Tales of the Forgotten: Eternity

August 10th, 2027 3:30 P.M.

Outskirts of Ponyville, Equestria

They all stood around him as he was tied down using chain made of tempered iron. Six separate anchors were set in a hexagon pattern around him where the chains connected to keep him from getting up. No one could believe what had happened or understand why he did what he did, a week after the darkness took hold of Baltimare he had been acting a little strange, more so than usual as he was more high strung and serious. Compared to his usual calm and level headed thinking he had been deliberately going out of his way to try and fight his comrades. “Robert…” Michael mumbled under his breath still trying to come to terms with what he had attempted today.

The person he most looked up to had attempted to kill him, the one who he called his brother, his family. The one who had sworn to protect him against all that would do him harm or seek to cause him pain. “How could you...I thought...I thought you cared for me?” Michael managed to finally stammer out as Robert laid there stiff as a plank staring at him with killer intent in his eyes.

“Why would I ever care for someone so weak? Someone so stupid? I’d see to it that I side with Grimoire before I had to spend another second with you. Did you really believe I would give up my life for that of an imbecile? It just goes to show how gullible you really are, and how naive you have always been.” He stated with nothing but hatred in his voice. Faelen appeared behind Michael and pulled him close.

“Don’t listen to him Michael, there’s no way that's my father.” She glared daggers into him as he smiled at her.

“Come on Faelen you know it’s me. Don’t you remember the days we spent at the spa in Neighpan? Co-”

“THOU SHALT NOT SPEAK ANOTHER WORD!” Luna boomed as she stood off to the side with Twilight and the elements of harmony. Everybody cowered away from the midnight blue alicorn as the air around her seemed to crackle with energy. “THOU HAST HARMED YOUR OWN FAMILY, HAVE THY NO SHAME IN THE CRIME THOU HAST COMMITTED?!” She seemed to deflate at the end, “Was all that you told us a lie after all? Were the words you spoke those many moons ago nothing more than lies?” The tears started to well up in her eyes as she turned away from them all to attempt to hide it.

“To think we were so naive to trust someone again. To finally have found someone I look unto with equal respect only to find out it was only a lie. We trusted you, we confided in you. We thought you were our friend and yet, you were never anything more than a lying fool.” The tears were coming in full now as she turned around to face him as he had a smug smirk on his face. She was about to continue before something strange happened.

Robert’s eyes went pure black with a white dot in the exact middle of both of them and his face contorted in pain and his body followed suit. Everyone in attendance was taken aback by what was happening in front of them as Robert’s body started to flail about as if trying to escape. Luna, Twilight, and the dragons in attendance grabbed the chains in their magic and claws and drew them as tight as they could as he still continued to struggle with all of his might.

Black and white cracks started appearing all over his body as he continued to flail about. After about thirty seconds he finally stopped moving altogether but blood streamed down his face from his eyes as the veins in his face showed at the surface of his skin and his mouth was wide open in pain. In a sudden burst of power the chains binding him were broken and the ones holding them were sent flying backwards from magical backlash and from simply the force they were holding onto the chains. His body floated in mid air and slowly made itself upright with his arms to his sides but his head looking straight up.

Something peculiar started to happen, the white light that was in his body slowly turned pitch black save for the white in the middle of his eyes. Just when it seemed like the darkness had fully taken hold his body rejected it and replaced it with a blinding white light as something ejected out of the body in the shape of a large unicorn. It was launched at a high velocity and implanted itself into the cliff face 5 meters away.

Roberts body dropped to the ground but quickly sprung to its feet as the white light concentrated itself into his left arm. He started to breath heavily as his face when from one of unadulterated pain to one of fearsome anger. He reached up to the blood that streamed down his face from his eyes and attempted to wipe it off only to smear it across his face.

“You dare harm my family Grimoire and I shall take your life with my own hands!” he screamed as he went into a full on sprint straight towards the dark gray unicorn that was barely able to stand. He was at him within a second and he slammed into the unicorn with surprising force that caused the rock around them to crack. This wasn’t magic that flowed through his body, but something different. The only sensation it left in his body was a tingling feeling as if his left arm was asleep. Even so he could still feel Grimoires bones crunching and a couple of organs rupturing under the blow. Grimoires eyes went wide in pain as he coughed up some blood onto Roberts shoulder. He charged a simple magical laser spell and targeted Roberts arm but the strange magic moved to protect him. When Robert lifted his head to look into his eyes he saw something he never thought he would see. He saw what looked like the anger and hatred of thousands of creatures that had long since met their demise. Three stood out far more prominently in his eyes, Artemis, Solaris, and Starlight. This wasn’t magic, it was the souls of those he forsaked for his own twisted gain, this was them lending their strength to a creature he thought he could easily manipulate as he did so many others.

“We’ve come back Grimoire, this time it’s all of us against you.” Robert spoke in a voice that rung out with the strength of an entire civilization behind it. The light that was on his arm traveled into Grimoires body through the hole he had punched into him and started to contort in pain.

Grimoire had felt something he hadn’t ever felt before, something he was supposed to instill in others but was now on the receiving end of. Fear. This may have only been a mere part of him but the real Grimoire could feel every bit of pain, every little emotion that he was feeling right now. The light consumed the shadows body and it screamed out in agony as it was slowly engulfed in a burning white light. Eventually its entire body was unable to be seen before it turned into ash leaving Robert standing there with the white light manifesting itself next to him in a sphere.

“You’re the ones that brought me here, aren’t you?” Robert was finally able to ask as his body was returned to him as well as his mind.

“It was us.” The voice of the old civilization responded.

“Then I only have one question.” He turned to the sphere, “Are you able to return us home?” he was straightforward.

“No, it is not. It is only in our power that we may bring but never send.” Artemis responded on his own this time.

Robert nodded and looked back to the pile of dust that was the shadow of Grimoire that had invaded his body during the battle in Baltimare. “Good, because I still have a job to do.” He looked down at his left arm where the light had been, up to his elbow his skin had a second degree burn. “How many of us have you brought to Equus to prepare for this war?” He asked flatly.

All was silent as everybody was waiting for an answer with anticipation. “Do you want the truth or the lie?” Artemis asked. Robert turned towards them and glared daggers into them.

“How many of us Artemis? How many humans have you brought here? How many did you rip from their families to help in this new war?” He growled.

“Three civilians including you and your friend, and Five of what your species would call soldiers. The six missing currently will appear in three days where you awaited Twilight those years ago.” Artemis responded calmly.

Robert visibly calmed down but said something under his breath before speaking again. “I see. The soldiers I can understand and at least they will get a proper send off back home but what about the civilian like me and Michael? Why did you bring them?”

“The civilian is 14 years old but she has never had family, friends, or anything to keep her stable. She is a street urchin or homeless as you would call them. But her heart called out for something greater than dying in the streets with nothing to her name. Her strengths will be easily known within the moment you meet.” Artemis explained his reasoning. “But I will tell you this about her...not all humans aren’t able to use magic here.”

Robert looked at Artemis with intrigue and was about to ask another question but was interrupted by a pair of scaly crimson arms wrapping around him and hoisting him off of his feet in a strong embrace. “Dad!” Faelen started to cry as she held him. He returned it as best he could as he watched Artemis fade and disappear in a matter of seconds. The others in attendance formed a circle around them as Faelen finally let up and put Robert down. Despite the reunion Robert's face was still deadly serious.

He looked over everyone in attendance and just as Luna was about to speak he cut her off. “I apologize for how I have been but I’m certain you all realized it wasn’t me who was speaking but a different person. That was a shadow of Grimoire Dusk, during the battle of Baltimare I let my anger go and that left me vulnerable to him. A shadow exists in the humans brought here, a shadow of those who came before that were human. I had been fighting it off for many years but after seeing Baltimare become essentially an undead haven under Grimoires control something inside me finally broke.”

“Seeing all of those innocents die...seeing them become part of Grimoires army against their will...we can’t let that happen to anyone else especially if we can help it. The enemy is at our doorstep now, they are banging at the gates of what they think to be heaven but what we will show them beyond those gates is hell. Not Tartarus but our hell, and until the blood in my body ceases to flow through my veins I will see to it that he pays.” He put his right hand up in front of him and clenched it into a fist.

“This burn was caused by the souls of that civilization that has long been dead since before Celestia's time. This is my reminder of the promise I make, the promise I swear to keep.” His eyes burned brighter than they have in years, the last time they burned this bright was when Faelen had been captured by a slave trading group. Faelen could remember the sight clearly, he stood on the throat of the slaver captain in charge of the group. He held his sword in his right hand and blood coated his entire body after having killed several guards just to get to him.

Nothing terrified her more than seeing this in his eyes again knowing that he would follow through with his word even if it took him dying to do so. She recalled the words he spoke right before he crushed the slaver captains skull in with his heel. “You took precious family from me and many others, now I will take your soul as repayment.”

The image was broken as he turned and smiled at her with the same warm fatherly one he had given her when he adopted her. “I will never let him harm you again Faelen, I’m sorry for not breaking out of his prison sooner.” he said sadly. He turned to Luna and Twilight, “We have more humans coming to this world, five of them. Four of which will help us without question once the situation is explained to them and the last one...from what it sounds like she will be of good use to us given the proper training. Teach her what magic you can.”

Luna was taken slightly aback, “A female of your species? And she’s able to use magic? Are you certain of this?” She asked doubtfully.

Robert shook his head, “I’m only relaying what Artemis told me directly Luna. I am skeptical as well but we will see when the time comes. I’ve already proven time and again that humans are versatile creatures when their lives are at stake.”

Luna put a hoof to her chin to contemplate as Twilight looked at her with anticipation. She didn’t say anything as she charged her horn with magic before teleporting away with Twilight in tow. Michael finally saw him and he was about to greet him but he threw a punch with his slightly healed left arm. Robert raised his left hand and caught it in his grasp. “You’re in no shape to fight Michael so stand down, lest you make me consider you a threat to my family.” he growled as he pushed his arm away. He stood there staring at Robert with an expressionless face but anger and sadness in his eyes. He went to try and attack him again but Robert slammed into his face with his right elbow, knocking Michael unconscious. “I have no time to play around.”

Robert crouched down and tossed him over my left shoulder as carefully as he could not to open any wounds. Faelen looked at me in shock, “Where has he been this past week?” he asked.

“A-at your house Dad…” she stammered out as he nodded and started walking in the direction of his home at the edge of the everfree. She quickly caught up to him after breaking out of her stupor. “Why did you-”

“I won’t deal with idiots right now Faelen. In his state he is nothing more than a hindrance to us, if every time I see him he tries to start something I won’t let it slide. He says he isn’t scared of me, even in my darkest hour but no one, not even you have seen me at my darkest hour.” The words dripped venomously from his mouth. “And for your sake, I hope you never have to see me at my darkest hour or are a part of what caused it to come on.”

“When I adopted you Faelen it wasn’t because I felt sorry for you, not because I wanted a friend. It was because I knew you were like me in a way, you were all alone in a world you didn’t fully understand. It was because I wanted to protect you and give you a reason to keep on living. I wanted to see you grow and become a dragon that could be looked unto with reverence. You are not mine by blood and to me that is far better because most get stuck with their offspring even if they don’t like them for who they are. I chose you, I literally made the choice to adopt you into this family of two because I wanted you not anyone else. If you ever think I don’t love you, remember that.”

The rest of the walk fell on silent shoulders save for the wind blowing across the field of grass and into the trees of the everfree. The dampened sounds of our footsteps on the ground grew quieter as we slowed our pace before stopping altogether in front of my old house. I opened the door and made my way to my old room and set Michael down before doing a 180 and leaving the home in question.

I had everything I needed already, my armor, staff, and sword strapped to me with a satchel bag to carry any other things I might have needed. “Faelen.” I started. She looked down at me with questioning eyes. “I will be camped at the hill in the fields where I met Twilight all those years ago until they arrive. This isn’t me asking you, this is me telling you. Stay here and protect Michael until I come home with them.” I stated harshly but she didn’t argue as her face became serious before nodding and flying back inside to do as she was told to.

I turned back towards the tree lined path leading out of the Everfree thinking, time to play the waiting game.