The Time

The Storm King calmly walked down the main street of Canterlot as his guards and soldiers pillaged everything in sight and ponies ran away in a panic. The chaotic sounds calmed him in a way, and the sight of such a beautiful and rich city brought him joy and pleasure, the fact that it now all belonged to him. Nothing will get in his way.

He gleefully shot a beam of magic from his staff over at a nearby store and destroyed it in a fiery explosion. "Score!" he cackled cheerfully as ponies ran around in random directions in terror, none of them seemed willing to face him. "You ponies are so weak and pathetic." he grumbled as he continued his slow march to the castle up ahead.

Adam gathered up his weapons after he made quick work of the storm creatures and strapped them back onto himself.

"Adam?" asked a stunned Rainbow Dash who cradled her foal. "What happened?"

The human turned to the three mares but did not say a word.

Then, Starlight and Twilight ran in. "You guys okay?" asked a concerned Twilight to her friends.

"Yeah darling, we're okay, but what is going on here?" demanded Rarity.

"I and Starlight went back in time to get Adam back here to help us." Twilight began as she saw Adam search the bodies of the creatures. "They tried to get him back there."

Adam found that all of the creatures had some dark 20-sided crystals on them. "What are these, why do all of them have these?" he inquired to Twilight.

"Those are communicator crystals, they use them in order to keep in contact with each other and their boss." explained Starlight.

Adam just placed them in his small bag. "Twilight," he turned to her. "I need you to find Nadie, I assume she's in the airship they came in on." he ordered the mare.

"And what will you be doing?" asked Twilight who was confused and concerned about what he had planned.

"Confronting the Storm King, what else?" he began to walk off towards the distant Canterlot Castle. "Now do any of you know a quick way to get there?"

Twilight ran over and stood in the human's way. "Adam, please don't be a hero, we lost you once, we don't want to lose you again." she pleaded.

"I'm not trying to be a hero Twi, I'm trying to fulfill a promise I made, now please do me a favor, and do what I say." he looked at her with world-weary eyes.

Twilight could not help but see the stubborn determination in his eyes, it was quite clear that he already made up his mind and that it was futile to change it. With a heavy sigh, she stepped out of the way and allowed the human to walk past her. "There's a secret passageway in the back of a local bakery, should give you express access to the castle." the mare instructed.

"Got it." was all the human said with conviction. The five mares looked at each other with bafflement.

"Well? What are you standing around for?" demanded Starlight. "Let's get going!" she ordered the mares before she ran off in the direction of the Storm King's airships. The rest just shrugged and followed her along.

Tempest stood around in the middle of the town square as chaos reigned around her, random ponies who ran away from the creatures, royal guards in their futile attempts to repel the invasion, this was all typical for her by this point. She just sighed without care.

"Isn't this great?" exclaimed Grubber as he walked in wearing various pieces of valuable jewelry on him. "This feels less like an invasion and more like sport." he chuckled with pleasure.

"Yes." she nodded along despondently.

"What's bugging you? Shouldn't you be glad to see the home that rejected you be brought to its knees?" the hedgehog asked with concern.

"I only care about one thing, and one thing only, and you should know what that is." she explained as she then turned to walk away. "Let's get back to the airship before that human shows up to rescue her." she ordered.

Grubber just shrugged. "Whatever you say boss." he said before he scurried off after her.

The Storm King gleefully stepped through the gates of the royal palace. The ultimate prize was close, the one thing that was missing from his vast holdings; the Equestrian throne. He felt more invincible than he ever felt before, with his staff and his immunity to magic, there was nothing that could stop him.

He met token resistance along the way, but he quickly dispatched anyone that tried to get in his way. He pushed open the heavy main doors of the palace and stepped inside. "Oh honey, your new ruler of Equestria has arrived!" he yelled into the empty palace, long since evacuated. "Note to self, get an Equestrian war bride to respond to such statements." he told himself as he walked to find the throne room. "And also redecorate this place, not enough of my trademarked face."

After several minutes of wandering around the empty palace, he soon stumbled upon the large heavy gold doors. With a smirk, he pushed the doors open and strutted into the throne room. "Equestria is officially mine!"

"Oh, I wouldn't say that." said a new voice. The Storm King looked up at the throne to see the human himself on it.

"You!" he hissed. "The human that has been giving Tempest a lot of trouble lately." he wanted to use his newly acquired staff on him, but he knew it would be pointless on him.

"Trouble?" he responded with disbelief. "You sir have no clue what I've been through this past decade of my life." he got up from the throne. "You know how it feels to lose nearly a decade of one's life, stuck, stranded, abandoned, all because someone wanted you to be left for dead?" he began as he walked down the steps. "Do you also know how it feels to have someone you cared about to be taken away? How it feels to lose someone you were tasked with protecting?" he approached the Storm King without much care. "Now let me tell you something sir, at this point in my life I have nothing to live for, so I will ask you this once and only once..." he stood close to the creature and looked up at him to look into his eyes.

"And what's that?" asked the Storm King with disbelief.

"Abandon your invasion and leave, leave and never come back." Adam warned.

"And if I refuse?" he smirked in response. Adam just shook his head and walked back to the throne.

Twilight, Starlight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Rarity arrived at the surprisingly unguarded airship of the Storm King. They carefully and stealthily got on board to find the place guarded by only about a dozen guards. The mares, lead by Starlight, quickly took care of the few guards as they went deeper inside the ship.

"This all feels too easy." said a skeptical Applejack as she and her friends trotted down a long corridor.

"Yeah, this is too good to be true." agreed Dash.

The five mares soon reached the lowest deck of the ship that housed the ship's brig. They methodically checked each cell, one at a time, only to find all of them empty, except for one.

"Girls, I found her!" exclaimed Starlight to the group as she saw a weak and catatonic Nadie in nothing but a patient gown. Twilight quickly used her magic to pick the lock open and open the door.

"Don't worry Nadie, Adam sent us to save you." assured Twilight as she tried to get her off the floor. But then Nadie's back ended up exposed, which revealed two surgical scars along her back.

"What is that?" asked Rarity at such a sight.

"They removed her adrenal glands." Twilight explained with disgust. "Her prognosis doesn't look good."

"Then we have to get her out of here fast." said Dash as she helped get the limp human up on both her's and Applejack's back. "Let's go." The mares quickly ran towards the exit of the brig, only to be blocked by the last thing everyone wanted to see; Tempest.

"So, where are you mares going?" she asked coldly to the group. "How did you get in here?" her rage slowly built up inside her.

"What did you do to her?!" exclaimed a disgusted Twilight. "She doesn't have much time to live without her adrenal glands!" she explained.

"Sacrifices had to be made." was all Tempest said as she walked up to the group. She then eyed Twilight with interest. "You all must be the famed Elements of Harmony, we all have heard of you, yet you don't look like brave and strong warriors." she was unimpressed.

"Not brave and strong?!" exclaimed an offended Rainbow Dash. "Go fuck yourself!"

Tempest just laughed at the outburst. "Once everything has been settled, I will." she shook her head. "Now where's the male human?" she began. "The creature that has been a thorn to my side lately."

Before anyone could answer, a nearby cauldron spewed out a cloud of smoke, much to everyone's surprise as smoky projections of the Storm King and Adam appeared.

"You were never going to restore Tempest's horn were you?" the human suddenly asked as he walked up the steps to the throne. "You were just using her to get what you want."

"And risk having her use her restored horn to overthrow me the first chance she got? No way, as soon as I get that throne, I'll liquidate her like all the other soldiers who have outlived their purpose." he explained with glee. "Why you ask?"

"Because I know what it's like to be used." Adam said in a low growl.

"You know, you could've been a great henchman, you have such great potential as a warrior, cunning, intelligent, always ready to do what needs to be done, I can see it in you, the eyes of a warrior." he smirked. "You have so much more potential than Tempest."

"I am not a warrior, and I'll never be a warrior, no matter what happens." Adam suddenly snapped in response. "I just want my life back."

"Then join me on my quest to conquer that world as my second-in-command, and I'll give you everything you desire." the Storm King offered.

"Like I would ever trust a selfish coward who would dispatch his closest allies as soon as they outlived their usefulness." Adam just leered at him before he turned his back on the Storm King and went to sit back down on the throne.

"What Tempest doesn't know, won't kill her." the yeti laughed.

"Then why don't you tell her yourself?" Adam asked rhetorically as he pointed behind the creature.

Confused, the Storm King turned around to see what the human pointed at, only for his heart to sink as before him, stood a clearly irritated Tempest, her horn sparked with rage. "I've given almost my entire adult life to your service, and this is how you repay me?" she growled as she tried to hold back her tears.

"Now Tempest, ignore everything you heard, it was all a trick to divide and conquer us." the Storm King slowly stepped back to grab his staff, only to be taken away by an aura of magic. He looked over to see Starlight and Twilight were also there.

"Not so powerful now without your precious staff Mr. Storm King?" teased Starlight.

The creature just laughed. "Your magic can't work on me, I'm immune remember?" he continued to step back, over towards the two alternate exists, only to trip on the small indoor water streams and fall flat on his back. All three unicorns mares slowly walked over to him. The Storm King quickly got up and ran up the ramp, only to bump into Adam. In a panic, he suddenly grabbed the human and wrapped his hairy arm around the human's neck. "Don't come any closer! Or I'll crush your precious human's skull!" he warned.

Adam was unimpressed. "I don't think so." he growled as he took out a sharp stone arrowhead, wiggled himself out of the Storm King's loose grasp, and stabbed him in the one part of his body not covered by armor; under his armpit.

The Storm King yelled loudly in pain as he stumbled and fell off of the throne platform and to the floor, as he bled out severely from his wound. "I guess human adrenaline can't protect you from everything." said a despondent Tempest who stood before him with rage. The Storm King tried his best to get back on his two feet despite his wound.

"You traitor!" he snarled as he lunged over to the mare, only to quickly falter and fall back on the floor, the marble ground covered in a growing pool of blood.

"Pathetic..." was all Tempest said to herself before turned around to walk away as her former boss laid on the floor, dying.

The Storm King sat himself up against the wall as more blood squirted out of his wound. He looked over at the human on the throne platform. "You truly are a great warrior..." he began in a weak voice. "...whether you want to be one or not..." he smirked with glee before his face fell, his body went limp, and his eyes glazed over. The king was dead.

Adam looked around the palace to find Tempest as she sat in the hall of stained glass windows, her armor and battle gear in a pile next to her on the floor. He saw some tears flow down her cheeks. Tempest's ear perked up and she turned to face the human. "If you want to kill me go ahead, I have nothing left to live for." she snarled through her tears.

"Like killing you would erase every sin you have committed against me, my friends, and all of Equestria." Adam said as he walked up to her.

"I'M A FREAK! I'M A HORNLESS UNICORN FREAK!" she exclaimed with despair. "I have NOTHING, no family, no friends, no purpose, so I implore you, kill me now!" she demanded. The human just stared at the mare with stunned silence before he shook his head and walked away. "The Storm King was right, you are a warrior, a warrior to be feared, you say you are not one, but your actions say otherwise, enjoy this peace for as long as it lasts because there's only one way a warrior's story can end!" she yelled out to the human who left the room.

As Adam left the room, a group of royal guards stormed in to formally capture and arrest the mare. Tempest did not put up a struggle, as the human just sighed as Tempest's words sunk in.

"I'm sorry Mr. Gray, but there is nothing we can do, even if we do save her, she'll just live the rest of her life with crippling pain and a whole host of adrenal disorders." the nurse explained to Adam at the Canterlot Hospital. "She's most likely not going to survive the night at her current state."

Adam lamented at the news. The one person he promised to protect, could not be saved. There was only one thing left to do for Nadie. "Is there a way to painlessly put her out of her misery?" he asked with great reluctance. But he hoped that the joy of her being reunited with her father would make the decision worth it.

The nurse nodded. "I'll go get the paperwork." she said as she trotted off.

Adam walked into the room and sat down next to the hospital bed, as Nadie slept quietly under heavy sedation. He grabbed her hand and gave it a light squeeze. "Thank you for making these past nine years bearable, I don't know where I could've been without you." he mumbled as he tried to hold his tears back. Life has been especially cruel to him as of late, how many more loved ones does he have to see die?

Later that night, Adam sat in front of the fireplace to his guest chambers in the castle. "I knew at that point that I was probably left for dead, as the months turned into years..." related Adam as he wrapped a blanket around him. Princess Luna quietly provided for him an audience. "...I knew that I was going to die there, either get injured, killed by a wild animal, get sick with an illness I was not immune to, but I did realize that I can still control when and how my inevitable death was going to occur." he confessed. Luna just quietly nodded along. "One day, I attempted to hang myself off of a tree branch, but through some miracle, Nadie discovered me and caught me just as I dropped and the tree branch snapped."

A smile formed upon his face as he related that story. "Her saving me, made me realize that I needed to live because at least there was one person in that time period that cared about me, would never abandon me..." he took a sip of his hot chocolate. "...again all logic, I realized that I need to live because you never know when one's luck could turn for the better." he confessed to Luna.

"We are all glad that you are back with us Adam." Luna said. "Thank you for everything, and I'll always be here to talk should you ever need to." she assured.

He smiled at Luna before he looked over at the fireplace, deep in thought.

At the same time, Twilight walked into Starlight's guest chambers. "Hey Glim, want to join us over at my room to hang out and..." she stopped as she saw the mare busily pack her things. "...what's going on?"

"Leaving." Starlight began. "Leaving to reunite with an old friend from my past, going to do some much-needed soul searching." she told Twilight as she placed her things in her saddlebags. "Don't bother stopping me, I already made up my mind."

"Can't you wait until morning or something?" asked a stunned Twilight.

"The sooner I leave, the less damage I could cause, it's for the best." she explained to her. "Thank you for putting up with me, but it's time to be my own mare." Starlight grabbed Twilight into a tight hug. "Adam is your problem now." she whispered in her ear before she let Twilight go. "Good night." she said as she walked past the mare and out the door.

Twilight did not protest. "Hope to see you again." was all she said to Starlight as she walked away.

Adam walked out of his attached bathroom, now clean-shaven for the first time in nearly a decade. He went over to his guest chambers, only to see Twilight on the bed as she read a book. "You know breaking and entering is a crime right?" the human teased.

"Not my fault you left the door unlocked." Twilight rolled her eyes as Adam sat down on the bed next to her.

"Hard to believe that I've only been gone for nine months from your perspective." he sighed as he turned to the mare. "You held a funeral for me?"

Twilight reluctantly nodded to confirm it. "Starlight told us that you died, what else were we going to do?" she shrugged.

"And what about my wife, Fluttershy?" he asked. He was concerned since he had not seen her since he arrived. "Where is she?"

"She couldn't take it anymore, so she just left town, she didn't tell anyone where she was going, didn't even leave a note." Twilight broke the news to the human.

Adam sighed. "I guess I have a life to get back now." he said as the mare suddenly enveloped the human into a tight hug.

"We're here for you Adam, always," she whispered into his ear to comfort him. Adam said nothing but rub her back.

A few days later, Adam arrived back at his home. It was still cleaned and well maintained, everything left the exact way he last left it. He went over to the kitchen and opened the fridge to see his favorite foods, foods he no longer had to hunt and gather for, he grew used to getting his own food that way. The house was quiet, only the ticking of the grandfather clock could be heard as he walked upstairs.

He looked into every room of the upstairs, including the guest bedroom which still had some of Danni's belongings. He had no idea what to do with her stuff, and neither did whoever helped maintain his home while he was away. The room was supposed to be Fluttershy's before Danni made her unexpected arrival. The thought made him miss her even more.

"Where would she go...?" he mumbled to himself as he walked back to his room. He looked over at his full body mirror to see himself. For 45 years old, he did not look half-bad, maybe a few more forehead wrinkles and hair a slightly lighter shade of brown than he remembered, but still looked good for his age. "It's going to take some getting used to..."

That night, Adam slept on the living room floor by the fireplace, he was so used to sleeping in firmer places, that he felt that his bed was too comfortable for him, plus he could keep his mind from getting restless. He just looked at a portrait of Fluttershy, bathed in the light from the fire. The first time in nearly a decade that he laid eyes on her, although it helped that he had forgotten about her during most of that period thanks to his amnesia. It was not long before he slowly nodded off to sleep.

The next day, Adam was in Golden Oaks Library as he drank some tea with Twilight. The calm silence was interrupted when Rarity burst in through the front door. "Twilight! I have come with some important news!" Rarity exclaimed as she threw a fashion magazine on the coffee table. "I have found out where Fluttershy is! Look!" she implored at the pair to look at the magazine.

Both the human and mare looked at the publication skeptically and saw a full-page ad for a fashion show to be held in Manehatten next week. "Okay, a fashion show, what about it?" asked a confused Twilight to her friend.

Rarity rolled her eyes. "Darling, look at who's the designer and organizer of the fashion show." she pointed her hoof at the text.

"Showcasing the fashions of a new rising star in the fashion world, with her designs taking Manehatten high society by storm, the one and only Miss Fluttershy will be exhibiting her fashions next week, and also modeling her creations as well." Twilight read as her eyes went wide in shock. She turned to Adam. "Fluttershy is in Manehatten!"

Adam was stunned at the revelation. "Then I guess I know where I am going, Manehatten." he sat up with determination and began to walk towards the door.

"Adam, wait!" exclaimed Twilight as she stepped in the way. "You need to understand, you were declared legally dead, and we all accepted that you died."

"So?" he asked with confusion.

"Because of your legal death, you and Fluttershy are no longer legally married, which means that there could be a possibility that she may have well..." she took a deep breath as she braced herself for what she would say next. "...moved on?"

Adam was taken aback by the mere suggestion. "Fluttershy would never do such a thing!" he exclaimed with great offense.

"We all thought you were dead, dead and not coming back, and that was over nine months ago!" Twilight tried her best to explain. "You may have not moved on, but judging from that advertisement, Fluttershy sure did!"

"Fluttershy would never betray me like that." he shook his head, unable to accept what he just heard.

"There is only one way to find out." began Rarity. "Go to Manehatten and pay Fluttershy a visit." she suggested.

"Then I guess I'll be going there." Adam promptly walked out the door, only for Twilight to run after him.

"You're going now?" said a dismayed Twilight to the human.

"The sooner I get to her, the better." was all Adam said as he walked down the street towards his home. The mare looked on dumbfounded but know that stopping him would be pointless.

"Just be careful out there..." she muttered under her breath with concern.

Deep in the dungeons of Canterlot Castle, Tempest just sat on the cold stone floor, all of her legs manacled to the floor, the stump of her horn covered in a magic dampening cap. She just remained there as she quietly contemplated where her life went wrong and whether she deserved whatever fate Princess Luna had in store for her.

Then, she began to hear the loud clacks of hooves that paced around on the masonry floor. Pale eyes with piercing red pupils came out of the shadows followed by a blue old ram, with a strange bell tied to his collar. The ram just circled around the unicorn, as if inspecting her. "How the mighty have fallen," he mumbled in a gravelly voice.

"Who are you and how did you get in here?" asked a confused Tempest.

"Long ago, I used to be the most powerful creature in all of Equestria, I had everything, all of the power, all of the magic, all of the fear from my subjects until it was wrongfully taken away from me long ago..." the ram explained. "Emperor Grogar is my name."

"You can't be real... I thought you were a character in a fairy tale." explained a confused Tempest.

The ram's eyes twitched and he loudly snorted, teeth clenched in disgust. "So they relegated me to mere myth and legend, they'll soon learn what a mistake that is." he snarled as the manacles around Tempest's legs were suddenly released, freeing her. Tempest looked on dumbfounded.

"What do you want from me?" she asked with suspicion.

Grogar smirked and then cackled with delight. "To help me defeat the human, the elements, and help me take back my rightful place as ruler of Equestria." he revealed. "And unlike the Storm King, I for one can actually keep my promises."

Suddenly, before the unicorn's eyes, a horn floated in front of her. She was in awe as she reached out to touch it, only for the vision to disappear. The ram looked on contented. "What was that?" Tempest demanded to know.

"Do you want to help me or not?" was all Grogar asked. "If not, then enjoy rotting in here for all I care, I can find someone else and-" he warned.

"I'll do it!" Tempest exclaimed and pleaded. "I'll do it."

Grogar smirked at the answer. "Very well, follow close to me." he instructed as he began to walk towards a random wall only for a portal to suddenly open up. The unicorn quickly accompanied the ram through the gateway and she suddenly found herself in a cavern-like lair. "Make yourself comfortable, we'll be here for a while." was all the ram said as he walked up the stone steps to his throne. Tempest looked around in awe.

"Where are we?" she asked him.

"Everywhere and nowhere." another pony said cryptically, as a scrawny gray unicorn stallion trotted in. "Grogar here has been traveling the multiverse looking for the perfect ponies to aid in his mission." he explained to the mare.

"Multiverse?" Tempest had no clue what that meant. But before the other stallion could answer her, Grogar suddenly slammed his hoof down on the stone floor.

"Stygian!" Grogar boomed with authority. "Did you retrieve the magical artifacts of the old pillars?"

"Yes sir." the stallion nodded. He then produces a large burlap sack filled almost to bursting.

"Good, good, we need all of the tools we could get, we must never underestimate the human and the elements." Grogar explained with a large smirk. Tempest looked on, unsure of what she agreed to, but was at least glad to have been given a second chance.

In a small town, Starlight nervously trotted in, a place that brought back many memories for her, some good, and most bad. She took a deep breath and walked towards one of the houses. With a deep breath, she anxiously knocked on the door and waited for a response. The house still looked exactly the same as she last saw it, she was not surprised.

The door opened and before the mare stood her father. "St-starlight?" he stuttered with sheer surprise.

"H-hey..." she nervously mumbled, before she was swiftly enveloped into a tight hug by her father. "Dad! Can't breathe!"

"Oh, my wittle cutesy-wutesy Glimmy is back!" he cooed as he hugged his daughter and then promptly let her go.

"Dad, I'm 25 years old, I'm not a little filly anymore!" she protested as she tried to get her breath back from the tight squeeze.

"Oh, I apologize, it's just been so long as I last saw you." her father said with slight embarrassment. "But what brings you back here?" he was pleasantly surprised to see his daughter again after so many years.

"A lot of soul-searching and atonement." Starlight confessed. "And I thought I can start with you, dad." she smiled, at least glad to see him again.

Her father smiled back. "Then come on in pumpkin, I just made some tea, you can have some." he led her inside.

"Just please don't treat me like a little filly." she begged.

"Sorry, can't help it, you'll always be my little filly to me, no matter what." he chuckled. "But I'll try."

Starlight just enveloped her father in a more loving hug this time. "I'm sorry for everything..." she whispered in her father's ear as she held on to him tightly.

"I know, I know." he whispered back as he held her close, savoring a moment that he had surely missed after all of these years, father and daughter reunited again.

To be continued...