One would think that living in a tree itself would make one immune to a tree falling through your window during a storm, but alas, fate was not on his side on this night as a violent storm was brewing in the skies above Ponyville. He muttered a curse as he levitated a few small twigs out of his mane. To make matters worse, all the crashing and comotion woke Serene. She was anything but happy when her sleep was interrupted so abruptly. A tree falling on you in the middle of a night has a way of angering a dragon.

He rose from his bed to aid her in getting free from the ensnaring branches, “It’s alright Serene. Here…”

Serene was a little bit delighted to be picked up by the unicorn, yet she still seemed to be on edge. It wasn’t until Alter had turned to survey the damage to their room that he felt a sudden chill run down his spine. A storm can break off limbs and cause crashes more often than one might think, but these limbs here... They were cut. Placing Serene down on the ground, he approached the intrusion and once again affirmed this idea. They were cut, but why?

A light flashed through the window, painting many dark streaks all along the walls, followed by the crack of thunder. At first Alter thought Serene had clung to his arm due to the sudden noise, her claws digging deeply into his coat, yet he had known her not to be such a leaf. Moreover, he knew what her claws felt like. As if on instinct, he pulled up a barrier from his very flesh, yanking the offending creature from his body and throwing it away. Rivulets of blood dribbled upon the wooden interior, yet Dawn felt no pain. Adrenaline was one heck of a chemical. They were surrounded. Darkness, here? Somehow these monsters from beyond the veil had slipped through his wards and into his home.

Times like this made him rather glad he sleeps with his element on sometimes. He wasn’t much of a fighter, but he would sooner be darned before he let them tread all over his domain, let them take Serene or himself. His first act was to draw Serene close to him and away from the creatures. The Second was to pull up yet another barrier as he counted their number. One, two, three, four, five. Five monsters. F-Class? No, surely they had to be B-class in order to be strong enough to force their way in in such a fashion, and yet they didn’t move or behave like a possessed creature. A closer inspection of their Harmony Bars as they pounded upon his barrier confirmed his suspicions. They were E-Class threats.

What he had expected to be a challenge was sure to be easy for him, and yet, there was this nagging feeling that these pureblood shadowy creatures were far more than meets the eye. That was when it hit him. These creatures, their claws were sharp, yes, but nowhere near enough to cut down a tree. If they were D class he might see it, but small fry that even children stand a fair chance of defeating are simply too weak to cause this much damage. This meant that an even stronger threat was somewhere in here, yet it was too dark to see any more looming threats. The only light in the room was the glow of his horn and the shimmer of his shield.

Alter knew he couldn’t waste his time with these things. A simple spell trapped the creatures inside bubbles, shrinking, tiny glowing orbs that quickly squeeze the life out of these beasts. He didn’t bother watching their bar’s fill, nor the harmonization process return them to the void from which they came. His mind was on other things, first and foremost being Serene’s safety. She was vulnerable here, and they stood all alone. He had to change that fast.

The Unicorn was a little fearful, he honestly was when unknowns were concerned, but after all this time of hiding his feelings and of playing hero with his friends putting on a brave face was second nature to him. He placed Serene on a branch outside his window and told her sternly, “Run to the castle and see if you can get a hold of anyone. I think there is something else in here with us…”

After a moment of thought she seemed to understand his intentions and nodded, taking off into the dark of night. Alter had a hunch and they were often right. He was usually smarter too, as he would have waited for Serene to return with someone. There indeed was another intruder there, and they broke his composure when an alarm spell triggered and told him his personal study was being broken into. That place was even more private than his lab under the library. It was home to his biggest projects, and the book. The book! All his projects paled in comparison to that sugar covered tome. He can start over, run his equations again, but there is only one Book of Prophecies.

His mind was made up. He stowed away his fear and ventured forth alone. That book… He cannot risk anyone else arriving and reading it. It wasn’t meant for anyone else’s eyes. Not even Surprise believed she was supposed to know of it. A shadow creature was furthest from creatures that should know of it…

He was surprised to see a few familiar creatures trashing his equipment. Indeed this was something out of one of his worst nightmares. Weeks, no, months of research torn to shreds in seconds. His rage grew, bubbling up to the surface, “Hey, stop that!”

Perhaps he should have just attacked them instead of shouting at them? Being mad has a way of making one a thousand times stupider. He paid for this stupidity immediately as two of the small creatures leapt at him and tackled him to the ground. The third might have joined in, but it seemed to be distracted by what exactly Alter hoped they wouldn’t bother. The Book! It took the book and ran off with it, jumping off of his desk and bouncing off the scientist’s marshmellowy ass for a safe landing.

Further angered, Alter blasted the two creatures into nothingness. Rising to his hooves he gave chase to the escaping creature. It wasn’t until he had nearly jumped out a window after it that he had realized it’s behavior was most peculiar. In fact, all of them were now that he thought of it. He teleported to the ground below and resumed his chase.

The creature was being very deliberate with it’s movements, darting from shadow to shadow as it continued to be just out of range of his magic. It displayed an intelligence far beyond an E-class monster… Even with all of Alter’s brains, he struggled to find reason in all this. Why the book. Why run? This was too different than what he was used to. If he had the time, he would have loved to study this creature, but unfortunately for him he had lost it.

Not that it was his fault of course. He just happened to run into a pair of familiar faces.

“Whoa there, what’s the rush sugarcube?”

Applejack? She smiled and helped Alter to his hooves as he rubbed his head. She felt like a brick wall just then. He gave a small gruff hum as he answered her, “It’s complicated… I was chasing a… Thief. They stole something from me.”

She sighed, “It’s always something in this town.”

“Which way did they go, my liege?”

Alter jumped in surprise as he finally noticed the other pony present. They were a cloaked pony, so it was hard to be exact with their appearance, but to him he knew this pony well. It was LJ’s teacher. The Sword Saint of Earth himself, Master Kensai. While he was known to be a wanderer, as most of the Sword Saints were, this one lingered a little bit in Ponyville to supervise LJ’s studies at the request of Turbulent and her Master.

Running into AJ was a little normal, but Kensai as well at this time of night? Just what was fate doing to him? He gave the Swordsman a bit of an impatient huff and said, “I was catching up with them, and then I ran into you two. Literally… What are you two doing here anyway?”

Applejack gave him a nervous chuckle and waved a hoof, “Nevermind that, don’tcha need to catch that thief?”

Kensai mirrored her sentiment, tugging a little bit at his cloak, ”Indeed my Liege, that is more important.”

This was one of the few times he was able to see past the facade of others mostly because it is Applejack. She is a terrible liar, “Were you two on a date?”

Applejack now let out a nervous laugh, “A date? Don’t be silly. We totally were not sparring late at night in an abandoned building…”

Kensai deadpanned, “Smooth.”

Alter facehooofed, “Right… Anyway, I probably should leave you two to that. Good night. It’s Alternate Dawn by the way, no need to be so formal.”

Kensai stopped him as he walked past the two, “My Lie- Alternate Dawn, If they had came through here as you said moments ago, allow me to aid you. I have a sword skill for this.”

A sword skill for this? What did he mean? As if to answer his question the Sword Saint drew his wooden blade, a hoof crafted specimen molded from a thousand year old tree, and drove it into the ground. Applejack seemed a little perplexed by this, as was Alter, but Kensai made it a point to state what he was doing, “Quick footed… Small enough to slip by the two of us unnoticed. Left. Right. Left. It stopped? Heavy… It got heavier?”

Alter was quickly able to deduce he was tracking it by the vibrations in the ground, using his sword as a receptor. Clever, very clever indeed, albeit strange.

“Where is it?”

Kensai pulled his blade from the cobblestone and pointed it northward, “There. Follow me.”

With a nod, the two of them followed their guide towards their target. As they approached, they saw a large shadow protruding from an alleyway. From the looks of it they were pony-like in stature, a little on the taller side, and they were very much aware of them approaching. A Pony? Shadows? Suddenly it started to make a bit more sense to Alter. The monsters that attacked his library, the one that stole the book, they were being controlled by this stranger.

Unfortunately before they could get the drop on the stranger as they read from the Book of Prophecies, the pony did notice them, their shade retreating once again as the book clattered to the ground. Alter frowned as he approached the alleyway and the book. It had fallen down pages first, brushing their candy coated pages against the hardened ground.

Whomever was reading it seemed to be long gone, somehow. This night was only getting stranger and stranger, yet Kensai refused to let them get away. Once again he plunged his sword into the ground to try to track them once again. Meanwhile, Alter reached down to pick up his book, looking a little miffed that all this had occurred.

“Don’t touch the book!”

It was too late though, as inky black tendrils erupted from beneath it’s shade and pierced through Alter’s outstretched arm. He cried out in alarm and pain as it tugged on his, darkness growing and spreading across his form. It was dragging him into the alley?!

Applejack took the initiative, doing the most logical thing she could do right now… Applejack drew her own blade and severed Alter’s arm. Kensai couldn’t do it, his blade was still in the ground. She had to do it to save him, lest the dark mass take him away.

He cried out in agony as his arm was dragged off into the darkness and out of sight for what would be the last time. The beast was satisfied for now… What came next, Alter cannot say himself. He had fainted rather quickly. Applejack reasoned he could regrow his arm using that devise he had made, the Save Point. They just needed to get him there quickly. She was right after all, but Applejack of all ponies making that pragmatic decision, a quick one, none would have expected it. Yet, Kensai kept it a secret.

He did not blame her. Even not knowing he could get his arm back, that would have been the same course he would have taken to save Alter. His arm was lost already. All that mattered was saving the young Prince before anything else could be taken.

Serene had done her job. Aerial Ace and Sparity had been summoned and they were able to use the Save Point on Alter. This of course made Sparity really glad she had agreed to help Alter with a card of his own, but.. They never expected them to need to actually use it on something so grievous.

The next thing Alter knew, he woke up in bed, looking and feeling rather out of it, and understandably so. Even with the Save Point restoring his form, the shock of losing an arm is not one so easily shaken off. He looked down at his regrown limb, memories of that night slowly returning to him when a voice broke through his haze, “You are finally awake Sugracube… We were worried.”

Applejack was sitting there across from him. She looked relieved, but her tone had given him a feeling that she was somehow irate. She held up a book whose cover was covered in blood, his blood…

“This what that varmint took from ya,” She asked, “Looks awfully familiar. Now what are you doing with one of Pinkie Pie’s journals?”

Alter paled, looking around the room for anyone else that could have heard them. It was just her. Applejack knew his feelings immediately and said, “I thought it was a secret. That’s why Kensai and I elected to keep this a secret too. No one else knows yet. But I need to know why myself… And don’t lie to me.”

Alter stammered out, “I-I found it in Mom’s library years ago. I have been trying to figure out what it was ever since. It told me things, secrets about this time. Events that were going to happen. I can’t just let anyone know about it.”

“Not a lick of good it did ya last night, huh? You are meddling in one of her Combos I reckon. Listen, it's best you try not to understand it. Ask your mom about it. It didn’t work out for her either.”

Her words gave him pause. Last night he lost his arm because of this. He lost his arm protecting something he barely understood. Something he may never understand. Her words were true, brutally so… Yet he could not deny it.

He looked down at his regrown arm and held it tightly to himself. That was when he felt the offending Tome being plopped down into his lap. He looked up from his arm to the book, and then to Applejack. Her expression was stern, yet soft, much like how she treated her daughter when she was about to do something foolish. She said, “I do have one bit of understanding about it, you are not the only one who was interested in it. That thief, that thing. If it truly is as important as you say, you should do something so this doesn’t happen again.”

Alter looked down at the book once more and agreed with her again. Even if there was little chance in understanding it himself, he was right to want to protect it. Those words held power… Enough to drive something to steal it, to attack him when he tried to reclaim it. His mind was made up. If he could not understand it, then he would lock it away so no prying eyes could dare do so. Not his own, not that thing. Alter had learned that just because something can be read doesn’t mean it should. This phantom pain he felt in his arm was a reminder of that.

Author's Note

A brief look into the threat ranking system put in place by Alternate Dawn. Note, these threat assessments are entirely subjective, as not all threats that create Harmony Bars are actual threats. It is more a gauge of power, speed, intelligence, destructive potential and growth potential.

Pureblood type: Creatures created from pure darkness or some other facsimilie. Emotions, will given form. They operate on pure instinct and seek only to drag the world into chaos. It is unknown where exactly they come from, whether it be the blackened hearts f others or some place beyond the fourth wall.

F-Class: The most common type of creature that alternate Dawn and his friends are likely to face. What they lack in stats of variety they make up for in sheer numbers. However, when facing a lone F-class, even a filly or colt can take them on with a reasonable chance of victory.

E-Class: It is here where creatures begin to show some shred of individuality, taking on 'job's of their own and specializing in various skills, such as destruction, speed, or overal strentgh. Their appearance also begins to have a definitive shape. they are still relatively simple to take out however, as they have yet to truly 'evolve'.

D-Class: The Creatures that come from this class are the most organized of the purebloods, opting to act in real packs and swarms. Their forms are numerous and skills just as wide. Together, even Royal guards would find difficulty in facing them, but like all creatures beneath them a decent level of prepareness can make even these creatures manageable.

Posessed type: While Posessed is a part of the name, there is a lot more to this than meets the eye. In truth, this specifical genre denotes that a real living creature was used as the base for their creation, be it intentional or otherwise. This naturally elevates their threats beyond anything purebloods can be capably of without a potent evolution occurring.

C-Class: Common threats in this class are creatures such as squirrels, bats, rats, and other small things. Their size and destructive potential is massivly increased.

B-Class: Slightly larger creatures are used in this class, such dogs or cats. while B and C class threats are similar in that instincts are still the basis of thier attack patterns, B-Class threats have demonstrated the capabilty of greater intelligence and adaptabilty in the middle of cobat, sometimes changing thier attacks or movement patterns unpredictabilty that C-Class threats cannot replicate.

A-Class: Unlike the others of the Posessed types, if a Pony or equivalent level of strenth or intelligence is a threat, they are classified here or beyond. For an accurate representation of thier threat level, they can bring cities to thier knees if they truly had the desire and time to do so.

S-Class: Threats in this class are the kind that could make Equestria itself bow, typically comprising of beings like Nightmare Moon or an Alicorn equivalent. Discord also qualifies. While most threats beneath this class can be handled with the use of Holy weapons, Celestial magics, or the Elements of Harmony, threats in this class almost always have to be dealt with by the Element of Harmony. They are simply too strong for normal means to actually bring them down for good.

~~"Lets not even think about it" type: See below...~~

Star-Class: A threat so great that the entire world is threatened. Discord can ALSO be placed here depending on whether he is actually being serious or not. Its no longer a matter of the Kingdom being threatened, but all of reality.

Classes denoted with a "+" are unique threats that have evolved above thier class' normal limits. They posess either enhanced stats or a unique trait that sets them apart from others of their kind. It is worth mentioning that despite how unique a given creature may be in terms of form or abilities, they are not often given a "+". It takes something truly unique to earn it, such as Evolution or some similar change.