“And that's basically the gist of it.” The voice of the athletic Rainbow Dash greeted the librarian’s ears, snapping her out of her thoughts.

It was midday and as promised, Twilight had brought Spike along with her to the picnic for an explanation of what had occurred inside the ancient castle. So after they had finished setting up the picnic blanket on the grass and making sure they had enough food for all, Rainbow had began retelling the events.

“But what happened to the guy?” Spike asked. Rarity took the chance to answer.

“We don't know, it's almost as if he simply vanished.” The Fashionista said.

“But whatever he did before he left made one of those mammoth looking things help us.” The Farmer girl, Applejack added.

“Yeah, you should've seen the first one. It was all “You are trespassing there for you must die” but then the stranger came in with a rusted sword in hand and was all epic an-mph” The voice of the highly energetic baker, Pinkie Pie was cut off by Rainbow Dash clamping her lips shut. This got a laugh from the group.

“Still aren't any of you worried about the guy?” The young teen asked. “The guy was trapped behind a set of large stone doors for who knows how long and yet with what you all said, he walked out and fought something three times his size.” Spike added.

“I still think he's a zombie.” Rainbow muttered under her breath. Twilight lightly glared at her prismatic friend before looking at the young teen.

“To be honest, we hadn't thought about it.” Twilight answered, earning a few hums of agreement from the group.

“And that doesn't worry you in the slightest, like, at all?” Spike asked with arms crossed and a single brow raised. No answer was given to the young teen, earning a groan from the latter.

“Sometimes I wonder how you defeated Nightmare moon, Chrysalis and Sombra.” The Teen said as he pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

“Hey!” Pinkie yelled with a pout, insulted by the teen. Spike on the other hand ignored her.

“Do the Princesses know?” Spike asked. The groups gazed quickly snapped towards Twilight, knowing that she was the only one that could come into contact with the Princesses. Though their answer was given in a form of a nervous chuckle.

“I might've forgotten to send her the staff as well as a report.” Twilight said with a nervous smile. Spike only stared with arms crossed.

The silence was soon broken by a loud rumble. Turning towards the source of the rumbling, Spike looked down at his stomach before looking at the girls with small blush of embarrassment.

“Now, I was led to believe there would be pie involved.” Spike said, earning a few chuckles. Applejack had promised one her grandmother’s famous pies for the picnic, the second reason Spike had tagged along.

“Yeah yeah, hold your horses.” Applejack said, placing her basket in the middle before revealing the pie in question.

“Dibs on first slice!” Both Spike and Rainbow Dash exclaimed. With a roll of her eyes, Applejack started slicing the pie in even slices.

Darkness, a thing he has been accustomed with for so long. Artyom had learned to embrace it long before he had ever taken the throne. But that darkness was one evil, evil that led into a realm of pure shadows.

Opening his eyes, Artyom saw the bright blue skies and the sun shining down onto him. He had stopped at a clearing to rest, he laid atop the grass and the sound of his own breathing greeted his ears.

Sitting up with groan and looking at his surroundings, Artyom had taken of the time of day.

“I must've been resting for only half of a single hour.” Artyom said to no one in particular. Standing up, Artyom had now felt how rested he was.

As he was fully straightened up, he took hold of the scabbard attached to his side. He nodded at himself before letting go. He closed his eyes once more before opening them. He faced towards the North, seeing the large city on the mountain.

‘A bit foolish to put a city on the side of the mountain.’ Artyom mentally noted. With his shield strapped to his back and scabbard securely strapped to his side, Artyom headed off.

As he walked through the dark forest, he took note of the animals as well as some he has never seen. For once he walked without the thought of being attacked though he kept his guard up just to be sure.

Artyom stopped in his tracks, he listened closely but nothing was heard. Artyom began his trek again.

Only an hour of trekking through the dark forest and Artyom had the exit already in sight. A faint cry for help greeted his ears, stopping him in his tracks once more before looking back into the forest.

Another cry for help, followed by a third one and judging by the voices, these were children in need of help. Artyom sprinted into action, heading towards the cries for help in a speed that would baffle athletes.

It wasn't long before found the source of the cries and Artyom saw what was the danger. It was a beast like no other. Having the tattered wings of a bat, the tail of a scorpion and the body of a lion, there stood a Manticore.

It seemed as though the beast was unable to take flight due to its tattered wings and whomever it was seeking had been hiding above on the tree in front of it.

The voices belonged to three little girls. One with orange hair, the second with bright red hair and finally one with light magenta colored hair. All three of them wore what could Artyom describe as uniforms.

Taking hold of the hilt of his blade, the scabbard shone a bright yellow light. The light gained the full attention of the beast and turned to look at Artyom.

It let out a roar, hoping to intimidate Artyom but to no avail. Without hesitation, Artyom charged at the beast with his hand grasping the hilt. The beast, in turn, charged as well.

As they closed in to exchange powerful blows to one another, Artyom unsheathed his blade before his struck. With a battle cry, Artyom thrusted the sword forward.

The effect was immediate by the sound of a pained and gurgled roar. Artyom looked at his blade, seeing it embedded deep into the beast's forehead.

The beast went limp onto the floor, dead by the hands of The Phantom Titan, Artyom. Pulling his sword from the beast, Artyom took notice of his choice of sword.

It wasn't the old rusted blade of Drangleic, it was the Black Knight Ultra Greatsword.

A large blade that was once wielded by knights who served a lord of light in a long forgotten age.

It shone from the light of the sun, the glimmer of the blade was by the blood of the beast. Sheathing his blade, the scabbard shone once more before a click was heard.

“That was awesome.” Artyom heard one of the three girls above. Looking towards the girls, Artyom saw them slowly climb down.

The purple haired child was the first to come down before running up to Artyom. She stopped and looked up at him.

The child seemed to be stunned by Artyom’s height, perhaps even the armor. Artyom raised a brow under his helmet.

“Something the matter, child?” Artyom asked. Through the corner of his eyes, Artyom could see the other two slowly climbing down the tall tree.

“No but what you just did was so cool!” The purple haired child exclaimed with glee, surprising Artyom.

‘How can a child be so excited after witnessing the killing of the Beast?’ Artyom thought before looking back at the child’s two friends.

“Are you three alright?” Artyom asked them. The red haired child answered with a nod as she and the magenta haired girl covered their mouths, feeling nauseous at the sight of the dead Manticore.

“You should head on back to your homes then. The forest is not fit for you three.” Artyom said to the three girls.

“Um about that… you wouldn't mind taking us back to town, Manticores usually hunt in groups.” The purple haired girl said. Artyom turned towards the body before looking back at the girls.

“Alright, if it is to guarantee your safety then I will escort you three.” Artyom said with a nod. The purple haired girl pumped her fist as she quietly whispered yes.

“Where is the town located?” Artyom asked the three girls.

“It's North from where we are.” This time it was the magenta haired girl that answered. Artyom nodded and began to escort the children back to safety.

Both eyes were wide as dinner plates for the second time today. Celestia and Luna were merely conversing with their Shaman friend. Luna had only asked about a potion she had read in one of the many books in her personal study before feeling the strong magic once more.

Though their reactions towards the strong source of ancient magic were ones of worry and shock, Zecora's was more a chuckle and a smile.

“I see that you've felt it as well. His magic is from a time before your rule.” They heard Zecora speak. The latter stood up from her seat and walked towards the nearest window to look out of.

“What do you mean?” Luna asked, confused to what her friend had said while her sister was still looking of towards the distance.

“It’s the same magic that originated from Drangleic Castle.” Celestia quietly said to herself before looking towards Zecora.

“It is indeed.” Zecora said while Luna walked towards the front door.

“Then we must see if it poses a threat to our people.” Luna said in regal tone. Zecora frowned a little.

“I assure you that he is of no threat to anyone unless given a reason.” The Blind shaman said. Celestia joined her sister at the door before turning towards Zecora once more.

“It was a pleasant talking to you, Zecora but I'm afraid we must go.” Celestia said before she and her sister walked out, leaving Zecora to her own devices.

Once outside, both sisters disappeared in a flash with their destination set on Ponyville.

“Stop fighting, you two!” Twilight yelled, gaining the attention of both Spike and Rainbow Dash. Spike was being pinned to the floor with Rainbow Dash on top, both fighting for the last slice.

“Not until I get that slice!” Both of them yelled, pointing at the now empty plate. Spike was the first one to notice the lack of pie on the plate before Rainbow Dash.

They then heard the sound of chewing and turned towards Pinkie, who had a half eaten pie on her plate. The baker noticed the stares she was getting. Swallowing the bite of pie down, She then looked at the two fighters with a smirk.

“You snooze, you lose.” With that, Pinkie ate the last bit of pie. Both Spike and Rainbow Dash were at a loss for words. They pointless fighting was finally put to an end and Twilight's headache would be able to subside. Or so Twilight thought.

Blinded by a familiar light, Twilight yelped in surprise along with the rest of her friends… except for Pinkie, who calmly took a sip of her apple juice.

Once the light subsided, Twilight's eyes were wide. Just behind the pink haired baker stood both princesses, Celestia and Luna.

“P-princess!?” Twilight exclaimed in shock. Celestia looked down at her student with a smile.

“Excuse us for dropping in like this but the matter at hand is urgent.” The princess informed the group. Twilight tilted her head and opened her mouth to speak.

“We don't know exactly what is going on either, Miss Sparkle but we intend to find out.” Princess Luna informed her sister’s pupil before getting the chance to ask a question. Twilight kept her mouth shut.

“We will answer your questions later, right now we might have a new guest.” Celestia added to her sister's explanation.

Silence greeted the group once more. The silence was short lived as three familiar voices were heard coming from the forest.

“Hey! We're here!” The familiar tomboyish voice of Scootaloo exclaimed before the girl in question came running out of the bushes before panting in exhaustion.

“Scootaloo!?” Rainbow yelled, gaining the attention of the preteen. Without a second wasted, Rainbow Dash ran up to the preteen.

“What were you doing in the forest!?” The athlete yelled. Scootaloo scratched the back of her head as she nervously chuckled.

“Um…” Scootaloo stalled for some time to come up with an explanation but instead of giving her more time to think, it gave her companions time to arrive. Both Applebloom and Sweetie Belle walked out of the bushes, resulting in their respected sister's to yell out their names in surprised before scolding them.

“What made you think that going into the forest would be a good thing?” Rarity asked, glaring at her younger sibling. Applejack turned towards her sister.

“Are ya trying ta prove somethin’?” Applejack asked her little sister.

“Don't punish them, it was my idea of going into the forest to get a rare plant for our school project.” Scootaloo said, loud enough for all to hear. Both Applejack and Rarity asked their sisters to see if Scootaloo was telling the truth and she was.

“But are you hurt? The forest has some.of the most horrid predators known to all, especially this time of the year.” Fluttershy asked the three preteens.

“We ran into a manticore-” This earned a few gasps but Scootaloo paid no mind and continued. “But we had help and it was awesome, he took the manticore down without breaking a sweat!” She said with excitement. Both Royal sisters were now intrigued to hear what the preteen had to say.

“Really? Where is he then?” Twilight asked and not seconds after she did, another person came out of the forest. Hearing the sound of metal hitting the ground, Twilight, along with everyone else, looked upon the newcomer.

Donned in armor never before seen by anyone, the newcomer, whom Twilight noted that it was a man, carried a large shield on his back as well as a scabbard on his hip.

Twilight felt a sense of familiarity towards the man, as if she had seen him before. The armored man came to a sudden halt.

“That's him! He's the guy who saved us!” Scootaloo exclaimed with glee. The armored man’s gaze turned towards the three preteens and their sisters.

“Greetings to you all.” The man said with a voice that could give authority. “I see that I have done my job and shall be on my way.” He said, turning back towards the forest.

“Sir, would you mind coming with us? We are quite curious of you?” Luna asked, feeling the ancient magic coming from the man. The man halted in his tracks.

“Curious of me? How so?” The man asked. Celestia decided to tell the man why.

“You were awoken in Drangleic castle the day before. We want to know who you are, it is to make sure the safety of our kingdom.” Celestia said. The man turned to fully face the royal sisters.

“Then let us not waste time.” The man answered. Luna nodded before casting the spell of teleportation once more, this time with the help of her sister. Enveloped in a bright light, the man along with the royal sisters vanished in a flash, leaving the element bearers and their younger sisters confused to what Celestia had said.

Author's Note

Here, hope it's good.

If you liked it please leave a comment and a like as well.

Have a song as a gift for putting up with my laziness.