He could feel nothing; no pain, no emotion… nothing. He could not move, could not see, his entire world simply… didn’t exist. Yet somehow, he did… or did he? He couldn’t tell whether or not he existed in the void, but he didn’t think about it, as trying to think was a tremendous effort, as though he were trying to lift an impossibly heavy object. He simply floated – was he floating? – in the emptiness of nothing…

…and then things changed.

It was as though somepony had flipped a switch and suddenly all he could see was light. He still couldn’t move, but he didn’t have to. As though a veil of mist had parted, a face appeared in his vision. It was a pink-coated mare with a well-kept mane of violet, rose, and palest gold. She looked him in the eyes and smiled softly, causing him to feel a familiar fluttering sensation; he knew this mare! He tried to speak, but again, could not form the words no matter how much he struggled. He began to feel frustration, desperation, and tried to resist whatever was binding his body and soul. He wanted to ask her name, though a part of him felt as though he already knew it. She began to trot away from him, fading back into the pale mist, and he redoubled his efforts to speak, to reach out… something, anything, to keep this one familiar thing from fading away from him. The mare paused at the edge of disappearing from sight, looked back at him, and spoke.

“You need to wake up now.” She said, though he realized somehow that it wasn’t her voice. “You’ve slept long enough, Guardian.”

“Guardian? Eyes up, Guardian.”

With a sharp intake of air, he gasped and rolled over, gulping in what felt like the first breaths he’d taken in years. He coughed and wheezed as his lungs began to remember how to function. Once his breathing normalized, he held his forelegs in front of his muzzle and moved them carefully. They creaked and cracked from the effort, as though they had begun to stiffen.

“I did it, you’re alive!” Came a female voice and recognition rang as a hollow bell in his brain. He turned sharply to see some kind of odd, diamond-shaped device floating in front of him.

“Wh-wha… who…” He croaked, his voice box stiff.

“I’m a Ghost… well, actually I’m your Ghost now.” it replied, and then it dipped down, looking around sharply before turning its shining eye back to him. “Look, I’d love to explain what’s happening right now, but we have to get out of here. If they find us, we’ll be killed before you can get back to the others.”

“I… I don’t… understand.” He said carefully, but the Ghost disappeared, causing him to look around desperately. “Wh-Where did you go?!”

“Don’t worry. I’m still here, just hidden.” The Ghost replied.

“What’s going on? Where am I? Who am I?!” He demanded.

“Hey, we don’t have time to play twenty questions; it’ll only take one of them finding you to bring the whole collective down on our heads and you don’t really have the firepower to fight the Vex right now.” The Ghost told him coolly. “Grab that rifle over there and head down the side street. We can’t go straight out because there’s a few Vex poking around the ruins on the other side of the wall.”

“O-Okay…” He replied uncertainly and looked around for a second. “I don’t see a rifle… whatever that is.”

“Oh, right. Just a second…” The Ghost replied, and almost immediately a few boxes and a segmented circle appeared in his vision, followed by a circle with a star in it that appeared over an elongated device leaning against some rubble. “Sorry about that, I accidently forgot to activate your HUD. The auto-rifle is that thing marked with the star; go ahead and pick it up.”

“Uh… what’s a HUD?” He asked and the Ghost gave a sigh.

“HUD, or Heads Up Display. It feeds you real-time information on things like hostile proximity, mission objectives, and how much ammunition you’ve got in your gun.” It replied.

“And… how am I seeing all this?” He asked.

“Before I resurrected you I modified the armor you were wearing. It’s… not as good as you really should have, but it’ll do for now so long as we don’t go around picking fights.” The Ghost told him. “Look, just arm yourself and get moving; I’ll explain as much as I can once we’re out of the city, okay?”

He brought a hoof to his eyes and was surprised to find that a piece of clear crystal had been affixed to the helmet he was wearing. After that, he lowered his hoof and gazed at the indicated device uncertainly, then with a thought, levitated the device into the air next to him. As he looked at it, a memory stirred as though from a dream.

‘Point this end at them, pull this to fire. All you have to do is hold the trigger down and it’ll keep firing, but watch the recoil; she kicks hard. When the magazine’s empty, just press this to eject it and then put a new one in like this. After that, pull this to chamber a fresh round.’

He found a button on the side of the weapon, pressed it and felt a box which he could only assume was the “magazine” come loose in his aura. He looked inside, saw it was almost empty, and gave a disappointed sigh.

“Yeah, an empty gun won’t do you much good. Check your bag; I put some fresh clips in there.”

He looked through his bag and found several more of the weapon’s magazines. He put the nearly empty clip in and replaced it with a full one, pulled a lever on the side of the gun and felt a satisfying shift as one of the tubes in the magazine slid into an internal pipe within the weapon.

“Okay, I’m ready.” He said and then took a step back to look around at the ruined city. Something in his brain clicked – a feeling of familiarity with the city’s layout – and he went down a nearby alley into a side street. He followed the winding alleyways, but just as he was about to go between two houses, a pair of red lines appeared just outside the circle in the upper left of his vision.

“Quick, get behind something!” The Ghost said urgently and with a quick glance around, he saw a nearby door was open just a crack and he slipped inside.

He heard metallic steps as the red lines became wedges in the circle. There was a sequence of buzzes, eerily reminiscent of speech, as a pair of Vex marched past the house. He gave a sigh of relief as the machines passed and he stood, accidentally brushing a portrait of some kind on the wall and causing it to fall to the ground.

He flinched as the metallic footsteps came to a halt, and then began to march back toward the house. He ducked back underneath the ruined window and held his breath as the wedge became a flashing red circle within the circle. The footsteps stopped at the window and a Vex buzzed curiously as it scanned the interior of the room. He was almost certain he’d be spotted, but to his relief, the Vex stopped buzzing and marched away, confident it had not seen anything.

He stood once more, this time taking great care to not bump into anything, and carefully opened the door. He was grateful that whoever had lived in the house had taken care of the door to ensure it didn’t creak. He looked around, saw there were no more Vex coming and the ones who had passed had their backs to him, and quietly slipped away. A couple of alleyways and hiding from Vex patrols later, he was relieved to find himself out on the open field. He saw there was a well trodden path leading to some buildings to the south that indicated a train station.

“I detected that the survivors followed those tracks; betcha they’re going to the next town over to escape the Vex.” The Ghost said.

“The next town over… that would be Dodge Junction.” He told the Ghost, mildly surprised that he could so readily remember such information. “We need to catch up to them; there’s a mining tunnel between here and Dodge that should take us straight through the mountains.”

“Wow, you know a lot about this area; I’m impressed!” The Ghost said approvingly. “So… do you remember your name at all?”

“My… name?” He paused and tried to remember, then shook his head in frustration. “I… I can’t remember anything about myself, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry, it’ll come back in time; it always does.” The Ghost said reassuringly. There was an odd howling buzz from within the city, causing him to turn sharply and the Ghost said “Right, we better get moving. We’re not exactly safe yet.”

Experimental unit designation [Wraith] confirmed lost; deletion of core memory halted at [95%] due to [Ghost] interference. Initiating analysis of combat data for improvements to MK.II design.

…

[Warning]: Energy spike detected; signature matches samples from designation [The Traveler]. Investigation of potential Guardian-class threat required.

…

Disturbance detected from patrol units in sector eight: no lifeforms discovered, resuming patrol.

…

[Warning]: terrestrial life-form detected outside perimeter; initiating combat sequences of nearby[Stop]

…

Addendum: [The Traveler] energy signatures detected in life-form. [Warning: possible Guardian-class threat detected].

…

New Directive: Experimental [Stalker] unit to be reassigned to interception and termination of Guardian-class threat.

…

Directive accepted: [Stalker] unit redirected from [Directive: Recover experimental unit {Wraith}] to [Directive: intercept and terminate Guardian-class threat].
Secondary Directive: Monitor and analyze combat data of [Stalker] unit for possible enhancements to MK. II design.

The newly risen Guardian trotted through the mountain pass leading to the crystal mine that connected Dodge Junction to the Crystal Empire. His Ghost floated next to him, asking questions that he frequently had a difficult time answering. He got somewhat frustrated with these inquiries, but he was glad that he didn’t have to make the journey alone.

“This world is really interesting.” His Ghost remarked, looking every which way at the snow-covered peaks. “It’s so similar to Earth environmentally, yet the inhabitants couldn’t be more different.”

“I’ll… take your word for it.” He remarked, and then looked at his Ghost. “Hey, you asked me my name earlier, but I forgot to ask yours.”

The Ghost looked back at him.

“I don’t have one; I’m just a Ghost.” It replied. “If you want to give me one, I won’t mind.”

He thought for a moment before shaking his head.

“I’ve got nothing right now. Maybe after we reach Dodge Jun-” He was cut-off when something slammed into his pauldron, knocking him over. It was followed almost immediately with a screech and a burning scent that he couldn’t place. He looked up in the direction whatever had hit him came from and immediately rolled to the side as another shot lanced into the ground, flash melting the snow in a white cloud.

“It’s a Vex!” His Ghost exclaimed, having hidden itself again. “I think it’s cloaked because I can’t get a bead on its position; we have to run!”

He didn’t waste a second; he began to gallop through the snow, moving left and right to avoid the searing, screeching shots coming from seemingly nowhere. He ran around a bend and saw the entrance to the mine. Before he could reach it, however, red flashed in the circle that his Ghost had called a motion sensor and he instinctively raised a magenta shield. Something heavy thumped off of it and tumbled between him and the mine entrance.

Reflexively, he assumed a combat stance and his auto-rifle hovered into place next to him as though it were a lance. The object that had struck his shield raised itself from where it landed and whatever optical glamour that was obscuring it faded, revealing a bipedal mechanoid with a red eye and tattered cloak. It was crouched low, as though ready to pounce once more, one of its arms ended in a long blade similar to a knife.

“What the… be careful, I’ve never seen a Vex like that one.” His Ghost said warningly and he rolled his eyes.

“Well, we have to fight it whether we want to or not.” He replied. At that moment, the Vex hummed and disappeared. The amnesiac Guardian immediately looked around, saw a patch of snow get disturbed, and fired at it.

He missed, and for his reward, received another fiery lance that staggered him. A claxon went off briefly in his ears as his HUD warned that his armor had lost some kind of protective shielding; another hit like that would kill him. He looked around, narrowly avoided another lance, and then with a start, realized he was standing in front of the mine. He thought quickly, and then began to edge toward the mine entrance, taking note of the support beams. Once he got past the threshold of the mine, he saw his motion sensor flash red once again and this time, instead of deflecting it, he leapt backward. There was a thump from the ground where he had been and the Vex appeared once again, pulling its blade out of the ground.

It looked at the Guardian, who grinned, his horn glowing. The Vex looked to the support beams on either side of it, saw they were also glowing in a matching aura, and disappeared, attempting to flee. However, there was a large puff of snow as the Vex tripped, incapable of moving away as the Equestrian Guardian pulled the support beams free. The entrance began to collapse and the Vex attempted to flee from the falling debris, but was rebuffed due to the fact that its feet were held in the same magenta aura, binding it to the floor and holding it in place. Its buzzing protests were cut short in the roar of falling rocks and the Guardian backed away to avoid getting caught in the cave-in. Once it was finished, he breathed a sigh of relief as his Ghost flew out from hiding to inspect the blocked entrance.

“As much as I would have preferred to take that Vex’s corpse with us, getting somewhere safe is definitely our top priority.” It remarked, and then flew back to him. “Good job, Guardian; I knew I made the right choice picking you!”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” He replied dryly, and then he turned down the tunnel, casting a light spell. “This way; as long as we follow the path, we’ll get to Dodge Junction quickly.”

They had barely gone a few meters when they heard something hit the ground. They froze, and then slowly turned back to the cave-in as the sound of rocks falling to the ground continued.

“You can’t be serious…” His Ghost remarked, and then disappeared.

“Is that thing really still alive?” He asked and as if to answer, a two-pronged object shoved its way out of the rubble, followed by the Vex’s head. It turned its glowing red eye toward him and raised the weapon, firing it.

He barely avoided the shot and it struck a patch of crystal instead. However, it didn’t damage the crystal; instead the crystals lit up and the shot rebounded into another patch of crystals. The projectile then bounced off those crystals and straight back into the Vex’s weapon, knocking it out of its hand. The weapon landed on the ground in several pieces, the reciprocated projectile having rendered it into uselessness. The Vex looked at the weapon, then at the Guardian, and buzzed warningly, and then it began to struggle against the debris, managing to pull its other arm free.

“We need to go.” His Ghost said and he nodded. However, as he passed the crystals, he thought for a moment and then with a heave of telekinetic force, freed them.

“These might come in useful later.” He said and the crystals disappeared.

“Good idea.” His Ghost replied, and then the Vex gave another buzz. “Uh, let’s get going before that thing frees itself.”

He ran through the mine, the Guardian seemingly aware of where to go despite his amnesia. He turned a corner and saw silvery light ahead of them.

“There, we’re almost out!” He stated and ran to the exit. He stepped out into the freshly fallen snow and barely had enough time to register the flash of red on his motion sensor before he was slammed into the ground.

The Vex he had left behind had somehow beat him out of the mines! He wrestled with it as it buzzed angrily, attempting to push its blade into his breast. He focused his magic, threw the Vex off of him, and then faced it. The Vex stood and he saw that it had abandoned its cloak – probably in the rubble – and its chassis was covered in dents and a few punctures. Part of its head was caved in and every now and then a spark of electricity would jump around its body. It buzzed in what seemed to be a low, growl, and readied its blade. The Guardian released the rifle from his grasp and assumed a low, aggressive stance.

“What are you doing?!” His Ghost practically shrieked. “Without your rifle, that thing is going to kill you!”

“No it won’t.” The Guardian said coolly. The Vex gave a howling buzz and leapt at him again, but this time, the Guardian was ready.

With a burst of motion, he wrapped his forelegs around the Vex’s arm-blade and slammed it into the ground. He wrenched at the arm violently until it came free of its owner and he shoved it into the Vex’s neck. The red light immediately dimmed, but the Vex didn’t stop moving; instead, it howled and began thrashing violently. It shook free of his grasp, rose and raised an arm that began to glow with pale violet light. The Guardian quickly pulled the Vex’s arm-blade out of the ground and rushed it.

“The core is the white, glowing area in the center; destroy that and it’ll stop!” His Ghost stated and the Guardian adjusted his aim for the area in question. He struck true, white liquid exploding from the punctured core and the force of his impact knocking the Vex back.

He stood over the machine, panting, as its movements stopped and it went limp underneath him. His Ghost came out and began scanning the Vex while he walked over to a vista overlooking Dodge Junction. He could see a train steaming at the station, filling with ponies and a long caravan of carriages and on-hoof ponies filing out to the south. He knew immediately what was happening; they were evacuating, heading towards what could be the safest place in Equestria.

“Canterlot…” He murmured and memories flashed in his mind; commanding guardsponies in gleaming armor, preparing for a wedding, changelings, and…

Four smiling faces; a unicorn stallion with a cerulean coat and navy mane, a unicorn mare with a light-grey coat and alternating violet and white mane, a tiny purple unicorn filly with a purple coat and dark violet mane with pink and purple highlights, and finally, the pink alicorn mare that had haunted him in his moments returning to life. He knew, without question, that they were his family, their names returning to him as though he’d never forgotten.

“Dad… Mom… Twily… C-Cadance…” He murmured again, and then he groaned and sat back, holding his head in his hooves as memories began to flood into his mind. His Ghost picked up on his distress and flew over, scanning him.

“Hey, are you okay, Guardian?” It asked and he sighed, not raising his head.

“Shining Armor.”

“What?” His Ghost inquired, puzzled, and he looked at it seriously, his eyes shining with determination.

“My name; it’s Shining Armor.” He told it and then he stood. “I… think I know what to call you, now.”

“And what’s that?”

“How does ‘Aegis’ sound?” He asked and the Ghost floated aimlessly for a moment.

“As in ‘protection’?” She questioned and Shining Armor nodded. She was silent briefly before looking at him and dipping slightly as if in a nod. “Sounds good to me; from now on, you can call me ‘Aegis’!”

“Okay then, Aegis; it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Shining Armor said, and then he trotted over to the fallen Vex. “Did you get anything from the Vex?”

“Bits and pieces; the Core Mind of the collective began erasing its memory as soon as you killed it.” Aegis replied. “However, I did get some information we could use. We have to catch up with the other Guardians, though; the Vex are marshalling their forces for something, I don’t know what.”

“They’re preparing for an attack, what else could it be?” Shining Armor said, and then he picked up the Vex corpse and discarded rifle in his telekinesis. “Come on, they’re evacuating Dodge junction; if we hurry, we should be able to catch the train to Ponyville.”

“Right, let’s get out of here.” Aegis replied and disappeared.

Error: Experimental unit [Stalker] functionality terminated, core memory deletion halted at [75%] due to [Ghost] interference; recalling all functional units for new directive.

…

New directive: Designation [The Traveler] signatures located; all available units tasked with termination of all Guardian-class threats.

…

Update: experimental unit [Juggernaut] prepared for activation. Uploading Directives…

…

[Juggernaut] Directives: Locate target designations – [Star-swirl the Bearded], [Experimental Unit; {Wraith}], unidentified energy source; intercept and terminate Guardian-class threats; terminate target designations if threat assessment exceeds [75%].
Secondary Directive: Monitor and analyze combat data of [Juggernaut] unit for possible enhancements to MK. II design.

The second the ramp of the Mischief Maker lowered, the Guardians were greeted by what appeared to be a small army of insectoid equines similar to Queen Chrysalis. The only difference was that they were smaller and less pronounced then the Queen. Samson stared at the teal eyes, who in turn stared back at him until they turned suddenly as Chrysalis – who had insisted upon joining the Guardians on their ship – stepped next to the Titan.

“This is my hive, Titan, they shall assist you in whatever manner you deem necessary.” She told him.

“There are crates of weapons and ammunition in the hold; the faster we get them unloaded, the faster Aveline and Twilight can head back to Earth.” Samson said. Chrysalis nodded, and then gave a low, almost inaudible drone and the changelings began to file into the ship.

Twilight, Star Swirl, Aveline, and Gospel stepped out of the ship as well. Twilight seemed disconcerted at the sight of changelings so close to her home, but Star Swirl was much more interested in the ship.

“That was quite the experience!” The Archmage remarked, admiring the ship. “And you claim this vessel can travel amongst the stars in the sky?”

“Well, we wouldn’t be here if it couldn’t.” Gospel replied, and when the first pair of changelings came out carrying a crate, he pointed at the castle. “Put that in the foyer for now until we can figure out a better place.”

The changelings nodded in acknowledgment and proceeded into the castle. Twilight gave out a small shiver of disgust and Chrysalis smirked at her.

“What, you do not like my brood within the confines of your shiny, new castle, Princess of Friendship?” The changeling queen crooned and Twilight looked away indignantly, garnering a derisive laugh from Chrysalis. “I must admit, I am fairly impressed. When last we met, you were but a meddling little whelp who barely understood the foe she faced; now you are full royalty, complete with throne and crown… yet still you seem to be fairly clueless concerning me.”

“I’ve read books on the changelings, I know all about you.” Twilight retorted and this time, Star Swirl laughed at her, causing Twilight to look at him in bewilderment. “Wh-what… Master Star Swirl…?”

“Young Princess, your pursuit of knowledge is truly commendable, but it is folly to think that you can understand another simply by reading about them.” Star Swirl told her and Twilight turned red with embarrassment. “There is much knowledge to be gained from pages in a tome, but true wisdom cannot be taught; it must be experienced to be understood.”

“I… I’m sorry; after what she did to-” Twilight paused briefly, and then continued. “After she tried to take over Canterlot, I started researching the changelings. I never thought about actually trying to find a hive; I was worried they would capture me and take my identity.”

“I would have ensured otherwise, Princess Twilight. With the return of the Crystal Heart, my brood was no longer short on sustenance and thus we had no more reason to steal emotions.” Chrysalis told Twilight, and then she smirked. “And just so you are aware, I did not ‘try’ to take over Canterlot; my coup was a complete success. Were it not for a fluke, my brood would not have been ousted so easily.”

“She’s right, Princess Twilight.”

Twilight started at the familiar voice and turned to see Daring Do trot down the ramp to the three of them, ducking beneath a floating crate.

“Dar- er, I mean, uh…” Twilight stammered as she tried to remember the cover identity Daring Do went by.

“Stop it, now isn’t the time for secret identities.” Daring Do told her. “But we have bigger issues than about whether or not the changelings succeeded at Canterlot. I’ve seen inside the Vex stronghold, I know it, but they did something that’s messed with my memory.”

“Ah yes, the temporal damage.” Star Swirl said, and then he turned to Twilight. “Your highness, does your royal library contain any of my grimoires?”

“O-Oh, you can just call me ‘Twilight’, Master Star Swirl, and yes, but only the ones Princess Celestia allowed me to have.” Twilight replied.

“Any of my research on time magic?” He inquired further and Twilight shook her head.

“No; after my-” Twilight coughed. “Excuse me, after a minor incident involving time travel, Princess Celestia moved all your research on time magic into the Canterlot vaults.”

Star Swirl arched an eyebrow at Twilight and suddenly she felt as though she were back under Celestia’s tutelage again. He said nothing, but his stern gaze spoke volumes and Twilight wilted slightly.

“I must needs send a missive to Princess Celestia requesting all of my research on time magic and as many of her best mages as she can spare.” Star Swirl stated and began to trot toward the castle.

Twilight hesitated slightly and then followed him.

“Spike should be in the castle, probably taking a nap or reading comic books.” Twilight said.

They disappeared into the castle behind a pair of changelings working together on a crate of heavy weapon parts. Gospel watched them, and then walked down the ramp and sat next to Daring Do.

“You were inside the Vex stronghold?” He asked and the pegasus nodded. “That’s kind of amazing; those things are notoriously hard to get into. How did you do it?”

“There was a panel, things lit up when I stepped on it, and the door opened.” Daring Do replied, not looking at him. “Thought it was just another ruin to explore, but things went to shit. We found Star Swirl and then it’s like something tried to rip my memories out of my head.”

“Ruin… so, you’re an archaeologist?” Gospel asked and Daring Do sighed.

“Archaeologist, adventurer, tomb raider… you want the whole resume, go to the nearest book store and ask them to show you to the ‘Daring Do’ series.” She told him and Gospel stared at her.

“Wait… so I’m talking to a real-life Indiana Jones?!” He asked incredulously and Daring Do gave him a sideways glance.

“Not really sure who that is, but if they’re anything like me then yes; I am a ‘real-life Indiana’…” She paused a moment and then looked at Gospel, confused. “You said ‘Jones’? What kind of name is that?!”

“Hey, don’t diss the name, it’s awesome.” Gospel said, but Daring Do merely arched an eyebrow and Gospel shrugged. “Whatever, you’d have to see the movies to get why it’s so great.”

“I’m pretty sure I’ve lived them and then some.” Daring retorted, garnering a laugh from Gospel.

“You’re okay, uh…” Gospel said and Daring Do sighed.

“Daring Do.” She replied. Gospel held out a hand and she shook it.

“I’m Ian, but you can call me Gospel.” He told her, and then grinned. “You named your book series after yourself? Isn’t that a little narcissistic?”

“More of a pain in my flank to be honest, but no pony thinks to look for certain magical and potentially dangerous artifacts when they think it’s all just fiction.” Daring Do replied. “The upside is I get to go exploring all I want, but making friends is pretty tough when you’re not supposed to exist.”

“DARING DO!” Called an excited voice and Daring Do facehoofed.

“And that would be the other con to having a popular book series…” She muttered as Rainbow Dash came in for a quick and somewhat sloppy landing.

“Daring Do, what are you doing here?” Rainbow asked, and then she lowered her voice, looking around suspiciously. “You on the run from somepony and need somewhere to lay low?”

“And exactly how would I go about accomplishing that when you start screaming my real name – that I have repeatedly told you not to call me in public – where everypony in Ponyville and Canterlot can hear you?!” Daring Do exclaimed irritably, making Rainbow Dash wilt. “You know damn good and well I’ve made lots of enemies, Rainbow Dash; Ahuizotl might have agents in Ponyville and they would have heard you call my name just now.”

“S-Sorry, Daring Do… I was checking things out over here and I saw you so…” Rainbow stammered and Daring Do sighed.

“You wanted to say hello.” Daring finished and then she smiled. “It’s nice to see you too, Rainbow; after the week I’ve been having, a friendly face is exactly what I needed.”

“Well, I came over when some of the weather ponies said they saw changelings over here.” Rainbow Dash looked around and sneered. “They weren’t kidding.”

“They’re helping us out.” Gospel said. “Bad stuff happened up north; lots of ponies got hurt.”

Rainbow Dash looked at Gospel, alarmed.

“What?! Did something happen in the Crystal Empire?!” Rainbow demanded, but Gospel hung his head.

“I… think it would be better if Twilight told you. In fact, you should probably get the rest of your friends; Twilight could use the support right now.” Gospel replied and Rainbow’s eyes widened in alarm.

“Something’s wrong with Twilight…?” Rainbow Dash said quietly, and then she took off without waiting for a response. Gospel rubbed the back of his head while Daring Do shook hers.

“That girl really needs to slow down and think before she acts.” Gospel said and Daring Do gave a small laugh.

Twilight Sparkle moved about her room, packing quietly while Spike eyed her over his comic. Eventually he set the comic book aside and gave her a questioning gaze.

“You’re awfully quiet right now, Twilight.” Spike remarked. “Usually when something like Star Swirl being alive or you getting to fly to another planet happens, you’re talking my ears off about how ‘excited’ you are and how this will be a ‘once in a lifetime’ learning experience.”

“Sorry Spike, I can’t really focus on talking much right now; the job I have to do is too important.” Twilight replied and Spike huffed.

“Twilight, I’ve known you for years; you’re able to multitask while multitasking!” Spike told her. “Right now it’s kinda… I dunno, like you’re upset about something. You know, like that time you switched everypony’s cutiemarks.”

Twilight stopped and the book she was levitating froze, and then dropped to the ground. Spike saw this, picked up the book and held it up to her, but she didn’t look at him.

“Twilight… what’s wrong?” Spike asked and after a moment of silence, Twilight hugged him, tears welling up in her eyes.

“I-It’s…” She choked on the words. “I-I don’t know how to say this...”

Spike looked up at Twilight questioningly and she hugged him tightly. At that moment, the door to their room opened and Applejack trotted in.

“Twilight, Ah came as soon as Ah heard-” Applejack began, but she stopped when Twilight looked at her.

“Applejack…” She murmured, but was surprised when the farmpony quickly crossed the room and hugged Twilight in a firm, but gentle embrace.

“Jus’ let it out, Sugarcube; it ain’t gonna start feelin’ better till ya do.” Applejack said softly.

Twilight sat in Applejacks embrace for a moment, stunned, and then she gave in and wrapped her own forelegs around the farmpony. Twilight then began to cry uncontrollably into Applejack’s withers while the farmpony caressed her back soothingly.

“H-He’s gone, Applejack… Shining Armor… it hurts so much… I want it to stop…” Twilight sobbed.

“Ah know, Sugarcube, Ah know… Ah been where ya are right now an’ Ah promise it’s gonna be okay.” Applejack crooned softly but Twilight shook her head.

“B-But it’s not! Shining Armor’s dead, how could anything be okay?!” Twilight demanded and Applejack smiled.

“Because Ah’m okay, mah brother’s okay, and Granny Smith’s okay; we’re all okay.” Applejack told her. “Ah know yer world feels like it jus’ ended – Ah felt the same way after Ma an’ Pa died – but yer gonna be okay.”

Twilight sniffed a couple of times and then let go of Applejack, wiping the tears off her face and smiling softly.

“Th-Thanks, Applejack, I-I needed that.” Twilight said, and then suddenly realized that Spike had also hugged her, tears streaming down his own face. “Spike… I’m sorry I didn’t tell you when I got back; I guess I just didn’t want to accept it myself.”

“How… how’d he die?” Spike asked, looking at Twilight and she smiled.

“From what Samson told me… like a true hero. He saved a lot of ponies today so… I guess we should be proud of him, too.” Twilight said.

“Thatta girl, Twilight.” Applejack said, and then turned to the door. “Y’all can mosey on in now, if ya want.”

The door opened slowly as Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity – whose muzzle was covered in lines of running mascara – entered the room. They each hugged Twilight and Spike, both of whom gratefully returned the gestures.

“I guess you heard everything.” Twilight said and they all nodded.

“It’s such a horrible thing to happen to somepony else… I still remember the day Applejack’s parents died.” Rarity said morosely.

“I… I’m not sure what kind of party I should throw… or whether I should throw one at all.” Pinkie said, her mane deflating.

“I think I might like to have a party… to celebrate Shining Armor’s heroism.” Twilight told the party pony and her mane puffed back up.

“Great! I’ll have to get right on planning Shining Armor’s ‘heroic death celebration’!” Pinkie exclaimed, jumping into the air, but then she floated back down, grinning sheepishly. “After… we see Twilight off, of course.”

“Yeah… so you’re gonna be flying off to another planet!” Rainbow Dash stated, trying to change the atmosphere. “I bet you’re excited because even I think that sounds like the coolest thing ever!”

Twilight shook her head.

“I guess I’m a little excited, but I won’t have time to really enjoy it.” Twilight said. “The Vex can move through time at will; if we don’t hurry back with more Guardians, there might not be an Equestria – or Equus for that matter – to come back to!”

“They sound terrifying…” Fluttershy said quietly.

“They are, I’ve seen them firsthoof.” Twilight said, and then she shivered slightly. “They just… appear out of nowhere and by the time you realize they’re there, they’re already attacking.”

“How horrific! I never imagined such monsters could ever exist in Equestria!” Rarity exclaimed. “To think that there are worse monsters than even Tirek in Equestria… I shudder at the thought!”

Outside the room, Chrysalis stood in the shadows, eaves dropping. She could feel the pure, raw emotions coming from the room, with sadness being the one most tantalizing to her. Sadness was a delicacy amongst the changelings, as it was difficult to get the emotion to surface untainted by other, less savory emotions such as fear, hate, or disgust. However, Chrysalis did not partake of the emotions pouring out of the room and she made sure none of the rest of the brood intruded on them.

Another being’s grief over the loss of a loved one was sacred, even to the emotion-eating changelings.

“Ah, your majesty, I was hoping to acquire your aid.” Came the voice of Star Swirl as he stepped beside her and Chrysalis gave him a sideways glance, but said nothing. The archmage looked from Chrysalis, to the room where Twilight was talking with her friends and he smiled. “The Princess of Friendship has a strong heart; with friends like hers, it is not much of a surprise. They paid me not even the slightest heed as they hastened to her side to comfort her.”

Chrysalis was silent for a moment before turning and leaving. Star Swirl watched her, glanced back briefly at the light coming from Twilight’s room, and then followed Chrysalis onto a balcony. She was standing at the banister, looking up into the gathering twilight of dusk at the first star of the night. Without even a word Star Swirl stood next to her.

“What troubles you so, Queen Chrysalis?” He inquired.

“I…” She began, hesitating only briefly. “I never meant them any ill will; what I did, I did to ensure my brood survived. Maybe there had been another option – another way – to acquire the emotions we needed to survive, but my brood was starving and I was desperate. In another time and place, if things had been different, I would have congratulated the two on their marriage.” Chrysalis looked away, ashamed. “Instead, I harmed them grievously, nearly robbing them of a time of celebration and joy… just so my people could eat.”

“You did what you had to do, your majesty. Being a leader means you must put the needs of your charges above those of another; even if it means you must go to war.” Star Swirl said.

“That does not make what I did right. I should have brought my issue to Celestia in the hopes that she would be able to aid me, but I did not.” Chrysalis shook her head and looked at Star Swirl. “My crimes are my own, now, and I must be willing to bear the stigma of those decisions.”

“I do not hold judgment against you, Queen Chrysalis, as it is not my place to do so.” Star Swirl looked over the railing, down to where the Mischief Maker sat. The Guardians were checking the ship for any defects while a pair of changelings worked together to move the last crate into the castle. “You are making the proper steps toward redemption, though; many lives would have been lost without your changelings to help and the survivors are all the more thankful that they were present.”

“I… thank you, Master Star Swirl, but I am not worthy of redemption.” Chrysalis replied.

“Only those who do not seek it are unworthy of redemption, your majesty.” Star Swirl told her, and then he saw the doors to the castle open, letting Twilight Sparkle and her friends out of the castle.

Twilight Sparkle approached the Mischief Maker and stopped, looking up at it apprehensively. Aveline strode down the ramp to her and smiled.

“The last of the crates have been offloaded; are you ready to leave, Twilight?” Aveline asked and Twilight hesitated before nodding slowly. “Okay, we’ll get the engines started. It will take a few minutes if you want to say goodbye.”

Aveline went back into the ship and Twilight turned to her friends.

“Well, guess I’m off… to another planet.” Twilight said and each of her friends hugged her one last time.

“Ya take care up there, Sugarcube.”

“Do come back safely, Darling.”

“Don’t worry about us; if those Vex come knocking we’ll kick their flanks!”

“P-Please… come back quickly… i-if you can, that is.”

“And make sure you bring me a whole bunch of souvenirs!”

Twilight smiled at all her friends and then looked at Spike.

“Are you sure you’re ready for this, Spike?” She asked and the dragon nodded determinedly.

“Where you go, I go. You’ll need my help out there to help Equestria.” Spike said. “It’s… what Shining Armor would do.”

With all said and done, Twilight and Spike also ascended the ramp into the ship, but Twilight stopped midway and turned back to her friends.

“Applejack?” She said quietly and the farm pony looked at her curiously. Twilight hesitated a moment before continuing. “Does… does it ever stop hurting?”

Applejack froze and very briefly her eyes changed from those of the tough-as-nails foremare who runs Sweet Apple Acres, to the eyes of a mare who woke up everyday missing the parents she loved dearly.

“No Sugarcube… it don’t ever stop hurtin’; ya jus’ get used to the pain is all.” Applejack said finally.

Twilight waited a moment before turning back to continue ascending the ramp. At the top she found Samson and Gospel waiting for her. The Titan approached Twilight and knelt so he was as close to eye level as he could be.

“We’ll protect Equestria until you get back, I promise.” Samson said.

“Thank you, Samson.” Twilight replied with a smile.

Samson nodded and rose, to be replaced by Gospel who crouched down and looked into Twilight’s eyes as well.

“Hey, Twilight.” He began. “Before you go, I just wanted to apologize for my attitude. I haven’t exactly been… nice in response to your generous hospitality. However, I am grateful for your incredible patience throughout, so… thanks, Sparkle.”

Twilight dipped her head politely. “Apology accepted, Gospel-”

“You don’t have to call me that.” Gospel interrupted. “You and your friends can call me Ian.”

“Thank you… Gospel.” Twilight continued with a coy smile… which faded. “But you don’t have to apologize; after what I saw today… I completely understand why you were so apprehensive.”

“Doesn’t excuse my behavior. And it’s a good indicator of what to expect on Earth.” Gospel stated seriously. “Be careful up there, Sparkle, and don’t back down; keep pressing and they should listen.”

Twilight nodded.

“I’ll remember that… Ian.” She said and Gospel clapped her on the withers lightly and left the ship. Twilight turned back to her friends outside of the ship, who were now joined by Samson and Gospel.

They all waved at her and she returned the wave. The ship roared to life and began to ascend, with the ramp retracting back into the ship and sealing it with a hiss. Twilight watched until the ramp closed and then trotted into the cockpit of the Mischief Maker where Aveline was seated next to Wedge.

Samson, Gospel, Daring Do, Star Swirl, and Chrysalis entered the dining hall and at the end of the table, Samson laid out two maps; one of Equestria as a whole and one of Ponyville. Star Swirl glanced at them and sighed wearily.

“So it begins…” He murmured.

“Since we are currently Vex-free, we need to spend this time getting weapons ready and training ponies on how to use them.” Samson stated. “Gospel, gather up any interested unicorns and show them how to assemble guns. Chrysalis, spread your changelings out as far as you can afford; if the Vex move, I at least want a chance of seeing them coming.”

“I doubt we shall have much, if any, warning of an attack, but a chance is better than nothing.” Chrysalis replied and Samson looked at Star Swirl.

“Is there any magic that can help us?” He asked and the archmage nodded.

“I am certain I left at least one or two pieces of arcana that can assist us. The sooner I can get my research from Canterlot, the better.” Star Swirl replied.

“Daring Do, I want you to-” Samson began, but he looked at Chrysalis when she inclined her head, a low drone emanating from her. “Is there something the matter?”

After a moment of droning, Chrysalis’ eyes popped open and she suddenly looked at the entrance to the hall, stunned.

“Impossible…” She murmured. Everyone else looked from her, to the door just as it opened to reveal a white unicorn stallion with a blue mane. Samson and Gospel both stood straight while Daring Do covered her mouth with a hoof and Star Swirl gawked, amazed.

“We… have a serious problem on our hooves, everybody.” Shining Armor stated, tossing a Vex corpse onto the floor. “I really hope you’ve got some kind of plan.”

Author's Note

Grimoire card acquired: Journal Entry I

Journal Entry I:

Date: XX-XX-XXXX of the reign of the Royal Sisters

By the stars, has so much time been robbed of me? Truly I know not if this is a blessing or a curse… though, perhaps it is both. When I was captured, Equestria had just seen the end of a winter that threatened to exterminate us all. The pony tribes had come to peaceful terms and were only just barely beginning to intermingle. The Equestria I have returned to is almost wholly a different world.

If you had told me, over a thousand years ago, that war would become an unfathomable term; that pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies would co-exist happily; that nearly all today’s youth would have almost indeterminate tribal heritage…

I would have laughed at your naiveté. As much as I would have desired such a future, I would not have ever dreamt it a possibility. Yet somehow, against all odds… she did it; she performed the impossible!

They do not see themselves as superior to the others, they do not see themselves as being of three separate tribes! Today’s ponies see themselves as being one nation, one people; the people of a truly unified Equestria! It took my old pupil, Celestia, almost a thousand years of ruling while simultaneously bearing the burdens of both sun and moon but… she did it.

I shall fight to my last breath for this present; the Vex shall not rob me of anything else in this world!