"You know something, I'm starting to feel your annoyance towards this place, Mimir." Once again, I find myself in the Crystal Empire with my wives, children, and friends not even a week after the games. "You'd think this place was like a magnet for us or something?"

"Aye. This place has that sort of effect. By the way, what are we doing here?"

"To discuss politics with the Duke and Dutchess of Maretonia. They have a small problem involving a roving gang of thieves and require both the aid of Equestria and if necessary, Herot." Luna always one to stay ahead in politics.

"And they choose the Empire, why?" Mimir asked while giving a glare to some of the ponies passing by. "What are ya lookin' at?"

"I assume they wanted to see the Empire and this gave them the perfect excuse to do so. So please try to keep your disdain to yourself, Mimir." As we made our way to the spire from the station, I noticed that Twilight had her head down the whole way. "Oye, what's the matter Twi?"

Pinkie went and popped up behind Twilight. "Yeah, Twilight. Why the long face?" She asked while stretching Twilights face, somehow.

"Resist. Must resist the lame joke." I whispered under my breath while trying to hold in a chuckle.

Twilight got over the face stretching before speaking her mind. "It's nothing really, but I've just been feeling that my role in Equestria hasn't really amounted to much of anything." She sighed as she kept walking past us.

Before any of us could try and comfort her, Swagger went past us and brought Twilight into his arms. "your role as a princess is every bit as important as Celestia or Luna's roles." He turns over to Luna for confirmation. "Right, Luna?"

"Of course, Robert." Luna went over to Twilight and put a hoof on her back. "Your role may not seem as defined as ours, but you still have a commanding aura about you and strong leadership skills."

"Yeah, not to mention enough magic that it's almost criminal." Jackie bumped me in the leg, leading me to believe I said the wrong thing. "Well, you know what I mean."

Twilight smiled before giving Luna a hug and a kiss to Swagger. "Thank you, this really helped." She continued onto the castle with a little more pep in her step. "Come on! I have a flag unfurling to do." And just like that, she bolted for the castle while Swagger gave chase.

I shook my head while bringing Luna in for a hug. "You always know when to say the right thing."

"Years of practice dear." She gives me a lick under my chin before heading for the castle herself. "Come along Joe, Jackie. We don't want to be late." I rolled my eyes before following after.

Conference room

"Wake up!" I was woken up by Luna's hoof after dozing off from our meeting with the ambassadors of Maretonia.

*Snrrk* "Fetch me the goat." I was given another jab, this time from Celestia. "I mean, please, continue." As the Duke and Duchess continued on with politics, my thoughts went back to fortifying the castle. The castle towers were topped with a Browning M2 machine gun. The gates had been repaired and were given an extra oomph thanks to Brok. Swagger and I decided to place the land mines at the front of the castle between the trees and thanks to a little magic modification, they can tell who's friend or foe.

In addition to fortifying, I introduced some of the basic firearms to my army. The sniper teams Swagger trained could hit the nuts off a mosquito half a mile away. I thought as a means to give them some extra firepower, I had each of them issued a 1911 colt as a sidearm while having the more sturdy of my warriors carry pump-action shotguns. I thought about giving them machine guns, but after a certain incident involving me getting shot in the ass multiple times, I thought I'd wait to give them that kind of firepower.

My thoughts were interrupted again when both Luna and Celestia jabbed my ribs. "What, what?" I saw that the delegates were getting up to leave so I rose and gave them a bow. "My Lord and Lady." They gave me a bow as well before heading out. When I looked back, I saw that Celestia, Luna, and Cadence were all giving me disapproving looks. "Sorry, my head was somewhere else."

Luna shook her head before leading me out. "One of these days, we'll get you to stay awake during politics."

"I have no doubt that one day I will, but that day is not today." I made my way out of the conference room and saw Twilight waiting for us in the hall. "Twilight, next time, you can take my spot."

"Thanks! So, what can I do to help with the Maretonians visit?" At hearing that, the other royals and I gave an uneasy look to each other. "What?"

"Twilight, their visit is over," Celestia explained while setting a hoof on Twilight's shoulder.

"Indeed, they already have the support of Equestria behind them, plus fifty of Herots best warriors to help with the bandits and thieves roaming the streets."

"Fifty! With the firepower and training I gave them, fifteen would've been more than enough."

"Well, if you had any concerns about the matter, then you shouldn't have been napping during the meeting." Luna gave me a dirty look reminding me of my misconduct befitting an authority figure.

"At least he got to be part of the meeting. All I did was *Sigh* smile and wave."

"Twilight, that's just not true." I tried to comfort her, but she pulled away from us.

"Isn't it though. Princess Celestia raises the sun, Princess Luna raises the moon, Cadence protects the Crystal Empire, and you rule over a kingdom with the greatest military might in the history of Equestria! What's my role in all this!?" Twilight had a couple of tears in her eyes before she started mopping again and headed off for the balcony at the end of the hall. Why do I get the feeling a song is about to begin?

While the three of them did their best to cheer up Twilight, Swagger came over to see what the commotion was. When he saw what was happening he leaned over to whisper, "Couldn't they just talk over some drinks like normal people? Do they have to sing their problems away?"

"It seems to be the best way for them to get over their issues. Besides, it's nice to have a little show from time to time." As their song ended, all three of them brought Twilight in for a hug. I nudged Swagger to go over there and comfort his mare just as Luna came over. "That was very nice my little songbird." I stroked under her chin while gesturing to our room. "Let's leave them be and return to our southern belle."

"A fine idea my king." Luna led me towards our room with her tail around my wrist. When I looked back to see if Twilight was okay, I saw Celestia look at me with a smile before it disappeared and she turned away. I wondered why she did that, but my thoughts were brought back to Luna and her tugging on my wrist. "Come, my king, our night is young and Jackie and I have much love to share with you~."

"Yes, my love." As I followed her, I made for a second look at Celestia, but she was already gone. I'll have to see what's eating at her later.

That night in my dreams.

I walked down a cobblestone road, wondering where the hell I am. I turned down an alleyway where I heard a couple of voices. The voices belonged to a pony carrying a basket of oranges in his magic while a cloaked figure talked to him. The cloaked figure was smaller than the pony but I could feel a dark aura around him, given the sound of his voice. "Is he friend or is he foe, the pony wonders." The cloaked figure said in a voice that sounded like he gargled gravel. "I can tell you right now, I am no friend." The figure reveals part of his face. From what I could see, he has red skin, white hair, and withered old cheeks. A pair of frail-looking arms with chains attached to the wrists pulled back his hood slightly. "I am Lord Tirek, and I will take what should've been mine, long ago." Before I or he could react to his words, the guy starts to actually suck the unicorn's magic from his horn. I lunged to grab the guy from doing any more harm, but I just fazed right through when I made to grab him.

When I looked back, the unicorn stallion was on the ground, his cutiemark was gone, and the irises in his eyes became a dull grey. When I looked over to the figure now known as Tirek, the magic he absorbed allowed him to double his size. As I looked into Tirek's cowl, I saw his eyes glow a dark yellow while he chuckled darkly.

Crystal Empire guest room.

I woke up with a start as I looked around the room, trying to decide whether what I saw was real or not. Before I could decide, Luna woke up with a frightened gasp and began to breathe heavily. Knowing my problems come after my wives' problems, I went to see what's wrong. "Luna, what's wrong!?"

"We need to wake Tia!" Luna lept out of the bed and headed for Celestia's room.

The commotion from the two of us also woke up Jackie. "Hmm, Sugarcube, what's going on?"

"I'm not sure. Go back to sleep, I'll see what's wrong." I lept out of bed and followed Luna. The two of us made our way to her door just as we heard her gasp from the other side. Hearing her distress, I burst through the doors while Luna went over to Celestia's bed. "What's going on?"

"Luna, Joe, I just had the worst dream!"

"Why do you think I'm here? Sister, you and I both know that dream you had was a vision." Did these two have the same dream? For that matter, did we all dream about the same thing?

"Then we haven't much time." Celestia got out of her bed and made her way over to us. "The longer he is free, the stronger he gets. If that were to happen, I don't think Equestria would survive."

"This guy, from your dream, did he go by the name of Tirek?" As soon as I uttered the name, both Celestia and Luna fixed their eyes on me. "I take it that means yes?"

"Honey, how do you know that name?"

"I had the same dream you had I reckon."

Celestia came closer and looked me in the eye. "How is that possible?"

"I don't really know how, but it might be the alicorn blood in me, assuming you two were the only other beings to have that dream." A thought then came to mind. "You don't think this guy could be the threat your mother predicted, do you?"

The two of them looked at each other before Celestia looked back at me. "He may very well be."

Hearing that, my military training kicked in. "When the morning comes, gather everyone in the throne room for a debriefing." I brought Luna in for a hug before cupping her cheek. "Tell Jackie that I'll be back in the morning, I have some things to do in Herot." I gave her a kiss before heading out the door. When I left out the door, I opened a portal to the Barracks in Herot, where all the warriors were asleep. "Wake up maggots!" The soldiers lept from their beds and got into formation. "We've got an enemy on the loose and we need to prepare for war!"

"Sir, yes sir!" The soldiers made to put on their armor and gather their weapons. Tomorrow, many of them would face their destiny, whether it be to victory or Odin's great hall.

I was back in the Crystal Empire with a few of my troops in the throne room where we had a debriefing about the threat. Celestia started off by telling the story of two brothers. "Two brothers came from a distant land, a gargoyle named Scorpan, and a centaur known as Tirek. They came to this land with the goal of stealing Equestrian magic, but soon, Scorpan began to develop a liking for the land and the ponies who lived there, he even became acquainted with our old teacher, Starswirl." Starting to like this Scorpan guy.

Luna took the story from there. "Scorpan went back to his bother and urged him to abandoned their campaign of theft and destruction. Tirek would hear none of it and go about stealing pony's magic. He also went about recruiting creatures to amass an army to help him conquer all of Equestria. Realizing he couldn't get through to his own brother, Scorpan sought our help in stopping him. Scorpan went back to his homeland while Tia and I imprisoned Tirek in Tartarus for his crimes, while his army scattered. For more than a thousand years, Tirek has been imprisoned and has grown weaker by the year."

"However, when Cerberus abandoned his post for that brief time those three years ago, he escaped and has been in hiding for all this time."

"I knew it. I knew that three-headed mongrel was a worthless guard dog ever since Faust found him." Mimir whined while on the table. "I told her to get a serpent or fire wyrm to guard the worst of the worst, but does she listen to me? Nooo, she goes for the three-headed puppy that just lost its master."

"Quiet head!" Mimir shut his mouth as Twilight went and asked a question that was on all our minds.

"But if Tirek escaped that long ago, then why is he just now making his move? Why not when he first got out?"

"The first rule when escaping prison, never draw attention to the authorities and wait to strike. The guy looked pretty weak in the dream the three of us had, imagine what he looked like when he first got out?"

Cadence spoke up for the first time that day. "So, what do we do?"

I gave the whole room a smirk before laying my hands on the table. "I've got a plan." I brought out a blueprint I had in my pack and unfurled it to reveal the schematic for the new and improved Castle of the Two Sisters. Gotta come up with a better name for that. "The guy absorbs magic and he'll keep eating until he grows into a giant if what I saw was correct. Is there any reason to believe he'll be able to absorb alicorn magic?"

"If he absorbs enough, then yes, he can," Celestia explained while looking over the blueprints.

"Then here's what we'll do, I want all four of you, as well as every citizen we can round up, in Herot, where Tirek won't find you."

Twilight came back with a question "What makes you think Tirek won't find us there?"

"Herot wasn't an established kingdom yet, so I doubt he even knows that it exists, even if he did, he won't be able to find it. Once you're secured, we'll have the pony guards keep an eye on the populace while my soldiers hunt down Tirek. If he has his army back, then we'll lead 'em to the castle and blow 'em all to hell." I got off the table and put Mimir back around my belt. "However, that's plan B."

"Plan B?" Luna came around the table and looked me in the eye. "If that is plan B, then what is plan A?"

"I'm going to see if it's time to use the key as your mother predicted. However, in case this is not the huge threat that's been predicted, I'm gonna have someone hunt down Tirek."

"And who would that be?" After Twilight asked that question, a flash of light went off at the top of the table and Discord appeared, wearing a British safari outfit. "Discord!?"

"Sgt.First-class Discord, reporting for duty!" He gave a salute before teleporting next to me. "So, what's the mission?"

"Hunt down the enemy and bring him in, we'll handle his sentencing once he's in chains." I brought out my pack and handed him a walkie-talkie. "Here, radio either me or Swagger once you get the bastard."

"Ohhh, a new toy! Hey, what are our call names?" He asked while fiddling with the thing.

"Swagger will go by his old call name, Viper. I'll go by Wolf, and you can be Crazy Horse."

"Crazy Horse!?" He seemed outraged, but then he gave his call name some thought. "On second thought, that suits me well."

"Glad to hear. You'll be in charge of detecting him once he starts sucking out someone's magic. Once you got a lock on him, capture him." Discord nodded my way before hooking his walkie-talkie around his waist. I opened a portal to the front of Herot and gestured forward. "let's get a move on." My family and friends passed me by while I watched them go. As Celestia passed me, her tail caught my leg a little, sending a shiver up my spine. Gotta tell her to remember to tell her to watch her tail.

Once we made it to Herot, I brought Swagger over and gave him his weapons. "That's my shit!"

"Yeah, I went back to your old place and picked them up for ya. I was actually going to give them to you on your birthday, but now seems like the time to have 'em back."

He checked his guns, smiling at the condition it was in when he left it. "Thanks, Tex. So, you going to bring out your old guns?"

"Maybe if things get hairy, but I don't think it'll come to that, so I'll stick with the ax." We both brought our arms together in a shake. "Semper fi!"

"Do or die." We separated while he went over to the troops.

As I watched him give a few orders to the army, Discord popped up next to me with a butterfly net and what looked like a sonar scanner from a submarine. "Joe, great news, I was able to find Tirek's location!" He told me while pointing at the blinking light on the sonar.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Get on the son of a bitch." He gave me a salute before teleporting towards his target. When Discord Teleported away, I saw Celestia and my dad talking to each other. I went over and tapped Dad's shoulder. "Hey, Dad, can I see you for a second?"

"Sure son, just give me a moment." He turned back to Celestia. "Don't worry, he'll come around to it. Just, tell him after all this foolishness." I didn't quite hear what he said to her but figured it wasn't important. She nodded his way before walking over to Twilight. "Alright, boy, what do you need?"

I led Dad over to an armored vault next to the barracks. "Dad, Discord picked up the trail of that magic-eating mother fucker. I have confidence that he'll bring him in, but just in case things go wrong, I want all of us to be prepared." I went over to the vault and unlocked the magical seal and put in the combination. The vault door swung open with the locks gone, revealing the weapons I had during my time in the marines. "Here, just to give you a little extra oomph." I grabbed my weapons and handed them to him. An AA12 shotgun with a 30 round drum, my M9 Berreta with 15 clips of ammo, and to make the deal even sweeter, 7 drums for the AA12 loaded with Frag-12 explosive rounds.

Dad took the weapons before chuckling. "A bit of overkill, don't you think?"

"Better over than under." As the two of us shared a laugh, my radio started going off. "Huh? Guess Discord found him." I took out the radio and flipped it on. "Crazy Horse, this is Wolf, what's your status? Over." The radio kept buzzing, making me quirk a brow. "Crazy Horse, respond. Do you have eyes on the target?" Again, more static, making me just a little frustrated. "Discord, press the fucking button!"

A few seconds later, the radio crackled to life and a familiar voice answered. "So, you're the one hunting me?" However, it wasn't Discord who answered, but the very bastard we were hunting, and he sounded stronger than before. "I must say, this is definitely an improvement over sending letters."

"You son of a bitch! What did you do to Discord!?" My outburst brought the attention of the others and they raced to see what was going on, with Fluttershy looking more worried than the rest of us. "I swear, if you've harmed him, then your head is going to be placed on a spike for all to see!"

"My my, such language, especially for a pony." Guess he never got the memo on who I am. "Ah, but don't worry about your mismatched friend, he's just a little tired from losing his magic." That last bit caught us all off guard.

I tried to control my temper as best I could before answering. "Put...him...on...the line!" I almost cracked the radio in my hand with all my pent-up rage. I heard the radio being handed off and we could hear some very heavy breathing come from the other end. "Discord, is that you? What happened, what did that monster do to you?"

We heard Discord's labored breathing, making Fluttershy whimper from the sound coming from the other end. "Joe...I-I'm sorry. I-I had him in chains...then he pulls a fast one on me with his stupid necklace. He trapped me, and took my magic, watch." I heard him snap his fingers before he continued. "See, that was supposed to take me back to you guys!"

"Don't worry, we'll get you out of there. Tell me where you are now."

Before Discord could give me his location, Tirek took back the radio. "Now, now, we don't wanna make this too easy for you." The bastard started chuckling, making me even more pissed off. "Don't worry though, I'll give you back your friend. In exchange for the powers of an alicorn!"

"You fucking asshole! You tell me where you're at, or I swear to the All-father, I'll shove a red hot poker up your ass!" I let my teeth turn to fangs while my anger kept rising.

"Hmm, tell you what. You bring me the magic of an alicorn, and I'll trade you this worm."

"Deal!" This brought the attention of every alicorn present. "Tell me where you are, and I'll get you that magic within two days."

"Hmm... It seems we have an agreement. I and this chaotic mess will see you at the outskirts of Manehattan in two days. Try not to be late."

"Oh don't worry, I won't. You conniving piece of monkey-spunk!" I flipped off the radio and turned to see four flabbergasted alicorns starring back at me. "What?"

"What do you mean 'what'? You brought us here so Tirek can't find us and take our power. Now, you want to trade one of us to save Discord?" Twilight practically lost her marbles at that.

"What are you, insane?! I would never even offer a single wisp of your magic. I just told him that so I could figure out where he is." I told her while testing my shield a few times.

"Honey, although that seems like a well-thought-out plan, Tirek can sense magic. He'll know you're not bringing any of us with you. Who knows what he'll do to you with Discords power." Luna nuzzled up to me while a tear trailed down her cheek.

I wiped her tear away with my thumb before speaking. "You forget my love, I have the magic of an alicorn. He'll pick up my aura and mistake me for one of you. Once I have eyes on him and Discord, I'll rescue Discord, put the motherfucker down, and be home in time for dinner." I gave her a kiss before heading over to an open part of the cavern.

When I looked back, Jackie, Lulu, and the kids raced up to meet me. I knelt down and brought them all in a hug. "Don't worry, I'll be back soon. Jackie, Lulu keep an eye on things while I'm gone." They nodded while giving me a kiss.

"Kids, I want you to look after your mothers while I'm gone." They nodded while squeezing me tighter. "Alright, enough with the mush, Daddy's going to go and save Uncle Discord." I ruffled their hair before separating from them and opening a portal to Manehattan. I was about to step through and hunt down that centaur, but I was stopped by a hoof on my shoulder. I turned, expecting Luna to give me some final words, but I saw that it was Celestia who stopped me. "Celestia? Is there something you wanted to" I was interrupted when she brought me in for a hug? Now, I've been hugged by Celestia before, some of them instigated by me, and I've always seen it as a friendly gesture. But this time, I don't know, it kinda made my heart skip a beat, heat up, and rise up to my throat, all at the same time.

Before I could make sense of this feeling, she pulled away from me and looked me in the eye. "Good luck, and please be safe." With that said, she went back with the others.

Staring at where Celestia left for a minute, I shook my head before heading through the portal. When it closed, only one thing came to mind. "What the fuck was that? And why do I want to do it again?" After giving that moment a few more seconds of thought, I decided to drop it for now and continue on the hunt. I flew to the top of one of the buildings and started sniffing around for cotton candy and scotch, Discord's signature scent. After a minute of smelling the air, I picked up Discords scent north of the island. "Don't worry buddy, help is on the way." I lept off the ledge and soared through the air, following my nose for my friend.

I kept flying until well into the night, over and between the buildings in search of the bastard and Discord. There were times when the scent got stronger and I thought I found them, but every time I land to investigate, the scent would fade quickly and lead to another part of town. I don't know whether or not my senses were on the fritz, there's a whole lot of cotton candy and scotch around here, or just something I'm missing. "Fuck!" I kicked a trashcan down the alleyway, startling some rats in the nearby dumpster before slumping down the wall. "Where the hell this asshole at!?"

As I sat in that alley, I heard heavy hoof beats and something dragging along behind it, and the scent was there. As I looked around, I couldn't see where they were. When I heard the noise coming from the street, I looked to see if they were trying to sneak their way behind me, but all I saw was an empty street, and a manhole cover, leading to the sewers. "That slippery motherfucker. They're moving through the sewers." I got up from my seat and made my way into the sewer.

As I made my way through the sewer, I had one thought in mind. "Sometimes, I hate this nose of mine. Can't even pick up a scent through all this shit." Seeing how I couldn't pick up a scent in this shit-hole, I had to go on sight and sound alone. Lucky for me, the hoof prints and drag marks were right below me. I followed the tracks through this maze while keeping an ear out for Discord or Tirek.

After making the twelfth turn down the sewer system, I found a tunnel leading to a large chamber. When I looked into the tunnel, a very disturbing sight met me. At the end of the tunnel, a large chamber that might have once been a treatment plant held an army of some of Equestrias most dangerous monsters and creatures, some I knew, others that I had no clue about. I brought out Mimir just so I could get some clarification on some of these guys. "Mimir, what am I looking at?"

"Well, I know you know about the Timberwolves and Trolls. The ones that look like sabertoothed worms are Tatzelwurms. They burrow in the ground and move through the dirt like sharks, worse still, they spit an acidic venom that they create in a gland that's below their throat. The big ones are Ogres. Similar to the trolls, but smaller and more animalistic. They don't have much brainpower, but they make up for that with brute force. And if you look through the ranks, you'll notice our old friends, the draugr." By the gods, there were hundreds of these fuckers.

Looking at the massive army before me, I saw a balcony leading up to what looks like the Foreman's office, and the lights were on. I cast a small invisibility spell on myself and flew up to the office. After touching down on the walkway, I finally heard a familiar voice. "You stupid asshole. You have no idea what's coming." Discord sounded pretty weak as he warned his kidnapper.

I looked through the window to see Discord leaning against a wall while a much larger Tirek loomed over him. "And what do I have to fear from a pony? The moment he shows up with that alicorn, their magic will be mine!" His stony expression broke and he smiled. "In fact, why don't we say hello to them right now." He turns to the window I'm looking through and gestures me inside. "You can drop the spell boy, I can sense the magic radiating off you." I let out an irritated grunt before heading for the door. I opened the door with the spell still intact. "Drop the spell, or this freak gets fed to the ogres." Letting out a low growl, I closed the door behind me and dropped the spell keeping me invisible, surprising the centaur. "Who the hell are you?"

"Who the fuck am I!? I'm the guy who's gonna put his boot up your ass if you don't hand over my friend there!" His confusion soon turned to recognition at the sound of my voice. "Uh-huh, see now you recognize me."

"Hmm, an interesting development, I had no idea there were flying monkeys in this land. Tell me, ape, where is the alicorn you have with you? Don't try to deny it, I can smell their magic from here."

"First of all, you must be a stupid motherfucker if you think I would bring any of the four alicorn princesses to you." Tirek quirked a brow, maybe from the number of alicorns or from my statement, who knows. "Second, that magic that you're smelling," I conjured my blue aura in my left hand while pulling out my ax with my right. "is my magic. And if you want it, you'll have to drain it from my cold corpse." I gave him my wolfish grin while extinguishing my aura and activating my shield. "So, what's it to be?"

After a brief moment, Tirek started to chuckle before cracking his knuckles. "I think I'll go with the third option." Before I could even wonder what he was talking about, a glow from his neck caught my attention. Turns out, it was the necklace Discord warned me about, and right now it was restricting my movement. "Nice isn't it? My brother Scorpan used this necklace to stop me from conquering Equestria way back when. Feeling ashamed for what he did, he gave it to me while I was chained in Tartarus." He started to chuckle while stalking towards me. "Now, the very tool that thwarted my conquest the first time, is now my greatest weapon the second time around." When he was right in front of me, he took my ax from my grip and tossed it behind him before grabbing my shoulders. "You were a fool to come here with your magic. With it, there's no stopping me from taking the magic of those alicorns, and ruling this pitiful land."

I grunted as my movements were limited to only twitching my fingers slightly, so no chance of getting my ax. "Motherfucker! I hope you choke on it!" The bastard merely chuckled as his jaw seemed to hyper-extend and a sucking sound was heard from him. Soon, my magic started to pool away from my hands and into my head. "Arrgh!" Since I didn't have a horn to focus my magic, it started to phase through my face like some ghostly apparition, though it took on the shape of my wolf side. "Graaaahh!!!" Throughout my suffering, Tirek merely chuckled as his prize was close at hand. However, since his focus was on me, he never noticed Discord get up, and raise my ax to chop into Tireks ass.

"Arrrgh!!!" His screaming ceased his draining of my magic, as well as whatever that necklace, is doing to me, giving me a chance to do this.

I gave him a right uppercut, sending him to the other side of the room. "Fuck you!" On impact, Tirek broke through the wall and fell to the ground floor where his army took notice. When I looked through the hole he had created, I saw that many of the creatures that made up his army started making their way up here. "Time to go." Feeling most of my energy was drained, I knew we wouldn't win this round, so a tactical retreat was necessary. I grabbed my ax, hoisted Discord on my back, and opened a portal to Herot before jumping through.

Once through, the portal closed, and Discord and I face planted the dirt. "Discord, you alright?" He lifted his head briefly, blinked his eyes one at a time, and nodded his head before planting it back in the dirt. "Good. I think I need a nap." And just like that, my face met with the dirt.

Two hours later.

For the second time in my life, the first being when I was born, I woke up in a hospital bed. I had some wires attached to my head, arms, and legs while a heart monitor beeped in the corner. While my eyes started to adjust to my surroundings, I saw a figure standing before me. "Is that you, Death?" As my vision became more clear, I saw that it was my father, looking down at me while slowly shaking his head. "Oh, hey dad. How long was I out?"

"The whole night, and well into the afternoon. Damn, son, I thought I taught you better than that?"

I tried to get up to hug him, but then I felt a twinge of pain shoot through my side. "Ow! Shit!"

"Come on son, don't be a pussy."

"What's that? You brought me some pussy?" Off to the side of the room, my kids came in and hopped up on me. "Ow! Watch it."

"Sorry, Daddy." Scoots told me while burying her face in my chest.

"Dad, what happened to you and Uncle Discord?" Jack asked while sitting on the right side of my bed.

Orion came over to the left while looking me over. "Yeah, it looked like you two got fucked up."

"Orion!" Over by the door, Luna and Jackie entered the room, and Luna was glaring daggers at our son. "If I have to tell you about your language one more time, I'll wash your mouth out with soap!" Orion shut his mouth and sucked in his lips for good measure.

My wives come over and hug me on either side before Jackie asks, "Joe, what exactly happened?"

"You returned with Discord and just passed out," Lulu told me while removing the kids from my bed.

"Sigh It was a shit show. I found Discord in the sewers of Manehattan, along with Tirek. I go to save Discord and maybe chop off Tireks head while I'm there, but then he used his necklace to paralyze me before I could do anything. The bastard almost took my magic, and I think my wolf form, but then Discord went and chopped Tirek in his ass, allowing me to knock the bastard out and make our escape."

"Escape? You could have taken his head right then and there." Dad said while looking down at me with a hint of disappointment.

"Under normal circumstances, I would. But, he nearly took my magic and my wolf form, Discord needed help more than I needed to spill blood, oh and he had a whole fucking army of monsters waiting in the sewers with him!" That last part really got everyone's attention.

"He already has his army?!" A new voice, a new visitor, this time it was Celestia. She came over to stand by Luna while she asked me about my encounter. "What exactly did you see when you were there?"

"It was awful. The whole sewer system was crawling with monsters. There were trolls, ogres, timberwolves, tatzelwurms, and even draugr. Tirek must've spent all that time gathering them because those suckers were in the hundreds." This caused Tia and Lulu to break into a cold sweat. "Yeah, my thoughts exactly. Hey, speaking of Discord, where is he?" Dad moved to the side where Discord was sleeping in the other bed, and laying by his side was Fluttershy. "Huh? Good for them."

"Yeah, as soon as you guys returned, Fluttershy zoomed ahead of us and nearly squeezed the life out of the guy," Dad told me while chuckling over at the pair. His laughter soon died as the severity of the situation returned. "So, what do we do now?"

I let out a deep sigh before removing the wires from myself and getting out of bed, only to see that I only had a fucking hospital gown on. "First, I'm gonna get my pants. Then, I'm gonna see if I can activate that damn key." I almost made it out the door, but a midnight blue aura stopped me. I turned around to see two worried looks on my wives' faces as they approached. "Look, I know that I went through a dangerous situation and almost lost my magic and who knows what else, but I really-" Once again, I was silenced by the power of hugs. "Damn, that's effective."

"Honey, we know you put yourself into dangerous situations all the time, and we know there's nothing we can do to stop you, short of tying you up and gagging you." Sounds like our last Thursday night.

"But, we want to make sure that you come back to us safe and sound," Jackie told me while cuddling up to me.

I have out a huff before bringing them into a hug. "Then how about you all come with me?" Everyone nodded, liking my idea. "But seriously, where are my pants? I feel a draft."

I stood before the tree of harmony with my family and friends, and I had on a fresh pair of pants. I looked up and down the tree, recalling the last time I was here, and the message Faust had given us. "To travel the path of the Gods, and open the doors to enlightenment, a threat to all must first rise, to challenge the hero's resolve." I let out another sigh as I went over to the key and grabbed it. "If this isn't a great threat to all, then I don't know what is." I gave it a twist with the key in hand and plunged it a little further into the box. A second later, the box lit up and the light snaked its way back to the elements of harmony. Soon, the elements lit up and shot a beam of light onto the ground, revealing the hologram form of Faust. "Hello, Faust."

Faust covered a giggle with her wing before stepping forward. "Joe, we're family, you can call me mom if you like." We both smirked at each other before she directs her attention to her daughters. "My beautiful daughters, it's so good to see you two again." Celestia and Luna had tears in their eyes as they went to hug her, surprisingly, they were able to, must be crystallized light or something. When their moment was over, her smile vanished and she walked back over to me. "I believe you know that the time has come."

"After getting my ass handed to me, yeah, I think I do." She nods in understanding before heading over to the tree with me following.

When she was in front of the tree, Faust tapped her horn on the center of the element of magic. Soon, the element glowed a bright purple before it spread to the other elements, making them glow in their respective colors. As soon as the elements were lit, a door made of light opened up from the tree trunk. Within the light, a shadowy silhouette emerged from the door. As the shadow got closer, it revealed itself to be humanoid in shape and quite tall at that. With a few more steps, the silhouette emerged from the door and revealed itself to be Lord Elrond, king of the elves and the realm of Alfhiem.

Once he was past the door, he made his way over to the hologram visage of Faust. "Lady Faust. It is good to see you once again, even in your spirited form." His words held kindness and what must be Eons of wisdom.

Faust smiled back at her old friend. "It is good to see you too, Lord Elrond, though I wish the circumstances were better." They both chuckled before Faust directed him over to us, though more precisely her daughters. "Old friend, I trust you remember these two?"

Elrond turned to where Celestia and Luna stood and gave them both a big smile. "Little Celestia and Luna. Not little anymore I see, but grown into beautiful young mares, just like your mother." This made Faust giggle while making the two sisters blush. His focus then made its way to me. He approached me and gave me a look over. "So, the rumors are true then. Equestria is being looked after by a resident of Midgard. And not just any Midgardian, but the descendant of Arminius himself." Now, this piqued my curiosity.

"I am who you claim. But how do you know me through my ancestor?"

"Weren't you told? Arminius was not only the first Lycan, but he was also the son of Odin." Utter silence was met by the bombshell that the elf lord just dropped on us. "I can see this is a shock to you."

"Gee, you think?" I looked over to Celestia and gestured to myself. "Did you know that when you met him all those years ago?"

"Of course not. I didn't even know about all this stuff until later."

I grabbed Mimir from my belt and brought him face to face. "Did you know about this?"

"Aye, of course, I did, I just assumed you did as well."

"Mimir, what have I told you about assuming? When you assume, you make an ass out of you and me." I shook my head while putting him back around my belt. "Alright, putting a pin on being related to the All-father, we have a serious problem right now."

"Yes, I can already feel the disturbance. A being bent on conquest and destruction, gaining power with the magic he's stolen from others, and gathering an army of monsters." Again, we all stared at the elf as if he could read minds. "Don't be ridiculous, I can't read minds, but I do have experience with this sort of magic and madmen like the one you're up against."

"That's good. So, what do we do?"

Elrond went back to the portal before gesturing toward it. "You must travel with me to Alfhiem, along with your sons, so you can train in the ways of magic, magic strong enough to face this threat and see it defeated." How many times is this guy going to fucking shock us today?

"Okay, pump the breaks real quick. I can see how you would want me to go for these magic lessons, but why do you want my sons to come along?"

"Simple, because they too will defeat Tirek alongside their father." Faust walked behind us and wrapped her wings around her two Lycan grandchildren. "The vision I had, there were three wolves with great wings that stood against a tidal wave of evil." Faust then looked down at Jack and Orion. "Care to guess who those winged wolves are?"

" Us?" They asked in unison while pointing to themselves and me. When she nodded yes, the boys immediately attached themselves to my waist.

"Can we go with you, dad, please?" Jack asked while squeezing my leg.

"Yeah, we want to be able to help you fight the bad guy."

I looked into the eyes of both my sons and saw the determination in them, the drive that I see when I sometimes take a good look in the mirror every morning. They've proven their worth against monsters and villains before. But, this? This is something that could even give me a run for my money. At least, in the current state, I'm in. If I wanted to beat this bastard, then I needed to do this, and if I wanted to make sure my loved ones didn't suffer through what I did, then the best place for them to be was with me.

I went up to Lord Elrond and bowed my head. "We will go with you, but they come with us as well." I pointed over to my wives, the girls, Scootaloo, Celestia, Swagger, Shining, Cadence, and my Father.

Elrond looked at them before returning his sight to me. "I'm afraid that's not possible. Time moves very fast through Alfhiem. Years can go by within hours here. Those who don't have immortality running through their veins will move through Alfhiem as if they were in a pool of honey."

Pinkie appeared behind the elf king. "Oooh, I love honey. Though I never really walked through all that honey before, I bet it would be super yummy."

I grabbed Pinkie by her cotton candy mane and tossed her back over to the group. "Okay, so those who are mortal can't go, but what about these five?" I gestured to the four alicorns and Jackie, what with immortality still being in her bloodstream. "They can come with in case there's an off chance of Tirek getting to them." Before Elrond could agree or argue, Celestia stepped forward.

"As much as we appreciate the offer, we cannot go with you. If we were to leave with our magic, Tirek would destroy everything in his rage, not just take over." She then placed her wing on my arm, sending a slight tingle up it. "Go with Lord Elrond. We'll stay and protect everyone while you and the boys get stronger." She then heads over to the boys and wraps them in a hug. "Be safe my brave nephews." They returned the hug before she went back with the others.

I didn't know how long I and the boys would be gone. For them, it could be a day or even just a few hours, but for us, it'll be years before we see them again, so our goodbyes were long and meaningful. I gave each of the girls a hug while the boys were being crowded by their mothers, sister, and grandpa. Swagger and I exchanged our usual bro hug while the boys were crowded by their aunts and cousins. I brought both Jackie and Luna into a loving kiss, promising that I'll be coming home with the boys safe and sound. Finally, that left me with dad. "Well, I'll be taking the boys with me. Probably, won't even recognize either of them when they get back."

"Yeah. I imagine they'll be as tall as us."

"Yeah. They'll have all the girls chasing after them at that point." I chuckled nervously before dad couldn't take this charade anymore and brought me into a hug.

"I've had to watch you get dragged off to some other world once before. Now I have to see you do it again, this time with my grandkids in tow." While he said that, he actually had a tear in his eye. The only time I ever saw him cry, was at Mom's funeral.

I gave him a squeeze before patting his back. "Don't worry about us, it's you guys I'm worried about." We separated enough to look each other in the eye. "Take care of things while I'm gone."

Dad squeezed my shoulders before giving my shoulder a pat. "With my life, son." We both gave one last hug to each other before pulling away.

I took the boys over to Elrond by the portal while giving him a nod "We're ready."

"Very well." Elrond took the lead and went through the portal.

The boys and I stood before the light of the portal, ready to train for round two. Before we went through, all three of us took one last look at our friends and family for what may very well be a long time. They all had tears as they waved at us, and we were in no better condition than we waved to them. When we finally dried our tears, we turned back to the light of the portal. "Well boys, time to enter the land of the elves, and kick that bastard's red ass when we're done." They both gave me an excited cheer before they both jumped through. I chuckled at their enthusiasm before going through myself.

3rd POV

They all watched as Joe and his sons went through the portal to Alfhiem before it closed behind them. Applejack and Luna both had worried expressions as they saw their husband and children disappear to another realm. "Ya think they'll be alright darling?"

"I certainly hope so, dear. We just need to have faith that they'll be in good hands." Luna brought Jackie to her side as the glow from the tree disappeared, along with the hologram of Faust.

As the whole party made their way out of the cavern, the walkie-talkie along Swagger's belt started to go off. He reached for it and clicked it on. "This is General Swagger. Who is this?"

An answer came from the other end. "This is Sgt. Batista, leader of the evacuation team in Manehattan. We have most of the civilians cleared and on route to Herot. However, a few stragglers were caught in Tireks magic-sucking grip. As far as we can tell though, he's not killing them nor is his army, though I don't know how long that will last." The radio clicked off, Leaving Swagger and the others worried.

Swagger clicked the radio back on. "Understood. Just get those ponies to Herot and keep as much distance as you can from that bastard." He informed Batista before clicking off the radio. "Alright, boys and girls. The enemy is following one of the evacuation teams from Manehattan and is heading this way."

"Oh, my word!" Rarity was a tad worried.

"Eep!" Fluttershy whimpered while hiding behind her mane.

"Bring them on! I'll take them on with one hoof tied behind my back." Dash proclaimed with her usual bravado.

Pinkie reached into her mane before pulling out her party shotgun. "It's party time! P-A-R-T why? Because I gotta!" she exclaimed while pumping a cartridge into the chamber.

"I'll tear the bastard in two for sending our husband and sons away!" Applejack reared on her hooves before mashing her front hooves together while Luna ruffled her wings and ignited her horn.

"Alright, everyone just calm down!" Twilight had enough of everyone's bullshit and used the RCV for the first time to get their attention. "Now listen. The six of us are not going to just fly off half-cocked and fight against an army of monsters and a villain who can suck out magic. No, we're going to Herot and wait for the army, so we can at least have a chance of success and keeping our magic before Joe, Jack, and Orion geet back."

Celestia, Twilights mentor, second mother figure, and one of her oldest friends came to her side and draped her wing over her. "Twilight is right." Celestia looks to everyone. "This is no time for foolish choices. We must stick to the plan if we are to defeat Tirek and his forces." The others saw the logic of both Twilight and Celestia's words and went back to heading for Herot. With everyone heading to the underground kingdom, Celestia gave Twilight a slight nuzzle. "Very good, Twilight, you are learning quickly."

"Thank you, Princess." Twilight returned the nuzzle before they both followed the others.

Back at Herot.

The streets of Herot were filled with soldiers and evacuees as preparations for the upcoming battle were underway. The soldiers were marching for the exit armed to the teeth and wore both plate and mail armor. The evacuees from all over the land of Equestria did their best to get comfortable and help each other where they could. Above the streets and below the cavern's ceiling, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had a birds-eye view of the goings-on and directed those in need of assistance. Rarity and Pinkie were seen handing out warm meals and blankets to those in need on the same streets. Further down, Shining Armor and David directed the Equestrian guard to their new posts for city defense.

Up at city hall, Celestia, Luna, Applejack, Cadance, Twilight, Swagger, Mimir, Kamehameha, and a representative for the evacuation teams, sat around a circular table to report and discuss the situation at hand. The evacuation representative, a Bloodhound, went first. "From the reports we have, most of the citizens from the cities and towns have been evacuated in a timely matter."

Applejack took it from there. "That's good ta hear, but you said most. What about everyone else?"

The representative leafed through some papers he had before continuing. "From the statements, we've been given, creatures that can burrow have been seen taking ponies off the streets at night. Most of them have been reported as unicorns but there have been a few pegasi and earth ponies in the mix."

"Those must be the Tatzelwurms from Tireks army." Mimir pointed out.

Twilight felt the need to ask, "Why would they take them underground?"

"Best case scenario, they're being taken to Tirek to have their magic drained. Worst case, they're being eaten." Luna's scenarios didn't help anyone's nerves.

"Well, your highness, from what our scouts, that we put down in the hole, report that they haven't seen or smelled any blood, mainly sweat and the odor from the beast that took 'em. So it's safe to assume that they're alive, but still captured."

Cadance voiced her concerns. "What are we doing about the ones who were taken captive?"

Swagger took charge there. "We have a covert op team following all the leads with the missing ponies. Their mission is to rescue them before they can have their magic drained, if not, then we'll recover them before the unthinkable happens."

Back to Cadance. "Well, while that's being handled, what are we doing about protecting everyone here?"

Kamehameha had an answer for that. "We're depending on Herots location and secrecy from Tirek, hoping he won't find us, at least anytime soon. When and if they find us." He then nods over to Swagger.

"The Ghost Warriors and I are gonna draw Tirek and his army over to the castle, and hopefully blow them all up to shit." This got a chuckle from AJ and Twilight while everyone else at the table nodded. "As far as how we'll draw them to the castle, that's still up for debate. We'll just have to wait and see when they come."

"How long until they get near Ponyville?" Luna asked while calculating some strategies in her head.

"From the reports I've been given. Two maybe three hours." This came as a shock to everyone at the table, considering it's a five-hour journey to Manehattan by train. "My feelings exactly. Some of the creatures in Tireks army have some serious speed on them, and the draugr never seem to stop moving. As for Tirek himself. He seems to be getting bigger by the mile, confirming our suspicions of him draining ponies that lagged behind."

Celestia went and asked what was on everybody's mind. "How big is he, from the last report?"

"From the last report, he was described to be as tall as a two-story house, with about the muscle mass of two elephants." Just as he finished giving his report, his radio clicked on. He picked it up and clicked it on. "What is it Lafayette?"

"I have some bad news, Napoleon. The enemy forces have quickened their pace and are heading towards Canterlot. What are the king's orders?" Napoleon let his radio drop before looking towards the two queens of Herot, Luna, and Applejack.

Luna was the one to break the silence. "Tell them to come back to Herot as fast as they can. Once you're done with that, assemble the generals in the war room." Napoleon bowed his head before getting Layfayette on the radio and leaving the conference room. Once gone, Luna turned to the others. "There's a wide-open field between Canterlot and where they're coming from. Once the generals get here, we'll go to the war room and talk strategy." The others nodded while moving towards said war room.

An hour later, on the field of battle.

On a field below the Canterhorn, ten-thousand of Herots best warriors stood at the ready for a massive army of monsters. Each soldier was equipped with a shield, spear made of hardened polymer, a heavy studded club, and for the warriors at the front and second line, a Browning pump-action shotgun, loaded with either slug or buckshot. Halfway up the mountain, fifteen Swaggers highly trained sniper units were positioned along the rocks with a Barrett M82 sniper rifle each. Normally, the M82 is an Anti-material weapon, but for creatures like Ogres, Trolls, and Timberwolves, it's the perfect weapon.

At the frontlines of the massive army, stood the high general, Kamehameha, wearing full armor and wielding a giant two-handed ax. He took out a pair of binoculars and looked out to the horizon where he could see the beginnings of the enemy forces, nearly half a mile out. With the enemy in sight, he pockets his binoculars and turns to address the warriors in front of him.

"Men, today is a good day. The sun is shining, the sky is clear, and the enemy is marching toward their doom." The warriors started to beat their spears against their shields as their general continued his speech. Kamehameha points his ax toward the horizon. "Out there, rising over the horizon is an army that threatens not only the ponies we've been tasked by our king to protect, but threatens the very land we call home." The shield banging became louder as more warriors added to the war cry. "Well, I can tell you this right now, they will not succeed. When the survivors of this battle look back on this day, they will scream and crawl back into the darkness from wince they came!" More shouts, more shields. "Today, we meet our destiny. When the sun sets, and the dust settles, those who stand over the enemy, shall sing their song of victory when they are old and grey!" A thunderous cheer came from the army of dogs. "And for those that fall, do not be sad, for you will be escorted to Odin's great hall by the Valkyries themselves!"

"Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!" The war cry was loud and traveled far. So far, that it reached the ears of the enemy, and sent a chill of fear into the weaker masses.

So great was their fear, that many of the Draugr and Tatzelwurms fled from their ranks, only to be crushed or eaten by their larger comrades. One of the worms sunk into the ground and almost made its escape, only for a giant red hand to pull it out of the dirt and start to strangle it. With the worm in his grasp, Tirek looked toward the army at the base of the mountain and scoffed. "Pathetic. Thinking they can scare me with a bunch of mutts and a little war cry." He turned to the worm in his hand before crushing it in his grasp. After disposing of the cowardly creature, he pointed toward the mountain. "Slaughter them all!" With the order given, Tireks forces charged forward, letting out primal screams while the larger ones would crush the smaller ones under their feet.

The screams and thundering earth beneath caught the attention of the chanting army. They quite their chanting and formed ranks, shield wall in front, spears forested, and shotguns in the rear, ready to blast anything that gets close. Behind the first three lines of warriors, slingers prepared to sling grenades at the charging army before them. The rumbling became louder and more frequent as the monsters drew nearer.

Among the ranks of monsters, a troll had felt the march was going too slow and decided to push ahead of his comrades and crush those too slow to get out of the way, turning them into a pulp of broken twigs. Around him, the other trolls and even some of the ogres followed his lead and ran ahead of their comrades, causing even more devastation among their ranks before the warriors of Herot even had a chance to cause any harm to 'em. As the giant creature made it within five hundred yards of the army's line of sight, a small, fast projectile made its way through the creature's skull before a sound like distant thunder alerted the other creatures of the troll's demise.

Up, on the rocks, a german shepherd-looking diamond dog by the name of Abigail, wife of Kamehameha, ejected the spent shell from her rifle before loading another into the barrel before taking aim at another approaching behemoth. About six hundred yards and closing, a pair of ogres made a bee-line to where her husband was. Remembering the mantra GEN Swagger gave her, she took a breath and took aim. "Slow is smooth, smooth is fast." With her aim fixed, she gave the trigger a squeeze, letting another bullet find its mark.

The lead ogre had its knee cap blown out by Abigail's bullet, causing him to roar in pain while tripping forward and squashing the draugr in front of him as well as tripping the ogre that followed him, causing more bodies to be squashed before its head was blown off by another sniper.

With most of the larger threats taken care of by the sniper division, the forces of Herot had a much easier task at hand. As the first wave of Draugr drew near, the slingers launched their grenades into the sea of undead, blasting pieces of them all over and pock-marked the battlefield with craters. When the enemy got past the blast zone, they were subjugated to a forest of spears and continuos buckshot from the shotguns, spraying body parts and blood over the enemy.

At the head of the lines, Kamehameha cleaved through the enemy with his ax, like butter. A Tatzelwurm shot out of the ground and made to clamp its jaws in the warrior's neck, but its efforts were cut short when Kameha swung his ax into the monster's jaw, using the momentum to slice it in half. "Is this it!? Is this all you can muster up Tirek!?" Kameha yelled to the heavens while cleaving through five draugr with one swing.

Tirek grumbled in annoyance at the sight of his forces being slaughtered at the back of the monstrous army. "Pathetic fools. Doing more damage to themselves than those fools blocking me from my destiny." Having seen enough of his army's incompetence, he marched to the front lines while cracking his knuckles. "I swear, if you want something in this life, you have to get it yourself." As he made his way through the ranks, an orb of destructive energy formed between his horns.

Kameha vertically sliced a draugr in half before looking at something heading towards them. "What in the hell?" The object started out small but it continued to grow and became more clear. The object soon became clear as a giant fireball of death heading right toward them. "Oh shit! Move!" Kameha ordered his troops before the flaming ball could barbecue their hides. Unfortunately, the ball was large and fast enough to claim the lives of at least fifty dogs. "Nooooo! You bastard. I'll see you in Helheim for this!" Kameha yelled over to Tirek before cleaving the head of a draugr in half.

Tirek merely chuckled at the devastation he brought upon those he saw as less than him. "Ha! I do love the smell of hot dogs." Tirek stomped through the remains of the charged dogs before looking up to the castle atop the mountain. "Mhmm, excellent. I can already taste that alicorn magic within my grasp." He took in a large whiff of air to smell his prize, only to sense no magic whatsoever. "What!? Where is the magic!?" Tirek looked around for the scent of alicorn magic, only to sense it miles away from where he was. "Grrr, they will not get away from me!" Tirek charged away from the battle, crushing any who got in his way.

A few rows back, Kameha reached into his pocket and radioed Swagger. "Sir, Tirek is on route to you and Princess Twilight. We'll keep the army occupied here for as long as we can."

Ponyville, Twilights library.

"Copy that Kameha, try to stay safe out there." Swagger hung up his radio before turning to Twilight. "Tirek's on the way, you ready for this?"

Twilight, Swagger, and even Owolicious stood on the balcony of the library. Twilight was going over some notes on the distance between here and the Canterhorn while looking through a spotting scope. "Yeah, let me just crunch some numbers."

While she was doing that, Swagger took his rifle and looked through the scope to see how far Tirek was. Turns out, he was only eight hundred yards away. "Uh, Twi."

"I got it. Target sighted." Swagger shouldered his rifle while loading a round into the chamber. "Distance is eight-hundred yards and closing." Swagger adjusted his scope to compensate for the distance. "Okay, conditions are near perfect and there are no obstructions to the target."

"I got it, Twi." Swagger rested his finger against the trigger, waiting for the go-ahead from his Spotter/Marefriend.

"Hold scope. Fire when ready." Given the go-ahead from Twi, Swagger exhaled before giving the trigger a squeeze.

Bang! Crack!

The two of them watched as the bullet embedded itself into Tirek's right eye, causing him to rear up and clutch his bleeding socket. "Target hit" Swagger chambered another round into the barrel before taking aim and firing at Tirek's left foreleg. Once the bullet made contact, Tirek screamed and buckled onto the ground. "Another successful hit. Looks like we'll finish him off before-" Twilights words were cut short as she saw Tirek get back up with his eye slowly healing. "Oooh, this is not good."

Once Tirek found his balance, a large fireball formed between his horns. "And that's worse." Tirek launched the ball of destruction right at them, gaining both size and speed. "Twilight! Teleport!" Swagger grabbed Twilight and the owl as Twilight teleported them to safety. Once they appeared a safe distance away from the library, they felt a huge force explode behind them. When they looked back, the home they shared for many months was reduced to ash, burnt splinters, and a stump where the tree originated.

Seeing her home gone with a single blow from a monster, Twilight starred at the remains of her home with the thousand-yard stare. It was gone. The place where she met the ones she calls her best friends, where so many adventures began and ended, where she shared many nights with the man she confessed her love for. It was now a pile of ashes and splinters.

As Twilight kept starring at the ruined library, Swagger caught sight of Tirek entering Ponyville city limits, destroying the houses and other businesses in his path. "Twilight, we need to go." His words fell on deaf ears as Twilight kept starring with tears in her eyes. "Twilight, we need to rendezvous with the others and get to safety." Again, nothing. Swagger went around and grabbed her by the shoulders "Twilight!"

Twilight finally snapped out of her shock before looking at Swagger. "I'm... I'm sorry. It's just... it's all..." She couldn't even finish her thought before breaking down into low whimpers.

Swagger couldn't take it anymore and held Twilight in his arms. "I know Twi, I know. That was my home too, and I will miss it, but we have to go." Twilight kept trembling and really couldn't move from the spot she was in. "Sigh, okay, I got you." Swagger took Twilight over his shoulder while grabbing his rifle in the other hand and left for the castle with Owlicious following.

With the two of them heading for the castle, Tirek followed the scent of alicorn magic. "That's right Princess, flee, and lead me to the others."

Castle of the two sisters.

The Elements, Princesses, Crusaders, David, Discord, and thirty of Herots best Ghost Warriors, The Ulfhendar, stood at the ready as they waited for Twilight and Swagger to bring their prey to them. While waiting, Discord had a difficult time getting around since a lot of his energy was taken when Tirek took his magic. Luckily, Fluttershy was with him to offer support. "Discord, I know that you want to help with our fight against Tirek, but maybe you should sit down, you look a little tired."

"I thank you for your concern dear Fluttershy, but that maniac stole my magic and threatens all that I love, especially you my dear." Discord then cupped Fluttershy's cheek before giving it a kiss, making her blush. "Anyway, I need to show I can be useful even without my powers." Discord then went and spotted one of the M2 machine guns on the nearest tower. "And I think I know just how to help."

While Discord went to get an upgrade, Scootaloo looked over the battlements with her fellow crusaders, and she had a worried look. Sweetie came over to see if her friend was alright. "Everything okay, Scootaloo?"

"Not really. My dad and brothers are in another realm, my moms are stressed out at their being away, and to top it all off, we're waiting for a bad guy to come to us."

"Well, at least you have a couple of blades to help you fight. All I and Sweetie have is our hooves and wits."

"Not happening you three." The three fillies looked to Applejack as she came up to them. "You three will stay behind this wall and stay safe. I don't want anything happening to you three."

"But, Ma."

"Big, Sis"

"Enough." Luna came over and scooped the three crusaders with her magic. "I will not risk you three being hurt while a major threat is on it's" Her words were cut short as the sound of an explosion in the distance caught their attention. "Girls. Castle. Now." The girls nodded to the night princess before heading to the castle.

Celestia looked over to the treeline where she saw Swagger come out with Twilight over his shoulder. "Open the gate!" The gatekeeper opened the gate to let the princess and former Marine in. "Swagger, what happened?"

"Big and Ugly just set off the napalm, but I don't think it'll be enough to stop him!" Swagger set Twilight down, who was still shaking from the loss of her home.

"Twilight, what's wrong my faithful student?" Twilight didn't give a response, she just kept starring into space. "Twilight?" Again, Twilight remains catatonic, even in the presence of her mentor. "Twilight, speak to me. Please! Swagger, what happened to her?"

"Our plan to lead Tirek here worked a little too well. We got a couple of shots on him, but he got in an even better shot and destroyed the library." A gasp was let out after they all heard that the library had been destroyed. "What's worse, the shots we gave to the bastard began healing. It'll be harder to fight him than we originally thought."

Luna came over to offer a wing for Twilight. "That maybe, but we will still fight him nonetheless. At least, until the boys get back." A small tear could be seen leaving her eye before she grew a strong face when she heard the trees partway for something big. "Here he comes."

"Battle stations!" Swagger left Twilight with Luna as he went over to the soldiers at the gate. "Warm it all up! I want everything you've got!" Close by, an explosion from one of the land mines went off, followed by a roar of pain. "Come on you Dogs! Do you wanna live forever!?"

Once the warriors got into place, the trees exploded from the brute force of the giant centaur. "Surrender the alicorn magic to me! Now!"

Back to the battle at the Canterhorn.

Kameha sliced another Draugr in half while the other soldiers kept the fight there so the other team at the castle only had to deal with Tirek. As Kameha cracked open the skull of an ogre in half, a group of Greyhounds fought a troll using strike and retreat tactics. "That's it, you mangy dogs! Fight until there is nothing left of their forces!"

As the fighting continued, many of the soldiers started feeling fatigued and some were losing to the monsters they fought. Herots army may have better weapons and training, but Tirek's forces had the advantage of numbers, and since most of them are undead, they would never tire.

As Kameha laid waste to a few more Draugr, a Tatzelwurm exploded out of the ground and tackled him to the ground while knocking his ax out of his hands. "Grah, get off me you freak." As he struggled with the Wurm, he noticed that his troops were being pushed back by the monsters, those that weren't being eaten or crushed. "There's too many of them!" The Wurm on top of him kept snapping its jaws, trying to end his life. "Agh, help!"

As if to answer his cry for help, a giant blast of light came down in the middle of Tirek's advancing force. As the pillar of light continued, a very familiar ax flew out and started mowing down the lesser creatures with ease in an arc. The ax kept going, saving many of Herots troops in the process, including Kameha from the Wurm. Once the ax cleared the perimeter, it went back to the pillar of light, which soon faded and revealed the ax's master.

Once the light faded away, it revealed their king and princes. The king was decked out in a set of armor while the princes seemed to have aged to full-grown men.

With the appearance of the Lycan family, the hope of victory was restored to the dogs, so much so, that Kameha had to gloat. "Hahaha, you guys are so screwed now!"

As the enemy forces looked on in fright, Joe and his sons made their way towards them. "Bring me, Tirek!" He and his sons then charged at the enemy. While Jack and Orion started hacking and smashing the enemy, Joe jumped high into the air before coming down in the middle of a group of Draugr with his ax raised. Once he landed, he plunged his ax into the ground, causing a shockwave to spread through the enemy ranks while spikes of ice erupted in all directions, impaling many of the monsters in the process. After Joe recovered from his landing, he starred at the massive hoard in front of him with a smirk. "So, who's next?"

Back at the castle of the Two Sisters.

"Keep firing you mutts! I want to see lead flying here!" Swagger ordered while he himself fired his pistol at the bastard's head.

Tirek had his arms raised to take the brunt of the assault while moving toward the castle. "Fools! Mere pebbles will not stop me from achieving my destiny!"

As Tirek drew closer, a group of ten Ulfhendar charged at Tirek with shotguns at the ready and surrounded the centaur. Once in position, they started firing slugs at the brutes joints and abdomen, causing him to buckle and clutch his sides in pain. "Good going guys! Keep pouring it on!" As Swagger praised the Ulfhendar and their tactics, Tirek bellowed with rage before swiping his massive arm and wiping away the dogs attacking him. "Fuck! We need more firepower!"

As Tirek got up and his wounds began to heal, a hail storm of lead came raining down from one of the towers and onto the bastard's head. When Swagger and the others turned to see who was firing, they saw that Discord was operating one of the machine guns with a manic grin on his face. "You may have my magic, but I'm still the master of chaos!" Discord exclaimed while concentrating fire on Tirek's genitals.

Tirek had enough abuse and fired a wild shot at the wall of the castle, causing a large explosion to scatter the forces and damage the castle. The wall crumbled and large stones fell around the grounds, causing many to flee from the debris. Near that wall, the Crusaders huddled together for safety as the battle raged on. While they huddled together, a large stone was dislodged from the wall and started to fall towards them. Scootaloo heard the shifting of the stone and saw that the large stone was falling towards them. She could easily fly away, but then she would leave her friends to die. She didn't have the strength to save all three of them, and she couldn't live with herself if she was only able to save one of her friends. Seeing no other real option, she held her friends tight, closed her eyes, and waited for the inevitable.

As Scootaloo waited to die, she felt herself being carried away with her friends. At first, she thought that she and her friends had been carried off to Odin's hall by one of the Valkyries as her father told her would happen when she dies. When she opened her eyes, she didn't see a shield maiden carrying her to Valhalla, she saw instead the white coat of her aunt, Princess Celestia. "Aunt Tia? You saved us."

"Of course, I did. I wasn't about to have my family get crushed by a slab of stone." Celestia hugged the three fillies to help calm them down from their ordeal. After another explosion, Celestia herded the fillies away from the battle. "Now come along, get inside where it's safe." As the four of them made their way inside, David came out the front gate, armed with his son's AA12 and fully wolfed out. "David, what are you doing?"

"Doing what needs to be done. Fighting that bastard head-on!" David rushed past them and bound over the castle wall before racing toward the centaur. Once he was at a good range from his target, he aimed the gun at the red freak before emptying the first drum into the bastard's side, exposing the bones and organs beneath.

The pain was too much for Tirek and he collapsed in a puddle of his own blood and guts. "Ragh! You miserable bastard. Your skin will hang on my wall once I'm through with you!" David merely chuckled while he signaled for the others to hold fire. As he got closer, he took out his son's handgun and aimed it at the bastard's eye. As Tirek glared up at the old Lycan, he simply chuckled. "You should've kept your distance, mongrel."

"But then I'd miss the sight of your brain splattering over the ground." David cocked back the hammer and aimed between the centaur's eyes. As he fingered the trigger and got ready to pull, but when he tried, he found that he couldn't even twitch his finger. "What the fuck is going on!?" As he pondered his state of immobility, Tirek got up while his wounds started to heal, and the amulet around his neck glowed. "Ah fuck."

"Indeed." Tirek swiped David with his massive hand and started to squeeze him. As the others rushed to save the old wolf, Tirek used David as a shield to halt their advance. Once the warriors stopped their advance, Tirek chuckled while David struggled in his grasp. "I told you that you should have kept your distance." His grip grew stronger as David kept struggling. "You know, that alicorn mutt denied me his power the other day. What say you take his place?" Tirek brought David close then hyperextended his jaw.

"Fucking shit, take a fucking mint." As he was still in his grip, he felt his wolf side leave him. "Oh fuck."

Canterhorn. Joe's POV

.

I ripped another Draugr in half while crushing a Tatzlewurms skull with my boot. As I threw the two pieces of dead flesh to the side, I saw that Jack smashed a troll in the gut with his hammer, causing bits of flesh to fly everywhere. On the other side of the battlefield, Orion was turning everything in his path into bloody strips of flesh. Our onslaught of the enemy continued till the enemy dwindled to a small handful. Seeing their numbers so low, the rest of the army turned tail and ran for their lives.

With the enemy broken and beaten, I went over to Kameha, who was sporting a few new scars. "Old friend, are you alright?"

Kameha stood from the boulder he sat on before standing before me. "Don't worry my king, I had worse from shaving. Our forces on the other hand. Well, just look." He and I surveyed the battlefield where we saw the scattered bodies of our fallen brethren. "I'm sorry your Highness, but they died as warriors."

"I know, I saw them enter through the doors of Valhalla myself." My words seemed to have caught my general off guard, judging by the look he gave me. "I suppose I should enlighten you. The time I and the boys spent in Alfhiem was only for about sixteen years in their time. We trained, we learned, and gained a new perspective on what we can do. On our last day of training, Lord Elrond took us to Asgard, where we met with the gods themselves." My story intrigued him and some of the dogs who came to listen. "There, we met with our grandfather, the Allfather Odin. He rose from his seat and embraced the three of us before naming us protectors of Equestria. Before we left, Odin took me aside and gave me this armor as well as a title."

Kameha looked a bit nervous as he went to ask, "And... what title might that be, my king?"

"Boys. You are looking at Equestria's first, and only, god of war." The reaction was instantaneous as all the surrounding dogs gasped before kneeling toward me. "No! Do not kneel!" This made most of my subjects flinch at my outburst. "You are all warriors who have fought against a horde of monsters. You will bow to no one, rather, you shall stand proud for what you have done this day." Slowly, every dog got up and nodded my way. When my sons walked over to me, one question remained. "Where's Tirek?"

"My lord, General Swagger and Princess Twilight led him to Ponyville."

"Thank you, old friend. Come on boys, we have a centaur to kill." The boys and I took off towards Ponyville to see if the bastard was there. As we drew near to the town, we saw the devastation that creature did to our home. Homes and businesses were damaged and burnt while debris lay across the streets. Luckily, no one was here to get hurt. When we made it to the library, we had to land after seeing the shocking sight before us. "Odin's beard."

We all stared at the burnt stump that was once the library and had to force back our rage, if only for the moment. Orion went up to the stump and brushed his hand along the splintered stump. "He will pay for this."

"Don't worry son, he will. Right now, we need to meet up with the others at the castle." The boys and I looked once more at the library before taking off for the castle. As we flew over the forest, we heard screams and gunshots coming from the castle. Fearing the worst, the boys and I picked up our speed, hoping to end whatever's happening quickly. After we came to a clearing, we saw that Tirek had sucked out the magic out of some poor being. "Oh no you fucking don't" I made to dive-bomb the bastard and take his head, but as I got closer, I saw who he had in his grasp. "Dad!"

"Son." Dad sounded weak, and his body looked like a stiff breeze would snap him in half. "Run." Tirek chuckled while he held my father like a ragdoll.

"You should listen to your father, worm. You may have new armor and two allies with you, but you will still bow before me." He held up my father like a damn trophy while sneering at us. "With the power of this old dog, I'll have that alicorn magic by the end of-" His rant was cut short as he started coughing. The coughing soon turned to choking and hacking as black liquid started coming out of his mouth. The liquid that hit the ground sank in before wolfsbane grew. "What is happening?" As he kept hacking, his rage then turned to dad. "You! You did this to me!" Before any of us could react, he flung my father down the ravine.

"Dad!" I dived after him while my sons took on that bastard. When I looked over the edge, I saw my father sprawled at the bottom of the ravine, barely breathing. I jumped down to the bottom and brought him into my arms. "Dad, look at me, you're going to be alright!" Tears began to form as I held my dad's broken body in my arms. "We're going to get you out of here and take you to a doctor, get you all better, you'll see!" I made to move him from this place, but he just laid his hand on my shoulder.

"Son. You can't save me, I'm too far gone."

"The hell you are! Come on, a little thing like this isn't going to finish you off!" My tears started falling freely as the realization that I'd be losing my father was becoming more real by the second. "I don't want to lose you."

In response, dad slapped me across the face. "You cut out the water-works, ya hear me. We both knew this day would come, I just didn't figure that a centaur would be the cause of it." Dad starts to cough as the pain was catching up to him. "My gun, give it to me." I reached into his holster, and pulled out his old Colt .45, and placed it in his hand. He gripped the gun with his last bit of strength before smiling at me. "I'll tell your mother you said hi." With one final breath, he closed his eyes and let the Valkyries carry him away.

As I kneeled by my father's body, I heard the fight above with my sons and Tirek, and my despair turned to white-hot rage. I placed my father against the tree of harmony and started my way out of the canyon while turning full Lycan. When I saw that my sons were struggling with Tirek, who seemed to recover from my dad's Lycanthrope, I unsheathed my ax and lept for that bastard's face while unleashing a long and loud roar.

The noise caught the asshole's attention as he turned away from the boys and directed it at me. Before he could do anything, I plunged my ax into one of his eyes while blasting that damn necklace off him. With him still crying in pain, I made him look me in the eye. "You killed my father. Your ass is mine!" With my declaration made, I slashed at his one good eye before jumping down next to my boys.

"Gah! You miserable bastard! When my sight returns, I'm gonna skin you all alive!"

"You won't get the chance." I nodded to my sons, to attack while I summoned my shotgun and used it to blow off his knees. With him bent over, clutching his wounds, Jack came up from behind and shattered Tirek's hind legs with Earthquake. With Tirek immobilized, Orion sliced his side of with Nightfall, exposing the bones and organs.

While we admired our good work, we saw that his injuries began to heal rapidly. "Hahaha! Insolent fools! You can slice and blast me till all that's around us is dust, but you will never defeat me!"

"That's what you think." I used Frostbite to blast his legs, turning them into a block of ice. As he struggled to escape his icy prison, I sauntered over while letting loose a chuckle. "In my time in Alfhiem, I've studied the method you used in taking magic from other beings. As I kept studying the method, I found that once the beings method of producing magic is taken away, then all the magic that was stolen goes back to the original owners." Tirek's struggle became more frantic as it started to dawn on him where I was going with this. "So, I believe it's time to give all those ponies back their magic."

"Grah! You will never defeat me. I am Lord Tirek!" Tirek broke free from his entrapment before forming the biggest ball of black magic I've seen him do yet. "Prepare to join your father in the mud!" He then launches the ball of energy at us. Before it could consume us, Jack stepped forward and used his hammer to bash it back at Tirek. "What!?" The dark energy hit him right in the chest, causing him to scream in agony, guess he can't take his own medicine.

While Tirek spasmed from the dark spell that was sent back at him, Orion went and sliced off one of Tireks legs, making him fall from the loss of his limb. With him down, I decided that we were done playing with our opponent and decided to end his power source. "You took away the man who raised me. I think it's only fair I take away something from you." I raised my ax and aimed for the base of one of his horns.

Before I could hack off the bastard's horns, Tirek grabbed me with one of his oversized hands while the spell affecting him transferred to me. "You will not defeat me so easily!" His jaws widened as he got ready to take my magic. Before my aura could even leave me, a powerful lavender blast hit Trek right in the side of his head, releasing me from his grip.

When I looked to see who caused the blast, I saw that Twilight had landed and her horn was glowing, and she was pissed off. "That's for destroying my home you fucking prick!" Holy shit. I never thought I would hear Twilight curse. Before Tirek could recover and attack her, I took the opportunity to slice off his left horn.

"Arrrgh!" While he clutched at the stump in agony, magic started spewing out and into the world. Not wanting to miss a step, I went ahead and sliced off his other horn, increasing the flow of magic. With his horns gone, the magic he stole from everypony and magical creature, came out of the stumps like a geyser. While the magic kept pouring out and returning to their rightful owners, Tirek shrunk significantly to the point where he was just a little taller than me, and with the body of a frail old man. With him weak and unable to flee, I grabbed him by the throat before knocking his ass out.

With him knocked out and the immediate threat is gone, everyone held up in the castle came down to see the changes the boys and I went through. Luna stood in front of Orion before she asked, "Sweetie. Is that really you?"

"Yeah, mom, it's me." Orion brought her in a hug while Jack did the same with Jackie. Their mothers hugged them back and cried tears of joy. Guess seeing our boys all grown up after what was only a few hours for them but years for us must be a bit shocking.

As the boys reunited with their mothers, Tia and Scootaloo rushed me and squeezed me tight. "Daddy! You're back." She then looks at the armor that I'm wearing. "What are you wearing?"

"Armor, given to me by Odin. Now come here, I haven't seen you in sixteen years." I brought my daughter in for another hug, having been separated from her for soo long. I then brought Tia into the hug. "It's good to see you to Tia."

"Oh, it...it's good to see you too Joe." She sounded a bit flustered, but I chalked it up to her being relieved that the enemy was taken care of.

I let Tia go as I took Scoots over to her mothers and brothers. I brought the six of us into a group hug while tears started forming again. "We've missed you every day we were in Alfhiem, and feared we would be too late." I then remembered all the dogs laying dead at the base of the Canterhorn, and my father leaning against the tree, gone from this world forever. "In a way, I guess we were." I separated from them as went back down the ravine and retrieved my father's body. While I made my way back up, the crystal box that grew from the ground fell and landed by my foot.

Remembering what Faust said about the box, being a gift for Twilight, I grabbed it off the ground and pocketed it for later, before going back up with the others with my dad in my arms.

Two hours later in a field by the Ponyville falls.

We gathered the bodies of the fallen and had them wrapped in linen while placing them on a large funeral pyre, with dad at the center of it. A large crowd gathered around the pyre to see them off into paradise, many of them crying at the loss of a loved one. As we made preparations to send them off, the boys and I explained our change and new roles in the world. Off to the side near the woods, Discord was gathering wood with Fluttershy and I saw that they would share an occasional kiss. I guess some good came out of this incident after all.

While gathering more wood for the pyre, I couldn't help but stare at the eyesore that was Twilights new castle. "Can't believe that box grew into that thing? It doesn't even look like something Twilight would live in."

Swagger walked by with more linen before patting my shoulder. "It's better than having no home at all." He then directs his attention at the chained-up centaur. "So, what are we going to do with him?"

I starred at the broken-down centaur and let out a growl. "You'll see, soon enough." As the final pieces of the pyre were set, and the last of the bodies was set on the wood, I grabbed Tirek by his chains and dragged him into the center of the crowd. With him brought out for all to see, I hefted him off the ground and made myself heard. "Citizens of Equestria, hear me now! This piece of shit is charged with the crimes of stealing magic, declaring war, kidnapping, and murdering our loved ones!" This made many in the crowd angry and call for blood. Well, I won't disappoint them. "So! Before we send our warriors and loved ones to join Odin in his hall, let us first avenge them, by sending their killer to Helheim!" This made everyone cheer as I brought Tirek next to the pyre.

My sons got on each side of Tirek and held out his arms. With him secured, I went behind him while taking out my Bowie knife. I heated the blade with my magic and placed it at the top of Tireks spine, slowly cutting into the flesh on his back. My ears were numb to the sounds of his screams and protests for me to stop as I continued cutting into his back. Once the first task was done, I cracked his ribs with my bare hands, allowing access to his lungs. I reached inside his back and pulled out his lungs before hanging them over his shoulders, cutting off his air supply. When the life finally left his eyes, my sons launched him into the forest, where the creatures could deal with his body.

With Tirek out of the way, the real funeral began. A few warriors had gathered near the pyre and brought out an instrument or grouped into a choir. Once they were organized, they began to play as the rain started to come in.

I made my way to the center of the pyre and turned to the gathered masses. "Today, we honor the brave warriors that died to defend not only this land but our very lives. They fought bravely and died with honor, history will remember them as heroes, and their families will no doubt carry on their legacy." I went over to the body of my father and placed a hand on his head. "Amongst these brave warriors, is my father. The man who raised me and taught me everything I knew before coming to this world." I sniffled a bit as this was starting to get to me. "As a kid, he was my whole world. He taught me how to fight, how to hunt, how to be the kind, caring man that I am today." My tears started falling freely at this point. "We're all saying goodbye to someone near and dear to us. All we can do is live the lives they gave for us well."

I stepped off the giant pyre before taking my position to light the fire. When my sons stood at their end of the pyre, we all lit the wood aflame and returned to our family to watch the fire consume the bodies. Once the fire spread throughout the whole thing, the boys and I let out a prayer.

"Lo, there do I see my father.
Lo, there do I see my mother, my sisters, and my brothers.
Lo, there do I see the line of my people, back to the beginning.
Lo, they do call to me and bid me take my place among them.
In the halls of Valhalla, where the brave may live forever."

We all watched as the fire kept going, consuming the bodies of the glorious dead until they were nothing but ash. As the hours went by, the crowd would thin out till it was only me, Luna, Jackie, my kids, and Tia. As the last few rays of light disappeared over the hill, I was left alone to stare at the spot where my father was burnt to ash. After another hour or so of starring, I finally broke down on my knees and cried over the loss of my father.

Author's Note

Sorry, it took soo long for this chapter to get done, but I've been going through an emotional rollercoaster as of late. I won't go into detail, but it's nothing serious I can assure you.

Anyway, the next chapter will be a bit short and already planned, so it shouldn't be too long a wait.

And now, the clips.