Last month was my birthday. It was nothing special, because of current events I had insisted to Pinkie to not have an actual party. It took some convincing but I did get her to agree on the condition we'd make it up when times were better. So I just had spent time with Vinyl and Octavia and had a lazy day away from the guard, friends, and the world in general.

It's been about two months since that time with Octavia. Vinyl had teased the hell out of us the next day, to the point Octavia had whacked her upside the head when she didn't drop it the day after that. Tavi has been happier since that time, she seemed overall more energetic and productive. When I had asked she just smiled and told me it was just a good day. That excuse worked for the first few times I repeated that question on subsequent days... Actually it worked up until my birthday...

Ok, I found out the reason because of Vinyl. I was oblivious.

They had been talking in the kitchen making dinner while I was lounging on the couch in the living room. Vinyl had been joking around with Octavia, if the laughing and occasional whack in response was anything to go by, when I heard her squee loudly. I had gotten up and came to see what had happened. Upon entering I was Vinyl beaming at me while Octavia was looking away bashfully. I had noticed flour was everywhere, a common occurrence with Vinyl helping cook, but particularly on Octavia's stomach.

It took a moment, and I actually used my energy sense to make sure, before I realized what Vinyl had noticed. Octavia was pregnant!

I was overjoyed, all other thoughts were overridden by my love for her as I came up to her and kissed her with the intention of trying to impart all the love I felt in that moment (impossible I know). Vinyl came in and gave her own kiss before kissing me on my cheek and saying how happy she was.

Apparently it likely happened when we had that afternoon to ourselves and she had just been trying to find a time to tell us. She hadn't started showing signs of the pregnancy yet, but it probably wouldn't take too long before it was obvious. Vinyl was actually at the point where she had to start counting the days for her own pregnancy as the twins were due almost any day now.

Unfortunately I was being sent out on a mission this afternoon and wasn't expected to be back for a couple days. If Vinyl went into labor while I was away I told her to have Twilight send word and I'd be back before she'd know it. If I had the choice I'd forgo the mission and just take a few days off, but this was an all hands-on-deck situation.

An information division had picked up chatter about another major public 'event' as we are calling it. It was going to happen in Manehattan, and myself and part of my troop was being dispatched to assist the guard corp that operated out of that region, mostly because of me. They could just send me by myself but the Captain didn't think that would be a good image, or fair to me on that matter. So I was taking all my sergeants, save one to keep my training regiment going for the few days I was gone.

"Lieutenant, we're about ten minutes out." Nocturne roused me from my daydreaming. We had been on a train for the past five hours and I had decided to have some time to myself before we had arrived.

"Hmm? Thank you sergeant. Are the others aware?" I asked as I stretched.

"They are sir. You looked as though you were in thought so I decided to inform you last sir."

"Considering the nature of the info, that's fine. I was just thinking back on my herd."

"I figured sir. Vinyl is due any day isn't that right?" Nocturne asked respectfully. All my troop knew my mares, even had met them on a couple occasions. Along with Ponyville being a small town in any case.

"Correct, which makes being away all the harder. Though we do what we must."

"That we do sir. We were to be received by a transport squad from the local guard division upon arrival, was that correct?"

"So I was told. Though personally that makes me feel like more of a walking target than being protected. Also it's like announcing our arrival, as Purge scouts are likely scattered around the city. With the train station a location that is near constantly monitored." I explain my concern with the plan.

"I assume you expressed your concern sir."

"Of course I did. Though the Manehattan guard wouldn't have it, said I'm too valuable to risk an assassination. Like that's an actual concern." I scoffed.

"In fairness sir, with your human nature, any plans that Purge is likely making is that they see you as a more keen observer and strategist. Since they should be unaware of your abilities, they should perceive you as an intellectual threat rather than a physical one." Nocturne spoke plainly as I gathered up my gear before we traveled up to the front car.

My sergeants were aware of what happened to Purge in the Everfree. Over time, when I felt they were trustworthy, I filled them in on what I could do with the Captain's permission. Nocturne was the first I actually told, and I have had a few training sessions using part of my power as I could better train myself and my sergeants to be better prepared. He also made a good point, we had no reason to believe that Purge knew of my abilities, and we'd hope to keep it that way for a while longer.

"That is true, that we know that is, though I'd prefer to come off as cocky and surprise them rather than announce our presence." I explain as we reach the lead car.

My two other sergeants saw us enter and stood up and gave a salute, I waved them off as we entered the booth to discuss our plan upon arrival. My fellow human sergeant, Leo Rowe, his Italian heritage clearly visible in his features, spoke first.

"So Lieutenant, is there any plan of how we're going to deal with this 'event' as it is being referred to?"

He was slapped upside the head by my final sergeant I've yet to describe. He was a terran of above average size, grey coat with a deep crimson mane with a dark green streak going through it, Vine Lash was his name (how ponies seem ignorant of the irony of their names still confounds me).

"The lieutenant is just as much in the dark about this as us Rowe. Think before opening your mouth knucklehead."

"Oww! Well sorrrrrry, can't help it if I'm curious about this. I haven't even gotten to fight a purge member yet. The lieutenant took out all the ones in Ponyville before I got a chance."

Another wack to the head, Lash replied, "First don't talk about that stuff outside the barracks. Who knows what kinds of ponies or people are hanging around in earshot. Second, why are you complaining about getting out of a fight, I swear I'll never understand that human nature of yours. No offense Lieutenant."

I chuckled, "None taken. Though how human I am is still out for debate. In any case Sergeant Rowe is not completely out of line with his question. We are entering the city with the highest human murder rate before and after the royal exodus act was put in place, even ahead of Canterlot, even though the human population is only about half what it is in Canterlot. Rowe and I are going to have to be more cautious. Even if I'm not really in danger, it'd give off too strange a feel if I act too carefree."

Nocturne was next to speak up, "Sir, to go back to Rowe's question. Do you already have an idea of how you want to investigate?"

"We don't really have that kind of power Sergeant. I'm going to be just following the order of the General who runs the corp over here. I don't expect to be given exact orders though. I more suspect we'll just react to whenever the 'event' occurs. Though if I tell to run, listen. I don't want to explain to any of your families you got yourself killed for mistaking stupidity for bravery. And those would be the words I'd use." I end with a smirk, getting a chuckle out of my men.

"You got it Lieutenant. No acts of heroism." Rowe answered for the group.

With a hiss and a jolt the train started it's slow entry into the station. We grabbed our gear and joined the line of passengers to disembark. Once out on the platform we were greeted a small squad of guards. The sergeant of the squad was a light blue terran mare with a short navy mane and tail. She gave a salute and her introduction.

"Sergeant River with Navy Squad here to escort you to precinct 1, sir!"

I returned her salute before replying, "Lieutenant Duron of Ponyville. Thank you for your promptness sergeant."

She dropped her salute and replied more relaxed, "My pleasure sir. I was told you weren't thrilled about the escort, but can't go against orders can we?"

I laughed at her crassness, "Not without more trouble then it's worth. Let get going though. No point in just standing here. We're here for a job aren't we?"

She laughed in reply, "Quite right sir. If you'll just follow us we'll get you to the precinct in no time."

We started our journey, though just as we were about to leave the station I saw a giant spider hanging just about the exit. Like it was just waiting for the right victim. It also didn't help that I was highly arachnophobic. So when I froze, Nocturne took notice of this and looked where I was before asking me.

"Sir, what's the matter? Why'd you stop?"

"Are you telling me you can't see the giant spider over the exit?"

"What spider? There's nothing there."

I looked over at him in disbelief before looking back, only to find the spider was gone.

That's not possible. I used my energy sense to try and find the creature but I found nothing. Then it dawned on me what had just happened.

"Must be my nerves. Let's go." I played it off. Though I could tell Nocturne knew there was more to it, but he also realized now wasn't the time and just followed on behind.

I threw out my energy sense to try and confirm my suspicions but I found nothing that would attract my attention. So I focused back on our journey to the precinct, as not to split my focus just in case Purge was stupid enough to attack me in broad daylight.

Though it wasn't really necessary as we arrived without incident. As we walked I had noticed the atmosphere of the city didn't feel very uneasy as I expected, though any humans I saw were joined by multiple ponies in their group as precaution because of the advice the princesses had announced as general practice. 'For every human they must be accompanied by no less than two ponies' this was to insure safety and it had proven to be fairly effective for most times. Typically the murders that did occur were when these rules were ignored or if Purge members were able to effectively single a human out and remove them far enough from there protection.

Though the thing that actually caused me worry were the banners and flags that I saw hanging around, indicating a celebration of some kind was close by. As we entered the precinct Sergeant River dismissed her squad before escorting us down to the barracks were we were going to stay for the next couple days. The place was large and was comprised of three level and held the largest section of the approximate 10,000 soldiers that operated directly out of Manehattan. With this guard division also being the primary operating area for the surrounding cities that made up the corp that had jurisdiction over this side of Equestria, so it's importance was two-fold.

"I'll let you guys drop your gear before I take you to the General, Lieutenant. She'll be expecting you."

"Thank you Sergeant. Though I have to ask, what is happening right now in the city?"

She let out a sigh, "Was wondering when you'd ask that. Manehattan is having it's annual diversity parade today, it's actually in just a few hours."

"What!? With the intel we have!? Who the hell signed off on that? And why wasn't I informed about this!?"

"The city council didn't want to show weakness to Purge and lower public moral by cancelling it. The general made clear her disapproval of the plan but it was to no avail. That's when the general sent a letter to the princesses and they were actually the ones that gave the suggestion of sending you. So the general put in the request to temporarily transfer you over here and here you are. Though I don't know the reason why you weren't told, seems like a serious oversight to me."

"Indeed, though I also wasn't told that the princesses had cleared this. Strange considering I'm actually quite close to them. Though it does make sense of some things. Also, how much do you know?" I added an edge to my question.

"The general briefed only my captain, lieutenant, and myself about your uniqueness. She felt it would be necessary for us to help you if it was needed. Of course it was cleared by the princesses and your captain before we were told anything. So yes sir, I am aware of real reason Ponyville is void of Purge influence currently. Well at least the fact that you were the prime reason for it." Sergeant River explained.

Would have been nice to know this before I got here. "Fair enough Sergeant. I'm sure you can understand my hostility before your explanation."

"Plainly sir. Don't worry about it, I'm surprised you weren't told if I'm honest."

"You're not the only one." I reply.

Once we arrived in the guest section of the precinct's barracks I left my gear with my men and told River to escort me to the General's office so I could discuss a plan of action. The trip was quick and once we were almost outside River spoke up.

"Her office is just ahead, I'll be heading back to my squad after this. Just ask around if you need me for anything, my squad will be at your disposal for the duration of your stay."

"Thank you Sergeant, that's good to know." I replied.

We arrived at the general's door were it said 'General Blizzard of NE Corp', River went in for a moment while I waited outside. When she came out, she gave me a nod before walking pass me and heading back down where we just came from.

I entered to find an elder unicorn mare, probably in her late fifties to early sixties, with a silver coat and white mane with a single streak of faded blue passing through it shuffling through papers on her desk like I wasn't even there. After just a few seconds she spoke without even a glance up from her work.

"Don't just stand there like an imbecile. Come take a seat." A fairly high pitched voice with a slight rasp ordered me.

I listened and followed the order, taking a seat on the right of the two that were in front of her desk.

She again didn't look up from her work as she spoke, a testament to how busy she truly was, "I'm glad you arrived when you did Lieutenant Duron. I've had no success in delaying the parade today, and I'm certain that Purge will try to intervene with that event of their own that our intel division was able to uncover. "

"About that, General Blizzard, how was it that intel about this was discovered? Purge is usually airtight about their info, most members have spells placed on them to prevent situations like this."

"In honesty, it's probably a trap of some kind. My belief is they want us to put extra security on the parade route and make either a show of force against us, or so that elsewhere in the city we'll be lean on personnel and they'll strike where their true target is. I'm sure you're smart enough to realize, neither is a good scenario for us. Which is mostly why I requested for you. Purge likely doesn't know about your abilities, or at the very least the extent of your powers if they are aware. This being the case we wanted you here as more of a last resort than anything, to ensure if things looked to take a turn for the worst you could pull our tails out of the fire as it may be." The general explained.

"Well I'm pretty sure they know I'm not completely normal. When we first got here, I'm pretty sure I triggered a spell that was designed for me, or someone like me at least. The magic was probably stored in an object that triggered when I came into proximity, but I didn't have time to search for it as it would've given me away instantly." I told her.

"What do you mean by that? Sergeant River didn't report anything of that nature before you stepped in."

"It was a fear spell, at least I believe it was. It showed me a giant spider, to which I have an acute phobia towards, until I looked away from it, when I looked back it was gone. The spell was probably only designed to trigger for a certain person or type of person, show what that person was afraid of, and only last until the subject had looked away. I'm fairly sure someone we didn't want to know probably saw my reaction, what they gained from that knowledge is anyone's guess."

The general stopped shuffling through her paperwork and finally looked up at me, "How worried should we be about this?"

"I don't have an answer for you." I shook my head. "I have suspicions, but I can't confirm any of them so it's not exactly helpful."

The general sighed taking off the thin black-framed glasses that she was wearing to look me clear in my eyes, "I don't appreciate being treated like a fool Lieutenant. You have suspicions, so tell them to me."

I guess I should've expected that to not go as smoothly as I hoped. "I'm not at liberty to explain I'm afraid. It has to deal with the nature of my magic. That's as much as I can tell you general."

I could tell she didn't like my evasion of her question, but she also didn't press any further. "Fine, do as you wish. As in concern to the 'event', if any loss of life could have been avoided I have the authority to strip you of your rank, is that understood." I nodded, it was about what I expected. "Good. Well then I have nothing else to discuss with you. Navy squad is at your disposal as I'm sure Sergeant River informed you. As protection is our number one priority I'm assigning you to assist in the protection detail for the parade. Colonel Zap, is the officer in charge of squad assignment. Get your men and report to him directly after we're done here. Questions?"

"None ma'am."

"Then we're done here. You're dismissed."

I give a salute to which she lazily waves off, and I head out back to the barracks.

Bael, Kor, is this what I think?

Another vessel. It's not unlikely. Though the question remains...

Which one are we dealing with? Well, fear would be my first bet, but that feels too easy.

That doesn't mean it's wrong. This vessel certainly doesn't seem concerned to make it's presence known. Meaning that they want you to know they're here. Changing the question to, 'what will you do?'

Hmm, actually the question would be, 'what do they want to accomplish?' I can't see them as part of Purge, it wouldn't make sense. Purge wouldn't work with a human. Which means, are they human?

It is possible to pass the vessel to another. Though if that had happened here, you'd have been able to tell. We are linked as a species. Such an action would be impossible to perform without the ponies even taking notice of it. So we are dealing with another human. You might want to expand your beliefs.

If a human is working with Purge, and it is the vessel of fear and... Bravery. Thank you, bravery then there is probably something else in the mix that we don't know about. I don't like playing a game without knowing all the variables, it makes it hard to win.

It doesn't look like you have a choice here.

Yeah, and it sucks.

I finally arrived back at the barracks, I found Sergeant River waiting there with my men already getting geared up. I nodded to them as I went to my own gear and prepared. After my blades, in their dagger form, were secured to my hip we moved out to report to this Colonel Zap that I had been told about.

Nocturne followed on my right while River mirrored on my left, and we discussed what we were to do during the parade.

River was the first to speak up, "Colonel Zap likely has us near the front of the parade, my squad should already be there, what do you want us looking out for?"

"If this is supposed to be an 'event' for Purge then I don't expect them to be trying to hide. So trying to find shady characters will likely be distractions from the real threats, so I'd give everyone equal priority unless you are giving reason to think otherwise."

"Does that include other races, Sir?" Nocturne asked.

"Yes it does. We have no reason to believe only ponies are members of Purge, griffons, zebras, minotaurs, even humans should be taken into account."

River looked confused by the last example, "Humans, Lieutenant? Why would Purge ever work with a human?"

"I don't know, but we can't discount it as an option. There are humans that would just want to see chaos, and I could see Purge thinking of using them to enforce their propaganda of fear."

"Understood sir. We'll do our best to remain vigilant." River replied as we exited the building.

It was only about two hours before the parade was starting when we found the Colonel. Who interestingly enough was a human. Black hair, green eyes, though not in his best shape. Had probably been in this position for a while.

"Lieutenant Duron reporting sir." I gave a salute which was waved off.

"Don't worry about saluting right now, time is a bit too precious at the moment." The colonel replied while looking through a document before handing it of to an aid which ran off to do her next task. He pulled out a notebook and flipped through it until he landed on a page and finally addressed me, "Thank you for finally getting here Lieutenant, I have you listed as part of the second vanguard with Navy squad. They were here just a little while ago. They should be in position by now, so go join them. I don't suppose I need to explain your job to you?"

"Stop any Purge activity and protect the parade and populous?" I reply concisely.

"Good man. I have nothing else for you, dismissed." He said before turning to another aid that had run up and started looking through another set of documents that needed his attention.

With our orders we met up with the rest of Navy squad and River went over with them what was discussed on the way here.

Nocturne walked over to me and asked with a serious face, "Sir I've been meaning to ask, what happened back at the train station?"

I considered his question, he had a right to know some of it at least, "I'm fairly sure that we might have found someone like me. If they are with Purge or not I couldn't tell you, but keep on the lookout for a suspicious human."

He seemed slightly taken aback, "How is that possible? Aren't human's only supposed to be able to wield elemental magic? What you experienced was clearly something else."

"Don't lock yourself into one mindset. Princess Twilight only has me as an example for that theory, the reality of it could be grander. Technically, I bend ambient magic to affect the world around me, that's how I can manipulate energy. That doesn't mean I can't do normal spells, I just have to use runes. They act as a set of instructions for how my magic is to effect something, they just need power. So I can technically do all the same spells a unicorn or alicorn could in theory, it would just require me to construct the correct rune circle." I give him a half truth. While it is true I could in theory do what I said, there is also affinity for what I'm trying to do to consider. Like I can produce shields, teleport, or levitate through the use of rune; though I can't produce a fear spell like what was used in me, I wouldn't be able to control the flow of energy to power the rune correctly.

Nocturne appeared deep in thought, finally it seemed to click for him, "So that means that spell that targeted you was made purposely for you."

"Or someone like me, potentially. Rune instructions are difficult to make that precise sometimes. Supposing I'm not the only human that has magic, there is probably more than one other. So it might have just been made to effect them, and I just happened to walk pass the trigger."

"That means if the human in question is working with Purge, they now know that you have magic." Nocturne concluded.

"You're not wrong. Though they also don't know what I can do, or to what extent. So honestly we are about on even ground, we know they might have a mage but they know we do too. Neither knows exactly what the other can do, and I can deal with that. What I don't like is that we still don't know exactly what Purge is planning, and because of that we are at a net disadvantage."

"I'm sure you're not happy about that sir." Nocturne jokes lightly.

I gave him a 'really?' look before replying, "Don't be a smartass Sergeant, you'll never get a marefriend like that."

He chuckled at that before walking off to check with my other men.

The next two hours passed with an increasing tension for members of the guard. There was a squad in front of us covertly sweeping through the crowd lining the street to see if they could find any suspicious activity, this was the first vanguard. We, acting as the second, were spread out along the sides of the front running floats. I wasn't sure if the normal populous felt any unease, as they were quite animated in enjoying the festivities. If I hadn't known about why I needed to be here, I would find it hard to believe we were actually in the middle of a war.

But we were, and I needed to remain vigilant. I pulsed the crowd occasionally for any unusually high energy, but I found none. If the vessel that set that spell in the train station is here, then they probably have a rune on them to prevent me from doing just that. Meaning that they are very intelligent, or extremely paranoid. Either way they are dangerous, and that makes me uneasy.

The parade started moving at a slow crawl and cheering went up as the ponies, griffions, zebras, and even a few human, waved from their floats and tossed various beads, candies, and flowers to the crowd. I passed glances over at the other members of the guard but each time only received a slight shake of their head to say they found nothing amiss. About twenty minutes later, only about a quarter of the way through the route, a pressure wave shook through us.

When I felt it I blinked to find the sky go dark and clouds to roll in overhead, something that should be possible in Equestria before of the weather patrols. I heard a scream, quickly followed by a chorus of others. The crowd broke out in terror as everyone shouted something different.

"Changlings! Changlings everywhere!" "Dragons! I knew we could trust those scaly bastards!" "You're blind, those are griffions from the empire!"

"MANTICORS!" "T-t-timber W-wolves!!!" "Paraspriiiiiites!" "Tirek's back!" "The apocalypse has begun! I told you all!"

I looked around wildly as races of all kinds ran around in panic, some succumbing to fear and dropping to the ground in the fetal position. I tried to make sense of things before I looked up at the surrounding cities to find...

"Spiders! Why does always it have to be spiders!?" I cursed.

They were everywhere, giant to small, all creepy as hell and looked just as deadly. That when it dawned on me, I looked around at all the panic and chaos and realized it all had one thing in common.

"They see what they're most afraid of. None of this is real."

I ran over to Nocturne where he was crying and trying to close himself off from the world around him.

"Not again, how did Purge even get their hands on so many hydras?" I heard him muttering to himself.

"Snap out of it Sergeant! There are no hydras!" I yell at him.

Just then I saw a spider behind him, about the size of a basketball, and it jumped at me. On reflex I pulled out my dagger and swipe at it, in the back of my head expecting to just pass right through it. However, my blade met resistant and I actually did slice it in half. I looked behind me where the halves landed and watched as it dissolved into particles of sickly yellow magic.

Oh that's not good. I thought as I looked around. I watch as people fell and screamed in pain as wounds would magically appear on there bodies. Shit! Their minds are making it real for them. How the hell do I fight that!?

I used my energy sense to reveal massive numbers of magic constructs, with forms only visible to each individual, but in reality only a few each were in the shape of people's respective fears. Which I hoped meant only those ones could actually interact with the victims. Though as I looked I noticed a massive concentration of energy in the middle of the street not far from where I was.

I abandoned Nocturne and started to push my way towards the source of the energy. As I got closer I found more and more bodies collapsed in fear, some dead from wounds inflicted upon them by their own fears or trampled by others fleeing. I eventually broke through the mob to find a sea of bodies all collapsed around a single standing individual.

He wore tattered black clothes reminiscent of what I'd expect a person to wear if they were in a zombie apocalypse or the like. He had messy red hair and was cackling madly as he watched people run or cower in fear. When I saw his eyes they glowed the same sickly yellow as the magic I saw come from the construct I destroyed.

"FEAR!!!" I screamed at the bastard.

He froze for a moment, before breaking out into a mad grin as his head snapped in my direction. He looked completely deranged, like he had taken a page straight out of Joker from Batman.

Even his voice was high and squeaky as he finally acknowledged me, "Why hellllloooo! You're that vessel that triggered my trap at the station! I must say I never expected to find one of us working for these stupid Equestrians."

"What are you doing!? Don't you realize the risks of revealing that we have magic!?"

He seemed confused at my question, "Why should we care who knows? We have power here! We should be taking over this miserable dirt ball for ourselves, no one can stop us, we're just as powerful as the strongest magic users this world has every seen." He cackled before sending another construct of magic to chase another poor victim. "And we're human! WE know war. We're masters of the stuff. These idiots would never stand a chance if the Pains of Life joined together!"

"The hell are the 'Pains of Life'!?" I yell at him.

"Oh, you might be calling them Umbrans." He states happily, "Doesn't really matter, I just think it sounds so much better." He hugged himself in glee. "Pain, fear, suffering! It's all related in a way! Though I definitely prefer fear!" He said before shooting a blast of magic my way.

It transformed into a giant spider to which I just charged my blades with enough energy that it was discharging out the blades, effectively turning them into lightsabers. I cut the construct with an x-strike and it dissolved before it even hit the ground behind me.

"Enough games! This ends here!" I yell as I blast him with channeled lightning from my blades.

He jumped like a freak, narrowly avoiding being turned to ash. And with it screams came, but I couldn't hear them.

"That's it Fury! Give in! Show this world what you're capable of. Then you'll see the truth, and you will join us!" He jeered, dodging blast after blast without attempting to retaliate.

I was seeing red as I was trying to kill him. My lightning changed to a blood red to suit my mood. With each blast I turned a body to ash, weather it was of someone dead or injured I didn't notice, my rage had consumed me. That was until my vision flicked to the side to catch a glimpse of a young colt pulling along a small filly, trying to get themselves to safety... from me.

My anger vanished, I stopped myself from attacking and let my blades drop to my sides. Fear looked at me in confusion, trying to understand what had happened. He then too looked over at the young ponies running away in terror, and became furious.

"OH COME ON! That's what stops you! Some little shits catch your attention and like that our fight is over!? What a disappointment!" He yelled.

He threw a blast of magic at the offending bystanders, and I reacted in a blink.

Third Person POV

The colt turned in time to see the action of magic being thrown at him. The world slowed as he forced his body to move fast enough to try and protect his little sister from harm. He closed his eyes hoping that she would be alright without him.

But the impact never came. He heard the explosion that came from the magic hitting something, but it hadn't been him. Did he miss? The colt wondered. When he dared to look he was greeted with a sight that inspired awe and fear in equal amounts.

Standing between him and the demon of a human that had attacked the parade was a giant glowing white wolf. It looked back at him with eyes of pure blue energy, and spoke in a deep commanding voice, that was also gentle in a way.

"Go little ones. He cannot harm you. You have no more reason to fear."

The colt felt a feeling of peace come over him as he heard the wolf speak. He knew that this was the other human that had been fighting, the one that had been throwing lightning madly. Though now he was protecting them, he was guaranteeing their safety, and the colt knew that they could believe him.

Off they scurried, never looking back, and they would probably never meet the man who became that wolf again. But the colt thanked him from the bottom of his heart.

Fear looked at Andrew in annoyance. Transforming into inheritance form was like breaking a seal, raising power exponentially, at the cost losing it rapidly by literally radiating it from the body. Still it put Fear at a severe disadvantage. He had been using a large amount of the magic he had stored up with the little show he put on. If he used his inheritance form he'd run out of magic in a matter of minutes, and he knew even if he used it to run away he'd never manage to outrun a vessel with an affinity for lightning.

"You made a mistake you know." Andrew growled out at Fear. Making him take a step back.

"To what would you be referring to?" Fear asked innocently, as though he wasn't up to his knees in unconscious or dead bodies.

"I know you aren't the one responsible for all this, you are merely a tool." Andrew laughed darkly. "In that last little bit of banter you tried to agitate me with you said to join us. Meaning there is another, another vessel is working with Purge."

Fear recoiled at the accusation. How could he have let that slip! Now he was truly doomed. Even if he did by some miracle manage to escape from Fury, his boss would be guaranteed to kill him for his failure. He only had one choice now, he needed to kill Fury. It was the only way out.

Fear screamed as he unleashed his own inheritance form. Dust and magic obscured him for a moment before revealing his new form. A giant black spider, with its eyes that glowed the same sickly yellow as his magic, fumes of the same color leaked out of him as his magic bled out from his body.

Oh come ON!!! His ancestors really used spiders as familiars?! No wonder this maniac is insane! Andrew though as he took a step back as he watched glowing yellow venom drip from Fear's fangs.

Fear spit a volley of venom at Andrew, which he narrowly avoided. With their new size, Andrew had little room to maneuver in the narrow street. Then he also needed to avoid stepping on the bodies of those that littered the ground, he knew that Fear gave no concern but he at least had to try. He howled, unleashing beam of pure energy at Fear who jumped on top of a building to avoid it. The blast tore through the building behind Fear, no doubt killing anyone in the building and a few from the rubble crushing those that lay out on the street.

I can't fight him here! I'll end up killing more people than he has at this rate. I have to use that spell again. Andrew thought as he drew on the magic within him.

"Ki! Vin!" He shouted.

Equis was replaced by the world that Andrew had tortured Night, taking only Fear with him. The spider now hung sideways to a tree as it stared coldly at Andrew.

"This is our arena! And I'm sure you know the only way out." Andrew challenged Fear.

"Tahl!" Fear screamed. With it fire appeared and started to consume my world.

"You fool! You've just given me the means to kill you!" Fear cackled, him mandibles clacking has he did.

"Vin!" Andrew countered and rain began to pour, extinguishing the flames.

Back and forth the two fought. Blast of magic tore the earth asunder as they tried to destroy each other. Each expending large amounts of magic, and soon it would show.

The two broke from a clash and panted, their bodies visibly heaving as the exhaustion took its toll. Each collapsed and their inheritance forms dissipated to show them on their knees.

"I will make you pay." Andrew growled coldly as he struggled to his feet.

Fear knew he was on the verge of losing. His aura armor manifested but was so translucent that it almost didn't qualify as existing. His magic was nearly tapped out, and had few tricks left to try. So he did the last thing he could, beg.

"Why are we fighting!? We're brothers, bound by these things within us. You know it to be true, don't deny it." Fear stumbled to his feet, trying to back away in an attempt to give himself better chances.

Andrew drew his blades and configured them into their tonfa form. "You murdered dozens of innocents, humans and Equestrians alike. You wish only for chaos and fear. YOU JUST TRIED TO MURDER ME!" He yelled, Fear shrinking back slightly. Though he continued, "You say we're family, because of these things inside us. Well, if we're family... then I disown you. Oh, and I'll rip that Umbran and Solest out of you, just for good measure."

Something in Fear broke as he realized he was cornered and he screamed, "I WON'T DIE HERE! I AM NOT AFRAID OF YOU! I AM FEAR ITSELF, AND I WILL BRAVE ANYTHING YOU THROW AT ME!"

Andrew smirked as he started to slowly walk towards Fear, "You say you aren't afraid, because you are fear itself? Let's fix that shall we. To quote DBZ abridged, 'Looks like you just initiated your self-destruct sequence. Let me give you a countdown...Five!'"

Andrew burst forward with charged speed and did a spin kick to Fear's ribs. Fear flew to the side with the sickening crunch of his ribs breaking ringing out loudly. Andrew didn't let up though and before Fear hit the ground Andrew had run up behind him ax kicked him into the dirt.

"Four!"

To add insult to injury Andrew then punted Fear just high enough to spin kick him again, this time to his other side.

"Three!"

Fear struggled to move as he tried to channeled his magic to heal himself. Though as Fear stood up Andrew was on him and unleashed a flurry of cuts designed to cause pain. He used a front kick to push Fear away as he continued his assault.

"Two!"

Andrew shifted his blades back to their dagger form has he walked up to the battered Fear. Standing over him he stab his blades into each leg and dropping down to look fear in his eyes.

"Do you know what comes next?"

Fear's terror ridden expression shifted as he reached up in a split second and grabbed Andrew's head. He laughed maniacally as he channeled the last of his magic to create a nightmare.

The world disappeared around Andrew and was replaced by a cold stone room. Blood, both dried and fresh, marked the walls in a grotesque version of what a satanist artist might make. The most striking thing however was the mutilated corpses that littered to floor, wall, and hung from chains and ropes attached to the ceiling. Everyone he knew, and even those he only remembered the faces of, were here. All mutilated to the point they could barely be distinguished.

However the thing that hurt the most was when he noticed who was in the center of his vision. Vinyl and Octavia, along with three fetuses, contorted into positions of pain and horror. Though what happened next would make Fear regret ever going along with his boss' plan.

"He... he, he... HAHAHAHAHA!!!"Andrew laughed like his psyche had finally snapped.

He reached behind him and grasped his blades before ripping them out of Fear's legs, making him scream. Though the pain only increased tenfold when his feeling in his arms disappeared. His grip on Andrew's head went slack as his arms fell way, and gave a meaty thump as the severed limbs hit the ground.

Energy flowed from Andrew's eyes, the eye itself completely black as crimson red energy leaked out and crackled loudly. Shadows burst from his body to envelope him in his aura armor, truly showing how much energy he still had left.

"Thank you brother. I've wanted a moment of true freedom for quite a while."

Fear shook uncontrollably, likely in a combination of blood lose and fear, as he breathed one word, "Fury!"

"In the spirit of my vessel, I'll have some fun. So before we end you once and for all, let's put the question to bed shall we? ...Are you afraid?"

"no. No. NO! NONONO! GET AWAY FROM ME! LET ME GO! I'M NOT READY TO DIE YET!" Fear started to thrash wildly as he tried to do something, anything to try and get away from the incarnation of Fury he had awakened.

"Good. That's what I wanted to hear... One."

Korvin thrust his hand into Fear's chest and grabbed his soul itself. Freeing his hand from Fear's chest he pulled an orb of yellow and green, mixing endlessly but never joining together. When he did this a shockwave that seemed to shake reality itself emanated from the orb as if signaling what had just happened, just as the spell that created this vessel was meant to do.

Korvin's right eye turned silver with the energy coming off it turning blue, "You're still there Bravery. Looks like you needed to do a better job. This is a real mess for us to deal with now... Lets give control back. He should be alright by now. I've already trained his subconscious what to do." Bael shared control while looking at the orb in his hand.

"It's too bad we get to come out so rarely. Though I think this memory will last me awhile." Korvin lamented, though he was still smirking as he spoke.

With that done the world around them dissolved, and the Andrew was back in the middle of the street in Manehattan with Fear's mutilated corpse beneath him. The street was getting cleared as the they reappeared, frightening all that were close by. Most ran away but a few guards were there and they started running towards him.

Andrew's POV

My consciousness returned to me as Korvin and Bael disappeared into the recesses of my subconscious. The first thing I noticed was someone haling me to my feet and moving me away from Fear's corpse. I had tapped out my magic, the consequences taking my sight from me once again. I also heard said person yelling in my ear, though it took a second to comprehend what they were saying.

"Sir, what happened!? Where did you go!? Is this the person who was responsible for everything!? Lieutenant, say something damn it!" A familiar voice yelled at me.

"Nocturne? What's happened?" I replied wearily, my magic tapped but slowly returning. Hopefully restoring my sight sooner.

"I believe I asked first, but to fill you in. We have been doing clean up. You've been gone for about half an hour, and we've been trying to help anyone we haven't confirmed deceased. The city is in a pretty big panic and news was released before we could prevent it showing that human use his power and some of your response. Well, the part you apparently turned yourself into a giant wolf anyway, so your identity is currently kept secret, and will stay that way until the Princesses decide otherwise. Besides the guards of course, the General gave a quick cover explanation to stop any immediate outbursts. Which is most of the reason you aren't at spear point right now." He explained.

My mind was slowly clearing as I took in what he was saying, "I doubt she told that much, probably something along the lines of that I was a secret weapon transferred over for this exact scenario to prevent further loss of life?" Nocturne nodded when I looked at him for confirmation. "That's good, it should prevent me from becoming too much of a target for at least a small while. As for your questions, let me put it simply. I have the power to temporarily form a pocket dimension, at the cost of high amounts of my stored magic. Using this power I decided to fight that other human to the death, you can see the results of such."

"Yeah, pretty brutal. Though I can't say entirely unexpected considering the Ponyville Purge massacre that happened. In any case what happens next?"

Nocturne escorted me as guards and medics rushed around helping anyone they could. The destruction around me gave me a feeling of failure. "How many died..." I asked.

"We're still getting a correct count, but the estimations are around five hundred dead, ten times that injured. Though considering from what we've gathered a estimated two hundred thousand were actually effected by the visions that were projected, the casualty count was kept very low."

The number felt like a kick to the gut as I though about all those I failed to protect, knowing some of those numbers were directly added to by myself. "Where are we heading right now?" I finally asked Nocturne.

"To the precinct. The general wanted to talk to you as soon as you were located. I saw Sergeant River run off when you reappeared, probably to inform her you were found. One more thing though, what is that orb you're holding and where did you get it?"

My attention returned to the sphere of the two souls in my hand that I hadn't released since Korvin had ripped it from Fear. "This... would be the magic responsible for giving that monster power. I can't really explain much past that, mostly because I don't really know myself." I gave a half truth, I did know more but it would be more dangerous for Nocturne to know that.

We were on the steps of the station when a scroll appeared in front of me in a burst of green flames. I caught it and opened it to reveal surprising news. My eyes just barely making out the words on the page.

Andrew,

Get your flank ASS back to Ponyville immediately!

The twins are being born!

Twilight

P.S. I just wrote what Vinyl told me.

I let the scroll fall to the ground as those words hit me. "Shit."

Nocturne let go quickly as I felt a surge of magic, causing arcs of energy to start coming off me, before I transformed into lightning and shot into the clouds above to travel back to Ponyville.

Author's Note

Well that was unexpected. Life was being a bitch while I was writing this chapter. Which is why this is out so much later than I wanted.

I'll try to have the next chapter out sooner, even if it ends up being much shorter, hope everyone will be ok with that.

There is a lot new elements I added in this chapter, and I realized when writing this that there are aspects I want to change from earlier chapters to make later chapters easier to write. So when I get to one of these necessary changes I'll be going back and marking those chapters with an 'Edited' tag. So for those of you that didn't see those tags before you started reading make sure to look back and read through the changes, they'll make more sense in the long run of this story.

That's all I have for you guys, hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Stay awesome everyone, Lyruil out.