Exvius: Rainfall

Chapters

0.1- Learning the Basics
0.2- New Friends
0.3- A Knight's Creed
1- Everfree
1.2- The Journey Ahead
1.3- A Slight Detour
1.4- Cold Skin
2- Granitebeak
2.1- From the Heavens
2.2- Place of Dreams
2.3- The Galewing Shrine
2E- Wicked Endeavours
3- Panthera
3.1- The Lake
3.2- A Choice to Make
3.3- On the Open Seas
0- In the beginning...
1.1- The Road to Canterlot

0.1- Learning the Basics

By the time that the chariot had landed back in Canterlot, Rain was struggling to regain his footing on the ground after having himself feel weightless throughout the whole time that he was on the golden chariot with Night Light, Celestia and Shining Armor. By the time he did stand straight again, he was looking at the glorious castle that was Canterlot. A home for Unicorns, Earth Ponies, Pegasi and other species alike. And just by the sheer size of it alone and how majestic everything was around him, he was spellbound by all that he was seeing and everything that was around him.

“T-this place… It’s amazing!” He said, at a loss for words for how he should react right now. Causing Celestia and Night Light to chuckle a little in response to how spellbound the young boy was as he walked through the streets alongside Shining Armor. However, there was a couple of times where the boy felt a little bit scared because of some of the glances he was getting from some of the locals on the street.

“It is isn’t it? You don’t have to be afraid here Rain… This is your new home now and I’d like for you be comfortable and enjoy your time here with me.” Celestia said, wrapping a wing around him, smiling at the child. It helped him out a bit, but some of the ponies around the area still looked… worried.

“Princess…” Night Light whispered in response. “He’s probably scared because of some of the looks from the locals in the area. He may be a child, but since he’s from a species most of ponykind haven’t seen before, they might be… afraid of him.”

“If the ponies have a problem with him, than they’ll have to deal with me about it.” Celestia told him, even though it was with a mother like tone, came off rather serious. “Now we’ll be approaching the castle soon and I’d like for you to ask the guard to close off the castle to the public for now.”

“Of course, princess.” Night Light nodded his head before turning back to the two boys, who were waiting not that far away.

Celestia soon turned her gaze back to Rain. “I promise to keep you safe… If you need anything, just let me know?” Rain just simply nodded his head before continuing to follow Shining Armor… and coincidently, also had Night Light remember something. But before he could say anything, Shining raced over to the door to his home and threw himself in the arms of his mother as she opened the door.

“Dear Shining!! I’m so glad you are okay!!” She said, before shortly noticing the blond haired boy that was right next to her son. “Oh hello… who would you be, kiddo?”

“I-i’m Rain… It’s nice to meet you.” He said, nervously before looking back at the mare with a shy and embarrassed look on his face.

“You don’t have to be scared… I’m not going to hurt you.” She said, smiling at him as she looked at him curiously before looking back to notice her husband and also Princess Celestia nearby where she was. “Oh, Night Light, why didn’t you tell me the princess was going to be here!”

“Well… That’s a bit complicated to explain…” He started off with before the two kids went into the house and the adults followed them inside. “She was with me when we first heard about Shining going missing-.”

“He went missing?!” She glared at him.

“There’s nothing to worry about now Velvet, but I think this is a conversation for the three of you to have later. As for Rain, I believe that’s a subject that we should discuss amongst ourselves.” The Princess suggested to both of them before looking back at Velvet and Night.

“Well, come in Princess, but before we continue could you three wait in the guest area? I would like to have a word with Night Light for a moment.” she asked, turning her gaze at her husband as both of them went off into the back room before Shining, Rain and Celestia waited back in the guest room for when Night and Velvet would return.

“What do you think they’re talking about?” Rain asked as Shining shrugged. Celestia could only chuckle though in response.

“I’m sure they’re talking about Shining Armor here… But I’m sure they’ll be out soon.” She answered. The three waited in silence for a few minutes before Night Light and Velvet came back, still arguing.

“Why did you let this happen to him?” Velvet asked, sounding a little more serious now as Rain turned to see the two of them.

“I didn’t know that he was going to do something like this, Velvet. I just thought that he was going on a field trip, not run away.” Night Light then said back at his wife, all while Rain was looking a little distraught by what was happening. In the same moment though, as he was trying to block out the sounds of the argument, Celestia happened to notice a few of the objects on the coffee table begin to shake.

“Night Light, Velvet, I know it’s rude to interrupt, but Night Light said he wanted to discuss something with me personally and wanted you to be apart of it as well.” Celestia reminded them as they both looked up to the princess, nodding as they took their seats on the sofa.

“My apologies Princess. I was just stressed at my husband, since safety is one of my biggest concerns when it comes to raising Shining.” Velvet replied back, glaring towards her husband now as she took up a seat and then proceeded to ask Night a question. “So what was it that you wanted to discuss, Night?”

“I’m quite curious myself? What did you want to talk about?” Celestia asked, raising a brow as Night Light looked back at the Princess and his wife. Taking a deep breath, he looked back at Celestia once again before turning to his wife and looking at her.

“When we found Shining in the forest, we found him with Rain and… well… in a way, they almost saw each other like brothers. Heck, it was Rain that helped Shining in getting his cutie mark in the first place.” Night Light spoke up before looking back at Celestia and then back to Velvet. “I was talking with Celestia about the possibility of having her teach Rain how to control magic and I can help him with his swordsmanship, but I was going to ask if you think it was a good idea to raise Rain alongside Shining.”

“Night Light… Rain is a nice boy… but do you think we’re up for raising more children?” Hearing that had Night Light’s eyes widen a little as he looked back at Shining Armor before looking back at his wife.

“Wait… you don’t mean…”

“Nighty… I’m-.” She said for a moment, only noticing that Rain was not in the guest room as she looked around for a moment. “Wait… where’s Rain?”

“I think I saw him go to the kitchen.” Shining said. Both of his parents and the princess soon walked into the kitchen area, only to see Rain holding a ball of fire in one hand… and a tea cup with water and a tea bag in his opposite hand.

“Rain, what are you doing?” Night Light then asked, a little curious as he looked back at the youngling as he looked backed at them and noticed them looking at him.

“She looked sad… My momma back home said that if someone is sad, you should prepare them a hot beverage.” Rain then told him, putting out the fireball and then setting the cup down as he added a bit of milk before looking back at Velvet and handing the cup in her direction. “I made tea for you.”

“Thank you,” Velvet told him, picking up the cup with her hands… before feeling Rain hug her around her waist as he looked back at her.

“Please don’t be sad… I don’t like it when people are sad.” The boy replied, surprising the unicorn as she smiled and rubbed his head a little. “That’s why I want to help whoever I can. So they don’t have to be sad… like I was.”

“Now… Night Light, I know you care for the boy, but like your wife said, can you afford to raise anymore children? If not, I’m more than happy to raise him, but if you can. Let me know now, because I don’t think I can restrain myself from cuddling him any longer.” Celestia teased as she looked at the two unicorns, waiting for their final answer. “If it make Shining feel better, he can come by the castle anytime to play with him.”

Rain pouted for a moment before looking back at all of them. “Aww… why can’t I be with both of you?” He said, looking back at both Princess Celestia and Shining’s parents as they looked back at him with a raised eyebrow… and for the princess, a smile on her face.

“It’s not unheard of and I’d be willing to make arrangements, but what I mean is a place for you to stay. Since they’ll be having another child, they might have their hooves full… That’s why I’m suggesting you stay with me.” She spoke, before looking back at Night Light and his wife. “As for paperwork, I’ll see to it that they’re apart of your family as well. I sense a very strong bond between the two of you and I’d hate to separate you two.”

“Do… you really mean it?” Rain asked as the princess smiled and gave him a nod.

“Of course-” Before she could finish, the sounds of an old clock going off. “Oh, well would you look at the time, I guess I lost track of time… Rain, I think it’s time for us to go… my son.” Rain looked back at Celestia for a moment before slowly letting go around Twilight Velvet and looking back at her and the rest of her family.

“Okay… Will I be able to see them again?” He asked, looking back at Celestia with a nervous look on his face.

“Of course… How about tomorrow afternoon?” she smiled. “If you’re still nervous about going with me I understand, but… I promise I’m not going to hurt you.”

“O-okay…” He said, before going to Shining and saying goodbye as he hugged his friend for a short bit before going back to where the sun princess was and nodding his head briefly. “I’m ready… P-princess.”

“I promise that you’ll be safe here… now follow me and feel free to make yourself at home.” Celestia insisted, even though Rain was still really nervous on the whole situation. “If it makes you feel better, you could hop on my back? I’ll fly us to the castle so you don’t have to worry about other ponies bothering you.”

“O-okay.” He muttered, letting Celestia pick him up with her arms and placing him on her shoulders before spreading her wings and taking flight. Having the two of them soar to the castle entrance in a matter of seconds. As the princess landed and had Rain follow her inside, they were both greeted by an elder stallion with a grey mustache, mane and tail that had a cutie mark of a stopwatch.

“There you are, princess!! I’ve been looking all over the castle for you this-.” The stallion replied, shortly before noticing the child that was right next to her and some of the things that he was carrying. “Princess… who is this… child?” His question came out nervously, not because of fear, but because of uncertainty. He did not know if this being was indeed a child or not, nor had he seen anything like it before. Nevertheless, he proceeded to ask with caution anyways to avoid any possible misconceptions.

“Kibitz, this is Rain. I’ll be watching over him along with Captain Night Light and his family.” Princess Celestia spoke as she turned to the youngling. “Rain, this is my royal assistant Kibitz. Feel free to speak to him if you are having trouble with anything and need some help.” The boy nodded his head shyly as he looked back at the elderly stallion. Going as far as being able to lightly say ‘hello’ to Kibitz.

For the elderly stallion though, the simple hello surprised him for multiple reasons. First and foremost, it told him that not only did the child have the ability to speak, but to also speak in equish. The native language for ponykind. Second, it reminded the elderly stallion a small bit of the son of Captain Night Light, Shining Armor based solely on this interaction alone. However, there was a lot that he did not know about… and that Celestia was going to inform him on.

“Kibitz, I would like to talk to you for a moment please.” She asked him as he saw Rain sit down on a chair that was near the windows in the hall and got what looked like an old and beaten up book out of his bag and began to read. The elderly stallion followed the princess to a father segment of the room before he folded his arms and looked back at Celestia

“Princess… I know that Canterlot Castle is one sometimes for unexpected guests and I do respect your judgement, but…” He stopped for a moment, looking once more at Rain again. “Are you sure that it is wise to bring a child like him into your care? I mean, you have other duties as a princess and also as a leader.”

“I understand that Kibitz, but Rain here has a gift and I have seen him use it firsthand,” She told him in a assuring voice as the princess watched Rain while he was reading. “He may seem shy and a little nervous now, but this boy was able to survive on his own in the Everfree Forest for over a year. It’s a feat that is unheard of… and I believe that if you give him a chance, you may see those gifts for yourself.”

Kibitz himself raised an eyebrow, looking at the boy again before looking towards Celestia. He honestly did not think that this boy would be able to even live in the Everfree forest, let alone survive in it for almost a year. It was unheard of. Yet, Kibitz thought that there must be some form of truth to what the princess was saying. But there was something else he thought of too. “What about your niece and nephew? How do you think they will react to this?”

That was… a valid point. One that Celestia had begun to think about now that Kibitz had mentioned it. Her nephew, Prince Blueblood, would not be entirely open to having what he would call a ‘commoner’ stay inside that of the royal palace. However, her niece, Princess Cadence, may be a bit more open to that. In fact, come to think of it, they were both only a year older than Rain and Cadence would probably get along greatly with him.

Blueblood on the other hand, not so much. Even though his mother and her had taught him to not easily judge others because of their social status, he was as stubborn and hard headed as his father. Even going as far as to ask her if his position allowed for him to call for the execution of ponies he didn’t like during his first few weeks in Canterlot. It took both her and Kibitz a long while to explain to him that even those of royalty had to follow the law as well and that nopony was above it… which only lead to him being upset about it.

Nevertheless, Celestia herself remained composed as she looked back at her friend. “I believe that the more ponies that he gets the chance to interact with, the more that he will feel right at home here.” She assured him, noticing that Rain had gotten up from his seat as Celestia went back to where the boy was. Just as somepony else stepped into the room.

“Aunt Celestia, I’m back!” They heard a cheerful voice speak up as all three of them turned to see who it was. When Rain looked in the direction of the voice, he found a young and pink alicorn that was a little taller than he was. But instead of Celestia, she was pink and had a mane and tail that had a mix of cream and lavender colors that matched her clothes. She soon happened to notice the boy as she looked in his direction… a bit curious at first glance. “Oh, I’m sorry! Am I interrupting something?”

“Not at all,” the sun princess giggled as she looked at her niece, surprised by her timing since they were only talking about her a few moments ago. “Cadence, I would like for you to meet Rain. He’ll be staying at the castle from time to time. Rain, this is my niece, Mi Amore Cadenza… or Cadence for short.”

“Uh… Hi there.” Rain spoke, a bit nervous about how to speak to her. Especially since he was Celestia’s niece.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Rain…” She said, trying to look at him from different angles around his sides and also in front of him. “Uh… what are you though? You don’t have a tail like most ponies would…”

“Me?” He asked, a little surprised that Cadence would think of him as a pony. “I’m a human.”

“Is that like some kind of monkey?” That ultimately caused Princess Celestia to mentally facehoof herself as she looked back at her niece. However, it seemed like Rain was actually taking this quite well as he was laughing a bit before actually explaining a little bit to her about what a human was. The alicorn was surprised by this and how well he was getting along with Cadence in the process, even going as far as chuckling when she decided to mess with him a bit.

Celestia’s only concern… would be how Rain would get along with her niece Blueblood when he arrives. “Cadence, who’s that?”

“Oh, that’s-.”

“Cadence, what are you doing!? Get away from that filth!!” The princess facepalmed herself in response to her nephew’s outburst as he barged into the room. “What is a filthy commoner doing inside the castle?” Yet, even with Cadence trying to urge her brother to calm down and Celestia herself trying to keep it together… the most surprising of responses actually came from Rain as he glared back at the young Blueblood. A little bit mad after what the unicorn just called him.

“Excuse you? I’m not filthy and I do not know what you are talking about.” Rain snapped back at him. “Whatever it is though, you are being rather rude.”

“Urgh… It talks too… Aunty, why is this vermin here?” He said in disgust as Rain clutched his fist, ready to punch Blueblood if he insulted him one more time.

“Blueblood… Rain here is staying at the castle just like you and Cadence are and I expect you to show him the respect he deserves.” Celestia said sternly as Blueblood gawked at her, believing her to be joking, but her stare said otherwise.

“Aunty! You can’t be serious?! He’s a filthy runt off the streets! A low class nobody!” He shouted, almost growling at the human boy, only for Celestia to stump her hooves on the marble floors.

“Enough Blueblood! You will not talk to him in such a manner! Go to your room and I’ll be sure to let your parents know how you talked back to me!” Celestia yelled, pointing her hoof out the door as Blueblood grumbled under his breath, glaring at Rain as he whispered something.

“You’ll regret coming here!” He said, marching out the room as Cadance followed after him before looking back at Rain, giving him a gentle smile before leaving the room. Which lead to the boy then turning back to the Princess as he asked a question.

“Is he always like that?”

The question personally surprised the princess. She wasn’t really expecting for him to ask something of that degree for someone his age, but nevertheless, she sighed. “Blueblood is not always so kind to other ponies as much as he is kind to himself. Do not mind him, I’ll deal with him later and bring the subject up to his mother.” It was then that she had asked for Kibitz to go get some of the paperwork that she and I needed to fill out to legally show that both her and Captain Night Light were Rain’s legal guardians.

In the meantime though, she was curious as to the extent of Rain’s magical capabilities… so the best way to find this out was to test the boy. “Rain, could you follow me please?”

“Uh, okay… Where are we going?” He asked, walking alongside the princess as the two of them went towards one of the courtyards in the back of the castle.

“We’re going to meet a very strong unicorn who is an archmage and also one of the best teachers at the school I have. I want see what kind of abilities you have and put them to the test.”

“I don’t like tests… Is this one hard?” He pouted, making Celestia giggle in response to his question and how defiant he was trying to be.

“No, it shouldn’t be too difficult.” She assured him. Although personally, she was unsure as to if this was going to be difficult for the boy at his age. Most ponies who are first admitted into her school for gifted unicorns were admitted around age 10. Rain himself, even though gifted, was only 8 years old. Magical mishaps for Unicorns always start at a young age, so she was concerned that something would happen if Rain accidently pushes himself too far.

But it was shortly after going through the front door that the princess found who she was looking for. They noticed one of the unicorns in the room who had a series of azure and lavender robes as she soon turned around, curious as to who just entered, but surprised to see them. “Oh! Princess Celestia, what a wonderful surprise!”

“It’s good to see you again, Stardust Glimmer.” She replied, looking back at the Unicorn. “How are you doing this afternoon? Not too busy, I hope.” The unicorn shook her head as she looked back at the two of them and set down a couple of scrolls she was carrying.

“No, not at all, princess,” Stardust responded, before noticing the youngster right next to the princess at that given moment in time. “Oh? Who do we have here?” Rain himself was a bit nervous at first, but with a bit of encouragement from Celestia, he soon was able to introduce himself.

“H-hi! I’m Rain…” He said, looking around the inside of the school as the Princess was amused by his curiosity. “N-nice to meet you!”

“That’s a lovely name you have Rain. My name’s Stardust Glimmer… but most ponies just call me Stardust,” She smiled as the unicorn looked back at Princess Celestia. “Now, I wonder what brings you both here to the school… was there something you needed from me, princess?”

“Why yes actually,” Celestia replied, looking at the unicorn now. “You see, Captain Night Light of the royal guard and I were planning on being Rain’s guardians. But it was when we found him that we also found out that he surprisingly has a proficiency in magic. Mostly the kind from back during the time of Clover the Clever and Starswirl the Bearded…” Hearing that really surprised Stardust. One of her favorite subjects when it came to sorcery was learning of old magic once used by two of the smartest and powerful mages in Equestrian history.

“This boy… knows that kind of magic?” Stardust asked, blinking a bit and trying to see if she heard that right.

“Yes. He’s told us that he was also using the old castle of the twin sisters as a shelter from the inhabitants of the Everfree and also has a book on Clover the Clever’s notes,” The princess replied as she looked back at the archmage. “However, I’m concerned about if he can be able to control that kind of power at his age… Earlier when Night Light’s wife and him got in a bit of an argument, I saw Rain get emotionally stressed… and some of the items in the room were reacting to his emotions. Given that you are one of the best archmages who has done research on the work of Clover the Clever and Starswirl the Bearded, I would think that you're the best pony to help us out right now.”

There was some truth to the princess’ statement, Stardust had to admit. But the Unicorn also thought of the possibility of what abilities he could use. Despite being young, those who did not have experience with magic, or weren’t willing to try to stretch out and experiment with their techniques would only be limiting themselves to what they could accomplish. “What kind of test did you have in mind?”

“I’ll leave that to you. However, do bear in mind that his magic is not like most others… You’ll be seeing that for yourself firsthand.” The Princess told her, allowing for Stardust to gather her thoughts for a moment before getting Rain’s attention.

“Rain… could you follow me please?” The Unicorn asked kindly… but the response she got from him was rather… surprising.

“Uh… I-is something wrong?” He asked, sounding rather nervous at that moment as he walked a little bit closer to the archmage.

“No, nothing’s wrong. Princess Celestia was just telling me about your talent with magic and I thought I should see it for myself.” She smiled… even though Rain was still a bit unsure of this. Looking to Celestia first, he then said something that… actually caught both Stardust and Celestia by surprise.

“Uh…… I need an adult?”

The princess eventually chuckled for a moment before speaking up to Rain. “It’s alright Rain. We’re both adults… however, maybe we should do this somewhere where you have more space in order to focus.” With that in mind, the three of them soon began to walk to a more open area near the back of the campus so he could be able to use his magic freely without the possibility of endangering anypony else at the school.

As they did tour through the campus, a lot of the things that Rain did see though made him just watch for a little bit in awe and wonder. There were some ponies making potions, others practicing levitation and some of them later on trying out more complex forms of magic. Yet, none of the ponies in those classrooms ever expected to see him walking through the halls as he arrived at the courtyard with Stardust and Celestia.

“This should do nicely,” Stardust replied as she then turned around to look at the boy. “Alright then… Rain, would you care to demonstrate what you are capable of?” The boy looked around for a moment, puzzled as he tried to make sense of everything around him. Yet… to him, something was missing.

“Uh… Where do you want to demonstrate?” Celestia herself honestly blinked a little upon hearing that question before looking back at the confused child.

“… Could you repeat the question?”

“I was asking where do you want me to demonstrate my magic… I’m sometimes better with my abilities if I know where I want it to go… like a firepit or a training dummy.” Rain told them before looking back at the two of them. “I’m just trying to help you the best I can here, Miss Glimmer.” Stardust was honestly surprised to hear the boy try to explain something of that level to her, so after looking at the princess, she decided to help Rain out a little.

“Alright… How about this…” With that, the unicorn’s magic lit up around her hands as a transparent blue dot could be seen on the ground in front of Rain. “Can you try to cast your spell here?” Rain nodded, turning his body sideways as he held one of his arms down close to the floor before he extended his arm forward.

“Fire!” With the single world, a fireball around the size of his palms soon came forth, slowly moving to the target and when it reached the target, went off in a small plume. Surprising both Stardust and Celestia with the small display of magic.

Yet, one thing confused Stardust as she looked at Rain. “Impressive… though, I’m curious as to why you had to speak in order for the spell to work.”

“Well, sometimes whether I think of the spell’s name inside my head or say it aloud, I find it easier to pull it off successfully than other times… trust me, I know that from personal experience.” All the boy’s comment did was have the Archmage and the Princess look at each other in confusion. Especially at the last part.

“What… happens when you don’t do it?”

“Well, to put it lightly, it caused one of the biggest trees in the forest to burn up in flames and turn to ashes… I was still learning at the time.” Rain admitted out of embarrassment, scratching the back of his head. That caused Stardust to just look at him, surprised for a few moments before shaking her head to clear up her thoughts.

“Alright… Now, is fire magic the only thing you can do?” The Archmage asked, which in turn had Rain decide to set down his bag and have a couple of the books inside be looked at by Stardust.

“Well, according to one of the books there, the magic I have is one of eight elements and out of those eight, I personally can only use two.” He said, holding up two fingers with one hand before continuing his explanation and putting his hands down. “You saw fire, but the other element I can use is stone.”

“Hunh… Interesting,” Stardust replied as she looked at some of the pages in the book. “It makes me curious as to who else could use magic like this…” Yet… neither Celestia nor the Archmage were personally prepared for what Rain was going to tell them next as he took a deep breath and began to speak.

“Well… when I told Shining about it and he gave it a try last night, he could do Ice and air magic…” That… had Celestia twitch a little as she looked back at Rain.

“W-what?”

“Shining knows how to do it…… Uh… Am I in trouble?” Rain asked again, looking even more nervous now.

“N-no, why?”

“You’re looking at me like if I did something wrong…” Rain admitted, his tone sounding more nervous now. Celestia herself had to take a minute in order to try and recompose herself before she took a deep breath and looked back at the boy.

“Rain, why didn’t you tell Mr. Night Light and I sooner about that?”

“Y-you didn’t ask……” The boy admitted to her honestly, looking down at his feet before looking back at the princess. “I d-didn’t do anything wrong now… did I?”

“No no… You’re alright… I just was… surprised, that’s all.” She said to him before looking at Stardust as the unicorn began to speak up.

“Well, other then that, your abilities with magic, for being a beginner are pretty good. For being as young as you are, you have just as much skill as when one of our students first attends school here.” Stardust complimented him as she looked at the princess. “If he continued this training, then he would be straight on the path for being a mage-.”

“Not quite…” Celestia replied casually. “The captain of the guard and I have also seen that Rain is exceptionally skills with a sword just as much as he is with sorcery.” That was indeed surprising. Not many ponies these days were both skilled with both might and magic. Sometimes, it would be either just one or the other depending on who the pony was and what kind of skills they specialized with. Not many of them were Spellblades, which were a combination of the two. “I personally think we can save the future career choices for later though. It is just his first day here and he does have a lot to learn.”

“O-of course, Princess. He’s quite interesting to say the least… but I’m not sure which teacher would be good for him given how rare his magic is,” Stardust told her in response as she went through a clipboard to try and look at the potential list of names for teachers that may work for him. “Perhaps we could-.”

“That might not be necessary…” Celestia spoke up, looking back at the surprised Unicorn. “Perhaps the both of us would be the best for Rain… along with others who have the capabilities to control similar magic like he does. You and I are the two ponies who know a lot more about the magic of the past more than some of the other professors and scholars here.”

“O-okay, but what do you mean like others?”

“Well, It’s most likely that Rain isn’t the only one. He did say that the Captain’s son could control the same kind of magic, just with a different element…” The princess reminded her. “And it may be possible that there are more ponies out there who also can wield those same abilities… We can deal with all of them in time, but right now… We’ll just be helping Rain and Shining with the basics… We’ll handle the more complex spells when they are older.”

“Hold on just a moment Princess. Let me see if I heard that correctly…” It was now that the captain of the guard and his wife were now meeting with Princess Celestia and Stardust Glimmer. “Rain told you that our son… knows old magic? Like from back in Starswirl’s day?”

“Yes, told us that after explaining it to him, Shining wanted to give it a try. Unlike Rain, who can use Fire and Earth, Shining can use Ice and Wind.”

“If that’s for certain, then why did we not see it when we found them in the forest?” The unicorn them asked the princess, before realizing something. “Forgive me Princess, I didn’t mean to come off harsh, I was just wondering.”

“Well, Rain and Shining may be a bit similar in one aspect.” Celestia then said as she looked at them. “Rain only presents his abilities when he feels relaxed, comfortable… and also knows where he is asked to cast something… Glimmer, would you care to explain?”

“Certainly,” She replied, having a piece of paper form in her hands using her magic. “From observing Rain and also conversing with him, it seems like whether he is fighting somepony or just by himself, he needs to picture an ideal target as to where the target the spell. Earlier, when we were asking for him to demonstrate his powers, he only was able to do it after we pointed out where we wanted the spell to be.”

“So, like with the housing market in Canterlot, it depends on location?” Twilight Velvet then asked her for a moment.

“...... That’s one way of putting it.” The archmage replied back as she looked at both of them and then Celestia. “Was there anything you wanted to add, Princess?”

“Not necessarily… other than the fact that like with Rain, Shining’s emotions might cause his magic to be… unstable.” The Princess said, which… just caused both unicorns to look at one another.

“Sorry, but what do you mean by that?”

“Remember earlier when we first came by your home and you two had a… disagreement,” The Princess spoke up, recalling what happened earlier. “During that moment, not only did I see that Rain was stressed, but some of the objects in the room began to shake. A likely sign to his earth related abilities. It may be possible that it’ll be the same case for Shining…”

“If so then, what do you suggest we do?” Night Light then asked.

“Well… I have been talking about it with Stardust Glimmer here…” Celestia then turned to Stardust as she looked at them. “And we have decided to come up with a special class for students that can use this kind of magic… And we would like for Shining to be a part of it with Rain.”

“Just the two of them?” Twilight Velvet then asked.

“Not exactly… there will be a few more students if we do find some with special abilities… not to mention that we are going to run a test amongst some of the members of Shining’s class… If any of them show signs, we can offer them the chance to be a part of it.” The Princess explained. “Now, it’s up to you to decide if you want your son to be a part of this opportunity.”

“I would be fine… only if, like with Rain, I teach my son Swordsmanship.”

“I’m fine with that…” Celestia replied. “What about you, Twilight?”

“Well… both Shining and Rain will get the chance to be together more often…” She thought it over, speaking aloud before looking at the princess. “I’m all for it.”

“Alright… I guess this is settled then… Do get some rest, Velvet,” Celestia said to her as both Stardust and the Princess were beginning to walk out the door. “I bet you still have a lot of things to discuss with Shining…”

Night Light blinked for a moment as they were walking out the door, only to realize what she meant. “Uh… honey? When were we going to tell Shining about… well…”

“Tell me what, dad?” Shining asked, tilting his head in a confused manner as all it did was cause both Night Light and Twilight Velvet to have an awkward blush on their face.

This was indeed going to be a rather LONG conversation.

Author's Note

The next part of the prologue, which covers when Rain first visits Canterlot, meeting that of Twilight Velvet, Cadence and... god forbid, Blueblood while also showing a bit on how his magic works. Specifically, Fire and Earth magic are the kinds of abilities that he is proficient at while others are more so-so. Though, with him being so young though, his emotions play a major factor in how his abilities and spells work out. Case in point the fact that him being so frustrated with trying to learn fire magic originally that he cause a tree to burn to the ground.

Also, when it comes to the subject of spells and magic, theres a way here to differentiate the two. Old magic, or magic used in the era of Starswirl the Bearded and Clover the Clever, is the magic that you would find in Final Fantasy. Broken down into three types and eight different elemental variations, this kind of magic is what could be seen as what some would believe to be ancient history, while more modern spells are that in which are normal forms of unicorn and pegasus magic in Equus. More will be covered on the subject in the next chapter.

Until then, I hope you enjoyed the second one and stay tuned for more!
-Frost

0.2- New Friends

It was a couple of days after the field trip in which Shining Armor had met Rain and now, not only did he receive the news that he was going to be part of a special class where they could be able to learn how to harness and control their newfound magic, but there was also some news that he was rather… surprised and also happy about. Now just for him, but also his parents as well since they were going to have one new member to the family. His parents had been messing one another on the subject of the sibling he was going to have. His mother thinking that it was going to be a filly while his father thought that it was going to be a colt. Either way, it still meant that Shining Armor was soon going to be a big brother… and despite the amount of responsibility being placed on his shoulders, he was still very happy about it.

Today though, both he and Rain were not exactly taking part in any exercise that Stardust Glimmer had for them this morning, but instead watch and observe some of Shining’s former classmates take on a special kind of test that Princess Celestia and Stardust herself were proctoring. The goal for it, according to the princess, was to see if there was any other potential ponies in Shining’s class that could wield the same kind of magic that Rain and him now control.

To do that though, there was a series of steps they needed to follow. First, the student had to show some form of magical prowess. Anyone could say that can use magic, but there was a difference between casting a simple spell and controlling one. In addition to that, according to the transcripts that Rain had brought with him from the Castle of Twin Sisters, some spells were casted more effectively when you read the names. So there was a reading portion to it too.

Then of course, was the tricky part. Further reading into the books when Rain was asleep had the princess discover that not all abilities were specifically related to magic. Some did, but others were special abilities that the user had. Some could be taught while others were crafted with special materials and were known as materia. But as the test began, it wasn’t time for them to be dwelling on the details of what it was… and pay attention to who might be capable of controlling it.

Shining and Rain watched from down closer to the floor while Princess Celestia was right next to Stardust Glimmer as she called upon each of the students. The majority of them being Pegasi and Unicorns, but there were a couple of times where there were some earth ponies that were asked to take part in the test since it was said that earth ponies had their own kind of magic. One that was invisible to the naked eye, but can be seen through the ground in which they walk upon, the crops they raise and the harvest that occurs annually.

Though, as minutes soon began to pass by and it had almost been an hour, one familiar face that Rain and Shining had seen before was the second to last pony to attempt the test. “Seifer Almasy…”

“Yeah? That’s me…” The stubborn unicorn colt grumbled as he glared at them. “What is this? Some kind of way to rub in what happened a couple days ago? Because this seems like a way for you to embarrass me again-.”

“We are just asking you to perform a simple test…” Stardust asked as she held up a piece of paper with a levitation spell. “I would like for you to try and decipher this-.”

Yet, the colt wasn’t exactly open when he saw the page. “What the hay is that suppose to be? It looks like a series of scribbles from a two year old foal.” He grumbled. “Look, unless you can tell me what’s going on, I don’t know how to help you ponies… no disrespect of course, Princess, but how can I do something without anything to go off of?”

Princess Celestia sighed for a moment before clearing her voice. “You bring a valid point… Allow me to ask you a question instead, Mr. Almasy.” She asked before looking at him for a moment. “What level of magic are you at right now in your class?”

“Honestly, I have already read the book for it and I get tired everytime Ms. Rosemary goes over something I already know,” The colt said, looking back at both of them for a moment before replying. “So… intermediate?”

“Well, at your level, you should know that these… scribbles are actually ancient writings from the time of Starswirl. It should’ve been covered in your arcane history unit.” That was when she saw the colt’s eyes widen as he looked back at her with a look of embarrassment on my face. “In any case, despite your… rudeness, we can make this easier for your skill level. Try conjuring a sphere of magic and see how long you can hold onto it for.” With the task simplified for him, the colt then tried to do the task that was requested from him. Conjuring the sphere was the easy part… yet, keeping it controlled was more a lot more tricky.

Unfortunately, only after a couple of minutes did the colt begin to tire out as he fell backwards on the ground. “Okay… now what?”

“You have a lot of determination, but it’s not what we are looking for with this test, Mr. Almasy… I’m sorry, but you did not pass,” Stardust informed him before he was asked to leave as the Unicorn looked back at her clipboard when the colt left the room. “Well, it seems like we only got onepony left for this… and so far, nopony has seem to demonstrate any special links so far.”

“One will show up soon… I’m sure of it,” Celestia said positively. “So who’s left on the list, Stardust?” The unicorn looked at the list as Shining and Rain watched a disgruntled Seifer sit next to a bunch of other classmates that did not complete the test successfully. However, the name they heard was one that Shining himself was… actually familiar with.

“The only pony that’s left on the list is a mare named… Sunset Shimmer.” The unicorn replied back. “Mane and tail of a burning sun, fur coat looks like a sunset as in her name and also-.”

“You called my name, Ms. Glimmer?” Stardust herself looked up to see the young mare that she was just talking about. Her features were the same one that she had on her clipboard along with the fact that she wore a simple red top and a skirt to go with it. Not only that, but she looked a bit… nervous. Like if somepony was called into the principal's office because of something that happened.

“Well, hello Sunset…” Stardust replied to the mare as she set her clipboard down. “Thank you for being patient with us. My name’s-.”

“Stardust…” She replied, surprising the unicorn after speaking it as Sunset looked back at the Archmage. “Your name is Stardust Glimmer. I heard you say it from the other end of the room…” That too also surprised Rain… yet, it didn’t surprise Shining Armor as much. In class, she would normally somewhere between the middle and the back of the room and still be able to clearly process the lesson that the teacher had for them in class.

Today though, was not like any other normal day in class for her. Stardust knew that as she was beginning to clear her throat. “Well, I guess you already know who I am… Though, there is something that we want to ask,” As she said that, she held up the same card that she did with the colt before her. But this time, she got a much different response. “Can you-.”

“May the fires of life shine the path forward…” Rain’s eyes widened, along with everypony else in the room. Including Stardust for that matter. Not only could she read it, but Sunset was able to read the words off of the single piece of paper without any flaw in speech or translation. “What? Did I do something wrong?”

“Actually… no. You didn’t do anything wrong, dear.” Princess Celestia spoke now, catching the Unicorn’s attention. “In fact, out of all of your classmates, you were the only one who was able to actually decipher and read what was written on here.” That really caught Sunset by surprise when Princess Celestia said that. She had honestly thought that some of the other ponies in the class could be able to read it, but to find out that she was the only one who could understand what it means… that caught her off guard.

“I…… thought that somepony else was able to do it… I-it can’t be just me now…” She said, trying to sound like the princess was trying to play some kind of joke on her. “I m-mean, it just came naturally to me…”

“Sunset, gifts like these are very rare. You are able to read and decipher an old language that some would say as rather impossible,” Stardust told her, her tone being a bit serious as she spoke to her while her teacher, Ms. Rosemary, had the rest of the students leave the room so they could talk. “Some would even call your gifts special-.”

However, hearing that just made Sunset feel rather… anxious and uncertain. “But what if I don’t want to feel special…… Ever since I was a filly, I would bring too much attention to myself. I didn’t do anything wrong, but it always seems like what everypony was talking about was of something I did… And it just never ends… Why can’t I just be normal?”

Now though… was when they could see a bit of concern. But all it did was have someone get up from where they were, walk past where Celestia and Stardust were… and approach Sunset. “I see you as normal to me…”

To everypony’s surprise, it was Rain that was trying to calm her down. “Y-you’re just saying that.”

“No, I mean it.” Rain told her. “And I promise you that Celestia means it too…”

“Then why are they conducting these tests then?” Sunset asked him and everypony else in the room. It was a question that was on her mind for quite some time since these tests began… and it was one that seemed like the best time to answer.

“Do you remember when we asked if you could read what was on the card Ms. Glimmer showed you earlier Sunset?” The Princess asked, causing the unicorn to nod her head. “Well, we believe that since you were able to read it, you can be able to learn and control forms of magic that were written in the same language. Spells that Rain and Shining Armor are both familiar with… I want to have you take part in a special class being taught by Archmage Stardust Glimmer at my academy for Gifted Unicorns so you can be able to learn and possibly understand new forms of magic and spells that you wouldn’t have access to anywhere else.”

Sunset herself… was really surprised to hear this… but wasn’t quite sure what to make of it after thinking it over. “But why me? I mean, there are plenty of other ponies who would want this with how you phrased it.” That may have been true, but there was a few things that Stardust had yet to mention to the young unicorn.

“It may be something that many ponies would want, but the magic is so rare nowadays that only a handful of ponies can use it…” The archmage told her in response to Sunset’s question. “It’s an Ancient and forgotten form of sorcery… So old in fact that many believe that nopony can be able to read it anymore.”

“But… I’m the only one that can?”

“Not the only one exactly…” Celestia smiled warmly as she walked over to where Rain and Shining Armor were standing as she continued to speak. “You see… Shining Armor and Rain here also have these gifts too. You’re not the only one that has these abilities, Sunset… and with time, all of you can learn how to get better with these abilities… But we aren’t pressuring you to take action now if you want to think on it.”

At that point though, the unicorn they were speaking too did not have to think anymore on the subject… for she already made her decision. Because of them… and because of Rain, she had made her final choice on the matter. “I already made my choice, Princess… and I want to be a part of this.”

“So you were able to successfully find somepony to teach alongside that of Rain and the guard captains son, Princess?” Celestia’s advisor and assistant, Kibitz, asked her a few moments after she had returned to the throne room in Canterlot Castle. The Princess herself had not convinced Sunset Shimmer to join the special class she was organizing with the help of Stardust Glimmer, but had also gotten permission from Ms. Rosemary, Sunset’s former teacher, so the unicorn was allowed to be in the class.

“Yes we were. We may have only found one candidate, but I have high hopes that she will do very well with Shining Armor and Rain.” The princess replied to him as she looked back at the unicorn.

“Pray tell… and who would be this young filly?” He then posed the question. Hearing that this pony was referred to as a ‘she’ had the stallion think that it was a filly that was either around the same age as Rain or a little bit younger.

“Her name is Sunset Shimmer. When we met her and explained about what she was capable of, she was a bit hesitant about the whole thing… but after some encouragement from both Rain and I, she was more than willing to take part.” Celestia told him with a smile on her face. “Both Stardust and I have high hopes for her success.”

“I can’t wait to meet both her and the captain's son for myself.” Kibitz smiled as he looked back at the princess. “Speaking of the captain, I had just gotten the Guardianship paperwork back from him recently. With his part filled out and signed, both you and him are now Rain’s legal guardians.”

“Thank you for informing me Kibitz and thank you for making sure that was taken care of as quickly as possible.” The princess acknowledged him as she looked outside over Canterlot Square. “I did not want Rain to be seen by my subjects as anything other than a regular being or being treated unfairly.”

“Neither would I… Though, we know that even though we know that Rain is a good kiddo, others may think differently. It all depends on Rain and how he reacts to a particular situation.”

“With the right guidance,” Celestia pointed out to her adviser as she turned to face him again. “Though, I have faith that Rain will make the right choice on how to handle a situation…”

“And I believe that as well,” The stallion told her before looking around the room for a moment. “Now… on the subject of Rain… where exactly is he?” It was a valid question… and one that the princess didn’t exactly have for him. Of course, she knew where Rain was previously… but not where the boy was right now.

“Last I remember, he was walking around the castle with Shining Armor and Sunset Shimmer. However, I’m not sure where he is currently.” The princess replied.

“Perhaps we should find out where he is just in case… we wouldn’t want another incident that was similar to when he originally met your nephew, don’t you agree?” Kibitz did bring up a valid point there… and hopefully, they would be able to find him before anything like that were to happen again.

As he proceeded down a hall and took a left turn, Shining Armor was trying to backtrack in order to catch up with both Rain and Sunset Shimmer, who were in the garden around the backside of the castle since Stardust had suggested for them to go outside and play in the garden. Yet, when the archmage told them that was when he was having to go to the bathroom… and he only found out about it after spending nearly fifteen minutes in a panicked frenzy trying to find the two of them.

And it was in this rush that he accidently turned a corner too fast… and accidently collided with somepony else on accident. “Oww… Sorry about that mis-” Before Shining could finish his sentence, his eyes widened as he looked at who he ran into on accident. At first, he thought it was a royal guard… only to realize that it was actually a pony around his age. It was a girl that had pink fur, a violet & cream colored mane and tail, a cutie mark of a crystalline heart and… had both a horn and wings.

At that realization, his heart almost skipped a beat… or several. He didn’t just run into anypony… he accidently bumped into Mi Amore Cadenza, the princesses niece! Shining had heard her name quite a few times from that of his former classmates… but honestly did not e-expect to be bumping into her of all ponies.

“Oh my gosh, I’m sorry!” He heard Cadence speak before he was able to process anything he could possibly say. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

Normally, if somepony like his mother was asking that, Shining Armor would be quick to respond. However… in this case, all that happened was that a blush soon began to quickly come over his face while he was stuttering at the mouth. Not even being able to formulate any words to speak for a brief amount of time.

Yet, before Cadence could say anything else, somepony else from down the hall soon spoke up as both of them turned to see who it was… and thankfully, Shining was glad at this since it got him out of an awkward situation. “There you are Shining… for a moment, I thought we lost you. This castle’s like a maze at times.” They heard Rain from down the hall as he walked on over to help the colt get up on his hooves. “I see that you met Cadence.”

“Y-you know her?” Shining Armor stuttered, surprised at hearing that.

“Well, yesterday we met only for a short bit since Celestia wanted to talk to them and such, but that didn’t last long,” He replied, before turning to Cadence. “Oh, that’s right. Cadence, this is my friend, Shining Armor.”

“Shining Armor? As in Captain Night Light’s son?” She asked, which caught the colt off guard once again.

“Y-yeah, how do you-?”

“I’ve had the pleasure of meeting him earlier when he was having some of the new recruits going through some training exercises…” She said, before hearing the loud sound of what sounding like a huge bell being rung echo throughout Canterlot. “Aww man, I’m going to be late! I promised to meet with Aunt Celestia at the top of the hour for lunch! Sorry, but I gotta go. Nice to meet you, Shiny-!” She hollered out while racing down the hallway and leaving the two of them just standing there…… awkwardly.

“Well… that was rather quick,” Rain sighed before looking at Shining Armor for a moment. “Hey, are you okay? Your face seems… red.” The colt himself felt even more embarrassed by that as he tried to shake his head and regain his composure.

“Ah, y-yeah. I-i’m fine!” He stuttered in response. But the words that he was saying… didn’t exactly synch up with how he was acting. Which had Rain a little bit confused for a moment… especially with the fact that Shining was staring in the direction that Cadence had left before looking back at him.

“Really? If something’s wrong, I can go tell Celestia-.”

“T-that won’t be necessary!!” Shining Armor told him before walking past him and talking to himself as he proceeded down the hall. “Let’s just forget that ever happened, Okay? Okay.” Yet, that just confused Rain even more as he was still trying to wrap his head around what was going on.

“What the heck was that about?” He asked himself, before soon catching up with him as they continued walking… until at one moment where Rain turned in direction of the gardens… while Shining was still walking down the hall. “Hey Shining, the garden’s this way!”

“Oh! Whoops… my bad.” The colt said upon realizing his blunder, deciding to follow Rain this time as he showed Shining Armor where exactly the garden was to meet up with Sunset. When they got there, the three of them later had decided to play hide and seek around the maze, with Sunset Shimmer trying to find the other two. The only catch being that no one could use any magic because that would be seen as cheating.

It was while Rain was trying to find a place to hide though that he came across something in the middle of the garden that… he did not see originally. A strange stone line statue, but not of a pony or person… no this one was much different. It looked like if somepony just mixed multiple creatures together in order to come up with it and at first, it looked kind of interesting to him… but the more he looked at it, the more that he thought that the statue was somehow watching him… even if whatever this was had it’s eyes closed.

“Found you!”

At the sound of that, Rain turned around as Sunset Shimmer tapped him on the shoulder, causing him to groan in response. “Aw man! I was distracted!!”

“Heh… Easy to find you when your standing out in the open,” She smiled before turning around and noticing something that caught her attention. “Come on, let’s keep on exploring before we go back to Princess Celestia.” Rain sighed in defeat, wanting to complain, but refraining himself from doing so as he joined up with his new friend.

Unaware though… that the corners of the mouth on the statue… were now angled upward in a smile unlike before.

Later that evening…

As the stars twinkled in the sky, Celestia smiled upon seeing how tired out Rain was after the events of today. For being such a young child, the past two days with him had reminded her of the times when she was a filly a long long time ago. When she was with those who she saw as close family… before time passed on. As she watched Rain sleep though, the alicorn took it upon herself to watch him.

Though… what caught her attention at the moment was one of the books that she had noticed Rain brought along with him from his original home in the Everfree. She had to admit though, with the more time that the princess had been with the child and seen what he could do, it made her quite curious since the boy had said that he learned his abilities through those same books. Sure, she might not be able to use the same magic, but the books themselves were from that of Starswirl the Bearded and Clover the Clever. Two of the most important figures in Equestrian History and that have changed the way that everypony knows of magic and the world they call home.

Of course, when she started reading them, some of the information she was reading were related to things that Rain had already demonstrated and gone over. But, when looking at the stack of books that Rain had, there was one book that… she wasn’t entirely familiar with.

Espers- A reference guide

“What is this?” The princess thought to herself curiously. “I haven’t heard a term or phrase like this one before or seen a book on it… What is this suppose to be?” It was when she used her magic to pull the book out of the stack while also making sure to not let the other ones fall over. Once she had it in it’s hand, the princess removed the latch that kept the whole thing sealed together and cracked it open to the beginning. Though, as she opened it, Celestia was greeted with the images of several unknown creatures faded into the pages.

Then, there was the beginning of the novel itself… with a statement from Starswirl the Bearded. To those who find this… the content in here is what is the only book that I will not likely publish because of the amount of controversy that would come with such a subject. It is not for the brave of heart, but for those who do find this… I wish for you is to please bring this to Princess Celestia. There is much information in here that I would not to fall into the wrong hands…

And to Celestia… I wish there was more I could do to help you now. But unlike you, it seems that my time has come. Inside this books is years of research that both my apprentice and I have complied following the events after the imprisonment of Discord with the Elements of Harmony. I will always miss you, my little sunlight.

That… had a small tear begin to form at the corners of her eyes. She had not known that Starswirl… no, her mentor… would do something like this for her. It made her feel… sad that he was gone… but happy that she will still remember him.

Yet, she was curious as to why something like this would be seen as controversial… until she began to read. Espers are referred by other names in many different cultures. Astrals, Eidolons, Aeons and Avatars just to name a few. But they all mean the same thing… They’re creatures of immense power that are often seen as gods and demigods. Now, if you read this, at first you might think that this is all speculation and that I might be making this up, but I had the privilege of encountering a couple of them myself and talked to them to get a better understanding.

One of which… transcends what if most commonly believed about what we know. For starters, Espers only stick to what is considered as their ‘domain’ and don’t exactly strive out of it unless provoked otherwise. Some have either been apart of other cultures as well… which gets into my research. Upon encountering the first Esper we met, Clover and I learned more about what is an esper and also… their king.

“These beings have a king?” Celestia asked herself as she continued to read.

Though, king is a light way to put it. This Esper was the first dragon lord that united his people together and was known as Bahamut. Many dragons still believe that Bahamut is around somewhere, but no one knows where he is or what had happened. Many still think that he’s around or was somehow sealed away by an unknown force, like that of Discord when being sealed by the elements of harmony.

Yet, from the Esper that we met, she described that not all espers are relatively nice to mortals such as Clover and I. Some are against those who trespass into their domain while others want to misuse their power for their own purposes-

At reading that one line, Celestia stopped and looked up. Subjects such as hers… can use these beings powers? But how? It was a question in her head that she wanted to figure out and answer so that way she would know. So, taking a deep breath and calming herself down, she then continued to read right where she left off. This esper, who is known as Siren, also happened to mention that those who seek to harness the strength of an esper must undergo a trial to prove their strength to them before they can provide theirs. On a personal note though, Siren herself though feared that if someponies were to try and harness powers like these, they would use it to bring harm to the creatures that an esper may see as their children.

Now was when she was beginning to realize why something like this would be seen as taboo. In pony culture, Sirens were creatures that were seen as monsters that would use their songs to lure the faint of heart into despair and mess with their minds. This though… was going against those beliefs… and back in the past, anyone who tried to speak for them then… would be seen as a slave of a siren and be humiliated because of it.

Now though… times were different… and Sirens weren’t as much of a threat as once believed. And yet, the thought of a siren in itself would be enough for any ponies to drive themselves crazy. And all of this… was just the first few pages. There was still a lot to go through… and it would take her almost the entire evening to do it. Yet, if she did, it would deprive her of any form of sleep and she had day court the next day.

“Looks like I’m going to need to continue this later then…” She said, putting the book away and retiring to her quarters. Getting some much needed rest for the following morning.

By the time that the sun had risen and was shining brightly over Equestria, Twilight Velvet was already up and… well, to put it simply, she was trying to think of something that had dawned upon her. After informing Night Light of her pregnancy, the two of them had discussed a couple of times whether or not would it be a boy or a girl… and what would be it’s name. She really wanted for it to be a girl and even went as far as making a bet with her husband. But right now, she was not just looking through a small book of any kind as sunlight flooded her home… she was looking at a book of names.

However, trying to find a name for a girl was rather… difficult for her. It was simple for Shining because Night Light had taken the idea behind his last name and also his position in the royal guard to come up with it. Right now though, she was trying to find some kind of idea to help her get the gears inside her head turning. It was ironic to her given that she was a talented author that likes to come up with a lot of characters in her stories, but couldn’t think of a simple name right now.

But as she turned to look out the window, the mare happened to see something… peculiar to say the least. It was Rain, the boy from the other day. He was outside her window and reading a book while sitting at a bench outside their home. It made her curious as to why he was there. Was he waiting on Shining Armor for some reason? Did they have something going on with the Princess today? She wasn’t entirely sure personally, but didn’t just want to leave him out there by himself.

Taking a moment to open the window, Twilight Velvet soon spoke up to try and get the boys attention. “Good morning-” Despite trying to sound calm and friendly, all it did was startle the child accidently until he actually noticed the mare that was calling to him from the window. “Oh, I’m so sorry Rain! I didn’t mean to startle you.”

As Rain was getting up off of the ground, he turned in the direction that he heard the voice just now, noticed Velvet in the window and tilted his head in confusion. “Oh… Hi Miss… Miss… Velvet right?” The boy tried to think of what to say, but couldn’t quite remember the name of the mare he was speaking too, even if they just met not too long ago.

Velvet of course… just nodded her head and smiled. “Yes dear, that’s me… Would you like to come on inside?” She offered politely, though, Rain himself seemed a little bit hesitant and it took him some time before deciding to respond with a small nod of the head. Which, had the mare smile as she saw the boy get up and walk for the door to their home, which she unlocked for him.

“How are you this morning?” She then asked. “Do you have something going on with the Princess this morning?”

Rain just shook his head, looking back at her nervously before speaking. “N-no. Mr. Kibitz told me that she was meeting a… deli… gate or something today, so she would be b-busy this morning. P-plus there’s no class today s-since it’s a saturday.”

“Ah, I see.” Velvet replied, just as Rain noticed the book that she was looking at that she left on the table.

“What are you reading, Ms. Velvet?” he asked, curiously.

“Oh uh… well…” The mare said at first, processing the information inside her head before thinking of a good response to say. “Did Shining tell you that he was going to have a new sibling soon?”

“I think so… He said something like that and how you two were playing some kind of game regarding if it’s going to be a boy or girl…” He replied back. “Why? Are you looking up names for the baby?”

“Yeah… I know it may seem early and I really do hope it’s a girl,” The mare replied, sitting back down with a new cup of tea she just poured. “Though, I’m having trouble trying to come up with a name. So I have been looking through this book to see if I can get any ideas-”

“Why don’t you just name it based off you and Mr. Light?” That… surprised the young mare. She was surprised that she didn’t think of it sooner, but was also curious as to what exactly did Rain mean. “I mean… why not have it’s first name be named off of you and the last name be named off of Mr. Light?”

“Well, naming a pony isn’t as easy as you think-”

“That’s because you haven’t tried it,” The youngling spoke up enthusiastically. “Come on, let’s think of some names… How about… Twilight Shine… Twilight Glow…”

“… Are you just putting different words that resemble light behind my first name?” Velvet asked. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I like the idea but maybe I should wait a little first before picking names.” Yet, despite what she was saying, it seemed like the mares words were going on deaf ears as Rain continued to try and come up with some more combinations for names.

“Moon? Star? Hunh… maybe Sparkle, I don’t know…” When he said that though, a thought formed inside of Velvet’s mind as she spoke the newly thought of name to herself.

“Twilight… Sparkle… That’s… good. I like that name…” She said, before asking Rain something shortly after realizing it. “Hey Rain, how is it that you remember so many words like that?”

“W-well, one of the first couple of books I was reading in my year in the Everfree was a dictionary. Plus, some of them kind of sound the same… right?”

Velvet chuckled at that as she smiled a little bit and began to drink her tea. “Well, somepony has spent some time with their thesaurus…”

“What’s that? Some kind of Dinosaur?” All that did was make Velvet chuckle a little as she looked back at Rain. Things were definitely going to be interesting, especially when the newborn comes.

Author's Note

And with it, here's part 3 of the prologue. For those who are curious as to Sunset Shimmer, her abilities and personality of such early on are based on Terra, the protagonist of Final Fantasy VI. She can be nervous at times, but when provided with the right amount of motivation, she can accomplish pretty much anything. In addition, not only does she have access to fire based magic, but also healing spells like Cure, Dispel and many more.

On another note, the subject of Espers will occur again in later chapters... and this is just a small... let's say... introduction to the subject.

Next chapter may be a bit different depending on how I want to go with it, but I want to keep the prologue part of the story rather short. So I may consider doing one more before beginning the first 'official' chapter that takes place around the same time that Season one would in the original MLP timeline.

Until then though, enjoy!
-Frost

0.3- A Knight's Creed

Over time, the Princess of Celestia had raised the young child named Rain alongside those he called his friends and family. Teaching him important values and helping him learn how to fully control and conjure the magic that he had while also improving and defining his swordsmanship as he grew up. The boy might have been young at the time that he started, but as time passed and years went by, he had greatly improved from the point in which he had first began to learn. Impressing not just those who were his guardians, but also those that he considered as friends and family.

It had been eight years since Celestia had originally found him in and took him in as his guardian, but in that time, Rain had matured significantly. As of right now though, he was in the training barracks, trying to hone his skill and practice. Of course, even for someone like him, he didn’t have to constantly do this like most other weeks. But there was something important coming up soon… something he wanted to prepare for.

Over the course of the last year, ever since he and Shining Armor turned 15, they had been undergoing rigorous training from Captain Night Light and his fellow Guard so that way, they could pass the initiation test in order to join the guard. Shining Armor had already accomplished his test and had joined the guard, becoming a knight because of the amount of skill he was able to demonstrate. Rain wanted to get to that point too, but there was one problem for him.

No matter what kind of weapon he would try to use, it didn’t exactly feel like the weapon was fit for him. Either the grip was uncomfortable or the blade wasn’t durable enough to last for many fights. It was irritating because when he thought he found a blade that would fit him, it was broken a couple of days later.

As he was thinking this though, he soon heard a familiar voice catch his attention. “Something on your mind, Rain?”

Hearing the voice, Rain turned to see that at the door to the training barracks was that of his guardian and mentor, Night Light. “Night Light? What are you doing here?”

“I was coming to see how you were doing? Celestia said that you seemed to have something on your mind when you saw her earlier,” Night Light told him, before looking at him. “Is it with the Initiation coming up?”

“Yeah… I want to show them what I can do, but I don’t want to be judged just because I’m not like most of the candidates.” Rain replied, looking back at him and leaving the barracks as they were walking through one of the many halls in Canterlot Castle. “Other then that, I can’t seem to find a weapon that I am comfortable with that can last a few fights.”

“Heh, I don’t blame you,” The stallion chuckled at that last statement as they turned around the corner and continued to go down the hall just before they reached the doors to the main chamber. “We don’t have many decent weapons to have for trainees. Most of them were hand me downs from that of old members of the guard. Highwind was going to have a talk with a potential blacksmith that might fix the problem and Blueblood-”

Rain himself folded his arms and raised an eyebrow at that, interjecting the moment he heard the Prince’s name. “Are you sure that it’s a good idea to have Blueblood take part… I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m not judging anypony… but I wouldn’t exactly call him a… ‘people pony’ if you understand what I mean.”

“I get that… but the Princess insisted that if he is going to be able to help her subjects and anypony else that he needs to take part in discussions like these-” Yet, just as he said that, a cream colored earth pony mare with a pink mane, light leather coat and a set of goggles on her head stormed out into the hallway. She looked rather angry and just from the sheer force of her opening the doors was enough to knock them off the hinges. Not even paying attention to Rain and Night Light as the two of them noticed Major Highwind… and Prince Blueblood right behind her.

“Miss, please… Can you just consider the offer-” Highwind stammered, before the mare shot back at him in response.

“Your Offer? Major, I’m sorry for being blunt… but your offer is an insult to my craft,” The mare spoke as she looked back at the stallion. “I’m more than just a Machinist from Fillydelphia, I’m a specialist. Your offer was asking for me to mass produce new weapons for your guard, but I only craft custom weapons that are tailored to who will use them… Not to mention that your colleague insulted me the moment he stepped into the room.”

“Colleague!?!” Blueblood retaliated upon hearing that, angrily lashing out at the mare verbally. “Do you know who I am, filthy commoner!!? I-”

“-had the nerve to say that I looked like street trash, threatened that I should be arrested for trespassing, even though I was originally invited by the Major in order to talk business and then you go on to question if I was a weaponsmith because I wasn’t ‘as filthy’ as the other commoners that you have seen.” The earth pony interjected, before taking a breath as she glared back at him. “You know, if you actually had appreciation for the ponies that helped build what is around you, your perception of the world won’t be as weak as the old weapons that the guards protecting you are stuck with.” With that, she left the hallway, leaving the ponies in the room shocked… and Rain both surprised… and intrigued.

Maybe she could help him with easing his mind a little for the initiation coming soon.

It had only been moments after refusing to accept the job offer to create weapons for the royal guard, but for the machinist named Aileen, she believed that her refusal was the right choice. The only reason why she no longer worked on weapons for the shipyards in Fillydelphia was because she believed that there was a right weapon for just about everypony. No matter what it was or who the weapon was for, she would only commit herself to a offer if it fit her values.

The machinist was only in the town of Canterlot for a day or so and the owner of the blacksmith, who Aileen was friends with, was away on vacation and allowed her to stay there for the brief time that she was there. The earth pony herself though, was surprised to hear the door open to the shop and looked up. “I’m sorry, but the smith’s closed-”

She stopped the moment that she looked up and noticed who had walked in. Aileen had heard the news of a non-pony figure who lived in the castle with Princess Celestia. Something called a ‘human’. The machinist knew that she would hear some chatter about it, but she did not expect to actually see them in person. “You’re… the human I’ve heard about around town…”

“That I am…” He replied, looking back at her as he closed the door behind her. “I’m sorry, but did I come at a wrong time? It looked like you were busy with something, miss…”

The mare sighed for a moment before looking at him. “Aileen… and you?”

“Rain…” He told her before continuing to speak. “I happened to witness your refusal to the major’s offer earlier and… I was rather impressed to tell you the truth. Not many ponies here have the guts to stand up to a noble… especially Blueblood of all ponies.”

“Not that many ponies have the commitment to make due on their threats.” Aileen commented in response to Rain’s statement. Which… Rain saw some truth to that. Blueblood did have a tendency to be overdramatic for the most strangest of reasons, especially when growing up. One time, he thought that his noble stature can give him the authority to have a servant be thrown in jail just because they put in less sugar than he originally requested in a cup of coffee. Even though he has grown up, a part of him thinks he’s still entitled to make such ridiculous demands and not feel the repercussions of his actions.

Soon though, another statement from the machinist caught Rain’s attention while also breaking him out of his train of thought. “I highly doubt though that you are here just to talk about the flaws of a noble.”

The human nodded his head and looked back at the earth pony. “True… You make a valid point there, but unlike Blueblood, I would not want to just drop everything and expect results if I haven’t actually told somepony what I need help with…” Rain replied as he looked back at her. “Earlier, I heard that you only would make custom weapons tailored to the pony you are making it for.”

“Yes… but that does not mean I just hand out custom weapons like samples at a candy store,” Aileen told him. “I take pride into the creations that I forge with my own two hands… and I don’t want my art to be used for ill intent. So, if I were to make something for you, what would you want to use it for?” The question itself was one that Rain had to take a moment to think on originally, but soon, he had an answer for her.

“Well… it’s a bit much to explain… but let me try to make this simple…” He said before looking at her. “Early on when I found myself in this world, I found myself abandoned and alone when I needed it most by someone I had once considered family. Now though, over the years that I have been raised here, I’ve always committed myself to help others who are in need, no matter how bad the situation is. It is the reason why I have always pushed myself to become a knight of the royal guard.”

Aileen raised an eyebrow as that as she folded her arms. “And how would you be different from other ponies who are a part of the guard?” Rain himself took a moment to breath as he looked back at the machinist, before opening and extending a hand to her and having fire form from the center. The flames though, were much different than to that of ordinary flames… let alone the fact that they were not burning his skin.

“Because I see it as my responsibility to look after and help others no matter how grim something may be or how dangerous a task is.” He said, before having the flames diminish as Rain looked back at Aileen once more. “If the choice is to save one pony or a hundred ponies… then save both! That is the creed of a knight.”

For a moment, Aileen seemed… unmoved. But after a little bit… she then had a response for him. “I see… So you want a weapon that matches your resolve to help others…” Not unfolding her arms, the mare took a deep breath before looking back at Rain. “At first, you had my curiosity… but now you have my attention.”

Personally, Rain himself wasn’t quite sure if this was suppose to be a good thing or a bad thing, but he hoped for the best as the machinist sighed for a moment. “I’ll make you a weapon, but I’ll need to know a few things before we can get started. You’ve seem to be somepony who’s rather skilled with a blade. Do you have a particular preference in regards to what kind?”

“Personally, I find it easier for me to wield swords. Particularly ones where most ponies would normally need two hands in order to wield since I feel as if I’m in more control of the weapon than if I’m using a short sword.” He admitted, scratching the back of his head.

“A greatsword then…” Aileen said, taking a mental note as she looked at him. “Alright, this will be interesting. Mostly, when I create weapons as a machinist, they have some form of mechanical function to it. For you though, I think I can tailor it towards what you are capable of.” That was interesting for sure, but as Rain thought of this internally, he happened to notice Aileen with what looked like a tape measurer. The only question was that why would she need something like that when she was going to make him a weapon.

“Let’s start by getting your measurements first and continue from there…”

Meanwhile…

In the main hall of the castle, Night Light and Highwind were taking the chance to have a very important conversation with the princess. Not just because of what happened earlier, but because of a concern that was on the mind of the Major ever since Prince Blueblood’s… outburst earlier today. “Princess Celestia, can we speak to you for a moment in private. There’s something important that I think we need to discuss with you.”

Celestia, who was originally looking over some of the papers and requests received from Day Court, decided to set them down and address the two stallions as she signaled for the guards in the room to leave. “Yes Captain? What is it that you would like to talk about?”

“Well, there are two things that we feel need to be brought up,” Major Highwind soon spoke up. “The first involves the incident that transpired earlier while I was talking with a pony who could help us with the weapons dilemma we have. I was talking it over with a talented machinist named Aileen from Fillydelphia and just as I was about to explain why I asked for her to come here, your nephew comes in, downright insults her, her craft and also her appearance. It did not contribute to her refusal, but it was a poor demonstration of behavior for someone of his stature.”

“I am aware of it and this isn’t the only time that something like this has happened.” The princess sighed as she looked at them. “There has been repeat occurrences of this behaviour, but nothing this serious. This is interfering with political negotiations that could have helped make things better around the city.”

“If I may though,” Captain Night Light then said as he spoke up. “He needs to learn that actions like these can have consequences… and severe ones if he keeps on doing it. I respect him as a pony, but not his behavior.” Celestia nodded in agreement, turning to see that Highwind was next to speak as she looked as the Major.

“I agree with Captain Light on the subject of Blueblood. This needs to be addressed before he does something drastic,” Highwind spoke up as he looked at both of them. “Which… leads into the second concern I have… It’s with regards to Rain’s initiation exam.”

Both the Captain and the Princess looked at one another first before turning to him as they both had the same question on their mind. But before either one of them could ask, the stallion began to explained. “Even though having Rain live here in Canterlot has brought much of a positive impact on him as much as the city, there are still some ponies who would either be afraid of him or see him as just some kind of animal that does not have the rights of normal ponies… I fear that somepony may go to extreme lengths to botch his exam.”

That caught the princess off guard along with Night Light. “That is… indeed troubling.”

“How would you think they botch it?” Night Light asked, looking at the Major as the pegasus stallion now faced him.

“The initiation exam is supposed to be a demonstration of all the things that a candidate has learned on and off the battlefield through a duel. Both the candidate and the opponent they're facing are tasked with fighting fairly, but there are numerous things that could be sabotaged before the fight even begins.” He told the two of them as he began to explain. “Many of these methods were outlawed originally by your father, Prince Solar, because some of them have lead to the fatalities to potential candidates. The weapons of the candidate could be sabotaged to break after several strikes. The opponent that they are facing, normally a soldier in the guard, could actually be an assassin in disguise… There are numerous possibilities to take into consideration.”

“Possibilities that might make it impossible for Rain to pass…” Night Light said, before looking at the Princess. Who took a deep breath and looked back at the Major.

“Is there something we can do to ensure that Rain can be safe and that this initiation is not sabotaged. I do not want to call off something that he has been working very hard towards.” She said as the princess looked back at Highwind.

“Neither would I… I may not know him as long as the two of you have being his guardians,” The major told them. “But I still believe that he deserves a fair chance just like anypony else. He’s the kind of pony that would commit himself to a cause and not cut corners.” Both the princess and the captain agreed with that statement. No matter the obstacle, Rain always committed himself to seeing through anything he put his mind too… and to not give up so easily if a challenge seemed more difficult than anticipated.

That was when Night Light finalized one particular thought in his head as he looked back at Celestia and Major. “I might have an idea…”

Day of Initiation

Before it was even the crack of dawn, Rain was already up and making preparations for the initiation that was going on today. Making sure that everything he was wearing was secured tightly from his boots and his bracer to the pauldrons that he had on his shoulders. Topping it off was the short red cape he attached to his right pauldron to coincide with the same colored cloak he had around his waist and also add to the black shirt and vest that he was wearing. Looking at himself in the mirror to make sure that he looked presentable.

Even though this had been the same kind of clothes that he happened to wear a few times before, there was one thing that was missing. Even though this was a outfit from that of the royal guard, the one thing that wasn’t present was the military decorations that would be on the front of the vest that would represent his rank. Those would be earned if he passed the initiation today.

Now, the only thing he had left to do was place what he was carrying on his back. It was a surprise that he wanted to save for when the situation called for it… and with the amount of time that he and his new… friend had spent working on it, he didn’t want to use it straight out the gate. By the time that he was finally done, the sun outside had already risen and he was ready for whatever he had to face.

Upon walking outside, the first pony he happened to run into was not that of Shining Armor, nor the princess… but a friend. “Well, you’re looking rather nice for someone who’s going into a coliseum fight.” He heard a familiar voice as he turned to see a golden yellow mare with a fire like mane and tail who wore a sleeveless red dress that almost extended to the ground, aside from a pair of dark red shoes that were visible. There also happened to be some silk wrapped around her hands, almost like they were a pair of gloves.

“Hello to you too, Sunset. I’m guessing that you’re going to be rooting for me? You make this sound more like a sporting event than a royal guard test.” Rain chuckled in response. Sunset though, soon noticed what was on his back and then grinned a bit.

“Well, what do you have there? Some sort of secret weapon you have?” She asked, trying to get him to tell her what it was.

“What’s the fun of spoiling the surprise now?” He then told her in response. “When I do show what it is, I want to make sure everyone see’s. Because like many things, this is something special…” The human then heard the door to the nearby home open as the two of them saw their good friend, Shining Armor, step out as well. His attire though, was a bit different than that of Rain’s regalia. He was wearing a brown shirt underneath a dark purple coat with silver trimmings along with a set of black pants, leg guards to go with his boots and a set of black armguards. The only difference being that the jacket had a patch on the sides of the arms that represented his rank in the guard after he passed the test.

“I was beginning to wonder what was all the commotion out here,” Shining spoke up with a smirk as he walked over to them. “I didn’t think it was you two though.”

“Who else would you think it would be?” Sunset sarcastically asked him. Only to get an actual answer to her question.

“Either the guards, my parents, Twilight or Rain talking to himself, even though that’s never actually happened before.” The stallion replied, which in turn caused Sunset to sigh and shake her head while Rain was chuckling at what was going on. “Speaking of which, have either of you seen my father? He wasn’t here when I got up this morning.”

That had the teen shake his head as he looked back at Shining. “No, can’t say that I have. Normally, I’m up before him, but I didn’t see him at all this morning.” That surprised Ran. He honestly did not expect that kind of answer from him… and it made him wonder where exactly was Night Light right around now.

“It’s likely that he’s helping set up a few finishing touches to the arena before Rain’s initiation.” Sunset shrugged her shoulders as she looked around and happened to notice something. “Hey, Shining, where’s your little sister this morning?”

“Twilight? She may be young, but she’s been studying her head off in learning magic being Celestia’s student now. It’s only been a couple of years since she passed her test and for me, it still feels like it only happened yesterday.” The stallion wasn’t kidding when he said that. Over the time that Rain had been here and since Shining’s little sister, Twilight Sparkle, came along, it made life for him and his family rather… interesting. For one thing, Princess Cadence was actually her babysitter during the time that she was in Magic Kindergarten and she saw Rain almost like a half brother. Yet, even with all the time that she spends studying magic to the point that she was able to hatch a baby dragon from an egg, she didn’t have the kind of talents that Rain and Shining had to where they could use the abilities they had. “Why do you ask, Sunset?”

“She’s right behind you.” The unicorn mare pointed out, causing Rain and Shining to turn and see the young Twilight by where the door was as she was looking at the three of them… with her baby dragon assistant, Spike, next to her. All before leaping to Shining Armor and giving her brother… or what she called her BBBFF (big brother, best friend forever) a surprise hug that almost knocked him off of his hooves.

“Morning, Big brother!!”

“Hello there, Twily.” Shining acknowledged her, returning the hug with one of his own before setting her down. “How are you this morning? Do you have any big plans with the Princess today?” Yet, Twilight herself didn’t quite let go of her brother until she realized that he asked her a question. So, letting go and straightening her clothes, she then spoke up.

“Celestia said that we're going to watch Rain handle a major test he needs to pass… which sounds boring. Who would want to watch somepony writing on a piece of paper for a long amount of time?” That response from Twilight surprised Rain, Shining Armor and Sunset for two reasons. The first being that she thought that Rain was taking a written test… and the second being that the princess was letting her watch him fight.

“Uhh… It’s not that kind of test…” He told her, looking back at the young filly. “It’s… well… How should I put this? I’m going into an arena, face an opponent and depending on how well I do, I may be able to join the royal guard.”

“Oh, you mean like a trial by combat?” Hearing that threw off all three of them as Rain, Sunset, and Shining Armor all had the same question for the little filly. But Sunset was the only one who said it verbally.

“Twilight… how do you know what that is?”

“She’s been reading a lot of books about the royal guard and such in order to try to understand what you guys are talking about.” Spike added in, which partially cleared things up in the meantime. Shortly before the dragon noticed someone else that was coming over to them.

“Good morning, everypony.” That single statement had Twilight’s ears perk up almost immediately as she turned in the direction of the voice. The voice was one that both Rain and Shining Armor were familiar with… and since the time they first met, they have gotten the chance to be good friends with her.

“Cadence!” A excited Twilight cried out, immediately going from nearby where Shining was over to her as both of them soon sang a small rhyme, which was also accompanied by a dance. “Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hands and do a little shake!” That only caused Shining to roll his eyes in amusement, Rain to just watch and for Sunset to chuckle to herself in amusement.

“And just when I thought she was being rather mature for her age,” the unicorn replied as she looked to Cadence. “Good Morning Cadence. How are you?”

“I’m doing rather well this morning,” Cadence told her before looking towards Rain and the others. “I was just coming over to see how all of you are doing this morning. With the initiation happening in a few hours, I thought I would get the chance to guide you over to where the test is being conducted.”

“-Trial.” Twilight tried to correct Cadence, which left her in a puzzled state as Spike had to restate the same thing that he told Rain and the others earlier.

“Twily, what has mom told you about trying to correct other ponies?” Shining asked her, only for the young filly to pout before looking at Cadence with an apologetic look on her face. Which, made Rain chuckle a bit. No matter how many times he had seen Twilight try to act serious, she ends up doing the exact opposite at certain times. One example being earlier with Cadence and their dance.

When they got to their destination at the coliseum entrance though, that was when the Alicorn then spoke up. “Okay, from what Aunt Celestia told me, only Rain is allowed beyond here and she has seats for us on the left side of the arena. Blueblood will be back later since Celestia asked for him to assist in delivering something to Rain’s opponent today. I wish you the best of luck.”

“We’ll cheer for you!” Twilight happily spoke up.

“Show them what you’re made of, Rain!” Sunset encouraged him before all five of them soon left in order to go take their seats while Rain himself went through the gate to the coliseum and began to proceed further in. At one point farther in, he noticed that one of the guards that was standing at the end of the tunnel soon approached him just before he was about to walk into the arena.

It was Major Highwind. “It’s still some time before the initiation begins. What brings you here so early?” He asked. The stallion wore the same kind of armor that he had on just a couple of days ago. But, it was a bit more formal in appearance as Rain approached him.

“It’s courteous to be early to something important rather than late. Besides, today is rather important and I rather not miss it.” He told Highwind, who acknowledged what Rain said as he nodded and looked back at him. But the look on the pegasus’ face was one of concern instead of encouragement. Which, prompted Rain to ask his next question. “Is there something you wanted to speak to me about, sir?”

The Major sighed, before looking back at the human and not holding back on what was on his mind. “Rain, there has been concern that somepony would try to meddle with this examination process. I know that you are determined in order to proceed forward with this assessment, but-”

“If you are trying to tell me to give up and turn back, then I’m going to say no. I’m not turning my back on this because if I do, it means I turn my back on everypony that has supported me and gotten me to this point,” The teen told him, a determined look in his eyes as he turned to a nearby wall and picked up a standard broadsword off the weapons rack before looking back at Major Highwind. “No matter what I face, I’m going to hold my ground and fight for what I believe is right. I’ve gotten this far… and I’m not going to give up now. I will do what I can to prove to everyone I know that I am capable of this.”

With that statement, Rain soon walked past the major and entered the battleground where his examination was going to take place. All Highwind could do though was look back at the human as the gate to the arena closed in front of him as he smiled at him. “May Celestia watch over you, young one.”

As Rain stepped into the arena, he felt as if many pairs of eyes were focused on him. Watching to see what he would do as he took the surrounding area into account. The arena was a wide open space with walls that looked to be two stories high so whatever occurs in the arena, stays in the arena. On the right side of the Arena, he could see Celestia and Cadence sitting together with Shining, Twilight, Spike and Sunset in the section underneath them. He only had the chance to acknowledge them for a short moment before turning to see a gate on the opposite side open and the sound of a heavy suit of armor walk into the battlefield.

The opponent was dressed in a heavy suit of armor that was onyx colored and covered his opponent from head to toe. In one of it’s hands, he could see a huge broadsword with a long grip, showing that the weapon itself is designated for somepony who wield it with two hands. Yet, in the other hand was a rather sturdy and powerful shield that looked to take up part of his opponent’s forearm. He steadied himself, grabbing hold of the broadsword he brought with him into the arena as he took a deep breath and readied himself. Planting his feet in a balanced fighting posture as his opponent did the same.

The rules of the fight were simple. Once the bell outside of the arena rings, you use everything you learned in training, the weapons you have on you and any other skills you know to fight until either you can fight no more or if your opponent surrenders. Simple as that. Yet, Rain knew it was not going to be easy for him to win. He needed to use everything he learned so far in order for him to overcome this new challenger… and prove to everypony watching that he can become part of the guard.

Now both competitors were ready… and the match was about to begin. They were anticipating to see who would make the first move and when they heard the bell ring, both combatants charged at one another.

Rain’s first move straight out the gate was to test and see how adaptive his opponent was with not just the weapons they had, but also their armor. For a fighter such as this one to wear such heavy battle armor, it was possible that their movement speed was restricted because of the sheer weight of the armor. Yet, just as he charged in and used the broadsword he had right now to strike at his opponent with a few quick strikes, his opponent blocked each one of his attacks and used their shield to push them back. Something he did not anticipate at all.

“How-?! That should’ve hit him-!” He thought to himself as he landed on his feet again before holding up his weapon in a defensive posture as Rain anticipated his opponent’s attack. Being able to block it in time before his opponent lunged forward and tried to pierce through his defense. Causing both of their weapons to clash before Rain pushed his opponent back with a kick to his opponent's chest to push them back.

Yet, just as he pushed his opponent back… Rain felt something off. More specifically, something off with his weapon. It felt… lighter after having to deflect his opponent's weapon. He had experienced this before with all of the other times he used various weapons in the training barracks… and if a weapon felt lighter in weight, it meant that it was close to giving out and breaking. Which was strange because it didn’t feel that way when he first took hold of the weapon moments earlier.

“This is bad… If this is what I think it is, I need to figure out how to hold my ground as long as I can before I get serious,” Rain told himself mentally before readjusting his feet. Even though he tried his best to try and act cool under pressure, it was getting rather difficult with each passing moment.

Especially since the more he continued to fight, the more that his friends and the ponies who supported him from the stands can tell that something was wrong.

“Something’s not right…” was the first comment that Shining Armor heard in the stands as he turned towards Sunset Shimmer, who was sitting right next to Spike and his sister. “Earlier, Rain was going on the offensive and doing just fine, but as soon as his opponent’s sword struck his, he’s been fighting differently.”

There was some truth to the Unicorn’s words. From all the times that he and the human had sparred with other cadets in the barracks, Shining knew that Rain’s first move would be to attempt to disarm his opponent or find a weakness in their defense and exploit it. Right now, it was neither of those things… and that in itself was concerning. “Do you think he’s trying to do a different approach in tactics?”

“Hardly. He’s told me before that if at first, you don’t succeed, try and try again…” Sunset replied as she looked back at the fight going on in the arena. This time now, instead of attacking head on and trying to block or parry incoming attacks, Rain was now dodging and weaving out of the way of his opponent’s strikes and only attacking when he thought that he had an opening. Even going as far as to use some of the abilities he came up with during combat practice in order to try and give him some kind of advantage. “But… It seems like he’s trying to not have that weapon of his clash with his opponent’s.”

“Do you think it has some kind of enchantment on there?” Shining now asked Sunset. Which, in this point of the conversation, had Celestia and Cadence now listening into their conversation.

“There’s only one way for me to tell… Hopefully this works.” Sunset told him, focusing her attention and having some light green magic flowing in her hands as it looked like a pair of transparent gears were floating over her eyes. This in turn, happened to be a spell that she was able to learn with enough practice… and one that could be rather crucial depending on the situation.

“Libra.” The spell she chanted would allow the caster to view information on any single target that she focused on. Whether they had any particular weaknesses or resistances to certain elements, it was one that was always useful to have. Yet, the problem with this was that this focused primarily on the individual she targeted as a whole… and not on any specific piece like weapons or armor. Sunset though, persisted nonetheless and attempted to see if there was anything off with the weapon along with the warrior that Rain was facing. “This doesn’t look right… His opponent seems… normal. But I’m getting something weird when I’m looking at his weapon.”

Now that raised some concern. To the point where Cadence soon spoke up now, joining the conversation. “What do you mean by that?”

“Well, whenever I look at the blade, I’m seeing the blade being covered in a silver like color instead of the rest of the handle, which is just coming off as grey.” The unicorn replied back as she dismissed the spell and looked at her. “My only guess is that there’s some particular kind of enchantment on that sword… or something else.”

“But what kind of enchantment would put Rain in the situation he’s in now?” Twilight now spoke up, sounding rather confused as she continued to watch the human fight his opponent and stand his ground. Yet, the one who answered their question was somepony all of them did not expect.

“There’s only one explanation… and with that, he’s thinking of a different plan of attack.” All of them turned to see a creme colored earth pony mare with a pink mane and tail, leather coat and goggles leaning against a nearby column as she too was watching the fight. But when she said that, it was then that Shining Armor got a little defensive.

“How did you get in here? This is a private viewing area!”

“Oh I know,” she said, holding up a ticket that had Canterlot’s seal on it as she showed it to them. “I was invited by your friend down here to come watch… Now, about what you’re friend was saying on the subject of the sword… It’s not an enchantment. But it’s something else that’s very problematic.”

Now that even caught the attention of the princess as she looked back at the young earth pony. Recognizing her from when the Major had described her to the princess. “You’re the machinist from Fillydelphia, am I right? The one known as Aileen?”

“Wow, it’s quite an honor for a member of royalty other than that egotistical prince to know of me,” The mare replied as she looked back at them. “On the topic at hand though, Not all weapons perform better if you just enchant it. At times, depending on how you take care of your weapon, such as using sharpening stones to make sure a blade doesn’t go dull or using a polish can really have a weapon stand out. However, what this is though, is completely different… In fact, it’s been forbidden to ever use it in matches such as these.”

“Forbidden?” Sunset asked, looking at Aileen with a raised eyebrow as the machinist nodded her head.

“A long time ago, there used to be a comb based short sword that was able to break certain weapons and rend them powerless based on how it’s user wielded it. But, that weapon was said to have been lost when the Crystal Empire was sealed off from the rest of Equestria. Even then though, some wanted to have the same effect be applied to other weapons to make victory in battle easier for them. So, what was known as the Swordbreaker Oil was made by a couple of alchemists and when they tested it in certain coliseum battles, it was effective… but lead to the death of a member in the royal family. So, the oil was banned from ever being used on weapons in coliseum matches in order to prevent any possible casualties.”

“What happens though when the oil is applied to the weapon though?” Shining Armor asked as he looked at Aileen. All while Rain was continuing the same tactics he had before.

“When it’s applied to the weapon at first, nothing particularly happens… but when that weapon comes into contact with another one, the oil causes the other weapon to internally break apart. Like if termites were eating at the support beams of a house or if rust was breaking down the insides of a pipe,” The machinist explained before turning to face the match right now. “Repeated blows hasten the effect to the point where the weapon can shatter if applied with enough force… which, happened to the noble when they tried to defend himself, only for their sword to falter when they needed it the most.”

“Then we need to call off the match! Rain’s going to get himself killed if he-” Before Shining could finish his sentence though, that was when Aileen cut him off and looked back at him.

“Easy there, soldier… I was not done just yet.” Aileen told him, just as the specialist turned to the battlefield, where Rain had backed himself up a bit and was now holding the broadsword he currently had with a reverse grip. “Because if you pay attention now… you’ll see why I think your friend is still going to win.”

After several different attempts in order to analyze and see potential weak points within his opponent's defense, Rain now had a plan formulate in his head. Which, required a new strategy to attack his opponent and catch him off guard. For one thing, he now felt that it was time to bring out his… surprise. But, in a way that his opponent would not see coming.

So, planting his feet and flipping the broadsword around to where he was holding it backwards, the human ran at his opponent. Who, in turn, placed his shield up in anticipation for his attack. However, unlike before when Rain would directly attack the shield. He instead jumped upward as if he was going to try and get over it. When the shield moved higher, all he did was plant his feet on the shield and jumped off of it. Flipping backwards as he took his old sword and tossed it at the combatant.

His opponent, seeing this, used his shield in order to smack the weapon out of the way as it shattered upon crashing against the wall. But what he did not realize… or expect, was for Rain to pull off what he had on his back, grab hold of it and for the cloth that was once on it to ignite. Now in his hands… was a sword that was pulsing with crimson energy and radiating with heat. “Now it’s time to get serious.”

This… had caught everypony who was watching off guard immediately, including Shining Armor and the others. His opponent though, seemed a bit unfazed at first. Still holding his sword and shield in the same manner. Yet, when their weapons clashed this time, the force of it actually now pushed him back, allowing for Rain to capitalize on the opportunity and strike two more times, almost knocking off his opponent’s shield while gaining ground as the time was beginning to turn in his favor.

In the stands, Shining Armor and mostly everyone else with him watched in complete and utter surprise… while for Aileen, the look on her face made it seem like she was expecting something like this. “The weapon he wields is my newest work… A greatsword that is as strong as Rain’s will to help others, no matter who or what they are…”

“B-but what about the Swordbreaker? Wouldn’t that break down this blade?” Sunset asked, trying to process what was happening.

“Unlike the original weapon, the oil itself has a weakness. If exposed to extreme amounts of heat, the oil breaks down and is no longer effective. The new weapon he has allows him to channel his magic into the sword and with it, have the blade be hot enough for the oil to not be effective.” The mare told them as she smiled.

“But just because the oil’s no longer a factor doesn’t mean that Rain’s automatically going to win,” Cadence pointed out. “What makes you so confident that he will though?” This though, only made the machinist chuckle a bit as she watched Rain continue to clash with his opponent in the arena.

“Since the beginning of the fight, your friend has been attacking only specific areas on that giant suit of armor,” She started to explain. “Contrary to what most ponies think about these armor sets, they don’t exactly cover you everywhere from head to hoof. In order for the pony wearing the armor to move their arms, legs or torso, specific areas of the body along the joints aren’t covered to provide some movement. Mostly around sections like the armpits, elbows, the groin and behind the knees.”

Upon hearing this, Shining and the others watched as they happened to notice the sections that Rain were aiming for were around the same points on the body that Aileen mentioned. It was then though, that Celestia herself spoke up. “So you are saying that… Rain’s trying to exploit a weak point in his opponent’s defense…”

“And use it to his advantage.” The mare replied. “In addition, his strikes are being applied to the elbow joint around the left forearm… the same arm where his opponent’s shield is.” As they turned to the battlefield, Rain himself was not only striking back at the shield that his opponent was using, but also the gauntlet that held the shield in place. And with it, he channeled his magic into his next attack as he performed a skill that he happened to learn while in training.

“Armor Break!”

The moment Rain’s blade struck the gauntlet, the shield that was attached to it broke off and was sent hurling against the wall. Leaving the combatant with only their weapon to defend themselves with. Leaving the human a small bit relieved in his personal victory, but knowing that the battle was not over just yet. As he looked at his opponent, he raised his weapon again and holding himself firm in place as the rival combatant did the same. Fire forming around his weapon as he focused his magic and strength into his sword.

His opponent also held up their weapon as well in preparation for the next clash between them. However, as they were charging at each other, the human saw the weapon that his opponent’s hand be released mid swing. Dropping to the ground… and prompting him to stop. Having the energy around his own weapon fade as he looked back at the combatant. Who… had a single question.

“Why did you stop?” The deep voice of his opponent asked. “You would’ve won if you struck me down.”

“Striking down one who is unarmed and weakened such as yourself in this state is dishonorable,” He told him, looking back at the fellow warrior. “If we were to end a fight, I would want it to be done fairly. Now, do you want to finish what we started or are you willing to surrender?” From the brief opening in the helmet, Rain could see a smile form as his opponent got up on both of their hooves… and proceeded to take off the helmet.

Who was underneath was not what anyone expected. “I yield… Congratulations Rain, you passed.” It was Night Light. The captain of the Royal Guard himself had been Rain’s opponent all along. It was something that caught him off guard along with that of Shining Armor and the others in the stands… but not Celestia as she just watched on with a smile on her face.

“C-captain!?” Rain stuttered, a bit shocked by the sudden reveal. “Why were you-?”

“I volunteered to fight you because we didn’t want to run the risk of anypony else trying to actually kill you during the test. Furthermore, I was wearing the armor to hide my identity so you would treat the fight as if you were fighting an actual opponent rather than if you were just facing me. I wanted you to take it seriously… and that, you did.” The captain told him in response as he looked back at him and smiled. “Well done.”

“What about your weapon?” Rain then asked. “Was that intentional?” However, his question was met more by confusion than anything else as the Unicorn looked back at the teen with a raised eyebrow.

“What do you mean? Blueblood was the one that delivered the weapon to me in preparation for today’s bout. Why, is something wrong?” That single sentence soon had onepony in the stands get up and soon excuse herself from the viewing area… shortly after seeing her brother on the opposite side of the arena leave just after the captain said that.

“Excuse me for a moment… I need to have an important discussion with somepony.”

Upon returning to his room, Blueblood was downright furious. He had made sure that his plan to deal with Rain once and for all would go off without a hitch, but now, everything was falling apart at the seams. There were multiple reasons for his anger and frustration… some that weren’t entirely related to what he did, but one thing was for sure. If something didn’t go the way he wanted, he blamed the one known as Rain for his problems.

“Damn that wretched Rain! He’s always getting in my way!” Blueblood said aloud as he paced back and forth in his room in anger before hearing the sounds of knocking at his door.

“Blueblood, open this door now! I know you’re in there!” He heard Cadence on the other side, but not in the calm demeanor that she would normally be in.

“Fine, but it better be important!” He said, using his magic to unlock the door, allowing Cadence to enter the room. Moments after coming in and closing the door behind her though, the alicorn went up to her brother… and smacked him across the face.

“What in Tartarus were you thinking!?” She snapped at him. “Trying to mess up Rain’s examination is one thing, but doing it by a method that’s illegal no less!!? Do you even know how severe the consequences would be if they find out you did it!”

“I could care less about that hairless ape! He has no place among us! Especially with royalty such as ourselves! I won’t allow our family name to be tarnished by some low class trash!” Blueblood stated as he turned towards Cadence, glaring at her as he went on. “Tell why should we allow that… freak to pass, let alone be live with us! He should be sent on his way immediately!”

“He’s not even bothering you, let alone tarnishing anything. I’ve talked with ponies and asked them about him and they like him for what he does. For his honesty, kindness and loyalty…” She said, before saying something else before stating something that made the hairs on Blueblood’s neck stand up. “You’ve been acting like this ever since father passed away… what are you even trying to prove by doing this? You should be trying to get along with him, not picking any fights.”

“I’m trying to live to our father’s image! You wouldn’t understand, we are the pinnacle of society and all ponykind and that Rain, this low class scum is ruining our reputation! I hear what ponies think about Celestia taking him in and they mock us! I won’t allow anymore rumors to spread and in order to do that… Rain needs to be… removed.”

All that Cadence could do was shake her head and look at Blueblood disappointed. “If dad were alive, then he wouldn’t want for you to be like this… He wanted better for us. Now though… I see you less as the brother I grew up as and more of a child who feels entitled to whatever he wants… when are you going to grow up and see that everything around you… hay, even the world… doesn’t move the way you want it.” She then turned away from him, not even acknowledging her brother as she looked back at him. “Listen… you need to change… Whether you make that change yourself… or be forced to make that change… all depends on you.”

“You may see it that way… but I won’t change… not until he’s out of the picture. One way or another…” Blueblood said before turning away from his sister.

“Rain’s here to stay…” A different voice now said from the balcony as both of them turned to see Celestia on the balcony. “Blueblood, as your aunt, your actions today and for so long have put a negative image on not just us, but also the royal family. Rain himself has done nothing wrong… and yet, you see him as the center of your problems. He’s here to stay… but if you don’t make a decision on how you want to improve yourself… you may not be.”

“I… I understand aunty.” He mumbled under his breath before walking out of the room in anger, thinking nothing but finding a way to remove Rain from the picture.

“No… I’m not sure you do,” He heard from Celestia before he turned around. “What you did has a severe punishment… either being thrown in prison, banished from Equestria or worse… So unless you make a decision to change now… your actions today will have consequences for you.”

“I will try… to at least leave Rain alone… but don’t think this will change my opinion of him! No matter how many years will pass, no matter what, I’ll never be his friend!” Blueblood said as a single tear dripped from the side of his face as he stormed off, leaving both Cadence and Celestia alone.

The Sun Princess sighed, looking back at her niece before speaking. “I think that could’ve gone a lot better… but with how severe the offense was, he needs to learn how to respect others.”

“Yes… though, it may take time… Blueblood assumed that he needed to take up father’s role after he passed away… now the ideology is stuck in his head.” Cadence replied back. “It’s ironic though… dad never hated commoners, yet Blueblood thinks they’re the bane of existence.” Celestia could only nod in response as she turned away from the door that her nephew had stormed out of.

Hopefully… this would serve as turning point for him. To where he would want to make a change… for once in his life.

Later that evening…

The evening that Rain had passed his test was one of celebration amongst family and friends. But even after everyone else was still sound asleep… there was still onepony that was a bit restless this evening since he had a lot on his mind. That pony though… being Rain’s first… and very close friend and companion, Shining Armor. Throughout their training, both of them had each other's back… but after what Rain demonstrated in the arena, he was unsure of how he would be able to assist him if he wasn’t able to manifest the same kind of strength that he did in in the coliseum… and have a weapon that matched that.

This had been going on for some time. Since they were young, Rain was always quick to learn and demonstrates while Shining took a bit more time. Yet, it did not affect his resolve and determination to perfect his skill. In fact, it got to a point that he wanted to be stronger than that of Rain, his father or anypony else… and that he did not want to give up on that no matter what obstacles he must face.

Yet, as Shining Armor was thinking of all of this inside his head and walking through the training yard of the Canterlot Barracks… somepony happened to notice him and soon spoke up. “You seem… troubled, young one.” It was then that Shining Armor stopped what he was doing… turning towards the direction of the side entrance to the barracks as he happened to notice a figure walking towards him. One with a hood over their head and in a long blue cloak that drifted down to their feet. Shining could not see the figure’s face, but he did see the figure holding what appeared to be a sheathed katana in his hands. Which, prompted Shining Armor to try and choose his words carefully.

“Who are you?” The unicorn asked, on his guard, but curious as to what this person had to say. “How do you know that something was bothering me?”

“It’s easily to tell when somepony has a lot on their mind is they happen to be deep in thought such as you.” The stranger replied back. “So, what is on your mind?”

Seeing that the one who was speaking to him was trying to ease his mind a little, Shining decided that it would be much easier if he just complied with him rather than be stoic. So, he shared what was on his mind, telling him of Rain, how he had been friends with him and going as far as to share how, despite the odds, he wanted to be just as strong as him… or even stronger than that. The stranger himself listened to his story fully, and when the unicorn was done… he took the opportunity to speak.

“I see… Despite all odds, you want the strength to stand your ground and fight alongside him, no matter the odds…” The stranger then spoke, before he decided to take the blade that was originally in his hands and hand it over to Shining Armor. “In that case, you are the one who deserves this sword.”

Shining almost flinched the moment he heard that. The weapon that was placed in his hands felt cool to the touch… and yet, even though he was surprised by all of this, the unicorn still had a lot of questions in his mind. But two main ones came out first. “You didn’t answer my question though… Who are you? Why would you give me a weapon like this? Surely, you yourself wouldn’t just give away a prized possession of yours so easily.”

“You aren’t wrong… I’ve had this blade for many years… but from listening to your story and watching you train til your hands bleed, I understand why you push yourself to these limits in order to try and surpass them.” The stranger explained. “And… this weapon, Purple Lightning, only reveals it’s true strength to those who seek strength no matter what obstacles are put up against them. In the years I’ve had it, I haven’t been able to awaken it’s power… but perhaps… you will.”

With it, the figure turned away from Shining and began to see himself out. “And when that day comes, I’ll be looking forward to seeing it… Don’t give up on yourself…” Before he left the barracks though, he stopped… and then turned around and said one thing. “The day you unlock its power… will be the day you learn my name.”

With it, the figure soon left the barracks as Shining looked at him before turning back to the weapon that was given… and deciding to return home, now that his mind was at ease. Yet, in the distance, the figure in the hood watched as he then spoke to himself.

“Until then… watch over Rain for me… Become strong. Do not lose to Rain… Become greater than I ever could.”

Author's Note

As Iron sharpens Iron, one man sharpens another
-Proverbs 27:17

Well, this is the last of the prologue chapters I had in store for the story as of right now. For this chapter, I’m having it focus on Rain once he’s older so that he would be ready for when the first true chapter of the story comes later. Also, in this chapter, Aileen is based on the unit of the same name and nature in Final Fantasy Brave Exvius.

Rain's Appearance:

1- Everfree

Ever since being accepted into the Royal Guard alongside that of Shining Armor, what was once a young boy lost and alone in the Everfree… had now become part of something he felt that he truly belonged in. In the time since the initiation, Rain and Shining had not only served alongside one another, but also trained alongside each other as well. Their friend, Sunset Shimmer, would come see them whenever she was not studying forms of magic or helping to tutor Shining’s sister. Not to challenge them to a duel or see how their training was, but to spend some time with them… despite how much Shining disapproved of it because of how strict he followed the rules early on in his time in the royal guard.

The longer they were part of the guard though, the more that they saw it as a home for them rather than a job to do or a obligation to fulfill. And slowly, days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months and months turned into two years of service to the people of Equestria and Princess Celestia. Personally, Rain had seen his time in the guard as a way to pay back the princess for her kindness and for letting him live in Canterlot… and he wasn’t planning on letting her down anytime soon. Which in turn had caused the alicorn to notice his dedication to the position that he held, even though there were times where she would agree with him on the fact that even a knight of Canterlot would need a break from the usual routine.

Yet… today was different. For a certain reason. Which, was why Celestia had called Rain and Shining Armor to meet with her in the throne room of the palace in Canterlot. Today was a very special occasion after all. “Hello there,” She addressed both of them as the human and the unicorn entered the room and approached her. “Thank you for answering my summons on such short notice.”

“We came right this way shortly after we heard from Sunset that you wanted to see us,” Rain replied to her, looking at Shining before redirecting his attention back to Princess Celestia. “Was there something you needed to speak with us about?”

“Why yes actually,” Princess Celestia nodded her head, looking around the room before focusing her attention back on both of them. “Do you remember what today is supposed to be?”

Shining himself just raised an eyebrow and looked back at the princess as he took the chance to speak. “Forgive me for sounding bold, princess, but is that a trick question? Today’s the start of the Annual Summer Sun Celebration.”

“That is true, but for the celebration, today’s rather different…” She said, looking back at the two of them before explaining. “Today’s the thousandth annual summer sun celebration and with it… I’m going to be going to Ponyville for the opening ceremonies. It’s a momentous occasion and with it, requires a lot of preparation… In years past, I’ve had Sunset take care of the celebrations and festivities with Twilight here. But I believe this may prove to be the best opportunity to have Twilight put my teachings to the test.”

Both Rain and Shining looked at one another, puzzled by what the princess was trying to say to them. Until… Rain then asked her something out of clarification. “Wait… are you saying that… You’re wanting to have Twilight make the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration in Ponyville?”

“That I am,” She replied, looking back at both of them with a confident smile. “I think it would be for the best to have Twilight try to practice my teaching in places other than Canterlot and I think that Ponyville would be the best place for her. As for the both of you though, I will be having you two escort her to Ponyville along with bring some of the royal guards that will be serving as security for tonight. I just want to make sure that everything goes off without a hitch, so to speak.”

“What about here though,” Shining then asked. “Aren’t there preparations that have to be made in Canterlot as well?”

“Princess Cadence has volunteered to help fill the role that Twilight would normally have when preparing for the festivities here.” Celestia assured him. “There’s no need to worry about anything for right now, Shining. Let me assure you of that.”

“I understand princess,” The unicorn responded back to her. “It’s just only natural for me to be sometimes concerned for my little sister’s safety. I am her older brother and I feel that part of my duty as a royal guard is to protect everypony from anything that would do them harm. Including Twilight.”

“I understand your concern, Shining Armor,” The alicorn then told her, before saying something else. “But I believe you should give Twilight a chance to prove herself to you. She has grown a lot in the time that she’s been my student and I think that the best way to prove how much she has grown is giving her these kinds of responsibilities. Both you and Rain showed to Night Light and I that you can handle yourselves the moment you were accepted into the royal guard. Now it’s Twilight's turn to show us that she can handle herself.”

All Shining did in that instance was close his eyes and sigh for a moment before looking back at Celestia. “If that’s what you think is best, princess.”

“I’m positive that it’ll all work out just fine,” She assured him before focusing on both of them now. “Now, your transport ship should be ready for departure as soon as Twilight has everything that she needs with her.” Knowing Twilight though… both of them had a feeling that this might take a while.

Shortly after their conversation, it did not take long for both Shining Armor and Rain to find Twilight and Spike. The unicorn was already at the docking platform and waiting for the transport ship that was going to take them to Ponyville… while also checking with her assistant to make sure that she had everything that she needed for the trip from the makeshift list on the clipboard the unicorn was holding.

All while the dragon was unfortunately asked to do the heavy lifting. “Uh, Twilight. May I ask why are you having me carry our stuff here?”

“Well, in terms of roles for the small social group we have here, I’m the smart one, Shiny is the big brother, Sunset is the funny one, and Celestia is the one who does her best to teach me important life lessons,” They heard Twilight reply, trying to sound all professional while she’s speaking. “Which, right now, designates you as ‘the muscle’.”

“One more step and I might be a pulled muscle.” Spike grumbled to himself, setting down the bag before looking back at the unicorn. Only for Rain to soon speak up.

“Would you like some help with that?” His response caught both the attention of the unicorn and the dragon as they turned around to see him and Shining standing right behind him. Twilight’s first reaction was to gasp and leap onto Shining Armor and pull him into a deep hug. While for Spike, he was just breathing a huge sigh of relief as he looked back towards Rain.

“Thanks for the assist… Twilight’s going a little bit overkill in terms of preparing for her first trip outside of Canterlot.” The dragon panted in response as he looked back at the unicorn.

“Uh… you might need to explain what you mean by ‘Overkill’.” All Spike did was hand Rain the clipboard that he had in his hands in order for him to inspect for himself… and what was on there was rather surprising. “Okay, do you really need two huge bags of just books?”

“She calls one of them her emergency kit while the other one being her research kit.”

“And are they really necessary?” Rain then asked. “You guys are going to a town filled with ponies for a celebration, not a recreational expedition.” All Spike did was just shrug before he began to start loading each of the bags onto the ship that they were going to be using to travel to Ponyville. The knight soon pitched in and began to help him while Shining Armor was making sure that Twilight could be able to take care of herself while she was on this.

Which… made the unicorn slightly uncomfortable in the process. “Shining, please! I can be able to handle myself out there!”

“I know you can. It’s just sometimes hard to see your little sibling grow up so quickly. I’ll not get in your way once we reach Ponyville though, I promise.” The stallion promised as both of them got on board the ship. Spike and Rain were able to get on board a few minutes after packing everything onto the ship. Unlike the chariots that most ponies would use to travel by air, sometimes a transport air ship is used to carry not just passengers, but cargo from point A to point B. Mostly crafted in Fillydelphia or other areas of the world by well qualified engineers, airships have been used for many purposes including traveling the world and warfare if it came to that point. In addition to that, there was also the factor of capacity. Chariot’s can only hold a limited number of passengers, from a party of two to a group of eight, aside from the driver. Airships could hold much more than that and depending on the quality of the ship, it also could provide other services to the passengers on board.

Of course, the major factor in all of this was also cost. Despite Airships having many features that would outclass chariots, since there wasn’t that many for normal daily commute and also very expensive and time consuming to produce, the tickets for an airship trip are much more expensive than that of a normal ride by chariot depending on where you were going. But, that was something that wasn’t entirely Rain’s main focus as the ship was taking off from it’s port. In fact, he was right now on the front of the ship, watching everything move below them from the Starboard Bow of the ship as he felt the wind blow through his hair.

As their journey through the sky was getting started, Rain was surprised when he turned his head and actually saw Shining decide to join him at the front of the ship instead of being with his sister. “Hey, where’s Twilight?”

“Below deck,” The unicorn replied back to him. “She was wanting to take a moment to study up on some things before going into Ponyville. Like social customs and such.”

“Is… that really necessary?” Rain then asked. “I mean, I think the way she’s acting right now is actually just fine.”

“That’s what I told her, but she told me that since she was being a ‘representative of the princess’ that she needed to make sure to represent the part and not embarrass herself.” Shining chuckled. “Spike agreed with me on the fact that she’s probably taking this a little too seriously.”

“Count me in on that,” The knight smirked for a moment, before remembering something on his mind as he looked back at his companion and friend. “Hey… Doesn’t this trip sort of… well, bring back old memories? I mean, when you and I first met, we were in the Everfree and also Ponyville for a short bit before coming back to Canterlot.”

“In a sense, it does…” Shining nodded, before pointing something out to him. “Remember though, that was ten years ago. It’s likely that Ponyville back then is not the same as it is right now. It’s probably gone through a few changes here and there.” That was true. It has been some time since they were in Ponyville at all. Most of the training for the guard took place in Canterlot with survival exercises that took place in White Tail Woods. They used to do exercises nearby the tunnels where the mines would be, but they were blocked off after someone said that there was the fair risk of a cave in if anything drastic were to happen down there.

“I guess we’ll just have to see.” Just shortly after he said that though did he happen to notice something… off in the distance. Something that caused him to grab the grip of the sword on his back. “Uh oh… Shining, we got company.” The unicorn himself was a little puzzled by what he meant, but was soon seeing what his friend was talking about as he unsheathed his own weapon and rushed to the main deck. They were red, bat like creatures that were coming towards the ship.

“Fruit bats? Seriously?” Rain asked himself while pulling out Crimson Saber. “Why would fruit bats come here of all places? We’re not carrying any fruit.” With that, two of the small number of bats were soon driven away after Rain struck them with his blade. As for Shining, he also did the same thing as he fought off a couple of the ones that were attacking them.

“What concerns me more is why they come this close to us. Normally, airborne creatures like these stay away from airships. Not to mention that those bats in particular don’t normally attack Equestrians.” He added on. Part of their training in the guard was to be up to date on the current almanac of Equestrian creatures, no matter how big or small they are. Which is why seeing some of them go after them of all ponies was rather weird.

“Do you think something is going on that’s causing them to get all… aggressive?” Rain asked, looking back at Shining just as he finished off another one of the monsters and was beginning to clean the juices off of his blade.

“That… may be one possibility. But I don’t know what else could explain it.” The Unicorn replied as he sheathed his weapon again and so did Rain. It was then though that after fending off their attackers did something else occur. But it wasn’t a monster or anything going after the ship.

It was the voice of somepony crying out for help. “P-please…”

Just moments after hearing that was when Rain soon turned to Shining and asked him a question. “Did you… hear something?” Shining Armor shook his head in response. Pointing out that they were in the middle of the clouds and that most of the other crew members were below deck, so it would be impossible for them to hear something.

That was… until they heard it again. “P-please… help me…”

“Is that somepony calling to us? There’s nopony out here for miles and Cloudsdale is in the opposite direction.” The Unicorn then asked, confused at this point as both of them looked over the railing of the ship to see if the voice was coming from somewhere on the ship. Only when they did realize where it was coming from, both of them were not expecting what happened next.

Along the starboard side of the ship… looked to be a young girl encased inside a crystal. She looked like the night sky with a horn and small pair of wings. But the sudden appearance of this person caught both Rain and Shining Armor off guard. “What the-!?”

“P-please… You must… help me…” They heard the girl's voice and saw tears from her eyes, but her mouth was not moving from inside the crystal. “Hurry… to the Everfree Shrine… t-the crystal will be shattered…” After saying that part of the statement, the crystal began to shimmer in front of them and disappear. But not before they heard one last thing from her. “Y-you are our only hope… without you… this world will be lost…”

As the crystal disappeared and everything was back to normal, Shining himself was blinking a few times, just so he could process everything that he had just seen. “Rain, did you see that? I feel like my eyes are beginning to play tricks on me.” The unicorn asked, which only lead to Rain nodding his head a bit before walking from the edge of the ship.

In doing so though, the unicorn said the first thing that came to his mind. “Rain! Have you lost your mind, we have our orders that the princess gave us.”

When Rain turned back to face Shining, the first thing that he said was in response to that. “And I have not forgotten them. But I can’t ignore a plea for help, Shining. You know that… It’s part of my duty as a knight of Canterlot.”

Shining walked back over to where he was and just smirked a little bit at first. “You haven’t changed a bit since when we first met, have you?” Rain nodded in response… but his friends compliment also happened to have something surge in his memory as he looked back at the Unicorn, scratching his chin. “What? Was it something I said?”

“No it’s just…… When you said the part about when we first met… I think I know what that girl means by the Everfree Shrine.” The knight told his friend as he looked back at him. It took a few seconds, but soon Shining was catching on about what he was talking about.

“Do you think it’s… the old castle you were in?”

“Most likely,” the human replied back. “From all those Ponytales the princess told us when we were kids, the Everfree has remained uninhabited for the longest of time and the only actual landmark that’s there is the castle where they found me.”

“But where would a crystal like the one she’s talking about be located?” Shining now posed a new question for him. “When I was there with you, there didn’t seem to be any floating crystal or anything from what I remember.”

Then… the answer clicked inside of Rain’s head the moment his mind began to dwell on it. “The old basement…”

“What?” The unicorn asked, puzzled by the simple question.

“The old castle had a basement level inside with a secret hatch. Originally, it had a lot of the books and other items I moved up to the floor and I kept it’s entrance blocked with a heavy crate, but that’s the most likely of places it could be.” He told him, just as he was noticing something in the distance. “Hey, that must be Ponyville right there.” Shining turned around, surprised about the fact that they were coming up on their destination so quickly, but then thinking of something else as he looked back at Rain.

Which, also tied into Shining’s next question. “Okay, so what exactly is the plan here?” Just before Rain could reply though, the ship was beginning to touch down and the moment that the docking platform extended outward, Twilight was already off to the races and eager to get her belongings… while for Spike, he was trying his best to maintain his energy.

Which, ironically worked out in Rain’s favor. “Hey Spike, can I ask for your help on something?” The dragon himself seemed rather confused by Rain’s sudden interruption as he then walked over to them for a short moment as everypony got off the ship.

“Sure, uh… is everything alright? You guys look a bit tense.” He pointed out, causing both knights to look at each other for a moment before looking back at the dragon.

“We’re alright. It’s just that Shining and I need to check on something not that far from here,” Rain replied back, trying to find something in his pockets. “Could you do us a favor and send us a message if there’s anything going on here that requires our help? It’s so we can get to you as quickly as possible in an emergency.” Spike… looked to be still thinking about it in his head for a moment. Or, at least that was until Rain found what he was looking for in his pockets and pulled it out. “I got a couple of gems if you want them.”

“Deal!” Spike said, catching the two gems that Rain had tossed to him before eating one and beginning to help Twilight with her bags.

“Since when did you carry around gemstones in your pockets?” The unicorn next to Rain asked, surprised a little bit.

“I thought it would be good to keep them on hand just in case,” He responded to Shining before turning around and beginning to make his way towards the path that was not far from the entrance to the Everfree forest. “Now come on. The longer we stand around here, the more time we’re wasting.” The Unicorn could only nod his head in agreement on that part as he joined up with Rain and soon began to follow him through the woods. However, it was while they were walking that Shining now actually had a question for him.

“Hey… this just dawned on me now, but when you were living inside the castle, how did you not have to worry about monsters just freely moving in and out of there?” It was a valid question, and one that Rain himself did not know the answer for at first.

“I… don’t really know how to answer that. When I was there, it seemed like there was some kind of barrier in place that wards off any of the creatures in the Everfree. Of course, it’s been ten years since I’ve last been there, so I don’t know if that is actually the reason behind it or not.” The knight replied back to his friend as they began to cross a bridge across a river. “Hey… about this crystal that girl mentioned… Do you think that it may be the reason why the creatures are acting so differently?”

“It’s a possibility, but right now, there isn’t enough evidence to support that claim,” Shining told his friend in response. “Besides, we only know a little amount of information given what that girl said. Not to mention that we have no idea why this ‘crystal’ is so important.” The two of them had progressed farther into the forest by this time, going through a rocky cavern and across a rope bridge that was put up from one side to another as they got closer to the old castle.

However, it was upon reaching it that they found that it was much different than before. Though, there wasn’t a lot that was inside the castle the last time that Rain was there. But right away, he could tell that something was wrong. Some of what remained of the castle’s exterior was badly damaged and the arch that served as a doorway many years before was broken off like someone… or something had rammed through it. “What the hell happened here?” He asked, staring in disbelief.

Shining himself… did not know how to answer to that either, but he did make an effort to try and speak. “Rain, are you sure this is wise for you and I to go alone? For all we know, what we could’ve seen was just an illusion.” Despite this though, Rain looked back at his friend and comrade in arms as he cleared his throat in order to speak.

“Whether it was an illusion or not, the tears on that girl’s face were very real to me. Not to mention the fact that whatever came through here left a path of destruction in its wake,” He tried to reason with Shining as he got closer to the broken down entrance. “Besides, if this really is a threat, they could go for the townsfolk in the village next and Twilight. We can’t risk their lives if this whole thing is some flight of fancy.”

Before Shining could respond on the matter, Rain himself darted through the entrance to the old castle and left the unicorn behind. Causing him to scramble and try to catch up with him. “Rain! At the very least, could you please wait for me!?”

Once both of them were inside though, the two knights began to inspect their surroundings and look around the area. Because of how thick the trees were outside as well as the fact that the sun was beginning to set right now, a large shadow loomed over the inside of the ruins, which in turn made it difficult for them to see at first. After a few moments though, Shining thought that his eyes were adjusted enough to where he could see clearly. “Well… nothing seems out of the ordinary… to my eyes at least…”

Yet… Rain had a different response to him as he looked in front of him. “Then you may want to look again…” Taking a second, Rain conjured a small fireball in his hands and threw it along a nearby wall, lighting a stick that would normally be used for a torch of some kind. Yet, when the new light began to shine throughout the room… it also caught the attention of what else was lurking inside as they saw numerous different inhabitants of the Everfree Forest… whose gaze was now in their direction.

“What the-!?” Shining gasped, caught off guard by the sudden sight. “What are they doing in here?!” Some of the creatures now stepped forward as Rain now looked back at his partner and spoke up.

“Whatever came through here recently must’ve broken the barrier and let them in…” He said, noticing one of the creatures move its head up and down a bit as the knight pointed it out. “Not to mention the fact that I think that Timberwolf is nodding ‘yes’.”

“I think the time for subtle humor has passed at this point.” Shining Armor deadpanned as he reached for the grip of his blade and grabbed hold of it firmly. Rain also did the same thing with his blade as he looked back at the monsters and creatures of the Everfree Forest that just happened to invade what was once his former home.

“I couldn’t agree more… I believe this also proves that what we heard earlier from the girl was true,” He said, unsheathing his weapon as he held his greatsword in front of him. “Wasn’t it the Captain that told you that you could always trust a pretty face?” Shining, upon hearing that groaned a little to himself as he held his katana firmly in front of him.

“Hmph… That was some terribly well hidden wisdom from him, that was for sure,” He spoke up, looking towards the creatures that were in the room and looking around the area. “Rain, where would the entry for the innermost chamber be? The one you were mentioning earlier.”

“The only likely possibility is that it’s on the opposite side of all these monsters,” Rain answered his question. “We better hurry though. I got a bad feeling of what would happen if we don’t reach that crystal in time.” With that, both of them began to fight through the hoard of monsters that they were facing. Using their weapons to cut open a path forward with each swing. However, the more that the two of them kept fighting through the remains of the old castle, the more that Shining noticed that Rain was being rather hasty and reckless. Almost like he didn’t care about what would happen if he got harmed by an incoming attack.

“Rain, don’t be so hasty. All the other members of the guard back in Canterlot look up to you, so it would be ill-advised to rush in so quickly,” The unicorn told him while they were slowly pushing through the pack of foes in front of them. “Sometimes, I feel convince that I need to watch you like a hawk.”

“Could there be anything I can do to convince you to watch our foes instead?” He simply replied back to Shining before defeating another set of monsters with another attack from his sword. Which, in Shining’s mind, meant that he was ignoring him. They kept on pushing through the hoard until something new blocked their path forward. A creature that neither of them have seen or encountered before. “Well, maybe this one will put up more of a fight.”

Unlike Rain though, Shining proved to be more cautious about their opponent instead of eager. For more than one reason. “We must watch it’s moves closely and be careful with how we engage. I don’t think this opponent would be as easy as the other foes we have faced.”

“Since when were they ever ‘easy’?” His friend rhetorically asked him. After he had said that was when Rain had tried to charge up and attack the beast head on. Only to realize that doing so was not exactly a good idea. His attack did little to harm the monster, especially with the horns that were sprouting from his head, shoulders and nose. Not to mention that the beast lashed out by slamming the ground and causing the floor to surge with electricity. “Okay that… was unexpected.”

“So it tries to shock those who try to physically harm it…” Shining thought to himself, jumping off the ground and onto a nearby rock as he began analyzing the enemy they were facing before coming up with an idea. “In that case… let’s see how it does against magic.” As the Unicorn thought about this and began conjuring some magic in his hands, that was when he caught Rain’s attention.

“Shining, what exactly are you planning?”

“I’m testing a theory. It unleashes electricity when you try attacking it with your sword, but what would happen if you tried using magic against it.” Shining’s idea… was actually something Rain didn’t really think about until the unicorn pointed it out to him. So, instead of trying to attack his opponent with his weapon, he now began to have a ball of fire take form in his hands. Releasing his fire spell shortly after Shining let his ice spell strike their opponent.

The monster itself, was not prepared for what the two knights in store. Upon getting hit by their combined forms of magic, the beast soon fell to the ground, before turning into a mass of shadows that soon disintegrated within seconds. As for Rain and Shining, they were lucky to find what they were looking for shortly after destroying the beast, since it seemed to be unknowingly guarding the hatch to the lower levels of the temple as both knights soon went over and opened up the hatch.

“Well, that’s one thing that’s still in one piece,” Rain commented to himself before slowly descending down the stairwell to the temple's lower chambers. “Come on, Shining! Let’s go!”

“I’m right behind you.” The unicorn told him as both of them made their way down the stairs and into the next room. From there, they could be able to make out exactly what was going on because of the amount of light that was radiating from the glowing crystal in the back of the room. However, it was when both knights got closer that they realized that both of them were not alone down there.

In front of the crystal… was a tall figured that was covered in armor that was as black as a starless night. It’s helm covered the figures face and when he turned to see the two knights, they saw that the front of the helmet looked to take on the form of a demon as both Rain and Shining cautiously approached him with their swords ready.

“Hey!! Whoever you are, step away from the crystal!” Shining ordered, but the individual did not move an inch. Just only looked directly at them for a few moments before actually saying anything. But when it did speak, the words sent a cold shiver down Rain’s spine.

“…… If ignorance is a sin, then your sins are beyond intolerable…”

It was then that Rain has slowly lowered his blade for a moment before glaring at the strange figure. “What the hell is that supposed to mean!?” All the figure did was not respond as it slowly lifted an arm into the air and began to conjure something. The magic itself was… unknown to that of either Rain or Shining. But it was dark in nature and power as the armored figure continued to speak.

“Ten long centuries of sin… and now, it’s time you atoned.”

Now… was when Shining was also confused. “Atone? What in the world are you rambling on about?!” However, in this moment was when Rain had realized that what the figure was conjuring was a sphere of dark magic.

And one that was about to be thrown at them. “Oh crap-! Shining, watch out!!” Before either of them could be able to defend themselves, the stranger threw the ball of dark magic at both of them, detonating upon impact as it sent both Shining and Rain to the other end of the room where the entrance was while also weakening them considerably.

In the stranger's mind, since the pests were dealt with… he now was free to complete the task he came to do. “And so it begins…” He said to himself, conjuring a massive claymore that he held onto effortlessly with one hand. “Now… my hammer of vengeance shall crush this eternity of lies!!”

Rain could only watch helplessly in his weakened state as the armored stranger raised their blade and brought it down on the crystal, shattering it into pieces as the entire place around them began to violently shake in tremors as some rocks from the ceiling began to fall down and break. All while the knight could only move himself a few feet before collapsing on the ground.

However, as he was beginning to lose consciousness, he could hear someone speak to him. “You… can’t fall now…… take this power… the power of visions… The power to stave off the darkness.” In mere moments, he felt something rejuvenating flow through his body. Healing his wounds and returning the strength that was once deprived from him along with the strength of his comrade.

When they were getting up, all they could see in front of them… was the same girl in the crystal from mere moments before. “Who… W-who are you?” Despite Rain’s question though, all they saw was a brief flash of light as they heard the girl say one last thing.

“Live… Live and save this world.”

When light died down around both Rain and Shining armor, both of the knights found themselves outside of the ruins that they just had entered a few minutes earlier. There were some cracks in the earth and the trees around them began to falter a small bit as both of them looked back at one another. Both of them rather shocked and also puzzled by the events that had just happened… and also where they are.

Getting back up off the ground, both Shining and Rain took a moment in order for them to sheath their weapons and try to contemplate everything… before the Unicorn decided to just ask the question instead. “W-what just happened?” Rain himself couldn’t even form the words to speak right now as he just looked back at Shining Armor with the same look of shock and confusion like before.

That was… before they heard a scream and the sound of something going off in the distance. Which, had Shining on edge as he turned in the direction of the noise they heard just now. “What was that?!”

“That… came from Ponyville-” Before Rain could fully be able to finish his sentence, Shining bolted from where he was at across the wooden bridge that was hung across the ravine in front of them. “Shining, wait!!”

“I can’t wait, Rain! Twilight’s there, she may be in trouble!” Shining told him as he made it across to the other side.

“Then could you at least wait for me to cross the bridge-” Before Rain could even finish his question, he felt a powerful gust of wind from directly in front of him. But this wasn’t just a simple light breeze. No, the wind that blew in his face was strong enough to slice up the rope at the ends on his side of the bridge. Making it now impossible for him to cross. “ …… Or not. Damn, now this isn’t good at all.”

Shining himself, did not like the looks of things either as he looked back at Rain on the other side. “Oh dear Celestia, this is just brilliant… Now what are we gonna do?”

“Shining, just go and hurry to Ponyville! If there really is any danger going on there, then you should hurry and help the civilians.” Rain told him, looking back at him firmly. “I’ll try to think of another was to cross and catch up.”

“Oh no… No, I’m not leaving you out here. Especially with what just happened in there. We need to alert Princess Celestia about what we saw.”

“And we can do that after you help them,” Rain countered firmly in response to Shining’s statement. “If you help them first, then you can find somepony that can help tie off the bridge-” However, as Rain was speaking, he noticed Shining’s eyes widened as he looked back at him with a confused look. “Shining, what’s wrong?”

“L-look out! Behind you!!” However, by the time Rain had turned around to see what it was, a gigantic hand made out of magic and looked like the night sky grabbed hold of him and yanked him back into the Castle of Twin Sisters. Vanishing without a trace as a cynical laugh was heard throughout the forest. “RAIN!!!”

The moment that Rain felt himself land back on his feet wasn’t quite exactly a pleasant moment. The knight felt as if he had been violently thrown around like a ragdoll because of the pain when he felt when he collided against a wall. Luckily, he had a potion on him to restore some of the injuries that he had sustained from these blows as he tried to make sense of what happened…

And more importantly, why was he back in the Castle of the Twin Sisters again? “Oh joy… this day just keeps getting better and better.” He muttered sarcastically, not knowing what else he should be looking for. Going as far as to check what was in front of him, behind him, to the left and right, and even above him just in case something were about to fall on him. Luckily, there wasn’t anything… but he rather not take any chances.

He did however… hear a voice as he turned to see where it was coming from. “So… You are the one who was an uninvited guest in my home…” The voice echoed as he turned to see more of the starry night mist take form into what appeared to be a black alicorn, same size as Celestia, but with a mane and tail of stars, a darkened robe covering it’s body from head to hoof and a glare that would intimidate most ponies.

However… Rain was different. “Uh…… can I help you, Miss?”

The figure blinked a couple of times, honestly surprised by the lack of fear in his statement. In fact, there was no signs of him being afraid at all. “Excuse me? Do you even know who I am, worm!?!”

“Uh… should I?” Rain asked, confused as he looked back at the alicorn.

“I’m NIGHTMARE MOON!! Ponies fear me!! I was banished 1000 years ago by that dastardly Princess Celestia and now I’m back for revenge!! Why aren’t you afraid of me!?!!” She shouted, almost blowing the doors to the room off of their hinges because of how loud this pony was being.

“I survived in the Everfree for almost a year on my own, it takes a lot to get my attention.” He sighed, before going to the doors. “Now if you excuse me, I need to find a way back to ponyville on time so I don’t miss the Princess’ arrival-”

Now that statement in particular… really caught Nightmare Moon’s attention. Not to mention that right now, one of the things she was seeing on this figure’s clothes was an insignia of the Canterlot Royal Guard. “Oh really now? You really think that your princess is still in that cheap excuse for a village?” She said, causing Rain to stop walking away as he then heard the next thing that Fina was telling him. “Why do you think that the town citizens are screaming and panicking right now… and Celestia is nowhere to be seen in order to calm them?”

It was then that the black Alicorn got a better reaction from that of the knight than she had gotten moments before. “What…… did… you do?” He boldly asked in a deep and demanding tone as he glared at Nightmare Moon.

“Listening now, are we?” She spoke in a mocking tone, laughing maniacally as she smirked at the knight. “I kidnapped Princess Celestia. With her unable to raise the sun, it shall be eternal night forever!! And if you honestly think that you can be able to stop this from happening, then you have no idea what you are up against.”

Rain thought that she was trying to mess with his head… and break his focus. Something that he was not going to let her do. “If you think that I’m just going to let you get away with this…” He now told her fiercely, arming himself with his Crimson Saber as he looked back at her. “Then you got another thing coming.”

“Oh how hilarious… You honestly think you can beat ME with that cheap toy of yours? Why do you think that I, NIGHTMARE MOON, should even consider taking you on?” She taunted him. However, what the alicorn did not expect at all was when the ‘toy’ that she had called Rain’s sword was soon lit ablaze. Humming alive with his magic as fire began to burn all around the knight that stood in front of her. “What’s this? Is this… the magic of old? How can a cretin like him learn something as ancient as that!?!”

“I’m not going to back down,” Rain boldly shout back at her as the flames around him began to burn wildly and he prepared to charge at her. “Because one way or another, you are the one who’s going to lose!”

“You fool!! What in Equestria do you think that you’ll accomplish by facing me!?!” Nightmare roared, to which, the knight only had one particular response to this.

“By beating you and rescuing Celestia, I am following the creed of a knight of Canterlot!!” He said, before charging at the alicorn as that first move originally caught her by surprise. “Prepare yourself!!”

It had only been a few moments after Shining began to make his way back to Ponyville, but it was right now that he just felt something that was… most definitely not normal. He felt a flux of magic that didn’t belong to that of any normal unicorn or anything like that, but felt magic that was specific to Rain. Which, to him, only made him try to get to Ponyville faster. The quicker he would make it, the sooner he would get somepony to help him fix the bridge and the sooner he could help Rain.

However, what he did not expect was to be running into an all too familiar face. “Shiny?” Instantly, the stallion turned around to see his sister… accompanied by five other mares. Two earth ponies, two pegasi and one other unicorn. Something that was much of a surprise to him, but also a relief to see that his sister was okay. “What are you doing out here? Don’t you know what’s going on!?”

“Twilight, you know this guy?” One of the pegasi with a rainbow mane and tail as well as cyan fur asked, glaring at him for a moment like he was suspicious. She was wearing a blue and white jacket that was most commonly used by high endurance athletes along with a matching pair of pants as Twilight began to speak up.

“Shining Armor here is my older brother and also a knight in the royal guard Rainbow,” Twilight told them, to which each one of the ponies behind her were equally surprised by that statement. “Now, back to my question… What are you doing out here?”

Shining himself took a deep breath, looking back at them before speaking up. “That may take a bit to explain… Rain, another knight, and I got a distressing message about something that was going on out here in the castle of twin sisters… something that’s making the creatures of the everfree a lot more hostile. However, as we were trying to hurry back to Ponyville when we heard somepony screaming and a loud noise, the bridge that lead to the old castle was severed and my companion and I got separated. I was trying to hurry back to Ponyville to see if I can get some help, but that’s when I ran into you.”

For a moment, some of Twilight’s companions looked a little… skeptical despite the fact that Twilight believed what her brother said. Then, one of the earth ponies, who had a collared shirt, jeans and a stetson hat along with a blond mane and tail, soon spoke up. “Girls, he’s telling the truth.”

“Wait, how can you tell that Applejack?” The same cyan pegasus from before asked, confused.

“Ah can easily tell if somepony isn’t entirely being truthful or not. From what he just said, there wasn’t any hint of trying to deceive us in it.” The earth pony replied, before looking at the stallion. “How far away is the bridge you were talking about?”

“It’s not far. I can lead you girls to it,” Shining volunteered, leading the six mares back the way he came to the severed bridge that he was referring to earlier. All the while, the pegasus that Twilight referred to as ‘Rainbow’ volunteered to retie the bridge for them.

As she was doing that though, Twilight noticed that Shining’s coat and clothes from before had received some damage. Leading her to be concerned for her brother. “So what exactly lead you two to be out here in the first place?”

Shining took a deep breath as he looked back at his sister, recalling everything from what happened on the ride on the airship to what happened once they got to the castle of twin sisters. How they were unsuccessful at trying to protect the ‘crystal’ and how it’s destruction lead to the whole castle in itself to not only become unstable, but also cause the creatures of the everfree to become extremely hostile to them. It was something that sounded too good to be true, but Applejack again said that Shining wasn’t lying either.

It was also during this conversation that he got to learn the names of Twilight’s new friends, so to speak. There was Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity and the pony that was almost close to tying off the rest of the bridge was named Rainbow Dash. He also found out that Spike, the one that Rain had asked to try and alert them in case of an emergency, had fallen asleep and began suffering from Nightmares because of everything that was going on… and the pony behind it was something that he honestly thought was just a ponytale.

Nightmare Moon. “So let me get this straight… Nightmare Moon crashed the opening ceremony for the Summer Sun Celebration, kidnapped Princess Celestia and also blew up the airship we came here on as a way to prevent anypony from escaping…”

“That’s… pretty much everything in a nutshell.” Applejack replied to him, before Shining added one more thing.

“And the only way you say that you can stop Nightmare Moon is by finding the Elements of Harmony to bring the light back to Equestria…” The unicorn then added on. “Geez, and I thought my job was tough. That’s… a lot to take in.”

“Oddly enough, some of us thought the same way.” Rarity then spoke up, while Shining noticed that the pony named Pinkie Pie was bouncing in place while also giggling to herself. Shortly after saying that though was when they all noticed that the bridge was fastened once again as some of the mist cleared up and it showed Rainbow Dash with a smug look on her face while folding her arms and leaning against a tree.

“See? Piece of cake!” The pegasus boasted, causing some of her friends to roll their eyes in response to her. It was as they all got across though that they heard something loud go off nearby from within the ruins of the nearby castle that startled all of them.

“What the hay was that?” Applejack asked.

“I have a bad feeling on who it might be…” Shining sighed before noticing something move across the top of the ruins as he reached for the handle of his blade. “Twilight… get to cover, now!” Before the unicorn could respond, Shining already had his weapon out as a stone golem soon crashed in front of them and began to attack the unicorn.

“Twilight, what are we gonna do? We’re wasting time like this!” Rainbow shouted. But before she could answer her friends question, Shining soon shouted to them.

“Let me handle this! You six get inside and find the elements, quickly!!” The Unicorn told them as he casted an ice spell to trap one of the golem’s arms. Providing an opportunity for them to slip inside while he was facing the massive stone behemoth. In the back of his mind though, he knew that they were going to be okay.

He was more concerned about if Rain was okay right now.

“Thundaga!!” The dark alicorn shouted, causing Rain to tumble out of the way as powerful bolts of lightning way too close to him as the knight tried to hold his own against her. Despite his earlier thoughts of his opponent being not that much of a challenge, he soon realized the fault in his thinking when the battle first began. Both of them knew powerful spells that were equal in strength, but Rain was more of a physical fighter in terms of combat. While Nightmare Moon was a full on mage. So unlike the knight, the dark alicorn had more mana at her disposal and a lot more spells for her to use. But not many ways to defend herself if he got too close. “Why you… Why don’t you just GIVE UP AND DIE!!! AEROGA!!”

“Oh crap!” He cursed mentally. He was very aware of how lethal air spells could be used in combat because of the number of times that Shining Armor had used magic when they would be training. But, unlike his version of the spells, this one was MUCH more powerful… and Rain was on the unfortunate end of it, causing for him to get blown back through a crumbling stone wall and skid out on the other side. “Gah! O-okay, that hurt…”

Unknowingly though… He was blasted out through the wall mere seconds after a certain group of mares entered the room. However, he did not see them through the dust that was coughed up from him landing as he ran back into the fight. Trying to see what he could do to get close enough to Nightmare in order to actually land a hit. So far, every attempt at trying to get her with magic did not go very well. He had even tried to use the surrounding terrain and the fallen pillars and beams to hit her, but all that did was make him an easy target for Nightmare Moon to pick off mid leap. “Okay, I need a new plan and everything I have tried before has all but failed. I’m out of options!”

“Give it up!!” Nightmare Moon cried out hysterically. “There’s NOTHING you can do to stop me!!”

Yet… her taunts were blocked out by something else. “There is something you can do.” Rain recognized the voice. It was the voice of not just the girl that warned him and Shining of the crystal and also saved them from having a lot of rock fall on their heads. “I have given a gift to you and your companion. The power of Visions.”

“V-visions?” Rain asked himself, trying to understand what he was hearing.

“Yes… The memories and emotions of warriors whose dreams transcend even death… given life by the crystals they are housed in…” The girl’s voice spoke to him as Rain felt something surge and tingle through his hands. “And they are your allies to call upon. Call on their strength now… and succeed in this battle.” The knight himself thought that what she was telling him sounded like a longshot. He wasn’t even sure if doing what she said could somehow help him.

But it doesn’t mean that he shouldn’t try. “Okay, here goes nothing.” The knight told himself, closing his eyes and picturing the crystal in his hands. As he did this, a shining blue crystal slowly began to take form, confusing those who were watching the battle unfold... except that of Nightmare Moon.

“No… T-that’s impossible.” The alicorn gasped at first. “H-how do you-?”

Rain himself, wasn’t listening to her… and instead focusing on the task at hand. “Visions… If you can hear me… please, assist me!” As he said this, Nightmare herself tried to channel a spell in order to disrupt his focus and stop him from completing the summon. But just as she was about to saw the name of the spell, the crystal in Rain’s hands cracked as a bright light shined throughout the room. Blinding her as a new figure now stood not far from the knight.

Standing right next to the knight was now a bipedal pegasus mare. She had cerulean blue fur, a black mane and tail and what appeared to be a scar above her right eye. Equipped was a silver chestplate, hoof guards around her ankles and gauntlets around her hands. Rain himself… was honestly surprised that it worked. Before the mare actually turned to notice him.

“Wait a minute, who in Equestria are you?” She then asked, staring at Rain. “Do you need help or something?”

“Uh… My name is Rain,” He said, before looking in the direction of the alicorn at the other end of the room. “And I need a helping hand with fighting a powerful mage and rescuing a princess. Think you're up for it miss…?”

“Nimbus. Nimbus Dash,” She replied back, before noticing the insignia that Rain had on his clothes, showing that he was a member of Canterlot’s royal guard. “Member of the Cloudsdale Royal Legion and here at your service. Ready to kick some flank?”

All Rain could do was smirk and nod his head as he took up arms with his weapon as he and Nimbus looked back towards his opponent. The pegasus herself adopting a combat stance as Rain then spoke up. “Let’s go!” Both of them immediately charged at Nightmare Moon shortly afterwards. The knight was focusing on going straight at his opponent, dodging incoming attacks and avoiding the spells that could do harm, while also being a distraction.

Because even though she could see Rain in front of him… Nightmare was unable to see Nimbus attacking from above and knocking her upside the head, before landing at striking the alicorn with a jab kick that sent her flying through a wall. Personally, Rain did not expect for the vision that he summoned to be rather quick and versatile. Not only had Nimbus caught Nightmare Moon by surprise, but also send her flying through an old and deteriorated wall.

It was during this though that he also heard something that caught his attention. “Rain!” He turned around for a moment, surprised at seeing Twilight along with a few other ponies that he couldn’t recognize as the unicorn went over to him. “Are you okay?”

“Y-yeah, I’m fine. Just a few scratches, but I’m okay,” He said, before noticing everypony else moving to the opposite end of the room. “What are you doing here though? It’s not safe and Shining-”

“He told us to hurry on inside because he was concerned for you,” Twilight replied before he could finish. “My friends and I came here because if the old tales on Nightmare Moon are true, then the only way we can really defeat her is with the elements of harmony.”

“The what now-?” Rain asked, shortly before they all soon heard a furious cry of rage from where Nightmare was thrown into as the unicorn looked back at Rain.

“J-just buy us some time! Keep her distracted as long as possible!!” Twilight told them before looking back her friends and teleporting over to them. All the while Rain noticed a rather… confident look across Nimbus’ face as she took up another stance.

“This is going to be too easy,” Nimbus smirked, pounding both of her fists together as she looked back at Nightmare Moon. “Sooner or later, she’s going to run out of mana for her to cast anything-” Before she was even able to finish her boast though was when the pegasus saw a sphere forming from shadow magic all around an outstretched hand as she aimed it at her and Rain.

“Graviga!!”

“Oh sh-! Move!!” Nimbus yelled, causing her and Rain to barrel out of the way before getting hurt. The pegasus though, decided to try something herself as she channeled some energy around one of her legs before launching it out in a powerful kick. Which landed directly in Nightmare’s face. “Okay, that should definitely work.”

“What was that even?” Rain asked as he got up off the floor.

“Aura Strike. Something I came up with back in my training days,” The pegasus vision replied. “If applied correctly, the attack has a high chance of making it unable for spellcasters to channel magic-” However, as she was saying that, both of them then witnessed the alicorn conjuring something completely different.

And both of them had the same response. “Oh, come on-!!”

“I have had ENOUGH WITH YOU!!!” She shouted, blasting both of them with an orb of shadow magic in retaliation for their defiance. Which, knocked Nimbus backwards and forced Rain to defend himself by switching into a guard stance and blocking the attack. With Nimbus unable to get up off the floor, Rain was forced onto one knee with the sheer force of the attack making it harder to stand his ground. “Once you give up, NOTHING will stop me from having this night become eternal!”

However, it was then that both of them noticed something glowing from the far corner of the room. “Not while we’re here, you’re not!!” Rain heard one of the girls over there boast. He couldn’t tell exactly what Twilight and them were doing, but whatever was going on had caused Nightmare to focus less of her attention on Rain… and also weaken the attack that she was channeling.

Which, in turn, provided an opportunity for the knight. With a quick slash of his weapon, he caused Nightmare’s attack to disperse. With another one, he struck the alicorn around her legs, making it so she wasn’t able to flee or protect herself before backtracking to where Nimbus was and helping her up. “Twilight, whatever you’re planning to do, do it NOW!!”

“You got it!!”

“No! NOOO!!!” Was all the knight heard Nightmare Moon say before a blinding light began to fill up the entire room and have the darkened alicorn disappear into dust and for the sun to rise once more. Rain himself could not see anything else other then that until he opened his eyes and tried to make sense of what was going on. His vision was blurry at first, but noticed how each one of the girls that was with Twilight had a distinct necklace that resembled their cutie marks… while Twilight herself had a crown that resembled hers.

As his hearing returned to him, the first voice that Rain heard… was one that was addressed to him. “Rain? Oh, thank Celestia you’re okay.” He turned around to see that Shining Armor had finally caught up with him, but also seemed to have his fair share of scrapes and scratches as he looked back at the unicorn.

“Shining? You okay there man?” Rain asked casually now that the fight was over, placing his greatsword on his back.

“Well, had to face a giant golem in order to get inside, then when things looked bleak, I heard that girls voice from before tell me about-”

“Visions,” Rain interrupted, looking back to Shining before motioning to Nimbus as she stood up now. “Same thing happened to me. Only while I was facing Nightmare Moon just now… Who helped you though-?” The knight’s question was answered when what appeared to be a tan earth pony mare with a dark mane, leather vest around her chest and leggings around the waist and carried a silver spear while her cutie mark was that of a triskelion.

The mare’s initial response to Rain though… was not the most optimal one. “Who in the world is this monkey?” The blunt response just caused Rain to sigh and for Shining to facepalm himself.

“I’m Rain, a knight of Canterlot and Shining Armor’s friend,” He simply replied. “May I ask who you are?”

“Steela Oresdotter, Captain of the Mighty Helm,” She said, looking back at him. “And I only recognize a knight when you prove it to me on the field of battle.” It was during this conversation though that both of the knights, the captain, and the royal legion member turned to see a rather surprised Princess Celestia, Twilight Sparkle and the other elements of Harmony.

“I apologize for interrupting your… conversation,” The princess told them, looking at Rain and Shining Armor specifically. “But could you please explain to us what is going on?”

Both knights looked at one another for a moment, before Rain sighed for a moment and looked back at the princess. “It’s a long story.”

Author's Note

And with that, we have chapter 1. It takes place during the time of the opening for season one, which is two years after the end of the prologue, but let me assure you that all future chapters will be separate from that of the season timeline and also the events will be different. For one thing, if you noticed at the end that one particular pony was missing when Celestia returned... that will come into play next chapter. There are also some elements to the beginning of Final Fantasy Brave Exvius in here too and personally, it was quite tricky trying to find a way to intertwine the two of them together and make something unique from it. Pretty fun if I do say so myself.

Also, regarding visions, the first two visions that were introduced into the story are based on characters in the MLP: Legends of Magic Comics. Specifically, issues two and four. Here's the breakdown on some of their abilities and traits.

Name: Nimbus Dash
Job: Royal Legion Cadet
Role: Physical Damage, Support
Rarity: 3* ~ 6*
Origin: LoM (Legends of Magic)
Gender: Female
Race: Pegasus
Trust Mastery: Storm Gauntlets (Equipment; Atk +94, Element: Lightning)
Current Trust: 0.0%

Innate Abilities:
-Aura Strike (3*, Special): Physical Attack with a chance of inflicting 3 random status ailments to a target (30%) (Cost: 15 MP)
-Hurricane Kick (4*, Special): Physical Attack, reduces lightning resistance to an opponent (25%) (Cost: 25 MP)
-Restoring Winds (4*, Special): Restore Health and Mana to self while also curing poison and blind. (Costs: 8 MP)

Name: Steela Oresdotter
Job: Mighty Helm Captain
Role: Tank, Support
Rarity: 4*~6*
Origin: LoM
Gender: Female
Race: Earth Pony
Trust Mastery: Dedication (Materia: Increase HP and Def by 25%, Increased Atk by 15%)
Current Trust: 0.0%

Innate Abilities:
-Insult (4*, Special) Increased chance of being targeted by enemies for three turns. Inflicts confuse to one target (30%) for three turns)
-Headbutt (4*, Special) Physical Damage to one target, decreases targets DEF (30%) for two turns.
-Captains Resolve (5*, Special): Increased allies DEF/SPR by 35% for three turns.
-Captain's Orders (6*, Special): Increased allies ATK/MAG by 50% for three turns. Increased Limit Burst gauge fill rate by 50% for three turns

Let me point out that these are SOME of their abilities. A preview so to speak. More will be revealed later on in the story.

As for a characters or visions abilities, they are broken down into four categories. Special Abilities, that can consist of physical attacks or supporting allies. Traits, which are passive buffs that happen naturally depending on if the ally is equipped with specific types of Armor or weapons. Magic, whether it's used to attack, protect or heal allies. And lastly, Limit Burst, which is a signature skill or ability that a certain character has. More will be covered later when that time comes.

I would like to thank everybody who's helped support me so far and say that I really do appreciate your guys' support. Without you, I wouldn't really know where to start with this journey. Until next time!
-Frost

1.2- The Journey Ahead

Upon hearing her sister speak, Celestia herself was in absolute shock. Somehow, for reasons unknown to her and everypony else, her own sister Luna could not even remember her. It was something that deeply struck the princess down to her core… and Rain could tell that she seemed distressed by it. And with what just happened to Canterlot when Veritas of the Dark right now, it would be a lot for anypony to take in.

So, he then turned to Shining and asked him something. “Shining, would you know of anyplace we can have Celestia and Luna here stay for a bit. The main castle still may not be safe to walk around in and I think the princess needs some time to wrap her head around what just happened.”

That, had the Unicorn himself sigh really deeply. “I might know a place… My father had just gotten me a home to move into before you and I were deployed to Ponyville. It may not have everything in place, but it could do as a temporary place to reside. I’m going to check in with the guards though, to make sure that we didn’t suffer any casualties from this attack. If you're looking for it, mom had my Cutie Mark painted on the door. You can’t miss it.” With it, the unicorn left them as Rain and the others soon got up and began to look for the building. It didn’t take them long to find the door, but after they got inside, it took them a while in order to settle down and form any words to speak.

The first one that did though… was Sunset. “Okay, I have too many questions to ask and I think only Rain can answer them.”

That even had Rain look at the unicorn in confusion, just as he set Luna down on a sofa. “What makes you say that?”

“Well one, that Veritas… whoever he was sounds like somepony that you and Shining had encountered before,” Sunset explained, counting it off using her fingers. “Two, he mentioned something called Visions that both you and Shining have, which I don’t even have the slightest clue as to what the hay that is… and Three, if this guy is someone that you met before, what exactly is his planning?”

“Well, the first two questions I can answer. However, I don’t know the answer to the third one,” The knight replied back. “First, that Veritas of the Dark was someone that Shining and I encountered before in the Everfree Shrine, the place where Celestia found me as a child. On the way to Ponyville, Luna appeared in front of us in the crystalline form we just saw her in a few moments ago and told us that we needed to protect the crystal inside. When we got there and found the crystal, we found Veritas, but he overpowered us and ended up destroying it.”

That had Celestia and look back at Luna for a moment before she looked towards Sunset. Just as Rain continued with what he said next. “Second, after we failed to protect the crystal, Luna showed herself again and granted us the power of visions. Which in turn has us summon the emotions of fallen heroes who were given form because of the crystal they were encased in. Lastly… on the subject of crystals, it sounds like these ‘Sworn Six’ are going after and trying to destroy certain crystals that keep things balanced. After the one in the Everfree was destroyed, the monsters in the forest became more hostile and attacked Shining on his way to regrouping with me.”

“If that’s the case, then we shouldn’t be letting those guys wander around all over the place and stop them before they throw the world into chaos!” Sunset replied back.

“I agree… however, there’s something that we don’t know much on… which is the crystals they’re going for in general,” Rain replied back, before looking towards Princess Celestia for a moment. “Celestia, do you remember the books I brought with me when you brought me to Canterlot?”

“Of course I do, Rain,” The solar princess replied. “Why do you ask?”

“Can you bring them here for just a moment? I’m thinking that one of the books that I brought might be on the crystals since there was one directly underneath the old castle of the twin sisters.” He asked politely. That had Celestia nod for a moment before using her magic to teleport herself out of the room, followed by returning a few moments later with a collection of books inside a leather satchel.

“A lot of the books that were uncovered from the ruins were placed in the Canterlot Archives for other ponies to study. But there were a few that I withheld from the archives because of the information that they contained,” The Solar Princess replied before taking out some of the books and placing them on a nearby table. “If you believe that the answers to which you seek are contained in the pages of these books from Starswirl’s time, then allow for Sunset and I to help as well.”

Yet, it was as Celestia said that, all three of them heard a question that wasn’t really expected at all. “C-can I help too?” They all collectively turned to look back at Luna, who had actually gotten up from her spot on the couch and was now at the table.

“L-luna, you shouldn’t be moving around so soon. Aren’t you still recovering?” Sunset herself asked, who was just as equally surprised as that of both the princess and the knight.

“I f-feel fine… Just a little dizzy.” She spoke shyly, shivering a bit under the crimson cape that Rain gave her earlier. Making the unicorn realize something.

“Oh crap… I just now realized that Luna doesn’t have any clothes now, does she?” Sunset spoke up. But before Rain or Celestia could say anything, she was already up and preparing to rush out the door. “Hang on just a minute! I might have some old garments in my room that she could use.”

And just like that, before anypony could really say anything, the unicorn slammed the door behind her. Causing some parts of the house to shake a bit due to the sheer force of how she closed it. Of course, Rain knew that this was kind of normal for Sunset. After all, she had done this before several times while they were beginning to learn and understand their magic. However, this wasn’t exactly the best time to be running off anywhere. Especially when they were trying to figure out what exactly were the Veritas trying to do, where would they be headed and how were they going to stop them.

“How soon do you think she would be back?” Rain then asked Celestia, who honestly did not know how to answer his question.

“Hopefully as soon as possible…” Celestia then replied, turning her gaze to the books on the table and then back towards her sister as she was looking at the seams of the books and reading each one of them to herself. Most of the books themselves seemed to be either inscribed teachings for magic or recipe’s on crafting standard items. But there were a few novels that seemed to stand out as compendiums of old stories. Which, could possibly have some kind of clue as to what they are looking for.

However, one name soon began to ring a bell as she overheard Luna say one particular name from the pile of books. “Legends of magic, the stories of Equestria’s greatest heroes…”

That’s when Celestia herself soon spoke up to them. “We should start with that one…” That had Rain and Luna look back at the solar princess, a bit confused… but also curious as to why that title in particular. “Back in the day, Starswirl the Bearded kept a collection of stories under that same title. If we’re lucky, we could possibly find the answers we seek within those pages.”

“Well, it’s worth a shot at least.” Rain commented as Luna opened the book. Before they could look at the table of contents though, that was when they heard the door slam open as all three of them saw Sunset rush back inside… with Shining Armor right behind her.

“I’m BACK!!” She declared, which only caused Shining to look at them with a deadpanned expression on his face as he closed his door behind them. Slowly beginning to regret letting Sunset… and everyone else for that matter, come into his new home.

“Sunset, I understand that you are excited, but could you at least demonstrate some restraint while you are in my home?” Shining simply asked of her, only for the unicorn to roll her eyes in response and then have Luna come with her so she could wear some proper clothes. Leaving the unicorn with Rain and Celestia. “Please tell me that she wasn’t like this upon coming here… I’m trying to understand what in the world is exactly going on.”

“Well, after we brought her up to speed, we’ve come to the conclusion that whatever those Veritas are planning has to somehow involve the crystal that was in the Everfree Shrine… and the fact that when they left, we heard them say that they were moving to another crystal,” The fellow knight informed him as he turned the page in the book he had out on the table. “So, given this, we’re thinking that there’s more than one of those crystals that are in shrines like the one in the Everfree. Right now, we’re looking through some of the books I brought with me when I first came to Canterlot to see if there is any kind of clue we can possibly find.”

Hearing these details had Shining take up a seat as he looked back at both of them. “If they are planning to destroy more crystals… and each one destroyed having ramifications similar to that of what happened in the Everfree… Oh dear Celestia that’s bad,” It was only a few seconds later that he actually turned to Celestia and realized what he said. “Oh… Sorry princess, I didn’t mean-.”

“It’s alright Shining, mistakes happen,” Celestia then responded. “But yes… the ramifications of such an event would be beyond catastrophic. So we need to figure out how many other crystals there are and where they are located. Afterwards, you must act quickly in order to stop them before they can destroy anymore.” Shining himself nodded his head in response as he watched his friend look back at what he was reading. From the looks of things, Rain was trying to find a particular page in the book after looking over the table of contents.

To Shining, this meant that Rain must’ve found something rather important. But before he could tell them what he had recently found, that was when Sunset and Luna came back. “Here we are… What do you guys think?”

When Rain looked up, he saw Luna in a grey vest with a purple and white sleeveless jacket that had the cloak and hood of those who specialized in magic of the healings arts. More specifically referred to as the White Mage. The skirt that was part of the overall outfit also bered the same colors as the jacket and the only other things that stood out were her gloves, which were black and white. “Wow… that looks amazing on you Luna. Did Sunset pick that out for you?”

“Actually… she chose that herself,” The unicorn added on. “Luna told me that she felt a bit more comfortable with this one than some of the other choices we were looking at…” Around that time though, Sunset had noticed that Rain was farther past the table of contents in the book that he was looking at. Leading her to believe that he found something.“But enough about clothes. Did you happen to find something?” She then asked in order to try to change the topic of the conversation.

“Well… There’s one thing here that might be close to what we’re looking for,” He said, pointing to a particular page in the book. “According to this passage here, long ago after the founding of the Kingdom of Equestria by Clover the Clever and the leaders of the original pony tribes, Princess Celestia had just begun to rule the kingdom of Equestria under the guidance of Clover’s teacher, Starswirl the Bearded. But one day though, he disappeared… along with five other heroes that were known as the pillars of Equestria. But on the day of his disappearance… and hours before the banishment of Nightmare Moon, many of those in the Kingdom of Equestria and around the world saw a series of six crystals take form in the night sky before casting them away to different corners of the world… Nopony knows what the crystals are for, but it lead to believe that each one of the crystals represent an element in nature based off of it’s inhabitants.”

“So… are these crystals supposedly… outside of Equestria?” Sunset then asked, which soon lead to Rain reading the second passage.

“According to what’s here, yes,” The Knight continued as he placed his finger on the next few lines. “Equestria is home to the crystal that represents the earth that ponykind cherish. Griffonstone’s the home of the crystal that provides safe travel along the winds. Abyssinia has a shrine for the water crystal so sailors can travel safely through the seas. The Dragon Lands is home to the Fire Crystal that is a symbolic reference to a dragon’s flame… and the other two on here are supposedly based on the elements of Ice and Lightning.”

“If that’s the case, then they must be going for Griffonstone next,” Shining now interjected as he saw Rain close the book. “Out of the countries that were just mentioned, they’re the closest ones to Equestria.”

“Yes, but the locals there aren’t what they used to be back in the day,” Celestia now spoke up. “If you both plan to travel there, then you must find a way to travel by sea. The griffons are more likely to let you pass through their ports if you are traveling on a merchant ship rather than a vessel like the one’s you’re familiar with.”

“So… wait,” Rain said for a moment, looking back at the princess. “You’re… not going to stop us? For a moment, I thought you were going to convince us not to go head over heals on trying to go after these guys because you would want us to help rebuild Canterlot.”

“The city can be able to rebuild on it’s own with time,” The Princess told them, getting up from the seat that she was in before looking directly at them. “But this isn’t the fate of our nation that we are discussing… this is the fate of all nations and the world. Those monsters are a threat to every one of them… and this is something you can’t just stand by and watch.” That, in Rain’s mind, told him that he and Shining we're definitely going to be going after the Veritas in order to stop them from trying to destroy anymore of the crystals that kept the world in balance.

And it meant that there were some preparations that need to be made first before the journey ahead. For one thing, both Rain and Shining needed to take the chance to have the right amount of curatives and equipment needed to keep on hand. Yet, it needed to be lightweight so it wouldn’t slow them down. Secondly, there was the issue regarding travel. They needed to be able to find a port that could take them across to Griffonstone, but since the attack by the Veritas also destroyed part of the train station, travel by railroad was ruled out of the picture.

It took them close to an hour in order for both knights to have everything that they needed as they proceeded to the city’s east gate and made their way down the mountainside. By the time they reached the bottom of the path though, that was when Shining soon asked Rain a question. “So, what is your plan in regards to finding a ship?”

“That… I think may be the part that we might have difficulty with,” The knight admitted to his friend before adding something to that. “But I believe there are some places where we can look. Some of the ponies who have built ships, whether trade or military, have lived in cities along Equestria’s east coast. Plus, one of those cities, Fillydelphia, is a rather huge town for trade where it’s local or foreign. At least, that’s what Sunset told me before we left.”

“So we are making our way to Fillydelphia.” Shining stated plainly, causing Rain to nod his head in acknowledgement.

“That we are…” Rain said, before smiling a bit. “That we all are.” Shining could not understand at all what his friend was talking about as they walked along the path they were headed. Occasionally having to fight off monsters that would emerge from hiding in the grass along the side of the road and attack them when did not notice.

It wasn’t much for them to handle at first… but at one point, when there were more enemies than they could handle at once, that was when they felt something fly by them and strike one of the monsters that took on the form of a great cat with extremely long whiskers. Both of them turned around at that point. Rain with a smile on his face… while Shining with an expression of shock on his. “Nice shot, Luna.”

The young alicorn herself, holding a bow where the limbs that extended outward took on the form of a pair of wings as she held it in one of her hands. Before looking back at both of them with a nervous expression on her face. “T-thank you?”

“Princess, what are you doing here? You’re suppose to be back in Canterlot with Sunset and Celestia.” Shining himself then stated. “How did you know we were here?”

“That’s because she had been following us,” Rain replied to his friend as the unicorn looked back at him now. “I felt her not far behind after we departed from Canterlot. I’m surprised that you didn’t feel her magic with her being only a few feet behind the both of us. Besides, you can’t exactly just send her back the other direction now Shining.”

“You’re…… serious?” Shining now asked, looking back at both of them now. “Rain, please tell me that this is some kind of joke.”

“Why would I be joking? You saw how she shot that Coeurl just now,” The fellow knight told him in response. “If it weren’t for her, that cat would’ve had it’s teeth on your arm and emitted a pulse that would have paralyzed it… Speaking of which though, where did you find that bow?”

“I-i didn’t find it,” Luna told them in response as she rested the weapon along her shoulder. “It just… happened when that Sunset pony was trying to help me be familiar with my magic. She told me to say the first thing that came to my mind, so I said ‘Reincarnation’ and then this… just appeared.” That had Rain and Shining look at one another in complete and utter bewilderment. For their weapons, the enchantments for their blades were either part of the original blade or forged into it. But for Luna, her weapon… wasn’t like that. “Sunset tried holding it, but almost hurt herself.”

“Wait, what? How?” Rain then asked.

“She told me that it felt like she was… carrying some… I think she said, cannonball?” Luna told them, before shaking her head for a moment. “But when I’m holding it, I don’t feel any weight at all.” The alicorn then looked at both of them for a moment, before she shuddered and looked back at Shining Armor. “Please don’t send me back… I really want to help.”

“How would you be able to help-?”

“Let her come along, Shining,” Rain interjected, catching the unicorn off guard as he looked back at his friend. “She’s as directly tied into this as you and I are. It was because of her that we got spared from the Veritas in Canterlot. The least we could do is let her come.”

“Rain, are you hearing yourself right now?” Shining then asked as he looked back at him. “You’re talking about taking a princess… with us… where it is likely that anything we might have to face would want to kill us. Don’t you realize how much trouble you would be in if Celestia found out-?”

“She let me go…” That statement had both knights stare directly at Luna. “I… told her about me wanting to go with you… and she let me. She said that she trusts both of you in keeping me safe… and trusts me in knowing that I’m doing the right thing.”

That had Rain blink for a few minutes and had Shining take in a deep breath as he sighed deeply. “Alright… if Celestia herself said that, then who am I to not listen… Just make sure that you keep up though. It’ll still be some time before we reach the closest town and we don’t want to leave you behind.” That had Luna nod her head rather quickly before deciding to walk next to Rain… all while the knight did not even notice the small light blush that was on her face at the time.

It only took them a little while longer for the three of them to finally reach a town, but by the time they did, a sense of relief came over all three of them. For one thing, they had spent the last hour walking on their feet and aside from the brief moments where they didn’t had to fight off monsters or thieves, it finally felt good for them to be able to rest their legs. For the most part though, a lot of things here seemed rather… quiet in this town. In fact, there were only a few ponies out of their homes unlike that of a town like Ponyville.

“Shining, what was the name of this place again?” Rain asked as he finally had the chance to lean back against a wall while his companion looked at the map.

“Well… according to this… it says that the name of this town is called Hollow Shades,” The stallion read off the piece of paper as he looked back at Rain. “It’s the closest town to that of Fillydelphia and also a town that has a lot of history.”

The crimson knight himself raised an eyebrow for a moment as he looked around. But Luna, who was at his side at the time Shining said that, followed up by asking him a question. “W-what kind of history?”

“Well, over a thousand years ago, it was said that Starswirl the Bearded himself, along with five other heroes alongside him defeated and banished a group of sirens that were terrorizing the town. However, those were olden times… and nopony knows what happened to the Pillars of Equestria now,” Shining replied to her in response. Though… hearing the name ‘Starswirl’ made her shudder for a small moment as the unicorn took notice of that. “Are you alright Luna? Is something the matter?”

“N-no, It’s just…” Luna said, looking down for a moment as she looked back at Rain and Shining. “I f-felt like I heard that name somewhere before… B-but I don’t remember when…” That had Rain look to Shining for a moment, before he noticed some of the townsfolk looking in their direction. Which, prompted Shining to then say something else.

“I see… In any case though, I suggest that we should try to not bring as much attention to ourselves as possible. Who knows what someponies would do if they found out that we had Celestia’s sister with us.”

That had Rain look back to her, before saying something else in response. “Alright then… pick a name.”

“I’m sorry… what?” A baffled Shining Armor asked as he looked back at both of them.

“If saying Luna’s name in public may draw attention to ourselves, then maybe we could call her by a different name while we’re traveling and when we’re by ourselves, we’ll address her by her real name?” Rain suggested, before looking directly back at Luna herself. “If… that is okay with you, of course.”

“I-i… think it’s a good idea,” Luna mumbled, before looking up back at Rain as an idea came to her, “In fact, I think I might have a idea for one.”

“You do? That fast?” Rain asked, personally surprised by how quickly she thought of something as Luna took the chance to sit down on a wooden bench right next to where Rain was standing at.

“W-well I kind of look like a filly for my age… and my name is Luna… so how about Fina?” That, had both knights look at one another with a raised eyebrow, before Rain decided to speak.

“I… like that actually. What do you think, Shining?” The knight asked his comrade, wanting to hear his opinions on the matter.

“I don’t have any other suggestions to assist on the matter, but I have to agree with Rain.” Shining replied in response, before noticing a couple of townsfolk approaching the three of them.

“Well, this is a very rare sight indeed. It’s not often that we get visitors to our small little abode here,” The first one, a male pony with fur and a tail that resemble that of the night sky, a pair of bronze eyes and the wings of a bat as he looked to wear some traditional leather garments on his arms, legs and body. “Welcome to the town of Hollow Shades. We may not have much here, but I assure you that we can try to help you however we can-”

It was then though that the stallion’s companion, a mare who had features that were similar to that of the stallion next to her as well as the bat wings with the only acception being her mane was tied up in a ponytail, noticed the insignia that was pinned to that of Rain’s and Shining’s clothes and spoke up. “Wait just a moment Nightstar… I want to know more as to who they are and why a pair of knights just happened to show up in Canterlot. And for that matter, if they are with the guard, then why are you two on your own with this girl?”

That, had Shining and Rain look back at one another for a moment, surprised to hear that from this new pony they just met. But before they could say anything, the stallion spoke up as he looked back at her. “Stella, calm yourself. Despite their appearance, we should not judge them because of who they are.”

That had the mare snap back at the pony next to her as she took hold of what looked like a lance in her hands. “Are you out of your mind?! This is all too suspicious of them-!”

“Sister,” The stallion stated boldly, causing her to stop. “If they did mean any harm, then we would’ve smelled the stench of civilians on their clothes and equipment instead of monsters… however, that doesn’t prove to be the case. We should at least listen.” That had the pony growl in frustration before putting her weapon away. All before Nightstar looked back at the three that stood before them. “My apologies for the hostility. It wasn’t meant to be intentional.”

The one who spoke next though… was Luna as she stood next to Rain. “Um… S-sister?”

That had the batpony speak up as he looked towards Luna. “Both of us are twins. I’m Nightstar while this is my sister, Stella Star. Now, would you care to introduce yourselves?”

“Well, I’m Rain,” The Knight introduced himself as he looked back at the twins. “This is my friend Fina and Shining Armor.” That surprised both of them as they looked back to Shining Armor with a look of surprise on their face.

“Shining Armor… As in Shining Armor, son of Captain Night Light?” Nightstar then asked, looking back at him as the unicorn himself looked at the bat pony.

“Yes, that would be me…” He told them, before adding onto that statement. “Forgive me if I sound bold, but how do you know of my father and I?”

That had the stallion look to his sister before looking back at all three of them. “We once served as part of the night guard in Canterlot as well as protect the citizens of the city from any creatures that tried to infiltrate and pose a threat while most of the town slept. Our father was even part of it… but when he contracted a deadly poison from a fight with a chimera and it left him in no condition to fight, Night Light allowed for us to take leave and focus on making sure we could be here for him and protect our home.”

That… was a lot for both Rain and Shining to take in at the moment. But Luna took it upon herself to ask the next question. “Were you able to find a remedy for the poison?”

That had both of them shook their heads as they looked down with a deep sigh as Stella began to speak this time. “No. Even though we were able to flush the poison out, the acting agent is affecting his muscles, making him weaker by the day. We tried magic already, but it was not as successful as we hoped. One could say that it almost made things worse.” That had Rain and Shining gasp a bit… but Luna herself looked back at the bat pony for a moment, thinking of something before looking back to them and asking one simple request.

“Can you take me to him, please?”

Originally, both Stella and Nightstar were baffled by the request of a girl that they just so happened to meet only mere minutes ago. Despite everything that they just told her and the fact that all previous methods of trying to heal the wounds had failed, she seemed determined to not give up hope just yet and wanted to see him anyways.

So when she and her companions entered the room of the sick bat pony that was their father, Luna looked to Rain for a mere moment as he asked a question. “Are you sure that what you have in mind is going to work?”

All Luna could do was nod in response as Nightstar pulled back the covers around his father's right shoulder. The swelling from the bite looked very bad, painful to the point that it would be impossible for one to move their arm. But it didn’t make Luna look away though. Instead, she placed her hands on the outside of the wound as she muttered a single word.

“Poisona.”

The single word had magic immediately begin to form around Luna’s hands. Not magic that any unicorn could use, but the magic that Rain, Shining and Sunset were able to use on their own. It left the knight shocked to see her be able to perform an ability such as this one as the magic seeped into the swelling wounds and have it begin to die down. The redness and pain beginning to disappear as color began to return to his face.

All of this… left Rain rather surprised. “How… were you able to do that?”

“Sunset tried to teach me some magic b-before I left to join you two… what she was able to teach me was how to heal ponies of not just injuries, but also heal poison and disease.” She stuttered for a moment, looking back to both Stella and Nightstar after saying that to Rain. “I-i hope that I was able to do what I can so he could be able to not be in pain anymore.”

Both of them were going to say something to her in response, but it was then that they heard a slight groan from the stallion in the bed as they were able to see him open his eyes and stand himself upright. “W-what? W-w-what happened? I… don’t feel pain anymore…”

That moment… had Stella dismiss her serious tone from before as she rushed to the bedside, tears almost beginning to flow down her face from the joy she was feeling. “F-father!! You’re awake!” Nightstar also rushed over, just as shocked to see that his father was awake and not in pain. Something that had not been the case over the course of the last few weeks. “By the stars, we thought we weren’t going to see you again!”

Rain himself felt happy for them, but after a few moments, he heard Shining heading towards the door and excusing himself from the room. “I believe the two of you wish to have some privacy with your father-”

“No no, it’s fine…” He heard the bat pony that was in the bed straighten himself up and lay his back against the wooden bed rest along the wall. “I wish to thank you and your friend for being able to help me. Would you care to introduce yourselves?”

“Father, these are Rain, Shining Armor and… Fina, was it?” Nightstar asked, which resulted in a nod from Luna as he continued to speak. “Both Rain and Shining Armor are knights in the Canterlot Royal Guard.”

“I see…” He said in response, before looking back at Rain and the others. “Well, allow for me to introduce myself now… My name is Comet Star. I was a Commander for the Royal Guard’s NightWatch… now I honestly don’t know if I’m able to fight now because of how long I’ve been out of commission.”

“Don’t think like that,” they heard Luna tell him. “I-i’m sure you’ll be fine if you get enough rest.”

“That’s very kind of you…” Comet told her in response. “But I don’t want to get my hopes up… Tell me though. What brings the three of you to Hollow Shades? I would expect for knights such as yourself to stay in Canterlot.”

Rain sighed for a moment. When he heard that, he soon looked back at the three bat ponies as he began to speak. “Well… that’s the thing… Several hours ago, Canterlot was attacked.”

That had shock appear on all three bat ponies as they all had questions for them. “W-what happened!?”

“Was anypony hurt?”

“Who would dare attack Canterlot!?”

That had Rain sigh for a moment, but before he could say anything, that was when Shining Armor decided to step in. “Nopony was hurt, but sections of the city are being rebuilt since the enemy was able to command monsters to attack the city. As for the attackers, they were a group of six who were outfitted with dark armor and called themselves the ‘Sworn Six of Paladia’.”

Rain soon picked up from where Shining left off as he nodded his head. “We are not clear about what their intentions are, but it seems as if they want to bring harm to more than just Equestria. We were on our way to Fillydelphia because we needed a ship that could take us to Griffonstone, where we believe these attackers would strike next.”

That was a lot for the three bat ponies in order to process. But after a bit, Comet soon had to say something. “I see… That is indeed a lot to take in… If I may though, I would like to ask another question on a different matter.”

“Sure, what is it that you want to ask?” Rain spoke, but soon noticing that the question was for someone else as Comet was now looking in Luna’s direction.

“Forgive me, but this question isn’t intended for you, but for the lady…” Comet said, looking to Luna now. “I’m a little curious as to how you were able to heal my wounds. We’ve had healers try to use curatives and spells before, but compared to you, they did not do much good.”

“W-well…” Luna replied, before looking back at Rain, who decided to pick things up from there and help her out.

“Her magic, along with ours, is not like most forms of sorcery that you would see nowadays. In a sense, it would be seen as ancient magic,” He explained to them. “Spells from the time of heroes such as Starswirl and Clover the Clever.” The bat pony himself chuckled for a moment, smiling as he looked back at them.

“Well, I am indeed grateful for your help in cleansing the venom that was inside me. But I may need some more time before I am back at full strength…” Comet told them. “But on a different subject, you said that you were going to Fillydelphia, correct?”

Rain, Shining and Luna all nodded their heads in response, which soon had the bat pony himself say something else. “Well, the only way to the city is through the forest that’s to the east of town… However though, it’s said that there’s a creature that lurks in the forest. Some would even think that it’s haunted.”

That… had Luna shiver for a moment. “H-haunted?” It also had Rain and Shining also seem a bit confused as they looked back to Comet and his children.

“What would lead someponies to think that the forest is haunted? Doesn’t the train go through there to Fillydelphia?”

“No, the train goes along the outside edge of it,” Stella clarified for them. “As for the forest itself, anypony who has tried to go through it has heard voices that told them that they were trespassing sacred ground. The sound of it alone makes most ponies run, but nopony has ever seen who lives inside there.”

That… only had Rain say something that everypony in the entire room… wasn’t entirely expecting as he took a deep breath. “Well… I guess we’re going to be the first then.”

“Rain, is this really the best course of action for us to be taking?” Shining Armor asked his friend as he, Rain and Luna entered the forest.

“Shining, this is the only other possible path that would allow for us to reach Fillydelphia,” Rain told the unicorn as Luna stood by his side. “Besides, if this place is supposedly ‘haunted’, then it would mean that we would not have to worry about being attacked by thieves or bandits.”

“That may be true, but we honestly don’t know what could be lurking in there.” The unicorn countered in response, which soon lead to his friend asking one particular question.

“Shining, are you seriously trying to back out now? You’re not scared now, are you?”

That had the unicorn blink for a moment, before shaking his head. “Of course not! I’m just recalling from when we were originally in the Everfree Forest the other day. We should at least be a bit careful.” Rain understood what Shining was talking about, but seriously began to doubt that his friend wasn’t afraid.

But as they traveled through the forest, they began to notice that everything around them was rather… peaceful. Not at all like the ‘haunted’ persona that it was given. But soon, the three of them began to hear a voice that didn’t sound like anything else they heard before. “W-who goes there!? Why are you impertinate… Imperinent… Imperpinent… Rrgh! How many times do I have to say that word until I get it right!?! It’s so ANNOYING!!”

That… had Rain and his companions look to one another as the knight soon asked something. “What… was that supposed to be?”

“I-is it some kind of ghost?” Luna asked, shivering a little at the thought of it.

“Doesn’t… seem like it,” Shining replied. “Still, it is possible. But ghosts don’t normally act like an entitled foal who sounds like they’re mad at their parents, so let’s see it as a working theory.”

That though… got a entirely different reaction from the ‘ghost’ in question. “Whaaaat!?! Who do you people think you are?!! Walking brazenly into my grove!! Look, if you jerks have no business with me, just do me a favor and get lost!!!”

All that did though… was make Rain smirk. “So you’re saying you want for us to get lost in your forest and never leave? If that’s the case, thank you for welcoming us.”

“Yay!! I want to meet this ghost so we can make treehouses and live here forever!” That… just lead to Shining Armor facepalming himself, questioning what he was seeing as he looked back at them.

“Why are you two acting like this?”

“Didn’t one of Twilight’s friends say that you needed to ‘giggle at the ghosties’?” Rain chuckled, recalling Pinkie Pie mentioning that when they were all coming back from the Everfree Shrine after the Nightmare Moon incident.

“I’m NOT a ghost, darn it!! Why do all of you people keep assuming I am one!?!” The voice snapped, sounding irritated with the three of them.

“If you’re not a ghost, then what are you supposed to be, Mr. Voice?” Luna asked curiously. Which, made the voice groan a bit at first… before saying something else in a more calm demeanor.

“If it’s answers you seek from me, search the grove.” After that, Rain looked back at the others as he then thought of something.

“Hey… do you think it’s possible that this person might know something about the Veritas? I mean, if they’re going to Griffonstone and don’t have a ship, then they must’ve passed through here right?” The Knight’s theory lead to Shining Armor and Luna looking back at one another for a moment, before the unicorn then responded to him.

“It’s… possible,” The unicorn admitted. “Though, we need to find this… person first before asking them anything.” The likelihood was that the voice that had been talking to them for the past few moments was somewhere deeper in the forest, meaning that they had to wander off the main path in order to seek them out. After a while though, Rain and Shining were looking all around in the treetops and the ground to be aware of their surroundings. Though… Luna herself decided to not look at what was above them… and more at what was in the distance as she spotted a glowing light that resembled that of a ruby.

“Hey… Look over there.” She pointed out to the two knights she was traveling with as they all carefully approached it.

“Do you think that’s… the voice we’ve been hearing?” Rain asked Luna and Shining. “Maybe some kind of spell?”

“If it were a spell, we could feel the magic from the pony who would be casting it.” The unicorn reminded him. “However, I’m not feeling anything of that nature at all. One could think that it may be a campfire, but I don’t hear flames either… the only thing I do feel though is a presence.”

That had Rain raise an eyebrow for a moment. “A presence? What do you mean by that exactly?”

“By presence I mean a presence of a being with great power. Like if you stood before Princess Celestia, but this is much different. For one thing, it’s much… smaller.” That had Shining notice something once he turned back to face Rain. “Rain… Where’s Luna?”

That made the knight blink as he turned around to notice that she wasn’t by his side anymore. “What the-? I swear, she was here just a moment ago!”

“Just great… A couple of hours in and we manage to not only lose our sense of direction in this place, but we managed to lose Celestia’s sister too?!” Shining stated in disbelief as he facepalmed himself. “By the stars, how are we going to explain this too-” The unicorn’s train of thought though was interrupted when both of them heard the sound of giggling nearby. Only for both of them to see Luna snuggling with what looked like a jade colored rabbit with the poofy tail of a fox and a ruby on it’s forehead. They were in the middle of what looked like a stone platform that had three pillars. One at the top and two at the bottom corners at each side and each one with what looked like a green marble with a burning flame inside.

“Guys, look at him! He’s so CUTE!! Can we keep him? Can we!?” Luna asked. Only for all three of them to get caught off guard by what they heard next.

“Hey!! Get your hands off of me!! I am not some kind of pet, lady-! AAGH!!!” That had Rain blink a couple of times before he looked back at Shining Armor.

“Did that… rabbit just talk?”

However, the creature himself didn’t quite like how he was being referred to as he now snapped at the knight before Luna found a new way to pet him. “Shut your mouth! Y-you’re talking to the mighty esper Carbuncle-! Agh, not the ears!! Not the ears!!!”

“Aww, this little guy is just too adorable!!” Luna teased, rubbing his ears some more.

“AGH!! Why does your demonic hands feel so good!?! STOP!!” The esper squirmed again. During this though, it was when Rain noticed that the gem on the creature’s forehead was beginning to grow brighter. But before he could say anything, he was knocked back a couple of feet as he tumbled onto the ground. To which, made Carbuncle panic. “Ah! I’m sorry!! I’m sorry!! I’m sorry!! I didn’t mean for that to happen!!”

“Luna, I think you should let him go…” Shining instructed her as he rushed to help Rain get up. “Are you alright, Rain?”

“Yeah… just a bit caught off guard. That’s all…” Rain said, before returning his gaze to the one that called himself Carbuncle as he now approached the esper. “I think that we all have some questions to ask our friend here… Like what are you doing all the way out here in the forest?”

“T-this place is my home! Why else would you ask something like that?” Carbuncle questioned them.

“Well… we were told by the ponies in the nearby village that this place was… well… haunted.” Rain replied. “That anypony that passed through here heard voices… was that you?”

“I-i…… I just wanted to make friends! I’ve tried t-traveling outside to the village, but the ponies there think I’m a monster,” The esper told them, sounding rather down and upset while doing so. “I… wanted to see what things were like outside the grove. But with me being an esper and all…”

“Pardon me for interrupting,” Shining interjected as he looked back at the small being. “But I’ve heard you say the word ‘Esper’ more than once now. What exactly is an esper?” That… actually caught Carbuncle by surprise as he looked at all three of them with the same amount of confusion.

“Seriously? None of you know what an esper is?” He asked, which caused Rain, Shining and Luna to all shake their heads. “That… is a new one. Even for me.”

“What is an Esper then?” Luna asked.

“Well even though the name changes, depending on the species and what now, Espers are the equivalent that some may see as demi-gods or divine beings,” Carbuncle replied in response to Luna’s question. “Some of us are either sealed away because their power was seen as too great for someone to behold or they don’t make their presence known unless they feel someone enter their domain.”

That had Shining Armor speak in response now as he folded his arms. “I get it… you make your presence known to us and the ponies that come here because all of the forest here is your home.”

“That’s right…” Carbuncle replied. “However, many of these beings themselves are much… much older than I am. Heck, some of them have been around before the time of your princess… Celestia I think her name was.” That surprised Rain for sure. To think that there were these powerful beings around before her time? That seemed almost unheard of from what he learned. “I’m the youngest of the espers and I don’t really… well… have as much experience as some others.”

“Alright… what about that blast from your jewel earlier?” Rain then asked him. “What was that all about?”

“Well, that is a particular power that I possess. Ruby Light,” He said, before his gem glowed again and had him cloaked in a mystical veil. “Try using your magic against it.” Before Rain could say anything about it, Shining followed through on it and began to cast a low level ‘blizzard’ spell. However, as he sent the ice shard at Carbuncle, the veil that was around him deflected the spell.

Which ended up hitting Rain in the face. “Ah ha ha ha!! Oh gods, the look on your face! T-that’s just-! Ah ha ha!!”

“Yeah yeah… very funny…” Rain grumbled back. “So your power is that you can be able to deflect spells?”

“I also know abilities to resist elemental magic…” Carbuncle added on. “But I can only do that once you pass my trial.”

Hearing that had Rain, Shining and Luna all collectively look at one another for a moment, before Luna asked a question. “T-trial?”

“You don’t think Espers just stand around for people to stare at now, do you?” Carbuncle asked them. “Espers can be able to lend their strength and power to those who complete a trial. After that, the more times you use that power, the more it grows. Much like a muscle in your body.”

“So… if we wanted for you to come with us… what kind of trial would we need to do?” Rain then asked the esper. The Esper paused for a moment… looking like he was deep in thought for a moment as he turned to them.

“Well… despite my power, I’m not much of a fighter… and unlike all the other ponies who ran away when they heard me, you guys seeked me out…” Carbuncle asked, before coming up with something on the spot. “How about this… you tell me the reason for deciding to come this way… and maybe, just maybe, I’ll join you guys.”

So, Rain decided to take a deep breath and start from the beginning. Explaining about how Shining and him went to the Everfree Shrine and because of them failing to stop Veritas of the Dark, he was able to destroy the earth crystal. From there, he had also covered how Shining and him got the power of visions, fighting off Nightmare Moon, the return to Canterlot and also about Luna. It took a while for them to finish, but by the time that Rain was done, the esper had an answer for him.

“A-after hearing all of that… I really want to help you g-guys,” He said, before looking back at Luna. “J-just please… If you want to snuggle me like that, p-please warn me in advance? Y-you remind me of an old friend who would do the exact same thing long ago.”

“Oh?” Luna asked, “Who was your friend?”

“Why, it was Mistmane. One of the old ‘Pillars of Equestria’.” Carbuncle replied, before looking down on himself. “She… stayed with me here in the grove and was my only friend. But one day… out of nowhere, she was gone. Ever since then, I’ve been alone… until I found you guys.”

“Aww, that’s just so sad…” Luna said, before pulling Carbuncle into a hug again in order to try and make the Esper feel better.

“Uh… w-what are you doing?” The esper questioned.

“C-comforting you?”

That had Carbuncle sigh as he said something else to Luna. “W-well, your heart is in the right place… but your hands and arms are not…” Once the Alicorn let go, he then looked towards Rain as he began to speak again. “In any case though, I should give you these.”

That was when Rain felt something appear in his pocket from out of nowhere, before pulling out what looked like a replica of the spheres that were on each of the pillars. “What are these?”

“Those are evocation marbles. When in battle, those can gain a special energy that you get when you fight and when it’s full and bright, you can call upon the esper you want to summon in battle by name,” Carbuncle replied as Rain placed the gem back in his pocket. “It works on all Espers once you get more of them to lend their strength… And guys.”

“Yes Carbuncle?” Luna then asked in response.

“Thank you for letting me come with you guys. This is going to be so much fun!!” With that, the body of Carbuncle soon began to glow, before the esper disappeared and the spheres on the pillars lost their color. Looking to his companions, Rain smiled as they began to make their way out of the forest and onto Fillydelphia.

It felt good to have some new friends join them on their journey.

Author's Note

New chapter, new friends and a new companion. And with it, Rain and his companions set off on their journey. Keep in mind, I'm trying to keep the same kind of personality to Carbuncle as demonstrated in Brave Exvius, but while also showing that he has a weakness for people cuddling him. :rainbowlaugh:

New Party Member acquired- Luna

Job: White Magus/Princess
Role: Healing/Support
Rarity: 2*~6*
Origin: Exvius Rainfall
Gender: Female
Race: Alicorn
Trust Mastery: N/A (Story Character)

The Esper Carbuncle has joined your team!

Evocation- Ruby Light: Covers your team in a mystical veil of magic created from the gem on Carbuncle's forehead, protecting your team against magic and reflecting any spells back at your opponent for two turns.

As always, thank you for the support. I'm glad you guys like the story so far and I hope to see you next time!
-Frost

1.3- A Slight Detour

By the time that Rain, Shining Armor and Luna had reached the city of Fillydelphia, the entire town was bustling with activity. Most of the town consisted of a huge marketplace, where tradesponies sold goods from all corners of the world. Including materials, curatives, weapons, armor and many other items that really made the young alicorn gasp in shock and awe at some of the items that these traders have. Currently, Rain and Luna were browsing through the markets to pass the time while Shining Armor was taking the chance to talk to the dockmaster about securing a ship to Griffonstone. Both of them were having a fun time, even though they did not have the bits to buy some of the items at the market.

Surprisingly though, as they were coming back from the marketplace, both of them happened to notice a rather strange sight. A small yellow flightless bird that appeared to be lost as it chirped at Luna’s hooves. Which, in turn, had her giggle a little bit because this was something that neither of them expected. That was, until they noticed a young earth pony colt that looked like a farmhand walk over to them.

“There you are, you little rascal,” The colt replied as he picked up the small bird. “Sorry about that. Been trying to find this little one all day after he escaped the coop.”

“That little chicken’s really cute.” Luna told the colt in response. But what he told both of them in turn was something they honestly did not expect to hear.

“Oh this isn’t a chicken. It’s a baby Chocobo.” He told them both, which… had her puzzled.

“Chocobo?”

“I’ve heard of them before… but I have not had the chance to see one in person honestly,” Rain then spoke up as he looked at the colt. “Are you a chocobo farmer? You seem rather young to be taking care of them by yourself.”

“Oh, my whole family raises Chocobo’s. It’s how we make our living,” The colt replied as he began to turn around and head towards the far end of town. “Thanks for helping me find him!!” As he left, both of them followed the colt for a moment before they saw where he was going. At the far end of the town was what looked like a chocobo stable. Where some of the fully grown ones were rather massive and big in size compared to the small chick that bumped into Luna a few moments ago.

“Rain… How do Chocobo’s help ponies?” Luna asked, a little confused as to why a few of the large birds had a few saddles on them.

“Well, some ponies rely on them for traveling from place to place while other ponies use chocobos to help carry and pull things like merchant carts and carriages. Some ponies may even ride into battle on the back of a chocobo if they have a strong bond with it,” The knight told her for a moment. “Again, that’s a few of the things I’ve heard about them. I haven’t actually had the chance to interact with one face to face. Especially a full grown one.”

Luna herself was surprised to hear about that. But then she began to wonder something as they began to pass by the coop for the avians they were talking about. “H-how come they don’t have something like that in other towns? Like Canterlot?”

“Well, mainly it’s because Chocobo’s need open space in order to graze and run around. That colt said that he and his family raise chocobos, so it’s likely that they own a chocobo farm,” Rain guessed. “However, I’m not an expert on the subject. I only know a little bit. When Shining and I were kids and we were being taught how to control our magic, we saw a chocobo rider passing through Canterlot and that’s when we were told about it.”

“Was my sister your teacher?” Luna then asked out of curiosity, wanting to hear more.

“Well, she did teach us from time to time… though primarily, we had two different instructors,” The knight explained to her as they took a moment to sit down at a nearby bench. “When it came to magic, our teacher was a Grand Magus named Stardust Glimmer. She was the one that taught Sunset, Shining and myself how to control our kind of magic since it was different from that of most ponies. When it came to combat training and learning how to become a knight, that was when we were taught by somepony else.”

That had Luna raise an eyebrow for a moment, seeming confused as to who he could possibly be referring to. “Oh? Who was that?”

“Her name is Loren. She’s one of the strongest and most experienced knights on the Guard other than that of Shining’s father, Night Light,” Rain told her in response. “She was famously known as the ‘Twin Blade General’, but after her retirement, she now helps with training the knights who would become her successors… Though, Swallowtail and a few others would say that her tactics make her seem more like a ‘demon teacher’ than anything else given how drastic some of her tests are.”

“Um… s-should I ask… what did she d-do?”

“Well, for a test in order to see if we had the qualities to become members of the royal guard, we had to travel with her through a volcanic ravine.” Rain sighed, before looking back down at his feet. “While we were trying to catch our breath, she remain unfazed by the scorching heat the whole time.” That… caught Luna by surprise. Especially because she didn’t originally think that Rain and Shining had to go through trials that were so severe. Even though he was treating it like it was no big deal. “We got through it though, because we weren’t going to let that kind of heat and anything that blocks our path slow any of us down.”

“Wow… I had no idea you h-had to go through something like that.” She replied in response.

“Well, what Loren taught us from the beginning is that you need to do more than just say what you want to do through your words, but prove yourself through your actions,” The knight explained to her as he looked up from the ground and back at Luna. “Our teacher told us that our actions speak louder than words because our actions truly show to other ponies our character. If you run in the face of danger, they will see you as a scaredy cat and a coward rather than a knight who would do anything to protect others from danger… Does that make sense?”

It took a few moments in order to process that, before she turned back to him and nodded her head firmly. “Yeah… I guess it does… When do you think Shining would come back?”

“Well, normally it takes a bit in order to talk to the pony in charge of the docks given how this is one of Equestria’s most busiest ports… So I honestly thought that he would be back sooner,” He told her, just as soon as he happened to notice the same unicorn he was talking about walking towards them. “Oh look, there he is now.”

Both of them soon got up from the bench that they were on in order to go meet up with their friend. However, Shining didn’t really have any good news for the two of them. “Okay… So I just had a talk with the Dockmaster… and unfortunately, things aren’t looking so good right now at the docks. There’s no possible way for us to travel to Griffonstone from here.”

That… caught Rain off guard. Big time. “What? How is something like that even possible!? Almost any trading ship from Griffonstone comes through here.”

“Even though that is true, the reason why we can’t travel isn’t because of the transportation, but because of the conditions,” Shining pointed out, getting out the map they had and showing them the Celestial Sea that ran along Equestria’s eastern seaboard. “If we were to take a direct route to Griffonstone, the dockmaster told me that we would get caught up in a hurricane that’s raging right now in the middle of the ocean.”

“So… What exactly are we going to do now?” Luna asked, sounding worried.

“Well… There is an alternative route that he did tell me since I told him how much of a hurry we were in,” The unicorn then explained as he pointed to where Fillydelphia was on the map and moved it up towards the city that was to the north of it. Manehattan. “If we go north to Manehattan, then we can take a transport from there to the Griffish Isles in between Equestria and Griffonstone, make our way to the other side of the isles and then cross over to Griffonstone that way. It might take some more time, but it’s our only option at this point in time.”

Shining had a valid point. This was the only other option that they had if they wanted to be able to reach Griffonstone as soon as they can. But it was Luna who was the next to say something. “H-how much longer do you think it might take?”

“It’s possible that it could take a couple more days… but to be fair, traveling by sea would’ve been just as long too. Nothing nowadays is instantaneous,” Shining replied back before putting the map away. “Besides, it’s very likely that we will need a place to stay at and rest before we continue onward.”

“Well, where do you think we should-” As Rain turned around, that’s when he noticed the owner of a nearby inn hang up a sign that said ‘No Vacancy’. Just as he finished his sentence. “-Stay…?”

“The pony at the docks also mentioned that the crews from the ships that recently came in would fill up the inn…” Shining then followed up as his friend looked back at him.

“So what other options do we have for staying someplace?” Rain then asked as he folded his arms for a moment. “Are there any towns or something not far from where Manehattan is? If so, we can stay there and then go to Manehattan and set off in the morning.”

“That seems to be the only option that we have right now… if there is a town that is.” Shining reminded him as he stretched his arms and Rain unfolded his. Luna though, had a different thought on her mind as she looked back at the unicorn of the group.

“M-may I see the map?” She asked Shining, who only nodded as he handed her the map to let her look at it for herself. As she looked at it though, that when something soon caught her attention. “Hey… what about this place?” That… had both Rain and Shining come close to her in order to see what she was talking about while looking at the map. Not far from where Manehattan was, there seemed to be a small village or town that didn’t look to be too far from where they were.

The only thing though… is that neither of them have ever heard of it before. “Cèanna? What the heck? Shining, have you heard of that place before?”

“It’s the first time I’ve heard of it too, Rain.” The Unicorn told him as he looked back at the map and also where Luna was pointing at. “Yet, it’s on the way to Manehattan. If anything, we might be able to reach that town faster than trying to get to Manehattan directly. It does look like that town is located to the west of Manehattan in Coltland County. We can probably get there just before nightfall.”

“Can’t we just… um…” Luna said as Rain noticed her looking back at the chocobo stable for a moment before she finished her statement. “… Go by Chocobo?”

“Even though that would be helpful, you can’t just borrow a chocobo and then return it afterwards,” The knight in red told the alicorn in response. “Having a Chocobo is like having a pet. You need to look out after it, take care of it, feed it and so on. And right now, I don’t think we have the means or the bits to do that… Besides, in all fairness, I think we already have a fluffy companion already.”

“I heard that…” All three of them heard the voice of Carbuncle echo for a moment, almost startling them. Much to the Esper’s own surprise. “What? Just because I’m not with you physically doesn’t mean that I can’t communicate to you in over ways you know…”

That had Rain sigh for a moment, before looking back at Shining Armor and Luna. “Noted… Shining, how are we on supplies?”

“Well, the inventory that we have on curatives and materials currently remains unchanged,” The Unicorn replied back, looking back at Luna for a moment before mentioning something else. “As for food and water, we may need something to tide ourselves over while on the way over to town. Not a full meal, but something to provide us the energy to reach Cèanna-”

“Excuse me…” The three of them heard as they turned around to see what looked like a pink unicorn mare with a curly purple mane that ran down her back as she stood next to a unicorn stallion with a white mane and his fur color looking like that of a navy shade. “But both of us just happened to hear about you wanting to travel to our hometown… if you like, we can have you travel with us in our wagon.”

“Um… That would be very generous of you,” Rain stated, before asking a certain question. “But who would you two happen to be?”

“Oh, my apologies… My name is Sugar Belle. This is my friend and neighbor Party Favor,” The mare introduced both herself and the stallion. “We were in town buying some ingredients for my bakery and we just heard you talking amongst yourselves. Since you are heading towards our hometown and we were going back to it, perhaps we can help assist you.”

“That’s mighty generous of you,” Shining spoke up, before asking a question that he had. “But are you sure that your means of transportation can provide travel for us? I might just be assuming, but I’m lead to believe that your wagon can only carry so much.”

“It’s fine actually,” Party Favor then spoke up. “We were only here to acquire just a few things, so we still have room for you and your equipment,” At the last part, it appeared that the Unicorn was referring to both Rain’s Greatsword and Shining’s blade as they looked back to him. “Do you need some time to talk about it amongst yourselves for a moment?”

However, the answer that the unicorn got in response came a lot quicker than he originally anticipated. “Actually, I think we’ll take you up on your offer.”

Some time had originally passed since they had left from Baltimare inside that of the Chocobo drawn wagon that was owned by that of Party Favor and Sugar Belle as the stallion was in control of the reins of their cart. Leaving the mare to talk with that of the travelers that were with them in the present moment. “So… since we had already introduced ourselves to you in town, would you care to tell us your names as well?”

“Well, my name is Shining Armor,” The unicorn replied in response before pointing to that of his companions. “These are my companions, Rain and Fina.”

“And where are the three of you traveling from?” Sugar Belle asked in response. “You look like you happen to have traveled a long ways already before even reaching Baltimare.” That… put both Rain and Shining in a rather odd and slightly uncomfortable position. Mostly because of the fact that unlike with Nightstar, Stella Star and their father in Hollow Shades, Sugar Belle and Party Favor were just regular civilians. If they openly told them about Canterlot being under attack, it could cause an unnecessary panic.

“Well… We were traveling from Canterlot and we were going to go on a ship in Baltimare that was going to take us to Griffonstone,” Rain explained to them. “Unfortunately, since they have a really bad storm at sea, we have to take the route that’s from Manehattan-.”

“Um… wouldn’t that lead you to still run into the storm's path if your going from Manehattan directly there?” Sugar Belle asked, sounding a little concerned.

“We’re trying to avoid the storm entirely by taking the long way around,” Shining Armor replied as he got out the map they had and pointed directly at their planned route. “By going to Manehattan, we can travel to the Griffish Isles and then enter Griffonstone through the north. Avoiding the storm that farther down the coast.”

“Oh I get it now,” The mare replied, sounding a little bit relieved for the time being before asking a different question. “Um… can I ask you something else? I rather not sound like I’m overstepping my boundaries, but I’m just a bit curious about why the two of you have weapons. Are you sellswords by chance?”

“Uh… Sellwhat?” Rain asked, sounding a bit confused. Though, it was then that they hear Party Favor speak up as he slowed down the wagon for a moment.

“Sellswords is another way to say mercenary. Ponies who sell their skills and services to those who can afford their protection,” Party Favor explained to them. “I believe Sugar is asking you about this because she wasn’t sure if you were members of the Royal Guard or not given your appearance and how you have your weapons holstered.”

“Well actually…” Rain replied back. “Shining and I are knights from the Royal Guard in Canterlot.”

That seemed to catch Sugar Belles attention rather quickly as she looked back at both of the two knights. “Really? I would’ve thought that the two of you would more likely wear something a bit more… sturdy than the attire you currently have.”

In was in that moment that Shining Armor decided to take a turn to speak as he cleared his throat for a moment and looked back at Sugar Belle. “If you mean the sets of armor that the guards normally wear, it depends on your rank. If you’re on patrol in Canterlot as a standard guard or just a regular recruit, then the armor is mandatory. However, if you are a knight like Rain and I are or any other higher rank, then you are allowed to wear more casual pieces of attire that have armor enchantment magic weaved into the clothes. So it provides you the ability to move around more freely while also providing just as much protection as a suit of armor that covers from head to hoof. I believe the same goes for Fina as well given that the pony that picked out those clothes for her knows the same kind of magic that’s used on our clothes too.”

“Well, that’s the first time I have ever heard of that before… Then again, we don’t have a lot of visitors around town, so we happen to learn something new every time we go out of town.” The mare replied back in response to Shining. “You see, Cèanna is a rather small community and we don’t normally have travelers visit. Then again, we don’t usually go outside of town unless it’s something important. Like buying food and ingredients I would need for my bakery.”

“Should somepony at least have a farm or something in order to grow crops?” Rain asked.

“Well, the town’s in a remote part of the region and with it being close to the mountains, it’s not really seen as suitable for farmland this time of year,” Sugar replied once again. “Then again, the town is managing. But now that we have a new mayor in charge of the town, she said that she has a plan to turn things around for us.” That, had Rain, Shining and Luna look at one another for a moment, before Luna was the next pony to speak.

“Um… W-who is your town’s mayor?” She stuttered for a moment, before adding on something else. “Just out of c-curiosity.”

“Why ask?” Party Favor then spoke up as everypony looked back in the direction of the stallion that was holding the reins. “We’re almost at Cèanna right now, so you’ll probably be seeing her soon.” By the time that their transport had finally stopped moving, Rain and his companions can get a clear look at the town that they were approaching. However, as they got closer, it was then that they began to notice how… strange it looked by appearance.

Unlike someplace like Ponyville, where the town was big and had a lot of homes in a circular formation, Cèanna looked to be a set of homes that were in two straight lines and a building in the back. Almost like that of an equal sign. Which was rather… odd to be precise. There wasn’t even any fencing around the place to indicate it’s borders or any farms to grow food. Every building looked almost or exactly similar to one another, even as the sun was beginning to come down.

The ponies themselves, didn’t really look all too different though. Many of them wore casual clothes as they walked around the village. However, none of them at all appeared threatening in a sense and there weren’t any particular ponies that were serving as a small neighborhood watch in order to look out for each other. However, there were a pair of ponies that did stand out from the crowd and that were right now walking over to where Party Favor and Sugar Belle were standing. One being a snow colored earth pony stallion while the other one was a pegasus who’s fur looked as dark as the night sky.

“Welcome back, Sugar Belle-?” The mare said, before looking to notice Rain, Shining and Luna. “Sugar, who are they?”

“Night Glider, these three are some travelers that we ran into in Baltimare. They were planning to stay the night here as part of their trip to Baltimare,” Sugar assured the pegasus. “They don’t mean any harm at all.”

“Then why are they carrying weapons with them?” The stallion next to the pegasus asked. However, this was followed by both of them see Luna help Sugar Belle unload what was in the wagon and carry it towards the building they were standing in front of. Unfortunately, she couldn’t get in because the same stallion was blocking the entryway.

“Double, if you give us a moment in order to unpack what we got in the cart and bring it inside, then perhaps we can answer both of your questions,” the unicorn told them. “Besides, why would assume that both of them are bad people just because they have a sword?”

The stallion that they saw as ‘Double’ for the moment, tried to come up with a reason for it. But when he watched Rain offering to pitch in and help Party Favor with the cart as Sugar Belle and Luna brought everything inside. It took a few moments in order for everything to settle down, but by the time that Sugar Belle had already told them what Rain and Shining said to her on the trip over, some things began to make sense to them.

And when Double decided to speak up. “Okay… I apologize for assuming a bit about you three before Sugar got the chance to tell us everything. We don’t normally get a lot of outsiders and some of the ponies here are still a little hesitant about them.”

“It’s alright… mister…” Luna replied back, unsure about what his name was.

“Double Diamond,” He then said. “Some ponies during my colthood used to call me ‘Double D’, but I wasn’t really a fan of it.”

“Why, because it’s excessive?”

“More likely because it’s annoying. I’m fine with being called Double, but not that.” Double Diamond explained briefly before outside for a moment. “So, I know that you plan to stay the night… but do you have any living arrangements?”

“I have a guest room that they can stay in,” Sugar Belle replied back. “It’s small, but I think it could do the trick. After all, it’s just one night.”

“True, but what do you think about Starlight? She’s bound to run into them sooner or later.” Night Glider added.

That had Rain look back at the pegasus a bit puzzled. “I’m sorry, but who is this ‘Starlight’ you are talking about?”

“That’s of the name of the town’s mayor,” Party Favor clarified for them. “Starlight Glimmer.” Hearing the last name of the pony that Party Favor just mentioned though caught both Rain and Shining off guard. Especially since the only pony who happened to share that similar last name was none other than their teacher in Canterlot.

“Hold on… Glimmer?” Rain then asked. “I only know of one other pony with that name and she’s in Canterlot right now.”

“You do?” Sugar Belle asked.

“Yeah, she was our teacher on magic,” Shining Armor added onto that. “Archmage Stardust Glimmer… Perhaps a sibling maybe?”

“Not likely, Starlight said she was the only child in her family… and the one who felt abandoned by her parents before somepony else took her into their family.” Night Glider then added onto that. “It’s… a subject she doesn’t really like to talk about. Even though she has told us that what happened back then drives her to do what she plans for Cèanna now.”

That comment from Night Glider kind of confused both of the knights… and lead to Luna asking a follow up question shortly afterwards. “What does she have planned for the town?”

“Well, based on what she has told us, Starlight wants our town to be one where everypony is seen as equal and also treated equally. Nopony will be see as superior or better than somepony else,” Sugar Belle added. “Some of the townsfolks have already gotten on board with the whole premise and are supporting Starlight… However, there are a few ponies like us who aren’t exactly all for it because of some things we’ve heard-.”

It was around then that they all heard a knock on the door, which prompted Sugar Belle to walk over to the door and open it. “Oh! Hello Starlight. I-i didn’t know you were here.”

“Good evening, Sugar Belle.” They heard a new voice from outside as the sun began to set in the distance and Double Diamond was beginning to get out some candles. “I was just coming over to see how your trip to Baltimare went and one of my neighbors told me that you had some guests with you from outside the village…”

“W-well, Party and I overheard that they were coming here to stay for the night, so we thought we could help them out… Do you want to come inside?” She asked. The Unicorn herself nodded her head, but as the two of them were walking back into what was the main room of Sugar Belle’s cafe, both of them witnessed Rain helping out with the candles by lighting them with his fire magic.

“There we go… One for the table, two for the windows and one for the hallway-” Just as he placed the last candlestick in the holster and set it down was when he looked towards where Sugar Belle came in at… along with the pony next to her. “Oh hello. Am I interrupting anything?”

“Um… I don’t… think so,” Sugar Belle said. “We were interrupting something, Starlight?”

“Not really… but I must say, that is some interesting magic that you happen to have.” Starlight replied back. “Am I to assume you’re one of the ‘travelers’ that’s going to stay the evening?”

“Why yes,” The Knight replied back. “I’m Rain. These are my friends, Shining Armor and Fina.”

“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet all of you.” Starlight replied back, “I know that you must be busy for wanting to leave our little town so quickly… but perhaps after you’re done, maybe you can come back and stay a bit longer? I really do want to know more about the magic you just used.”

“W-well… It’s kind of rare… and by rare, I mean only few ponies can use it,” Rain scratched the back of his head for a moment as he looked back at her. “Heck, there was only one teacher in Canterlot that was able to teach Shining and I how to use ours properly.”

“Oh really now?” She replied, sounding rather surprised to hear that. “And who would that pony be?”

“Well, the Archmage of Canterlot,” Rain said to her. “Stardust Glimmer.”

However… that made the pony he was talking to tense up and twitch on the inside, before she prompted to excuse herself and leave the room in a rather awful hurry. However, the way that all of this happened not only surprised Rain, but also everypony else in the room. And all Rain did was just answer her question. “Uhh… was it something I said?”

“That is… honestly the first time I had seen her do that,” Night Glider replied back, “And normally, she’s rather calm and collective around town.”

“Yeah, she wouldn’t normally run off like that just moments after coming through the door.” Double Diamond added. “Do you think this whole plan she has for the town is getting to her head? Especially with what’s been said about her…”

When the stallion said that, it was the moment that Shining Armor decided to follow up on that with a question of his own. “Um… I don’t mean to sound rude, but could you please explain what you mean by that?”

Sugar Belle looked towards the other ponies that she saw as her neighbors and friends for a moment, before looking back at them and said one thing. “Perhaps this is a conversation best discussed over dinner. If you can help us set up, we’ll tell you what we mean.”

By the time that dinner was over, there was a lot of information that was shared about the rumor circulating around Starlight Glimmer. It involved her ‘plan’ on trying to have everypony in the town be treated equally and that the way she would do that was by doing something that neither Rain nor Shining Armor thought was possible.

That being giving up their cutie marks. Something that would be seen as rather personal to most of Ponykind because it defines what your talents were and also could define your destiny. It’s not something that you can just give up because too many ponies, it was part of who they were. Even though Rain didn’t have one himself since he wasn’t a pony, he knew just as much how a Cutie Mark was important to some ponies like Shining Armor and Twilight when she was able to get hers.

So the thought of what Starlight could potentially do to the townsfolk here was one that happened to keep him up at night. He was barely able to get any sleep while Shining Armor and Luna were able to sleep perfectly fine. Laying awake and restless, there was no one he could talk to right now that could probably answer the question in his head.

Well… almost no one. “Carbuncle? Are you there?”

“Yeah, I’m here…” The Esper spoke mentally to him. “Is something the matter? You seem to have something on your mind.”

“Well… There has been something on my mind that’s keeping me from being able to sleep.” It took a little while for Rain to catch up Carbuncle on everything that he heard about Starlight Glimmer and also the rumors circulating around her. To him, something that was like that seemed… almost impossible. But if the rumors were true, then this was something that he just can’t let go. Because if nopony was able to stop Starlight Glimmer now, then somepony else will.

Carbuncle, after hearing all of what he had to say, soon surprised Rain with something that he happened to notice just now. “Hey Rain… I feel somepony walking outside of town.”

“Wait, you do? How?”

“Espers can feel the presence of beings within a rather large radius… One of them just left the town, so if this is that Starlight mare you were talking about, we should follow her.” The esper made a valid point. Besides, Rain felt that if he didn’t do anything here, he would miss his chance to find out if what was said about Starlight was true. Getting out of the bed he was lying on, he quickly got his clothes on and also made sure to equip his sword as he went out the door. Quietly though so that he wouldn’t wake up anyone in the house.

Once outside, Carbuncle continued to guide Rain given how everything around them was shrouded in darkness. The knight wanted to use some of his magic and a couple of wooden boards lying around to create a makeshift torch, but after thinking about it some more, he realized that it might draw unnecessary attention to himself if the light from the fire woke some ponies up from their sleep. So, he had to solely rely on Carbuncle for guidance through the shadows.

Soon though, it became a bit easier for them to see once the moon came out from behind some clouds in the night sky as the reflection of the moon’s surface brought some light back to the path that Rain was walking on. It also allowed for him to be able to clearly see the entrance to what looked like a cave. “Carbuncle, is that the cave you were talking about?”

“That’s the one. I can still that pony who walked outside of town in that cave… and I think there are a few others too, but…… oh boy.”

That last part, in Rain’s mind, definitely didn’t sound good. Which, actually lead to him speaking out loud instead of speaking internally. “Carbuncle, what’s wrong?”

“Those ponies I’m feeling… This is bad,” The Esper stated at first, before explaining what he meant. “Espers can feel the presence of other beings, but can also feel if that presence is being affected in any particular way because we see their magic as being distorted… and from the looks of it, the others ponies that I’m feeling are under some kind of hypnosis…” That definitely was not a good sign… and it was all the more reason for Rain in order to hurry, going as far as to sprint over to the entrance of the cave. Not even caring about approaching this with caution. Those ponies needed help… and he needed to make sure he could be able to reach them in time.

When he infiltrated the entryway of the cavern and proceeded through the narrow corridor, the knight had to take cover behind a series of rocks as he soon heard something. A voice… no, not just any voice… Starlight’s voice. “Perfect… who would’ve thought that it would be so easy in order to be able to… convince them of my vision for Our Town. Now… once we get the rest of the entire town to give up their cutie marks, my town of Equality will become real!”

“I knew it…” Rain thought internally. “There was definitely more to her than I thought…” He soon had a look at the wall… and noticed four Cutie Marks that were up there. Realizing that those were the same four cutie marks of the ponies that he met earlier with Shining and Luna. “Carbuncle, any idea how she’s controlling them?”

“Well, from the looks of it, the most likely thing is that she’s used some kind of spell that allows her to control them while they’re asleep… I know what kind of ability this is… Lullaby,” Carbuncle replied to him. “After that, I believe she uses that staff she’s carrying to take away their Cutie Marks. Once they’re gone, she can be able to have more influence over them.”

That was when Rain decided to peak out from where he was hiding and try to approach the main platform in the cave to get a better look at the weapon she had. The knight had thought that since the only place inside the caves that was lit with the light of the moon was where Starlight was standing, he could stick to the shadows to avoid being detected. Unfortunately, as he proceeded up a stairwell in the caves, one of the rocks his foot was on emitted a loud crack… and quickly got some unwanted attention as Starlight heard the noise and spun around. “Who goes there?!!”

Rain grit his teeth as he stayed in the shadows. His position had been compromised and he couldn’t be able to hide himself anymore. So, instead, he stepped out of the shadows and where the mare can see him. Starlight himself was caught off guard by this. Out of all the ponies she thought would try to spy on her, the unicorn honestly didn’t think it would be someone who she had only seen a couple of hours ago. “Y-you!! Just who do you think you are coming into my town and trying to ruin what I have planned for it?”

Rain honestly did not know how to respond at first. Mostly because he thought that this mare honestly did not know who exactly she was talking too. But, he still kept himself composed. “Starlight, what you had planned was stealing the traits and talents of ponies who put their trust in you? Do you honestly think that anybody would be willing to give up what makes them special?”

“It’s the only way that our town can be truly equal!!!” Starlight snapped back, which… left Rain being rather unconvinced by what she was telling her.

“Really now… Would you then take your own cutie mark and put it up on the wall then? It’s only equal if you do it yourself?”

The mare honestly blinked a little bit, before looking back at him. “Well, no. All of this is because of my magic. If I take away my cutie mark, then-”

“So you honestly think that just because you make everyone else equal so they can be happy, but you have yourself be above them?” The Knight questioned. “Didn’t you realize that people in your town are already happy the way they are right now without you doing this to them-”

“SHUT UP!!” The unicorn snapped, before glaring at Rain as she conjured some magic. Before he could make a move, he felt Starlight’s magic restrain him, grabbing hold of his wrists and ankles as he couldn’t move a muscle. Taking hold of her staff, the unicorn soon came closer to him and gave him a menacing stare. “I don’t have to take this from an outsider. If I’m not able to tell you how our town’s going to change the lives of everypony, I’m going to MAKE you be part of our town.”

With her staff in hand, she took the dual pointed end of it and placed it right by Rain’s waist along the back of the hip. The same way that she had done it before in order to obtain the cutie marks of Sugar Belle, Double Diamond, Party Favor and Night Glider. However, unlike those ponies… she did not get any form of reaction the same way she did with them. Even though she didn’t realize it at first.

The unicorn only realized that what she was doing with her staff wasn’t working when she heard one particular comment from Rain that completely caught her off guard. “Um… I’m sorry for sounding so abrupt, but why are you poking me in the ass with that wooden stick of yours?”

Immediately, Starlight backed off, eyes wide in shock. “H-how!? Nopony has ever resisted Idem Uero before! How is this possible!?”

When she said that, Rain heard Carbuncle chuckle inside his head internally. “Wow… She named her own staff ‘Sameness’.”

“Really? You named your own staff ‘Sameness’? That’s just as stupid as naming a Flaming sword a word that means fire.” Rain deadpanned as he looked back at Starlight. “Plus, I am honestly surprised that you haven’t realized why that wouldn’t work on me. I don’t have a cutie mark for Celestia’s sake!!”

All that did though was have just have Starlight blink a bit before looking back at him. “Hold on… You don’t… have a cutie mark?”

“Yes, because I’m not a pony… but I can tell you what I am though,” Rain responded, moving his right hand to his blade as he pulled it off of his back and held it with both of his hands. “I am a knight of the Canterlot Royal Guard, and I will not let you get away with this!!”

Even though she looked composed on the outside, Starlight was internally freaking out at this point. Not only had this… being found out the truth to her plans and was resistant against her magic, but he was part of the Royal Guard!? This was not part of her plan at all. But, she could not just let an outsider stop her from reaching her goals. Especially when she was this close to making that dream a reality. “Do you really think that you can be able to stop me? You must be insane to think that I would lose to somepony like you.”

“Not insane… determined,” The Knight grinned, his magic coursing through the blade as a red glow could be seen around the blade. “Determined to help those who can’t be able to help themselves, no matter the obstacle… if the choice is to save one person or a hundred, then save both! For that is the creed of a Canterlot Knight!”

When Rain dashed forward, Starlight was caught off guard at first by his speed as she was forced to defend herself. When somepony would think about a knight, they would think of the heavy suits of armor that would trade off one's speed for protection. However, the knight she was facing wasn’t anything like that at all, so she was forced to hold her hand in front of her as she chanted a single word. “Protect!” With the magic forming around her, it created a small barrier that was able to briefly block Rain’s first attack.

Of course, this also told Rain something else. That the magic that she knew… was exactly like the magic that he, Shining and Sunset had known and practiced many times before. The magic of old. But it also made him curious. Curious about how much did she actually know… and how skilled was she with it. Because even though it blocked his first attack, his next two strikes caused the barrier to weaken. Telling him that it was a low level spell.

“Now, why would she go out of her way to use a standard spell like that right now? With how much she was boasting earlier, I would think that she would try to use some much stronger magic to prove how strong she is.” He thought to himself, analyzing her for a moment as she looked to be preparing something with the mana that was forming in her hands.

However, that was when the Esper that was with him at the time decided to speak up. “Um… I think she’s trying to save her mana for later. Like conserve it so she can use much stronger spells once she finds a way to tire you out. She might think you have no magical capabilities whatsoever…”

That caused Rain to shake his head as he had to quickly dodge a blast of magic from Starlight and regain his footing. “Oh, she knows that I can do magic Carbuncle. When I was originally at Sugar Belle’s and was helping out with lighting some candles, she walked in just as I was using my magic to light them.”

“Okay, scratch that then…” The Esper retorted, grumbling a bit.

“However… Fire magic is just one thing I can do that she knows about,” The knight then told the Esper, looking down at the stone floor for a moment before realizing something. Holding onto the Evocation gem that Carbuncle gave him, he then said a few more words to the Esper. “I got an idea.”

In that moment, Rain had to do two things. One, explain to Carbuncle what he was going to do… and two, try to outmaneuver Starlight Glimmer’s spells as much as possible. Even going as far as to channel some earth magic at his feet to launch himself into the air and dive towards the unicorn to close the gap between both of them. Weapons clashing with one another and spells going all over the place.

The longer that this went on though… the longer that Starlight’s patience was beginning to wear down. She didn’t think that Rain here would put up this much of a fight… or be such an pain in her flank with everything that had happened so far. And she was getting sick of it.

Pushing her opponent back both physically and with magic, Starlight grit her teeth as she snapped at Rain. “Why are you such a pain in my flank!? Why are you trying to undo everything!?” As she screamed, Rain could see a large amount of her magic forming in a sphere in front of her as the gem he was holding was beginning to glow brightly in his hand. “ANSWER ME!!!”

“Rain, that amount of magic she’s channeling could lay waste to this whole cave!! If you got some kind of plan, then I’m all open to hearing it!!” Carbuncle mentally shouted, even though Rain was more particularly focused on something else.

“Carbuncle… You said before that you can send magic back at somepony right?”

“Yeah, why-?” That had the esper pause for a moment… before realizing what exactly Rain was thinking. “Rain, are you crazy!? You think I can be able to launch something like that back at her?!”

“Carbuncle, I have faith in you… and right now, I am counting on you to be able to do this. You’ve said that Espers have great power… Now’s the time for you to show me.” Before Rain could do anything though… Starlight had just finished her spell and was about to cast it. Barely leaving him any time to react.

“ULTIMA!!”

Watching the magic she was channeling begin to explode outward and charge at him, Rain held the evocation orb in front of him as it’s magic began to blaze around him. “Carbuncle, NOW!!”

Starlight had no idea what the knight was trying to do. But, when she saw what looked like a small fox like creature with a ruby gem on it’s forehead land by him, she couldn’t help but mock him. “Are you serious!? Do you honestly think that a dumb housepet is going to save you now?! Is that really your best hopes in stopping me!?”

All that did… was make the creature’s gem glow bright red as it glared right at her. “How DARE you refer to me as a PET!!!! Time for you to TASTE YOUR OWN MEDICINE, WITCH!!” As soon as Carbuncle shouted that, he used his power to cover Rain in a mystical ruby veil while the knight readied himself. With the spell fast approaching, he had his Crimson Saber be lit ablaze with his magic as he held it above his head, swinging forward as Starlight’s spell was closing in.

Originally, the Unicorn thought that the creature next to the knight casted something that would allow for him to cut through her spell… Instead, it did something quite different.

It sent her spell flying back straight at her. Leaving her no time to be able to put up a spell in order to block what was coming at her. “NO-!” The spell hit it’s mark, colliding with Starlight and causing the Mare’s staff to fling out of her hands. Landing like a spear that was thrown in the middle of the wall that had the cutie marks of her friends entrapped inside. All it did was just cause it to crack… but it wasn’t enough to break it. As for everything else, the spell caused a rather huge hole to be torn through the side of the mountain. Big enough to where Rain could still see the village and everything beyond that along with the night sky.

As for Starlight herself… she was rather shaken. Parts of her body were covered in burns and scrapes because of her own spell that hit her head on. She watched as the Knight that had bested her, took out a small crystal and had what looked like a pegasus mare from the stories of the royal legion destroy the wall that kept her friends cutie marks locked away and have everything crumble away.

She still had a question for the knight though… just as Rain dismissed the vision of Nimbus that he had summoned a few moments ago and turned to face her… only to notice that Starlight… was on the brink of tears “W-why…? W-why did you do this…?”

The knight himself, just sighed as he looked back at her. “I’m not the one who should be answering that… Why were you doing this? Wanting to treat everyone equally is one thing… but stealing what makes somepony special or forcing them to give it up? That’s just wrong.”

“How would you know?! You don’t have one!” Starlight snapped. “You’ve never been abandoned by your best friend because they got their cutie mark and ran off to Canterlot!! You’ve never had a mother who would just leave you with somepony else for no reason whatsoever! You don’t know how it feels-!!”

“Shut up,” Those two words stopped Starlight immediately. Because when she looked back at Rain, she wasn’t met with the same facial expression that he had before. Instead, he was met with a cold stare as he looked at her. “You’re lucky that you even have a mother… Mine is gone. Died when I was a child… I always told myself that she would be coming someday… but then she never came… and you don’t know what being abandoned truly feels like… You were given to somepony else that could take care of you. Me? I was left on my own… helpless… in the Everfree Forest to die by my bastard of a father… So don’t come running to me and saying that you know how it feels… because you don’t. All you are is just afraid of losing the friends that you have and hiding behind a twisted fantasy that you call ‘the truth’.”

Starlight was left speechless… she had no idea that these were the things that Rain had to overcome when he was young. Matter of fact, She didn’t think that Rain would read her like an open book. With all that she had done… and everything that she once had falling apart… she only had one more question as the tears began to dry up and the sun began to rise in the distance. “W-what am I suppose to do now?”

That, had Rain close his eyes and sigh deeply. Before opening them up once more as he looked back at the mare. “I’m sorry… but that is something you need to figure out on your own…” Starlight though, looked back at him for a moment as she noticed him pull out what looked like some kind of seal on it as he tossed it to her. “But… it does not mean that I can’t help you take the first step.”

Starlight looked at the seal, one that was a silver coin with what looked like Rain’s own Crimson Saber being engraved on the coin. “W-what is this?”

“My royal seal,” The Knight told her in response, looking to make sure that Sugar Belle and the others were okay, even though they were unconscious. “All of the Knights in canterlot carry a royal insignia and a royal seal. If you present that to a pony with a fire colored mane named Sunset Shimmer, she’ll direct you to my teacher… Stardust Glimmer.”

The name made Starlight freeze. Why… of all possible things, why would he have her go see her? The mare that she believed to have abandoned her as a filly. Then, she heard the knight say his answer as he began to make his way out of the cave and back towards the village of Cèanna. Where his friends were waiting for him. “If you wish to seek the truth… then I believe the best place for you to find it would be directly from the source itself.”

Author's Note

A Christmas present that's a day late, but I hope it's something that you guys enjoyed. I have been working on this for a while aside from the last chapter for 'Of Magic and Machines', but in this time period, I had also got the chance to attend the Final Fantasy Brave Exvius Fan Festa in Los Angeles. Which was INSANELY fun and I was even able to get the art book on FFBE.

For this chapter, I wanted to make it to where it's not so simple for Rain and his companions in order to get to his destination. I also happened to hide a small reference to 'The Inheritance Cycle' in this chapter, so I hope you guys can be able to find it.

Real talk though, I'm glad that you guys had a very merry christmas this year. For me, it was also good... but a bit troubling because earlier in the week, I found out that my grandad in Ireland passed away. It was... a bit tough in order to take the news and I really do miss him. But he was a bit of an inspiration for me because he told me to never give up, no matter how bad things look. So, I wanted to make sure that I do the same thing here.

In fact, the name for Starlight's town in this story are based off of the Irish terms for 'Equal'. As for her staff, that's based on the Latin term for Sameness (Given how most names in MLP Like Sombra and Discord were all named off of something in Latin).

With that though, I hoped you guys enjoyed it and I'll see you in the new year!
-Frost

1.4- Cold Skin

By the time that Rain had left the cave where Starlight was originally trying to steal the cutie marks of her fellow villagers, his companions reactions to her actions were… not what he expected. Personally, Rain thought that Shining Armor would scold him for getting himself involved in the affairs of the townsfolk while Luna would not know what to say on the matter… But, after he explained it to them and both of them witnessed Starlight apologize for her actions, both of them… were actually glad for what Rain did. Because if he didn’t act, then Starlight would’ve attempted to do the same thing to the two of them and that would’ve possibly gotten out of hand.

Now though, things were rather different. Not only did the unicorn apologize to her friends for her actions… but she also thanked Rain. Because if it weren’t for his actions, then she feared that she would regret the actions that she would’ve taken if she weren’t stopped. Something that the knight was personally not expecting to hear from her, especially with how she was acting sometime ago.

But it leaved Rain with one question on his mind as both of his companions stood next to him nearby one of the entryways to the village. What exactly was Starlight planning to do now? After they had explained the situation and what he had stopped her from doing, the unicorn herself was rather apologetic and acting much differently than when he, Shining and Luna first met her. A reversal from her earlier behavior when they first met her. But her behavior wouldn’t exactly explain what she would plan to do now.

Yet… the conversation on that subject started when one of Starlight’s friends, Sugar Belle, asked Rain and the others a question. “So… what are you three going to do now? You know… after you catch your ship in Manehattan?”

“Well… our main destination is Griffonstone, but we have to take a detour given that the main route of travel is blocked off by weather…” Rain explained to the Unicorn as he adjusted the red cloth on his shoulder. “So we’re hoping to get as close to Griffonstone as possible by ship, before having to walk.”

That had Starlight and her friends nod for a moment in response. But, instead of hearing a follow up question from Rain this time… they instead heard Luna speak up and take a turn. “Um… W-what are you going to do now, Ms. G-glimmer?”

That… honestly made Starlight raise an eyebrow for a moment. Not expecting to hear such a question from her. “I’m sorry, but what do you mean by that?”

“W-well… you apologized for the things you did already… but now what are you going to do?” She tried to clarify herself, only to sound nervous in the process as she averted her gaze from Starlight.

However, the alicorn wasn’t entirely prepared to hear an answer from the unicorn so soon. Which was why she was thrown a bit off guard when Starlight soon spoke up. “Well… after giving it some thought, I was going to follow some advice that Rain gave me.”

Shining, now turning to his fellow knight, raised an eyebrow in response. “You… gave her advice?”

“After I stopped her original plans earlier,” Rain then told him, before explaining the reason why. “She blamed Stardust for letting her go… but something tells me that she doesn’t know the entire story. So I gave her my royal seal and told her to show it to Sunset. That way, she can meet Stardust for herself and learn the truth from her.”

“And it’s something that I want to do… I’m just really unsure about what would happen to Cèanna while I’m gone.” She answered in response, looking down for a moment… before she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Party Favor directly behind her.

“Don’t worry about it, Starlight,” He told her with a smile on his face as he motioned his head over to where Sugar Belle and the other ponies were. “I’m sure that Sugar, Night, Diamond and I can handle things here while you’re gone. I mean… you’re not the only pony who knows how things work around here, silly.”

Starlight herself… was caught off guard by this. She did not think that her friends would forgive her so easily, even after what she had tried to do. The unicorn could not even think of a response in that moment because of how shocked she was. But instead of showing her appreciation through her words, Starlight showed it through her actions as she turned towards the ponies that were her friends and smiled. All while some tears were coming down her face. “T-thank you…”

Seeing her being forgiven by the ponies she called her friends and her neighbors made Rain feel happy for her. However, he also knew that he could not be able to stay around too long and delay his companions. Heck, Shining Armor and Luna were actually waiting by the back entrance of the town for him. But before he could even tell them anything, that was when Sugar Belle walked up to him and handed him what looked like a picnic basket. “I hope you and your friends do well on your trip. Here are some pastries for you.”

“Oh wow…” The Knight replied, caught off guard by the sudden gift. “T-thank you. That’s very kind of you, Sugar Belle.”

“I thought it would be a nice way to send you off on your way while also thanking you,” The Unicorn smiled, before looking back in the direction of Rain’s friends. “I hope you and your friends can come visit us again sometime. We really enjoyed your company here.”

Rain nodded his head at that as he looked back at Sugar Belle and the others. “I’ll be sure to tell Shining and Fina.” With that, the crimson knight waved goodbye and ran to catch up with his two companions before setting off on their journey to Manehattan.

As for Starlight herself… Now was the time to prepare for her own journey. “Excuse me for a moment… I believe I need to go purchase myself a train ticket.”

The walk from Cèanna all the way to Manehattan was not entirely that big of a walk for Rain and his companions, mostly because all they had to do was keep going east and they would be able to find the massive modern metropolis. However, once they were in the city itself, it took them a lot longer than they originally thought in order to try and find the port because of all the numerous things to see. Something that had Luna distracted every now and then as Shining Armor himself needed to find another map just for the city alone.

Of course, there was also the thing with having to walk through the city that was a bit hectic for them. For one thing, there were specific ‘crosswalks’ that ponies used to go from one street to the next and the streets themselves were not like the port town of Baltimare. There were carriages all over the place and from Rain could tell, it seemed like the primary mode of transportation. This included carriages being drawn by Chocobo’s as well, but it looked like the drivers for those needed a specific license that allows them to drive such vehicles.

Rain and his companions though, did not come for the sights or to go on a carriage ride however. Instead, they were headed over to the port where all the boats going in and out of Manehattan travel through. If they were to go to Griffonstone, then their best bet was to travel through here to the Griffish Isles. The neighboring continent that was a residence to both Ponies and Griffons and what was considered as a ‘middle ground’ for important matters such as trade negotiations.

While Shining Armor was taking care of the accomodations needed to go on the ships and had Luna accompany him, Rain happened to overhear a group a earth ponies that seemed to be outside the local tavern. Sure, what they were talking about might’ve sounded like the equivalent of drunken rhetoric… but there were a few things that caught the knights attention. The first was that they were talking about monster… not like the common beasts that just happened to cross your path, but scary powerful ones. One pony described something to that of a ‘Frozen Witch’ in the mountains north of Manehattan while another was talking about a huge sea monster that was seen as a Water God in other countries.

But before Rain could exactly hear the name of the beast, that was when Shining Armor caught his attention. “Okay, I made the arrangements. The ship will be leaving port soon, so we better get on board…” Of course, that was when the unicorn happened to notice the group of ponies that Rain was listening in on as he just raised an eyebrow. “What’s so interesting that you need to listen in on their conversation for?”

“Well… I was overhearing them talk about some rumors regarding powerful monsters and… well, it made me wonder if they could potentially be other Espers. Like ones who can help us,” Rain explained to him as they were all walking to the ship. “I know that right now is not the ideal time for us to be looking into this matter, but I do think we should look into it at a later date.”

That had Luna look a bit curious as she then asked him something. “Do you think Carbuncle might know about them?” That had Rain scratching his chin for a moment as he began to think on the matter, before giving her an answer.

“It’s possible… Perhaps we could ask him on our way to the Griffish Isles and see if any of the things I overheard sounds familiar to him.” The knight suggested, just as they found their ship and were going up the walkway to the top of the ship. Before the boat began to leave the harbor, Rain actually surprised his two companions by helping out some of the members of the crew with loading cargo and also making sure that everything was tied down. Something that surprised Luna, but not Shining… because he knew that Rain was always the kind of person who would go out of his way to help somepony, whether they asked for it or not.

When they did leave the Manehattan docks though, both of the knights and their companion stayed above deck. Watching the ocean and talking amongst themselves. They even had Carbuncle talk to them about what Rain was mentioning earlier, even though nopony else paid attention to it. “So let me get this straight… You think you overheard something that might be a clue to where other Espers are?” He asked, which was followed by Rain nodding his head and the Crimson Knight explaining what he overheard earlier. “I’m not an expert on all espers… but there are some that send shivers down my spine. Most specifically though, that last one you mentioned.”

The knight turned to the unicorn and also to the alicorn for a moment, but it was Luna who then decided to speak up. “You mean the one about that sea monster?”

“Most definitely…” Carbuncle replied back. “Espers mostly reside within their domain and do not get themselves involved in the affairs of mortals unless they have a pact with them. Like how you guys have one with me… However, most recently, there’s been one Esper that’s been acting outside of their domain and-”

Just as he said that, there was a loud noise. Almost as if something him the underbelly of the vessel that they were in as they all looked at one another. “What was that?”

“Captain! Something huge just went under the ship! Starboard side!!” One of the crew members yelled out as some of them began to try and hold things down while Rain and his companions were trying to understand what was going on. The waves were picking up and some saltwater was hitting the deck of the ship. A dramatic turn from just a few seconds ago when the waters were calm and clear.

All of this though… was beginning to make Carbuncle shudder in fear. “O-oh no… I-it’s here…”

“Carbuncle, what do you mean-?” Rain asked, water almost hitting him in the face as he and Shining looked back at her. “Wait… you don’t mean…?”

The small esper could only give off a small nod, shortly before a big splash was felt by everypony on the main deck as the boat was almost knocked over. The wind around them was dramatically picking up and causing crates to fly off the ship. And from the ocean, the beast that caused such an uproar began to make its presence known. Using its power to tear through the sails, support beams and the hull of the ship.

And just as the captain was yelling for everypony to hang onto something… that was when Carbuncle said it’s name. “L-leviathan…”

Then the Esper lunged at the vessel they were on and sent everything… and everyone on board to scatter across the sea.

Much later…

When Rain was beginning to wake up, he felt himself lie on what felt like a beach. Although, he could not see anything at the present moment since his vision was adjusting, he was relieved to feel himself on dry land instead of floating in an ocean, not to mention being alive after what had just happened.

In the present moment though… he could faintly make out the sound of voices. Not ones that he was familiar with as his eyes were finally adjusted. It looked like a rather… young girl was trying to look among the wreckage on the shore for something. “Man… another ship torn apart and I can’t find anything here…”

That… was a voice he was unfamiliar with. And one that he had not heard before. But he knew that he could not just lay there forever and that he had to try and move. He struggled to try and push himself up… but his efforts did not go unnoticed. “N-no way! A-a survivor?!” The voice he heard from before… squawked? It sounded like a gasp, but it came out more… bird like. Perhaps this creature was a griffon? “H-hey! I-if you can hear me, please say something!”

Of course… Rain did say something when he felt the Griffon’s claws grab hold of his arm, causing him to jolt up rapidly because of how they felt like needles stabbing him. “O-ow!”

“O-oh my gosh! I’m so sorry!!” He heard the Griffon squawk again. “A-are you okay? I-i didn’t mean to hurt you!”

“I-i’m okay…” Rain mumbled, before shaking his head. “W-where am I?”

“Y-you’re… along the northern coast of the Griffish Isles, mister…” When Rain finally had the chance to get his bearing straightened out, he was now looking at a very young griffon. One with dark grey feathers and was wearing what looked to be a red vest with some white colored pants and a red sash to add to it. She also seemed to have some kind of strange glasses on her head that were clear and see through. “M-my name is Gabby… What’s your name, M-mister?”

Before he could introduce himself… or say his name for that matter… that was when they heard somepony else say his name as the knight looked to his right to see both the Azure Knight and the alicorn that were his companions. “Rain!! There you are! I’m so glad we found you!”

“Shining? Lu- I mean… Fina?” Rain corrected himself to avoid trying to cause a panic. “You’re okay?”

“Y-yeah, but you made us worried! When we couldn’t find you earlier, we thought that you were lost and-” That was when Luna stopped talking in order to turn to the griffon that was nearby. “W-who’s this?”

“Oh, hi! My name’s Gabriella, but everybirdy calls me Gabby for short…” She told them, adjusting the glasses on her face for a moment and looked at both Luna and Shining Armor. “This person is your friend, right? Because I was the one who found him on the beach earlier…” The griffon replied, brushing off some of the sand that was on her clothes. “But before I could ask him anything, that’s when you found us.”

“I see…” Shining now added to the conversation, before speaking up and asking Gabby something that came to his mind. “Ms. Gabby… Do you know of any place where we can be able to continue this conversation? I think it would be better for all of us if we were someplace warm.”

“W-why yes, actually! My hometown’s not far,” The excited griffon told them… before realizing something. “But we might encounter monsters though… the Isles have been rather peaceful, but as of lately, with the more times we’ve been having this weather, the more that we’ve been having monsters attack us. We don’t feel safe anymore.”

“Hmm…” Rain scratched his chin at that, before looking at Shining Armor for a moment and coming up with an idea. “We can handle the monsters for you if you just show us the way to your hometown.”

“Y-you really would do that?! B-but we just met and-”

“Yes I would…” The Knight confirmed. “I help others, no matter if it’s a friend I known for years or someone I just met. It’s my creed as a knight to help others, no matter who they are.”

The griffon herself, overwhelmed by hearing this, grabbed hold of Rain’s hands and began to shake them profusely. “Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!! I really do appreciate everything that you are doing for me… Everyone else would too!”

As they began to walk though, that last statement had Shining Armor seem… confused. “Wait… What do you mean by ‘everyone else’?”

As they made their way onto a path and began to go through the dense forest that was nearby, that was when Gabby began to explain everything. “I help run an orphanage in my hometown… a lot of the children here don’t have a place to call home because they were either stranded in this part of the Griffish Isles as survivors of a shipwreck or their parents died. A few of them belonged to a research team that was investigating something in the old ruins a while ago, but when part of the ruins collapsed…” That had the Griffon stop for a moment, trying to regain her composure before looking back at them.

“I’m sorry to hear that…” Shining Armor soon spoke up apologetically. “I didn't mean to bring up anything like that.”

“It’s alright… yet, there’s one thing I’m trying to figure out on my own regarding those ruins that doesn’t make sense…” That caught the attention of both knights as she began to explain what she meant. “There was one little one at the orphanage named Graff… His mother was said to have died on the job at the ruins, but he claims that she’s still alive… The whole thing doesn’t make sense.”

“Are you sure that it’s not him being in denial about what happened?” Shining asked her, now sounding a little curious.

“I’m sure it isn’t… but it’s not just that. He believes that the pony in charge of the research of the ruins may know if she’s alive…” Gabby explained, watching Rain for a moment as he used his sword to cut a log into pieces and clear the obstacle away after channeling some fire around it. “I’m just concerned that he might do something drastic and run off. Especially with all the monsters running around as of lately.”

That was when Luna decided to ask something. “Who… is this pony in charge?”

“Well… it’s been said that his name is Dr. Lazarus… and he originally told everyone in the village I live in that they were wanting ‘volunteers’ to help him conduct research in the ruins… but there are a few that are skeptical,” Gabby explained to them, just as they were crossing a bridge that was at the end of the forest to reach her hometown. “And here we are. Welcome to the town on Trottingham… It may not be much, but this is the place where many of us call home.”

All three of them were amazed by the sight of the town as they walked in. Despite some of the conditions here, the town really reminded them of Ponyville from the designs on some of the houses to the marketplace. The only noticeable difference here was three things. One, many of those that were seen as ‘researchers’ were seen wearing lab coats and had workshops established outside and indoors. Two, the guards of the town did not have any proper equipment because, as Gabby explained to them, it mostly comprised of volunteers who were not with the researchers. And lastly, several of the main buildings, much to their surprise, were actually built from remains of what looked like ships that have been scavenger or stranded along the shores of the Isles. Even the Orphanage that Gabby helped out at consisted of parts and a hull from some ships like the frame in order to serve as a roof for when there was a storm.

Yet, as they were headed towards the orphanage though, that was when one of the children that was there immediately rushed over to Gabby, but with a worried look on her face. “T-thank goodness you made it back, Ms. Gabby!! We’ve have a BIG problem-!”

“Gretchen, I’m sure that it’s not that big as it might seem to be-” She said, before looking up and then realizing something. “Wait a minute… where’s Graff?”

“That’s the problem, Ms. Gabby! He ran away!!” One other child, a young earth pony colt spoke up. “Some of the kids in town were picking on him about how he had no parents to care for him and then he ran off. We tried stopping him, but he got past Greta and said that he was going to find the one pony that can prove them wrong.”

That… immediately startled Gabby, throwing her off guard. “Oh no… This is really bad…” She told herself, before thinking something on her mind. “Wait a minute, where’s Gilda? Isn’t she supposed to be here?”

“She left to go see a friend in Equestria before the storm rolled in,” One of the volunteers, a unicorn stallion named Galiant that was part of the town’s volunteer guard that also helped at the Orphanage told her. He only had a small amount of armor and no weapons, but was carrying a shield on his back. “Medimare and some of the others were trying to hold things down when the storm came through, so none of the others saw him take off.”

Hearing this though lead to Rain to say something to Gabby that she did not anticipate. “We can look for him if you like, Gabby. You found us and helped us explain where we were. The least that we can do is return the favor.”

“Y-you would do that?” She asked, shocked by hearing that original statement from Rain. “T-thank you… b-but I’m concerned that Graff would not listen to you. He’s always a stubborn one despite how he looks on the outside.”

“Then why don’t you come with us then?” Luna then suggested. “I m-mean… If that’s okay…” Luna herself turned away in embarrassment after saying that… but it was from that original statement that Shining Armor picked up on it.

“Your right though… If Gabby’s okay with it, she should come with us in order to help find him.” The Unicorn spoke up. “Mostly because you know exactly where he would be going.”

That soon had Gabby realize what he was talking about as she said it to herself. “The old ruins…”

“Okay, hold up for just a moment,” The Unicorn named Galiant interrupted as he trotted over to the entrance where they were all at right now. “I don’t even know who you people are and right away, you’re trying to be all nice in order to help us. Who are you?”

The unicorn was right about that, despite his loud tone on the matter. Though, Rain himself turned towards the Unicorn and answer his question. “My name is Rain. I’m a knight from the equestrian city of Canterlot. This is my friend and fellow comrade, Shining Armor and our companion Fina…” The moment that they heard who they were, a shudder when down Galiant’s body as he and some of the children in the orphanage looked back at him. “If it wasn’t for Gabby, the three of us would’ve been separated from one another and lost, trying to find help. So the least that we can be able to do is help her in return. Would you agree, Mr. Galiant?”

All the unicorn could do was just simply nod in response. Which, had Gabby let out a sigh of relief as she excused herself for a moment. Needing to take care of a few things around the orphanage and make sure there were a few adults on hand to watch over the children before she was ready to go. It was in that time that Luna and Shining also made sure to restock their inventory with food, water and medical supplies because everything that they had before was either lost or destroyed in the wreck.

It took about five to ten minutes to make sure that everyone had what they need, but by the time they were done, it was time to set off. “Alright Gabby… Lead the way.”

The Griffon nodded, shortly before guiding all three of them to where the ruins were along the eastern coastline. It wasn’t too far away from where Trottingham was, however, the main concern was that a majority of the ruins were underground and consisted within a series of caves and old decaying shrines. Making it hard to tell if the little griffon they were looking for had already raced into one of them unknowingly before realizing what he was getting himself into.

But something really concerning happened when they approached the shrine that Gabby was talking about… and a few steps after entering it, they were greeted by a rather harsh roar as Luna was startled by the sight. “Z-zomponies! Rain, move!”

“Wait. Luna, don’t-!” Rain shouted, but a little too late as Luna fired off a volley of arrows at the undead that approached them. Taking them down quickly… but it was when Luna looked back at him that she seemed… confused.

And when Gabby herself was puzzled too. “Wait… I thought your name was Fina…”

“Um… My name is Luna… I’m Princess Celestia’s sister,” The alicorn admitted to her, before adding onto what she said. “Though, Rain and Shining call me Fina when we’re in public to not attract attention to myself…”

Shining nodded his head there, before adding on and asking something else though. “More importantly though… Rain, why did you not want Luna to shoot? They would have harmed you.”

“Shining… couldn’t you tell who they were?” He asked, flipping one the bodies that was flat on the ground over and pointing at their clothes. Doing the same thing to a few others too in order to point out the one thing they happened to notice. “Those were crew members of the ship that we were just on… and these ones… those were soldiers we knew that were killed in battle and left to rest…”

“No way… That’s necromancy,” Shining himself couldn’t even bear in mind what he was seeing. Somepony not only robbing the graves of fallen soldiers, but also reanimating them into living corpses? They must be completely twisted to disrespect those who had fallen in battle to maintain peace. However… there was one problem with that. “How is it possible though? I couldn’t feel any trace of magic at all.”

It was a rather valid question… but not one that could be answered right away as they heard another sound this time. Not of a monster… but of something else. “Gabby!!”

“G-graff!” She said, sounding relieved as the little griffon ran over to her. “Why did you ran off? Everybody back home was worried about you!”

“Because I wanted to see Mommy… and if anyone knows where Mommy might be, it’s the pony who works here!! Mommy worked here with the pony who’s here… But they never said what it is.” The young griffon told her, “I’ve… also heard stories. Like how if anyone argued with that professor pony, they go missing the next day…”

The next thing that the young griffon said though… immediately caught Rain’s and Shining’s attention. “I’ve also heard about how this pony meets with somebody who wears dark armor…”

“Wait… Dark armor?!” Shining asked, realizing what that could’ve meant as he looked towards where Rain was standing. “You don’t think…”

To Rain though… the thought of it was not one that they should ignore. “Sounds like we need to pay this professor pony a visit…”

It took a long while in order for Rain and the others to find exactly what they were looking for. Mostly because many undead stood in their way as they searched through the corridors of the decaying temple. But it wasn’t just corpses brought back to life that they had to fight, but also monsters that were lurking inside the temple. Possibly drawn to whatever was going on farther in.

There were instances though… that Gabby herself had to fight off a couple of monsters too. But in those instances, Rain and Shining were surprised to see that her abilities… were actually the same as there’s. And that was for a pretty good reason. She called herself a ‘Memorist’, one who memorizes the techniques of others and can be able to perform those same techniques in combat.

However, despite this sounding like a very useful ability, the griffon told them that there were some drawbacks. For one thing, she has trouble with remembering such abilities in the heat of battle, so what she does in a battle is based on what she can remember under pressure. Secondly, what techniques she remembers is random and will not turn out to be the same result every time, like rolling a six sided dice.

But to Rain, her determination and willpower make up for those shortcomings… Including the fact that she’s looking for a proper teacher, but hasn’t had much success because most of her time has been spent watching over the children at the orphanage. But now was not the time to be talking about that.

Because around now… was when they found a secret chamber in the ruins that they were searching through… and inside it, they found… test chambers. Multiple test chambers, some that were open already all of them had screens that looked to have been monitoring the heart rates of the subjects inside. But the heart rates of those that were open were at a standstill.

“What… is all of this?” Shining asked, shocked at what he was seeing. Several of the subjects looked to have been ponies, griffons, and other species that had parts of their own bodies missing… or reattached. All of this and yet, there was still no trace of any magic that could possibly explain how this was possible.

That was… until Luna noticed something. “Hey… There’s somepony over there!” Rain, Shining, Gabby the little hatchling named Graff soon saw what they meant and began to head towards the pony that was at the back of the room nearby a chamber that was twice as big as the others. It was an Earth Pony with a blond mane, light sand colored fur and wore a lab coat with some of his other clothes. He also had facial hair along the sides of his face and what looked like a visor over one of his own eyes.

But when they heard the earth pony first speak though… they could tell that something was off. “Oh… So it is you all. How wonderful!” They heard the pony say with a bit of a crazed cackle in his tone. “I’m glad that I released the strength enhanced regular models… this will make for some valuable data.”

As the pony turned to face them… that was when Rain finally spoke up. “Who… are you?”

“Oh. How rude of me. You may call me Lazarus… Dr. Lazarus if you want to be more specific,” The earth pony responded to them, “I was quite acquainted with some of these crew members… as well as some of your fellow soldiers.”

That… threw both him and Shining Armor off guard completely. “Our… fellow soldiers?”

“Why yes… One of my assistants went all the way to Equestria to rob the graves at the Canterlot Cemetery,” He said, sounding pleased with himself even though the whole thing he was describing was beyond insane. “They were fine soldiers after all. Even dead, they remain so… based on the results that I have been getting so far when you were in combat with them.”

The whole thought of such a cruel act… still was baffling to Rain and Shining. Even the unicorn himself, who would normally remain calm and composed, was disturbed by all of this. “You… turned our comrades into… monsters?”

“Well, you saw them for yourself, didn’t you?” The Earth pony asked as he looked back at the chamber behind him. “The weapons I created… Weren’t they just delicious? And not a single one of my experiments required the use of magic. Yes… this was all done by the mind and by science…”

That though… was when Graff asked Gabby a question, a horrified look on the poor griffon’s face. “N-no… D-did… Mommy…?”

At the sound of hearing the young griffon though was when Lazarus noticed the youngling. “Hmm? I thought you seemed familiar… Why, aren’t you the son of that griffon that objected to my experiments? The resemblance is uncanny! You’re just as brazen as she was.”

But what he said next though… sent chills down everyone’s spines. “Why don’t I turn you into one of my weapons, like I did your mother?”

That… had Graff shiver a little, staring wide eyed at the earth pony in fear. “Wha…”

“Don’t worry…” Lazarus grinned menacingly. “We said it was an accident. It was all covered up neatly.”

That… finally prompted Shining and Rain to take action as they both drew their weapons. “You are a monster!” The unicorn shouted. “Do you think we’re going to let you get away with this!?”

All that did was have the earth pony laugh madly, before shaking his head. “Hehehehe… Oh I am… But I won’t be the one that you will have to be fighting…” With that, he pressed a button on the Chamber in the back as it began to open. The monitor lighting up as they now began to see the abomination that was inside. The behemoth was a monster that consisted of the parts of various different dead creatures, but was pieced together by multiple tubes and machinery. And now, it’s focus was directly on them. “For that… I will leave it to my newest test subject… Test Subject 15… Kill.”

“Gabby! Get Graff somewhere safe-!” Rain shouted, before being forced to block an incoming attack from the abomination as the force of it threw Rain into one of the empty test chambers and shattering it. Sending glass everywhere across the floor.

“Rain!” Shining shouted, before realizing that the massive beast was going for him too and dodging it’s incoming attack before striking with his blade. As for Luna, she was rushing over to Rain and casting a recovery spell to heal him as the knight joined back up with his companion.

“Damn it… That seriously hurt… How are we going to beat this thing?” He asked as both of them had to barrel out of the way of the next attack as the monster destroyed two more test chambers through brute force alone. Both knights could not even think of a proper game plan for how to fight this beast because of it going on a wild rampage and swinging at them every few seconds.

But there was someone… or for that matter… somebirdy that did notice something and soon spoke up. “Guys! I think I got an idea,” They all soon heard from Gabby as she was seen nearby an undestroyed test chamber. “Shining, you have control of ice magic, right?”

The unicorn nodded in response, before sliding out of the way of another attack and then asking a different question. “Yeah, why? How is that going to help us here?”

“Well, while you were fighting just now, I noticed something with that creature…” She explained to them. “If it requires that many pieces in order to keep that creature together, it means that this creation of his isn’t complete! So, if you try to freeze it in place and stop it from rampaging, you can take apart everything that’s holding it together.”

Upon realizing that… Rain soon turned to the griffon as she raced over to where Luna was at right now. “Gabby, that’s perfect!! But what are you going to do-”

“I had Graff hide in cover for a moment so we can help you,” Gabby replied, looking at Luna before she nodded her head and readied her bow this time. “Now don’t just stand there! Find a way to stop it in its tracks!”

Of course… doing that was easier said than done. It took Rain and Shining a few minutes to pull such a feat off and when they finally found a way to do it, it requires the Crimson Knight to basically bait the abomination over to one of the bigger test chambers and just before it could strike him, Shining cast one of his ice spells to freeze the behemoth in place. Providing an opportunity for both of them to cut the tubes that were holding the limbs of the monster together.

However, when there was one more piece left on the back of the abomination, that’s when it broke free. Both of its arms were no longer attached because of the metal tubes that were cut apart… but it did not stop from trying to go after them as it cornered both of them at a wall. But just when the two knights thought that they were done for… they heard a shot fired from a bow as it cut off the last of the cords. Not just from Luna… but from Gabby as well, using a slingshot as a way to mimic the same attack that Luna just did and to finally defeat the monstrosity.

But just when they finally thought it was over… they all soon realized one thing. The Doctor was nowhere to be seen. “Dammit! Where did he go?!”

“I don’t know…” Shining gritted his teeth as he sheathed his katana. “He must’ve escaped while we were fighting.”

“What a surprise…” They all soon heard Dr. Lazarus’ voice echo throughout the room they were in. “It seems that body of yours holds quite a bit more potential then I expected. It seems that Lord Veritas was right after all.”

“Veritas!?” Rain now shouted, realizing that this insane madman was in league with the ones who attacked Canterlot.

“I suppose we’ll meet again… Next time though, I’ll make the fruits of my labor even more challenging for you so you might enjoy our next meeting even more… Heh heh!” They heard the scientist say one last time before the chamber went dead quiet.

“He’s gone… and we were so close to having him too…” Rain said, groaning for a moment in disappointment in not stopping Lazarus while they were here. But it was while Rain and Shining were wrapping their head around this and thinking about what they were going to say to Graff… that they noticed Luna pointing out something to Gabby and Graff that was down the hall.

It was the youngling’s mother… cold and lifeless on the floor as Graff began to wrap her head around everything… and speak to her. Asking why was it that she had to go… why did she have to leave her here. Something that Gabby had to help her with as Shining found the resolve in himself to speak up first.

“I’m sorry for this, Graff… I’m sorry for not stopping the one responsible for this-”

“It’s okay…” He said, before looking back to where his mother was lying on the stone floor. “I… was always worried that she might have been a part of something awful… How dumb of me to think that. Mommy wouldn’t follow the orders of a monster like that…”

A few tears came down the griffons face… but they weren’t exactly tears of sadness based on the original response. “Y-you were amazing… you were the best… but why did you have to be taken away so soon?”

The only thing that could be done now was for Gabby to comfort him again and then tell the youngling something. “Come on, Graff… Say goodbye to your mother…”

Yet, Rain decided to take it one step further… walking over and picking up the deceased griffon’s body. Surprising the others for a moment. But soon giving him his reason why. “I don’t think this is the best place to be saying goodbye… We should give her a proper burial. That’s the least we can do to honor her memory.”

By the time that they returned back to town, the church that Gabby assisted at was able to conduct a proper funeral for Graff’s mother and give her a final resting place that was in the town that her son called home. It was a while after the service and by then, the rain from the storm began to clear up as it was now mostly sunny with a few clouds.

As for Rain and the others… well, they needed to focus on something else. And the sounds of it to Gabby came as a surprise… but not a complete shock. “You’re leaving already? But you three just got here not that long ago.”

“I’m sorry Gabby, but we need to hurry on over to Griffonstone… The people that Dr. Lazarus were describing are responsible for numerous atrocities and we think that they’re going to Griffonstone next,” Rain explained to them.

“Is this about that ‘Lord Veritas’ that he was talking about?” She asked, leading Rain and his companions to nod their head as she let out a deep breath. “I see… I wish I could come with you, but I still need to help out Galiant and the others at the Orphanage… But that doesn’t mean that I can’t help you out one last time.”

That had Rain and Shining look at one another for a moment, confused by what she said. That was… until Luna decided to ask the next question. “What do you mean by that?”

“I have a friend that once lived here, but moved to Griffonstone with her brother to chase their dream of becoming airship engineers,” The griffon explained to them. “Her names Fidget, and from what I have been hearing recently, she’s been making quite a name for herself in the town of Granitebeak. If you tell her about me, she’s more than willing to listen to you… but you may want to hide your bits.”

That… caused the crimson knight to raise an eyebrow. “Uh… why?”

Gabby smiled at them, before looking back to the orphanage when she overheard one of the people at the church calling her over. “You’ll see what I mean once you meet her… there’s a small vessel over on the other side of town that’s big enough for the three of you and is powered by a motor that runs on magic crystals. It should get you over there faster than any other ship right now.”

“Well uh… thanks, Gabby. We really appreciate it.” Shining Armor then told her in response.

“You’re welcome. Just make sure to come back here when your done with your big quest thingy and stay for a while. It’s always nice to have friends come see you!” The griffon said, before turning around and running back over to join up with Graff and the other kids. Leaving Rain with a smile on his face as he, Shining Armor and Luna turned around and proceeded to leave the town.

One thing for sure though… was that he definitely wanted to come back here again.

Author's Note

With that, we have another chapter complete and the first part is in the books. Now we move onto chapter 2 and the country of Griffonstone.

In this chapter, we also met Gabby... and her appearance and what she can do was inspired by this art piece I found on DeviantArt -> https://brownie-bytes.deviantart.com/art/Memorist-Gabriella-650557758

But to take things further... I'm making her a vision for Rain to summon. Here are the stats
Name: Gabriella
Job: Memorist
Rarity: 3*~6*
Role: Hybrid Attacker
Origin: FiM
Gender: Female
Race: Griffon
Trust Mastery: Memorist Glasses (Equipment: Def +5, Atk +15% Def +15%, Gains access to 'Copycat', which doubles the chance of her learning techniques from other party members when her HP is below 50%)
Current Trust: 5.0% (Given how Rain and the others have fought alongside her already)

Innate Abilities:
-Memorize- Power (*3, Special) When Gabby activates this ability, she gets the chance to acquire a party members special attack that she can use next turn.
-Memorize- Magic (*4, Special) Upon casting this, Gabby gains the ability to memorize the spells of any party member and use them as her own abilities next turn.
-I can do this! (*4, Passive) Increases the rate that Gabby can be able to memorize skills when wearing light clothes (No, robes don't count.)
-Attention to Detail (5*, Passive) Increased attack power by 10% and the success rate of 'Memorize' skills.
-Memorize- Dualcast (*6, Special) A powerful version of Gabby's memorizes that costs more MP and is a little bit trickier to execute. This ability allows for Gabby to cast any spell that she remembers twice. BUT it only works if there are party members that cast spells two or more times that turn. Otherwise, she's left with not a lot of options in terms of abilities.

The entire premise around Gabby is that when she first starts out, she's not quite familiar with how to use the skills of a memorist, but over time when you level her up and train her, she'll find the right teacher and be a crucial aspect to your team if you choose to put her on there.

I really do hope you enjoyed this chapter and look forward to what else I have in store.
-Frost

2- Granitebeak

Author's Note

Our heroes now arrive on the shore of the Griffon Kingdom, a country that is rich in minerals and the first country in order to industrialize new forms of technology that have not been seen before in other parts of the world. However, as of recently, monster incursions have begun to rise and some of those who live in the kingdom have seen themselves at higher risk at getting attacked by monsters. Now, with the help of a very skilled griffon engineer, Rain and his comrades begin their trek towards the shrine of the next crystal.

On a more serious note, this version of the Griffon Kingdom is not like the one that we are all familiar with in the show/comics. Sure, there are similar elements to the Griffons and locations, such as most locations and names starting with the letter G, but I decided to expand on it some more by picturing the griffon kingdom as a country that's rich in minerals and where parts of the country are always changing and introducing new technology and ideas. So, I really do hope you like what I have in store for you as Exvius: Rainfall goes into it's second arc.

Also, I really do think you'll like Rain's new companion. Just wait and see for yourself. :raritywink:
-Frost

2- Granitebeak

Crossing the ocean in a ship that was made to brace the waves was one thing that Rain and his companions were familiar with, despite only having traveled once. However, when it came to their current trek across the seas, there were a couple of things that made this trip much different than the original trip.

For one thing, the boat that they were using to traverse the ocean was much smaller than the big trading vessel from before. Around the size of a lifeboat if one was to be really specific. Secondly, this one was powered by a motor that’s being fueled by crystals, a contraption that they had not entirely seen before. Despite the fact that the transport ships that are normally seen in Canterlot used engines too, those ones mostly relied on that from other sources and did not use crystals because such a technology was still in the production stage. And there was not much evidence on how it can be able to make things easier for ponykind in Equestria.

As for the three travelers, going across the seas with this was… well, actually rather simple given how fast it was. Trying to stop it, on the other hand… became much more of a problem once they were getting closer to shore. Because of the fact that this form of technology was rather unfamiliar with the unicorn, he did not know what exactly he could do in order to stop it. And when he did, it was already too late. Because the speeding boat had hit a rock that was sticking out of the waters and sent the three of them flying onto the beach. Causing debris and pieces of the small craft to fly off everywhere and for the engine to explode in the water.

To Rain though… crashing a ship this time… and one that was entrusted to them by Gabby, was not something that he was entirely thrilled about. Because it was not like the last time, where they could just blame what happened on a Leviathan. “Ugh… and just when I’ve really wanted to not end up crashing on a beach again…” He rubbed his head, getting to his feet as he began to brush the sand off his clothes. Nearby him, he noticed that Luna was beginning to stand up on her own.

At first, it looked like she was rubbing her head… almost like the alicorn had some form of headache. Concerning Rain as he approached her. Shining himself also caught up with him from the other side as he looked at the two of them. “Hey, Luna? Are you okay-?”

“Hold on…” Shining interjected as he walked over to Rain’s right hand side. “Something’s not right…”

“What do you mean by that?” Rain asked. But his question was soon answered when a magical purple colored aura began to surround the alicorn as she looked towards him. And even though she still looked the same… her tone was much different than before. “Heh heh… It’s been a while… hasn’t it Rain?”

The voice caught the knight off guard as he looked at Shining Armor before looking towards him. “What the…”

Of course, before Rain could be able to finish his sentence, that was when Luna kept on speaking as she smirked now. “So the young child that was left to die in the forest has now grown…”

“W-what are you-? Luna, just what are you talking about?” Rain tried asking her, before the alicorn closed her eyes and spoke once more to him.

“If you remain to fight alongside me, then you will soon need to make a choice…” She now told him, before turning around. “Aldore… or Hess. Which will it be?”

Both knights were now equally puzzled by the Alicorn’s remarks, but it was Shining Armor that was the first one to speak. “Aldore? Hess?” In his mind, both of those names sounded like the names of countries… but the last time that he looked at a geographical map of Equestria, he could not recall either country being named Aldore or Hess.

“Luna, what’s going on? You’re not making any sense at all!” Rain asked now, really hoping that the alicorn could snap out of whatever trance this exactly was. All before he heard her say one more thing.

“I hope you don’t start whimpering like a foal again. When you know of the truth, that is…” After that single statement, Luna’s eyes widened as the magic that was originally around her began to dissipate. Returning the alicorn to her normal self… before dropping to her knees and crying out in pain before collapsing on the beach.

“Luna!” Both knights immediately raced to the Alicorn’s side as Shining placed two fingers underneath the alicorn’s chin. Holding it there for a moment before letting out a sigh of relief.

“It looks as if she’s just unconscious…” The unicorn told his partner as Rain looked back to her. Shortly before picking her up and placing her on his shoulders. “But…”

“But what?” Rain then asked, holding onto her legs as Luna was placed on his back.

“What she said just now… before she passed out,” The azure knight spoke up. “Do you think her memories are… well, returning to her?”

“I don’t know Shining… besides, that did not entirely sound like her at all,” The knight responded as both of them began to walk off the beach. Finding themselves on a dirt road that was surrounded by what looked like rather dry grass and trees that did not have any leaves at all. In fact, there wasn’t really a lot of natural life around them as they were traveling through the empty valleys and occasionally fighting any monsters that happened to come at them while they were traveling.

Though, this time around, it was Shining having to do most of the fighting because Rain had his hands full with carrying Luna. Of course, Shining himself did not mind because he was able to call on the visions that he had summoned before to assist him in combat for the time being as they made their way through a forest with barely any trees and… approached what looked like a stairwell that was etched into the rocks along with seeing what looked like mining equipment along the outside of it.

It was also in that moment when Rain soon heard Luna begin to wake up as her eyes fluttered open. “H-hunh? W-what happened?”

At that moment, Rain set the alicorn back on her feet as she looked at both knights in confusion. “Luna, are you alright? You kind of made us worry earlier…”

The alicorn nodded her head as she looked back at the two of them. “Really? Why would I do something like that?” She asked, surprising the two of them as both knights looked to each other.

It was around now that both of them explained to her about the events that occurred earlier in the day. Going as far as to try and tell her exactly what she said before passing out. Unfortunately though, this didn’t seem to ring any bells for the alicorn as she looked back to them, letting out a low sigh.

“So wait… you don’t recall anything that Rain and I just told you about?” Shining then asked her.

In response, Luna shook her head both ways before having her head hang down for a moment as she began to speak. “No… I’m sorry, but I don’t remember anything like that at all. It was… almost as if I had a dream,” She explained to both of the knights as she raised her head to look back at both of them now. “A dream that I know is rather important, but I can’t remember anything else about it.”

“Well, don’t beat yourself up over it,” Rain advised her as he had a smile on his face. “I’m sure it’ll come back to you.”

As for Shining Armor, he was looking around for a moment as the unicorn looked back at both of his companions. “In the meantime, I believe this is the mainland for the Griffon Kingdom that we’re currently standing on…”

“Hopefully it is… because so far, our track record with overseas travel has not exactly gone well for us so far,” The knight said, before noticing Luna move closer to the supplies and up the stone stairs as he turned around. “Luna?”

“Hey, look over here!” The alicorn pointed out as both knights reached the top of the stairwell in order to see what she was looking at. “That cave should lead us somewhere, right?”

“That’s no cave,” Shining Armor corrected her as he pointed out some of the items and provisions that were lying around the entrance that Luna found. “With this amount of supplies out here, railroad tracks and pickaxes? This isn’t a cave, it’s a tunnel… and it leads somewhere.”

“If somepony’s making tunnels, then it might mean that something must be on the other side, right?” Rain then suggested as he looked back at his companions. “Perhaps we’ll find that town that Gabby told us about? It’s worth taking a look.”

“It’s not like we got any other place to go.” Shining Armor added as the three of them began to go through the entrance of the tunnel. At first, Rain thought that he needed to bring a torch from some of the supplies outside so they could see… only to find out that whoever was here first had set up mini-torches throughout the tunnel that illuminated the passageway.

However, any thought of the tunnels being seen as easy to navigate was immediately extinguished. The tunnels themselves were huge and there was no real straight path for them to exactly follow. Not to mention the fact that there were also monsters that were lurking in these abandoned passageways, which of course made it harder for them to wrap their heads around where exactly where they were going when various monsters, such as gloom widows, headstones, steel bats and many other nasty monsters were trying to block the way forward.

As they were traversing the tunnels though, that was when they began to feel some rather strong and powerful winds rush through the underpass. Which, lead to Shining Armor saying something. “For a mining tunnel, the winds that have been blowing through here have been quite strong,” The Unicorn then looked towards Rain and Luna. “Perhaps it’s possible that we have reached the griffon kingdom after all. It is the home of the wind crystal.”

“It will be tucked away in a shrine right? Just like the earth crystal in the Everfree?” Rain then asked his companion as the Azure Knight looked back to him.

“Given what we know, it is the only likely possibility,” The unicorn told him. “And that’s where we must head… and we need to reach it before the Veritas get there first.”

“Alright, but we can’t reach the shrine unless we find our way out of the tunnels,” The crimson knight responded back. “And based on how long we have been walking in here already, it feels like we aren’t really getting anywhere.”

“Well, it is difficult to keep your bearings while underground-” His friend responded, taking a moment to wipe the sweat off his forehead. However, before he could be able to continue speaking, that was when they heard Luna interject and point out something to them.

“Rain, Shining! Over here!”

At first, both of them seemed confused. But when they noticed that Luna was beginning to walk off in the direction where she was pointing, that was when Rain soon spoke up. “Woah, hold on Luna. If you wander off on your own, you’re going to end up lost-” Of course, it didn’t stop Luna from beginning to continue on walking that way, shortly before turning around and trying to assure both of them that she knew what she was doing.

“I’ll be fine! You see, since we’ve been walking, I’ve been feeling this rather odd breeze flow through here,” The alicorn explained. “I’m sure that it’s this way! It’s like something is calling us. Come on!”

Of course, it didn’t really help that around now, Luna had already got a head start and was leaving both Rain and Shining Armor behind. Even with Rain calling out to her. “Hey!! Luna, wait for us!” The two of them were able to eventually catch up with her, but it was also around this time that… they did happen to notice the breeze that Luna was talking about. And it was getting stronger the more that they continued to follow the path.

While they were following it though, that was when Luna asked them a question. Not about the path they were on… but about a different subject. “Um… so this crystal we’re looking for… Veritas is trying to destroy it?”

“Yes…” Shining Armor replied simply.

“But why…?” That single question was the first of a few that Luna had on her mind. And something that both of the knights have not actually thought about. “Why is he trying to destroy the crystals though? What could he possibly gain from doing such a thing? And what would become of the world if they are all destroyed?”

“Other than what we know…” The unicorn thought, recalling the text from the books they read in Canterlot before setting on this adventure. “This is something that I don’t have an answer for… All I know from the sounds of it is that these crystals are seen as sacred, but that’s all I know about them.”

In Rain’s mind, he began to think that finding a way to protect the Wind Crystal from harm was of top priority. But first, they need to find out where exactly it is. And trying to find one crystal in such a big continent as this one was one rather big needle… in an even bigger haystack. Though, it was as he was thinking this that he and his companions happen to notice something beaming along the walls of the cave.

It was sunlight… “I think you were right, Luna. We’re getting close to finding a way out of here.” Rain told her, just as they found that a boulder was blocking the exit as he began to charge up the Crimson Saber with his magic. Once fully charged, he sliced at the rock that was blocking their path as it began to crumble into a heap of stones and sunlight began to pour through the tunnel. Allowing for them to leave the winding passage and finally step outside to get some fresh air.

“There we are! Finally, some fresh air…” The knight let out a huge sigh of relief as he and his companions walked out onto an open plateau that was not far from where the exit of the passageway was. “Dear Celestia, I’m glad we’re no longer stuck inside that tunnel anymore.”

“So am I.” Shining Armor replied in agreement. Before adding on something else. “And I think we have proof that we are in the Griffon Kingdom now.”

That had both Rain and Luna look back at the stallion with a confused glance on both of their faces. “Really? How?”

“Look over there,” The unicorn replied back as he pointed past the both of them. Through the mountainside ravine that was behind them, they could now see one thing that really stood out amongst everything else. Airships. And not just one or two… but several. Some even going into port at what looked like a massive city of metal not far from their present location. “Those are airships.”

“Air… ships?” Luna asked, sounding confused.

“Vessels of the skies,” The azure knight clarified for the alicorn. “Only in the Griffon Kingdom do they have the means to be able to build them. Even though there are workshops that build airships in Fillydelphia, the ponies in those shops were taught how to craft them from griffon migrants that were granted a place to call home in Equestria.”

“Wow Shining… I didn’t know that you were that much of a geek on airships.” Rain chuckled as his friend shot him a glance.

“I know about these because my father once met someone from Griffonstone.” Shining explained, before looking back at both Rain and Luna once again. “If we are seeing airships now, than it’s possible that we are either close to the town that Gabby had told us about or the capital of Griffonstone.”

“I would love to see one of these up close!” Luna said with glee in her voice before looking back at both of the knights. The trip down the ravine was a rather simple one for all three of them because instead of having to go through any particular tunnels again, all they needed to do to reach the nearest town was stick to the path. And the path itself was just a straight shot to the town at the end of it.

Once they reached the town of Granitebeak though… that was when things got really interesting. Because unlike some cities in Equestria, Granitebeak was a sprawling industrial capital that was almost like a huge tower or skyscraper. The entire city, shops, inns, airship docks and ports were all built out of metal and steel. Not to mention that a lot of the griffons that lived in the city looked like they had some form of mechanical contraption on hand. Whether they were part of the city’s military or they were engineers doing repairs on the ships.

And given all of this, it meant that trying to find the primary airship docks was more or less challenging for the three of them. Not to mention the fact that trying to ask for help lead to them getting stood up unless they paid up any bits they had in exchange. So, instead of doing that, all three of them just decided to proceed up the stairs to try and reach the docks on their own. Which, took a little while… but eventually the three of them made their way up to where the first set of airship docks were, seeing several griffons that were there. Including one that had white colored feathers on her face, neck and body, but the feathers on her head were a bright red and tied up in the back like it was a ponytail. Her clothes matched the same color of her toolkit and she was wearing red clothes, but a pair of yellow overalls over them and she wore a pair of goggles that matched the same color as the overalls.

And that griffon was the first one to notice them once Shining Armor began to speak up. “Excuse me, but I would like to speak to the griffon in charge here… my companions and I are in need of an airship.”

Immediately, the griffon turned around to face Shining Armor and his friends before letting out a sigh. “Then I’m afraid that you’re fresh out of luck, unfortunately,” She told them, placing her right claw on her hip as she shook her head while she was speaking. “These ships are military property. So we can’t just lend them out to just anybirdy, unfortunately.”

That surprised both Rain and Shining. But the first one to comment on the matter was Luna herself. “B-but, why not?! You have so many here!”

Which was followed by Rain asking a different question. “May I ask who I’m talking too?”

The griffon looked back at Rain and Shining, shortly before telling them an answer. “My name is Gadget… but my friends call me Fidget,” The griffon told them, “I’m the one who’s in charge here and for a good reason. I’m the best engineer that Granitebeak’s got right now. Why they’ll be calling me Cid in no time flat with the shift I’m running around here.”

At that boast though, Rain and Luna thought two separate things. For Rain, he was the one that was beginning to realize that this griffon was actually the friend that Gabby was talking about before they left. As for Luna… well, she voiced her thoughts through a question. “Cid? Why would they call you that? Isn’t that a boy’s name?”

Before the griffon could speak though, that was when Shining soon interjected. “From my understanding, Cid is a name and title that they bestow on all master engineers. One that dates back generations… At least, that’s what father told me.”

“Well, looks like somebirdy knows their history,” Fidget replied back, smirking at Shining Armor. “Not bad for a sword-swinger such as yourself.”

However, Shining was quick to make her tone change in a heartbeat. “So even the future Cid and Gabby’s friend can’t just lend us one little airship?”

“H-hold on there,” The griffon urged, backing up for a moment. “I’m not exactly Cid just yet… Wait, you know Gabby? Last I heard, she was returning back to her hometown to help out the creatures there.”

“That’s right… and since we were in town, we thought we could ask you for help,” Rain sighed, before turning to Shining and Luna for a quick moment. “Well… I guess we’re out of luck then. Looks like we’re going to be walking over to where that shrine is on our own-”

Immediately after saying that, Fidget rushed to the three of them and interrupted the crimson knight. “H-hold your chocobos for a moment… Did you say ‘shrine’? As in the Galewing Shrine?” That left Rain and his friends equally confused… but not before the griffon noticed the sigil on the knight’s clothes. “That sigil you're wearing… The two of you are knights of Canterlot, aren’t you?”

Then… came a bold declaration. “In that case, I’m going with you!”

“Wait…” Rain blinked, before looking at Fidget. “Coming with us…? Just what are you talking about?! I thought you said that we were fresh out of luck?”

“Well, the crystal’s that I need in order to get my latest masterpiece off the ground are inside that shrine,” The engineer explained to them. “If you fight off any nasty monsters that we come across, I’ll show you the quickest way to reach the shrine!”

That statement… soon had Shining think of something as he looked back to Rain. “These lands are still a bit foreign to us. If we are going to travel on foot, we can use a guide.”

“What about everyone you’re watching over though?” Rain then asked.

“I can just have Gillian watch over them for the time being. Besides, everybirdy here knows just as much technology with airships as I do.” Fidget said confidently. Leading to the crimson knight to soon make a final decision.

“Fair enough. You show us the way and we’ll be able to keep you safe.”

“Sounds like a deal to me,” The engineer grinned as she shook one of Rain’s hands. “Let me grab my toolkit and I’ll be ready to go.”

It took only a few moments for Fidget to grab the things that she needed for the trip and in that short time, Rain himself found that he needed to stock up on their supplies too. Though, unlike Canterlot, where food, water and medicine were sold relatively cheap, the same items in the griffon kingdom actually costed more. And he wasn’t sure if this was a trick for the griffons to get more money out of travelers or the effects of possible trade tariffs that made certain valuable items a lot more expensive.

Eventually, they were able to meet back up with Fidget… and it was when they did meet back up with her that Luna happened to noticed something peculiar. “Fidget, what’s that thing behind you?” Rain too… was also a little bit curious. Because throughout the time that they were with the griffon, she had a little mechanical bird follow her wherever she went. One that almost looked like that of a chocobo if you looked carefully at the paint and also its appearance, except for the sight of what looked like conveyor belts instead of talons.

“Oh this little guy?” Fidget pointed towards it as the metal bird chirped… almost like that of an actual chocobo as Shining Armor now looked to see what they were talking about. “Ain’t he adorable? This is mechabo, my own mechanical chocobo! I made him myself.”

“Y-you built him y-yourself? T-that’s amazing!” Luna complimented Fidget as the mechabo gave a small happy chirp.

Yet, for Shining Armor… he didn’t really seem entirely impressed. “So… if I’m getting this right… you essentially built a toy chocobo.”

Hearing the azure knight’s comments did not really settle well with the engineer. “A toy!? You think that my creation’s a toy to you?!” She growled, before looking at mechabo and getting out of the way. “Mechabo, teach this jerk a lesson!” Immediately, the mechabo began to push itself at Shining. Poking at his clothes as its sharp beak almost tore through them.

“O-ow! Hey!! That hurt!!” Shining winced, before realizing that the mechanical chocobo was not going to let up anytime soon. Which… lead to the unicorn being chased by the mechabo as he was trying to get away from it. All while Rain, Luna and Fidget were watching. Eventually… Shining was able to finally outrun it, but not before getting lectured by the engineer when he returned to the three of them.

“Well, I do hope you learned your lesson now,” She told him, before smirking as she looked back at the exhausted stallion. “Make fun or insult my mechabo and you’ll be in for a world of hurt. Got that?”

“I-i’m sorry…” Shining coughed, just as the mechabo finally returned to Fidget’s side. “It is no toy… It’s… an remarkable technological accomplishment.”

“You’re dang right it is.” Fidget smirked. But just as things were about to calm down, that was when the three of them heard a different voice speak up.

“Fidget, there you are! I’ve been looking all over for you-” They all turned around to see another griffon. This time one that looked to be wearing what looked like some kind of leather armor and had a red scarf around his neck. Not to mention he had what looked like an axe of some kind on his back that looked to have similar functions to that of Rain’s own Crimson Saber. “Oh… I’m sorry, did I interrupt something?”

“No Gillian. Actually, you were the griffon I was looking for.” Fidget spoke up as she looked back at them. “I was going to head outside of Granitebeak for a bit.”

“H-head out?” The griffon cautiously asked. “Aren’t you aware of the rise of monster sightings outside the city?” It was also in that moment that he looked towards Rain, Shining and Luna as well. “And who are these… foreigners?”

“Well, I’m Rain,” The crimson knight soon spoke up. “And my companions are Fina and Shining Armor-”

“Hold on… Shining Armor?” He said, blinking for a moment. “As in the son of Night Light?”

Now Shining’s attention was focused on Gillian as he raised an eyebrow and looked back at him. “You knew my father?”

“Well, of course I do…” The griffon added on, looking back at him. “When I was younger, I went to Canterlot in order to learn how to better serve the people here as one with the military. Your Princess introduced me to the captain of the guard at the time and he helped train me. Night Light told me about you during the time I was there and even showed me a picture… but I didn’t think there would be the day that I get to meet you myself. And all grown up, no less…”

After saying that though, Gillian soon had a new question for them. “So… what brings you all the way out to Granitebeak?”

That… had both Rain and Shining Armor look at one another for a moment before the crimson knight soon began to speak. “Well… originally, we were looking for someone to help us reach the Galewing Shrine. Fidget was going to help guide us over there in exchange for protecting her against any monsters that we might come across.”

Gillian, after hearing that, began to scratch his chin before looking back at Fidget. “I see… So, you were going to ask me if you can be able to keep an eye on everything here while you go help them?” Fidget herself, nodded in response to his question as Gillian let out a deep breath before speaking. “Alright, I’m okay with it-”

“Thank you very much-!”

“On one condition,” Gillian interrupted Fidget mid sentence as he looked back at the four of them. “If you’re going to the shrine, then there’s something I need for you to do along the way… Can you check on the dwarves at the Graphite Forge?”

That… had Rain and the others blink for a moment before the crimson knight asked for some clarification. “Uh… Dwarves?”

“Ah... right,” Gillian realized his blunder in not properly explaining it to the knights and their companion and began to try and quickly fix that. “The dwarves are a race of diligent and sincere beings that mostly live underground, primarily in the griffon kingdom. In fact, they help us with producing airships by creating the important pieces we need to build them… Primarily, they work in the Graphite Mines west of here and deliver to us parts every few days. But with what’s been going on recently, we haven’t received any new shipments in the last two weeks… and with the recent monster incursions, I’m worried that there might be some monsters causing problems for them at the forge. Even though they can forge weapons, not all of the dwarves in the mines are fighters. I would go… but we don’t have a lot of griffons here on duty to protect the citizens in case if monsters came into the city. Can I count on you guys to look into it and see if there’s anything you can do to help?”

“The mines are on the way to the shrine,” Fidget herself added as she looked back at Rain. “They even serve as a shortcut so you don’t have to go over the mountain peaks.”

After thinking it over and looking back at his companions, Rain smirked as he nodded his head. “You can count on us. As a knight of canterlot, I’ll make sure not to let you down. You have my word.”

The journey over to the Graphite Forge was supposed to be easy… again, supposed to. But, as the four of them began to set off on their travels, they began to find themselves tested against several different monsters on the way over. Both outside on the path towards the entrance… and inside the mountain as well. Though, Rain and Shining Armor saw it as a chance in order to be able to practice their swordsmanship against monsters that they haven’t encountered before. Especially since some might have been native to only the griffon kingdom and not anywhere else.

Eventually though, after fighting through several different types of monsters, they were able to eventually catch a break once they were further inside the mountain. And judging from how warm the air was getting, they seemed to be getting closer to the forge. And with it, Fidget herself soon turned around to face Rain, Shining and Luna. “Just wait here… I got this.”

“Is… this the forge?” Luna then asked as she looked around. “It’s so… massive.”

“Well, this is where the dwarves help with crafting our airship parts… but something’s not right,” The griffon replied back, pointing out that some of the contraptions in the dwarven workshop were not even moving. “Normally, the forges here are constantly being used around the clock. They’re not supposed to go cold like this unless if something happened…”

Of course, that was also when the griffon heard a familiar voice as Rain noticed what looked like a rather… short person with a long beard speaking up. “Lali-ho! Hey, everyone! Fidget’s here!!”

The griffon turned around, just as all four of them began to see other dwarves emerge from behind some of the anvils and contraptions in the workshop. Of course, to Fidget… she just smiled, relieved to see them as she greeted them the same way they greeted her. “Lali-ho to you friend!”

“We’re really glad to see you here,” The dwarf that was talking to her spoke up. “But me wish that it was under better circumstances.”

“I was going to ask about that… Gillian was getting concerned about you and was wanting to know what happened,” She asked, before looking back at everything. “You don’t normally stop production unless there’s a huge problem.”

“And that is the problem,” The dwarf then commented. “These damnable monsters are preventing us from working!”

Of course, Fidget herself was caught off guard by that. “Monsters?! Gillian told me that there have been monster incursions recently, but what would they be doing here?”

“Yer guess is as good as mine,” The Dwarf responded. “What’s worse is that some of me good friends are trapped on the other side. And we can’t get any work done without them.” Of course, that just lead to Rain looking back at Shining Armor as they looked back towards the dwarf.

“All the more reason to let us pass,” Rain then spoke up, catching the attention of both the dwarf and the engineer. “Just watch, we’ll free your friends. I swear on my honor as a knight of Canterlot!”

Despite the proud boast from the crimson knight though… the dwarf was not so easily convinced. “Yeh know not of what yer saying, boy. These ain’t ordinary fiends… They’ll eat you up and spit you out.”

Then, it was Shining’s turn to speak up. “A knight that cowers in the face of danger is no knight at all,” The unicorn said, before looking towards Rain for a brief moment. “Besides… Rain is not one to listen to common sense. Or even comprehend it.” That just got a brief smirk out of the Crimson knight as both Rain and Shining Armor passed Fidget and the dwarf. Descending deeper into the territory of the monsters that lurked inside it as the bewildered griffon looked towards Luna.

“Whoa… Talk about hitting below the belt,” Fidget stated. “You would think that knights of their caliber would be a little more… courteous.”

All Luna personally did though was just smile as she summoned her bow and looked back at the griffon. “You would think that, but then again, you’d be wrong… That’s about as civil as they get.” And before Fidget could even ask a follow up question, Luna chased after them, arrows drawn and at the ready in order to assist Rain and Shining with any challenging foes they might come across.

“Y-you can’t be serious!” Fidget finally said, only to realize that Luna was way too far away in order to hear her as the griffon shrugged her shoulders. “Dear crystals, please give me patience… I think I’m going to need it.”

2.1- From the Heavens

With each step forward, Rain and Shining found themselves fighting through numerous different monsters that were lurking in the depths of the Gravel Forge while Luna provided support for the two of them with the arrows she was firing from her bow. Some that appeared to be creatures from outside that have found a way to sneak inside, fire elementals that began to take form from the hot and dense atmosphere around them, bomb-type monsters who would blow themselves up in order to attack those that threaten it’s well being and even a fire spirit that could shift its form and change into a hand, dragon or a pony like figure. Fortunately, it was nothing that a bit of ice magic and perseverance couldn’t handle as the two knights and the white magus push forward and through the horde of monsters that stood before them. Even summoning the visions of both Nimbus and Steela to aid them when things got dire.

After finishing off the fire spirit that blocked the way out, Rain placed his sword on his back as he looked back at Shining and Luna. Before noticing Fidget as she was catching up with them. “Well, that was a pretty heated fight. Glad we don’t need to deal with him anymore.”

Shining though, just groaned as he sheathed his katana and looked back towards Rain. “Can’t you be serious for once? That last monster was no ordinary fiend…”

“Shining, come on… this is my serious face.” The knight was going to say something else, but it was around the time that Fidget joined up with them that one of the other dwarves that was in the cave just hurried over to them.

“What’s wrong, friend?!” Fidget spoke up, trying to calm the dwarf down. “The monsters are gone! You don’t have to worry about them anymore.”

However, what the dwarf said next… really caught Rain and his companions off guard as the panicking dwarf looked back towards them. “Me comrades! That armored bastard grabbed ‘em and took ‘em before me very eyes!!”

In Rain’s mind… hearing about an armored bastard meant only one thing. “Armor? Could this the work of the Veritas?”

“It sounds likely… however, I’m not so sure if it’s the same one that we encountered in Canterlot.” Shining brought up a rather valid point there. When they first encountered the Veritas during their attack on Canterlot, they learned that there were six of them amongst their ranks. If Veritas of the Dark was their leader, then it was completely possible that he sent one of the other members of the Sworn Six to track down the crystal at the Galewing Shrine.

However, there was still one other question that now began to formulate in Rain’s head. What could a Veritas possibly gain from abducting a few dwarves? It was something that he would have to think on later, because in that moment, Fidget was talking to the dwarf that was there and asking where they went. And the dwarf only had one reply. “He wasn’t so kind as to introduce himself! Just muttered about putting ‘em to work in Griffonstone, wherever that may be!”

“Work?” Luna then spoke up, puzzled by what the dwarf just said. “What kind of work?”

It was shortly after Luna asked that question that Fidget provided an answer for them. Turning around to face them as she began to explain. “When it comes to building and making airships, one dwarf is worth its weight in bits. There are a vast amount of parts that no creature but a dwarf would know how to make.”

“But that armored scoundrel… He abducted me friends and took off with them. Like the very wind, he did!” The dwarf spoke, still panicking as Fidget turned back around to face him.

“Wait… like the wind?” The griffon asked now, sounding surprised and a bit confused. “You mean they just came in here and vanished?”

“In any case, we should hurry over to this Griffonstone place that they were talking about!” Rain spoke up as the dwarf that was there agreed. Even going as far as to show them the way out so they could go catch the one responsible.

However, traveling to Griffonstone was not easy. In order to make it there, they had to cross through the rocky ravine that was Giant’s pass. The ravine itself appeared to be a combination of a grassy plane with a few trees, but also had the rocks and sharp cliffs that were part of the mountainside too. It was supposed to be what one would consider as a direct route to Griffonstone. Though, that was only if you took into account the monsters that were active in the area as well.

Of course, at one point in traveling over there did Shining say something that caught Rain off guard along with Luna as well. “Fidget, I think that we might know who could’ve possibly taken those dwarves…”

That immediately stopped Fidget in her tracks, turning around as she looked directly at the Unicorn. “Wha…?”

“Well, Rain and I think that it’s possible that they are the same group of villains who attacked Canterlot recently.” Shining explained, looking towards his fellow knight as he began to add on to what the unicorn was saying.

“They called themselves the Sworn Six of Paladia, but they refer to each one of themselves by the name ‘Veritas’,” Rain continued where Shining left off as he informed Fidget of what had been going on recently. “Their goal, as of right now, seems to be destroying the great crystals that are within the shrines.”

From that statement alone, Fidget was caught off guard. “They want to destroy the crystals?! Why the beak would they want to do something like that!?”

“As of this moment, that is something that we don’t know,” The crimson knight explained to her. “That is why we are on this journey. Whatever the reason for doing so is, we’ll stop them. We’ll stop them and we will free the dwarves.” In Fidget’s mind, it sounded like Rain was being serious. But she was really unsure whether or not the two knights were trying to be all ‘high and mighty’ so she could put more of her trust on them.

Which lead to her asking a question in order to verify their intentions. “For real, you will? You’re not trying to sound all big or anything like that?”

All that did was have Rain nod his head as he looked back at the Griffon. “We will. You have my word on that,” The knight told her, before proclaiming his determination with the next few words that he said to her. “As a knight of Canterlot, I will do my duty and make sure that those Dwarves come back home safely!!”

That just had Fidget grin a little as she pointed at the two knights with one of her outstretched talons. “Well alright then, I’ll make sure you keep that promise of yours. In fact, if you hold up your end, I’ll give you something worth your trouble. Call it a reward for your hard work.”

Now that had both knights look back at each other with a puzzled look on each of their faces as they tried to understand what she was saying. That was, until Shining decided to speak up and ask about it. “A reward?”

“Sure! You see, once I get that crystal that I need from the shrine and I finish my airship, I’ll let you come for a ride on it to anywhere you want to go,” She told them, just as they heard the next part of what she was saying as they saw what looked to be the reflection of bits coming off of her eyelids. “I’ll even give you the discount rate!”

“Um… should I be concerned that her eyes are sparkling?” Luna then asked, just before Fidget shook her head and began to refocus her attention on the matter at hand.

But as they were traveling, a different conversation began to emerge. And that was one that was based on what Fidget had just mentioned a few moments ago. “Fidget, you mentioned before that you need a crystal in order to power up airships and provide energy to travel… but doesn’t the government in Granitebeak provide those for you?”

“Well, yes… but it’s a little more complicated than that…” Fidget began to explain as they passed through a few trees. “In the Griffon kingdom, they only provide them for you if you are planning to build airships that would be used for times of war. They don’t give you the resources you would need to build common airships, so everything that I have gotten so far to make mine has been from scratch. Warships more profitable, my flank it is!”

“Wouldn’t you need a lot of bits in order to get all those resources though?” Rain then asked her.

“Heck yeah, which is why I have been trying to get bits anyway I could! Whether it’s through selling wares, doing commissions for items and so on. I don’t just like bits, I LOVE bits…” She said as if it was a declaration, making Rain and the others a little bit uncomfortable with how she phrased that. “But the friendship of the dwarves is the one thing that money cannot buy.”

“So there are things you value more than money after all…” Shining said, thinking that he was saying it to himself. Unfortunately for him though, Fidget actually overheard that statement and really did not like it.

“Of course there are! Jeez!!” She snapped, infuriated by the unicorn’s stray comments as she let out a frustrated sigh. “You sound like my brother, Gaven all over again.”

That caught both Rain and Luna by surprise as the white magus began to speak up now. “You have a brother, Fidget? What’s he like?”

Of course, Shining’s question did not exactly help the present situation whatsoever. And to Rain, the more that he added on to the conversation, the more that he thought that the unicorn was digging his own grave. “Is he just as greedy for bits as you are?”

“Oh you bet he is! Let me tell you-” It was around then that Fidget realized the full extent of Shining’s sentence as she began to snap directly at him now. “Excuse you?! Greedy!? ME!?! So we both like to make a few bits, who doesn’t?! You don’t need money, Mr. Canterlot Knight? I suppose you got those fancy clothes for free hunh?! Found it in a chest in some deserted back alley, did you?! …… I’m nothing like my brother, okay!?!”

The unicorn, who was stunned by the griffon’s outburst, tried his best in order to take back what he said before. “I seem to have spoken thoughtlessly. Forgive me, Fidget. I didn't mean to make you shout-”

“Wha……!?” She spoke up, and from how she reacted to Shining’s sentence, the griffon did not like his choice of words. “Who was shouting? I wasn’t shouting! This is the way I normally speak, so EXCUUUSE me, Mr. Unicorn! Mr… Blue eyes!! Mr. Prince!!” And with that, Fidget just happened to storm off ahead of them, leaving a shocked and startled Shining looking back at Rain and Luna as he asked one simple question.

“What in the name of Celestia…? Can somepony please explain to me what I said wrong?”

Rain himself just let out a deep sigh as he looked back at the Unicorn and shrugged his shoulders. “To be honest, I’m not really sure how to help you out here… Maybe you should at least hear out people before assuming that they are exactly like someone else. They might get offended by that.” A few moments after saying that to him, all three of them were able to catch up with the griffon, explaining to her that what Shining said was a simple mistake and that they wanted to hear her side of the story.

Fidget herself, just let out a deep sigh as she looked back at both of them. “Okay, look… I love bits… Love, love, love them. However, I don’t try to throw away my dreams in order to get my claws on it, understand?” At the last part of the sentence, Fidget was beginning to yank on Shining’s ear with her right claw as the stallion was trying to break free and withstand the pain.

“I get it! I get exactly what you mean!” He told her back, prompting the tinkerer to let his ear go as Fidget continued to speak to them.

“And that is why I’m not anything like my big brother at all.” The griffon glared at him, before letting out a deep breath as they began to climb up a breezy hillside. Though, in hearing what the griffon said, it provided more context on the matter as Rain looked back at Fidget and asked her an important question on the matter.

“You’re saying that your brother gave up his dreams in pursuit of wealth?”

At first, Fidget was silent… but after a few seconds, she turned back around to face Rain and his friends as she answered his question for her. “… That’s right. When he learned about how much money he could make by being an airship technician for the military, he signed up faster than a pegasus taking off at a flying competition,” Fidget adjusted the goggles that were on her forehead as she let out a heavy sigh. “Now all he does is just make machines of war… But I’m not like him. I’m not going to throw away my dreams or give up on them. That’s not the kind of griffon I am and that’s definitely not how I’m going to become the next Cid!”

“Sounds like a lot of things happened between the two of you.” Rain then replied back in order to keep the conversation going.

“Oh, so you actually want to hear more about what happened between my brother and I, hunh? Well, it’s not going to be cheap,” The griffon smirked, before rubbing the index and middle talons on her right claw. “It’ll cost you the equivalent of a knight’s annual salary. How about it?”

Rain blinked for a moment, before shaking his head as he looked back at the griffon. “That’s a little bit too rich for me. More to the point, why would a story even cost money?”

Fidget thought about it for a moment, before shaking her head and setting her claw aside. “Valid point… Still, ever since we were young, my brother and I wanted to become a Cid. We spent hours going through the Gustcloud Airship factory together, where they had displays of all the Cid’s from previous generations…” For a moment, the griffon seemed to appear as if she was upset… but then she turned around to see something right in front of her. “Oh hey, look! There’s the gate to Griffonstone.”

In the mind’s of Rain and his companions, that meant two things. One, it was possible that they could find the dwarves that were kidnapped in this village… and two, the one who abducted them could also still be lurking about here. Not to mention that the people in the village weren’t exactly that helpful either. According to Fidget, this place was once a striving symbol of the Griffon Kingdom because of their king and the relic called the ‘Lost Treasure of Griffonstone’. However, around the time of their fourteenth king, Guto, the relic was stolen by a monster named Arimaspi. Leading to Guto being forced out and also leading to Griffonstone’s decline. What was once an example of griffon pride had now become nothing more than a run down village.

Fidget had also informed them that the griffons who lived there had a bit of a quirk with their personality that she called ‘Griffonstone Greed’. Where, unlike those who lived in Granitebeak, the griffons in Griffonstone would want bits for everything. From simple things such as directions to overcharging for basic necessities like food and water. Even buying a bronze dagger from a blacksmith costed around four thousand bits, eight times the price of one in Canterlot.

However, they did not come here to ask for directions or purchase anything. They came here looking for dwares that were taken against their will. And sooner or later, they found one at the back of the town by a cliff overlooking the valley below. “Fidget, over here!!”

Upon hearing Rain calling out to her, the griffon rushed over to where he was. Seeing what looked to be an unconscious dwarf lying on the ground. “H-hey, are you okay!? Hold on, we’ll get you some help!”

However, when Shining and Luna arrived, their focus was on a completely different matter. “We should all be on guard,” Shining replied, reaching for his Katana as he looked towards Rain and Luna. “The enemy draws near.”

At first, things seemed rather quiet… but soon, everyone felt the wind begin to pick up from all around them. All while a voice was beginning to speak. “There is a truth to those who gaze upon the world from the heavens,” The nearby windmill was beginning to spin out of control now as the tower was separated from the rest of the building. Stone bricks flying everywhere as the voice continued to speak. “That is the ridiculous ugliness of the monsters who crawl within the dirt.”

Now Rain himself was alert as he drew his saber and held it in front of him. Armed and ready for if someone were to launch an attack. “Who’s there!? Show yourself!”

It was after he said those words that he felt something soar past the group from behind as they now saw a new armored figure floating in the air. However, unlike with the last Veritas, the armor on this foe was a dark green and the decorations on the helmet took the form of wings as it looked back towards them. “I am one of the Sworn Six of Paladia, Veritas of the Heavens! The earth and ground beneath you exist only to serve the heavens. And so, I will be having that dwarf back now.”

However, that statement did not go down well with the griffon who was watching this all play out as she snapped at the armored foe. “Are you kidding me!? He’s a living being, not… not a valuable family treasure that your wife took when she left you!!”

Despite the fact that the Griffon was trying to help them though… this was not the kind of help that Rain was really thinking. In fact, all it did was just make things worse. “Is that so?” With a twist of the their wrists, a current of air began to flow all around Veritas of the Heavens as a twin bladed spear emerged in his right hand and a shield on his left. The armor glowing from the amount of power that was being channeled. “Well, if it belongs in the earth, then perhaps I should see that it stays there… permanently!!!”

“Fidget, get back-!” The crimson knight barely had time to react as he held up his weapon in order to defend himself as the Veritas leaped into the air before slamming down on the ground. His spear causing a massive shockwave to form as it almost knocked them to the ground. Rain himself, swung at the Veritas as his blade collided with his opponent’s shield. Trying to throw him off balance. “Veritas of the Heavens! What is it that the Sworn Six are after?!”

“The heavens heed not answer the earth,” The Veritas spoke, pushing Rain back before swinging his spear as the blade barely missed him and Shining Armor. “It is the earth’s place to heed the words of the heavens.”

“Is that so?” The crimson knight retorted, looking towards Shining now as both of them had their weapons at the ready. “Then I guess we’ll have to force you to listen!”

“Heh… I wonder if you have that in you, denizens of the earth.” The Veritas of the Heavens taunted at them. It was in this moment that Fidget herself chimed in as she took out what looked to be a portable hammer and crossbow from her toolkit and stood next to where Luna was at right now.

“You’re gonna lose for sure, tough guy!! After all, you’re facing me! The one and only future Cid!”

That… had the Veritas of the Heavens pause for a moment… before saying one thing as he prepared himself for another skirmish. “… Cid.”

Rain noticed the brief pause and tried to use it as an opportunity to expose a potential opening. However, his opponent anticipated this move and after the knight swung forward, blew him back with a simple blast of air.

“Come on, this guy has to have some kind of potential weak point,” Rain thought to himself as he analyzed his opponent. “I could try to summon Nimbus, but I don’t think her abilities as a pegasus would be effective against him. Especially with how he could just easily move out of the way.”

Then, he began to think of something as he looked back towards his hands. “Hmm… What if I used my earth magic at the moment that he makes impact with the ground? It seems possible.” As he looked up, he watched as Shining himself was countering his opponent’s attacks. But it was also then that he noticed that the unicorn had magic around his hands.

Wind magic. “Shining, don’t-!!”

“Aerora!!” The azure knight shouted, sending a medium sized cyclone towards the Veritas. Only for it to bounce off their armor as their opponent looked back towards them.

“You call that wind magic?” He taunted as they saw what looked to be the same kind of magic forming around his hands and conjuring a whirlwind that was much bigger than Shining’s. “THIS is wind magic, you earthbound scum!!”

Running towards his comrade in arms, Rain got in front of him and used his magic to conjure a wall of stone in front of them. Blocking the magic that was coming at them as he turned to his friend. “Shining, wind magic is not going to work against him. In fact, I think it makes him stronger. We need to find another way to beat him.”

“How though?” They now heard Fidget speak up as she and Luna rushed over to group up with the two knights as Rain noticed what looked like some kind of crossbow gadget in Fidget’s hands. “If we tried firing at him with our weapons now, he could just as easily move out of the way.”

“Well, that’s something I’m trying to think on… Remember that diving spear lunge he did earlier?” Rain then asked. “If he does that again, I’m going to try and use some of my earth magic the moment that he makes impact with the ground. I know that it’s not exactly the best of plans… but it’s the only one I can think of at this rate.”

“Well, if that’s your plan then-” Unfortunately, Fidget did not have the chance in order to finish her sentence as the earthen wall that the crimson knight conjured began to crumble under the power of their opponent’s magic.

“Earthbound fools!!!” They heard the Veritas shout, just before they watched him soar into the sky above their heads. “Do you think you can hide from the wrath of the heavens!?!”

“Oh crap! Everyone move!!” Rain shouted as all of them attempted to get out of the way of where the Veritas was going to land. The shockwave of the attack knocking them down and breaking Rain’s concentration when he tried to cast his earth magic. Hitting the Veritas’ helmet instead of the spear.

From this, Rain realized something. Even though his spell had missed, it somehow was able to bypass the winds that Veritas of the Heavens had swirling around him and was able to successfully land a hit. Leading the knight to quickly get back on his feet as the Veritas turned directly towards him.

“You’re a bold one to think such an action will not go unpunished.” The armored warrior taunted him as Rain readied himself for another round. The same was said for his companions as Shining and Luna were also on their feet with their weapons drawn.

“I told you that I was going to force you to listen,” Rain glared back at the Veritas as the energy around his blade began to glow. Elements of fire and earth swirling around his crimson saber. “Too many people we know are counting us not to fail, so we can’t give up now!”

“Hmm… is that so?” For a moment, Rain and the others were expecting for Veritas of the Heavens to attack them again or possibly use an ability that they have not seen before. “I guess there is sport to be had in toying lowly creatures like you,” After that statement, the Veritas dismissed his weapons, turning around as he began to move away from where the knights and their companions were standing. “I shall let you live another day… We have been waiting over seven hundred years for this after all. I have little difficulty when it comes to delaying my pleasure.”

Before Rain and the others could do anything, Veritas of the Heavens took off. Soaring into the sky and disappearing within the clouds above them. As the knights sheathed their blades though, the human was not entirely thrilled with the outcome of what just happened. “Dammit… he just brushed aside our attacks like they were just specks of dust on his armor.”

“I know,” Shining sighed himself as Luna place her bow away and Fidget went to check on the dwarf that was still lying on the ground in an unconscious state. “But it’s a little odd though… he did not take us as a serious threat despite the fact that we have encountered one of his comrades before.”

Fidget herself decided to chime in on the matter as she looked back at the two knights. “Come on, we drove the bad guy away, see? Shouldn’t that be considered as a good thing?” Not long after she said that though was when she noticed that the dwarf was slowly coming to his senses as he was trying to understand where he was. “Oh, thank the stars. He’s waking up now…”

Yet, what the dwarf began to do after waking up… startled all four of them. He began running around in circles, screaming his head off as if he saw something that terrified him to his core. For Fidget herself, she never had seen any of the dwarves act like this before… and something about the whole thing made her extremely worried.

“W-what the-?! F-friend, w-what’s wrong!?! W-what is it?!!”

Her words did not stop the dwarf from running around and screaming, but he did say to Fidget what it was that shocked him. “I-i saw it, I did! I saw under the mask!!” He yelled out, which now got Rain and Shining’s attention as they looked back at one another. “I saw his face! Veritas!! I saw him!”

And as the dwarf continued to panic and Fidget became increasingly concerned for him, the only thing left that the dwarf had to say now was a pair of questions. “How could he!?! How could he do this to us?!!”

After the encounter with Veritas of the Heavens and what happened with the dwarf, Rain, Shining and Luna were all waiting outside of an inn that was in the center of Griffonstone while Fidget was making sure that the dwarf got the necessary medical attention that it needed inside. They had been waiting on her for the last ten to fifteen minutes, but eventually, the engineer returned back outside to look back at the knights and the white magus.

“How is he doing?” Rain was the first one to ask, wanting to hear what Fidget had to say about the dwarf’s condition.

The question led to Fidget shaking her head for a brief moment as she turned to look back towards them. “Not good. He’s still in complete shock after what just happened. The innkeeper’s going to watch him and make sure he recovers.”

Shining himself, just let out what sounded like a defeated sigh as he looked back towards the griffon. “I was hoping that we could ask him more about the identity of the Veritas, but that definitely appears to be out of the question for now.”

“You’re darn right,” Fidget responded as she shook her head in disbelief. “I can’t imagine what must have happened in order to put a dwarf… matter of fact, any creature at all, into a state of shock like that.”

Even though this sounded like there was nothing that they could do now, the unicorn himself thought otherwise as he cleared his throat and began to speak again. “Well, at least we now have a general idea of where Veritas could possibly be heading next. It’s likely that he’s going to be heading straight for the shrine where the crystal is.”

It was shortly after Shining said that statement that Luna had said something else. Out of concern for Fidget. “Fidget, you must want to stay here with your friend though… do you?” However, the alicorn was caught off guard when she first saw the griffon shaking her head from side to side in response to her question.

“No… even though I want to, me staying here won’t lead to anything good. Whatever happened to him, I can’t help them with it,” That was also when Fidget turned around to face the three of them. “And if I stayed here, who would be guiding you to the Galewing Shrine? I’m supposed to be helping you get there after all. I can’t go back on our agreement just because something cropped up along the way!”

With that, the griffon raced around to the front of where the trio was, shortly before taking off towards the nearest town exit. “So let’s hit the road! That crystal’s not going to protect itself!!”

It was shortly after Fidget said those words that Rain, Shining and Luna began to follow the young griffon. But not before Rain said one thing to his two comrades. “I have to admit… I like her enthusiasm.”

Author's Note

As their journey continues, Rain and his companions come to face with another member of the Sworn Six of Paladia. Veritas of the Heavens.

True to his name, he commands the winds to his will to the point that any form of wind magic against him just makes him stronger instead of hurting him. He sees the creatures who wander the world as nothing more then inferior Earthbound Scum, killing them without remorse. Based on his words and actions, he appears to have the same burning anger against the world as his counterpart, Veritas of the Dark. Which is strange, considering some of the puzzling crimes that he has also committed, such as kidnapping dwarves.

This chapter was intended to be longer, but I felt that it would be easier to do more chapters for the Griffon Kingdom arc considering the amount of things that happen here. I'm planning on having Rain and the others summoning other notable figures from Equestria's past as visions that could help him and his friends in some of the area's that they are lacking when it comes to their current party (for example, a proper tank).

Let me know what you guys think of this chapter and tell me about what kind of visions from Equestria would you like to see being summoned. I am considering visions from Final fantasy later on once Rain has a chance to explore the Farplane a bit more, but for now, I'm trying to think of prominent figures during the 'Founders of Equestria' or 'Legends of Magic' eras.

Thank you for reading. Have an awesome day.
-Frost

2.2- Place of Dreams

After leaving the town of Griffonstone, Fidget had began to lead Rain and his friends on a eastbound trek outside of the town and towards the shrine. Which was a rather good thing for them, because the longer that they wandered around in the small town, the more that they felt as if they weren’t somehow welcome and hearing nasty things about them said behind there back. Though, there were a few things that Rain also happened to hear in Griffonstone about a big monster that lurked within the horrors of a place called the Abysmal Abyss, but he decided to hold off on that until after they made sure that the crystal was okay.

Though, it was as they were walking through another breezy mountainscape that a realization came to Rain. And it was involving something that Fidget was talking about earlier. Before the encounter with the Veritas, he was trying to figure out why she was so desperate in order to try and make money however she could. And in his mind, he just figured it out. “I understand now…”

For a moment, Fidget looked towards Rain, hearing his small statement as she looked back towards him. “What was that? I didn’t quite hear you just now.”

“I understand now, Fidget… Why you’re really wanting to make bits however you can,” The knight clarified, his statement surprising that of Shining Armor and Luna for a moment before they heard him finish what he was saying. “You want to build airships without the involvement of the military… isn’t that right?”

Around that time was when Fidget herself nodded, leading Shining to step up and say something now as he looked back towards her. “I admire your passion for your goals, Fidget. But are you sure this is the best path to take? You do realize how difficult this might be?”

The griffon nodded, before giving out a bold statement as she looked directly back at the stallion. “I don’t care how challenging it might be, I’ll still do it all the same. And I’m going to earn every bit myself,” She proudly declared before turning away from both of the knights for a moment. “Airships shouldn’t be used for destruction and murder. In my eyes, airships are the key to unlocking our potential, no matter what species we are!”

Rain thought about it for a moment, before letting out a small breath as he looked back at the griffon. “Well, when you put it like that, it makes me wish that there’s some sort of way that I could be able to support you and help you make that dream of yours come true…”

“Well… if you really want to do that, you can always put your money where your mouth is,” The griffon smirked as she looked back at Rain, almost as if she was trying to get him to empty his change right there. “What’s the amount of income you knights get within a year? Whatever it is, I say that’s a small price to pay for a bright and peaceful future for all walks of life! What do you say?”

Though… the knight himself had a different view on what he meant by trying to ‘support’ her as he let out a deep sigh. “Uh… I meant something along the lines of… moral support, if I were to be honest with you. Go, Fidget! You can do it!” The last two lines of the sentence served as the only examples that he could think of in that time, but it was something that Fidget had decided to laugh off so he could think a little more on it while they were walking towards the factory.

Of course, as they were walking, it was Shining’s turn to start the conversation. And he was hoping that he would try to start this conversation on better terms than the last few times he had spoken with Fidget. “So you want to be able to make a ship on your own terms without the help of the griffon kingdom’s military… and that’s why you can’t ask the government to supply a crystal to power your vessel.”

“You hit the nail right on the head there,” Fidget replied back as Shining let out a sigh of relief. “I don’t want to make my living building death machines like my brother… Now that I think of it, coming back to this place reminds me of when Gaven and I were kids.”

Now it was Luna’s turn to speak, sounding curious now that the factory was brought up again. “What’s the factory like, Fidget?”

“Well, it’s only everything that a complete airship maniac could ever ask for and more!!” Fidget replied now, sounding as if she was a foal describing the inside of a candy store or an amusement park. “If your a technician like I am, the griffons who worked there would let you watch up close while they’re working. So my brother and I would stay up all night to watch!”

The mentioning of her brother brought the griffon back down to earth as she let out a sigh and looked back at her companions. “Unfortunately, my brother’s completely lost the sense of wonder he used to have back then.”

“It sounds though that you had a very happy childhood together.” Shining commented, leading to the griffon nodding her head before continuing to speak.

“Yep… though, one of my favorite places inside the entire factory was the room where they had portraits of all the old Cid’s from previous generations,” She continued to speak as Luna took a moment to stop and drink some water from a canteen that Shining had on him. “It’s really something since you can see all of them together, going all the way back to the founder. I even memorized names, faces and all the details of them from the founder all the way to the fifteenth Cid.”

“Why? Was this for some kind of history class for school?” Rain asked, remembering some of the other classes that he had to take alongside that of the classes that he had to hone his magic.

“No, it’s just something I thought I would do… Hey, if I wanted to become a Cid, then I had to remember those that came before me, right?” Fidget did kind of have a point there. But Rain knew the lesson about that from another one that Stardust Glimmer taught him. Saying that if we learn about the past and realize the mistakes that came from it, it will help in making sure that they those mistakes did not repeat themselves.

Of course, Luna herself had decided to ask a different question now. “Do you have a personal favorite?”

“Well…” The airship technician thought to herself, before snapping her talons and coming up with an answer for Luna. “If I honestly had to pick, I would say that I really like the first Cid. He was a good looking, middle aged griffon that had a scar on the left cheek. If it weren’t for him, then it wouldn’t be possible for other Cid’s to come after him. Heck, my brother and I wanted to be just like him! Every time I think of the Cid’s of the past, it makes me feel that I need to do something important too, after all, my dream is to become one myself.”

“Does every airship technician dream to become a Cid?” Luna then asked, wondering what Fidget’s answer would be. Before adding on one other question. “What about your brother, Fidget?”

“Well… My brother had the same dream that I did once upon a time…” Fidget stopped walking for a moment so she could face Rain and the others, before continuing where she left off. “We used to make airships for anyone who wanted one, no matter their status or what country they were traveling from. And it wasn’t just airships either; I used to make mechabo’s with him too. But one day… out of nowhere, he changed. Told me he was done making toys and volunteered to become a military technician.”

That clicked something in Shining’s brain as he looked back at Fidget. “I see… I had called one of your creations a toy myself back in Granitebeak. I apologize for my behaviour-.”

The griffon herself just shook her head, before looking back at the unicorn. “Don’t let it get you down, Shining… If it makes you feel better, you can compensate me financially.”

“And just like that, Fidget’s back to her normal self.” Rain thought to himself, just as the knight and his companions noticed something in the far off distance. As they got closer, the four of them found themselves approaching a huge metal structure that towered over everything in the distance. Huge steel beams that dug into the earth, cliffside and the ground along the coastline kept it standing as a variety of cranes extended all around the outer exterior of the building.

As it turned out… This huge metal structure was actually the same airship factory that Fidget had been talking about over the last few minutes and honestly, Rain did not expect for such a facility to look like this. Back in Equestria, most of the factories that they had to create carriages and train cars were done in indoor facilities that could take up a whole warehouse, but this was a lot different from what he thought it would be. Though, as they were entering the facility’s bottom floor, Fidget already seemed to be enjoying herself as she briefly looked around for a moment.

“Ah… This definitely takes me back,” She smiled, before looking back at her companions. “I’ve had so many good memories in this old place…”

Yet, it was around that time that Luna herself… was puzzled by those remarks. And by one other detail about where they were. “But… there’s nopony here.”

“Well, that’s the thing,” Fidget sighed for a moment, before looking back to her friends as the tone in her voice began to shift. “A long time ago, this place was deserted and the Gustcloud factory’s tasks were taken over by the shipyard in Granitebeak, see?”

“Fidget,” Shining then spoke up. “I don’t think that I need to remind you that we don’t exactly have the time for any detours.”

In response, the griffon shook her head in an effort to refocus before telling him something. “I already know that. So don’t worry about it, Mr. Prince,” She told him, using a nickname that she had called Shining earlier to get his attention. “Besides, I know that if we cut directly through this facility, then we can be able to get much farther ahead of our enemies.”

“So it’s a shortcut then,” Rain then commented.

“See? Blondie gets it,” She teased, leaving Rain a little bit bewildered as the griffon turned back around you. “I told you that we were going to reach the temple, and since I know this place like the back of my claw, we should have no trouble going through here!” With Fidget as their guide, the four of them were able to explore the facility and look around for anything that could potentially help them. However, the more and more that they explored through the facility, the whole thing felt less like a shortcut through an empty factory and more like a field trip down what Fidget would consider as Memory Lane. Especially at some points where she acted less like a guide trying to help find their way out of there and more like a tour guide trying to show a group of tourists the entire facility.

Which became more evident upon reaching a room on the second floor and finding one of the things that she had been telling her companions about all the way here. Unlike the rest of the facility, this room reminded Rain of what would be that of a chamber in Canterlot Castle from the way that everything inside the room was organized to the carpet that was rolled out in the hallway. But the one thing that really stood out was a makeshift wooden model of what appeared to be an airship in a display case in front of-.

“This is it!! This was what I was telling you guys before,” Fidget squeaked as she looked at the frames on the wall behind her with a sense of awe and wonder on her face. “The room where they kept the portrait of all the Cid’s over the years.”

As Rain looked around, the setup for the entire room felt as if he was in an exhibit for a museum. Almost like the Museum of Magical Studies that Stardust took Shining, Sunset and him too while they were still training for a field trip. This went as far as to seeing signs on some of the stands and display cases that were boldly labeled as ‘DO NOT TOUCH’. Most notably… the airship model in the case that was titled as ‘The Invincible’.

Fidget herself though was primarily focused on the portraits along the wall as she was talking to Luna about them. Including the one that stood out the most that was in the center of the room. Upon looking at it, Rain saw the painting and thought that this was the first Cid. Not just because it matched most of the details that Fidget had said earlier from the appearance and the color of his feathers, but because it also had the same scar on the left cheek.

The griffon technician that was with him soon confirmed what he was thinking as she began to explain more, after telling them that this was indeed the very first Cid. “There were a lot of old tales of the first Cid. He was the founder of the airship technology that we use today and the first griffon to have befriended the dwarves.”

However, before she could go any further, that was when Shining interjected as the unicorn looked back at her. “Fidget, I understand that you’re using this opportunity to walk down memory lane… but if we continue like this, this shortcut would not exactly qualify as what you say it is.”

In a matter of seconds, reality hit the griffon as she scratched the back of her head in embarrassment. “Ah geez… You’re right, Shining. I’m really sorry about getting carried away.” she replied back, before turning to see what appeared to be an exit door that went upstairs and opening it up for them. Letting the knights and the white magus go first so she could get one last look at the portrait of her idol before leaving the room.

After walking up a set of stairs to the next floor, they found themselves on the shipyard’s docks. And upon walking out the door, Fidget immediately saw something that was out of place. “What in the-!? What the beak is that doing here?” Just as the four of them were getting onto the catwalk, they could see something that was immediately out of place. There was an airship in the docks right now and it was a massive one. It easily dwarfed the size of some of the ship that Rain had been on before when traveling from Canterlot to Ponyville and it looked like it had been through combat before because of some of the minor scratches and scars along the size of the vessel.

“Fidget, I thought you told us that this place was deserted.” Shining himself now spoke up, recalling what the griffon had told them as they were first entering the factory.

“It is, this placed was decommissioned forever ago! No one else is supposed to be here.” Fidget countered for a moment as she looked back at the vessel again. Just as caught off guard about this new development as everyone else was.

“I’ve never even seen one like this before…” Rain added on. Though, the more that he looked at it, the more that something about it seemed awfully familiar. But also happened to notice something by the control panel for the ship. “Fidget, look!” The knight pointed out to her. From what they could see, it appeared to be that there were several dwarves there working on the ship. Which, surprised the griffon as she walked over there with Rain and the others following right behind her, wanting to know what exactly were they doing… and more importantly, why were they here?

Approaching the dwarf who appeared to be in charge, Fidget herself took a moment to look at the dwarves that were hard at work. Trying to see if she knew any of them. However, that didn’t quite go as planned as she had originally hoped. “I… don’t recall seeing some of them at the forge… Maybe they’re from another village or something?” She turned to face one of the dwarves as she watched them work without making a sound at all. Acting dreadfully quiet as if they were under somepony’s control.

Of course, one of them did happen to speak after Fidget bashfully spoke up. “Hey, can somebirdy explain what’s the big deal with this airship here?” None of the dwarves responded to her and just kept on working… which prompted Fidget to add a follow up statement. “Why are you building something like this in this old place. Did somebirdy force you to work here?”

That was when one dwarf actually turned around, facing Fidget and the others before giving a prompt response. “Nothing like that at all, miss. Me work here on my own free will for the same of that great griffon,” That prompted Rain and the others in order to stand behind Fidget as the dwarf continued to speak. “This ancient airship, the Invincible… We unearthed it from the ground here. It’s powered by the Heart of Babel.”

“Hold on… The Invincible?” Rain thought to himself, before realizing something. “Wasn’t that the name on the model ship where they had those Cid portraits?”

“The Heart of Babel!? No kidding, the Heart of Babel?” The griffon originally said, sounding as if she knew what they were talking about. Of course… that did not entirely last long. “I… honestly don’t know what exactly that is, but judging by the name it sounds powerful!”

“It may be, but we never got the damn thing to move off the ground,” The dwarf cursed. Though, it was what he said next that immediately caught the knight’s attention. “The Heart’s power is sealed by a crystal so…”

“Wait… Sealed by a crystal?”

The single question from Rain was met by the red lights going off around the facility and sounds of alarms echoing everywhere, catching him and his companions by surprise as they were trying to understand what was happening. The only one who did know what was going on was the dwarf that was talking to them… and as what he had to say wasn’t exactly good. “Ah, that’ll be the security systems, then… since you lot are trespassing. The defense system’s about to give ya everything it’s got, so me would run for it… though, that’s just me opinion.”

“Right…” Rain said, noticing what appeared to be numerous security drones now converging on their position as he reached for his greatsword. “Point taken… but I think it’s a little bit too late for that.”

“Aw beak…” Fidget cursed as Shining drew his katana and Luna readied her bow, preparing to engage in combat with the security drones. “Sorry guys, turns out my shortcut is not really working out for us-”

At that moment, Shining swung his sword two times to slash a pair of mechanical robots in two as he looked back at the griffon. “Fidget, this is no time for trying to offer us discounts! We need to find a way to get out of here safely!” Rain nodded his head in agreement as he also engaged the security forces. Taking down a pair of guards and a security eye before it can fire off any of its weapons.

“Y-you got it!!” The griffon replied back as she stood next to Luna and began to look around for a way to get out of the facility. “I’ll guide us to an exit and- Hey! Who said anything about discounts!?!”

All Rain and Shining did was ignore that stray comment as they continued to combat both the mechanical bots, foot soldiers that were guarding the place and also monsters that just happened to wander in from outside. But it was during their escape that Rain heard Fidget talk to herself about a question that all of them had on their minds right around now. More specifically, the airship that they were seeing… It sounded like ‘The Invincible’ was an ancient airship from a long time ago, so who exactly would go this far in order to try and unearth it from underground?

But it was something that they had to worry about later. Because as it is right now, they already had a lot to deal with in the present moment. From fighting enemies to trying to find a way to get out of here, the four of them were scrambling all over the place. Encountering more machines and monsters along the way as they made their way to what looked like a loading bay with an open garage door.

But just when the four of them thought that they could be able to finally catch their breath, they heard a new voice begin to speak. “Well, well, well… Looks like the changes to the security system worked out perfectly. Originally, I thought some rather large rats would’ve triggered the alarm,” They turned to the opening of the garage, just as they saw what looked to be another griffon step out. This time, it was a male with a similar appearance to that of Fidget. However, his clothes were different then that of her own. “But it was you, Fidget?”

Upon noticing the new griffon, Fidget widened her eyes for a moment. “Gaven!? What the hell are you doing here?!”

“You took the words right out of my mouth, kid sister,” The griffon smirked. However, upon noticing Rain and the others, his expression quickly changed as he let out a deep sigh. “Don’t tell me… You and your friends here… They’re the ones causing all this trouble for Lord Veritas? Seriously?”

“LORD Veritas?” Rain now questioned the moment that the griffon’s words were spoken. “So you’re working for that bastard?”

“Sorry pal, but that’s not going to fly,” Gaven shot back at him. “You can only answer a question with a question, when you’re the griffon in charge. Besides, your presence here tells me all that I need to know… and I’m not going to let you interfere with Lord Veritas’ plans. Come on out, guardian!!”

The moment that he finished his last sentence, something began to emerge from the garage. An overly huge mechanical contraption that appeared to have three different weapons on the left and right side of the construct as well as the center. And it had just detected Rain and the others as a threat.

“W-wait! Gaven, you don’t have to do this!!” Fidget shouted out to try and convince her brother to snap out of it. However, that did not exactly work as he just smirked.

“Have to? Heh… Of course I don’t have to. I choose to serve,” He said, before thinking of something else to say. “You know… you could join me, Gadget-”

“Don’t… call me that.”

“Working for Lord Veritas and to help achieve his goals… it’s one of the greatest honors any true airship engineer could dream of!” He continued to speak.

However, that did not stop Fidget from trying to get her brother to snap out of whatever trance she thought he was in. “What are you talking about!? What happened to you, Gaven?!”

Though… it was in that moment that something else caught their attention. Fidget’s mechabo, who had been following her and everypony else around the entire facility, had finally caught up with them. But when Gaven saw it, all he did was look at it in disgust before looking directly back at his sister. “Ha… Don’t tell me. You’re still stuck in that fantasy of mass producing airships? How childish of you to be chasing those dreams…”

And that… made Fidget snap. “Alright, you know what!? That’s it!! My dreams are not goddess damned childish and you can go straight to the Abysmal Abyss for all I care about! Whatever you are, you’re no brother of mine now!!”

At first, Gaven did not say anything… but after a few seconds, that’s when he let out a deep sigh. “So that’s how it's going to be? Then I guess this is where we part ways for good then,” He said, turning around and walking past the construct that was behind him before saying one last sentence. “Guardian… Eradicate Gadget and her friends. Completely.”

Quickly, the Guardian approached the four of them and began to prepare its weapon systems. Aiming directly at the group as Rain and the others were caught off guard. He did not have enough time in order to try and cast a defensive based spell, so his next option was to try and go for the evocation bead he had in his pocket. “Carbuncle, we’re really in a jam right now! Can you help us?”

“Sorry Rain, but I can’t help you guys out here! My Ruby Light only reflects magic and spells,” The Esper told him, just as they saw the Guardian beginning to charge it’s main cannon. “There’s no magic coming from that thing!”

“Damn it!” Rain cursed, drawing his Crimson Saber. “Looks like we got no other choice! Everyone, get ready for a fight!!”

“YOU SHALL NOT PASS!! DEFENSIVE PROTOCOLS ACTIVATE.” They heard a robotic voice come from the automaton as Shining Armor drew out his blade as well. Aiming it’s weapons at them, the Guardian began to fire off a series of lasers that scattered all around the compound as Rain and Shining did their best to try and dodge them before attacking. However, as their blades connected with the outer shell of the machine, they realized that they couldn’t even make a dent in it.

“What the?! What’s this thing made out of?” Shining said, just as the robot attempted to fire off another laser to push Shining backwards. Clipping the unicorn’s shoulder in the process.

“Count 5…”

“What was that just now?” Rain asked himself, backing up so he could regroup with Shining Armor. Luna herself began to conjure a healing spell to sooth the injuries that Shining had sustained as the unicorn looked back at Rain and the Griffon that was nearby.

“How in the world are we supposed to stop that thing? We can barely make a dent in it!”

“Come on guys, you gotta focus!!” Fidget told them, before looking back at the construct and noticing something. “I think I figured out what it’s trying to do.”

“Oh really, enlighten me.” Shining deadpanned.

“It’s buying time to charge up the main cannon. That’s why it’s only using the weapons on its shoulders against us.” Fidget pointed out to her. “Maybe we can use this as a chance to-”

“I’m sorry for having to interrupt you Fidget, but we got more lasers incoming!” Rain told her as he dodged another pair of incoming beams and conjured some fire magic. Thinking that it could be able to melt a hole in the exterior of the construct, Rain fired off his spell as it hit the Guardian. However, when the flames died down, all that the Guardian received was a few burned plates of metal, but nothing that he was trying to go for.

“Oh come on!”

“Count 4…”

Backing up again, Rain had to jump out of the way of several lasers that were fired at him. However, despite avoiding a majority of them, one happened to graze the side of his chest. Leaving a nasty burn as the pain seared throughout his body. It was in that moment that Shining himself began to try something with his own magic, casting aero spells in an effort for the extreme wind to try and tear off some of the metal plating. However, it somehow triggered something in the machines program to resist Shining’s magic as it knocked him backwards.

“Count 3…”

“This is bad. Nothing that we’re doing is even affecting it,” Shining remarked, gritting his teeth and wiping some of the marking off his sleeves as he looked back at Rain. “Does anyone exactly have some kind of plan!?”

“Count 2…”

“No! And even if we tried, I don’t think I have enough magic to put up a proper barrier like the one against Veritas!” Rain shot back, but standing defiantly and at the ready as Fidget stood nearby them. They were out of options at this point… and time was running out.

“Count 1… Charge complete. Firing Main Cannon…”

“Here it comes!!” Rain said, just as the cannon on the guardian began to fire a gigantic laser blast. As it surged towards them, the knight and his companions were blinded by the sheer power that this single blast contained. However, a few seconds after being fired, they soon realized something. None of them were injured… none of them had burn marks or were hurt in any way.

But when they turned back towards the guardian, that was when they realized what exactly saved them. In between them and the battle construct was the beaten and battered exterior of Fidget’s mechabo. It had wandered directly into the guardians line of fire to block the attack, despite the damage that it did to its own body. And seeing it there had Fidget look at it with a horrified expression on her face. “Mechabo!!”

“It… it protected us…” Luna replied, just as shocked as both of the knights that were with her right now.

“We have Mechabo to thank for saving our lives… It chose to protect us and it’s creator,” Shining then commented, before saying something else as the griffon slowly walked towards it. “It was truly a worthy creation…”

Fidget couldn’t agree more with that as she looked back at her creation, getting on the ground as she hugged the metal remains of her own invention. “Mechabo… thank you… I’ll fix you up in no time… that’s a promise-”

“First charge released. Hostiles not eliminated… Firing second charge.”

“Oh no! It can fire twice!!” Rain shouted out upon hearing that. “Fidget!!”

In that moment though, something began to happen. Luna, out of desperation, tried to reach out with her power in order to help protect Fidget from what the Guardian was about to unleash. Though, it was in that moment that a crystal began to form in her hands. One that glowed with the colors of a rainbow. She remembered watching Rain and Shining call upon the visions that were crystals similar to this one to help them in previous encounters on their journey… and she also thought that calling upon whoever was in this crystal was the only chance she had of saving Fidget.

“Whoever can hear this… please, help my friend!!” She thought to herself, channeling her power into the crystal as she heard it crack open. In seconds, there was a loud boom that almost shook the entire factory as the blast from the Guardian was fired. However, much to the surprise of everypony who was watching, Fidget was not hurt. She was able to get out of there rather quickly as she turned to the others.

“What in the world did you just do?!” Fidget then asked.

“I… think she just summoned a vision.” Shining answered.

“A what-?”

“We’ll explain later…” Rain promised the griffon as she looked back to him. “Though… question is… who exactly did Fina summon-?”

“Hahahaha!!!” They all heard the sound of laughter coming from where Fidget was as the dust began to settle. A dark blue stallion now stood there, sporting black combat armor around his chest and upper legs, but nothing on his arms and hooves. He had a helmet on that showed off his blue mane and tail as they heard the figure continue speak. “Fear not, my comrades!! Now that I am here, I can help protect you all!! So is my duty!”

That… made Shining’s eyes widen as he soon realized who exactly this stallion was. “Oh dear Celestia, that’s Commander Hurricane!!”

All that did was have Rain look back at him with a raised eyebrow. “Who?”

“Commander Hurricane was the leader of the Pegasi and the one of the founders of Equestria. The lengths he took in order to personally throw himself into harm's way in order to help others have made him recognized as a hero to his people,” Shining explained to him. Even though he did not notice the stallion that he was talking about coming back towards him. “He also was the one who founded the Cloudsdale Royal Legion, the same military unit that Flash Magnus was a part of.”

“I see that somepony here is knows a lot about me!” Hurricane’s words caused a shiver to go down Shining’s spine as he turned around to face him. “I don’t know who you all are, or where I am, but you can count on me to-” It was around then that Hurricane looked directly at where Luna was standing, who was honestly shocked by everything that was going on… and happened to say something that did not go down so well. “P-princess Luna? What are you doing in a place like this?”

That had Fidget blink for a moment before letting out the first thing that came to her head in that moment. “Woah, woah, woah, woah!! She’s a freaking princess?!! Why didn’t you guys tell me-!”

“We were trying to not draw attention to ourselves-” Rain’s sentence was cut off as he noticed the Guardian in the distance. It was beginning to get back up as he turned back to everypony else. “But how about we focus on that after we try to find a way to get out of here first!”

“Already thought of that! Follow me!!” Fidget retorted, having the rest of them follow her to what looked like a set of wooden doors that were on the floor in the far back. Briefly, Rain could notice that they the doors were labeled as ‘Scrap Cart’ as he saw Fidget turn towards the new arrival of the group. “Hey big guy! Hit that release switch!”

“Wait, what-?” Before Shining could ask what she was talking about, Hurricane did exactly as Fidget told him. As the Guardian was locking onto them with it’s weapons, the doors from underneath them gave way, dropping all of them down as they soon began to realize that the ‘doors’ was actually a minecart. To Fidget, she knew that this facility always had a system to dispose all unneeded material into a minecart. Once it was full, the minecart would automatically take them to the end of the track to dump whatever was in the cart to the Garnet Scrapyard, a recycling plant that was not far from the facility.

Yet, when she was doing this, she didn’t actually tell Rain or anypony else about that. Which lead to Shining look back at her with a shocked expression on his face. “This was your escape plan!?”

“If you want to slow it down, hold onto the handle there.” Fidget told him. However, when Shining did what she said, the handle for the cart snapped off.

“It’s no good, the brakes are shot!”

“Wheee!!” They all heard Luna shot in that moment. “Faster! Faster! This is fun!!”

“Luna, I don’t think this is the time to be enjoying yourself!!” Rain then said as he looked back at everyone in the cart before looking farther down the track. Realizing that the end was in sight. “Everypony hold onto something!!”

Once the cart hit the end of the runway, it sent everypony that was on board flying in the air for a few seconds into the piles of broken machines and metal. But just as everypony was coming down towards the ground, they felt themselves falling gently onto a strong gust of wind. They soon came to realize that Hurricane himself was using his weather magic as a pegasus to ensure that everypony landed safely.

“Is everypony alright? Nopony is hurt?” Hurricane asked, checking on everypony before looking to Fidget. “Are you alright, miss-?”

“I’m fine… I’m just pissed,” Fidget growled for a moment. “I can’t believe that scumbag would actually do something like that! When I see him again, I’m going to punch him so hard he’ll go straight to the abysmal abyss!! Cid made the first airship for his love of the skies, not to be used for war. So I’m going to beat him my way!! You hear that Gaven, you hear me!!!”

That… left the commander a bit baffled as he began to turn back towards Luna. Who happened to be standing right next to Rain as he asked them a single question. “Am I… missing something here? Because I’m not entirely sure what’s going on.”

The knight looked back towards the white magus for a moment, before looking back towards the commander. “Perhaps we should explain everything while we try to find our way out of here. You’ll know what’s going on once we caught you up to speed.”

Author's Note

A new chapter and new things begin to unfold. Not to mention that now we have a new vision for Rain to have in his party. Let's take a look.

Name: Commander Hurricane
Job: Founder
Role: Tank, Support, (Physical Attacker)
Rarity: 5*~6*
Origin: Equestria's Six Founders
Gender: Male
Race: Pegasus
Trust Mastery: Maelstrom Cape (Accessory; +10 Attack, +5 Defense, 100% Resistance to Lightning and Wind Damage. Enables 'Heroic Presence'; which increases the units chance of covering it's allies and issuing a follow up attack afterwards)
Current Trust: 5.0% (Gained after seeing that Luna is the one who summoned him)

Innate Abilities:
-Bare Knuckle Extreme (Passive, 5*): Increased Attack by 200% when unarmed
-Not on my watch!! (Passive, 5*): When an enemy initiates an attack, there's a high chance that Hurricane can intercept the attack and take the blow himself, applying damage mitigation. He also gains access to Cross Counter.
-Cross Counter (Conditional, 5*): A powerful counterattack that ignores enemies defenses to a single target. Can only be active through his passive.
-Provoke (Active, 5*): Increases chance of being targeted (100%) for one turn.
-Sucker Punch (Active, 5*): Increases Attack Power by 100% for four turns and increases the fill rate of Hurricane's Limit Burst Gauge by 200%
-Slipstream Kick (Active, 6*): A powerful attack that strikes all opponents in front of Hurricane and enables Whirlwind Blitz (4x Damage to a single enemy) or Lightning Bringer (4x Damage to all enemies).
-Inspire (Active, 6*): Increases Attack/Magic by 80% for 3 turns to all allies.
-Encourage (Active, 6*): Increases Defense/Spirit by 80% for 3 turns to all allies.

Biography:
The leader of the Pegasi Tribe and one of the six ponies who first founded the Kingdom of Equestria. Hurricane is known for not just his strength and his skills with flying, but also his willingness to recklessly throw himself into any situation if it were to save somepony's life. He was also the founder of the Cloudsdale Royal Legion, a military force dedicated to protecting the ponies of Cloudsdale as a whole. His heroics had also inspired the likes of other ponies too, including the royal legion cadet known as Flash Magnus years later.

Hurricane's role as a unit is that he serves as a Counter Tank with the abilities of Brawler units like Goken in Final Fantasy Brave Exvius. With most of Rain's team consisting of characters that mostly focus on dealing damage, Hurricane's role is to protect his comrades and provoke enemies while everyone else deals damage. It was kind of a role that seemed missing that I felt needed to be filled and Hurricane felt like the best fit for the job.

Hope you guys like it and stay tuned for more.
-Frost

Fun Fact, Hurricane's personality is based on 'loud and proud' characters, such as Rider from Fate/Zero and All Might from My Hero Academia.

2.3- The Galewing Shrine

It took a while for Rain and his friends in order to try and find their way out of the giant metal dump of a maze that was the Garnet Scrapyard. There were massive piles of metal and machine parts, most of them being broken and beyond repair, scattered around the place and some were too big for them to simply just walk around. But it wasn’t just the trash that made this place hard to navigate through, nor was it the monsters that somehow happened to find a way to scurry through the facility and try to attack them at the worst possible moment.

The real problem was that there were a series of machines that were designed for cleaning up and recycling old materials. And upon detecting the presence of the crimson knight and his group, they mistook them for metal and materials that needed to be flattened and crushed before being recycled properly. Something that Rain… wasn’t exactly a fan of. Because out of all the things that he thought a knight would have to do, destroying a crazed recycling bot that was wanting to crush his spine was not one of them.

Plus, there was also the fact that having to fight through the junkyard really took away precious time that they were trying to conserve. They wanted to get to the Galewing shrine as quickly as possible and going through that entire junkyard really slowed them down. But it was when they were finally out of the scrap heap that they were able to explain to Hurricane everything that was going on, along with tell both him and Fidget everything that had happened on their journey so far. Therefore, it did not seem like Rain and the others were hiding anything from them.

Of course… the only one who wasn’t entirely a fan of this was Carbuncle. Mainly because of the fact that, like with Luna, Fidget also saw him as adorable and wanted to pet him like he was a common housepet instead of a mighty esper. But that was minor compared to the rest of the journey that was ahead.

“Alright…” Fidget said, taking a moment to set Carbuncle down as he decided to hide behind Luna. “Now that we don’t have to go through anymore trash heaps, we’re directly on course to where we need to go!”

“Well… That’s a relief I guess,” Shining Armor replied back, looking at a scroll that had the map of Griffonstone on it as he was trying to figure out their current location… along with how far away their destination was. He turned to the griffon, pointing at the corner of the map that had the name of the town they just passed. “So if we’re here… then which part of the map would have the shrine?”

Fidget herself walked over, pointing a talon at where Shining’s finger was at before gently dragging it across to the center of the map. “The shrine’s a straight and forward path from here! I told you that this would be easy!”

“Oh there’s no doubt about that,” They all heard Hurricane speak up now. He was originally flying above them to see if he can get a good view of the shrine from above them, only to touch down right around now as he looked back towards Fidget and the others. “But given the distance, I saw that the distance from start to finish is forty furlongs.”

Shining and Rain were both genuinely surprised by that estimate, especially considering the fact that Hurricane was known in legend mostly for his heroic acts and skills in battle. But nothing in it mentioned anything in regards to navigation. Though, for Luna and Fidget, both of them seemed a bit confused by what Hurricane was saying. “U-um… what’s a furlong?”

For that, Rain was quick to answer. “Oh that? It’s a unit of measurement that Shining and I were taught while training in the royal guard. A furlong is the equivalent length to that of two hundred and twenty yards, or around an eighth of a mile.”

“And eight furlongs would make up one mile…” Shining added on, scratching his chin as he crunched a few numbers inside his head. “Which would only mean that… from here to the shrine, we’re going to have to cover five miles.”

“F-five miles!?!” Fidget stammered at that. “I-i don’t think I can even fly that far! We gotta move before that Veritas creep gets there first!!”

“Slow down there, miss Fidget,” Hurricane stopped her before she could take off anywhere. “I said from start to finish it would be forty furlongs… Our starting point was at the scrapyard and we’ve already covered about two miles worth considering the stop at the Town of Gavel for supplies.”

“Meaning we’re two-fifths of the way there.” Shining clarified for them.

“Exactly, my friend! At the rate we’re going, we’ll be able to reach it in no time!!” Hurricane declared, a high amount of passion and optimism coming off of his voice as Rain and his friends began to follow him. Unlike most of the terrain that they have traveled through up until this point, there wasn’t a single tree or stone in sight. In fact, much of the land looked rather barren and dry. The earth that they walked on was cracked and the jagged stones scattered on the ground could easily hurt them if they were not careful.

Then there was the monsters. Normally on their travels, they would only encounter about one or two of them every so often. However, the closer that they got to the shrine, the more frequently they were attacked. And not just by single monsters, but monsters that roamed in packs who would normally stay far away from that of ponies or griffons. Whether they were mechanical contraptions that wildly roamed these planes amok like the Scolopendra or they were worgens (the leader of a pack of wolves) who were on the hunt, Rain and his allies took it upon themselves to combat them with everything that they had. Because the only way that they were going to be able to reach the temple at the rate they were going was through them.

Though, it did seem like there was some form of hope… because after a while, the griffon engineer that was accompanying Rain’s party soon noticed something. “O-over there! The Galewing Shrine!! It’s just past that barrier up ahead.”

“And with it, I bet you that Veritas of the Heavens will be waiting for us inside.” Shining added.

“Whatever the case, we need to hurry and stop him before he causes any more trouble.” Rain replied back, before looking to Fidget. “Fidget, you don’t have to fight alongside us. When we make it to the shrine, you can go find the crystal you need-”

“Sorry, but that’s not going to happen,” She shot back, interrupting him before he could even finish speaking as Fina shot a few arrows behind her. “We came here together as a group, so I’m sure as hell gonna take on this Veritas freak with you guys! Besides, not only does good company make the road shorter, but I want to find out who this Veritas is as much as you guys!”

“The Dwarf we saved at Griffonstone did say he saw under the villains mask, correct?” The unicorn knight asked, recalling the brief encounter with the heavenlord and the dwarf they rescued as he slashed at a wolf trying to blindside the two of them.

“He sure did,” Fidget nodded, before using her contractible hammer to smash the face of a wolf that tried to attack her. “I can’t imagine what would be under there that would make him so terrified. And normally, dwares are fearless in the face of danger.”

What the griffon said was a valid point… however, she didn’t really have the chance to continue what she was saying. Because around the moment that they were beginning to see the shrine, a new enemy took form in front of them. A deformed monster that had two faces, no legs and rather sharp fangs as it looked back towards them. And just one look at them had the griffon shudder. “N-no way, it c-can’t be!!”

“What’s wrong, Fidget?” Rain asked her as he stood firm and held his weapon in both of his hands. “Do you know about this fiend?”

“T-that’s a Typhon! The legendary eater of airships!!” Fidget said, startled a little and shaking in fear as she looked back at the monster. “T-the first Cid dedicated his life to stopping that beast!!”

“Yet, it appears right in front of us,” Hurricane remarked as he cracked his knuckles. “Which means the only way for us to get out of this situation is to go through it.”

“Are you crazy!?! Did you not here what I just said-!?” She snapped, before watching at the typhon let out a powerful gust of wind from it’s jaw. The attack had Shining Armor conjure some of his own magic as a method of pushing Fidget out of the way so she would not get hit by the blast of air.

“Fidget, I advise that you find yourself some cover,” The azure knight told her, joining up with that of Rain, Hurricane and Luna. The Crimson knight himself summoning Nimbus once more as the five of them got themselves ready for battle. “We’ll take care of this.”

Even with the remarks from Shining Armor though, Fidget wasn’t entirely comfortable with their odds here. If this really was the same demonic monstrosity that The Cid fought all those years ago, then the monster in front of them now must’ve been incredibly strong. Strong enough that a single snort from the creature’s nose could throw somebirdy several miles away. In her mind, she thought about telling them this… but fear was overtaking her as she tried to back away from everything that was going on.

She watched as the ponies that she was traveling with were throwing themselves into the fray. Fighting the Typhon with everything they got, but not knowing anything about what was in store for them or what it could do. Rain, Shining and Luna were all fighting tirelessly in order to try and defeat them. Even Hurricane himself was giving it his all… But she wasn’t doing anything… and to her, she felt so pathetic. She had to do something to help them. Something to help them overcome this monster.

Something to help them win.

“Everyone get ready! It’s doing something!!” She heard Rain shout, just as the griffon looked at the crossbow that was mounted to her wrist. If the Typhon was going to do what she thought it was going to do, then she needed to act fast. Charging up a shot, Fidget jumped from behind cover as the Typhon began to suck in air. Waiting for a opening.

Then, she found it. Just as the pegasus that Rain summoned earlier noticed her. “What the? Hey, what are you-?!”

“Everypony, cover your eyes!!”

Rain himself wasn’t sure what Fidget was trying to do, but the next thing he knew, a beam of sunlight went off from the crossbow that was on the griffon’s wrist. Hitting the Typhon and causing the attack that it was channeling to release prematurely. Going in the direction that was opposite of where Rain and everyone else was. Making the crimson knight wonder what exactly did Fidget just do to gain this kind of advantage.

“Fidget, what was that?”

“I just fired off a sunbeam from the crossbow that I have. It might not do much to damage it, but the attack should blind the Typhon,” Fidget told him, before glaring at the others. “Now don’t just stand there! Tear that beast to shreds!!”

“You heard the lady! Let’s go!!” Hurricane cried, charging his fists with lightning at he lunged at the Typhon. Landing a direct hit with two solid strikes to the monster’s face. “Hit it with everything that you got!!”

“R-right!!” Luna herself responded, aiming her bow up towards the sky as she channeled some magic into her arrows before releasing her grip on the bowstring. “I hope t-this works…” As the arrows flew into the air, the small swarm began to rain down on the typhon as the beast cried out in pain.

At first, the pegasus known as Nimbus Dash thought that it would be the perfect time to attack the beast. But just as she was about to land a powerful hurricane kick, the Typhon let out a powerful snort. Catching the pegasus and throwing her into the distance as Rain looked back towards where she was and called her back. Leaving only him and Shining Armor to try and finish off the beast. Charging their magic through their weapons as they both slashed through the Typhon, tearing it to shreds.

As they placed their blades on their backs, both Rain and Shining Armor looked back at Luna and the others as the Crimson Knight motioned his arm. “Come on, we gotta hurry!”

“There’s no telling if Veritas of the Heavens is already inside, so we have no time to lose here.” Shining Armor added on, prompting everyone to start rushing towards the entrance to the shrine. When they were getting closer, they saw that the barrier on the front of the gate was gone. Which, to Rain, was not a good sign at all after remembering the original encounter at the Everfree Shrine and what happened when the barrier on that shrine was gone.

But there was something else that… did not feel right. There was a scent in the air. A putrid and vile one that was present in the air as they approached the entrance hall. But what they found… shocked all of them. Including Hurricane himself. “Dear sweet Celestia…”

What they found were griffons… dead griffons. Not just one or two, but enough to make a small battalion. They were all suited up in armor and who looked to have been part of the Griffon Kingdom’s military because of the sigil on their shoulders. All slain as their blood soaked into the ground, their armor torn to pieces and their weapons broken in two. In Rain’s mind… this was more than just a battle that took place here. This… was a massacre.

“He… slaughtered them all… like it was nothing…” Rain said, gripping his hands into a fist as he looked at the devastation in front of him. “Unforgivable…”

“This is… terrible…” Luna gasped, covering her mouth with her hand upon seeing the dead. “How could anypony… do something like this?”

“Wretched fools…”

The voice that echoed on the wind was the same voice of the one they were searching for. Veritas of the Heavens. However, when the five of them looked around to try and find him, he was nowhere to be seen. And he was still speaking as they stood there. “When those who crawl upon the earth dare try to spread their wings to reach for the heavens… Death is the only reward suitable for them.”

His words… only made Rain more furious. “That’s… enough! Enough out of you! Who the hell do you think you are to take away someone’s life so willingly, anyway?!”

“Must I repeat myself?” The words of the Veritas echoed again. “You should look upon the heavens with awe and wonder… lowly creatures of the dirt that you are.”

“Well, you know what I think!? You’re a coward; that’s what you are!” Rain snapped back, grabbing the grip of his blade as he pulled it off of his back. “Stop hiding and show yourself! I’ll bring you down to earth because you’re lower than dirt, you hear me!?”

“Rain, stop! Calm yourself!” Shining then snapped, trying to get his attention. However, his words did not exactly work as Rain did not even turn around to look back at him when he responded.

“You think I’m going to stay calm in the face of this butchery!?” The crimson knight grit his teeth. “Those griffons… their lives are seen as no more than insects under their feet!!” At this point, he put the blade away… but his tone had not changed a bit. “Isn’t that why we went on this journey in the first place, Shining… To stop them from hurting more lives?! So why… why do we have to witness a scene like this? Why do we have to witness this and feel like you could’ve done something to save them… but failing to do so?”

Rain himself began to look down on the ground. Contemplating everything that he was feeling right now and trying to process everything that was happening. But… what he did not anticipate was to feel not a hand on his shoulder… but a claw as he turned to see Fidget standing next to him. “So that’s what this is all about… Well… I hope you have some deep pockets, because I’ve decided to make this a long term engagement. I’m going to see this through to the end, no matter what happens.”

And before the knight could respond, she added one more thing. “And once I finish my airship, I’ll let you guys go wherever you need to go. How’s that?”

“You will? Really, Fidget?!” Luna said, shocked and surprised by what the griffon just proclaimed.

“You bet!” Fidget exclaimed, before looking back at the knight once more. “So listen Rain. Pull yourself together… We’re gonna make sure and stop them now, aren’t we?”

That was when Rain finally turned around and looked back at everyone. A look of determination on his face as he responded back to Fidget. “Damn right we are.”

“Then we can’t lose our composure here now, can we?” Fidget told him. “Let’s go find that creep in the Galewing Shrine and stop him, once and for all!”

Upon entering the temple, they all saw what looked to be broken segments in the floor. The columns and support beams that once held the temple in place were also broken and ravaged as if a battle had transpired inside the shrine. As they made their way inside though, everyone was quiet… and at one point, things seemed fine. That was, until Rain placed his left hand in front of his companions when they approached a rather large opening in the floor. A sign for them to stop walking as Shining Armor looked back towards his friend.

“Rain, is something wrong?” The unicorn’s words were met by silence as Rain raised a finger to his lips and let out a small shush. A couple of moments passed as the air in the temple began to rise and fall. The Crimson Knight’s right hand slowly moving up to the grip of his blade as he closed his eyes for just a moment.

“There!” When he opened them, he unsheathed his Crimson Saber and swung forward. His blade clashing with the spear of the one they were looking for as Veritas of the Heavens rose from the hole in the ground. Floating in the air with the winds themselves swirling around him as the figure stared blankly at Rain and his companions.

“Veritas!” The azure knight said, before watching Rain put his sword away as he looked back at the armored foe in front of them.

“What was that supposed to be? Some kind of test?” The knight asked.

“If it were such a thing, then you would’ve failed,” The Veritas glared back at them. “You took far too long to notice my presence…”

“What?! What the hell are you talking about?” Rain countered, only for the question to be ignored as the Veritas continued to speak to them.

“If the Darklord were my opponent, he would have been immediately aware of my presence and not hesitate to strike.”

That statement had Rain wonder something else now as he looked back at the Veritas. Thinking of a new question to ask as he looked back at them. “Hold on… Darklord? Are you referring to Veritas of the Dark?”

However, the knight’s question went unanswered as Veritas of the Heavens ignored Rain and continued to speak. “You will not be able to defeat me… You lack the adequate amount of power to join the battle of Aldore and Hess.”

“What?” Shining Armor blinked in response. “Aldore and… Hess…? What are you talking about?”

“If you value your trivial lives, then I will permit you to withdraw from this place.” The Veritas spoke, again ignoring another question that was said to him as he looked back at everyone now. Before disappearing in a gust of wind.

“Like hell we are! There’s no way we’re turning back now after coming this far!” Rain snapped, before he and his companions began to proceed further into the shrine.

“You said it best, young Rain!” Hurricane responded afterwards, moving alongside the knight and his companions as they began to navigate through the halls of the Galewing Shrine. Though, once they got farther in, the pegasus then decided to ask a question. “So this Veritas… you told me that you have encountered him before. Is there anything I should be aware of before you clash blades with him again?”

“Well, there’s not really a lot to say if I were to be honest,” Rain replied back to the Commander. “As you saw just now, he controls very powerful air magic and when we encountered him before, he used that same magic to propel himself into the air before dropping down to attack us with his spear.”

“Oh, so he fights like a dragoon hunh? Never thought I would still see that combat style in the present day.”

Both Rain and Shining almost stopped in place upon hearing Hurricane say that, before the unicorn asked the first question that came to his head. “Wait… you know how the Veritas fights?”

“Why of course! The moment you mention that he fights with a spear and attacks by jumping into the air, I kind of put the pieces together,” Hurricane explained as they went over a huge hurdle that was blocking the hallway. “Back when I was alive, I had a few of my soldiers be dragoons. They were skilled with a spear or lance and were very versatile and powerful combatants. Of course, they were only needed when we had a huge beast running amok in Equestria or if my soldiers needed backup on the front lines… Though, something about this Veritas makes me think he’s not like the dragoons that I once had under my command.”

Now that made one other pony curious as she now decided to speak up. “What’s that, Hurricane?”

“The use of magic. That’s what’s different,” He replied back. “When my dragoons would jump into the air before diving back down, they would use their wings and take off into the air that way… If this Veritas is using a method that’s much different and relies on magic, then there must be a limit to how much magic he could use at once because a dragoon was never somepony who would use magic.”

“Because they didn’t need it… they had their wings, so there was no point to use magic.” Fidget added on.

“Exactly…” The pegasus commander replied. “If we get this guy to burn out his magic too quickly, then we can be able to keep him on the ground. Though, I would also think that he has a plan for if he runs out of mana, so we need to keep an eye out for that.”

Both knights nodded in response to that. Given how Hurricane was well respected as a Commander back when he was alive, both of them thought that it would be best for them to just listen to the pegasus and try not to ask too many questions. Besides, his experience when it came to combat did give him a certain level of expertise.

But as they were exploring, there was one thing that Rain felt that he needed to say. Not to Hurricane… but to the griffon that was following them. “Hey, Fidget… I know that we said that we were going to help you with trying to find the crystal you needed for your airship, but I think we’re going to have to hold off for right now.”

“What are you apologizing to me for? I’m fine with that,” The Griffon replied. “Besides, we need to focus on kicking this Veritas guy’s flank first! Then we can get the crystal I need.”

She may not have been a pony, but Rain almost mistook her for one of Twilight’s friends given her overwhelming determination right now. But as they ventured through the shrine and began to combat the monsters that were lurking inside, the knight was really concerned that the Veritas had already reached the crystal. And he did not want the same thing that happened at the Everfree Shrine to happen here.

At one point though, as they were closing in towards the back of the shrine, that was when the knight heard Luna say something that was able to help them. “W-wait! I-i think I can feel us getting c-closer to Veritas!”

“How can you tell?” Fidget then asked out of curiosity.

“The presence I f-feel… I-it’s similar to when he f-fought us in Griffonstone…”

“Which would only mean that he’s expecting us… Be ready for anything!” Rain then added on, placing a firm grip on his blade as they pushed forward. The door to the crystal chamber was already opened and by the time they made their way inside, they saw Veritas of the Heavens facing the crystal… that was, before he turned his head towards them.

“Hmph… It would seem that you place little value over your lives,” The Veritas’ words were matched with an equally powerful gust of wind as it turned to face them directly. Shortly before it’s spear and shield came into its hands as the Veritas glared directly at them. “Therefore, as promised, I accept your challenge! Have at you, denizens of the earth!”

“Alright, get ready!!” Hurricane proclaimed, cracking his knuckles and stretching its wings. “If it’s a fight you want, it’s a fight you’re going to get!!”

“Everyone, get ready!!” Rain called out to his allies as he unsheathed his crimson saber, the blade roaring to life as he channeled his power through it. Shining Armor himself did the same thing when he drew out his katana as the two knights readied themselves for a rematch against the Veritas of the Heavens. Luna herself began to channel her power into her bowstring again to fire a barrage of holy arrows at the Veritas while Rain and Shining charged in head first with Hurricane following not that far behind. Both knights attempted to attack the Veritas from both sides in front of him, with Shining focusing on his shield and Rain focusing his attacks on the enemies spear.

The plan was to try and find a way to disarm their opponent of his weapons, which could provide a potential opening for Hurricane to charge in and strike. Of course, that was the plan in theory. The only problem was that their opponent was a highly skilled warrior who could control the very winds with a twist of his fingers. But that still didn’t stop Rain and Shining from trying, especially when they were getting backup from both Luna and Fidget as they were trying to distract the Veritas of the Heavens and heal the knights in case if they get injured.

At first, they thought that the plan was working… However, the damage that they were dealing were nothing more than mere scrapes on their opponent’s armor. “Detestable!” The Veritas roared, sending a wave of wind to push Rain and Shining back before lunging at them with his spear. “You think that you lowly earth dwellers can rival my strength?! Perish like the griffons that came before you!!”

Of course, what the Veritas did not anticipate was Hurricane swooping in between them, grabbing hold of the spear shaft and yanking it forward. Making the enemy lose its balance before striking him in the chest with his palm and knocking him backwards. “If you think strength alone will help you win a fight, then you have already lost.” The pegasus shot back as both knights got back on their feet. Rain was going to thank the commander for helping them, but before he could say anything, Hurricane looked back at both of them. “Both of you, make sure to not let your guard down for a moment. All of you, don’t give him the chance to get up in the air.”

“Y-yes sir!”

By the time that they had regrouped with that of Commander Hurricane, the Veritas was already back on their feet. Brushing off the blow that he just felt as he glared directly at them. “You dare strike an entity of the heavens?!!” The armored foe began to put it’s spear behind them as the ferocious winds in the room began to pick up. “I shall make you pay for your insolence!!”

Swinging the spear upward, the Veritas was able to kick up a powerful gust of wind that obscured the vision of the commander and the two knights. Providing an opportunity for the dragoon to leap into the air. However, just as he was close to the ceiling, he was forced to move out of the way when a blast of holy magic almost hit him. Making him look down to see that Luna was using her magic to protect her eyes so she could be able to throw the Veritas off. Which caused the winds that he conjured to die down and reveal his location to the rest of her allies.

“Why you-!!”

“Rain, above us!!”

“I see him!” The knight replied, placing his hand on the floor as he looked back to Hurricane. The commander himself was not sure what Rain was planning, but with the Veritas beginning his downward descent, he had no other choice but to judge Rain’s judgement.

“Stonga!”

From under the commander’s hooves, a pillar of rock and stone quickly began to take form and push Hurricane upward. Getting an idea, Hurricane used the forward momentum of the pillar to take off into the air and head straight towards their opponent. Veritas of the Heavens anticipated the pegasus to try and attack him while he was coming down, but when he thrusted his spear forward to intercept him, Hurricane disappeared. Reappearing behind the armored figure as he spun forward into a somersault kick, sending his opponent plummeting into the floor beneath them.

“Don’t let up!!” The commander ordered, which prompted Shining to charge in now as the unicorn used his wind magic to push away the Veritas’ buckler. When the armored foe reclaimed the grip of his spear and attempted to attack the unicorn at close range, the knight used his katana to parry the strike and turn it into a disarm that sent the spear flying into the left side wall.

“Take this!” Shining declared, channeling as much power as he could into his blade before dashing forward and striking the Veritas as a pillar of ice formed under the foe before shattering. The unicorn appearing behind him for a few brief seconds before regrouping with his allies. “Azure Sky!!”

“Rrgh!!! How dare you-!? You can think you can make a fool out of me-?!!” Veritas of the Heavens howled out in rage. Only to realize something as he looked at the opponents in front of him. He remembered that there were five originally… but now only four remained. Where was-?

“Veritas!!!” At that, the Veritas looked up to realize that the fifth one, the knight in crimson, was falling down towards him. His blade surging with overwhelming power as he swung it forward and struck the armored warrior in the helmet. He was so focused on the pegasus, white magus and the unicorn that he wasn’t even paying attention to him. “Blazing… STORM!!”

The attack caused up a cloud of smoke that obscured the vision of Rain and his friends for a few mere moments. And in that time, they thought that the Veritas that they were facing was no more. Defeated by the very things that Veritas of the Heavens had despised. However… when the cloud of dust began to fade, all five of them were shocked to see that the Veritas was still able to stand. Even with his helm severely damaged, he was still firmly standing his ground.

“How?! We just hit him with everything we had!!” Rain shouted.

“Keep your guard up! Who knows what he’s trying to pull!” Hurricane shouted, which had Rain and his companions ready themselves as they looked at the Veritas. Who… wasn’t really doing anything at the moment.

If anything… he was speaking. “I-it cannot be… How could you contemptible, dirt-eating lowlifes… wield such power…” The Veritas was trying to stand firmly on it’s own as the cracks in his helmet began to grow in size. “I… simply do not… believe it… Ngh.”

Then, the helmet crumbled to pieces, revealing the face of the one who was under the mask. Seeing that of a griffon with dark grey feathers, black beak and brown eyes. But one crucial detail had the griffon that was with them stare in disbelief as her eyes began to widen.

There was a scar on his left cheek. “Wha…? No, n-no it can’t!” She turned around, looking away from the armored griffon as she continued to speak. “Y-you can’t possibly be-... T-there’s just no way…”

“Fidget, what’s the matter?” Rain asked, sheathing his blade now as both knights turned towards the griffon. “Do you recognize him?”

However, the one moment that both of them let their guard down… the veritas they faced rose from the floor. Channeling whatever power was left within him. “Though you may have bested me… I will not fail at what must be done!”

“Oh crap! No!!” Rain turned around, attempting to grab his blade. But by the time they turned around, it was already too late. With a slash from his spear, the Veritas of the Heavens had completed the goal that he intended to do. Shattering the Galewing crystal to pieces as he disappeared with the wind. “Dammit! The crystal…”

“What… have you done…?” Was the only thing that Shining could ask as the entire temple around them began to shake. It felt like an earthquake was rumbling under their feet as pieces of the temple began to fall around them.

“This is bad! We need to get out of here before this collapses!! Run!!” As if on cue, everyone began to immediately race towards the exit. Even going at far as slicing, shooting and smashing through fallen debris that blocked their path forward. However, the crimson knight realized that someone… or for that matter, somebirdy was not with them as he turned to see Fidget still standing there. As if she was frozen like a statue.

“Fidget, come on!” The knight called out to her, running back in order to try to snap her out of her trance. Once the griffon noticed him, both of them began to run immediately for the exits. Unaware that the one who was responsible for this whole catastrophe was still lurking in the shrine. Watching them run and escape as he reclaimed his shield.

“Hmph… If the crystal is destroyed, then the seal that Aldore placed on it will also be broken,” A grin began to form on the old griffons face as he rose into the air and out of the shrine through the holes that were in the shrines ceiling. “And with it… the heart of the Invincible will finally be able to beat once more.”

They were only able to catch their breath once they retreated to a plateau that was far above the mountains, but by then, the two knights from Canterlot were able to let out a collective gasp of relief as they looked out over the plains of the Griffon Kingdom alongside their companions. “H-hah… Somehow, we were able to make it out of there alive… I-is everyone okay?”

“Y-yeah, just… shaken…” Fidget softly replied. Luna herself nodded and Hurricane followed suite. Making the crimson knight feel relieved that everyone was able to make it out of there okay.

Yet, not everything was okay. Especially with what Shining was seeing in that very moment. “Rain, above us. Over there.”

When the knight looked up, that was when he saw the same ship that was originally in the docks at the airship factory, now flying high in the sky. The factory itself was nothing more than a collapsed pile of steel and metal as the numerous different contraptions began to break down and collapse.

“W-was that… The invincible?” Rain was shocked to see that the airship that was once said to be impossible to get in the air was now flying above them. Soaring high in the sky as he looked back at them. “Is this because of the crystal being destroyed?”

However… instead of answering his question, Shining Armor went on to say something else in response. “Rain… Do you remember what Veritas of the Heavens said in the shrine? The two names, Aldore and Hess.”

Upon hearing him say that… that was when the knight in crimson realized something. “That’s right… now that I think of it, Luna mentioned those two names much earlier when we first arrived here…”

Now Shining had lowered his head for a moment, processing that as he responded back to his companion. “I’ve been wondering about what she had said since then… and more importantly, what could it all mean?”

Though, while they were trying to process all of this, it was then that both knights turned back to see Luna as she was trying to talk with Fidget. Or at least… find out something from the griffon. “Hey Fidget… Who was Veritas of the Heavens really? You seemed to recognize him…”

“Thank you for reminding me about that, Luna,” Shining spoke up. “It did seem like you had seen his face somewhere before… have you not?” At first, Fidget did not say anything. As if she was still overcoming the shock of what she had witnessed. Though… after a few moments, she finally answered the question. It was five words, but those five words were a powerful statement on it’s own.

“He was… the first Cid.”

That caught all of them off guard, including Rain. From everything that Fidget had told them about Cid, he lived almost several generations ago and was the one thing that she idolized more than anything. But to find out that the one figure that she hailed as a hero… was the enemy? That must have been a huge blow to her confidence and self esteem.

But there was one question that lingered on everyone’s minds as Luna spoke up. “If that Veritas was the first Cid… how exactly is such a thing possible?”

“Unless it was some vision of the past, I wouldn’t know what it could be,” Hurricane replied back. “Though… I feel as if I should take my leave. I know that this won’t be the last time I would be seeing you, but take care of yourselves now, ok?” With that, the commander and leader of the pegasi disappeared in a gust of wind, returning back into a crystalline form as the shard returned to Luna. Leaving just the four of them to try and process what just happened.

But through all of this… the knight felt as if he needed to apologize for another thing that transpired. Because of the collapse of the shrine, Fidget was never able to get the crystal she needed for the airship she was building. But when he was about to say it, that was when Shining spoke up.

“Fidget… I know that this is a lot to process… but I have something for you.” The unicorn explained, moving his left hand out of his coat pocket to reveal a crystal that was glowing with power. Something that almost… threw off the griffon.

“Y-you got it!? B-but how-?”

“During the fight… For a brief moment, I was behind the Veritas and found this crystal by my hooves. I didn’t think that I needed to pick it up if we had stopped him, but I didn’t want to forget either if something bad forced us to retreat,” With that, he placed the crystal in the griffon’s claws before saying one more thing. “See it as… my proper apology for what I said before about Mechabo.”

The griffon… honestly did not know what to say… but instead, just pulled in Shining for a hug. Something that he wasn’t really anticipating as he almost fell backwards, but responded by gently returning the hug. All before Fidget let out a deep sigh and looked back at them.

“Thank you… and with this, we can get ourselves back on track,” The griffon replied, noticing how Rain was trying to form a response and cutting off the knight. “Remember… I did say that this was going to be a long term engagement. That and I promised you that when I had my ship, I would let you guys go wherever you want.”

“W-what about… well… Cid? And your workshop?” Luna then asked.

“Don’t worry about it,” The griffon insisted. “I want to find out more about the first Cid… besides, we can’t just forget about the invincible either now that those Veritas freaks are in possession of it.”

“That’s a valid point…” Rain added on. “Shining, how are we doing on supplies?”

“Well, considering that it’s going to be four of us traveling instead of three, we might need to stock up on food and water before we go anywhere…” The unicorn replied back.

“So you already thought of a place to go? Alright, what is it?” Fidget then asked as they began to make the long trek back towards Granitebeak. And in that time, Rain had one answer.

“I guess a return trip to Canterlot is in order before heading off anywhere.”

Author's Note

With this, we... mostly conclude everything that transpired in the Griffon Kingdom. There's just one more thing that needs to be addressed... Next time, that is.
-Frost

2E- Wicked Endeavours

The hall of elements in Canterlot was filled with the sounds of music and cheers as many ponies from across Equestria had gathered at the castle. It had only been a month and a half since the attack on Canterlot by the ones who called themselves the Sworn Six of Paladia and there were still signs that the castle had a long way to go before it could be able to be fully restored. But today… was a rather different occasion. Sure, they were able to still host the Grand Galloping Gala in Canterlot despite many of the nobles raising concerns about security for the event as well as safety, but this event was not a fancy annual party by any means.

This was a celebration of bravery, perseverance and most of all… harmony. For earlier in the day, when a group of students got into an argument amongst each other and accidentally let out the spirit of chaos that called himself Discord, the six mares who were the new bearers of the Elements of Harmony were able to put a stop to the draconequus’ schemes before he could throw the entire country of Equestria into a literal state of chaos.

Yet, out of all six of the Elements of Harmony, one of them was not entirely in a celebratory mood this afternoon. That pony was none other than the unicorn that was the bearer of the Element of Magic, Twilight Sparkle. Even though her friends were all happy and celebrating the fact that they were able to save the day, she did not have the same kind of mindset that they did. The whole encounter with Discord had really made her head spin… especially their ‘victory’. And she was trying to make sense of it all.

It was as she was processing all of this in her head that she felt a small tap on the shoulder, which caused the unicorn to swiftly turn around as she found herself looking at a rather familiar face. “Hey Twilight. It’s been a while.”

“Oh hello Sunset,” Twilight greeted the fellow unicorn, who was wearing a pair of slacks and a shirt that matched her mane as she smiled. “It’s good to see you. How have you been?”

“Well, after everything that occured in Canterlot a few weeks ago, things… have been better to say the least,” Sunset response was followed by her taking a drink from a glass of water that she was holding before speaking again. “Though, there is somepony that I would like for you to meet. You remember Stardust Glimmer?”

Twilight’s only response to that was a simple nod. She had met the mare a couple of times while she lived in Canterlot, but prominently remembered her as Rain and Shining’s magic teacher. A kind mare who was also known for being serious when it came to magical studies. It was part of the reason why she had the title of Archmage in the first place.

Yet, as she was taking a sip of the glass of orange juice that she had just gotten from the refreshments area, Sunset said something that… really threw her off. “Well… around two weeks ago, somepony new came to Canterlot to meet her. Turns out… that pony was her daughter, Starlight-”

When she heard that, Twilight almost choked on the juice that she was trying to drink before looking back at Sunset. “Wait a minute… she… has a daughter?”

“Yeah actually,” Sunset replied, pointing across the hall as Twilight saw a lilac mare with a purple and azure mane and tail standing right next to Archmage Stardust herself as the unicorn began to speak. “I was there when they finally had the chance to reunite with one another and… well, they’re glad to be back together again.”

“Why were they separated in the first place though?” Twilight then said, before looking as if she misspoke before adding onto it. “If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Well… from what I heard, in Starlight’s fillyhood, Stardust and her husband Firelight went through a rather savage divorce. They both couldn’t agree on what kind of future that they wanted for their daughter and it ended up with her father going off to a place called Sire’s Hollow. Stardust originally tried to raise Starlight as one of her own, but given the workload that comes with the title of archmage, she couldn’t exactly take care of her daughter and her work. It got so bad that Foal’s Protective Services got involved and took Starlight away, which left Stardust devastated.”

“Dear Celestia…” Twilight cursed, placing a hand over her mouth upon hearing that.

“It didn’t get better for her though… because after only a few years in her father's care, she ran away from home. She despised her mother because, in her mind, she thought that Stardust abandoned her,” Sunset replied back. “In fact… part of that was what… kind of lead up to her coming here.”

“Could you… explain what you mean?” Twilight asked.

“Well, before she arrived here in Canterlot, she lived out in a small town called Cèanna and was also the town’s mayor… but it was also during that time that she was going through some issues to the point that Starlight almost started her own cult around the idea that nopony would have bad things happen to them if they were all treated equally. But before she could even put that plan in motion, somepony else stopped her. Somepony that I think you and I know both rather well.”

Now that caught Twilight’s attention as she raised an eyebrow. “Who?”

Sunset smirked at that before telling the fellow unicorn the answer. “Rain. He, Shining Armor and a companion of theirs were trying to find the ones who were responsible for the attack on Canterlot when they were forced to take a detour to Cèanna because of hostile weather conditions that closed the port in Baltimare. Long story short, Rain found out what she was doing, both of them fought each other in battle and somehow, Rain was victorious. However, when he heard Starlights story and realized that she could wield the same magic that both he and I can, he gave her his Royal Seal so she could go to Canterlot.”

Now that was something that Twilight did not anticipate at all. Especially since she had not heard from that of Rain or her brother in quite some time. “Wow… I did not expect that. Speaking of Rain, have you heard from him or Shining recently?”

“Well, they’re really hard to try and reach out too since they kind of aren’t in Equestria right now… I think,” The unicorn replied back. “They think that the same armored figures that attacked Canterlot are going after other targets outside Equestria. So Celestia allowed for the two of them to go after them. That was around a month ago… and we really haven’t heard anything since then.”

Though, it was as Sunset said this that the two of them heard a new voice speak to them now. “Oh? Did somepony call my name?” Turning around, Twilight almost tripped and fell backwards when she realized that Princess Celestia herself was standing right behind her.

“P-princess! I-i did not see you there-”

“Worry not, my dear student… I was just wanting to see how you were doing,” The princess replied back to her faithful student. “Your friends seem to be enjoying themselves.”

“Y-yeah… they are…” The princess happened to notice the voice of her student trail off as she looked around. Noticing that the expression on Twilight’s face was not that of joy or cheer… but that of concern and worry.

“Is… something bothering you, Twilight?” The princess then asked, out of concern for her student as she looked back at Sunset. The fire like unicorn just shrugged her shoulders, not sure of why Twilight was acting this was as the lavender unicorn looked back at her teacher.

“Can we talk? Like, in private…” She asked, looking around at the crowd that was around her before adding on to what she said. “There’s been something on my mind that I haven’t really been able to get out of my head and… well, this isn’t exactly the best setting to talk about it.”

For a moment, she thought that the princess would deny her request given the amount of ponies that were here and the possibility that many of them would want to talk with her just like at the gala. Instead though, she said a response that… almost caught Twilight by surprise. “I believe something like that can be arranged.”

Moments after saying that, Twilight found herself following the Princess out into the Royal Garden. The statue of Discord was right back where it originally belonged, but it was also next to three pillars. Two to the sides and one behind the statue of the draconequus and each one had an emerald orb that had what looked like a burning flame in the center of it. Several guards were stationed around the garden as a precaution for if the draconequus would try to get out again, but it was as they noticed the princess and her most trusted student that Celestia lightly twisted her wrist. “Leave us please…”

At first, the guards that were on duty were all puzzled by the princess’ words. But after a bit, they obeyed her commands and began to patrol the castle. Leaving the Princess and Twilight by themselves as Celestia soon spoke up. “So, my young student… what seems to be troubling you?”

“Well… It’s with regards to what happened earlier today,” The unicorn simplified as she looked back at her teacher. “Our encounter with… well, Discord.”

“Twilight…” Celestia spoke softly, a reassuring tone in her voice as she looked back at the unicorn that was her student. “There’s no need for you to worry now. Since you and your friends used the elements of harmony to put him back in stone, there’s no way that he can just break out on his own. Not to mention that I placed new guard shifts to watch his statue just in case if something is off.”

“Well… that is good,” The unicorn replied back. “However, that was not what I was concerned about. Because when we encountered him… well… it almost felt as if it was too easy. It’s something that had been bothering me since we put him back in stone and brought him here. Because he didn’t quite exactly go down without a fight like how Rainbow said he did.”

That… had the princess pause for a moment, looking back towards the statue of the draconequus that had its arms extended out to the sides like it was wanting a hug before turning back to her student. “Oh really?”

“Really… In fact, it was almost as if he decided to give himself up.”

Now that part made Princess Celestia shake her head almost immediately. “My dear student… this is Discord we are talking about. Over a thousand years ago, he used his powers to corrupt ponies into having them be the complete opposite of what they normally are, used his powers to bend reality itself and strove to try and make Equestria his own.”

“And all of that was honestly what I was expecting,” Twilight replied back to her teacher. “But what happened… was actually rather different.”

Two Hours Earlier…

It was true that Discord breaking out of his stone prison came without warning. But, how we were partially prepared for it was because of a different matter entirely. After the… incident with Prince Blueblood and Rarity at the Gala, the girls came to me asking if there was some kind of spell that I knew in order to prevent the incident from happening again. So, after some research, I created what I would call a ‘mental safeguard’ spell to protect somepony in the event of something happening to them that they have no control over, like brainwashing or mind control.

This is important because when I was able to cast the spell on my friends, it was the day before Discord broke out. Meaning that the real test came once he tried to take over Ponyville. He forced us to play his games of going through a particularly huge hedge maze and to make sure that we didn’t cheat, he took away the wings of both Fluttershy and Rainbow along with the horns of Rarity and I.

Just because it was a game though did not mean that we didn’t keep an eye out for one another, and when we split up into the maze, we made sure that he didn’t try to trick us into thinking that there was an easy way out, only for us to hit dead ends. In fact, I think there was a moment where he tried to… influence me, but decided to not do so. Maybe it was the spell that I put in place or something, but I’m honestly not sure.

The moment of truth though came when we finally made our way out of the maze and found him sitting on his own throne just in the fields outside of Ponyville. And at that point, it appeared that we had him cornered. But none of us… really anticipate the conversation that came next.

The first pony to speak was me, and given the situation… I was kind of thinking that he had some sort of trick up his non-existent sleeves that he hadn’t used on us yet. “Surrender now, Discord! We won’t let you cause any more chaos here!!”

At first… I thought he would give some sort of villainous monologue like the bad guys in Spike’s comic books… however, what Discord said in response was much different. He just looked over all of us, gave us back our wings and horns with a snap of his talon and said… “…… Okay then.”

“Hold on… You’re telling me that Discord… The very same Discord who had caused serious havoc not just a thousand years ago, but also now… gave up?” The princess honestly was both surprised and also really was unsure about what Twilight was actually trying to say to her. “That definitely does not sound like him.”

“I’m telling you, that’s what happened… and we even were shocked by that as well…”

“I-i’m sorry, but did you just… give up?”

In that moment, my friends and I were all very surprised by what he was saying. Especially since we were all under the assumption that a creature that beared the title of ‘Master of Chaos’ had a few more tricks up his sleeves. But instead, he actually gave us a response. “Well, what else was I supposed to do? The main character of the story isn’t here… and I was more interested in him than you six.”

After that, we all had mixed reactions. Rarity wasn’t sure if she was supposed to be relieved or somehow offended by that, Applejack was honestly surprised because she actually said that he was telling the truth, Pinkie Pie herself was… distracted because she wanted to ask if he could make it rain chocolate milk, Rainbow Dash was quick to think that we were victorious and Fluttershy was… well, just as unsure about it as I was. For a moment, I thought he was talking about Spike, but I made sure to have him stay at the treehouse just in case things went wrong and we needed a contingency plan.

“Wait… so after getting your first few moments of freedom in over a thousand years… you want to go back into stone?” I asked to clarify… while also trying to see if there was any other bits of information that I could pry from him. “Why?”

“To be honest, being in that marble prison was rather boring… yet, after seeing somepony with rather… interesting potential ten years ago, I thought I would finally get the chance to meet them in person. However, here I am now with you six and my crushed hopes. To me, you’re like the side band at a concert that warms things up before the main artists come out on stage.” To that notion, he actually had what looked to be some kind of drinking glass that was labeled as ‘hopes’ before he shattered it and had it explode with his magic.

But more to the point… around now, I was wanting to know who exactly was this kind of person he was referring too. And I think some of the girls wanted to know as well. “And who exactly is this person?”

“Can they make the clouds look like cotton candy?!”

“Did they help ya get ya out of that stone statue in the first place?!”

“Are they just as sick and crazy as you’re supposed to be?”

At first, he was baffled a little bit. But then he answered the questions of Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Rainbow Dash in order. “No, only I can do that… but I’m not feeling like it. No, I got out because of three fillies arguing in front of my statue and no way are they like that. This one’s calm, caring and has a serious attitude in the face of danger, not the mindset of Blackbeard in Fate/Grand Order. Come on!”

To be honest… I didn't even understand or know what he was referring too. But he clarified what he meant two seconds later by saying that this ‘blackbeard’ was a perverted pirate who could not stop thinking about mares. Something that, as of this moment, I really cannot get out of my head.

Anyways, after using my magic to summon the book that I hid the elements of harmony in, we all just… did what he requested. But not before he said one last thing as the magic of the Elements of Harmony was about to reach him. “DISCORD WANTS A HUG-!!!!”

“And that’s what happened…” The unicorn finished. “At first, I didn’t really think it was anything major… but the more that I thought about it, the more that I think that we just did exactly what he wanted for us to do. Especially if who he’s talking about, whoever they are, just happens to come to Canterlot again.”

“I… can see why you are concerned, my dear student,” The princess acknowledged Twilight as she herself was trying to make sense of the draconequus’ behavior that the unicorn told her about. She herself was also rather puzzled because of how Discord’s behavior seemed rather cryptic. “But I assure you, since you hit him with the elements of harmony, there really isn’t anything he can do now in his current state.”

“That I understand,” Twilight replied back as she nodded her head. “But… I can’t shake the feeling that maybe this was what he wanted all along. That he had a feeling that the person he wanted to see would come back here and then he would make his move.”

If she were honest with herself, Celestia did not think of it like that until her student just so happened to mention it right then and there. But she also did not want to think of the possibilities of such a thing to be true. Though… there was one thing that she wanted to figure out right now though. And that was who could possibly be the individual Discord was referring too.

Aside from the numerous things that she did not know about them, there were a couple things that she did know. For starters, they were a male, once lived in Canterlot and had also arrived in the city around ten years ago. For a start… there wasn’t anypony that came to mind when thinking through all of this, and she thought that Discord’s little brain teaser had gotten to her.

However, something clicked a few seconds later. What if this person… wasn’t even a pony at all? Because there was only one person she could think of that fitted that criteria and upon realizing it, her eyes widened. “No… It can’t be,” She thought to herself, before turning to look back towards the statue. “Discord, what kind of foul scheme are planning-?”

“Um Princess?”

Celestia soon snapped out of her focused state as she turned back around to look at her student. “Oh… my apologies, I was just processing something. How about you go back to the party? Your friends must be wondering where you are by now.” With that, Twilight soon realized that she had been gone from the celebration for too long and proceeded to rush back inside the grand hall. Giving the chance to let out a sigh for a moment… right before somepony else came into the garden.

“Excuse me, your highness… I’m sorry to bother you, but I have something urgent to report from Commander Ana Wind and Sergeant Barren Desert.” A light orange colored pegasus in golden armor stood before her.

“At ease…” The princess first stated, before tilting her head as she looked back at him. “Aren’t you one of the new privates who had volunteered to join the guard recently? My apologies, but I don’t think I recall your name.”

“Sentry. Private Flash Sentry,” The pegasus said as he continued to speak. “As for the report, a vessel of griffon origin landed in the Canterlot Aerial Harbor around ten minutes ago. The passengers on board appear to be two Canterlot Knights, one white magus and a griffon engineer who claims she built the ship with her own claws. They’re in the Trade District as we speak.”

Immediately, a shiver went down through Celestia’s spine as she looked back at the pegasus. Choosing her next words carefully as her sentence had a bold tone to it. “Take me to them. Now.”

“Yes, your highness.”

Food, water and medicine. Those were the three things that Shining, Luna and Fidget were out to acquire in the marketplace for the journey ahead. Their equipment and gear were already in peak condition, so there was no need to visit a forge or a tailor to patch up what they had. However, just as Shining and Luna had finished what they were needing to get, something… unexpected cropped up.

It was around the part where they passed the part of the marketplace that was commonly referred to as ‘Innovation Lane’. Normally, there were special segments of Canterlot’s trade district that were dedicated to different forms of trade. For example, Spellcaster’s Alley was dedicated to the mystic arts of magic, Weaver’s walk was a place for all ponies who specialize in crafting clothes whether it was out of cloth, silk or leather, and Smithy’s square was a place for all blacksmiths. However, Innovation Lane was more of a place where ponies can be able to create and demonstrate new things that they can come up with. Whether they were magical contraptions or-.

“My goodness! I’ve never seen anything like this before!!”

Mechanical inventions. “I had a bad feeling this would happen…” Shining groaned to himself as he watched Fidget geek out and stop at every single booth. Wanting to know how certain contraptions worked, what were the design specs and even go as far as to show some of the weapons that she had. Like her collapsible hammer and the crossbow on her wrist.

“If you knew this would happen, then why did you end up passing by it?” Luna then asked, giggling as she looked back at the unicorn.

“I thought she would demonstrate some form of self control or maybe even go as far as to ask if she could come over here and look at everything,” The azure knight replied back to her, letting out a deep sigh as he turned to Luna before returning his attention to watching Fidget. “I honestly did not anticipate for the same kind of thing to happen twice now…”

“Twice?” Luna raised an eyebrow. “I don’t remember anything like this happening in the griffon kingdom.”

“No, I mean…” The unicorn paused, before he began to tell her what he was trying to imply. “I didn’t mean it happened with Fidget specifically. When Twilight was younger, she got herself into trouble by running into the Author’s Lane and doing what Fidget was doing with everypony that was trying to sell their books. Ever since then, Princess Celestia has used that moment as a learning lesson for her to practice self control.”

“Has that worked out?”

“Not… entirely…” Shining told her. “But given that she’s read almost every book in the Canterlot Library and most of her books in her new home in Ponyville are from their too, she probably won’t be like that unless there was something brand new that caught her attention.”

Of course, there was one thing that the unicorn didn’t quite prepare himself for. And that was when he heard an all too familiar voice speak up from behind him. “Shining? Is that you?”

When both him and Luna turned around to see who just spoke up, the azure knight found himself looking back at the pony that he was actually talking about. “Well, that was something I wasn’t anticipating today… Hello, Twilight.”

“What are you doing here?” The unicorn that was his sister then asked as Shining could see some of her friends catching up with her. A few of them even going as far as to say hello to the two of them before“The last time I wrote to Princess Celestia, she said that you and Rain were on an important assignment.”

“Technically, we are…” Shining replied back, “But we came back here so we could be able to restock on supplies. We were out in Griffonstone, but the prices they had for the same goods out there were much more expensive.”

“Oh really? How expensive are we talking about?” One of her friends, the farm pony named Applejack, asked as she began to drink from a water flask she was carrying.

“Well… the price for that flask and the drink itself with be near one hundred bits.”

That single answer caused Applejack to spit out the water that she was trying to drink. The liquid ending up hitting the cyan pegasus that was called Rainbow Dash as Applejack just stared in shock, while her friend just gave off an unamused expression as she glared at the earth pony. “B-but this only cost me five bits back in Ponyville. That’s outrageous!!”

“And I think you now see why it was easier for us to come here then,” Shining replied back, as Luna nodded her head. Something that was noticed by Twilight as she then asked another question.

“Wait… what do you mean by us?”

“Well, Rain’s here, but he went back to his room so he could retrieve a map of the entire continent of Equestria. I think we had one originally, but it got soaked when our last ship got crushed,” Shining Armor said with a sigh, recalling the events of when the Leviathan destroyed the first ship that they were on. “And I was here with Fina here and one other companion, but…”

“That’s just AMAZING!! How much have you made from it! Come on, show me the money-!! ” That single outburst from Fidget lead to Shining casting a spell to forcibly pull Fidget away from the stand before her talons could accidentally tear anything apart. “Wha-!? Hey!! No fair, that was fun!!”

“Fidget… for future reference, please tell us if you want to check out something before you make any detours the next time we’re in town.” Shining advised the griffon, who just let out a small huff before rolling her eyes.

Of course, it really didn’t help when Fidget noticed Twilight looking back at Shining and… made the worse possible assumption. “Fine… I’ll do it if it’s to impress your… um… I’m sorry, but are you Shining’s marefriend?”

“Absolutely not!” Both Twilight and Shining snapped at the same time, which almost startled Fidget to the point that a few feathers fell out of her wings. And it was only after that when the lavender unicorn looked back at the griffon and began to try and clarify things. “Shining Armor’s my older brother. I’m his sister, Twilight Sparkle.”

“Oh… Well, geez, I’m so sorry for assuming wrongly.” Fidget scratched the back of her head, completely embarrassed by the recent turn of events.

“Don’t feel down on yourself now, darling…” Another one of Twilight’s friends, the alabaster unicorn named Rarity, replied back. “Everypony tends to make mistakes at times. Some more than others…”

With the last comment, Rarity glanced over at Rainbow Dash… who honestly just raised an eyebrow as she looked back at her friends. “Hey, what are all of you looking at me for? I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“In any case…” Twilight now interjected. “I think we should all get going back to Ponyville. We need some rest after the long day we’ve had today. Good luck on your journey, Shining.” With that, each of Twilight’s friends began to head back over to the docks so they could take the airship back over to Ponyville. One of her friends even went as far as to be bouncing in place everywhere she went and threw out confetti from her pockets like it was a celebration everywhere she went.

But just as Shining thought that he could be able to catch a break, he then heard somepony else speak up in place of his sister. And the one who was speaking was someone he didn’t think he would be seeing today. “Why hello there, Shining Armor. Back so soon?” That had Shining’s eyes widen immensely as he turned back around to see none other that Princess Celestia standing right next to two earth ponies. They were in full on Royal Guard armor, one male and one female, and they had different colored trimmings compared to the others. In fact, the mare had her mane heading off the side of her face as she looked back towards them.

Only to do something that… confused his griffon companion. The mare had her right hand do what looked like a small salute that went upward instead of forward, before motioning her hands to form various gestures and hand signs. Which… only caused the griffon to nervously wave her hand in response, before asking Shining a question. “Shining, who are these ponies?”

“Fidget, this is Princess Celestia, Commander Ana Wind, and Sergeant Barren Desert,” He said, naming each of them in order before adding one other thing at the end. “Sergeant Barren serves as Commander Ana’s interpreter.”

Of course… this was a lot for Fidget to take in at the moment and she had a lot of questions. But… the first question on her mind was not exactly the best one. “What do you mean by interpreter? You mean like a translator? And does it have to do with those weird hand signs?” The griffon asked, only to have the Sergeant glare at her for a few seconds before the Commander raised a hand. “What? D-did I say something wrong?”

“Yeah… you did,” Shining clarified. “Those ‘hand signs’ are how she communicates. It’s equestrian sign language. She’s deaf and lost her voice in an accident while on duty at Tartarus.”

“Oh… S-sorry. I-i didn’t mean to say anything to offend you-.” The griffon stopped once she saw the mare move her arms again, weaving a few signs with both of her hands as she looked back at her and smiled. Leaving her interpreter, Barren Desert, to tell the engineer what she was saying as Ana signed.

“I accept your apology, we all make mistakes. Just don’t be quick to judge somepony because of their actions.”

Now the princess saw it as her turn to speak up as the alicorn looked back towards Shining, Fidget and her sister Luna… before realizing that there was somepony missing. “Shining… Where is Rain? I was lead to believe that he was with the rest of you.”

Luna was the first one to speak up after that as she looked back at her sister. “Rain said that he needed to get a couple of things that he had kept in his room back at the castle before we were to go anywhere. So we’re just waiting on him now.”

Yet, the response from her sister… did not exactly ease her concerns from earlier. In fact, it made her even more worried, before she turned to look at both Commander Ana and Sergeant Barren. “I apologize Commander, but could you go look for him? After everything that’s happened today, I want to make sure that we don’t have anymore problems.”

Both ponies nodded their heads as they took off towards the castle. But not before getting a couple of raised eyebrows and concerned expressions from Shining and the others. “Everything that’s happened today?”

Celestia just let out a deep sigh at that point before looking back at the azure knight. “You see, it all started this morning…”

Meanwhile…

“You seriously lived in a place as big as this!? This whole castle itself is just one large freaking maze!” The esper that was Carbuncle began to ramble on the moment that Rain had finally stepped inside his room and began to go through some of his belongings. “What’s next? The guest house has a ticking clock hidden in its walls?”

“Carbuncle, I think you’re just being a bit over dramatic.” The crimson knight responded as he searched the drawers that had his clothes. He wasn’t looking for any replacement uniforms or any articles of clothing, but more like something that he had remembered stuffing in those drawers while he and Shining were still cadets in training.

“I think I’m being the right amount of dramatic.” The esper boldly declared, causing Rain to let out a sigh. Closing one drawer before going to the next one as he continued searching for what he was looking for. Because of what had happened before on their trip over to Trottingham and over to the Griffon Kingdom, the map that Shining originally had was soaked, torn up and beyond repair. Fortunately, Rain remembered that he had an extra one in his room from when the Royal Guard did navigational training for new cadets that passed the recruitment process.

Though, the one thing that he had to ignore throughout his search… was Carbuncle’s rhetoric. He understood that the esper wasn’t exactly comfortable with this environment given that it wasn’t quite ‘natural’ like that of Hollow Shades, but it still wasn’t right to call it practically anything that the esper was using to describe the castle.

Eventually, he came upon the last drawer and once he moved a few more things, Rain was able to find what he was looking for. “There we go… could’ve sworn that I placed it somewhere other than my sock drawer.”

“Great. Woohoo. You found it… Now can we please get out of here!?” Carbuncle groaned impatiently.

“Alright, alright. Geez, and I thought you would actually try to be discreet about it.” Rain sighed, placing the map in his pocket as he left the room, closing the door behind him as he began to walk towards the royal garden. Normally, he would walk through the main hall and past another section of the castle to go to the front of Canterlot Castle… but given Carbuncle’s distaste in… well, buildings… he thought it would be easier for both of them by taking a shortcut through the garden.

But at one particular point at the center of the garden, that was when the esper on Rain’s shoulder saw a statue that made it freeze. “Uh… Rain…?”

When Rain turned around, he found himself looking at a familiar statue. One that he saw in the garden when he and Cadance used to play hide and seek in his early days of coming here. But now… the statue was in an oddly different position. “Hunh… I recognize this statue… I saw it before when I was a kid.”

“Yeah, what is he doing here? And more to the point, how is he here?” The esper’s words now confused the knight as he looked back at the Esper, before glancing at the statue and the three pillars that were around it. Each one with an orb that looked exactly like the Evocation bead he would use to call on Carbuncle’s power. “Rain, do you even know who this guy is?”

“Um… should I?” He asked back. “Because it looks like a statue that just doesn’t seem to stay still.”

“Aww… I spend my whole day waiting to see you and the first thing I do is hear you say that? I’m hurt.”

That voice caught the knight off guard as he began to look around him for a moment. At first, he wondered where the voice was coming from… only to realize that something else was happening. Everything around him, from the ponies that were cleaning up the grand hall to the leaves that were falling off one of the trees… froze instantly. And the only ones who could possibly move were both Carbuncle and Rain in that moment.

And Carbuncle was not too happy. “And great… Now we have to deal with this crazy lunatic? I would take Luna snuggling the crap out of me over ANY encounter with him!!”

“Carbuncle, do you know who this guy is?”

“Of course I do!! Even though I’m the youngest one there is, every esper knows who this guy is,” The emerald fox like esper responded. “He’s Discord. The esper of chaos, disharmony and the only esper ever to break the rules that ALL espers follow.”

“And now you remind me of what got me in my current state… Talk about pouring salt into the wound,” The voice that Rain presumed to be this ‘Discord’ guy that Carbuncle was talking about said. “Sheesh, I get involved in one thing and now I’m getting chewed out more than a contestant on Hell’s Kitchen.”

“You know exactly why you ended up in that state,” Carbuncle snapped at the draconequus' statue. “Espers aren’t supposed to physically get themselves involved with the real world unless you formed a pact with someone. But that did not stop you from trying to make this world your own little Chaos Capital, you crazed psychopath!”

“Would you believe me if I told you that I did it because I was bored?” Discord’s answer just caused Carbuncle to glare at the statue like his eyes were on fire as the voice of the chaos esper groaned. “Fine, fine… Be a mood killer, why don’t you.”

All the knight did in those last few moments was wait for a pause in the conversation, so he could be able to speak. “More to the point though… what do you mean when you said that you spent your whole day waiting on me?”

“Well you see… Earlier, with the help of three rambunctious fillies, I was able to break free of this damnable harmonic prison and finally finish that acapella that Cae Cae and Lulu cut me off on last time,” He first heard the draconequus say, before he rambled on about how he had a ‘fateful encounter’ with Twilight and her friends and the ordeals of that. “And then I voluntarily placed myself here… so why was it that you weren’t able to see me for my chaotic debut?”

“Well, excuse me… I was trying to stop some armored villains from trying to destroy a series of crystals that keep the world in balance and almost getting killed. How am I supposed to know that you had an appointment with me out of the blue?”

There was a brief pause for a moment… before the esper of chaos could only think of one response. “Fair point, I must admit… For someone who I once saw as a young child that had a lot of potential, you haven’t exactly changed a bit… And by the way, who gave you permission to use me for hide and seek-!?”

“Discord, either get to the point or I swear to Bahamut, I will-”

“Okay, okay FINE! Geez, I can’t do comic relief for two seconds without somepony shouting at me,” The draconequus grumbled. “Well, I was going to offer Rainy boy here a chance at a pact, but there’s just one… teeny little problem…”

Now hearing that had the knight look back at him, narrowing his eyes. “And what kind of problem would that be… Because other than your current predicament, and based on everything that I’ve heard, it sounds more like you’re the problem.”

“Ehh… a bit of column A, a bit of column B. But in all fairness, the problem is that I can feel that you have a lot of power… but much of what you have is locked away. Unlike with Mr. Frizzy Face here, the only way that you can be able to gain an esper’s power is overcoming their trial in combat… and if you tried to fight me the way you are now, I would wipe you out quicker than Thanos did to two thirds of the MCU. And I don’t need an infinity gauntlet.”

“I… don’t know what any of that means…” The knight told him, trying to make sense of what the statue was saying to him.

“He means that he’ll kill your whole team without the chance to fight back.” Carbuncle ‘translated’ for Rain.

“So you’re basically saying that this whole conversations just a real big waste of time then?” Rain folded his arms. He was originally tempted to draw his weapon and try to give the statue a taste of what he could do, but instead refrained himself from acting irrationally. Now though, he was going to just turn around and straight up leave. “I’m sorry for having to cut it short, but I have to go meet up with my friends-”

“Woah, slow down there…” The voice was followed by a STOP sign emerging directly in front of Rain’s face. “Just because I can’t move doesn’t mean I can’t still use my power as an esper. Why else do you think nothing is moving around you?”

“Okay, but what is the exact purpose of this ‘meeting’ then?” Rain asked. “Because I highly doubt you want to just say hello and then send me off on my way.”

“Very perceptive… Well, to simply put it… Consider this like a business transaction. I have something that I wish to share with you.”

“And what exactly would that be?”

“The whereabouts of the armored foes you were fighting. I believed you called them the Veritas?” That immediately caught Rain’s attention. He and his friends had no idea where the Veritas would be heading to next or what kind of crystal they would be going after, so that… could help them out a lot.

However, before he could respond, that was when Carbuncle joined in. “And what could you possibly want in exchange?”

“Well… Just two simple things. First, this…” A sudden weight was felt around Rain’s neck as he looked to realize that he had some kind on necklace on. One that had what looked like some kind of tooth on it. “Snaggletooth Pendant. It will glow the moment that you are considered as ‘strong’ enough to me.”

“And the second thing?” He then asked, before looking back at the statue.

“Well… An apology from Carbuncle.”

“WHAT?!! ARE YOU NUTS!?!! WHAT DO I HAVE TO APOLOGIZE FOR, YOU CHAOTIC CREEP!?!”

“Your attitude, behavior, raising your voice to me, making false assumptions about my intentions and calling me a crazed psychopath.” As he said that, a series of papers that looked like what Royal Guards would use to write up a pony’s criminal record in order to put them in jail. “Now… that apology?”

Carbuncle just glared at Discord for a few moments, before looking back at the statue of the esper with gritted teeth. “…… I’m sor-”

“So that’s where we’re going…” Carbuncle said as Luna held onto him. All four of them had joined back up on Fidget’s airship after Commander Ana and Sergeant Barren had brought Rain back to her vessel and now, they were analyzing the map that Rain had brought them.

“Interesting… So the next crystal that they’re going for is the Water Crystal?” Shining replied back, analyzing the map for a bit before adding on something to that. “The most likely place for something like that would be Abyssinia. Most of the country heavily relies on the ocean and the waters from that ocean for daily life.”

“And hey! Since we know about it now, we can get the jump on those Veritas guys before they know what hit ‘em!” Fidget declared. “Where do you get this kind of information, Carbuncle!? You have to tell me your lead.”

“Uh… w-well... I just kind of know these things, you know?” He said sheepishly, all while noticing Rain roll his eyes as he made his was to the front of the ship. The knight knew that it was too soon to try and reveal what exactly their source was… especially when they got more important things in mind.

“Veritas… no matter where you are, we’re coming for you.”

Author's Note

So... we got a lot to unpack here. And when I say a lot, I mean A LOT. With everything that's going on here and this being a different... kind of chapter than normal, I decided to add a few pop culture easter eggs. And not just based on what a character says, but some characters themselves. If you can figure out all of them, then you get a cookie. :twilightsmile:

With everything going on in the world, the events that would normally go on in 'The Return of Harmony' play out much differently here... however, it's still too early to know exactly what Discord's true intentions are. In this, he serves as the Esper of Chaos, Disharmony and Trickery. He could either help Rain and his allies or lead them straight to their worst enemy, depending on how he feels. Keep him amused and... well, you might be able to live another day.

For Future reference, chapters with the letter E next to the number stand for 'Esper' and don't mean Epilogue or anything like that. It's too soon for it anyways.

Next up: Chapter Three- Abyssinia
-Frost

3- Panthera

Author's Note

New continent, new characters, but most of all... a new threat. When traveling to Abyssinia, Rain and his companions begin to learn that things in this land are much different than what they appear to be. And that they must be careful if they are to find out what is really going on in the Kingdom of Abyssinia.

For this chapter, I decided that I had to get rather creative consider where Rain and his Party are right now. Abyssinia is a destination that is only mentioned a few times in the show and is only shown a few times in the comics. So, I had to take what is known about them and find a way to put my own twist on it. Another point I like to note is that since this takes place much earlier than when Abyssinia is shown in the MLP Comics that tie into the movie, some of the characters from the movie like The Storm King aren't exactly showing up right now in this story. Yet, there will be a few other ones that will make some appearances.

For now though, please enjoy the start to chapter three and have a wonderful day.
-Frost

3- Panthera

The Invincible

On the main deck of the invincible stood two figures. The first being the armored one that was known among the Sworn Six of Paladia as Veritas of the Dark, while the second was the griffon engineer that was named Gaven. Both of the were waiting for another comrade to return to the main deck of the ship. But when the Veritas of the Heavens did return, both were caught off guard by the cracks in the armor and the helmet that was no longer there. They expected for him to come back with not a scratch on him, but this was a much different outcome than either of them had anticipated.

And it made the engineer believe that the first thing that he should do… was apologize. “Forgive me, my lord,” He spoke as the Veritas faced towards the griffon, whose head was lowered in shame. “If I had not stopped the Guardian when I did, this never would’ve…”

“Do not blame yourself,” The heavenlord quickly responded, surprising Gaven as he looked back up. “The failure was mine. Though, I do appreciate the groveling in any circumstance,” The heavenlord turned away, facing Veritas of the Dark now as he floated closer to him. “I was too careless and allowed those lowly creatures to see my true face. All too careless.”

Now, the darklord took a turn to speak. “Nevertheless, do not concern yourself. It is beyond belief that such fools like them could possibly understand the truth.”

Now though, a new voice could be emerged as all three of them faced the doors to the cabin. Another armored figure, one who was dressed in dark blue robes and wore a helmet where the top of it was shaped like a crown. Steel pauldrons and gauntlets were along the outside of the armor as they heard her speak. “What was that, heavenlord? You let them see your face? Good heavens, they really must’ve had your back against the wall.”

The new figure then turned away from Gaven as her tone changed. “Heh heh… Leave this up to me then. I’ll go clean up the mess that you left behind. In fact, I’ve already gotten started. It is, like all the best plans, deliciously and unnecessarily cruel.”

Then, she turned around, holding out something in her hands as it began to glow a faint red. A ring that held a gemstone that was brimming with magical power. “Which reminds me… Darklord, this is what you found in the ruins of… what was it called again?”

“Ponehedge.”

“Right, whatever,” She continued. “The point is, I’ll be sure to make good use of this. I can’t wait to see the look on that boy knight’s face… Speaking of boys. You there, the greasy one.”

Upon hearing that, Gaven’s head turned to face the newcomer as he faced her. But before he could say anything, she spoke first. “You said that you happened to have a little sister right? But she’s not on our side…” The griffon stayed silent as she turned away, not speaking a word as she continued. “That’s a real shame. For you see, I don’t tend to hold back against my foes. So, I might kill your little sister in the course of events. But since she’s our enemy… you’re all right with that now, aren’t you? You did fail to bring her down last time, so I wonder…”

“It’s not a problem,” Gaven answered coldly. “Do as you please.”

“Do as I please!?!” She proclaimed, cheerfully. “Well, now I can really let loose! You’re such a good sport, greasy.” With that, she disappeared in a flash of a pillar of water. Leaving the two other Veritas to stand there as Gaven went back inside. But, as he went inside, he could not get the thought of his younger sister out of his mind.

The trip over to Abyssinia from Canterlot by airship was a lot smoother than Rain and the others were anticipating. Given how their last two trips by ship so far had either been interrupted by a beast in the ocean or bad weather gone wrong, traveling on clear skies straight towards their next destination was a much satisfying change of pace.

The only slight issue that they had upon getting closer to their destination was the fact that they could not find the port of entry for Abyssinia’s harbor anywhere on the map. To Fidget, it would have been more preferable if they were to dock in a port considering that the crystal used to power her ship would need to rest and it would be much safer to dock there instead of out in the open, where they could be attacked by monsters. However, despite it being more preferable, they didn’t exactly have that option and instead, had to set down her ship along the edge of the northern edge of the continent while also being careful to not hit anything as they were touching down. Besides, it wouldn’t really look good as travelers if they accidentally uproot several trees upon arrival.

As the landing gear of the ship was released, Rain was the first one to get off the ship and have his feet feel solid ground. Which, to him, felt good considering that they had been on board a ship for several hours that occasionally rocked a bit with the current of the wind. At first glance, Abyssinia looked much different than that of the griffon kingdom upon first arriving. For where the griffon kingdom had rather rocky terrain and not a lot of greenery, Abyssinia had rather vibrant green grass and a couple of trees that looked much different from those that he had seen before in both the Everfree Forest and Hollow Shades.

What the knight did not expect though was for him to be joined by the griffon engineer as she was coming down off of ladder that she had just dropped down. “Wow… This place looks amazing! Much different from how things were back home.”

Rain himself nodded his head, shortly before thinking of something that he wanted to ask Fidget. “Hey… not to sound weird or anything, but are you sure you’re all right to come with us, Lid? Shouldn’t you be more worried about your workshop?”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it. Gillian’s got it under his wing, so it should be fine,” She replied back, before facing him. “Besides, I wanted to learn more about the first Cid. And I can’t forget about the Invincible either now, can I?”

That was indeed a fair point. But before the knight could say anything, Fidget added on one more thing. “Besides… If we catch up to the Invincible, we might find him as well.”

Immediately, Rain knew exactly what she was talking about. “You mean your brother? Gaven?”

“Yeah, him,” Fidget responded. “He and I are like two airships made in the same workshop. Maybe they got the same design, same basic parts and all the important things. But no two ships are alike, you know what I mean? And if you look at each piece and really analyze it thoroughly, the more and more both of those things become completely different.”

Taking a moment to let out a breath, she looked towards Rain before finishing what she was saying. “Even so, I never thought that the differences would end up being this big…”

As she explained everything, Rain began to understand what she was referring too. Both Fidget and Gaven did not really seem to have that many differences. But now in the grand scheme of things, Gaven was now seen as their enemy and as someone who is now assisting the Sworn Six of Paladia. “I think I understand what you mean… after all, I was stuck with Shining for as long as I can remember.”

“Yeah, the two of you do seem to act more like brothers than just old friends,” Fidget commented. “Shining definitely seems more like the older brother type given how he acts as if he’s always looking out for you.”

“It’s just as you said though,” Rain replied back. “Shining hasn’t always been like that.”

In the moment that he said that though, the crimson knight did not know that Shining himself was along the edge of the deck. Listening to what he was saying as he and Fidget continued to speak. But just as Rain was about to go more into detail, both of them noticed Luna getting off of the ship and looking back at both of them.

“Everypony, look! There’s a group of creatures over there. I think they’re in trouble!”

Luna was right. Because much farther down, there were a series of six to seven figures that wore azure colored armor. The only one that stood out from the rest of the group was one that was dressed in while and held onto a azure colored book. Their fur was the color of ice with a patch of white on their head as he was casting magic to try and support the soldiers, even though they were losing ground against a horde of monsters.

What stood out the most though… was that these creatures resembled that of cats. Which… could only mean one thing. “Those are soldiers from Abyssinia.” Fidget pointed out.

“And it looks like they’re having a rather tough time too,” Rain then commented as his hand motioned to grab ahold of his blade. “Let’s hurry and help them out!” With that, Fidget, Luna and Rain raced towards the soldiers with Shining trailing not that far behind.

The first action that was taken was when Luna shot an arrow at one of the avian beasts that was attempting to swipe its claws at a wounded abyssinian soldier that was holding onto its leg, growling in pain as it and the rest of the soldiers watched the two knights put themselves in between them and the beasts that were attacking their patrol group. While the alicorn was conjuring healing magic to treat the injured, Rain and Shining fended off the beasts that flew towards their position. Unlike the monsters that they first encountered in the griffon kingdom, which mostly consisted of aquatic monsters that dwelled along the shoreline and the ravenous insects that lurked in the passageway that led inland to Granitebeak, many of the monsters that were attacking them now consisted of either avians or plants. Birds that hunted other monsters or plants monsters that laid in wait to catch unwary travelers by surprise.

It was something that Rain and Shining both had to keep in mind as they were fighting them. They can handle the plant monsters rather easily, but neither of the knights had the means or proper equipment to attack the avian monsters while they were airborne unlike that of Luna and Fidget. Meaning that both of them had to be cautious and defend themselves when they swooped down for aerial attacks.

Eventually though, once Luna had treated the injured soldiers, she was able to help them out. Firing shots from her bow and grazing the avians wings in order to force them down to the ground before Rain, Shining and Fidget could be able to hurt it. The more that they took these foes down, the more monsters that kept on coming. Some of them being beasts that fought on the ground instead of in the air as Shining conjured up a blizzara spell to repel a group of wolves and mandragora.

However, just as they thought that they can get a break, that was when they heard one of the soldiers call out to them. “Rudra, Incoming!!”

When both Rain and Shining turned around, a giant green avian landed just mere meters from where they were standing. Letting out an ear piercing shriek as it flapped its wings. Sending out a whirlwind that forced both knights to stand their ground. The first thing that Rain tried to do was summon Nimbus to help them out, but it didn’t exactly go to plan given that the monster they were now facing could easily shrug off any attacks that consisted of wind. Rendering some of her abilities as a pegasus useless.

But when Shining called on Steela Oresdotter and the mare channeled an attack that was filled with the power of the earth that she stood upon, it made the beast cry out in pain and agony. Which, upon seeing this, gave the Unicorn an idea. “Rain, it’s weak against Earth Magic!!”

“You got it!” Immediately, the crimson knight began to cast Stonra on his foes as pieces of sharp rock began to strike the avian monster. Making it holler and cry out in pain as it attempted to retaliate with a whirlwind from its wings. But another spell from Rain interrupted the Rudra before it could be able to send it stirring towards them. Providing an opportunity for both knights to finish off the winged beast while it was down.

As the two knights began to put their swords away though, that was when one of the abyssinians began to speak up. The only one who was there as they walked past the two knights and looked to be evaluating the battlefield before turning to Rain and Shining. “You two. You must be knights from the country of Equestria. Or at least, that’s what you appear to be.”

The figure let out a sigh as it looked back at the two of them. “I must admit, your strength is formidable. But after seeing your display just now… forgive me for sounding brash, but strength without subtly will get you nowhere. With that in being said, the two of you fight like fools.”

“Woah, hold on just a squawking minute,” Fidget then abruptly spoke up. “All of you were getting backed into a corner just now until we came to help you out and you’re saying we’re the fools?”

“Getting backed into a corner? Was that honestly how you saw that?” The abyssinian then asked. “Because from our perspective, we were trying to lure out our opponents into a single location. Making it easier to finish them off with just a single blow. But I honestly don’t think someone with your perspective of strategy would understand.”

“My perspective?!” Lid snapped. “Just who are you supposed to be?”

That… had the Abyssinian sigh as he looked back at the four of them. “Of course… How remiss of me to forget something so simple,” He replied back, letting out a small sigh before speaking again. “Very well. My name is Nikol. One of the Tacticians for the Kingdom of Abyssinia… and a Warden of the Waters.”

The last part though, happened to catch Shining Armor’s attention as he soon spoke up shortly afterwards. “A Warden of the Waters?”

“Wait a moment,” Fidget now interjected as she turned to Shining. “Are you saying that you somehow know who this jerk is?”

“I recall my father telling me that the Ocean Shrine in Abyssinia has a protective field around it that is maintained by a priestess. Who is chosen from among the elite Warden of the Waters.” He replied back, turning to face Fidget in the process.

“Well, if that’s the case, then why the heck is one of them out here fighting then?”

That single question had all four of them turn back to Nikol, who appeared silent for a brief moment… before he began to speak. “The waves that flow through our kingdom are so pure and clean that it is the holy water to our rituals. And it is also said that the sacred purity of this water is the reason why monsters have never encroached upon our kingdom.”

“But given what we saw just now… something’s different, right?” Rain then spoke up. Prompting a nod from Nikol as he looked back at the four of them.

“Recently, we have been finding that something… or somebody has been defiling the purity of our waters from outside the city,” The tactician told him. “And since then, our patrols have been finding packs of monsters like the ones we just encountered.”

“Defiled?” Shining was now prompted to ask. “What has happened?”

“I fear that something might have befallen the head priestess, so I was trying to investigate what the root of this was.”

“Oh, so your guys were going to go check on the Water Priestess then?” Rain then asked.

“That is correct,” Nikol replied back. “So I suggest-”

“Why don’t we come with you?” The crimson knight’s words interjected before the tactician could finish speaking. “We can help you and your group fight those monsters and it would make getting to your destination much easier.”

“Plus, it would allow for me to finally find a place for me to properly dock my ship.” Fidget added on, pointing to the vessel that was not too far out from where they were all standing right now.

Yet, even with the kind offer, Nikol remained unfazed. “I would consider it…” He said, before looking directly at Rain and Shining. “But only if you two tell me something.”

“What is it?”

“Those powers of yours that you demonstrated just now,” He told them in response, adjusting the blue scarf that was around his neck as he looked back at them. “In my position as a tactician, I often study the tactics and strategies used in battles and wars waged long in the past… There are records of warriors who use such visions, but they are rare.”

“And what do those records say about our power?” Shining then asked.

For a moment, Nikol looked away, before letting out a sigh as he then responded. “Our records say that those who summon forth warriors from crystals… are servants of the darkness and pawns of demons. At least, that’s how it’s described.”

That… just made Rain blink for a moment as he just stared blankly at the abyssinian. “Darkness and Demons? I don’t mean to sound rude, but just what kind of strange books were you reading?”

However, the abyssinian just shrugged off the question, before looking back at the two of them. “Both if you must tell me… How exactly were you able to obtain such power?”

After hearing that single question, both knights looked at one another. Trying to figure out the best way to respond to that as they began to talk amongst themselves. “How? That… is not really a simple question that we can answer.” Shining first said to his fellow Knight.

Yet, the response from Rain wasn’t quite what Shining, or Luna for that matter, wanted to hear given how close she was to him. “Yeah, and it might not exactly go well if we told him that we got these powers from a magical naked alicorn girl that was trapped in a crystal and told us to save the world. Besides… this guy’s kind of a hard-ass, wouldn’t you think-?”

“I can hear you, you know,” The tactician abruptly stated as both knights looked back at him. “But you are right on one thing. I will not be easily persuaded by what sounds like an under cooked patchwork of cliche narrative that you would find in storybooks for kittens.” With it, he also looked back at Fidget and prepared to say something else. But his attention soon drifted elsewhere as he looked towards something that was in the distance…

… And then began to take off.

“What the-?” Rain spoke up, caught off guard by the sudden motion. “Hey! Where are you going?”

“Rain… look over there in the distance,” Shining said, pointing at what Nikol was heading towards. “It looks like a ship of some sorts.”

“Running off and leaving his men behind to head to some ship? What kind of tactical strategy is that!?” Fidget asked.

“I don’t know, but given everything so far, he doesn’t seem like the guy who would do something without there being some kind of reason for it.” Rain replied back. “Let’s go after him before he does anything reckless.”

“What about Fidget’s ship though?”

“Don’t worry about it,” The griffon replied, before pointing to a contraption that was on her opposite wrist. “If I press this, I can have the ship lock on to my position and come to where I am. That’s the wonders of Griffon Technology for you.”

With that, the crimson knight nodded, shortly before all four of them began to chase after Nikol. It took a few moments, but they all soon arrived at what looked like a ship that was torn apart and stranded along the coastline. Pieces of the ship lingered in the waters around it as the four of them had to carefully enter the vessel through a hole in the ships exterior haul.

Once they were inside, they could tell that the boat was in rather bad shape. And amongst all the wreckage, they soon found the abyssinian. But he wasn’t exactly calm and stoically composed like he was earlier. Right now, he was acting off of instinct. A look of concern and worry on his face. Not even being aware of their presence until Rain spoke. “Nikol, what’s wrong? Why did you take off back there?”

“This ship… there’s no mistaking it,” He said, turning around briefly as he was talking. “This one was the ship that the Water Priestess was on,” Then, he turned away from them as he continued. “But it should not be in this state or in a place such as this… Luka, please be unharmed.”

That, just lead to Rain walking up right next to him. Telling him something as he used a bit of fire magic to light a candle that was in a lantern on the wall. “Then let's take a look around. Perhaps there is still somebody on board that’s below deck.”

“Take a look around? I’d advise you to leave all at once instead,” He boldly stated. “With the four of you in here and the state that this ship is in, it’s bound to capsize at any moment.”

“Exactly,” The statement from Rain caught not just Nikol off guard, but some of his friends too. “That’s why we gotta help you find the Water Priestess as quickly as possible, right? Many hands make light work, no matter what the situation is.”

With it, all of them began to immediately search all levels of the ship. With the water inside beginning to rise the longer that they were inside, they were in a race against time in order to try and find the Water Priestess before the entire boat would sink. It didn’t really help at all that in certain sections of the ship, monsters would linger around and attempt to attack them when their guard was down. It was primarily the reason why Rain and Shining both kept one hand on the handle of their weapons at all times while venturing through the broken hull of the sinking vessel.

As they approached the back of the ship though, that was when one of them found something. “Hey, over here!” Their attention soon went to Luna, who was pointing at a young abyssinian that wore a blue veil over most of her head and a blue and white dressed that was laced with gold thread around the edges. Her fur was exactly the same as Nikol’s, aside from the aquamarine strands of fur that ran alongside the back of her head and under her veil. She was just getting up as Rain and the others approached her carefully. Not wanting to scare her as Rain spoke up.

“Miss… are you okay?”

The abyssinian, upon hearing his voice, turned towards him and his group, before asking a question. “Who… are you-?” Before he could come up with a proper answer to the question, that was when Nikol moved past him and approached her. Both of them seemed genuinely relieved in order to see one another as all the nervousness, concern and worry that was with Nikol earlier began to subside. Now in a calmer state as he finally had the chance to say something.

“Thank the crystals that you are unharmed, Luka.” He told her.

“Brother!” She said happily. “Oh, I knew that you would come to find me!”

Yet, despite this… touching moment between both of them, it unfortunately did not last very long. Mainly because of what one griffon said in response to this as she turned towards Shining Armor. “Wait a minute… did she just say ‘brother’?”

“Well, he did introduce himself as a Warden of the Waters,” Shining replied back to her, thinking that Nikol would not hear them if they just talked amongst themselves. “So it’s not surprising that the two would happen to be related to one another.”

“I’m not confused by how they’re related,” Fidget retorted. “I’m more confused by how she stayed kind and gentle growing up around a dagger eyed, condescending prick like that guy-”

“And I can still hear you.” A now annoyed Nikol spoke up in response to the side conversation between the two of them.

“Brother, who are your companions here?” The priestess now asked, a little curious as to the ones who came here with the tactician.

“Knights from Equestria,” He replied, before looking off to the side back at where Rain and the others were for a moment before finishing the rest of his sentence. “Or so they have led me to believe.”

After hearing him say that though, the priestess let out a sigh and walked around that of her brother, before addressing both the knights and their companions. “Please, allow me to thank all of you on the behalf of my brother. I’m sure that all of you were a great help to him, even though he would not admit it to you personally,” Shortly after that, she then turned her head back towards her brother before asking the first question that came to mind. “Brother, if you’re seeking me out, then does that mean that the kingdom’s waters have been tainted?”

Nikol nodded his head in response. “They have. We must return back at once. We need to purify these sickened waters before it can spread any further.”

“Um… s-speaking of water…” Fidget spoke up, getting her claws away from a hole in the floor as the seawater began to flow through the side of the ship and rise up. “We should probably get out of here and get to the shore, fast-!”

“Don’t do anything irrational,” Nikol interjected. “If you try to flee now, you would just end up having to swim for the shore because the tide’s carrying out the wreckage.”

“Okay then, Mr. Smarty Cat. How do you suggest we get out of here and not drown then?” Fidget snapped. But before the tactician could answer, that was when Luka stepped forth and in front of the group. Placing her paws together as she told them only a few words.

“Please don’t be afraid. I can at least do this much…”

In the brief seconds that happened next, the water in the cabin began to rapidly fill the entire hull of the ship. But not before a light blue light began to form around Luka and everyone else that was in the room. For a moment, Rain was really unsure about what was going to happen at this rate as the water rushed in and their equipment dragged them down to the bottom of the ocean. However, that was also when he realized something. He didn’t feel any air around him, but he could breathe as if they were on land. And that… caught everyone off guard.

“W-what the!?” Fidget was the first to react. “How in the world is this possible?! Could it be…?”

“Yes,” They all now heard Luka as she looked back at them. “This is my power as the Water Priestess for Abyssinia.”

Everyone in Rain’s group was caught off guard by all of this. Especially both Rain and Shining Armor. For Shining, he had heard about the priestess from his father as a young colt, but did not imagine that their power was anything like this at all. Even though it was for the brief amount of time that it would take for them in order to make it from where they were to the coastline, it was still a marvelous sight to behold. And for Luka, she looked to have been maintaining this power well considering that she was able to apply this blessing to all of them.

Eventually, they were able to make it back to the shore. Which was a relief for Fidget and Luna since they were glad to be back on dry land again. The same could be said for Rain and Shining, but they didn’t exactly have the time to say anything before they heard another new voice speak up. “Nikol! Luka!!” Everyone turned around once again, only to find what was another abyssinian with two of the guards that Nikol had earlier. Only that this one was dressed more as a soldier and the cyan spiky fur on the back of his head was swayed backwards. A style that would normally been seen on that of pegasus stallions. As the newcomers approached them, that’s when the new figure spoke again. “Oh, what a relief it is to see that you’re alright.”

“El, what do you think you’re doing out here?” Was the first words out of Nikol’s mouth as he looked back at him. “You’re supposed to be guarding Panthera while I was searching for Luka.”

“That’s the problem… Monsters have breached the walls of the city,” The abyssinian’s words set off an alarm inside of Rain and Shining’s heads as the two of them looked back at one another, before returning their attention to the soldier. “The soldiers that are left in the aquapolis are trying to hold the front, but they can’t hold on much longer. That’s why I came out here to find you and call you back.”

“Sounds like trouble’s brewing. Let’s go hurry back to the city then.”

Yet, Rain’s words didn’t quite exactly come off so well to El as he looked at him with a pair of ferocious eyes that made Shining think of what would happen if Twilight was told that a major exam she had been studying weeks for had been cancelled last minute. “What? And just who are you supposed to be?!”

Which gave Shining a cue to step in to try and de-escalate the tensions that were brewing in the air. “Custom among soldiers decrees that you must introduce who you are first before you demand the name of another, young one.”

In response, El just growled, before letting out a groan as he spoke up. “… My name is El. A Warden of the Waters and the younger brother to Luka and Nikol.”

“I’m Rain,” The Crimson Knight introduced himself, before pointing over his shoulder at the unicorn that was not far behind him. “And this is Shining Armor. We’re both Knights from the City of Canterlot and if you need help getting rid of monsters, then we’ll be happy to help you out.”

“We do not need your help. This is the concern of Abyssinia only, not one of outsiders like yourself. We only need my siblings, or do you think that our kingdom is so weak that we need to rely on travelers such as yourself to protect us-!”

“El! That’s enough,” The retort from his brother had the soldier stop speaking immediately, before the tactician spoke up again. “What have I told you before? Don’t let your emotions take control of your judgement and let reason guide you forward. It’s the primary key when it comes to strategy.”

Looking back at both knights, Nikol then asked his brother another question. “And since time is of the essence right now, would it be wise to reject an offer of help?”

All El did in response was just shake his head, before answering. “No… i-it would not. I’ll guide you to the city. Follow me… please.”

The route to Abyssinia was not difficult by any means with El as their guide, but upon reaching the city, that was when Rain and his companions realized how badly the situation was. Just upon entering alone, several of the soldiers that were on guard were beyond exhausted and weakened. Statues and fountains that were in the city began to crumble, break and wither as the three Warden’s raced over to tend to the soldiers of the city. However, the one who was shocked by this the most was that of the Water Priestess, Luka. She was using her powers to heal the wounds of the soldiers, but some were so severe that even she could not heal completely.

“I-i wouldn’t have believed that our beautiful city could be vulnerable to attacks like this… This must be because of the waters being corrupted.” She said, turning to her brother Nikol as he nodded his head. “We need to perform the purification ritual and quickly.”

Around the time that both of them turned to head towards the temple in the middle of the city, Rain and the others were helping El with another task as Luna was conjuring her white magic to heal the wounds of another citizen who was harmed in the attack. One who had long brown fur go down her back and wore a dress that had the same colors as the sky. “There we go. That should do the trick, but please take it easy on yourself.”

“How do you feel?” The soldier asked. “Can you make it back home on your own?”

Much to their surprise though, the abyssinian soon nodded her head before looking back at El. “I think I can, it was only just a scrape,” She replied back, before turning back to Luna. “Thank you, though. You were a great help.”

“Arsha!” El told her, sounding annoyed now. “You don’t have to thank these louts!”

Yet, all that did was have the same abyssinian turn back around and let out a sigh, before looking back at the soldier as she straightened out her tail. “Louts? El, is that really how you treat the creatures who came to our aid? What got your whiskers all frisky today?”

“We can protect Panthera and Abyssinia on our own! We don’t need the help of… foreigners!” He rebuked.

“El, what does that have to do with anything?” She asked him, folding her arms as she looked at him. “This girl healed my injuries! Who else should I be thanking?”

“Uh…” Now though, Fidget felt as if she needed to speak up as she stood next to Luna now. “S-sorry to interrupt, but we didn’t really mean to cause any arguments or anything? I mean, you two are friends… right?”

“Friends is one way to put it,” Arsha replied back to the griffon. “But it's rather more than that. I’m El’s fiancée, Arsha.” That… threw Fidget into a bit of a loop, leading her to go on a small tangent of how despite El’s attitude on the outside, he had ‘hidden charms’ to win over a girl such as Arsha. Something that really made Rain want to tell her to stop talking so that she didn’t embarrass herself even further. Because all that did was make El even more irritated as he told Arsha to go back home so she could be safe.

And while she was leaving, he glared at everypony else, but mostly Rain as he gave them a very stern warning. “I don’t care what any of you do now, foreigners… but if any of you do anything to further defile our waters, then you will be answering to me. Are we clear?”

“Crystal.” Rain simply replied back as the knight and his companions regrouped. While Nikol was with his sister in the city’s temple, He and his friends took some time to look around t in order to learn more about Abyssinia, given how massive the capital city was. And based on what they heard from the civilians, there was more to this place than they originally thought. A lot more.

The capital that they were in, or otherwise referred to as Aquapolis Panthera, had two main sections. Old Panthera; which had been around since the founding of the kingdom and consisted of a lot of the ports, markets and shops that were vital to their economy, and New Panthera; which was built very recently to expand the aquapolis and to provide more homes and buildings to its residents. The King and Queen of Abyssinia both ruled over Abyssinia and the capital, but only at the guidance of the Warden of the Waters. Yet, as of now, both of the rulers were away from the city. Visiting Equestria in hopes that they can provide aid and assistance to Princess Celestia after they heard the news of Canterlot getting attacked.

As for Panthera itself, the holy waters of the aquapolis was more than just something that warded off monsters and kept their civilians safe. It was connected to every other aspect of daily life for them. Panthera’s economy primarily depended on fishing. Not just for trade, but also as a source of food. So, if the waters were tainted, it would mean that the fish they would bring in would also be contaminated. Their civilians would either get sick from the fish that is brought in or starve if there wasn’t anything for them to eat. The holy waters was essentially the lifeblood of the city, and something that must be kept in check in order to keep the people of Abyssinia safe and well.

As for the waters themselves… well, once Rain and the others have found Nikol and Luka again, the tactician began to explain just how important they were as he looked out over the city that he and his siblings called home. “There’s a reason why our city is known as the aquapolis… it is our waters that keep us safe as they flow from Lake Katt in the South. If they were only briefly unclean, then my sister could easily cleanse them. But… this is much different. Something must’ve happened to the water god.”

“Well, I understand the water priestess,” Fidget then replied, “But could you clarify on what you mean by ‘water god’?”

The question had Nikol turn around to face Rain and the others. But what he had to say did not entirely settle well with both of the knights. “The water god that we speak of goes by a different name amongst your kind… the great being known as Leviathan.”

The mentioning of that name not only didn’t make Rain and Shining feel rather comfortable, but brought out somebody else that had been a bit absent since their arrival on Abyssinia. “Woah woah woah… Leviathan!?” Carbuncle now spoke up, appearing on Rain’s shoulder as he glared directly at Nikol. “You mean the same beast that freaking had us shipwrecked is the lord of your lake?”

His sudden appearance lead to Nikol raising an eyebrow and Luka looking rather surprised as Rain let out a sigh. “First… Nikol, this is Carbuncle. An esper that fights with us and has been helping us on our journey,” He said in order to get the brief introduction out of the way before following up with a much different question. “Second, if Leviathan is the water god that lives in your lake, then why did it attack our vessel as we were trying to travel to the Griffon Kingdom a few days ago?”

“The Griffon Kingdom?” The tactician asked, sounding puzzled by what the crimson knight just told him. “The water god would never wander that far from his domain. Especially into the territory of other nations. If delegates from that country saw Leviathan on their shores, they would see it as a declaration of war. Not to mention he would not attack travelers such as yourself. For he’s revered for being compassionate and kind…”

“Try telling that to the crew members on the ship he wrecked that lost their lives and are at the bottom of the ocean…” Carbuncle mumbled.

“What did you say-!?”

“Brother, wait…” Luka now stepped in, preventing her brother from doing anything drastic as she now spoke up, before looking over at Carbuncle for a brief moment. “Abrupt as this one might be, I fear that what they’re saying is right,” Taking a moment to walk over to a stairwell that descended downward, Luka only took a few steps down before saying something that Nikol couldn’t believe what she was saying. “The one who destroyed my ship and attacked everycat inside… was the great water god.”

The tactician’s eyes widened at hearing her words. Only one question could be formed as he looked back at his sister. “How… is that possible?”

“Master Nikol! Lady Luka!!”

Immediately after hearing that, they all turned to the right to see a member of the Abyssinian military approach them. “The monsters from before are back again! They’re making another attempt at the city!”

Nikol’s question was soon buried under the burden of his creed as he looked back at the soldier. “Grab everycat you can and form a defensive perimeter now! We cannot let any of them enter the city no matter what.”

“And we’ll also pitch in to make sure that doesn’t happen.” Rain soon spoke up afterwards. “Nikol, where do we need to go?”

“The guards we have on standby will be stationed around the north, east and west ends of the city. Primarily though, they will attempt to attack us from the main gate to the south,” Nikol informed them. “If you really are the Knights of Canterlot that you two say you are, now is the time to prove it.”

3.1- The Lake

Author's Note

We continue with where we left off last time with our heroes. But on the journey forward, things will be much more difficult for them. Especially when they have a choice to make.

When you are given the choice to save one life... or the lives of many... what do you choose?
-Frost

3.1- The Lake

The military guard of the Abyssinian Kingdom was swift to respond to Nikol’s orders moments after he issued them. Before the first wave of monsters could encroach upon the walls of Panthera, any soldiers who could be able to fight were stationed at the north, east and west gates of the city. Leaving Rain, his companions, Nikol, El and everybody else to occupy the main gate to the south. The tactician’s strategy was that they would have two of them at a time, one of Rain’s party and one of the abyssinian guard, take turns pushing back the monster incursion and preventing them from breaching the city. If one were to exhaust themselves or had sustained injuries, another member of their team could take their place. Which would allow for them to rest or receive medical treatment.

And early on, the plan was working perfectly. However, as the monsters kept coming, there was one problem that they came across. They were coming at the gate much faster than earlier, and to keep the strategy going, some soldiers were forced to step in while they were still fatigued. Making it much harder to hold the front line and to stop them from breaking through, as well as having the members of Rain’s party to work twice as hard. “They just keep coming…” Rain said to himself as he looked at Nikol. “At this rate, there’s no way that we can stop fighting them.”

Nikol thought of this, but didn’t exactly think on it that much. From his point of view, if they kept this up, the enemy would take too many casualties and might withdraw. However, given that their opponent is a swarm of monsters and not another army, he was unsure if they had the intellect to understand what withdrawal was.

But before the tactician could assure the knight that they had everything under control, one of the soldiers that was stationed from another post soon showed up. “Master Nikol, I have a new report from our scouts. More invaders have been spotted in the north and they are slipping through our defenses.”

Despite this being a simple report, one abyssinian did not necessarily take it so well. “In the north!?” El spoke up, which only resulted in a nod from the soldier. “Oh no, Arsha!!”

“El, wait!” Nikol’s words fell on deaf ears though as his younger brother soon rushed back into the city and leaving the front lines. But other than saying words, Rain didn’t see him do anything else to act on that as the tactician returned his attention back to the front.

“Hey! Are you really going to just let him go out there by himself?”

The tactician didn’t even turn to face him, but instead just kept focus on the fighting at the gate as he replied back to the knight. “If I were to go now, then the front line would not hold. And if it is breached, many civilians would die.”

“I get that, but… he’s your little brother.” Rain retorted. “Shouldn’t you do something to help him!?”

“Yes… he is.” Nikol then turned to face the crimson knight, before telling him something that Rain would ultimately be disgusted by. “If you are faced with the decision of either saving one life or a hundred, then you must choose a hundred. That is the creed of the tactician. El knows that just as much as I-”

“That’s nonsense,” Rain’s swift response was one that honestly caught the tactician by surprise given the circumstances. But it was quickly followed up by his response. “You don’t choose one above the others when you are tasked with saving someone. If you have to choose between saving one and saving one hundred, then you save both! That is my creed as a knight of Canterlot!!”

At first, Nikol did not even realize what he was talking about. But as he turned around, that was when he saw Rain draw his blade and charge in the direction where his brother went. His pleas for him to rethink his decision were fallen on deaf ears, like that of his brother, as he grit his teeth. With both of them not being here on the front lines, his concern was that they would not have the strength to hold their ground.

That was, until another knight stepped forward. “Don’t worry, Nikol… I’ll make up for Rain’s absence,” Shining grinned, drawing his blade and stepping forward. “If he’s going to save one life, then allow me to save the hundred.”

Channeling his power through the edge of the katana, Shining Armor looked forward as he stood in the front of the others and prepared his first attack. “Both of us are Knights of Canterlot, after all. And I will not falter here!”

“Arsha! Arsha, where are you!?” El’s panicked cries were met with an eerie silence as he raced through the streets of Panthera. Even though the thought of his brother scolding him for breaking formation was in the back of his mind, he was primarily thinking about where his fiancée could be. The spear he carried held tightly in his paw as he furiously raced over to the northern end of the city and hoped that she was somewhere safe.

His search finally came to an end when he found who he was looking for. Arsha was helping all the Abyssinians who were outside seek shelter and hide indoors, before noticing El as he raced over. “El, what are you doing here? You’re supposed to be with Nikol at the main gate-”

But before she could have the chance to finish, both of them turned their heads at the sight of monsters that were breaching the northern wall and closing in. They had overpowered the soldiers that were stationed there and now… El and Arsha were the only ones standing between them and the rest of Panthera.

“Arsha, get behind me! I’ll keep you safe!” The soldier ordered. Taking up a defensive stance with his spear at the ready. However, the abyssinian behind him was not quite sure if he can be able to hold them off, let alone fight. And around now was when she voiced her concern.

“A-are you alright? E-el, your paw’s shaking.” She told him, noticing the grip on his weapon and how it looked to have loosened over the last few seconds. Concern began to show on her face as El looked back at the monsters that were approaching.

However, what abyssinians did not anticipate was a certain crimson knight to soon be making his appearance. Dashing forth and striking the first two monsters that jumped towards them. “Rain!? What are you doing here?!”

“Why else?” He replied, looking back at him briefly before returning his attention to the horde of monsters that were still encroaching towards them. “I don’t doubt your abilities or the fact that you can protect Arsha by yourself, but the sooner that we deal we clean up this little mess, the sooner we can hurry back to Nikol.”

El twitched for a moment, just staring at Rain. He was baffled by his words as he looked back at the knight. “‘This little mess’? Do you have any idea what we are up against here? And with you gone from the front line-”

“So? What exactly are you worried about?” The knight then asked him, charging magic through his blade as he sent out a wave of fire at the monsters in front of him. “Don’t tell me that someone who said only a few moments ago that you could be able to defend Panthera without our help is now beginning to doubt himself? Besides, Shining Armor is currently making up for my absence right now. And he’s just as strong as I am. Perhaps even stronger.”

At first, the soldier just stared at him. Silently bewildered by what he was saying as he looked towards the monsters that weren’t far from his position before returning his gaze to the crimson knight. Thinking that he was somehow up to something. “You’re trying to make this sound trivial so I don’t lose my focus… is that what you’re trying to do here?”

“Not at all,” Rain assured the abyssinian. “This is my usual self.”

El just closed his eyes, releasing a small sigh before looking back to the enemies that were closing in on them. Stepping forward and being side by side with the knight as he adopted a stance and regripped his spear. “Hmm… It seems like I owe you an apology for how rude I was to you when we first met,” He spoke as Rain began to ready himself with his own weapon. “Given your position as a knight and your power to summon visions, I guess I was jealous of that. But… now it’s time I was honest. Rain, I’m thankful that you came after me.”

“Thank me if you like, but maybe do so after we get out of this mess.” Rain advised him, his attention focused towards the monsters that were still encroaching towards their position.

“Sounds fair to me.”

With that, both knights charged forth, sword and spear at the ready as they fought the onslaught of monsters that charged towards them. Rain was first to strike the beasts that they were racing, before ducking forward and allowing for El’s spear to pierce another one that was right by them. They continued like this for the first waves of foes that they encountered, until the second wave had the two of them rely on both of their magical abilities. Even going as far as combining them when Rain realized that the stones that he could make with his earth magic can be hidden inside the water magic that El was able to control and launching it at the army of monsters that were in front of the two knights.

The two of them kept fighting this way. Sometimes striking down foes with physical strength while other times relying on their magical abilities to overcome the foes that stood in front of them. No matter what came after them next, the two of them stood firm and held their ground. They had too if the city of Panthera were to still stand, and to ensure the safety of the abyssinians that called this city home.

They fought by each other's side for what felt like hours and by this time, the incursion of monsters began to subside. They had taken too many losses and were now in retreat as Rain placed his blade on his back and looked back at El. “Well, that takes care of that. Let’s hurry back to Nikol and-”

Before Rain could finish his sentence or El could even come up with a reply, several of the soldiers that served in the abyssinian military come towards them. “Master El, sir! Is everything alright?”

“Yeah,” He simply replied, before looking to Rain for a brief second as he made a follow up reply. “Because of Rain here, we were able to fend off the monsters that were encroaching from the north. How’s the situation at the gate?”

“Master Nikol was able to hold position at the gate because of the efforts of the unicorn who fought off the monsters.”

That was a good sign as Rain and El looked back at one another as Arsha joined them, before El gave one simple order. “Make sure everything here is secure and the people are safe. Treat anyone who might’ve been hurt. We’re going to regroup with Nikol and figure out what we're going to do now.”

“Yes sir!”

“It seems we managed to keep our home safe… somehow,” Nikol spoke as he looked at everything all around him as the city of Panthera was beginning to slowly recover from the attack that just happened not too long ago. His brother El had returned to the gate, alongside that of both Rain and Arsha as he turned back around to face everyone that was here. “But, it’s only a matter of time until they come back and attack us again.”

“Damn it,” El cursed, gritting his teeth as one of his paws was clenched into a fist. “Why is this all happening now…”

“It must be the waters,” They all heard the water priestess, Luka, speak now as they listened to her. “Their contamination must be the cause of everything. We must hurry to the lake in order to see what has befallen the waters and Leviathan.”

“Wait, you mean the same one that you mentioned earlier right? Lake Katt?” Rain asked for clarification, which lead to the water priestess nodding in response, even though she seemed a bit puzzled as to why he was asking. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not disagreeing with you. But if we bring any of your soldiers with us right now, just moments after the city was attacked, it would only thin Panthera’s defenses and put the city at risk.”

“So, what do you suggest we do then, Rain?” He now heard Luna ask him, before the knight let out a sigh so he can respond to the question as he turned to face Luka.

“Why don’t we escort you there?”

The idea seemed… possible. But in the mind of the abyssinian tactician that was overhearing this, there was still one thing that bothered him. “You still haven’t told us what brought you to Abyssinia in the first place… how am I supposed to trust that you don’t have any ulterior motives?”

“Well, let me tell you then,” The knight responded back. “We want to go to the Ocean Shrine.”

The response baffled that of Nikol as he just looked back at the crimson knight. Puzzled by his choice of words. “The Ocean Shrine? Why?”

The knight just nodded his hand, placing his left hand on his hips as he looked back at the tactician and his siblings before he began to speak again. “Well, this may sound hard to believe, but right now, there’s a mysterious group of individuals that are travelling around the world and destroying the crystals in each of the shrines. They were even responsible for the attack on Canterlot several weeks ago.”

What he said surprised all three of them, but it startled Luka the most. “But the crystal… I placed a barrier around the shrine. It should repel any intruders.”

After hearing this, Rain took a moment to process this new information. Before coming up with a proper response. “Well… that is just another reason to make sure that we keep you safe.”

“I see…” Nikol now spoke up, using a paw to scratch his chin for a few seconds before looking back at Rain and the others. “So these villains that you speak of will also come to attack my sister.” All that the crimson knight did was nod his head in response as both Rain and the tactician looked back at one another. Processing everything that they had just said.

However, it was at this time that Fidget herself got up from the ground and began to speak her mind. “Wait a minute though… wouldn’t that mean that if Luka goes to the lake, we would be playing right into their claws? They would probably be expecting us in order to do that so they can ambush you.”

Even though Luka herself insisted that she had to go, given that it was her duty as the water priestess, a feeling of uncertainty began to wash over Nikol. Even if he hated to admit it, the engineer with the strawberry colored feathers on her head was right. This could possibly be just a trap. Meaning that if the villains that Rain was speaking of were planning to entangle them and throw them off guard, then they would need to prepare their own surprise.

Just as Nikol was about to speak once more, that was when he got a surprise from the most unlikely of sources. El. “Brother, you should go with Luka as well. We will make sure to keep the aquapolis safe from harm,” As he spoke, his fiancè stood beside him and leaned against his side before looking at Rain. “And… you can trust Rain. Arsha and I will both vouch for him. Without him, who knows what would’ve happened to me.”

“El…” Nikol was shocked to hear those words. After going straight out of his way to despise that of Rain and his comrades for coming here, this was a complete reversal from his earlier behavior. Nevertheless though, this lead to the tactician clearing his throat as he nodded his head. “I understand. The city is in your paws, then. We’ll be back as soon as we can.”

In order for Rain and his comrades to take Luka to Lake Katt, they first had to venture through the woods that was immediately south of the city. However, unlike the forests that they had traveled through before, this one was much different. The leaves, grass and plant life around them was a golden yellow instead of a pure emerald green. Something that could be an effect of the contaminated waters, but it was not certain.

The monsters that attacked them on their journey were not exactly enemies that Rain and his allies could not overcome. However, Nikol himself might have contributed to this. While they were fighting, he tossed an explosive distraction deep into the forest and had it go off shortly before anymore monsters could find them. In turn, this had the monsters that would be considerably stronger chase after the noise while Rain and Shining quickly made short work of the foes that did attack them.

Once they made it to the other end of the woods, the six of them reached a place called ‘The Aquatic Cove’. It provided them the perfect place to set up camp and temporarily rest as it hid them from any monsters that were outside and provided them a safe place for them to tend to anything that needed to be done on their journey before they were to set off again.

But there was one moment when Luna was informing Luka about their choice to stay for now that felt… odd, to say the least. “Fina, may I ask you a question?”

Confused, Luna tilted her head and simply asked a follow up question. “What is it?”

“Well, to be fair, this question is a favorite one that my brother would like to ask. If you had to choose between saving a single life or the lives of many, who would you choose?” She asked, before smiling as she adjusted the headpiece that she was wearing. “As for me… I really admire the kind souls who would choose a single life over all others. Because those who live here feel that they are bound to the duty of protecting their family. Which is probably the reason why I feel so strongly about this choice.”

Then, came something that Luna did not anticipate to hear. From Luka of all individuals. “If I have to give up everything for the sake of someone else… I rather do so for one special person than for all the creatures in the world,” She said, before moving a paw as if she was implying that it was Luna’s turn to answer. “Do you have someone like that? Someone that you can see as special?”

“You mean… like a special somepony?” Luna asked in response, which only had the priestess nod her head in response.

“Yes, someone that you love that much.”

“L-love!?” Hearing that word sent a massive shiver down her spine and made parts of her fur stand up on end. It was a complex subject to her and one that she had a hard time trying to understand. “I-i don’t know anything about love… I mean… how do you know for s-sure if you love someone?”

“Don’t worry,” Luka chuckled, placing her left paw on Luna’s shoulder as she looked back at her. “When it happens, you’ll know. And it will surely happen, Fina. Someday…”

“D-do you really think so?” The white mage then asked. And the only answer that she got back was an affirmative nod from Luka.

After taking a few hours to rest their bones, everyone packed up the supplies that they brought with them and began to set back out to journey towards Lake Katt. It turned out that the caves not only provided shelter for them, but also served as a shortcut to the lake that would make it easier for them to reach. And surely enough, once they stepped out of the caves, the lake was in sight.

But before they could head towards the center of the holy waters, Nikol had to have an important conversation with them. A plan for what to do if one of the Veritas happened to be waiting for Luka to make her way here the whole time. A plan that required for it to look as if Luka was unaware of anyone else that could be waiting for her. And even though Nikol wasn’t one for having his sister be in the center of harm's way, it was something that had to be done.

The first part of the plan was to have Luka approach the lake. “By the gods, these waters are beyond unclean… I no longer have any choice, but to purify them of this sickness.”

The second part of the plan… wait for the bait to be taken. And surely enough, that’s what happened. “Hehehe… My word, is it really going to be this easy? This almost seems all too good to be true.” A new voice echoed, before a funnel of water began to surge from the center of the lake. The figure was clothed in an azure robe that stretched down to their feet. They were floating at the center of the lake, almost as if they were walking upon it.

The sight of the figure startled Luka, especially by their unexpected entrance. “What?!”

“To be fair, I thought there was a small chance that you would soon happen to arrive if I contaminated the waters. Otherwise, I wouldn’t even have thought about doing such a thing,” They spoke again, laughter echoing in their voice before they folded their arms. “And yet, I did not think that you would be so foolish to actually come here.”

In a snap, two killer fish emerged from the lake and were right next to the armored foe as they slowly began to approach Luka. “Apologies in advance, but then again, apologizing after the fact wouldn’t even be worth it. But I’m going to have to kill you now. I’ve been tasked with breaking the barrier on The Ocean Shrine, and I can’t do that if you’re still breathing.”

They moved closer to the shore. Both the armored foe and the monsters that were beside them as it now took this time to introduce themselves. “I am Veritas of the Waters. Fear not, child. I will not harm your face. Die in piece, knowing that your corpse will be heartbreakingly beautiful.”

However, what the Veritas began to notice was not an expression of fear on the abyssinians face but a grin of satisfaction. For she had fallen for the bait. And with it, the third part of the plan starts. Act. “My my,” Nikol soon emerged from behind his sister as he approached her and the Veritas. “Such a simple, yet pathetically obvious plan you have.”

“What-?” Before the Veritas could do anything, both of the Knights from Canterlot emerged from behind two pairs of trees on her left and right side. Rain on the left, Shining on the right as both knights held their blades in their hands.

“Seriously! What a joke,” The crimson knight soon spoke up. “If she was really planning to ambush her, why not use the element of surprise? Why did she have to make it all theatrical?”

“Y-you ambushed my ambush!? Have you no decency?!!”

“Well, isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black.” Shining retorted.

“Alright, fine, fine. Besides, I had planned to destroy all of you sooner or later anyways,” The Veritas of the Waters soon retorted. Another snap and more monsters from under the water soon emerged and made their way to the shoreline of the lake. “Allow for these to entertain you while I make some final preparations-”

Before she could even finish, a shower of arrows soon emerged from the trees, striking almost all of the monsters that were closing in on the shore while a secondary blast took down the ones that remained. Both Luna and Fidget were hiding behind both Rain and Shining on standby in case if the Veritas tried to cause a diversion or attempted to retreat. In this case, a shower of arrows from Luna was able to cut down the opposing force down to size while a blast shot from the crossbow contraption on Fidget’s right arm was enough to make short work of the monsters.

Something that the Veritas was not quite happy with. “Seriously? Urgh… How many more of you pests do I have to exterminate? This is getting annoying.”

“Don’t even think that you can be able to just send more of your minions at us and be able to get away. Surrender now, for we have you cornered.” The crimson knight boldly declared, weapon at the ready as Shining held his katana firmly in his hands. Luna was preparing another arrow onto Reincarnation as Fidget reloaded her crossbow, giving off the implication that one move from the Veritas could be a fatal mistake.

“Hah! Me? Cornered? I wouldn’t be so sure about that if I were you.” As the Veritas moved to the side, every one of them could now noticed the body of a huge serpent swiftly moving under the water's surface.

Something that could only mean one thing. And it was something that Nikol and Luka were shocked by. “N-no… this can’t be…”

“Ah, how good for you two to finally notice.” The Veritas spoke menacingly as the waters of the lake began to ripple more and more. A big splash rose from the center of the lake, and with it, a new threat towered over all of them.

“Leviathan!?” It was indeed the Leviathan, but not the one that Nikol or Luka so deeply worshipped in praise and prayer. Its scales and body were not the same as before, changed by the contamination in the lake. Its red eyes were now a darkened orange and its blue majestic body was now a darkened navy, glaring at them and poised to strike.

“I-impossible! Is the Leviathan being controlled by this black hearted Veritas!?” Shining now shouted.

“H-hold on!” Luna now shouted, pointing towards a spot under the beast’s head. “Something’s oozing out from its neck! Is that… blood?”

Immediately, Rain realized what this could possibly mean. The source of the contamination in the waters was not some kind of magic or spell. It was from Leviathan itself. It’s blood was what was contaminating the waters of this holy lake. And just as Fina began to ponder if there was something they could do to mend the wounds, that was when the Veritas of the Waters spoke again. “What a dear sweet filly you are… but I’m afraid that this is a wound that cannot just simply be healed…”

As the Veritas returned to the center of the lake, not that far from the Leviathan, Nikol noticed the armored villain pull out an object from within the sleeve of their robes. One that pulsed with magic and glowed with magenta light. “No way… that’s the sacred vessel of Paladia! You used such an artifact to harm Leviathan?!”

“Hunh… how well informed you are about holy relics. But I’m afraid the time for compliments and questions has passed,” The Veritas raised its right arm, relic in hand as Leviathan began to rise from the waters of the lake even more. “Come… Leviathan. Let’s bring their journey to an end! KILL THEM ALL!!!”

“Oh Crap-!!” Before Rain could even tell everybody else to take cover, the water esper roared as it turned the ripples in the lave into waves. Sending them forth and crashing them into the shore. Tearing up the ground as chunks of rock collided into nearby trees and sending splinters of wood everywhere. His fire magic couldn’t do a thing in these circumstances either, because if tried to channel any form of flame right now, the waves from the esper can immediately extinguish them.

Shining and everybody else was also having a hard time trying to combat the aquatic esper. But for each one of them, it was a different reason. The unicorn attempted to try and freeze the waves that were coming towards the shore, but Leviathan’s power just ended up turning the frozen chunks of ice into projectiles that shattered everywhere on impact. Luna herself had a hard time trying to stand her ground as the sheer force of the waves kept on making her lose her footing. The same could be said for Fidget, who was also having trouble keeping balance too.

For Nikol though, he could not bear himself to fight… but his reason was more of a personal one. “I-impossible… How can this h-happen?” He grit his teeth, his paw gripping the magical tome that he carried as he looked back at the esper. “As a warden of the water, I did not wish to fight you… But to ensure the safety of our people, I have no choice.”

“Nikol, do you have any kind of strategy as to how we can stop Leviathan?!” Rain now asked the Tactician as he was trying his best to hold his ground. “We’re getting torn apart here!”

The tactician sighed for a moment, before having magic circle around his free paw and raising it above his head. “Barwatera!” Immediately, the magic began to take effect. Rain and his allies soon began to realize that the attacks that Leviathan was trying to hit them with were either blocked or the damage that they would take would be reduced significantly. “There… that should help you significantly.”

“What was that even?” Fidget asked, now that she could be able to not worry about getting blown away by Leviathan’s attacks.

“Green Magic. The magic that both Rain and Shining use is commonly known as Black Magic; used for offensive attacks while Fina uses White magic; mainly for healing. Green Magic is for defense and for assisting allies,” Nikol summarized to them once they all joined back up with him and Rain. “My Barwatera spell increases the resistance we have to water based attacks, but it will only last us for fifteen minutes.”

“And I assume that you have a plan to stop him in less time?” The crimson knight asked.

The only response that the tactician had for him was a sigh as he looked back at Rain, before focusing his attention to everyone else that was nearby. “With your help… I will.”

3.2- A Choice to Make

Nikol was not one for words when it came to making important decisions under drastic circumstances. He believed that as a tactician, the actions that he would choose spoke much louder than that. The first action that he took was to cast Barwatera to protect his allies from the raging waves of Leviathan’s wrath, before following that up with giving Rain a simple order. Summon the pegasus vision that Rain had demonstrated before and have her go up in the air to start channeling storm clouds above the esper.

At first, the knight was puzzled by what the tactician said. Though, there was no time in order to ask why. If they didn’t do this, then there was no way that they could actually beat the esper in its current state while under the Veritas’ control. Not to mention that the longer that they had to keep Leviathan occupied, the more the esper’s power began to increase significantly. The Veritas controlling Leviathan did not mind at all though. In fact, it sounded like she was enjoying the whole affair as the Veritas of the Waters laughed madly with the power at her disposal. “Yes! YES!! Show those fools no mercy!!”

“Okay, so what exactly are we doing? Just letting ourselves get beaten while what? Nimbus tries making it rain!! We gotta do something!” Carbuncle growled, frustration in its words as Rain used his Crimson Saber to hold himself in place. He wanted to tell Carbuncle that there wasn’t really any alternative options for them to actually beat Leviathan at the moment. But he couldn’t. If he were distracted right now, he would not be able to notice any of Leviathan’s incoming attacks. The knight and his allies had to at least make it look like they were putting up a fight to provide Nimble with as much time as possible.

The darkened grey clouds that were swirling together in the air were a good sign. But that in itself was just a start. They were up against an esper, and Nikol knew that they were going to need more than that if they were going to try and break Leviathan from the Veritas’ control. The abyssinian had a spell in mind to weaken the esper’s elemental protections, but he wanted to be sure that they had enough power to hit Leviathan with after he casted it.

Shining, Luna and Fidget were all doing their own parts to try and assist with the situation. The white mage used her magic to heal the injuries sustained from the leviathan’s attacks while Fidget fired off a Sunbeam from the crossbow on her wrist to try and blind the esper as she looked back at Rain. “Rrgh… H-how much longer-. Fina’s gonna run out of mana at this rate!”

The crimson knight grit his teeth, only to look up at the sky and see that Nimbus wasn’t yet ready. The pegasus had put a single finger up, which in his mind, could only mean that she needed one more minute before she was ready. “Just hold out as much as you can!” He told Fidget, grabbing an ether flask out of the satchel he had on his waist and tossing it to the griffon. “Give her this. It should help restore some of her mana.”

The Veritas of the Waters though could not help but chuckle at seeing Rain and his comrades struggle. She felt quite proud of herself. Using the power from the sacred vessel of Paladia to have Leviathan’s rage under her command. “Why do these mere worms still continue to resist? Have they not realized yet that there is no point in trying to struggle against Leviathan’s wrath?” She thought to herself. Yet, part of her told her that she should still be cautious. After all, one of the ones who stood before her was a Warden of the Waters. It is unlike them to go into a battle without some kind of plan.

As the Leviathan readied its next attack though, that was when Rain readied his blade. Dodging the waves as he struck the body with his blade. His intent was not to harm it, but instead to weaken it. For his attack was not a normal one. It was ‘Undermine’. A technique that allowed for him to hit an opponent, and in doing so, weaken their attack, defense, magic and spirit.

It was a move that was accompanied by another one. A spell that the tactician was waiting to unleash. “Imperil!”

Imperil was another green magic spell that Nikol had at his disposal. But it wasn’t one that was meant to help his allies. Instead, it was a spell intended to weaken the elemental protections of whatever foe was afflicted by it. In this case, the one that was afflicted was the esper they were fighting.

“Fools! What makes you think that you have a chance to stop Leviathan now-?!” The Veritas asked. But just as she was finishing her sentence, a loud rumble began to echo throughout the sky. Startling her, but as she looked back at the crimson knight on the ground, all he was doing was… smiling? “What is this fool so joyful about?”

For Rain though, the thunder was very much a positive sign. It was a sign that the preparations on Nimbus’ end were complete. And from the looks of it, the pegasus seemed eager to unleash the power that she had been storing up. “Nimbus, NOW!!”

“What-!?”

“TRY THIS ONE FOR SIZE, YOU OVERGROWN EEL!!!” Nimbus’ warcry was followed by a charged up fist punching the storm clouds that have she had gathered, triggering a barrage of lightning that rained down on both the waterlord and the esper before they had the chance to do anything. The strike coughed up smoke and dirt from the shoreline as Rain and the others were forced to shield their eyes from the electrical onslaught that was just unleashed.

Mere moments after the attack connected, Luka came out from behind a nearby tree as Fidget and Luna joined up with the knights and the tactician. “D-did we do it?” The white mage asked hesitantly. Rain himself wanted to say yes… but part of him felt unsure if that was enough. The goal was not to try and defeat the Leviathan, but weaken it enough so that it would snap out of the Veritas’ control. But that task alone had brought all of them to the point of exhaustion.

As the smoke began to clear though, both the esper and Veritas were in the same spot where they got hit. Leviathan looked as if it had not attained any damage. The Veritas of the Waters though was a completely different story. The armor that she wore looked as if it had been burned to a crisp by the bolts of lightning that were rained down on her head. “Do you think that conjuring a cheap trick such as that can stop me-!?!!”

Now though, Luka was the one that stood firm. Approaching the esper with no help from that of her brother or anyone else as she placed both of her paws together. “We beg thy forbearance, O god of the waters,” The priestess prayed, her words sounding melancholic. “Hear our words! We beseech thee!”

“Pfft… How pathetic. Your prayers for mercy are useless, girl. The only words that this beast will listen to now is my own-” However, the Waterlord’s own boast was soon silenced by the glowing blue aura around Luka. The magic that surrounded her and rippled like the depths of the ocean. “What is the meaning of this!?! Cease this foolishness at once!!”

The Veritas lifted an arm into the air, conjuring a sphere of water with her magic as she threw it directly towards the priestess. But before it could make contact, Luna got up and placed herself in between them. “Protect!”

The barrier of magic formed from her fingertips around the two of them as Rain and the others were slowly getting back up. “N-nikol… W-what is Luka doing?” Shining Armor now asked as he looked towards the abyssinian for answers.

“Luka… She’s trying to have her prayers to reach the heart of the water god.”

“Ngh…” They heard Luna struggle to maintain the barrier as the Veritas put more power into the spell. But before Rain and the others could do anything to help, she immediately gestured for them to back off. So far over this journey, Rain had always been there for Luna when she needed to be saved. Now though, it was her turn to save someone for a change.

As the Veritas focused solely on Luna and Luka, they didn’t notice the Leviathan slowly beginning to move away from the shore and out towards the center of the lake. However, it was as Luka finished her prayer that a second water orb was conjured by the Veritas and thrown into the first. Both orbs shattered and the force was enough to send them flying back a few feet.

“How pitiful. Your devout prattle and prayers are nothing compared to the might of the sacred vessel in which I possess!” The Veritas of the Waters boasted. “Now, Leviathan! Finish them off for good-!”

FWOOSH!!

The Veritas of the Waters had little time to react in that moment. Indeed, the Leviathan attacked. But instead of attacking Rain and the others, the attacks were directed towards her instead. “What!? What is the meaning of this!!?! I said attack them, not me, you sea-brained imbecile!!”

It did not help her anymore as the esper glared directly at her. The darkened shade from the Leviathan’s scales beginning to disappear as it unleashed one more blast of water. This time hitting its intended target. “Oh for the love of-!!”

For Rain and the others though, this… was a huge sigh of relief as they got back up on their feet. “Luka,” Shining spoke now. “It seems as if your prayers really did reach Leviathan.”

However, as Rain turned to look at the priestess, he did not see an expression of happiness on her face, but one of sorrow as she shook her head. “Yes, but my work is not yet done. I must heal the wounds of the water god and purify these waters. Only then will our home be safe.”

“Luka… does this mean that we need to say goodbye already?”

The question from Luna, along with the subsequent nod of the priestess’ head soon lead to Rain noticing that something was off as he approached the priestess. “Goodbye? Why exactly would this be seen as goodbye? We just only met like a day ago.”

“I must fully advocate myself to the waters,” The priestess told him as she turned her head to face her brother. Her back facing towards the lake. “As the priestess of the waters, I have a duty to uphold. I will let myself sink to the bottom of this lake… and I shall remain there until the day my work is complete and our holy waters are pure once more.”

“Purify the waters?” Fidget now asked as she approached Luna’s right hand side now. “How long exactly would something like that take?”

“I cannot say,” Luka said at first. However, the next words that she spoke shocked everyone that was listening as if felt like a stab to the gut. “But I suppose that with this amount of sickness… it will take many years.”

“Y-years…?”

“Okay, just what the buck?!” Nimbus could be heard now as the abyssinian looked back to the griffon.

“Don’t be troubled now,” Luka insisted, looking to both Fidget and Nimbus first along with everyone else soon afterwards. “I’ve been prepared to do my duty now for a long time-”

“Nikol!” The griffon immediately snapped, turning her attention now towards the tactician as she asked him a new question. “Did you know about this?”

“Of course. Luka is the only one who can cleanse these defiled waters-”

“The hell do you mean by ‘of course’!?” Nimbus now raised her voice, which was followed by Fidget immediately walking over to Nikol as she stared down the warden of the waters, half tempted to smack him in the face. “I can’t believe you! Don’t you even care? You’re her brother for crying out loud!! Say something to her! Are you gonna use that damn excuse about saving one life over a thousand in order to basically sacrifice your own sister!?!”

“Fidget! Nimbus! Calm down!!” Luna now raised her voice, immediately causing the two of them to stop talking as the white mage looked at both of them. “I believe this is all painful to Nikol as well. At least try to understand him.”

For a moment, Fidget stopped. Trying to fully grasp what Luna was telling her. But it was as this was going on that Nimbus noticed something coming from Nikol. More specifically, his eyes. “Hey… are you… crying?”

“Crying?” He said, shortly before turning around defiantly and facing away from the group. “What a fanciful idea. We were all splashed by the Leviathan’s onslaught of water magic. Of course there would be moisture on my face.”

That was met by a brief silence as he looked away, using a sleeve to wipe the ‘moisture’ off of his face as Luna herself looked out onto the lake. Though, it was as she looked out now that something else came to her mind. “Luka… I remember you telling me something,” She spoke, catching the attention of the priestess. “You told me that you would give up all that you were… for one special person. Back then, I really couldn’t understand that fully.”

Now, she turned around, looking directly at the priestess. “But now, I think I understand it a bit better,” Her gaze now shifted to where Nikol was, his back still facing the rest of them. “Wanting to use your gifts and your power for the sake of someone important… Wanting to help that creature… and keep that creature safe. I know how it feels.”

“Fina…” Luka’s words were followed by her placing her paws together once more as her power began to flow again. But this time, that power seemed to move towards Luna now as she was surrounded in the same magical energy that Luka had around her. Something that was much to her surprise. “Thank you… this might not be much, but it should be enough to bring down the Ocean Shrine’s barrier.” As she said that, she soon drifted out to the lake. But it was then that Luna said something.

“Luka! There’s something that I want to let you know…” The white mage said, before looking back at Rain and the others. “My name… it’s not Fina. It’s Luna.”

That in itself was enough to surprise the priestess, as well as her brother. But it was Luka who just smiled as she looked back at her. “Thank you… Luna. Please don’t be sad… I will not die here. Once the waters are pure again, I will come back. That’s a promise.” Now she was by Leviathan’s side as she finished what she was telling them. “Once I reach the bottom, I will begin the cleansing. You should be able to see the purifying light even from here on the surface. When you see it… think of me, and know that I am alive. If I know that you are all thinking of me… if I know that you remember me… then I will not be alone.”

As they looked out from the edge and began to see the light from the lake, that was when Rain finally spoke. Breaking the silence that had drifted since Luka had submerged below. “If that’s the case… then you can count on us. We’ll never forget what you did for us today, Luka. I swear to you on my honor as a knight.”

The priestess had one last thing, shortly before she and the leviathan began to submerge into the murky waters below. “Thank you…”

“We need to talk.”

Out of all the words that Rain expected to hear from Nikol on their way back to Panthera, those four words weren’t quite what he anticipated after the four of them had set up camp for the night. If anything, the warden of the waters had been silent since they had left Lake Katt. Shining Armor was looking for wood so they can start a fire, all the while Luna and Fidget were sleeping on some blankets.

“What’s the matter?” Rain then asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked back at Nikol.

“The matter is that when I am working with a partner, whether they are from Abyssinia or outside of it, I don’t tolerate dishonesty well,” The tactician told the knight directly, motioning a paw towards Luna as she curled up on the blanket and was sleeping soundly. “Who is she really?”

“That… is kind of difficult to explain,” The knight told him, before thinking of a question to ask Nikol. “How familiar are you with the stories of Equestria?”

“Only the one with the two sisters. One that raised the sun and the other that raised the moon. Though, most of us believe that is just a kitten’s story.” He responded.

As Nikol looked back at him, he could see that there was a small smirk on Rain’s face. Just before he began to explain it to her. “Hate to break it to you… but that kitten’s story actually happened. You see, when the attack on Canterlot by the Sworn Six of Paladia happened, we found Luna amongst everything. According to Princess Celestia herself, she’s her sister… but upon waking up, she did not have any memories.”

“Really? Then how am I supposed to believe that she really is an alicorn? I haven’t even seen a pair of wings on her,” Of course, just as he said that, Luna herself turned over. Her back facing towards the two of them and her cloak rising up a bit. Revealing the pair of wings on her back. “Okay, point taken… But that still doesn’t explain a few things. For one, if she were Celestia’s sister, why would she come with you knowing that she would be throwing herself in harm's way? And two, why did she call herself Fina the first time we met her?”

“Alright, to answer your first question, she felt that she needed to come with us because she felt directly tied to the whole situation with the Veritas. Plus, I felt that if she came along on this journey of ours, there could be something that could help her regain those missing memories of hers.” Rain now explained to her, while also mentioning the encounters that they had before. From Hollow Shades and Starlight’s home to the Griffish Isles and Granitebeak, he told Nikol of the number of times that Luna had been there for them and how it was because of her that they have gotten this far.

Though, Nikol’s response… was not quite the most ideal. “That still doesn’t explain the name.”

“To be honest, she kind of came up with it after we decided to come up with a name to address her by so we did not attract much attention to ourselves,” Rain then added. “She said that since she looked like that of a filly and her name was Luna, that we should call her Fina. I know it sounds dumb, but it’s been working for us so far.”

“Fair enough.” Nikol responded. But just as he turned around and slowly began to walk away, that was when Rain had a question for him.

“How do you think El is going to take this?”

The question had the tactician stop where he was, before turning back around to see the knight again as he came up with a response. “My brother knows just as much as anycat the duties that come with the title of Warden of the Waters as well as its burdens.”

“Just because he knows them does not mean that he would be prepared for it when it happens,” Rain told him, recalling how El first reacted to the knight and his friends upon meeting him for the first time. “One of the most important lessons that I learned from my teacher in the royal guard is that you can never be truly prepared for everything, no matter how hard you try. We were trained and taught how to keep our kind safe, but it never prepared us for when the Sworn Six attacked Canterlot. So… taking into account what I just said, and what you know about your brother, how do you think he will react to this?”

The tactician was silent. He did not retort so quickly like with his earlier responses, but instead, he took some time. The knight watched as he turned around, placing his left paw under his chin and scratching it first before retracting it. Finally thinking of an answer to say as he turned back around.

“If I have to be honest with you… not well. Even if he knows his duties, the one flaw that I notice with him is that he throws such obligations to the wind whenever somecat close to him is involved.”

“Like with Arsha back in Panthera?”

The tactician only nodded for a brief second, before continuing to speak. “Indeed. I just hope that he finds a way to try and control his emotions. Otherwise, it will not end well for him since I would not always be there to back him up.”

“With everything that we have gone through… and everything that still ahead of us, I hope the same thing.” The knight told him as he took a seat on the ground, noticing Shining Armor returning with some sticks and a couple logs of wood as he prepared a fire spell to start the campfire. Letting the flames warm them and dry off their soaked clothing from the battle the had earlier that day so they can rest.

Of course, for Nikol… he couldn’t find it in himself to rest. Not after the conversation that he just had… and thinking about the conversation that he knew he couldn’t avoid once returning to the capital.

The trip back to Panthera was not exactly a comfortable one for Rain and his comrades by the time they finally returned to the capital city of Abyssinia. Even though Luka had begun cleansing the waters and they were able to stop the Veritas from controlling Leviathan, it still did not mean that the city was safe at all. Especially if the monster, or the Veritas of the Waters, came back to finish what they started.

The hardest part in coming back though was explaining all of this to El. He, like many others, was almost expecting for Luka to be by their side upon their return. However, when they had to break the news of what happened and tell him of what Luka was now doing… he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Part of the soldier blamed himself for not being there with them in order to stop the one behind all of this, but it wasn’t until later that he began to realize that this was something that he didn’t have any control over.

The overall mood did not change as the sun began to set over the horizon as Rain and his companions were escorted to the rooms that they were to stay in for the night, courtesy of Nikol. Of course, his sole reason for it was because if they were to be prepared for whatever came next, both the body and the mind needed to rest. Something he referred to as a ‘necessity’ for the wellness of any soldier on the frontlines.

However, for Rain, after everything that they had just gone through, he tried to fall asleep… but was having trouble staying asleep. Every few moments he would find himself either waking up or tossing and turning in his bed. Something was making it hard for him in order to get the rest that he needed, and after a while, it just became downright irritating.

At one point though, he had enough. Instead of just trying to force himself to fall asleep, he thought that he should at least do something about it. Getting up from his bed, he proceeded to step outside. In his mind, taking a walk might help with clearing his head a little so that he could be able to sleep. Or at least, that was how it was supposed to be in theory.

Though, as he walked through the city streets, there was one thing that he happened to catch a glimpse of that was tucked away in a back alley. At first, he thought that he was seeing things. But upon closer inspection, he began to realize that wasn’t the case here. In the alley was a crystal. Not just any crystal, but the same one that had taken both him and Shining to the Farplane. Why such a thing was here, he did not know. What the knight did know though was that last time around, he did not have that much time in order to look around the Farplane as much as he wanted too.

Right now, that wasn’t the case. “I guess it can’t hurt to look around some.” He told himself, just as he placed his hand on the Crystal and it’s light began to shimmer brightly.

The Farplane

In the vast cosmic vortex that is the farplane, the moogles that live here were the only known creatures that call it home. But even to them, there are those who wander the depths of the farplane. Trying to make sense of this alternate reality and see if they can try to find their way back to where they once were.

A couple of them in particular were wandering around, wanting a break from that of their companions as they tried to find a place to rest. Both of them were pegasi, though, one was dressed in the regalia of a soldier while the other wore the clothes of a traveler that just traversed the Saddle Arabian desert. “Ugh, dear Celestia… If I hear Rockhoof claim that we can find a way out of Limbo here by digging our way out, I will take that shovel of his and hit myself over the head with it.”

“Come on, Flash. You’re just over exaggerating.”

“Am I? Because if I recall correctly, he’s been suggesting that everyday for as long as we can remember being in this place, Somnambula.” The stallion named Flash Magnus replied back to his companion. Ever since the day that he, Somnambula and the other ponies that were known as the ‘Pillars of Equestria’ sealed themselves away to seal away the evil that was ‘The Pony of Shadows’, they had been finding themselves wandering this endless void.

Starswirl the Bearded, one of the most famous mages in Equestria, believed that this place was Limbo. The dimension between realities that was nothing but an endless space. However, when they saw the creatures that were known as Moogles, they began to realize that where they were could in fact be someplace entirely different. And therefore, they could hopefully find a way out. It was something that they’ve been trying to figure out for years… perhaps even longer than that, but with no luck in sight.

However, in all of the time that they have been here, the one thing that they had never seen in the years since coming here was another creature that could be from outside. That was… until today. It happened while Flash was trying to do his best in order to ‘listen’ to what Somnambula was trying to tell her. But at the corner of his eye, he noticed something that was dressed in red garbs and a blond mane walking through the farplane. Sword strapped to their back as he ventured on towards the home of the Moogles. “Somnambula… did you see that?”

“See what?”

“Just now, there was a guy in red walking through there,” He replied, pointing a hand towards the castle of King Mog. At first, it did not look like there was anypony there and Somnambula was thinking that Flash might’ve been full of himself. But not a minute too soon did she see him as well. Of course, they did not look like a pony at all. In fact, this person looked to be much different. “Just who the hay is that guy?”

“He doesn’t look like anypony we would be familiar with,” Somnambula now responded, trying to get a closer look at the strange figure. Noticing something on their clothes as she turned to Flash. “Hey, did you notice that insignia on its clothes?”

“The what?”

“The insignia on his chest, by his right shoulder,” She pointed to it, which now had the royal legion soldier look closer as where she was pointing at. “Does that look familiar to you? You were part of the Cloudsdale royal legion so-”

“Even though I am, that’s not one that I have seen before,” He retorted back. “Besides, his clothes and everything look more like somepony from Canterlot than Cloudsdale,” With that, Flash then looked back to the fellow pegasi as a different idea came to mind. “Maybe we should ask Starswirl-”

“Ask me what exactly?” Both pegasi immediately turned around to see the archmage himself, Starswirl the Bearded, standing right behind him. His robes extending over a majority of his body and his scepter in hand as he looked back at the two of them.

“H-how-?”

“Meadowbrook saw you two walking this way and got a bit concerned when you didn’t come back,” The archmage replied back, “Now, what is it that you want to-” Before he could finish, that’s when he saw the same strange figure that both Flash and Somnambula were looking at. But for him, his reaction was much different. Sure, a part of him felt shocked, but another part came off more as curiosity. “Now why would somepony like you be here?”

“Wait a minute, you know who they are?” The desert traveler was the first one to ask.

“Not personally, but I can tell what they are,” Starswirl explained. “That insignia on his clothes is one that is only given to those in the royal guard who had gained the rank of knighthood.”

“So he’s a knight from Canterlot?” Flash then followed suit.

“Well, if you want to put it that way, then yes. He’s a knight from Canterlot,” Before he could say anything else though, he noticed that the figure had his head turned to his shoulder, where it didn’t look like anything was there. But soon, what looked like a multi-tailed critter with an emerald fur coat and a ruby on their forehead soon emerged. “Hold on just a second, I need to cast a spell.”

“What kind of spell?”

“An enhanced listening spell. I just want to confirm something.” The mage assured his companions, before using his scepter to cast it. Just as the spell was beginning to take root though, that was when all three of them began to hear the figure speak.

As well as the critter on his shoulder. “So what exactly was the reason why you wanted to come here in the first place? Just to say hi to the moogles?”

“Carbuncle, the only other time that I was able to come to the farplane was before Canterlot got attacked by the Veritas. I didn’t exactly have the chance to find out anything more about it until now.”

The single statement from the knight alone made the blood of all three of the Pillars freeze. Mainly for two reasons. The first being that they heard that this place was not called Limbo, but something else in its entirety. The second being the news of Canterlot being attacked. When Starswirl was last there, everything was still perfectly fine and the capital was not in a state of panic. Leaving him with one question in mind.

How long have they been stuck here for?

“Sure, sure. Sorry, it’s just… I’ve been feeling a bit uneasy.”

“You think?”

“What? Can you blame me? Aside from the fact that the Veritas are destroying the crystals that keep the world stable, the fact that one of them was able to basically brainwash an esper like myself would be more than concerning to me! Especially since it was freaking Leviathan!!” The creature said before taking a few deep breaths and letting out a sigh. “I mean, for bahamut’s sake Rain, even Discord is taking an interest in you. And that is never a good sign.”

“Rain?” Somnambula then asked, looking back at Flash and Starswirl. “Is that his name?”

“Seems like it,” Flash replied. “Though, I’m more surprised that creature down there can talk. Just what is it?”

To Starswirl though, he knew what this Carbuncle was. It was an esper. One of the things that he spent his life trying to research and understand. And this one was somehow talking to the knight like it was a companion? How was that possible?

“Carbuncle, I understand your concern… Yet, I don’t think there’s anything you need to necessarily worry about in terms of being brainwashed. I mean… don’t you trust me?” Rain asked the esper, who personally seemed appalled by the sudden question.

“O-of course I do, what kind of a question is that?”

“Earlier when fighting Leviathan, you were questioning whether or not what Nimbus was doing would actually help us-.”

“Because I did not realize what she was doing until after she set off that lightning attack,” The esper quickly countered before the knight could finish that sentence. “Besides, I don’t know if its because she’s a vision or what, but I get the impression that she might find my presence as annoying.”

Now in that moment, two ponies were thinking two separate things. Starswirl himself was trying to understand what these ‘visions’ they were talking about were. While for Flash, his thought process was on something completely different. He heard the night mention a name. Nimbus. The name of somepony that he knew personally and somepony that he saw more as a rather close friend than just another soldier in the royal legion. So how was it… that this knight, who they only just saw now, know about her.

“Right… And what about Luna?” All that did was have the esper that was on his shoulder stare blankly at him, shortly before he let out a sigh. “Okay, nevermind… We should probably get back before Luna and the others start getting worried.”

Now Starswirl’s mind was beginning to race as all three of them watched the knight proceed to the glowing crystal that was at the end of the path he was walking on, place a hand on the crystal and disappear a few moments later. Stunning all of them as they were trying to understand what they all just witnessed. All three of them were still trying to come up with possible answers to the questions that lingered in their minds. However, for the archmage, he was even more shocked by something else. Because when the knight had placed his hand on the crystal, he felt a surge of magic being released from him before disappearing.

Magic that was exactly like his.

Panthera

When the knight returned from the farplane, Rain and Carbuncle did not find themselves in the same back alley that they originally found the crystal. Instead, they had returned back to the room at the inn that the rest of Rain’s companions were resting at. It was a surprise, that was for sure. Though, he did not have the time to think on why the crystal brought them here.

Because mere moments after he returned, the door slammed open as Shining raced in. “Rain, get out here! We got an emergency!!”

He had no time to ask what exactly he was talking about and instead, he rushed outside to rendezvous with the rest of his companions and El as well. But what he found outside shocked him.

The entire lower section of Panthera, where many of the civilians and shopkeepers lived, was completely flooded. Homes were turned into nothing more than broken debris that floated along the water's surface while everything else sunk to the bottom. Many of the abyssinians immediately seeked higher ground along with a majority of the guards. However, there were others that were not so lucky.

“What… happened?” The crimson knight asked, stunned and bewildered by the carnage that he was seeing.

“Your guess is as good as ours,” Shining was the first to speak. “Fidget woke up to find this before immediately telling everypony else.”

“There’s just no beaking way that this could’ve been caused by some storm or natural phenomenon,” The griffon now added. “Do you think it’s likely that something broke with the water system? Like a pipe burst?”

“This is the aquapolis,” El deadpanned, shaking his head as he looked back at Fidget. “It doesn’t have any issues with plumbing. That notion is just absurd!”

As he said that, that was when Rain began scratching his chin. Just before coming upon a realization. “Yet that could only mean…”

“… That this was an attack,” Nikol finished the sentence. “Commenced when we least expect it. There’s no doubt about it.”

“You have any idea who might’ve done this, Nikol?” El then asked his brother, wanting to hear something that could at least help them track down who was responsible for this.

“Only one,” He began, turning to face his brother. “Being able to flood the aquapolis in itself is no small feat. And considering the fact that this wasn’t an accident with the irrigation system, it tells me two things,” The tactician explained as everypony else began to focus their attention towards him. “First, this was caused by magic considering how much of the city has been flooded in so little time. And second, the only potential way that this could have been accomplished is that if they had an artifact that amplified the casters power.”

The conclusion that Nikol provided was solid. More so when Fidget realized something as well. “Wait… didn’t that Veritas creep at the lake have some kind of artifact that allowed for it to possess Leviathan? The sacred… I don’t know the name, but you get what I mean right?”

Nikol nodded in response to that. “Yes, the sacred vessel-” Just as he said that, several of them turned around in the same direction. Sensing a massive presence of magical energy as the tactician looked back at Rain and the others. “Over there! Hurry!!”

Immediately, all of them began to race over towards where they felt the pulse of magic set off. Yet, they did not have to get very far to come face to face with the culprit. Water began to swirl on the path towards the aquapolis docks as the Veritas of the Waters made their presence known.

“So you were the one who did this!!” Rain grit his teeth, half-tempted to grab the grip of his blade.

The Veritas, who was once faced towards the flooded depths of the northern end of the city turned themselves around. The sounds of laughter echoing under their armor and a ring on their right hand beginning to glow. “Heh heh… don’t you think that for a name like the ‘aquapolis’ that this is a little more fitting?”

Of course, it did not take long for Nikol to notice one thing in particular about the Veritas this time around. “That ring… that’s the sacred vessel of Paladia. The same one that you used to injure and corrupt the Leviathan.”

At that point though, the crimson knight had a question to ask. Not to the enemy that stood in front of them, but to the comrade that stood next to him. “Nikol, could you fill us in on what you mean. We’ve heard you mention this vessel several times, but you haven’t really explained to us what it is.”

“It’s an artifact that’s said to multiply the magical power of a user several times over their normal limit,” The abyssinian responded.

“So that is how this freak is able to do an awful thing like this!?” The griffon that was nearby snapped as she glared at the Veritas. “What a jerk!!”

In Luna’s mind though, she was thinking something much differently. “If the ring is what allowed you to cause this… Then we just need to do something about it!” Before any creature could be able to react, Luna took off. Charging at the Veritas in order to try and take the ring that was on the Veritas’ hand. However, as she got close, the white mage was repelled back by a barrier of water that was conjured almost instantly. The Veritas didn’t even have to move.

“Fina!”

“Foolish child,” The Veritas of the Waters snarked as the ring began to glow. “Did you really think that such a futile attempt would be enough in order to take this away from me? The sacred vessel’s own power protects me. I don’t even have to move in order for it to shield me from the likes of you!”

“Fina, are you okay?” Rain’s question though was met by a different response than he was expecting. Because shortly after getting knocked down, Luna immediately got back up seconds later.

“I’m fine… In fact, I think I remembered something. Somehow… I know about the sacred vessel.” She said, before bolting towards the Veritas again as she approached them and the barrier that circled around them.

“Honestly, what did I just say, I told you that the power of the vessel protects me-” In an instant, the Veritas’ words changed when they realized that they weren’t able to just easily knock Luna away. In fact, she was standing her ground and attempting to break through. “W-what?! Why you-! What do you think you’re doing!?!”

“The vessel! Let it go!!” She said, trying to push forward and break through. Yet, this forced the Veritas of the Waters to begin conjuring magic with a spare hand.

“Don’t you dare touch me with those impure hands, imbecile!!!” The strength of the barrier, combined with the Veritas’ magic sent Luna back farther than before. Yet… what happened in the seconds after that was much much different.

For one thing, as Luna got up from the ground, the magical aura that was around her began to surge. It was one that Rain and Shining had seen before, just as they had landed in Griffonstone. But this one was much more intense.

Then came the change. Luna’s mane began to grow forth and the color of her fur began to change. Darkening to a navy shade as she stood up. Her clothes immediately began to turn into something much different. A hood and dress of a mage that were as dark as the night sky were now on Luna’s body as she looked up. But the most noticeable trait was that her wings weren’t hidden anymore. In fact, they weren’t as small as before and stretched out farther down her back.

First, Luna looked to her left. Then to her right, and then looked towards Rain and the others, walking past them before finally saying something. Yet, her voice… was different. Deeper. Not the voice of a young and innocent girl, but of a battle hardened mage. “Well, this is quite unexpected… I never thought that I would come back to myself like this,” Once more, she looked around. Almost as if she was taking in the scenery. “Panthera also looks to be quite different… How many centuries have come and gone since I’ve last seen this place with my own eyes?”

Rain, along with everyone else, stared in silence. What could’ve possibly had Luna take on this transformation? Was it something that had to do with the sacred vessel? Each of them had several questions that they wanted to ask, though they could not say anything.

The one who was able to speak though was the Veritas of the Waters. But their overall tone was much different this time. Earlier, their voice came off as menacing and cruel. Now though… that same voice was filled with something different this time around. Something that, up to this point, none of the Sworn Six have ever shown in the face of those that they called their enemies.

Fear. “N-no… T-that’s not possible… Y-you can’t be…”

Yet, the only expression that was on Luna’s face now… was a widening grin. “It’s been a rather long time, Servant of Aldore,” Magic began to surge around Luna’s right hand as she began to grab hold of a weapon. Yet, this was not Reincarnation that she was wielding. Instead, she tightened her grip on a whip that resembled that of a bladed spine with the end of the whip showing the metal skull of a viper. “I’m rather lucky to find somepony like you here. So how about you just stop staring at me like that and attack, won’t you? Toying with you should be an acceptable warm up.”

Author's Note

I dreamt of a friend I will come to have. She will tell me: A side should always be taken. Even if it is the wrong side. I think I should like her.
-Mara Sov, Destiny 2 Forsaken (Final visit to the Queen’s Court)

A choice has been made, but is it for the best? And what more can we expect in the days to come? Find out next time.
-Frost

3.3- On the Open Seas

Rain could not honestly believe what had transpired within the last few moments. First, he woke up to find the city of Panthera submerged underwater. Then, after regrouping with his companions, they found out that the Veritas of the Waters had infiltrated the city and carried out the attack herself in retaliation against foiling her plans at Lake Katt. Now though, after Luna had tried to take away the sacred vessel of Paladia that the Veritas had in their possession, she had undergone a transformation to the point that she was now a completely different person. She wasn’t a child like before and instead was fierce and intimidating to look at.

“I’m rather lucky to find somepony like you here,” Luna smirked as she looked directly at the Veritas, “So how about you just stop staring at me like that and attack, won’t you? Toying with you should be an acceptable warm up.”

After hearing those words, the Veritas of the Waters was slightly intimidated. Yet, they weren’t going to let a mere pony intimidate them so easily, “D-don’t you DARE mock me, girl! Do you even know who you are speaking to!?” Immediately, projectiles of water rose up from around the Veritas and began to crash down around Luna and the others. Even though Rain and the others were pushed back by the sudden force, Luna remained unphased. It was as if nothing even touched her.

“What’s the matter? Are you finished already?” the mage grinned, gripping hold of her whip in her left hand as she began to conjure magic in the right, “How cute… Looks like it’s my turn now.”

With a flick of her arm, Luna sent forth a powerful orb of magic that broke through anything that the Veritas tried to cast at her. Upon making contact, it detonated with sheer force as the blast almost knocked Rain and the others off of their feet. The Veritas of the Waters was also knocked to the ground, forced to their knees as the alicorn stood over them. They did not think that someone like her could regain the power that they lost so quickly.

“Is that really everything you can do?” Luna asked, sounding disappointed at her opponent’s lackluster performance.

Instead of replying back or casting any more magic to retaliate, the Veritas instead channeled its magic to immediately withdraw. Leaving the alicorn rather disappointed as she lowered her head and let out a sigh. “Hmm… it seems that my magic has not had the chance to fully regain its strength. It used to be that I would rid fools such as that with a single blow.”

Now though was when a bewildered Rain chose to speak up, catching the attention of the mage as she turned to face him, “Fina? You… are Fina, aren’t you?”

The mage couldn’t help but smirk and shake her head as she looked back at the crimson knight, “Oh, Rain… Really, now. You won’t make a girl feel comfortable if you gawp at her like that.”

“Huh?” the confused knight replied, scratching the back of his head as he looked away for a brief second, “Oh… Uh, sorry-?”

Luna couldn’t help but grin as she dismissed her whip, “My, my… Why go ahead and stare all you like~” the mage teased, “It must be rather inescapable, poor child.”

Yet, despite the mage’s words, some of Rain’s other companions had some serious questions. One such companion being Fidget as she looked towards Shining and Nikol, “Uh… can somebody please explain what the beak is going on? Fina’s kind of acting more… grown up, don’t you think?”

“Something happened like this once before,” Shining Armor replied back to the griffon, “Though, back then it was just a change in her voice. This time, her behavior’s even more… unaccountable.”

Yet, what the unicorn did not take into account was how rapid the mage’s response was, “Shiny, first of all, if you’re going to say anything about me, it would be easier for you to just describe it as ‘strange’,” the eyes of the alicorn glared at the azure knight, “And secondly, how dare you call me strange! If anything, I’m being more of my true self now.”

With that, Luna stretched out her arms and now looked back at every creature in the vicinity, “Now that that’s out of the way, I believe we should get down to business. Or do you not want to catch the Veritas? As long as they have the sacred ring of Paladia, they’re still a threat and can wreak havoc on any city they want as they did upon Panthera.”

She did make a valid point. If that vessel was still in the hands of the Veritas, a tide of destruction would follow them wherever they went. In order to stop them and their plans, they had to take away the vessel and the power that it holds. However, doing so was not going to be easy… for multiple reasons.

One of them being something that one of Rain’s companions quickly pointed out. “Alright, but how exactly are we supposed to go after them? We have no idea where they might’ve ran off too.”

That just had Luna chuckle as she looked back at the griffon, “Really, now? Is that all?” she asked, “I can always sense the power of the vessel. I mean, how could I forget? It did hurt me a rather long time ago.”

“You can?” Nikol then asked, “Where is it?”

At first, she just paused… before turning towards the back of the city and looking out over the ocean. “To the north. That’s where they’re trying to hide.” That caught Nikol and a few others off guard. The only thing to the north was the sea, so why exactly would she be feeling something there? Though, they did not have that much time to think as Luna spoke up again, “Also, once we get the vessel, we need to immediately head to the Water Shrine.”

“Why the Water Shrine?” El then asked as he stood next to his brother.

“Well, since you so kindly asked dear kitty,” the alicorn teased, “If we borrow a bit of power from the crystal at the shrine, I can have the city return back to normal. It would be better than having all of the town submerged, wouldn’t you think?”

“Borrow… the crystal?” Rain now asked, “How?”

“Not to sound rude, Rainy, but I don’t think I can be able to explain it to you in a way that you would understand,” Luna retorted, “That’s what Crystals are, you know. They’re power. There’s nothing really else to it.”

“T-they’re… power?”

“Rain, listen,” the mage sighed as she turned away, “Look, I understand that there’s a lot going on that you don’t seem to understand and you want for me to explain it to you, but…” she then turned back up and smiled, “I simply can’t right now. So, you’re going to have to suck it up. I know that you can handle it, dear Rainy.”

As Rain was at a loss for words, Shining was trying his best to somehow understand what was happening. Though, they did not have much time to think. Though, his train of thought was interrupted as El spoke up. “Never mind all that. We now know where we need to go to stop this madness, so we should get going.”

“That’s the spirit,” Luna smiled, “The quicker the better… Now, if you excuse me, I’ll be busy trying to acquire us a ship.”

“Uh, can’t we just use an airship?” Fidget then asked the alicorn, “I have one that-”

“Aw… is some birdy a little seasick?” the alicorn teased, “Even though you make a valid point for using an airship, the problem would be that if they hear us, they would disappear before we have the chance to catch them off guard. Besides, it would be wiser if we just sailed on the open sea.”

Shortly after saying that, Luna left the others to prepare for the trip as she searched for a vessel to take them out to the North Sea. However, there was little that they could really do. Most of the shops were submerged by the Veritas and the wares inside were also trashed. Outside of keeping stock of their own inventory, there wasn’t really anything else that they could do.

It was as Rain, Shining and Fidget were preparing their wares and looking around the city that they were approached by a different figure. A light green parrot that was dressed in a standard sailor's garb and had her left leg replaced by a green crystal. “You all… Were you the ones that were hoping to head out to the north sea?”

Rain himself looked back at his companions, before looking back at the parrot, “Um, actually, yes as a matter of fact. How’d you happen to know that, miss?”

“Heh… I guess today just happens to be your lucky day,” the parrot folded her arms, “One of my crew members overheard a pony mage at the nearby port say that she was looking for somepony to take her party out to the north sea. I’m planning to leave port real soon and head out that way anyways. Want to come aboard? I won’t even ask for you to pay.”

“Hey uh,” Fidget then spoke up as she looked back at the two knights, “This may be just me talking, but am I the only one who thinks that this is kind of suspicious?”

“Fidget, relax. If Fina was the one that found them, then I say we’re in luck,” Rain replied back before looking back towards the parrot, “We’ll take you up on that offer, miss.”

That had the parrot grin as she looked back at the three of them, “The name’s Celaeno, pleasure’s all mine. My ship, the Rainbow Falcon, is docked at the north quay. Come find me when you’re ready to set sail.” After she said that, Celaeno turned away and began to walk back towards where her ship was as Rain looked back at his companions and let out a sigh of relief.

“Well, that was much simpler than I thought.” The knight replied, “And here I thought that I was going to be paying a lot of bits for somebody to sail us out there.”

“Rain,” Fidget then spoke up, “I’m sorry, but don’t you think this feels like a setup of some kind? I don’t know why, but I get a bad feeling that if we turn our backs away from her for only a minute, we’ll end up having a knife shoved into it.”

“You bring up a valid point,” Shining added on, “Yet, we are limited on options and I don’t see ourselves trying to bring a ship out into harbor.”

“Aren’t you two knights of Canterlot? Doesn’t that qualify for something?” the griffon countered.

“We are, but the division that Rain and I are part of is the royal guard, which is a branch infantry division and we specialize in ground tactics,” The unicorn explained to her, “If we had been part of the Royal Navy, then we would’ve been trained in manning vessels out on the open seas-”

That just had the crimson knight let out a sigh as he looked back at the griffon and interjected, “What Shining is trying to say is that naval ships aren’t our field of expertise. That and Shining is… well…”

That immediately had the unicorn glare back at his comrade, narrowing his eyes, “Rain, don’t even think about sharing that.”

“Huh?” Fidget tilted her head, “Sharing what?”

At that point, Shining groaned, which was a cue for Rain to explain further as he put his right hand on his waist, “There was a time during basic training where Shining would suffer from motion sickness. It was a long time ago, but I still remember our first trip on an airship where we had unexpected turbulence and he failed to hold in his breakfast and almost threw up on our instructor.”

“That was several years ago, Rain!! I rather not have a story that’s personally embarrassing be shared among everyone that we come across,” Despite the unicorn saying that, all he heard next was Fidget failing to suppress some uncontrollable laughter as the azure knight groaned, “Oh dear Celestia, I’m not going to hear the end of this now, am I?”

The laughing from both Fidget and Rain gave Shining the only answer he needed to hear as the three of them began to walk over and reunite with Nikol and El. Both of them were thankful that they found a ship, but after the griffon mentioned her concerns with the supposed captain of the rainbow falcon, the strategist told them that they should be careful in case the situation does arise that Celaeno isn’t as friendly as she seemed to be.

Eventually, they all made their way to the North Quay to rendezvous with Luna, who was waiting at the Rainbow Falcon. At first glance, one could mistake for the vessel to be an airship. Though, with the old fashioned sails and rotaries, it looked more like a vessel that was meant for the seas than the skies. As they approached, Celaeno greeted all of them and let them come onboard the ship before her so she could pull back the walkway that was used to come on board.

Celaeno’s crew was relatively small, but consisted of various other parrots like her, many of them being bigger in size. Some had an eyepatch over one of their eyes while others looked to have scars and missing feathers on their arms or body. Yet, all of them immediately stopped what they were doing as they heard the captain speak up. “All of you, get off your butts and get to your stations! We got some guests on board today and it’s time for us to move out of port. Hop to it!!”

The rest of the crew was quick to obey her commands as they pulled up the anchor, raised the sails and made sure to tie down any crates that were below deck to make sure that they didn’t move around. Celaeno herself took to the wheel as Rain and the others watched the crew tend to the Rainbow Falcon.

So much so that they didn’t notice the skull and crossbones on the backside of the vessel itself.

As the Rainbow Falcon cruised over the calming waves of the Celestial Sea, the abyssinian named El was looking over the water. He had a lot of thoughts on his mind about everything that had happened over the last two days, from the attack on the city to Luka staying behind to purify Lake Katt and even now with the Veritas taking matters into their own paws earlier today. Though, there was only one main thought on his mind as he stared at the ocean, not even noticing his brother walk over to him.

“El, may I ask you something?”

The soldier, who was a bit surprised to hear the change in his siblings tone, turned over to him, “Hm? What is it, Nikol?”

“Are you worried about Arsha?”

Nikol’s question had El turn away from the edge of the ship as he focused on the deck of the ship instead of his brother, “Worried? Of course I am,” he admitted, before closing his eyes and letting out a breath, “Though… look at what Luka had to do to make sure the waters are purified. She’s putting her life on the line for the kingdom.”

Then, the abyssinian turned to face his sibling, “As a Warden of the Waters, I say that it’s time I did my duty too,” El told him, “I can’t just sit around and stay in the city with Arsha and wait for you to just come back. I mean, nothing will get down if we just sat around on our tails.”

“I suppose so…” Nikol replied back.

As the two brothers were discussing among themselves, the rest of their companions had just come from below deck and were walking on the main deck. Rain thought it was best for them in order to try and get some fresh air. However, there was a problem with that. For it was a few moments after Fidget stepped outside that she felt her balance stumble. As she fell to her knees, the crimson knight immediately noticed the griffon fall to her knees and place a claw over her mouth.

“Oh man. Fidget, are you alright?” Rain asked. All he got was her head shaking from side to side as the knight looked towards Shining for a moment. When he saw that the azure knight was trying to look away, Rain noticed Celaeno step outside of the captain's cabin, “Hey, Celaeno? Do you have anything for seasickness? We still have a bit of a ways to go, so a long journey would be tough for her.”

The parrot herself just smirked, before folding her arms and looking back at the knight and his friends, “Oh don’t worry… this won’t be a long voyage.”

“R-really?” the griffon croaked, failing to hold it in as she rushed to the side of the ship and hurled out her breakfast.

“Oh yes,” Celaeno smirked, as she unfolded her arms, “All of you will be getting off really soon.”

Just as the parrot said that, she snapped her fingers and the rest of her crew came up from below deck. This time though, everyone was armed as Celaeno herself unsheathed a cutlass and pistol from her belt, “Now, listen carefully. Hand over everything you have and I’ll be nice enough to leave you stranded on the nearest island instead of leaving you to swim with the fishes. What can I say? I’m feeling generous.”

“Just great,” Shining remarked as he unsheathed his blade, “If the Veritas was one problem, now we have to deal with pirates.” Rain was quick to unsheath his weapon too in defense as the other members of Celaeno’s crew closed in on them.

“Really, now? You think you are able to fight against us? You must be a bunch of morons!” Celaeno laughed. Even if they did seem strong, the parrot had the advantage in size. With the amount of parrots that were part of her crew, she believed that they can be overwhelmed with numbers.

Yet, when her crew members began to attack, something else happened. Quickly, the two knights swung their blades and used the blunt edges of their swords to disarm her crew. Before they could scramble to pick up their weapons, the unicorn used wind magic to blow them away while the mage that was with them channeled a water spell to keep them on the deck. Even when her deckhand Boyle and Mullet joined the fray, they found themselves overpowered by their tenacity. The way they wielded their weapons and used magic was unlike anything that she had seen. Even the blonde one was able to use it and he didn’t look like some kind of mage at all.

Not to mention when the abyssinians joined the fray. The first one, who had white fur and wore a scarf, was able to have magic form from the pages of a book they carried and freezed any attackers that were defeated by the abyssinian that wielded a spear. Like the others, they did not kill any of her crew. Instead, they either knocked them out or bound them to the deck with magic.

At one point though, when the rest of her crew had been defeated, Celaeno herself stepped in, “Who do you think you people are to do that to them?! Even if they are deemed as rogues by society, they’re still important to me. I do everything that I can to watch over them and keep them healthy.”

“So, that’s why you chose to become a pirate?” the crimson knight asked.

“All of us were outcasts from our home in Ornithia. We did not need parents or family in order to help us survive! Instead, we relied on each other. We treated each other as our own family,” Celaeno glared at Rain, aiming her pistol at the knight, “And if you think that you can just hurt my family and get away with it, then you’re sorely mistaken!!”

That had Rain let out a sigh, before he gripped his blade again, “Guys… let me handle this one.”

“R-rain, are you nuts. You’re gonna get hurt-?!”

“Fidget, let him,” Shining stopped the griffon before she could finish speaking, “He knows what he’s doing.”

As Rain stood firmly, he took a brief second to analyze the two weapons that the captain was holding. The first one seemed to be an ordinary cutlass, but the pistol was different. There looked to be a glowing green crystal on the top of the barrel that matched the crystal that was her peg leg as the pirate captain readied her weapon. When she pulled the trigger, a bolt of energy shot forwards towards the knight, who only had mere seconds to hold up his blade in a defensive stance as the energy bolt bounced off of his blade and nearly tore a hole through one of the sails.

“Dear Celestia, that’s fast!” Rain grit his teeth as he repositioned and ran towards the captain. As the captain fired a few more shots, one of them grazed the knight's left shoulder and another barely missed his leg before deflecting two more. For a moment, he thought that the captain still had more bolts to fire. Though, when he swung his sword forward, his blade collided with the captain’s cutlass as he noticed smoke coming from the crystal as well as a slight change in color.

His opponent’s next move was to force the knight back with a sweeping kick and a swing of her blade. Once the captain was at a distance, she clicked a side lever on the pistol and popped the crystal out, before grabbing a second one and locking it into place. “So that’s how it works… Now I know my opening.”

“Standing still’s not going to get you anywhere,” Celaeno taunted, before she readied her pistol and began to fire again. This time, Rain took it upon himself in order to not stay in one place as he kept moving along the deck of the ship and utilized what he could find to his advantage. Brute force was only going to get him so far, so he needed something that could help him out.

“Carbuncle, if you’re listening, I got an idea,” he mentally told the Esper what he had in mind, before charging in again.

As Nikol and El were watching from afar with the rest of Rain’s companions, the tactician thought that the crimson knight had lost his mind. Why would he fight by himself, especially against an opponent that was unknown to him.

Yet, before he could figure out what was happening, he felt something tug alone the back of his satchel. Yet, when he looked, the abyssinian found himself rather surprised, “What the-?”

“Psst, hey! Keep your voice down,” A green colored creature with a red gem whispered to him, “Also, I need to borrow some of these smoke thingy’s that you have. It’s really important. K, thanks, bye!”

Just as quickly as it was there, it disappeared. Not to mention that Nikol’s satchel was lighter than before. Which… only left him with one question, “What the fluff-?”

“Okay, Rain! I got them. Whatever you’re going to do, do it now!!” Hearing Carbuncle’s voice was a sign of relief to Rain, who felt the esper drop what he needed in his right hand. As he charged, the knight tossed the smoke bombs he had Carbuncle retrieve towards his opponent.

“Really? You’re throwing stones now-?” Celaeno said. Yet, as she squeezed the trigger and the energy bolt struck what he threw, the whole deck began to be covered in grey smoke, “W-what in Tartarus-!?”

“Gotcha!!” Rain smirked as he began to channel his own magic now, “Alright, let’s go even the odds.”

As he charged, his blade began to glow red around the edges as he channeled his power into his saber. Several more shots were fired his way as he deflected each one, before striking her cutlass as he turned his weapon and knocked it out of her claws.

“Don’t think that we’re done just because you got a lucky shot in-” Celaeno snapped, reloading her pistol as she prepared to fire. However, something was wrong. Nothing was glowing and no matter how hard she tried, nothing was firing. “What? Where are those crystals?”

“Would you happen to mean these?”

As the smoke cleared, the captain’s eyes widened in shock as she saw her opponent holding onto the same crystals that she used for her pistol. “What-!? How?!”

“I used the smoke as cover and had a little friend of mine switch out your crystals for stones that I conjured with my earth magic,” the knight told her as the esper now took form on his shoulder. Much to the surprise of those who have not seen Carbuncle before. The crystal chamber on Celaeno’s weapon now had a rock jamming it as the parrot dropped it to the ground. Moments later, she dropped to her knees, tired and weak.

“Fine then,” the parrot glared at Rain as he looked at her, “Do what you want then,” her comment was followed by Rain looking towards Nikol and Fidget as they approached the crimson knight while Shining, Luna and El watched over the rest of her crew. Yet, as time passed, the captain was waiting for a verdict as impatience was beginning to settle in, “Well, what are you waiting for? You have us at your mercy, so hurry up and do it.”

“... Look, I don’t know about you, but we do things differently,” Rain sighed, looking back at the parrot as he helped her back onto her feet, “Just take us to the north sea, like we agreed upon. That’s all we’re asking.”

After hearing that, the parrot couldn’t help but stare at the crimson knight in shock and disbelief. “T-the North Sea?! You want to… go there?”

Rain nodded his head, before clearing his throat as he continued, “There’s someone out there that's causing trouble that we need to stop. They’ve already done enough damage to Abyssinia and if we don’t stop it now, there’s no telling what else they can do.”

“Listen kid,” Celaeno replied back, now sounding more fearful with each passing moment, “Take it from me. You do not want to go out there. Whatever you were planning to do, just forget about it and turn back,” as she took the rock out of her pistol and placed it back in her holster, the parrot said one more thing, “The north sea is cursed. Even my crew stays away from there.”

“Hold on,” Nikol responded, “Cursed?”

“That’s what I said,” Celaeno retorted, “Those waters are cursed. Ghost ships appear there. Every creature who has sailed the seas has heard the tales, and anyone who does try to go through the north sea are never heard from again.”

“G-ghost ships?” Fidget shivered, “Y-you gotta be kidding… right? T-there’s no such thing! There can’t be real ghost ships.”

“Do I look like I’m kidding?” the parrot captain questioned the griffon. Before Fidget could answer, they felt the winds around them begin to blow and the calm waves from before we’re now churning violently. “Kid, get your friends to free my crew, quickly.”

“Huh? What do you-?”

“We got a heavy storm brewing that’s coming straight at us,” she replied, her tone coming off as more serious as the rumble of thunder echoed in the distance and storm clouds were quickly rolling in, “If we don’t act now, we’re all going to be ending up sleeping with the fishes!!”

As the force of the winds began to pick up, Rain immediately turned to his companions and had them free the rest of the crew from the magic that bound them to the deck. Once they were free, every creature on board scrambled to the designated stations that Celaeno ordered them too in order to hold down the ship as the storm rolled in. The winds were now howling and lightning flashed while they did what they could to ride out the onslaught they were facing. Yet, everyone had to do what they could in order to lock the ship down or they would all be thrown overboard.

Over the course of what felt like hours, the storm intensified. It felt as if a hurricane was trying to rip the Rainbow Falcon out of the ocean as the crimson knight was forced to plant his saber on the deck to make sure that he didn’t fall off the ship. His companions had to take up other means to make sure they did not fall overboard either, whether it was magic to hold themselves to the deck or grabbing hold of something that was already locked down tight. Either way, all of them were praying that what they had to go through would subside eventually.

Yet, some time after it began, the storm eventually subsided. The clouds still hung overhead, yet the worst was over… for the moment at least. As Rain began to come back up to his feet and place his weapon on his back, he looked back at the rest of his companions, “Ugh… I-is everyone okay?”

At first, the only replies that he heard were from Nikol, El and Fidget as all three of them stood back up and tried to get the water out of their fur and feathers, much like Celaeno and the rest of her crew. As for Shining Armor, he had to sheathe his katana and place it back on his shoulder, before taking a moment to get a strand of seaweed that was stuck in his mane. Though, it was as he got back up on his hooves that a new question surfaced in the unicorn’s mind. “Wait… Rain, where’s Fina?”

That single question immediately had Rain realize something. Luna was nowhere to be found. He was sure that she didn’t fall overboard, but why wasn’t she with everyone else? Celaeno and the rest of his companions were fine, but there was no sight of the mage anywhere on the main deck. A quick search underneath led to him realizing that she wasn’t inside the ship either, and with no one at the stern of the ship, that left only one place that he didn’t check yet.

The bow of the ship. As he looked towards the front of the vessel, he found the mage standing on the railing, looking out over the ocean. “There you are, Fina,” the knight let out a sigh of relief as Rain approached her, “I’m glad to see that you’re okay.”

“It appears that we’ve survived the worst of it,” Nikol said with a sigh of relief as the rest of Rain’s companions soon joined him. “It shouldn’t be too difficult going forward.”

Though, it was then that the mage spoke up and pointed towards the ocean, “Don’t be so sure,” Moments after saying that, a dark fog rolled over the sea as a shadow was moving in the distance. As it got closer, everyone found themselves staring at a ship that was surrounded by dark magic as it moved closer on the ocean. Even Celaeno herself was startled by the sudden arrival, yet Luna herself remained unphased, “Clever bastard.”

“Huh?” Shining Armor spoke, “What is it, Fina?”

“The one that we seek is using a ghost ship to keep themselves hidden from us,” the mage explained, “I can feel the Sacred Ring from that ship. The Veritas must be on board,” she immediately turned towards the knights and their companions, “Every creature, get ready. We are going to capture that ship before it gets away.”

“W-what, are you nuts?!” Celaeno spoke up, “No one comes back when they encounter a ghost ship.”

It was then that Rain turned towards the captain, before giving off a small smirk, “Then we’ll be the first.”

Some convincing was needed, though, after talking with Celaeno, the parrot allowed for Rain and his party to use one of the lifeboats that the Rainbow Falcon had stored in case of an emergency. As the group got on board, Luna instructed Rain and the others to not cast any spells while they were in the water. If the Veritas felt even a single drop of their mana being used, they could relocate in an instant and their window of opportunity would be gone. Meaning that they would have to row up to the ghost ship the old fashioned way.

Fortunately, the ocean waves were not as rocky and rough as they were during the storm, which made approaching the ghost ship a lot easier. Though, another problem was that the presence of the haunted vessel had got the monsters that lived under the waves up in a frenzy. Rain, Shining and El would have to take turns guarding their boat in case it was attacked by sharks or other monstrosities from the deep. Two of them would row the boat with the oars they had while the other was on guard duty.

Just as they arrived at the back end of the ship, things got complicated when an Architeuth attacked the small vessel and broke the oars they were using to guide themselves. They were able to defeat it, but the only way that they could now enter the ghost ship was to dive into the water and swim through a giant hole that was there.

All six of them did not have to do this for very long, for once they were inside, they found a sturdy section of the ship to pull themselves up as they were inside. Even though they no longer had to deal with the monsters from the sea, Rain and his companions had a new problem they needed to go through before they could catch the Veritas of the Waters by surprise. That was the ghosts and undead that wandered through the hallways of the vessel.

“Fina, where exactly did you feel this presence?” Rain whispered, “I don’t think any one of us want to look through the whole entire ship, only to realize that they’re gone.”

“Follow me then,” Fina whispered back, taking the initiative and leading the group herself, “They’re on the main deck, but they don’t seem to have noticed us. Even after we were attacked by the monsters in the ocean.”

“O-okay, but how do we get up there?” Fidget asked nervously.

“Patience,” the mage told her, before placing a hand on the floor and closing her eyes. With enough focus, she channeled a small bit of magic into the wooden floor, before opening her eyes and looking back to the others. “Figures. There’s a set of stairs that goes up the next floor of the ship, but there are monsters guarding the hallway over.”

“So, what’s the plan?” Shining asked.

“You and Rain guard us from the front while El would watch our backs in case we have any monsters lurking around to blindside us,” Luna instructed them, “We push forward together. Whatever lurks in here would want for us to split up, so instead, we stick together as one single force,” as the alicorn finished explaining, she then looked towards the tactician of the group, “Any objections?”

Nikol himself only shook his head, “I don’t see any issues as long as we don’t break formation.”

“Then it is settled,” Luna then turned towards both Rain and Shining Armor as the two knights drew their blades, “Lead the way, boys.”

Both knights could only nod as they did what Luna explained to them. Despite the fact that this pony was not quite the Luna that they knew, there were still some characteristics that were similar. As they fought through the corridors of the ship, both of the knights were supported by the tactician, engineer and the mage while El watched their backs. No matter if it was a zombie, ghost or any other kind of monster, they were able to make short work of their foes while moving as a group.

Once the halls of the ship were cleared, they all moved to stairs and carefully proceeded up. Careful not to attract any attention as they made it to the deck of the ship. The Veritas of the Waters was on the main deck and had no idea of their presence. That was, until they turned and saw Rain and his companions, with weapons at the ready. “W-what in Tartarus?! What is going on here!?”

“For someone of Aldore, you are a novice if you can’t conceal your own presence,” Fina taunted, “No wonder it was so easy in order to find you.”

“Let’s just assume that’s all, for the sake of appearance,” Nikol himself commented as the pages of his tome began to turn rapidly, “We got you cornered. So, what will you do now?”

The Veritas growled in response, summoning their staff as the waters began to form around them, “I’m warning all of you! Don’t think for a second that this will go down the same way as before!!”

The Veritas of the Waters was quick to make due on their threat as they lifted up a hand and had a cloud of mist roll over the deck of the ship. The mist itself was hard to see through as Rain and the others tried to stay together. Yet, the mist itself was only in place to hide a second attack that their foe was conjuring. Within seconds, a barrage of aqua missiles began to rain down on the party, just as Nikol cast an enchantment to shield them.

Rain knew that he needed to push through the mist in order to combat the Veritas. Yet, it was hard for him to do so when the mist made it hard for him and the rest of his companions to see anything. The only times that they could see something was just as an attack was about to hit them, making it to where they were forced on defense.

To make matters worse, the Veritas also had the capabilities to use poison magic as well as paralyze them, making them unable to move from incoming attacks. Luna herself though did not seem to be affected by the paralysis, but the mist and poison were still affecting her like the rest of their party members. To make matters worse, this Luna did not seem to have access to healing magic and only had elemental magic. Which made it much harder for them to tend to their wounds, even though Fidget had a gadget that slowly mends wounds.

Though, Rain did have one last idea. Yet, he was unsure if it might work. “Carbuncle? Is there anything that you can do to… I don’t know, help? We can’t be able to fight what we can’t see.”

“I’m sorry, Rain. I don’t know any spells that could cure these ailments,” the esper told him, “My powers only work to defend against incoming attacks, not ones that have already happened. You need to come up with another plan.”

In Rain’s mind, that was easier said than done. Though, as he was trying to defend himself from another attack, he noticed Luna channeling magic through her palms as she aimed her hands forward. “Physical Fall.”

At first, he wasn’t sure what the mage did. Yet, as the knight looked back through the fog, he noticed that it began to lighten and he could see a glowing light that came from a paw of sorts. “What sorcery is this!? Which one of you has the resolve to try and weaken me?!”

“There,” Fina spoke as she turned to Rain, “I’ve weakened their strength and defenses, but it will not last forever. If you’re looking for an opportunity to hurt them, now is your best chance.” Quickly, the knight rose to his feet and acted upon the mage’s words. Risking his own safety, he charged forth through the mist as he channeled his power through his blade.

Once he was through, the knight swung forward. His attack caught the Veritas off guard as his blade made contact with the waterlord’s armor, knocking them down to the floor of the deck. When the Veritas hit the deck, the Sacred Ring that they held onto rolled out of their hands as the mist began to evaporate.

“Whoa… thank goodness, that is over,” Fidget let out a sigh of relief, “I barely could see anything during that fight.”

“Even though they had power to face us directly, they still chose to hide behind it,” Luna grit her teeth as she walked over to the Veritas on the ground, “For someone who is a warrior of Aldore, I expected much more.”

“Now all we need to do is take that ring and make sure that this Veritas or any of the others won’t be able to use it again,” Rain let out a sigh of relief. After the Knight looked around, he soon found the ring on the deck and walked over to pick it up. Yet, just as he bent down to grab it, that was when Luna spoke up. “

“Rain, stop! Don’t touch it-!!”

Her words of caution came too late, for the knight left hand had already touched the ring and with it, a swift chain reaction. The knight felt as if his hand was on fire as all he felt was searing pain as the ring glowed.

“Rain, what’s happening?!” Shining now asked, concerned for his friend. Yet, the crimson knight’s only reply was a pain-filled scream as the light from the vessel glowed brightly. He fell down the deck, dropping the ring as it rolled to Luna’s hooves. Yet, the pain that was in his hand did not go away. If anything, it continued to escalate with each passing moment.

As he did his best to try and ignore the pain, something else was happening. The same hand that he tried to pick up the ring was now glowing and emitting a golden yellow aura. All of the knights' companions had no idea what was going on. However, there was one creature that did. That one being the Veritas that they had just beaten. “That light… it can’t be. So this child truly is…” they panted, trying to muster whatever strength they could to escape, “I must hurry… and warn Darklord about this…”

El though, was the only one who noticed what the Waterlord was doing while the others were tending to the knight. “Hey! Hold it right there!!” the soldier snapped, rushing to try and prevent the Veritas from escaping. Yet, just like before, they vanished in a pillar of water just like how they escaped from Panthera, “Nikol, they just-”

“I know… but with their injuries, they won’t get far without succumbing to their wounds,” the tactician countered, “In the meantime, we have more pressing concerns. Fina, do you know what this is?”

Fina looked back to the abyssinian for a moment, before letting out a sigh, “It’s… power. Not foul in nature by any means, but it’s pouring out of him right now.”

The knight grit his teeth, looking back at the mage with a look of confusion. “P-power? This is… my power? T-then why is it-?”

“Painful?” her question was followed by a faint nod from Rain as Luna continued to speak, “That’s simple. It’s because you’re not ready for it. Your body is not ready to handle such magical power and you don't have the strength to control it just yet,” At first, Rain looked a bit relieved by the explanation, but that was when Luna mentioned something else, “You’re going to need to find a way in order to control it and make it your own.”

“Fina, what exactly is happening to him?” Shining then spoke up, sounding both concerned for Rain and also like he was demanding a response from the mage.

“Sorry dear Shiny, but I’m not bound to explain anything to you. This is somewhat of a a special circumstance between both Rain and I.”

“Excuse me!?”

The mage then turned to face Shining directly, letting out a sigh as she placed her left hand on her hip. “Oh Shining. You know that jealousy is very unbecoming of a stallion such as you.”

The unicorn was going to retort back, but it was then that somebody else interjected, “Would you two give it a rest already!? We clearly have more important matters to focus on,” Fidget snapped at both of them, “First off, Rain, are you feeling okay? Do you need rest at all?”

As the knight stood up, he just shook his head. “I’ll be fine,” he reassured the griffon, “Besides, we don’t have time to stop now. We might’ve stopped the Veritas here, but we still need to help the people of Panthera,” when he said that, he looked back at Nikol and El briefly, “We need to get to the Water Shrine. The sooner that we do so, the better.”

“That’s the spirit,” Luna told him, “Now, let’s not delay any further.”

Once Rain and his companions returned back to the Rainbow Falcon, they had a lot of things to explain to Celaeno. Though, once they got it out of the way, Celaeno was personally thankful. Not only did they not have to worry about a ghost ship for a while, but her crew was glad that they weren’t going to get turned over to the authorities.

Though, the captain wanted to pay them back. So the first thing that she did was help tend to Rain. “There we go. That should work for now,” the parrot told him as she finished tying off the bandages around his left hand, “Wouldn’t be a good idea to see that arm and start asking questions.”

“Thanks, Celaeno,” Rain replied back, “You’ve been a major help.”

That just had the captain smirk as she looked back at the knight, “Don’t mention it. I’ll be sure to help you out anytime you need it. My crew and I decided to… uh… ‘temporarily retire’ from piracy, given the state of the seas.”

“And what about after things have returned to normal?” the knight asked.

“Well… I was thinking that… maybe we try a different approach,” Celaeno explained further, “Steal from other thieves and give what we stole to those who need it most. Sounds like a good way to do some good around here.”

That definitely sounded promising for sure. Especially since there might be a lot of things that her crew might take, even though they don’t necessarily need it. As the bridge extended outward towards the shoreline cliff that was next to the Rainbow Falcon, he had one last thing to say, “You know… I do happen to know one of the princesses of Equestria. Surely she might find your newfound cause admirable and want to help.”

“That sounds lovely and all, but I think it would be better for us to stick to Abyssinia for now and start small,” Celaeno smirked, waving goodbye as the knight walked off the bridge and onto the cliff basin. Once he was off, the knight looked to see that El was looking out over the ocean, possibly waiting for him.

“El, you ready to go?” he asked. The abyssinian turned around, faintly nodding as he walked past the knight. Though, that was when Rain noticed something that was on the ground and walked over to it, finding a necklace as he picked it up, “Hey, El, what’s this? An amulet?”

“Yeah, Arsha gave it to me. Even though I told her I would be fine,” the soldier told him, “Personally, I think that she doesn’t have a lot of faith in me.”

“I wouldn’t think that,” Rain shook his head and handed it back to him, “Besides, if you must brood, I think it would be better to do it over a problem instead of a blessing. Personally, I can’t imagine myself sulking about if I had a beautiful fiancée who worries about me.”

As the knight handed the soldier the amulet and began to walk from the ship. That was when El asked him a question, “Rain… do you really think I’ve really been any help in the end?”

Around then, the Rainbow Falcom began to part away from the shore as Rain looked back at the Abyssinian, “What on your mind, El? It’s… a little weird to be asking a question like that out of the blue.”

“Be honest, please.”

Rain closed his eyes for a moment, taking some time in order to process his thoughts before telling the abyssinian his answer. “El, how things turn out in the end is not what matters… To me, what matters is doing everything you can, for as long as you can. If you can do that, then… well, you did all that you could.”

“Everything you can… for as long as you can…” Rain heard the abyssinian repeat what he said. Of course, it was when he heard that, the knight casually mentioned one more thing.

“Oh, and besides all of that… you got good instincts in battle, El. So as long as you keep training and keep striving to improve, you’ll be a great warrior someday. Take my word for it.”

That had El chuckle, before looking back to Rain as the two of them started walking over to where everyone else was waiting for them. “Thank you, Rain.”

Author's Note

After Luna's transformation, Rain and his companions go after the Veritas of the Waters to catch them by surprise. Yet, not everything is what it seems and this Luna isn't inclined to share everything.

Though, what's an adventure without a little bit of risk?
-Frost

0- In the beginning...

The sound of thunder in the distance and the pounding of raindrops against the side of the old castle walls echoed throughout the abandoned citadel. What was once known as the ‘Castle of the Two Sisters’ was now an overgrown garrison of the past, becoming one with the Everfree Forest and part of the wilderness that was home to all sorts of creatures. However, over the last few months, the once beautiful bastion now had been the home of two… beings that had not been seen by ponykind before, despite them looking similar in nature.

The first one was a middle aged man, while the second was his young son. They had found themselves ripped away from everything they once knew and now, they have been surviving on their own over the course of a few weeks. Using this former castle as a shelter from the roaring weather… as well as their home. The father wore a suit of battle regalia from the shoulders down, his sword leaning on a log he was using as a bench as he was adding more wood to the fire that he was tending to. His son though, only had a small jacket, shirt and jeans. The only clothes that he had.

“Daddy, I’m c-cold.” The young son said, his arms shivering a little as he walked over to where his father was. Trying to lean against him and have his dad provide warmth. However, his father could only provide minimal comfort for him as the armor he wore did not have any heat for him to warm himself too. The one next to the son though tried adding another log to the fire that was burning. It helped a little bit originally, but the cold air that lingered with the storm did little to help with making him warm.

Sighing a little, the man turned to his son, looking down at him for a brief moment. “How about you go down to the cellar and prepare yourself for bed, son? It’s too late for someone like you to be staying up.” The boy, even though he wanted to stay with his father, complied with what he asked for him to do as he proceeded to the stairwell that lead underneath the hall. Only before mentioning something to his father.

“Daddy… I miss Mommy… Why wasn’t she able to come with us?” The question caused the older one to stop what he was doing. Pausing as the stick he had once used to tend to the fire now fell in with it. He knew the answers, but his son was too young to understand the truth. All he could do was say the same answer that he had told him a few times before.

The same lie that he had told him a few times before. “I don’t know, son.” To be fair, there was some truth to the matter. But there were many things right now that still could not be so easily explained. His answer was all the boy needed to hear though as the child soon went into the cellar to lie down and drift into a deep slumber. The man looked at the remains of the castle all around him, looking at painting and pictures of what this castle had used to be before it had went to ruin. Struggling to understand as to why… of all the people in the world… why were they chosen to be here?

For the boy though, he was more focused on trying to stay warm. He tossed and turned in the makeshift bed he rested on, struggling to stay warm as the night went on. Even with his father not far from him, the boy was still cold as ice. Even when the storm outside died down and the rain subsided, the boy was still struggling to sleep peacefully as he tried to rest on his makeshift bed.

But it was later into the evening that he woke up to something rather… unexpected. There was a shimmer of light that he felt along his face. A faint one, but just enough to wake him up. As he opened his eyes, he noticed his father sleeping now far from where he was at, along with what looked to be a small shimmer of light coming from underneath a nearby crate. This light made the boy curious. Was there something hiding underneath there? Someone? Where could it be coming from?

Part of him wanted him to wake up his dad and have them come see what it was together. But upon moving closer to it, he felt… warmer. The child had been cold throughout the entire night and only now was when he actually felt the warmth he was trying to get while he was sleeping. His curiosity soon had him slowly approach what was the crate that was blocking a secret panel on the floor, trying to push it out of the way as much as he could in his half awake and tired state.

The boy did not move the box entirely out of the way. He was only able to get a few feet until a brick in the uneven stone floor caused the crate to fall over and for the child to trip. A collection of books and other items soon spilled out from the crate itself, but what the young boy was more worried about was if the noise woke up his father. All the commotion though just caused the asleep figure to turn over on his side, unfazed by the noise or what just happened.

The boy sighed, personally relieved that he did not wake up his father… proceeding to slowly open the door to the cellar where the light was coming from and beginning to go down the stairs quietly. The light he was seeing got brighter in size along with making the young child feel warmer the closer he got to where the glow was coming from. What he found once he got closer though… surprised him.

It was a tree. A glowing crystalline tree that was shimmering the same glow he had been following. The boy honestly could not believe what he was seeing. The crystalline tree was what caught his full attention, making him feel warmer with each step he took as he moved closer to it. He wanted to touch it. Feel the warmth for himself. Like something was calling to him and encouraging him to touch the tree. He couldn’t even form the words to describe how spellbound he was from looking at the majestic tree before him. Or more importantly, what was inside it.

Yet, it was because of this that not only was he unaware of the sounds of someone coming down the same stairwell he went down… but also unaware of the sheer pain he was about to feel once his left hand made contact with the tree itself. The feeling of raw magic burning into his hand was more painful than anything that he had felt before, reacting to him just as the boy’s father had noticed what was going on and had called out to him in a panic. However, the boy was unable to hear him as the light from the tree began to fade.

The father tried to calm him down. Ask him if he was alright. But the boy was more focused on the burning feeling in his left arm as the light from only a few moments ago now was reacting to his arm as he was crying in pain. “D-daddy, m-my arm… it hurts… P-please… H-help me…” However, upon seeing it for himself… all the father did was look at him in disbelief. Not for what had happened to his son, but for what this had meant.

All he could do was just get up, take in a deep breath and look back at him as he sighed deeply. “I’m sorry son… there isn’t anything I can do to help you now…” With that being said, the grown man soon began to walk away. Leaving his young son in agonizing discomfort. The young boy himself could not believe it. Why would his father just… leave him?

“D-daddy? Dad, p-please don’t go… Dad? Dad! DAD!!!”

Days had passed since being left alone and no matter what the boy had tried to make the pain go away, he was always unsuccessful. Trying to soak it in water only made it sting more. Wrapping it in a cloth helped for a small bit, but it was extremely difficult to keep it in place. Plus, anytime he had to use his left hand for anything, the boy would feel a shot of pain through his hand as it traveled up his arm. It was something that he had no control over… no matter how hard he tried.

Since the day that his father had left him, the boy had hoped for the day in which he would come back. Anytime that he had left before, he had always come back. But now… the boy was beginning to think that he would not return at all. Leaving him all on his own in an empty castle with no one to help him at all.

For the first couple of days, he was lucky to find some water he could drink from a nearby stream that would last him some time… however, not all the water everywhere could help him stay alive. He needed to eat. He needed food. But the boy could not be able to find any food… let alone hunt for any in the current condition that he was in right now. Not only was the condition of his arm an important factor, but there was also the fact that he did not know how to defend himself in case the creatures of the forest attacked him. They weren’t like the enemies he thought of when he played with his parents in his backyard with a toy sword. These were real monsters that could harm him. Which made the boy feel scared.

However, as he felt these feelings of sorrow and fear, he felt something else take hold. A small bit of warmth as he turned to see something… strange. It was a crystal. Yet, inside that crystal was what looked to be not a person, but a pony. Light blue fur and mane with a horn on it’s head.

“You wish for the pain to go away, young one?” He heard a female voice call out to him, shocked at first because it came unexpectedly. “Don’t worry, your arm will be just fine… just touch the crystal I hold.” The boy couldn’t understand her. Was she trying… to help him? Could she make the pain stop?

“Huh-?” The boy himself was still a little bit scared and nervous. Unsure of whether or not he should listen to the strange girl that was encased in the crystal in front of him. Only to hear the same voice talk to him.

“Do you trust me, Rain?” This girl… knew his name? How? Have they met sometime before? What could be the reason for this? The boy did think though that whoever this person was, that she knew more about what was going on more than he would ever know. So, walking over to where she was, he raised up his left hand and spoke two words.

“… I do.”

Once his hand had touched the crystal, the pain that he had unsuccessfully tried to relieve himself over the last few days was gone in a matter of moments. He was shocked by this… and honestly, could not process how this was possible. But also… he was personally relieved that he did not have to feel the pain anymore. He honestly thought that the light from before would be gone. That it would not bother him anymore. “It’s… disappearing…”

“Not quite…” He heard the girl speak. “It’s hasn’t really disappeared… more like… stored away for right now… It may be too much for you to handle right now, but just… try not to fear the unknown.” The crystal began to shimmer a small bit, glowing a little as she slowly began to disappear. “After all… the light is a part of you.”

All the boy could think about while the crystal was glowing and the light was shining throughout the ruins was one thing… who was she?

Elsewhere in the world, The Alicorn Princess of the Sun was stirred awake by the sheer amount of magic that she had felt just moments ago. Over the course of the last few days, there was a strange feeling of magic that was hard for her in order to not only understand, but figure out where it was coming from. Now, that feeling had simmered down, yet not before she briefly felt another source. This one though, she had felt before and knew who it was from.

Yet, how this was happening seemed… impossible. The last time she had felt it was almost a century ago. The century when conflict and turmoil had swept through Equestria and the world like a violent storm. But now… she only could think of one thing as she looked up to the sky and saw the glowing moon amidst the blanket of stars.

Three months later…

For most young colts, they were many things that they had to learn and handle on their own as they were growing up. However, some things for some ponies were harder to deal with for some ponies than others. One example being that of getting a cutie mark. Many young colts would see it as two things. One, they found out what their special talent was in and what they could do. Two, some would also see it as a way to mock those that have not gotten theirs yet.

Such was the case for one young colt trying to mind his own business during a school field trip to the town of Ponyville. “Hey look, it’s Shiny Whiny!!” Shiny… or perhaps better known as Shining Armor, was the young son of the Captain of the Royal Guard named Night Light. He really wanted to grow up and become a member of the guard like his father was, but doubt lingered in his mind with the amount of times that fellow members of his class were picking on him for not having a cutie mark like they did.

“I betcha if he went into the Everfree Forest, he’ll be running out with his tail in between his legs like the mare that he is!” Another one laughed. Even though Shining Armor tried his best to ignore them, he had to admit that they were right on some things. For one, he lacked the same kind of courage that his father had, along with the confidence for that matter.

“All of you knock it off this instant!” The teacher of the class snapped at them. “If you keep this up, I’m going to have all of you write an essay on your experience once you get back to Canterlot. And no magic either. All of you will be writing it by hand!” That caused the ones that were picking on him to shut up really quickly. But the blue maned colt knew that they were going to try it again when the teacher had her back turned. But… one of the ideas that those bullies had said did cause him to think a little. If he did just go out into the… Everfree forest, he thought it was called, and bring proof that he slayed a monster, it would be more than enough to get some respect.

Of course, this sounded alright in theory… in execution, things don’t always go according to plan. For one thing, he did not know why his teacher, Ms. Rosemary, kept on telling them to not go into the forest this time of year. Everything seemed fine at first glance. Even when he began to walk on in, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

However, when he reached a clearing part of the way into the forest… that’s where he got a bit nervous. He heard various howling noises all around him and a lot of commotion within nearby bushes. Picking up a stick that was just as long as his forearm, he gripped it like if it were a sword and nervously spoke up. “W-who’s there?”

Sweat began to drip down his face and body as Shining’s eyes began to wander around. From the shadows, he saw what originally looked like two green orbs of light… before those orbs narrowed in appearance and more soon began to appear afterwards. As they got closer, it was then that the young colt realized something.

Those weren’t orbs of light… they were eyes. And as they got closer and stepped into the clearing, Shining’s own eyes widened in fear. “T-t-timberwolves…” He had read about these dangerous creatures in class… but have not ever seen one in person before. The young colt backed up in fear, only to feel his back hit a tree that he stumbled upon and fell to the ground. Dropping his stick in the process. He looked back in fear, closing his eyes for a moment and thinking that a miracle would save him from what was going to happen.

Oddly enough though, a miracle was what he got. It first started when the normal growls he heard from one of the timberwolves was diminished… and soon replaced with a howl of pain. Follower by the sound of what seemed to be a sword. For a moment, Shining thought it was a member of the royal guard that was patrolling around the border of the forest at the time. But, when he opened one of his eyes… what he saw was the complete opposite.

“Chew on this!!” It was a bipedal creature with a blond mane. Carrying an old fashioned short sword as he used it to cut into one of the legs of the timberwolf that was closest to them. It wore a grey shirt that had the sleeves torn off along with some shorts as it turned to face Shining Armor. Offering a hand to help him up off the ground. “Hey, you okay?”

Shining Armor only was able to nod a brief moment, before looking back at the beast behind his savior. Several of them had fled for their own safety, but it seemed the leader of the pack chose to stay and deal with them personally. “Look out-!”

His warning didn’t come in time, but the kid who helped him was able to block it for a short amount of time with his blade before being pinned to the ground. He held the sword with a reverse grip now, holding an open palm against the base of the blade as he said a few words to himself… before having a fireball appear in front of him and exploding in the timberwolves face.

“What in-? How in Celestia’s mane were you able to do that?!” Shining Armor asked, personally shocked… and a little bit surprised at what this kid just did.

“I read books…” He replied simply, before looking back at the Unicorn. “Hey, can you help me out for a moment?”

“Uhh… help you how?” Shining then asked. “My parents tell me never to try and help out somepony I don’t know.”

“Well, let’s change that part then,” The kid replied. “I’m Rain. What’s your name?”

“Shining Armor-.” Just as he said that though, the roar of the alpha wolf immediately caught their attention. It was back, with a severe burn on his face… and it looked pretty angry at what Rain had did only a few minutes earlier.

“Oh boy…” Rain said to himself, biting his lower lip. “That’s gonna be a problem…”

“Wait wha-?” Before the unicorn could process what was going on, the alpha timberwolf lunged at both of them, causing Rain to leap out of the way in one direction and for him to leap in the complete opposite. And the monster in question looked to be more focused on the young one who had dropped his weapon rather than him.

For a moment, Shining felt something deep within him come up to the surface. Like he wanted… no needed to help this kid. Even though they had just met, it felt… right to him somehow. So when he reached out with one of his hands to him, the unicorn did not expect for his magic to surge around his open palms. Matter of fact, create a barrier that was able to protect Rain and have the timberwolf stagger. Providing enough time for the young one to pick up his weapon and slash at the beast’s face before it ran away with the rest of it’s pack in fright.

“Woah… That was… something…” The young boy said before turning to the unicorn. “Hey, thanks for… well, helping me out. I honestly did not think that I would get attacked like that.” That just made Shining Armor raise an eyebrow as he looked back at the kid.

“You… honestly did not think you would get attacked by them, yet you attacked anyways?” He asked, looking at him. “What exactly would make you think that?”

“Normally, if I run into a timberwolf, they would be by themselves. I’ve never encounter a pack of them like that before.” Rain replied, before looking at something. “Hey, what’s with the mark on your leg?” That question caught Shining Armor’s attention immediately. He looked at his flank, only to see that instead of the blank flank it was before… it now had a shield with a six pointed star in the middle.

He had gotten his cutie mark… all from saving this boy’s life? How? “Uhh… it’s a Cutie Mark.” He explained, looking back at him before noticing something by his feet. A few of the fangs that belonged to the timberwolf were on the ground as he picked them up and looked back at the blond kid that he just met.

“What’s a cutie mark?” That question surprised Shining as the unicorn looked back at him. Did this kid live under a rock or something? How did he not know what the heck a cutie mark was… matter of fact, what the heck was he anyways?

However, the sounds of other creatures echoing through the forest was brought to their attention first. Not to mention that it was only now that he noticed the stars in the night sky and the moon’s light shining down on them. “Maybe we should get out of the forest first and then I can explain it to you-.” Shining suggested, before being interrupted a few seconds later.

“I know a place where we can go,” Rain told him before turning around. “Follow me.” With not that many options right now, all the unicorn could do was sigh and take up the kid on his offer as they made their way through the forest. When he first heard that Rain knew a place where they could be for the night, he thought it would be a cave or a camp of some kind.

What he did not expect however, was that they were going to be staying in an abandoned castle. One where the walls only fell partially and some bits of what was suppose to cover the castle were now where there were big holes in the roof. “Y-you… live here?”

“Well, it’s the only place where I can be safe and not spotted by any of the creatures in the forest,” The boy told him, setting his weapon down on a nearby table before turning to him. “Plus, all the books I could find here have helped teach me how to defend myself.” Around now was when Shining had actually noticed some of the books that were out on the table. A few of them looked like stacked pieces of paper tied together with rope, but some other were hardcover books like he would see in the library.

It was also now that he noticed Rain looking through that same pile to try and find something. “Now where did that blasted… I knew I had that book out here only a few moments ago, now where did I put it?” Taking a step forward, Shining then cleared his throat and then looked back at the boy as he spoke up.

“Umm… what’s wrong?” Rain then looked up for a moment before sighing, giving up for a moment on what he was trying to find so he could acknowledge what Shining asked him.

“I thought I had one of the books I was looking at here somewhere. Must’ve misplaced it when I left the castle earlier,” Rain sighed, before focusing once more and looking back at him. “So… now that we are unlikely to have timberwolves coming after us… What was that one thing you said you were going to tell me about?”

“You mean what a cutie mark is?” He asked, before hearing Rain snicker a little as he raised an eyebrow. “What’s so funny?”

“S-sorry, it’s just,” He said, before having to laugh a small bit. “When you s-said that, I th-thought I heard you say cootie mark.” Shining chuckled for a bit, partially understanding what he was talking about before Rain finally was able to refocus. “Sorry… as you were saying?”

“Oh right,” The unicorn replied as he looked back at the boy, thinking of what to say before he actually spoke. “Well, for ponykind, a cutie mark shows what you’re talented at and also demonstrates what you’re destined for. Though… I’m not quite so sure what mine is suppose to represent.” He looked back at the symbol that appeared on his flank for a moment before looking back at Rain, who seemed to try to think of something on his own end.

“Well, what does it look like?” He then asked, raising an eyebrow. That was when Shining realized that since he was still wearing his clothes, Rain could not tell or see his cutie mark. Thinking for a moment, he then asked the boy a question as he noticed a quill and ink vial on a separate desk nearby.

“Do you have some paper I can use? I was thinking maybe I can… well… draw it out for you.” Rain himself nodded, getting up as he got the ink and quill that was on the other desk along with some paper as the unicorn picked it up with his hands. “Hunh… where did you happen to find this?”

“Well, a couple of months ago, there were some old boxes I found with some of these things in them. For the ink, it was actually unopened, so it wasn’t dried up when I tried writing with it.” What Rain told him had surprised the unicorn for a moment, before focusing on doing a rough sketch of his cutie mark. Even though it was with a quill, he tried his best so he could still show Rain what he was talking about.

When he was done and showed it to him though, Rain looked back at him and cracked a bit of a grin. “Hey… aren’t shields suppose to be for… well, protection right? Sort of like armor?”

Shining thought it oven for a moment before nodding his head. “Yeah, but how does that relate to right now?”

“Well, apparently if your mark is a shield with a symbol on it, then my first guess would be that you would be talented at protecting others,” the young one hypothesized. “I mean, you did save me in the forest against that timberwolf.”

That was true… then again, that was only one time. He couldn’t recall any other possible times that he used his magic or himself to protect others. Heck, with his father being in the guard, he was normally the one that would be shielded by him instead of the other way around. “I see what you mean… though, I don’t know how I’m suppose to follow through with that… I mean, before I came out here and met you, I would be scared out of my mind to try and encounter a monster… I would be teased for being a coward.” It was then that he noticed that Rain had actually gotten up from the table and actually walked over to a nearby wall, where he noticed some things hanging up on the wall.

“Well, my only thought would be that if you had the courage to save me, then you can do so for many others… Heck, you’re the first person… or pony for that matter that I have seen here in… well ever.” He said, which made Shining even more confused on something else now.

“Wait… how long have you actually been here for?” Shining said, now a little bit confused as he noticed Rain put away the small sword he was using earlier in the forest.

“Well…” While he was processing it, Shining had now noticed a series of lines along a nearby wall. Almost as if he was keeping track of something. Every four lines would have a fifth line scratched through it and from what Shining saw, there were a little over fifty of those lines. “Let’s see… each line is a week… there’s 52 lines… so around fifty two weeks maybe?”

Wait… fifty two… weeks…

No matter than a few seconds later did Shining realize what that meant. And that caused him to stare at Rain in disbelief. If what he said was true… Rain has been living out here for over a year! Something that he was even surprised about. “Anyways… catch.”

Shining himself snapped out of his train of thought for a moment once he saw something being thrown towards him. Catching it, he soon realized that what he was holding onto was… actually a wooden sword. Same length as the one that Rain had used earlier, but with a taped handle and the guard of the blade tied down by rope. “What’s this for?”

“Well, I would think that if you want to follow through with what your cutie mark says, you’re going to need to have some courage… and also learn how to defend yourself.” Shining’s eyes soon glanced at Rain, thinking that he was going to use a metal sword like the one he had earlier to face him, only to see that he too also had a wooden replica of a broadsword as well. “Normally, I would think that one of the books that I have can help with these kinds of things, but I thought it would be a bit easier for me to show you instead of telling you.”

Shining gulped a bit as he looked back at Rain, nervous beyond belief as he looked back at him. “Uh… are you sure about this?”

“Positive.” Rain smiled, looking back at Shining Armor as he helped him with trying to teach him how to wield a weapon. For Shining though, something told him that he wasn’t going to get much rest tonight when they were done.

As the sun rose in the distance, the captain of the royal guard felt like something wasn’t right. The unicorn stallion, who was known by his fellow guard ponies as Night Light, wasn’t sure why he felt this way if he had to be honest with himself. But part of it had to do with his son, Shining Armor, being on his first field trip by himself. Normally, his wife, Twilight Velvet, would accompany him on field trips such as these. However, she believed that it was time for Shining to go by himself. Saying that they would not always be there to hold his hand through everything in life.

Even if she was right, it didn’t make him feel any less worried though. Springtime in Ponyville meant Zap Apple Season… which also meant timberwolves. Since Shining Armor and his class were going to visit Sweet Apple Acres to learn about the Zap Apple Harvest, his concern was the possibility of timberwolves coming from the Everfree.

To his surprise though, it seemed that his distraught happened to attract the attention of the most unlikely of individuals. “Is everything alright this morning, Captain?” The stallion turned around, only to find Celestia, princess of equestria and diarch of the sun herself standing behind him. “You seem to be rather… troubled this morning.”

“P-princess, I…” He said, only for him to realize that he wasn’t in trouble at all. In fact, Celestia was just wanting to talk and try to help him. “Sorry, I just… I’m just a bit concerned about my son.”

“Your son? Shining Armor?” The princess asked him. She remembered Night Light mentioning his young son in a previous conversation between them that also included Twilight Velvet. Despite high hopes for her son, Ms. Velvet happened to mention that he had been often teased by some of his other classmates for not having a cutie mark… that and his lack of confidence made her worried for him.

“Yes… He’s suppose to be on a field trip with some members of his class and his teacher to Ponyville, but I’m concerned for his safety given that it’s now Zap Apple Season.” He explained to her. “My wife thinks that I shouldn’t worry that much about him, but… I’m just concerned that he’ll do something stupid if he’s on his own.”

It was then that he turned to see the princess give him an assuring smile as she looked back at him. “Don’t worry, captain. I’m sure he’ll be just fine-.”

Before the Princess could finish, one of the guards came bursting into the room, gasping as he tried to take deep breaths. “Y-your… Your Majesty… I-i have… u-urgent n-n-news from p-ponyville.”

Night Light knew the guard himself as he addressed him by name and rank. “Colonel Steadfast, ease yourself… Catch your breath first…” The pegasus guard listened, taking a few deep breaths.

“I-I have news from Ponyville… About a missing colt from Mrs. Rosemary’s class…” He spoke before looking back at both of them. The Princess and the Captain of the Guard were a bit troubled by his words, but waited for him to continue explaining. “He disappeared a few hours ago somewhere near the Everfree Forest, but…”

Night Light was already beginning to worry at this point as he looked back at the guard that was informing them of this information. But it was Celestia that beat him to it with asking the next question. “Colonel, I believe we would like to know more about who was the pony that went missing rather than when. Can you please tell us the name of the pony that had gone missing?”

“It’s… It’s your boy, Captain… It’s Shining Armor.” He answered, before bowing his head in respect. “I’ve already alerted some of the guard to begin searching the forest.”

Night Light was at a loss for words. Unsure of how exactly to respond in that moment as he still tried to wrap his head around what exactly he heard from Colonel Steadfast. Looking back at Celestia though… lead to the princess speaking up instead. “We appreciate you thinking ahead, but I believe it would be best for us to look for him in the forest. This is the captain’s son after all… and many ponies looking for him at once, especially ponies that he doesn’t know would only just make him scared.”

“Of course, your highness, but I do suggest that you bring an escort immediately.” The pegasus insisted, causing the princess to sigh for a moment as she looked back at him.

“Right now, it is best that we try to keep this under wraps as much as possible until we know all the details. A colt can’t just randomly run into a dangerous forest like the Everfree with no good reason to do son. Captain Night Light and I shall look into it for ourselves. In the meantime though, until we’re back, we’ll need someone in charge,” She explained, looking back at Night Light now as she then asked a question. “Do you have any suggestions?”

“I would personally ask for Major Highwind to keep an eye on things here,” Night Light then responded, looking back at the pegasus in front of them. “Colonel, inform Major Highwind of what is going on right now and tell him that he’ll be in charge until we return. Do I make myself clear?”

“Sir, yes sir!” He replied, saluting to Night Light, before making a dash out the door.

“Don’t worry Captain… We’ll find your son… I have a feeling deep down that he’s safe.” Celestia said, resting a hand on his shoulder to try and calm him.

“Hopefully… Why Shining would do this though… that’s something I’m still trying to wrap my head around.” Night Light told her as Celestia began to channel some magic to send them to the Everfree Forest.

Upon arriving though, both of them felt something that was rather… odd. For one thing, they didn’t feel the presence of any timberwolves in the area, even though they’re suppose to be highly active during this time of year. It was unsettling because they did not know if they were just lying in wait… or if they had left to return to their dens. Nevertheless, both of them remained cautious, Night Light with his sword at the ready as he began to proceed through the woods.

It wasn’t though until they were farther in though that they actually began to hear something. But it wasn’t the sound of a timberwolf at all… In fact, it reminded Night Light more of when he would train new recruits by letting them fight each other with wooden weapons so they did not hurt themselves. When they got closer to the source, what the noise was… actually surprised both him and Celestia.

It was his son… but he wasn’t cowering in fear like Night thought he would be. He was standing his ground, holding a wooden sword with one hand as he was actually sparring in a match against a creature that… he did not recognize. It had a blond mane, but no tail; wore clothes, was the same height as his son and stood on two legs as it also held a weapon similar to that of Shining’s as they were blocking and parrying each others attacks.

For Shining however, it was a complete reversal of the behavior that he was used to seeing from him. Normally, when left alone with a bunch of fake weapons, Shining would normally not even think about touching one. Now… this was completely different.

He wanted to say something though, just to catch their attention. But he was refrained from doing so by Celestia as she looked at him. “Let us watch them for a moment… perhaps their interactions with one another can answer some of the questions we may have.” Night Light originally questioned what Celestia was suggesting, but then went along with it. After all, if the princess was suggesting for him to do this, then she must have a good reason why.

“Good round, Shining…” The blond maned creature complimented his son as he set the wooden weapon aside. “You’re handling this quite well even though we only started a couple of hours ago.”

“Thanks…” His son replied, before thinking for a moment as he then looked back at the young one that was with him. “Hey Rain, can I ask you a question?”

“You just did.” They heard the other one speak. Based on what Shining had just said, both the princess and the guard captain now believed that this being was called Rain.

“Very funny…” Shining chuckled for a brief bit, before beginning to rephrase what he just said a few moments ago. “But there’s been something that I wanted to ask you which only came to my mind right now.”

“Okay, what is it?” Rain replied back, looking a bit curious as to what he meant.

“Yesterday… when you saved me from those timberwolves… I happened to see you control magic…” Shining’s question caught both his father and the princess by surprise. How was it that this being… who seemed to be only a child… know how to use magic? “How exactly were you able to do that?”

The boy himself sighed a bit before looking back at Shining Armor as he extended a hand and had some fire magic form in the center of it. “You mean this?” He asked, which in turn had Shining Armor nod his head as he dismissed the flame a few seconds later. “To be honest… I’m not so sure myself. It started after I read one of the books back in the castle that was on the subject and after a bit, I thought I would give it a try… yet it seems that there are only a few particular elements that I can actually do. Not to mention that the spells are not the same as the levitation one or your shield from earlier.”

That had Night Light look back at Celestia in confusion as he had a question for her. “Elements? What is he talking about?”

“That… I’m not sure about…” She honestly told him. “The last I heard of the subject, it was just research done by-.”

“So who is the author of the book?”

“I think it was Clover… something. All I know is that the second half of the name rhymes with the first,” They heard Rain reply to Shining Armor as he continued to talk. “That and the title of the book was called Magic 101 for Morons.” Shining himself laughed a little at that as he continued to listen to the boy speak. “Anyways, part of the book goes into detail that normal magic is broken down into eight different elemental types. Fire, Ice, Thunder, Water, Stone, Air, Light and Darkness. Different types are used for different purposes and such.”

“So you can use all of them?” Shining then asked, in which it was now Rain’s turn to laugh this time as he shook his head.

“I wish… it says that there are some individuals that can, but I tried that a while back and there were only two types that actually worked while the rest of them backfired.” He sighed, looking back at Shining. But as he continued explaining, that was when Celestia discovered something.

“No way…” she said, shocked upon realizing it herself.

“Is something the matter, princess?” Night Light then asked, a little bit confused as to who she was so stunned by what the boy was talking about.

“That boy… he’s talking about some of the work of Clover the Clever!” She told him, shocked as the princess looked back at Night Light.

“Wait a minute, I thought that her notes and everything were lost when the castle of the twin sisters was abandoned ages ago…” He then asked, partially confused by what she was saying as he watched both his son and the boy talk about it some more.

“That’s what I thought too…” She told him, looking back at both Shining and Rain. It was then that a new question was formed inside of his head… how was it that this… ‘Rain’ was able to find a piece of forgotten history where numerous other famous archaeologists have tried before and failed?

“And you used this magic you learned to help survive for… almost a year?” Shining then asked, redirecting the attention of both the princess and his father back at both of them the moment they heard that.

“Well, more or less… Originally, I was just stuck in that old castle for the first week or so…” He admitted, looking back at Shining Armor since he didn’t really have much to say.

“Okay then… one more question,” Shining then stated before turning around to face him. “Back there… when I was being cornered by the timberwolves yesterday… why did you help me?” The question itself seemed… important, but it took a while for Rain to come up with an answer. For a moment, it seemed as if he had nothing to say… but after some time, the young one did come up with something.

“Because you remind me of myself,” the statement surprised not just Shining, but also Celestia and his father. Before the colt could ask why, he began to explain. “When I first came here, I did not come here alone. I was once with my father… but when something happened and I really needed his help… all he did was turn around and walk away. It was some time after that though that I decided that I wanted to be better than him… to not turn away when someone really needed help.”

Shining didn’t know what to say… but before he could say anything to Rain though, he then heard him ask something. “Shining… you never told me why exactly you came to the Everfree when I found you… Can you tell me why?”

He seemed nervous, but the colt then decided to speak. “Well… there were a few other ponies in my class named Seifer, Sparky Storm and this one filly named Breezy Winds that would always pick on me… not just for not having a cutie mark, but because I didn’t have any form of courage. Yesterday… I just felt like I’ve had enough of it and wanted to prove them wrong. Summon up any courage I had and prove that I can be brave.”

“Well, you did more than that,” Rain chuckled, patting him on the back. “You also got your cutie mark yesterday for helping me when I needed it against that timberwolf. Standing up for yourself takes courage… and so does standing up for others.”

Around now though… was when Princess Celestia turned to Night Light and then said something to him. “I believe that it might be the right time to make our presence known.”

Night Light looked back at Celestia for a moment, before posing a question for her as he looked back at his son and the young child for a brief moment. “Are you sure about this?”

“They need to know, besides I’d like to speak with the child on my own accord. Let’s try an be subtle about it.” Night Light nodded his head, getting up for a moment from behind the bush and moving past a tree, directly where Shining Armor and Rain could see them.

“Shining-?”

“D-dad!” The colt gasped, sounding like he was caught doing something that would be against his father’s rules. “I-i can explain!! Please, just-.”

“Son, calm yourself…” He said, even though it didn’t have Shining ease up on how he was feeling. “You’re not in trouble… in fact, we’re glad to see that you are okay.”

The last statement though had Rain more confused than Shining in this instance. For the young colt, he thought that his mother would be with his father since Shining would think that both of them would be worried sick about them. However, for Rain, that didn’t seem like the case.

Especially when the pony that was with Night had stepped out… and caused Shining’s eyes to widen immensely. “P-princess C-c-celestia?! W-why are you here?”

“Who?” Rain then asked Shining, looking more confused than startled.

“I’m here because of you, Shining… You had us worried, which is one of the reasons I came searching for you personally with your father.” She replied, before turning her gaze towards Rain with curiosity. “And who are you if you don’t mind me asking?”

The young boy was… rather shy to put it lightly. Looking back at the princess as he swallowed what was in his throat for a moment before asking something. “Uh…… am I in trouble?”

“No you are not, but you have nothing to fear little one. We are not going to hurt you, but it’d be nice to know who you are?” She asked. The young child looked at the stallion next to her, before looking at Shining. The colt himself nodded his head, assuring him that the princess was indeed a nice pony… and that there was nothing that he needed to fear of her.

“Rain.” He simply said, not adding anything to it.

“That’s a lovely name… I am Princess Celestia it’s very nice to meet you Rain. Are your parents around? I’d like to let them know how you looked after the Captain’s son.” She asked, smiling at the human child, but what she saw was sorrow from him when she asked that.

He originally shook his head, looking back at her with a bit of sorrow in his eyes. But was still able to speak. “No…… My mom didn’t come… I still don’t know why… My dad and I were once here… but… one day he left and never came back. It’s just been me for a long time… until I met Shining…”

Celestia looked back at Shining, who nodded before looking back at Rain with envy. “I’m sorry to hear that, Rain… It must have been hard to be out here all alone… If you want you could stay at the castle with me?”

Rain looked back at Shining for a moment before looking back at Celestia. However, instead of seeing an expression of joy on his face, the princess noticed that his facial expression remained unchanged. “But…… this has been m-my home… I-i don’t… don’t want to leave my home behind…” He said, now a little bit more scared than before.

“Nopony is forcing you Rain… The choice is yours and I’m more than happy to take you in if you change your mind.” She replied, earning a sigh of relief from the child. Rain looked at Shining before turning back towards Celestia.

“C-can I… well… at least say goodbye? There are s-some things I need to get that are inside and…”

“It’s alright… go ahead,” both of them heard from Shining’s father, Night Light as he nodded his head back at the young child.

“Um… Princess can I speak with you for a moment?” Night Light asked, as the princess nodded in response. When both of them were by themselves, that was when the guard captain said something. “Princess… I was wanting to ask you something. My son… He seems rather… comfortable around him… which is different than that of most ponies he meets… Plus, Rain himself needs somepony to raise him…”

“That is why I’m taking responsibility for him… He needs a mother and I’m more than capable of raising a child. You don’t need to worry Captain.”

“I understand that… but from what we’ve seen, it seems that Rain and my son see each other as more than just friends… almost like brothers in a sense,” He pointed out, looking back at the princess. “Perhaps we both can find a way to help him. After all, he knows magic… but with him being so young, he may still need to learn how to control it.”

“I have already thought of that… Since Rain and Shining Armor get along I believe that they should both attend the same school, as for magic training I’m putting him under your tutelage. I can see a bright future for these two… Don’t you agree Captain?” She explained, as the pair looked at the two children talking with each other, and getting along.

“I agree… Though, I think the only kind of guidance I can assist with is how he wields his sword… perhaps with a bit more practice and some training, he can be rather skilled. Besides, with what you said in regards to magic and what you said earlier, maybe you can assist with that… if you have the time of course. You did say he knows the research from Clover the Clever after all.” He pointed out to the princess.

“Of course… I’ll be raising him after all… These two will face hardship, but that’ll make them stronger and no matter what happens, I’ll love Rain as if he was my own.” She said, heading back towards where the boys were. “Are you ready to go, Rain?”

When she turned to the boy, she noticed that he had multiple different bags with books, clothes and other items he took from what was once his home. Yet, it seemed like his business wasn’t exactly done in the forest as he heard a loud slam and a massive howl. “Oh wow… I can’t believe that cage actually worked!” He said, dropping everything for a moment and going in the direction that the sound came from.

That though, caused Night Light to look at Celestia with a raised eyebrow. “A Cage?”

All the princess could do for a moment was just chuckle lightly as she looked back at the stallion and his son. “Perhaps it was just a small one to keep the animals from stealing anything he had-.”

Yet, when they found out where Rain ran off too… what they found was anything but small. In fact… the cage itself, to Shining’s surprise, had captured the same Timberwolf that attacked them the other day. “Sorry about that!” Rain apologized from up on top of the cage. “I originally had this here when a Chimera kept on stealing food I had been saving. I can let this guy out-.”

It was then though that Celestia happened to think of something. “Actually… I believe I have a better idea…”

Back in the town of Ponyville, two colts and one filly were talking amongst themselves while the rest of their class were held behind back at the town’s train station. Ever since the class had realized that one of their students had gone missing, they had to remain behind until the guards found out where he was. For a moment, the students thought that he had gotten himself lost while they were walking through the town and also Sweet Apple Acres… but as the search dragged on, some rumors were beginning to circulate amongst the students while these three were separated and by themselves.

“Hey Sei… do you think that Shiny whiny… well… actually went into the Everfree?” One of the colts asked, before the other one shook his head immediately after hearing that.

“Pfft, ha! With how he normally acts, I bet he’s just stalling for time.” The other colt, the more confident one that was addressed as ‘Sei’ retorted. “You’ve seen how he acts in class whenever teach decides to pick on him to answer a question and how scared he is.”

“Seifer,” The filly addressed the second colt, looking back at him with a glare. “I know it seems unlikely… but what if he actually did go into the Everfree?”

“Do you two even realize why I said that dare on the Everfree in the first place?” He asked both of them as the colt looked back at them. “Normally, nopony would want to go in there under any circumstances. When it’s timberwolf season, they stay the hay away from it like it’s the gates of Tartarus… I said that because I know for a fact that he wouldn’t even want to go in there because the thought of that would make him pee his pants.” Both of the others looked back at the same colt and smiled, liking what he was thinking.

That was… until they heard another filly in their class speak up. “Hey, Ms. Rosemary! I think I found him!!”

The moment when they heard that, all of their heads shot up and looked in the direction of the voice as the mare that was the teacher looked back at her. “Sunset Shimmer, how can you possibly tell where he is? None of the guards have found him or-.”

“He’s right over there, look!” She interjected, pointing to the edge of town as everypony looked to see what she was talking about. What they saw… made their jaws drop. Not only was Princess Celestia there with the captain of the guard… but Shining Armor was there too along with one other bipedal creature they had not seen before… and both of them were dragging behind them the cage of a captured timberwolf while also projecting what was his cutie mark with his magic.

“Hey, SEIFY!!!” Shining shouted out, having everypony’s eyes look at him. “You and your friends wanted proof that I had courage, isn’t that right?! Well, here’s your proof!!”

Now all eyes were directly facing the three of them… including the burning and demonic stare of their own teacher. “You three are in SO much trouble once we get back to Canterlot…”

At that moment, Seifer and his two friends were all beginning to immediately regret what it was that they had just said. Shining Armor had taken on an impossible task… and he succeeded. There was just only one thing for him to say in that moment.

“Oh buck…”

Author's Note

Hello Everypony. Thank you for checking this out and giving a series of prologue chapters to release before the beginning of the story, which will cover the chapters that take place during Rain's childhood. When the story really begins, Rain will be much older then.

In addition, there will also be references to characters and elements in the Final Fantasy series. One example here is that the pony Seifer is a reference to the character of the same name in Final Fantasy VIII.

Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter I have and look forward to what else I have in store for you. Stay tuned!
-Frost

1.1- The Road to Canterlot

It only took a little while for both Rain and Shining Armor to explain to the princess their current predicament as they made their way back to Ponyville. But also became a bit complicated in trying to explain the events that occurred before Nightmare Moon tried to ruin the festival. All of Twilight’s friends mostly had questions about Rain, since like most ponies that didn’t live in Canterlot or make frequent business trips there, they knew nothing about them other than his heroics just a few moments ago. When it came to each one of her friends though, Rain’s feelings about them were different. Sure, he had a thing for treating mares with respect, but some of the ponies he was answering questions for just… made him feel uncomfortable. Rarity was solely focused on looks and appearance when it came to clothes. Rainbow Dash thought that his combat skills were awesome, but that was it. Fluttershy wasn’t even able to form a sentence around him, which made things awkward. And lastly, Pinkie Pie herself was too focused on getting the Summer Sun Celebration up and running in Ponyville again.

The only other pony that he felt comfortable around when it came to Twilight’s friends was Applejack. Not only did she thank him for helping them earlier, but she was rather surprised to see someone like him use earth magic. Magic involving the land and soil was normally something that earth ponies were familiar with when it came to harvesting crops, so she was rather surprised to see him control it on his own. Unfortunately, he was only able to talk with them for a short while before Pinkie Pie pulled everypony that was taking part in the festivities as they all began to celebrate.

Leaving Rain and Shining to sigh a little as they looked back at each other… along with the crystals that contained the visions they summoned as one of the knights then spoke. “So… that was something. I’m glad everything’s back to normal now.”

“For the most part…” Shining then stated before looking back at Rain. “We still need to figure out how to be able to get back to Canterlot on hoof now that we have no airship to take us back.” That was true. The airship that they originally arrived in was destroyed by Nightmare Moon earlier. It was a means to cut off anypony from actually finding a way to get the word of the princess’ disappearance to the rest of the guard in Canterlot.

“That may be true… but I think we can figure this out. I had a few ideas in mind-” Before Rain could be able to finish what he was saying though was when both him and Shining Armor noticed something that caught their attention. It was something that looked like a stone pillar, but it had carved inscriptions all around it, was emitting a cyan glow and floating off the ground. “What is that? That wasn’t here when we first originally landed now… was it?”

“I don’t believe so.” Shining replied, looking at it for a moment. “It looks like some kind of… monument or something-” Before both of them knew what was going on, a bright flash was released from the pillar and it blinded them for a moment. However, when they opened their eyes again… they found themselves in someplace completely different. Where it looked like the sky and the world around them was nothing more than just something floating in a star filled void.

“What the hell… What is this place?” Rain said, looking around a bit before looking at Shining Armor, who was personally trying to understand what was going on. Then, an idea came to mind. “This… has got to be some kind of dream! Shining, come here! Let me pinch you and see if you feel any pain.”

“Why me?!” Shining protested in response, having the human knight back up and give him some space. “Pinch yourself, you fool!” Before either of them could respond again though, that was when they heard and saw a familiar figure… for the third straight time. It was the same pony that was encased in crystal… and it wasn’t long until they heard something from her.

This is the farplane… For those who have the power of visions, a place of great trials… and greater blessings.

She was only there for a moment… but just as quickly as she arrived, the mare in the crystal soon disappeared afterwards. Leaving Rain and Shining rather… puzzled by what they just heard. “Great trials… and greater blessings? So… is this place suppose to be a good thing or what exactly?”

“Perhaps it’s a blessing in disguise… Nevertheless, we should proceed with caution.” The unicorn advised as he looked around the area once more.

“Hey, if these trials are suppose to help us get stronger, then perhaps this place could be a good thing.” Rain then spoke up, leaving Shining to mentally roll his eyes a bit as he glared back at his companion.

“At times, your optimism can almost be mistaken for stupidity…” He sighed. Which did little to bring down Rain’s confidence as he looked back at his partner and friend.

“Cut me some slack man, I’m not saying we have to do these now… we can possibly come back here another time and do it.” The knight told the unicorn as Shining folded his arms for a moment and raised his eyebrow.

“And pray tell, how exactly are we going to get back to Ponyville?”

“How else?” Rain replied, before stepping forth towards the monument that looked exactly like the one they found in Ponyville and placed a hand on it. Just like before, a very similar light shined in front of them for a few moments and before they knew it, the two of them found themselves back in Ponyville. “I had a feeling that this thing could allow us to come back to and from that Farplane place whenever we aren’t doing something… and heck, it seems like not a lot of things have really changed around here.”

Rain was right on that part. There weren’t really any changes at all. In fact, it almost looked like things had remained almost exactly the same. Something that seemed rather bewildering at first, before the knight mentioned something to Shining Armor that broke his concentration. “So, were you still wanting to hear what I was thinking about for how we get back to Canterlot? It may seem crazy at first, but I think it will help us get back to there rather quickly so we can inform the Captain about what we saw earlier.”

All Shining Armor could do was just sigh as both of them began to walk towards the outside of town. “Fine. Lay it on me.”

“Well, it turns out that this town actually has a station for incoming trains,” Rain explained as they were passing the entrance to the train station. “However, since they are going to a collection of other stops and it may be hours before the next trip to Canterlot comes up on their schedule, I say we try to improvise.” That had Shining Armor stop for a moment as he looked back at his friend and facepalmed himself.

“Rain, are you honestly suggesting that we hitchhike onto the back of a train?”

That immediately had the knight shake his head from side to side. “No, of course not. My idea was to follow the tracks up the side of Canterlot Mountain and get to the front of the city that way. Sure, it’s a bit of a walk, but it’s nothing we can’t handle. Besides… I don’t think either of us have the bits to purchase two train tickets.”

“We could ask Celestia-” At that part, that was when Shining Armor turned to realize that the princess wasn’t exactly there anymore… meaning that she either must be en route to Canterlot right now or already back in the city. “ …… Okay, I guess we’re going with your idea. Just… here’s something that I’m concerned about.”

“What’s that?” Rain asked, noticing a nearby stand that had a collection of maps that one could pull out and see the entire railway system across Equestria and taking one out.

“How are we going to know which tracks to follow? By what you said, my concern is that we might accidentally follow a track that leads us in the opposite direction.” The unicorn replied back as Rain soon opened up the map he had taken out and looking at it.

“Well, it looks like there’s only one track here that goes completely north… the other two start off north and splinter off to go to the east and west,” He replied, giving the unicorn the map in order for him to see for himself. “So by that logic, if we just follow the track in the middle here, we won’t have any problems.”

That just made Shining Armor stare at him in disbelief before deeply sighing to himself. It was just like what he said a few moments ago. At times, Rain’s optimism could easily be mistaken for stupidity… and right now seemed to be like one of those times.

The Knight’s plan involved both him and the unicorn walking throughout a large stretch of land. With the only thing guiding them being the tracks. Several monsters and hostile creatures even had tried to attack the two of them, in which case, the two of them had to properly defend themselves by using their weapons. Yet, this plan was effective for another reason. Unlike that of a train, which had to stop at two other stations before fully being able to reach Canterlot and one of them being a security checkpoint at the bottom of the mountain, Rain and Shining did not have to stop moving unless if it were to rest their legs.

It took them almost a couple of hours for them to reach most of the way there… and even then, Shining Armor himself was having to rely more on the map to make sure they were on the right track. And while he was looking at it, that’s when Rain soon spoke up and asked him something. “Hey Shining, how close are we to Canterlot?”

Despite the question really irritating Shining a little, he just took a deep sigh and responded to his companion calmly. “We are not that far away actually. The guard outpost at the bottom of the mountain shouldn’t be far from here.” That was most reassuring for both Rain and Shining. However, when they got closer and closer to the outpost… Rain immediately noticed that something was really wrong… Wrong to the point where he soon took off and ran towards the outpost in the distance.

Or more likely… what remained of it. “Shining, get over here! Quickly!!” Rain called out to his partner as the unicorn dropped the map and rushed over to help. Both of them found a member of the Canterlot guard on the ground, groaning in pain as they both used any curatives that they happened to have in order to try and help him. “Are you okay? What happened?”

“M-monsters… came out of n-nowhere… A-attacked our post,” One of the coughed as the stallion took off his helmet so he could breath. This pony was someone that Rain and Shining knew very well since they we’re trained in the Royal Guard alongside him. His name was Swallowtail and back during training, the unicorn would get in trouble because of his habit of conjuring roses out of thin air with his magic and trying to hit on mares. Though, these traits were superficial compared to his dedication and loyalty in the guard. “S-shining? Rain? Aw man, I d-didn’t realize it was you guys. Couldn’t tell w-who you were because of this d-dumb helmet… What are you doing here? I thought y-you were in that Ponyville place.”

“Easy there… We were traveling back from Ponyville and found you just now…” Shining told him.

“Well, I’m glad you did…” Swallowtail replied, clearing his throat as he finished the curative that Rain had given him. “Because the monsters that attacked us weren’t the only thing that came through here… We saw somepony else that looked to have commanded them to attack us here. We normally don’t see any creatures at all except for the ones that graze along the edge of the forest.”

Hearing that had Rain’s eyes widen as he looked back at Shining with a look of concern on his face. “You don’t think…”

“Only one way to know for sure,” Shining replied. “Swallowtail, were you able to see who this figure was?”

All the unicorn could do was shake his head as he got up and picked up the rapier that was his weapon as he put it away. “No. Neither of us could see who it was because they were wearing a full suit of armor. Dark in color and looked rather demonic… whatever of case, it was because of him that the monsters attacked and those beasts destroyed the checkpoint here. I tried going after him, but all he did was just fling me to the ground like a ragdoll.”

Now that definitely got Shining Armor and Rain rather concerned. Because if what Swallowtail was true, then that meant that he must’ve seen the same individual that the two of them saw at the Everfree Shrine. If that same person was going to Canterlot, then it was possible that he was going to launch an attack on the city. “Swallowtail, when did you encounter this guy?”

“Like… twenty minutes ago, I think…” He replied, before looking at both of them. “Why do you ask?”

“Swallow, we encountered that same individual earlier and he overpowered us,” Rain then told him. “If he came through here, commanded monsters to attack you and was strong enough to overpower you just like he did to us… then he could possibly attack the city. We need to get there and warn the captain before-”

Just as he said that, all three of them heard a loud crashing sound as they all turned towards the castle in the distance. Monsters were beginning to attack the cities gates while the soldiers along the wall were scrambling to take up arms and prepare to defend the castles barriers.

“I-impossible!” Shining gasped. “The castle would be protected by the barrier we have in place. How could it be destroyed?”

“I don’t know, but we need to hurry and get inside to make sure the princess and everyone else is safe!” Rain replied back, before coming across another potential problem. “But how the hell are we going to get in there if the main point of entry is crawling with monsters?”

The answer at first… didn’t really happen to show itself so quickly and left both Shining and Rain lost in thought… until they heard their fellow comrade speak up. “I know a back way inside the castle.” That had both Shining Armor and Rain look back at each other for a second before looking back to Swallowtail, completely surprised.

“You know a back way in?”

“Yeah, how else did you think I got out here without having to go through the main gate,” The unicorn replied. “Since you guys saved my life, let me repay the favor by helping you get inside.”

“Okay, I’m a bit surprised that there actually is a back way. Normally, most ponies who are assigned to be at the guardpost come and go through the main gate.” Shining replied as Swallowtail began to lead the way. At first, they partially went up the mountainside the same way that the train to Canterlot would normally go. But at one point, behind what looked like some kind of boulder, Swallowtail used his levitation magic to move it aside as all three of them walked in. “How do you know that this is connected to the castle?”

“This used to be part of the gem mining facility that was near here, but nowadays, it’s just a set of underground catacombs with old mining equipment that hasn’t been used in years. But it’s also where Canterlot get’s their water supply because of the lake on the opposite end of the mountain.” That had Rain stop for a moment as he looked back at Swallowtail for a moment and also Shining Armor.

“So let me get this straight… this is… basically the city's sewer?” Rain replied back to him while raising an eyebrow and smelling the air around him. Wondering why this place didn’t exactly smell like a sewer at all

“Not entirely… At ground level yes, but not here.” The Unicorn replied, before pulling out what looked like a torch as he turned to Rain. Seeing his comrade with the torch, the Knight used some of his fire magic to light up the torch so it was easier for all of them in order to see what they were walking through. It turns out that there were a few scattered monsters that just happened to be wandering around inside the catacombs, but it wasn’t something that was too much for them to handle, so there wasn’t a need to call on the help of Nimbus or Steela.

But there was something that was lurking on the back of Shining Armor’s mind as they were traversing the catacombs… and it was something he had to ask their comrade in arms. “Swallowtail, may I ask you something?”

“You just did.” Swallowtail told him, while chuckling shortly afterwards and slightly irritating the fellow unicorn.

“That wasn’t what I meant…” Shining Armor deadpanned as his katana sliced through another monster that tried to attack him. “How were you assigned at that guardpost in the first place? You’re a leader of your own squad and yet, we found you on your own with nopony else from your battalion. Care to inform us why?”

The other unicorn sighed for a moment, slicing another creature to ribbons for a moment before turning to the others. “Remember Patriot? While we were training, she and I had a wager over who would win in a sparring match. If I won, then the next time my squad and I were getting something to eat, she would pay the bill. But if I lost…”

“Then you had to play guard duty?” Rain then asked him.

“That and the rest of my group would have to patrol the wall instead of her. Which is why I want to get back to the castle as soon as I can so I can make sure everypony’s okay.” The unicorn then told him as they cleared their way through the rest of the monsters that were lurking in the caverns before reaching what looked like a narrow stairwell. “Come on, the entrance should not be far from here. From there, you two can easily be able to reach the castle afterwards.”

“What do you plan on doing?” Rain then asked as they reached the top and began to open up the path forward.

“I’m going to try and regroup with the rest of my unit and any other guards I can find. Push these bastards out of the city and then try to help any civilians that might’ve been caught in the fight,” He told them as he turned to look back at Rain and Shining before taking off once more. “I’m going to try and find the captain as well! Just make sure that the Princess is safe!”

Rain and Shining both nodded at that before rushing to the central building inside the castle, where the princess’ throne room would be. Upon going through the door, they could already see that some of the monsters had already infiltrated the sanctum of the princess. Some of the stained glass windows along the walls were shattered as shards of glass twinkled along the floor. Both knights drew their weapons as soon as they saw the creatures that infiltrated the corridor and prepared themselves for a fight.

“Any idea where the Princess might be in all of this chaos?” Rain then asked his fellow warrior as they charged in and began to take down their foes one by one.

“It would be best to assume that she would take up refuge in her personal chambers. That or in the main hall.” Shining replied as he used some ice magic to freeze another intruder still while Rain cut it in half. “I’m more concerned on if the civilians are okay. Canterlot has not been attacked in… well, since all that time ago when Nightmare Moon first appeared.”

“Yeah… speaking of that,” The knight in crimson mentioned as he turned around just in time to cut down another hideous fiend. “Something about the whole thing between Nightmare Moon and Celestia… well… doesn’t make sense.”

That actually had Shining Armor be rather confused as he looked back at Rain for a moment. “What exactly about that is confusing you?”

“Well, for one thing,” His friend replied as they traversed through the hall and continued to look for the princess and anyone inside. “She talked about Celestia almost as if she was her equal… Like if Twilight were talking about you when it came to magic and how she was superior.”

That even puzzled Shining upon hearing that… until he thought of something that seemed almost downright impossible. “Wait… are you saying that Nightmare Moon is somehow related to the Princess? That’s preposterous! What would even give you that idea in the slightest-?!”

“Shining, we’re talking about somepony who was able to not only beat and kidnap the princess, but also somepony who, just a few hours ago, was a threat to not only Equestria, but the entire world. Not to mention the fact that she was an alicorn… the only ponies we know that have both horns and wings are both Princess Celestia and Princess Cadence,” Rain replied as the two of them cut through a fallen stone pillar that was blocking their way forward. “It was just something that was on my mind, that’s all.”

“Well, perhaps you should let your mind focus on what we are doing right now,” Shining Armor suggested before stopping for a second, closing his eyes and placing a hand against the wall before emitting some magic as it traversed through the floor and the walls across not just the compound… but the entire castle. It was an ability that he happened to learn while he, Sunset and Rain were learning more about understanding their magic and it allowed him to feel the presence of anypony who happened to be nearby. However, the only time in which he could do this was whenever he was out of combat since his eyes needed to be closed and he needed to touch a solid surface. “I can feel the Princess’ magic coming from the Throne Room nearby… and Sunset’s with her.”

“What about Cadence and Blueblood? Are they with Celestia too?” The knight asked as he looked around a little to make sure that there was nothing that he was overlooking at all.

“Both of them seem to be okay. I can feel them with Patriot and some of the guards in her platoon right now,” Shining Armor told him as he opened his eyes and exhaled another breath. The downside to having such a spell though was that it slowly chewed away at mana he happened to have… and the longer he had the spell active, the more mana it consumed. “Do you have an Ether on you?”

“I was already making sure that I had some in reserve for if you were going to do something like that,” Rain replied as he tossed a small orange vial to his companion so he could regain a portion of his mana. After a few moments, Shining felt a bit rejuvenated once the effects of the ether kicked in as they both stared down the door to Celestia’s chambers. “Come on, let’s hurry.”

The unicorn couldn’t agree more as both of them soon slammed the doors wide open to find that intruders had definitely broken into the main hall while Sunset and Celestia herself were losing ground. Just as quickly as they broke through the door, both knights got to work in cutting down the brutes and fiends that had invaded the hall one by one. Minimizing their numbers and pushing through to make sure they could try and reach both Sunset Shimmer and also the princess.

When they finally got to get a moment of rest and also the chance to breath a little, Sunset was the first one to soon speak. “I was beginning to wonder when both of you were going to show up…”

“Sorry about that… we just so happened to have to take the long way around to get here,” Rain sighed, before turning to Princess Celestia. “Are you alright, Princess?”

“Other than a little bit shaken, I am otherwise unharmed.” The alicorn of the sun replied in a motherly tone. “What I would like to know is that who would have the audacity in order to attack us? We never did anything to anypony to provoke such actions as this.”

“We’re sorry for not returning sooner… But Shining and I might know who would do such a thing… we’ll explain once we get outside…” Rain then replied back, with Shining Armor also nodding his head in acknowledgement before taking a turn to speak. “Swallowtail’s right now working with his men to try and regroup with Patriot in order to push the invaders out of Canterlot. It would be wise to meet up with both of them so we can eliminate the remaining enemy forces and attend to anypony that may be hurt or wounded.”

“I believe that is the most preferable… and our only option at this stage.” Celestia replied back to them. “We should move before anymore of those creatures arrive.” Rain, Shining and Sunset couldn’t agree more on that as all four of them rushed towards the exit in order to get out of there. However, it was barely after they got outside and were a certain distance away from there that parts of the building began to crumble and tapestries that were along the wall began to burn.

“The castle… is burning!” Sunset gasped in shock. “I-i didn’t think it would get to be this bad of an attack on Canterlot.”

“Damn it…” Shining cursed under his breath as he looked to what was in front of him. “How can this be? Canterlot’s supposed to be the safest place in Equestria. How did-?”

It was before Shining could finish though that Rain happened to notice something completely out of the ordinary as he stepped in front of Princess Celestia and Sunset, moving a free hand towards the grip of his sword. “Shining… Isn’t that…!?”

When the Unicorn looked ahead in the same direction as his fellow knight, he soon realized what Rain was talking about… and also became rather worried. “Yes… and he’s no longer alone,” What Shining was referring too… was the individual in dark demonic armor that was stepping out of the citadel that Rain and the others just escaped. And to make matters worse… there were several other figures directly behind him. “We barely survived an encounter with just one of them! What if the others are all just as strong as he is?!”

“Well, I don’t think we got any other choice right now…” Rain grit his teeth as he armed himself with his Crimson Saber while Shining did the same with his weapon. “Brace yourself-” Yet, just before the armored foe could take another step, the ground began to shake below all of them as parts of the ground began to break and cause a hole to emerge in the Canterlot Courtyard.

However, what Rain and Shining saw next… was also seen by Princess Celestia and Sunset Shimmer as a bright light began to emerge from the gaping hole in the ground. And from it… emerged the same crystal that both of them had seen a few times before. “No way… that girl!”

“It’s the same one that we saw on the airship and that warned us about the Everfree Shrine. What in the world is going on?” Shining added on. However… Celestia herself could not believe what she was seeing… or for that matter… who was in that crystal.

“N-no way… After all these years… You’ve come back home…”

However… to the one who was in armor… he saw this as something different as he looked towards Rain and Shining Armor. “You two…” That was also when he also noticed something else as he spoke up. “Ahh… and now you hold the power of visions.”

That statement had Rain redirect his attention at the enemy as he held up his sword in a defensive posture and stared down the armored figure. “Yeah, that’s right! We won’t be so easily beaten this time!”

It didn’t really help anything though as the armored foe just sighed and looked back at him. “Didn’t I warn you before? About the crime of ignorance.”

“Seriously…” The Knight grit his teeth in irritation as he was beginning to get really annoyed with the one that was talking to him and wanting to take action. “Every time you speak, you manage to piss me off!” Neither Celestia, nor Shining Armor for that matter had seen Rain like this before and they were both beginning to worry for his safety. Especially with what armored warrior said next.

“You stubborn weeds will grow to become thorns in my side if I neglect to exterminate you now… so be it” His words were soon followed up by channeling the same kind of darkened orb that Rain and Shining had remembered seeing from the Everfree Shrine as it began to form above it’s head. “Know this… that I am one of the Sworn Six of Paladia… Veritas of the Dark!”

And as he said who he was, the Veritas then pointed at Rain as his spell was finished charging. “You are sullied!!”

It was as the spell was released that Rain could hear a crack from the crystal as a blinding light soon casted over the courtyard in which they were in. Making it almost impossible to see… but when the light did die down, Rain was caught off guard to find the same girl that was in the crystal… directly in front of him and glowing with power as a magical barrier was casted over all of them. Including Shining, Sunset and the Princess.

This one is our last hope… We will not let you bring harm to him!

“Woah…” Sunset stated as she soon saw what was happening. “So much power…”

“Just who or what is this girl?” Shining then asked as the barrier went down and the Veritas’ own spell was no more. But the Darklord himself just stood there for a moment. Before turning around and beginning to walk away.

“It matters not… We have done what we came here to do,” He told the others behind him as they all began to disappear one by one, with Veritas of the Dark being the last one to leave. “Let us proceed to the next crystal.”

It was as the Sworn Six left that the girl in front of them soon dropped to the ground, causing Rain to rush over and take off the cloth that was around his waist so he could wrap it around her. But before he could say anything, the knight was caught off guard when he saw Princess Celestia appear on the other side of her. “Please tell me she’s okay…”

“Woah uh… Princess?” Sunset soon spoke up as she noticed the princess rush over much faster than Shining or her. “Do you know this girl somehow?”

“Know her?” Celestia spoke up… before saying something that caught all three of them off guard. “This here is my sister, Luna…”

That statement almost caught everyone by surprise. Especially Rain and Shining Armor as the knight was trying his best to help the girl as she was slowly opening her eyes. “Uh…”

“You… saved us,” the blond haired knight told the young girl as she looked back at him. “Thank you.”

The girl soon found herself awake… and slowly able to speak. “I… I’m Luna…”

“Luna, are you okay?” Celestia then asked, hoping that somehow… after all the years of them being apart, that her own sister would remember her. However, what she heard next from the young alicorn was something she wasn’t prepared for.

“Y-yeah… Um… W-who are you?”

Author's Note

Straight out the gate, we got a LOT of things covered in this chapter... some in which, will be covered more in depth later. As for new characters, the ponies known as Swallowtail and Patriot are two characters that are based on actual units who know Rain and his companions in the actual game. Swallowtail is based off of the character named Lawrence and Patriot is based off of another character in Final Fantasy Brave Exvius named Charlotte . Both with completely opposite personalities.

Also, in terms of cliffhangers, what did you think of this one?

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and stay tuned for future updates.
-Frost