smiled. “If he has gotten you, one of the greatest evils in Equestria, to respect him, then my fight with him shall be legendary,” he said proudly. “It’s too bad he’s going to be killed by the one who loves him most.”
Drayke swung the axe-end of his scythe, a strike that Sanguis dodged by leaping over the incoming weapon, and laughed. “It’s too bad I’m going to strike you down before you get the chance to fight Allen!” he shouted, and stabbed his scythe into Sanguis’s chest.

Sanguis started with an unimpressed expression, first at the scythe, and then its weilder.
“Are you serious?” he asked bordely as he broke the handle off of the blade and yanked on it, pulling Drayke closer to him.

“You’ll have to try harder than that,” he whispered as he grabbed the Obsidian King’s shoulder, and Drayke gasped as the life was sucked from his body. Sanguis smiled, searching the energy of his enemy for significant memories.
“Oh, Drayke, you used to be such an inspiring figure,” he said disappointedly, “you had all of Equestria in your grasp, and you let your emotions get the better of you. That is why I will win,” he growled, “because I am not blinded by hatred; I am not distracted by love; I am not fooled by happiness; I see only what I desire to possess, and I take it.”

The color from Drayke’s eyes slowly drained away, and he let out his last breath as his body fell limp in Sanguis’s grasp. The warlord tossed him aside as his armor faded away in a swirl of black smoke, and then he turned back to the castle.

“Let us see how Allen is faring against his new enemy,” he said to himself as he marched towards the castle.

Ascension

Twilight Sparkle bolted up in her bed with a scream as if somepony had woken her up by splashing her with a bucket of water. She looked around frantically to find herself in a guest room at Castle Canterlot; the exact place she had fallen asleep in.

Her scream was answered by a loud crash as the door to the room was knocked clean off of its hinges and Applejack rushed in, followed by Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy.
“What’s wrong, Twi?” Applejack cried, scanning the room for anything that could have distressed her alicorn friend.
“Yeah, we heard you scream! And not like a good, ‘I just had a surprise’ scream; more like an ‘I saw a spider and now it’s gone’ scream!” Pinkie exclaimed.

Twilight looked at her friends with a confused expression. “I… I don’t know. I just felt this unusual feeling, like a massive surge of magical energy coming from far away. I had better see the princess!” she exclaimed, leaping out of bed and running for the throne room, hoping Celestia could tell her what was going on.

~-~-~-~-~

Princess Celestia sat in her throne with her head bowed sadly, hardly able to comprehend what had just happened. She knew, with a heavy heart, that her beloved sister was no more.
“Princess!” Twilight exclaimed as she burst into the throne room, I have something I must ask you!” She slowed her excited approach, however, when she saw the mournful look that the solar princess now wore. “What’s wrong?” she asked kindly.

Celestia sighed. “Twilight Sparkle, I am afraid that my sister, Princess Luna, is dead,” she said simply, her head still bowed and her eyes screwed shut. “I have suffered much in my many years of ruling Equestria, but this is one tragedy I never thought I would have to endure.”

Suddenly, Celestia looked up, her face now grim. “I assume you felt the disturbance, too?” she asked quickly, changing the subject.
Twilight nodded. “It was unlike anything I have ever felt before. What was it?”
Celestia stepped down from her throne and led Twilight across the room. “Since this is your first time, you may not be able to pinpoint the origin of the release, but I have felt this kind of energy before,” the alicorn explained. “Quite recently, in fact,” she added.

Twilight looked up at the solar princess. “How recently?” she inquired.
Celestia stared straight ahead, her face now unreadable. “The last time I felt this kind of energy release was the night you became an alicorn,” she said in a low voice.
Twilight gasped. “So, you’re saying that there is another alicorn? Where?” she asked excitedly.
Celestia looked at her former student with an expression that made the young princess stop her celebration. “The source of the blast,” she said slowly, “came from the Crystal Empire.”

Twilight looked confused. “Why do you seem so upset? Wouldn’t another pony becoming an alicorn be a good thing?” she asked.
Celestia nodded slowly. “Under normal circumstances, yes. However, there are two problems. First, this alicorn has never had any sort of training before, so the path that their powers take them down is uncertain; they could be good, like us, or their power may corrupt them, make them a target for those who would wish to steal that power,” she said darkly.
Twilight nodded understandingly. “What is the second problem?” she asked quietly.
Celestia turned to her student, a genuinely worried look on her face. “It is not a pony that has become an alicorn.”

~-~-~-~-~

When my senses returned, I found myself lying on my side once again amidst the rubble of the Crystal Palace. I reached forward with my right arm and saw my hand was still a hoof, and planted it on the ground in an effort to stand up.
Well, I guess that was pointless, I thought dejectedly as I rose to my feet, but suddenly lost my balance and fell on all fours. I looked down with wide eyes to see that both of my arms were now covered in coarse, dark-grey wur, and my hands were now hooves.

Or, maybe not, I thought victoriously, and looked over at a piece of wall that was still standing to see my reflection.

I now stood about one or two feet shorter than I used to, with a coat of grey fur covering my entire body. I had a long, luxurious mane that stretched down to my shoulders, a pair of feathery, angel-like wings, and a much more defined horn now spiraled from my head.

I looked forward to see Sanguis staring at me, seemingly enraged by my new appearance.

“Let’s see how you can handle me now,” I growled as a layer of crystal covered my horn, turning it into a glimmering sword.
Sanguis bared his teeth and swung his sword forward into a ready position. “Yes, let’s,” he said in agreement, and we charged at each other without another word, our blades meeting in the center of the clearing with a loud crash that rang out for miles.

“You cannot defeat me, boy,” Sanguis growled as he struggled to push me aside and disrupt my footing, “I am immortal! Every enemy that falls by my blade simply makes me stronger.”
I grinned dangerously. “Then that means I’ll enjoy killing you that much more!” I shouted, and my horn-blade began to glow a bright white. Sanguis’s followed suit, taking on a smoky, black aura.

I leapt back, spreading my wings to get extra distance, and swung my head downwards, causing a crescent of energy to shoot from my horn and fly at Sanguis. The warlord countered with a black crescent of his own that collided with mine and caused a massive explosion that blew my mane back.

I gritted my teeth as I drew closer, rapidly swinging my head side to side and firing more of the attacks, each one being countered flawlessly by an equally powerful strike from my enemy.
When we finally met in the center again, we pressed our blades together, each empowered by our energies, and struggled against one another’s strength as we stared each other down.

“SUBMIT!” Sanguis demanded, “just give in now, boy, and I may make your death swift!”

I glanced behind him and saw a massive piece of debris sticking upward at an angle like a massive spike and grinned slightly.
“No,” I said defiantly, “I will not submit.” As I said this, my body started to take on a white aura, making my dark grey coat appear silver. “I will never give up; not when I have too much to fight for!”
I suddenly found my strength was slowly increasing, allowing me to push him backward slowly.

Sanguis clearly hadn’t caught on to what I was doing, because he was smiling sadistically. “And what is it you fight for, boy?” he asked smugly.

I thought of a brave and gentle unicorn who had believed in my abilities, and stood by my side to the very end.

“FOR SHINING ARMOR!” I shouted as I swung my head left, firing off a blast that, although it was effectively blocked, pushed Sanguis backward even further.

I thought of a beautiful alicorn princess that loved me with all her heart, that I would gladly have died for, had it not been the other way around.

“FOR LUNA!” I screamed and swung my head to the right, shooting another wave that pushed Sanguis so his back was mere inches from the spike, and knocked his sword from his grasp.

Sanguis looked at me, finally looking afraid now that he was unarmed as I stood in front of him, my powerful aura causing the debris to shake violently as I charged up the spell I had been trying so hard to master before his army attacked the Empire. As I did, I thought of a brave and caring man who wanted nothing more than to show his son how much he loved him, and ended up paying the highest price.

“For my father,” I said quietly, and fired a Bolt spell from my horn, all of my anger and sorrow channelled into that one white ball of magic. My spell hit the warlord dead-center in his chest, exploding on impact and sending him flying backward. I heard a metallic crunching noise as the spike penetrated his armor and impaled him, and he fell limp instantly.

I stared at his body for a long time with a grim expression, and turned back to where Luna still lay on the ground.
I walked over to her and carefully kneeled by her side, closing my eyes and focusing my magic on her.

Please, I begged silently, what good is my power if I can’t protect the mare I love the most?
I heard a voice calling from behind me. “You can’t bring her back,” Drayke said sadly as he approached.

I looked up at him angrily. “Shut up. Don’t you dare say something like that,” I snapped, and went turned back to Luna and continued to concentrate.

“You didn’t let me finish,” Drayke said sympathetically. “You can’t bring her back. Not on your own.”

I turned back to him with a confused expression. “What do you mean?” I asked with a shaky voice.

Drayke smiled and looked off into the distance. “Even you, with your now god-like powers, can’t bring the dead back to life. Even if you didn’t have an alicorn’s body and magic, there would eventually come a day when you would have to face that. In fact, if I’m not mistaken, that day has already come, hasn’t it?” he asked, looking at me sadly. “I’m sorry about your dad, and your buddy Shining Armor. You’re already aware that I’m all too familiar with what it’s like to lose someone close to you. Which is why,” he said as he kneeled beside me and extended a closed fist, “I’m going to let you borrow this.”

I watched as he uncurled his fingers to reveal what they had been concealing: his crystal.
“Why?” I asked slowly, “why are you trusting me with this?”
Drayke laughed. “I’m not. I know there’s absolutely nothing stopping you from sealing me back in this thing with no hope of escape, so I am not ‘trusting’ you with this. I am, however, letting you borrow it so you can bring your dead girlfriend back to life.”

I narrowed my eyes. “I’ll ask again,” I said as I levitated the crystal from his palm, “why?”

Drayke gave me an honest look. “I may be an asshole, but I do have a conscience. I’m not going to stand by while a kid has the love of his life torn from his grasp. So, charge that thing up and press it against her horn; that should do the trick,” he said as he stood up and strolled away.

I stared after him. “Where are you going?” I called curiously.

Drayke laughed as he looked over his shoulder. “I’m taking the train back to Canterlot; I’ll see you when you get there.”
“How am I supposed to get back if you’re taking the train?” I protested.

“You’ve got wings now, don’t you? Use them! Or, I don’t know, teleport, or some shit. Whatever works for you,” he called back.

Oh, right, I thought with a roll of my eyes, and turned back to the lunar princess. Here goes nothing, I thought as the crystal slowly hovered to the midnight-blue alicorn, a spark shooting from it as it touched her horn. A ripple of energy traveled across her coat, and her body jolted twice as if she were hit with a defibrillator. Then, after several tense moments of silence, her chest began to rise and fall, and her eyelids fluttered open.

“...Allen?” Luna murmured tiredly, as if she had just woken up from a nap, “What happened?”
I choked back a happy sob. “I’m so glad you’re okay,” I cried as I threw my forelegs around her.
Luna laughed quietly. “Allen, I’m happy to see you too, but what happened here? Why is the Crystal Palace destroyed? And why are you an alicorn?” she asked as we continued to tightly hug each other.

“I beat him, Luna,” I whispered happily, “I beat Sanguis. It’s over.”

As I said those words, I felt a sort of weight lifted from my shoulders, like I had reached the end of a long journey. Then again, I guess I had, what with being thrown back and forth between two worlds-one my own and the other a place of my wildest dreams-and being hunted by all sorts of adversaries, ranging from living, crystal statues, an asshole with a god complex who ended up being a potential friend, and an ancient warlord who wanted nothing more than to cause every living thing he met unending pain and torment.

Life is like a shattered mirror: It can appear jagged and dangerous at first, but it can also be beautiful if you look at it right. Every single piece of that mirror is part of a much bigger, more beautiful picture. You’ll never get to see the whole thing on your own, though, because some of the pieces are missing. Those you’ll have to find in the hearts of those you meet in your journey. And, much like the shards of a mirror, if you’re careful, and you don’t hurt yourself on the edges, you just might get a glimpse of the beautiful picture of life.

I have seen that mirror of life, but not the whole thing; I still have a ways to go before I earn that privilege. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from it, though, it’s this: you can never get anywhere on your own, but you won’t get far just depending on everyone else, either. Like I said, sometimes the people, or in my case, ponies, you meet along the way will have some of those pieces, but others you’ll have to find within yourself. That is something only you, and you alone, can accomplish.

Just then, I remembered what I was going to do before Sanguis attacked the Crystal Empire.

I broke away from Luna’s hug and looked her nervously in the eyes.

“Luna,” I began, “will you…” I trailed off, desperately trying to think of the right words to say.

Luna giggled cutely. “Yes,” she said simply, and kissed me passionately as the world around us blurred from the ruins of the Crystal Palace to the throne room of Castle Canterlot.

We broke our kiss and stared deeply into each other’s eyes for a long time, until several “awww”s interrupted our romantic moment.

I looked up to see Twilight staring at me teasingly. “So, you finally asked her, huh?” she said with a laugh.
Pinkie jumped up and down excitedly. “Ooh! Ooh! What did he ask her?” she asked quickly.
Applejack gave herself a facehoof. “Pinkie, I swear, sometimes I wonder if you have the sense of a tree. Allen asked Luna to marry him!” she exclaimed.

Pinkie’s eyes widened. “Marry? That means a wedding, and that means a PARTY!” she cried, pulling out her party cannon and firing off several confetti-filled blasts.

I laughed, and turned to see Celestia approaching. “Luna!” she exclaimed, and Luna quickly jumped up and ran to nuzzle her sister.
“I thought I had lost you again,” Celestia said with relief, and then she looked up at me thankfully. “I cannot thank you enough, Allen, for what you have done today,” she said proudly. “Not only have you saved all of Equestria for the second time, but you have also brought my sister, who I thought was gone forever, back home safely.” With this, she bowed respectfully.

I nodded appreciatively. “What was I supposed to do, just let the world end?” I asked rhetorically. “Anyways, I guess that’s it, huh? No more adventures?”

Just then, the door to the throne room burst open and Drayke ran in, gasping for breath.

“Holy shit, that’s a lot of stairs!” he exclaimed. “Anyways, no, there’s still one more adventure for you, Allen; I heard you just proposed to Luna, and I’ve got dibs on organizing the bachelor party!” he cried triumphantly

I stared at him incredulously. “Have you forgotten that there are no human chicks here, right?” I asked cautiously. “You throw a bachelor party, and you’ll have a bunch of miniature horses all over you.”

Drayke’s eyes widened for a moment, and he threw his head back. “SON OF A BITCH!” he screamed, and fell to his knees as the rest of us laughed.

Epilogue: More Than a Feeling

It’s amazing how quickly time can pass, especially when there’s something big going on. The next month flew by like a blur with all the interviews, letters, and preparations for the upcoming wedding. At first we were a little unsure of how things would turn out, especially since I had spent a week repairing the Crystal Empire with my newly acquired crystal manipulation powers. In the end, however, everything went just as planned, and Luna and I were married beneath a starlit sky. We had decided to make the wedding a public event in Ponyville, which ended up being a complete festival celebrating both our union and my saving of all of Equestria. Again.

I made sure not to get a swelled head, of course; I may be a famous hero, but the day was about Luna, too.

At the height of the evening, Luna and I were sitting at a table, watching the other guests glide across a dance floor that had been set up outside. I took a quick look around with a sneaky grin, making sure my new bride was distracted, and teleported to the DJ stand, where Vinyl Scratch was bobbing her head to the beat appreciatively.

“Hey, Allen,” she said happily when she noticed I was standing there, “how’ve you been?”
I shrugged. “Well, considering I just got married, I’ve never been better. Listen, you wouldn’t happen to still have the music from my MP3 player when I hooked it up last year?” I asked hopefully.
The DJ unicorn nodded. “Of course! You guys have some great tunes back on Earth, so I saved a copy of your playlist,” she replied.

I smiled and glanced over at Luna, who had just realized I was gone. “Mind if I take over for a little bit?”
Vinyl gestured to the console. “It’s all yours, pal,” she said as she stepped backward.
I set up the next few songs, making sure there was some time before my special track.

~-~-~-~-~

“No. I’ve done enough already: I went to the Crystal Empire with you, I risked my life-and died!- for you, and I let you borrow my crystal so you could bring Luna back to life. I will not subject myself to this kind of humiliation on your account!”

I groaned at Drayke’s response to my request. “Come on,” I said, telekinetically waving a piece of paper in his face, “it’ll be fun!”
Drayke crossed his arms. “I don’t sing,” he said firmly.

I rolled my eyes. “Come on, Drayke; if you want to prove to these ponies that you aren’t a villain anymore, you need to prove that you are willing to do some of the things they like to do,” I said persuadingly.
Drayke glared at me. “I said no. I will not sing. Besides, I suck at it anyways,” he said dismissively.
I smiled. “Just one verse, and you can sing it like a rap. Come on man, this is a wedding; at least have a little fun.”

Drayke glanced at the paper and stared at it for a few seconds before sighing and snatching it out of the air. “Fine, if only to shut you up,” he said submissively.
I grinned and started to run off. “Dance floor, ten minutes!” I called behind me as I dashed to finish my set up.

~-~-~-~-~

“Okay, are you ready, Twilight?” I whispered from the center of the dance floor, placing a hoof over my microphone as it hovered in front of me.
Twilight nodded. “It may have been a while since I last sang this, but I still remember the lyrics perfectly!” she said confidently.
I nodded and turned to Drayke. “Are you ready?” I asked uncertainly.

Drayke rolled his eyes. “Let’s just get this over with,” he sighed as he jammed his hands in his pockets.

I nodded and tapped the mic to get everyone’s attention. “Um, hello,” I started nervously, “could everyone look over here a moment?”
Every pair of eyes at the party turned to face me, and I gulped nervously. “Uh, before I begin, I wanted to thank you all for coming here tonight, and congratulating me and Luna on our successful marriage.”
The crowd applauded, and I smiled nervously as I continued. “On top of that, I just wanted to thank you all for welcoming me into your community so warmly since I first came here; a year ago, when I first arrived in Equestria, I was pretty nervous about how I would be received, and I’m very thankful you were all so kind. And, even though I’m an alicorn now, and I’m married to a princess, I don’t want you to treat me like royalty; just treat me like another-”

Drayke interrupted me with an obnoxious groan. “Oh, my God, can you just get on with it?” he complained.
I sighed. “Fine,” I muttered. “Hit it, Vinyl!” I cried.

The crowd fell silent as several melodic keyboard chords rang out through the speakers, signaling the start of the song. “This performance goes out to the very beautiful Princess Luna!” I shouted, holding a hoof in the lunar princess’s direction. She blushed as the crowd glanced at her with friendly smiles for a moment, and turned back to Twilight as she cleared her throat to sing.

“Love is in Bloom
A beautiful bride
A handsome groom
Two hearts becoming one
A bond that cannot be undone.”

The crowd started dancing around smoothly as the chorus picked up.

“Because love is in bloom
A beautiful bride, a handsome groom
I said, love is in bloom
Starting a life and making room for us.”

There was a short instrumental break, and Luna ran out on the dance floor.
“Allen, this is wonderful,” she said softly as I danced awkwardly beside her.
I smiled warmly. “Anything for you,” I said softly and kissed her on the cheek. “Hey, I’m next; wait here for me?” I asked hopefully.
Luna nodded, and I stepped aside, took a deep breath, and sang my verse.

“Love is in bloom
More than a feeling
faithful and true
A connection lasting forever
A force holding two hearts together.”

I heard a cheer coming from nearby, and turned to see Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie all standing nearby, smiling at my performance. Twilight stepped forward and repeated the chorus, and I looked around impatiently.

“Where the hell is Drayke?” I asked myself aloud, scanning the crowd and hoping he hadn’t ducked out on his verse, when a loud whoop from above rang out from above the crowd. I turned around to see Drayke standing on top of one of the massive subwoofers by the DJ system, and he jumped off, landed with a roll, grabbed the microphone from my magical grasp, and made the crowd go wild.

“Lemme tell ya about love, lemme tell it just right.
Coming up from above, call it love at first sight.
Lights up a smile; fills you up with delight,
Gets a little too high when two ponies unite!
It's like riding a bike but without the pedal;
Evil-doers try to mess it up and meddle.
But you settle 'em down, give a little to share --
Before you know it baby there's love in the air!
Ponies care about the weight that accompanies their mate.
They salivate affection and they soon graduate
Towards the feeling of love, they don't bother to hate.
You better tell 'em how you feel now before it's too late!
Then you'll find yourself blank, down to reminisce
About how ya both met and then shared your first kiss.
Some people hiss at this and start huffing and puffing,
I tell 'em to stop derping out and I give 'em a muffin.
Did I stutter? Look, here's some conveyance:
You heart needs swing and a little bit of Cadence!
You need some cheer, spread it peer to peer;
Keep your lover near and they will wipe every tear!
No fear when you got a bride and groom.
No imminent doom or very intimate gloom.
You may think love is fake, well you're free to assume --
Let there never be hate because love is in bloom!”

I let out an impressed cheer, which made Drayke smile slightly as he joined in the wild dancing. I don’t know why, but it felt good seeing a grim asshole like him finally enjoying himself for once. Then again, had I not ended up where I was now, I probably would have been just like him when I grew up.

I really dodged a bullet on that one, huh?

I looked around, a sudden feeling of happiness swelling up in my chest as the bridge of the song started, and for some reason I felt as if someone was watching me from afar. I turned around and, like something out of the ending of Star Wars, saw my father leaning against a fence post, smiling proudly.

I stared for a few seconds, not knowing what to think, until I finally gave him a small smile and a slight nod, and I watched as he closed his eyes, bowed his head, and faded away.

“Allen? Are you okay?” I heard a voice ask from behind me. I looked over and saw Drayke giving me a slightly worried look. “You were staring out at nothing; I thought something was going on,” he explained.
I shook my head. “No,” I said happily, “Everything’s fine. In fact, things couldn’t be better. Hey, can I have my mic back?” I asked, gesturing to the object in Drayke’s hand.

He looked down and widened his eyes. “Oh! Yeah, go finish your song,” he said, tossing it into the air.
I nodded appreciatively and took a quick look around. “Hey, Drayke? I need to ask one more favor,” I said slowly.

Drayke sighed hopelessly. “I guess so.”
I motioned towards Cadence, who sat at a table with a sad expression on her face; I realized now that this may not have been the best song choice. “You see that alicorn over there?” I asked quietly, “I want you to go over there and ask her to dance.”
Drayke widened his eyes. “What? No way, man. I’ll respect you being with a horse, but I’m not going down that road,” he protested.

“Drayke. She just lost her husband.”

This made the man soften his expression. “Oh. Well, in that case… sure. But only because I’m such a naturally nice guy,” he said nonchalantly.
I rolled my eyes and laughed. “Yeah, and I have hands. I’ll see you later,” I said as I ran out to the dance floor.

I stopped sharply halfway to the center, causing me to skid the rest of the way, and brought the mic to my face. “Let’s get this party started!” I shouted, resulting in another cheer, and Twilight and I finished the song together, singing the main chorus together once, and the rest of the crowd joined in on the second.

I smiled broadly as everyone cheered, and I whirled my head around, shooting a Bolt into the sky that exploded like a bright, white firework that could be seen for miles around.

~-~-~-~-~

“Now THAT was a great wedding!” I exclaimed. I sat on the balcony back at the castle, accompanied by Drayke, Twilight and her friends, Cadence, Luna, and Celestia.
Pinkie nodded. “I think that was the best party I’ve ever put together!” she said happily.

Celestia stood up. “Allen, I don’t think there is a single being in all of Equestria I would rather see my sister married to,” she said softly. “You are a shining example that all of humanity should proudly follow,” she said, with a stern, yet slightly teasing, glare at Drayke, causing him to squirm uncomfortably.

“Yeah… anyways,” Drayke said slowly as he got to his feet, “I think I deserve a little something for what I did for Allen. After all, I did die.”

I nodded. “I suppose you want me to charge your crystal?” I asked.

Drayke laughed. “Yes, but not for the reasons you think,” he said quietly. “Over the past month, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, and tonight at the party, I finally decided: I want to go back to Earth,” he said with finality.
I raised an eyebrow. “I thought you were done with Earth,” I reminded him.
He nodded. “I did, but I thought I might give it a second chance. You know, start fresh,” he explained.

I stood up and walked over to him. “Drayke Blackwood,” I said with a slight pang of sadness, “it won’t be the same without you.”
Drayke rolled his eyes. “Don’t get all mushy on me, kid,” he said humorously, “I hate goodbyes.”
I smiled. “Well, for what it’s worth,” I said as I raised a hoof, “it was fun having you around. I mean, when you weren’t trying to take over the world,” I added.

He bumped his fist against my outstretched hoof with a grin. “It was great being here,” he said proudly, “At least, when I wasn’t being killed and trapped in a crystal.”

Drayke held out his crystal, which I pressed my horn against and willed some of my energy into the gem.
“Whenever you’re ready,” I said quietly, and watched as Drayke walked over to the center of the balcony.
“I never thought I’d say this, but...” he said slowly, “friendship is magic.”

There was a bright flash of light, and just like that, Drayke Blackwood was gone.

“I hope he’s okay,” I heard Cadence say softly.
Luna rolled her eyes. “Cadence, really,” she said with a chuckle to her niece, “I don’t think he would be the kind of boy you’d be interested in.”
“What?” she exclaimed with a blush “I’m just worried is all. We won’t see him again, so I thought it was the right thing to say!”

Everyone laughed as the princess of love continued to make excuses, and I looked over the balcony, off into the horizon.

Until we meet again, I thought as my gaze scanned the endless stars.

~-~-~-~-~

“OOF!” A loud yell sounded from a New York City alleyway, waking a sleeping man in an adjacent apartment.
The man got out of his bed, put on his slippers and robe, and rushed to his open window.

“HEY! KEEP IT DOWN OUT THERE!” he shouted, but his tone changed when he saw a groaning man standing up in a pile of trash, holding his side and wincing in pain. “Hey, are you okay, pal?” he asked worriedly.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” the man in the alley said dismissively, and looked around. “Where am I?” he asked, looking up hopelessly at the man in the apartment.
The apartment man gave the stranger a confused look. “Uh, New York City,” he said slowly. “You sure you’re okay?” he added.

The man in the alley looked at his surroundings and smiled as he brushed a hand through his shoulder-length blonde hair. “Buddy, I don’t think I’ve ever been better.”

Prologue

A lone scientist sat at his desk, rubbing his temples and dozing off every few seconds as his eyes scanned the documents that lay before him. It had been nearly a year since the strange crystal creatures had attacked Earth, but the horrors of that day still lay fresh in his mind. Everyone had thought it was the end of the world, until the monsters all suddenly collapsed and vanished for what seemed like no reason. He refused to believe it was as simple as that, though; something bigger had happened that day, something just beyond what was in plain sight, and he intended to find out what it was.

“Doctor Greathouse?” a voice asked worriedly, but he ignored it; he had too many things to worry about. What if this project didn’t work? What if they were unable to return home? What if their efforts would only hasten the creatures’ return? So many questions, he feared, that would be answered all too soon, and with the answers he didn’t want.

“Robert?” the voice called again, this time the sound of his first name snapping the scientist out of his daze.
“Yes?” he rasped, his throat dry, as he quickly reached for a nearby bottle of water and took a drink. “What is it?” he asked, his voice much clearer. He saw one of the lab assistants standing in the doorway to his office, hands behind his back.
“The gateway has been sufficiently charged, and the engineers are ready to open it. Would you like me to ask them to wait?” the assistant asked slowly.
Robert shook his head. “No, that’s all right. I may not be quite as young as you, but I’m not so old that I need everyone else to wait up for me!” he said humorously, trying to hide his inner turmoil as he stood up and gathered a few documents from his desk drawer before quickly exiting the office and heading down to the laboratory, where the fruits of his labor waited.

~-~-~-~-~

“Doctor Greathouse, good to see you!” General Warrens said happily as Robert strode into the room, trying to keep a proud appearance. “Glad you could make it,” he added, shaking Robert’s hand as a photographer held up his camera.

Robert chuckled. “I wouldn't miss it for the world, general,” he said, smiling as the camera flashed brightly, documenting what could be, if all went as planned, mankind's first time stepping outside the walls of its own universe. After the strange creatures had attacked the previous year, several undercover tests were conducted on the areas they had been sighted in, and strange readings were found: they detected traces of a strange material that did not appear on the periodic table, nor did it coincide with any other existing elements. After running several tests on objects that the unknown element could be detected on, they came to a conclusion: it, and the creatures that were made of it, were not of this world, or even this universe.

So, using massive amounts of funding, and as much manpower as could be mustered, the government established Project G.E.M., or “Good of Every Man” , whose mission was to find a way to trace the strange element back to its origin, so more intel could be gathered on the new world’s inhabitants. After nearly a years worth of non-stop experimenting, heated debating, and desperately keeping the project as covered up as possible, they had finally done it: they finally created a pathway into the other world.

“Now, Doctor, could you explain to our boys here what exactly is happening?” the general asked Robert as he motioned to a group of twenty-five soldiers and scientists, who all sat attentively in folding chairs just a few feet in front of the two men.
Robert cleared his throat. “Well, as you can see, this right here,” he began, gesturing to the massive metal doorway that sat atop a platform behind him, covered in wires and insulation tubing, “is the transport gateway into the new world. We started by sending rats through smaller versions, attaching heart monitors to them, and found that we could still get readings from them for several minutes, at which point we assume they got out of range of the receivers. So, the plan is quite simple: we turn on the machine, and it will create a stable gateway between our world and this new one. When we arrive, we are to set up a camp and begin recording our observations and taking specimens of any plants or animals we happen across.”

Robert scanned the small crowd in front of him, and saw one of the soldiers raising his hand.
“Yes?” he asked the man expectantly.
“Uh, yeah,” he replied, sounding thoroughly confused, “if this is a scientific expedition, why do you need armed soldiers to join you?”
Robert smiled gently. “Just in case something goes wrong during our stay. We don’t know what’s waiting for us on the other side, so it helps to be safe. Anyone else have any questions?”

The crowd responded with silence, so Robert turned to the engineers sitting at the control boards. “Start the ignition sequence!” he called as everyone in the room slid on a pair of safety goggles, and Warrens stepped over by Robert.

“So, how long you been in this group?” he asked casually.
Robert sighed. “About a year now. I was recruited from another research team because of my credentials,” he said sadly. He never liked looking back to how he got involved in this field, mainly because of what he had to give up to get where he was today. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wallet. Behind a plastic sheet inside the small leather fold, there was a picture of himself, standing next to a woman and a young boy; his now ex-wife and his son.

The general nodded and placed a sympathetic hand on Robert’s shoulder. “How long has it been?” he asked quietly.
Robert kept staring at the picture. “About twelve years,” he said sadly.
The general nodded again. “Look on the bright side: as much as you’ll be getting paid for this, I have no doubt you’ll be able to see them again when this is all over,” he said comfortingly.
Robert nodded. “I know, but I don’t think I’ll be welcomed very warmly. I never really got a chance to say goodbye, or even explain what was going on.”

The general smiled. “Don’t be so negative,” he said, and glanced at the young boy in the picture. “Good-looking kid. What’s his name?” the general asked, trying to change the subject a little.
Robert smiled. “His name is Allen. He should be about sixteen now.”

A low hum filled the room, starting in a low, quiet tone, but gradually increased in pitch and volume. Everyone held their hands to their ears as the noise got louder and higher, until there was a loud zapping sound, and the metal archway was filled with a bright, blue light that swirled around within. Robert hesitantly took of his goggles, finding that it was safe to look directly at the portal, and motioned for everyone else to do the same.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Robert said, trying his best to remain calm, “today we shall do something no human being before us has ever done before. We are about to set foot outside of our own universe, and enter an entirely new one.”
He stepped towards the portal, a slight breeze from it blowing his labcoat aside, as the soldiers and other scientists followed a few feet behind. He turned back to them and smiled gently, and then faced the swirling wall once again.
One small step for man, he thought excitedly, one giant leap for mankind.
Doctor Robert Greathouse took a deep breath and jumped into the portal, vanishing the moment he touched it, and the others hesitantly followed suit.

~-~-~-~-~

Of all the secrets that were lost from the ancient war between humans and ponies, there is one more dangerous than the rest; one that makes the Crystal Guardians look completely harmless. Near the end of the war, there was a human warlord named Sanguis Cruciatus, who desired only one thing more than victory over the ponies and conquering all of Equestria: power. His lust for power was so great, he eventually abandoned his companions and traveled the land alone, searching for kingdoms with magical secrets that he could use to gain dominance over both humans and ponies.

When the war reached its end, and the humans were driven back, Sanguis acted quickly: he performed an obscure ritual he discovered that was supposed to give him immortality, but did not realize it had a terrible risk if not performed correctly: the warlord was locked in an eternal slumber, never to die, but never to wake. To ensure this, the inhabitants of Equestria bound him in chains, locked him in a tomb, and hid it beneath the ice of the north.

His eternity of waiting was cut short, however, when a strange force created a massive disturbance in the magical energies in Equestria. A disturbance strong enough to awaken any being from a magic-induced coma.
Sanguis snapped his eyes open in the darkness of his tomb, confused that he was awake, but relieved it was so. He struggled at the chains that bound him, and broke free, pushing the heavy stone lid that sealed him inside out of the way. He stepped out of his coffin to find the tomb that he had just been in seemingly moments ago had suddenly aged thousands of years.

I… I have returned, he thought slowly as he looked down, and let out a surprised gasp. His body was aged and decrepit-looking, like a corpse that had been embalmed and left to be forgotten. All he wore was a piece of cloth around his waist, which made him feel vulnerable and exposed.
Where is my armor? he thought as he scanned the room. He looked to the left of his coffin and smiled with what was left of his mouth, for sitting on a table was a suit of black armor, looking as new as the day he had it crafted. He had forced a pony enchanter by blade to cast a spell that would improve the armor’s vitality, and prevent it from being affected by the passage of time.

After strapping on his old armor and testing out his ragged muscles, he stepped out of the tomb and breathed in the cold arctic air, carrying an old tome under his arm. In it, he had written all of the spells he had learned in his conquests,and enchanted it with the same spell he had placed on his armor. He opened the massive book and paged through it, narrowing his eyes as he found the spell that had locked him in his slumber. After scanning the text for a few minutes, he found it said that for every mortal life he took, his own life force would be restored, and he would eventually become youthful again.

Finally, something simple, he thought viciously as he stalked through the arctic tundra, hardly feeling the freezing wind on his dead, decayed-looking flesh. He looked ahead and saw a shining city off in the distance, sparkling as if it were made of crystal.
Perfect, he thought, smiling in anticipation of the hunt.

~-~-~-~-~

I quickly ran to Ponyville, laughing happily as I leaped over fallen logs and small hills in the moonlit night. I couldn’t wait to see my friends faces when they found out I was back. It had been almost a year since I was last in Equestria, and the last time I saw them, I thought I was going to die. Well, the last time I saw them in person; I was still a loyal brony, and kept up-to-date on the fandom and the show.

I slowed my pace when I drew near the library, making sure I stayed hidden. There weren't any ponies on the streets outside, and it was probably too dark to see me, but I had to be sure. I opened the door, glancing behind me, and quickly entered the massive tree to find that the purple alicorn that lived here wasn't home.
This is gonna be good, I thought craftily as I made myself at home, grabbing a newspaper and glass of water, and then lay back in a chair as I waited for my old friend to return home.

About a half an hour later, I heard the door open, followed by a few hoofsteps that stopped when their owner saw me. I looked up from the paper to see Twilight Sparkle staring at me with huge eyes.
I nodded and grinned. “Hey,” I said nonchalantly as I continued reading. It was only a few seconds later I heard a loud “squee”, and I was suddenly knocked backwards out of the chair and crushed in an excited alicorn hug.
“OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH!” Twilight screamed as I struggled to breath.
“It’s good to see you too, Twilight,” I wheezed, “but I kind of need to breathe!”

Twilight immediately released me, embarrassed. “Oh, I’m sorry, it’s just… you’re back!” she cried happily, and she grabbed me once again, much more gently this time.
“Yep, I’m back,” I said happily, “this time for good.”
Twilight suddenly got an idea. “We should tell the others! I can go gather them up, and you go hide!” she said, rushing for the door.
“But isn’t it a little…” I said as she flew off, no longer able to hear me, “...late?”
Well, I thought, that was eventful. I sat there for a few seconds, twiddling my thumbs awkwardly, when I got an idea: I should hide! I quickly ran upstairs and hid in a closet, waiting for my friends to arrive.

~-~-~-~-~

I heard Twilight return a little while later, along with Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Applejack.
“Come ON, Twilight, why did you drag us all the way over here? It’s super late, and I need my sleep!” Pinkie cried, obviously irritated.
“Yeah, Twilight, I’ve got apples to buck in the morning!” Applejack added.
Twilight laughed as I exited my hiding spot and crept towards the door. “Girls, please settle down! I think you’ll like the surprise I have for you!” she said happily.

“It had better be really good, Twilight; I feel like I’m going to drop like a fly any moment now!” Rainbow Dash muttered.
I stepped into the room, laughing slightly. “Sorry to be a disappointment, but it’s only me,” I said apologetically. They all stared at me with huge eyes, unsure of how to react for a few seconds, until they all let out a collective “squee” and, just as Twilight had done, tackled me into the opposite wall and hugged me.

“We thought we would never see you again!” Fluttershy wailed, and the others nodded in agreement. I laughed as Twilight ran over and joined in the group hug.

“You don’t have to worry about that anymore,” I said comfortingly, glad I was finally reunited with my friends after so long. “I’m back now. And nothing is ever going to take me away again.”

Reparations

I woke up to find myself once again in the hospital bed, this time tied down at my wrists and ankles, and saw what looked like a nurse standing guard at the doorway.
“Wh-what happened?” I asked aloud, tripping over the words and unable to properly focus on the world around me. Is this what it’s like to be on morphine? I thought through my haze. I don’t like it.

The nurse ignored me, so I was left to examine my new appearance once again. I was still human for the most part, save for my arm that had miraculously become a foreleg, my ears, horn, mane-like hairstyle, and single wing. Suddenly getting an idea, I shifted around so I could get a good look at my thigh, and could just barely see a strange, ice-blue shape; I assumed this was supposed to be my cutie mark.
Too bad I can’t see the damn thing, I thought grumpily. Then again, it’s too bad I can’t see anything!

About a half an hour later, I heard familiar voices just outside the door.
“But you have to let us in!” I heard Pinkie shout angrily, “we’re his friends!”
“And family!” I heard my “father” add sternly.
The nurse spoke in a steady tone. “I’m sorry, but we cannot let you see him. He is not stable enough to have any visitors!

Just then, there was a loud boom, like a crack of thunder, and the lights in the room flickered.
“YOU WILL LET US SEE ALLEN, OR YOU WILL SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES!” Luna shouted in the Royal Canterlot Voice.

The nurse whimpered a little, then stepped aside so my visitors could enter. I smiled as Twilight magically untied my restraints, and they all hugged me warmly while my father stood awkwardly by the door.
“Allen, are you alright?” Luna asked worriedly as I sat up.

I laughed lightheartedly as I sat up, rubbing my arms. “Well, considering I woke up with a wing, a horn, and a pony foreleg, I’d say I’m doing pretty well,” I said, yawning, “I just have one question.”
Cadence stepped from behind the group. “I suppose you want to know what happened to you?” she asked guiltily.

I nodded. “As far as I know, when you get a smashed arm and a stab to the back, you don’t turn into a freakish combination of a human and an alicorn,” I said, whatever drug I was on keeping me from flipping out.
“Well, do you remember what you were told about healing magic?” she inquired.

I nodded. “Yeah, you can use it to heal minor cuts and scrapes, but not damage to bones and organs,” I said, remembering the multiple times Twilight had patched me up during my first visit.

“Well,” Cadence said slowly, “with limited options, we used a powerful spell that would turn you into one of us; after all, our magic can work in full force if you aren’t a human,” she explained.
I waved my one human hand and wiggled my fingers. “Obviously I’m still a little human, though. What’s with that?” I asked.

Twilight stepped forward. “We didn’t want you to have to deal with getting used to a whole new body, so we only used the spell on the parts that were injured. Your arm was the worst, so it was the only thing that was completely changed. Your wing is there because of the stab wound in your back, and the horn, ears and mane are just part of the natural conversion process,” she said quickly.

I nodded, and looked down at my thigh now that my vision was cleared up a little more, and I could feel the sedative effects wearing off. Now I could clearly see what the shape plastered to my thigh was, and it was actually pretty fitting: a crystal sword with the blade pointed downwards, just like the one given to me by Celestia upon my first arrival in Equestria.
I heard someone clearing their throat, and looked up to see my “father” shuffling his feet near the doorway. “Um, could I have a word with my son?” he asked quietly, and the others, to my disappointment, obliged. He closed the door behind them, and pulled a chair over by the bed.

“What do you want?” I grumbled at the man, annoyed that he wouldn’t accept the fact that I was still pissed at him.
He looked up at me sadly. “I just wanted to let you know that I’m here for you to talk to, if you would need someone to do that. This whole experience must be very stressful for you. I know it has been for me; hell, I almost had to watch my own son die before my eyes,” he said honestly.

My expression softened a bit. I could understand where he was coming from. Even though I had never experienced it firsthand, I knew watching a loved one die and being unable to stop it had to be the worst feeling ever.
I suddenly regained my glare. “If you care so much about me, then why did you leave?” I demanded. He smiled sadly and looked down.

“I left because I care about you, and your mother. Didn’t you notice you were able to live such a good life even though she was the only one working?” he asked.
I raised an eyebrow. “Some distant, rich relative gave us a fortune in monthly payments after he died. Mom didn’t even have to work,” I said cautiously, suddenly realizing how stupid that whole situation sounded.

He laughed. “That was me. I made quite a bit of money at my job, and I was able to work out a way to send a large amount of it to you and your mother. How is she, by the way?” he asked hopefully.
I looked off to the side, studying the posters on the wall. “She was fine last time I saw her. She seems to have gotten over everything, but I can’t be too sure,” I said, surprised I was having a legitimate conversation with this man that I hated so much.
He nodded. “I was planning on coming home when Project G.E.M. was finished, you know. I was finally going to be able to become the father I wanted to be twelve years ago,” he said wistfully.

I tried to keep an angry look, but I couldn’t help but feel touched by the sincerity in his words. I almost felt guilty for being so cruel to him before.

We sat there in silence for a little while, until my father suddenly sat up. “Well, I had better let your friends talk to you some more. It was nice talking to you, son,” he said quietly as he slipped out the door.
I stared after him, then looked down at my newly changed arm.

“Nice talking to you too… dad,” I said quietly.

~-~-~-~-~

Sanguis returned to his tomb, which he had established as his base of operations. He stared at his reflection in a thick sheet of ice, scowling at his appearance. He was spilt into two equal parts: one trapped in his ancient, decrypt state, while the other was as healthy and youthful as the days of the war. Well, almost; he had a large burn mark around his mouth and nose from where one of those ponies had struck him with a magical blast, and there was a long scar on his chest from when that boy had cut him.

I will need something much stronger to defeat them, he thought as he stalked back out onto the icy plane. Many battles had been fought in this area, and as a result, many soldiers from both sides lay entombed in the thick ice beneath his feet.

He raised his arms into the air as they became shrouded in black smoke, and then slammed his fists downward, creating a massive crack in the ground below as the energy shot to the numerous corpses buried within. Just then, the ancient bodies began to stir, and they clawed their way from their frozen prison excitedly.

“How may we serve you, my lord?” a skeletal human asked humbly as it approached, and Sanguis stared at it commandingly.
“Assign commanders to help with the training. In one week, we attack the Crystal Empire,” he growled. The skeleton nodded, and started to walk away until Sanguis grabbed its shoulder forcefully.

“Also,” he added slowly, “get me information on other powerful beings in this world. I have some new, formidable enemies that make it necessary for me to gather more power.”

He quickly released his grip, and the skeleton clattered away, eager to complete its task.

~-~-~-~-~

Despite the protesting of the nurses, I was released the next day under an order received from Celestia. I walked out of the hospital as several of the citizens of the Crystal Empire eyed me curiously. I figured it wasn't every day they saw a human-pony hybrid walking down the street. Then again, it probably wasn't every day they saw a human walking down the street.

“Well, now what?” I asked Cadence and Luna as we walked towards the palace, “that thing is out there somewhere, probably planning to attack us again. I need to train in order to beat him!” I said, pulling my sword from its sheath and twirling it expertly in my fingers.

Luna chuckled. “Well, since you are part unicorn now, we could train you to use magic,” she said as she smiled at me.
My face lit up. “Magic?” I asked excitedly, “awesome!” Then I raised an eyebrow. “Unicorn? But I have wings- er, a wing. Wouldn’t that make me an alicorn?” I inquired.

Luna shook her head. “You may have wings and a horn, but you are not a pure alicorn. You are more like… a winged unicorn. You can use magic and fly, but you are not as powerful as myself or my fellow princesses,” she explained.
Cadence spoke up. “There is one problem, however: because you are originally human, it will be difficult for you to master many spells. But, because of your part-unicorn state, you should still be able to try a few things,” she explained.
I nodded. “Let’s get started, then!”

When we reached the palace, Cadence led me and my friends to the throne room, where several guards had set up some practice targets. Twilight stepped forward and stood next to one.
“We’ll start with a basic Bolt spell,” she explained, and gestured to the target. “Just focus on hitting the target, and you’ll use the spell.”

I planted one foot forward and aimed my horn at the target, focusing as hard as I could on firing a Bolt. I sat there, holding my breath and urging something to happen, but ended up collapsing to my knees with an annoying headache.
“I suck!” I cried angrily, crossing my arms and glaring at the target. Luna patted my shoulder.
“It’s alright, Allen; nopony gets anything right on their first try,” she said reassuringly.

The others nodded in agreement, but I wasn’t convinced. “That may be true, but the fate of Equestria relies on me getting this right! Otherwise that guy will come back, and the Crystal Empire will be defenseless!” I shouted angrily, and absentmindedly swung my sword in the direction of the target. Just then, it unleashed a wave of white energy, which tore the target in half and almost destroyed the wall behind it.

The others stared at me as I grinned. “That’s more like it,” I said as I studied my sword appreciatively.

There was a long silence as my friends studied the results of my attack, until Cadence spoke up. “Strange bursts of energy aside, I don’t think you will have to worry about any attacks for a while, Allen; the Crystal Fair is in one week, and the barrier shielding the empire is going to be stronger than ever,” she said happily.

I smiled broadly; I remembered how fun the Crystal Fair looked on the show, so I figured it would be a good time.
“Well, what are we going to do?” I asked, looking at my friends one by one.
Twilight smiled. “We’ll all work on our usual tasks at the fair, and Allen can help us each day!” she said happily.
I nodded eagerly. “That sounds great!” I cried, and suddenly noticed there was something in my pocket. I reached in and pulled out the gold ring I got back in Ponyville; I almost forgot I even had it!

I quickly hid it, but Luna noticed I was hiding something. “What is that you have, Allen?” she asked curiously.
I looked around nonchalantly. “Huh? Nothing, I don’t have anything!” I lied. Applejack glared at me, being able to always tell when I was lying, but said nothing. “Anyways, it’s getting late; why don’t we all turn in?” I suggested, changing the subject.
Cadence nodded. “Everypony follow me, and I’ll lead you to the bedrooms!” she said as she led us off. I couldn’t wait to finally get some sleep; as you could guess, I had a very long, tiring, and slightly disturbing day.

Eclipse

I dove behind a crystal pillar, out of the way of a blast of night-black energy that would have destroyed me.
“Come out and face me!” Luna screamed in an unearthly tone. I peered from behind my cover to see her stomping towards me, her mane flowing around her in a beautifully terrifying manner. “I want to hear your screams of pain, and her cries for mercy!”

I sighed as I flattened myself against the pillar. “I’m not going to fight you, Luna,” I called stubbornly, “I don’t care who you claim to be; you’re still the mare I know and love, and I will never do anything to hurt you.”

Just then, the pillar I was hiding behind crumbled to dust, and I turned to see Luna grinning like the Cheshire Cat.
“That’s too bad,” she said in mock disappointment, “because I am more than willing to do the same to you!”
I watched as my special somepony reared her head back, a ball of pitch-black energy forming at the tip of her horn.

“Luna, please don’t do this!” I shouted, tears starting to blur the edges of my vision. “This isn’t you!”
I closed my eyes and held up my arms as the ball of death flew at me like a baseball pitch, and I heard a shattering sound just as the attack hit me. When I reopened my eyes, I saw I was surrounded by shards of rapidly-vanishing crystal.

What the… I thought, confused, could this be my true power?

Luna stared at me with wide, uncertain eyes. “Impossible,” she breathed, and continued to fire bolts of magic at me, each one blocked as I held up my hand to form a wall of protective crystal in front of me.
I looked at her worriedly as I walked towards the princess of the night, continuing to block her ongoing assault. “Luna, listen to me,” I said calmly, “I don’t know what Sanguis has done to you, but you can fight it. You’re stronger than this.”

Luna growled angrily. “I AM NOT LUNA!” she roared in the Royal Canterlot Voice, “I AM STRONGER THAN LUNA EVER WAS, AND WHEN THIS IS OVER, I WILL FINISH WHAT MY SISTER AND THOSE ANNOYING LITTLE PONIES INTERRUPTED! I WILL SHROUD ALL OF EQUESTRIA IN ENDLESS NIGHT!”

Realizing her magic was having no effect against me, Luna decided to go on a more physical assault; she summoned a pitch-black halberd from nothingness and swung it at me with her magic, each strike barely missing me and burying the head into the crystal floor of the palace. I swung an arm at her weapon, my hand becoming encased in crystal as it did, and grabbed it in a vice-like grip.

I looked her in the eyes warmly. “No,” I said lovingly, “You’re not. When this is over, really over, we’re going to go back to Canterlot, and after whatever ceremony celebrates our return is over, I’m going to properly propose to you without some asshole warlord interrupting me with an army of undead soldiers, and if all goes well, YOU’RE GOING TO SAY YES!” I shouted, and pulled the halberd from her magical grasp and threw it aside.

Luna stared at her disarmed weapon, and looked back at me seductively. “But why would you want a weakling like Luna as your bride?” she asked as she began to circle me, “why not have somepony strong? Somepony worthy of standing at the side of a human as powerful as you?”
She stopped directly in front of me and stared at me with bedroom-eyes. “Why not somepony like me?” she asked, and leaned forward to kiss me.

For a moment, just the briefest of moments, I actually considered taking the offer; after all, I’m only human.

Only a moment.

I quickly held up my still-crystallized hand and stopped the mare in her tracks, causing her eyes to widen as I stared at her with a determined look on my face.
“Because I am loyal to Princess Luna, as she is loyal to me,” I said confidently, “and I will never betray her; especially not to a psychopath like you.”

The dark mare screamed and spun around, took aim with her hind legs, and struck me right in the chest, bucking me across the room and into a wall.

I groaned as I stood up, and Luna laughed victoriously. “Either way, I still get what I want; whether I make you mine or kill you, I still get to hear Luna’s delicious cries of pain,” she said hungrily.
I narrowed my eyes. I hope magic really works as simply as “whatever you command it do do”, I thought worriedly, because I’m out of options, and if this doesn’t go right…

“Luna, please! You’re stronger than she is! You’re stronger than she ever will be!” I cried. “You have to fight her; please don’t make me do this!”

As I spoke, my hand and hoof started to glow with bright energy.

Nightmare Moon laughed. There was no point in thinking of her as Luna anymore; she was too far gone.

“Take your best shot!” she challenged as she braced herself, “I’ll give you one free shot; then, you DIE!”

I nodded, a single tear streaking down my cheek. “I never told you… that nightmare I had, when all my friends had been killed by Sanguis? That was not my worst fear,” I said as I floated into the air, a white aura surrounding me as I ascended, “My worst fear is having to do what I am about to do now.”

The pieces of crystal debris started to float and circle around me, and I held my hand and hoof a foot away from each other as a ball of pure, white energy formed between them. Nightmare Moon widened her eyes as I brought the ball to my side and stared at her, tears streaming down my cheeks.

“I love you,” I whispered, and screamed as I thrusted my arms forward and fired a beam of pure magical energy from the ball that engulfed Nightmare Moon and made it impossible to see anything for a long time.

~-~-~-~-~

When my vision finally returned, I found myself lying in what remained of the Crystal Palace; I guess my friends were right when they said I could have destroyed the place in my sleep. I looked around in despair at the crystal rubble that surrounded me, and gasped when I saw Luna lying several feet away from me. I was relieved to see her mane was much shorter, and her pelt was midnight blue once again.

I did it, I thought happily as I rushed to her side, but my elation faded quickly when I noticed the lack of movement coming from the alicorn.
“Luna?” I asked shakily, and bent down next to her. “Luna, please wake up,” I asked, a little louder this time.

“Please,” I whispered, “I need you… I’m nothing without you… please, get up…” I begged her, starting to sob. I pressed my face into her side and cried for a long time, but my constant pleading went unanswered.

“Excuse me,” a smug voice called from behind me, “but I believe you owe me a fight. But first, I’ll be taking what is left of that alicorn’s energy.”

I stood up and turned to Sanguis as my hand and hoof regained their dangerous white glow. “You stay the fuck away from her,” I said in a deadly voice. “All of this is because of you. My father is dead. The captain of the guard, who always had my back and supported me, is dead. My girlfriend is dead because you turned her into a monster. You’ve taken enough lives; now, it’s your turn to die.” The aura had now extended to cover my forearms, but didn’t go any further.

Sanguis laughed cruelly. “And how do you suppose you’ll kill me? Like you said, I’ve taken many lives, and all of those were intent on ended my own. I’ve killed humans, earth ponies, pegasus ponies, and unicorn ponies alike. Just because you’re part pony won’t make you any more of a threat,” he taunted..

I narrowed my eyes. “Then I guess it’s about time I became more than that, huh?” I said quietly as I raised my arms into the air, and the quickly threw them down, causing a blinding explosion that made me lose all feeling and all of my senses.

~-~-~-~-~

Drayke gasped as he opened his eyes; that was probably the last thing he thought he would be doing. He looked around and saw his crystal lying just out of his reach, and he snatched it with a groan.

“Okay,” he said as he stood up painfully, “I guess the crystal had enough juice to bring me back. Good thing, too; I would rather have a less embarrassing exit from this world.”
He inspected the crystal for a moment. “Well, this thing is dead,” he sighed, “So I guess that means I’m no use to Allen anymore,” he muttered dejectedly, but his disappointment was interrupted by a blinding explosion behind him.

Drayke turned around to see the palace that he had last seen Allen in moments ago now lay in ruins, and there was a blinding light coming from the center.
“I have no idea why I’m doing this,” he growled as he jogged towards the source of the light, “but I guess there’s no going back now.”