Chapters Even before he became the immortal King of Equestria, Wayvern was having a crummy life. Before waking up in the middle of a field Wayvern could only remember was his name. He also remembered that he had a very crummy nap before he woke up without his memory, but that did little to alleviate his fears.
“Twi’, we’ve gotta do somethin’!” Wayvern heard voices as he woke up.
“What do you propose we do Applejack?”
“I dunno!” when Wayvern did wake up he saw two mares. One was a purple alicorn with a pink streak in her mane and tail and a star on her flank, and the other was an orange earthling with a cowgirl hat and blond mane and tail with three apples on her flank. Whatever those pictures were, Wayvern couldn’t remember what it was called if he ever knew it.
“You’re awake!” the one called Applejack said.
“There are better places to sleep than on the ground you know,” Twi said. They helped Wayvern up.
“Thank you both,” Wayvern said ignoring the ringing in his ears and pounding in his head. “Might I ask where we are?”
“Just outside the Everfree Forest,” Applejack said. “I’m Applejack by the way.”
“Twilight Sparkle’s my name,” Twi’ said. “Who are you?”
“I’m Wayvern…” He said before flinching, then, “that’s all I remember.” They looked at him with skeptical expressions. “I’m serious, I don’t remember anything else.” Twilight Sparkle seemed to get it. Nodding, she offered a solution that Wayvern did not understand.
“Maybe the princesses would know you better. After all, it’s not every day you see a male Alicorn in Equestria, or anywhere for that matter.”
Applejack went back to her place when Twilight said that she could take it from there. He kept the attention of everypony in the small town they were in. they got on a train and the attention was still on him. Wayvern wanted to shrink away. The attention was making him very uncomfortable. First thing they did when they reached their stop, they bought a coat to cover Wayvern’s wings.
Wayvern saw two incredible princesses when Twilight took him to the throne room of Castle Canterlot. The older one looked in shock at the doorway when Wayvern walked in and took off his coat. He didn’t expect Celestia to so much as bow to him, but he certainly didn’t expect a hug from her.
“It’s been so long, Brother.” At this, Wayvern, Luna and Twilight’s jaws practically hit the dirt. “Tell me, how was your journey!? I want to know every detail!”
“That makes two of us.” Wayvern said. Celestia looked confused. Twilight approached them and cleared her throat.
“He doesn’t remember anything,” Twilight said. “Which is why we came here, we thought you would know him… we were right apparently.”
“Celestia… Why have I not heard of a brother before now?” Luna asked when her jaw came up off the floor. She looked at Wayvern, who in turn looked at her for anything to tickle the memory. He didn’t find anything.
“Wayvern wanted to meet you after his journey,” Celestia said. “He didn’t want me to mention him to you, to anypony, until he got back. You were born weeks before he left.”
“But if I’m your brother…” Wayvern put two and two together. “That makes me the…” The “four” he got, he didn’t really like.
“King of Equestria,” Celestia finished for him. The weight of having someone else say it was multiplied.
Author's Note
Please know that I tried to improve this story, so don't hate me. Also, this was technically the first strictly pony story I ever wrote, so if it's not as good as the other stuff, know that this came before the improvements that were introduced in the other stories.
Over the next few weeks, Wayvern was made to study royal magic and etiquette, along with some of Equestria’s thousand years of known history. He wasn’t mentioned in any of the records since its founding.
“I couldn’t find anything on you in history either,” Twilight came in during one of his sessions. “And I own a copy of every book in Equestria.” Wayvern thought it over. If he was the rightful king, why did leave Celestia to share diplomatic power with Luna, Cadence, and more recently, Twilight?
“How did Celestia come to power?” Wayvern asked.
“What do you mean?” Twilight asked
“I mean, if I’m the rightful king, why is Celestia the highest authority?”
“You had other responsibilities, Wayvern,” Celestia entered the room. “You had to leave those eleven Centuries ago to fulfill them. You were a Shadow Reaper.”
“What’s a Shadow?” Twilight asked.
“Monsters,” Wayvern said. “They could destroy entire worlds if they were allowed to… After Luna was born my parents were killed by Shadow in the Line of duty, and I took their place as a Reaper.” Silence. Celestia looked somberly at the floor as she excused herself. Twilight, apparently sensing the tension that Wayvern was feeling, made up an excuse about meeting her friends at one of the cafés in town and followed Celestia. Leaving Wayvern on his own to think about this.
“Wayvern, wake up. It’s almost time for your Coronation.”
Some memories are better left forgotten. Wayvern learned that moments after he was crowned King of Equestria. The ceremony was uncomfortable, for the Equestrian Government their subjects, and especially for Wayvern. Twilight’s friends stood with her on either side of the doorway to the balcony where he would be crowned. Applejack, Fluttershy and Rarity on the left, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie on the Right. Twilight stopped him when he was about to step onto the balcony to commence the ceremony.
“I want you to know that I only want what’s best, for Equestria and you, when I say this,” She said. “But you don’t have to do this.”
“If it really were my decision, I wouldn’t be doing it at all,” Wayvern said. He opened the door and light filled his vision and his mind as he started to remember something. He got a lot of memory back, every single moment centered on a Reaper called Avalanche. Avalanche wasn’t Equestrian, he was… something else, called himself Conduit. As far as Wayvern could tell from the out-of-body memories, he and Avalanche were very close friends… and then Avalanche was killed in action. Before Wayvern’s eyes no less. When Wayvern Did finish off the Shadow that killed Avalanche, he went to find him still breathing.
“Wayvern… you have to… Live… for the… Both of us…” those were Avalanche’s Last words. When he stopped remembering Avalanche for five minutes, he looked out to the crowd and saw uneasy smiles cheering for their new king.Go ahead Wayvern, He heard Avalanche say. Tell them the truth. Make this mean something.
“Everypony! I have something to say!” Wayvern started. “If the rule were my decision, I’d leave it to Celestia and the others!” Everypony laughed at this as it was meant to be a joke. “However the decision is not mine to make, this legacy is mine to uphold and I must do so, for your sakes and my own! I do not expect your support immediately, but I expect your respect. I don’t care if you respect me as king, but you will respect me as one of your own kind if I am to be a successful ruler!” With that the Cheers actually had some genuine feeling behind them as the crowd roared his name. “Thank you!”
And thank you, Avalanche, Wayvern thought to himself.
The life of a ruler was difficult. But the entire time Celestia, Luna and Twilight were there to help him govern their respective domains, Celestia aided Canterlot and predominantly Unicorn populated cities, Luna helped with Cloudsdale and the Pegasus population, and Twilight represented Ponyville and the Earthlings. Every day, he went to get the work out of the way first, sometimes working straight through scheduled breaks to get something done, and at night he plopped on his bed and went into a dream like he was somepony else.
Wayvern was in the middle of an audience with a member of the Apple family of farmers, something about a concern for a supplier’s latest shipment’s failure to arrive. Suddenly he heard a voice echo throughout the chamber.
“KING OF EQUESTRIA! I HAVE COME FOR THEE!”
Everypony rushed outside to see a giant mass of shadow cover Canterlot. Wayvern recognized this voice, but he couldn’t remember where he heard it before now. The shadow formed a pillar that got more and more concentrated on the base on the balcony where Wayvern and the others stood. When the Darkness faded, a cloaked figure stood up from his crouched position, and he removed his hood to reveal a masque, spikey blond hair and soulless green eyes.
“Relius!” the name fell off Wayvern’s lips
“I see you’ve finally found your way home… Reaper.”
“I see you found me… Shadow King.” Everypony looked at Relius with fear, even Celestia. Wayvern didn’t feel fear. What he felt was a reminder of the moment of Avalanche’s death. He remembered now. It was Relius who killed Avalanche. What he felt was straight up hatred.
“Evolution! Execution!” Wayvern was remembering things left and right today. His body changed shape with this phrase, he started to stand on his hind legs, and clothes started to cover his body. He started to become human.
Wayvern’s Transformation subsided, and everypony stared at him in awe. The light that surrounded him split into seven spheres and circled around him. There was a broken sword’s hilt on the back of his waist. He grabbed it and pulled it, as if to draw it from a scabbard.
“Hummingbird.” When Wayvern said the name of the sword, the seven lights circled faster and formed the rest of Hummingbird’s massive single edged blade. The Sword at Relius’ side was similar to Hummingbird, therefore Wayvern couldn’t see how it fit into that scabbard fit for a broadsword. He also couldn’t see how either one moved so quickly, but then again Magic explains the unexplainable. It was double edged red blade with a rapier style guard and hilt, which looked ridiculous on this sword.
Wayvern held Hummingbird out in front of him with one hand, an impressive feat even to him. They started the clash on the balcony and it quickly turned to the side of the tower. They kept rushing each other, countering blow for blow. All the while, the memories that Wayvern lost started to flood back to him. His parents were brutally murdered by this creep when he was ten, his best friend was killed in a fight against a brainwashed dragon, and Hummingbird, his greatest inheritance was all he had left of all of them. Finally his rage subsided as he remembered why he became a Reaper when he did.
He felt alone when his parents were killed by this guy. Hopeless, hurt. He never wanted anyone else to feel like that again, not just from Equestria, but anywhere that could create a Reaper, anywhere that could sustain life. He knocked Relius against the tower and drove Hummingbird through his stomach. Knowing what Relius could do, it wasn’t over. Relius faded into dust slowly. It gave Wayvern enough time to say something to Relius.
“One of these days, Justice will be served.”
“What did you say to Relius?” Twilight asked.
“It wasn’t anything important.” Wayvern said. The way he saw it, that was true, he thought it was the most clichéd thing you could say to someone who wanted to kill you and everything you love.
“It looked like you remembered something during the fight,” Rainbow Dash said. “Can you tell us what it was?” Wayvern hesitated. He still had a lot of questions about who he could trust, why the five of Twilight’s best friends cared so much as an iota about him, but he decided it couldn’t hurt.
“The fight brought back a lot of memory. But some of it isn’t my own. Before I was made an official Shadow Reaper I was exposed to Timeblood Addiction. My… friend, Avalanche protected me while I recovered from it.”
“What’s Timeblood?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Timeblood is the recyclable material used to create the soul of a living being. Only a small amount is needed to create a healthy soul, so exposure to too much could kill someone.” Wayvern explained. Rainbow Dash didn’t seem to get it, so he made a note to try to dumb it down for her later. “Anyway during my recovery, I started to get Avalanche’s Memories mixed into my own, and not just his, but anyone who came into physical contact with me. A few months later, Relius, the Shadow King, brainwashed the mind of a dragon and sent him against me and Avalanche. I was able to recover in time to deal the final blow. But Avalanche was fatally wounded. He gave me Hummingbird, my father’s sword, before he died. As his apprentice, Avalanche was very close to my father.”
“Is that everything you forgot?” Twilight asked.
“No. There’s years missing from my life, but there are small things from anyone else’s. like the fact that the dragon had a name. Spike.” Twilight and Rainbow Dash looked at each other with shock. They excused themselves, saying that there was somepony they had to check on.
“This is Snowdrop’s Memorial,” a voice said behind him. He turned around to find Luna looking at him with a warm smile, like she understood something. “She was a friend of mine.”
“Was?”
“A thousand years ago, she invented the snowflake.” Luna said. That cleared that confusion up. “The feat was very impressive. Though the product was underwhelming at the time, the effort was undoubtedly a struggle. That was mostly because, well, she was blind.”
“I’m so sorry,” Wayvern said. “What did it look like?” Luna pulled out a crystal replica of the flake that Snowdrop made. It was asymmetrical and sloppy, but Wayvern found the way light shown through it beautiful nonetheless.
“She understood the beauty in all things better than anyone, even though she could not see it. It’s partly because she died that I became Nightmare Moon that very year.”
“What’s… Nightmare Moon?”
“In short, me being a jealous moron. I wanted to block out the day, and rule Equestria through the night… nopony seemed to see any beauty in my night, only darkness and cold. The only exception was Snowdrop, and the night she died, I outright refused to lower the moon.”
“Again, I’m sorry,” he said.
“Don’t be, you understand how it was better than anypony.” Wayvern was confused until he remembered Avalanche. Avalanche died because Wayvern couldn’t do anything to help him.
“You were eavesdropping?” He said. Luna shrugged modestly, meaning she didn’t mean to. “So Snowdrop was like a Teacher to you?”
“Well, she taught me forgiveness, and value in what can’t be seen.” As a tear rolled down Luna’s cheek, Wayvern turned to the jar, starting to remember everything about Snowdrop from how Luna saw it. He knelt before it.
“I wish I could’ve met you, Snowdrop,” he whispered to it. Behind him he heard the clopping of hooves on the tiles at a galloping pace, and he and Luna turned around to see Twilight with a baby Dragon running their way. When she got to them she was panting.
“Wayvern… is this… the dragon?” she said between breaths.
“It looks like him, but it can’t be, the dragon that killed my mentor died eleven centuries ago.”
“But… I’m Spike,” The dragon said.
“Then let me check something.” This was the first time that Wayvern used Magic, practically or otherwise. The spell he used checked biological history as visions towards the caster. The memory in the dream came up among others.
“The Spike I remember is this Spike’s Ancestor,” Wayvern said. Wait… my dad got out of that, Wayvern thought to himself. How?
Author's Note
If you hate this story, explain why calmly so i can improve it, otherwise I swear the end redeems everything else.
Author's Note
I hate you all enough to keep this going.
Battle
Wayvern was bored out of his mind. He was amazed that Celestia had the patience to govern a kingdom as quiet as this one daily. That changed when Twilight came rushing into the throne room panting like she just ran a marathon.
“Wayvern! We’ve got a Shadow attacking Ponyville!” Wayvern was regretting his desire for excitement when he heard “Shadow.” He immediately rushed to Ponyville as fast as his wings would take him, and found the Shadow burning everything just by walking by it. Wayvern started the fight with an Alicorn Magic blast to the face, which knocked him back a few feet.
“One of you actually has the nerve to fight back, eh?” He said as Wayvern landed. “This place just got a lot more interesting.”
“I am Wayvern, King of Equestria! I will not stand by as you murder my innocent subjects!”
“Is your army so weak that you have to fight your battles yourself!?” he raised his arms. “I am Pyrhon! Shadow of the Flaming Stars! You will die for standing in my way!”
“There’s a lot you don’t know about me!” Wayvern raised his head, and recited the incantation. “Evolution! Execution!”
The fight started with Wayvern clashing Humming against the gauntlet of Pyrhon’s Armor.
“A Reaper!” Pyrhon shouted. “Why would a Reaper be here!?”
“Ask your king. That is, if you get the chance to see him again!” Wayvern yelled. He broke the struggle and they jumped to the top of the Clock Tower and the Town Hall. Wayvern leapt off the town hall roof, and swung Hummingbird to keep momentum in the air. Dodging Fireballs shot from Pyrhon’s wrists, sometimes batting them back or away, was hard with no ground to control the direction you move in. Finally Wayvern found the weak point of Every Shadow, the Core, and Split it down the middle with Hummingbird. But that alone is never the end of a Shadow. Pyrhon just got bigger. Wayvern was in trouble, he didn’t remember how he got rid of the Giant Shadow. Until he remembered Babylon and the Colossal Sword.
“Wayvern!” Celestia rushed to him. “How do you fight that!?”
“There’s an ancient spirit of gargantuan size able to cut down Shadow in their second life,” Wayvern explained. “If I can summon him, Babylon will have no trouble against Pyrhon.”
“What’s the catch?” Celestia said, detecting the problem in his voice.
“Babylon needs two Reapers to summon it. And they need to be perfectly compatible battle partners. If Avalanche were still alive I could do it, but…”
“I’ll help!” A voice said from behind them. Wayvern turned around to find an old friend standing behind them. His hair was red and spiky, like the flames of a forge. Behind his glasses were eyes that glittered a silvery grey, like the iron of an anvil. He was dressed in a Hakama, a traditional Samurai garb, with a Katana’s scabbard on his hip. The scabbard itself was empty, but he knew that it could be filled with any mineral and a katana would be made.
“Vulcan!” Wayvern rushed to his friend and high fived him. “What brings you to Equestria?”
“I heard that Relius returned, so I came to help investigate, and also the Universal Council wanted me to keep an eye on you, for security reasons.”
“You said that you could help summon this Babylon,” Celestia said. “Are you a compatible fighter with my brother?” Vulcan looked at Celestia and gave a look that concerned Wayvern.
“Not Exactly, but Wayvern possesses the memories of every living creature in the universe, or at least every creature in the universe that was alive during his time. I’m sure we can figure something out.” Something told Wayvern that was a hint. Then he got the idea.
“You want me to tap into your memories to learn your fighting style?”
“Right!” Vulcan said. “And you better hurry or the Shadow will burn down your home!” Pyrhon was already headed for Canterlot when Vulcan said this. Wayvern had to try the proposal. He focused on his friend hard enough to remember what he could about him. Then he started to remember from his point of view.
“I think I got it!”
“Let’s go!” they grabbed each other’s hand and raised them over their heads
“We call upon the Colossal Blade and the Spirit Babylon who wields it!” a giant stone warrior dropped out of the sky, pulled a golden sword off his back and prepared to fight Pyrhon. Pyrhon noticed Babylon, and pulled out a flaming sword. At first Babylon had trouble attacking Pyrhon with his attacks phasing through the flames, but eventually, he managed to land a hit in the eye.
“You wanna do the Honors, Wayvern?” Vulcan asked.
“Got it!” Wayvern said. “Pulse Blast!” a vibration of the sword later and Pyrhon exploded.
“Why did the Council ask you to watch over me?” Wayvern asked Vulcan that night. They had gone over Canterlot giving Vulcan a tour of the city, and where retired on a balcony in the castle outside Wayvern’s room.
“Because of your memory issue,” Vulcan said. “I said it before, but you remember everything that any creature living during your time goes through, and you can control what you remember and at what point you remember it. That makes you the most valuable creature in the universe.”
“Heh, Did they tell you to watch me in secret?”
“Just the opposite, they wanted me to watch you directly and they wanted you to know that your friend was watching you.” Vulcan yawned and stretched his arms above his head. “I should head to the hotel, I’m getting tired.” Vulcan left the balcony and was escorted out by the royal guard. Wayvern looked in the mirror. He was in his Alicorn form again, spiky yellow mane and tail, blue fur and eyes, crown cutie-mark and a red collar around his neck. He had taken his gold and emerald crown off a little bit ago; it now sat in its place on a mannequin head in the corner.
It was well past midnight, and Wayvern was just lying in bed, awake as he was when he went. His head was swimming with things he couldn’t remember, the Council, Babylon, and one other thing he couldn’t put his finger on. Finally he decided to go for a walk. Eventually he somehow ended up back in Ponyville, where Pegasi were working diligently to repair the damage from earlier that day. Twilight was even pitching in with her magic. Everypony was working together so well, Wayvern decided to help. Every time somepony got hurt he was there to make sure that they could still work by using healing magic.
“Why are you helping us, Your Majesty?” Twilight asked.
“I couldn’t sleep,” Wayvern said. “I only decided to help because it was partly my fault.”
“You tried to stop it, so it’s not your fault at all.”
“Fine, tell me where you need me.”
“There were plenty of workers who were hurt in the Shadow attack. If you could help them and the other ponies, it’d be a great help.”
“Why did Vulcan call you the most important creature in the Universe?”
“You heard?”
“I was passing by after reporting the lack of casualties to princesses Celestia and Luna, but then I heard the conversation between you two.”
“So it was unintentional that you were eavesdropping?”
“Yes.”
Wayvern explained everything that Vulcan told him about. The council, from what he remembered, where a group of individual immortals representing each species in the universe. They wanted him to stay safe, because he was important to the future of the universe for some odd reason.
Wayvern was in Cloudsdale, escorted by Rainbow Dash. He was on official business involving the Council, according to Vulcan. He had to perform census for everypony who got hurt in the Shadow attack. No casualties were to report. Then Wayvern heard singing.
“Toue Lei Zue Kuroa Ryuo Toue Zue
Wayvern recognized the song. It wasn’t from his own memories, but from the early memories of a filly named… what was it? His memories were too shocked to get it at the moment. He went to the source to find Rainbow Dash was the one singing the song.
“Dash,” Wayvern said. “That song…”
Dash looked shocked. But she went right back to her memorabilia. “It was a lullaby I made for my cousin, both our parents passed when I was old enough to have a job, but I couldn’t afford to put a roof over her head and food on the table for her just yet. So I put her in an orphanage. It closed down a few months later, and she was moved to another. I never found out which one.”
“I remember it.” The words seemed to confuse Rainbow. “I mean I think I came in contact with your cousin recently. Do you remember her name?”
“She was very little; I doubt I’d recognize her now. She didn’t have a name back then.”
“Can you teach me the song, so that I can identify your cousin next time I see her?”
Dash taught Wayvern the song, though he wasn’t quite as good at singing it as she was. Over the next week Wayvern was singing the lullaby every time he was in Ponyville, because he remembered the memory starting there. On the seventh day of his visits to Ponyville, he was approached by a young mare. She had short magenta mane and an orange body. She was a Pegasus, making Wayvern think he found Dash’s cousin.
“Your Majesty!?” she exclaimed when Wayvern looked at her.
“And who are you?” he said as gently as he could.
“I’m Scootaloo, one of the injured in the last Shadow attack. You healed me, remember?” Wayvern realized that he was right. He got the memory in Ponyville.
“I’m sorry but I healed a lot of ponies that day, I don’t recognize a single one from the rest… until now that is.”
“Oh…” Scootaloo seemed to lose some excitement. “That song… I remember it.”
“I know, I’m singing it from your memory...mostly, anyway,” Wayvern went to explain his special ability to Scootaloo. If it’s a living creature and he comes in contact with it, he can remember the experiences of that Creature, even if they die moments later. “And I learned recently that it was the memory holder’s cousin who sang it to her as a lullaby.” Scootaloo donned a face of disappointment.
“So, it can’t lead me to my parents…” she said with disappointment.
“I found the one who sang it, though.”
Author's Note
The Lullaby is sung "Tway Lay Zway Kro Ryo Tway Zway
Wayvern took Scootaloo and her friends, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, to Cupcake Corner to meet Scootaloo’s cousin.
“You sure you know who the cousin is?” Sweetie Belle asked. “I mean it’s a song, if you knew that song, anypony could.”
“This song is special,” Wayvern said. “None of the words are words we know, they were in another language that doesn’t exist on this planet.”
“How did Scootaloo’s cousin learn it then?” Apple Bloom pointed out.
“I have an idea.” Eventually Rainbow Dash walked into the shop.
“Wayvern?” Dash asked. “You said you found somepony I needed to meet?”
“Yeah,” Wayvern said. “I kept singing the song for a week. Eventually Scootaloo here recognized the song.” Scootaloo and Rainbow kept looking at each other like they fell out of space. Living in the same town as each other and not even knowing that they were cousins. That was a shock that Wayvern could never understand even with the shared memory ability of his. It was around the time of this shock that an implosion rocked the building. All light in the area was shut out. Wayvern rushed outside to see that the sky was black, no sun, moon or stars. He tried using magic to illuminate the surrounding area, but it just got sucked in the direction of the implosion.
“What happened!?” Dash shouted. “There’s no light out here!”
“Shadow!” Wayvern realized. Eventually, the shadows subsided enough for a light source to come towards them.
“I am Oren! Shadow of the Predator World!” The little orb said. Then Wayvern realized that the orb wasn’t the Shadow, it was a lure. Oren was in the shadows behind the lure.
“I take it you’re here for me?” Wayvern stepped closer to the lure. “Evolution! Execution!” the incantation was said but the transformation never happened. Then it hit Wayvern harder than a train. Why would a light based transformation work in a space that has a light particle sucking Shadow in it?
“You know the incantation!” Oren said. “You must be the one I’m looking for!” he felt the creature lung in the shadows, but he couldn’t tell from which direction. When the impact finally did hit, it knocked Wayvern down and pinned him there. The when Wayvern thought he was going to die, he heard something, like a “pop” and a “bang” all in one. The lure fell off the Shadow’s head and released all the light back to the area. The light revealed a fish walking on its fins as if they were legs. Its teeth were long and sharp as icicles, only more stable. It’s sleek, slimy blue body writhed in pain as Wayvern got up.
“Dante!” Wayvern shouted as he remembered the name.
“Sorry it took so long to get here, Boss.”
“You got here just in time! Thanks!” Wayvern recited the incantation and drew Hummingbird off his back.
Vulcan joined the fight when Wayvern was knocked out by one of Oren’s shadow blasts seconds after he transformed. Wayvern was only conscious for long enough to see Babylon be summoned by Dante and Vulcan. Then he slipped into the darkness.
“What is this?” Wayvern said. He didn’t expect an answer, but that’s what he got from the depths of his mind.
This is… the Abysmal Trials, it said. You have… a greater power… within you… it’s time you gave it shape. Three lights shined through the Darkness and came closer to the ground that Wayvern was standing on they changed shape to a Pegasus wing, a pony hoof, and a Unicorn’s horn. Wayvern stepped in the middle of these three appendages and waited for instruction. You must decide… what drives… your power. The voice said. The Power of the Winged… the Power of the Magical… or the Power of the Steady.
Wayvern walked up to the wing. The Power of the Winged… incredible speed, a razor feather that could slice a mountain… is this what guides you? Wayvern thought about it… but decided that it wasn’t right. He went to the horn. The power of the Magical… immeasurable wisdom, bones that could move without touch…is this what drives you? Again, Wayvern felt wrong and just walked away. The Power of the Steady… strong will, a body fit to aid the weak… is this what you choose? None of the answers were right for him. He couldn’t choose just one as his motivation. Finally he stepped back into the middle of the glass and announced:
“I can’t choose my one motivation!”
It is over… the voice said. Wayvern expected that he failed. But the voice said something beyond that. You passed the challenge… as a trophy… your power… Apocalypse. The three dream pieces faded and in the place of the wing was a sword with two single edge blades and a spike all on one hilt. It was made of a black metal, and the leather had a silvery glow to it. Wayvern walked over to the sword and reluctantly grabbed it by the hilt. A bright light flashed and he woke up in his room back in Canterlot.
The first face Wayvern noticed when he woke up was Dante’s. He was reminded that his wasn’t the only family of Reapers from Equestria. Dante’s Inferno was a red colt, about as red as magma, his mane was black as coal and his eye reminded him of a gold nugget. The right socket was covered by an eye patch.
“Thank Celestia your awake,” he said. “You had me worried there boss.”
“I’ll be fine, don’t worry,” Wayvern said. “Did anypony call for me while I was out?”
“Your sister, Luna said that she needed you to meet somepony ASAP.” Dante led Wayvern to Luna, who was in the gardens standing in front of a statue of a horrendously mismatched monster.
“Is this who you wanted me to meet?” Wayvern said jokingly. Luna turned around and said the most unexpected thing in the most serious voice possible.
“Yes, this is Discord, the Spirit that Celestia told you about.”
“What do you want me to meet him for?” Wayvern said.
“There’s something about him that just keeps me thinking, ‘what is he? Where did he come from?’” Wayvern looked at the statue and felt a certain familiarity about it.
“How can I ask that question?”
“Twilight is on her way here, she’ll have him come and meet you.”
Twilight arrived and sent a telepathic message to Discord. When Discord actually arrived he was in a reading chair looking at a copy of the latest paper. When he looked up he folded the paper and put it in a pocket that he pulled out of the side of his body.
“Hello, my friends… and new pony… to what do I owe the pleasure of this summons?”
“We just wanted you to meet the new king,” Twilight said. Wayvern stuck out his hoof and introduced himself. Discord took it and shook.
“Yours is very… interesting,” Wayvern said to Discord.
“What do you mean?”
“Your past…you weren’t always the spirit of chaos and disharmony.”
“How do you know?”
“I have the innate ability to ‘inherit’ the memories of anypony I come in contact with… now as I was saying. You were once a pony, but you were a victim of a terrible magic accident that transformed your body and aura. You were a fine father and a loving one at tha-…” Wayvern stopped when a certain memory popped up, a memory of a small alicorn colt and a similar mare surrounding a hospital bed with Discord and an alicorn Mother holding a blue and indigo alicorn filly in her hooves. Wayvern remembered that too! That was just after Luna’s Birth! “Sweet Celestia…”
“Excuse me?” Celestia responded.
“Sorry, just… something caught me off guard.”
“What?” Discord said. “I’ve been causing chaos for so long, not knowing why, and I’m so close now, What else is there!?”
“Nothing… I just… it’s nothing.”
Everypony was confused.
Wayvern was letting Celestia take care of regal business over the next two weeks. On the fifteenth day Wayvern had to go to the Crystal Empire with Celestia, Luna, Twilight and her friends. According to one Princess Cadence something happened that shouldn’t have.
“What happened?” Wayvern said after he met Cadence and Twilight’s brother Shining Armor.
“Sunset Shimmer…” Cadence said. “She’s returned!” Twilight’s eyes shot open wide.
“It can’t be!” She said. “It hasn’t been thirty moons yet!”
“That’s what I thought.” Another unicorn walked into the throne room. She was fiery colored with red and yellow mane and an orange body. Her cutie mark was a setting sun. “But I found myself here when I needed it most.”
“What do you need from us?” Wayvern asked.
“A monster is attacking Canterlot City, and it’s looking for someone named… Wayvern.”
“It has to be a Shadow,” Celestia said. “No other monster knows about you Wayvern.”
“We can’t be sure sister,” Luna said. “Sunset Shimmer could be playing another trick.”
Wayvern wasn’t paying a lot of attention to the argument in the meeting room. He was thinking too much about Discord and the memories he inherited from the spirit of Chaos. Celestia and Luna were both accounted for, and his mother was actually in the memory… so by process of elimination… Twilight nudged him from the seat to his left.
“I’m sorry?”
“I said; we should send a search party to see what’s going on in Canterlot City, Right?” Cadence said. Wayvern took a few seconds to think about it. A search party wouldn’t be able to take on a Shadow if Sunset Shimmer was telling the Truth. He had to go himself.
“That won’t be necessary,” Wayvern decided. “If anypony here has gone to Sunset Shimmer’s world before, I’d like your assistance.” Twilight was the only one who stood. “Discord, you’re coming with us.”
“Why might I ask?” Discord said.
“Because your memories suggest you were a Reaper before.” Wayvern didn’t look away from Discord for a second. “I need to confirm my suspicions.”
Author's Note
Yeah i wrote this chapter before Rainbow Rocks came out so please excuse the lapse in logic.
Author's Note
I'm cancelling Final Flashlight, and finishing posting this story, but that's it, i'll be done after that.
Parents
Wayvern woke up next to a statue in a plaza. He saw creatures standing over him with worried looks on their faces. When his vision finally settled he recognized the species of creature. The inhabitants of this world were human! Yeah they were multicolored like the ponies of Equestria, but still, their skeletal structure couldn’t be anything other than human.
“Hey! Are ya’ alright!?” one of them asked. It was a girl by the sound of it. The accent placed her origin as country. He scanned the crowd for her and found her, not believing his eyes.
“Applejack!?” the clone of Applejack wore the same hat and had the same facial features… for a human. She wore a denim skirt, western boots with three apples on each one, and a flannel blouse.
“That’s m’ name… did ya’ come from Equestria? Is Twilight with ya’!?”
“Yeah, I came from Equestria…” He said with one hand on the bump on his head. “TWILIGHT!” with that Wayvern ran away from the crowd with Applejack’s Doppelganger on his tail. He searched the entire area of a mile before he heard Twilight scream. He followed the source until he found a human version of her backing into a corner when Wayvern got a good look at the thing that was cornering her, he knew that Sunset Shimmer wasn’t lying. There was a Shadow in Canterlot City.
“No… Twilight’s in danger!”
“I’ve got this Applejack,” Wayvern said. “Just wait for my signal to pull Twilight out of there.”
“You’re goin’ up against that thing alone!?” Applejack looked at him like he was going to die. “You’re insane!” Wayvern grabbed Applejack’s arms and looked her in the eyes seriously.
“I’ve handled this kind of thing before, it’s my job,” he said. That wasn’t the main reason behind fighting this thing. He’d seen this particular Shadow before, and it killed his mother. He let go of Applejack and rushed into the open. He jumped up and drop kicked Soulbreak then pulled out the new standard transformer that Dante gave him issued by the Council. According to the instructions he read it was supposed to be a faster and more efficient way of becoming a Reaper.
“Evolution! Execution!” Wayvern said. The transformation was almost instant, and when he was a Reaper Applejack rushed onto the field and pulled Twilight out.
“So you’re the new King of Equestria!? You’re punier than I imagined.”
“You’re Soulbreak right? You’re the one who created the Elements of Harmony… I have to repay you for that.”
“Yeah, I did create the Elements didn’t I?… But what’s this about repaying me?”
“The elements are made of the first queen, Harmony’s spirit, which you split into six pieces,” as the words flowed from Wayvern’s mouth about his mother’s fate he reached for Hummingbird’s hilt, the rage filling his every action. “You will pay for what you did to my mother!”
Wayvern charged and was sent flying by Soulbreak’s backhand alone. He got up and was pushed back again and again.
“Your hate makes you weak!” Soulbreak said. “You won’t get your mother back by fighting me! What do you stand to gain!?”
“It’s not just about my mother!” Wayvern said. “You split my mother’s spirit into six and turned my father into a monster! I want my Father back!”
“You have your father, Wayvern!” Discord’s voice resonated through the battlefield. He jumped off a building and landed on his feet uninjured, the same monstrosity that Wayvern met in Equestria. “I remember now!” he pulled out a transformer and held it in front of him. “Evolution! Execution!” his form changed to that of a human with flowing black hair and blue eyes. He was wearing an armored Shōzoku, or ninja garb.
“Is that Dream Runner?” Twilight asked from the alley where she and Applejack hid. “Son of Starswirl the Bearded?”
“It is,” Wayvern said. “That’s the first King of Equestria… Dream Runner.”
“So you have Backup!” Soulbreak said. “I’ll still break you both!”
“I can forgive you for what you did to my wife,” Dream Runner said. “But you are still a Shadow, and must be destroyed.” He pulled a sword, scabbard and all, off his waist and shouted “Bezwinger!” Wayvern noticed small movements as Soulbreak took a beating.
“How’d he do that!?” Applejack asked. “He didn’t even move!”
“Yeah he did, just faster than the eye can see,” Twilight said. Wayvern stood up and rushed to meet Dream Runner.
“Can you still fight, Wayvern? Or have you yet to forgive yourself for your mother’s death?”
“What?”
“You’re defeat wasn’t because you couldn’t forgive Soulbreak, it was because you couldn’t forgive yourself.”
Wayvern was so confused, so he ignored the thought and slashed the final blow across Soulbreak’s torso. The core was revealed and Dream Runner split it down the middle.
“You really are my father.” Wayvern said.
“Yes, son. Forgive me for the brevity of the reunion, but this is not the place to account the missing time.” Just as Dream Runner said that, the Second life of Soulbreak sprouted from the ashes.
When Dream Runner and Wayvern summoned Babylon, they appeared in a cockpit, like for a ship of sorts. There legs were locked into the machine and one hand, right for Wayvern left for Dream Runner, had a sensor-glove-thing on it.
“The Heck!?” Wayvern said. “What is this?”
“My Babylon needs two pilots to control its actions,” Dream runner said. “Since you were the one who helped summon it, you’re my co-pilot, now let’s fight!”
The Babylon that Dream Runner had didn’t even draw the Colossal Sword. It was able to fight with everything else, like shadow manipulation, kung-fu and ninjitsu. Eventually, the confusion was too much for Soulbreak, and a Pulse Blast through the heart was enough to wipe him out.
“What do you mean you can’t change back to Dream Runner!?” Twilight said to Discord when they returned to the surface.
“It’s part of the curse I saved Harmony from eleven centuries ago.” Discord explained. “I have to remain in existence to govern chaos, if ‘Discord’ doesn’t exist even for a moment…”
“The universe could be doomed to unlimited forms of chaos,” Wayvern said.
“That’s correct… Oh! What happened to your mother? I lost my memory when I was struck with this curse, so I haven’t seen her… where is she?” Wayvern remained silent.
“Discord… you didn’t hear what Wayvern said?” Twilight asked.
“No… I didn’t…”
“Mother’s spirit… was broken into six… by Soulbreak,” Wayvern explained. “She’s never coming back.” At this news it looked like Discord was about to cry… but then he started laughing, laughing at this. “Why are you laughing!?”
“Cushions the blow… but in all seriousness, just because I’m not Dream Runner anymore doesn’t mean I’m not your father anymore… I love you as a father should love his child, so don’t be discouraged that your mother is gone, you still have me… and that’s more than a lot of sentient beings have.”
Wayvern thought this over… and came to peace. “You’re right father… I do have you, and that’s all I could ask for… besides, mother’s spirit is the basic makeup for the Elements of Harmony, so you could say she’s still with us.”
Another feature to the Transformer that was now standard for the Shadow Reapers was telepathic communication with any sentient creature outside the radius of a mile. Wayvern was talking to Celestia via this system while Twilight was catching up with her friends on this side of the mirror, who reminded him of all her friends on their side of the mirror.
“Wayvern, I have some bad news,” Celestia said.
“What happened!? A Shadow attack!?” Wayvern became worried for his kingdom.
“No, even if a Shadow were to come to Equestria, we have Vulcan, and your apprentice,” Celestia assured. “The problem is that as soon as you walked through the mirror, it shattered. Give us a month to figure out how Twilight’s replica works and we’ll have you back by then”
“Twilight! Dad! I have bad news!” Twilight, her friends and Discord walked over to hear this news. “The Portal closed behind us, were stuck here for another month.”
“Another MONTH!?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. Her outfit was the most athletic of the group. She was wearing sporty boots, biking shorts, a workout skirt, a blue fleece vest and a tank top with Dash’s cutie mark on it. “What’ll you do in that time!?”
“There’s plenty they could do,” Fluttershy said. Her clothes were the girliest of the group… not an insult, just an observation. She wore a frilly green skirt with butterflies on it, a white tank top, and green high heel boots. “Help out at the Animal Shelter for one thing.” Wow… their personalities even matched their Equestrian counterparts… this was getting scary.
“Or they could go to school, right?” Pinkie Pie suggested. That was the most sensible thing that Pinkie suggested, human or otherwise. This Pinkie was wearing a blue sweater over a white shirt with a pink heart. She had a pink ribbon belt and a skirt that had three little balloons on it.
School… Wayvern never went to a real school. Even in Equestria he was home tutored by his parents. He liked the idea.
Discord filled out the paperwork for entering Canterlot High as best he could for both Twilight and Wayvern. No one seemed to notice it last time, but they weren’t getting away without the paperwork this time. The first day was just fine, everyone looked past Wayvern except for Twilight and the others… then he showed up.
“Twilight!?” The guy said. The group looked at him. He had spikey blue hair and a tan body he had a guitar case on his back and was dressed like a jock, blue leather jacket, jeans, red sneakers.
“Flash!” Twilight got up and hugged him, making Wayvern feel sick.
“So, Twilight,” Flash said. “You gonna introduce me to your friend here or what?” Wayvern turned around to meet Flash’s eyes.
“Wayvern,” He said as he stuck out his hand.
“Flash Sentry! Nice to meet you!” Flash shook his hand… when they let go, Flash looked concerned. “You okay man? You look a little green.”
“You know, I suddenly feel a little green, excuse me.” Wayvern rushed to the restroom. There he found an empty stall and hurled his guts out.
For the next three days, Wayvern couldn’t stand to even look at Twilight or Flash. He kept his distance from both of them, but they would eventually catch up to him. That’s when he would make an excuse to get away. Eventually though Flash caught him, and wouldn’t let go.
“What’s wrong with you, Wayvern!?” He said. “You looked like you were enjoying yourself a lot that first day at lunch, then I came over to say hi and you’ve been avoiding me and Twilight ever since! Why!?”
Wayvern couldn’t take any more of this torture, so he let go of the secret he was holding onto. “Ever since I first met you, I get sick, physically sick, when I look at either you or Twilight. Don’t get me wrong I have nothing against either of you, I just… get really sad when I think of you and Twilight.” Wayvern looked at the soccer field and watched as Rainbow Dash scored a practice goal for the Co-Ed soccer team.
“I think I get what’s wrong.” Wayvern listened intently as something shockingly appropriate escaped Flash’s lips. “You’re jealous of me. Twilight likes me, but never noticed you like that… but I wondered every day for the past two and a half years, am I really any good for her?”
“From what I know about you, you don’t have to be,” Wayvern said. He explained that there was a replica of everyone he met here in Equestria. If that were the case, Flash Sentry would be in that world too. “Besides… you’re a better option for her than I am.”
Flash laughed. “Why would you say that?” Wayvern explained why he came to Canterlot City in the first place, which led to him explaining his entire part in the Reaper community and his ability to remember anything that anyone he comes in contact with goes through. The smile on Flash’s face faded away. “Wouldn’t you rather she has a boyfriend who could protect her?”
“I’d rather she have a boyfriend who didn’t put her in danger in the first place. If I weren’t a Reap-… if I weren’t King… I’d try a lot harder.”
“Wait… King!?”
“Long story, I didn’t want to be.”
Flash Sentry and Wayvern were thick as thieves from that day forward. Everywhere they went they were together headed there. Twilight seemed happy with the change in Wayvern’s Attitude. Then one day, at the Cakes’ sweet shop Wayvern realized something. They still had no idea where to find the Flash Sentry of Equestria, and even if they did would he like Twilight at all?
“Excuse me for a second,” Wayvern stepped outside and let Twilight and Flash talk for a spell. He pulled out the Transformer and called Celestia. “It’s me,” Wayvern said. “Can you do me a favor?”
“Sure, what?” Celestia said.
“I need you to find a pony by the name of Flash Sentry… it’s for Twilight.”
“He’s in the royal guard, he’s with me right now.”
“Ask him how he feels about Twilight… tell me what he says later.” Wayvern hung up after noticing a bunch of people running his way from the direction of the school. Twilight and Flash came out to see what was going on… right when a possibility hit Wayvern.
“Flash, take Twilight and get out of here,” he said. He took off for the school without even checking to see if Flash was following orders. Wasn’t he surprised when Flash and Twilight grabbed him halfway to the school.
“Wayvern! What’s going on!?” Flash exclaimed.
“I think a Shadow is attacking the School!” Wayvern explained. “You wanna know more, ask Twilight, but I gotta take care of this!” He wriggled free of their grip and rushed to the school fighting the crowd that was moving away from the attack. When the Shadow was in sight, Wayvern stopped in his tracks. The Shadow that was attacking was… Relius, the Shadow King!
“Well, well, well,” Relius said as his sword was raised above his head. “You found my backup plan out, I’m Impressed.”
“What are you trying to do Relius!? Why do the Shadows want to destroy Worlds!?”
“Because our kind are born from destruction, we destroy, therefore we are. In other words, the more that is broken, damaged or demolished, the more of us there are.”
“Sorry Relius… but I can’t let that happen!” Wayvern pulled out the Transformer. “Evolution! Execution!” during his transformation, Relius shot a dark energy wave at Wayvern… but it took a second to realize that he wasn’t aiming for Wayvern at all. The energy wave was headed for something behind Wayvern… or someone!
“Sorry… Twilight’s tale was so… fantastic… I had to see it myself…”
“Are you alright?” Wayvern asked.
“He just got my arm… I think I’ll be fine.” Wayvern looked at the injury… and almost gagged at the sight, his arm was almost completely red with the blood that was seeping out of the wound. Wayvern materialized a bandage with the Transformer and tried to wrap it up to stop the bleeding.
“I’m sorry…”
“Why are you… apologizing?”
“This happened because I was slow, I didn’t react fast enough and you got hurt, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be… just get me… to a… hospital.”
After Wayvern got Flash admitted into the hospital, Wayvern tried calling Twilight. The call wouldn’t have worked either way because she came rushing in the room crying like a little girl. She fell onto Flash and cried while Flash hugged her with his good arm.
“I got an Answer from Flash Sentry. He likes her.”
“Good…” Wayvern said.
“By the way, is Discord Behaving?” he felt sick all over again. He still hadn’t told Celestia about Discord.
“He’s… helping,” Wayvern said. “In more ways than you could imagine… I wish I could stomach telling you more.”
“What do you mean?”
“Flash Sentry got hurt in this world.”
“What!? Is he okay!?”
“No, Celestia! He is not okay! It was Relius! And frankly I’m not okay either!”
“What do you mean?”
“I was talking to him earlier… about how I feel about Twilight… Yeah, I like her but if I were her I’d choose him, and this little Fiasco just proved why!”
“Flash Sentry isn’t Royal-“
“And Neither is Shining Armor but Cadence married him!”
Silence on the other end of the line, then, “I see your point, but what if Twilight’s destiny isn’t to marry a guard, but a king?”
“That's really petty of you Celestia!, Plus, I don’t want to put her in that kind of danger.”
“So… you don’t trust her?”
“What?”
“Ask her who she would choose between you and Flash Sentry. If she chooses you there’s nothing you can do about it.” The connection was cut at that. Twilight came up to him after thirty seconds.
“Wayvern? Why have you been avoiding us recently?” Wayvern turned around and touched her arm, taking everything she felt in. He didn’t see an ounce of hatred in there.
“I’m sorry Twilight…” He explained. “It was my fault that Flash got hurt… and that proved the reason why I think you should be with him…”
“Wait, Wayvern… What are you saying?”
“Sorry… I shouldn’t have brought it up.” He took three steps and heard something.
“Do you like me!?” Wayvern stopped in his tracks. He heard stories that went kind of like this. But in those stories, this situation came up, the answer from the guy always had something positive to it. He did not have anything positive to say.
“It doesn’t matter!”
“Of course it matters! If you like me, I might just choose you over him!”
“But if I were you I’d choose him over me, regardless of how I feel! Would you rather be with someone who could protect you from the danger they live in, or someone who wouldn’t put you in danger at all!?” Twilight looked shocked. Tears welled up in her frozen face of terrifying epiphany. “I thought so.” Wayvern walked away; completely unaware of the sheer volume of pain he just thrust onto Twilight.
Wayvern didn’t go home that night, he went to the school. He expected the grounds to be empty, but he forgot that the Co-Ed Soccer team had a game tonight. He just bought a ticket and took a seat to see Rainbow Dash score goal after goal. He didn’t see where he sat, didn’t see Fluttershy next to him, and didn’t hear her say hello. He just watched the game until Rainbow Dash got the last goal. Finally when he got up he noticed Fluttershy.
“Oh! How long have you been there?” Wayvern asked.
“The entire game,” Fluttershy said. “What happened? You didn’t look too happy, we even won.” Wayvern debated with himself whether or not to tell her what happened with Twilight. In the end the decision was to keep it to himself. Fluttershy didn’t seem to mind. They met up with Rainbow Dash and went out for some sundaes, all on Wayvern.
“So, Wayvern,” Rainbow Dash said. “Why’d you come to the game? You don’t seem to be the kind of guy who would be interested in that kind of thing.”
“I’m a little depressed.”
“What happened?” Again Wayvern thought about telling them, but this time he decided it couldn’t hurt... too much. He told them everything that happened, between his conversation with Celestia and the argument with Twilight there was an emotion ten times worse than anything he ever felt.
“The Choice you made was logical,” Fluttershy said. “My concern is whether or not it was the right choice.”
“Yeah, I mean, what danger could you possibly put Twilight in?” Dash said.
“If you only knew.”
Wayvern didn’t go home that night. He found a nice view of the night sky just outside Downtown, and laid down on the hill to take in the view. He was laying there for the rest of the night as nightmares tormented him. Each one about Twilight and Relius, and Wayvern not being strong enough to save her. When Wayvern woke up, he smelled awful. He check the watch that he was wearing when he got to Canterlot City and rushed to School when he found out it was almost time for the busses to come in. he made it in time and went to the gym, asking the teacher Iron Will to use the showers. He got the permission, mostly because his clothes stank like... never mind.
He was really early, not all the kids were at school yet. Thank goodness the list of those not there yet included Twilight and Flash. He didn’t want any more drama than he had.
Eventually, Twilight did come into the classroom. She looked at Wayvern, rubbed her eyes, then sat down looking steamed. Unfortunately, she sat right next to him in first period.
“Where’d you go?” Twilight said.
“I hardly think that matters.”
“I was worried you know, I thought you got lost, or were attacked or something!”
“Well, I’m fine. Why do you care?” that’s when he realized this world was rubbing off on them. He forgot for a moment that he was an alicorn king of a country of ponies, and that one of his subjects was Twilight. “Y’know what, never mind. I’m your country’s king and that’s all I’ll ever be.”
“Did you ever think that maybe I liked you too?”
“That what I’m afraid of the most.” Wayvern refused to respond to anything that Twilight had to say after that.
The rain came in halfway through that day. There was something draining about it. All the happiness people felt at the beginning of the day… all the love, all the joy, all the laughter… it was gone when the rain came around.
The only one who wasn’t affected by the rain at all was Wayvern. But he noticed the Drain, and seeing Pinkie Pie Irritable… that was scary. At the end of the day, Wayvern headed for the door, felt a finger tap on his shoulder and a fist in his face as he turned around. He looked to see who punched him and saw Flash’s blank stare.
“Flash!? What the Heck!?”
“It’s not your friend in there Reaper!” suddenly everyone around him looked at him with the same blank stare. And a Shadow that looked a little… cloudy came out of thin air.
“Who are you!?”
“I’m Storm!” the Shadow said. “The Shadow of Hypnosis! I take a Reaper’s friends and turn them against each other!”
“Why… WHY MINE!?”
“King Relius said that the Reaper here was a real threat to our existence. I was tasked with taking your friends and making sure you don’t fight back!” he picked out seven people from the crowd, Flash, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow, Pinkie and Twilight specifically. “These Friends of yours will be coming with me! You want them back? Meet me where their ancestors met yours!”
They Flew off towards the edge of the city.
Wayvern! Wait! Avalanche’s voice said in his head. Remember that if you want to save hostages, you have to have all the information first.
Avalanche… how are you talking to me? Wayvern asked.
I may be gone, but my spirit will be with you for the rest of your life… just as yours will eventually be with Dante’s Inferno for the rest of his. It’s how a Reaper is made better, the council calls it a “Spirit Guide.” Avalanche suggested contacting the Universal Council and checking their records to see what Storm meant. The problem was Wayvern still couldn’t remember how to contact them. Avalanche’s part was that actually.
“Wayvern,” Another voice said. “My name is Krystal Cove, the Representative for Equestria on the Council. Avalanche told me the situation. While I do not approve of your friendship with some of the inhabitants of the other world you are currently in, I must say it is necessary that you save your friends. The location Storm was most likely referring to is a mountain just a mile out, known as Tabletop Mountain. I have already given you access to Hummingbird’s Travel Form so getting there should be easy. Be careful.”
“Thank you, Krystal Cove,” Wayvern said.
The First time Wayvern ever saw his Second-Order form was when he went unconscious during The Fight with Oren. To Unlock a Reaper weapon’s Travel Form is to unlock the Reaper’s Second-Order form, which, for Wayvern meant an upgraded sword called Apocalypse. The code for this transformation was sent to the Transformer, “Kōtei Wayvern” (Literal Translation: Emperor Wayvern).
“Evolution! Execution!” Wayvern readied Hummingbird for the Travel mode. “Kōtei! Wayvern!” hummingbird went from a giant sword to a hover board, and Apocalypse appeared on Wayvern’s side. His duster’s outside became a shiny blue hue and the straps turned white and wrapped around everything. There was a crown on his head that had a visor in front of his face. His hair even grew to just above his knees.
Wayvern hopped onto Hummingbird and rushed off in the direction that Avalanche told him to. There was a great sense of speed as Wayvern soared above the chasm that separated Tabletop Mountain from the road to Canterlot City (Yeah he could’ve Taken the Tram, but he was flying at the moment and that seemed easier). Once he reached the Tabletop part of the mountain, it was a cinch finding Storm and his friends.
“Yo! Shadow!” Wayvern yelled at Storm once he found them.
“You really care about your friends, huh?” Storm said with his back turned to Wayvern. He turned around and the smugness went away. “Second-Order!? King Relius didn’t say anything about that!”
“Then you won’t have a plan of action while I take my friends back!”
“You wouldn’t hurt them, right!?” Storm snapped his fingers and Flash and the others jumped out of the bush with fighter’s stances, still wearing that blank stare. “If you cancel your Transformation, I’ll drop the spell on them!”
Wayvern… Avalanche commented. Don’t think for a moment he’ll break the spell… but I have a plan to do the trick… unfortunately it requires that you cancel the Transformation. Avalanche explained the plan to Wayvern… and Wayvern immediately wished there was another way. Since there was not, Wayvern cancelled the Transformation. And, true to Villainous spirit, Storm sicked his friends on him.
Wayvern, now!
“Shojiki!” Wayvern cast a Reaper’s hex and brought Applejack out of her trance, and was already working on the next one.
“Yasashi-sa!” Fluttershy’s Hypnosis was broken and Wayvern started the next hex.
“Warai!” Pinkie collapsed after a small jolt to Wayvern’s side.
“Kandai-sa!” Rarity was blown back into the bushes and Wayvern tried to focus on Rainbow Dash.
“Chisei kokoro!” Dash tumbled into a heap on the grassy surface of the mountain top.
“Majikku!” Twilight stood frozen in mid-attack.
“Oncho!” Flash woke up totally.
“Wha-What? Where am I?” He looked at Wayvern on the ground beaten up and drooling. “Wayvern?” Wayvern stood up, and pulled out his transformer.
“Storm! Give it up! You can’t hurt me, or my friends anymore!” at their mention, the others woke up from their suspended states.
“Where are we!?” Twilight asked. “I was in the lunchroom one minute and the next I’m here.”
“I’ll Explain later… first I’ll need your help fighting ugly here.”
“How can we help!?” Rainbow asked. “I mean we’re not Reapers!”
“You are now! I’ll Explain later! Just do as I do!”
“Evolution! Execution!”
Wayvern looked at the others to see what their transformations looked like. The girls all looked kinda like their Equestrian counterparts, horse ears, extended hair and, in Rainbow, Fluttershy and Twilight’s cases, wings. All the girls now were wearing cloaks over their clothes. Flash had a similar Cloak but he wore a mask on his jaw.
“The power… is awesome!” Twilight said.
“It’s scary,” Fluttershy said. “This power in the wrong hands could hurt someone.”
“But in the right hands, we still intend to bring the hurt!” Wayvern said. “Protectors of the Universe! United we Stand! Together we Fight!”
“So, what!?” Storm yelled. “Contracters won’t save you now!”
“Contracters?” Flash asked.
“There a different form of Reaper, I’ll explain later! Just summon your weapons!”
Applejack stuck out her hand and a bladed circle, a chukram appeared in it. Fluttershy held out her arm and a shield materialized on it. Pinkie got a pair of laser guns, Rarity got a lot of knives, Rainbow Dash got six lances, Twilight got a magic book, and Flash got a large, oddly shaped guitar.
Wayvern drew Hummingbird and Focused on the others. The field around them became more familiar, so this was a Focus Field.
“Everyone just focus, think of your weapon as an extension of yourself. The Focus field is supposed to help us Synchronize with each other and fight more efficiently.” They gave it a try, and it worked. None of them fought like they ever held their weapon before, but they were still able to knock the core out of storm.
The Problem was Storm’s Core was hard to cut, even with a blade as big as Hummingbird’s so Storm’s first life regenerated quickly.
“You can’t cut my Core!” Storm said.
“If we can’t cut it, we’ll Harmony Cannon Blast it!” Wayvern said. He cut Storm down to the core again, and told the girls and flash to combine their weapons. When they figured it out, the blast almost knocked them back a mile. Then the Second life grew out of the ashes.
“Without another Master Reaper, we don’t stand a chance!” Wayvern said. “We have to run! Get to the trams!” easier said than done. It was half a mile to the trams from where they were. They just kept running, getting more exhausted by the minute. The exhaustion made Wayvern think less about himself and more about the others. They didn’t belong in his world, and he didn’t like the fact that he had to pull them into it just to save them. When they did reach the trams, Flash and Wayvern ushered the girls on, but Wayvern stopped Flash before he could get on himself.
“Flash, Promise me something.”
“Anything, just say it.”
“Protect Twilight, and make her happy.” He grabbed Flash’s shoulder, and pushed him onto the tram. He closed the doors and punched the launch button, getting his friends safely across the gorge. He turned to face Storm, mustering courage he didn’t even have and rushed to the hill. He hoped his sacrifice would be worth something… but he found Dream Runner there at the foot of the Shadow.
“Need help, son?” he said.
“You bet,” Wayvern accepted. They got into the positions and said the incantation.
“We call upon the Colossal Sword and the Spirit Babylon who wields it!” the fight was long and hard, even when they went into space. They countered blow for blow whatever Storm threw at them. Then Wayvern got an idea to throw Storm off track… and destroy him all at once.
“You’re asking me to burn my Babylon,” Dream Runner said.
“Remember, you’ll be able to summon it again.” Wayvern said.
“That’s not the issue! We need a pair of pilots to operate my Babylon! What you’re suggesting is suicide!”
“You can bail if you want, dad,” Wayvern said. Dream Runner looked at him with the realization that Wayvern didn’t want to get out of this.
“Remember to eject.” And he disappeared. With complete command of Dream Runner’s Babylon, Wayvern grabbed Storm by the shoulders, and dragged him towards the nearest sun. He grappled Storm and let go when the trajectory was towards the sun… but Babylon was headed in the same direction. Wayvern gave up hope that he would see any of his friends, his family, or Twilight ever again. And he was at peace.
“It’s not your time, Your Majesty,” Wayvern heard a voice say in his subconscious state. He turned to the source to find Celestia and Luna in all their grace as Equestrian Princesses. “You still have someone to live for.” Wait… someone? If it were his sisters they would’ve said somepony but they said someone?
“Who are you?” Wayvern asked with fear in his voice.
“We are the voice of the Preservers, we take the form of your sisters so you could feel at ease.”
“Why do you say it’s not my time?”
“When the Creators made your soul with Timeblood, they used enough to last for a long and happier life than you have had, you were to Sacrifice yourself to end the Wars with the Shadow. It is our job to make sure you live to that end. We cannot tell you anymore.”
“Why not?”
“Because even the Creators do not know any more. Destiny is not set in stone, it changes and twists, but the end is usually the only predictable thing about it... to a god, at least.”
“And I haven’t reached mine yet,” Wayvern had mixed feelings. On one hand he wasn’t going to die. On the other hand his friends would still be in danger. “Thank you for letting me live,” He said. “Can I go back to where I came from now?”
“Of course, the world still needs you.”
Wayvern woke up in a comfortable bed with clean white sheets. It took his eyes a few minutes to adjust to his surroundings he was in a hospital room at Canterlot City Hospital, he recognized the style from the last time he came to help Flash. He started to sit up, then the curtain drew back and Flash was there wearing an angry expression on his face.
“That was by far the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen anyone do!” he yelled. “What were you thinking!? When Twilight told me about your responsibilities I felt a lot worse about making that promise!”
“So you know, huh?” Wayvern said.
“She also told me that you and I are part of a little love triangle, she likes you just as much as she likes me! Why would you give up your life over that!?”
“My life is too dangerous to let her in!” Wayvern yelled back. “You saw how dangerous that Shadow was! You fell for the Hypnotic influence! I can’t risk anyone who doesn’t have the power to come with me!”
Wayvern could see that Flash knew he lost the argument… but he had another surprise for Wayvern. He curled up all of his fingers swung his arm and hit Wayvern in the face. “You’re ignoring what you feel… that’s not right… I’m sorry, ‘Your Majesty.’” Flash left the hospital very angry. Wayvern looked at a nearby mirror, he couldn’t find any old injuries, but that punch from flash left a pretty big bruise on his left eye. Twilight came into the room and fell on top of him in a hug. This might’ve been the first time that Wayvern actually considered his own feelings.
Life returned to normal for Wayvern… or as close as it could get. There was a musical competition coming up and everyone among Wayvern’s friends decided to compete. Rainbow had her band “The Rainbooms”… Okay… which consisted of every girl that Wayvern knew…Okay... practicing all week for it, though they wouldn’t let him in on it for some reason… yeah… Flash got his band together, and they wouldn’t let him in on the song either… understandable, Flash must’ve still been mad at him. That left Wayvern. Out of nowhere, Beat Twist and his sister Vinyl Scratch asked if he needed any help for the competition, since they had a good song in mind but they needed a lead singer. Especially considering what song it was, it was just too perfect to pass up. There was a total of thirty competitors on competition day, and that’s only counting the bands!
Come with me now Come with me now
Whoa, come with me now I'm gonna take you down Whoa, come with me now I'm gonna show you how
Whoa, come with me now I'm gonna take you down Whoa, come with me now I'm gonna show you how
Afraid to lose control And caught up in this world I've wasted time, I've wasted breath I think I've thought myself to death
I was born without this fear Now only this seems clear I need to move, I need to fight I need to lose myself tonight
Whoa, come with me now I'm gonna take you down Whoa, come with me now I'm gonna show you how I think with my heart and I move with my head I open my mouth and it's something I've read I stood at this door before, I'm told But a part of me knows that I'm growing too old
Confused what I thought with something I felt Confuse what I feel with something that's real I tried to sell my soul last night Funny, he wouldn't even take a bite
Far away I heard him say (Come with me now) Don't delay I heard him say (Come with me now)
Far away I heard him say (Come with me now) Don't delay I heard him say (Come with me now)
Whoa, come with me now I'm gonna take you down Whoa, come with me now I'm gonna show you how
Afraid to lose control And caught up in this world I've wasted time, I've wasted breath I think I've thought myself to death
I was born without this fear Now only this seems clear I need to move, I need to fight I need to lose myself tonight
Whoa, come with me now
Whoa, come with me now I'm gonna take you down Whoa, come with me now
After about fourteen more performing bands the Rainbooms went up. Again Wayvern felt that the song was for him.
Maybe I'm just crazy Maybe I'm a fool Maybe I don't know how to love but Maybe I do Maybe you know more than me but This much is true This little heart and brain of mine say We're through with you
And I wonder does it blow your mind That I'm leaving you far behind I wonder does it stop your heart to know You're not my sunshine, anymore
Okay you're pretty Your face is a work of art Your smile could light up New York City after dark Okay you're coverboy pretty Stamped with a beauty mark But it's such a pity a boy so pretty With an ugly heart
Maybe you'll get married And she will kiss your feet While I give all my rides away I won't lose no sleep Maybe on your honeymoon You'll think of me But if you don't won't shed a tear Yeah I can guarantee
And I wonder does it blow your mind That I'm leaving you far behind I wonder does it stop your heart to know You're not my sunshine, anymore
Okay you're pretty Your face is a work of art Your smile could light up New York City after dark Okay you're coverboy pretty Stamped with a beauty mark But it's such a pity a boy so pretty With an ugly heart
Okay you're pretty Your face is a work of art Your smile could probably light up New York after dark Okay you're coverboy pretty Stamped with a beauty mark But it's such a pity A boy so pretty With an uh- an uh- an ugly heart An uh an uh an ugly heart
Okay you're pretty Your face is a work of art Your smile could light up New York City after dark Okay you're coverboy pretty Stamped with a beauty mark But it's such a pity a boy so pretty With an ugly heart
Okay you're pretty Your face is a work of art Your smile could light up New York City after dark Okay you're coverboy pretty Stamped with a beauty mark But it's such a pity a boy so pretty With an ugly heart
It wasn’t ‘til the end of the competition that Vinyl, Beat and Wayvern went up with their song, and he knew it was for his friends because it was too perfect.
Am I wrong for thinking out the box from where I stay? Am I wrong for saying that I choose another way?
I ain't tryna do what everybody else doing Just cause everybody doing what they all do If one thing I know, I'll fall but I'll grow I'm walking down this road of mine, this road that I call home
So am I wrong For thinking that we could be something for real? Now am I wrong For trying to reach the things that I can't see?
But that's just how I feel, That's just how I feel That's just how I feel Trying to reach the things that I can't see
Am I tripping for having a vision? My prediction: I'mma be on the top of the world
Walk your walk and don't look back, always do what you decide Don't let them control your life, that's just how I feel Fight for yours and don't let go, don't let them compare you, no Don't worry, you're not alone, that's just how we feel
Am I wrong (am I wrong) For thinking that we could be something for real? (oh yeah yeah yeah oh) Now am I wrong (am I wrong) For trying to reach the things that I can't see? (oh yeah yeah yeah yeah)
But that's just how I feel, That's just how I feel That's just how I feel Trying to reach the things that I can't see
If you tell me I'm wrong, wrong I don't wanna be right, right If you tell me I'm wrong, wrong I don't wanna be right
If you tell me I'm wrong, wrong I don't wanna be right, right If you tell me I'm wrong, wrong I don't wanna be right
Am I wrong For thinking that we could be something for real? Now am I wrong For trying to reach the things that I can't see?
But that's just how I feel, That's just how I feel That's just how I feel Trying to reach the things that I can't see
So am I wrong (am I wrong) For thinking that we could be something for real? (oh yeah yeah yeah oh) Now am I wrong (am I wrong) For trying to reach the things that I can't see? (oh yeah yeah yeah yeah)
But that's just how I feel, That's just how I feel That's just how I feel Trying to reach the things that I can't see
The Roar of the crowd was double those of the Rainbooms and the Sentries combined. And the two band’s faces were priceless. Imagine them how you will.
On the way home from the competition Wayvern said something to Twilight.
“I’m sorry.”
“What for?” Twilight asked with shock.
“For what I did, I didn’t consider my own feelings when I decided to protect you… but that won’t happen again, I’m gonna consider how I feel when I make a decision from here on out!” Twilight let out a small laugh. “Something funny?”
“No, I… I’m just glad to hear you say that. It makes me… happy.” The notion made Wayvern happy too... though it was strange that the art of the selfless was the last thing his friends wanted him to practice.
The next day, Wayvern approached Flash, who didn’t look too happy to see him.
“What do you want?” he said.
“I’m sorry,” Wayvern said.
“If it’s not about Twilight, forget it!” and he started to walk away.
“It is.” Flash, at the moment, stopped in his tracks. “I was the world’s biggest jerk; I hurt Twilight without even considering any emotional connections. I already apologized to her for this, but I hurt you too this way… so, I’m sorry.”
Flash seemed to think on this for a minute. Then he said something else. “No I should be the one apologizing. I misunderstood why you kept your distance, and now that you are willing to feel for her… I think I get it. You were hurting just keeping away from her. But you felt it necessary in order to keep her safe.”
“That’s exactly right.” Wayvern said. But he felt there was another reason. Something more selfish than just protecting Twilight from the Shadow. But he couldn’t put his finger on it.
Two Weeks later everything was fine and dandy. Wayvern had all his friends back and he always had his own input heard when it came to that. But there was one thing that was about to break that, or rather one person, Relius.
Relius attacked the Central Park, and it was up to the Reapers to stop him. Wayvern went and performed the Transformation first.
“Evolution! Execution!” Everyone followed suit.
Relius simply crossed his arms and shook his head. “You cannot kill me as long as my Core is not with me.”
“Then this fight is pointless?” Fluttershy almost looked to give up hope.
“Not yet,” Flash said. “First we get him out of the way and then we look for his core.”
“You’ll never find it, it doesn’t exist.”
“What are you saying?” Wayvern said.
“You should know Wayvern,” Relius held out his hand “We are the same after all.”
“I never asked this before,” He said. “Who are you!?” he grabbed the masque and tore it from the face beneath it, wishing as soon as it came off that he left it there. For with the exception of the green eyes and the more ragged appearance, Relius looked just like Wayvern. Relius started laughing hysterically and pushed himself free from Wayvern’s grasp.
“Now you know the truth, I am you from a most distant future.”
“But Why!?” Wayvern yelled.
“I was told that if I became the King of the Shadow, She would live.” Relius pointed a finger at Twilight. “And it was thanks to the Reapers that she died anyway, so I took the opportunity to exact my revenge!”
“What did they do?”
“I’m afraid I’ve said too much, but I will destroy anyone who gets in my way!” Relius raised his hand and the markings on the ground that were left unnoticed started to glow. The very ground beneath them trembled and rose forming a giant ship of sorts. Flash, the girls and Wayvern ran for it before the ship could fully form to get out of the park. It wasn’t a ship when they got a good look at it… it was a living creature, kind of like a dragon but with no limbs and six wings.
“Wayvern? What is that!?” Rainbow Dash asked. Everyone looked at Wayvern who was as shocked as they were. And he said the last thing he ever thought he’d say to them.
“I have no idea.”
An hour of Speculation later and Wayvern’s Transformer went off. Luna was on the other line when he picked up.
“Wayvern, there’s a Dragon-like creature in the sky and your month is almost up.”
“How long do Twilight and I have?”
“Two hours.”
“Bring Flash Sentry and Twilight’s friends to the mirror, there’s something I need to do for them.” After Luna confirmed that she could do that, he hung up and turned to his friends. “Sorry guys but the contract will have to be Terminated.”
“What contract?” Flash asked.
“The one that give you guys my Shadow Reaper power. You guys are no longer needed.” Silence for a whole minute. Then;
“What are you saying, Wayern!?” Twilight said. “You need us!”
“You’re contract is not being terminated Twilight, but these guys have counterparts in Equestria do they not?”
“Well, yeah, but-”
“Twilight we have less than two hours here, and there’s no way for them to visit Equestria without being born there. I’m terminating their contracts so I can copy their recent memories and give them to your friends and the Equestrian Flash.”
“Is setting up a new contract with our friends really necessary?”
“It’s been tried before and if the Master is not present in the world where the Contracters are it doesn’t work, plus it only works on one version of the Contracters, so no copies can use the power granted to the Contracters.”
“In other words yes, but do you need to cut our power?” Dash asked
“If I’m not here you won’t have power and you’ll die of the danger I deal with daily!”
“I get it…” Flash said. “Thanks for being my friend Wayvern.”
“And thank you for being mine, now I need to make physical contact with each of you for long enough to remember the last month.” They all stuck out their hands and Wayvern touched them each for no more than a second. Then he pulled out his Transformer, selected the Contracts he wanted to delete and erased Applejack’s, Fluttershy’s, Pinkie Pie’s, Rarity’s, Rainbow Dash’s, and Flash Sentry’s. Leaving only Twilight Sparkle’s in his roster. “Thank you all for your cooperation. I’ll never forget this.” Discord came behind them touched Twilight and Wayvern’s shoulders and the bright light came around.
When Wayvern opened his again he was standing in front of familiar faces, yet they were not human. Every one of them was an Equestrian, with the exception of Discord (who the author still wants to call a chimera). One look at the Seventh friendly face and it was confirmed that Flash Sentry was a member of the Royal Guard.
“Where’s the Dragonoid thing?” Wayvern asked. Flash led them out to the balcony and pointed to a small shimmer in the sky, almost like a star. Using the telescope on the balcony, Wayvern could confirm that it was the limbless Dragon flying for Equestria.
“Wayvern, is it-?” Twilight started.
“Yeah… Relius,” Wayvern turned to Discord. “Do you remember the Memory Transfer Spell you created?” he asked.
“Vividly, thanks to you.”
“I need to perform it between me and the six of them-” He pointed to Flash and the girls “-for the past month.”
“You won’t have those memories anymore.”
“I could use a little less memory.” Discord materialized a piece of paper and a pen and wrote down the spell for Wayvern. After memorizing the contents of the sheet, he cast the spell, one by one on the Spirits of Harmony and Flash. Flash looked at Wayvern with something other than loyalty towards a master. It was more like a friendship towards a brother. Wayvern Re-established Contracts with these variants of the Spirits of Harmony.
“Okay, now that we have an idea what that is, how do we deal with it?” Applejack asked.
“We returned the Elements of Harmony to the Tree of Harmony, so we can’t use them…” Rarity said.
“Tree of Harmony?” Wayvern asked. They explained what it was and he asked them to lead him to the Everfree forest and along a way that looked… familiar… it was only when they reached the destination that Wayvern fully remembered what the Tree of Harmony could be. He jumped into the gorge and rushed into the cave to find a giant Crystalline Tree in it with depictions of the moon, the sun and a star on it. The branches all had a gem in the center of the leaf each one resembling one from Wayvern’s dream before he became king. He immediately decided to ignore the tree itself until he deemed it relevant, but he had to see if the stone was still there.
QUEEN HAMONY
“I knew it…” He said as tears streamed down his face.
“What is it, Your Majesty?” Fluttershy asked. Wayvern showed them the stone and the shock registered quickly.
“This is the cave where I buried my mother’s body after my father became… well, you know.”
“No we don’t,” Pinkie said. “What happened to your father?” Wayvern couldn’t bring himself to tell them. So he focused on the tree. It was definitely the Crystalline that he planted over his mother to make sure she supported something else… then he found a little nook big enough to fit his horn. He placed his horn in the hole, and saw his mother again.
It wasn’t his real mother or even her spirit that he was seeing. What he was looking at was a projection from within the tree itself. She was a silver colored alicorn mare with cerulean mane and a star shaped Cutie Mark. Closer inspection showed that there was a circular piece of gold within the tree. He recognized the locket that his Father gave to his mother for an anniversary present just before Celestia was born. Then he turned to the image.
“Wayvern,” It said. Wayvern wanted to say something to his mother but she kept going. “If you’re watching this message it means I’m gone and that you know the truth about Relius,”
Wayvern was shocked. His mother knew about who he was before he did? How!? When!? Why didn’t she tell him!? “However it is not a future set in stone for you. You can denounce you dark side if you strike down Relius. There are some problems, however. If you want to surely survive it must be with this sword-” a long sword covered in gems appeared in the ground “-but it does not mean that Relius will not come back. If you want Relius to be completely gone you must strike him down with your own sword, but the chances of you surviving are slim even if your connections to this existence are strong. The choice is yours to make, but if you do not make it, you will be Relius no matter what.” The image faded but the sword stayed in place.
Wayvern felt himself transform and he walked over to pick up the sword, Harmonia… knowing that with this the Reapers’ mission will never be complete. He started to form a plan in his head on how to get close to Relius and deal the Final blow… then he got one and pulled Harmonia out of the ground. It was a lot heavier than it looked, about as heavy as Hummingbird, but that wasn’t a problem for Wayvern because he could still lift it as usual. He put the sword on his holster and changed back to his Equestrian form.
Wayvern charged for Relius, and the fight began. The sporadic clashing of the two swords was broken by a shudder here and there from the Dragon upon which they stood heading for space. When they reached the outer limit of Equestria’s Atmosphere, Wayvern felt himself lighten a bit. Then he thew Harmonia into the air hoping that Relius would keep an eye on it. He did and Wayvern drew Hummingbird and thrust it hilt deep into Relius’ chest.
“Very Crafty,” Relius said. “A false Harmonia to distract me and the true one to seal me away… is that what you did?”
“Some mother buckers are always trying to ice skate uphill,” Wayvern said. The smugness on Relius’ face changed to confusion… then fear when he realized what Wayvern meant.
“No… You Wouldn’t… YOU DIDN’T.”
“I would, and I did.” the blood started seeping from Relius’ mouth and wound as the realization dawned on him that he was never returning. Then he fell over and flowed out of existence.
Twilight couldn’t believe it. His mother gave Wayvern the perfect opportunity to live like anypony else and he threw it away. He turned to them and for the first time ever genuinely smiled like he was happy. Ashes started to form and fly off his body in little flecks, but he was there smiling. Then, he fell. Twilight rushed to catch him.
“No, Wayvern!” Twilight said. She cupped his face as the flecks of ash started to get a little bigger. “I love you too much to let you go like this!”
“Twilight… I… did this… because… I love you… I couldn’t… let this… happen… again…” Flash stood next to him on the other side of Wayvern. “Flash… Do you… remember… your promise?”
“I do now thanks to you and Discord.”
“Please… keep it now” Wayvern looked at the other Contracters “and for the… rest of my friends… thank you… if you hadn’t… been there for me… I wouldn’t have… chosen this future…”
Twilight continued to cup his face as Wayvern faded to ashes and flew away on the breeze. Then Twilight notice that there was a breeze and that they returned to the Tree of Harmony. Twilight couldn’t really tell how she knew this… her eyes were too misty to see anything. Before long she found herself letting out the tears.
It had been three years since Wayvern gave his life for the universe. Twilight was having a picnic with her friends and Flash Sentry outside the Everfree Forest… outside the Everfree Forest… she couldn’t help but think of Wayvern. There was a grave set up where he was found three years before with his name written on it. Princesses Celestia and Luna would visit it weekly. Twilight and Flash would visit it Daily. It was time for the food when Twilight looked over at the grave and noticed somepony standing over it. They were wearing a cloak, so she couldn’t tell who it was, but then he looked to the sun and she had to walk over to him to ask him something.
“Why did you come here?” she asked.
The Stranger turned around. “This is where I belong.” He said with a smile.
The transformer was a little different for Equestrian Master Reapers; it was a metallic shoulder pad on the right front leg performing the gestures with it would result in the transformation. He hopped onto his hind legs and performed the sequence. “Evolution! Execution!” the rest of his friends followed suit with their own transformations into Contracter Reapers. It seemed that this triggered the memory spike for the last two months that Wayvern spent in Canterlot City. Relius came down from the Dragon just as it was about to land and summoned hoards upon hordes of Shadows that had previously fallen in combat with other Reapers. Reneion, Morios, even some that Wayvern fought. Wayvern pulled Harmonia off his back and led the charge through the masses of Shadow. Even the guard showed up to join the fighting and were a bigger help than you might think.
Vulcan showed up at one point and Vanished with Dante at his side. All the While Wayvern was focused on one goal; Reaching the Dragonoid. He eventually did, and when he jumped on the gargantuan beast’s back it took off with him his friends and Relius on it.
“You can’t escape fate!” Relius said. “And now that you know who I was, you will die with me if you use that same method!”
“Good thing that’s not the only option!” Wayvern raised Harmonia and prepared to fight.