Tales of Valor - Part 1: Through the Looking Glass

Chapters

1: The Golden Light
2: The New Pony
3: Tracks to the Past
4: Battle on the Outskirts
5: Plans and Accomplishment
6: A Story's End

1: The Golden Light

Through The Looking Glass

1st: The Golden Light

It was a mild, quiet night in the first year after Princess Luna’s return and the provincial town of Ponyville was sleeping peacefully and soundly. Except the few ponies that were still awake, just like the librarian in the Golden Oak Library, where the lights were still on. The librarian was a unicorn with lavender fur named, Twilight Sparkle, student of the mighty princess Celestia. She was about to set up her star-gazing equipment on the balcony of her library with a brand new telescope that had been sent from Canterlot this very day.
The night was perfect for star-gazing, the weather-pegasi had cleared the sky from clouds since there was no rain scheduled for tonight.

Twilight doused the lights, prepared her celestial charts and glanced expectantly through the seeker of her telescope. There had to be another star in the Great-Alicorn-Constellation, hidden right beyond the light of the brightest star and therefor unknown up to this point. If her calculations were right, that was.
But as Twilight Sparkle searched the sky, it was no starlight that caught her eye. A golden light flooded over the night-sky for blink, just like the glare of lightning.

Twilight’s head snapped up and she scowled bewilderedly into the night. Never had she whitnessed a phenomenon like that before. Were had the golden lightning come from and what had caused it? Golden flashlights were definitely not the norm, not even on the edge of the Everfree Forest.

Alright, time for some investigation! Twilight rushed back into the library. With her magic –she was a unicorn after all- she grabbed a book of matches laid out ready for any case and immediately relit al candles.

“Golden Light, fascinating”, she mumbled in an undertone, much to the dislike of a small, purple and green dragon who was trying to sleep on the upper floor. Spike, Twilight’s assistant during the day -and if one was honest almost at every possible and impossible hour- growled something inarticulate in his pillow and pulled the blanket over his head, hoping to get spared by Twilight’s sudden studiousness. That kind of things occurred about once a week and Spike was long since used to it. It was getting on his nerves nevertheless…

“Golden light, strange weather-phenomena… Not that I’d heard about anything like that yet.” Twilight kept talking to herself as she grabbed book after book from the shelves and skimmed through them.
Some time and three dozen scientific and at last also books about legends and myths later, Twilight had found only five possible explanations for the extraordinary summer lightning. Started with the inflammation of a phoenix (if it was at least a hundred and seven years old) to magical discharges crystalizing in mid-air and causing giant frozen bolts of lightning (but there wasn’t enough evidence for the last possibility, so she expelled it as a mere legend).
Anyway, without further proper investigation she wouldn’t be able to discover more. And Twilught couldn't do any field investigation at night. So she blew out the lights again and went to bed. Though she had a not so funny feeling that she wouldn’t get any sleep tonight.

<0>

While Twilight Sparkle was tossing and turning sleeplessly, a shady figure staggered down a pathway leading through the apple-trees of Sweet Apple Acres; a farmhouse had caught its eye. It was an earth-pony, an observer would have figured that from its shape and the lack of a horn or wings. Well, an earth-pony was nothing strange, not even if they were seemingly drunk, for Ponyville had been founded by them. The only unusual with that particular stallion was the fact that he was girdled with a sword, a lathy blade which was ponpanese in appearance.

But of course nopony watched that stallion. The farm he was stumbling to lay in complete darkness. He was dragging himself forward with great effort, breathed heavily, tripped over his own four legs and nearly fell several times, yet he still fought towards the house.
Using the last of his strength, he reached the door and knocked against it with his foreleg.

TOCK. TOCK. TOCK. Then he collapsed on the doorstep.

<0>

Deep within the Everfree Forest existed a castle overgrown by creeping vines and ruined. Long, long ago it had seen the grand battle between Nightmare Moon and Princess Celestia. At the end of this terrific fight, Nightmare Moon had been banished by the Elements of Harmony and the castle had been destroyed and relinquished. As a millennium went by the forest had claimed this place big with fate. All the years forgotten, many a treasure lay hidden in the chambers and dungeons of the castle, but then times changed.
Nightmare Moon returned. And again she was defeated, by six insignificant, little ponies that became the new bearers of the elements of harmony. The tremendous power of the Elements flooded through the hallways, unified itself with the natural energy of the Everfree until the whole castle was practically vibrating with magic…

…And then something found its way to equestrian, decoyed by that magic. But the force of the Elements of Harmony vanished and the foreign being noticed that it was trapped again, like it had been trapped in the world, it just hat escaped.
Since olden times some ponies whispered, there would be something in the mirrors. A strange movement in the corner of one’s eyes. A scare story, others said, a tale to scare little foals, nothing more.
But these ponies were wrong. For now there was in fact something in their mirror. Something watching and waiting, unable to do anything more than that. And during the following year the being took in each and every single bit of magic it could get. Until that night, when the golden light shone and again something new entered this world.
As the golden shining had worn off, most mirrors of the world became empty again. Now the creature used its gathered magic to focus its whole attention to Ponyville.

<0>

Author's Note

This is my first submission to FIMfiction and the first of (hopefully) many stories about Valor Edge.
I must admit I'm not a English-native-speaker, but I'm trying my best to get the grammar correct. So help and feedback is always welcome!

2: The New Pony

2nd: The New Pony

“… Right on ma doorstep, I tell ya. Anypony got a clue, who he is?”
The voice reached his consciousness like through cotton. A female voice, speaking with a broad, southern accent.
“Nopienope. Never seen him before”, a second female voice -a very cheery one- answered.
“And look at that scar. It’s so awesome!”
“I must admit, it imparts him quite an attractive touch of boldness.”

He couldn’t help to feel like being surrounded by a lot of others. It was time to look around for a bit. It took a great effort, but his eyelids began to flutter.
“Oh, oh, oh”, he heard the euphoric voice again. “He’s waking up! He’s waking up!”

Carefully, he opened his right eye; the left one, were said scar laid, he held tight shot. But as soon as he could see something, he quickly squinted his eyes again. Something big and very pink had filled his vision. The words unreal and frightening came to his mind.
He tried again and his right eye opened one more time. The pink something was still there and as his vision cleared a bit he realized that it was a pony. A mare with a really curly mane to be specific. Well, that was queer but not the queerest thing that had ever happened to him.

“Hello, you’re new. Y'see I've never saw you before and if I've never saw you before that means you're new, 'cause I know everypony, and I mean everypony in Ponyville!”, the pink mare began to chatter with incredible speed.

“C’mon let him breathe, willya?” the pony with the southern accent interrupted. She had a long blonde mane, sloppily bond together, and freckles.
Beside these two, there were four more ponies, in fact all standing around the bed he lay in. Two of them, one yellow with long, straight and light pink mane and the other cyan-blue with an extraordinarily rainbow-colored mane had wings, two of the others had a horn on their foreheads.

“Absolutely remarkable”, he muttered and shook his head. Then he sat up.
“Hmm, hooves…” he thought out loud. “Aw, yes, yes, noticed that problem before…”
He was confused, but on the other hand, hadn’t he always been a pony in a world of ponies? If he thought about it…

“Wait a sec”, the blonde Pony interrupted his trains of thought. She look more than a bit worried. “Did ya maybe hit yer head? I mean like really hard?”

“It might well be”, he admitted and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. “I must admit, that I know not for sure what has happened to me.”

“Um, oookay”, the blonde pony drawled while her pink friend hopped up and down at the side of the bed. “Can ya at least tell us yer name?”

That was a very good question. Could he tell them his name? His memories were a big mess and remembering quite a few different names he must’ve had used over the years didn’t exactly help either. But in the end he decided, since one name was as good as the other, he could could come up with a fitting name.
“You may call me Valor Edge”, he said finally. The name sounded nice: Valor Edge the swordstallion. He literally jumped to his feet with new, fresh strength.
“At your service!”

“The name’s Applejack”, the blonde mare introduced herself an adjusted her wide-brimmed hat. Valor Edge bowed a little in front of each pony, as the introduced themselves one after another. First came the pink mare.

“Pinkie Pie”, she lilted.

Next came the lavender unicorn, although if it seemingly was hard for her to pull her attention from Valors sword that lay on the night desk. “I’m Twilight Sparkle”, she said.

The white unicorn with the elaborately styled, violet mane surprisingly returned the bow. “My name is Rarity. At your and your family’s service”, she then gave the correct reply to Valor’s greeting. “And I’m pleased to hear that the old etiquette still isn’t fully forgotten”, Rarity then added, smiling.

The pegasus with the rainbow-colored mane postured. “I am the incredible! Unique! Astonishing! Incredible! Rainbow Dash!”

“I think ye might have mentioned ‘incredible’ twice, Miss Dash”, Valor objected politely. But Rainbow Dash didn’t even for one second lose her self-confidence.

“Sure thing, that’s because I’m twice incredible!”

At last, Valor Edge turned to the second winged pony. She blushed immediately and tried to hide behind her mane.
“Mnmesflttrshy.” Her voice was nearly inaudible.

Valor strained his ears. “Padron me?” he said.

“Her name is Fluttershy”, Rarity now helped out. “And don’t worry, she’s always a bit, well, shy with foreign ponies. Even if they are as bold and handsome.”

Valor Edge took a quick glance at the mirror. Truth to be told, he sure was not the worst looking pony with his light grey fur and the almost black mane. But those colors were all but extraordinary for a pony and he had never thought of the scar across his left eye as something that made him look bold… And yet, as he considered his reflection in the mirror he had the feeling that something was not right.
But he couldn’t put his hoof on in.

“C’mon Rarity”, Rainbow Dash groaned. “You don’t know him for five minutes and are already hitting on him? Spike wouldn’t like that one bit!”

Rarity jangled her long eyelashes and answered with dignified indignation: “I am not hitting on him, Rainbow Dash. This is a harmless flirt between gentleponies. My Spikey would understand.”
Then Rarity and Rainbow Dash started to laugh and the others joined in.

Valor meanwhile had the strange sensation of missing something but that might as well had been caused by the turmoil in his head. But their laughing was really infesting and in the end he couldn’t help to join in as well.

“At least you can’t claim that Ponyville is boring”, he heard Twilight Sparkle say to him. He nodded but by no means missed Miss Sparkle watching him slyly. Just curious? he thought. Or are there more causes that lie behind it?

Regardless, Valor had many things to think of. Why everything seemed a little off for example. He decided to stay in town, at least for a while and take the things as they come.

<0>

But right now, Valor Edge had not much time to think about anything. And that was because he was receiving a guided tour of the town. Pinkie-Style. Her way of showing somepony the town was certainly unique. She bounced up and down like a punchball, to and fro, back and forth and led Valor hither and yon with no noticeable system.
Valor saw the windmill, a pastel-colored bakery (were Pinkie worked, as she proudly let him know), the library in a big tree and the town hall. However these places were not located near each other and Valor had, within no time, the feeling he had walked many miles.

Pinkie Pie claimed to know each and every pony in Ponyville and as far as Valor knew that was likely true. In the shortest imaginable time, Pinke had introduced to him the married couple Carrot and Cup Cake, Mayor Mare, an earth-pony mare named Bon Bon and a mint-green unicorn mare named Lyra and at least a dozen other ponies whose names he could not remember. Valor had shaken so many hooves that his foreleg had turned numb. And the ponys of this land seemed very interested in Valors Cutie Mark on his flanks. He himself had never thought of the sword and the star as anything special. In fact it seemed to him as if he had almost forgotten about it all the years. But it was clear that his Cutie Mark was strange and exotic to the other ponies.

Valor and Pinkie had just arrived at the main square for the third time, when Valor Egde finally ran out of breath.
“Pardon me, Pinkie”, Valor panted. “I have not thine unfailing energy.”

The source of said energy, as Valor guessed, was a nearly life-endangering amount of sugar which Pinkie apparently consumed each day. Maybe this caused Pinkie to be so especially good in doing what she did. And that was throwing parties and making new friends. The later Valor had already noticed, mostly because he himself had become her friend. Although he usually was more a loner, in this case it was just the easiest solution.

“Come on”, Pinkie grinned at Valor. “You aren’t played out, are you, Pointy?”

Valor Edge shook his head. “No, but I…” He hesitated. “…‘Pointy’, really…? We need to talk about that again, Pinkie.”

“Oki doki loki, Pointy!”

Valor Edge sighed: “I give in…”

At this moment the town hall clock stroke noon; Pinkie Pie froze immediately and her eyes turned big in fright in a way almost physical impossible. A reaction like that Valor hadn’t expected. “Are thou alright?” he worried.

“Work! Late! Gotta go!” Pinkie gasped out. As quick as lightning she took off to Sugar Cube Corner bakery.

So much for that, Valor Edge thought. Should she not have noticed, when we visited the bakery she works at? Well, at least I get my break that way…

He let his eye wander over the place. At the booths, fruits, vegetables and household items were sold. And as Valor thought about how he would need to earn some money to live, if he wanted to stay in town for a while, he felt a renowned feeling.

It was the common notion of being watched by somepony. Valor Edge had long since learned to trust his sixth sense. But yet Ponyville seemed to be such a peaceful town and on top of this it was broad daylight. So it was probably not the best idea to wave about his sword. Despite that he decided to choose to catch whoever was behind him off guard:
He spun round on his hooves.

And saw nothing. Nobody was watching him, at least as far as he could tell. Behind him were just two ponies who carried a window pane. Though he still had the feeling of missing something. A thing beyond all these friendly ponies like Applejack and the others.

“Howdy, Valor. Whatcha doin’?” A familiar voice draw Valor’s attention to it. Name the Nameless… But Valor felt at once a little shame for that thought. Applejack and her friends were fairly among the most friendly and most noble ponies one could imagine.

“I’ve got something for ya”, AJ said with a sleek smile and pointed with a nod of her head to her saddlebag. “Ya haven’t even had breakfast, have ya?”

The swordspony shook his head and smiled as well. “No indeed, breakfast was the last thing I thought of this morning.”
Among the most friendly and the most noble, as said.

His grumbling belly reminded Valor that he didn’t even know when he had eaten for the last time. Applejack fetched a deliciously smelling, freshly baked apple pie from her saddlebag. Incredible what efforts she made and for a pony she barely knew. Even more a pony that seemingly had just appeared out of nowhere. And that was what seemed a little suspicious to Valor.
“Why are ye doing this?” so he asked as they sat down on a bench, the fresh pie between them. “After all, I am complete strange to you all. Most ponies I met along my way would have distrust of a stranger. And -stick to the truth- I know for a fact that I am very strange.”

Applejack laughed. “We’ve learned our lesson not to judge anypony by how he looks like. Ya may be a stranger and…” She glanced cautiously at the scar cross Valor’s eye.
“Yer somewhat weird and talking fancy fuss but yer by far not the weirdest thing we’ve ever had in Ponyville.”

“Honesty without mercy, hmm?” Valor commented before turning back to the pie.

“Sorry.” Applejack lowered her head and blushed.

“There is no need to be sorry”, Valor replied conciliatorily. His eye however still lay on AJ, examining. “And yet I get the feeling that this is not all: You all want to get to know me better. Want to know who I am. And particularly Young Miss Sparkle for some reason, am I not right? But I bet ye have some questions for me, too. And ye have baked me a pie so ye could question me with ease, have ye not?”
Applejack’s face turned to an even darker tone of red. “That’s not… I mean… I…” she stuttered. But she couldn’t lie to Valor. “Sorry”, she muttered again, but Valor just shrugged his shoulders.

“There is no need to be sorry”, he simply repeated and then added: “Curiosity is nothing condemnable.”

The blonde farm pony was noticeably relieved that her curiosity (which was actually more Twilight’s curiosity) met with Valor’s understanding.
Valor sighed and put on his friendliest smile. “All right, ask your questions, Milady.”
“C’mon, cut that rubbish! Ah ain’t no Lady. That’s more Rarity’s sorta thing. Simply Applejack, for a simple farm pony, alright?” She smiled, still a little embarrassed.

Valor Edge nodded in agreement and waited for Applejack to speak again.
“Um, well, where shall we start?” she asked eventually.

Valor sighed again as he realized that this chat would rather amount to a monologue on his side. “At best at the beginning”, he said. “At best at the beginning.”

<0>

3: Tracks to the Past

3rd: Tracks to the Past

“I hail from a faraway land”, Valor began to tell. “But that is likely clear to thee already. Back there it was not that peaceful, like it is here. My country had been broken by dark creatures and… evil ponies, I guess one could say. But we never surrendered. We fought, a hard, costly war. And at last, we were victorious. Against all doubts and all odds, we were victorious.
Finally, after two decades of subjugation we were free.”

Valor felt silent for a bit. He could not tell Applejack everything, no, truth to be told he didn’t want to tell her everything. He was not ready to share his past entirely and if it was only because he wasn’t too sure his memories wouldn’t betray him. After all, there seemed to be a big white hole in his mind where the last years should have been. Plus he had the vague feeling that even his earliest memories may have been altered. In what way he couldn’t tell. Not yet, that was.

“Howbeit, as my land was free, rebuilt and back in order, time came for me to say farewell and continue on.” He tried his best to banish the sadness from his voice. Moving on hadn’t been an easy decision. He had more been dragged into it…

Applejack looked at Valor with big eyes. “And what about yer family?” she asked, her voice low. Valor hesitated for a moment, startled by the look on her face. She almost seemed… grieved.

“My family is long since gone”, he then said. That was why he had left eventually. A furtive glance at Applejack told him his words had gotten her under a strain.

“So awfully sorry.” Her voice now was barely audible. Valor couldn’t get rid of the feeling that this wasn’t just about him. She herself must have suffered a great loss in her past, he concluded.

“Regardless”, he said to not startle her grief any further. “Each night eventually sees its dawn. And the sun will shine even brighter at this new day!”

Applejack raised her head and blinked a few times to fight her wet eyes. Then she smiled at Valor. “Yer really strange, Valor. Ah just remembered… Um, never mind. In any case, ya somehow got me psyched up again. And dammit, ah ain’t gotta clue watcha just said.”

Valor Edge laughed silently and took another piece of pie. Now Applejack grabbed one, too. Because she was of the opinion that cake tasted better if it was shared, but also because sweet apple pie was a good remedy for her melancholy.
“Sure shome kinda pony y’are” she mumbled with her mouth full. She champed noisily before continuing: “Tell me, where d’ya get that scar from?”

Valor darted an uninterpretable look at AJ. This particular question he already had expected. Sooner or later their curiosity always got the best of them and they all asked.

“Rainbow wants ta know…” Applejack added quickly, but she wrinkled her muzzle in way Valor instantly figured out she was telling a fib. But it didn’t make a difference. He rose his hoof to the scar and said:

“Well, if ‘Rainbow Dash’ wants to know so desperately, then I shall tell: It was a dragon’s claw.”

“You’ve fought a dragon?” Applejack looked at her counterpart skeptically.

“Foolish, I know. One slash and the battle was over. But in my defense, the dragon was a true beast in league with dark and fiendish forces.”
At least that part of his memories was too dauntingly clear to be completely false.

Applejack however seemed to worry a bit about these news. “I oughta tell ya somethin’, Valor” she began carefully. “Ya know, Twilight’s assistant Spike is a dragon. That ain’t a problem or is it?”

The answer didn’t come down easily to Valor Edge. He already knew about Spike because Pinkie had told him. Yet, he had consciously avoided to think about the dragon. His homeland once had had to suffer a lot from dragons and he didn’t think he could forget it that easily. But Ponyville and its ponies, especially Applejack and her friends as he had met them eventually turned the balance.
“Even if he happened to be the son of the Black Dragon himself” he answered seriously. “Just as little as it would be justified to accuse a child for the crimes of its parents it would be to condemn a whole race for the crimes of few. I bear no grudge against Spike.”
If they could trust a dragon, so could he.

And yet again Applejack wasn’t too sure to have gotten Valor’s motivations right. It was good to hear that he didn’t have anything against Spike, anyway. After what Valor had told her and judging by the condition he had been in when he appeared on her doorstep, the swordstallion could fairly use a little quiet and peace.

She would have to talk with her friends about if it wasn’t possible to find a place for Valor in Ponyville. Though the last year had been a little chaotic, at least for the last few months life had been pleasantly peaceful again. They could only hope that it would stay that way…

<0>

“Question number one” Twilight stated. “Why is there a hole in this rock?”
Hole was an understatement and not a little one. A whole corner of that boulder had vanished. The cavity was about as tall as a pony and perfectly circular. The said boulder was located at the boarder of Sweet Apple Acres and the only clue Twilight had been able to find about the strange phenomenon of last night. Well, apart from a mysterious and slightly confused warrior. And while Applejack took care of Valor Edge (a hopefully was questioning him a bit) Twilight followed the other trail. Which in plain terms meant that Spike and she had towed her whole equipment for field measurement, an analytic trunk and in general half the equipment of the library out here.

“Extraordinary.” She was downright fascinated with this riddle and stroke the cut face carefully with her hoof. “Perfectly smooth.”

“Which means…?” Spike wanted to know. He scratched his head in a baffled way.

“Whatever has cut through this rock, it was nothing mechanical”, Twilight explained. “It must’ve been a very powerful kind of magic. In any case an enormous amount of energy is necessary to burn a hole of that size in massive limestone.”

She lowered her had to closer examine the surface and, to Spike’s blank astonishment, licked it. “Yes… yes…” she murmured absently. “Tastes like iron.”

She spurted back to an apparatus that looked like a protractor and gazed through. Then she said: “No angle of entrance and apparently no trajectory. So this phenomenon was localized then. It must had been spherical, at least the shape of the hole indicates that. Maybe a singularity… Nononono, modern magic-experts agree that point singularity projection as postulated first by Starswirl the Bearded is by no means possible. I de facto don’t know anything able to inflict something like that. What about you, Spike?”

Spike shook his head, but from bewilderment. He wasn’t sure if Twilight had used real words or just made some up. “Singulawhatsit?”

Twilight rolled her eyes. Spike just wasn’t the right counterpart for a scientific conversation. Even worse Twilight was seemingly unable to solve this mystery. At least in the usual fashion.

“Maybe I’ll need to question Valor Edge, after all. Though I’d rather avoid that. He’s somewhat strange and I don’t know if his condition is stable.”

“And you’re sure the new pony is involved? Y’know, it could just be coincidence, couldn’t it?”

Twilight was just about to tell her number-one-assistant what she thought about such ‘coincidences’, when something else caught her eyes. To her hooves, in the grass, lay a small, rectangular object apparently made of brushed golden metal. Twilight looked closer and noticed that it was decorated with curved lines. Right in the middle a convoluted y-letter was carved in.
“What in the name of Celestia is that thing?” Twilight asked herself. With her magic, she picked up the little, golden thing. It was a lighter. “If that isn’t curious… Coincidence? I call such a thing ‘evidence’!”

“Um, Twilight?” Spike tried to catch her attention.

“Now, I really have talk to Valor and ask him if he knows anything about any golden lighters!”

“Um, Twilight?”

“That kind of energy must’ve come from somewhere. And maybe Valor knows what said source is. If I only…”

“TWILIGHT!” Spike now shouted at the lavender unicorn. She reluctantly looked up from the lighter. But as she looked at her assistant, she saw he was frozen in fear. She now followed his gaze.

“Twi, please tell me that Scarecrow over there didn’t just move”, Spike whispered horrified. Yes, it could have given the impression the straw-pony over there at the carrot patch had just risen his head and was now staring at them with its empty eyeholes.

“It’s just a scarecrow…” Twilight began but each other word stuck in her throat for the scarecrow really was actually moving. It freed itself from its stake and staggered with uncertain, stiff steps towards Twilight and Spike. And it wasn’t alone. Twilight never paid attention on how many Scarecrows existed around Ponyville but a round dozen of them were about to join in with their straw-filled comrade.
The straw-pony on the front lifted its foreleg and pointed at Twilight. Then they all started to march forward.

<0>

4: Battle on the Outskirts

4th: Battle on the Outskirts

All knowledge from Twilight’s books wasn’t helpful in this situation at all. She and Spike were beset by straw-ponies –by scarecrows, for Celestia’s sake! And they lived up to their names and did not only scare crows but Twilight as well.

“Hello, guys”, she tried to talk to the ragamuffins. “R-really funny.”
She tried to overact her growing fear but did a really lousy job.

“What are those things?” Spike whispered. “Do you think they’re…?”

“Don’t you dare saying zombies”, Twilight threatened, but she sounded quite despondent. In the interim the scarecrows had come menacing close.

“C’mon, guys…” she begged pleadingly. Still she had the slight hope this might all have been just a tasteless Nightmare Night prank. But two very good reasons stood against that.

First: It wasn’t Nightmare Night.
Second: It was no night at all but broad daylight.

One of the scarecrows had meanwhile come so close to Twilight the straw-pony could reach for her with a stiff foreleg. The hay that jutted out of the ragged sleeve resembled an openening claw.
Twilight screamed an instinctively fired a magic pulse from her horn. It hit the scarecrow right in the chest. The impact tore apart the cloth and spread straw everywhere around. And yet the tattered, half destroyed ragamuffin kept dragging itself forward.

“Eeep”, Spike squeaked and clung to Twilight. “Twi, do something!”

And suddenly a singing, metallic sound sliced through the air. The torn-apart scarecrow immediately dropped to the ground, cut right in half. Twilight blinked unbelievingly. In front of her a solitary pony had appeared who stood dauntlessly against the scarecrows. It was Valor Edge, the hilt of his sword firmly between his teeth, the blade shining coldly and white in the sunlight.

“Cho I wash right” he growled through his clenched teeth. “Shomshing wash wrong. Well, Mish Kwilight, who are shese misherable figures?”
It wasn’t easy to speak understandably if you had to carry a sword with your mouth and it took a moment for Twilight to realize what Valor had said.

“I… I don’t know”, she stammered.

“Pull yourshelf togesher”, Valor scolded. “Flee or fight, but don’t just chtand ‘round!”
And with that, he jumped forward. His blade sang again and pierced the chest of another scarecrow. For any living being, this wound would’ve been fatal, but this foe didn’t even twitch. Instead it was about to lunge itself at Valor.

Said one dragged and tugged to free his sword and eventually ripped it out of the scarecrow’s side. For a moment Valor and the straw-pony seemed to just stare at each other, then a second pony came to his aid: Applejack buckled the ragamuffin hard with her hindquarters. That kind of buckle was intended for shaking mellow apples of trees and being kicked that hard didn’t benefit the scarecrow at all. Again, it was raining straw.

Together AJ and Valor made their stand against their foes. The scarecrows were in a way similar to the undead. They had the determination of zombies and were about as dumb as them, if not dumber. Valor had realized that those opponents could only be stopped by ripping them completely apart. As straw-ponies, they had no brain, so they had to be either possessed or remotely controlled. (Valor himself was surprised he knew such a word.)
Their mindlessness was the scarecrows’ biggest advantage for they recklessly threw themselves at the ponies and the baby-dragon. But it also was a weakness. With no self-preservation drive they didn’t even try to avoid getting hit.

Valor’s sword was tremendously sharp and cut like a scythe through limbs of straw. With the first strike a scarecrow fell, with the second or the third it finally stopped as at that point there wasn’t enough left of it that could still move.

AJ's fighting style was even quicker: She only had to buckle a straw-pony really hard once and it literally exploded leaving hay and ragged clothing floating around.

One single scarecrow had until now managed to stumble past Applejack and Valor Edge and attacked Twilight. Again she shrieked and instinctively fired another magic bolt. This time she aimed higher blew the scarecrow’s head apart. Twilight fired again and the second hit ultimately destroyed the attacker.
With her rigor broken Twilight Sparkle finally participated the fight and as she once had the knack of it she took out one opponent after another.

The battle was over eventually. Valor Edge mad short shrift of the last scarecrow, then there were only piles of straw and rags left. Applejack, Twilight, Spike and he himself were unharmed except few bruises, although quite drained. It only had been the last of a long line of battles for Valor, but for the others it must’ve been a new experience. Judging at least from how full of go they were. That state likely arose from the rush of battle (in another place and another time better known as ‘Adrenaline’).

“Did you see that?” Twilight’s voice fell over itself with excitement. “I didn’t know I was capable of casting that kind of magic!”

“Exactly! You were like… And then the other pony was like… And then…” Spike was so excited he couldn’t make a proper sentence. Only Applejack, as always, was more indigenous.

“Where’d that damn things come from?” she panted and tried to pull some straws out of her mane.
Valor Edge was just about to respond, when suddenly another voice cut him off.

“I think this my prompt.” The voice was clear pitched like a filly’s. But there was none in sight. The three ponies and the dragon looked startled at each other.

“Who are chou?” Valor hissed through his clenched teeth. “Chow chychelf!”

The clear voice giggled. “Aw, c’mon! Don’t tell me you can’t see me! I’m right here.”
That sounded almost as if the filly stood right next to him, Valor thought. Something in her voice gave him the shivers. His right eye’s view darted to and fro hastily as he tried to make out the voice’s origin.

“Staring in your face", the filly laughed. “Boo!”

An indistinct scream of terror slipped out of his mouth and he dropped his sword. The blade fell to the grass and Valor squinted bemusedly. What he’d seen in the reflection of his sword for a blink was absolutely impossible.

But there was no doubt: From the polished, specular surface of the blade two dark eyes stared at him. That eyes belonged to the only particularly visible face of a filly. But they weren’t a filly’s eyes for their look was cold, impersonal and mocking.

“Took you long enough” said the face on the blade. “Finally we meet.”

“What are thou?” Valor asked, still bemused.

The filly in the reflection completely ignored his question, instead she said: “Did you all like my toys? Brother of mine told me how to make them.”

“Yeah, I will die laughing.” Valor kept a straight face.

AJ, Twi and Spike also bended over the sword to see who Valor was talking to.

“Getting to the point” Valor now demanded. “Twelve animated scarecrows, all but subtle. Quite an effort for just a single unicorn.”

A high, clear laugh came for a reply, but something in this laughter sounded twisted. “What a killjoy you are.” And again the tone didn’t match the childish words. “And why would I be after her?”

Confusion spread on Valor’s face for a second and vanished for terror. “But if not her, then who… Oh… Oh, dear…”

“You’re not the sharpest tool in the shed, are you? Or did you honestly expect no one would notice you? After you hit the stage like that last night?”

In fact, Valor didn’t know what he’d expected especially since he didn’t remember how he had ‘hit the stage’. “So, what do thou want with me?” he snarled.

“Plain vanilla.” Despite the words there was nothing childlike left in the voice, but only icy coldness. “I want your vortex-manipulator and the incredible power you hold in your hands… hoves!”

“Did she just say ‘hands’?” Applejack asked with her brow wound up.

“Did she just say ‘vortex-manipulator’?” Twilight wondered instead.

“So” Valor replied with false calmness and missed to hear the other ponies’ questions. “For why are thou thinking I would turn myself in just like that? I must say, thy scarecrows not impress me much.”

But the mirror-being wasn’t ruffled that easily.

“So my dollies aren’t dangerous enough for you? I’ve been taking in the energy of this world for a year now. I can make new puppets. How many of them can you stop? A dozen? One hundred? I will send thousands of them and they will lay this land to ashes until they get you! Sacrifice yourself or sacrifice this land and its good and innocent ponies! Your decision.”

Valor stood like a pillar of salt and said nothing.

“Aw, has the great hero lost his speech?” The creature seemed to deliberate. “Or do you maybe think this planet isn’t worth being saved? Maybe you’re right…”

“Shut thy mouth!” Valor spitted. Threaten the innocent definitely was a way to drive him mad. Really mad.

“Did I hit a nerve?” the filly in the mirror mocked. “So what’s the what, you surrender or not?
Or do you need more time to think about it?”

But Valor was self-possessed again and kept silent.

“Come on, take your time, I’ve been waiting for eternities, so what’s an hour more or less? I am in every single mirror so don’t dare trying to fool me. You will know how to find me”, the filly continued with false generosity. “And finally a well-meant advice: Do yourself and the world a favor and don’t make me come and get you!”

With this last threat the eyes vanished from the reflection. What was left were two ponies and a little dragon, who were frightened though they had only understood half of all. And one more pony who now understood elementary better than before. And who hence was even more frightened.

<0>

5: Plans and Accomplishment

Author's Note

As the following thre chapters belong together I decided to upload them as one bigger part rather than three short ones.
Hope you'll enjoy reading!

5: Plans and Accomplishment

5th: A Fateful Plan…

Of course, the confrontation was as inevitable as it was about to take disastrous proportions. An endless time ago, long before it had gotten banished into the mirrors, the being had been a hunter with nothing less than a whole galaxy for a hunting range.
But as said, that was over long since. It was condemned to haunt every existing reflection in the universe, to forever linger and vegetate at the edge of subconscious perception. More than half crazed by that unbearable, according to rules of reality almost impossible sort of existence, the creature only had had one choice to escape her eternal fate. To flee to another universe. It had been a lucky coincidence, perhaps even more unlikely than being banished behind the mirrors.
And in this new universe there were new rules life had to stick to. It was a universe where a form of energy existed that made the impossible possible. That energy was, of course, magic thought the being hadn’t had a name for it.

The process of absorbing magic through the surfaces of the mirrors had been long-lasting and exhausting but eventually the creature had been able to change her powerless state of existence.

But finally, finally she -for according to her own definition the being was indeed female- was able to manifest herself in a single mirror for a limited amount of time instead of just lingering in the background of each and every of them. But she never was free for it would have taken a much greater power to free her.

And this time, fate was kind to the imprisoned huntress. She had not tried out her new abilities for long when she sensed an enormous source of energy. The mysterious new arrival had to have a vortex-manipulator, no doubt. And after the huntress had found a mirror from which she could lurk on that particular pony, she was sure that this Valor Edge was hiding even a much greater power than just a manipulator. She had to get a grip on that force at all costs for she hoped that Valor’s power would equal the power of the one who had once imprisoned her. And if, no, when she was finally free again she would use the vortex-manipulator to return to her home universe and take her cruel revenge.

Time for a new hunt!

The first assault was for the vortex-manipulator or rather the poor unicorn who had the bad luck of laying her hoof on it. The scarecrows were a simple trick of molecular animation, nevertheless it was humiliating that Valor and the other ponies could get rid of the quite easily.

So she fell back to another trick: To psychic warfare…

Though she could no longer smell it, she saw the despair in their victims’ eyes when she revealed her intention to lay this land to ashes. And she knew Valor would now willingly step into each trap she wanted to set up. All she needed to do was to issue an ultimatum to him and he would never dare to break it.

Everything went according to plan, well, maybe except one thing: Valor had covered his sword again so the huntress couldn’t observe him anymore. And the vortex-manipulator was brushed. It didn’t reflect enough.

But that was nothing more than a last bit of pointless rebellion, she guessed.
For before one hour was over, Valor Edge stepped in front of a mirror one more time…

<0>

It was not hard to guess for Valor, how the filly had imagined the outcome of this macabre little play. She had ordered her mindless puppets to set up a large old-fashioned mirror and Valor only had to track down her scarecrows to find her. The straw-ponies guarded an old barn. Of course, where else could she get from all the material for a brand new army of puppets?

None of them tried to stop Valor, as he trotted by with his head lowered. Again, why should they? Valor was coming to their mistress willingly. One could easily see how hard this walk was for Valor but as he finally stood in front of the mirror, he was perfectly calm again.
He indeed was a worthy opponent, proud and with dignity even in defeat.

Valor Edge quickly inspected himself in the mirror. Then he squared his back to look a little less tired and waited. At his glance his image vanished and the reflection of the filly took its place, smiling at Valor with a mean grin.

“At last we face each other fairly”, Valor stated and looked at his opponent. An earth-pony filly, small, with grey coat and dark brown mane she wore as a simple ponytail. Strange and even a little irritating was the red balloon which string the filly had tied to her right hoof.

“And at last it seems that you decided to surrender”, the filly replied.

Valor’s right eye narrowed unwillingly but he didn’t allow any stronger reaction. He immediately forced himself to relax his face again and put up an expression of half-hearted interest.

“Let us say, my curiosity got the best of me”, he responded calmly. “For I am very keen of knowing what thou want with me.”

“Curiosity killed the cat.”

Valor had almost moaned. He tried to remain tranquil in the face of almost certain death and now the villain tried to provoke him with proverbs?

“Never mind”, the filly continued. “Are you really that much interested in what I’m up to, hmm?”
She sounded honestly puzzled. And maybe a little uncertain? In any case, she didn’t stop tang.

“Where the plan’s that simple: I’m stuck in a mirror. In all mirrors, that is. It’s boring and lonely and I hate it. So I’m going to break free. I found this world and it’s full of energy, so I had hoped…”

The filly fell silent and for a single moment all villainy and mockery had left her face. But Valor had barely time to notice it when she got to her best again.

“But everything I could gather wasn’t enough. I need more energy, more power. I need your power. And I gonna drink it in ‘till I get out of here!”

Two scarecrows stepped forth and flanked Valor to sustain him. He didn’t struggle.

“I don’t care for this world. I may even leave it alone if it’ll weather, who knows?”
The filly looked at Valor with a dreamy smile as she imagined how it would be to finally be free again. But then, her face twisted with anger. “And I gonna use the vortex-manipulator and find the one who did this to me! And. I. Will. Make. Him. Pay.” she spat.

“Unbelievable”, Valor gave vent to his bewilderment. “So that is it? The world is endangered by a stubborn child who is moping for being grounded?”

It wasn’t polite and by sure not appropriate at all but Valor couldn’t help but to laugh about the absurdity of the situation.

“Silence!” the filly snapped only now truly resentful. “You have no clue! I’m no silly child, I’m the daughter of a family of mighty hunters, who…”

“The Family of Blood, I know”, Valor interrupted her and for once took the wind from her sails. “The foolish hunters who left a trail of ash and sorrow because they wanted to live eternally and who got punished for their arrogance and cruelty with an eternal life in limbo. Come to think of it, how could somepony like I not know the story? And I must say you deserved your fate.”

“How dare you?” the filly shouted at him but Valor hadn’t finished yet:

“So now thou are trying to get a hold on my might –which thou not even grasp in the basics- to mess with HIM again, whereby thou understand his might just as little. This conflict is at best bound to end in the same way like last time! At worst -and that is much more likely- thou aren’t able to control that energy thou long for and eradicate the whole creation by trying to!”

“SHUT UP”, the daughter roared. The scarecrows began to rustle as if a storm wind was blowing through their rows. Valor noticed each of the filly’s puppets by now being inside the barn. Their mistress had in her anger summoned every last of them. Oh, good…

“I don’t care how many universes I destroy! I want my revenge!”

Valor now got in desperate straits but he still tried to remain calm. For he still hoped he could appeal to his opponent’s mind and reason.

“In the name of everything sacred”, he conjured her. “End this stupid game ere it turns to a disaster!”

But his words fell on deaf ears, for hearing the hard and unadorned truth from Valor’s mouth hat driven the huntress to rage beyond every reason.

“Why”, she hissed. A well-nigh insane smile distorted her childlike face. “Why should I quit when I’ve already won? If you won’t hand me over your power willingly, then I’ll squeeze out every little drip from you!”

Valor Edge shook his head in resignation. “I really had hoped it wouldn’t come that far. But I should have known… They never listen…”

He rose his head and looked the evil filly straight in the eyes, a frightening flash in his eye.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” the huntress hissed, but again Valor had managed to startle her. Said shook his head for another time, yet a ghost of a smile appeared on his lips that equaled the rage of his opponent in dangerousness.

“Thou are not the only one with a plan.”

<0>

6th: Solitary or Together?

One hour earlier…

Valor angrily stomped the ground with his hoof. He always fought to protect the innocents. But yet those he met on his way always got in danger because of him. Even here, where everything had seemed so peaceful. That was fairly the reason he travelled alone: He could only protect others if the stood away from him.

“Valor, what should we do now?” Twilight asked, almost as if she had picked up his thoughts.

The swordstallion turned his head and said: “You are not going to do anything.”

The others were dumbfounded. “W-what do you mean by that?” Twilight demanded to know.

“That filly, that… that being, it’s after me. You all are in danger as long as you are with me. Hence you shall leave me alone and I shall face this foe all by myself.”

“No can do, partner”, Applejakc replied. “Some friends we’d be to bail on ya!”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Applejack!” Concern made Valor’s voice sound louder than he had intended. “This is not about friendship! Twilight was attacked for just having once talked to me!”

“Actually I don’t think this is right”, the lavender unicorn objected. “The filly said something about a… um, vortex-manipulator.”
With her magic she grabbed something golden from her saddlebag.
“I’d been attacked when picking up this one. Could this be what they were after?”

Valor’s mouth tilted open. The mere view of the golden lighter triggered his mind to explode with impressions. And within the storm of memories, suddenly everything made much more sense. Not only why Twilight had been attacked, but also what the power was, the filly was after. The power of the Vortex, the power of time itself!
And Valor know one vital thing he had forgotten.

“That is my lighter” he exclaimed and then half-voiced finished his last train of thought. “Oh, this makes perfectly sense. I must have lost it at my arrival. How unspeakable stupid of me!”

“I knew it”, Twilight cheered. A touch of excitement was about to return to her. “Then you really were responsible for the hole in the rock?”

“I am not sure…”

“And you also know something about the creatures that had attacked us, don’t you?”

Being honest, Valor Edge at least had to consider that. He remembered having noticed something similar before. A strange movement in a mirror, only visible from the corner of one’s eye. His returning memories told him he had once asked about that strange figure and that he was told a story. In fact he knew the one who was responsible for the filly in the mirror. But now knowing his enemy he also knew he had to even more distinctly keep the others out of it.

“The filly in the mirror”, he explained with some despair in his eye. “I believe it hails not from this world. And it is a threat of the kind I have always fought. But I never happen to anything like it before.
I am really thankful that you want to help me, but I simply cannot let that happen. For my sake no one puts himself in danger!”

He grabbed his sword and stowed it back into its sheath. But then he untied his belt and left the blade laid against a rock. That way the creepy filly could at least no longer spy on him. He had maybe one hour to think of a plan but he just know one thing for sure: When it was about the time vortex, to surrender was not an option.

Valor Edge now turned to leave. But it wasn’t over just like that. Twilight, with Spike on her back, and Applejack blocked his path as he was about to begin his way to his uphill fight. Twilight tapped the other pony’s chest with her foreleg and said firmly:
“You can’t be honestly thinking, we’d let you fight against those… Things alone? Look, I first thought too, one couldn’t simply solve that kind of problems with friendship alone. But by now I’ve learned never to underestimate the magic of friendship. And so shouldn’t you!”

And not less to Valor’s surprise (and to be honest a little embarrassed) he realized she was just about to start singing.

When somepony is in need
Is trying hard doing what he can
Would you try, just give it a chance
You might find that you’ll start to understand

“Um, actually…” Valor tried to object before Applejack and Spike joined in the song.

A true, true friend helps a friend in need
A friend will be there to help you see
A true, true friend helps a friend in need
To see the light that shines from a true, true friend

Valor Edge shook his head, partly to get rid of the peculiar music that had in the meantime begun to play in his head. But it was pointless. More than just that, he got the strange feeling he himself had to sing a stance. So he brought in his own theme:

If you would only understand…

I know the tune of each rock and stone

And I seek what others fear

You all are not meant to stand with me

It would be better just to leave me here

Seen too many deaths with this very eye

Don’t come any closer, I don’t want you to die

I felt all the pain of too many goodbyes

But somehow I will still get by

Just like a tree stands on its own

Reaching for the sky I am alone

I share my path with no one else

All by myself I stand alone

But the two ponies and the small dragon weren’t put off that easily. They briefly looked at each other, then Twilight retorted with another verse of their own song:

Valor you are in trouble

We need to get there by your side

We can try to do what we can now

For together we can be your guide

(“You sure are persistent”, Valor Edge complained but now just half-hearted.)

A true, true friend helps a friend in need

A friend will be there to help you see

A true, true friend helps a friend in need

To see the light that shines from a true, true friend

Valor Edge sighed, but then eventually smiled.

I give in.

Just like a tree stands on its own

Reaching for the sky I was alone

But now I stand with someone else

So shall it be: No more alone

Twilight, Applejack and Spike beamed at him. Valor Edge looked at them one after another. Now his look was again free of despair, calm like AJ remembered it, like it had been before they had accidentally met the scarecrows on their walk.

“I thought I had walked alone for ever since. But that was not true”, Valor eventually stated. “It just had been for too long, so I forgot I once had been part of a fellowship. Come to think of it, friendship may well be magic. Funny, how it only took a simple song to convince me, to toss all precepts of mine overboard…”

“A song?” Spike confusedly asked.

“Well, yes. We were singing, there was music.” Then he saw the others’ puzzled faces. “Ah, never mind.”
Aaand apparently I am the only one who noticed all of us breaking into song just a few moments ago. It may be I do have suffered a slight brain damage.

The following awkward silence then was suddenly interrupted by a pink whirlwind.

“Hi, Pointy!” It was Pinkie Pie. What was even more bemusing, she wore a cooking pot that was barely capable of sustaining her head of curls and had tied together two pillows as an armor of some sort.

“Um, Pinkie” Applejack turned to the party-pony. “Whatcha doin’ here? And why the hay are ya wearin’ a pot and pillows?”

Pinkie Pie bounced up and down on her spot with a broad, satisfied smile. “It’s my knight’s armor, silly. For the battle, or isn’t this the chapter were we fight against the creeheepy scarecrows?”

“Already had that, Pinkie”, Twilight said with an indefinite expression on her face and Valor added: “How did thou find us at all?”

“Just had some ticklish feeling”, Pinkie stated happily.

Valor wound up his brow suspiciously. He bent over to Twilight and whispered in her ear: “Should I question that one?”
She just sighed and answered: “Save the headache and better let it be. Though I must say it’s new to me that there was a Pinkie-Sense for attacking scarecrows…”

“Oh no, don’t tell me I’ve missed the song battle, too! I so badly wanted to hear Pointy sing…”
This time Valor could follow. He knew what Pinkie meant, yet he seemed to be the only one and he didn’t have a clue where she now knew that from. Maybe there was a ‘Pinkie-Sense’ for strange songs…

“Pinkie, could you please, just for a moment be a little less… yourself”, Twilight requested. Her expression ranged somewhere between confusion and frustration. “We have more important things to discuss. For example an action plan. After all Valor can’t just simply turn himself in, can he?”

Said just silently nodded and let his chin rest on his hoof for a while. “Hmm”, he then muttered before saying more clearly: “Actually not a bad idea at all.” And seeing the thunderstruck faces of his want-to-be partners in battle he quickly added:
“This may not be a plan yet, but it is at least a startup. Come on, we have a lot of work to do!”

<0>

7th: … And how to Accomplish It

The eyes of the filly in the mirror had become so wide that it seemed they would come out of their holes any minute. For the Family of Blood’s daughter it was almost impossible to imagine that Valor could do anything to make his stand against her. But in his eye and on his lips she could read that he definitely was of another opinion.
This wasn’t like the expression of the angry god, who had banished her. No wrath, no rage. Valor’s distinction was based on a deep calmness, which almost frightened the daughter even more.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she snapped. “What kind of plan could you possibly have? You’re alone and don’t have a weapon either!” But she was shouting against her doubts and Valor had very well noticed.

“Thou are mistaking on two important points”, he explained as cool as ice, while stepping away from his captors. For the scarecrows having no mind they could do nothing against it without an order from their mistress.

“Mistake number one”, Valor continued. “Thou may well be right to say I could not win this fight by myself. That is exactly why I have brought reinforcement.”

A strange humming tone filled the air and through the barn door and the cracks in the wood a white lighting began to shine.
“What’s that?” the daughter bellowed. “What have you done?”

Valor looked at her firmly. “Say, do thou know what the Elements of Harmony are? It looks like I have underestimated my new friends. And so did thou.”

The daughter tried to leave the mirror but much to her shock had to notice that she couldn’t quit her manifestation.

“It is plain simple. Thou have been absorbing this world’s magic to get more power. Because of that thou are now bound to the rules of magic. I had the Elements of Harmony to set up a little banishment-circle – or containment field if thou are more into scientific terms. Nothing gets in and nothing gets out, thanks to Twilight Sparkle and her friends.”

The daughter’s mouth tilted open. “You filthy…” She was literally speechless. For the moment it couldn’t think of anything but being trapped.

Until she suddenly realized something:
Didn’t Valor just say nothing was getting in or out of that containment field? That meant Valor also was trapped inside, just as herself. Trapped by the puny, little pony-friends he called to his aid. And without a weapon he could possibly do nothing to withstand her!

The filly leaned forward until it seemed like she’d lay her muzzle against the glass of the mirror and laughed Valor straight in the face.

“You think you’re sharp, huh? But if nothing gets in or out, nothing includes you, as well, doesn’t it. So we’re both stuck in here, I still have my dollies and you got nothing. Nada! Niente! Zero!”

But Valor Edge, despite the biting scorn, remained calm. He had his weaknesses but losing his temper because of other’s pride wasn’t one of them.

“No need to be impolite”, he said dryly. “Alas, I take from thy statement thou still do not want to consider my request, do thou?”

“Never. Ever.” The daughter grinned.

Valor took a deep breath and closed his eye. “Well then, so we shall continue our tragic play…”
He sighed and then pierced his foe with his glare.
“Thy second mistake then”, he said. “I am by no means unarmed.”

He put his hoof into his pocket and fetched the golden lighter (without even for a second doubting the physical possibility of grabbing something with a hoof).

“Your… Your vortex-manipulator?” The evil filly wound up her brow in wonder, but then her confident smile returned. “That won’t help you anymore. Even if you get away from me, your friends won’t. My scarecrows will tear them apart! With all the straw lying ‘round here I can make hundreds and hundreds of them! You won’t sacrifice your friends just for your own sake.”

Now it was Valor’s turn to laugh but he sounded all but happy. “Thou have been stuck in a filly’s body for too long. Thou lost thine eye for the elementary.”

Valor Edge held up the lighter and dreamily looked at it. “Certainly, if I attempted to flee, it would not do any googd for my friends or Ponyville. Luckily, leaving the circle has never been part of my plan anyway.”
With the other hoof he zipped open the lighter’s lid.

“Sometimes a lighter indeed happens to be a vortex-manipulator.”

With a click the lighter in Valor’s hooves ignited and now burned with a light blue flame.

“And sometimes a lighter is just a lighter.”

Valor’s face was dramatically highlighted by the blue fire when stating his final sentence: “For after all, there’s a lot of hay in this barn.”

And at last, it dawned to the huntress. Too late! While she could do nothing but pointlessly spit with rage in her looking glass and shrieking at her puppets to stop Valor, he set the first scarecrow on fire. The dry straw went up in flames at once. The scarecrow tumbled and set ablaze a second one, then a third and a fourth. The hay in the barn burned like tinder and within no time, flames climbed high everywhere.

The Family of Blood’s daughter had to powerlessly watch as her triumph turned to a disastrous retreat within a heartbeat, as her ambitions and her marionettes burned alike. The destroyer of her dreams, Valor Edge, stood motionlessly right in the middle of an inferno, as calm as if he wouldn’t feel the torrid heat of the flames at all.
And right now the daughter realized, what all the time Valor’s look had reminded her of: It was like looking right into the eye of a storm.

“Now”, Valor said, picked up the lighter again and turned back to the mirror. “Let us shift attention back to the two of us…”

The huntress did no longer look dangerous at all. Gone was all anger and all hatred. Now she felt a paralyzing fear. She cowered and tried to stoop like a foal afraid of an outburst of rage. But that outburst never came. Valor didn’t act from rage or hate. He was no angry god. The hunter-daughter was a peril for this world and maybe for each other and he would stop her for that and for no other reason.
Never had she really been in control of this situation, she realized. Valor Edge seemed to not at all care about what happened to him. If his death was necessary to protect this world, he would die saving it. And because of that, he had outplayed the daughter from the very start. She couldn’t cope with him and that was why she now was doomed to relive the horror of her disastrous past.
And Valor had known it, too. He had given her a chance, had offered her an olive branch and in her arrogance she had spat on it. The hell she saw coming to for her, the flames of tarnation the burning barn had turned into, she had it coming.

“No, please, go away from me”, the filly screamed on the verge of panic. Although she couldn’t really feel the heat she felt the power of the flames tearing at the glass. She didn’t dare to imagine what would happen if the glass would finally burst.

For Valor Edge things had also turned dicey. It was so hard to breathe, every single breath hurt as he had to inhale the hot air and smoke. Despite that Valor tried not to cough and stood firmly. At his back, parts of the barn came crashing down blocking the only way out. Great. Did not plan to use the door anyway…

The filly cowered even more and whimpered. This was the end. No way out this time, not even imprisonment. This time, there was only the great leveler left…

Valor Edge put his hoof to the looking glass. The TICK made the filly wince and sob. She quickly glanced at him and pure fear was in her eyes.

But Valor just showed her a sad smile.
“Well, thou wanted my might, did thou not?” he said and, astonishingly, his voice sounded sad. The filly almost unwillingly had to lift her head and to look him straight into the face. “The power of the Vortex it was, thou wanted. Then look into my eyes!”

And as the flames surrounded them completely, she did.

<0>

6: A Story's End

8th: A Story's End

To speak with Rarity’s words, this was the worst possible thing. Twilight had never imagined a plan could go that terribly wrong.

Valor had asked her how strong her magic was and she had admitted to be experienced and skilled in magic (after Spike had already bragged about her being the most magical unicorn in Equestria).

Then Applejack had stated that they had the Elements of Harmony after all. And Twilight had told Valor, what the Elements were. At least what Twilight thought they were.

Surprisingly Valor Edge hadn’t seemed to be too curious about them for he stated that at the moment he only had to know if they could use the Elements to establish a banishing circle.
“I know for sure one thing”, he had explained. “Nopony can use magic without playing according to its rules. So if our enemy uses magic to appear in a looking glass, we can most certainly contain it within a magic field. If it cannot jump, we can possibly defeat it.”

And according to Valor’s plan they had surrounded the barn once Valor had lured the scarecrows in. Applejack desperately had wanted to join Valor. She had realized that the evil filly had chosen her old barn for headquarter and now wanted to ‘thrash the straw’. But Valor wouldn’t allow that. He insisted on the execution of his plan.

Twilight had indeed been a little proud. Under her lead the six Elements of Harmony enhanced her force field and built a shimmering dome around the barn.
In Twilight’s head Valor’s warning still had echoed: “Never ever step out of your circle! Always remember that I am the bait and you are the trap. Uphold your spell at all cost!”

So Twilight and her friends had done, even as they had heard the filly shouting out loud from inside the barn. She had hold her friends back, even as AJ and Rainbow had insisted on helping Valor Edge. But then the unthinkable had happened. Valor hadn’t told them everything about his plan, Twilight realized. He said he’d try to reason their enemy and if that wouldn’t work he said he’d deal with her somehow. But apparently ‘somehow’ involved setting the barn on fire. And still there was no sign of Valor coming out. Flames stroke out of the wood and smoke curled to the sky and against the force field. First bars came crashing down.

Rainbow Dash was the first to neglect Valor’s advice. She jumped towards the barn and thus interrupted the circle. The force field collapsed.
“We gotta do something!” Rainbow shouted and tried to fly to Valor’s aid. But Applejack grabbed her tail with her teeth and held her back.

At that very moment the intermediate floor over the door collapsed giving off sparks, blocking the door. Now there was no way out for Valor Edge.

“There’s nothing we can do”, AJ breathed, tears in her eyes. “Darn it Valor. Why did ya do that?”

The barn had become his pyre.

The six ponies looked at each other all of them in different states of shock. In the end there was nothing any of them could do.
They had to stand and watch in horror as the now unbound flames stroke towards the sky. Twilight and Rarity, still in position just stared at the fire. So did AJ and Rainbow ignoring the withering heat. Even Pinkie Pie had felt silent. And Fluttershy lay on the ground, her eyes closed, and cried for Valor.

But suddenly, Twilight felt something. It was like a distant voice in the air, an ethereal melody. The fire changed. Its roaring vanished replaced by the strange music. Golden rays broke out between the yellow, red and orange of the flames and they heard the sound of glass shattering.
“The golden light!” Twilight exclaimed. “There it is. I was right all along.”

And before she could notice that her excitement was very indelicate, the now golden flames burst into a bright, blistering explosion of light. For a moment, Twilight was blinded by that light and couldn’t see anything.

“Well, that came unexpected.” Twilight recognized Valor’s voice. “But who am I to question the results.”

“Valor? But how…? We… You…” she stuttered. Valor Edge just stood there and smiled, yet he should have been…

“Dead?” Valor completed her thought. “I am not easy to kill. Many a foe had to learn that the hard way.”

At that moment a rainbow-colored flash tackled him to the ground. “You idiot”, shouted Dash. “We were worried about you!” She boxed Valor Edge on his shoulder

Valor freed himself from Dash and struggled up again, though his legs seemed to be a bit weary. “Ouch, hard hoofpunch Rainbow”, he said gasping. “I guess I deserved that one. Simply not used to having friends again who worry about me. But I am alright.”

“But you really shouldn’t be”, Twilight objected. Not that she wasn’t relieved to see her friend unharmed. But the strictly logic-based part of her mind complained that it was absolutely impossible for anypony to escape that fire at all, much less unharmed. And that she said.

“A little parlor trick”, Valor waved off. Then he laughed as he saw the wary looks of the others. “No, really, not a thing to worry about. I am no vengeful spirit or something.”
He became more serious again. “But more important: It is done. The filly in the mirror poses no threat anymore.”

“So, did you… kill her?” Fluttershy asked anxiously. Her eyes went wide.

“Actually, no”, Valor Edge said soothingly. “I did not kill her. I was prepared to do so, but a little surprisingly something else worked out.” He shrugged his shoulders. “She wanted to the power of the Vortex of Time. Hence I gave her what she wanted and let her look directly into Vortex.”

“Yeah, not getting it…” Rainbow Dash stated dryly. “Me neither”, Fluttershy confirmed. “Nope.” AJ shook her head and so did Rarity. Pinkie remained silent but flashed a wide and confusingly understanding smile.

“The Vortex connects what was, what is and what will or could be”, Valor explained. “And it is the driving force behind everything in the universe. Its heartbeat, some say.”

“But what ‘bout that cheeky lil miss? What happened to her?” asked Applejack. “Ya said ya didn’t kill her. But what happened to her?”

Valor Edge pawed on the ground. “She is gone. As she looked into the Time Vortex, the mirror shattered. Had the daughter claimed that might while her heart was still burning with the thirst for vengeance, she could have destroyed the whole world.
But there was a little bit of hesitation. A spark of doubt, one could say. So my plan was to show her how wrong she was. I had to make her realize her grave mistakes.”

He paused for a moment and swallowed. “I was cruel, I was cold, and I even lit the barn ablaze. I destroyed all her ambitions, all her hopes. So, when she finally looked into the Vortex, there was only regret left in her heart. And that was what saved her.”

“Still not getting it”, Twilight stated dryly.

“When the Vortex is opened it is the most powerful source of energy. Connected with ones deepest and most desperate wishes anything can happen. The alien huntress who had been banished behind the looking glasses may have been evil – I am not sure about that. But I know there was enough of an innocent foal left in her to save her: She had felt a little sympathy before and that was enough. When the power of the Vortex flowed over her, she no longer wished for revenge, but only for forgiveness. All she wanted was a second chance. And that wish could be fulfilled, more than gladly.”

“So where’s she now?” Applejack wanted to follow up. “Did ya just… let her go?”

Valor smiled and confirmed happily: “I did. And to be honest, I have no clue where she is now. Somewhere and somewhen – wait, can I say that? ‘Somewhen’? Sounds not right… Um… Anyway!
What I wanted to say: There will be a place at some point in space and time –be it the past or the future- where she can make a brand new start. Live a perfect normal life as a perfect normal filly. She will grow and learn, become what she wants to be. A musician perhaps, who knows? It may well be, we will meet her again. But I doubt we would realize it…”

So everything turned out fine in the end. Much better than Valor Edge had hoped. No blood had been shed and even their foe had been rescued from his own self-destructive hatred. Even if by now she wouldn’t even remember what she had been. The swordstallion was pretty sure he knew her jailer, that he had met the one who had imprisoned her in the first place.
And though he was mainly happy that his plan (by far not his best one, if he was honest) had worked out in the best way possible, he was a little proud he had shown mercy where other's couldn’t. Something that happened way to little in this cruel universe.

But there were still things left to do today. To apologize, for example. Valor hadn’t been completely honest with Twilight and her friends about his plan and the danger he had decided to put himself into. And even now he couldn’t share his whole story with them…
But he did apologize and he meant it.

“It’s alright”, Applejack accepted his apology in place of her friends. “No harm done and no offense taken.” Then she added, smiling: “So this is watcha doin’, huh? What yer Cutie Mark stands for? Fightin’ against evil creatures and… Did ya say ‘aliens’?”

“Close enough, I guess”, Valor smirked then became serious again. “A life full of danger and adventures. As I said -or sung, but never mind- even staying near me could be dangerous. So it may be the best if I just travelled on…”

“Had worse”, Twilight simply answered. “Besides, don’t think I would ever let you go without you telling me everything about that whole Time-Vortex-thing!”

“Yeah! We’d never drop somepony that cool”, Rainbow Dash cheered in approval. “I mean you fight evil aliens and you set a barn on fire just to make a point! That is sooo awesome!”

Pinkie Pie flashed her widest smile and Valor was convinced for a moment that she had more than a pony’s normal amount of teeth. “Welcome again to Ponyville, Mister Pointy! So what do we do next?” She took Valor aside and lowered her voice conspiratorially. “Will we fight against evil space-witches and their creepy word and rhyme-scheme based magic?”

“Wait, what?” AJ’s jaw dropped. “Space-witches? Why would there be space witches? No, actually, Ah think Valor’s gonna do something different, first.”

“And that would be?”

“He owes me a new barn”, Applejack stated with a serious expression on her face.

Valor Edge started to laugh. “Fair enough” he said.

<0>

That was how Valor Edge finally decided to stay in Ponyville, thanks to Twilight Sparkle and her friends. What none of them knew was that somepony was observing them from the distance: An earth-pony stallion in a hooded cloak stood in the shades of the old trees of the Everfree Forest, watching and gloomily smiling.

“That turned out very well”, he grinned. “The hero finally has hit the stage. Everything will go according to my plan.”
He lifted his left forehoof and held it in the air for a moment. The hoof trembled a little, then he started to tap on the ground.

Ta-ta-ta Tap. Ta-ta-ta Tap. Ta-ta-ta Tap.

“The wage of war is coming”, the stallion muttered to himself. “The self-proclaimed guardian and the Silver Knight of Eternity. How exciting!”
He turned back where in the shadows fiery-orange eyes were glowing.
“So let’s make sure, our champion will be ready when the final mistake of a good man… stallion will make the devil rise.”

Ta-ta-ta Tap. Ta-ta-ta Tap. Ta-ta-ta Tap.

Tales of Valor

Through The Looking Glass

Starring

Valor Edge --- Matthew Broderick
Twilight Sparkle --- Tara Strong
Applejack --- Ashleigh Ball
Pinkie Pie --- Andrea Libman
The Daughter --- Lauren Wilson

Also starring

Fluttershy --- Andrea Libman
Rainbow Dash --- Ashleigh Ball
Rarity --- Tabitha St.Germain
Spike --- Kira Buckland

And introducing John Simm as The Cloaked Stallion.

Author's Note

So this is it: Finis!
Valor's first adventure in Ponyville has come to its end.

And so has Scribble's debut as writer. I hope you enjoyed my story and my decisions for this crossover. Some may already anticipate who or what the ponies will be facing soon from what i indicated so far.

More soon...