Strength Beyond Strength

"I need you all to listen to me very carefully. If we get separated, we could die out here. We need to stick together, no matter what."

"Understood," Twilight assured Chris.

"Okay. Let's move in."

Chris drew his gun and led the party into the woods.

"This looks like a good place to set up camp. Scramble in an extended circle and collect supplies. I'll be here in the middle in case anything happens."

"Right," everyone agreed before scattering.

The first night was uneventful. Supplies were gathered and divided among the group. With stress levels at a minimum, less energy was required. Little food was consumed to stretch out what they had. Sitting around the campfire, they began talking.

"Hey, Chris," Twilight said.

"Yeah?"

"I remember now; all of it. There were so many timelines it's impossible to count."

"What else do you remember?"

"There are so many unusual things in our pasts. incest, rape, abuse, pedophilia; the list goes on, and that was in addition to all the killing."

"I don't wanna' sound judgmental, but you should really try to steer clear of that stuff."

"I agree wholeheartedly, but that's not all I remembered. There's a lot more; timeline's where things went completely right."

"So there were happily-ever-afters..."

"For reasons I can't really put into words, even those make me uncomfortable. There were too many loose ends. They feel kind of incomplete."

"What happened in those ones?"

"One example is the timeline where Spike brought me back from the dead and we started a family."

"We did WHAT," Spike yelled.

"How was it incomplete?"

"It completely ignored someone else who'd become a substantial part of my life at that point for no reason. All thought of him vanished."

"I get the picture."

"What do you think it means?"

"The balance issue. There was too much tragedy at certain points and not enough during others."

"The princess must've been trying to fix that."

"Maybe."

"There was one more thing I found out that's fairly significant."

"What is it?"

"I'm highly trained in survival skills."

"Can't say I saw that one coming."

"I spent a year in four other forests fighting my darker half. By the end, I might've been as strong as you."

"Are you still that strong?"

"No. I would've felt it."

"At least you know how to get that strong now."

"I guess so, but to tell you the truth, I'm afraid."

"Why?"

"What will we use the power we gain now for?"

"What you have to."

"If we use it and stop every evil force in this world, it'll slowly deteriorate. We might not have it if we need it again."

"Only if you stop training."

"Or when we age..."

"Train someone else before you're too old to fight anymore. That way, someone will be able to take your place."

"Hey, Twilight," Rainbow Dash suggested, "why don't you show your brother? He can teach the other soldiers in the royal guard. A whole army of super ponies would keep anything away."

"That's...Not a bad idea, actually."

"There you go, then," Chris concluded.

"I guess we have a plan."

Everyone went silent for a while. Finally, Chris spoke.

"I'm off to bed. I'll see you guys in the morning."

"Goodnight, Chris."

He left the group and entered his makeshift shelter.

"Spike?"

"Yeah, Twilight?"

"Sorry if I embarrassed you. I thought he should know everything."

"No worries."

"I love you, but I don't think it's that kind of love. Can you understand?"

"No hard feelings. I doubt it would work out now anyway."

"Thank you."

"You all did an excellent job," Chris commended, "Take the next two days to rest and collect your thoughts. We're continuing with the planned schedule starting Monday."

"I'm going to see my brother and let him know what's happening."

"Good. If you guys can't handle something by yourselves, a prepared cavalry should do the trick."

"Take care, Chris."

"Copy that."

Everyone split up and returned home. Chris went back to the inn to rejuvenate himself for the trials ahead.