Grim/Noire

TWILIGHT POV

Twilight,

I need you back in Equestria immediately. Tirek, a powerful enemy who can steal magic has broken free from Tartarus. You need to meet with the elements at the Tree of Harmony. The power to defeat him lies there. However, before you do, use the teleportation scroll to teleport back to Canterlot. More instructions will be given to you then. Be safe.

Princess Celestia

Once I had finished the short letter, I felt my mind panic as I began hyperventilating. "Who's Tirek? Why is he here? Why now of all times?" I felt my mind bounce around many questions with no time to answer, but a claw had poked my side. Spike had picked up the letter that I had dropped prior to my panic.

"Twilight, we have to go." He said with all the confidence he could muster. That alone was enough to get me back on track. It was a shame that we were leaving Tidal and Noire but all we could do was hope they would be okay. I pulled out the two scrolls and a thought quickly came to me.

"Seahoof, you're going to have to stay here a bit longer. Equestria is under attack and we can't bring you into the middle of it. Once we're done, we'll have a ship ready to pick you up." Seahoof nodded in understanding and Ignia put a claw on his shoulder, assuring me he would be in safe hands. I gave one of the scrolls to Spike and we both unravelled them. Instantly we were teleported back to Canterlot Castle.

NOIRE POV

Torch had dropped us off a mile away from our destination ,to prevent any suspicion, and before leaving, he gave us a bit of advice "That place you're going to better be left without a scratch. The place you said Grim is hiding is the corpse of Ignius, the first dragon king himself. While I don't value bloodlines as much as Ignia, I do respect our progenitor's grave. Plus, if anything happens, you will be incurring a wrath mightier than the princesses," he said in a dark tone before taking off. I kept his words in mind as I had the feeling that the wrath of a dragon queen was something I was not ready to confront. For a while, Tidal and I walked in silence, the only sound being the rocks from beneath our feet. However, I was distracted from my mission by a feeling of dread, the same cold shiver along my spine that I felt when I was on the boat. This time, I couldn't deny it anymore: something is wrong. I thought of Cadance and if she was okay as the dragon skeleton came into view. At that point, the mission began to blur in my mind as the sensation grew. I was pulled out of my messy thoughts by Tidal, who quickly noticed my distant look.

"You said that the entranced was in the skeleton's maw, right?" she asked with a straight face. My mouth wouldn't move enough to say 'yes' so I simply nodded and continued walking "Stay focused, Noire. We're here." She sternly directed my focus back on the skeleton, reminding me we had a job to do. I found myself wondering for a brief moment how much of her no-nonsense attitude I would have to experience when/if we became a couple. With my focus restored, I inspected the remains of the dragon king. The skeleton was easily as big as a football stadium, with the remains of its wings acting like a roof. As we approached the maw of the corpse, I ran my hand along the bony surface, hoping to find the way to activate the secret entrance but to no avail. "Have you found anything yet?" Tidal asked, checking the empty space where organs would originally be.

"No. It's weird but I can't sense Grim anywhere around here. Normally, I can feel his presence but instead, there's this... emptiness."

"Because we're in a skeleton corpse?" She asked with a deadpan tone. I rolled my eyes at this.

"Yes, that but also the feeling we're being watched. Can't you feel it too?"

Tidal was silent for a moment before answering "Now that I think about it, I have felt weird, discomfort in my stomach since we got- AH!" I heard her scream and without question, rushed over to find her on the ground in pain and menacing knight standing over her, with a black and green great sword in hand. He was covered in black, chitin armour with a short, green cape. While his appearance was even more different than our last encounter, I was sure it was him. I was reunited with Shining Armour.

"It's good to see some of my close friends but I gotta ask the hell you think you're doing," he said with mock joy in his voice "In fact, I should be asking if you really thought if you could really snoop inside Grim's mind unnoticed, a novice like you?"

"Shit. So he knew the entire time," I cursed to myself as I helped Tidal to her feet "Tidal. What do we do? Do we retreat and regroup?" I asked her. Once she had regained her bearings, she stood tall once again and summoned her broadsword as well as creating a water sword.

"We stay and fight. If they are so eager to defend this place, it probably has something important and Shining is just here to stall for time while Grim packs up and retreats. If we leave now, this whole mission will be for nothing. Understand?" I simply nodded and summoned my blade, instantly transforming it into its Duoblade form.

"Good. Now let's see how you do against a Changeling King!" he said before charging at us, swinging his sword at me first but Tidal summoned a wall of water to stop him. However, Shining merely swung his sword at the wall and immediately stormed right through it. I got in front of Tidal and clashed with Shining, our eyes inches away from each other "How's it been, Noire? Paying colt- I mean- boyfriend to the princess of love?" He sent me flying backward with a wave of his sword, sending shockwaves throughout the area.

"He's strong. Even stronger than the last time we met." I teleported behind him and attacked him with two sword waves in the shape of an X. He blocked them easily, but I didn't relent, throwing several attacks at him, forcing him back a bit.

"Not well, I'm presuming. She was always a romantic type. Always about the beauty of a relationship. Handholding, kissing, whispering sweet nothings while cuddling in bed. It honestly makes me want to puke when I think about it now." He went back on the offensive, attacking me with an overhead swing. I attempted blocking it but the impact still hit me hard and I buckled under the power, collapsing to my knees "I was held back from fulfilling my role because of her selfish need for affection, for validation as the princess of love, but that's over now. I may have betrayed my country, but I've found my place. As her majesty's knight!" He tried attacking me once more to finish me off, but a barrage of magic blasts sent him back, right into a nearby rock, creating a large explosion. Tidal stood above me and lifted me back to my feet.

"Our Shining really is gone. It would be better to call him a ruined set of armour than anything," she said as Shining- or should I say Ruined Armour- slowly got back to his feet with a sickly look on his face "No more holding back. Fight to kill." At first, I couldn't believe what she had said but she was right. I took a deep breath, summoning my Longblade, but something in me said if I was aiming to kill, I need more power. My swords, glowing blue, changed to glow a deep crimson, forming the Savageblade instead. This still wasn't enough. I entered my unbound form, with my right iris turned red with a black sclera and my left eye turned golden yellow. Tidal took notice of my transformation and asked, "Are you still in there?" with a hint of worry in her voice.

"Yeah. Just fine."

WINDY POV

I barely managed to reach the Everfree Forest by sunrise and I was tired as all Tartarus. I was charged with protecting the elements until Tirek was defeated and I was going to see it through. However, my thoughts went back to those faceless women, wondering what their connection to Grim was. "Were they a black ops squad tasked to pick us off while Chrysalis escaped with her captives?" I thought, remembering the scene of gore I had witnessed. I clenched my fist in anger "Dammit. He was one step ahead of us the entire time. This is no different from back then," I immediately brushed those thoughts out of my head "Stop reminiscing. You've got a job to do." I thought as landed at the entrance to where the Tree of Harmony used to be. Instead it was replaced with a crystal podium, bearing six key-shaped holes. I saw five of the elements in the cave where the podium was stored but Twilight was found. "Where's Twilight?" I asked.

"She's supposed to be coming soon." the white one, Rarity, said.

"I hope she doesn't get hurt on the way here," Fluttershy added.

"Oh, don't worry Fluttershy. Twilight's a tough cookie. Ah' believe she'll get here just fine," Applejack patted the pegasus on the back. While we were waiting, we heard the sound of foot steps from outside and Twilight and Spike stepped into the cave. However, Twilight was a bit taller than usual, standing just as tall as me, and was sporting her own pair of wings. We were all surprised to say the least.

"Twilight! Are you an-" I asked but Twilight cut me off.

"An alicorn, yes. Princess Celestia and Cadance had to give me their magic to prevent Tirek from getting it," she interrupted, with a few tears streaming from her face. I took this as a sign things had gotten worse.

"Does this mean-"

"Yes. Celestia and Cadance have been taken as well." The cave fell silent for a moment before Rainbow decided to speak up.

"Let's look on the bright side here guys. With Twilight with the strength of two alicorns, she should easily take care of this clown!" she said optimistically.

"Yeah we can beat this sucker!" Pinkie added.

"No, we can't." All eyes turned to Twilight. She looked absent, staring at nothing.

"What do you mean we 'can't'?" I asked. Twilight was silent so Spike told us everything.

SPIKE POV, MOMENTS BEFORE TIREK'S ATTACK

As we fled from Canterlot, Twilight began to feel really antsy, as if she was a bottle full to bursting. I was worried that all the magic was too much for her to handle. I knew she was the element of magic, but she looked like she was going to explode any minute. Even the guards were getting anxious. "Twilight. Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm just fi-" That was when she felt it. She started frantically begging for the guards to turn around. I tried calming her down, but it was no use. She was completely hysterical. "PLEASE! PLEASE TURN AROUND! IF YOU DON'T, CELESTIA AND CADANCE WILL DIE! PLEASE!" I tried holding her back, but she was too strong. She eventually jumped out of the carriage and was about to fly to Canterlot, but it was too late. A large dome of red, black, and green energy consumed the city until it quickly vanished. Twilight looked at the city in horror. The city was intact, every stone was left unscathed but she looked at it like it had been reduced to ruins. I could tell what had happened as well. The sudden emptiness in the air was undeniable. That was when a red and black centaur blew a hole in the castle and slowly walked in our direction, shooting lasers from the space between his horns. All around us, domes of the same energy appeared and vanished. We could feel Tirek look at us with such a maniacal grin and continue his stride. Twilight got back in the carriage.

"Go faster." The pegasi did not resist and flew at top speed. They knew the horror we had just witnessed.

WINDY POV

"Tirek is even more powerful than we imagined. He stole all of Equestria's magic in a matter of seconds." Twilight said simply, huddled against the wall like a scared filly. I wouldn't blame her after what she had witnessed. All Equestria had been stripped of magic and her princesses, her mentor and once sister-in-law, captured. Potentially dead if Tirek is willing to go that far. "His power exceeds that of two alicorns now."

"What about here? How come the attack didn't take any of our magic?" I asked.

"Possibly because of the artefact," she said, pointing to the podium "It must have a field that he can't absorb."

"So, we still have a chance. Whatever is inside of this box must have the power to defeat Tirek if he can't-"

"BUT WHAT'S THE POINT!" she yelled. We all were shaken by her outburst "We don't have enough keys to open it and Tirek will be here in a matter of minutes! We don't have time for another friendship adventure. There's nothing to do but wait for the inevitable. My brother is gone to the enemy and my ex sister-in-law is a whorse who probably has her man-slave tasked with killing. My mentor is captured, possibly dead, and everypony's telling me to look on the bright side BUT WHERE IS IT?! Let's just face it: we lost this time." Her words were like shards of glass, wounding her bit by bit as she let months of pain free for her friends to hear. Pinkie's hair had flattened and everypony else was left either shocked or downtrodden by her words. However, I saw my reflection in those glass shards. Of a pony who lost too many things. I crouched down and gave her the biggest hug I could give.

"I know this pain, Twilight. I know the feeling of loss. I'm sure you've been keeping this inside for a while. However, I need you to stand. Celestia would want you to. We all need you to. Don't let this be for nothing." Twilight looked at me with bloodshot eyes and a snotty nose. I pulled out a handkerchief and gave it to her. The handkerchief had scorch marks on its tips, but it worked fine. "You have to be very lucky to go your whole life without losing something and a lot of the ponies you've thrown the blame at aren't that lucky. I saw Cadance and Shining's relationship fall apart for a while. Longer than anypony else. As for Noire, he's working hard to protect everypony, not just Cadance, because he has a kind soul. Too kind, if you ask me, but whatever. What I'm trying to say is you need to shoulder your own losses or else you'll fail everypony who have put their faith in you." Thuds began to ring from outside, shaking the ground "So stand, Twilight. Stand." The thuds became impossible to ignore as they threatened to destroy the cave. Rocks began to rain down from the roof and the five elements huddled together. As a large rock descended on them, a bubble of magic appeared around them, shattering them rock. They looked to Twilight, standing tall.

"Thank you..." she trailed off.

"Windy Wings. Or Windy to my friends," I said stretching my hand to her. She happily accepted and we shook hands. With that, she quickly flew out of the cave to face Tirek.

TIDAL POV

"Buy me some... time," Noire said through clenched teeth. It was clear he was struggling to hold back Grim's influence on his soul. I silently and rushed Shining with a flurry of sword strikes from my broadswords, which Shining almost managed to block before receiving a harsh stab to the gut. e let out a guttural scream and threw me away, dropping his great sword and holding his wound. I stared at his hand, leaking green blood.

"So that's it. Normally he would be able to block all of those attacks with impeccable defence, but something's different." I thought as wound began to heal "He's not accustomed to his new, changeling body. This is most likely his first fight after his transformation. Noire! It's now or never!" I yelled at him as I kept attacking him with multiple magic blasts to keep him at bay. Noire threw the sword high up into the air only for it to stop in mid-air.

"Final Decode: MURASAME!" The sword rocketed towards Shining like a rocket and stabbed him right through the chest. The sword then made a U turn and delivered several more attacks relentlessly and finished by descending on him, creating a large explosion. The explosion was so large, even I was blown back but was caught by Noire, who appeared to be losing more control as his left sclera was black, maintaining its yellow iris "Are you alright?" He asked with concern. I dusted myself off and lightly punched him on the arm. However, I kept my eyes on the dissipating dust clouds.

"I should ask that to you. You're losing it again." I said angrily.

Noire summoned the blade back to his hand and looked at his reflection within it. With the realisation, he felt the pain of a thousand knives at his brain, falling to his knees "Is he... dead?" I looked at what remained after the attack and I'll say, while he was still alive, he certainly should've been dead. One side of his head was completely fleshless, leaving behind a skeleton while other areas like his legs, right arm and chest, looked decimated. However, this didn't seem to faze him for long as he regenerated with more changeling features, including a sickly green iris with a black sclera.

"You know... that wasn't bad. Its a shame my love for Chrysalis has made me nigh invincible. However, you have succeeded on one end." He levitated his sword to his hand and split it in two, creating two large longswords "You have ROYALLY PISSED ME OFF!!!" His magic began to expand exponentially, creating shockwaves just by standing. I was beginning to think of retreating. I was terrified of this monster that was born before our eyes but Noire began to smile sinisterly.

"You know I was beginning to think I was wasting my time here but I can see getting the opportunity to kill you after you beat me last time makes this trip worth it..." A red aura began to ooze from Noire body like tendrils "Now let's begin our rematch. One on one," he finished, pushing me aside. He succumbed. His left iris turned red, completing his transformation. He shot towards Shining and locked blades with him. They both grinned ecstatically at each other before they both kicking the respective fighter's gut. They staggered back a bit before re-engaging, matching the other's attack blow for blow. Each clash resulted in a wave of conflicting energy that threatened to destroy the entire skeleton. I stretched an arm out to the silhouette of my love but another hand held me back. I knew that if I went any closer, the violent energy would quickly destroy me. Even as I stood as far away from the conflict as possible, I felt my armour starting to melt. I quickly took it off and threw it aside before it turned into a puddle of metal. I moved further away from the battle from then, although it still hurt.

"Noire! Please snap out of it!" I pleaded through our mental link but hit with a mental slap to the face as Noire pushed me out "Please. I can't lose you too..."

GRIM-NOIRE POV

I was fighting Shining, relentlessly attacking him. However, what I saw was a destroyed land, barren and burning with the flames of war. In front of me stood Grim, looking down on the chaos. "I will reset it all. Equus, the galaxy and from there, the universe. I will become God to erase any speck of darkness, creating an Earth where I will have never failed."

The flames died out and were suddenly replaced with a field of flowers. In the distance was an alabaster figure, Celestia, in a wedding gown. His normal black cloak was replaced with a tuxedo as he ran towards her "And will have never made the mistake of hurting you," he said, his voice now become less distorted and more human "I will know rest." As soon as the couple united, they shared a passionate kiss and the expanse seemed to be bathed in a blinding light. It was then that I understood.

"We really are becoming one and the same." I thought as I saw my fight with Shining going rather poorly, with me losing more ground, receiving more injuries and eventually being stabbed in the chest. I heard a loud scream from next to me and saw Tidal yelling out my name but with no words coming out. She ran to me, tearing up as she summoned a large water trident. "I became more obsessed with taking everything on myself," I said to myself as I slowly walked to my beaten and bruised body. As I walked, memories started to appear one by one "I thought I had to bear it all, and I pushed away a lot of loved ones," I passed by an image of Cadance yelling at me "I thought I had to take every role to be of some use," Above me was Windy, giving me his words of brotherly wisdom "I thought that if I did all of this then maybe," A lie formed before my eyes. A picture of my mother smiling at a little me "I could feel like dad didn't raise a doomed child,"

"But that was all wrong." I pushed the lie aside.

"I don't need to be everything. I want to be me." I walked up to my body, collapsed and barely breathing, with Tidal holding me tight and healing my wounds. Shi- Ruined Armour stood above her raising a blade before bringing it down on us. It all seemed to pass in slow motion. I picked up my broken body and walked inside, as if possessing an old body. Or a new one.

"I will protect you all. My family."

I stood tall and caught Ruined Armour's blade with my hand "Tidal. Thank you for protecting me," I said graciously, crushing the blade in my grip. Shining stood back, astounded by my feat of strength "Because you protected me..." I turned to face her, revealing royal blue eyes "I have found my way once again."