Links to the Pastby SomeAssembleRequiredChaptersCMC Invention SquadGuests from the Everfree forestNew friendshipsA servant of the observerInvestigationSnap!The ponynapperRevealed identitiesExtreme countermeasuresMeanwhile in Canterlot...A meeting in the forestThe supreme reinforcementThe end?School's out, Discord's inCMC Invention SquadAfter the final day of school, Hase decided to buy the Cutie Mark Crusaders some ice cream. He wanted to make sure they're allowed to eat ice cream first, but than he remembered there was no way he could contact the Mane 6 fast enough, since Spike was with them. ' I wish ponies paid more attention to phones. ' he thought, after he decided, that even if they're not allowed to eat ice cream, he'd buy them some. After the three fillies had already eaten their ice cream, all four wondered what to do next. " Hmm, ah really can't come up with anythin' . " Applebloom noted. While wondering what to do, they got to the Carouselle Boutique without noticing it. However, all agreed, that there wouldn't be able to do something more interesting inside, so they stayed out. Since Hase was walking in front of the three fillies, while thinking what to do, his hooves eventually took on a path they knew well, and eventually the stallion and the fillies found themselves in front of Hase's laboratory. Hase was never too good in drawing blueprints, even though it was expected from a scientist. Nopony but him could understand what was drawn on his blueprints. They could read the text and follow the arrow, but the drawn segment never resembled anything like the described part, for everypony but Hase. So when he brought the plan to the builders, somepony thought it for rubbish the next day and threw it away, thinking another plan for Hase's. As a result, the long, one storey building Hase had wished his laboratory to be stored in was never really built. What was built was a two storey traditional Ponyville house. The inventor had some argument with the builders, but he accepted the building. Now it was equipped with various apendages, like a giant basement Hase had digged with a prototype mine drill. The basement was bigger than the house itself ( it was 3 storeys under the ground, so that it wouldn't weaken the street) and only accessible through " an elevator " , a small metal cabin, attached to cables, moved up and down by a machine, powered with electricity. However, the metal parts were too heavy for the walls, so Hase had to destroy one of the walls and rebuild it, reinforcing the concrete with metal bars. Additionally, a large counterweight structure was built outside of the building to prevent the whole mechanism from falling into the shaft. What once was a normal house now looked like some unfinished large- scale building. The strange antennas on the roof didn't improve its appearance much either. The front door was reinforced with a thick metal frame and secured with an electronic voice- recognition device, which made it look like somepony had torn the door of a bank safe and put it on the wall of his house. The building was anything but normal and good looking. " I've got an idea! " Sweetie Belle told the other two crusaders. " Why don't we go in and earn our cutie marks by inventing something? " The three fillies held their breathes, than jumed in the air and clapped their hooves, yelling: " Cutie Mark Crusaders invention squad, yay! " " Ah, nope. " Hase crushed their enthusiasm. " Why not? " Scootaloo complained. " I'm sure that neither Applejack nor Rarity would ever let you go inside, and I wouldn't either! There are unstable isotopes inside! Prototype droids! Disintegration tools... " Hase stopped, realising each of those words only made the three fillies more excited. Now they were looking at him with their widest smiles and with shining eyes. " There isn't actually anything I can do to cause you to give up this idea now, is there? " he smiled. The cutie mark crusaders shook their heads. The earth pony stallion sighed and continued: " Than I guess it would be better if I let you in now, while I am with you, and not wait for you to some day sneak in. " He stood next to the door, as a robotic sign spoke: " Welcome to the Ponyville Laboratory. Please, identify yourself through voice recognition to proceed. " " It's me. " the inventor said, while muzzle to muzzle with a microphone. " Identity confirmed: Hase, director. Entrance granted. " a voice sounded from the machine again. Streams of air were released, as the heavy door opened itself. The scientist let the three fillies pass before him and than quickly followed them. The door closed behind him. " Wooow! " Applebloom looked in one of the flasks, containing a blue liquid. " Wha's tha' ? " she asked Hase. " What's what? " he turned his attention to the flask Applebloom was just going to touch. His eyes widened in shock, as he tried to stop the flask from falling down, as it was steadily falling to the floor now. Luckily, he caught it before it hit the floor. Unluckily though, it broke. " Did any glass stick in you? " the worried Sweetie Belle asked. " No. " Hase got back up. " But I couldn't let it fall down. You see, that is a superelectroconductive liquid. If even one drop falls on the floor and connects the circuit... " Just as he was saying that, one drop of the blue liquid fell down and connected the big wet mark on the floor with the stallion's already soaked coat. Sparks went through it, up the stallion's hooves, electrocuting him. The stunned earth pony, with his mane sticking out in all directions, fell on the floor. " Hase! Yah OK? " Applebloom asked, as she poured the glass of water Sweetie had brought over the stallion's face. The stallion's eyelids lifted, revealing his brown eyes. The confused stallion got up. It took him a few seconds to realise what had happened. He than frowned and took the three fillies to the control room. The control room was were Hase spent most of the time when not bringing something together. There he was calculating probabilities of success and thinking of possible uses of new inventions. There was a computer on a desk in one of the corners, some chairs, a bench and a sink and that was all. Now he was going to use it as the instruction room. " You saw what happened back there, right? " he asked, his mane still sticking out in all directions, making the three fillies laugh, since his manecut didn't fit his serious tone. The scientist glared up, noticing his weird manecut. He smiled and tried to return his mane to its normal state - with questionable success. " Alright, alright! " he replied with a happy voice, when the crusaders stopped laughing. " Yes, science is funny sometimes... but what if you poured that liquid on some of the power cables and stepped into the puddle? That would have been deadly! " that explanation caused the three fillies to frown. " But ah thought yah didn't invent deadly things! " Applebloom told him. " Some things are not usualy deadly, but might turn out hazardous if misused. What would happen if you used a lense to start a fire? The lense isn't usually something dangerous, but it can be. It's the same with this liquid. It is the best conductor I have ever created. It is so powerful, that it can gather static electricity from the rubber floor and zap a pony quite powerfully, as you saw. If connected to a more powerful electricity source, however, it might be deadly. Usually I use it for electricity conducting purposes in my machines. If you want to get your cutie marks while here, you'd have to follow some rules. " Hase nodded. " Believe me, the last thing I want for you is to get hurt. Do you agree to follow the rules? " " We agree. " Scootaloo nodded. " Now, hear the three main rules. Firstly: Don't touch anything, with which you aren't absolutely familliar, without asking me what it is first. Secondly, don't go inside rooms I didn't lead you in. Three... I think we'll go without a third rule. " he smiled. " Now, if you ever come across a second flask of this superconductive liquid, " the earth pony spoke to them. " , keep it off your coats. It's stong enough to attract static electricity and zap you, as it did me. Also, don't pour it over machines. It will short- circuit them and make them explode. " the eyes of the three fillies widened as they heard this. " Explode? " all three of them asked in unison. " Not always. " this answer caused them to sigh in relief. " But it is possible! " Hase noted. " Now, what do you want to start with? " " How 'bout gadgets? " Applebloom suggested. The three fillies were waiting in front of the building. Hase said he'd pick out some machines, that he considered safe enough, and come with them to test them outside of Ponyville, preferably somewhere on the edge of the Everfree. The door opened and revealed the earth pony, carrying what seemed like a pair of strange horseshoes, more like boots, a wheelless scooter and some strange bracelets on his forehooves. " You ready? " he asked them. " Yes! " the three of them replied in unison again. Applebloom got the strange boots, Scoot got the scooter, while Sweetie Belle got one of the bracelets. However, the inventor didn't allow them to test them until they reached the edge of the Everfree. That gave them enough time to study the inventions. Scootaloo found some strange circles on the bottom side of the wheelless scooter, but nothing special except it. The boots were coated in metal, not allowing Applebloom to see what's inside. The yellow filly wondered why they were only two, but as she asked Hase, he said she'd undertsand when he said her what they do. The bracelet Sweetie Belle wore surely wasn't ment for fashion purposes. It was thick and a bit heavy, but the unicorn filly couldn't find anything to hint its purpose. When the four of them reached the edge of the Everfree, Hase took the scooter from Scootaloo and pressed a hidden button she couldn't hope to find without knowing where it was. Large fans unfolded from the circle on the bottom, and as they span, the scooter hovered in the air. The amazed pegasus filly jumped on it and tried to drive it, but apparently the controls were a bit different from the ones of the ordinary scooter. " You move by leaning in the direction you want to move in. " Hase noted. Scootaloo leaned forward, and the hoverscooter moved forward. She leaned left and it turned. She smiled and shouted with excitement. " The hoverscoot will only hover, not fly, but it still feels great. Now take it for a ride around here! " the filly needed no further encouragement. She immediately started doing laps of the lawn with the hovering machine. " How does Scootaloo get the scooter and ah get some boots? " Applebloom frowned. The scientist noticed that and got the boots from her. After pressing a pair of hidden buttons, placed symmetrically in both boots, he attached them to the red- amned filly's hindhooves. " Wha're you doin' ? " Applebloom had to sit, since standing up, while her rump was higher than her head wasn't very comfortable. " Those are the so- called Electrobuck boots. " the stallion presented his invention. " Not long ago your sister Applejack offered to teach me how to buck apples, so that I could help the next apple season. I have never done anything earth pony - like for my whole life, so I decided I should try. What Applejack got was a basket full of apples. What I got was an ankle almost strained. " the earth pony smiled and scratched his head. " I seem to lack that trademark earth pony strength. Applejack assured me, that I just need some practice. But her teaching me how to buck properly would mean less time bucking apples at full efectivity, therefore, more work for you and Big Mack, " he turned to Applebloom. " , and the last thing I want is to make your work harder. So I invented those. They increase a pony's bucking ability to incredible levels. It was ment to help me buck normally, while still teaching. However, I might have overdone it. Try to buck that dry pine. " Hase told Applebloom. The filly raised an eyebrow, stood next to the tree and bucked with all the strength she had. Her buck alone wouldn't have been strong enough. However, a second before her hindhooves hit the tree the pneumatic boots extended their bottom parts with such power, that it broke the tree and threw it a few feet away. " Yah surely overdid it. " Applebloom noted. " The problem is, I can't weaken the effect any more. " the inventor replied. " Any more? " Sweetie Belle wondered what the initial version of this invention was like. " Yes. The first time it cracked the tree to the root, while the upper part was thrown way further. that's why I only use dry, dead trees for those tests. " " And what does this do? " while levitating the bracelet with her magic, Sweetie Belle accidentaly pressed the hidden button. The bracelet extended and fired a small dart, that stuck in the tree behind Applebloom. " It fires different kinds of darts. " Hase replied. " This is something like an improver version of the utility belt from earlier. That thing was heavy and bulky, and the mechanical claws did meany things I can do without them anyway. This invention is mant for emergency uses. It can fire a normal dart, if you want to distract a tenderwolf, manticore or something else, although it wouldn't hurt them much, an electric dart to stun them or a wired dart, which would allow you to use it as a rope, when you need to pass over a gorge, river or something like that. As Scootaloo got off her scooter, Hase took the Electrobuck horseshoes from Applebloom, giving her his dart bracelet instead, and surprised them by allowing them to keep the inventions for the rest of the day. The three fillies cheered and all three got on the hoverscooter, which somehow managed to fit them all, and Scootaloo drove towards Ponyville. The fillies and colts of Ponyville Elementary were playing hide and seek in front of their school. However, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon constantly ruined the game by calling the pony, who found them, a cheater, and not accepting the others' hiding places for permitted in the game. That was until the Cutie Mark Crusaders arrived on the hovverscooter and attracted all the attention. While Scootaloo was offering some of the foals to give them a ride, the two bullies approached the crusaders and spoke: " Well, well, if those aren't nopony's favourite blank flanks, coming here to show off with something, that even isn't theirs! " "Wah aren't showin' off! " Applebloom protested. " But you are! " Silver Spoon spoke. " I wonder why would anypony waste their time with you three! I'm sure my dad would be much more interesting to this inventor than you! " " Why do you think so? " a new voice spoke. the crusaders turned around and saw, that it was Hase. " Mr. Inventor! " Diamond Tiara put on her most sweet fake muzzle and sugarcoated her voice. " My dad has an offer for you! " " What would that offer be? " the stallion replied. " He offers you cooperation! He wants you to start a new business of selling your inventions together with him! " " I am not interested. " Hase turned his back to the annoying pink filly. " Don't you want to be succesful? " Diamond Tiara asked. " What does being succesful have in common with your father? " the scientist replied with a calm voice, still with his back to the filly. " My dad knows everything! He... " Diamond Tiara couldn't finish her thought, since Hase turned around and asked: " Does your father know what happens when you mix potassium nitrate with sodium chloride? " " A chemical reaction occurs? " the pink filly guessed. " No! " Hase cut her off. " Nothing happens, since the products of the reaction would be sollutable, and it would contradict the laws of reaction between sollutions! " the earth pony noted and got away, turning around the next corner of the street. " Your friend is a geek and a fool! Business with my dad could only bring success! " Diamond Tiara went back to the crusaders, taking her nice smile off. " Eitherways, his inventions are too good to be used from blank flanks like you! " the filly, along with Silver Spoon, pushed Scootaloo off the scooter and tried to take the scooter for a ride. Before she could try to steer it in some way, however, a voice spoke: " Unauthorized access. Activating catapult. " A pneumatic mechanism pushed the entire upper part of the device up, ssending the two earth ponies flying in the air. They landed in a nearby puddle, while the Cutie Mark Crusaders got back on the scooter and flew away, turning right around the corner. Hase was there, waiting for them. " Not bad for a geek and a fool. " Hase noted, as Sweetie belle told him what had happened before and after his arrival. The sun was already setting, so the four ponies went to the laboratory to leave the scooter and the two bracelets, and then went back to the Caroussele Boutique. Hase left the fillies play for two more hours, and then sent them to bed. As he lied in his own bed, he remembered all of the funny moments and smiled, but than he remembered, that the lords still hadn't given any sign of their absence. They were still there. ' Perhaps it's just paranoya. ' he thought and closed his eyes. Guests from the Everfree forestThe doors of the three cryochambers opened and liquid nitrogen flowed out of it. A thud was heard, as three ponies fell out of these chambers. The doors closed, stopping the flow of the liquid nitrogen and revealing the three pony figures, still shaking from the cold of the chambers. A minute later, however, they stopped shaking, as their coats also returned back to normal state. All of those three ponies were pegasi. Two of them stallions, and the third one- a mare. The mare had a very light blue coat and a green mane, her cutie mark was a leaf blown by the wind. The first stallion had a grey coat, black mane, and his cutie mark was a thunder cloud, emitting lightning in all directions. The second stallion had an orange coat and a red mane, while his cutie mark was a yellow lightning only. " Gale, Rush, you OK? " the black maned stallion asked. " Yes, we're fine. How about you, Thunderflight? " Rush, the second stallion, asked. " I'm OK. " Thunderflight answered. " What's the last thing you remember? " " We were caught in a storm, we had to descend. We landed in Baltimare, or somewhere around there, but nopony would offer us shelter, except one clerk. " Gale recalled. " He pushed us inside his basement, and than some strange magic pushed us inside those chambers... the cold. " Rush shook again. " Where are we? " Thunderflight looked around, noticing the wood they were in. " You are in the Everfree forest. " a fourth voice spoke from the shadows. When the trio looked in that direction, all they could see was a pair of dark violet eyes. The violet was so dark, that it was bordering black. " Who are you? " Thunderflight approached him aggresively, but some mysterious force stopped him from coming further, while the eyes raised to a height, which ,Gale thought, could only mark the pony as a princess. " Princess Luna? " she tried to make a guess. " No. " the voice replied. Although it was masculine, the mare tried to make a second guess. " Nightmare... Moon? " " No. " the voice replied again. " Now let me ask. Are you Thunderflight, Gale and Rush, all three members of the Starfliers team? " " We are. Who are you? " Rush asked. The eyes looked more threatening now, and wind shook the leaves of the nearby trees. " That is of no matter to you. " the voice replied. " You are in the Everfree forest. It was me, who brought you here. I employed the clerk, who brought you here. I also commanded the one, who advised you to go out and fly in the storm, in order to test your limits. " Creeps went down the trio's spines. " I am the only reason you are here, in this part of the forest. Luckily, you're close enough to Ponyville. You won't get lost. I'll show you the way, under one condition. " " What's that condition? " Thunderflight asked angrily. " Once you are in Ponyville, you will find the scientist, known as Hase, and bring him to me. You might as well try to earn his trust once again, unless you want to die. " " What? " the scared Gale made a few steps back, while Thunderflight stepped in front of her, in order to protect her. " What do you speak of? Hase is imprisoned in Canterlot! He is not in Ponyville! " he yelled. " He was imprisoned... 1000 years ago. How long do you think you slept? " the jaws of the three fell open, as they looked at eachother. " That's right, you're more than 1000 years old. Perhaps if you really were friends with Hase a milenium ago, you would have known, that he escaped prison and entered a cryochamber, just like you. He awakened 1000 years ago. Now he has real friends, which wouldn't be very enthusiastic to meet the ponies, who betrayed him when he needed you the most... " " It was madness to confront the Princesses! " " Yes, but you had influence. You could have stopped the war, or at least try to. You could have made the both sides listen to eachother's arguments. Yet you didn't, you preferred to stay out of trouble. This conflict solved itself 1000 years later, without your help. As I was saying, now he has real friends, the regal sisters included. He also has a different love interest, one that would at least tell him if she likes somepony else more than him. " " How do you know all of this? " Gale blushed. " I see everything... now his friends are gone for a week. A perfect chance for you to earn your redemption and bring Hase to me. But know this: the cryochambers I put you in weren't exactly in order. While the normal chamber should only keep the most vital processes going, these kept all going, just making them go slower. You are in your normal condition, but unless you get yourselves a sample of those formulas for eternal life Hase used on the entire of Ponyville, over the course of the week you'll age so rapidly, that nopony will be able to recognise you. Good luck. " The eyes dissappeared, leaving the three pegasi alone. " This way! " Thunderflight saw a light between the branches of the trees. Owls hooed as the three ponies made their way through the net of branches and the multiple roots, causing them to stumble multiple times. It was too tight to fly. " Do you think what that pony said is actually true? What if he's just trying to scare us into bringing Hase to him? " Gale asked, after getting up. " I don't know, but I think we shouldn't take any risks. " the black maned stallion replied. " After all, even if we aren't aging rapidly, as he told us, an eternal life wouldn't be of no use. For an instance, we will be able to beat the current flight team and become famous again! " Rush mused out loud. " Firstly, we should take care of ourselves. We'll think about career later. " Thunderflight cut him off. " OK. " the red maned pegasus nodded at the leader of the trio. In deed the Starfliers weren't deeply in the Everfree. After mere 5 minutes of walk they came out of the forest, near Fluttershy's cottage. " Do you think there's somepony in? " Gale asked, as she looked at the small house, which currently looked very cosy to all three of them. " There are no lights inside. We don't know if the pony inside would be friendly to midnight guests. I think we should go to a hotel instead. " Thunderflight admitted and all three of them unwillingly agreed, that they would have to skip on this opportunity. There wasn't anypony to open the door for them anyways, but they didn't know that, so as they shivvered, the cold of the chamber still haunting them, they regretted this decision. As they passed the bridge, they stopped and tried to come up with a plan. " I am freezing. " Gale shook. " Why don't we get a room for the night and go to ask Hase for the formulas tomorrow? " " And what if we awake 30 years older? " Rush replied. " What if our hooves aren't strong enough to carry us in the morning? " " I have to agree with Rush for this one. We can't possibly know how the aging takes place. We know, that we would die in a week, unless we take the formula, but we don't know if we wouldn't be already too old the next morning. We have to act now, while we're still sure it's still possible. " Gale nodded in agreement. The trio went down the main street, hopig to find somepony they could ask for directions. Luckily, most restaurants were still open, although not filled to full. So it wasn't surprising when the trio bumped into a grey pegasus stallion with a mane. " Good evening. " the stallion greeted. " Sorry for bumping into you. " " Good evening to you, too. " Gale replied. " Excuse me, but would you mind telling us if there's some kind of laboratory nearby? " " That would be Hase's laboratory you're looking for, right? " the trio nodded. " Why are you looking for it? " the stallion seemed surprised and confused. Apparently, Hase's inventions, just as before, weren't something ponies usually needed. " We need a particular invention. " Thunderflight answered. " One advice: don't take it. " the unknown stallion winked. " They are just too overcomplicated! Why use " toaster " to bake the toast, when you have fire? Anyway, good luck trying to operate with the invention. By the way, the lab would be closed by now. You'll have to wait until tomorrow morning. Good riddance! " the pegasus said, continuing on his way. " He wasn't of much use, was he? " Rush noted. " Oh sorry, I forgot! " the stallion trotted back. He gave them a map with an X and an O on it. " The O is the laboratory and X is where we currently are. I'm sure you'll find it. After all, this isn't Canterlot. " after instructing them, the pegasus trotted away. " How are we going to get in during the night? " Gale asked, while the pegasi were walking to the laboratory. " We'll find some way. " Thunderflight expressed his opinion. 15 minutes later they were in front of the building. They thought they would only recognise it by a small label or something, but instead the multiple apendages of the strange- looking building led them to the conclusion, that this was Hase's laboratory. " Celestia, is that thing still considered a building? " Gale wondered out loud, as she witnessed the weirdness of this building. The shadows of the night were making it look like some horribly deformed monster. " We surely aren't getting in through the front entrance! " Rush spotted the huge safe door mounted on the wall of the house. Thunderflight, however, had his eyes on a much easier target: the window on the second floor. " It might be armoured, but it won't hurt to try. Come here, Rush! We'll do it together! " the gray pegasus called his orange friend and the two stood in a bucking position. They bucked together and the glass window broke surprisingly easy. What was even more strange, no alarm sounded. " I guess, that if nopony buys his inventions, nopony steals them as well. " Rush commented. The red maned pegasus put his head through the frame and took a look of the room. There was some kind of a machine on one side of the room, a desk right in front of the window with a coat hanger next to it and another big safe door in the end of the room. " Well, hay. " the stallion with the orange coat realised, that they wouldn't be entering from here. Just as he said that the coat hanger suddenly moved. The main rod extended, and its 6 legs suddenly folded in a middle, and than extended, resembling a kneeling pony getting up. The hooks on the upper part of the hanger also extended, revealing one circle of light. Before Rush could wonder what the hay its purpose was, it spun around the rod, and when it stopped, it was facing him. Other smaller circles inside spun and the pegasus realised it wasn't a circle; it was an eye, which was focusing him. " Intruder alert! Intruder alert! " a robotic voice, coming from the hanger, spoke, as it moved, spider- like, to the window. The startled pegasus got out of the frame and flew back to Thunderflight. " What's the matter? " the pegasus with the grey coat asked, noticing his friend looked like he had seen a ghost. In that moment the robot coathanger stood behind the window frame and focused Thunderflight, Rush, and than finally Gale. " Three intruders detected. Identity: unknown. Engaging... " as the robot stated that, its middle part, which was thicker than the rest even while it was still a coat hanger, extended, revealing 6 mysterious devices, spinning around the central rod. They spun on the lower part of the wide section, and the strange devices extended upwards. Before any of the two flying stallions could try to defend themselves, a bolt of lightning was fired at both of them, bringing them down to the ground, stunned. The concerned Gale ran towards them and tried to bring them round, but she heard a mechanical sound and slowly turned around. The robot was standing there, with rotor blades extending from its upper part. They quickly folded back in, and the robot shot another bolt at her, knocking her unconcious. What the trio didn't know, was that an alarm was actually sounded. However, the only thing the usual, loud alarm would cause, would be to disturb the neighbours. The lab didn't have any security to be alerted from the sound, so Hase had instead chosen a quiet alarm: only a hoof- free device he always put on during the night emitted sound, while the laboratory only initiated its defences - all doors were locked down until his voice command was given, the normal doors were reinforced from both sides and multiple security bots, some of them masked as normal household items, were activated. In some ways, Hase found the bots even more dependable than the local guard, since he had programmed all of them on his own and he knew exactly what they would do. Moreover, they were equipped with advanced non- lethal weaponry. The sound quickly woke up Hase, without waking up the three sleeping fillies. It was the first time somepony tried to rob the laboratory and it was quite a nasty surprise for Hase, but a nice one as well, since it meant somepony actually wanted something from his laboratory. The excited stallion got the alarm hooffree device off and quietly went down the stairs, trying not to wake the cutie mark crusaders. he opened the door and shut it, now free to run. He wondered wheter it was an actual theft or just vandalism. Eitherway, he knew the criminals wouldn't have got far away. It took him only twenty minutes to reach the lab. The security bot, the one in his office, masked as a coathanger and armed with multiple Arc Generators, was standing over the three bodies, carefully watching them. If anypony of them showed any signs of conciousness, the robot was programmed to stun them again. The earth pony passed by the criminals without even looking at them went to the door and spoke: " End security lockdown. " " Voice recognised: Hase, director. Ending security lockdown. Opening main entrance... " the bot, no longer receiving signals for a security lockdown, extended his rotor blades and flew back to the broken window. He flew back inside and took the form of a coat hanger again. Hase shook his head as he saw the broken window. He thought he should probably reinforce the windows a bit more, or at least put bars on them. No, he wanted the windows to be able to be opened. So, the option with the bars fell out. Reinforced glass, on the other hoof, was a perfect option. He came to the three bodies and looked down to see who they are. He regretted doing that. There was no doubt those three ponies were his " old friends " , Gale, Rush and Thunderflight. What were they doing here? What did they want from him? The stallion sighed, Just as he thought he could have a normal life for a difference, the Starfliers entered his life with a bang, in this case through the window. He had no idea what the Starfliers were doing here and the last thing he wanted was that they remain here and reveal secrets of his past he would never share. Here they were, about to ruin his life again. For a moment Hase considered the option to leave them in the Everfree, but he would never do that. He was too good of a friend, even though they weren't. Besides, they would eventually find their way back. The inventor currently had no choice but to get them in, wait them to come round and ask them what they were doing here and what they wanted from him. Thunderflight had no idea how much time had passed when he finally came round. Every time he was just on the edge of doing so, the robot zapped him again. This time, however, it didn't occur. Along with Gale and Rush, he opened his eyes. The first thing the three of them saw was the coat hanger, that had started it all. It was currently of no danger to them, so they looked around themselves. They were in the room they had tried to break in, strapped to a bench with metal rings. They could only sit and wonder what had happened during the time they were unconcious. The computer was still there, and so was the broken window, with the large spinning chair and the desk in front of it. The first to break the silence was Thunderflight: " Hello? Is there anypony here? " " Hello to you too. " a voice was heard and the chair turned around, revealing the figure of a pony the three of them craved to see. " Hase! We're so glad to see you! " Gale exclaimed. " But I am not. " Hase cut off their enthusiasm. " Why are you here and now? What are you doing outside of your time? " " The same goes for you. " Thunderflight replied, a bit confused about why Hase was cross. " Yes, but I am in a position to ask questions. You are not. " as he said that, the coat hanger extended back to its bot form, and its weapons threatingly spun around the central rod. The three of them reallised, that if they want to complete their mission, they would have to keep the pony with the violet eyes a secret. So Thunderflight only said the main thing: " We entered three cryochambers... " he started, but the scientist interrupted him: " I figured that out on my own. I ment something different. What is the purpose of your presence here? What do you want? " For a minute all three of them went silent. None amongst them could think of a feasible alibi, so it became clear to Hase, that the trio were hiding something. He decided he would try to get the truth out of them later, and went to the more easy question: " What are you looking for in my laboratory? " " We heard you still have some samples of the Eternal Life formula. We need them. " Thunderflight emphasised. " What makes you think I'm just going to give it to you, even if you " need " it? " Hase replied. "Otherwise we'll die. " Gale said with a sad voice, whiping the anger off the muzzle of the earth pony. " The chambers we used... weren't quite alright. Now the aging process would start again, catching up over the course of a week. " " That glitch... " Hase mused out loud. He got off the chair and left the room, leaving the trio wondering what he would do. Had he deserted them? Luckily, a minute later he returned with a syringe, fulled with a blue liquid. he carefully injected a third of it into each of his former friends and returned to his seat. " There. You are immortal now. Your cells won't age anymore. " he stated. The three pegasi cheered. " But still... why? Why have you chosen to come to this time, after you know there's no turning back? " the earth pony asked them, now that they were out of danger. The silence took over the room once again. The three ponies averted his gaze, looking at the ceiling and the walls, even at the security bot, at anything, that was far enough from him. ' Why have you come here? ' Hase thought, just as Thunderflight thought of a perfect answer and spoke to the inventor, looking in his eyes: " We wanted to make sure you're alright in this time! Who knows, it might have been Discord's second reign or something! " " Since when does any of you care about me that much, "old friend " ? You claim you came here to check if I were alright? Than why was I all alone in my initiative 1000 years ago? Now I know it would have been unfair of a true friend to support me in such a deed, but a true friend would have tried to stop me. You just stood on the benches and observed this war, as if it is a game, and waited to see who's the victor, so that you could cheer for them. Let me tell you something, Thunderflight. Nopony likes double- faced ponies. " " Yeah? And how would you explain, that we had thousands of fans? " the pegasus replied. At that time, the both pegasi stallions were very angry at the earth pony. Only Gale was actually considering his words. " They liked you as a team, not for the ponies you are. " Hase claimed. " But Hase... we were friends ever since we were foals. What's the matter with you? Why do you keep saying all of that? I know we should have told you to stop, but... ponies make mistakes. " Gale spoke. " Yes, Gale, we were friends ever since we were foals... until your training began. " Hase corrected her. " I can imagine how it must have felt. After all, I went through something simillar. Years of misery and fear, and now, a chance to rise above, to become something more, to become something... significant. A pony should always follow their dreams, but never desert the things they praise to reach this dream. Science was as interesting to me, as flying was to you. Yet, my life wasn't entirely science. I had friends, in the muzzles of Tia and Luna, and tried to get home to see mom as often as I could. Sometimes I also found your parents there as well. Imagine how shocked I was, after the first time I saw them they told me, that they haven't seen you three ever since you had gone to the castle! Was there truly not a single gap in your Young Flier program, which you could use to visit them? " The three pegasi felt guilt trying to choke them, as their heads leaned downwards. " Now you regret it, don't you? There is still hope for you, than. " the inventor pressed a button and the restricting cuffs retracted back into the seats. The confused pegasi glared at him. " You let us go? " Rush asked, as he tried to come to terms with what have just happened. " You're right, Gale. Ponies do make mistakes. " Hase smiled at them. " After all, I've made mistakes, some considerably bigger than yours. But I think, that you were never true friends, since you never knew what true friendship was. Our friendship never had the chance to develop fully. It's a chance I'm going to give it now. I hope, that the next few days I will be able to show you what true friendship is. " At first Gale smiled, as she realized Hase was willing to give them a second chance, even though it was questionable if they deserved it. But a second later she remembered why they were here. The violet eyes popped in her mind, glaring with menace, and the voice sounded again: ' Once you are in Ponyville, you will find the scientist, known as Hase, and bring him to me. ' She gritted her teeth and thought: ' Hase... why do you have to make it harder for us? ' New friendships" Here we are! " Hase spoke as the four ponies reached the boutique. Thunderflight, still suspicious of Hase, took a look at the building. " Carousel Boutique " was truly a fitting name, since the building was supported with columns, which on the second floor even had pony figures attached to them. The building was much fancier than the most Ponyville buildings, and as he looked at it, Thunderflight could remember of the rare occasions, when a carousel arrived in Canterlot and his parents allowed him to ride. They could rarely pay for such a luxury, but this was one of the pegasus' most happy memories of his foalhood: how he rode in wooden carts, on swans, even on ponies, all made out of wood, in that endless happiness. The building was actually more beautiful than the actual carousel, since although it was a magical experience for all four of them back in the days, the details were actually quite few. The stallion smiled as he recalled these days, and than suddely realized, that he hadn't had more fun in his whole life. True, it was exciting, when he, Rush and Gale made their flight teacher proud and later became the Starfliers... but the excitement of the carousel was somehow greater than the excitement of any flight, now that he compared them. For a minute he didn't realize why, but than it struck him. Hase was right. The three pegasi were so caught up in flying and succeeding, that they let the most importrant things behind. While they were training, and later, performing, he, Gale and Rush were only... colleagues. Thunderflight thought it over. Even though that eyed shadow probably had malicious intentions, his act had one positive side: it made the three of them close again. The pegasus was surprised how little it took for the spark of their friendship, almost turned to liveless ash, to ignite their friendship to its full extent again. All it took was a small accident, an hour or two together without being at any show, just hanging out like in the old days, and they had become friends again. Before all of this happenned, the last time Thunderflight remembered being so close to Rush and Gale was when their lessons began, before they distanced themselves from eachother. But what about Hase? They had come out of nowhere, interrupting the life he had craved... well, a lifetime, and what did he do? Instead of sending them away, he gave them a second chance. The stallion stopped being suspicious and approached Hase, while he was unlocking the door. " I just want to say I'm sorry. " the pegasus said. The earth pony unlocked the door, but didn't open it. Instead he turned around and looked at him. " Sorry for what? " he asked. " Sorry for not helping you out, even when you needed us the most. I just realized, that during all of these years, our hunt for success has... distanced us, from you and from eachother. For the first time in many years, I actually feel you, Gale and Rush as my friends. Before all you were was a familliar pony, and they were only colleagues... " " I understand. " the inventor interrupted him. " Sometimes success is so obsessing, that you forget the things, that really matter. i was lucky enough to have somepony to show it to me, but I guess you didn't. I should have tried to explain it to you. " " We wouldn't have listened. " Rush joined the conversation. " Thunderflight's right. All of these years, we were just colleagues. Even my love for him faded out because of our hunt for success. " Gale supported the black- maned stallion. " Do you really think we can be friends again? " Rush asked Hase. The earth pony just smiled and replied: " We already are. " He stretched his right forehoof. " Do you remember how we called ourselves? What was the name of our team? " he spoke. It took them a minute to remember, but than all three of them smiled and stretched their forehooves as well. " Just make it quiet. The girls are sleeping upstairs. " Hase noted. The four of them raised their hooves, saying: " Adventure Hunters! " " Seeking for adventure behind every corner! " Rush added. The sun rays slipped through the blinds, landing on the eyes of the three fillies. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo had turned away in their dream, teased by the light, but Applebloom hadn't, so eventually it woke her up. She opened her eyes, but quickly had to close them since the sun shone directly in them. She moved aside and carefully opened them again, making sure the sun wouldn't blind her. The filly waited for a second, so that her eyes would adapt to the light, and than jumped off the edge of the bed. The earth pony noticed, that her friends were still sleeping, so she decided to let them sleep for a bit longer, until she returned from the bathroom. The bathroom was nextdoor. As Applebloom looked in the mirror, she saw exactly what she expected to see: her mane, sticking out in all possible directions (even in some impossible, she thought to herself). The filly grabbed the brush in her mouth, leaned forward, so that she could reach her mane, and slowly brushed it, until it obeyed the law of gravity again. " Good morning. " Sweetie Belle greeted, as she entered the bathroom. " Good mornin' . " the earth pony replied, as she put on her ribbon, the final element to her manecut, and moved on to brushing her teeth. It took Sweetie Belle signifcantly longer to put her mane back in order. Her curls had somehow straightened up during the night, although they usually never did. Luckily, it took her mane only about 5 minutes of brushing to remember its usual position and soon the curls were back where they belonged. The unicorn filly smiled, levitated her toothbrush with magic and joined Applebloom in the toothbrushing. They finished with it at about the same time ( since Applebloom had secretely eaten a sticky candy the late evening and brushed longer than usual, so that Hase wouldn't notice any remainings) . Just as they were about to exit, Scootaloo entered. Her mane needed no brushing, she usually left it as it was, since it was short, so the other two fillies decided they could wait while their friend brushes and exit the bathoom together. As the three left, a sound they had somehow missed while throtting from the bedroom to the bathroom, reached their ears. Sound of somepony laughing. What was really strange, more than one pony laughing. Apparenty they had guests. The surprised fillies walked down the stairs. The table was surrounded by four chairs, each one of them occupied. One of them was Hase, and the other were three unknown pegasi. They were drinking water, since the last time Hase tried to prepare tea like Rarity did, the result was disastrous. " Good morning. " Scootaloo, still confused, greeted, announcing their presence at the same time. " Good morning, girls. " Hase replied. He took notice of the discombobulated looks on their muzzles, so decided to introduce the other ponies, sitting around the table: " Girls, I'd like you to meet some of my old friends. This is Thunderflight, " the stallion, sitting on the chair right in front of them turned around. He had a black mane and a gray coat. The pegasus looked at the three with some strange form of approval in his eyes, took a short glance directly at Scootaloo, nodded and turned around again: " She has it in her. " he told Hase. A smile, that could mean more than one thing, appeared on the scientist's muzzle. That confused the Cutie Mark Crusaders even more, especially Scootaloo. " , this is Gale, " the inventor tilted his head leftwards. Gale was a pegasus mare as well, with a blue coat and a green mane. The expression she had was nothing like the serious, yet approving smile the stallion had given them. It was a smile, but a smile of curiosity and happiness. " Hello, girls. " the mare said them. Still utterly confused, the fillies muttered something, that nopony but them heard. " It'll take some time, but when you really get to know eachother, I'm sure you would like eachother. " Hase assured her and turned to the last guest. " And this, girls, is Rush. " The stallion, sitting right from Hase, had an orange coat, in a darker shade of orange than Scootaloo's, and a red mane. He looked at the crusaders and winked, with a playful grin on his muzzle. Sweetie Belle was the first to put the pieces of the puzzle together. " Thunderflight, Gale and Rush... weren't those the Starfliers? Your old friends? " she turned to Hase, as she neared him. " In deed they are. " the earth pony replied, emphasising on " are " . " Apparently they have decided to enter some of my cryochambers, for Celestia knows what reason. Tough luck. They got the malfunctioning ones. They set off the alarm last night, trying to steal some of my Immortality Formulas, in order to heal what I called " Syndrome Of Rapid Metabolism Speed Increasement. I would have shortened it, but it sounds ridiculous. So, I gave them those Formulas, and here they are. " " Didn't those ignore yah when yah most needed 'em? " Applebloom quoted Hase. She stood next to her unicorn friend. " They did. " the stallion confirmed. " However, they're sorry for it, so I've decided to give them a second chance. " " That's nice of you. " Scoot nodded, while she carefully slipped past Thunderflight and came closer to her friends. As she turned around, she saw Thunderflight was looking at her with the same expression from before, which made her shivver. " Hase, may we talk with you for a second? " Sweetie Belle got the words from her mouth. " Of course. " the earth pony replied. " I mean alone. " Hase's expression was riddled, but he still followed them. The door was pushed open by the green magic of Sweetie and the four of them exited the Boutique. The unicorn filly shut the door behind them. Ponies were out on the streets already. Apparentl it was somewhere around 9 or 10 in the morning. " Are yah absolutely sure yah can trust 'em? " Applebloom, a little bit concerned, spoke to Hase. " Of course! After all, I've been friends with them an entire foalhood! Applebloom, would you still be friends with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle after you grow up, even if you haven't seen them for years? " " One difference, though. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo would neva' betray mah. " the red maned filly noted. The other two fillies nodded. " Why are they even here? " Scootaloo wondered. As she said that, Hase frowned and knit his brows. The little pegasus was right. During the last night interrogation the trio actually never said why they were here and now. They might have decided to change after their arrival, but what was the thought, that made them enter those chambers? Hase knew the ponies his friends once were, and he was sure they wouldn't have decided to do that, only so they could check if he's OK. For the old Starfliers, flying was everything. They wouldn't have given it up just to follow their friend in the future, but that was the only explanation the trio presented the previous night. " We'll find that out. For now, girls, just think of them as ponies, wanting a fresh start, ponies, who are willing to undo their mistakes. If I ever find out they have ulterior motives different than those, believe me, you would understand it. " the inventor assured them. " Was your conversation useful? " Gale asked, as the three fillies and the earth pony came back inside the boutique. " Very useful, actually. I believe I never introduced myself. I am Sweetie Belle. " the unicorn filly stood in front of the three pegasi and introduced herself. " Ah'm Applebloom. " her earth pony friend stood next to her. " And I'm Scootaloo. " the pegasus stood next to her friends. Thunderflight was still looking strange, but she thought to herself, that there's nothing to be afraid from, and that gave her confidence. " We are the Cutie Mark Crusaders! " the three proclaimed together. The three pegasi all raised an eyebrow. " What do you do in your... team? " Gale wasn't sure what sort of an organisation the Cutie Mark Crusaders actually was. " Group? " Rush also made a guess. " It's a club. We do all the different things together, and try to find out our cutie marks. " Scoot explained them. " I can't remember being so excited about my cutie mark. " Thunderflight noted. " It isn't that, what truly matters, is it? More importrant is the fun you have while swimming, drawing, skating... " Gale was generally right, but had missed several importrant interests, which were soon added by the CMC: " Paraglidin' ! " Applebloom exclaimed. " Snake charming! " Sweetie Belle added. " Elephant trick training! " Scootaloo noted. " Hibernation! " " Social psychology! " " Cake baking! " The three fillies continued pointing out activities they had tried, most of them very unusual. As they ended, Rush commented between giggles, while the other two were still with their jaws dropped almost to the floor: " Foal interests have changed, haven't they? " " Also, being the cause for general, but absolutely random chaos! " one of the windows of the boutique had its glass turned into the crusty cover of a pie, which was soon bursted open, as a familliar draconecqueus entered the building through the window. After he cracked with fingers again, it regained its normal state. " We don't want pretty Rarity to be angry at me for a small window, do we? " Discord commented, still highly dissaproving of the normalness of that window. He struggled not to change it, and eventually succeeded by tying his claws with his tail. The master of chaos was still oblivious of the Starfliers and the shock he had caused. " Hase! You have to contact Princess Celestia! " Rush yelled. " Don't you recognise him? That's Discord... " " Spirit of the disharmony, who foals dread in their dreams, whose arrival will signpost the upcoming years of chaos and unlimited and unpredictable randomness! " a deep and loud voice, fit for a narrator of a play, echoed as the ponies found themselves before a dark throne with a big, tall figure, from which only yellow eyes could be seen, and, high above, a storm of cotton candy clouds. The illusion soon broke and Discord hung over the three pegasi, who were still afraid of him, and spoke: " As if I weren't reformed... " " Reformed? " Thunderflight wasn't aware of that fact. " Apparently we're dealing with ponies, unaware of the current events! Especially rare specimens! " the draconecqueus spoke in awe, and the trio of pegasi found themselves wearing cavepony clothing, with a label, saying " Wild caveponies, dated around 1000 Before Reformation. " next to them. Soon the props vanished. " What is the spirit of chaos doing in your living room? " the confused Gale turned to Hase, but her question was answered by the god himself: " Oh, I just heard somepony randomly say different types of activities. I just couldn't resist joining! It's as useful as push-ups! " Discord had a sports shirt on and did a push- up with his tail, as he was speaking. " In what way is randomly saying things as useful as doing push- ups? " Rush asked with an ironic tone, starting to like the draconecqueus a bit. " As push-ups tone your muscles, the same way randomly describing things develops illogical thinking! " after he said that, a big wooden hand, giving a thumbs up with the number " 1 " written on it appeared on the end of Discord's left arm, and he shook the forehooves of the CMC one bby one, saying: " It's great to see somepony but me practice that hard! I am afraid illogicall thinking is practiced by too few. Apple trees are used for apples, forks are used for eating, fire is used for heating! This world is full of too many annoying rules! After all, why not use apple trees as constructions for establishment of bee hives? " A miniature apple tree had appeared on the table. There was also a miniature figure, slightly resembling Big Mack, bucking the apples off. That was until a miniature Discord arrived, who pushed the stallion aside and created a big tornado around the tree. When it lost all its leaves, the tornado vanished, while the miniature figure hammered 10 tiny hives to the tree. He than stood under the tree and showered with honey. " Perhaps b'cause yah can use other trees or houses for tha' purpose... and apples don' grow on other trees. " Applebloom told him. The small figures on the table vanished, as Discord greeted the earth pony's idea: " I am afraid you're right about that... but houses? Brilliant! So why not put beehives on houses. Far from windows and doors, of course. Safety first. " the master of chaos knocked on the armour, that had appeared on his body. " I don't know... why not? " Scootaloo said after a minute of thinking. " Exactly! " Discord replied. The CMC found themselves on a piedestal, with medals, with " Creative Thinker! " written on them. " There is no reason why not, but nopony has thought of it! Only practicioners of random things description could come up with such an idea! " " That's the idea of science as well, if I'm not mistaken, " the master of chaos also pulled Hase on the piedestal and placed a medal around his neck too. " To have good ideas nopony else had ever had! " " Right. " Hase confirmed. " So, what are you up to today, my dear followers? " Discord asked, and than turned his gaze to the three pegasi. " But first, who are those ponies with outdated knowledge? I'm sure I'd need to tune them in really quick, before the awe from the miracles of the modern world renders them speechless! " as the draconecqueus cracked with fingers, a huge book fell in front of the trio. It was as big as a door and as thick as a wall. Its headline was " The absolute guide to Equestria " . " Discord, those are my old friends, Thunderflight, Rush and Gale. " " Refreshing my memory... " an arrow, spinning in a circle, appeared on Discord's forehead and he touched it with the tip of his finger, which now had a small, white arrow on it. The arrow spun for a second or two, but than it vanished and the master of chaos clicked with fingers: " I remember! Those are the dastardly back- stabbing traitors, aren't they? Perhaps my mind is sharper than yours, but I think they need to be locked down. " prison bars grew out of the floor, restricting the trio of pegasi to a small area of the room. " No, Discord! " Hase objected. " They want a second chance, a chance to be reformed... like you. " " Hmm. I guess you have a point. " the iron bars sank back, releasing the startled ponies. " But I'll keep an eye on them. " Discord's left eye extended until it hung almost an inch in front of the Starfliers. The morning was beautiful, so the group decided to take a walk to the end of the town. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were walking in front of the others, discussing new ideas about activities, that might bring them the desired cutie marks, while Hase explained the few new things, that had appeared in Equestria, to his friends, while Discord hung above them and observed " the suspicious strangers " . " It's called a crane. " the earth pony stallion spoke to the trio of pegasi. " It's basically a high construction, powered by mechanical energy, usually in the form of hamster wheels, and utilizing levers and reels to build high buildings. It's simple, but very useful. " " Do they use it for normal buildings as well? " Rush asked. His parents had a part- time job as builders once, so he showed more interest to these new " cranes " . " No. Buildings, lower than 5 stories are still built only by hoof. " Hase answered. As they heard that, the CMC wondered if they could get their cutie marks by operating a crane. " Nopony would ever let us even get near a crane! " Scootaloo complained. " Since we might accidentally make the whole building, perhaps. " Sweetie Belle spoke with a sad voice. " An'wha' if wah're ment ta have those cutie marks? Tha' we wouldn't b' able ta get'em until we're older! We'll stay blank flanks 'til we grow up! " Applebloom nearly panicked. " Than why don't you try to operate a toy crane first? Who knows, it might do the trick! " Hase suggested. The rest of the way was spent in an argument, wheter performing well at a miniature version of something would actually grant one a cutie mark, if they're ment to do well at that thing. Gale realised Hase was only trying to keep the girls out of harm's way, so she supported him, while Thunderflight and Rush supported the CMC. " Rainbow Dash didn't get her cutie mark for flying at all, she got her for making a sonic rainboom! " Scootaloo stated, and the two older pegasi supported her theory. They said they got their cutie marks only when they were good enough, not in the beggining. " But who knows? " Thunderflight said in the end of the argument, when they had already reached the big lawn between the Everfree and Ponyville. " Maybe flying at all might just do the trick. " " Scootaloo, I've asked Thunder for a small favor. You stay here while me and Rush go to check on the cryochambers, and he'll try to teach you to fly. " Hase said, as the two with Rush stood aside from the others. The filly's eyes shone, and she quickly turned to the pegasus. As the two ponies left the lawn, they could still hear the little filly's laugh and shouts of excitement, although she still hadn't flown. A servant of the observerNeither the ponies nor Discord noted the big black bird, that flew over the Everfree forest, and eventually over the lawn. From a distance it looked like a crow. But if a pegasus or a draconecqueus came closer, if the bird let them, they would have noted it wasn't a normal crow. The bird was as big as an eagle, a big black raven with eyes red as blood. The bird cawed. It than turned around and flew back to the Everfree. Its shadow fell over the treetops, until the raven was flying over a small clearing, which soon ended on the edge of a giant gorge. A single bridge crossed it, leading to the raven's final destination - the Castle of the Two Sisters. The raven cawed again and flew between the broken walls, swiftly entered a small hole in the roof and flew in the main hall, the huge banners with Celestia's and Luna's cutie marks on them right ahead of it. However, it turned into one of the side corridors, which had a staircase going upwards. The raven followed the course of the corridor, until it reached a door on the left. It than landed and used its beak to knock on the door. The door opened and the raven entered it. Light was coming through the window, but the pony, who had sent it, was sitting on a chair in the dark end of the room, and the only thing the red- eyed raven could see was a pair of dark violet eyes. The eyes of its master. " This palace once used to be the summer residence of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. I guess it isn't now. Nightmare Moon has destroyed it. " The raven looked at the corner of the room, from where the sound was coming. Normally, a crow wouldn't understand a thing somepony said, unless it was one of Fluttershy's crows. The eys of this raven, however, emitted sentience. It seemed much smarter than a normal raven. " Five ponies! " the bird cawed. " Five? " the stallion in the corner asked. " Yes! " the black bird confirmed. " What ponies? " the master of the raven asked again. " Three foals and two adults! One of the foals was learning to fly. " although the raven's words made sence, they still sounded like cawing, which would have made it sound strange to a normal pony. A pony, who didn't know what the raven actually was and was unaware of its intelect. " What race did the adults belong to? " the stallion was interested. " The pegasi race. " the bird replied. " Are you sure? If you are trying to trick me, this will not end well for you. " the shadow threatened, as the eyes rose. The stallion had got off the chair. " They were all winged! Three adult pegasi, one unicorn foal, one pegasi foal and one earth pony foal. " " What are they waiting for?!? " the stallion went angry. A black bolt struck near the raven. It cawed in surprise and flew two inches away. " Your services are no longer required. " the stallion spoke to the raven. A dark hole opened behind the bord, and before the crow could caw again, it was sucked in. It closed immeadiately after that. The stallion looked through the window. The Everfree Forest had spread almost to the horizon, but since his room was on the second floor, Ponyville could also be seen just next to the horizon. ' I saved you to bring him to me, not to foalsit! ' tha angry stallion thought. ' If quick aging isn't terrible enough for them, I'll make sure they have another motivation... ' The dark hole opened again, this time for longer. It irradiated cold and fear, but the stallion didn't let them succumb him. After all, he had done this a million times. He concentrated and called the image of the beast he wished to summon. This would stop any other beasts from using his portal to get out. Luckily, one of the desired beasts responded soon enough. A wooden claw, all black, stuck out of the portal and held the floor, since the beast feared it might slip back inside. Another claw followed, a head popped out as well, and soon the whole beast stood before his master. It was a timberwolf, but very different from the ones one would usually see in the Everfree. This one had about the same size as a manticore, and lichen went over his whole body, giving him a more... sinister appearance. Some of the sticks, sticking out of his back, were broken, probably battle scars. His whole body was made out of wood, black as the raven, that had vanished before. " Who are you? " the beast spoke with a hoarse voice. " Your master. " the eyes in the shadow answered. The wolf snarled, opened his mouth and jumped at his summonner, but he was stopped in mid- air. A dark oreol with sharp edges, who looked as if they were trying to cut the air, surrounded it, and the beast twisted in pain. " You're not here to eat. You're here to serve. " the stallion said, as he finished his control spell. The timberwolf roared. It wasn't the first time he met one of them. A long time ago, he was changed. He gained his intelligence, but at what cost ... now he only depended on Masters, like the stallion in the shadow. They could manipulate powers, that defeated the timberwolf with ease. Eventually, some of them would call him to his service. The inexperienced ones were great. They called him in, but could do nothing to control him. Brought out of the Endless Land, he could do whatever pleased him. He could do everything. But he always got caught... by the experienced ones. They put him under their absolute control, powered by the dreaded power of the Endless Land, and either bound him to their service, or sent him back. Apparently, the eyed shadow belonged to the former. " There is a large town outside of this wood. I'm sure you can feel it. " the stallion spoke. The pony was right. The timberwolf could feel it from miles away. Oh, if he could only... " Your targets are near the town. You'll feel them as well. Remind them they have an importrant mission. If another earth pony comes by, bring him to me. If not... do whatever you want with the adults. Just don't harm the foals. " The wolf roared. It liked what this pony was saying. With one long jump it found itself on the terasse, than pounced over the edge. The beast landed on its paws, shook its head, and ran in the forest, in direction Ponyville. As the spell of his new master fully manifested, the surging energy just stopped. The wolf roared. This spell had been used on him multiple times by many of his masters. He knew, that the tasty energy was still there, but he knew, that his organism would only convey the energy of his targets, if allowed by his master. This master, however, hadn't. The spell blocked his sense of energy to anything but the target, and he couldn't consume energy from anything, not even his targets. The only thing he could do was feel his targets. And go to them. Yet, he could still make those World Dwellers fear him. Apparently, that was what his master wanted. " Once we get you airborne, you're going to be one hay of a flier. " Thunderflight promised. Hase had asked him to teach the pegasus filly some tricks, that could probably help her get aloft easier. Sadly, none of them worked. Scootaloo, as the filly was named, trained with him on the ground, and she soon mastered the basic wing movements. Now all, that was needed, was to get in the air. He decided to try his old teacher's method the next day. He, Rush and Gale were also flightless foals, when they became the first students of Blazewing the Bold, the best flier of Equestria back than. They did all the wing practices he reccomended them, as it was with Scootaloo, who began her every morning with the practices she learned from a mare, called Rainbow Dash, who claimed to be Equestria's best flier, and sure knew some good practices. However, it didn't work with all four of them. Thunderflight started flying when his teacher applied " the country method " : the foal stood on the roof of a one or two storey building, with a big pile of hay beneath, and jumped, flapping as hard as they can. it worked with all three of them, after a month or so, so he decided it would help Scoot as well. Just as he was about to share that with her, a loud howl sounded, as if the wolf was mere feet away. The ponies jumped and turned back, awaiting to see Discord, wearing a ridiculous timberwolf costume. Discord was flying above them. " But than who... " the confused Gale asked, but stopped mid- question, as she saw what emerged from the wood. A timberwolf, which looked as if it was burned multiple times. With three pounces it was merely 15 feet away. Now the ponies could see the beast in details. This timberwolf was with the size of a manticore. ' A veteran. ' Gale thought. She had heard multiple stories of timberwolves, who despite not being of the King breed, grew to spectacular sizes. Those were mostly veterans, who survived long enough to reach that size. She hadn't seen another black timberwolf before. This one lacked any leaves one would expect from a timberwolf. Instead, lichen began from its face and covered its whole back, as well as its legs. The sticks, that sticked out of his body, were all broken, probably in battle. Usually they grew back, as a tree would heal its broken branch, but this one apparently lacked this ability, since those weren't fresh wounds. " Having fun? " the wolf asked with irony in his voice. Now that was something you didn't expect from a timberowlf. Applebloom chuckled nervously. " Well... yeah. " she replied. " Are you surprised to see a timberwolf talk? " the beast continued, getting a bit closer. The group went a bit further, keeping the distance the same as before. " I... I just didn't know they could. " Gale replied, her hooves shaking. " Only those, who have passed the Trial can. The others are mindless animals. " " Wwwhat trial? " the frightened Sweetie Belle asked. " Oh, don't be afraid! " the wolf took the whole distance between them with a single jump and stroked Sweetie Belle with his paw, making her hide behind Thunderflight. " I'm not here for you three. I'm here for them, " the timberwolf nodded at Gale and Thunderflight. He pushed the terrified Scootaloo aside, next to Applebloom and Sweetie Belle, and came so close to the two pegasi, that their muzzles were almost touching. " You, on the other side, are in some serious trouble. You got a Master angry, furthermore, an experienced one. I might be scary, but believe me, you don't want to see what Masters can do. " the wolf spoke, as the duo was shaking from fear. " I can't describe it properly to World Dwellers like you... but one can even make you pass the Trial. You don't want this to happen. " he grabbed Gale's head in his paw and slowly shook it from side to side. " He has given you a task of some kind, but you don't obey... if your earth pony friend doesn't arrive soon, I may have to apply more.. crude techniques. " the wooden muzzle curved into a grin, as the timberwolf made a few steps away from the ponies. He sat 6 feet away from them, sat and waited. The ponies stood petrified. The timberwolf stood there for three seconds, when suddenly a thunder sounded and a weird creature appeared in mid- air. It had the head of a pony, but its body was made out of many different animal parts. The creature soon took on some kind of disguise, a white suit, striped with blue stripes, and a blue hat. It held a bat in its front paws. Before the timberwolf could react, the creature lowered, swung and struck him with all of its power. This scene made the group, that had been terrified until now, laugh. Applebloom just couldn't hold it in, as she saw the draconequus lower from the sky and hit the beast with such power, that it flew over the treetops. " Homerun! " Discord announced, as he took his usual appearance again. As the group laughed, they failed to aknowledge a black spot, that had re- appeared on the edge of the wood. With three huge leaps, the wolf was only 6 feet away from Discord. The draconequus was facing them, so they couldn't warn him. The beast pounced on the master of chaos, putting him down on the ground, with his paw on Discord's neck. " No more tricks, clown, or you are dead meat! " the wolf roared. The draconequus just gave him his " Oh, really? " look and vanished with a crack of his fingers. " Where did he go? " he asked the ponies, but before they could present an answer, if any, he was struck by a curved piece of wood. As he turned around, he saw that wood return to the draconequus, who stood 12 feet away, wearing a grass skirt, hat and with mud all over his skin. The wolf took a leap at him, but before he laid his claws on him, the creature vanished again. He had no idea where his enemy might be, until he heard heavy breathing, or panting, behind him. As he turned around, he saw a tall dark figure, which turned around as well. It was a biped, all dressed in black, sporting a black mantle as well. It wore boots and had some strange aperature on its chest. A weird mask with something like a respirator where the mouth should have been and a helmet completed the figure. However, the mask still resembled the face of the creature, that had attacked him earlier. The thing was breathing heavily, so the timberwolf decided it was finally exhausted, so he attacked. The armoured draconequus raised his left arm and the wolf halted in mid- air, feeling something choke him. Than he was thrown back, 20 feet away. " I find your lack of luck disturbing. " the master of chaos said in a deep tonality. Discord held a small stick in his right hand. He pressed a small button on it, and a rod of red light extended. He held it in his right hand and attacked. The wolf quickly jumped away and tried to bite the draconequus's arm, but Discord swiftly turned around and blocked the attack with the rod. He than quickly swung and cut off the beast's left claw. The timberwolf roared and fell down in agony. Discord hung over its head, probably preparing to say another one-liner, but the beast pounced back at Discord and brought him down. His black costume vanished, together with the red rod, the black timberwolf was on the top of the unarmoured draconecquus. " Now you die! " the wolf swung with its only front claw, but suddenly it was hit in the head by a stone. The beast fell unconcious. The mastr of chaos looked up and saw his saviors were Rush and Thunderflight. Hase was standing right bellow them. He came closer to examine the beast. " What is this thing? " he wondered. " It looks like a timberwolf. But it ain't. " Applebloom said, as the whole group gathered around the fallen beast. " Black isn't a natural colour for a timberwolf. What's with all of this lichen as well? " Hase tried to examine the wolf from closer. Since the whole group had gathered around, nopony saw the big black raven, that flew in the air for a few moments, and than flew back to the Everfree. They spent a minute wondering wheter it's a new species of timberwolves, a normal timberwolf, altered by magic, or something else. Than the wolf suddenly got back up. It howled, looked around confused and showed his teeth for the last time, before he jumped over Rush and ran back into the forest. The wolf knew what was happening. It was another spell, that made him run to his master without having the chance to disobey. The Call, others called it. His master had probably sent a scout to see how it was going, had seen him fail, and was now calling him back to send him away. He had no choice but to run back to the black fortress. " Discord... siding with ponies? I admit I never saw it coming. " those were the first words that he heard, as he entered the room with the eyed shadow. " But he's the Spirit of Disharmony and Chaos, not of Battle! Don't tell me he was too strong! " the stallion yelled at him. He gave him no chance to explain. A hole opened behind him and the timberwolf was sucked in. ' I guess I won't succeed that way. ' the stallion mused. ' It's time to take things in my own hooves. ' A dark purple shine illuminated the room. Than, out of the shadow, a black unicorn with a normal height, dark violet mane and tail, and eyes with the same colour, walked out. His cutie mark was a swirling whirlpool in a slightly lighter shade of violet. The unicorn walked down the stairs with a smile on his muzzle. InvestigationThe group followed the course of the road. The last thing they wanted to get lost, especially if that beast was still around. They had had luck, and Discord helped a lot, but now, when they were on its territory, they didn't want to risk being attacked again. Rush and Hase hadn't found something interesting around or in the cryochambers, except a malfunctioning part Hase said he had found in other chambers as well, 1000 years ago. Nothing, that would hint what the case actually was, luckily. Thunderflight, Gale and Rush still hadn't shared what actually happened the night they arrived. While to the scientist and the Cutie Mark Crusaders the words of the timberwolf didn't mean anything, part of them made sense to the Starfliers. The master of the beast was impatient. The trio was afraid, that its master was the stallion, that commanded them as well. Apparently he expected them to deliver Hase to him as soon as possible. The two male pegasi agreed with Gale, when she said them, that the last thing she'd be doing was give up Hase. The others didn't hear anything, since they were ahead. That gave the trio the chance to discuss what to do. They weren't giving up Hase, that was sure. He had helped them, without having a reason to do so. he had chosen to give them a second chance, and they weren't going to waste it. However, they couldn't think of a way to solve the problem. The stallion had just shown them, that his orders should be followed, or else. None of them had ever seen a timberwolf so devoted, that it was ready to have one of its limbs cut off just to serve its purpose. It was unnatural for an animal, even for a sentient timberwolf, to put its master's will before its own well- being. Something was very wrong with that timberwolf, and that was the reason they were going to visit that zebra. Back in the days when he lived, Thunderflight remembered, zebras were a more common sight than now. All of them claimed they have extraordinary powers, while only a few actually had them. As a result, he didn't support this idea, until Scootaloo assured him, that the so- called Zecora doesn't claim anything like that, she only used herbs to brew potions. A zebra had once healed his sprained ankle with the help of herb potions a month quicker than the dosctors predicted it would be healed for, so the explanation from the young filly made him agree. Hase trotted forward, holding the liveless black paw in his mouth. Most of the others refused to carry it, even though he explained to them, that it wouldn't be dirtier than an actual tree, and all reacted very sharply, when he tried to prove it to them. So to keep them calm, he had to hold ir in a napkin Discord had provided. Carrying something in your mouth for so long wasn't very pleasant and the stallion regretted he hadn't brought his saddle bags. Luckily, soon they reached the house of Zecora. The rumour of her surprisingly effective potions had made the inventor visit the zebra oneor two times, to check if that was only the plazebo effect, or something inside these potions actually worked. Much to his surprise, Zecora's potions often contained even more effective healing agents than the cures a pony could purchase, and in higer concentration. The tea she brewed to cure his terrible headache had stripped all the remaining doubt off. As they neared the hut, Zecora stepped out to greet them. " Hello, Crusaders of the Cutie Mark! On what quest do you now embark? " she spoke, as Sweetie Belle, Applebloom and Scootaloo passed her. They said her hello, told her they weren't up to something particular today, which surprised the zebra. " I'll now greet your companion as well. I hope the flu is gone and he's now all well? " she turned to Hase. " I'm fine, thanks. " Hase mumbled through the cloth. As she greeted the others as well, Zecora invited them all in. Hase let the paw, wrapped in the cloth, on the table, and his mouth was finally free. " Zecora, we need to ask you something. " he told the zebra. " Then ask me your question and end your discombobulation. " " What is this? " Hase unwrapped the claw. " Is this a joke from you three? A wooden claw is all I see! " Zecora turned to the CMC. " Uh- uh, as far as I can recall, no timberwolves are black. " Hase objected. The zebra knit her brows and got closer to the claw. She had thought its colour some trick of light, but as she came closer and looked at the claw from all sides, she changed her opinion. She tried to wipe off the ash she thought the claw was covered with, but failed. Finally, she realised black was the claw's natural colour. " I havent seen a wolf of black before. Who knows what else fate has in store? But is the unusual colour what brought you here? Share it all, be sincere. " the zebra told them. " That timberwolf talked. " Thunderflight joined the discussion. " It was all covered in lichen, black as the claw you see now, most of his spinal sticks were broken and he had no leaves. " " A wolf that speaks, as black as smoke? Please tell me that's not a joke! " Zecora didn't believe him. " He ain't lyin'. Da wolf spoke. " Applebloom supported the black- maned pegasus and the rest of the group followed her example. They managed to convince the doubting zebra: " The talking wolf is a wonder new. Hope we won't get to meet it too soon. " " It escaped, after Discord... confronted him. " Gale replied. " He was no match for the power of Chaos! " the draconequus bragged, again appearing in his black outfit and breathing heavily. " You're right, he has fleed. Or else he would have disturbed his own breed. Their howling would have been a sign to me, that a new beast in the forest creeps. But if his kin have not yet called, it means it's a story old. " the zebra assured them. " I really hope it's gone for good. " Hase noted. " I'd like to hear its recitation; it might bear a sign of its motivation. " the healer turned to the Starfliers. Rush didn't have any idea what the beast had spoken of. He understood who the Master was, that shadow back in the forest, but the wolf spoke of Masters as if they were many. About the other names it used, the Trial, World- Dweller and the simillar ones, he was as clueless as his friends. He was growing tired of all these mysteries. He just wanted a normal life. Out of all three Starfliers, he got used to the old way of living at easiest. Back when they were still foals, he was the prankster of the group. He didn't care for the intrigues in the love triangle Hase -Gale- Thunderflight, which was nothing when they were foals, and most of the jokes came from him. The red- maned pegasus, unlike his two friends, had kept his rebellious and adventorous spirit during their time as the Starfliers. He got out in Cloudsdale once a week, even if just to see what's up in the town, is there a new rumour or something, while Gale and Thunderflight were constantly training for the performance. Rush never wanted to be perfect, and taking a walk in the town also used to give the two their time alone. With Hase's downfall the love triangle problem had finally been solved, but sometimes he just felt like a third wheel. He was still friends with both of them.... but they still had to have some time on their own. Rush thought meeting Hase would start the triangle problems again, but luckily, their old friend had found a mare for himself. It all looked very promising, until they were reminded they had a job. The orange stallion frowned as he mused, while Thunderflight was reporting Zecora the conversation they had with the timberwolf. He didn't hear what she replied, since his train of thought had taken a totally different path. Even though he was new to mysteries, he knew they had to start with the only clues they had: the shadow and the wolf. The wolf and the shadow. The wolf served the shadow, but what was the point of hiring them at all? If he had a giant wolf, why just not send a timberwolf to pick him up? Why hadn't this wolf headed directly for Hase? ' Because he doesn't know where Hase is. ' the answer struck him. The stallion in the shadows wanted to be as subtle as possible. He couldn't send a wolf to look for Hase, creating mass panic and drawing the attention. He had to act slowly. Sending them as pawns was actually quite smart of him. The pegasus tried to imagine the situation from the shadow's point of view. He couldn't send his powerful wolf, since it would fail. No, he first needed ponies to locate him, and than he'd send his wolf. How clever had he lured them into his trap... a 1000 years ago, which first made the trio think the shadow was King Sombra. Then they heard the story. King Sombra was destroyed at an attempt to conquer the Crystal Empire. That left the stallion's identity unknown. Whoever he was, he had slowly and carefully lured them into the trap, putting his ponies everywhere around them. He probably knew everything about them, while they knew nothing about him, and that annoyed Rush. He had specially chosen them to bring Hase to him, since he knew the scientist would trust them, and he had guessed right. After Zecora told them, that she would take a closer look at the claw , the group left her house. Rush would have liked to hear Hase's opinion about his theory, but still couldn't. They hadn't told Hase about the shadow. They couldn't do so without losing his trust. Meanwhile, the black unicorn with the dark violet mane was just entering Ponyville. He looked to the left, his gaze attracted by a group of running foals, but one streak of his mane fell down and hid them. The annoyed stallion stopped to return it on the top side of his head with his magic and trotted forward again. The town was pulsating with the busy Thursday afternoon rhytm, as ponies were scooting across the streets, carrying a pile of sheets, others were trying to sell their goods, while some simply enjoyed the sunny weather. The black unicorn couldn't miss them, as he proceeded with the strategic walk, which the others saw as a casual stroll. Nopony turned much attention to the stallion with the dark violet mane. Nopony but one filly. Diamond Tiara grinned. Finally she had found a pony, that seemed serious enough to actually be interested in what her dad offered. This afternoon he had asked her to help him by advertising his new exclusive offer for property insurance. At first both Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were very enthusiastic, but as the day passed by, nopony was interested in them. Tiara had started applying the technique her father taught her, the one he said she would need in the life of a successful salespony - judging ponies by their facial expression. In the right moment, anypony could be interested in anything, that's what her dad told her. She just needed to be there in the right time. However, the sunny afternoon seemed to be nopony's right moment - ponies either had expressions, hinting Diamond Tiara they were too busy, or the careless expresion of the pony, who just wants to enjoy the afternoon and ignore anything else, like a good offer for prperty insurance. " Silver Spoon! " the almost euforic earth pony called her friend. The annoyed gray- coated filly rose from behind the booth. Unlike her, Silver Spoon had given up trying to find a client two hours ago. She thought there wouldn't be one this day. Diamond Tiara was about to prove her wrong. " What now? " the filly with the silverware on her flank asked. " See that pony? " her friend pointed a pony in the crowd on the street, and Spoon set her gaze upon him. It was a stallion with a black coat and mane and tail, coloured in dark violet. His mane had a manecut, that didn't allow streaks to fall down his muzzle, and slightly resembled the one Silver had once seen in a stallion mane stylist's magazine, although she was probably wrong. His cutie mark was something round and purple she couldn't recognise from that far away. " Aaand? " unlike her friend, Silver Spoon couldn't " find the golden apple " ,as her dad would have said. Diamond Tiara frowned and tried to explain it to her friend: " Look at his face! Serious enough and not too busy! If we're succeeding with anypony roday, it's with that pony! " Silver Spoon raised an eyebrow. Her pink- coated friend sighed and rushed at the stallion, before he passed by. The gray earth pony followed her, hoping they would succeed at least with that pony. " Hey mister! " Diamond Tiara shouted, drawing the stallion's attention. ' Not again. ' the black unicorn thought. At least three ponies had tried to offer him their products so far. He needed none of them. And some of them made no sence whatsoever. Who would sell sofas and quills in the same shop? " Are you interested in insuring your property in case of fire, storm or earthquake, Mr.... " " Does the insurance include vandalism damage? " the stallion asked with a smile on his face. " I told you he'd be interested! " Diamond Tiara turned to Silver Spoon. " Only fools like that Hase, who's foalsitting the blank flanks, refuse to my father's offers! " The stallion had intended to cut them off after his ironic question, but the bragging drew his attention. ' This filly's father may know more about Hase. ' he thought and changed his plan. He waited while the little earth pony flipped through the pages of the document, probably given to her by her father. " Yes! It is included, Mr... " " Than I will be very grateful if I could meet with your father. The insurance he offers is truly not to be refused, as you said before. " the stallion replied with a serious voice, cleverly interrupting the young filly before she asked for his name. He hadn't yet thought of the name he would take on in public. " Right away! Let me lead you! " the filly kindly offered her services and led him through Ponyville. The other filly was left behind to take on other clients. " What's your name? " she asked as they turned around a corner. " Shade. " the unicorn had already managed to think of a name. The one he had thought of didn't have much in common with his cutie mark, but neither the filly nor her father would ask about that. He was their client, that was all they needed to know. They would only ask him questions, regarding their offer and his property. The excited filly led him through the door of one of the houses and the stallion found himself in a luxuriously decorated corridor. There were tapestries on the wall, the carpets were apparently brought from Saddle Arabia and the coathanger was made out of ebony. ' It isn't just any salespony. It's a rich salespony. ' the unicorn deduced, while the earth pony led him to the door in the other end of the corridor. Filthy Rich was leaning in his silk- covered hoof chair and was taking a small sip of his Canterlot tea. He had bought it from a special tea shop, the most expencive tea in the whole store, but it was worth it. Every sip was a pleasure for his taste buds. " Dad! " his daughter called from the corridor. " Yes, Diamond? " the business pony replied. " I am with a customer, may we come in? " " But of course! " he replied politely, but then jolted out of his seat and ran upstairs, panicked. He never thought Diamond Tiara would succeed in getting a customer. It was supposed to be a lesson for her, that one should always try, even when it seems meaningless. He had spent many days doing the same thing in " Rich's Barnyard Sales " , back when he was a foal, and he thought it was now time for Tiara to learn that lesson too. So it wasn't surprising he was in no condition for meeting with guests. His mane was probably a mess, and he wasn't wearing a suit! He heard his daughter enter just as he entered his room. Worried, that the client might decide to give up, he quickly brushed his mane backwards, put on a suit and rushed out. Normally, he wouldn't be that worried for a normal customer. He was only worried for special clients, like one of the Princesses or a very importrant business partner. But this was an importrant client! This was Diamond Tiara's first client ever, and he couldn't dissappoint her! That client couldn't say " no " . At least not in front of her. He didn't make the mistake to run down the stairs, as many would have, since he wanted to look as good as possible in the eyes of the guest. As he slowly got back on the ground floor, he slowly studied the stallion's muzzle. Diamond Tiara had aced it! This stallion was neither busy, and was serious enough. Furthermore, it wasn't just a pony, who had nothing else to do and just decided to insure their property. This stallion was interested. Very interested, as Filthy Rich could see in his eyes. " Good afternoon, sorry for the delay. " the business stallion greeted. " The host is never late. In his house he arrives exactly on time. It's me, who got here too early. " the black unicorn opposing him replied politely, although a bit ironically. ' A Ponyville pony would never reply like that. That stallion must be from Canterlot. ' Rich concluded, judging by the pony's way of speaking. It wasn't the too fancy way of speaking of the nobelty. It was just the answer he would expect from a pony like himself - smart and polite. ' Diamond, if your first customer is like this, I can't wait to see what your other customers will be like. ' he smiled at Tiara, whose smile spread from ear to ear, and spoke to his guest. " Please, take a seat. " he left the silk hoofchair for the unicorn, while he sat on a chair on the other side of the glass table, that separated them. As he took his place, the white cup of tea was slided over to him by an oreol of dark violet magic, so he raised his eyes and saw, that it was the guest, who moved it to him. " I believe this is yours. I am extremely sorry if I'm interrupting your tea time. " the stallion apologised. " Oh no, not at all. You're welcome. Would you like some tea as well? " Filthy Rich returned the favor. " No, thank you. I am not thirsty. " " I guess you are interested in insuring your home against fire, storm or earthquake? " " You would guess right. " his daughter's client replied. " I have come here to purchase a house, since I've heard rumours of Ponyville being the best tourism destination four seasons round. " he added. " The rumours you have heard are true. It isn't by accident it's the home of Equestria's newest alicorn Princess, Twilight Sparkle. " Filthy Rich smiled. The coronation of Princess Celestia's finest student, Ponyville's librarian, for a Princess had really boosted the property business in the area. Equestria's newest *alicorn** Princess?* That was a shock for the unicorn. It was in deed theoretically possible, that a normal pony ascends to an alicorn, but that had never happened before! Never! However, the unicorn kept his calm face. ' If I ask now, it would seem too suspicious. ' he thought. The news for a new alicorn was shocking for him, but for the ponies it was probably old and well- known news. He couldn't ask about it without looking suspicious and/or stupid. He had to rely on the press for that. So he continued acting like it was nothing new for him: " Yes. I guess it is a fit town for a royalty. However, I decided my future property would still need an insurance. " " That's common sence. " Filthy Rich agreed. " You say your insurance insures me against storms, fires and earthquakes. Are those disasters common in this area? " the black stallion acted as if he was interested in that. " Well, there are some dragons in the area, but I think the machines of the newest addition to Ponyville, a scientist, named Hase, have a higher chance of starting a fire. " what the brown earth pony said was absolutely true. Those things were unpredictable, especially when they went out of order. ' So, he is a new addition... ' the black stallion smiled. That ment he could ask some questions without looking odd. " A scientist? " he exclaimed with a voice of disbelief. " Yes. He suddenly arrived to Ponyville, and it turned out, that he's a scientist from the past, whose initial intentions were to dethrone the Princesses, since he thought they had betrayed him, when he invented some formua for eternal life. However, instead he renewed his friendship with the Princesses and also became friends with the Mane 6, our local... heroes, I guess. I'm sure you have heard of them. " " But of course. " the unicorn actually had no idea who those Mane 6 were. " They're famous throughout whole of Equestria. " " He's currently staying with one of his friends, at her boutique. " ' More clues. I guess his salespony isn't realising, that the more info he gives to me, the closer I am to my target. He will be awarded when I'm ready. ' the mastermind thought. He decided, that this was all the information he needed for now, so he decided to find out the location of that boutique. " You mentioned a boutique? That's marvellous, I will be needing new drapes for my property when I buy it. Can you say me where it is? " " Sadly, Rarity, Ponyville's designer, is out of town with the rest of her friends for a few days. She wouldn't be able to accept your offer. Anyways, after she returns, the easiest thing for you would be to find the Carousel Boutique. Anypony can show you the way. " Filthy Rich assured him. ' That was all I needed. Thank you. ' the pony thought. He than stood up and spoke: " Thank you for your time, Mr... " " Rich. Mister Rich. " the earth pony replied. " Thank you, Mr. rich. I will contact you as soon as I purchase the property I have chosen. Have a nice day. " As the black unicorn walked through the door of the corridor, Filthy Rich asked his daughter to come to him. " A perfect customer, Diamond. I'm proud of you. " he said as he hugged the pink filly. ' Once you had to fight for information, since it was something kept for yourself. Now ponies give it away like candy. ' the black- coated stallion thought, while he walked down the street. 1000 years ago, gathering that amount of info would have taken him days, and now it only took minutes. ' Ponies must feel safe these days, otherwise they would be more careful. I never wondered if Luna and Celestia can provide this feeling of security. They must have reached their maturity. ' sunk in his thoughts, the unicorn didn't turn much attention to where he was walking. ' Luna and Celestia... wait, didn't Luna... turn into Nightmare Moon? Now she's back? I should have investigated more during those 1000 years... ' His line of thought was broken, as he bumped into somepony. He raised his head to see who it was. " Very sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going! " the stallion he had just bumped into apologised. " It's all on me. I got carried away. " the unicorn replied, while taking a closer look at the pony. He was an earth pony with brown mane and tail, while his coat was beige. His cutie mark was a tooth wheel and two little clouds bellow it. The pony smiled at him, while he cleaned the dust off his coat. Something about him seemed familliar... He was accompanied by a group of 6. There were three fillies, one of them a white unicorn with pink and purple curly mane, the second one- an orange pegasus filly with grape purple mane and tail, and the third one was a yellow earth pony with red mane and tail. There were also three adult pegasi, one of them a mare, and the other two were stallions. The mare had a light blue coat, green mane and tail and a leaf, blown by the wind for a cutie mark. The first stallion was orange with red mane and tail, and red lightning for a cutie mark, while the other was grey with black mane and tail, and his cutie mark was a thundercloud with lightning being emitted in all directions. ' The three... ' the black stallion recognised them, but had no time to react, because a 7th member appeared, one that couldn't be mistaken for nopony else. " Sometimes I wish you all had wings. Walking is just so sloow. " Discord complained. The unicorn observed as cardboard wings appeared on the backs of the earth pony and unicorn fillies and on the beige stallion's back. That surprised him so much, that he was almost going to strike Discord, but he gave up before he even started. ' Celestia and Luna let Discord live freely? That's surprising, but the more surprising fact is, that he hasn't yet turned this place into a madpony's dream. I don't know what has happened. If I attack him now, I may ruin my disguise. Let's see if the ponies react. ' he thought. Surprisingly, none of the ponies screamed or ran away. The three of them with cardboard wings just got them off their backs. " Are you sure this rock lord is safe, Hase? " the mare he had employed turned to the beige stallion. ' Jackpot! ' the mastermind almost exclaimed. He had found him! Then the next second, as he tried to recall the sentence, he was shocked again, as he was before from Discord. The rock lord? A rock lord who is supposedly not safe? There could be only one pony, that possibly fitted this description. ' Cobalt. ' the stallion knit his brows. If both Discord and the Lords of Havoc were set free, Luna and Celestia were probably missing something in ruling the kingdom. How could they leave 6 of Equestria's biggest abominations free? Discord seemed... good, but the Lords couldn't be. What were the Regal Sisters thinking? ' Anyways, I need to follow them. To find out more about Cobalt. ' the unicorn went away from the group, letting them pass by. When the group was already 30 feet away, he followed them, not too close, so that he wouldn't be suspicious, but not too far, so that he wouldn't miss them. The group led him through the almost whole town, passing by a building Hase referred to as carousel Boutique, as the stallion had heard from an alley in front of them. He had become annoyed of walking with their speed, so he had taken a side street and got ahead of them, so he managed to gather even more information. On the east end of the town, among the last houses, stood a galery. It was different from the traditional Ponyville house. It was wider, the whole wall on the first floor, the one facing the street, was made out of glass, and different gem statues could be seen outside. The whole house was made out of a monolite rock. As the group entered it, the black- coated pony following them turned into an ally between the two houses opposite and observed everything. " Cobalt? Are you here? " Hase asked as he entered his friend's gallery. The Cabochon Gallery, along with Hase's laboratory, was the newest addition to Ponyville's landmarks. However, it gained much more popularity. While the laboratory didn't actually store anything interesting to the common public, and was with limited access anyways, the gallery had become a favourite for the inhabitants of Ponyville. Many came to admire the works of Cobalt, and so the barrier between him and the ponies was broken, and he could finally see ponies enjoying what he'd created, without being scared of him. The pegasus came down from the workshop on the second store. There he created, while the first floor was his gallery. He literally flew down the stairs, although Hase still couldn't understand how he did it, after his wings were covered in quartz. Twilight supposed it was his innate magic, and Hase hadn't tried to explain it ever since. Some things couldn't be scientifically proved. The Starfliers made a few steps back. For a pony, seeing him for the first time, it was in deed quite a shocking sight. Unlike the other lords, thanks to him accepting the gift of friendship, Cobalt had regained his initial appearance and all of his power, as when he was created. The pegasus had the height of Princess Cadence, his whole body was made out of obsidian, quartz crystals stuck out of his wings. His mane was a cluster of sapphires, going down his neck, resembling a punk manestyle, small emeralds covered his whole spine, while his tail was a small buff of sapphires. Only his eyes, teeth and the inside part of his mouth had remained pony, as the trio saw when he spoke: " Hi, Hase? What are you doing here? " he stretched his hoof for a high hoof, but as Hase raised his in answer, he recalled, that high- hoofing an obsidian hoof wasn't something smart, so he put it back on the ground and decided to remain with the vocal greeting only. " Well, for a beggining, I would like you to meet my old friends. Cobalt, those are Thunderflight, Gale and Rush, " the beige earth pony stepped aside, showing the trio, still looking at the rock lord with doubt. " Nice to meet you all! " the stone pegasus greeted them. " I know the first time is a bit shocking, but you'll get used to it. " he said, as he looked at his hoof, made out of volcanic glass. " Wait a minute... weren't those the ponies, that chose their carreer over their friend? " the pegasus knit his brows and looked back at the three pegasi. " They were. Now they have chosen to redeem themseles. " Hase broke the tension, that was growing between the Starfliers and the lord of rock, looking over to them with an angry gaze. " Good. I guess you finally learned, that carreer is nothing compared to friends. I'd sell this whole gallery, if it would save my friends while in danger. " Cobalt replied with a bit of arrogance in his voice. " The reason I come here, however, is to ask you for some help. " the inventor told him. " What kind of help? " the rock pony raised an eyebrow. " Protection. And information, if you can provide it. This morning, we were attacked by a timberwolf... that talked. The wood he was made out of was as black as ash. He threatened my old friends, but while I'm sure they'd be able to defend themselves, I'm not sure for the girls, " Hase turned his head to the Cutie mark Crusaders, who were too busy too look at the sculptures of Cobalt to nave heard what he said. " Would it be too much to ask to hang out with us for a few days, while Twilight returns? I just don't want the girls to get hurt. " " Of course! " he replied as quick as a lightining. " I'll stick with you until Twilight returns. And about the information... I have seen such creatures before. " " How so? " Thunderflight was surprised. " My creator used to have a whole army of creatures like this. Most were ponies, some were not, and yet, all talked... and all were black. The creator never said what they were, but in battle they were unstoppable. " " Do you think your creator might be the one, who summonned it? " Gale asked with a fearful voice. If the shadow was this rock lord's creator, and a ruler of a whole army of such creatures...the mare didn't want to meet him up close. " He's probably dead. Don't be afraid of old ghosts. " Cobalt advised her. It was starting to get chilly, and the black unicorn had grown very annoyed. Finally, the group exited the gallery, together with a pony, made out of rock. ' Cobalt. He seems to have become friends with those ponies. This mean his seal of power is broken. It'd be harder with him in the game. Harder, but not impossible. ' the stallion thought. As he saw the group returning the same way, he decided it was finally time to go book a room in the hotel. He knew where the Boutique was, the laboratory wasn't going to be too hard to find, and everything was almost ready. " A room for one, please. " the black unicorn spoke to the mare behind the desk. She hoofed the key to room number 201 over to him. He thankfully nodded, levitated a bit over to her and climbed the stairs. As the door opened, he entered his room. The bath was too tiny, the bed was abit uncomfortable, but he was going to stay here for one night only, so he didn't care. ' Tomorrow, everything will become as it's ment to be. ' the stallion thought, as he lied down in the bed. Snap!" Did you enjoy your sleep? " the receptionist mare asked. " I did. " the black unicorn smiled, while heading for the breakfast room. This was the day. The day his plan would come true. This would be one of his most memmorable days. Yet it started with ordinary eggs for breakfast. The hotel was quite full, as he could see. The table he took was one of the few almost free tables. There were no unused tables. There was a big family with three or more foals in the other side of the room, that had joined two tables to be together. As their laughter was heard in the other corner of the room, most of the ponies threw gazes of annoyance at the big family. Only the black unicorn and a couple on the table next to him smiled weakly. Most of the ponies in the restaurant were tourists. Ponyville wasn't exactly overflowing with sights, so they were very dissapointed to hear, that Princess Twilight, the reason they had taken the trip, was in canterlot and wouldn't return at least until two days later. The black stallion raised an eyebrow, as he heard many conversations, concerning how a royalty should always proclaim any trips, or at least leave a note at the mayor's office. ' Maybe she just doesn't want to be a tourist attraction for ponies like you. ' the black unicorn could say to them all, but he didn't. He quietly got up and left the restaurant. He headed for the Carousel Boutique. Hase smiled, as he looked at the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Right now, they were trying to get cutie marks for being jewellers, practicing with the gems Cobalt created for them and his small diamond chisels. Since Rarity's cutie mark was three gems, Sweetie Belle was the most optimistic of the three. " How is it going? " he asked, as he neared them. " Nah. Macutie mark certainly ain't a jeweller's cutie mark. " Applebloom shook her head. " Why so? " the stallion raised an eyebrow. " Look. " the earth pony stepped aside. This allowed Hase to take a look at the three fillies' progress. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo's chunks... were still chunks, only with some missing parts, but Applebloom's had broken into small shards. " It sometimes happens with gems. Softer intrusions. " Cobalt explained. " Hey, let me try. " Hase got an idea, that would have cheered the little earth pony up. A small amethyst, just like the one Applebloom had tried to tur into a jewel, grew from the rock lord's left forehoof. He broke it as if it was a flower and hoofed it over to Hase. Hase took the chisel in his mouth and carefully looked for cracks, or other signs, that would indicate the stone's weakness. However, one couldn't be found. He hit the stone with his chisel, not having any idea if his plan would work. A small piece broke off, but nothing more. The red- maned filly frowned even more, until suddenly cracks appeared along the surface, and the whole stone broke to little useless pieces, returning the smile on her face. The scientist knit his brows, although only joking, and said the earth pony: " You see? Nopony is good at everything. I might be good with science, but I think I'll leave the jeweller's stuff to Cobalt. " " Yah, mah too. " Applebloom also let her chisel down. " You can't be sure. I can. My talent is inventing, not crafting jewells. However, that blank flank of yours means your cutie mark can be literally anything. I can give up, since I know my talent will never be jewel crafting. You, on the other hoof, can;t be sure. So keep trying. " Hase grabbed the chisel in his mouth and gave it to Applebloom. The filly smiled in responce and picked the chisel, while Cobalt provided her with a second gem. Hase went aside and joined the Starfliers, who were sitting on a sofa. " They remind me of us at their age. " Thunderflight commented, as the scientist took a seat next to them. " Never sticking to any rules, only following one purpose: finding the cutie marks. " the beige earth pony agreed. Gale smiled, as she recalled those days. They weren't very different from the Crusaders, and their group, the Adventure Hunters, just as them, was looking for their cutie marks almost all the time. They knew every square foot of the town. Canterlot didn't provide them with any place, suitable for a clubhouse, so they usually gathered at one of their houses. Although the main memories remained, she hadn't remembered their meetings in details. All of them had blended into a single, collective memory. With several exceptions. One cloudy afternoon they had gathered in Hase's house. It was a smalll, but comfy two- storey building on the corner of a street. They had two windows to look from, but this day they had gathered around the table, planing the next activity, that could possibly bring them their cutie marks: theatre. As any filly at that age, Gale had been excited. At first Hase and Thunderflight had been a bit sceptical, but soon they had agreed with her. Only Rush had remained resillient. " We don't have any masks or costumes, silly heads! " he presented a very valid argument, that made the other three foals go silent. Hase's mother, an earth pony mare with white coat and blue- green mane and tail, had become confused at the sight of four foals sitting in complete silence, so she had asked what the case was. As Gale had told her, she remembered how the mare had smiled and said: " It's not the mask or costume, that matters. What matters is what lies behind them. " Eventually they had organised a theatre. They didn't have masks or costumes, and although it didn't bring neither of them their cutie marks, all agreed, that it had been a good experience and Rush regretted arguing before that. Than she recalled the other memories she had and took an importrant decision. They owed it to Hase. They had to tell him the whole truth, even if the others wouldn't agree. The pegasus was about to confess to the scientist the actual reason for their arrival, but before she could even open her mouth, the mare was interrupted by a door bell. " I'll open. " the beige earth pony jumped up and trotted towards the door. The three fillies stayed behind, trying to make a gemstone out of the precious minerals, while the scientist opened the door. A black unicorn with a dark violet mane and eyes of the same colour stood behind it. He lifted his gaze, as the door was opened, and when his eyes stumbled upon the earth pony, small signs of smile appeared in the left corner of his smile. " Mr. Hase? " he asked. " Yes? " at first the inventor thought it was just another pony, unaware of Rarity's absence, coming to order a suit, so he was quite surprised when the stranger adressed him by name. " You are an inventor, aren't you? " the other pony asked. " Yes, I am. Is this of any importrant matter to you? " Hase tried to be polite. " Well, I wouldn't be able to order a specific device I'm sure is too complicated and probably too hard to understand to a pony, who isn't an inventor, now, would I? " The beige stallion raised an eyebrow: " You want me to build an invention for you? " " Yes. Does this surprise you? " the unicorn replied, showing unexpected interest. " Actually, yes. Most of the ponies, especially unicorns, prefer to use more... conventional techniques, magic, to do the work. " " Magic won't do the trick. I need the machine to function even when I'm not in my house, and I just couldn't use spell all the time. I believe this is the case, in which technology is superior to magic. But I think it would be more convenient for both of us if we moved to your office... your laboratory perhaps? " " Sure! " the scientist promised and turned back to speak to his friends and the cutie mark crusaders: " Guys, I'll be busy for a while. I'll be back in an hour or so. " The ponies inside the room nodded at him. ' Yes, an hour will suffice. ' the black unicorn thought, and smiled as the beige earth pony shut the door and asked him to follow him to the lab. " How long have you been in Ponyville? " the scientist asked his client. " Two days. " at that point, there was no use of lying, so the other stallion just told the truth. " You came to me on the third day after your arrival? What makes you so interested in my inventions? " Hase wondered. The black unicorn frowned. He had forgotten, that the inventor's services weren't very popular in the town, and he had looked suspicious. " I faced a serious problem. " he hoped this alibi would be enough. The beige earth pony looked at him with knit brows for a second or two, but than he just shrugged his shoulders and continued asking him about his opinion of the town, details of his stay and simillar stuff. Than he went on to describing some of his inventions, interested in the need of the unicorn. ' He acts as if this is an everyday procedure for him, although he's aware both of us know I'm probably his sixth or seventh client ever. ' the black pony had a ready answer for the question of the inventor, so he spent the time Hase gave him to think to analyse his behaviour. ' He doesn't let dissapointment affect him at the slightest. ' Meanwhile they had already reached the laboratory. As Hase led his guest upstairs, the dark violet- maned stallion took a look at the machinery, looking for anything, that could potentially foil his scheme. He asked to take a peek at these " wonders of the modern world ", and the scientist gladly allowed him. He even began describing what each device served for. " ... that is a superconductive liquid. It's probably the best electroconductor ever created... " " ... the darts are filled with dilluted neurotoxin. Not lethal, but can stun a pony for half an hour... " ' You're too naive. ' the dark unicorn thought, as he sat opposite the inventor in his office on the second floor and said, that he needed a water pump, that pumped twice as hard as a normal one in order to drain his land off subterainian water. The glow in the beige stallion's eyes faded, but he managed to keep the enthusiasm in his voice, although only from his eyes his client could see, that he's not only dissapointed, but insulted as well. ' You're not too arrogant, but not without any pride. You boil from the inside, but you know when to show it and when- not to. ' the black stallion grinned. This masquerade was soon coming to its end. ' So, on the whole, you're proud, but not arrogant, you're smart, but you don't show off with it, you're tender when you need to be tender, and hard when you need to be hard, as I have heard. Just the pony I expected... but you're naive. Trust is a good thing, when measured right, but otherwise it's a drawback. However, this drawback woud soon be gone... " Than the signal was given. A sound, that most ponies couldn't hear. But something heard it. The serpent hissed. Finally, the signal was given. It took her long to reach this house without being seen, but her long and dark body was as dark and silent as the shadows it hid in when she needed to vanish from the ponies eyes. The snake used one of her heads to clean the broken scales off the other two. The left head looked around and saw, that nopony was near the building the master had called " Carousel Boutique " . The black unicorn knew the serpent had already heard the singal, so all he had to do now was stall. " By the way, could you invent a device, that mows the lawn? " " Yes, I have already invented such a device... " Hase was having a hard time keeping his normal tone. His client saw the spite building up in his eyes. ' Time to see how's your anger management ' the pony of the shadows thought. " It has already proved itself as an efficient tool for lawnmowing... " the inventor used the long explanations to let out the steam. ' Good! Great self- controll! ' the black stallion was impressed. While Hase's personality was being tested, the three- headed serpent stood up in its full size and used the hard end of its tail to gently knock on the door. " I'll open! " the happy Scootaloo said. Together with the Starfliers (or the Adventure Hunters, as they had started to call them), the three fillies were playing hide and seek. The purple- maned filly had already been tagged, so she had nothing better to do than to open the door. She jumped and opened the door, expecting to see Hase after another failed assignment, so she was preparing to cheer him up, when she suddenly stood face to face with a three headed snake. It was really more like face- to - tummy, since the snake was probably 6 feet tall. The three heads came down, so that they would be facing the orange pegasus. This way she could see the 6 red eyes, cut in half by dagger- like pupils. " Ssscootaloo? " the middle head asked, while the other two just showed their forked tongues. " Yes? " the frightened foal made a step back. " Where are your friendsss? " the serpent faked a friendly voice. A purposely bad imitation. " Which friends? " Scoot made another step back. " Oh, I'm ssure a filly like you has friendsss... " the black beast slid its body, and the left head curled around Scootalooand yawned, a drop of venom from its fangs falling an inch away from the filly's muzzle. " Wwwe werre pllayingg hidde an... and seek. " the terrified pegasus thought of all Rainbow Dash had told her about bravery and stopped stuttering. " Oh, I'm esspecially good at it. " the forked tongue of the left head brushed Scoot's left ear. " Mind if I join you? " The giant snake didn't wait for the answer. The left head curled up around Scootaloo, blocking her mouth, so that she wouldn't scream, but leaving her nosdrils out, so that she would be able to breathe, held her in the air, while the two other heads laid on the ground and moved in synchron with the tail, as it crawled, searching for the other two fillies. ' Gale would nevah find me here. ' Applebloom thought. She had found the perfect place. A storeroom, that Rarity used for her hats. Not only was it the last place somepony would choose to look for a pony, but she was also burried in a pile of hats. Nopony could find her, unless they knew exactly where to look for her. The black serpent, however, had no problems locating her. The three forked tongues caught any smell, left hanging in the air. In the central room, she distinguished 6 different pony smells. One was that of the pegasus infant, so from there on the beast ignored it. She guessed the ponies hiding wouldn't have moved much, so she also ignored the three smells, that were all over the place. Two traces, however, led away from the main room, and the three headed serpent guessed those would be the fillies, who were hiding. She heard steps upstairs and quickly slid, following one of those trails. Scootaloo energetically waved with her left forehoof, hoping to be seen, but the left head pulled her with the rest of the snake before her sign was seen. Than she curled up around her forehooves as well and grinned deviously. Just as Applebloom thought she would win the game, a knock was heard on the door of the closet. The earth pony could barely hold in her laughter. ' Seriously, knockin' durin' hide'n'seek? So tha' I'd hide betta? Is this how they played it before? ' the filly wondered, but than heard a sound she didn't expect. A loud hiss. ' Tryin' ta scare mah outa my cover? Good luck with tha' ! ' the red- maned filly laughed in her mind, at least until the door was open, letting out a screech. The hiss was heard again, as a voice spoke: " There's no ussse of hiding. Your game of predator and prey is too easy for a real predator like me. " Applebloom raised an eyebrow. Gale sure knew how to imitate voices. This one sounded nothing like her. " We'll find you all! I got Rush and Thunder! Sweetie, Applebloom, you're next. " Gale's dull voice came through the walls. The earth pony knit her brows: " But than who... " mid- sentence she realised she had said it out loud. Something jumped in the pile of hats, sending half of it across the room and exposing her. Applebloom's mouth fell open. In front of her stood a 6 feet long black snake with gushing red eyes. 3 feet of her length was her tail, and the other half of her split in three heads, one of which had curled around Scootaloo, who was frantically trying to escape. When she saw her friend, she energetically shook her head. Getting the meaning, Applebloom threw herself past the snake, hoping she would reach the exit, but the right head curled around her and held her in a simillar fashion to her fellow crusader. Not wasting her time, the central head laid on the floor and slid out of the room, while the other heads stood upright and observed the prisoners. Sweetie Belle held her breathe, as hoofsteps passed near her cover. Her friends had probably found better hiding places than her, but hers was covert enough. Or so she thought. The steps stopped and the sound of a locker being opened was heard. One by one, Gale started examining all the kitchen lockers. She had just reached hers, when a thud was heard. The hoofsteps were heard again, as the pegasus went away from the locker, expecting to see some of her friends switching covers. The serpent hid in a bedroom, while the pegasus followed the false lead. All she had to do was knock and the pony immeadietly fell for it. A true predator knew, that a bird in the hoof was worth two in the shadow. A true predator wouldn't have left a sure prey for something else. That was the difference. For this mare, the game of prey and predator was just a game. Where the snake came from, it was the game of survival. The snake slid inside the kitchen, knowing perfectly well where the filly was hiding. She delibarately pushed a basket of fruits of a table, so that her prey would be alerted of her presence. An excellent predator like the black reptile could afford playing with the pray. The snake than drove her tail across all the lockers, awaiting to smell the sweet, intoxicating smell of fear pheromones. However, their amount was surprisingly low. The filly still thought this was all a game. The dissapointed serpent hissed angrily and opened the door, behind which the filly was hiding. Her tail reached in and caught the unicorn filly, covering her mouth. The three heads grinned, as they saw the pupils of the small unicorns shrink at the sight of them. The air was filled with fear, especially after the filly saw her friends. The central head wrapped around her just as the others curled around her friends. With the three heads up, the snake crawled out of the kitchen and headed for the exit. In the main room, just next to the door, she bumped into the chasers, who were apparently choosing another plan for their hunt, without knowing they're out of prey. As they spotted her, the supreme predator, they instinctively made a step back. Their mind wanted them to save the fillies, but their primal instincts held them back. Oh, how she liked those type of conflicts! The bloody red eyes glared at the mare with the light blue coat, and the three heads spoke in unison, with the same voice: " Never leave the substance for the shadow! " Than the central head sprayed some venom on the carpet, ensuring the trio wouldn't do anything stupid, and slid out of the front door, without meeting any resistance. The serpent quickly set out to the edge of the town, bringing its valuable prey with itself. Even though the master was going to send her off when she delivered those foals to the set location, she was glad she had played such a pleasant game of hunter and prey. It was worth it. While the black unicorn was asking for inventions of different sorts, pretending they would be useful in his non- existent house, he heard a faint hiss coming from outside. He smiled, as he heard the signal for a successful mission, stood up and told Hase: " Well, I am glad we had the chance to talk. I will contact you as soon as I need you. " he didn't lie saying that. " Likewise. " at this point Hase was sure this pony would never request any invention of his, and wasn't even merely interested in his work, but he managed to keep his polite tone. As he was exiting the laboratory, a sprinting mare rushed past the dark unicorn and quickly entered. The smile on the face of the shadow pony grew wider, as he walked in direction the Carousel Boutique. ' The trap snapped. ' he thought " Hase! " Gale yelled at the end of her lungs. As he heard her, the worried earth pony rushed downstairs. " What's wrong? " " I know it's unbeliavable... but a snake ponynapped Sweetie Belle, Applebloom and Scootaloo! " The inventor raised an eyebrow: " You're joking, right? " " Ni, I'm not! It was 6 feet long, with three heads, and as black as that timberwolf we met on the lawn. " As he heard this description, the scientist realised the green- maned mare wasn't joking. Sweat came down his cheek, as he asked, worried: " Where are they? " " I don't know! Rush and Thunder are looking for the snake right now! " Panic took over the beige stallion. " How could you let this happen?!? " he shook her shoulders with his forehooves. " I... I don't know! We were playing hide and seek, when suddenly that snake appeared, with all three girls. It exited before we could do anything! " Hase took his forehooves off his friend's shoulders, knowing she had no fault. He loved the three fillies as if he was their brother, and now all three of them had fallen victim to some vicious reptile. What would he say to their sisters when they returned? Furthermore, how could he live with such guilt? Three fillies ponynapped because of him hoping his inventions would finally be appreciated. Perhaps things would have gone differently if he was there. Why wasn't he? Because he had tried to find happiness and appreciation from ponies, for his machines, while knowing he was appreciated for the pony he was. He wanted to be appreciated because of his machines, while his many friends appreciated him without them.From now on, he'd never do the same mistake. Ponies disliked his machines, he liked them. He didn't need to make others like them to be liked. He was already liked. He'd never trade the substance for the shadow again. The ponynapperThe black snake didn't loosen her grip even when they were already out of town. She hid behind two trees, blending with the shadows, apparently waiting for somepony. Or something. The scared Applebloom looked at her two friends. They were also afraid, that was clear by their faces. Was this reptile going to eat them? If so, than what was it waiting for? Her partner? However, she wasn't sure the snake would ponynap them for something as simple as that. It wasn't an ordinary snake. If it was, it was going to hunt in the forest, not in Ponyville, since the Everfree was rich of food for such a big animal. No, she probably needed them for something else. The other version was that she, just like that black timberwolf, obeyed something else and was now waiting them. But what use would that master find of them? They were just three fillies! Applebloom kept thinking and thinking, since anyways that was the only thing she was able to do in the snake's grip, and finally came up with an answer. The snake's master wanted to manipulate Twilight! They apparently knew Twilight would do anything for her friends,and they also knew, that she and Sweetie Belle were the sisters of two of Twilight's best friends. They were going to force Twilight to do something they needed her to do... ' But than why also take Scootaloo? ' the earth pony wondered. Twilight, of course, wouldn't choose to abandon Scoot either, but she and Sweetie Belle should have been enough. Ponynapping all three of them made no sense... " I guess you're all wondering why I brought you here. " a male voice was heard from behind. The three- headed serpent turned around. A black unicorn with dark violet mane and tail was standing in front of them. The snake bowed, relinquished the three fillies from her grip, and spoke: " Masster. As you can sssee, I followed your ordersss. Shall I be awarded the gift of freedom? " " Your kind will never be awarded this gift. " the black unicorn replied sternly. The snake hissed and was about to reply something, but before she could do that, the left front hoof of the unicorn was surrounded by a black magical oreol, unlike anything Applebloom had ever seen. When Rarity, Sweetie Belle, Twilight and even Princess Celestia used magic, the magical oreol was always of the same shape - only the colour was different. Applebloom had never seen somepony with pitchblack colour for their magic, but the other aspects of this weird magic were more confusing. First, the magic was coming from the unicorn's hoof, not his horn. Second the oreol's edge wasn't smooth and wavy, as it usually was, but with sharp, irregular forms, none of which was the same like the other, while all of them constantly shifted. Some kind of magical hole opened in the ground under the snake, with the same sharp edges as the magic the unicorn was using. He pointed at the snake with the hoof, surrounded by the strange oreol, and pulled it down. For a brief period of time the snake was also surrounded by such a dark, sharp oreol, until she was slammed right into the hole, as black as the magic the stallion was using. The hole than closed and the strange oreol around the pony's hoof dissappeared. He came closer to them and spoke: " I don't like the Three- Headed Serpents of the Plains either. They're too shifty. " The Cutie Mark Crusaders made a step back, at the same time. The stallion laughed: " If I wanted to treat you kids the same way I treated her, I would have already done it. She was a monster, you're just fillies. Why do you think I'd do the same to you? " " She called you her master! " Scootaloo replied. The stallion with the dark violet mane frowned: " Yes, she did. I can explain everything to you, but you won't understand it from the first time, and we don't have enough time to tell it twice. Hase is soon going to find the note I left for him. " " Hase? You ponynapped us to get Hase's attention? " Applebloom's theories were proven completely wrong. " I thought you ponynapped us to get Twilight's attention! " " Ah, yes, Princess Twilight. " the unicorn smiled. " It really does seem the most credible scenario. You take me for some enemy of the country, who wants to use you to force Princess Twilight to do something evil. That's the most obvious reason I ponynapped you for. However, I don't need her, nor her magic. As you have seen, I have enough magic on my own. " " What do you want from Hase, than? His machines? " the confused Sweetie Belle made a step forward. " The second most probable scenario, right? " the stallion sat down and told the fillies to do so as well. The Cutie mark Crusaders, more befuddled than ever, did as they were said. " I am the only pony in Equestria, of course, some villain, to see the genius behind Hase's inventions. Now I'm going to use you to force him to build me horrible machines I'd use to take over Equestria. But no, it isn't that either. " " Than what is it? " Scootaloo asked. " I need to discuss some very importrant matters with him. Matters, that we can only discuss if nopony's watching or listening. Near Ponyville, the only such place is the Castle of the Royal Sisters. If I simply asked him to come to the Everfree, he'd grow suspicious and contact Princess Twilight. Princess Twilight will contact Princess Celestia, who will send somepony to check who's the pony, requesting a meeting in the Everfree. Eventually, she will realise who I am, and things will go haywire. However, in the note I left him, I have written, that if news about this ever leave Ponyville, he won't see you again. I'm sure he'll never let you down. I also instructed him to come to the castle with one of his friends. His friend will safely take you three back to the town, while we discuss what we need to discuss. After that, even if information leaks, and I'm sure it will, I'll be already gone. That's all. " " You sent a snake to ponynapp us only so that you could talk with Hase? " Scoot raised an eyebrow. " An' wha did yah send the wolf? " Applebloom wondered. " Two questions, one answer. At first, the plan was to use Hase's friends to bring you to me. That's right, " he said as he saw the pupils of the three fillies shrink. " , they were my pawns. Who do you think put them in those chambers? Who do you think got them out? I'm much older than I look, young fillies, and this meeting was planned a long time ago. Those three ponies were ment to serve a role I gave them in the past, since I wasn't sure I would be able to hire ponies in the future. 2 weeks ago, the plan was finally complete. I already knew the details. I knew the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony were departing for Canterlot, and I knew I'd be able to get Hase's attention by ponynapping you. The role of the three pawns was finally clear. So I brought them back into the world and gave them their mission. I knew I couldn't depend on their loyalty, and they held no grudges against Hase. The strings I held them with were of a different sort: the wish for survival. Their cryochambers were broken, they weren't going to last a week before they aged to death. I had three potions, that would have given them eternal life and cured them. Hase cut those strings without even realising it. I thought the things they had, or hadn't done in the past would keep him from saving them. I don't know why I considered him cruel, since in his place I would have done the same. Shortly, he cured them. And also ruined the whole plan. At first I hoped fear would force my pawns out of the renewed friendship, and I used the timberwolf to serve that purpose. It failed. Than I had no choice but to use something else to bring you to me. I succeeded. I suggest we head to the castle now. We don't want your friend to get worried, right? " he got up, followed by the three fillies. " Who are you? " Sweetie Belle asked, while they were walking on the road to the castle. " I have used many names, but the name I was born with is Vortex. " the sallion replied. Vortex treated them well. Once they reached the castle, he gave them his room with his big, soft bed, while he got on the balconee to observe the road. At that time the Cutie Mark Crusaders had lost their fear of him, since he never treated them badly in any way, replied to all of their questions and even let them take a look at the halls of the castle. " Why are you doing all of this? What is so importrant, that you're ready to ponynap somepony to be able to speak about it? " Sweetie Belle asked, as she got on the balconee as well. " I can't tell you that. I can only tell you, that it is so importrant, that anypony in my position would have done the same. " the stallion answered. " Is this them? " the filly noticed two ponies on the road. " It should be. Get your friends, Sweetie Belle. You're going home. " he told her. Hase, I'm sorry I misleaded you. I don't need a grass mower, nor a watering system. All I need is a conversation with you. In private. I'm sorry for taking these fillies, but this is the only way I'm sure this conversation will really be private. I have taken the fillies in the Castle of the Royal Sisters. No harm will be done to them. Don't try to contact any of the Princesses about this matter. Don't speak about it. Instruct your friends to do the same. Take one of them with you to the castle. They will return with the fillies, while you and I have our conversation. Afterwards you will be free to leave. Greetings, Your Client The words from the letter were still inside of his mind, and he clearly remembered each part of it. " Do you think he's honest? " Gale asked him. " I don't know. I hope so. " Hase replied and looked down, staring at the dirt road he was walking on. The castle was probably close now. They had already passed the river. " I still think we shouldn't do what he says. It may be a trap. " " I prefer to fall into the trap myself, than to be the reason Sweetie, Applebloom and Scootaloo fall in it. " the worried inventor replied. Gale had tried to convince him to take some countermeasures, use some machine or something. Hase had such machines, but there was too much at stake. He couldn't use them. Not in that case. He had failed the three fillies once, he wouldn't do it again. The castle showed around the corner of the road. Hase raised his head and saw the three fillies, along with a black pony next to them, on the other side of the bridge. ' So it is him. ' who could know, that what Hase thought for just another science- illiterate pony would turn out to be the mind behind this all? The bridge seemed in bad shape, but it was in a good enough shape for two ponies to pass it. Hase and Gale stood right in front of the crusaders and their ponynapper. Only 8 feet separated them. " I'm sorry I put you in such panic. I had no choice after your friends failed to do as they were commanded. " the black unicorn with the dark violet mane glared at Gale. As Hase realised what the stallion had just said, he filled up with anger. Apparently that was visible to the rest, since the black unicorn raised an eyebrow and spoke again: " Haven't you told him yet? Oh. " Hase turned left, so that he'd be facing Gale. She looked at him, shocked by guilt and shame. " I saved you all, I trusted you... and all that time you were working behind my back? I wonder why I'm even surprised. As if I don't know you! I doubted you at first, suspected you. I shouldn't have stopped at all! " he yelled at her. " It turns out you're worse than that snake, since it was at least honest enough to show its fangs! " " We didn't do anything he said, we... " Gale tried to excuse herself, but was interrupted by the angry inventor: " That doesn't excuse you! Even after the timberwolf appeared, even after you were sure he was planning something, you didn't tell me! Why? " " We thought you'd react... this way. " the pegasus mare was crying out her eyes. " I would have been angry, yes... but those fillies, the fillies I was trusted with, the fillies, that are dearer to my heart than any of my machines, are in danger only because of you! Only because you kept it back! " " We didn't know! " the green- maned mare objected. " You're lying! " Hase yelled. " No, she's not. " the black unicorn interfered. " Their task was to bring you to me, directly. Later, as I found about those fillies, I was going to contact them and order them to bring the fillies instead, but I didn't find time. They didn't know about it. There was no use for them to tell you their assignment, as they were going to disobey anyway. They're innocent. " As he heard that, Hase cooled down as fast as he had lighted the fuse. He approached the still weeping Gale, hugged her and said: " I'm sorry Gale. Please, don't cry. I just... I don't know why I got so angry. You, Thunderflight and Rush are as dear to my heart as all of my other friends. I don't want to lose you. Listen now, I forgive you. I forgive you all. Let's just forget this all happenned. " Gale raised her head as she heard that. She smiled weakly. " Now just take the girls and go home. " he told her, but while they were still hugging, he also whispered: " And contact the Princesses. " " Think you can cope with that? " he asked her, as they separated. The pegasus nodded. " Girls, you're free to go. " the black unicorn turned to the fillies. They walked over to Gale and followed her across the bridge. Hase was left alone with the captor of the crusaders. There was a brief moment of silence, which was interrupted by the black pony: " We're finally here. Alone. We have about half a day before the Princesses arrive after your friend calls for them. " " How do you know she'd do that? " the inventor was shocked. " What else would you whisper in her ear? What else would you want me not to hear? That is of no matter, however. By the time they arrive, our conversation will be over. Would you mind if we spend the time in the dining hall? " the unicorn asked. Hase nodded. The dining hall was smaller than the scientist thought it would be. Since this was once a castle of Celestia and Luna, he expected some hall, as big as the throne room in Canterlot, with a long table from one end to another. However, the dining hall turned out to be a room, only a tad longer than normal, with a stone table, that could fit no more than 8 ponies. The chairs were also made of stone, and in the two ends of the table, two thrones were carved out of stone. The room wasn't decorated in any way. Three windows gave a view of the mow, the road, even the river. Everything else was the Everfree forest. " So, shall we begin? " the unicorn took the throne near the door, which was decorated with crescents and stars. Apparently, it was ment for Luna. " Yes. " Hase took a seat on his left side, leaving one of the chairs to separate them. Revealed identities" What do you want from me? " Hase began the conversation. " Nothing, really. " the black stallion smiled. " Than why have you called me here? " the scientist wondered. " Try to guess by yourself. " the other pony challenged him. Hase thought about it for a second. Why would the pony need him? " You want my machines? " " No. " The earth pony frowned. He was almost sure that was the reason. If he wanted to manipulate the Mane 6, the Cutie Mark Crusaders would have been enough. Than he remembered somepony, whose attention would be attracted as well. " You want to manipulate the Princesses in some way? " he guessed. " Think harder. " the unicorn made an annoyed expression. Since he had no other ideas, Hase decided to reply with the obvious: " You want to have a conversation with me. " " That's close. " the other stallion complimented him. That surprised Hase. Did this unicorn just want to talk? " You want me to tell you something? The weak spot of... " Hase thought the ponynapper wanted information, but he stopped mid- sentence, as he saw him shake his head. Than he went with the option he was sure was wrong: " You want to tell me something. " " There. Was it really so hard? When somepony requests a conversation with you, usually they are the one, who wants to say something, aren't they? " the least probable answer turned out to be right. " So... what do you want to tell me? " the befuddled earth pony asked. " Let me first get out of this disguise. It's getting annoying. " the inventor expected the ponynapper would take of some suit he was wearing, but instead he got up and his horn glew in the same colour as his mane. He was shrouded in some sort of mist, which was lighter violet than his mane. That mist stayed there for a minute, leaving Hase completely confused. He was even more confused when the stallion came out. Only his face, the colour of his coat and his cutie mark, a dark purple swirling vortex had remained the same. The stallion had grown in size, reaching the height of Princess Celestia. He wasn't a unicorn anymore. His horn was still on his forehead, but a pair of black wings, as big as Celestia's, protruded from his back. His mane and tail had dissappeared, only to be replaced with strange half- transparent dark violet mist- like clouds. Those were an ethereal mane and tail, but instead of falling forward, as it was with Celestia and Luna, they went back. Also, they weren't single clouds, but split in streaks close to his head and his rump, streaks, which took separate paths in the air, and the end of which couldn't be differentiated, since the mane and tail literally blended with the air at some point. Hase couldn't believe his eyes. He was seeing a fifth alicorn! True, one could become an alicorn, but this one was too big to be newly alicornified, also, he had an ethereal mane, meaning he was at least 2000 years old. Hase stood up and walked to the other end of the room. " Who are you? " he asked the black alicorn. " I'm Vortex, former Emperor of Equestria. " the alicorn stallion replied. " Are you coming to take Equestria back from the Princesses? " the earth pony wanted to know if this stallion was a threat to Celestia and Luna. " No. If you'd like to know why I'm here and I'm talking to you, sit down and listen to my story. " Afraid, but also a bit curious, he sat on the chair on the right of Celestia's throne, one of the furthest from the emperor. " Unlike you might think, I'm not a villain. At least I didn't want to be. All the good I did was forgotten because of a single mistake. But I'll turn my attention to that later. As a scientist, do you believe our world isn't the only one? " " Yes. " Hase confirmed. " The universe is big enough to be home to many populated planets... " " I'm not speaking of another planet in our world. By world, I mean dimension. Do you believe there are other dimensions? " Vortex asked him. " Maybe. We have no proof. " " Yes, we do, as you'll understand later. But let's start with the beggining, as we should. I wasn't born in this world. The world me and my brother lived in was also named Equestria, just as this one... " " Our country is named Equestria, not the world. " Hase interrupted him. " The country was named after the world it is in. I know better. I was one of those, who created it, after all. " " You created our world? " Hase's amazement had no boundaries. " We'll get to this part later. " the alicorn hoofwaved it away as it was nothing. " As I was saying, me and my brother, Solarion, were born in another world, with the same name. We were born alicorns, if you're thinking about that. We were born in a noble family, and at the age of 500, both of us were already skilled magic users. Solarion was satisfied, I was not. So I chose to become a chaotic... " " What's a chaotic? " the inventor had found the story interesting by so far, and wanted to know what the alicorn ment. " I'll explain, in just a minute. " Hase sighed as Vortex passed another importrant detail without explaining it. " After another 500 years, I was very skilled at that too. But Equestria was coming to an end. Eventually, it was destroyed. " " How do you destroy a world? " the earth pony wondered. " There's only one way - Voidians. Before you ask me what is that, I'll explain it, along with several other things. The multiverse, as anypony, who had seen it from the outside (Hase raised an eyebrow) can confirm, can be visualized very simply. Imagine a dark, endless aquarium with countless shining balls thrown inside. That's the multiverse. The worlds are the balls. The aquarium is the Void, whose inhabitants are the Voidians. Unlike you may think, the Void doesn't kill immeadietly, as the vacuum of space does. If space is a pool of physical nothing, vacuum, then the Void is a pool of magical nothing, which is not vacuum. It is... nothing really. If you ever found yourself in the Void, you'll find out there are large salty plains, slow muddy rivers, high rocky mountains, all of which look like they're something, but they are actually nothing. It's hard to explain. The only things in the Void, that are actually something, are the Voidians. " " Wait a second. Our universe is endless. The Void is endless. The universe is our world. How does it happen, that we're not the only world? " Hase was confused. " Physically, our universe is endless. Magically... well, from the inside it's endless, but from outside, from the Void, they are somehow only as big as the largest stars. If you start getting to the roots of magic, unlike it's with science, I suppose, things only get more confusing and start making no sence at all. However, a chaotic like me may place a portal to the Void, or another world, anywhere. Since from the outside the portal to another world looks like a small line, connecting the edges of the two worlds, we can conclude the end of the world is everywhere... and nowhere. But let's get back to the Void. When something alive enters the Void, it is somehow drained of all of it's life force, and colour, who knows why, and it becomes a Voidian. They keep their form. Voidians have the form of some creature, that exists or has existed, but has either been thrown in the Void through a portal, or its world has been destroyed. The Void has a magic of its own,endless amounts of magic, that one would expect is powered by the lifeforce of the Voidians. However, it isn't so. It simply exists. Free chaotic magic, unbound to any creature. " " Wait, what happenned with the Voidians? Don't they die when their lifeforce is drained? " Hase asked. " No. A piece of chaotic magic sneaks in them, barely enough to keep them alive, leaving them with a great hunger for more energy. There are only three sources of energy for them. Other Voidians, worlds, since all worlds are created with energy, and the sweetest of them all, world dwellers. " " World dwellers? " the earth pony was confused. " Creatures, that live in the worlds. Us, ponies, birds, lizards, snakes, hydras... anything, that breathes, lives and dies. " " Do the Voidians revert back to normal, when they consume enough energy? " " No. The piece of chaotic magic inside them prevents any other energy from building up. Any energy they consume becomes free chaotic magic, and so the circle is closed. " " Does this mean, that the Void is alive, and that it is something like a parasite? " the scientist wondered. " No. It's not more alive than a stone. Nopony knows why all of this happens that way, and we won't know either. But now let's go to the chaotics I skipped earlier. When something, that's not living, some object, a stone , a necklace, a coin, any object enters the Void, it is charged with free chaotic magic. When it returns to a world, unlike a Voidian, who would start eating it and opening direct holes to the Void, from where more Voidians would come, it does no damage. However, if a living being touches the object... " " ... they become a Voidian. " Hase thought he knew what would happen. " ... no. They become a chaotic. A connection is created between that living being and all of the free chaotic magic, meaning that none of the chaotic magic is actually free. Even if a single chaotic exists, true free chaotic magic does not exist. It is called free simply because a chaotic cannot use all of it at once, they only use a small part, if they do, of course, and most of the chaotic magic is left to do what it does, as if it was free. Non- self- conscious beings can't really use the skills of a chaotic. Only sentient beings, like ponies, can use them. The chaotic magic can do anything any other kind of magic can do. It can do everything if you can imagine that. It's the shadow copy of any magic that ever existed or exists. It's probably much more, but we can't realise it. Having such a connection with chaotic magic, a chaotic can enter the Void anytime he/she wishes; they won't be effected, won't be turned into Voidians. Having a piece of chaotic magic inside of them, Voidians can be bound to serve a chaotic, if they are skilled enough to keep them under control. But now more about the Void itself. Worlds hover like suns above the Void when you're in it, but that's only an illusion. The void itself is probably an endless sphere with many levels, the worlds in the center. One can only see the level they're on, all others, along with Voidians or chaotics on them, are invisible. That makes you think the Void is a flat field, but that illusion breaks, as soon as you find passages. Passages are the only way to change levels. They're always placed on the top of mountains, or in deep caves. The moment you blink, you'll find yourself somewhere else, since on the exit in the level you have arrived, there may be no mountain or cave. However, the worlds will be just as far away as before. The only two ways a Voidian can enter a world are if it's summonned by a chaotic by chaotic magic, or if a two- way Void portal is left open. It sucks Voidians into that world like a whirlpool. " " A two- way Void portal? " Hase was completely befuddled. " Portals, as you know, can be created with magic. The most used kind is the one, connecting two spots in a single world. One can also connect two worlds with a portal, as I have said. But if one needs a portal to a Void, and since only Chaotics use such portals, the chaotic should limit the access to themselves or whoever and whatever they're taking with them. Chaotics can protect living beings from the effect of the Void, yes. But if an unexperienced chaotic conjures such a portal, as many Voidians as possible will enter. They'll eat the world, untill it's destroyed and its inhabitants become Voidians as well. But enough of the Void, the Voidians and the chaotics. Let's return to the story. After our world was destroyed, I managed to put my brother inside a shield cocoon, so both of us would be able to roam the Void safely. I don't know how much time we spent in there- probably only a few weeks. Eventually, Solarion decided, that it was our duty, as probably the only ponies left from Equestria, to rebuild the world. I agreed, and with the combined strength of chaotic and normal magic, we created a new world. We hadn't read much about world creation, only about the way it's done, so we expected we'd be able to literally duplicate our old world. The world, however, developed on its own. All we could do was speed that up, so instead of millions of years, the formation of the world only took hundreds. We came to the closest inhabitable planet and chose it for our new home. Since it took us some time to find it, ponies had already appeared in this world, however the three races - earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns were constantly fighting eachother and trying to conquer the others' lands. Those wars led to the rise of windigos, creatures we didn't know about, but as I said, all we did was speed up the creation of the world. It formed on its own. Luckily, Clover the Clever got ponykind rid of this threat. Pegasi, earth ponies and unicorns finally realised peace was needed. Clover the Clever wasn't named that way for nothing. She knew she'd have to be very careful by picking the new king or queen. She told us, that before she met us, she had no idea how all of the ponies would be satisfied by the new ruler. After she heard our story, she thought our experience, and the fact, that we're alicorns, seemingly all the three races in one, made us the perfect rulers. She crowned me and my brother Emperors of Equestria. For 5000 years we ruled in peace, just like Luna and Celestia... untill somepony decided to burry out the old tomahawk. A feast was held in Manehatten, and the heir to one of the most influential unicorn noble lines was poisoned. The unicorns were smart enough not to press any charges, untill they find out who the killer was, but the nobles of the pegasi and the earth ponies accused eachother and started a bloody war. My brother tried to stop them, with words and with force, but his brave army was mercilessly slaughtered by the opposing forces, who united just for this very battle, and sent Solarion a message: not to interfere, untill the killer is found. He decided there wasn't anything he could do but sit and wait. I thought differently. I gave those fools an army they couldn't defeat. An army of Voidians. Back in the old world, it was well known a chaotic could call out an army as big as they wanted. Such an army could cost the world, so a contract was signed by all the chaotics; all of us promised we wouldn't call out armies. Our king was a skilled chaotic himself, who could bring out a Voidian force to face such threat. However, even he didn't have 5500 years of practice. By that time, I had become more skilled than any other chaotic I have ever seen or heard of. I learned on my own. It was a well known fact I was a chaotic, it was a well known fact what chaotics do. Just nopony could imagine one could summon a whole army. My Voidian army entered the unprepared cities of Cloudsdale and Trottingham, bypassed all of the soldiers, but murdered all of the members of the pegasi and earth pony nobelty, ending their lines of nobles forever. I thought this would end the war, but it only made it worse. The three races united as never before, as they are today in Celestia's age, and all gathered under the banner of my brother, who accused me of high treason. Trottingham had sealed its gates, and so had all of the other cities, and I was a sitting duck with my army in the field. I retreated to the sea and waited for Canterlot's army, while I created the perfect sentinels, who'd stop the two armies from colliding and enable me to speak with my brother without the two armies confronting. I created them three days and three nights long, five pegasi, tall as alicorns, and with infinite power over one of the five natural elements: sea,fire ,storms... " " ... rock, rivers? " Hase was amazed. " How do you know that? " Vortex was even more amazed. " Wait... it all makes sence now! You created the Elements of Havoc! Well, not to wreak havoc, as it's commonly believed, but to stop the war! They did so, and your brother accepted to speak with you. Solarion is Celestia and Luna's father! You're their uncle! While he was heading for you, some Voidians have probably slipped out of your control and killed him, making the ponies believe you did that, while he thought the Elements did it! He cursed them, making them evil, which is the reason all of our adventures happenned! " " You got it all right. Wait, what adventures? " the former emperor asked. Now it was Hase's turn to tell stories: " Oh, two months ago they kidnapped me and my friends, although we still weren't friends back there, and took us to world, controlled by them. We had to fight them together, which made me become friends with Twilight, Pinkie, AJ, Spike, Dash, Fluttershy and.. Rarity and renew my friendship with Luna and Celestia. " " Is that Rarity you're speaking of the lady of your heart? " the tone gave Hase away. " Yes. " the earth pony blushed. " You had luck those lords were weakened. They were made to stop two armies, as you already know. " Vortex siad. " When they regain their true form, they should be the way I created them: guardians, not villains. Anyway, I had no choice but to dissappear, leaving the Voidians free of my control. They didn't enjoy their freedom long though. Disguised the way you saw me earlier, I pursued them and brought them back to the Void. But the country was in a crysis. Celestia and Luna had ran away in some alternate dimension, and nopony knew who to crown. Complete anarchia reigned. Chaos ruled. Apparently it was enough for him to appear, one of the many creatures the existence of which we never suspected. Discord. From than on, the kingdom was thrown into its darkest age, an era of chaos. Discord caused chaos. Chaos caused Discord. I could interfere, but I thought I'd be even more hated than Discord. So I waited. I waited five hundred years, untill I was completely forgotten. The day I planned to end Discord, I found out he'd already been beaten. By Celestia and Luna. You know the story from than on, I'm sure. I simply had no choice but to retreat, take on false identities and live in their kingdom. My life was meaningless, untill I found her. Her life was ruined by fate, just as mine. I'd show her to you by sharing one of my memories. Hase closed his eyes, and when he re- opened them, he saw he was standing next to a semi- transparent Vortex. When he looked at his own hooves, he saw, that he was in the same state. The place they were in was somehow familliar. Yes, the dark- violet maned unicorn, Vortex's disguise, was there, standing next to a bed. But where was the mare? Where was his love interest? Ah, there she was, sitting in the lower end of the bed. A white earth pony with a blue- green mane and tail... wait. A blue- green mane and tail? " There. " Vortex from the memory stepped aside, his horn stopped glowing. The last signs of the magical oreol around the object in the bed dissapearred. Hase saw it was a small foal. A foal with brown mane and beige coat. And blue eyes. " That should fool the guards. I must go now. " the unicorn moved to the exit of the strangely familliar room. " Will I ever meet you again? " the mare asked. No, that voice.... " Some day. In the future. " Vortex left the room and ran down the street. The memory ended. The voice had made it all clear. The room was familliar for a reason. " Look in the mirror. " Vortex told him with a trembling voice. With his peripheral vision Hase noted a magical mirror, surrounded with Vortex' dark violet magical oreol, placed on the wall right next to the throne Hase was sitting on. He turned his head and looked. That was a trick of some kind. Instead by him, the chair was taken by a black pegasus with the same height as him. The stallion had the same manestyle as him, but his mane and tail were with the colour of the zenith, the darkest blue in a clean summer sky. Hase smiled at this joke, and ignoring the mirror stallion, who smiled as well, leaned back. However, he felt the chair press against his... What the hay was there on his back? The worried Hase got up. He felt sweat gather on his forehead and he wiped it with his forehoof. His black right forehoof. He looked at his other forehoof. It was also black. He turned back, hoping to see his smooth beige coat again, when he saw them. Two hanging wings. Normal wings of a normal size, with black feathers, but... wings? His tail was zenith blue. Hase turned back and looked at Vortex: " The foal in the memory... was it male or female? " " Male. " the black alicorn replied with a trembling voice. " How long ago was he born? " " About a 1000 years ago. " " Did you see him after that? " " Yes. Many times. Once he even used a robot to serve the Princess tea. " Vortex smiled. That made all clear, but just to be sure, Hase asked: " Are you my father? " The stallion with the dark violet mane nodded. Hase approached him. Vortex had no idea what he'd do. He was afraid he'd be angry. Or sad. So he closed his eyes. He was ready to endure anything, now that he was reunited with Hase, once the little Hase, that had now grown up. The pegasus did none of the expected things. He simply embraced his father. " Hase, I'm afraid I have other importrant news. We need to start your training. " " What training? " the confused pegasus asked, as he separated from the former emperor. " Didn't I say that chaotic magic is always inherited? " Vortex grinned. " We start right now. " Extreme countermeasures" No, Hase told me to bring you back and I'm bringing you back! We'll contact the Princesses and that'll be enough! " Gale told the three fillies. Just as they had almost reached Ponyville, the three fillies had decided, that Vortex, which was the name of their ponynapper, might not be as kind to Hase as he was to them. Their imagination had started creating a series of horrible scenarios, and they insisted, that they go back and help Hase. " You won't be able to do anything! You're fillies after all! " Gale protested. " 'N wha' 'bout yah all? Can't yah save Hase? " Applebloom asked her. " Our talent is flying, not fighting. " the green- maned mare sighed. She looked at the ground and walked without looking around, which gave the crusaders a chance to stay behind and discuss the question on their own. " There's no use in persuading her, girls. The more we insist, the more she will retaliate. We'll have to do that on our own. We can't depend on them. " Sweetie Belle said. " Th' wha' shall wah do? " Applebloom asked. " Perhaps Hase's machinery! I'm sure there should be some useful ones among them! " Scootaloo suggested. " Nah. Wah'll probably just blow his place up. " the earth pony frowned. " Applebloom's right. We have no idea how those work, and I doubt they come with a manual. I've got an idea... but I hope we won't have to do that. " " What? " Scootaloo was interested. The unicorn filly whispered her idea in each of her friends' ear. Scoot's pupils shrinked. " That's crazy! " she exclaimed. " Ah agree! Wha makes yah think it'll work? " Applebloom got worried. " Nothing, but it might be our only option. " Sweetie looked at them both. While they were catching up with Gale, the pegasus and the earth pony were frantically thinking of some alternative to their friend's crazy plan. There should have been some other power, that could rival Vortex! They thought over everything really powerful they knew about... dragons, ursa majors... but they knew none of those would want to help them, and there still was a chance, that Vortex would defeat them. What if he just bound them to his will as he did with the snake and their efforts were for nothing? Than they remembered another relatively strong user of magic, residing in Ponyville. They found him on the main square. They left Gale, who was going to return to the Boutique, telling her they had to get some new quills from Quills and Sofas, even though the shop wasn't in the center. The pegasus with the light blue coat was unaware of Ponyville's layout, so she let them go. He was standing right in the middle of the square, and was feeding a pack of timberwolf cubs with sawdust. He smiled as he saw the three fillies approach. " Isn't that cannibalism? " Scootaloo wondered. " Not when it's fake. " his red tail cracked with fingers and both the timberwolves and the sawdust dissappeared. " What can I do for you, young followers? " Discord leaned back in the air. " Hase was ponynapped. Well, not really. " Sweetie belle told him. " Not really ponynapped? That must be some new kind of ponynapping! You pretend to be ponynapped, when you're actually not, and you demand a ransom to release yourself! How dastardly! " Discord ruffled Scoot's mane. " Tha's not wha' we ment. " Applebloom told him. " Yeah. The thing is... we were ponynapped, and Hase had to trade himself for us. " Scootaloo cleared it. " Didn't you have enough bits to pay the ransom? " in the middle of the square, Discord was taking a bath with money instead of water. " No, the pony didn't want a ransom. It wanted him and him only. " " How interesting... " the bath tub dissappeared. Discord was flapping through the pages of a book, called " Ponynappings. All about them. " " Here it says, that ponynappers usually demand either money or some privilleges. There hasn't been a case, where somepony demands somepony else. Did he enslave him? " " No! " Sweetie Belle sometimes wondered where Discord got all those ideas from. " He requested a conversation with him as a ransom. " " How interesting... " the draconequus repeated himself. " Did this ponynapper mention his name? " " Vortex. " The master of chaos raised an eyebrow. " You gotta be buzzing me. " " Why? " Applebloom asked. " If it's the same pony I think of, things are getting much more complicated. " Discord had disguised himself in a detective outfit, complete with a bubble pipe. " I'll need to visualize. " Discord cracked with fingers. The square was gone. They were in Twilight's library, while Discord was standing next to a projection device. He aimed it at the wall and started spinning the manivel. Pictures appeared on the wall. The first picture was a pegasus, an earth pony and a unicorn beating the hay out of eachother. " In the dawns of Equestria the three races were at constant war! " Discord apparently entered the role of a narrator. " Summonned by those wars, the evil Windigos appeared! " the next picture looked like it depicted windigos, although Applebloom doubted they had maniacal grins, which looked as if they were drawn on the pictures with a marker. " Those evil winter spirits almost brought an end to ponykind! Luckily, a mare worth of her name, Clover the Clever, saved ponykind with the power of friendship and banished this threat! " next to the figure a thumbs up was drawn, removing any doubts, that Discord had customized this movie. " But soon Clover was facing a dilemma - who to crown? An earth pony, a pegasus or a unicorn? She had to choose carefully! Luckily, soon the sollution presented itself! Out of nowhere, the first two alicorns, two brothers, appeared, claiming they had created this world and had sped up its developement. Seeing the perfect sollution, Clover crowned those two brothers, Solarion and Vortex, for the Emperors of the newly- created Equestria! " in the coronation scene, Discord had drawn himself in the crowd giving a thumbs up again. " For 5000 years everything went smoothly, untill a noble unicorn was poisoned at the feast of all nobelties! Both friends of the unicorn nobelty, the pegasi nobles and the earth pony nobles accused eachother of that murder and began a bloody war! " on the scene of the feast, between the yelling earth ponies and pegasi, Discord had again drawn himself, wearing a viking outfit, with a rage face on. " Solarion, the older brother, first tried using diplomacy, than force, but failed both times. Vortex had a more radical sollution. Out of nowhere, he called an army of undestroyable ferocious monsters and ended this war the easiest way - by killing those, who started it. That was the end of the pegasus and earth pony nobelty. However, this became reason for a union between the three races unlike ever before! They all gathered under the royal banner, since Solarion accused his brother of high treason, and attacked. Vortex created the Elements of Havoc, who he claimed would stop the war. However, when negotiations were a chosen option from both sides, Solarion was killed by Vortex' army. There were arguments about wheter Vortex has done this on purpose, or just lost control of his army, but eventually the former was chosen to be true. Rejected by the world, he dissappeared, never to appear again. The Elements of Havoc also vanished, cursed by Solarion before he died. The huge army also mysteriously vanished. In the wake of those events, a young draconequus found a perfect site to spend his summer vacation, creating Equestria All- year- around draconequui resort, which lasted for 500 years, untill the rightful rulers - Celestia and Luna, returned. " The movie ended. " Hmm, I probably should have played a more foal- friendly version. " Discord frowned. " Soo... Vortex indirectly became the reason for your reign? " Scoot asked. " Yes, but I haven't seen him ever since. However, if you're thinking I can defeat him, you're wrong, I'm not exactly the " selfless- hero- who- slays- an endless army- of - monsters " type. " the draconequus shrugged his shoulders. Sweetie Belle sighed. She looked around and saw what she was looking for. She went to the kitchen and got the special gem- grinding hammer Spike had shown her. The unicorn than returned to the main hall, placed the small medalion with five gems on the floor and swung. Discord's eyes became as big as the city clock's screen, he threw himself at the unicorn and pulled her away. When the confused filly looked at him, his face had become round and incredibly ugly, his hands- just sticks, held out with fingers spread in a begging gesture. He knit his brows and asked: " Sweetie Belle, Y U no think before acting? " " We have to. There isn't another way! " the filly protested. The horrible face dissappeared and Discord was back as he was. " You're going to release evil spirits to fight their creator? " the draconequus raised an eyebrow. " We won't tell them it's their creator. She's right, Discord. We have no other choice. " Scoot said. She and Applebloom stood by their friend. " Well, it'll be your fault if everything goes wrong... let's do it. " Discord put on a neutral face. They decided to free them outside. After all, if something went wrong, it would be good if at least Twilight's library remained intact. Discord, Applebloom and Scootaloo formed a circle. Sweetie Belle, with the medalion, was in the center. She closed her eyes and swung down with the gem hammer. " There you are! " Thunderflight's voice was heard from somewhere, but before she could react, a horrible whistling sound, as if from a tea pot, sounded. Sweetie opened her eyes and saw Scoot and Applebloom pulling her back. Gale, Rush and Thunderflight were standing behind Discord, observing the cracked medalion, which levitated in mid- air and shook strongly. The sound got stronger and stronger, while the ponies and the draconequus slowly backed away. A wise decision. The medalion exploded and 5 comets span in a circle with a diameter big enough to have blasted them away if they had stayed where they were. Those 5 comets than flew in an upward spiral, two of them leaking water bellow them, one of them sand and gravel, the fourth made all out of fire and the last one lookinge a miniature tornado. At 100 fet height they spun in a circle again, before quickly falling down and hitting the ground, creating a big dust cloud. Everypony started coughing. Applebloom saw some light approaching her. She tried to run away, but she found out her back was against a wall. There was no escape. Suddenly wind blew and everything became clearer, as the dust was gathered by a small gale in the middle of the streeet and blown away, giving Applebloom a better look of the pony in front of her. Hase had described the Elements of Havoc as normal ponies. That wasn't the case with these. In front of her stood a pony figure of fire, with the height of Princess Celestia. The body was mostly made of bright red charcoal, as bright as the edges of the normal charcoal when somepony blows into the fire. Those red charcoals built the figure of the high pegasus, even forming his wings.Flames, each of them at least 2 feet long, came out from the back of his hooves, his neck,his wings and his back. The flames on his back were 4 feet. The flames forming his mane and tail were 12 feet long each. His eyes were also filled with flame, the pupils standing out from the rest with their blue colour. His cutie mark was formed by darker charcoal: a stylized flame, of course. Applebloom could barely stand the heat he was emitting. She felt as if she had stuck her head into the oven of the Sugarcube Corner, except that her whole body felt like that. When she looked around, she saw, that the other lords, except for Cobalt, who had now also grown to their size, who was wondering what had happenned, had cornered the others. She couldn't see as much details from the other lords, but they weren't ponies either. The Starflyers wondered what was worse: the wall behind their back or the pony in front of them. Pony was only its name, they supposed. A tall figure, probably as high as Celestia herself, with big wings, protruding from the back. But more strange was the pony itself. It was made of water. All of it, even the wings. You could see through the outer layers of him, which were aquamarine, but the inner, or deeper parts were dark blue, as the sea depths. The surface moved, forming small waves, that grew, eventually turning into big waves on the neck and the rump, forming constantly changing mane and tail of sea foam. His eyes were the only thing normal in him. However, the most strange thing were the miniature sea animals the three pegasi saw inside him. There were sailfish, jellyfish, sea stars, even sharks. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were facing another of the lords. Just as the rest, he was tall and a pegasus, but that's were the differences ended. His body was made out of storm clouds, some parts of his body flashing from lightnings ocasionally. The feathers on his wings, instead of cummulunimbus clouds, like the rest of the body, were made of white cirrus clouds, whose edges were smooth and looked like if they were made out of cotton. His mane and tail were made from the same clouds, slowly waving, while his eyes were formed by small pieces of clouds, constantly flashing from lightnings, with small dark clouds for pupils. But the most strange of them all was standing against Discord. His body and wings were made of water, but none of them was blue, like with the sea lord. The part on his chest was see through, his hindhooves were almost yellow, his back and wings - green, his forehooves - almost red and his belly- brown. That was in the first moment. That water flowed and those colours constantly changed positions, sometimes even mixing to create new colours. The only things, that stayed the same, were his eyes, mane and tail, formed of white water, litteraly being waterfalls, and his eyes were white eliptic whirlpools with small blue circles in the middle. " You broke the medalion, didn't you? " Cobalt was the first to speak. " Eeyep. " Applebloom replied. " Where is Hase? " the fire pony in front of Applebloom asked. " Why do you need him, Blaze? " Cobalt asked. " We all have to thank him. " the sea pony replied instead. " For what? " the rock pony was completely befuddled. " He showed us all what friendship really is about. " the storm stallion spoke. " Ow. That connection, yes... " Cobalt mumbled something. " That connection was broken when the medalion was. Where is that pony? " the lord with the constantly changing body colours asked. " He was ponynapped. " Sweetie Belle said. All 5 of the lords gathered around her and Scootaloo. " By whom? " Blaze, the fire lord, asked. " By Vortex. He was taken to the castle in the Everfree." Scoot replied. She intentionally referred to that castke like that, since during the time of Celestia's father, the castle probably wasn't named the Castle of the Regal Sisters. " Our creator? " Cobalt raised an eyebrow. Or he would have, since he had none. " That doesn't matter, Cobalt. We will save him. We owe it to him, for showing us what friendship is about. " " And who are you? " Gale asked. The five lords turned around. The fire lord, who was apparently their leader, spoke: " We are the Sentinels. I am Blaze, lord of fire. Those are Neptune, lord of the sea, Tempest, lord of storms, Cobalt, lord of rock and Hydro, lord of rivers. " " Sounds cool, right? " Hydro turned to Scootaloo. The filly nodded. " We were cursed due to a misunderstanding and turned into the horrible Elements of Havoc. Due to Hase's mental connection with us, his friendship lessons were also passed to us, lifting the curse and making us able to follow our purpose: to right the wrong. That connection is broken now, but we will find Hase, since he is our friend for eternity! " Blaze proclaimed. " Wait... are you sure Vortex did all of this? " Neptune asked sternly. " He's not such a pony. " " He killed his brother, duh? " Gale had been told the scenario of the movie by Discord. " A common confusion, nothing more. One Voidian slipped out of control and killed him. First hoof experience. " the sea lord replied. " Do you have any proof of his evilness? " " Well, he was kind to us... " Sweetie Belle ponted out. " ... but he sent a black snake to ponynap you! " Rush protested. " I'm sure he had no other option. " Blaze spoke. " Anyway, we'll fly ahead to that castle. We'll find out the truth. " he swore. " We'll follow you. " Scootaloo told him. " Ready, brothers? " the fire lord turned at the rest. They all nodded. Wings of fire, stone, wind and water flapped, as the five lords flew in direction the Everfree. The Cutie mark Crusaders also headed that way, closely followed by Discord and the Starfliers. Meanwhile in Canterlot...Twilight, a lot of things happenned the last few days, but we're going to recap the importrant things. Three old friends of Hase appeared in the beggining of the week. Their names are Thunderflight, Rush and Gale, the predecessors of the Wonderbolts; the Starflyersfliers. Apparently they were lured into entering three cryochambers 1000 years ago. But that's not importrant. Today we got ponynapped by a big black three- headed snake. It brought us to some guy, named Vortex, who traded us for Hase. He is still with him. We don't know what happenned to him. Vortex behaved kindly though. We freed the Elements of Havoc Sentinels of the Elements, who had apparently reverted back to good. We're going in the Everfree now. We thought it would be good to keep you informed. Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Applebloom " Leave the gals alone fur a week, disaster's just behind da corner. " Applejack noted with an ironic tone. " That's not funny, Applejack! What if the Elements of Havoc are only pretending to be reformed? " Rarity was really worried. " They are not. Otherwise they wouldn't refer to themselves as the Sentinels. That name was erased from their mind when they were depowered. If they can remember it, they are reformed. " Celestia comforted her. Everypony were pretty tired after the exam, but all miraculously filled up with energy as soon as the letter arrived. Twilight had immeadietly taken it to Celestia. " Princess, are you familliar with this Vortex? " the purple alicorn asked. " Sadly, yes. " Celestia frowned. In the same moment, Luna entered the throne room. " What has happenned, sister? " she became concerned, as she saw the white alicorn's muzzle expression. " Vortex has returned. And he has ponynapped Hase for some reason. " the princess of the day replied. Celestia's frown was also passed to Luna. " Wait a minute. Who's that guy Vortex? " Rainbow Dash wondered. " Vortex is the former dominion of the night, former Emperor of Equestria. Our uncle. " Luna cleared it to her. " And our father's murderer. " Celestia added. The Mane 6 gasped. " He... he... " Fluttershy stuttered. " He killed his own brother? " Twilight guessed what she ment to say. She received a thankful glare from the yellow pegasus. " Under the white flag. " Luna confirmed it. " An' wha' abot da black snake? " Applejack wondered. " Wha' does it have ta do with all of this? " " A Voidian. His favourite tools. " Luna replied. " A what? " Twilight didn't catch the word. " We'll explain on the way there. " Luna replied. " Prepare 4 chariots, each for two ponies. " she turned to the nearest guard. He nodded and left the hall. The following half an hour seemed like minutes for the Mane 6. The Princesses were talking with the right hoof of Shining Armour ( since he was in the Crystal Empire and couldn't serve his role as the captain of the guard) about something, but the mares couldn't hear anything through the walls. " Wha' do you think he wants from Hase, Twi? " Applejack gave up eavesdropping, and tried to answer the many unanswered questions in her head a different way. " His machines, perhaps? " the purple alicorn made a wild guess. " What army were the Princesses talking about? Can somepony create an army from magic? " Rarity also turned to her friend for answers. " No, that makes no sense... " Twilight held her left forehoof against her chin, as she mused. " A unicorn can create a ghost copy of a pony, but that copy won't be able to do any physical damage. Also, maintaining an army of such copies is both useless and fatiguing. A magical army... that's impossible! " " By conventional methods only. The chariots are ready. " the group turned around and saw Luna and Celestia at the open door. They followed them down the corridor. At a balconee, 4 chariots, with 4 guards to pull each, except the Princesses', who had 6, were awaiting. Celestia and Luna got on their chariot and the others had no choice but to do the same. Twilight, Spike and Pinkie Pie got on the first, Rarity and Applejack on the second, and the last one was left for Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. " Has any of you flown with a chariot before? " Luna asked. Everypony shook their heads. A faint smile appeared on the muzzle of the blue alicorn: " They're overrated. They're slow. You won't fall off, that's sure. " she assured them. " Diamond formation. " Celestia told the guards. They nodded, and the four chariots flew off. In the air they formed the shape of a diamond, reminiscent of the card type. The Princesses' chariots were first, a little behind, on the left and the right, respectively, were Twilight's and Rarity's chariots, while Dash's was last. " Vortex doesn't use normal magic as his primary weapon, even though he's as skilled as us in it. " Celestia began explaining. Twilight was listening carefully. She was able to, since the chariots were moving slowly. " He uses chaotic magic. If I start explaining in details, we will reach Ponyville before I'm finished. All you need to know, is that it draws power from the Void between the dimensions, the parallel worlds. That power constantly grows, so chaotic magic has unlimited potential. Therefore, the techniques with chaotic magic are different than the techniques with normal magic. In magical duels between chaotics, who are the wielders of such magic, none can overpower the other by sheer force. That's why their strategy usually revolves around counterspells and counterattack. " " That means we would have to use spells he doesn't know of. " Twilight was aware of the strategy against this technique. She had read much about the counterattack strategy and knew the only way to emerge victorious from a battle with such an opponent was to use a spell they can't counter. " " I'm afraid that will be a bit tricky. I'm not sure an alicorn with 9800 years of experience would have any. " " 9800? How?" Twilight was shocked. That was almost thrice Princess Celestia's life, who had lived for whole 3500 years! " Our father and Vortex created our world. " Celestia replied. " Before that, however, they had already lived 1000 years. They sped up the world's creation to mere hundreds of years (somewhere around 300) and ruled Equestria for another 5000. Discord's reign lasted 500, ours - 3000. Vortex is probably the oldest pony to still be alive. " " Our father would have been 5 years older though. " Luna frowned. " An' what about da army? " Applejack asked from the right chariot. " That Void between the worlds is inhabited. Billions of creatures, who had lost their homeworld, only to be bond to the Void, turning their lives into eternal misery. Chaotics are able to control those. " Celestia noted. For the rest of their travel Celestia and Luna tried to explain more about the chaotics and ways to fight them. They also pointed out the weaknesses of the most commonly summonned Voidians. The chariots landed in the town center. Rainbow Dash enthusiastically flew off before there were even 30 feet to the ground, annoyed from the slow travel, and tried to keep the crowd away. She only let the mayor pass. " Princess Celestia. " she bowed. " We're so glad you're here. An hour ago, three uncautious fillies released the spirits you had so carefully pursued. They flew off to the Everfree. With your help I'm sure they will be contained again. " she told the princess of the day. " Those spirits aren't what you should worry about, Mayor Mare. It's what they flew off to fight. We come to aid them in that quest. " Luna replied instead of her sister. Confusion could clearly be read on the mayor's face, but the regal sisters had no time for this. They used their magic to make way through the crowd, and together with the mane 6, headed towards the Everfree. " Apparently the Everfree is a perfect crowd barrier. " Luna pointed out, as the crowd following them stopped on the very edge of the forest. " We should reconsider using the old castle again, sister. It will be more peaceful for sure. " the princess of the night suggested. " We will reconsider it... once its current occupant leaves it. " Celestia replied. " Are you sure the lords are reformed, Princess? " Pinkie Pie asked with a tone, that indicated she was asking because of some unknown reason, that was unrelated to the current situation in any way. " Yes, Pinkie. " the white alicorn replied. " Including the lord of fire? " the pink earth pony continued. " Yes. " Celestia's expression gave out her utter confusion. " Great! I've always wanted to pop popcorns with fireworks! " the party pony bounced and victoriousy raised her hoof while she was in the air. While Pinkie Pie was enthusiastically explaining to the others what grand party she was planning to organise after all of this was over, Rarity, worried for her coltfiriend, was speaking with Twilight and Spike aside from the rest. " What if that warlord wants to use him for some sort of sacrofice? " the fancy unicorn bit her lower lip, something she would normally never do, since she considered it horrible. That indicated how worried she was. " He could perform a sacrofice with anypony. Why would anypony need a scientist in particular for a sacrofice? " Spike calmed her down. " No, if that Vortex ponynapped the Cutie Mark Crusaders to trade them for Hase, it means he needed him in particular. " Twilight spoke. ' But why? What use does an age- old alicorn have from an unsuccessful scientist ? ' she asked herself in her mind. A meeting in the forest" Listen carefully: you are about to hear the basics of chaotic magic. " Vortex told his son. Hase nodded and sat on the ground. The two stallions had chosen the small lawn between the bridge and the castle gates for the training ground of their first lesson. The black pegasus had also tried to fly, but all he did was fold his wings. ' I should probably ask Rainbow Dash to teach me when she comes back. ' he thought. " Chaotic magic, unlike normal magic, has unlimited power, after you end your training, of course. Since one're not using their own magical reserves, the fully- trained chaotic has no problems using the endless amounts of energy the Void holds. In chaotic magical duels, although you won't be ready to enter one at least two months from now, you should know, that the opponents can't win with sheer power. You must pick the correct way to counter your opponent and use the moment of confusion to deliver the winning strike. As I told you, chaotic magic can be used for any spells any other magic has ever been used, and therefore it's easier for us, alicorns, and for the unicorns. Since you aren't either, I'll have to explain the basics of magic as well. In magic, you usually imagine the thing you want to happen and reach for your horn. Mentally, of course. That's easy, since the horn is a part of our body. We can feel it. It's more difficult with chaotic magic, since your tool is the magic itself. Instead for your horn, you have to grasp for the feeling of chaotic magic flowing through you by your own will. That's why, the first time will be the hardest. Later, you would be able to do that easier, since the feeing of the energy of the Void flowing through you isn't something you can forget. We'll start with the chaos version of a spell unicorns master still as infants: telekinesis. Try to lift the stone. Remember, use your imagination. " Vortex pushed one pebbe with his right forehoof and Hase focused on it. He imagined it lifting above the ground, but his eyes showed him, that it was still lying on the ground. He tried again. Nothing. He pointed his hoof at the rock and tried again. Nothing. " Your hoof won't help you here. Just like it's with normal magic, there are targeting spells and non- targeting spells. In targeting spells, you target the object in your mind. In non- targeting spells the unicorns use their horn to serve as a targeting tool. We, chaotics, can use any part of our body to do so. However, telekinesis is a targeting spell. Your hoof won't help you. " Hase brought down his hoof. He thought of the pebble again. Suddeny, he realised, that he was thinking not only of it, but of its surroundings as well. He banished them from his mind, leaving the stone raising on the background of a sterile white field. This time, the real pebble was surounded by a black oreol with sharp, constantly changing shapes, while Hase felt as if he was disembodied and a powerful river was flowing trough his whole body. Surprised, he left the stone out of his mind and it fell on the ground. " You felt it, didn't you? " his father smiled. " Will it always be that... distracting? " the black pegasus asked. " Only the first time. " the other stallion promised. Amazed, that he had succeeded, Hase tried again. The stone was once again present in his mind, on a sterile white field, and Hase also recalled that flowing feeling. The stone was once again raised above the ground, surrounded by the dark oreol. " With time it will become easier and easier. " Vortex commented, as he saw the second try. He looked aside and a frown appeared on his muzzle. " Hase, you need to leave. " he said. He wasn't joking. Surprised by that, Hase left the stone out of his mind and looked in the direction. 5 balls, made out of stone, fire and water were spinning in a circle. Than they flew downwards. ' Who let them escape? ' Hase wondered, worried about the Cutie Mark Crusaders. " I need to save my friends. " he said. " Go. " the black alicorn allowed him to. " They'll come for me. I'll hold them here. " Hase nodded. His father headed to the bridge. Hase decided, that if he used the bridge now, when he returned, if it was destroyed, he might not be able to come back and help his father. He decided to try out the teleportation Twilight had used. ' What did she say about it? ' he wondered, as he was standing on the edge of the rock, upon which the castle was built. He couldn't remember Twilight saying anything about teleportation, so he just imagined two doors on the two sides of the hole. He felt the surge of energy, as two black portals with sharp edges were opened. ' A portal! ' Hase thought. He had tried to create a bridge with doors out of nothing, not knowing that it was very hard, but in his mind he had just focused on something, that leads from here to there, so the portal had appeared. Remembering what his father said about the portal, how Voidians could come out if he didn't place protections ( which he had no idea how to place), he quickly jumped through the portal, imagining how both portals close and feeling the surge. When he opened his eyes, he expected to be on the other side of the cliff. Instead, he was falling from somewhere very high, with some black dots flying ahead. They didn't come closer, so Hase suspected they were falling as well. He looked backwards and saw a big ball of white light, getting away. Before he could think about it, he saw the ground coming closer and closed his eyes, expecting to be turned into a pancake. The contact with the ground didn't feel like he thought it would feel. He felt as if he landed on a trampline. For a moment he even thought he bounced back. When he opened his eyes, he couldn't have been more confused. The land was acting like a trampline. But to him only. The black dots he had somehow got ahead of, as they fell, passed through the surface, as if it didn't exist. The land finally calmed down, and when Hase got up, expecting to sink in the trampline -like ground, he realised it was now as hard as a rock. ' Weird. ' he thought. One of the black dots, the last one, seemed like it was going to fall right in front of him. Hase followed it, expecting to see it pass through. Instead it crashed in the ground in front of him. No trampline effect. Worried, that it might be hurt, Hase came closer. The black dot turned out to be a mare. She got up, seemingly very angry, mumbling something. " Are you OK, ma'am? " the inventor asked. " As good as somepony may be after falling from thousands of feet, yes, idiot! " she got up and looked at him. " You'll soon lose your politeness, newbie. Here in the Void we don't need etiquette... " " The Void? " after he thought of it, and looked at the lifeless gray panorama, Hase realised the mare was right. " Are you that much of a newbie? " she looked at his eyes. She gasped. Meanwhile the black pegasus noticed, that she was all pitch black, even her eyes. Only her irises were white. " You're not a Voidian. You're a Master! " she yelled and got away from him. The next minute she turned around, fell to her knees and begged: " Please, award me with food! I'm starving, Master! " " What? What food? " Hase didn't get it at first, but than he realised this pony Voidian was begging him to bring her with him to his world and to allow her to eat a piece of his world. Thinking his question for a denial, and thinking he'd bind her to serve him without any reward, the Voidian quickly got up and ran away as fast as she could. ' Great. Now who'll tell me how to get out of here? ' the blue- maned pony throught. He looked around, hoping to see another Voidian, but there was nothing in the gray plains. ' My friends need my help and I'm not even in their world. ' he thought. Than he tried to remember some details of the Everfree forest, hoping he'd remember at least one place good enough to be able to open a portal to there. It wasn't that easy when the place wasn't in front of you. None of the places he remembered were detailed enough for a portal in the big, white sphere, hovering above him, to open. Than he remembered one really crooked tree near one turn of the road. The tree was so crooked he had held his gaze upon it for whole 10 seconds, while he and Gale were going to the castle to save the girls. Along with the tree, he also remembered the whole turn. He visualized it in his head, summonned the power of the Void and suddenly flew upwards. Hase could see many black dots, probably Voidians, chasing him to the unshielded portal. Luckily, he was way ahead of them, and as soon he entered the portal and felt he left the Void, he imagined the portal closing and closed it. " That is a really strange tree. " Applebloom commented. The tree reminded her of those curly straws they used to drink milkshake at the Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie Pie always gave them curly straws. The group stopped for a second. After all, even if they reached the castle, there was nothing they could do, that the Sentinels of the Elements couldn't. They were about to leave, when suddenly a black portal with sharp edges, just like the one Vortex had used to banish the snake, opened in the crooked log of the three and something black came flying out. The portal closed behind it. Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom took battle stances, hoping to scare off the potential beast. The black thing hit in the tree against the curved one, ouched and got up. It turned out to be just some black pegasus with a zenith blue mane. " Ar' ya alright? " Applebloom asked the pony. " Applebloom? " the surprised pegasus raised his head and took a look at the filly. " How do you know her name? " Thunderflight, a bit frightened by the stranger, flew and landed right in front of Applebloom. " Thunderflight? What are you guys doing in the forest? " the stallion spoke as if he knew them , which was odd. " Who are you? " Scootaloo asked. " Can't you recog... oh, right. " the stallion looked as if he had remembered something. He turned around and nodded back, at his rump. Thunderflight still couldn't get what was happenning, untill he saw the cutie mark the other pegasus had: a toothwheel, with two small mist clouds on its two sides. Hase's cutie mark. " Hase! " Sweetie Belle, Applebloom and Scootaloo jumped in his laps, almost bringing him down. " What happenned to you? " Scootaloo asked, looking at his new wings. " Long story. Get back to Ponyville! I have to help father fight off the lords! " he said and ran away, in direction the castle. The Starfliers and the Cutie Mark Crusaders didn't follow him immeadietly; they were too surprised. " Did he say " father " ? " Rush wondered. Sweetie Belle nodded. Now the whole plan made sence. Vortex wanted to meet his son and tell him the truth (the unicorn filly doubted Hase wouldn't have said them the truth about his father if he knew earlier), trying to protect him from the reputation he had himself. That's why, he had arranged them to meet in a place, where he was sure nopony was listening. The Everfree forest. That explained Hase's worries about his father, since he was unaware, that the lords were actually friendly. It also explained why he jumped out of a black portal like the one his father used. It only didn't explain the fact how from a brown- eyed beiged earth pony with dark brown mane and tail he had become a black pegsus with blue eyes and zenith blue mane and tail. The group was just about to follow him, when suddenly Sweetie Belle heard a familliar voice: " Sweetie Belle! What in Equestria do you believe you're doing? " that voice could belong only to one pony. The filly turned around to see a very dissaproving Rarity, along with a very unhappy Applejack. " Hehehe, hey sis. " Applebloom chuckled nervously. " Wha' in tarnation were yah doin' in the forest all... " the farmer mare was about to say " all alone ", but then she and Rarity saw the Starfliers. " Pardon me, but we haven't had the honour to know eachother. You are... ? " Rarity's tone suggested she expected, that the three pegasi would introduce himself. " My name is Thunderflight. " the black- maned grey stallion presented himself. " I'm Rush, " his red- maned companion told the newly arrived group his name. " I'm Gale. " the mare was last. " But you might know us as... " Rush was about to present the whole group, but was interrupted by a loud gasp, and somepony exclaiming: " The Starfliers! " a cyan comet flew on the left of Celestia, halting right in front of them. It was a pegasus mare with a rainbow- coloured mane. Her smile spread from ear to ear, and she looked as if she was going to swallow them whole. " I remember you, Starfliers. In your steady climb on the ladder of glory, you forgot who put you on it in the first place. " Luna knit her brows. " We were sent across time to fix that mistake, Princess Luna. " Thunderflight bowed. " I can assure you, that we came to Hase as soon as we woke up from the cryo- sleep. He put the past behind his back and accepted us as friends. I hope you will find strength in you to put our past doings aside as well. " Luna raised an eyebrow at this reply. " We will. " Celestia assured the stallion. " My little ponies. " she turned to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. " You made your sisters worry very much about you. However, from what we hear in Canterlot, you might have done the right things. Tell us the importrant things from the past few days, please. " The Cutie Mark Crusaders formed a small circle, apparently discussing who'll speak. The circle broke and Sweetie Belle began: " I'll try to be short, Princess. When we were returning from the train station to school with Hase the day our sisters took off, Discord appeared out of nowhere... " " Oh, it's so typical of him! He didn't scare you, did he? " Fluttershy asked them. " Only a bit. It turns out he's friends with Hase... " Sweetie Belle was interrupted, as Discord appeared out of nowhere, holding a scroll with " Certificate of Friendship Level C1 " written on it, complete with a seal, waved it into the muzzles of Luna and Celestia, saying: " Confirmed! " Even the two victims of the prank couldn't hide their smile. " Discord, if you don't mind, we'd like to hear the rest of the story. Will you be kind enough to sit down and listen with us? " Fluttershy told him. The draconequus nodded and obediently sat down, but not before conjuring a sultan's throne, four palms and one sultan outfit for himself. " ... since Hase wanted to somehow use magic in his inventions. That idea failed, " Sweetie Belle carried on " , but the friendship remained. He escorted us to school, where together with him we sang a song, which he said he hoped to reach royal ears. " ' I hope it's ment for Blueblood. ' Celestia thought, knowing well that Discord wouldn't just sing a song. " Later that day we decided we can get our cutie marks by inventing and asked Hase to lend us some inventions of his. He did, and we spent the afternoon trying them out. On the next morning we found him speaking with his old friends... " " When did they appear? " Luna asked. Gale decided this was the right moment to confess everything: " Princess Luna, I beg you to tell this part on my own. " she received a nod from the Princess of the Night, so she continued: " The newspapers said we were lost in a storm. We didn't. We were lured in the cryochambers by a disguised Vortex, who hoped to use us in some plan, 1000 years later. When we awoke, he told us our cryochambers were broken, and that if we wanted to stay alive, we'd have to bring Hase to him. We haven't told anypony about this yet. In the beggining we had doubts, but when Hase cured us himsef the very night we were awoken, those doubts dissappeared. We were free of his control. The day we met those fillies wasn't uneventful. Thunderflight promised to teach Scootaloo how to fly the afternoon. While he was teaching her, a big black timberwolf ( the 6 mares next to the Princesses gasped), who reminded us of our mission, jumped out and threatened us. Things were going to end badly, if it wasn't for Discord, who interferred, using... weird methods. Hase advised us to consult a zebra, called Zecora, but she knew nothing certain either. The last hours of the day were peaceful. " " The next day, today, Hase was called to his laboratory by a customer. We remained at the Carousel Boutique. " Scootaloo picked off where Gale had left it. " During the game of hide- and seek, a black snake caught us all and ran away with us. In the Everfree forest, we met with Vortex, who, during our stay as his hostages, was very kind. " the orange pegasus assured them. " Vortex being nice? " Celestia raised an eyebrow. She knew, that truth always hid in the words of foals. Was it indeed possible for the rumours from 3500 years ago to be false? As she thought of it, the white alicorn found more truth in the filly's words, than in the millenia- old knowledge. ' Repeated lies turn into truth. ' she thought. Nopony, who wasn't deeply interested in history, actually knew about Vortex. Discord's reign had wiped off his name from the history of the world he had created himself. There was no need for him to be remembered either. Once, during the beggining of her reign, ponies used him and Discord to scare their foals at Nightmare Night. Now this role was taken by Nightmare Moon. With so little known about their mysterious uncle, and, after she thought about it, she had literally no evidence of his crime. The princess promised herself to be objective, when he met them, and whispered the same advice to her sister. Luna had the same thoughts, which she shared with her. " Please, continue. What happenned in the last few hours? " Luna asked the purple- maned filly. " Vortex traded us for Hase and revealed the Starfliers' mission. Hase was angry, that his friends were the reason for our ponynapping, but Vortex proved they weren't, so they forgave them. We weren't sure if Vortex wouldn't do something bad, so we turned to Discord, hoping he'd help. He was too afraid. " The joined groups looked at Discord. He was wearing a chicken outfit, having guessed what they were thinking. " So we had no other option but to free the lords and hope they'd want to repay Vortex for their creation. " Sweetie Belle continued. " They had changed. Each of them was built of their element and all were far kinder than we thought they'd be. They said they had been bound to Hase with a psychic connection from the moment he freed them to the moment we freed them, so the friendship lessons he learned were also passed to them, reforming the whole group. They flew ahead to see what's the situation. We followed them. " " Is that the whole story, Sweetie Belle? " Rarity asked her. " Not really. " the unicorn filly replied. " Minutes before you all came, Hase appeared out of the same type of portals Vortex was using. " " Perhaps he had used an open one to escape? " Dash suggested. " Maybe. Also, he had changed. " " What do you mean, Sweetie? " if somepony touched Rarity's chest now, he'd probably call a medic. Her pulse was very fast, all out of worries. She was afraid Vortex might have crippled Hase in some way. " He was a pegasus. A black pegasus with a zenith blue mane and tail. But it was him. He had the same cutie mark! And the same eyes. " Scootaloo ended her worries. " A pony changing its species? That's... " Twilight was going to say it wasn't possible, but than she remembered her own transformation. " ... not likely. " " Wha' do ya think he changed h's species? His previous look mighta been just... a magical disguise. " Applejack suggested. " Like it is with changelings. Could Hase have been a changeling all the time? " Rainbow Dash wondered. " Luna and I would have senced him. " Celestia proved Dash wrong. " Did Hase say anything else? " Luna turned to Sweetie Belle. " Yes... but I'm not sure if it's true. " the unicorn filly hesitated. " Say it anyway. " the princess of the night encouraged her. " He said Vortex is his father. " the violet- maned foal replied. If they could, the jaws of the ponies, who didn't already know this, would have fallen to the ground. " After you think of it... " Sweetie Belle began explaining, but was interrupted. " ... it all makes sence. " Twilight looked at Sweetie Belle. The filly nodded, confirming, that that's what she ment. " Vortex stores the Starfliers as pawns to use when his son wakes up. He carefully observes during the two months Hase spent with us, and takes advantage of our absence to start the plan. He tries to use the Starfliers as his tools, but he fails, so he is forced to use more inconvenient methods, but eventually he gets what he wants - a private meeting with Hase, where he'd be able to tell his son the truth, before researching how the society would react to that. However, the pegasus part still makes no sence... " Celestia suddenly became enlightened and turned to Luna: " Do you think of the same thing I'm thinking of? " The dark blue alicorn nodded. " That part is no mystery either. " the princess of the day turned to Twilight. " About 1000 years ago, we heard rumours about Vortex returning to Canterlot. There were even rumours he had a foal to carry on his doings. We couldn't let that happen. We checked every house with a newborn in Canterlot, but we found nothing. He must have disguised Hase as an earth pony before running away, so our check wouldn't find anything suspicious. Now, as he met him, he had probably morphed him back to his initial appearance. " " I remember Hase telling me his mother was an earth pony. " Fluttershy spoke. The phoenix Hermes cawed on her shoulder, as if confirming. " How is a pegasus foal the result of a bond between an alicorn and an earth pony? " the pink- maned pegasus was curious. " Sounds right in the middle between the two. To me, at least. " Rainbow Dash commented. " I'm afraid we can't give a better explanation than Rainbow Dash. " Celestia replied to the yellow mare. " Vortex is by so far the only alicorn in the story of Equestria to have bonded with a pony. Perhaps that should be expected. " " Wait, Princess... and what about your mother? " Twilight wondered. " We have never known her. Never met her. " Luna answered. " Our father only told us some traits of her personality. We never knew much about her. We still don't." " But we have talked enough! " Luna said and looked down the road. The others did so as well and suddenly realised, that with a new power he couldn't control, and a fear for his father, Hase could mess everything up. The supreme reinforcementHase got off the road as soon as it was possible. He didn't need the girls to try to catch up. They were going to distract him, and he needed to be concentrated right now. He was going to try to bring out some back- up. It was probably going to be a horrible failure, but he had to try. He remembered how the lords bragged with their powers, and didn't want to leave his father fighting them all 6 alone. He wasn't going to be of any use, but something else would do the trick. Hase wondered wheter Princess Celestia had already been informed of all this. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were probably going to contact her when the lords escaped their prison. That ment she was on her way, probably even already here. Perhaps she was speaking with his old friends and the girls in this very same moment. She probably brought the Mane 6 with her, meaning all of his friends would come searching for him at once. This many ponies (and Hermes, who would probably search from above) would find him very easily, so he needed to be ready before they could. He didn't want to be found, but he was also afraid to get lost in the forest, so he went to the only place in the Everfree he knew well. The arc cannons aimed at him, as he stepped in front of the gate. " Awaiting identification. " a robotic voice sounded from the speakers on the two columns. " It's me. " the pegasus spoke. " Voice recognised: Hase, director. Access granted. " the gates slid open and revealed the old hideout. Hase walked forward, leaving the gates close behind him. This was the very place it all began. There was the three with the huge hole, where he built his home and lived for weeks, planning how to get it back at Celestia, even equipped with a small window. Except that tree in the bottom of the lawn and the thorn bush fence surrounding it, the lawn was clear. With a smile on his face, Hase remembered how he built robotic insects to spy the residents of Ponyville. Back than, when things were simple and he didn't have to deal with magical things he barely understood. His father told him he'd get used to it, but right now he was... uncertain. He had to help his father, but he wasn't sure what he was doing. The black alicorn had taught him one spell, he had figured a crude version of a second on his own, but how could he be sure something wasn't going to be terribly wrong if he tried to improvise again? If one of his machines broke, the worst thing, that could happen, was his laboratory blowing up. But if he messed up the magic he was planning, the whole world could suffer the consequences. That's when Hase heard a familliar caw. He smiled and patiently waited, until his winged friend landed on his right shoulder. " You'll always find me, won't you? " he turned to the phoenix. Hermes nodded. " You're a smart bird, you know. The only problem is the others will see where you landed. " Hase told him. Hermes cawed, as if trying to ask something. " Of course I want them to find me, just... not yet. " the pegasus frowned. His friends surely saw where Hermes landed, and were now coming in his direction. The thorn walls he knew the passages through, while they didn't, were going to grant him 10- 15 minutes, but no more. The arc cannons were going to be neutralized in no time, which ment he had 15 minutes to do something, before his friends came to reason with him. ' Don't think. Act! ' he commanded himself and decided to think of the consequences later. After all, if something messed up, he could suck the Voidians back in. At first he imagined a portal, but he perished that thought immeadietly, remembering how the Voidians were being sucked in. No, he needed a single Voidian. Vortex had said, that Voidians come in all forms, and that all the creatures have a Voidian version. Hase needed something big, that could outpower a least half of the lords. Nothing came to his mind for minutes, and suddenly he heard Spike's voice from the edge of the lawn: " I can see him! " ' A dragon! ' Spike came in the perfect moment for Hase to find the sollution. A Voidian dragon could easily deal with three of the lords and give his father an advantage. Controlling him would be tricky, but all Hase needed to do was bring it to the Castle of the Two Sisters. The black alicorn would take on from there. How hard could it be to force a dragon to fly half a mile? So he imagined a dragon. A big, powerful dragon, like the ones that guarded their treasures. A dragon, that ment the difference between life and death. Than he summonned the surge of energy and felt it flow through him. A portal opened in the middle of the lawn and a big black dragon flew out. His sharp muzzle opened, and he roared. Hase was satisfied by this dragon and was just about to try to gain control of it, when suddenly the portal, instead of closing, expanded to the ends of the lawn, as something huge flew out. All the black pegasus could see was a black body and wings, that spread from the one end of the huge lawn to the other. The dragon cried, as the winged black beast flew above him. As the thing turned around, its giant wings no longer hiding it, the startled black stallion realised, that this was a second dragon. It opened its jaws and a big stream of fire, as long as the highest tower of Canterlot's height, forced the other dragon into the portal. It closed behind it, as the beast landed in front of Hase. This dragon was twice the size of any normal dragon. Hase was as big as one of its nails. As it folded its humongous wings, Hase could turn his attention to the other details of this dragon. Just like the other, it was all black. His tail had the same length as his fire stream, with many spikes in the end, that opened consequently, like aloe leaves, leading to the the biggest spike in the end of the tail. Such a tail could easily smash the whole Golden Oak Library with a single swish. Its claws were beyond description. Each of them was probably as big as the Cutie mark Crusaders' classroom. But the most interesting parts of the dragon were his neck and head. It had a long neck, like a hydra, although shorter. Unlike it was with the other dragons, this one had a shorter muzzle, that somehow made it look smarter than other dragons. A few spikes protruded from the top of his head, but there weren't any along its spine. And its eyes... Hase remembered the pony Voidian he met in the Void had black eyes with white irises. So did the other dragon, from what he had seen. This dragon, however, had normal eyes, with gold yellow irises. It looked around, apparently searching for something, untill it finally noticed Hase. He sat down and brought his head down to the ground, so that he'd have an eye contact with the pegasus. " Did you summon me? " the dragon spoke with a deep voice. Apparently it was male. " Yes. " although he was a it frightened (who wouldn't be), Hase didn't show it. " What for? " the dragon asked. " To deal with some of my enemies. " " You call out a dragon to deal with your enemies? " the dragon laughed. His laugh echoed through the whole forest. " Good thing I'm not your enemy. " " Well, I had something smaller in mind, when I thought of it. " the pegasus laughed as well. While he was laughing, the dragon faintly smiled. ' He still hasn't tried to establish any control. His summon search wasn't good enough to stop me from coming. He's a newbie. My chance to live again. ' he thought. ' He let me go. He doesn't know, but he let me go. I'll deal with his small enemies from gratitude. However, vengeance comes first. ' " Are we in the Everfree forest? " the black dragon asked. " Yes. Are... were you from Equestria? " the black pegasus asked. " Yes. " the dragon confirmed. " So... shall we go? " the pony asked. The dragon knelt down. With some help from his claw, Hase managed to get to the base of his neck, the spot he choosed to ride. " We're heading for the castle. " the inventor spoke. ' We are. After a small tour to Ponyville. ' the dragon thought. He nodded, flew off, his giant wings creating a wave, that passed through the treetops. He roared triumphantly, announcing his return. Vortex was patiently waiting, with his back against the wall. The five lords were coming closer. He was ready. In their cursed versions, they weren't going to be challenge. In their normal versions, they could be reasoned with. They arrived sooner than he expected. Cobalt landed heavily right in front of him, Blaze landed a bit further, but still close enough for the former emperor to feel the heat. Tempest, Neptune and Hydro also landed nearby. " Where is Hase? " the rock lord asked, muzzle to muzzle with his creator. " I have no idea where my son is. " the chaotic was actually glad the lords were back to their normal selves. " Your son? " the confused Blaze asked. " Ta- ta- taaa! " Hydro tried to make the moment more dramatic. " You're Hase's father? " Cobalt's anger was also replaced by confusion. " Yes. I don't know what you've been told, but the only reason I brought Hase here was to be able to tell him the truth without somepony listening. " Vortex replied. " That means the day won't end with a fight. " Blaze sounded relieved. " But where is he? " " I thought you were going to attack me, so I sent him off. He's probably already back in Ponyville. Why are you interested anyway? " the black alicorn told the fire pegasus. " We are indebted to him. " Neptune spoke. " His lessons of friendship were passed to us through the no longer existing psychic bond. He's the reason for us to realise our purpose again. We just want to shake his hoof and show him his lessons had reached us by repaying those lessons with actual friendship. " " Neptune, you've always loved the complicated expressions, haven't you? " Vortex spoke benevolently. " Well, if things are so in deed, I guess all that is left is to return to Ponyville, to my son, and hope my brother's daughters will be understanding. " " We were witnesses. We'll make sure she won't judge you for an old crime. " Tempest assured his creator. Just as the six stallions were getting ready to departure for Ponyville, a wind wave passed through the trees, along with a loud roar. Vortex got almost pale. " What's wrong? " Blaze asked. " It's just a dragon. " " Not any dragon. " the former emperor knew this roar too well. It was him, who sent off that beast to the Void. Ironically, his son had brought him out. ' I should have known he wouldn't just run away. I wouldn't have. But why did you summon the only thing in the Void, that can't be controlled? What were you thinking? ' the concerned alicorn thought. " I guess there is going to be a fight in the end of the day after all. To Ponyville! As quickly as you can! " the alicorn spread his wings and flew, closely followed by the five lords. It was Rarity, who actually led the others. The thorns constantly stuck in her mane and tail, pulling them as she walked and probably turning them into a mess, but that wasn't importrant at that time. All that mattered was that she found Hase and tried to help him out of this whole mess he had gotten himself in. The white unicorn smiled. She had reached the tree tunnel, that led to the lawn. The lawn where she had first met Hase, without having any idea he'd be her special somepony some day. " Over here, girls! The road is over here. " she tried to signal the others with her voice. " I can see him! " Spike's voice was heard. Apparently he had found some hole in the thorn wall, surrounding the wall. That hole was probably close to where Rarity was, since it wasn't long before Spike popped out of the bushes, along with Twilight. Twilight's mane looked as if it had just attended a punk concert, and Rarity couldn't help but grin, but didn't point that out, since her mane probably looked even worse. " I'm afraid we have no time to wait the others, Twilight dear. They'll have to catch up with us. " the concerned Rarity turned to Twilight. The purple alicorn nodded and the two mares, along with Spike, ran down the tree tunnel. " What else was there on the lawn, Spike? " Rarity asked, while she galopped. " Hase opened some portal, but I didn't see if something came out or not, since Twilight pulled me away. " Spike replied. The white unicorn glared accusingly at her friend. " We didn't have time for that! " the lavender mare excused herself. " The gate! " Spike yelled. The two mares brought their attention back to the road. The gates were right ahead, with the arc cannons already aiming for them. Before they could fire, however, Twilight prepared herself and teleported all three of them on the other side of the fence. They appeared just in time to see what they would never have believed if they didn't see it with their own eyes. A black dragon, twice the size of any normal dragon, with wings that spread from one end of the lawn to the other. The dragon was already about 20 feet up in the sky, so there was no hope they would be able to run, jump and hold onto its legs. The worried Rarity looked around, searching for Hase, but he didn't appear. The rest of the group caught up just as Spike pointed three coloured dots on the back of the dragon. One red dot and two blue dots. " Hase and Hermes. " Twilight recognised them. Just than, the dragon roared, a loud roar unlike anything dragonlike Rarity had ever heard, even from that dragon, that lived on the top of a mountain. It was much louder and stronger. " That can't be him. " Celestia and Luna seemed frightened, which frightened the rest as well. What dragon was powerful enough to make even the Princesses shudder in fear? " It is him. " an unknown male voice replied. Twilight and Rarity turned around to see 6 stallions with the height of Princess Celestia. 5 of them were pegasi. The first one was made out of fire, the second one- out of clouds, two of them seemed made out of water and the last one was their friend Cobalt. Apparently those were the reformed lords the Cutie Mark Crusaders had spoken of and they weren't reason for worries. The last stallion amongst them was a black alicorn, who stepped forward. His mane and tail were etheral, like Luna's and Celestia's, but split in several streaks at the base of the mane (or tail) and waved separetely, although in one direction, untill they blended with the air in their ends. His eyes, mane and tail were all the same colour - dark violet. His cutie mark was a whirlpool of a purple cloud. " Vortex. " Celestia inserted all her hatred in that one word. " Niece. " the black alicorn spoke with an unexpected familiarity. " You dare speak to us that way after you... " Luna also seemed very angry, but mid- sentence she was suddenly showered by a water stream. One of the two water lords, the one with different coloured water, jumped between the confronting sides, and just to be sure, showered them all with water from his hoof once more, earning Pinkie Pie's giggle. He winked at her and spoke: " Before this conflict gets any worse, the 5 of us would like to object the accusation, the object of which is known as Vortex, former Emperor of Equestria. New evidence has been found in the form of 5 eyewitnesses, that are ready to swear, that the reason for the death of Solarion, the victim, was an out- of- control Voidian. Therefore, you have no right to accuse our client of such crime! " Hydro, since this was him, spoke. " It wasn't you? " Luna and Celestia seemed relieved. " No. " Vortex replied. " I'm afraid, that even for a chaotic veteran, maintaining the control of a whole Voidian army is something difficult. You never know if a single unit won't slip out of your control and do something you'd have to be held responsible for later. " the black alicorn frowned and got closer to the two alicorns. They backed off a bit at first, but all he did was hug the two Princesses one after another and pat them on the back. " Yes, in some way I am the reason for your father's death. I never should have thought the sollution to the war would be so easy as I made it be. Yes, the indirect reason for the death of your father, of my brother, am I, me and my bad decision. I hope you could forgive me for that bad decision. " he looked at the two alicorn mares with a guilty look on his face. " We all make bad decisions. " Luna smiled and put her hoof on his shoulder. Vortex smiled. He looked to the other ponies, and noticed the almost panicked Rarity amongst them. Knowing who she is, the black alicorn came over to her and kneeled, so that he'd be eyes to eyes with the worried unicorn. " You're Rarity, right? " he asked with a concerned tone. " Yes, milord. " the white mare nodded. Vortex smiled. Than he spoke louder: " I don't want to hear anypony amongst you call me " milord " , " your highness " etc.. My time as a royalty has passed. Now I am no more royalty than any of you, Princess Twilight excluded. " Twilight was confused, that the alicorn knew her name, but didn't interrupt his private conversation with Rarity. " Than you are probably my son's special somepony? " the former emperor turned back to the fashionista mare. " Yes. " the unicorn replied. Vortex got up and spoke loud again: " Our useless quarell distracted us from the main reason we're here. Each second that dragon takes your friend, my son, further from us and closer to Ponyville. I know this beast all too well. Each second we spend here means Ponyville is one step closer to getting burned to ashes and Hase is one second closer, just like me, to be accused of a crime he never comitted. Let's not waste any more time! " Everypony nodded and all ran to the exit. The arc cannons turned back, aiming at them, untill the left one was hit by Vortex's chaotic magic blast and the right one - from Celestia's normal magic blast. Luna blew away the door and the group proceeded, racing with time. " You're flying in the wrong direction! The castle's that way! " Hase pointed back. " You don't need to yell! I can hear you anyway! " the dragon noted, annoyed. Ponies constantly underestimated his hearing. " The castle's that way! " this time at least the sport didn't yell. " I know. I'm flying in the direction I want to fly in! " the dragon finally let that pony know who actually led the charge. " I told you to fly towards the castle! Why won't you listen? I am a chaotic, you're a Voidian! " The dragon was suddenly overwhelmed by laughter, so he stopped mid- air to clear things out with that young master. " What are you laughing at? " Hase's surprise grew. " In order for a Voidian to listen to a chaotic, the chaotic has to " put a leash " , so to say. A special spell. You haven't put such a spell on me, I don't have to obey you. " Hase closed his eyes and concentrated, but was interrupted by the dragon: " You've chosen the wrong inhabitant of the Void to put your first leash on, rookie. " " I'm not a rookie! " Hase protested, his concentration ruined. " Prove it, sport. Do you have any idea what you're dealing with? Who am I? " the Voidian asked. After a minute of silence, Hase had no choice but to tell the truth: " No idea. " " I give you mostly 2 hours of experience. All chaotics are told about me the first day of their training! Be honest, how many spells were you taught by so far? Exclude those horrific copies you learned yourself for a several minutes. Perfection comes either by practice or by learning from a teacher, and your summon was the furthest from perfect it can get. " " Who are you? " Hase was shocked, that this Voidian had gotten behind his wall of confidence. " Since you're the reason for my freedom, I'll do you the favour to tell you. Now listen carefully, sport. Millenia ago, at the same time, lived the three greatest dragons of them all. All of them were shortmuzzled... " " Shortmuzzled? " this was new to Hase. " A different dragon species with shorter muzzle. Like me. " the Voidian was annoyed. " Rarer than the longmuzzled. As I was saying, all three of them were shortmuzzled. Zephyros ruled over the high mountain peeks, with his giant blue wings, that allowed him to cover great distances and granted him great manouverability. However, otherwise he was weak. His fire stream was never longer than 15 feet. His claws could only rip apart ponies and sheep, but not bigger prey, like cows or buffaloes. Terras ruled over the plains and the woods. With his mighty claws he could shred anything to pieces. When he couldn't pass through the woods, he just sawed his way through them. Villages and towns had to build stone walls to be safe from him... " " Couldn't he just fly over them? " Hase pointed out the obvious sollution. " He couldn't. He had relied exclusively on sheer strength so much, that his untrained wings could no longer lift his muscular body. Since he never used fire either, he could only ocasionaly spit out a fireball, once a month or two. The third one was just as feared as the other two. Magmaris,whose fire stream with the length of the highest tower of the Canterlot could turn another dragon to ashes just by holding him in range for two seconds, reigned over the volcano areas and the rocky hills, his thick scales allowing him to even bathe in lava, something no other dragon would dare to do. However, his underdeveloped wings didn't allow him to fly more than a mile without getting tired, and his claws were weaker than those of any normal dragon. Those three strongest dragons were also the weakest, the symbol of what no dragon should become, delivering an importrant message to all the other dragons: " Develop your talents equally! " . This is something all dragons know, although not all know from where they know it. Those three dragons carried on their lives as legends any normally developed dragon could defeat, until he went after them. The Dragon Hunter. Iron Ring was the pony, whose name every dragon feared. Whole areas were deserted, if even the smallest rumour of him coming was heard. Dragon hunters were a thing of the era, before dragons and ponies made a truce, which stated " Each side minds their own business. " . They were the symbol of the era, when dragons still hunted sheep, cows and other animals ponies used, even sometimes ponies themselves. To be a dragon hunter for ponies ment to be a hero, for dragons it ment to be a fool, since very few survived their first hunt. Iron Ring was one of the few, if not the only, exception. Nopony knew why he was so good at this - after all, he was just a normal unicorn. But he was the only dragon hunter a pony would call if they wanted to be sure the job will actually be done. That unicorn didn't only hunt for payment... he also hunted for joy. But let's not get into details about that dragon hunter. For my story, the only thing, that matters, is that he captured Zephyros, Terras and Magmaris one after another, utilizing their natural weaknesses to the maximum. He gathered them all on one lawn in the Everfree forest, and for their surprise, broke their shackles. Than he mocked them, telling them they're the worst dragons in the history of Equestria, and asked them if they wanted to become something more, if they wanted to become perfect. The three dragons, having no idea of the hunter's plan, answered positively. Than Iron Ring revealed himself. The illusion, surrounding his horn and eyes, dissappeared, revealing a curved horn and red irises. " " Dark magic. " Hase realised. " First stage of dark magic contamination, yes. " the dragon agreed. " As he revealed himself in front of them, he told them, that to make them truly powerful, he needed to perform a dark fiery ritual and revealed the details. The next 20 minutes they spent flying, untill they reached the Badlands, where most of the dragons reside, specifically in the Valley of Ashes. Iron Ring told them, that in order for the ritual to proceed, the three dragons needed to kill 100 dragons and set the whole valley on fire. Blinded by their lust for power, Zephyros, Terras and Magmaris did as they were told, slaughtering a hundred of their own kind and setting their corpses on fire, turning themselves into the villains of a horror story mother dragons tell their younglings. As they returned to the dragon hunter, he warned he'd have to stab them, so that their blood might suck in the power of their fallen foes. The dragons agreed even to this and let themselves be stabbed. So they lay down amongst the dead dragons, while Iron Ring began his dark ritual. His curved horn glew with a purple and green oreol, as he stood on one cliff, above the whole valley. At his command, the flames went crimson red and rose 100 feet, devouring all dragons in the valley and reaching the height of the cliff the pony was standing on. Those flames burned on for 20 minutes, until they were finally extinguished and the ultimate dragon arose. In some way, Zephyros, Terras and Magmaris weren't cheated. They were told they'd become greater than before. They only weren't told, that they'd have to become one dragon. That dragon was me. A black dragon beyond the size of any other, with wings big enough to cast a shadow over a whole town, and claws strong enough to smash a building. I had one mind only, but I had the memories of all three dragons, and all of their hate. Realizing how they/ I was cheated, I tried to attack Iron Ring, but it was late. During the process of the dark union, he had put an unliftable spell on me, that kept me from death and any harm not caused by him and bound me to his will, like a Voidian. I was in deed the most powerful dragon, but at what cost? Just as these thoughts were crossing my mind, this villain grinned and spoke triumphantly: " Rise Formidon, Obstructer of the sky, most powerful among dragons! You will help me take Equestria! " His plan was obvious. He planned to assault Canterlot using me, since his dark magic alone wasn't powerful enough. He flew away on my back, but size has one disadvantage: you get spotted easily. While we were flying, I swore I'd one day destroy Iron Ring's home the same way he made me destroy mine. We didn't reach Canterlot, as you'd expect. Mid- way, the two alicorn brothers, the rulers of Equestria, intercepted us and brought us down to the plains. I disobeyed Iron Ring's orders as much as possible, which occasionaly separated us, leaving him, the not very skilled dark magic user fight against the bigger brother, Solarion, while my enemy was the younger, Vortex. Iron Ring was defeated pretty easily, but Solarion needed rest, so Vortex was left alone. I used all methods I knew from my previous lives, but this alicorn was skilled. Our battle lasted half a day, untill finally, with his last strength, he opened a portal to the Void and pushed me in. With Iron Ring dead, it ment I couldn't be hurt by anything, the Void included, which means I'm not actually a Voidian, and I couldn't be controlled by nopony. So you, newbie, can't order me! " the dragon said and flew again, in direction Ponyville. " Now I will keep my promise. I will destroy Iron Ring's home the same way he destroyed mine! " Formidon laughed. Almost panicked, Hase opened a portal to the Void right in front of the black dragon, hoping he'd get in. However, the dragon swiftly avoided it, along with the two others Hase put on his way. He closed the last one dissappointed and full of despair. " The same trick won't work twice, sport. " the black beast commented. " You won't destroy Ponyville! " Hase got up, the surprised Hermes almost falling off his shoulder. Luckily, the dragon's neck kept the wind from blowing him away. Ponyville was close, Hase could see that. " Was that an order? " Formidon asked ironically. " It was a promise. " the pegasus replied. " A promise? You think you'll stop me? " " Ponyville is the home of hundreds, thousand of innocent ponies! You can't kill them because of one pony, that's already dead anyway! There's no use in that! " the inventor protested. " I won't destroy Ponyville because of Iron Ring. I'll destroy it because of the hundred dragons he made me kill! " the dragon almost yelled. The dragon was above Ponyville. Hase could already hear ponies screaming. " Say goodbye, sport. One last turn and the town will be ashes. " the black beast triumphed. One last thought crossed Hase's mind. Hoping it would work, he closed his eyes and spoke: " Your master will be proud! " Hearing those words, the dragon again halted in mid-air. Fearing those words might motivate the dragon, the scientist seized that chance to climb up the dragon's neck, pass the top of his head and soon he and Hermes were standing on the dragon's muzzle, eyes- to- eyes with the dragon. " Don't be a fool. He's dead for a long time. " Formidon replied. " Fine. He would have been proud, than. " the black stallion only switched the tences, which angried the dragon: " He would have been proud with me burning his home?! " Hermes cawed worried, as he saw smoke coming out the dragon's nosdrils behind them. " That's what he wanted all along. Think about it. " Hase was surprisingly calm. " Burning Ponyville won't be enough for you. Soon you'll want to burn the place where he lived for a year or two, the place where he gathered you all, the place where he last fought. Ponies are fearful. When you devastate those places, with few exceptions, they will all flee. Those, who remain, will try to fight you, and the great Formidon will bring them all down, of course. After that, you'll be the most powerful being in Equestria. Which means, that all of this, " Hase spread his hoof, pointing everything around them. " , will be yours. And since you would have taken it with force, you will have conquered Equestria, just as Iron Ring wanted you to. If he could, he'd appear to you in that moment and complement you. " " Stop. " the dragon commanded. Anger could be felt in his voice. However, Hase continued. " You will have done his job for him. You will have conquered Equestria,as commanded. " " Stop! " this time the anger was more obvious, but, Celestia knows why, the black pegasus still kept going: " You will have been a good, obedient dragon, who follows his master's orders. I'm sure he will give you a bone, if he could... " " STOOOOOOOP!!!! " the dragon's yell passed into a roar, that continued half a minute. Hase knew he had won this duel of minds, so he patiently waited. With a smile on. " Who are you? " the dragon asked, curious. " And how did you do this? " " I'm Hase. " the inventor replied. " I beated you, since I fight for clauses, much greater than revenge. I fight for Ponyville, the town I wish was my hometown. I fight for all my friends, who I am sure will support me. I fight for the mare I love! " the pony spoke proudly. " Friendship... how can friendship give you such power? What is friendship, but an alliance? And of what use are allies, that aren't with you at the moment? " the black dragon asked, befuddled. " You're wrong. " the scientist told him. " Friendship is not alliance. Allies can always betray you. True friends will never do that. Your old three selves lived solitary lives, and were rejected because of their disadvantages, so they never learned what friendship is. Your new self couldn't learn friendship in the Void, since friendship doesn't exist there. Now that you have returned to our world, now that you are back in Equestria, you have a second chance. Initially, I thought you are a Voidian, and I planned to use you to help my father. I learned, that you're a free being, unbound to the Void and its control, therefore you aren't a threat to Equestria. I don't want to be your master. That would mean I will have control over you, and I don't have the right to have control over you. No. But I have the right to be your friend. And I will use that right of mine. " Hase concluded and spread his right forehoof as a sign of his offer. " If you really want to know what friendship is and spend your eternal life with somepony, who cares about you, accept my gift. " the stallion told the dragon. Formidon looked at Hase, trying to judge him. He saw no lie in his eyes. The pony was honest. " I will accept your offer. " he replied and spread one of his huge claws up, making Hermes back off a bit. Hase however kept his position and shook one of the dragon's fingers with his two forehooves. He than climbed back on his head and slid down to his neck, reaching his initial position. " Now will you please get me and Hermes down? My other friends might be worried. " the stallion said, seeing a big group of ponies exiting the Everfree forest. " Anything for a friend, right? " Formidon asked with an ironic tone. " That's the spirit! " the scientist approved that. The end?Rarity looked at the sky just as the group finally got out of the Everfree forest. It was probably too late, and they expected to see Ponyville in ashes, since Vortex had told them the dragon held a grudge against the town. However, everything seemed normal, with the exception of the huge black dragon, flying in the sky, and the wave of scared ponies, running to their group, probably about to ask Princess Celestia to banish the beast. However, before the unicorn mare could even distinguish their faces, the black dragon suddenly moved and flew in their direction. " On my mark! " Celestia commanded. Vortex, the princess of the day herself, Luna, Twilight, the five lords and even Discord aligned. Shortly, all skilled magical users. " Set! " the princess' voice was heard again. " Fire! " 10 different kinds of battle magic flew at the dragon. Vortex had chosen a normal magical ball, just like his nieces, the lords had fired a ball made out of their respective elements, while Discord threw a baseball in the air and struck it with a bat so hard, that the bat went on fire. Those were very scattered shots, so that at least one would hit the dragon. However, before they had even fired, the dragon suddenly flew up, succesfully letting those shots pass bellow him. That was a manouver he couldn't have made unless he was warned. Did this dragon have a sixth sence? Rarity had no time to wonder. The ponies and the draconequus didn't have time for a second shot. Before even ten seconds had passed, the dragon landed mere 20 feet in front of them, hiding the whole town from their eyes with his massive body. A black pegasus with a zenith blue mane and tail jumped off, with a phoenix with some blue feathers on his left shoulder. Rarity's heart felt like it was up in her throat. That was Hase! But why wasn't he running away? " Hase, get away, so that we can fire again! It's the perfect moment! " Luna yelled, but hase stood where he was. " He might be dizzy from that flight manouver. " Celestia said. " I'll get him. " Vortex answered and made a few steps forward, halving the distance, but in that moment the dragon slowly slid his tail between the former emperor and his son. The spiky tip passed, leaving Hase visible over the tail. The black alicorn made a step back. Hase just smiled and came forward. He jumped on the dragon's tail. Vortex expected the dragon would throw him away, but apparently it had nothing against that. Hase got both his hindhooves over the top and sat on the tail as if it was a bench. The tail moved forward, forcing the alicorn to go back to the group, while the tail with Hase on it was now only 10 feet from them, but the pegasus just stood there and watched. Fluttershy feared, that Hase might have been hypnotised, so Applejack suggested her to use the Stare to bring him out of his trance. As this idea passed to the others, all agreed, so Fluttershy unwillingly stepped forward, knowing it's for her friend's goodbeing. " But first! " Pinkie Pie got in front of her friend, pointed the dragon and made a scary face. Realising what followed, Rainbow Dash just sighed: " Here we go... " That's when Pinkie Pie began singing the adapted version of the song she always sang when she thought somepony was hypnotized. " He's one malicious lizard, he's worse than a blizzard, don't mistake him for kind, he'll suck out your mind! He'll grill you to a stake and eat you at all stakes! He'll swallow you whole as if you're a cake! Sooo... watch out! " Pinkie Pie stood on her two backhooves, with her two forehooves spread as wings and her mouth opened in a threatening manner, as if she was in deed about to swallow somepony whole. The song was greeted by the laugh of the pony Fluttershy was about to treat with her Stare, which confused everypony except Pinkie, who got back on all four, smiled, bounced and exclaimed: " I told you he wasn't hypnotised! " " How much time did you spend making that up? " Hase asked. " Nah, you know Pinkie. She just came up with it. " Rainbow Dash replied. Seeing this as a sign everything is OK, Rarity ran towards Hase. " Rarity! " Twilight yelled after her, since they still weren't sure of the dragon's intentions, but by that time the fashionista mare had already jumped in her coltfriend's laps. The unicorn laughed and cried simultaneously. Hase held her tight, but that didn't stop Rarity from getting out and giving Hase what she planned to do immeadietly after she returned to Ponyville. A real kiss. She could stay with their lips sealed forever, untill he reminded her: " Rarity, don't you think there are more appropriate places for this than in front of your sister and all of our friends? " " You're right, sweetheart. " the unicorn broke the kiss and jumped off the dragon's tail together with her beloved. Hase looked at Rarity, and encouraged by the kiss he was given, stood between the dragon and the rest of the group and spoke: " I think my father knows who this dragon is, and has probably told you all. However, I think what Formidon just showed you is also clear to you. Formidon? " The dragon got up and Rarity shivvered, but the black pegasus hugged her and told her not to worry. As the dragon stood in his full size, he spoke: " Mere minutes ago, my only desire was to take it back at Iron Ring, my creator, for forcing me to destroy my home. I was about to destroy his, when my friend, Hase, convinced me this would only lead to me following his will. He offered me his friendship and a second chance. A chance to know what friendship is. A chance to really rise above my three former selves, to become better than them not only by strength, but by soul as well. Zephyros, Terras and Magmaris would have had their revenge. I won't. " " Hase. " Princess Celestia turned to the pegasus. He looked at her, indicating he was listening. " I think you no longer need to right me letters about your friendship, unless you want to. These three days you met ponies and dragons, coming from the past, that would have bended and succumbed to evil deeds, if it wasn't for your support as a friend, and those were ponies, which the old Hase wouldn't have forgiven, and a dragon, who the old Hase wouldn't be able to stop. Through the lessons of friendship you have learned, you showed them, that past mistakes don't matter, when one has good intentions and is ready to fix those mistakes. You... " Before the white alicorn could finish her speech, a big white portal opened above their heads and suddenly sucked everypony in, also Spike, Hermes and Formidon, but leaving the Starfliers, Sweetie Belle, Applebloom,Scootaloo and Discord behind. That portal closed as suddenly as it had opened, leaving the three adult pegasi, the Cutie Mark Crusaders and the draconequus with the wave of worried ponies, who wondered where their princesses had vanished. School's out, Discord's inSpike was trying to keep the big pile of luggage from falling, and he was succeeding. However, just as he leaned against the big suitcase Twilight had chosen for a vessel of what seemed to Spike as one quarter of the Golden Oak Library's books, one of Rarity's purses, that was near the top got out of its balance and flew directly towards the dragon's head. He never saw it coming and it would have hurt a lot being stricken by it, since it contained Rarity's designer necklaces, all of which had pretty hard stones, but before it hit the dragon it was diverted by a large device, that extended from a small box Hase was carrying and emitted a weak shockwave, that was just enough to cause the purse to fall right next to Spike. However, it was also enough to destabilize the whole structure and cause it to collapse and burry Spike. Luckily, several seconds later the dragon was revealed to the open world again, as the cutie mark crusaders, along with Hase, removed the multiple suitcases (most of whom belonged to Twilight). However, as the quartet tried to put them back on what was left of the pile, in fact only Fluttershy's small bag and Pinkie Pie's suitcase, which had party ribbons hanging from it. However, it was unstable and as Scootaloo tried to hold it, it collapsed again, this time not hitting anypony. " Yah ok? " Applebloom asked Spike. " Yes. " the dragon replied and looked at Hase, who was currently screwing something in the device he had used to save Spike from the falling purse, which eventually caused a much bigger accident. " Oh, nevermind. " he eventually threw the device away and came to say sorry to the baby dragon. Spike accepted it and helped him and the CMC form a stable pile of bags. The Mane 6 were going to Canterlot. They were currently at the train station, waiting for the Friendship Express, and were chatting while the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Hase and Spike fought the pile of luggage, whose ultimate purpose seemed to be to fall apart. " Princess Celestia has chosen us for the invigilators of the Academy for Gifted Unicorns' annual exam! " Twilight was as excited as Pinkie Pie, and that was something very unusual. " I am going to be the invigilator of the exam I once attended myself! " she said that so fast the others only heard " I'm.. " and the rest was just a mix of sounds. " So, girls, do you remember the rules? " the alicorn asked her friends, her enthusiasm finally dropping a bit. " We're invigilators, we're there ta observe, not ta influence. " Applejack reported. " Dash? " the purple mare turned to the pegasus, giving her face a stern look. The cyan mare sighed and mumbled: " We don't distract the students with our personal matters and we sign no autographs. Why do you think I would do that anyway, Twi? " " I just want to make sure everything's going to be perfect! " the lavender pony exclaimed and turned to the others. Eventually, she turned to Fluttershy as well and spoke: " Fluttershy, I know you want to encourge the participants, but don't encourage them too much. It can distract them and have quite the opposite effect. " " I'll just make sure they are confident that they are going to give their best. " the yellow pegasus assured her, just as the Friendship Express arrived, the air it blowed failig the last attempt of Spike, Hase and the CMC to pile the luggage succesfully. The quartet ditched that idea and instead helped the Mane 6 carry the luggage into their wagon. Hermes landed on Fluttershy's shoulder, and Hase spoke to the yellow pegasus: " I think a visit from Philomena will be enjoyable for him. Tia can take care of him just fine, so you needn't worry about that. " The Mane 6 took their seats. Just as Spike was looking through the window next to his seat, since he was going to travel with the Mane 6, a small metal shard stuck in the wooden frame. The startled dragon turned around to see what the hay was going on and saw a mechanical arm on wheels bending beneath Twilight's biggest suitcase. It was slowly descending, small parts of it flying everywhere, until finally it was smashed by the abnormally big bag, luckily, just where it needed to fall. " That's strange. It is supposed to be able to hold 100 pounds. " Hase didn't even try to pull the remains of the mechanical arm from beneath the suitcase. " This suitcase might be a little bit more than that. " Twilight noted, feeling a bit uncomfortable. " Nevermind. It wasn't that hard to put together. " the stallion noted. The train's whistle called, signalling, that the train was about to leave any moment now. The cutie mark crusaders left the train after taking their goodbyes, while Hase stayed for a bit longer in order to hug Rarity and gently kiss her. " Good bye, dear. " he whispered in her ear before separating from her and heading for the exit. However, just as he was about to leave the wagon, he turned around and asked: " What about the Cutie Mark Crusaders? Should I get them to Granny Smith, the Cakes or... " " In fact, ah was thinkin' it'd be better if they stayed by ya this time. " Applejack interrupted him. " You seem to get along very well. " Rarity added. The stallion smiled, said his final goodbyes and walked off the train. A second later it departured, and he waved along with the fillies, as the train left the station and got on its way to Canterlot. " Who's it this time, Hase? Granny or the Cakes? " Applebloom asked him. " Actually, they've left me to take care of you. " as they heard that, the three fillies smiled and jumped on the stallion, bringing him down in the process. " I surrender! " the stallion raised his hooves and the three fillies finally got off him. " So, what do you want to do today? " Hase asked. " Actually, we've still got one last day of school. " Scoot replied. " Has the vacation not began yet? " the inventor raised an eyebrow. " It begins tommorow. Nopony actually studies today either, but we're supposed to be there, so that Cherilee can say our final grades to us. It's also supposed Rarity and Applejack would be there with us, but I guess this time we're on our own. " Sweetie Belle said. " Is there a problem if I came instead? " Hase asked. " No... but it's kind of boring. Are you sure you want to come? " Scoot asked him. " Well, I think I actually skipped on those days back when I was a foal, so nothing stops me from at least checking it out... " Hase nodded. As the stallion said that, somepony else spoke: " It doesn't neccessarily have to be that annoying, you know. " As the Cutie Mark Crusaders looked up, from where the voice was coming, expecting to see a pegasus, they instead saw Discord sitting on his trademark cotton candy cloud. The startled fillies jumped back, and as they did that, the cloud popped like a balloon, bringing the draconequus down to the ground with a small, pink reminder of what had been a big cloud. " You happy now, Applebloom? " the master of chaos frowned, found the hole on the cloud and blew in, becoming thinner and thinner in the process, until the cloud was back in the sky, while Discord had taken the form of a carpet from breathing out all the air he had in him. However, he didn't stay in that condition for long, as he used his flat lion paw hand to crack with fingers. A minute later a pump on wheels arrived and the dragonecqueus put it's end in his mouth. The arrows on the device began spinning wildly, as Discord was pumped back to normal. Finally he sighed in relief, clicked with fingers and the device rolled on its way, dissapearing just as it was about to turn around the corner. He than caught the cloud, that was the reason for his flat condition, squeezed it hard, draining all of its chocolate milk in a glass he held in his other hand. The cloud than vanished, while Discord drank the glass and threw away the milk. A small explosion occured. Scootaloo sighed. " Oops, I almost forgot! " Discord used his tail to click and brooms from all around the town gathered and marched towards him. He proudly showed them the site of the explosion, and the brooms cleaned it so carefully, that this small area actually became cleaner than the rest of the street. Disapproving of that fact, Discord put some sand over it, and finally, satisfied with his job, turned to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. " Fluttershy is right! Sometimes the cleaning can be even more enjoyable than the mess itself! " he cheered. " What are you doing here Discord? " Scootaloo asked, now more confused than scared. " Oh, I am glad you asked, dear Scootaloo. " the god of chaos smiled. " I am just visiting a dear friend of mine. " " You've got the wrong way. " Sweetie Belle replied with a smile on. " Fluttershy already got on the train to Canterlot. " " She isn't my only friend, as far as I could recall, " as Discord replied, big library drawers, full of books, appeared out of nowhere, along with a set of glasses for Discord, that had no lenses whatsoever, but had a small chain connecting the two ends, making the draconecqueus look like a librarian. " What do you mea... " " Shhh! This is a library, foals! Be quiet! " Discord stopped Scoot before she could finish her sentence. He flipped the pages of a giant old book, full of dust, that made the CMC cough. " Fluttershy... certainly yes... Rainbow Dash... certainly no...Pinkie Pie... maybe... Rarity... maybe...Applejack...certainly no... was it because of the apple monsters? " Discord wondered as he skimmed through more and more pages. " Twilight Sparkle... yes, although a small test is required. Note to self, tatzlwurm, blue flu, " a little glass of water, please "... " the draconequus scribbled something in the unused space in the book. After he finished writing, he flipped through some more pages, until he finally victoriously laid his finger on the passage, proving what he probably knew all along: " Hase - yes! How are you today? " he turned to the earth pony. " Well, fine. How are you? " the stallion replied in a tone, that confirmed, that he was friends with Discord. " As per usual... but I gotta be flying. Gotta check on tatzlwurm endangerment status. " the draconecqueus noted, as a big clock rang, and dissapeared, leaving a cloud with his form behind, which soon spread. " Yah friends with Discord? " Applebloom asked him, as they were walking to the school. " Yes. Why? " Hase answered. " Well, Hase, Discord isn't exactly the folk you choose to trust for serious things. " Scootaloo told him. " I don't trust him for serious things; he's Discord, after all. However, that doesn't stop me from being his friend. " the inventor said the crusaders. " How did you get to meet him anyway? " even Sweetie Belle, who shared a house with Hase since the inventor had moved in the Boutique to live with Rarity, was unaware of this friendship. " Actually, it was me, who sought him first. As you know, my laboratory was finished a long time ago, and I am currently trying to introduce several new products to the market. However, the situation isn't much different from before- ponies don't really seem to like my inventions and find them useless. I decided, that if my next prduct didn't sell either, I would keep my inventions to myself until somepony comes to request me inventing something. I wanted a product, that would be something funny, in order for ponies to understand easier, and therefore, like. I was currently developing a brand new kind of glass, able to withstand magic and be used in magical containers, when a relatively silly idea came to my head. What if I created a new party accessory using that glass? I asked Twilight to help, and she did help a lot, but the product just lacked the party spirit. The sealed magic needed to be more... random. Than I remembered Discord was reformed, so eventually Fluttershy introduced us to eachother. Discord was surprised somepony might have use of his magic, and agreed to participate. While working we got along. The product failed and I gave up trying to distribute my inventions. Now I invent for myself and friends only. Still, I consider it a success. After all, I befriended somepony new. Why do all fear Discord anyway? " " Some ponies still fear Zecora an' you're askin 'bout Discord? " Applebloom replied with a question. " He's the god of chaos, and that kind of stops ponies from becoming friends with him. It doesn't help, that he tried to reconquer Equestria for himself not too long ago. " Sweetie Belle added. " Yes, but ponies accepted Luna after she returned as Nightmare Moon! Even though it took them about a year. Discord is now reformed, which should grant him the same redemption... and yet it doesn't. " Hase just couldn't get it. " I think ponies would get used to Discord just fine after a few months. " Scootaloo expressed her optimistic opinion and the other two fillies agreed. ' Yet it took you less than two weeks to forgive somepony, who has done something much worse. ' the stallion thought. At that point he expected to hear some of the imprisoned lords mock him and tell him, that he would never have the guts to confess all of his sins to the ponies. But as he had come to expect, nopony spoke in his head. As he arrived back in Equestria two months ago, the lords had suddenly stopped communicating him whatsoever. Hase also lost the ability to mentally communicate with Cobalt, the lord of rock and his friend. The medalion had also stopped behaving strangely, since it was hidden in the Golden Oak Library for over a month and it hadn't tried to come back to the inventor even once. The most annoying, and scary at the same time, part, was that Hase still felt somepony's presence inside his head. It was as if the lords had chosen to remain silent even when the stallion tried to provoke them. It was annoying, but a bit terrifying as well. What if they were currently trying to hypnotize him, erase his memories or something even more sinister? Hase still hadn't shared the fact, that his mind was populated by somepony else but him, with nopony but Cobalt. When he talked with Cobalt about that and asked him what might be the reason, the rock lord said he had no idea and that Hase could be happy, that they are no longer in his head. The scientist tried to explain him multiple times, that they are still there, but his pegasus friend always replied, that he was only imagining. The reason he hadn't shared this fact with anypony, was that for the first time in many years he was having a normal life. He had good friends, a marefriend, his own laboratory and his life was better than he had ever previously imagined. He didn't want to start another series of adventures, this time related to bringing the lords out of his head. All he wanted was a normal life. However, he couldn't get rid of the thought, that the lords would somehow manage to reveal his sins to the world. He looked at the cutie mark crusaders, at the pure joy and innocence in their eyes when they were looking at him. Would they look at him that way, if they knew, that he was the reason for the deaths of 20 ponies and hadn't been to even one of their funerals? Would his friends still be his friends if they knew that? Would the town accept him? And most importrantly, what would he read in Rarity's eyes, as she hears the whole truth? In the eyes of all of them he would be a monster. " Hey, why are you crying? " Sweetie Belle asked as a small tear came down the stallion's cheek. " Oh, something got into my eye. " Hase said. The smile got back on the unicorn filly's muzzle,as the four of them continued on their way to the school. Hase banished these thoughts and put a smile back on as well. The building of the Ponyville Elementary had become one of Hase's favourites. It was simple, large and friendly looking, just like a school needed to be. It's light red colours encouraged the students to enter it. Something Hase couldn't say for his old school. His school back in Canterlot was placed in a gothic building, the gargoyles anything but encouraging, painted in a neutral brown colour, that made foals feel sleepy. The teachers were also a lot better than the ones Hase remembered having back in his old school. Actually, he didn't remember any of his old teachers by name or muzzle, with the exception of one mare, that tried to make studying more enjoyable for the students, much like Cherilee, the teacher of Sweetie Belle, Applebloom and Scootaloo, but this mare was fired after a month, " for using unconventianal and unapproved studying methods " . She was replaced by another teacher, who believed their subject is the most importrant of them all. Just like Hase himself had once said when he was a colt, " It's like in university. You choose one subject and study mainly for it. " . He wished he had studied in a school, simillar to the one the crusaders were studying in. The bell rang, announcing the start of the last day of school. The three fillies ran inside, stoppin near the entrance to wave at Hase. He waved back and looked around, as fillies and colts entered the building. When the second ell rang, all of them were already inside. The inventor knew, that the classes were shorter today, so they would only last until noon, so instead of heading to the Carousselle Boutique or the laboratory, he chose to sit down and wait. Many other ponies have chosen to do the same. " Oh, how much longer is it going to take? " Discord suddenly appeared out of nowhere after Hase had waited for 10 minutes. A clock materialized and Discord put it on the lawn as he sat down as well. Most of the ponies, that had been sitting nearby until then, stood up and sat a bit further from the ruler of chaos. The clock was ticking and Discord sat there without doing anything for an unusual amount of time. After 1 minute, however, he couldn't do it anymore, so he cracked with his fingers and the nearby tree shook, as a timberwolf cub came out from its roots and ran at Discord. The chaos master cracked with fingers again, a ball appearing in his hand. He threw it and the small timberwolf cub chased it, in order to bring it back. As it brought the ball back, Discord threw it again, this time closer to the ponies. However, as the timberwolf cub neared them, the ponies got up, this time a bit afraid, and sat even further away. " They'll get used to you eventually. " Hase noted. " It'll just take some time. " " Fluttershy says the same. But sometimes I get tired of waiting... " the draconequus replied, as he brought out a huge hammer and smashed the clock. The timberwolf cub dissapeared somewhere and now it was just Hase and Discord, in a perimeter of 30 feet with no other ponies in it but the inventor. Luckily, the bell rang soon enough for the both of them to not get totally annoyed. They got up, and Discord asked the earth pony stallion: " So, how are things going with chaos- driven machinery? I am looking forward to its success! " " Not very well. " Hase replied. " It isn't you, " he told Discord, as he saw a storm cloud hanging over his head. " , it's just... magic and technology don't get along. One must prevail. I either have to use machine for a guiding tool of magic, or to use magic as a power source for them. There is no perfect balance. " " I was expecting that. " the chaos master surprised the beige stallion as he said that. " And yet, your attempts weren't futile... " Discord revealed a small sphere he held in his lion paw. The sphere was made of what seemed to be normal glass, and yet it contained a small amount of chaotic magic succesfully. As Hase took the orb in his own hooves, he could see all of this... strange and unusual magic captured inside. " Yes, but who would buy bottled chaos? " he said, returning the sphere to Discord, as he was about to enter the school. Discord wrapped his hand around the sphere, and when he opened it, it was gone. He bent, so that he could enter the building as well, and followed Hase in the corridor. " Scootaloo warned it was boring. " the stallion spoke as he saw the draconecqueus behind him. " Well, than let's spice it up a little. " the master of chaos smiled. " I am very proud of you all! " the happy Cherilee spoke to her students. The cutie mark crusaders smiled as they looked at eachother's yearly grades. All three of them had A-s, and so did the most of the class as well. The happy violet earth pony opened the door and invited the parents, brothers, sisters and close friends, who had come to check on the foals from Cherilee's class. Discord coming along that inventor, that moved in two months ago, startled Cherilee a bit, but not to the point she lost her concentration. She called all the foals to come next to her, so that the adults can take places on the desks. Most of them managed to do that without problems, despite of the fact, that those were fitted for foals, but Discord's horns left some scratches on the ceiling, forcing him to bend his neck. However, this seemed to cause him discomfort, so he cracked with fingers and suddenly his neck dissapeared. Cherilee tried not to giggle, as she saw the head of the master of chaos directly attached to his shoulders, as he was adjusting himself. " I am happy to anounce, that this year almost all students managed to get an A! " she told her visitors. " Over the course of this year all of us learned, and hopefully, remembered, many different interesting things about the world, that surrounds us, as well as many interesting parts of Equestria's history. " " Did you have any music classes? " Discord asked with a sudden interest. " Yes, thank you for asking, Mr. Discord, " Cherilee replied, smiling. " We were just about to sing a song all together! " " If it wouldn't be to much of a discomfort, I would like you to sing a song I recently came up with. " the draconequus replied, as he regained his neck. " Not at all! " the violet mare replied. At that time even Hase didn't know what Discord had planned. He gave each foal a sheet of paper with the text on it, which caused most of them to giggle. Apparently it was a funny text. Cherilee and all the students liked it. With the exception of two. " What is all of this nonsence? " Diamond Tiara asked, with Silver Spoon supporting her. " It's art! " Discord triumphed, while he was dressed like an artist and just finishing his version of the famous Mona Liza - instead of the subtle smile, there was a hysterical grin. " Sounds more like something you came up with during your afternoon nap! " Silver Spoon mocked and laughed together with her pink earth pony friend. " One of my afternoon naps is probably more productive than your entire day. If you don't wish to be part of this initiative, than you're welcome to be part of the audience! " Discord noted and chuckled. " Tell him he's wrong, dad! " Diamon Tiara whined, as she joined her father in the audience. When Filthy Rich raised his head to ask the draconecqueus something, he saw him opening an umbrella, which produced a "meow" with the inside part almost touching the center, while some lightnings struck. " Looks like we might be due to a big old storm of... music! " the master of chaos cheered. " Are we ready? " Discord asked. The choir of foals nodded. The draconecqueus smiled and cracked with fingers. A small orchestra appeared in the back part of the room, as the god of chaos began singing, along with the choir, something, that actualy sounded fit for a text of a song: " A little glass of water please, A fresh pressed hanky if I sneeze , Some tea with honey from the bees Whenever you can brew it! " For now the song was looking good, but the orchestra was just getting started, which reminded Hase, that Discord had something greater in mind than the usual school song. " And while I get a little rest, " as he said that, a cotton candy cloud appeared just in time for Discord to lie on it, pretending to be extremely fatigued. " A teeny tiny small request, " a giant scroll with the word "REQUEST " written on it appeared and gradually became smaller, untill it reached the size of an A4 sheet of paper. " Some codfish oil for my chest, Poured from a crystal cruet! " a big bottle, full of oil of some kind, fell out of mid- air and sipped all of its content in the giant crystal goblet, that had appeared just bellow it. Now the orchestra started playing faster, and Discord and the choir sang faster as well: " My goodness, I'm a nincompoop Because I fear I've got the croup, " as they sang this line, everypony in the room were covered in small pimples, making some of them panick and other wonder wheter they had already had the pox or not. " I need a vat of pumpkin soup, " multiple pumpkins, appeared, and as Discord opened them, the pumpkin soup inside errupted and showered everypony with soup, washing away the pox. " And scarves made out of zinnias! " everypony became dry again and found scarves, made out of some kind of flower, around their necks. " Did I say zinnias? I meant silk! Or something shiny of that ilk! " The scarves multiplied and turned to silk ones, making most of the audience and the singers as well look like living mummies. The music stopped for a second, and as the audience managed to get the silk scarves off their eyes, they saw Discord in a safari outfit, wearing a zebrican explorer's hat, while sporting a big net. " Mummies are the corpses of long dead egyptian pharaohs. They have been mumified millenia ago! " he spoke, as if he was reading from the encyclopedia. " However, they are not able of becoming alive again, so this is a mirage. A mirage is... " " Why did you stop the song? " Hase asked. " Oh, it's you? " Discord replied, took a few photos of the living mummies, got out of his clothes and gave the orchestra the sign to continue. " And then I'll need some nice warm milk, " a rabbit with brown furr, a yellow sweather and a yellow cup with a blue " N " appeared before Discord drank the glass of steaming hot chocolate milk and dissapeared quickly after that. " And pastries from Abyssinia! " a mare, dressed in an oriental style, hoofed the master of chaos a small plate with a pastry, heavily syruped with sugar syrup and than left the room. " And since my stomach's feeling crummy Why not give my aching tummy Something soothing, something yummy Piled up with noodles? Add a slice of homemade rye With stacks of Swiss way up high Served with sides of sweet mince pie More basil; I need oodles! " As they sang the next two parts of the song, the choir was surrounded by a sea of noodles with multiple islands of rye, with Swiss cheese forming spectacular mountains. The mentioned pie appeared in the form of jellyfish in the sea of noodles. The basil rained over this food utopia as a heavy monsoon. Suddenly the orchestra slowed down, the lights went off, and Discord was in the spotlight for his solo part: " I'll be grateful for your charity Until the bitter end. Because I've heard that tenderness Is what you lend an ailing friend. Tenderness, isn't that right, friend? " The lights went back on, the orchestra sped up, the draconequus asked: " Who's ready for the grand reprise? I'd like that glass of water please! " he sang, pointing to the glass, which was now positioned on the top of a high mountain, while everypony found themselves dressed with jackets and carrying ski equipment. " Some magic spell to cure disease! " as he said that, everypony found themselves in a deep mine or something simillar. Discord, wearing a grey robe and hat, sporting a long white beard as well, crossed the sword he was holding in one of his arms with the magician's cane in his other hand and stopped a beast, from which the ponies could only see the red eyes and the fiery whip( some said they also saw wings, but that was debatable). The beast swiped with the whip, but as it hit the bridge, instead of falling down, the group passed to the illustration of the next line. " A firm "gesundhoof" when I sneeze! " the master of chaos sneezed, which sounded like an explosion, but did no damage whatsoever. " A fresh bouquet of roses! " somepony from the audience threw the draconecques a large bouqet with roses. " Some lozenges will soon appease, My wheezing when I start to sneeze. A wig to keep me from the breeze And blankets for my toes-es. Take tweezers out of my valise. And then massage my knobby knees. A bowl of peas, some extra cheese. A cuddle with a Pekingese! A singing harp who's named Louise! A goat on skis, a new trapeze! And more and more and more and more of theeeeese! " This was the peak of the song. Everypony found themselves wearing strange judge wigs, some found themselves massaging Discord's knees, which looked pretty swollen for a minute or so, and all of them had to suffer a hale of peas, a sandstorm of cheese and a giant dog, which nearly smashed Cherilee's desk. The harp wasn't that harmful, but the skiing goat, coming alongside a trapeze, a mountain of plushies, complete with a sea of marshmalows and some unfriendly looking snakes, were, but just as the audience was getting ready to run away, all of these dissapeared, and all, that could be seen, was a hose, going from the sink to Discord's mouth, and yet he still managed to somehow sing the rest of the song: " And just because I oughta... Make sure I'm drinking in the right Amount of fluids day and night I wish I may, I wish I might Have just one little thing Oh, would you please finally bring Me that tiny glass Of waateeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer?!! " As he sang the last part, the ponies found themselves in Manhatten, being threatened by a terrible tsunami, that was mere feet away from them, but before it ever reached them, Discord drank it all and returned everypony back in the classroom. The audience, Hase excluded, was too frightened to applause, but the inventor, Cherilee and the foals applaused, having liked this hillarious song. " Thank you all! With some changes in the choreography, I hope this masterpiece soon reaches royal ears! " those were Discord's last words, before he dissapeared in thin air.
CMC Invention SquadAfter the final day of school, Hase decided to buy the Cutie Mark Crusaders some ice cream. He wanted to make sure they're allowed to eat ice cream first, but than he remembered there was no way he could contact the Mane 6 fast enough, since Spike was with them. ' I wish ponies paid more attention to phones. ' he thought, after he decided, that even if they're not allowed to eat ice cream, he'd buy them some. After the three fillies had already eaten their ice cream, all four wondered what to do next. " Hmm, ah really can't come up with anythin' . " Applebloom noted. While wondering what to do, they got to the Carouselle Boutique without noticing it. However, all agreed, that there wouldn't be able to do something more interesting inside, so they stayed out. Since Hase was walking in front of the three fillies, while thinking what to do, his hooves eventually took on a path they knew well, and eventually the stallion and the fillies found themselves in front of Hase's laboratory. Hase was never too good in drawing blueprints, even though it was expected from a scientist. Nopony but him could understand what was drawn on his blueprints. They could read the text and follow the arrow, but the drawn segment never resembled anything like the described part, for everypony but Hase. So when he brought the plan to the builders, somepony thought it for rubbish the next day and threw it away, thinking another plan for Hase's. As a result, the long, one storey building Hase had wished his laboratory to be stored in was never really built. What was built was a two storey traditional Ponyville house. The inventor had some argument with the builders, but he accepted the building. Now it was equipped with various apendages, like a giant basement Hase had digged with a prototype mine drill. The basement was bigger than the house itself ( it was 3 storeys under the ground, so that it wouldn't weaken the street) and only accessible through " an elevator " , a small metal cabin, attached to cables, moved up and down by a machine, powered with electricity. However, the metal parts were too heavy for the walls, so Hase had to destroy one of the walls and rebuild it, reinforcing the concrete with metal bars. Additionally, a large counterweight structure was built outside of the building to prevent the whole mechanism from falling into the shaft. What once was a normal house now looked like some unfinished large- scale building. The strange antennas on the roof didn't improve its appearance much either. The front door was reinforced with a thick metal frame and secured with an electronic voice- recognition device, which made it look like somepony had torn the door of a bank safe and put it on the wall of his house. The building was anything but normal and good looking. " I've got an idea! " Sweetie Belle told the other two crusaders. " Why don't we go in and earn our cutie marks by inventing something? " The three fillies held their breathes, than jumed in the air and clapped their hooves, yelling: " Cutie Mark Crusaders invention squad, yay! " " Ah, nope. " Hase crushed their enthusiasm. " Why not? " Scootaloo complained. " I'm sure that neither Applejack nor Rarity would ever let you go inside, and I wouldn't either! There are unstable isotopes inside! Prototype droids! Disintegration tools... " Hase stopped, realising each of those words only made the three fillies more excited. Now they were looking at him with their widest smiles and with shining eyes. " There isn't actually anything I can do to cause you to give up this idea now, is there? " he smiled. The cutie mark crusaders shook their heads. The earth pony stallion sighed and continued: " Than I guess it would be better if I let you in now, while I am with you, and not wait for you to some day sneak in. " He stood next to the door, as a robotic sign spoke: " Welcome to the Ponyville Laboratory. Please, identify yourself through voice recognition to proceed. " " It's me. " the inventor said, while muzzle to muzzle with a microphone. " Identity confirmed: Hase, director. Entrance granted. " a voice sounded from the machine again. Streams of air were released, as the heavy door opened itself. The scientist let the three fillies pass before him and than quickly followed them. The door closed behind him. " Wooow! " Applebloom looked in one of the flasks, containing a blue liquid. " Wha's tha' ? " she asked Hase. " What's what? " he turned his attention to the flask Applebloom was just going to touch. His eyes widened in shock, as he tried to stop the flask from falling down, as it was steadily falling to the floor now. Luckily, he caught it before it hit the floor. Unluckily though, it broke. " Did any glass stick in you? " the worried Sweetie Belle asked. " No. " Hase got back up. " But I couldn't let it fall down. You see, that is a superelectroconductive liquid. If even one drop falls on the floor and connects the circuit... " Just as he was saying that, one drop of the blue liquid fell down and connected the big wet mark on the floor with the stallion's already soaked coat. Sparks went through it, up the stallion's hooves, electrocuting him. The stunned earth pony, with his mane sticking out in all directions, fell on the floor. " Hase! Yah OK? " Applebloom asked, as she poured the glass of water Sweetie had brought over the stallion's face. The stallion's eyelids lifted, revealing his brown eyes. The confused stallion got up. It took him a few seconds to realise what had happened. He than frowned and took the three fillies to the control room. The control room was were Hase spent most of the time when not bringing something together. There he was calculating probabilities of success and thinking of possible uses of new inventions. There was a computer on a desk in one of the corners, some chairs, a bench and a sink and that was all. Now he was going to use it as the instruction room. " You saw what happened back there, right? " he asked, his mane still sticking out in all directions, making the three fillies laugh, since his manecut didn't fit his serious tone. The scientist glared up, noticing his weird manecut. He smiled and tried to return his mane to its normal state - with questionable success. " Alright, alright! " he replied with a happy voice, when the crusaders stopped laughing. " Yes, science is funny sometimes... but what if you poured that liquid on some of the power cables and stepped into the puddle? That would have been deadly! " that explanation caused the three fillies to frown. " But ah thought yah didn't invent deadly things! " Applebloom told him. " Some things are not usualy deadly, but might turn out hazardous if misused. What would happen if you used a lense to start a fire? The lense isn't usually something dangerous, but it can be. It's the same with this liquid. It is the best conductor I have ever created. It is so powerful, that it can gather static electricity from the rubber floor and zap a pony quite powerfully, as you saw. If connected to a more powerful electricity source, however, it might be deadly. Usually I use it for electricity conducting purposes in my machines. If you want to get your cutie marks while here, you'd have to follow some rules. " Hase nodded. " Believe me, the last thing I want for you is to get hurt. Do you agree to follow the rules? " " We agree. " Scootaloo nodded. " Now, hear the three main rules. Firstly: Don't touch anything, with which you aren't absolutely familliar, without asking me what it is first. Secondly, don't go inside rooms I didn't lead you in. Three... I think we'll go without a third rule. " he smiled. " Now, if you ever come across a second flask of this superconductive liquid, " the earth pony spoke to them. " , keep it off your coats. It's stong enough to attract static electricity and zap you, as it did me. Also, don't pour it over machines. It will short- circuit them and make them explode. " the eyes of the three fillies widened as they heard this. " Explode? " all three of them asked in unison. " Not always. " this answer caused them to sigh in relief. " But it is possible! " Hase noted. " Now, what do you want to start with? " " How 'bout gadgets? " Applebloom suggested. The three fillies were waiting in front of the building. Hase said he'd pick out some machines, that he considered safe enough, and come with them to test them outside of Ponyville, preferably somewhere on the edge of the Everfree. The door opened and revealed the earth pony, carrying what seemed like a pair of strange horseshoes, more like boots, a wheelless scooter and some strange bracelets on his forehooves. " You ready? " he asked them. " Yes! " the three of them replied in unison again. Applebloom got the strange boots, Scoot got the scooter, while Sweetie Belle got one of the bracelets. However, the inventor didn't allow them to test them until they reached the edge of the Everfree. That gave them enough time to study the inventions. Scootaloo found some strange circles on the bottom side of the wheelless scooter, but nothing special except it. The boots were coated in metal, not allowing Applebloom to see what's inside. The yellow filly wondered why they were only two, but as she asked Hase, he said she'd undertsand when he said her what they do. The bracelet Sweetie Belle wore surely wasn't ment for fashion purposes. It was thick and a bit heavy, but the unicorn filly couldn't find anything to hint its purpose. When the four of them reached the edge of the Everfree, Hase took the scooter from Scootaloo and pressed a hidden button she couldn't hope to find without knowing where it was. Large fans unfolded from the circle on the bottom, and as they span, the scooter hovered in the air. The amazed pegasus filly jumped on it and tried to drive it, but apparently the controls were a bit different from the ones of the ordinary scooter. " You move by leaning in the direction you want to move in. " Hase noted. Scootaloo leaned forward, and the hoverscooter moved forward. She leaned left and it turned. She smiled and shouted with excitement. " The hoverscoot will only hover, not fly, but it still feels great. Now take it for a ride around here! " the filly needed no further encouragement. She immediately started doing laps of the lawn with the hovering machine. " How does Scootaloo get the scooter and ah get some boots? " Applebloom frowned. The scientist noticed that and got the boots from her. After pressing a pair of hidden buttons, placed symmetrically in both boots, he attached them to the red- amned filly's hindhooves. " Wha're you doin' ? " Applebloom had to sit, since standing up, while her rump was higher than her head wasn't very comfortable. " Those are the so- called Electrobuck boots. " the stallion presented his invention. " Not long ago your sister Applejack offered to teach me how to buck apples, so that I could help the next apple season. I have never done anything earth pony - like for my whole life, so I decided I should try. What Applejack got was a basket full of apples. What I got was an ankle almost strained. " the earth pony smiled and scratched his head. " I seem to lack that trademark earth pony strength. Applejack assured me, that I just need some practice. But her teaching me how to buck properly would mean less time bucking apples at full efectivity, therefore, more work for you and Big Mack, " he turned to Applebloom. " , and the last thing I want is to make your work harder. So I invented those. They increase a pony's bucking ability to incredible levels. It was ment to help me buck normally, while still teaching. However, I might have overdone it. Try to buck that dry pine. " Hase told Applebloom. The filly raised an eyebrow, stood next to the tree and bucked with all the strength she had. Her buck alone wouldn't have been strong enough. However, a second before her hindhooves hit the tree the pneumatic boots extended their bottom parts with such power, that it broke the tree and threw it a few feet away. " Yah surely overdid it. " Applebloom noted. " The problem is, I can't weaken the effect any more. " the inventor replied. " Any more? " Sweetie Belle wondered what the initial version of this invention was like. " Yes. The first time it cracked the tree to the root, while the upper part was thrown way further. that's why I only use dry, dead trees for those tests. " " And what does this do? " while levitating the bracelet with her magic, Sweetie Belle accidentaly pressed the hidden button. The bracelet extended and fired a small dart, that stuck in the tree behind Applebloom. " It fires different kinds of darts. " Hase replied. " This is something like an improver version of the utility belt from earlier. That thing was heavy and bulky, and the mechanical claws did meany things I can do without them anyway. This invention is mant for emergency uses. It can fire a normal dart, if you want to distract a tenderwolf, manticore or something else, although it wouldn't hurt them much, an electric dart to stun them or a wired dart, which would allow you to use it as a rope, when you need to pass over a gorge, river or something like that. As Scootaloo got off her scooter, Hase took the Electrobuck horseshoes from Applebloom, giving her his dart bracelet instead, and surprised them by allowing them to keep the inventions for the rest of the day. The three fillies cheered and all three got on the hoverscooter, which somehow managed to fit them all, and Scootaloo drove towards Ponyville. The fillies and colts of Ponyville Elementary were playing hide and seek in front of their school. However, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon constantly ruined the game by calling the pony, who found them, a cheater, and not accepting the others' hiding places for permitted in the game. That was until the Cutie Mark Crusaders arrived on the hovverscooter and attracted all the attention. While Scootaloo was offering some of the foals to give them a ride, the two bullies approached the crusaders and spoke: " Well, well, if those aren't nopony's favourite blank flanks, coming here to show off with something, that even isn't theirs! " "Wah aren't showin' off! " Applebloom protested. " But you are! " Silver Spoon spoke. " I wonder why would anypony waste their time with you three! I'm sure my dad would be much more interesting to this inventor than you! " " Why do you think so? " a new voice spoke. the crusaders turned around and saw, that it was Hase. " Mr. Inventor! " Diamond Tiara put on her most sweet fake muzzle and sugarcoated her voice. " My dad has an offer for you! " " What would that offer be? " the stallion replied. " He offers you cooperation! He wants you to start a new business of selling your inventions together with him! " " I am not interested. " Hase turned his back to the annoying pink filly. " Don't you want to be succesful? " Diamond Tiara asked. " What does being succesful have in common with your father? " the scientist replied with a calm voice, still with his back to the filly. " My dad knows everything! He... " Diamond Tiara couldn't finish her thought, since Hase turned around and asked: " Does your father know what happens when you mix potassium nitrate with sodium chloride? " " A chemical reaction occurs? " the pink filly guessed. " No! " Hase cut her off. " Nothing happens, since the products of the reaction would be sollutable, and it would contradict the laws of reaction between sollutions! " the earth pony noted and got away, turning around the next corner of the street. " Your friend is a geek and a fool! Business with my dad could only bring success! " Diamond Tiara went back to the crusaders, taking her nice smile off. " Eitherways, his inventions are too good to be used from blank flanks like you! " the filly, along with Silver Spoon, pushed Scootaloo off the scooter and tried to take the scooter for a ride. Before she could try to steer it in some way, however, a voice spoke: " Unauthorized access. Activating catapult. " A pneumatic mechanism pushed the entire upper part of the device up, ssending the two earth ponies flying in the air. They landed in a nearby puddle, while the Cutie Mark Crusaders got back on the scooter and flew away, turning right around the corner. Hase was there, waiting for them. " Not bad for a geek and a fool. " Hase noted, as Sweetie belle told him what had happened before and after his arrival. The sun was already setting, so the four ponies went to the laboratory to leave the scooter and the two bracelets, and then went back to the Caroussele Boutique. Hase left the fillies play for two more hours, and then sent them to bed. As he lied in his own bed, he remembered all of the funny moments and smiled, but than he remembered, that the lords still hadn't given any sign of their absence. They were still there. ' Perhaps it's just paranoya. ' he thought and closed his eyes.
Guests from the Everfree forestThe doors of the three cryochambers opened and liquid nitrogen flowed out of it. A thud was heard, as three ponies fell out of these chambers. The doors closed, stopping the flow of the liquid nitrogen and revealing the three pony figures, still shaking from the cold of the chambers. A minute later, however, they stopped shaking, as their coats also returned back to normal state. All of those three ponies were pegasi. Two of them stallions, and the third one- a mare. The mare had a very light blue coat and a green mane, her cutie mark was a leaf blown by the wind. The first stallion had a grey coat, black mane, and his cutie mark was a thunder cloud, emitting lightning in all directions. The second stallion had an orange coat and a red mane, while his cutie mark was a yellow lightning only. " Gale, Rush, you OK? " the black maned stallion asked. " Yes, we're fine. How about you, Thunderflight? " Rush, the second stallion, asked. " I'm OK. " Thunderflight answered. " What's the last thing you remember? " " We were caught in a storm, we had to descend. We landed in Baltimare, or somewhere around there, but nopony would offer us shelter, except one clerk. " Gale recalled. " He pushed us inside his basement, and than some strange magic pushed us inside those chambers... the cold. " Rush shook again. " Where are we? " Thunderflight looked around, noticing the wood they were in. " You are in the Everfree forest. " a fourth voice spoke from the shadows. When the trio looked in that direction, all they could see was a pair of dark violet eyes. The violet was so dark, that it was bordering black. " Who are you? " Thunderflight approached him aggresively, but some mysterious force stopped him from coming further, while the eyes raised to a height, which ,Gale thought, could only mark the pony as a princess. " Princess Luna? " she tried to make a guess. " No. " the voice replied. Although it was masculine, the mare tried to make a second guess. " Nightmare... Moon? " " No. " the voice replied again. " Now let me ask. Are you Thunderflight, Gale and Rush, all three members of the Starfliers team? " " We are. Who are you? " Rush asked. The eyes looked more threatening now, and wind shook the leaves of the nearby trees. " That is of no matter to you. " the voice replied. " You are in the Everfree forest. It was me, who brought you here. I employed the clerk, who brought you here. I also commanded the one, who advised you to go out and fly in the storm, in order to test your limits. " Creeps went down the trio's spines. " I am the only reason you are here, in this part of the forest. Luckily, you're close enough to Ponyville. You won't get lost. I'll show you the way, under one condition. " " What's that condition? " Thunderflight asked angrily. " Once you are in Ponyville, you will find the scientist, known as Hase, and bring him to me. You might as well try to earn his trust once again, unless you want to die. " " What? " the scared Gale made a few steps back, while Thunderflight stepped in front of her, in order to protect her. " What do you speak of? Hase is imprisoned in Canterlot! He is not in Ponyville! " he yelled. " He was imprisoned... 1000 years ago. How long do you think you slept? " the jaws of the three fell open, as they looked at eachother. " That's right, you're more than 1000 years old. Perhaps if you really were friends with Hase a milenium ago, you would have known, that he escaped prison and entered a cryochamber, just like you. He awakened 1000 years ago. Now he has real friends, which wouldn't be very enthusiastic to meet the ponies, who betrayed him when he needed you the most... " " It was madness to confront the Princesses! " " Yes, but you had influence. You could have stopped the war, or at least try to. You could have made the both sides listen to eachother's arguments. Yet you didn't, you preferred to stay out of trouble. This conflict solved itself 1000 years later, without your help. As I was saying, now he has real friends, the regal sisters included. He also has a different love interest, one that would at least tell him if she likes somepony else more than him. " " How do you know all of this? " Gale blushed. " I see everything... now his friends are gone for a week. A perfect chance for you to earn your redemption and bring Hase to me. But know this: the cryochambers I put you in weren't exactly in order. While the normal chamber should only keep the most vital processes going, these kept all going, just making them go slower. You are in your normal condition, but unless you get yourselves a sample of those formulas for eternal life Hase used on the entire of Ponyville, over the course of the week you'll age so rapidly, that nopony will be able to recognise you. Good luck. " The eyes dissappeared, leaving the three pegasi alone. " This way! " Thunderflight saw a light between the branches of the trees. Owls hooed as the three ponies made their way through the net of branches and the multiple roots, causing them to stumble multiple times. It was too tight to fly. " Do you think what that pony said is actually true? What if he's just trying to scare us into bringing Hase to him? " Gale asked, after getting up. " I don't know, but I think we shouldn't take any risks. " the black maned stallion replied. " After all, even if we aren't aging rapidly, as he told us, an eternal life wouldn't be of no use. For an instance, we will be able to beat the current flight team and become famous again! " Rush mused out loud. " Firstly, we should take care of ourselves. We'll think about career later. " Thunderflight cut him off. " OK. " the red maned pegasus nodded at the leader of the trio. In deed the Starfliers weren't deeply in the Everfree. After mere 5 minutes of walk they came out of the forest, near Fluttershy's cottage. " Do you think there's somepony in? " Gale asked, as she looked at the small house, which currently looked very cosy to all three of them. " There are no lights inside. We don't know if the pony inside would be friendly to midnight guests. I think we should go to a hotel instead. " Thunderflight admitted and all three of them unwillingly agreed, that they would have to skip on this opportunity. There wasn't anypony to open the door for them anyways, but they didn't know that, so as they shivvered, the cold of the chamber still haunting them, they regretted this decision. As they passed the bridge, they stopped and tried to come up with a plan. " I am freezing. " Gale shook. " Why don't we get a room for the night and go to ask Hase for the formulas tomorrow? " " And what if we awake 30 years older? " Rush replied. " What if our hooves aren't strong enough to carry us in the morning? " " I have to agree with Rush for this one. We can't possibly know how the aging takes place. We know, that we would die in a week, unless we take the formula, but we don't know if we wouldn't be already too old the next morning. We have to act now, while we're still sure it's still possible. " Gale nodded in agreement. The trio went down the main street, hopig to find somepony they could ask for directions. Luckily, most restaurants were still open, although not filled to full. So it wasn't surprising when the trio bumped into a grey pegasus stallion with a mane. " Good evening. " the stallion greeted. " Sorry for bumping into you. " " Good evening to you, too. " Gale replied. " Excuse me, but would you mind telling us if there's some kind of laboratory nearby? " " That would be Hase's laboratory you're looking for, right? " the trio nodded. " Why are you looking for it? " the stallion seemed surprised and confused. Apparently, Hase's inventions, just as before, weren't something ponies usually needed. " We need a particular invention. " Thunderflight answered. " One advice: don't take it. " the unknown stallion winked. " They are just too overcomplicated! Why use " toaster " to bake the toast, when you have fire? Anyway, good luck trying to operate with the invention. By the way, the lab would be closed by now. You'll have to wait until tomorrow morning. Good riddance! " the pegasus said, continuing on his way. " He wasn't of much use, was he? " Rush noted. " Oh sorry, I forgot! " the stallion trotted back. He gave them a map with an X and an O on it. " The O is the laboratory and X is where we currently are. I'm sure you'll find it. After all, this isn't Canterlot. " after instructing them, the pegasus trotted away. " How are we going to get in during the night? " Gale asked, while the pegasi were walking to the laboratory. " We'll find some way. " Thunderflight expressed his opinion. 15 minutes later they were in front of the building. They thought they would only recognise it by a small label or something, but instead the multiple apendages of the strange- looking building led them to the conclusion, that this was Hase's laboratory. " Celestia, is that thing still considered a building? " Gale wondered out loud, as she witnessed the weirdness of this building. The shadows of the night were making it look like some horribly deformed monster. " We surely aren't getting in through the front entrance! " Rush spotted the huge safe door mounted on the wall of the house. Thunderflight, however, had his eyes on a much easier target: the window on the second floor. " It might be armoured, but it won't hurt to try. Come here, Rush! We'll do it together! " the gray pegasus called his orange friend and the two stood in a bucking position. They bucked together and the glass window broke surprisingly easy. What was even more strange, no alarm sounded. " I guess, that if nopony buys his inventions, nopony steals them as well. " Rush commented. The red maned pegasus put his head through the frame and took a look of the room. There was some kind of a machine on one side of the room, a desk right in front of the window with a coat hanger next to it and another big safe door in the end of the room. " Well, hay. " the stallion with the orange coat realised, that they wouldn't be entering from here. Just as he said that the coat hanger suddenly moved. The main rod extended, and its 6 legs suddenly folded in a middle, and than extended, resembling a kneeling pony getting up. The hooks on the upper part of the hanger also extended, revealing one circle of light. Before Rush could wonder what the hay its purpose was, it spun around the rod, and when it stopped, it was facing him. Other smaller circles inside spun and the pegasus realised it wasn't a circle; it was an eye, which was focusing him. " Intruder alert! Intruder alert! " a robotic voice, coming from the hanger, spoke, as it moved, spider- like, to the window. The startled pegasus got out of the frame and flew back to Thunderflight. " What's the matter? " the pegasus with the grey coat asked, noticing his friend looked like he had seen a ghost. In that moment the robot coathanger stood behind the window frame and focused Thunderflight, Rush, and than finally Gale. " Three intruders detected. Identity: unknown. Engaging... " as the robot stated that, its middle part, which was thicker than the rest even while it was still a coat hanger, extended, revealing 6 mysterious devices, spinning around the central rod. They spun on the lower part of the wide section, and the strange devices extended upwards. Before any of the two flying stallions could try to defend themselves, a bolt of lightning was fired at both of them, bringing them down to the ground, stunned. The concerned Gale ran towards them and tried to bring them round, but she heard a mechanical sound and slowly turned around. The robot was standing there, with rotor blades extending from its upper part. They quickly folded back in, and the robot shot another bolt at her, knocking her unconcious. What the trio didn't know, was that an alarm was actually sounded. However, the only thing the usual, loud alarm would cause, would be to disturb the neighbours. The lab didn't have any security to be alerted from the sound, so Hase had instead chosen a quiet alarm: only a hoof- free device he always put on during the night emitted sound, while the laboratory only initiated its defences - all doors were locked down until his voice command was given, the normal doors were reinforced from both sides and multiple security bots, some of them masked as normal household items, were activated. In some ways, Hase found the bots even more dependable than the local guard, since he had programmed all of them on his own and he knew exactly what they would do. Moreover, they were equipped with advanced non- lethal weaponry. The sound quickly woke up Hase, without waking up the three sleeping fillies. It was the first time somepony tried to rob the laboratory and it was quite a nasty surprise for Hase, but a nice one as well, since it meant somepony actually wanted something from his laboratory. The excited stallion got the alarm hooffree device off and quietly went down the stairs, trying not to wake the cutie mark crusaders. he opened the door and shut it, now free to run. He wondered wheter it was an actual theft or just vandalism. Eitherway, he knew the criminals wouldn't have got far away. It took him only twenty minutes to reach the lab. The security bot, the one in his office, masked as a coathanger and armed with multiple Arc Generators, was standing over the three bodies, carefully watching them. If anypony of them showed any signs of conciousness, the robot was programmed to stun them again. The earth pony passed by the criminals without even looking at them went to the door and spoke: " End security lockdown. " " Voice recognised: Hase, director. Ending security lockdown. Opening main entrance... " the bot, no longer receiving signals for a security lockdown, extended his rotor blades and flew back to the broken window. He flew back inside and took the form of a coat hanger again. Hase shook his head as he saw the broken window. He thought he should probably reinforce the windows a bit more, or at least put bars on them. No, he wanted the windows to be able to be opened. So, the option with the bars fell out. Reinforced glass, on the other hoof, was a perfect option. He came to the three bodies and looked down to see who they are. He regretted doing that. There was no doubt those three ponies were his " old friends " , Gale, Rush and Thunderflight. What were they doing here? What did they want from him? The stallion sighed, Just as he thought he could have a normal life for a difference, the Starfliers entered his life with a bang, in this case through the window. He had no idea what the Starfliers were doing here and the last thing he wanted was that they remain here and reveal secrets of his past he would never share. Here they were, about to ruin his life again. For a moment Hase considered the option to leave them in the Everfree, but he would never do that. He was too good of a friend, even though they weren't. Besides, they would eventually find their way back. The inventor currently had no choice but to get them in, wait them to come round and ask them what they were doing here and what they wanted from him. Thunderflight had no idea how much time had passed when he finally came round. Every time he was just on the edge of doing so, the robot zapped him again. This time, however, it didn't occur. Along with Gale and Rush, he opened his eyes. The first thing the three of them saw was the coat hanger, that had started it all. It was currently of no danger to them, so they looked around themselves. They were in the room they had tried to break in, strapped to a bench with metal rings. They could only sit and wonder what had happened during the time they were unconcious. The computer was still there, and so was the broken window, with the large spinning chair and the desk in front of it. The first to break the silence was Thunderflight: " Hello? Is there anypony here? " " Hello to you too. " a voice was heard and the chair turned around, revealing the figure of a pony the three of them craved to see. " Hase! We're so glad to see you! " Gale exclaimed. " But I am not. " Hase cut off their enthusiasm. " Why are you here and now? What are you doing outside of your time? " " The same goes for you. " Thunderflight replied, a bit confused about why Hase was cross. " Yes, but I am in a position to ask questions. You are not. " as he said that, the coat hanger extended back to its bot form, and its weapons threatingly spun around the central rod. The three of them reallised, that if they want to complete their mission, they would have to keep the pony with the violet eyes a secret. So Thunderflight only said the main thing: " We entered three cryochambers... " he started, but the scientist interrupted him: " I figured that out on my own. I ment something different. What is the purpose of your presence here? What do you want? " For a minute all three of them went silent. None amongst them could think of a feasible alibi, so it became clear to Hase, that the trio were hiding something. He decided he would try to get the truth out of them later, and went to the more easy question: " What are you looking for in my laboratory? " " We heard you still have some samples of the Eternal Life formula. We need them. " Thunderflight emphasised. " What makes you think I'm just going to give it to you, even if you " need " it? " Hase replied. "Otherwise we'll die. " Gale said with a sad voice, whiping the anger off the muzzle of the earth pony. " The chambers we used... weren't quite alright. Now the aging process would start again, catching up over the course of a week. " " That glitch... " Hase mused out loud. He got off the chair and left the room, leaving the trio wondering what he would do. Had he deserted them? Luckily, a minute later he returned with a syringe, fulled with a blue liquid. he carefully injected a third of it into each of his former friends and returned to his seat. " There. You are immortal now. Your cells won't age anymore. " he stated. The three pegasi cheered. " But still... why? Why have you chosen to come to this time, after you know there's no turning back? " the earth pony asked them, now that they were out of danger. The silence took over the room once again. The three ponies averted his gaze, looking at the ceiling and the walls, even at the security bot, at anything, that was far enough from him. ' Why have you come here? ' Hase thought, just as Thunderflight thought of a perfect answer and spoke to the inventor, looking in his eyes: " We wanted to make sure you're alright in this time! Who knows, it might have been Discord's second reign or something! " " Since when does any of you care about me that much, "old friend " ? You claim you came here to check if I were alright? Than why was I all alone in my initiative 1000 years ago? Now I know it would have been unfair of a true friend to support me in such a deed, but a true friend would have tried to stop me. You just stood on the benches and observed this war, as if it is a game, and waited to see who's the victor, so that you could cheer for them. Let me tell you something, Thunderflight. Nopony likes double- faced ponies. " " Yeah? And how would you explain, that we had thousands of fans? " the pegasus replied. At that time, the both pegasi stallions were very angry at the earth pony. Only Gale was actually considering his words. " They liked you as a team, not for the ponies you are. " Hase claimed. " But Hase... we were friends ever since we were foals. What's the matter with you? Why do you keep saying all of that? I know we should have told you to stop, but... ponies make mistakes. " Gale spoke. " Yes, Gale, we were friends ever since we were foals... until your training began. " Hase corrected her. " I can imagine how it must have felt. After all, I went through something simillar. Years of misery and fear, and now, a chance to rise above, to become something more, to become something... significant. A pony should always follow their dreams, but never desert the things they praise to reach this dream. Science was as interesting to me, as flying was to you. Yet, my life wasn't entirely science. I had friends, in the muzzles of Tia and Luna, and tried to get home to see mom as often as I could. Sometimes I also found your parents there as well. Imagine how shocked I was, after the first time I saw them they told me, that they haven't seen you three ever since you had gone to the castle! Was there truly not a single gap in your Young Flier program, which you could use to visit them? " The three pegasi felt guilt trying to choke them, as their heads leaned downwards. " Now you regret it, don't you? There is still hope for you, than. " the inventor pressed a button and the restricting cuffs retracted back into the seats. The confused pegasi glared at him. " You let us go? " Rush asked, as he tried to come to terms with what have just happened. " You're right, Gale. Ponies do make mistakes. " Hase smiled at them. " After all, I've made mistakes, some considerably bigger than yours. But I think, that you were never true friends, since you never knew what true friendship was. Our friendship never had the chance to develop fully. It's a chance I'm going to give it now. I hope, that the next few days I will be able to show you what true friendship is. " At first Gale smiled, as she realized Hase was willing to give them a second chance, even though it was questionable if they deserved it. But a second later she remembered why they were here. The violet eyes popped in her mind, glaring with menace, and the voice sounded again: ' Once you are in Ponyville, you will find the scientist, known as Hase, and bring him to me. ' She gritted her teeth and thought: ' Hase... why do you have to make it harder for us? '
New friendships" Here we are! " Hase spoke as the four ponies reached the boutique. Thunderflight, still suspicious of Hase, took a look at the building. " Carousel Boutique " was truly a fitting name, since the building was supported with columns, which on the second floor even had pony figures attached to them. The building was much fancier than the most Ponyville buildings, and as he looked at it, Thunderflight could remember of the rare occasions, when a carousel arrived in Canterlot and his parents allowed him to ride. They could rarely pay for such a luxury, but this was one of the pegasus' most happy memories of his foalhood: how he rode in wooden carts, on swans, even on ponies, all made out of wood, in that endless happiness. The building was actually more beautiful than the actual carousel, since although it was a magical experience for all four of them back in the days, the details were actually quite few. The stallion smiled as he recalled these days, and than suddely realized, that he hadn't had more fun in his whole life. True, it was exciting, when he, Rush and Gale made their flight teacher proud and later became the Starfliers... but the excitement of the carousel was somehow greater than the excitement of any flight, now that he compared them. For a minute he didn't realize why, but than it struck him. Hase was right. The three pegasi were so caught up in flying and succeeding, that they let the most importrant things behind. While they were training, and later, performing, he, Gale and Rush were only... colleagues. Thunderflight thought it over. Even though that eyed shadow probably had malicious intentions, his act had one positive side: it made the three of them close again. The pegasus was surprised how little it took for the spark of their friendship, almost turned to liveless ash, to ignite their friendship to its full extent again. All it took was a small accident, an hour or two together without being at any show, just hanging out like in the old days, and they had become friends again. Before all of this happenned, the last time Thunderflight remembered being so close to Rush and Gale was when their lessons began, before they distanced themselves from eachother. But what about Hase? They had come out of nowhere, interrupting the life he had craved... well, a lifetime, and what did he do? Instead of sending them away, he gave them a second chance. The stallion stopped being suspicious and approached Hase, while he was unlocking the door. " I just want to say I'm sorry. " the pegasus said. The earth pony unlocked the door, but didn't open it. Instead he turned around and looked at him. " Sorry for what? " he asked. " Sorry for not helping you out, even when you needed us the most. I just realized, that during all of these years, our hunt for success has... distanced us, from you and from eachother. For the first time in many years, I actually feel you, Gale and Rush as my friends. Before all you were was a familliar pony, and they were only colleagues... " " I understand. " the inventor interrupted him. " Sometimes success is so obsessing, that you forget the things, that really matter. i was lucky enough to have somepony to show it to me, but I guess you didn't. I should have tried to explain it to you. " " We wouldn't have listened. " Rush joined the conversation. " Thunderflight's right. All of these years, we were just colleagues. Even my love for him faded out because of our hunt for success. " Gale supported the black- maned stallion. " Do you really think we can be friends again? " Rush asked Hase. The earth pony just smiled and replied: " We already are. " He stretched his right forehoof. " Do you remember how we called ourselves? What was the name of our team? " he spoke. It took them a minute to remember, but than all three of them smiled and stretched their forehooves as well. " Just make it quiet. The girls are sleeping upstairs. " Hase noted. The four of them raised their hooves, saying: " Adventure Hunters! " " Seeking for adventure behind every corner! " Rush added. The sun rays slipped through the blinds, landing on the eyes of the three fillies. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo had turned away in their dream, teased by the light, but Applebloom hadn't, so eventually it woke her up. She opened her eyes, but quickly had to close them since the sun shone directly in them. She moved aside and carefully opened them again, making sure the sun wouldn't blind her. The filly waited for a second, so that her eyes would adapt to the light, and than jumped off the edge of the bed. The earth pony noticed, that her friends were still sleeping, so she decided to let them sleep for a bit longer, until she returned from the bathroom. The bathroom was nextdoor. As Applebloom looked in the mirror, she saw exactly what she expected to see: her mane, sticking out in all possible directions (even in some impossible, she thought to herself). The filly grabbed the brush in her mouth, leaned forward, so that she could reach her mane, and slowly brushed it, until it obeyed the law of gravity again. " Good morning. " Sweetie Belle greeted, as she entered the bathroom. " Good mornin' . " the earth pony replied, as she put on her ribbon, the final element to her manecut, and moved on to brushing her teeth. It took Sweetie Belle signifcantly longer to put her mane back in order. Her curls had somehow straightened up during the night, although they usually never did. Luckily, it took her mane only about 5 minutes of brushing to remember its usual position and soon the curls were back where they belonged. The unicorn filly smiled, levitated her toothbrush with magic and joined Applebloom in the toothbrushing. They finished with it at about the same time ( since Applebloom had secretely eaten a sticky candy the late evening and brushed longer than usual, so that Hase wouldn't notice any remainings) . Just as they were about to exit, Scootaloo entered. Her mane needed no brushing, she usually left it as it was, since it was short, so the other two fillies decided they could wait while their friend brushes and exit the bathoom together. As the three left, a sound they had somehow missed while throtting from the bedroom to the bathroom, reached their ears. Sound of somepony laughing. What was really strange, more than one pony laughing. Apparenty they had guests. The surprised fillies walked down the stairs. The table was surrounded by four chairs, each one of them occupied. One of them was Hase, and the other were three unknown pegasi. They were drinking water, since the last time Hase tried to prepare tea like Rarity did, the result was disastrous. " Good morning. " Scootaloo, still confused, greeted, announcing their presence at the same time. " Good morning, girls. " Hase replied. He took notice of the discombobulated looks on their muzzles, so decided to introduce the other ponies, sitting around the table: " Girls, I'd like you to meet some of my old friends. This is Thunderflight, " the stallion, sitting on the chair right in front of them turned around. He had a black mane and a gray coat. The pegasus looked at the three with some strange form of approval in his eyes, took a short glance directly at Scootaloo, nodded and turned around again: " She has it in her. " he told Hase. A smile, that could mean more than one thing, appeared on the scientist's muzzle. That confused the Cutie Mark Crusaders even more, especially Scootaloo. " , this is Gale, " the inventor tilted his head leftwards. Gale was a pegasus mare as well, with a blue coat and a green mane. The expression she had was nothing like the serious, yet approving smile the stallion had given them. It was a smile, but a smile of curiosity and happiness. " Hello, girls. " the mare said them. Still utterly confused, the fillies muttered something, that nopony but them heard. " It'll take some time, but when you really get to know eachother, I'm sure you would like eachother. " Hase assured her and turned to the last guest. " And this, girls, is Rush. " The stallion, sitting right from Hase, had an orange coat, in a darker shade of orange than Scootaloo's, and a red mane. He looked at the crusaders and winked, with a playful grin on his muzzle. Sweetie Belle was the first to put the pieces of the puzzle together. " Thunderflight, Gale and Rush... weren't those the Starfliers? Your old friends? " she turned to Hase, as she neared him. " In deed they are. " the earth pony replied, emphasising on " are " . " Apparently they have decided to enter some of my cryochambers, for Celestia knows what reason. Tough luck. They got the malfunctioning ones. They set off the alarm last night, trying to steal some of my Immortality Formulas, in order to heal what I called " Syndrome Of Rapid Metabolism Speed Increasement. I would have shortened it, but it sounds ridiculous. So, I gave them those Formulas, and here they are. " " Didn't those ignore yah when yah most needed 'em? " Applebloom quoted Hase. She stood next to her unicorn friend. " They did. " the stallion confirmed. " However, they're sorry for it, so I've decided to give them a second chance. " " That's nice of you. " Scoot nodded, while she carefully slipped past Thunderflight and came closer to her friends. As she turned around, she saw Thunderflight was looking at her with the same expression from before, which made her shivver. " Hase, may we talk with you for a second? " Sweetie Belle got the words from her mouth. " Of course. " the earth pony replied. " I mean alone. " Hase's expression was riddled, but he still followed them. The door was pushed open by the green magic of Sweetie and the four of them exited the Boutique. The unicorn filly shut the door behind them. Ponies were out on the streets already. Apparentl it was somewhere around 9 or 10 in the morning. " Are yah absolutely sure yah can trust 'em? " Applebloom, a little bit concerned, spoke to Hase. " Of course! After all, I've been friends with them an entire foalhood! Applebloom, would you still be friends with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle after you grow up, even if you haven't seen them for years? " " One difference, though. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo would neva' betray mah. " the red maned filly noted. The other two fillies nodded. " Why are they even here? " Scootaloo wondered. As she said that, Hase frowned and knit his brows. The little pegasus was right. During the last night interrogation the trio actually never said why they were here and now. They might have decided to change after their arrival, but what was the thought, that made them enter those chambers? Hase knew the ponies his friends once were, and he was sure they wouldn't have decided to do that, only so they could check if he's OK. For the old Starfliers, flying was everything. They wouldn't have given it up just to follow their friend in the future, but that was the only explanation the trio presented the previous night. " We'll find that out. For now, girls, just think of them as ponies, wanting a fresh start, ponies, who are willing to undo their mistakes. If I ever find out they have ulterior motives different than those, believe me, you would understand it. " the inventor assured them. " Was your conversation useful? " Gale asked, as the three fillies and the earth pony came back inside the boutique. " Very useful, actually. I believe I never introduced myself. I am Sweetie Belle. " the unicorn filly stood in front of the three pegasi and introduced herself. " Ah'm Applebloom. " her earth pony friend stood next to her. " And I'm Scootaloo. " the pegasus stood next to her friends. Thunderflight was still looking strange, but she thought to herself, that there's nothing to be afraid from, and that gave her confidence. " We are the Cutie Mark Crusaders! " the three proclaimed together. The three pegasi all raised an eyebrow. " What do you do in your... team? " Gale wasn't sure what sort of an organisation the Cutie Mark Crusaders actually was. " Group? " Rush also made a guess. " It's a club. We do all the different things together, and try to find out our cutie marks. " Scoot explained them. " I can't remember being so excited about my cutie mark. " Thunderflight noted. " It isn't that, what truly matters, is it? More importrant is the fun you have while swimming, drawing, skating... " Gale was generally right, but had missed several importrant interests, which were soon added by the CMC: " Paraglidin' ! " Applebloom exclaimed. " Snake charming! " Sweetie Belle added. " Elephant trick training! " Scootaloo noted. " Hibernation! " " Social psychology! " " Cake baking! " The three fillies continued pointing out activities they had tried, most of them very unusual. As they ended, Rush commented between giggles, while the other two were still with their jaws dropped almost to the floor: " Foal interests have changed, haven't they? " " Also, being the cause for general, but absolutely random chaos! " one of the windows of the boutique had its glass turned into the crusty cover of a pie, which was soon bursted open, as a familliar draconecqueus entered the building through the window. After he cracked with fingers again, it regained its normal state. " We don't want pretty Rarity to be angry at me for a small window, do we? " Discord commented, still highly dissaproving of the normalness of that window. He struggled not to change it, and eventually succeeded by tying his claws with his tail. The master of chaos was still oblivious of the Starfliers and the shock he had caused. " Hase! You have to contact Princess Celestia! " Rush yelled. " Don't you recognise him? That's Discord... " " Spirit of the disharmony, who foals dread in their dreams, whose arrival will signpost the upcoming years of chaos and unlimited and unpredictable randomness! " a deep and loud voice, fit for a narrator of a play, echoed as the ponies found themselves before a dark throne with a big, tall figure, from which only yellow eyes could be seen, and, high above, a storm of cotton candy clouds. The illusion soon broke and Discord hung over the three pegasi, who were still afraid of him, and spoke: " As if I weren't reformed... " " Reformed? " Thunderflight wasn't aware of that fact. " Apparently we're dealing with ponies, unaware of the current events! Especially rare specimens! " the draconecqueus spoke in awe, and the trio of pegasi found themselves wearing cavepony clothing, with a label, saying " Wild caveponies, dated around 1000 Before Reformation. " next to them. Soon the props vanished. " What is the spirit of chaos doing in your living room? " the confused Gale turned to Hase, but her question was answered by the god himself: " Oh, I just heard somepony randomly say different types of activities. I just couldn't resist joining! It's as useful as push-ups! " Discord had a sports shirt on and did a push- up with his tail, as he was speaking. " In what way is randomly saying things as useful as doing push- ups? " Rush asked with an ironic tone, starting to like the draconecqueus a bit. " As push-ups tone your muscles, the same way randomly describing things develops illogical thinking! " after he said that, a big wooden hand, giving a thumbs up with the number " 1 " written on it appeared on the end of Discord's left arm, and he shook the forehooves of the CMC one bby one, saying: " It's great to see somepony but me practice that hard! I am afraid illogicall thinking is practiced by too few. Apple trees are used for apples, forks are used for eating, fire is used for heating! This world is full of too many annoying rules! After all, why not use apple trees as constructions for establishment of bee hives? " A miniature apple tree had appeared on the table. There was also a miniature figure, slightly resembling Big Mack, bucking the apples off. That was until a miniature Discord arrived, who pushed the stallion aside and created a big tornado around the tree. When it lost all its leaves, the tornado vanished, while the miniature figure hammered 10 tiny hives to the tree. He than stood under the tree and showered with honey. " Perhaps b'cause yah can use other trees or houses for tha' purpose... and apples don' grow on other trees. " Applebloom told him. The small figures on the table vanished, as Discord greeted the earth pony's idea: " I am afraid you're right about that... but houses? Brilliant! So why not put beehives on houses. Far from windows and doors, of course. Safety first. " the master of chaos knocked on the armour, that had appeared on his body. " I don't know... why not? " Scootaloo said after a minute of thinking. " Exactly! " Discord replied. The CMC found themselves on a piedestal, with medals, with " Creative Thinker! " written on them. " There is no reason why not, but nopony has thought of it! Only practicioners of random things description could come up with such an idea! " " That's the idea of science as well, if I'm not mistaken, " the master of chaos also pulled Hase on the piedestal and placed a medal around his neck too. " To have good ideas nopony else had ever had! " " Right. " Hase confirmed. " So, what are you up to today, my dear followers? " Discord asked, and than turned his gaze to the three pegasi. " But first, who are those ponies with outdated knowledge? I'm sure I'd need to tune them in really quick, before the awe from the miracles of the modern world renders them speechless! " as the draconecqueus cracked with fingers, a huge book fell in front of the trio. It was as big as a door and as thick as a wall. Its headline was " The absolute guide to Equestria " . " Discord, those are my old friends, Thunderflight, Rush and Gale. " " Refreshing my memory... " an arrow, spinning in a circle, appeared on Discord's forehead and he touched it with the tip of his finger, which now had a small, white arrow on it. The arrow spun for a second or two, but than it vanished and the master of chaos clicked with fingers: " I remember! Those are the dastardly back- stabbing traitors, aren't they? Perhaps my mind is sharper than yours, but I think they need to be locked down. " prison bars grew out of the floor, restricting the trio of pegasi to a small area of the room. " No, Discord! " Hase objected. " They want a second chance, a chance to be reformed... like you. " " Hmm. I guess you have a point. " the iron bars sank back, releasing the startled ponies. " But I'll keep an eye on them. " Discord's left eye extended until it hung almost an inch in front of the Starfliers. The morning was beautiful, so the group decided to take a walk to the end of the town. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were walking in front of the others, discussing new ideas about activities, that might bring them the desired cutie marks, while Hase explained the few new things, that had appeared in Equestria, to his friends, while Discord hung above them and observed " the suspicious strangers " . " It's called a crane. " the earth pony stallion spoke to the trio of pegasi. " It's basically a high construction, powered by mechanical energy, usually in the form of hamster wheels, and utilizing levers and reels to build high buildings. It's simple, but very useful. " " Do they use it for normal buildings as well? " Rush asked. His parents had a part- time job as builders once, so he showed more interest to these new " cranes " . " No. Buildings, lower than 5 stories are still built only by hoof. " Hase answered. As they heard that, the CMC wondered if they could get their cutie marks by operating a crane. " Nopony would ever let us even get near a crane! " Scootaloo complained. " Since we might accidentally make the whole building, perhaps. " Sweetie Belle spoke with a sad voice. " An'wha' if wah're ment ta have those cutie marks? Tha' we wouldn't b' able ta get'em until we're older! We'll stay blank flanks 'til we grow up! " Applebloom nearly panicked. " Than why don't you try to operate a toy crane first? Who knows, it might do the trick! " Hase suggested. The rest of the way was spent in an argument, wheter performing well at a miniature version of something would actually grant one a cutie mark, if they're ment to do well at that thing. Gale realised Hase was only trying to keep the girls out of harm's way, so she supported him, while Thunderflight and Rush supported the CMC. " Rainbow Dash didn't get her cutie mark for flying at all, she got her for making a sonic rainboom! " Scootaloo stated, and the two older pegasi supported her theory. They said they got their cutie marks only when they were good enough, not in the beggining. " But who knows? " Thunderflight said in the end of the argument, when they had already reached the big lawn between the Everfree and Ponyville. " Maybe flying at all might just do the trick. " " Scootaloo, I've asked Thunder for a small favor. You stay here while me and Rush go to check on the cryochambers, and he'll try to teach you to fly. " Hase said, as the two with Rush stood aside from the others. The filly's eyes shone, and she quickly turned to the pegasus. As the two ponies left the lawn, they could still hear the little filly's laugh and shouts of excitement, although she still hadn't flown.
A servant of the observerNeither the ponies nor Discord noted the big black bird, that flew over the Everfree forest, and eventually over the lawn. From a distance it looked like a crow. But if a pegasus or a draconecqueus came closer, if the bird let them, they would have noted it wasn't a normal crow. The bird was as big as an eagle, a big black raven with eyes red as blood. The bird cawed. It than turned around and flew back to the Everfree. Its shadow fell over the treetops, until the raven was flying over a small clearing, which soon ended on the edge of a giant gorge. A single bridge crossed it, leading to the raven's final destination - the Castle of the Two Sisters. The raven cawed again and flew between the broken walls, swiftly entered a small hole in the roof and flew in the main hall, the huge banners with Celestia's and Luna's cutie marks on them right ahead of it. However, it turned into one of the side corridors, which had a staircase going upwards. The raven followed the course of the corridor, until it reached a door on the left. It than landed and used its beak to knock on the door. The door opened and the raven entered it. Light was coming through the window, but the pony, who had sent it, was sitting on a chair in the dark end of the room, and the only thing the red- eyed raven could see was a pair of dark violet eyes. The eyes of its master. " This palace once used to be the summer residence of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. I guess it isn't now. Nightmare Moon has destroyed it. " The raven looked at the corner of the room, from where the sound was coming. Normally, a crow wouldn't understand a thing somepony said, unless it was one of Fluttershy's crows. The eys of this raven, however, emitted sentience. It seemed much smarter than a normal raven. " Five ponies! " the bird cawed. " Five? " the stallion in the corner asked. " Yes! " the black bird confirmed. " What ponies? " the master of the raven asked again. " Three foals and two adults! One of the foals was learning to fly. " although the raven's words made sence, they still sounded like cawing, which would have made it sound strange to a normal pony. A pony, who didn't know what the raven actually was and was unaware of its intelect. " What race did the adults belong to? " the stallion was interested. " The pegasi race. " the bird replied. " Are you sure? If you are trying to trick me, this will not end well for you. " the shadow threatened, as the eyes rose. The stallion had got off the chair. " They were all winged! Three adult pegasi, one unicorn foal, one pegasi foal and one earth pony foal. " " What are they waiting for?!? " the stallion went angry. A black bolt struck near the raven. It cawed in surprise and flew two inches away. " Your services are no longer required. " the stallion spoke to the raven. A dark hole opened behind the bord, and before the crow could caw again, it was sucked in. It closed immeadiately after that. The stallion looked through the window. The Everfree Forest had spread almost to the horizon, but since his room was on the second floor, Ponyville could also be seen just next to the horizon. ' I saved you to bring him to me, not to foalsit! ' tha angry stallion thought. ' If quick aging isn't terrible enough for them, I'll make sure they have another motivation... ' The dark hole opened again, this time for longer. It irradiated cold and fear, but the stallion didn't let them succumb him. After all, he had done this a million times. He concentrated and called the image of the beast he wished to summon. This would stop any other beasts from using his portal to get out. Luckily, one of the desired beasts responded soon enough. A wooden claw, all black, stuck out of the portal and held the floor, since the beast feared it might slip back inside. Another claw followed, a head popped out as well, and soon the whole beast stood before his master. It was a timberwolf, but very different from the ones one would usually see in the Everfree. This one had about the same size as a manticore, and lichen went over his whole body, giving him a more... sinister appearance. Some of the sticks, sticking out of his back, were broken, probably battle scars. His whole body was made out of wood, black as the raven, that had vanished before. " Who are you? " the beast spoke with a hoarse voice. " Your master. " the eyes in the shadow answered. The wolf snarled, opened his mouth and jumped at his summonner, but he was stopped in mid- air. A dark oreol with sharp edges, who looked as if they were trying to cut the air, surrounded it, and the beast twisted in pain. " You're not here to eat. You're here to serve. " the stallion said, as he finished his control spell. The timberwolf roared. It wasn't the first time he met one of them. A long time ago, he was changed. He gained his intelligence, but at what cost ... now he only depended on Masters, like the stallion in the shadow. They could manipulate powers, that defeated the timberwolf with ease. Eventually, some of them would call him to his service. The inexperienced ones were great. They called him in, but could do nothing to control him. Brought out of the Endless Land, he could do whatever pleased him. He could do everything. But he always got caught... by the experienced ones. They put him under their absolute control, powered by the dreaded power of the Endless Land, and either bound him to their service, or sent him back. Apparently, the eyed shadow belonged to the former. " There is a large town outside of this wood. I'm sure you can feel it. " the stallion spoke. The pony was right. The timberwolf could feel it from miles away. Oh, if he could only... " Your targets are near the town. You'll feel them as well. Remind them they have an importrant mission. If another earth pony comes by, bring him to me. If not... do whatever you want with the adults. Just don't harm the foals. " The wolf roared. It liked what this pony was saying. With one long jump it found itself on the terasse, than pounced over the edge. The beast landed on its paws, shook its head, and ran in the forest, in direction Ponyville. As the spell of his new master fully manifested, the surging energy just stopped. The wolf roared. This spell had been used on him multiple times by many of his masters. He knew, that the tasty energy was still there, but he knew, that his organism would only convey the energy of his targets, if allowed by his master. This master, however, hadn't. The spell blocked his sense of energy to anything but the target, and he couldn't consume energy from anything, not even his targets. The only thing he could do was feel his targets. And go to them. Yet, he could still make those World Dwellers fear him. Apparently, that was what his master wanted. " Once we get you airborne, you're going to be one hay of a flier. " Thunderflight promised. Hase had asked him to teach the pegasus filly some tricks, that could probably help her get aloft easier. Sadly, none of them worked. Scootaloo, as the filly was named, trained with him on the ground, and she soon mastered the basic wing movements. Now all, that was needed, was to get in the air. He decided to try his old teacher's method the next day. He, Rush and Gale were also flightless foals, when they became the first students of Blazewing the Bold, the best flier of Equestria back than. They did all the wing practices he reccomended them, as it was with Scootaloo, who began her every morning with the practices she learned from a mare, called Rainbow Dash, who claimed to be Equestria's best flier, and sure knew some good practices. However, it didn't work with all four of them. Thunderflight started flying when his teacher applied " the country method " : the foal stood on the roof of a one or two storey building, with a big pile of hay beneath, and jumped, flapping as hard as they can. it worked with all three of them, after a month or so, so he decided it would help Scoot as well. Just as he was about to share that with her, a loud howl sounded, as if the wolf was mere feet away. The ponies jumped and turned back, awaiting to see Discord, wearing a ridiculous timberwolf costume. Discord was flying above them. " But than who... " the confused Gale asked, but stopped mid- question, as she saw what emerged from the wood. A timberwolf, which looked as if it was burned multiple times. With three pounces it was merely 15 feet away. Now the ponies could see the beast in details. This timberwolf was with the size of a manticore. ' A veteran. ' Gale thought. She had heard multiple stories of timberwolves, who despite not being of the King breed, grew to spectacular sizes. Those were mostly veterans, who survived long enough to reach that size. She hadn't seen another black timberwolf before. This one lacked any leaves one would expect from a timberwolf. Instead, lichen began from its face and covered its whole back, as well as its legs. The sticks, that sticked out of his body, were all broken, probably in battle. Usually they grew back, as a tree would heal its broken branch, but this one apparently lacked this ability, since those weren't fresh wounds. " Having fun? " the wolf asked with irony in his voice. Now that was something you didn't expect from a timberowlf. Applebloom chuckled nervously. " Well... yeah. " she replied. " Are you surprised to see a timberwolf talk? " the beast continued, getting a bit closer. The group went a bit further, keeping the distance the same as before. " I... I just didn't know they could. " Gale replied, her hooves shaking. " Only those, who have passed the Trial can. The others are mindless animals. " " Wwwhat trial? " the frightened Sweetie Belle asked. " Oh, don't be afraid! " the wolf took the whole distance between them with a single jump and stroked Sweetie Belle with his paw, making her hide behind Thunderflight. " I'm not here for you three. I'm here for them, " the timberwolf nodded at Gale and Thunderflight. He pushed the terrified Scootaloo aside, next to Applebloom and Sweetie Belle, and came so close to the two pegasi, that their muzzles were almost touching. " You, on the other side, are in some serious trouble. You got a Master angry, furthermore, an experienced one. I might be scary, but believe me, you don't want to see what Masters can do. " the wolf spoke, as the duo was shaking from fear. " I can't describe it properly to World Dwellers like you... but one can even make you pass the Trial. You don't want this to happen. " he grabbed Gale's head in his paw and slowly shook it from side to side. " He has given you a task of some kind, but you don't obey... if your earth pony friend doesn't arrive soon, I may have to apply more.. crude techniques. " the wooden muzzle curved into a grin, as the timberwolf made a few steps away from the ponies. He sat 6 feet away from them, sat and waited. The ponies stood petrified. The timberwolf stood there for three seconds, when suddenly a thunder sounded and a weird creature appeared in mid- air. It had the head of a pony, but its body was made out of many different animal parts. The creature soon took on some kind of disguise, a white suit, striped with blue stripes, and a blue hat. It held a bat in its front paws. Before the timberwolf could react, the creature lowered, swung and struck him with all of its power. This scene made the group, that had been terrified until now, laugh. Applebloom just couldn't hold it in, as she saw the draconequus lower from the sky and hit the beast with such power, that it flew over the treetops. " Homerun! " Discord announced, as he took his usual appearance again. As the group laughed, they failed to aknowledge a black spot, that had re- appeared on the edge of the wood. With three huge leaps, the wolf was only 6 feet away from Discord. The draconequus was facing them, so they couldn't warn him. The beast pounced on the master of chaos, putting him down on the ground, with his paw on Discord's neck. " No more tricks, clown, or you are dead meat! " the wolf roared. The draconequus just gave him his " Oh, really? " look and vanished with a crack of his fingers. " Where did he go? " he asked the ponies, but before they could present an answer, if any, he was struck by a curved piece of wood. As he turned around, he saw that wood return to the draconequus, who stood 12 feet away, wearing a grass skirt, hat and with mud all over his skin. The wolf took a leap at him, but before he laid his claws on him, the creature vanished again. He had no idea where his enemy might be, until he heard heavy breathing, or panting, behind him. As he turned around, he saw a tall dark figure, which turned around as well. It was a biped, all dressed in black, sporting a black mantle as well. It wore boots and had some strange aperature on its chest. A weird mask with something like a respirator where the mouth should have been and a helmet completed the figure. However, the mask still resembled the face of the creature, that had attacked him earlier. The thing was breathing heavily, so the timberwolf decided it was finally exhausted, so he attacked. The armoured draconequus raised his left arm and the wolf halted in mid- air, feeling something choke him. Than he was thrown back, 20 feet away. " I find your lack of luck disturbing. " the master of chaos said in a deep tonality. Discord held a small stick in his right hand. He pressed a small button on it, and a rod of red light extended. He held it in his right hand and attacked. The wolf quickly jumped away and tried to bite the draconequus's arm, but Discord swiftly turned around and blocked the attack with the rod. He than quickly swung and cut off the beast's left claw. The timberwolf roared and fell down in agony. Discord hung over its head, probably preparing to say another one-liner, but the beast pounced back at Discord and brought him down. His black costume vanished, together with the red rod, the black timberwolf was on the top of the unarmoured draconecquus. " Now you die! " the wolf swung with its only front claw, but suddenly it was hit in the head by a stone. The beast fell unconcious. The mastr of chaos looked up and saw his saviors were Rush and Thunderflight. Hase was standing right bellow them. He came closer to examine the beast. " What is this thing? " he wondered. " It looks like a timberwolf. But it ain't. " Applebloom said, as the whole group gathered around the fallen beast. " Black isn't a natural colour for a timberwolf. What's with all of this lichen as well? " Hase tried to examine the wolf from closer. Since the whole group had gathered around, nopony saw the big black raven, that flew in the air for a few moments, and than flew back to the Everfree. They spent a minute wondering wheter it's a new species of timberwolves, a normal timberwolf, altered by magic, or something else. Than the wolf suddenly got back up. It howled, looked around confused and showed his teeth for the last time, before he jumped over Rush and ran back into the forest. The wolf knew what was happening. It was another spell, that made him run to his master without having the chance to disobey. The Call, others called it. His master had probably sent a scout to see how it was going, had seen him fail, and was now calling him back to send him away. He had no choice but to run back to the black fortress. " Discord... siding with ponies? I admit I never saw it coming. " those were the first words that he heard, as he entered the room with the eyed shadow. " But he's the Spirit of Disharmony and Chaos, not of Battle! Don't tell me he was too strong! " the stallion yelled at him. He gave him no chance to explain. A hole opened behind him and the timberwolf was sucked in. ' I guess I won't succeed that way. ' the stallion mused. ' It's time to take things in my own hooves. ' A dark purple shine illuminated the room. Than, out of the shadow, a black unicorn with a normal height, dark violet mane and tail, and eyes with the same colour, walked out. His cutie mark was a swirling whirlpool in a slightly lighter shade of violet. The unicorn walked down the stairs with a smile on his muzzle.
InvestigationThe group followed the course of the road. The last thing they wanted to get lost, especially if that beast was still around. They had had luck, and Discord helped a lot, but now, when they were on its territory, they didn't want to risk being attacked again. Rush and Hase hadn't found something interesting around or in the cryochambers, except a malfunctioning part Hase said he had found in other chambers as well, 1000 years ago. Nothing, that would hint what the case actually was, luckily. Thunderflight, Gale and Rush still hadn't shared what actually happened the night they arrived. While to the scientist and the Cutie Mark Crusaders the words of the timberwolf didn't mean anything, part of them made sense to the Starfliers. The master of the beast was impatient. The trio was afraid, that its master was the stallion, that commanded them as well. Apparently he expected them to deliver Hase to him as soon as possible. The two male pegasi agreed with Gale, when she said them, that the last thing she'd be doing was give up Hase. The others didn't hear anything, since they were ahead. That gave the trio the chance to discuss what to do. They weren't giving up Hase, that was sure. He had helped them, without having a reason to do so. he had chosen to give them a second chance, and they weren't going to waste it. However, they couldn't think of a way to solve the problem. The stallion had just shown them, that his orders should be followed, or else. None of them had ever seen a timberwolf so devoted, that it was ready to have one of its limbs cut off just to serve its purpose. It was unnatural for an animal, even for a sentient timberwolf, to put its master's will before its own well- being. Something was very wrong with that timberwolf, and that was the reason they were going to visit that zebra. Back in the days when he lived, Thunderflight remembered, zebras were a more common sight than now. All of them claimed they have extraordinary powers, while only a few actually had them. As a result, he didn't support this idea, until Scootaloo assured him, that the so- called Zecora doesn't claim anything like that, she only used herbs to brew potions. A zebra had once healed his sprained ankle with the help of herb potions a month quicker than the dosctors predicted it would be healed for, so the explanation from the young filly made him agree. Hase trotted forward, holding the liveless black paw in his mouth. Most of the others refused to carry it, even though he explained to them, that it wouldn't be dirtier than an actual tree, and all reacted very sharply, when he tried to prove it to them. So to keep them calm, he had to hold ir in a napkin Discord had provided. Carrying something in your mouth for so long wasn't very pleasant and the stallion regretted he hadn't brought his saddle bags. Luckily, soon they reached the house of Zecora. The rumour of her surprisingly effective potions had made the inventor visit the zebra oneor two times, to check if that was only the plazebo effect, or something inside these potions actually worked. Much to his surprise, Zecora's potions often contained even more effective healing agents than the cures a pony could purchase, and in higer concentration. The tea she brewed to cure his terrible headache had stripped all the remaining doubt off. As they neared the hut, Zecora stepped out to greet them. " Hello, Crusaders of the Cutie Mark! On what quest do you now embark? " she spoke, as Sweetie Belle, Applebloom and Scootaloo passed her. They said her hello, told her they weren't up to something particular today, which surprised the zebra. " I'll now greet your companion as well. I hope the flu is gone and he's now all well? " she turned to Hase. " I'm fine, thanks. " Hase mumbled through the cloth. As she greeted the others as well, Zecora invited them all in. Hase let the paw, wrapped in the cloth, on the table, and his mouth was finally free. " Zecora, we need to ask you something. " he told the zebra. " Then ask me your question and end your discombobulation. " " What is this? " Hase unwrapped the claw. " Is this a joke from you three? A wooden claw is all I see! " Zecora turned to the CMC. " Uh- uh, as far as I can recall, no timberwolves are black. " Hase objected. The zebra knit her brows and got closer to the claw. She had thought its colour some trick of light, but as she came closer and looked at the claw from all sides, she changed her opinion. She tried to wipe off the ash she thought the claw was covered with, but failed. Finally, she realised black was the claw's natural colour. " I havent seen a wolf of black before. Who knows what else fate has in store? But is the unusual colour what brought you here? Share it all, be sincere. " the zebra told them. " That timberwolf talked. " Thunderflight joined the discussion. " It was all covered in lichen, black as the claw you see now, most of his spinal sticks were broken and he had no leaves. " " A wolf that speaks, as black as smoke? Please tell me that's not a joke! " Zecora didn't believe him. " He ain't lyin'. Da wolf spoke. " Applebloom supported the black- maned pegasus and the rest of the group followed her example. They managed to convince the doubting zebra: " The talking wolf is a wonder new. Hope we won't get to meet it too soon. " " It escaped, after Discord... confronted him. " Gale replied. " He was no match for the power of Chaos! " the draconequus bragged, again appearing in his black outfit and breathing heavily. " You're right, he has fleed. Or else he would have disturbed his own breed. Their howling would have been a sign to me, that a new beast in the forest creeps. But if his kin have not yet called, it means it's a story old. " the zebra assured them. " I really hope it's gone for good. " Hase noted. " I'd like to hear its recitation; it might bear a sign of its motivation. " the healer turned to the Starfliers. Rush didn't have any idea what the beast had spoken of. He understood who the Master was, that shadow back in the forest, but the wolf spoke of Masters as if they were many. About the other names it used, the Trial, World- Dweller and the simillar ones, he was as clueless as his friends. He was growing tired of all these mysteries. He just wanted a normal life. Out of all three Starfliers, he got used to the old way of living at easiest. Back when they were still foals, he was the prankster of the group. He didn't care for the intrigues in the love triangle Hase -Gale- Thunderflight, which was nothing when they were foals, and most of the jokes came from him. The red- maned pegasus, unlike his two friends, had kept his rebellious and adventorous spirit during their time as the Starfliers. He got out in Cloudsdale once a week, even if just to see what's up in the town, is there a new rumour or something, while Gale and Thunderflight were constantly training for the performance. Rush never wanted to be perfect, and taking a walk in the town also used to give the two their time alone. With Hase's downfall the love triangle problem had finally been solved, but sometimes he just felt like a third wheel. He was still friends with both of them.... but they still had to have some time on their own. Rush thought meeting Hase would start the triangle problems again, but luckily, their old friend had found a mare for himself. It all looked very promising, until they were reminded they had a job. The orange stallion frowned as he mused, while Thunderflight was reporting Zecora the conversation they had with the timberwolf. He didn't hear what she replied, since his train of thought had taken a totally different path. Even though he was new to mysteries, he knew they had to start with the only clues they had: the shadow and the wolf. The wolf and the shadow. The wolf served the shadow, but what was the point of hiring them at all? If he had a giant wolf, why just not send a timberwolf to pick him up? Why hadn't this wolf headed directly for Hase? ' Because he doesn't know where Hase is. ' the answer struck him. The stallion in the shadows wanted to be as subtle as possible. He couldn't send a wolf to look for Hase, creating mass panic and drawing the attention. He had to act slowly. Sending them as pawns was actually quite smart of him. The pegasus tried to imagine the situation from the shadow's point of view. He couldn't send his powerful wolf, since it would fail. No, he first needed ponies to locate him, and than he'd send his wolf. How clever had he lured them into his trap... a 1000 years ago, which first made the trio think the shadow was King Sombra. Then they heard the story. King Sombra was destroyed at an attempt to conquer the Crystal Empire. That left the stallion's identity unknown. Whoever he was, he had slowly and carefully lured them into the trap, putting his ponies everywhere around them. He probably knew everything about them, while they knew nothing about him, and that annoyed Rush. He had specially chosen them to bring Hase to him, since he knew the scientist would trust them, and he had guessed right. After Zecora told them, that she would take a closer look at the claw , the group left her house. Rush would have liked to hear Hase's opinion about his theory, but still couldn't. They hadn't told Hase about the shadow. They couldn't do so without losing his trust. Meanwhile, the black unicorn with the dark violet mane was just entering Ponyville. He looked to the left, his gaze attracted by a group of running foals, but one streak of his mane fell down and hid them. The annoyed stallion stopped to return it on the top side of his head with his magic and trotted forward again. The town was pulsating with the busy Thursday afternoon rhytm, as ponies were scooting across the streets, carrying a pile of sheets, others were trying to sell their goods, while some simply enjoyed the sunny weather. The black unicorn couldn't miss them, as he proceeded with the strategic walk, which the others saw as a casual stroll. Nopony turned much attention to the stallion with the dark violet mane. Nopony but one filly. Diamond Tiara grinned. Finally she had found a pony, that seemed serious enough to actually be interested in what her dad offered. This afternoon he had asked her to help him by advertising his new exclusive offer for property insurance. At first both Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were very enthusiastic, but as the day passed by, nopony was interested in them. Tiara had started applying the technique her father taught her, the one he said she would need in the life of a successful salespony - judging ponies by their facial expression. In the right moment, anypony could be interested in anything, that's what her dad told her. She just needed to be there in the right time. However, the sunny afternoon seemed to be nopony's right moment - ponies either had expressions, hinting Diamond Tiara they were too busy, or the careless expresion of the pony, who just wants to enjoy the afternoon and ignore anything else, like a good offer for prperty insurance. " Silver Spoon! " the almost euforic earth pony called her friend. The annoyed gray- coated filly rose from behind the booth. Unlike her, Silver Spoon had given up trying to find a client two hours ago. She thought there wouldn't be one this day. Diamond Tiara was about to prove her wrong. " What now? " the filly with the silverware on her flank asked. " See that pony? " her friend pointed a pony in the crowd on the street, and Spoon set her gaze upon him. It was a stallion with a black coat and mane and tail, coloured in dark violet. His mane had a manecut, that didn't allow streaks to fall down his muzzle, and slightly resembled the one Silver had once seen in a stallion mane stylist's magazine, although she was probably wrong. His cutie mark was something round and purple she couldn't recognise from that far away. " Aaand? " unlike her friend, Silver Spoon couldn't " find the golden apple " ,as her dad would have said. Diamond Tiara frowned and tried to explain it to her friend: " Look at his face! Serious enough and not too busy! If we're succeeding with anypony roday, it's with that pony! " Silver Spoon raised an eyebrow. Her pink- coated friend sighed and rushed at the stallion, before he passed by. The gray earth pony followed her, hoping they would succeed at least with that pony. " Hey mister! " Diamond Tiara shouted, drawing the stallion's attention. ' Not again. ' the black unicorn thought. At least three ponies had tried to offer him their products so far. He needed none of them. And some of them made no sence whatsoever. Who would sell sofas and quills in the same shop? " Are you interested in insuring your property in case of fire, storm or earthquake, Mr.... " " Does the insurance include vandalism damage? " the stallion asked with a smile on his face. " I told you he'd be interested! " Diamond Tiara turned to Silver Spoon. " Only fools like that Hase, who's foalsitting the blank flanks, refuse to my father's offers! " The stallion had intended to cut them off after his ironic question, but the bragging drew his attention. ' This filly's father may know more about Hase. ' he thought and changed his plan. He waited while the little earth pony flipped through the pages of the document, probably given to her by her father. " Yes! It is included, Mr... " " Than I will be very grateful if I could meet with your father. The insurance he offers is truly not to be refused, as you said before. " the stallion replied with a serious voice, cleverly interrupting the young filly before she asked for his name. He hadn't yet thought of the name he would take on in public. " Right away! Let me lead you! " the filly kindly offered her services and led him through Ponyville. The other filly was left behind to take on other clients. " What's your name? " she asked as they turned around a corner. " Shade. " the unicorn had already managed to think of a name. The one he had thought of didn't have much in common with his cutie mark, but neither the filly nor her father would ask about that. He was their client, that was all they needed to know. They would only ask him questions, regarding their offer and his property. The excited filly led him through the door of one of the houses and the stallion found himself in a luxuriously decorated corridor. There were tapestries on the wall, the carpets were apparently brought from Saddle Arabia and the coathanger was made out of ebony. ' It isn't just any salespony. It's a rich salespony. ' the unicorn deduced, while the earth pony led him to the door in the other end of the corridor. Filthy Rich was leaning in his silk- covered hoof chair and was taking a small sip of his Canterlot tea. He had bought it from a special tea shop, the most expencive tea in the whole store, but it was worth it. Every sip was a pleasure for his taste buds. " Dad! " his daughter called from the corridor. " Yes, Diamond? " the business pony replied. " I am with a customer, may we come in? " " But of course! " he replied politely, but then jolted out of his seat and ran upstairs, panicked. He never thought Diamond Tiara would succeed in getting a customer. It was supposed to be a lesson for her, that one should always try, even when it seems meaningless. He had spent many days doing the same thing in " Rich's Barnyard Sales " , back when he was a foal, and he thought it was now time for Tiara to learn that lesson too. So it wasn't surprising he was in no condition for meeting with guests. His mane was probably a mess, and he wasn't wearing a suit! He heard his daughter enter just as he entered his room. Worried, that the client might decide to give up, he quickly brushed his mane backwards, put on a suit and rushed out. Normally, he wouldn't be that worried for a normal customer. He was only worried for special clients, like one of the Princesses or a very importrant business partner. But this was an importrant client! This was Diamond Tiara's first client ever, and he couldn't dissappoint her! That client couldn't say " no " . At least not in front of her. He didn't make the mistake to run down the stairs, as many would have, since he wanted to look as good as possible in the eyes of the guest. As he slowly got back on the ground floor, he slowly studied the stallion's muzzle. Diamond Tiara had aced it! This stallion was neither busy, and was serious enough. Furthermore, it wasn't just a pony, who had nothing else to do and just decided to insure their property. This stallion was interested. Very interested, as Filthy Rich could see in his eyes. " Good afternoon, sorry for the delay. " the business stallion greeted. " The host is never late. In his house he arrives exactly on time. It's me, who got here too early. " the black unicorn opposing him replied politely, although a bit ironically. ' A Ponyville pony would never reply like that. That stallion must be from Canterlot. ' Rich concluded, judging by the pony's way of speaking. It wasn't the too fancy way of speaking of the nobelty. It was just the answer he would expect from a pony like himself - smart and polite. ' Diamond, if your first customer is like this, I can't wait to see what your other customers will be like. ' he smiled at Tiara, whose smile spread from ear to ear, and spoke to his guest. " Please, take a seat. " he left the silk hoofchair for the unicorn, while he sat on a chair on the other side of the glass table, that separated them. As he took his place, the white cup of tea was slided over to him by an oreol of dark violet magic, so he raised his eyes and saw, that it was the guest, who moved it to him. " I believe this is yours. I am extremely sorry if I'm interrupting your tea time. " the stallion apologised. " Oh no, not at all. You're welcome. Would you like some tea as well? " Filthy Rich returned the favor. " No, thank you. I am not thirsty. " " I guess you are interested in insuring your home against fire, storm or earthquake? " " You would guess right. " his daughter's client replied. " I have come here to purchase a house, since I've heard rumours of Ponyville being the best tourism destination four seasons round. " he added. " The rumours you have heard are true. It isn't by accident it's the home of Equestria's newest alicorn Princess, Twilight Sparkle. " Filthy Rich smiled. The coronation of Princess Celestia's finest student, Ponyville's librarian, for a Princess had really boosted the property business in the area. Equestria's newest *alicorn** Princess?* That was a shock for the unicorn. It was in deed theoretically possible, that a normal pony ascends to an alicorn, but that had never happened before! Never! However, the unicorn kept his calm face. ' If I ask now, it would seem too suspicious. ' he thought. The news for a new alicorn was shocking for him, but for the ponies it was probably old and well- known news. He couldn't ask about it without looking suspicious and/or stupid. He had to rely on the press for that. So he continued acting like it was nothing new for him: " Yes. I guess it is a fit town for a royalty. However, I decided my future property would still need an insurance. " " That's common sence. " Filthy Rich agreed. " You say your insurance insures me against storms, fires and earthquakes. Are those disasters common in this area? " the black stallion acted as if he was interested in that. " Well, there are some dragons in the area, but I think the machines of the newest addition to Ponyville, a scientist, named Hase, have a higher chance of starting a fire. " what the brown earth pony said was absolutely true. Those things were unpredictable, especially when they went out of order. ' So, he is a new addition... ' the black stallion smiled. That ment he could ask some questions without looking odd. " A scientist? " he exclaimed with a voice of disbelief. " Yes. He suddenly arrived to Ponyville, and it turned out, that he's a scientist from the past, whose initial intentions were to dethrone the Princesses, since he thought they had betrayed him, when he invented some formua for eternal life. However, instead he renewed his friendship with the Princesses and also became friends with the Mane 6, our local... heroes, I guess. I'm sure you have heard of them. " " But of course. " the unicorn actually had no idea who those Mane 6 were. " They're famous throughout whole of Equestria. " " He's currently staying with one of his friends, at her boutique. " ' More clues. I guess his salespony isn't realising, that the more info he gives to me, the closer I am to my target. He will be awarded when I'm ready. ' the mastermind thought. He decided, that this was all the information he needed for now, so he decided to find out the location of that boutique. " You mentioned a boutique? That's marvellous, I will be needing new drapes for my property when I buy it. Can you say me where it is? " " Sadly, Rarity, Ponyville's designer, is out of town with the rest of her friends for a few days. She wouldn't be able to accept your offer. Anyways, after she returns, the easiest thing for you would be to find the Carousel Boutique. Anypony can show you the way. " Filthy Rich assured him. ' That was all I needed. Thank you. ' the pony thought. He than stood up and spoke: " Thank you for your time, Mr... " " Rich. Mister Rich. " the earth pony replied. " Thank you, Mr. rich. I will contact you as soon as I purchase the property I have chosen. Have a nice day. " As the black unicorn walked through the door of the corridor, Filthy Rich asked his daughter to come to him. " A perfect customer, Diamond. I'm proud of you. " he said as he hugged the pink filly. ' Once you had to fight for information, since it was something kept for yourself. Now ponies give it away like candy. ' the black- coated stallion thought, while he walked down the street. 1000 years ago, gathering that amount of info would have taken him days, and now it only took minutes. ' Ponies must feel safe these days, otherwise they would be more careful. I never wondered if Luna and Celestia can provide this feeling of security. They must have reached their maturity. ' sunk in his thoughts, the unicorn didn't turn much attention to where he was walking. ' Luna and Celestia... wait, didn't Luna... turn into Nightmare Moon? Now she's back? I should have investigated more during those 1000 years... ' His line of thought was broken, as he bumped into somepony. He raised his head to see who it was. " Very sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going! " the stallion he had just bumped into apologised. " It's all on me. I got carried away. " the unicorn replied, while taking a closer look at the pony. He was an earth pony with brown mane and tail, while his coat was beige. His cutie mark was a tooth wheel and two little clouds bellow it. The pony smiled at him, while he cleaned the dust off his coat. Something about him seemed familliar... He was accompanied by a group of 6. There were three fillies, one of them a white unicorn with pink and purple curly mane, the second one- an orange pegasus filly with grape purple mane and tail, and the third one was a yellow earth pony with red mane and tail. There were also three adult pegasi, one of them a mare, and the other two were stallions. The mare had a light blue coat, green mane and tail and a leaf, blown by the wind for a cutie mark. The first stallion was orange with red mane and tail, and red lightning for a cutie mark, while the other was grey with black mane and tail, and his cutie mark was a thundercloud with lightning being emitted in all directions. ' The three... ' the black stallion recognised them, but had no time to react, because a 7th member appeared, one that couldn't be mistaken for nopony else. " Sometimes I wish you all had wings. Walking is just so sloow. " Discord complained. The unicorn observed as cardboard wings appeared on the backs of the earth pony and unicorn fillies and on the beige stallion's back. That surprised him so much, that he was almost going to strike Discord, but he gave up before he even started. ' Celestia and Luna let Discord live freely? That's surprising, but the more surprising fact is, that he hasn't yet turned this place into a madpony's dream. I don't know what has happened. If I attack him now, I may ruin my disguise. Let's see if the ponies react. ' he thought. Surprisingly, none of the ponies screamed or ran away. The three of them with cardboard wings just got them off their backs. " Are you sure this rock lord is safe, Hase? " the mare he had employed turned to the beige stallion. ' Jackpot! ' the mastermind almost exclaimed. He had found him! Then the next second, as he tried to recall the sentence, he was shocked again, as he was before from Discord. The rock lord? A rock lord who is supposedly not safe? There could be only one pony, that possibly fitted this description. ' Cobalt. ' the stallion knit his brows. If both Discord and the Lords of Havoc were set free, Luna and Celestia were probably missing something in ruling the kingdom. How could they leave 6 of Equestria's biggest abominations free? Discord seemed... good, but the Lords couldn't be. What were the Regal Sisters thinking? ' Anyways, I need to follow them. To find out more about Cobalt. ' the unicorn went away from the group, letting them pass by. When the group was already 30 feet away, he followed them, not too close, so that he wouldn't be suspicious, but not too far, so that he wouldn't miss them. The group led him through the almost whole town, passing by a building Hase referred to as carousel Boutique, as the stallion had heard from an alley in front of them. He had become annoyed of walking with their speed, so he had taken a side street and got ahead of them, so he managed to gather even more information. On the east end of the town, among the last houses, stood a galery. It was different from the traditional Ponyville house. It was wider, the whole wall on the first floor, the one facing the street, was made out of glass, and different gem statues could be seen outside. The whole house was made out of a monolite rock. As the group entered it, the black- coated pony following them turned into an ally between the two houses opposite and observed everything. " Cobalt? Are you here? " Hase asked as he entered his friend's gallery. The Cabochon Gallery, along with Hase's laboratory, was the newest addition to Ponyville's landmarks. However, it gained much more popularity. While the laboratory didn't actually store anything interesting to the common public, and was with limited access anyways, the gallery had become a favourite for the inhabitants of Ponyville. Many came to admire the works of Cobalt, and so the barrier between him and the ponies was broken, and he could finally see ponies enjoying what he'd created, without being scared of him. The pegasus came down from the workshop on the second store. There he created, while the first floor was his gallery. He literally flew down the stairs, although Hase still couldn't understand how he did it, after his wings were covered in quartz. Twilight supposed it was his innate magic, and Hase hadn't tried to explain it ever since. Some things couldn't be scientifically proved. The Starfliers made a few steps back. For a pony, seeing him for the first time, it was in deed quite a shocking sight. Unlike the other lords, thanks to him accepting the gift of friendship, Cobalt had regained his initial appearance and all of his power, as when he was created. The pegasus had the height of Princess Cadence, his whole body was made out of obsidian, quartz crystals stuck out of his wings. His mane was a cluster of sapphires, going down his neck, resembling a punk manestyle, small emeralds covered his whole spine, while his tail was a small buff of sapphires. Only his eyes, teeth and the inside part of his mouth had remained pony, as the trio saw when he spoke: " Hi, Hase? What are you doing here? " he stretched his hoof for a high hoof, but as Hase raised his in answer, he recalled, that high- hoofing an obsidian hoof wasn't something smart, so he put it back on the ground and decided to remain with the vocal greeting only. " Well, for a beggining, I would like you to meet my old friends. Cobalt, those are Thunderflight, Gale and Rush, " the beige earth pony stepped aside, showing the trio, still looking at the rock lord with doubt. " Nice to meet you all! " the stone pegasus greeted them. " I know the first time is a bit shocking, but you'll get used to it. " he said, as he looked at his hoof, made out of volcanic glass. " Wait a minute... weren't those the ponies, that chose their carreer over their friend? " the pegasus knit his brows and looked back at the three pegasi. " They were. Now they have chosen to redeem themseles. " Hase broke the tension, that was growing between the Starfliers and the lord of rock, looking over to them with an angry gaze. " Good. I guess you finally learned, that carreer is nothing compared to friends. I'd sell this whole gallery, if it would save my friends while in danger. " Cobalt replied with a bit of arrogance in his voice. " The reason I come here, however, is to ask you for some help. " the inventor told him. " What kind of help? " the rock pony raised an eyebrow. " Protection. And information, if you can provide it. This morning, we were attacked by a timberwolf... that talked. The wood he was made out of was as black as ash. He threatened my old friends, but while I'm sure they'd be able to defend themselves, I'm not sure for the girls, " Hase turned his head to the Cutie mark Crusaders, who were too busy too look at the sculptures of Cobalt to nave heard what he said. " Would it be too much to ask to hang out with us for a few days, while Twilight returns? I just don't want the girls to get hurt. " " Of course! " he replied as quick as a lightining. " I'll stick with you until Twilight returns. And about the information... I have seen such creatures before. " " How so? " Thunderflight was surprised. " My creator used to have a whole army of creatures like this. Most were ponies, some were not, and yet, all talked... and all were black. The creator never said what they were, but in battle they were unstoppable. " " Do you think your creator might be the one, who summonned it? " Gale asked with a fearful voice. If the shadow was this rock lord's creator, and a ruler of a whole army of such creatures...the mare didn't want to meet him up close. " He's probably dead. Don't be afraid of old ghosts. " Cobalt advised her. It was starting to get chilly, and the black unicorn had grown very annoyed. Finally, the group exited the gallery, together with a pony, made out of rock. ' Cobalt. He seems to have become friends with those ponies. This mean his seal of power is broken. It'd be harder with him in the game. Harder, but not impossible. ' the stallion thought. As he saw the group returning the same way, he decided it was finally time to go book a room in the hotel. He knew where the Boutique was, the laboratory wasn't going to be too hard to find, and everything was almost ready. " A room for one, please. " the black unicorn spoke to the mare behind the desk. She hoofed the key to room number 201 over to him. He thankfully nodded, levitated a bit over to her and climbed the stairs. As the door opened, he entered his room. The bath was too tiny, the bed was abit uncomfortable, but he was going to stay here for one night only, so he didn't care. ' Tomorrow, everything will become as it's ment to be. ' the stallion thought, as he lied down in the bed.
Snap!" Did you enjoy your sleep? " the receptionist mare asked. " I did. " the black unicorn smiled, while heading for the breakfast room. This was the day. The day his plan would come true. This would be one of his most memmorable days. Yet it started with ordinary eggs for breakfast. The hotel was quite full, as he could see. The table he took was one of the few almost free tables. There were no unused tables. There was a big family with three or more foals in the other side of the room, that had joined two tables to be together. As their laughter was heard in the other corner of the room, most of the ponies threw gazes of annoyance at the big family. Only the black unicorn and a couple on the table next to him smiled weakly. Most of the ponies in the restaurant were tourists. Ponyville wasn't exactly overflowing with sights, so they were very dissapointed to hear, that Princess Twilight, the reason they had taken the trip, was in canterlot and wouldn't return at least until two days later. The black stallion raised an eyebrow, as he heard many conversations, concerning how a royalty should always proclaim any trips, or at least leave a note at the mayor's office. ' Maybe she just doesn't want to be a tourist attraction for ponies like you. ' the black unicorn could say to them all, but he didn't. He quietly got up and left the restaurant. He headed for the Carousel Boutique. Hase smiled, as he looked at the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Right now, they were trying to get cutie marks for being jewellers, practicing with the gems Cobalt created for them and his small diamond chisels. Since Rarity's cutie mark was three gems, Sweetie Belle was the most optimistic of the three. " How is it going? " he asked, as he neared them. " Nah. Macutie mark certainly ain't a jeweller's cutie mark. " Applebloom shook her head. " Why so? " the stallion raised an eyebrow. " Look. " the earth pony stepped aside. This allowed Hase to take a look at the three fillies' progress. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo's chunks... were still chunks, only with some missing parts, but Applebloom's had broken into small shards. " It sometimes happens with gems. Softer intrusions. " Cobalt explained. " Hey, let me try. " Hase got an idea, that would have cheered the little earth pony up. A small amethyst, just like the one Applebloom had tried to tur into a jewel, grew from the rock lord's left forehoof. He broke it as if it was a flower and hoofed it over to Hase. Hase took the chisel in his mouth and carefully looked for cracks, or other signs, that would indicate the stone's weakness. However, one couldn't be found. He hit the stone with his chisel, not having any idea if his plan would work. A small piece broke off, but nothing more. The red- maned filly frowned even more, until suddenly cracks appeared along the surface, and the whole stone broke to little useless pieces, returning the smile on her face. The scientist knit his brows, although only joking, and said the earth pony: " You see? Nopony is good at everything. I might be good with science, but I think I'll leave the jeweller's stuff to Cobalt. " " Yah, mah too. " Applebloom also let her chisel down. " You can't be sure. I can. My talent is inventing, not crafting jewells. However, that blank flank of yours means your cutie mark can be literally anything. I can give up, since I know my talent will never be jewel crafting. You, on the other hoof, can;t be sure. So keep trying. " Hase grabbed the chisel in his mouth and gave it to Applebloom. The filly smiled in responce and picked the chisel, while Cobalt provided her with a second gem. Hase went aside and joined the Starfliers, who were sitting on a sofa. " They remind me of us at their age. " Thunderflight commented, as the scientist took a seat next to them. " Never sticking to any rules, only following one purpose: finding the cutie marks. " the beige earth pony agreed. Gale smiled, as she recalled those days. They weren't very different from the Crusaders, and their group, the Adventure Hunters, just as them, was looking for their cutie marks almost all the time. They knew every square foot of the town. Canterlot didn't provide them with any place, suitable for a clubhouse, so they usually gathered at one of their houses. Although the main memories remained, she hadn't remembered their meetings in details. All of them had blended into a single, collective memory. With several exceptions. One cloudy afternoon they had gathered in Hase's house. It was a smalll, but comfy two- storey building on the corner of a street. They had two windows to look from, but this day they had gathered around the table, planing the next activity, that could possibly bring them their cutie marks: theatre. As any filly at that age, Gale had been excited. At first Hase and Thunderflight had been a bit sceptical, but soon they had agreed with her. Only Rush had remained resillient. " We don't have any masks or costumes, silly heads! " he presented a very valid argument, that made the other three foals go silent. Hase's mother, an earth pony mare with white coat and blue- green mane and tail, had become confused at the sight of four foals sitting in complete silence, so she had asked what the case was. As Gale had told her, she remembered how the mare had smiled and said: " It's not the mask or costume, that matters. What matters is what lies behind them. " Eventually they had organised a theatre. They didn't have masks or costumes, and although it didn't bring neither of them their cutie marks, all agreed, that it had been a good experience and Rush regretted arguing before that. Than she recalled the other memories she had and took an importrant decision. They owed it to Hase. They had to tell him the whole truth, even if the others wouldn't agree. The pegasus was about to confess to the scientist the actual reason for their arrival, but before she could even open her mouth, the mare was interrupted by a door bell. " I'll open. " the beige earth pony jumped up and trotted towards the door. The three fillies stayed behind, trying to make a gemstone out of the precious minerals, while the scientist opened the door. A black unicorn with a dark violet mane and eyes of the same colour stood behind it. He lifted his gaze, as the door was opened, and when his eyes stumbled upon the earth pony, small signs of smile appeared in the left corner of his smile. " Mr. Hase? " he asked. " Yes? " at first the inventor thought it was just another pony, unaware of Rarity's absence, coming to order a suit, so he was quite surprised when the stranger adressed him by name. " You are an inventor, aren't you? " the other pony asked. " Yes, I am. Is this of any importrant matter to you? " Hase tried to be polite. " Well, I wouldn't be able to order a specific device I'm sure is too complicated and probably too hard to understand to a pony, who isn't an inventor, now, would I? " The beige stallion raised an eyebrow: " You want me to build an invention for you? " " Yes. Does this surprise you? " the unicorn replied, showing unexpected interest. " Actually, yes. Most of the ponies, especially unicorns, prefer to use more... conventional techniques, magic, to do the work. " " Magic won't do the trick. I need the machine to function even when I'm not in my house, and I just couldn't use spell all the time. I believe this is the case, in which technology is superior to magic. But I think it would be more convenient for both of us if we moved to your office... your laboratory perhaps? " " Sure! " the scientist promised and turned back to speak to his friends and the cutie mark crusaders: " Guys, I'll be busy for a while. I'll be back in an hour or so. " The ponies inside the room nodded at him. ' Yes, an hour will suffice. ' the black unicorn thought, and smiled as the beige earth pony shut the door and asked him to follow him to the lab. " How long have you been in Ponyville? " the scientist asked his client. " Two days. " at that point, there was no use of lying, so the other stallion just told the truth. " You came to me on the third day after your arrival? What makes you so interested in my inventions? " Hase wondered. The black unicorn frowned. He had forgotten, that the inventor's services weren't very popular in the town, and he had looked suspicious. " I faced a serious problem. " he hoped this alibi would be enough. The beige earth pony looked at him with knit brows for a second or two, but than he just shrugged his shoulders and continued asking him about his opinion of the town, details of his stay and simillar stuff. Than he went on to describing some of his inventions, interested in the need of the unicorn. ' He acts as if this is an everyday procedure for him, although he's aware both of us know I'm probably his sixth or seventh client ever. ' the black pony had a ready answer for the question of the inventor, so he spent the time Hase gave him to think to analyse his behaviour. ' He doesn't let dissapointment affect him at the slightest. ' Meanwhile they had already reached the laboratory. As Hase led his guest upstairs, the dark violet- maned stallion took a look at the machinery, looking for anything, that could potentially foil his scheme. He asked to take a peek at these " wonders of the modern world ", and the scientist gladly allowed him. He even began describing what each device served for. " ... that is a superconductive liquid. It's probably the best electroconductor ever created... " " ... the darts are filled with dilluted neurotoxin. Not lethal, but can stun a pony for half an hour... " ' You're too naive. ' the dark unicorn thought, as he sat opposite the inventor in his office on the second floor and said, that he needed a water pump, that pumped twice as hard as a normal one in order to drain his land off subterainian water. The glow in the beige stallion's eyes faded, but he managed to keep the enthusiasm in his voice, although only from his eyes his client could see, that he's not only dissapointed, but insulted as well. ' You're not too arrogant, but not without any pride. You boil from the inside, but you know when to show it and when- not to. ' the black stallion grinned. This masquerade was soon coming to its end. ' So, on the whole, you're proud, but not arrogant, you're smart, but you don't show off with it, you're tender when you need to be tender, and hard when you need to be hard, as I have heard. Just the pony I expected... but you're naive. Trust is a good thing, when measured right, but otherwise it's a drawback. However, this drawback woud soon be gone... " Than the signal was given. A sound, that most ponies couldn't hear. But something heard it. The serpent hissed. Finally, the signal was given. It took her long to reach this house without being seen, but her long and dark body was as dark and silent as the shadows it hid in when she needed to vanish from the ponies eyes. The snake used one of her heads to clean the broken scales off the other two. The left head looked around and saw, that nopony was near the building the master had called " Carousel Boutique " . The black unicorn knew the serpent had already heard the singal, so all he had to do now was stall. " By the way, could you invent a device, that mows the lawn? " " Yes, I have already invented such a device... " Hase was having a hard time keeping his normal tone. His client saw the spite building up in his eyes. ' Time to see how's your anger management ' the pony of the shadows thought. " It has already proved itself as an efficient tool for lawnmowing... " the inventor used the long explanations to let out the steam. ' Good! Great self- controll! ' the black stallion was impressed. While Hase's personality was being tested, the three- headed serpent stood up in its full size and used the hard end of its tail to gently knock on the door. " I'll open! " the happy Scootaloo said. Together with the Starfliers (or the Adventure Hunters, as they had started to call them), the three fillies were playing hide and seek. The purple- maned filly had already been tagged, so she had nothing better to do than to open the door. She jumped and opened the door, expecting to see Hase after another failed assignment, so she was preparing to cheer him up, when she suddenly stood face to face with a three headed snake. It was really more like face- to - tummy, since the snake was probably 6 feet tall. The three heads came down, so that they would be facing the orange pegasus. This way she could see the 6 red eyes, cut in half by dagger- like pupils. " Ssscootaloo? " the middle head asked, while the other two just showed their forked tongues. " Yes? " the frightened foal made a step back. " Where are your friendsss? " the serpent faked a friendly voice. A purposely bad imitation. " Which friends? " Scoot made another step back. " Oh, I'm ssure a filly like you has friendsss... " the black beast slid its body, and the left head curled around Scootalooand yawned, a drop of venom from its fangs falling an inch away from the filly's muzzle. " Wwwe werre pllayingg hidde an... and seek. " the terrified pegasus thought of all Rainbow Dash had told her about bravery and stopped stuttering. " Oh, I'm esspecially good at it. " the forked tongue of the left head brushed Scoot's left ear. " Mind if I join you? " The giant snake didn't wait for the answer. The left head curled up around Scootaloo, blocking her mouth, so that she wouldn't scream, but leaving her nosdrils out, so that she would be able to breathe, held her in the air, while the two other heads laid on the ground and moved in synchron with the tail, as it crawled, searching for the other two fillies. ' Gale would nevah find me here. ' Applebloom thought. She had found the perfect place. A storeroom, that Rarity used for her hats. Not only was it the last place somepony would choose to look for a pony, but she was also burried in a pile of hats. Nopony could find her, unless they knew exactly where to look for her. The black serpent, however, had no problems locating her. The three forked tongues caught any smell, left hanging in the air. In the central room, she distinguished 6 different pony smells. One was that of the pegasus infant, so from there on the beast ignored it. She guessed the ponies hiding wouldn't have moved much, so she also ignored the three smells, that were all over the place. Two traces, however, led away from the main room, and the three headed serpent guessed those would be the fillies, who were hiding. She heard steps upstairs and quickly slid, following one of those trails. Scootaloo energetically waved with her left forehoof, hoping to be seen, but the left head pulled her with the rest of the snake before her sign was seen. Than she curled up around her forehooves as well and grinned deviously. Just as Applebloom thought she would win the game, a knock was heard on the door of the closet. The earth pony could barely hold in her laughter. ' Seriously, knockin' durin' hide'n'seek? So tha' I'd hide betta? Is this how they played it before? ' the filly wondered, but than heard a sound she didn't expect. A loud hiss. ' Tryin' ta scare mah outa my cover? Good luck with tha' ! ' the red- maned filly laughed in her mind, at least until the door was open, letting out a screech. The hiss was heard again, as a voice spoke: " There's no ussse of hiding. Your game of predator and prey is too easy for a real predator like me. " Applebloom raised an eyebrow. Gale sure knew how to imitate voices. This one sounded nothing like her. " We'll find you all! I got Rush and Thunder! Sweetie, Applebloom, you're next. " Gale's dull voice came through the walls. The earth pony knit her brows: " But than who... " mid- sentence she realised she had said it out loud. Something jumped in the pile of hats, sending half of it across the room and exposing her. Applebloom's mouth fell open. In front of her stood a 6 feet long black snake with gushing red eyes. 3 feet of her length was her tail, and the other half of her split in three heads, one of which had curled around Scootaloo, who was frantically trying to escape. When she saw her friend, she energetically shook her head. Getting the meaning, Applebloom threw herself past the snake, hoping she would reach the exit, but the right head curled around her and held her in a simillar fashion to her fellow crusader. Not wasting her time, the central head laid on the floor and slid out of the room, while the other heads stood upright and observed the prisoners. Sweetie Belle held her breathe, as hoofsteps passed near her cover. Her friends had probably found better hiding places than her, but hers was covert enough. Or so she thought. The steps stopped and the sound of a locker being opened was heard. One by one, Gale started examining all the kitchen lockers. She had just reached hers, when a thud was heard. The hoofsteps were heard again, as the pegasus went away from the locker, expecting to see some of her friends switching covers. The serpent hid in a bedroom, while the pegasus followed the false lead. All she had to do was knock and the pony immeadietly fell for it. A true predator knew, that a bird in the hoof was worth two in the shadow. A true predator wouldn't have left a sure prey for something else. That was the difference. For this mare, the game of prey and predator was just a game. Where the snake came from, it was the game of survival. The snake slid inside the kitchen, knowing perfectly well where the filly was hiding. She delibarately pushed a basket of fruits of a table, so that her prey would be alerted of her presence. An excellent predator like the black reptile could afford playing with the pray. The snake than drove her tail across all the lockers, awaiting to smell the sweet, intoxicating smell of fear pheromones. However, their amount was surprisingly low. The filly still thought this was all a game. The dissapointed serpent hissed angrily and opened the door, behind which the filly was hiding. Her tail reached in and caught the unicorn filly, covering her mouth. The three heads grinned, as they saw the pupils of the small unicorns shrink at the sight of them. The air was filled with fear, especially after the filly saw her friends. The central head wrapped around her just as the others curled around her friends. With the three heads up, the snake crawled out of the kitchen and headed for the exit. In the main room, just next to the door, she bumped into the chasers, who were apparently choosing another plan for their hunt, without knowing they're out of prey. As they spotted her, the supreme predator, they instinctively made a step back. Their mind wanted them to save the fillies, but their primal instincts held them back. Oh, how she liked those type of conflicts! The bloody red eyes glared at the mare with the light blue coat, and the three heads spoke in unison, with the same voice: " Never leave the substance for the shadow! " Than the central head sprayed some venom on the carpet, ensuring the trio wouldn't do anything stupid, and slid out of the front door, without meeting any resistance. The serpent quickly set out to the edge of the town, bringing its valuable prey with itself. Even though the master was going to send her off when she delivered those foals to the set location, she was glad she had played such a pleasant game of hunter and prey. It was worth it. While the black unicorn was asking for inventions of different sorts, pretending they would be useful in his non- existent house, he heard a faint hiss coming from outside. He smiled, as he heard the signal for a successful mission, stood up and told Hase: " Well, I am glad we had the chance to talk. I will contact you as soon as I need you. " he didn't lie saying that. " Likewise. " at this point Hase was sure this pony would never request any invention of his, and wasn't even merely interested in his work, but he managed to keep his polite tone. As he was exiting the laboratory, a sprinting mare rushed past the dark unicorn and quickly entered. The smile on the face of the shadow pony grew wider, as he walked in direction the Carousel Boutique. ' The trap snapped. ' he thought " Hase! " Gale yelled at the end of her lungs. As he heard her, the worried earth pony rushed downstairs. " What's wrong? " " I know it's unbeliavable... but a snake ponynapped Sweetie Belle, Applebloom and Scootaloo! " The inventor raised an eyebrow: " You're joking, right? " " Ni, I'm not! It was 6 feet long, with three heads, and as black as that timberwolf we met on the lawn. " As he heard this description, the scientist realised the green- maned mare wasn't joking. Sweat came down his cheek, as he asked, worried: " Where are they? " " I don't know! Rush and Thunder are looking for the snake right now! " Panic took over the beige stallion. " How could you let this happen?!? " he shook her shoulders with his forehooves. " I... I don't know! We were playing hide and seek, when suddenly that snake appeared, with all three girls. It exited before we could do anything! " Hase took his forehooves off his friend's shoulders, knowing she had no fault. He loved the three fillies as if he was their brother, and now all three of them had fallen victim to some vicious reptile. What would he say to their sisters when they returned? Furthermore, how could he live with such guilt? Three fillies ponynapped because of him hoping his inventions would finally be appreciated. Perhaps things would have gone differently if he was there. Why wasn't he? Because he had tried to find happiness and appreciation from ponies, for his machines, while knowing he was appreciated for the pony he was. He wanted to be appreciated because of his machines, while his many friends appreciated him without them.From now on, he'd never do the same mistake. Ponies disliked his machines, he liked them. He didn't need to make others like them to be liked. He was already liked. He'd never trade the substance for the shadow again.
The ponynapperThe black snake didn't loosen her grip even when they were already out of town. She hid behind two trees, blending with the shadows, apparently waiting for somepony. Or something. The scared Applebloom looked at her two friends. They were also afraid, that was clear by their faces. Was this reptile going to eat them? If so, than what was it waiting for? Her partner? However, she wasn't sure the snake would ponynap them for something as simple as that. It wasn't an ordinary snake. If it was, it was going to hunt in the forest, not in Ponyville, since the Everfree was rich of food for such a big animal. No, she probably needed them for something else. The other version was that she, just like that black timberwolf, obeyed something else and was now waiting them. But what use would that master find of them? They were just three fillies! Applebloom kept thinking and thinking, since anyways that was the only thing she was able to do in the snake's grip, and finally came up with an answer. The snake's master wanted to manipulate Twilight! They apparently knew Twilight would do anything for her friends,and they also knew, that she and Sweetie Belle were the sisters of two of Twilight's best friends. They were going to force Twilight to do something they needed her to do... ' But than why also take Scootaloo? ' the earth pony wondered. Twilight, of course, wouldn't choose to abandon Scoot either, but she and Sweetie Belle should have been enough. Ponynapping all three of them made no sense... " I guess you're all wondering why I brought you here. " a male voice was heard from behind. The three- headed serpent turned around. A black unicorn with dark violet mane and tail was standing in front of them. The snake bowed, relinquished the three fillies from her grip, and spoke: " Masster. As you can sssee, I followed your ordersss. Shall I be awarded the gift of freedom? " " Your kind will never be awarded this gift. " the black unicorn replied sternly. The snake hissed and was about to reply something, but before she could do that, the left front hoof of the unicorn was surrounded by a black magical oreol, unlike anything Applebloom had ever seen. When Rarity, Sweetie Belle, Twilight and even Princess Celestia used magic, the magical oreol was always of the same shape - only the colour was different. Applebloom had never seen somepony with pitchblack colour for their magic, but the other aspects of this weird magic were more confusing. First, the magic was coming from the unicorn's hoof, not his horn. Second the oreol's edge wasn't smooth and wavy, as it usually was, but with sharp, irregular forms, none of which was the same like the other, while all of them constantly shifted. Some kind of magical hole opened in the ground under the snake, with the same sharp edges as the magic the unicorn was using. He pointed at the snake with the hoof, surrounded by the strange oreol, and pulled it down. For a brief period of time the snake was also surrounded by such a dark, sharp oreol, until she was slammed right into the hole, as black as the magic the stallion was using. The hole than closed and the strange oreol around the pony's hoof dissappeared. He came closer to them and spoke: " I don't like the Three- Headed Serpents of the Plains either. They're too shifty. " The Cutie Mark Crusaders made a step back, at the same time. The stallion laughed: " If I wanted to treat you kids the same way I treated her, I would have already done it. She was a monster, you're just fillies. Why do you think I'd do the same to you? " " She called you her master! " Scootaloo replied. The stallion with the dark violet mane frowned: " Yes, she did. I can explain everything to you, but you won't understand it from the first time, and we don't have enough time to tell it twice. Hase is soon going to find the note I left for him. " " Hase? You ponynapped us to get Hase's attention? " Applebloom's theories were proven completely wrong. " I thought you ponynapped us to get Twilight's attention! " " Ah, yes, Princess Twilight. " the unicorn smiled. " It really does seem the most credible scenario. You take me for some enemy of the country, who wants to use you to force Princess Twilight to do something evil. That's the most obvious reason I ponynapped you for. However, I don't need her, nor her magic. As you have seen, I have enough magic on my own. " " What do you want from Hase, than? His machines? " the confused Sweetie Belle made a step forward. " The second most probable scenario, right? " the stallion sat down and told the fillies to do so as well. The Cutie mark Crusaders, more befuddled than ever, did as they were said. " I am the only pony in Equestria, of course, some villain, to see the genius behind Hase's inventions. Now I'm going to use you to force him to build me horrible machines I'd use to take over Equestria. But no, it isn't that either. " " Than what is it? " Scootaloo asked. " I need to discuss some very importrant matters with him. Matters, that we can only discuss if nopony's watching or listening. Near Ponyville, the only such place is the Castle of the Royal Sisters. If I simply asked him to come to the Everfree, he'd grow suspicious and contact Princess Twilight. Princess Twilight will contact Princess Celestia, who will send somepony to check who's the pony, requesting a meeting in the Everfree. Eventually, she will realise who I am, and things will go haywire. However, in the note I left him, I have written, that if news about this ever leave Ponyville, he won't see you again. I'm sure he'll never let you down. I also instructed him to come to the castle with one of his friends. His friend will safely take you three back to the town, while we discuss what we need to discuss. After that, even if information leaks, and I'm sure it will, I'll be already gone. That's all. " " You sent a snake to ponynapp us only so that you could talk with Hase? " Scoot raised an eyebrow. " An' wha did yah send the wolf? " Applebloom wondered. " Two questions, one answer. At first, the plan was to use Hase's friends to bring you to me. That's right, " he said as he saw the pupils of the three fillies shrink. " , they were my pawns. Who do you think put them in those chambers? Who do you think got them out? I'm much older than I look, young fillies, and this meeting was planned a long time ago. Those three ponies were ment to serve a role I gave them in the past, since I wasn't sure I would be able to hire ponies in the future. 2 weeks ago, the plan was finally complete. I already knew the details. I knew the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony were departing for Canterlot, and I knew I'd be able to get Hase's attention by ponynapping you. The role of the three pawns was finally clear. So I brought them back into the world and gave them their mission. I knew I couldn't depend on their loyalty, and they held no grudges against Hase. The strings I held them with were of a different sort: the wish for survival. Their cryochambers were broken, they weren't going to last a week before they aged to death. I had three potions, that would have given them eternal life and cured them. Hase cut those strings without even realising it. I thought the things they had, or hadn't done in the past would keep him from saving them. I don't know why I considered him cruel, since in his place I would have done the same. Shortly, he cured them. And also ruined the whole plan. At first I hoped fear would force my pawns out of the renewed friendship, and I used the timberwolf to serve that purpose. It failed. Than I had no choice but to use something else to bring you to me. I succeeded. I suggest we head to the castle now. We don't want your friend to get worried, right? " he got up, followed by the three fillies. " Who are you? " Sweetie Belle asked, while they were walking on the road to the castle. " I have used many names, but the name I was born with is Vortex. " the sallion replied. Vortex treated them well. Once they reached the castle, he gave them his room with his big, soft bed, while he got on the balconee to observe the road. At that time the Cutie Mark Crusaders had lost their fear of him, since he never treated them badly in any way, replied to all of their questions and even let them take a look at the halls of the castle. " Why are you doing all of this? What is so importrant, that you're ready to ponynap somepony to be able to speak about it? " Sweetie Belle asked, as she got on the balconee as well. " I can't tell you that. I can only tell you, that it is so importrant, that anypony in my position would have done the same. " the stallion answered. " Is this them? " the filly noticed two ponies on the road. " It should be. Get your friends, Sweetie Belle. You're going home. " he told her. Hase, I'm sorry I misleaded you. I don't need a grass mower, nor a watering system. All I need is a conversation with you. In private. I'm sorry for taking these fillies, but this is the only way I'm sure this conversation will really be private. I have taken the fillies in the Castle of the Royal Sisters. No harm will be done to them. Don't try to contact any of the Princesses about this matter. Don't speak about it. Instruct your friends to do the same. Take one of them with you to the castle. They will return with the fillies, while you and I have our conversation. Afterwards you will be free to leave. Greetings, Your Client The words from the letter were still inside of his mind, and he clearly remembered each part of it. " Do you think he's honest? " Gale asked him. " I don't know. I hope so. " Hase replied and looked down, staring at the dirt road he was walking on. The castle was probably close now. They had already passed the river. " I still think we shouldn't do what he says. It may be a trap. " " I prefer to fall into the trap myself, than to be the reason Sweetie, Applebloom and Scootaloo fall in it. " the worried inventor replied. Gale had tried to convince him to take some countermeasures, use some machine or something. Hase had such machines, but there was too much at stake. He couldn't use them. Not in that case. He had failed the three fillies once, he wouldn't do it again. The castle showed around the corner of the road. Hase raised his head and saw the three fillies, along with a black pony next to them, on the other side of the bridge. ' So it is him. ' who could know, that what Hase thought for just another science- illiterate pony would turn out to be the mind behind this all? The bridge seemed in bad shape, but it was in a good enough shape for two ponies to pass it. Hase and Gale stood right in front of the crusaders and their ponynapper. Only 8 feet separated them. " I'm sorry I put you in such panic. I had no choice after your friends failed to do as they were commanded. " the black unicorn with the dark violet mane glared at Gale. As Hase realised what the stallion had just said, he filled up with anger. Apparently that was visible to the rest, since the black unicorn raised an eyebrow and spoke again: " Haven't you told him yet? Oh. " Hase turned left, so that he'd be facing Gale. She looked at him, shocked by guilt and shame. " I saved you all, I trusted you... and all that time you were working behind my back? I wonder why I'm even surprised. As if I don't know you! I doubted you at first, suspected you. I shouldn't have stopped at all! " he yelled at her. " It turns out you're worse than that snake, since it was at least honest enough to show its fangs! " " We didn't do anything he said, we... " Gale tried to excuse herself, but was interrupted by the angry inventor: " That doesn't excuse you! Even after the timberwolf appeared, even after you were sure he was planning something, you didn't tell me! Why? " " We thought you'd react... this way. " the pegasus mare was crying out her eyes. " I would have been angry, yes... but those fillies, the fillies I was trusted with, the fillies, that are dearer to my heart than any of my machines, are in danger only because of you! Only because you kept it back! " " We didn't know! " the green- maned mare objected. " You're lying! " Hase yelled. " No, she's not. " the black unicorn interfered. " Their task was to bring you to me, directly. Later, as I found about those fillies, I was going to contact them and order them to bring the fillies instead, but I didn't find time. They didn't know about it. There was no use for them to tell you their assignment, as they were going to disobey anyway. They're innocent. " As he heard that, Hase cooled down as fast as he had lighted the fuse. He approached the still weeping Gale, hugged her and said: " I'm sorry Gale. Please, don't cry. I just... I don't know why I got so angry. You, Thunderflight and Rush are as dear to my heart as all of my other friends. I don't want to lose you. Listen now, I forgive you. I forgive you all. Let's just forget this all happenned. " Gale raised her head as she heard that. She smiled weakly. " Now just take the girls and go home. " he told her, but while they were still hugging, he also whispered: " And contact the Princesses. " " Think you can cope with that? " he asked her, as they separated. The pegasus nodded. " Girls, you're free to go. " the black unicorn turned to the fillies. They walked over to Gale and followed her across the bridge. Hase was left alone with the captor of the crusaders. There was a brief moment of silence, which was interrupted by the black pony: " We're finally here. Alone. We have about half a day before the Princesses arrive after your friend calls for them. " " How do you know she'd do that? " the inventor was shocked. " What else would you whisper in her ear? What else would you want me not to hear? That is of no matter, however. By the time they arrive, our conversation will be over. Would you mind if we spend the time in the dining hall? " the unicorn asked. Hase nodded. The dining hall was smaller than the scientist thought it would be. Since this was once a castle of Celestia and Luna, he expected some hall, as big as the throne room in Canterlot, with a long table from one end to another. However, the dining hall turned out to be a room, only a tad longer than normal, with a stone table, that could fit no more than 8 ponies. The chairs were also made of stone, and in the two ends of the table, two thrones were carved out of stone. The room wasn't decorated in any way. Three windows gave a view of the mow, the road, even the river. Everything else was the Everfree forest. " So, shall we begin? " the unicorn took the throne near the door, which was decorated with crescents and stars. Apparently, it was ment for Luna. " Yes. " Hase took a seat on his left side, leaving one of the chairs to separate them.
Revealed identities" What do you want from me? " Hase began the conversation. " Nothing, really. " the black stallion smiled. " Than why have you called me here? " the scientist wondered. " Try to guess by yourself. " the other pony challenged him. Hase thought about it for a second. Why would the pony need him? " You want my machines? " " No. " The earth pony frowned. He was almost sure that was the reason. If he wanted to manipulate the Mane 6, the Cutie Mark Crusaders would have been enough. Than he remembered somepony, whose attention would be attracted as well. " You want to manipulate the Princesses in some way? " he guessed. " Think harder. " the unicorn made an annoyed expression. Since he had no other ideas, Hase decided to reply with the obvious: " You want to have a conversation with me. " " That's close. " the other stallion complimented him. That surprised Hase. Did this unicorn just want to talk? " You want me to tell you something? The weak spot of... " Hase thought the ponynapper wanted information, but he stopped mid- sentence, as he saw him shake his head. Than he went with the option he was sure was wrong: " You want to tell me something. " " There. Was it really so hard? When somepony requests a conversation with you, usually they are the one, who wants to say something, aren't they? " the least probable answer turned out to be right. " So... what do you want to tell me? " the befuddled earth pony asked. " Let me first get out of this disguise. It's getting annoying. " the inventor expected the ponynapper would take of some suit he was wearing, but instead he got up and his horn glew in the same colour as his mane. He was shrouded in some sort of mist, which was lighter violet than his mane. That mist stayed there for a minute, leaving Hase completely confused. He was even more confused when the stallion came out. Only his face, the colour of his coat and his cutie mark, a dark purple swirling vortex had remained the same. The stallion had grown in size, reaching the height of Princess Celestia. He wasn't a unicorn anymore. His horn was still on his forehead, but a pair of black wings, as big as Celestia's, protruded from his back. His mane and tail had dissappeared, only to be replaced with strange half- transparent dark violet mist- like clouds. Those were an ethereal mane and tail, but instead of falling forward, as it was with Celestia and Luna, they went back. Also, they weren't single clouds, but split in streaks close to his head and his rump, streaks, which took separate paths in the air, and the end of which couldn't be differentiated, since the mane and tail literally blended with the air at some point. Hase couldn't believe his eyes. He was seeing a fifth alicorn! True, one could become an alicorn, but this one was too big to be newly alicornified, also, he had an ethereal mane, meaning he was at least 2000 years old. Hase stood up and walked to the other end of the room. " Who are you? " he asked the black alicorn. " I'm Vortex, former Emperor of Equestria. " the alicorn stallion replied. " Are you coming to take Equestria back from the Princesses? " the earth pony wanted to know if this stallion was a threat to Celestia and Luna. " No. If you'd like to know why I'm here and I'm talking to you, sit down and listen to my story. " Afraid, but also a bit curious, he sat on the chair on the right of Celestia's throne, one of the furthest from the emperor. " Unlike you might think, I'm not a villain. At least I didn't want to be. All the good I did was forgotten because of a single mistake. But I'll turn my attention to that later. As a scientist, do you believe our world isn't the only one? " " Yes. " Hase confirmed. " The universe is big enough to be home to many populated planets... " " I'm not speaking of another planet in our world. By world, I mean dimension. Do you believe there are other dimensions? " Vortex asked him. " Maybe. We have no proof. " " Yes, we do, as you'll understand later. But let's start with the beggining, as we should. I wasn't born in this world. The world me and my brother lived in was also named Equestria, just as this one... " " Our country is named Equestria, not the world. " Hase interrupted him. " The country was named after the world it is in. I know better. I was one of those, who created it, after all. " " You created our world? " Hase's amazement had no boundaries. " We'll get to this part later. " the alicorn hoofwaved it away as it was nothing. " As I was saying, me and my brother, Solarion, were born in another world, with the same name. We were born alicorns, if you're thinking about that. We were born in a noble family, and at the age of 500, both of us were already skilled magic users. Solarion was satisfied, I was not. So I chose to become a chaotic... " " What's a chaotic? " the inventor had found the story interesting by so far, and wanted to know what the alicorn ment. " I'll explain, in just a minute. " Hase sighed as Vortex passed another importrant detail without explaining it. " After another 500 years, I was very skilled at that too. But Equestria was coming to an end. Eventually, it was destroyed. " " How do you destroy a world? " the earth pony wondered. " There's only one way - Voidians. Before you ask me what is that, I'll explain it, along with several other things. The multiverse, as anypony, who had seen it from the outside (Hase raised an eyebrow) can confirm, can be visualized very simply. Imagine a dark, endless aquarium with countless shining balls thrown inside. That's the multiverse. The worlds are the balls. The aquarium is the Void, whose inhabitants are the Voidians. Unlike you may think, the Void doesn't kill immeadietly, as the vacuum of space does. If space is a pool of physical nothing, vacuum, then the Void is a pool of magical nothing, which is not vacuum. It is... nothing really. If you ever found yourself in the Void, you'll find out there are large salty plains, slow muddy rivers, high rocky mountains, all of which look like they're something, but they are actually nothing. It's hard to explain. The only things in the Void, that are actually something, are the Voidians. " " Wait a second. Our universe is endless. The Void is endless. The universe is our world. How does it happen, that we're not the only world? " Hase was confused. " Physically, our universe is endless. Magically... well, from the inside it's endless, but from outside, from the Void, they are somehow only as big as the largest stars. If you start getting to the roots of magic, unlike it's with science, I suppose, things only get more confusing and start making no sence at all. However, a chaotic like me may place a portal to the Void, or another world, anywhere. Since from the outside the portal to another world looks like a small line, connecting the edges of the two worlds, we can conclude the end of the world is everywhere... and nowhere. But let's get back to the Void. When something alive enters the Void, it is somehow drained of all of it's life force, and colour, who knows why, and it becomes a Voidian. They keep their form. Voidians have the form of some creature, that exists or has existed, but has either been thrown in the Void through a portal, or its world has been destroyed. The Void has a magic of its own,endless amounts of magic, that one would expect is powered by the lifeforce of the Voidians. However, it isn't so. It simply exists. Free chaotic magic, unbound to any creature. " " Wait, what happenned with the Voidians? Don't they die when their lifeforce is drained? " Hase asked. " No. A piece of chaotic magic sneaks in them, barely enough to keep them alive, leaving them with a great hunger for more energy. There are only three sources of energy for them. Other Voidians, worlds, since all worlds are created with energy, and the sweetest of them all, world dwellers. " " World dwellers? " the earth pony was confused. " Creatures, that live in the worlds. Us, ponies, birds, lizards, snakes, hydras... anything, that breathes, lives and dies. " " Do the Voidians revert back to normal, when they consume enough energy? " " No. The piece of chaotic magic inside them prevents any other energy from building up. Any energy they consume becomes free chaotic magic, and so the circle is closed. " " Does this mean, that the Void is alive, and that it is something like a parasite? " the scientist wondered. " No. It's not more alive than a stone. Nopony knows why all of this happens that way, and we won't know either. But now let's go to the chaotics I skipped earlier. When something, that's not living, some object, a stone , a necklace, a coin, any object enters the Void, it is charged with free chaotic magic. When it returns to a world, unlike a Voidian, who would start eating it and opening direct holes to the Void, from where more Voidians would come, it does no damage. However, if a living being touches the object... " " ... they become a Voidian. " Hase thought he knew what would happen. " ... no. They become a chaotic. A connection is created between that living being and all of the free chaotic magic, meaning that none of the chaotic magic is actually free. Even if a single chaotic exists, true free chaotic magic does not exist. It is called free simply because a chaotic cannot use all of it at once, they only use a small part, if they do, of course, and most of the chaotic magic is left to do what it does, as if it was free. Non- self- conscious beings can't really use the skills of a chaotic. Only sentient beings, like ponies, can use them. The chaotic magic can do anything any other kind of magic can do. It can do everything if you can imagine that. It's the shadow copy of any magic that ever existed or exists. It's probably much more, but we can't realise it. Having such a connection with chaotic magic, a chaotic can enter the Void anytime he/she wishes; they won't be effected, won't be turned into Voidians. Having a piece of chaotic magic inside of them, Voidians can be bound to serve a chaotic, if they are skilled enough to keep them under control. But now more about the Void itself. Worlds hover like suns above the Void when you're in it, but that's only an illusion. The void itself is probably an endless sphere with many levels, the worlds in the center. One can only see the level they're on, all others, along with Voidians or chaotics on them, are invisible. That makes you think the Void is a flat field, but that illusion breaks, as soon as you find passages. Passages are the only way to change levels. They're always placed on the top of mountains, or in deep caves. The moment you blink, you'll find yourself somewhere else, since on the exit in the level you have arrived, there may be no mountain or cave. However, the worlds will be just as far away as before. The only two ways a Voidian can enter a world are if it's summonned by a chaotic by chaotic magic, or if a two- way Void portal is left open. It sucks Voidians into that world like a whirlpool. " " A two- way Void portal? " Hase was completely befuddled. " Portals, as you know, can be created with magic. The most used kind is the one, connecting two spots in a single world. One can also connect two worlds with a portal, as I have said. But if one needs a portal to a Void, and since only Chaotics use such portals, the chaotic should limit the access to themselves or whoever and whatever they're taking with them. Chaotics can protect living beings from the effect of the Void, yes. But if an unexperienced chaotic conjures such a portal, as many Voidians as possible will enter. They'll eat the world, untill it's destroyed and its inhabitants become Voidians as well. But enough of the Void, the Voidians and the chaotics. Let's return to the story. After our world was destroyed, I managed to put my brother inside a shield cocoon, so both of us would be able to roam the Void safely. I don't know how much time we spent in there- probably only a few weeks. Eventually, Solarion decided, that it was our duty, as probably the only ponies left from Equestria, to rebuild the world. I agreed, and with the combined strength of chaotic and normal magic, we created a new world. We hadn't read much about world creation, only about the way it's done, so we expected we'd be able to literally duplicate our old world. The world, however, developed on its own. All we could do was speed that up, so instead of millions of years, the formation of the world only took hundreds. We came to the closest inhabitable planet and chose it for our new home. Since it took us some time to find it, ponies had already appeared in this world, however the three races - earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns were constantly fighting eachother and trying to conquer the others' lands. Those wars led to the rise of windigos, creatures we didn't know about, but as I said, all we did was speed up the creation of the world. It formed on its own. Luckily, Clover the Clever got ponykind rid of this threat. Pegasi, earth ponies and unicorns finally realised peace was needed. Clover the Clever wasn't named that way for nothing. She knew she'd have to be very careful by picking the new king or queen. She told us, that before she met us, she had no idea how all of the ponies would be satisfied by the new ruler. After she heard our story, she thought our experience, and the fact, that we're alicorns, seemingly all the three races in one, made us the perfect rulers. She crowned me and my brother Emperors of Equestria. For 5000 years we ruled in peace, just like Luna and Celestia... untill somepony decided to burry out the old tomahawk. A feast was held in Manehatten, and the heir to one of the most influential unicorn noble lines was poisoned. The unicorns were smart enough not to press any charges, untill they find out who the killer was, but the nobles of the pegasi and the earth ponies accused eachother and started a bloody war. My brother tried to stop them, with words and with force, but his brave army was mercilessly slaughtered by the opposing forces, who united just for this very battle, and sent Solarion a message: not to interfere, untill the killer is found. He decided there wasn't anything he could do but sit and wait. I thought differently. I gave those fools an army they couldn't defeat. An army of Voidians. Back in the old world, it was well known a chaotic could call out an army as big as they wanted. Such an army could cost the world, so a contract was signed by all the chaotics; all of us promised we wouldn't call out armies. Our king was a skilled chaotic himself, who could bring out a Voidian force to face such threat. However, even he didn't have 5500 years of practice. By that time, I had become more skilled than any other chaotic I have ever seen or heard of. I learned on my own. It was a well known fact I was a chaotic, it was a well known fact what chaotics do. Just nopony could imagine one could summon a whole army. My Voidian army entered the unprepared cities of Cloudsdale and Trottingham, bypassed all of the soldiers, but murdered all of the members of the pegasi and earth pony nobelty, ending their lines of nobles forever. I thought this would end the war, but it only made it worse. The three races united as never before, as they are today in Celestia's age, and all gathered under the banner of my brother, who accused me of high treason. Trottingham had sealed its gates, and so had all of the other cities, and I was a sitting duck with my army in the field. I retreated to the sea and waited for Canterlot's army, while I created the perfect sentinels, who'd stop the two armies from colliding and enable me to speak with my brother without the two armies confronting. I created them three days and three nights long, five pegasi, tall as alicorns, and with infinite power over one of the five natural elements: sea,fire ,storms... " " ... rock, rivers? " Hase was amazed. " How do you know that? " Vortex was even more amazed. " Wait... it all makes sence now! You created the Elements of Havoc! Well, not to wreak havoc, as it's commonly believed, but to stop the war! They did so, and your brother accepted to speak with you. Solarion is Celestia and Luna's father! You're their uncle! While he was heading for you, some Voidians have probably slipped out of your control and killed him, making the ponies believe you did that, while he thought the Elements did it! He cursed them, making them evil, which is the reason all of our adventures happenned! " " You got it all right. Wait, what adventures? " the former emperor asked. Now it was Hase's turn to tell stories: " Oh, two months ago they kidnapped me and my friends, although we still weren't friends back there, and took us to world, controlled by them. We had to fight them together, which made me become friends with Twilight, Pinkie, AJ, Spike, Dash, Fluttershy and.. Rarity and renew my friendship with Luna and Celestia. " " Is that Rarity you're speaking of the lady of your heart? " the tone gave Hase away. " Yes. " the earth pony blushed. " You had luck those lords were weakened. They were made to stop two armies, as you already know. " Vortex siad. " When they regain their true form, they should be the way I created them: guardians, not villains. Anyway, I had no choice but to dissappear, leaving the Voidians free of my control. They didn't enjoy their freedom long though. Disguised the way you saw me earlier, I pursued them and brought them back to the Void. But the country was in a crysis. Celestia and Luna had ran away in some alternate dimension, and nopony knew who to crown. Complete anarchia reigned. Chaos ruled. Apparently it was enough for him to appear, one of the many creatures the existence of which we never suspected. Discord. From than on, the kingdom was thrown into its darkest age, an era of chaos. Discord caused chaos. Chaos caused Discord. I could interfere, but I thought I'd be even more hated than Discord. So I waited. I waited five hundred years, untill I was completely forgotten. The day I planned to end Discord, I found out he'd already been beaten. By Celestia and Luna. You know the story from than on, I'm sure. I simply had no choice but to retreat, take on false identities and live in their kingdom. My life was meaningless, untill I found her. Her life was ruined by fate, just as mine. I'd show her to you by sharing one of my memories. Hase closed his eyes, and when he re- opened them, he saw he was standing next to a semi- transparent Vortex. When he looked at his own hooves, he saw, that he was in the same state. The place they were in was somehow familliar. Yes, the dark- violet maned unicorn, Vortex's disguise, was there, standing next to a bed. But where was the mare? Where was his love interest? Ah, there she was, sitting in the lower end of the bed. A white earth pony with a blue- green mane and tail... wait. A blue- green mane and tail? " There. " Vortex from the memory stepped aside, his horn stopped glowing. The last signs of the magical oreol around the object in the bed dissapearred. Hase saw it was a small foal. A foal with brown mane and beige coat. And blue eyes. " That should fool the guards. I must go now. " the unicorn moved to the exit of the strangely familliar room. " Will I ever meet you again? " the mare asked. No, that voice.... " Some day. In the future. " Vortex left the room and ran down the street. The memory ended. The voice had made it all clear. The room was familliar for a reason. " Look in the mirror. " Vortex told him with a trembling voice. With his peripheral vision Hase noted a magical mirror, surrounded with Vortex' dark violet magical oreol, placed on the wall right next to the throne Hase was sitting on. He turned his head and looked. That was a trick of some kind. Instead by him, the chair was taken by a black pegasus with the same height as him. The stallion had the same manestyle as him, but his mane and tail were with the colour of the zenith, the darkest blue in a clean summer sky. Hase smiled at this joke, and ignoring the mirror stallion, who smiled as well, leaned back. However, he felt the chair press against his... What the hay was there on his back? The worried Hase got up. He felt sweat gather on his forehead and he wiped it with his forehoof. His black right forehoof. He looked at his other forehoof. It was also black. He turned back, hoping to see his smooth beige coat again, when he saw them. Two hanging wings. Normal wings of a normal size, with black feathers, but... wings? His tail was zenith blue. Hase turned back and looked at Vortex: " The foal in the memory... was it male or female? " " Male. " the black alicorn replied with a trembling voice. " How long ago was he born? " " About a 1000 years ago. " " Did you see him after that? " " Yes. Many times. Once he even used a robot to serve the Princess tea. " Vortex smiled. That made all clear, but just to be sure, Hase asked: " Are you my father? " The stallion with the dark violet mane nodded. Hase approached him. Vortex had no idea what he'd do. He was afraid he'd be angry. Or sad. So he closed his eyes. He was ready to endure anything, now that he was reunited with Hase, once the little Hase, that had now grown up. The pegasus did none of the expected things. He simply embraced his father. " Hase, I'm afraid I have other importrant news. We need to start your training. " " What training? " the confused pegasus asked, as he separated from the former emperor. " Didn't I say that chaotic magic is always inherited? " Vortex grinned. " We start right now. "
Extreme countermeasures" No, Hase told me to bring you back and I'm bringing you back! We'll contact the Princesses and that'll be enough! " Gale told the three fillies. Just as they had almost reached Ponyville, the three fillies had decided, that Vortex, which was the name of their ponynapper, might not be as kind to Hase as he was to them. Their imagination had started creating a series of horrible scenarios, and they insisted, that they go back and help Hase. " You won't be able to do anything! You're fillies after all! " Gale protested. " 'N wha' 'bout yah all? Can't yah save Hase? " Applebloom asked her. " Our talent is flying, not fighting. " the green- maned mare sighed. She looked at the ground and walked without looking around, which gave the crusaders a chance to stay behind and discuss the question on their own. " There's no use in persuading her, girls. The more we insist, the more she will retaliate. We'll have to do that on our own. We can't depend on them. " Sweetie Belle said. " Th' wha' shall wah do? " Applebloom asked. " Perhaps Hase's machinery! I'm sure there should be some useful ones among them! " Scootaloo suggested. " Nah. Wah'll probably just blow his place up. " the earth pony frowned. " Applebloom's right. We have no idea how those work, and I doubt they come with a manual. I've got an idea... but I hope we won't have to do that. " " What? " Scootaloo was interested. The unicorn filly whispered her idea in each of her friends' ear. Scoot's pupils shrinked. " That's crazy! " she exclaimed. " Ah agree! Wha makes yah think it'll work? " Applebloom got worried. " Nothing, but it might be our only option. " Sweetie looked at them both. While they were catching up with Gale, the pegasus and the earth pony were frantically thinking of some alternative to their friend's crazy plan. There should have been some other power, that could rival Vortex! They thought over everything really powerful they knew about... dragons, ursa majors... but they knew none of those would want to help them, and there still was a chance, that Vortex would defeat them. What if he just bound them to his will as he did with the snake and their efforts were for nothing? Than they remembered another relatively strong user of magic, residing in Ponyville. They found him on the main square. They left Gale, who was going to return to the Boutique, telling her they had to get some new quills from Quills and Sofas, even though the shop wasn't in the center. The pegasus with the light blue coat was unaware of Ponyville's layout, so she let them go. He was standing right in the middle of the square, and was feeding a pack of timberwolf cubs with sawdust. He smiled as he saw the three fillies approach. " Isn't that cannibalism? " Scootaloo wondered. " Not when it's fake. " his red tail cracked with fingers and both the timberwolves and the sawdust dissappeared. " What can I do for you, young followers? " Discord leaned back in the air. " Hase was ponynapped. Well, not really. " Sweetie belle told him. " Not really ponynapped? That must be some new kind of ponynapping! You pretend to be ponynapped, when you're actually not, and you demand a ransom to release yourself! How dastardly! " Discord ruffled Scoot's mane. " Tha's not wha' we ment. " Applebloom told him. " Yeah. The thing is... we were ponynapped, and Hase had to trade himself for us. " Scootaloo cleared it. " Didn't you have enough bits to pay the ransom? " in the middle of the square, Discord was taking a bath with money instead of water. " No, the pony didn't want a ransom. It wanted him and him only. " " How interesting... " the bath tub dissappeared. Discord was flapping through the pages of a book, called " Ponynappings. All about them. " " Here it says, that ponynappers usually demand either money or some privilleges. There hasn't been a case, where somepony demands somepony else. Did he enslave him? " " No! " Sweetie Belle sometimes wondered where Discord got all those ideas from. " He requested a conversation with him as a ransom. " " How interesting... " the draconequus repeated himself. " Did this ponynapper mention his name? " " Vortex. " The master of chaos raised an eyebrow. " You gotta be buzzing me. " " Why? " Applebloom asked. " If it's the same pony I think of, things are getting much more complicated. " Discord had disguised himself in a detective outfit, complete with a bubble pipe. " I'll need to visualize. " Discord cracked with fingers. The square was gone. They were in Twilight's library, while Discord was standing next to a projection device. He aimed it at the wall and started spinning the manivel. Pictures appeared on the wall. The first picture was a pegasus, an earth pony and a unicorn beating the hay out of eachother. " In the dawns of Equestria the three races were at constant war! " Discord apparently entered the role of a narrator. " Summonned by those wars, the evil Windigos appeared! " the next picture looked like it depicted windigos, although Applebloom doubted they had maniacal grins, which looked as if they were drawn on the pictures with a marker. " Those evil winter spirits almost brought an end to ponykind! Luckily, a mare worth of her name, Clover the Clever, saved ponykind with the power of friendship and banished this threat! " next to the figure a thumbs up was drawn, removing any doubts, that Discord had customized this movie. " But soon Clover was facing a dilemma - who to crown? An earth pony, a pegasus or a unicorn? She had to choose carefully! Luckily, soon the sollution presented itself! Out of nowhere, the first two alicorns, two brothers, appeared, claiming they had created this world and had sped up its developement. Seeing the perfect sollution, Clover crowned those two brothers, Solarion and Vortex, for the Emperors of the newly- created Equestria! " in the coronation scene, Discord had drawn himself in the crowd giving a thumbs up again. " For 5000 years everything went smoothly, untill a noble unicorn was poisoned at the feast of all nobelties! Both friends of the unicorn nobelty, the pegasi nobles and the earth pony nobles accused eachother of that murder and began a bloody war! " on the scene of the feast, between the yelling earth ponies and pegasi, Discord had again drawn himself, wearing a viking outfit, with a rage face on. " Solarion, the older brother, first tried using diplomacy, than force, but failed both times. Vortex had a more radical sollution. Out of nowhere, he called an army of undestroyable ferocious monsters and ended this war the easiest way - by killing those, who started it. That was the end of the pegasus and earth pony nobelty. However, this became reason for a union between the three races unlike ever before! They all gathered under the royal banner, since Solarion accused his brother of high treason, and attacked. Vortex created the Elements of Havoc, who he claimed would stop the war. However, when negotiations were a chosen option from both sides, Solarion was killed by Vortex' army. There were arguments about wheter Vortex has done this on purpose, or just lost control of his army, but eventually the former was chosen to be true. Rejected by the world, he dissappeared, never to appear again. The Elements of Havoc also vanished, cursed by Solarion before he died. The huge army also mysteriously vanished. In the wake of those events, a young draconequus found a perfect site to spend his summer vacation, creating Equestria All- year- around draconequui resort, which lasted for 500 years, untill the rightful rulers - Celestia and Luna, returned. " The movie ended. " Hmm, I probably should have played a more foal- friendly version. " Discord frowned. " Soo... Vortex indirectly became the reason for your reign? " Scoot asked. " Yes, but I haven't seen him ever since. However, if you're thinking I can defeat him, you're wrong, I'm not exactly the " selfless- hero- who- slays- an endless army- of - monsters " type. " the draconequus shrugged his shoulders. Sweetie Belle sighed. She looked around and saw what she was looking for. She went to the kitchen and got the special gem- grinding hammer Spike had shown her. The unicorn than returned to the main hall, placed the small medalion with five gems on the floor and swung. Discord's eyes became as big as the city clock's screen, he threw himself at the unicorn and pulled her away. When the confused filly looked at him, his face had become round and incredibly ugly, his hands- just sticks, held out with fingers spread in a begging gesture. He knit his brows and asked: " Sweetie Belle, Y U no think before acting? " " We have to. There isn't another way! " the filly protested. The horrible face dissappeared and Discord was back as he was. " You're going to release evil spirits to fight their creator? " the draconequus raised an eyebrow. " We won't tell them it's their creator. She's right, Discord. We have no other choice. " Scoot said. She and Applebloom stood by their friend. " Well, it'll be your fault if everything goes wrong... let's do it. " Discord put on a neutral face. They decided to free them outside. After all, if something went wrong, it would be good if at least Twilight's library remained intact. Discord, Applebloom and Scootaloo formed a circle. Sweetie Belle, with the medalion, was in the center. She closed her eyes and swung down with the gem hammer. " There you are! " Thunderflight's voice was heard from somewhere, but before she could react, a horrible whistling sound, as if from a tea pot, sounded. Sweetie opened her eyes and saw Scoot and Applebloom pulling her back. Gale, Rush and Thunderflight were standing behind Discord, observing the cracked medalion, which levitated in mid- air and shook strongly. The sound got stronger and stronger, while the ponies and the draconequus slowly backed away. A wise decision. The medalion exploded and 5 comets span in a circle with a diameter big enough to have blasted them away if they had stayed where they were. Those 5 comets than flew in an upward spiral, two of them leaking water bellow them, one of them sand and gravel, the fourth made all out of fire and the last one lookinge a miniature tornado. At 100 fet height they spun in a circle again, before quickly falling down and hitting the ground, creating a big dust cloud. Everypony started coughing. Applebloom saw some light approaching her. She tried to run away, but she found out her back was against a wall. There was no escape. Suddenly wind blew and everything became clearer, as the dust was gathered by a small gale in the middle of the streeet and blown away, giving Applebloom a better look of the pony in front of her. Hase had described the Elements of Havoc as normal ponies. That wasn't the case with these. In front of her stood a pony figure of fire, with the height of Princess Celestia. The body was mostly made of bright red charcoal, as bright as the edges of the normal charcoal when somepony blows into the fire. Those red charcoals built the figure of the high pegasus, even forming his wings.Flames, each of them at least 2 feet long, came out from the back of his hooves, his neck,his wings and his back. The flames on his back were 4 feet. The flames forming his mane and tail were 12 feet long each. His eyes were also filled with flame, the pupils standing out from the rest with their blue colour. His cutie mark was formed by darker charcoal: a stylized flame, of course. Applebloom could barely stand the heat he was emitting. She felt as if she had stuck her head into the oven of the Sugarcube Corner, except that her whole body felt like that. When she looked around, she saw, that the other lords, except for Cobalt, who had now also grown to their size, who was wondering what had happenned, had cornered the others. She couldn't see as much details from the other lords, but they weren't ponies either. The Starflyers wondered what was worse: the wall behind their back or the pony in front of them. Pony was only its name, they supposed. A tall figure, probably as high as Celestia herself, with big wings, protruding from the back. But more strange was the pony itself. It was made of water. All of it, even the wings. You could see through the outer layers of him, which were aquamarine, but the inner, or deeper parts were dark blue, as the sea depths. The surface moved, forming small waves, that grew, eventually turning into big waves on the neck and the rump, forming constantly changing mane and tail of sea foam. His eyes were the only thing normal in him. However, the most strange thing were the miniature sea animals the three pegasi saw inside him. There were sailfish, jellyfish, sea stars, even sharks. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were facing another of the lords. Just as the rest, he was tall and a pegasus, but that's were the differences ended. His body was made out of storm clouds, some parts of his body flashing from lightnings ocasionally. The feathers on his wings, instead of cummulunimbus clouds, like the rest of the body, were made of white cirrus clouds, whose edges were smooth and looked like if they were made out of cotton. His mane and tail were made from the same clouds, slowly waving, while his eyes were formed by small pieces of clouds, constantly flashing from lightnings, with small dark clouds for pupils. But the most strange of them all was standing against Discord. His body and wings were made of water, but none of them was blue, like with the sea lord. The part on his chest was see through, his hindhooves were almost yellow, his back and wings - green, his forehooves - almost red and his belly- brown. That was in the first moment. That water flowed and those colours constantly changed positions, sometimes even mixing to create new colours. The only things, that stayed the same, were his eyes, mane and tail, formed of white water, litteraly being waterfalls, and his eyes were white eliptic whirlpools with small blue circles in the middle. " You broke the medalion, didn't you? " Cobalt was the first to speak. " Eeyep. " Applebloom replied. " Where is Hase? " the fire pony in front of Applebloom asked. " Why do you need him, Blaze? " Cobalt asked. " We all have to thank him. " the sea pony replied instead. " For what? " the rock pony was completely befuddled. " He showed us all what friendship really is about. " the storm stallion spoke. " Ow. That connection, yes... " Cobalt mumbled something. " That connection was broken when the medalion was. Where is that pony? " the lord with the constantly changing body colours asked. " He was ponynapped. " Sweetie Belle said. All 5 of the lords gathered around her and Scootaloo. " By whom? " Blaze, the fire lord, asked. " By Vortex. He was taken to the castle in the Everfree." Scoot replied. She intentionally referred to that castke like that, since during the time of Celestia's father, the castle probably wasn't named the Castle of the Regal Sisters. " Our creator? " Cobalt raised an eyebrow. Or he would have, since he had none. " That doesn't matter, Cobalt. We will save him. We owe it to him, for showing us what friendship is about. " " And who are you? " Gale asked. The five lords turned around. The fire lord, who was apparently their leader, spoke: " We are the Sentinels. I am Blaze, lord of fire. Those are Neptune, lord of the sea, Tempest, lord of storms, Cobalt, lord of rock and Hydro, lord of rivers. " " Sounds cool, right? " Hydro turned to Scootaloo. The filly nodded. " We were cursed due to a misunderstanding and turned into the horrible Elements of Havoc. Due to Hase's mental connection with us, his friendship lessons were also passed to us, lifting the curse and making us able to follow our purpose: to right the wrong. That connection is broken now, but we will find Hase, since he is our friend for eternity! " Blaze proclaimed. " Wait... are you sure Vortex did all of this? " Neptune asked sternly. " He's not such a pony. " " He killed his brother, duh? " Gale had been told the scenario of the movie by Discord. " A common confusion, nothing more. One Voidian slipped out of control and killed him. First hoof experience. " the sea lord replied. " Do you have any proof of his evilness? " " Well, he was kind to us... " Sweetie Belle ponted out. " ... but he sent a black snake to ponynap you! " Rush protested. " I'm sure he had no other option. " Blaze spoke. " Anyway, we'll fly ahead to that castle. We'll find out the truth. " he swore. " We'll follow you. " Scootaloo told him. " Ready, brothers? " the fire lord turned at the rest. They all nodded. Wings of fire, stone, wind and water flapped, as the five lords flew in direction the Everfree. The Cutie mark Crusaders also headed that way, closely followed by Discord and the Starfliers.
Meanwhile in Canterlot...Twilight, a lot of things happenned the last few days, but we're going to recap the importrant things. Three old friends of Hase appeared in the beggining of the week. Their names are Thunderflight, Rush and Gale, the predecessors of the Wonderbolts; the Starflyersfliers. Apparently they were lured into entering three cryochambers 1000 years ago. But that's not importrant. Today we got ponynapped by a big black three- headed snake. It brought us to some guy, named Vortex, who traded us for Hase. He is still with him. We don't know what happenned to him. Vortex behaved kindly though. We freed the Elements of Havoc Sentinels of the Elements, who had apparently reverted back to good. We're going in the Everfree now. We thought it would be good to keep you informed. Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Applebloom " Leave the gals alone fur a week, disaster's just behind da corner. " Applejack noted with an ironic tone. " That's not funny, Applejack! What if the Elements of Havoc are only pretending to be reformed? " Rarity was really worried. " They are not. Otherwise they wouldn't refer to themselves as the Sentinels. That name was erased from their mind when they were depowered. If they can remember it, they are reformed. " Celestia comforted her. Everypony were pretty tired after the exam, but all miraculously filled up with energy as soon as the letter arrived. Twilight had immeadietly taken it to Celestia. " Princess, are you familliar with this Vortex? " the purple alicorn asked. " Sadly, yes. " Celestia frowned. In the same moment, Luna entered the throne room. " What has happenned, sister? " she became concerned, as she saw the white alicorn's muzzle expression. " Vortex has returned. And he has ponynapped Hase for some reason. " the princess of the day replied. Celestia's frown was also passed to Luna. " Wait a minute. Who's that guy Vortex? " Rainbow Dash wondered. " Vortex is the former dominion of the night, former Emperor of Equestria. Our uncle. " Luna cleared it to her. " And our father's murderer. " Celestia added. The Mane 6 gasped. " He... he... " Fluttershy stuttered. " He killed his own brother? " Twilight guessed what she ment to say. She received a thankful glare from the yellow pegasus. " Under the white flag. " Luna confirmed it. " An' wha' abot da black snake? " Applejack wondered. " Wha' does it have ta do with all of this? " " A Voidian. His favourite tools. " Luna replied. " A what? " Twilight didn't catch the word. " We'll explain on the way there. " Luna replied. " Prepare 4 chariots, each for two ponies. " she turned to the nearest guard. He nodded and left the hall. The following half an hour seemed like minutes for the Mane 6. The Princesses were talking with the right hoof of Shining Armour ( since he was in the Crystal Empire and couldn't serve his role as the captain of the guard) about something, but the mares couldn't hear anything through the walls. " Wha' do you think he wants from Hase, Twi? " Applejack gave up eavesdropping, and tried to answer the many unanswered questions in her head a different way. " His machines, perhaps? " the purple alicorn made a wild guess. " What army were the Princesses talking about? Can somepony create an army from magic? " Rarity also turned to her friend for answers. " No, that makes no sense... " Twilight held her left forehoof against her chin, as she mused. " A unicorn can create a ghost copy of a pony, but that copy won't be able to do any physical damage. Also, maintaining an army of such copies is both useless and fatiguing. A magical army... that's impossible! " " By conventional methods only. The chariots are ready. " the group turned around and saw Luna and Celestia at the open door. They followed them down the corridor. At a balconee, 4 chariots, with 4 guards to pull each, except the Princesses', who had 6, were awaiting. Celestia and Luna got on their chariot and the others had no choice but to do the same. Twilight, Spike and Pinkie Pie got on the first, Rarity and Applejack on the second, and the last one was left for Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. " Has any of you flown with a chariot before? " Luna asked. Everypony shook their heads. A faint smile appeared on the muzzle of the blue alicorn: " They're overrated. They're slow. You won't fall off, that's sure. " she assured them. " Diamond formation. " Celestia told the guards. They nodded, and the four chariots flew off. In the air they formed the shape of a diamond, reminiscent of the card type. The Princesses' chariots were first, a little behind, on the left and the right, respectively, were Twilight's and Rarity's chariots, while Dash's was last. " Vortex doesn't use normal magic as his primary weapon, even though he's as skilled as us in it. " Celestia began explaining. Twilight was listening carefully. She was able to, since the chariots were moving slowly. " He uses chaotic magic. If I start explaining in details, we will reach Ponyville before I'm finished. All you need to know, is that it draws power from the Void between the dimensions, the parallel worlds. That power constantly grows, so chaotic magic has unlimited potential. Therefore, the techniques with chaotic magic are different than the techniques with normal magic. In magical duels between chaotics, who are the wielders of such magic, none can overpower the other by sheer force. That's why their strategy usually revolves around counterspells and counterattack. " " That means we would have to use spells he doesn't know of. " Twilight was aware of the strategy against this technique. She had read much about the counterattack strategy and knew the only way to emerge victorious from a battle with such an opponent was to use a spell they can't counter. " " I'm afraid that will be a bit tricky. I'm not sure an alicorn with 9800 years of experience would have any. " " 9800? How?" Twilight was shocked. That was almost thrice Princess Celestia's life, who had lived for whole 3500 years! " Our father and Vortex created our world. " Celestia replied. " Before that, however, they had already lived 1000 years. They sped up the world's creation to mere hundreds of years (somewhere around 300) and ruled Equestria for another 5000. Discord's reign lasted 500, ours - 3000. Vortex is probably the oldest pony to still be alive. " " Our father would have been 5 years older though. " Luna frowned. " An' what about da army? " Applejack asked from the right chariot. " That Void between the worlds is inhabited. Billions of creatures, who had lost their homeworld, only to be bond to the Void, turning their lives into eternal misery. Chaotics are able to control those. " Celestia noted. For the rest of their travel Celestia and Luna tried to explain more about the chaotics and ways to fight them. They also pointed out the weaknesses of the most commonly summonned Voidians. The chariots landed in the town center. Rainbow Dash enthusiastically flew off before there were even 30 feet to the ground, annoyed from the slow travel, and tried to keep the crowd away. She only let the mayor pass. " Princess Celestia. " she bowed. " We're so glad you're here. An hour ago, three uncautious fillies released the spirits you had so carefully pursued. They flew off to the Everfree. With your help I'm sure they will be contained again. " she told the princess of the day. " Those spirits aren't what you should worry about, Mayor Mare. It's what they flew off to fight. We come to aid them in that quest. " Luna replied instead of her sister. Confusion could clearly be read on the mayor's face, but the regal sisters had no time for this. They used their magic to make way through the crowd, and together with the mane 6, headed towards the Everfree. " Apparently the Everfree is a perfect crowd barrier. " Luna pointed out, as the crowd following them stopped on the very edge of the forest. " We should reconsider using the old castle again, sister. It will be more peaceful for sure. " the princess of the night suggested. " We will reconsider it... once its current occupant leaves it. " Celestia replied. " Are you sure the lords are reformed, Princess? " Pinkie Pie asked with a tone, that indicated she was asking because of some unknown reason, that was unrelated to the current situation in any way. " Yes, Pinkie. " the white alicorn replied. " Including the lord of fire? " the pink earth pony continued. " Yes. " Celestia's expression gave out her utter confusion. " Great! I've always wanted to pop popcorns with fireworks! " the party pony bounced and victoriousy raised her hoof while she was in the air. While Pinkie Pie was enthusiastically explaining to the others what grand party she was planning to organise after all of this was over, Rarity, worried for her coltfiriend, was speaking with Twilight and Spike aside from the rest. " What if that warlord wants to use him for some sort of sacrofice? " the fancy unicorn bit her lower lip, something she would normally never do, since she considered it horrible. That indicated how worried she was. " He could perform a sacrofice with anypony. Why would anypony need a scientist in particular for a sacrofice? " Spike calmed her down. " No, if that Vortex ponynapped the Cutie Mark Crusaders to trade them for Hase, it means he needed him in particular. " Twilight spoke. ' But why? What use does an age- old alicorn have from an unsuccessful scientist ? ' she asked herself in her mind.
A meeting in the forest" Listen carefully: you are about to hear the basics of chaotic magic. " Vortex told his son. Hase nodded and sat on the ground. The two stallions had chosen the small lawn between the bridge and the castle gates for the training ground of their first lesson. The black pegasus had also tried to fly, but all he did was fold his wings. ' I should probably ask Rainbow Dash to teach me when she comes back. ' he thought. " Chaotic magic, unlike normal magic, has unlimited power, after you end your training, of course. Since one're not using their own magical reserves, the fully- trained chaotic has no problems using the endless amounts of energy the Void holds. In chaotic magical duels, although you won't be ready to enter one at least two months from now, you should know, that the opponents can't win with sheer power. You must pick the correct way to counter your opponent and use the moment of confusion to deliver the winning strike. As I told you, chaotic magic can be used for any spells any other magic has ever been used, and therefore it's easier for us, alicorns, and for the unicorns. Since you aren't either, I'll have to explain the basics of magic as well. In magic, you usually imagine the thing you want to happen and reach for your horn. Mentally, of course. That's easy, since the horn is a part of our body. We can feel it. It's more difficult with chaotic magic, since your tool is the magic itself. Instead for your horn, you have to grasp for the feeling of chaotic magic flowing through you by your own will. That's why, the first time will be the hardest. Later, you would be able to do that easier, since the feeing of the energy of the Void flowing through you isn't something you can forget. We'll start with the chaos version of a spell unicorns master still as infants: telekinesis. Try to lift the stone. Remember, use your imagination. " Vortex pushed one pebbe with his right forehoof and Hase focused on it. He imagined it lifting above the ground, but his eyes showed him, that it was still lying on the ground. He tried again. Nothing. He pointed his hoof at the rock and tried again. Nothing. " Your hoof won't help you here. Just like it's with normal magic, there are targeting spells and non- targeting spells. In targeting spells, you target the object in your mind. In non- targeting spells the unicorns use their horn to serve as a targeting tool. We, chaotics, can use any part of our body to do so. However, telekinesis is a targeting spell. Your hoof won't help you. " Hase brought down his hoof. He thought of the pebble again. Suddeny, he realised, that he was thinking not only of it, but of its surroundings as well. He banished them from his mind, leaving the stone raising on the background of a sterile white field. This time, the real pebble was surounded by a black oreol with sharp, constantly changing shapes, while Hase felt as if he was disembodied and a powerful river was flowing trough his whole body. Surprised, he left the stone out of his mind and it fell on the ground. " You felt it, didn't you? " his father smiled. " Will it always be that... distracting? " the black pegasus asked. " Only the first time. " the other stallion promised. Amazed, that he had succeeded, Hase tried again. The stone was once again present in his mind, on a sterile white field, and Hase also recalled that flowing feeling. The stone was once again raised above the ground, surrounded by the dark oreol. " With time it will become easier and easier. " Vortex commented, as he saw the second try. He looked aside and a frown appeared on his muzzle. " Hase, you need to leave. " he said. He wasn't joking. Surprised by that, Hase left the stone out of his mind and looked in the direction. 5 balls, made out of stone, fire and water were spinning in a circle. Than they flew downwards. ' Who let them escape? ' Hase wondered, worried about the Cutie Mark Crusaders. " I need to save my friends. " he said. " Go. " the black alicorn allowed him to. " They'll come for me. I'll hold them here. " Hase nodded. His father headed to the bridge. Hase decided, that if he used the bridge now, when he returned, if it was destroyed, he might not be able to come back and help his father. He decided to try out the teleportation Twilight had used. ' What did she say about it? ' he wondered, as he was standing on the edge of the rock, upon which the castle was built. He couldn't remember Twilight saying anything about teleportation, so he just imagined two doors on the two sides of the hole. He felt the surge of energy, as two black portals with sharp edges were opened. ' A portal! ' Hase thought. He had tried to create a bridge with doors out of nothing, not knowing that it was very hard, but in his mind he had just focused on something, that leads from here to there, so the portal had appeared. Remembering what his father said about the portal, how Voidians could come out if he didn't place protections ( which he had no idea how to place), he quickly jumped through the portal, imagining how both portals close and feeling the surge. When he opened his eyes, he expected to be on the other side of the cliff. Instead, he was falling from somewhere very high, with some black dots flying ahead. They didn't come closer, so Hase suspected they were falling as well. He looked backwards and saw a big ball of white light, getting away. Before he could think about it, he saw the ground coming closer and closed his eyes, expecting to be turned into a pancake. The contact with the ground didn't feel like he thought it would feel. He felt as if he landed on a trampline. For a moment he even thought he bounced back. When he opened his eyes, he couldn't have been more confused. The land was acting like a trampline. But to him only. The black dots he had somehow got ahead of, as they fell, passed through the surface, as if it didn't exist. The land finally calmed down, and when Hase got up, expecting to sink in the trampline -like ground, he realised it was now as hard as a rock. ' Weird. ' he thought. One of the black dots, the last one, seemed like it was going to fall right in front of him. Hase followed it, expecting to see it pass through. Instead it crashed in the ground in front of him. No trampline effect. Worried, that it might be hurt, Hase came closer. The black dot turned out to be a mare. She got up, seemingly very angry, mumbling something. " Are you OK, ma'am? " the inventor asked. " As good as somepony may be after falling from thousands of feet, yes, idiot! " she got up and looked at him. " You'll soon lose your politeness, newbie. Here in the Void we don't need etiquette... " " The Void? " after he thought of it, and looked at the lifeless gray panorama, Hase realised the mare was right. " Are you that much of a newbie? " she looked at his eyes. She gasped. Meanwhile the black pegasus noticed, that she was all pitch black, even her eyes. Only her irises were white. " You're not a Voidian. You're a Master! " she yelled and got away from him. The next minute she turned around, fell to her knees and begged: " Please, award me with food! I'm starving, Master! " " What? What food? " Hase didn't get it at first, but than he realised this pony Voidian was begging him to bring her with him to his world and to allow her to eat a piece of his world. Thinking his question for a denial, and thinking he'd bind her to serve him without any reward, the Voidian quickly got up and ran away as fast as she could. ' Great. Now who'll tell me how to get out of here? ' the blue- maned pony throught. He looked around, hoping to see another Voidian, but there was nothing in the gray plains. ' My friends need my help and I'm not even in their world. ' he thought. Than he tried to remember some details of the Everfree forest, hoping he'd remember at least one place good enough to be able to open a portal to there. It wasn't that easy when the place wasn't in front of you. None of the places he remembered were detailed enough for a portal in the big, white sphere, hovering above him, to open. Than he remembered one really crooked tree near one turn of the road. The tree was so crooked he had held his gaze upon it for whole 10 seconds, while he and Gale were going to the castle to save the girls. Along with the tree, he also remembered the whole turn. He visualized it in his head, summonned the power of the Void and suddenly flew upwards. Hase could see many black dots, probably Voidians, chasing him to the unshielded portal. Luckily, he was way ahead of them, and as soon he entered the portal and felt he left the Void, he imagined the portal closing and closed it. " That is a really strange tree. " Applebloom commented. The tree reminded her of those curly straws they used to drink milkshake at the Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie Pie always gave them curly straws. The group stopped for a second. After all, even if they reached the castle, there was nothing they could do, that the Sentinels of the Elements couldn't. They were about to leave, when suddenly a black portal with sharp edges, just like the one Vortex had used to banish the snake, opened in the crooked log of the three and something black came flying out. The portal closed behind it. Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom took battle stances, hoping to scare off the potential beast. The black thing hit in the tree against the curved one, ouched and got up. It turned out to be just some black pegasus with a zenith blue mane. " Ar' ya alright? " Applebloom asked the pony. " Applebloom? " the surprised pegasus raised his head and took a look at the filly. " How do you know her name? " Thunderflight, a bit frightened by the stranger, flew and landed right in front of Applebloom. " Thunderflight? What are you guys doing in the forest? " the stallion spoke as if he knew them , which was odd. " Who are you? " Scootaloo asked. " Can't you recog... oh, right. " the stallion looked as if he had remembered something. He turned around and nodded back, at his rump. Thunderflight still couldn't get what was happenning, untill he saw the cutie mark the other pegasus had: a toothwheel, with two small mist clouds on its two sides. Hase's cutie mark. " Hase! " Sweetie Belle, Applebloom and Scootaloo jumped in his laps, almost bringing him down. " What happenned to you? " Scootaloo asked, looking at his new wings. " Long story. Get back to Ponyville! I have to help father fight off the lords! " he said and ran away, in direction the castle. The Starfliers and the Cutie Mark Crusaders didn't follow him immeadietly; they were too surprised. " Did he say " father " ? " Rush wondered. Sweetie Belle nodded. Now the whole plan made sence. Vortex wanted to meet his son and tell him the truth (the unicorn filly doubted Hase wouldn't have said them the truth about his father if he knew earlier), trying to protect him from the reputation he had himself. That's why, he had arranged them to meet in a place, where he was sure nopony was listening. The Everfree forest. That explained Hase's worries about his father, since he was unaware, that the lords were actually friendly. It also explained why he jumped out of a black portal like the one his father used. It only didn't explain the fact how from a brown- eyed beiged earth pony with dark brown mane and tail he had become a black pegsus with blue eyes and zenith blue mane and tail. The group was just about to follow him, when suddenly Sweetie Belle heard a familliar voice: " Sweetie Belle! What in Equestria do you believe you're doing? " that voice could belong only to one pony. The filly turned around to see a very dissaproving Rarity, along with a very unhappy Applejack. " Hehehe, hey sis. " Applebloom chuckled nervously. " Wha' in tarnation were yah doin' in the forest all... " the farmer mare was about to say " all alone ", but then she and Rarity saw the Starfliers. " Pardon me, but we haven't had the honour to know eachother. You are... ? " Rarity's tone suggested she expected, that the three pegasi would introduce himself. " My name is Thunderflight. " the black- maned grey stallion presented himself. " I'm Rush, " his red- maned companion told the newly arrived group his name. " I'm Gale. " the mare was last. " But you might know us as... " Rush was about to present the whole group, but was interrupted by a loud gasp, and somepony exclaiming: " The Starfliers! " a cyan comet flew on the left of Celestia, halting right in front of them. It was a pegasus mare with a rainbow- coloured mane. Her smile spread from ear to ear, and she looked as if she was going to swallow them whole. " I remember you, Starfliers. In your steady climb on the ladder of glory, you forgot who put you on it in the first place. " Luna knit her brows. " We were sent across time to fix that mistake, Princess Luna. " Thunderflight bowed. " I can assure you, that we came to Hase as soon as we woke up from the cryo- sleep. He put the past behind his back and accepted us as friends. I hope you will find strength in you to put our past doings aside as well. " Luna raised an eyebrow at this reply. " We will. " Celestia assured the stallion. " My little ponies. " she turned to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. " You made your sisters worry very much about you. However, from what we hear in Canterlot, you might have done the right things. Tell us the importrant things from the past few days, please. " The Cutie Mark Crusaders formed a small circle, apparently discussing who'll speak. The circle broke and Sweetie Belle began: " I'll try to be short, Princess. When we were returning from the train station to school with Hase the day our sisters took off, Discord appeared out of nowhere... " " Oh, it's so typical of him! He didn't scare you, did he? " Fluttershy asked them. " Only a bit. It turns out he's friends with Hase... " Sweetie Belle was interrupted, as Discord appeared out of nowhere, holding a scroll with " Certificate of Friendship Level C1 " written on it, complete with a seal, waved it into the muzzles of Luna and Celestia, saying: " Confirmed! " Even the two victims of the prank couldn't hide their smile. " Discord, if you don't mind, we'd like to hear the rest of the story. Will you be kind enough to sit down and listen with us? " Fluttershy told him. The draconequus nodded and obediently sat down, but not before conjuring a sultan's throne, four palms and one sultan outfit for himself. " ... since Hase wanted to somehow use magic in his inventions. That idea failed, " Sweetie Belle carried on " , but the friendship remained. He escorted us to school, where together with him we sang a song, which he said he hoped to reach royal ears. " ' I hope it's ment for Blueblood. ' Celestia thought, knowing well that Discord wouldn't just sing a song. " Later that day we decided we can get our cutie marks by inventing and asked Hase to lend us some inventions of his. He did, and we spent the afternoon trying them out. On the next morning we found him speaking with his old friends... " " When did they appear? " Luna asked. Gale decided this was the right moment to confess everything: " Princess Luna, I beg you to tell this part on my own. " she received a nod from the Princess of the Night, so she continued: " The newspapers said we were lost in a storm. We didn't. We were lured in the cryochambers by a disguised Vortex, who hoped to use us in some plan, 1000 years later. When we awoke, he told us our cryochambers were broken, and that if we wanted to stay alive, we'd have to bring Hase to him. We haven't told anypony about this yet. In the beggining we had doubts, but when Hase cured us himsef the very night we were awoken, those doubts dissappeared. We were free of his control. The day we met those fillies wasn't uneventful. Thunderflight promised to teach Scootaloo how to fly the afternoon. While he was teaching her, a big black timberwolf ( the 6 mares next to the Princesses gasped), who reminded us of our mission, jumped out and threatened us. Things were going to end badly, if it wasn't for Discord, who interferred, using... weird methods. Hase advised us to consult a zebra, called Zecora, but she knew nothing certain either. The last hours of the day were peaceful. " " The next day, today, Hase was called to his laboratory by a customer. We remained at the Carousel Boutique. " Scootaloo picked off where Gale had left it. " During the game of hide- and seek, a black snake caught us all and ran away with us. In the Everfree forest, we met with Vortex, who, during our stay as his hostages, was very kind. " the orange pegasus assured them. " Vortex being nice? " Celestia raised an eyebrow. She knew, that truth always hid in the words of foals. Was it indeed possible for the rumours from 3500 years ago to be false? As she thought of it, the white alicorn found more truth in the filly's words, than in the millenia- old knowledge. ' Repeated lies turn into truth. ' she thought. Nopony, who wasn't deeply interested in history, actually knew about Vortex. Discord's reign had wiped off his name from the history of the world he had created himself. There was no need for him to be remembered either. Once, during the beggining of her reign, ponies used him and Discord to scare their foals at Nightmare Night. Now this role was taken by Nightmare Moon. With so little known about their mysterious uncle, and, after she thought about it, she had literally no evidence of his crime. The princess promised herself to be objective, when he met them, and whispered the same advice to her sister. Luna had the same thoughts, which she shared with her. " Please, continue. What happenned in the last few hours? " Luna asked the purple- maned filly. " Vortex traded us for Hase and revealed the Starfliers' mission. Hase was angry, that his friends were the reason for our ponynapping, but Vortex proved they weren't, so they forgave them. We weren't sure if Vortex wouldn't do something bad, so we turned to Discord, hoping he'd help. He was too afraid. " The joined groups looked at Discord. He was wearing a chicken outfit, having guessed what they were thinking. " So we had no other option but to free the lords and hope they'd want to repay Vortex for their creation. " Sweetie Belle continued. " They had changed. Each of them was built of their element and all were far kinder than we thought they'd be. They said they had been bound to Hase with a psychic connection from the moment he freed them to the moment we freed them, so the friendship lessons he learned were also passed to them, reforming the whole group. They flew ahead to see what's the situation. We followed them. " " Is that the whole story, Sweetie Belle? " Rarity asked her. " Not really. " the unicorn filly replied. " Minutes before you all came, Hase appeared out of the same type of portals Vortex was using. " " Perhaps he had used an open one to escape? " Dash suggested. " Maybe. Also, he had changed. " " What do you mean, Sweetie? " if somepony touched Rarity's chest now, he'd probably call a medic. Her pulse was very fast, all out of worries. She was afraid Vortex might have crippled Hase in some way. " He was a pegasus. A black pegasus with a zenith blue mane and tail. But it was him. He had the same cutie mark! And the same eyes. " Scootaloo ended her worries. " A pony changing its species? That's... " Twilight was going to say it wasn't possible, but than she remembered her own transformation. " ... not likely. " " Wha' do ya think he changed h's species? His previous look mighta been just... a magical disguise. " Applejack suggested. " Like it is with changelings. Could Hase have been a changeling all the time? " Rainbow Dash wondered. " Luna and I would have senced him. " Celestia proved Dash wrong. " Did Hase say anything else? " Luna turned to Sweetie Belle. " Yes... but I'm not sure if it's true. " the unicorn filly hesitated. " Say it anyway. " the princess of the night encouraged her. " He said Vortex is his father. " the violet- maned foal replied. If they could, the jaws of the ponies, who didn't already know this, would have fallen to the ground. " After you think of it... " Sweetie Belle began explaining, but was interrupted. " ... it all makes sence. " Twilight looked at Sweetie Belle. The filly nodded, confirming, that that's what she ment. " Vortex stores the Starfliers as pawns to use when his son wakes up. He carefully observes during the two months Hase spent with us, and takes advantage of our absence to start the plan. He tries to use the Starfliers as his tools, but he fails, so he is forced to use more inconvenient methods, but eventually he gets what he wants - a private meeting with Hase, where he'd be able to tell his son the truth, before researching how the society would react to that. However, the pegasus part still makes no sence... " Celestia suddenly became enlightened and turned to Luna: " Do you think of the same thing I'm thinking of? " The dark blue alicorn nodded. " That part is no mystery either. " the princess of the day turned to Twilight. " About 1000 years ago, we heard rumours about Vortex returning to Canterlot. There were even rumours he had a foal to carry on his doings. We couldn't let that happen. We checked every house with a newborn in Canterlot, but we found nothing. He must have disguised Hase as an earth pony before running away, so our check wouldn't find anything suspicious. Now, as he met him, he had probably morphed him back to his initial appearance. " " I remember Hase telling me his mother was an earth pony. " Fluttershy spoke. The phoenix Hermes cawed on her shoulder, as if confirming. " How is a pegasus foal the result of a bond between an alicorn and an earth pony? " the pink- maned pegasus was curious. " Sounds right in the middle between the two. To me, at least. " Rainbow Dash commented. " I'm afraid we can't give a better explanation than Rainbow Dash. " Celestia replied to the yellow mare. " Vortex is by so far the only alicorn in the story of Equestria to have bonded with a pony. Perhaps that should be expected. " " Wait, Princess... and what about your mother? " Twilight wondered. " We have never known her. Never met her. " Luna answered. " Our father only told us some traits of her personality. We never knew much about her. We still don't." " But we have talked enough! " Luna said and looked down the road. The others did so as well and suddenly realised, that with a new power he couldn't control, and a fear for his father, Hase could mess everything up.
The supreme reinforcementHase got off the road as soon as it was possible. He didn't need the girls to try to catch up. They were going to distract him, and he needed to be concentrated right now. He was going to try to bring out some back- up. It was probably going to be a horrible failure, but he had to try. He remembered how the lords bragged with their powers, and didn't want to leave his father fighting them all 6 alone. He wasn't going to be of any use, but something else would do the trick. Hase wondered wheter Princess Celestia had already been informed of all this. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were probably going to contact her when the lords escaped their prison. That ment she was on her way, probably even already here. Perhaps she was speaking with his old friends and the girls in this very same moment. She probably brought the Mane 6 with her, meaning all of his friends would come searching for him at once. This many ponies (and Hermes, who would probably search from above) would find him very easily, so he needed to be ready before they could. He didn't want to be found, but he was also afraid to get lost in the forest, so he went to the only place in the Everfree he knew well. The arc cannons aimed at him, as he stepped in front of the gate. " Awaiting identification. " a robotic voice sounded from the speakers on the two columns. " It's me. " the pegasus spoke. " Voice recognised: Hase, director. Access granted. " the gates slid open and revealed the old hideout. Hase walked forward, leaving the gates close behind him. This was the very place it all began. There was the three with the huge hole, where he built his home and lived for weeks, planning how to get it back at Celestia, even equipped with a small window. Except that tree in the bottom of the lawn and the thorn bush fence surrounding it, the lawn was clear. With a smile on his face, Hase remembered how he built robotic insects to spy the residents of Ponyville. Back than, when things were simple and he didn't have to deal with magical things he barely understood. His father told him he'd get used to it, but right now he was... uncertain. He had to help his father, but he wasn't sure what he was doing. The black alicorn had taught him one spell, he had figured a crude version of a second on his own, but how could he be sure something wasn't going to be terribly wrong if he tried to improvise again? If one of his machines broke, the worst thing, that could happen, was his laboratory blowing up. But if he messed up the magic he was planning, the whole world could suffer the consequences. That's when Hase heard a familliar caw. He smiled and patiently waited, until his winged friend landed on his right shoulder. " You'll always find me, won't you? " he turned to the phoenix. Hermes nodded. " You're a smart bird, you know. The only problem is the others will see where you landed. " Hase told him. Hermes cawed, as if trying to ask something. " Of course I want them to find me, just... not yet. " the pegasus frowned. His friends surely saw where Hermes landed, and were now coming in his direction. The thorn walls he knew the passages through, while they didn't, were going to grant him 10- 15 minutes, but no more. The arc cannons were going to be neutralized in no time, which ment he had 15 minutes to do something, before his friends came to reason with him. ' Don't think. Act! ' he commanded himself and decided to think of the consequences later. After all, if something messed up, he could suck the Voidians back in. At first he imagined a portal, but he perished that thought immeadietly, remembering how the Voidians were being sucked in. No, he needed a single Voidian. Vortex had said, that Voidians come in all forms, and that all the creatures have a Voidian version. Hase needed something big, that could outpower a least half of the lords. Nothing came to his mind for minutes, and suddenly he heard Spike's voice from the edge of the lawn: " I can see him! " ' A dragon! ' Spike came in the perfect moment for Hase to find the sollution. A Voidian dragon could easily deal with three of the lords and give his father an advantage. Controlling him would be tricky, but all Hase needed to do was bring it to the Castle of the Two Sisters. The black alicorn would take on from there. How hard could it be to force a dragon to fly half a mile? So he imagined a dragon. A big, powerful dragon, like the ones that guarded their treasures. A dragon, that ment the difference between life and death. Than he summonned the surge of energy and felt it flow through him. A portal opened in the middle of the lawn and a big black dragon flew out. His sharp muzzle opened, and he roared. Hase was satisfied by this dragon and was just about to try to gain control of it, when suddenly the portal, instead of closing, expanded to the ends of the lawn, as something huge flew out. All the black pegasus could see was a black body and wings, that spread from the one end of the huge lawn to the other. The dragon cried, as the winged black beast flew above him. As the thing turned around, its giant wings no longer hiding it, the startled black stallion realised, that this was a second dragon. It opened its jaws and a big stream of fire, as long as the highest tower of Canterlot's height, forced the other dragon into the portal. It closed behind it, as the beast landed in front of Hase. This dragon was twice the size of any normal dragon. Hase was as big as one of its nails. As it folded its humongous wings, Hase could turn his attention to the other details of this dragon. Just like the other, it was all black. His tail had the same length as his fire stream, with many spikes in the end, that opened consequently, like aloe leaves, leading to the the biggest spike in the end of the tail. Such a tail could easily smash the whole Golden Oak Library with a single swish. Its claws were beyond description. Each of them was probably as big as the Cutie mark Crusaders' classroom. But the most interesting parts of the dragon were his neck and head. It had a long neck, like a hydra, although shorter. Unlike it was with the other dragons, this one had a shorter muzzle, that somehow made it look smarter than other dragons. A few spikes protruded from the top of his head, but there weren't any along its spine. And its eyes... Hase remembered the pony Voidian he met in the Void had black eyes with white irises. So did the other dragon, from what he had seen. This dragon, however, had normal eyes, with gold yellow irises. It looked around, apparently searching for something, untill it finally noticed Hase. He sat down and brought his head down to the ground, so that he'd have an eye contact with the pegasus. " Did you summon me? " the dragon spoke with a deep voice. Apparently it was male. " Yes. " although he was a it frightened (who wouldn't be), Hase didn't show it. " What for? " the dragon asked. " To deal with some of my enemies. " " You call out a dragon to deal with your enemies? " the dragon laughed. His laugh echoed through the whole forest. " Good thing I'm not your enemy. " " Well, I had something smaller in mind, when I thought of it. " the pegasus laughed as well. While he was laughing, the dragon faintly smiled. ' He still hasn't tried to establish any control. His summon search wasn't good enough to stop me from coming. He's a newbie. My chance to live again. ' he thought. ' He let me go. He doesn't know, but he let me go. I'll deal with his small enemies from gratitude. However, vengeance comes first. ' " Are we in the Everfree forest? " the black dragon asked. " Yes. Are... were you from Equestria? " the black pegasus asked. " Yes. " the dragon confirmed. " So... shall we go? " the pony asked. The dragon knelt down. With some help from his claw, Hase managed to get to the base of his neck, the spot he choosed to ride. " We're heading for the castle. " the inventor spoke. ' We are. After a small tour to Ponyville. ' the dragon thought. He nodded, flew off, his giant wings creating a wave, that passed through the treetops. He roared triumphantly, announcing his return. Vortex was patiently waiting, with his back against the wall. The five lords were coming closer. He was ready. In their cursed versions, they weren't going to be challenge. In their normal versions, they could be reasoned with. They arrived sooner than he expected. Cobalt landed heavily right in front of him, Blaze landed a bit further, but still close enough for the former emperor to feel the heat. Tempest, Neptune and Hydro also landed nearby. " Where is Hase? " the rock lord asked, muzzle to muzzle with his creator. " I have no idea where my son is. " the chaotic was actually glad the lords were back to their normal selves. " Your son? " the confused Blaze asked. " Ta- ta- taaa! " Hydro tried to make the moment more dramatic. " You're Hase's father? " Cobalt's anger was also replaced by confusion. " Yes. I don't know what you've been told, but the only reason I brought Hase here was to be able to tell him the truth without somepony listening. " Vortex replied. " That means the day won't end with a fight. " Blaze sounded relieved. " But where is he? " " I thought you were going to attack me, so I sent him off. He's probably already back in Ponyville. Why are you interested anyway? " the black alicorn told the fire pegasus. " We are indebted to him. " Neptune spoke. " His lessons of friendship were passed to us through the no longer existing psychic bond. He's the reason for us to realise our purpose again. We just want to shake his hoof and show him his lessons had reached us by repaying those lessons with actual friendship. " " Neptune, you've always loved the complicated expressions, haven't you? " Vortex spoke benevolently. " Well, if things are so in deed, I guess all that is left is to return to Ponyville, to my son, and hope my brother's daughters will be understanding. " " We were witnesses. We'll make sure she won't judge you for an old crime. " Tempest assured his creator. Just as the six stallions were getting ready to departure for Ponyville, a wind wave passed through the trees, along with a loud roar. Vortex got almost pale. " What's wrong? " Blaze asked. " It's just a dragon. " " Not any dragon. " the former emperor knew this roar too well. It was him, who sent off that beast to the Void. Ironically, his son had brought him out. ' I should have known he wouldn't just run away. I wouldn't have. But why did you summon the only thing in the Void, that can't be controlled? What were you thinking? ' the concerned alicorn thought. " I guess there is going to be a fight in the end of the day after all. To Ponyville! As quickly as you can! " the alicorn spread his wings and flew, closely followed by the five lords. It was Rarity, who actually led the others. The thorns constantly stuck in her mane and tail, pulling them as she walked and probably turning them into a mess, but that wasn't importrant at that time. All that mattered was that she found Hase and tried to help him out of this whole mess he had gotten himself in. The white unicorn smiled. She had reached the tree tunnel, that led to the lawn. The lawn where she had first met Hase, without having any idea he'd be her special somepony some day. " Over here, girls! The road is over here. " she tried to signal the others with her voice. " I can see him! " Spike's voice was heard. Apparently he had found some hole in the thorn wall, surrounding the wall. That hole was probably close to where Rarity was, since it wasn't long before Spike popped out of the bushes, along with Twilight. Twilight's mane looked as if it had just attended a punk concert, and Rarity couldn't help but grin, but didn't point that out, since her mane probably looked even worse. " I'm afraid we have no time to wait the others, Twilight dear. They'll have to catch up with us. " the concerned Rarity turned to Twilight. The purple alicorn nodded and the two mares, along with Spike, ran down the tree tunnel. " What else was there on the lawn, Spike? " Rarity asked, while she galopped. " Hase opened some portal, but I didn't see if something came out or not, since Twilight pulled me away. " Spike replied. The white unicorn glared accusingly at her friend. " We didn't have time for that! " the lavender mare excused herself. " The gate! " Spike yelled. The two mares brought their attention back to the road. The gates were right ahead, with the arc cannons already aiming for them. Before they could fire, however, Twilight prepared herself and teleported all three of them on the other side of the fence. They appeared just in time to see what they would never have believed if they didn't see it with their own eyes. A black dragon, twice the size of any normal dragon, with wings that spread from one end of the lawn to the other. The dragon was already about 20 feet up in the sky, so there was no hope they would be able to run, jump and hold onto its legs. The worried Rarity looked around, searching for Hase, but he didn't appear. The rest of the group caught up just as Spike pointed three coloured dots on the back of the dragon. One red dot and two blue dots. " Hase and Hermes. " Twilight recognised them. Just than, the dragon roared, a loud roar unlike anything dragonlike Rarity had ever heard, even from that dragon, that lived on the top of a mountain. It was much louder and stronger. " That can't be him. " Celestia and Luna seemed frightened, which frightened the rest as well. What dragon was powerful enough to make even the Princesses shudder in fear? " It is him. " an unknown male voice replied. Twilight and Rarity turned around to see 6 stallions with the height of Princess Celestia. 5 of them were pegasi. The first one was made out of fire, the second one- out of clouds, two of them seemed made out of water and the last one was their friend Cobalt. Apparently those were the reformed lords the Cutie Mark Crusaders had spoken of and they weren't reason for worries. The last stallion amongst them was a black alicorn, who stepped forward. His mane and tail were etheral, like Luna's and Celestia's, but split in several streaks at the base of the mane (or tail) and waved separetely, although in one direction, untill they blended with the air in their ends. His eyes, mane and tail were all the same colour - dark violet. His cutie mark was a whirlpool of a purple cloud. " Vortex. " Celestia inserted all her hatred in that one word. " Niece. " the black alicorn spoke with an unexpected familiarity. " You dare speak to us that way after you... " Luna also seemed very angry, but mid- sentence she was suddenly showered by a water stream. One of the two water lords, the one with different coloured water, jumped between the confronting sides, and just to be sure, showered them all with water from his hoof once more, earning Pinkie Pie's giggle. He winked at her and spoke: " Before this conflict gets any worse, the 5 of us would like to object the accusation, the object of which is known as Vortex, former Emperor of Equestria. New evidence has been found in the form of 5 eyewitnesses, that are ready to swear, that the reason for the death of Solarion, the victim, was an out- of- control Voidian. Therefore, you have no right to accuse our client of such crime! " Hydro, since this was him, spoke. " It wasn't you? " Luna and Celestia seemed relieved. " No. " Vortex replied. " I'm afraid, that even for a chaotic veteran, maintaining the control of a whole Voidian army is something difficult. You never know if a single unit won't slip out of your control and do something you'd have to be held responsible for later. " the black alicorn frowned and got closer to the two alicorns. They backed off a bit at first, but all he did was hug the two Princesses one after another and pat them on the back. " Yes, in some way I am the reason for your father's death. I never should have thought the sollution to the war would be so easy as I made it be. Yes, the indirect reason for the death of your father, of my brother, am I, me and my bad decision. I hope you could forgive me for that bad decision. " he looked at the two alicorn mares with a guilty look on his face. " We all make bad decisions. " Luna smiled and put her hoof on his shoulder. Vortex smiled. He looked to the other ponies, and noticed the almost panicked Rarity amongst them. Knowing who she is, the black alicorn came over to her and kneeled, so that he'd be eyes to eyes with the worried unicorn. " You're Rarity, right? " he asked with a concerned tone. " Yes, milord. " the white mare nodded. Vortex smiled. Than he spoke louder: " I don't want to hear anypony amongst you call me " milord " , " your highness " etc.. My time as a royalty has passed. Now I am no more royalty than any of you, Princess Twilight excluded. " Twilight was confused, that the alicorn knew her name, but didn't interrupt his private conversation with Rarity. " Than you are probably my son's special somepony? " the former emperor turned back to the fashionista mare. " Yes. " the unicorn replied. Vortex got up and spoke loud again: " Our useless quarell distracted us from the main reason we're here. Each second that dragon takes your friend, my son, further from us and closer to Ponyville. I know this beast all too well. Each second we spend here means Ponyville is one step closer to getting burned to ashes and Hase is one second closer, just like me, to be accused of a crime he never comitted. Let's not waste any more time! " Everypony nodded and all ran to the exit. The arc cannons turned back, aiming at them, untill the left one was hit by Vortex's chaotic magic blast and the right one - from Celestia's normal magic blast. Luna blew away the door and the group proceeded, racing with time. " You're flying in the wrong direction! The castle's that way! " Hase pointed back. " You don't need to yell! I can hear you anyway! " the dragon noted, annoyed. Ponies constantly underestimated his hearing. " The castle's that way! " this time at least the sport didn't yell. " I know. I'm flying in the direction I want to fly in! " the dragon finally let that pony know who actually led the charge. " I told you to fly towards the castle! Why won't you listen? I am a chaotic, you're a Voidian! " The dragon was suddenly overwhelmed by laughter, so he stopped mid- air to clear things out with that young master. " What are you laughing at? " Hase's surprise grew. " In order for a Voidian to listen to a chaotic, the chaotic has to " put a leash " , so to say. A special spell. You haven't put such a spell on me, I don't have to obey you. " Hase closed his eyes and concentrated, but was interrupted by the dragon: " You've chosen the wrong inhabitant of the Void to put your first leash on, rookie. " " I'm not a rookie! " Hase protested, his concentration ruined. " Prove it, sport. Do you have any idea what you're dealing with? Who am I? " the Voidian asked. After a minute of silence, Hase had no choice but to tell the truth: " No idea. " " I give you mostly 2 hours of experience. All chaotics are told about me the first day of their training! Be honest, how many spells were you taught by so far? Exclude those horrific copies you learned yourself for a several minutes. Perfection comes either by practice or by learning from a teacher, and your summon was the furthest from perfect it can get. " " Who are you? " Hase was shocked, that this Voidian had gotten behind his wall of confidence. " Since you're the reason for my freedom, I'll do you the favour to tell you. Now listen carefully, sport. Millenia ago, at the same time, lived the three greatest dragons of them all. All of them were shortmuzzled... " " Shortmuzzled? " this was new to Hase. " A different dragon species with shorter muzzle. Like me. " the Voidian was annoyed. " Rarer than the longmuzzled. As I was saying, all three of them were shortmuzzled. Zephyros ruled over the high mountain peeks, with his giant blue wings, that allowed him to cover great distances and granted him great manouverability. However, otherwise he was weak. His fire stream was never longer than 15 feet. His claws could only rip apart ponies and sheep, but not bigger prey, like cows or buffaloes. Terras ruled over the plains and the woods. With his mighty claws he could shred anything to pieces. When he couldn't pass through the woods, he just sawed his way through them. Villages and towns had to build stone walls to be safe from him... " " Couldn't he just fly over them? " Hase pointed out the obvious sollution. " He couldn't. He had relied exclusively on sheer strength so much, that his untrained wings could no longer lift his muscular body. Since he never used fire either, he could only ocasionaly spit out a fireball, once a month or two. The third one was just as feared as the other two. Magmaris,whose fire stream with the length of the highest tower of the Canterlot could turn another dragon to ashes just by holding him in range for two seconds, reigned over the volcano areas and the rocky hills, his thick scales allowing him to even bathe in lava, something no other dragon would dare to do. However, his underdeveloped wings didn't allow him to fly more than a mile without getting tired, and his claws were weaker than those of any normal dragon. Those three strongest dragons were also the weakest, the symbol of what no dragon should become, delivering an importrant message to all the other dragons: " Develop your talents equally! " . This is something all dragons know, although not all know from where they know it. Those three dragons carried on their lives as legends any normally developed dragon could defeat, until he went after them. The Dragon Hunter. Iron Ring was the pony, whose name every dragon feared. Whole areas were deserted, if even the smallest rumour of him coming was heard. Dragon hunters were a thing of the era, before dragons and ponies made a truce, which stated " Each side minds their own business. " . They were the symbol of the era, when dragons still hunted sheep, cows and other animals ponies used, even sometimes ponies themselves. To be a dragon hunter for ponies ment to be a hero, for dragons it ment to be a fool, since very few survived their first hunt. Iron Ring was one of the few, if not the only, exception. Nopony knew why he was so good at this - after all, he was just a normal unicorn. But he was the only dragon hunter a pony would call if they wanted to be sure the job will actually be done. That unicorn didn't only hunt for payment... he also hunted for joy. But let's not get into details about that dragon hunter. For my story, the only thing, that matters, is that he captured Zephyros, Terras and Magmaris one after another, utilizing their natural weaknesses to the maximum. He gathered them all on one lawn in the Everfree forest, and for their surprise, broke their shackles. Than he mocked them, telling them they're the worst dragons in the history of Equestria, and asked them if they wanted to become something more, if they wanted to become perfect. The three dragons, having no idea of the hunter's plan, answered positively. Than Iron Ring revealed himself. The illusion, surrounding his horn and eyes, dissappeared, revealing a curved horn and red irises. " " Dark magic. " Hase realised. " First stage of dark magic contamination, yes. " the dragon agreed. " As he revealed himself in front of them, he told them, that to make them truly powerful, he needed to perform a dark fiery ritual and revealed the details. The next 20 minutes they spent flying, untill they reached the Badlands, where most of the dragons reside, specifically in the Valley of Ashes. Iron Ring told them, that in order for the ritual to proceed, the three dragons needed to kill 100 dragons and set the whole valley on fire. Blinded by their lust for power, Zephyros, Terras and Magmaris did as they were told, slaughtering a hundred of their own kind and setting their corpses on fire, turning themselves into the villains of a horror story mother dragons tell their younglings. As they returned to the dragon hunter, he warned he'd have to stab them, so that their blood might suck in the power of their fallen foes. The dragons agreed even to this and let themselves be stabbed. So they lay down amongst the dead dragons, while Iron Ring began his dark ritual. His curved horn glew with a purple and green oreol, as he stood on one cliff, above the whole valley. At his command, the flames went crimson red and rose 100 feet, devouring all dragons in the valley and reaching the height of the cliff the pony was standing on. Those flames burned on for 20 minutes, until they were finally extinguished and the ultimate dragon arose. In some way, Zephyros, Terras and Magmaris weren't cheated. They were told they'd become greater than before. They only weren't told, that they'd have to become one dragon. That dragon was me. A black dragon beyond the size of any other, with wings big enough to cast a shadow over a whole town, and claws strong enough to smash a building. I had one mind only, but I had the memories of all three dragons, and all of their hate. Realizing how they/ I was cheated, I tried to attack Iron Ring, but it was late. During the process of the dark union, he had put an unliftable spell on me, that kept me from death and any harm not caused by him and bound me to his will, like a Voidian. I was in deed the most powerful dragon, but at what cost? Just as these thoughts were crossing my mind, this villain grinned and spoke triumphantly: " Rise Formidon, Obstructer of the sky, most powerful among dragons! You will help me take Equestria! " His plan was obvious. He planned to assault Canterlot using me, since his dark magic alone wasn't powerful enough. He flew away on my back, but size has one disadvantage: you get spotted easily. While we were flying, I swore I'd one day destroy Iron Ring's home the same way he made me destroy mine. We didn't reach Canterlot, as you'd expect. Mid- way, the two alicorn brothers, the rulers of Equestria, intercepted us and brought us down to the plains. I disobeyed Iron Ring's orders as much as possible, which occasionaly separated us, leaving him, the not very skilled dark magic user fight against the bigger brother, Solarion, while my enemy was the younger, Vortex. Iron Ring was defeated pretty easily, but Solarion needed rest, so Vortex was left alone. I used all methods I knew from my previous lives, but this alicorn was skilled. Our battle lasted half a day, untill finally, with his last strength, he opened a portal to the Void and pushed me in. With Iron Ring dead, it ment I couldn't be hurt by anything, the Void included, which means I'm not actually a Voidian, and I couldn't be controlled by nopony. So you, newbie, can't order me! " the dragon said and flew again, in direction Ponyville. " Now I will keep my promise. I will destroy Iron Ring's home the same way he destroyed mine! " Formidon laughed. Almost panicked, Hase opened a portal to the Void right in front of the black dragon, hoping he'd get in. However, the dragon swiftly avoided it, along with the two others Hase put on his way. He closed the last one dissappointed and full of despair. " The same trick won't work twice, sport. " the black beast commented. " You won't destroy Ponyville! " Hase got up, the surprised Hermes almost falling off his shoulder. Luckily, the dragon's neck kept the wind from blowing him away. Ponyville was close, Hase could see that. " Was that an order? " Formidon asked ironically. " It was a promise. " the pegasus replied. " A promise? You think you'll stop me? " " Ponyville is the home of hundreds, thousand of innocent ponies! You can't kill them because of one pony, that's already dead anyway! There's no use in that! " the inventor protested. " I won't destroy Ponyville because of Iron Ring. I'll destroy it because of the hundred dragons he made me kill! " the dragon almost yelled. The dragon was above Ponyville. Hase could already hear ponies screaming. " Say goodbye, sport. One last turn and the town will be ashes. " the black beast triumphed. One last thought crossed Hase's mind. Hoping it would work, he closed his eyes and spoke: " Your master will be proud! " Hearing those words, the dragon again halted in mid-air. Fearing those words might motivate the dragon, the scientist seized that chance to climb up the dragon's neck, pass the top of his head and soon he and Hermes were standing on the dragon's muzzle, eyes- to- eyes with the dragon. " Don't be a fool. He's dead for a long time. " Formidon replied. " Fine. He would have been proud, than. " the black stallion only switched the tences, which angried the dragon: " He would have been proud with me burning his home?! " Hermes cawed worried, as he saw smoke coming out the dragon's nosdrils behind them. " That's what he wanted all along. Think about it. " Hase was surprisingly calm. " Burning Ponyville won't be enough for you. Soon you'll want to burn the place where he lived for a year or two, the place where he gathered you all, the place where he last fought. Ponies are fearful. When you devastate those places, with few exceptions, they will all flee. Those, who remain, will try to fight you, and the great Formidon will bring them all down, of course. After that, you'll be the most powerful being in Equestria. Which means, that all of this, " Hase spread his hoof, pointing everything around them. " , will be yours. And since you would have taken it with force, you will have conquered Equestria, just as Iron Ring wanted you to. If he could, he'd appear to you in that moment and complement you. " " Stop. " the dragon commanded. Anger could be felt in his voice. However, Hase continued. " You will have done his job for him. You will have conquered Equestria,as commanded. " " Stop! " this time the anger was more obvious, but, Celestia knows why, the black pegasus still kept going: " You will have been a good, obedient dragon, who follows his master's orders. I'm sure he will give you a bone, if he could... " " STOOOOOOOP!!!! " the dragon's yell passed into a roar, that continued half a minute. Hase knew he had won this duel of minds, so he patiently waited. With a smile on. " Who are you? " the dragon asked, curious. " And how did you do this? " " I'm Hase. " the inventor replied. " I beated you, since I fight for clauses, much greater than revenge. I fight for Ponyville, the town I wish was my hometown. I fight for all my friends, who I am sure will support me. I fight for the mare I love! " the pony spoke proudly. " Friendship... how can friendship give you such power? What is friendship, but an alliance? And of what use are allies, that aren't with you at the moment? " the black dragon asked, befuddled. " You're wrong. " the scientist told him. " Friendship is not alliance. Allies can always betray you. True friends will never do that. Your old three selves lived solitary lives, and were rejected because of their disadvantages, so they never learned what friendship is. Your new self couldn't learn friendship in the Void, since friendship doesn't exist there. Now that you have returned to our world, now that you are back in Equestria, you have a second chance. Initially, I thought you are a Voidian, and I planned to use you to help my father. I learned, that you're a free being, unbound to the Void and its control, therefore you aren't a threat to Equestria. I don't want to be your master. That would mean I will have control over you, and I don't have the right to have control over you. No. But I have the right to be your friend. And I will use that right of mine. " Hase concluded and spread his right forehoof as a sign of his offer. " If you really want to know what friendship is and spend your eternal life with somepony, who cares about you, accept my gift. " the stallion told the dragon. Formidon looked at Hase, trying to judge him. He saw no lie in his eyes. The pony was honest. " I will accept your offer. " he replied and spread one of his huge claws up, making Hermes back off a bit. Hase however kept his position and shook one of the dragon's fingers with his two forehooves. He than climbed back on his head and slid down to his neck, reaching his initial position. " Now will you please get me and Hermes down? My other friends might be worried. " the stallion said, seeing a big group of ponies exiting the Everfree forest. " Anything for a friend, right? " Formidon asked with an ironic tone. " That's the spirit! " the scientist approved that.
The end?Rarity looked at the sky just as the group finally got out of the Everfree forest. It was probably too late, and they expected to see Ponyville in ashes, since Vortex had told them the dragon held a grudge against the town. However, everything seemed normal, with the exception of the huge black dragon, flying in the sky, and the wave of scared ponies, running to their group, probably about to ask Princess Celestia to banish the beast. However, before the unicorn mare could even distinguish their faces, the black dragon suddenly moved and flew in their direction. " On my mark! " Celestia commanded. Vortex, the princess of the day herself, Luna, Twilight, the five lords and even Discord aligned. Shortly, all skilled magical users. " Set! " the princess' voice was heard again. " Fire! " 10 different kinds of battle magic flew at the dragon. Vortex had chosen a normal magical ball, just like his nieces, the lords had fired a ball made out of their respective elements, while Discord threw a baseball in the air and struck it with a bat so hard, that the bat went on fire. Those were very scattered shots, so that at least one would hit the dragon. However, before they had even fired, the dragon suddenly flew up, succesfully letting those shots pass bellow him. That was a manouver he couldn't have made unless he was warned. Did this dragon have a sixth sence? Rarity had no time to wonder. The ponies and the draconequus didn't have time for a second shot. Before even ten seconds had passed, the dragon landed mere 20 feet in front of them, hiding the whole town from their eyes with his massive body. A black pegasus with a zenith blue mane and tail jumped off, with a phoenix with some blue feathers on his left shoulder. Rarity's heart felt like it was up in her throat. That was Hase! But why wasn't he running away? " Hase, get away, so that we can fire again! It's the perfect moment! " Luna yelled, but hase stood where he was. " He might be dizzy from that flight manouver. " Celestia said. " I'll get him. " Vortex answered and made a few steps forward, halving the distance, but in that moment the dragon slowly slid his tail between the former emperor and his son. The spiky tip passed, leaving Hase visible over the tail. The black alicorn made a step back. Hase just smiled and came forward. He jumped on the dragon's tail. Vortex expected the dragon would throw him away, but apparently it had nothing against that. Hase got both his hindhooves over the top and sat on the tail as if it was a bench. The tail moved forward, forcing the alicorn to go back to the group, while the tail with Hase on it was now only 10 feet from them, but the pegasus just stood there and watched. Fluttershy feared, that Hase might have been hypnotised, so Applejack suggested her to use the Stare to bring him out of his trance. As this idea passed to the others, all agreed, so Fluttershy unwillingly stepped forward, knowing it's for her friend's goodbeing. " But first! " Pinkie Pie got in front of her friend, pointed the dragon and made a scary face. Realising what followed, Rainbow Dash just sighed: " Here we go... " That's when Pinkie Pie began singing the adapted version of the song she always sang when she thought somepony was hypnotized. " He's one malicious lizard, he's worse than a blizzard, don't mistake him for kind, he'll suck out your mind! He'll grill you to a stake and eat you at all stakes! He'll swallow you whole as if you're a cake! Sooo... watch out! " Pinkie Pie stood on her two backhooves, with her two forehooves spread as wings and her mouth opened in a threatening manner, as if she was in deed about to swallow somepony whole. The song was greeted by the laugh of the pony Fluttershy was about to treat with her Stare, which confused everypony except Pinkie, who got back on all four, smiled, bounced and exclaimed: " I told you he wasn't hypnotised! " " How much time did you spend making that up? " Hase asked. " Nah, you know Pinkie. She just came up with it. " Rainbow Dash replied. Seeing this as a sign everything is OK, Rarity ran towards Hase. " Rarity! " Twilight yelled after her, since they still weren't sure of the dragon's intentions, but by that time the fashionista mare had already jumped in her coltfriend's laps. The unicorn laughed and cried simultaneously. Hase held her tight, but that didn't stop Rarity from getting out and giving Hase what she planned to do immeadietly after she returned to Ponyville. A real kiss. She could stay with their lips sealed forever, untill he reminded her: " Rarity, don't you think there are more appropriate places for this than in front of your sister and all of our friends? " " You're right, sweetheart. " the unicorn broke the kiss and jumped off the dragon's tail together with her beloved. Hase looked at Rarity, and encouraged by the kiss he was given, stood between the dragon and the rest of the group and spoke: " I think my father knows who this dragon is, and has probably told you all. However, I think what Formidon just showed you is also clear to you. Formidon? " The dragon got up and Rarity shivvered, but the black pegasus hugged her and told her not to worry. As the dragon stood in his full size, he spoke: " Mere minutes ago, my only desire was to take it back at Iron Ring, my creator, for forcing me to destroy my home. I was about to destroy his, when my friend, Hase, convinced me this would only lead to me following his will. He offered me his friendship and a second chance. A chance to know what friendship is. A chance to really rise above my three former selves, to become better than them not only by strength, but by soul as well. Zephyros, Terras and Magmaris would have had their revenge. I won't. " " Hase. " Princess Celestia turned to the pegasus. He looked at her, indicating he was listening. " I think you no longer need to right me letters about your friendship, unless you want to. These three days you met ponies and dragons, coming from the past, that would have bended and succumbed to evil deeds, if it wasn't for your support as a friend, and those were ponies, which the old Hase wouldn't have forgiven, and a dragon, who the old Hase wouldn't be able to stop. Through the lessons of friendship you have learned, you showed them, that past mistakes don't matter, when one has good intentions and is ready to fix those mistakes. You... " Before the white alicorn could finish her speech, a big white portal opened above their heads and suddenly sucked everypony in, also Spike, Hermes and Formidon, but leaving the Starfliers, Sweetie Belle, Applebloom,Scootaloo and Discord behind. That portal closed as suddenly as it had opened, leaving the three adult pegasi, the Cutie Mark Crusaders and the draconequus with the wave of worried ponies, who wondered where their princesses had vanished.
School's out, Discord's inSpike was trying to keep the big pile of luggage from falling, and he was succeeding. However, just as he leaned against the big suitcase Twilight had chosen for a vessel of what seemed to Spike as one quarter of the Golden Oak Library's books, one of Rarity's purses, that was near the top got out of its balance and flew directly towards the dragon's head. He never saw it coming and it would have hurt a lot being stricken by it, since it contained Rarity's designer necklaces, all of which had pretty hard stones, but before it hit the dragon it was diverted by a large device, that extended from a small box Hase was carrying and emitted a weak shockwave, that was just enough to cause the purse to fall right next to Spike. However, it was also enough to destabilize the whole structure and cause it to collapse and burry Spike. Luckily, several seconds later the dragon was revealed to the open world again, as the cutie mark crusaders, along with Hase, removed the multiple suitcases (most of whom belonged to Twilight). However, as the quartet tried to put them back on what was left of the pile, in fact only Fluttershy's small bag and Pinkie Pie's suitcase, which had party ribbons hanging from it. However, it was unstable and as Scootaloo tried to hold it, it collapsed again, this time not hitting anypony. " Yah ok? " Applebloom asked Spike. " Yes. " the dragon replied and looked at Hase, who was currently screwing something in the device he had used to save Spike from the falling purse, which eventually caused a much bigger accident. " Oh, nevermind. " he eventually threw the device away and came to say sorry to the baby dragon. Spike accepted it and helped him and the CMC form a stable pile of bags. The Mane 6 were going to Canterlot. They were currently at the train station, waiting for the Friendship Express, and were chatting while the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Hase and Spike fought the pile of luggage, whose ultimate purpose seemed to be to fall apart. " Princess Celestia has chosen us for the invigilators of the Academy for Gifted Unicorns' annual exam! " Twilight was as excited as Pinkie Pie, and that was something very unusual. " I am going to be the invigilator of the exam I once attended myself! " she said that so fast the others only heard " I'm.. " and the rest was just a mix of sounds. " So, girls, do you remember the rules? " the alicorn asked her friends, her enthusiasm finally dropping a bit. " We're invigilators, we're there ta observe, not ta influence. " Applejack reported. " Dash? " the purple mare turned to the pegasus, giving her face a stern look. The cyan mare sighed and mumbled: " We don't distract the students with our personal matters and we sign no autographs. Why do you think I would do that anyway, Twi? " " I just want to make sure everything's going to be perfect! " the lavender pony exclaimed and turned to the others. Eventually, she turned to Fluttershy as well and spoke: " Fluttershy, I know you want to encourge the participants, but don't encourage them too much. It can distract them and have quite the opposite effect. " " I'll just make sure they are confident that they are going to give their best. " the yellow pegasus assured her, just as the Friendship Express arrived, the air it blowed failig the last attempt of Spike, Hase and the CMC to pile the luggage succesfully. The quartet ditched that idea and instead helped the Mane 6 carry the luggage into their wagon. Hermes landed on Fluttershy's shoulder, and Hase spoke to the yellow pegasus: " I think a visit from Philomena will be enjoyable for him. Tia can take care of him just fine, so you needn't worry about that. " The Mane 6 took their seats. Just as Spike was looking through the window next to his seat, since he was going to travel with the Mane 6, a small metal shard stuck in the wooden frame. The startled dragon turned around to see what the hay was going on and saw a mechanical arm on wheels bending beneath Twilight's biggest suitcase. It was slowly descending, small parts of it flying everywhere, until finally it was smashed by the abnormally big bag, luckily, just where it needed to fall. " That's strange. It is supposed to be able to hold 100 pounds. " Hase didn't even try to pull the remains of the mechanical arm from beneath the suitcase. " This suitcase might be a little bit more than that. " Twilight noted, feeling a bit uncomfortable. " Nevermind. It wasn't that hard to put together. " the stallion noted. The train's whistle called, signalling, that the train was about to leave any moment now. The cutie mark crusaders left the train after taking their goodbyes, while Hase stayed for a bit longer in order to hug Rarity and gently kiss her. " Good bye, dear. " he whispered in her ear before separating from her and heading for the exit. However, just as he was about to leave the wagon, he turned around and asked: " What about the Cutie Mark Crusaders? Should I get them to Granny Smith, the Cakes or... " " In fact, ah was thinkin' it'd be better if they stayed by ya this time. " Applejack interrupted him. " You seem to get along very well. " Rarity added. The stallion smiled, said his final goodbyes and walked off the train. A second later it departured, and he waved along with the fillies, as the train left the station and got on its way to Canterlot. " Who's it this time, Hase? Granny or the Cakes? " Applebloom asked him. " Actually, they've left me to take care of you. " as they heard that, the three fillies smiled and jumped on the stallion, bringing him down in the process. " I surrender! " the stallion raised his hooves and the three fillies finally got off him. " So, what do you want to do today? " Hase asked. " Actually, we've still got one last day of school. " Scoot replied. " Has the vacation not began yet? " the inventor raised an eyebrow. " It begins tommorow. Nopony actually studies today either, but we're supposed to be there, so that Cherilee can say our final grades to us. It's also supposed Rarity and Applejack would be there with us, but I guess this time we're on our own. " Sweetie Belle said. " Is there a problem if I came instead? " Hase asked. " No... but it's kind of boring. Are you sure you want to come? " Scoot asked him. " Well, I think I actually skipped on those days back when I was a foal, so nothing stops me from at least checking it out... " Hase nodded. As the stallion said that, somepony else spoke: " It doesn't neccessarily have to be that annoying, you know. " As the Cutie Mark Crusaders looked up, from where the voice was coming, expecting to see a pegasus, they instead saw Discord sitting on his trademark cotton candy cloud. The startled fillies jumped back, and as they did that, the cloud popped like a balloon, bringing the draconequus down to the ground with a small, pink reminder of what had been a big cloud. " You happy now, Applebloom? " the master of chaos frowned, found the hole on the cloud and blew in, becoming thinner and thinner in the process, until the cloud was back in the sky, while Discord had taken the form of a carpet from breathing out all the air he had in him. However, he didn't stay in that condition for long, as he used his flat lion paw hand to crack with fingers. A minute later a pump on wheels arrived and the dragonecqueus put it's end in his mouth. The arrows on the device began spinning wildly, as Discord was pumped back to normal. Finally he sighed in relief, clicked with fingers and the device rolled on its way, dissapearing just as it was about to turn around the corner. He than caught the cloud, that was the reason for his flat condition, squeezed it hard, draining all of its chocolate milk in a glass he held in his other hand. The cloud than vanished, while Discord drank the glass and threw away the milk. A small explosion occured. Scootaloo sighed. " Oops, I almost forgot! " Discord used his tail to click and brooms from all around the town gathered and marched towards him. He proudly showed them the site of the explosion, and the brooms cleaned it so carefully, that this small area actually became cleaner than the rest of the street. Disapproving of that fact, Discord put some sand over it, and finally, satisfied with his job, turned to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. " Fluttershy is right! Sometimes the cleaning can be even more enjoyable than the mess itself! " he cheered. " What are you doing here Discord? " Scootaloo asked, now more confused than scared. " Oh, I am glad you asked, dear Scootaloo. " the god of chaos smiled. " I am just visiting a dear friend of mine. " " You've got the wrong way. " Sweetie Belle replied with a smile on. " Fluttershy already got on the train to Canterlot. " " She isn't my only friend, as far as I could recall, " as Discord replied, big library drawers, full of books, appeared out of nowhere, along with a set of glasses for Discord, that had no lenses whatsoever, but had a small chain connecting the two ends, making the draconecqueus look like a librarian. " What do you mea... " " Shhh! This is a library, foals! Be quiet! " Discord stopped Scoot before she could finish her sentence. He flipped the pages of a giant old book, full of dust, that made the CMC cough. " Fluttershy... certainly yes... Rainbow Dash... certainly no...Pinkie Pie... maybe... Rarity... maybe...Applejack...certainly no... was it because of the apple monsters? " Discord wondered as he skimmed through more and more pages. " Twilight Sparkle... yes, although a small test is required. Note to self, tatzlwurm, blue flu, " a little glass of water, please "... " the draconequus scribbled something in the unused space in the book. After he finished writing, he flipped through some more pages, until he finally victoriously laid his finger on the passage, proving what he probably knew all along: " Hase - yes! How are you today? " he turned to the earth pony. " Well, fine. How are you? " the stallion replied in a tone, that confirmed, that he was friends with Discord. " As per usual... but I gotta be flying. Gotta check on tatzlwurm endangerment status. " the draconecqueus noted, as a big clock rang, and dissapeared, leaving a cloud with his form behind, which soon spread. " Yah friends with Discord? " Applebloom asked him, as they were walking to the school. " Yes. Why? " Hase answered. " Well, Hase, Discord isn't exactly the folk you choose to trust for serious things. " Scootaloo told him. " I don't trust him for serious things; he's Discord, after all. However, that doesn't stop me from being his friend. " the inventor said the crusaders. " How did you get to meet him anyway? " even Sweetie Belle, who shared a house with Hase since the inventor had moved in the Boutique to live with Rarity, was unaware of this friendship. " Actually, it was me, who sought him first. As you know, my laboratory was finished a long time ago, and I am currently trying to introduce several new products to the market. However, the situation isn't much different from before- ponies don't really seem to like my inventions and find them useless. I decided, that if my next prduct didn't sell either, I would keep my inventions to myself until somepony comes to request me inventing something. I wanted a product, that would be something funny, in order for ponies to understand easier, and therefore, like. I was currently developing a brand new kind of glass, able to withstand magic and be used in magical containers, when a relatively silly idea came to my head. What if I created a new party accessory using that glass? I asked Twilight to help, and she did help a lot, but the product just lacked the party spirit. The sealed magic needed to be more... random. Than I remembered Discord was reformed, so eventually Fluttershy introduced us to eachother. Discord was surprised somepony might have use of his magic, and agreed to participate. While working we got along. The product failed and I gave up trying to distribute my inventions. Now I invent for myself and friends only. Still, I consider it a success. After all, I befriended somepony new. Why do all fear Discord anyway? " " Some ponies still fear Zecora an' you're askin 'bout Discord? " Applebloom replied with a question. " He's the god of chaos, and that kind of stops ponies from becoming friends with him. It doesn't help, that he tried to reconquer Equestria for himself not too long ago. " Sweetie Belle added. " Yes, but ponies accepted Luna after she returned as Nightmare Moon! Even though it took them about a year. Discord is now reformed, which should grant him the same redemption... and yet it doesn't. " Hase just couldn't get it. " I think ponies would get used to Discord just fine after a few months. " Scootaloo expressed her optimistic opinion and the other two fillies agreed. ' Yet it took you less than two weeks to forgive somepony, who has done something much worse. ' the stallion thought. At that point he expected to hear some of the imprisoned lords mock him and tell him, that he would never have the guts to confess all of his sins to the ponies. But as he had come to expect, nopony spoke in his head. As he arrived back in Equestria two months ago, the lords had suddenly stopped communicating him whatsoever. Hase also lost the ability to mentally communicate with Cobalt, the lord of rock and his friend. The medalion had also stopped behaving strangely, since it was hidden in the Golden Oak Library for over a month and it hadn't tried to come back to the inventor even once. The most annoying, and scary at the same time, part, was that Hase still felt somepony's presence inside his head. It was as if the lords had chosen to remain silent even when the stallion tried to provoke them. It was annoying, but a bit terrifying as well. What if they were currently trying to hypnotize him, erase his memories or something even more sinister? Hase still hadn't shared the fact, that his mind was populated by somepony else but him, with nopony but Cobalt. When he talked with Cobalt about that and asked him what might be the reason, the rock lord said he had no idea and that Hase could be happy, that they are no longer in his head. The scientist tried to explain him multiple times, that they are still there, but his pegasus friend always replied, that he was only imagining. The reason he hadn't shared this fact with anypony, was that for the first time in many years he was having a normal life. He had good friends, a marefriend, his own laboratory and his life was better than he had ever previously imagined. He didn't want to start another series of adventures, this time related to bringing the lords out of his head. All he wanted was a normal life. However, he couldn't get rid of the thought, that the lords would somehow manage to reveal his sins to the world. He looked at the cutie mark crusaders, at the pure joy and innocence in their eyes when they were looking at him. Would they look at him that way, if they knew, that he was the reason for the deaths of 20 ponies and hadn't been to even one of their funerals? Would his friends still be his friends if they knew that? Would the town accept him? And most importrantly, what would he read in Rarity's eyes, as she hears the whole truth? In the eyes of all of them he would be a monster. " Hey, why are you crying? " Sweetie Belle asked as a small tear came down the stallion's cheek. " Oh, something got into my eye. " Hase said. The smile got back on the unicorn filly's muzzle,as the four of them continued on their way to the school. Hase banished these thoughts and put a smile back on as well. The building of the Ponyville Elementary had become one of Hase's favourites. It was simple, large and friendly looking, just like a school needed to be. It's light red colours encouraged the students to enter it. Something Hase couldn't say for his old school. His school back in Canterlot was placed in a gothic building, the gargoyles anything but encouraging, painted in a neutral brown colour, that made foals feel sleepy. The teachers were also a lot better than the ones Hase remembered having back in his old school. Actually, he didn't remember any of his old teachers by name or muzzle, with the exception of one mare, that tried to make studying more enjoyable for the students, much like Cherilee, the teacher of Sweetie Belle, Applebloom and Scootaloo, but this mare was fired after a month, " for using unconventianal and unapproved studying methods " . She was replaced by another teacher, who believed their subject is the most importrant of them all. Just like Hase himself had once said when he was a colt, " It's like in university. You choose one subject and study mainly for it. " . He wished he had studied in a school, simillar to the one the crusaders were studying in. The bell rang, announcing the start of the last day of school. The three fillies ran inside, stoppin near the entrance to wave at Hase. He waved back and looked around, as fillies and colts entered the building. When the second ell rang, all of them were already inside. The inventor knew, that the classes were shorter today, so they would only last until noon, so instead of heading to the Carousselle Boutique or the laboratory, he chose to sit down and wait. Many other ponies have chosen to do the same. " Oh, how much longer is it going to take? " Discord suddenly appeared out of nowhere after Hase had waited for 10 minutes. A clock materialized and Discord put it on the lawn as he sat down as well. Most of the ponies, that had been sitting nearby until then, stood up and sat a bit further from the ruler of chaos. The clock was ticking and Discord sat there without doing anything for an unusual amount of time. After 1 minute, however, he couldn't do it anymore, so he cracked with his fingers and the nearby tree shook, as a timberwolf cub came out from its roots and ran at Discord. The chaos master cracked with fingers again, a ball appearing in his hand. He threw it and the small timberwolf cub chased it, in order to bring it back. As it brought the ball back, Discord threw it again, this time closer to the ponies. However, as the timberwolf cub neared them, the ponies got up, this time a bit afraid, and sat even further away. " They'll get used to you eventually. " Hase noted. " It'll just take some time. " " Fluttershy says the same. But sometimes I get tired of waiting... " the draconequus replied, as he brought out a huge hammer and smashed the clock. The timberwolf cub dissapeared somewhere and now it was just Hase and Discord, in a perimeter of 30 feet with no other ponies in it but the inventor. Luckily, the bell rang soon enough for the both of them to not get totally annoyed. They got up, and Discord asked the earth pony stallion: " So, how are things going with chaos- driven machinery? I am looking forward to its success! " " Not very well. " Hase replied. " It isn't you, " he told Discord, as he saw a storm cloud hanging over his head. " , it's just... magic and technology don't get along. One must prevail. I either have to use machine for a guiding tool of magic, or to use magic as a power source for them. There is no perfect balance. " " I was expecting that. " the chaos master surprised the beige stallion as he said that. " And yet, your attempts weren't futile... " Discord revealed a small sphere he held in his lion paw. The sphere was made of what seemed to be normal glass, and yet it contained a small amount of chaotic magic succesfully. As Hase took the orb in his own hooves, he could see all of this... strange and unusual magic captured inside. " Yes, but who would buy bottled chaos? " he said, returning the sphere to Discord, as he was about to enter the school. Discord wrapped his hand around the sphere, and when he opened it, it was gone. He bent, so that he could enter the building as well, and followed Hase in the corridor. " Scootaloo warned it was boring. " the stallion spoke as he saw the draconecqueus behind him. " Well, than let's spice it up a little. " the master of chaos smiled. " I am very proud of you all! " the happy Cherilee spoke to her students. The cutie mark crusaders smiled as they looked at eachother's yearly grades. All three of them had A-s, and so did the most of the class as well. The happy violet earth pony opened the door and invited the parents, brothers, sisters and close friends, who had come to check on the foals from Cherilee's class. Discord coming along that inventor, that moved in two months ago, startled Cherilee a bit, but not to the point she lost her concentration. She called all the foals to come next to her, so that the adults can take places on the desks. Most of them managed to do that without problems, despite of the fact, that those were fitted for foals, but Discord's horns left some scratches on the ceiling, forcing him to bend his neck. However, this seemed to cause him discomfort, so he cracked with fingers and suddenly his neck dissapeared. Cherilee tried not to giggle, as she saw the head of the master of chaos directly attached to his shoulders, as he was adjusting himself. " I am happy to anounce, that this year almost all students managed to get an A! " she told her visitors. " Over the course of this year all of us learned, and hopefully, remembered, many different interesting things about the world, that surrounds us, as well as many interesting parts of Equestria's history. " " Did you have any music classes? " Discord asked with a sudden interest. " Yes, thank you for asking, Mr. Discord, " Cherilee replied, smiling. " We were just about to sing a song all together! " " If it wouldn't be to much of a discomfort, I would like you to sing a song I recently came up with. " the draconequus replied, as he regained his neck. " Not at all! " the violet mare replied. At that time even Hase didn't know what Discord had planned. He gave each foal a sheet of paper with the text on it, which caused most of them to giggle. Apparently it was a funny text. Cherilee and all the students liked it. With the exception of two. " What is all of this nonsence? " Diamond Tiara asked, with Silver Spoon supporting her. " It's art! " Discord triumphed, while he was dressed like an artist and just finishing his version of the famous Mona Liza - instead of the subtle smile, there was a hysterical grin. " Sounds more like something you came up with during your afternoon nap! " Silver Spoon mocked and laughed together with her pink earth pony friend. " One of my afternoon naps is probably more productive than your entire day. If you don't wish to be part of this initiative, than you're welcome to be part of the audience! " Discord noted and chuckled. " Tell him he's wrong, dad! " Diamon Tiara whined, as she joined her father in the audience. When Filthy Rich raised his head to ask the draconecqueus something, he saw him opening an umbrella, which produced a "meow" with the inside part almost touching the center, while some lightnings struck. " Looks like we might be due to a big old storm of... music! " the master of chaos cheered. " Are we ready? " Discord asked. The choir of foals nodded. The draconecqueus smiled and cracked with fingers. A small orchestra appeared in the back part of the room, as the god of chaos began singing, along with the choir, something, that actualy sounded fit for a text of a song: " A little glass of water please, A fresh pressed hanky if I sneeze , Some tea with honey from the bees Whenever you can brew it! " For now the song was looking good, but the orchestra was just getting started, which reminded Hase, that Discord had something greater in mind than the usual school song. " And while I get a little rest, " as he said that, a cotton candy cloud appeared just in time for Discord to lie on it, pretending to be extremely fatigued. " A teeny tiny small request, " a giant scroll with the word "REQUEST " written on it appeared and gradually became smaller, untill it reached the size of an A4 sheet of paper. " Some codfish oil for my chest, Poured from a crystal cruet! " a big bottle, full of oil of some kind, fell out of mid- air and sipped all of its content in the giant crystal goblet, that had appeared just bellow it. Now the orchestra started playing faster, and Discord and the choir sang faster as well: " My goodness, I'm a nincompoop Because I fear I've got the croup, " as they sang this line, everypony in the room were covered in small pimples, making some of them panick and other wonder wheter they had already had the pox or not. " I need a vat of pumpkin soup, " multiple pumpkins, appeared, and as Discord opened them, the pumpkin soup inside errupted and showered everypony with soup, washing away the pox. " And scarves made out of zinnias! " everypony became dry again and found scarves, made out of some kind of flower, around their necks. " Did I say zinnias? I meant silk! Or something shiny of that ilk! " The scarves multiplied and turned to silk ones, making most of the audience and the singers as well look like living mummies. The music stopped for a second, and as the audience managed to get the silk scarves off their eyes, they saw Discord in a safari outfit, wearing a zebrican explorer's hat, while sporting a big net. " Mummies are the corpses of long dead egyptian pharaohs. They have been mumified millenia ago! " he spoke, as if he was reading from the encyclopedia. " However, they are not able of becoming alive again, so this is a mirage. A mirage is... " " Why did you stop the song? " Hase asked. " Oh, it's you? " Discord replied, took a few photos of the living mummies, got out of his clothes and gave the orchestra the sign to continue. " And then I'll need some nice warm milk, " a rabbit with brown furr, a yellow sweather and a yellow cup with a blue " N " appeared before Discord drank the glass of steaming hot chocolate milk and dissapeared quickly after that. " And pastries from Abyssinia! " a mare, dressed in an oriental style, hoofed the master of chaos a small plate with a pastry, heavily syruped with sugar syrup and than left the room. " And since my stomach's feeling crummy Why not give my aching tummy Something soothing, something yummy Piled up with noodles? Add a slice of homemade rye With stacks of Swiss way up high Served with sides of sweet mince pie More basil; I need oodles! " As they sang the next two parts of the song, the choir was surrounded by a sea of noodles with multiple islands of rye, with Swiss cheese forming spectacular mountains. The mentioned pie appeared in the form of jellyfish in the sea of noodles. The basil rained over this food utopia as a heavy monsoon. Suddenly the orchestra slowed down, the lights went off, and Discord was in the spotlight for his solo part: " I'll be grateful for your charity Until the bitter end. Because I've heard that tenderness Is what you lend an ailing friend. Tenderness, isn't that right, friend? " The lights went back on, the orchestra sped up, the draconequus asked: " Who's ready for the grand reprise? I'd like that glass of water please! " he sang, pointing to the glass, which was now positioned on the top of a high mountain, while everypony found themselves dressed with jackets and carrying ski equipment. " Some magic spell to cure disease! " as he said that, everypony found themselves in a deep mine or something simillar. Discord, wearing a grey robe and hat, sporting a long white beard as well, crossed the sword he was holding in one of his arms with the magician's cane in his other hand and stopped a beast, from which the ponies could only see the red eyes and the fiery whip( some said they also saw wings, but that was debatable). The beast swiped with the whip, but as it hit the bridge, instead of falling down, the group passed to the illustration of the next line. " A firm "gesundhoof" when I sneeze! " the master of chaos sneezed, which sounded like an explosion, but did no damage whatsoever. " A fresh bouquet of roses! " somepony from the audience threw the draconecques a large bouqet with roses. " Some lozenges will soon appease, My wheezing when I start to sneeze. A wig to keep me from the breeze And blankets for my toes-es. Take tweezers out of my valise. And then massage my knobby knees. A bowl of peas, some extra cheese. A cuddle with a Pekingese! A singing harp who's named Louise! A goat on skis, a new trapeze! And more and more and more and more of theeeeese! " This was the peak of the song. Everypony found themselves wearing strange judge wigs, some found themselves massaging Discord's knees, which looked pretty swollen for a minute or so, and all of them had to suffer a hale of peas, a sandstorm of cheese and a giant dog, which nearly smashed Cherilee's desk. The harp wasn't that harmful, but the skiing goat, coming alongside a trapeze, a mountain of plushies, complete with a sea of marshmalows and some unfriendly looking snakes, were, but just as the audience was getting ready to run away, all of these dissapeared, and all, that could be seen, was a hose, going from the sink to Discord's mouth, and yet he still managed to somehow sing the rest of the song: " And just because I oughta... Make sure I'm drinking in the right Amount of fluids day and night I wish I may, I wish I might Have just one little thing Oh, would you please finally bring Me that tiny glass Of waateeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer?!! " As he sang the last part, the ponies found themselves in Manhatten, being threatened by a terrible tsunami, that was mere feet away from them, but before it ever reached them, Discord drank it all and returned everypony back in the classroom. The audience, Hase excluded, was too frightened to applause, but the inventor, Cherilee and the foals applaused, having liked this hillarious song. " Thank you all! With some changes in the choreography, I hope this masterpiece soon reaches royal ears! " those were Discord's last words, before he dissapeared in thin air.
