A New Journey For A New Prince

Chapters

Chapter One: A Prince's First Step Toward Growth
Chapter Two: A Journey Begun
Chapter Three: Haunting Memories
Chapter Four: Consequences
Chapter Five: An Unexpected Friendship
Chapter Six: Nightmare Battle
Chapter Seven: A Hell Of A Fight
Chapter Eight: A farewell and a welcome reunion.
Chapter Nine: Separated In The Forest Of Loss
Chapter Ten: The Absence
Chapter Eleven: Fading Hope

Chapter One: A Prince's First Step Toward Growth

Author's Note

This story's chapters will be around this long, maybe one or two longer, but there will be many more chapters included in this story! More WILL be added as the inspiration to write comes!

Chapter One: A Prince's First Step Toward Growth

After a decade of attempting to find his role in the Royal Court, Drew was advised by Princess Celestia herself to go on a journey, one to discover who he has truly become. Drew sighed as he considered this nearly a year go, but thought it best to not follow through with it.

"Prince Drew, a soldier does not belong in politics, but you are no longer a soldier. You once told me that all you knew was war, so I believe it is time for you to take a journey, to see that there is more to life than just war. You can be so much more than a soldier, so please, journey the world, and learn who YOU truly are, now that your time as a soldier has ended." Celestia said with a genuine smile on her face. Luna nodded and placed a hoof on Drew's shoulder. "We agree with our sister Drew, the time has come to learn who you really are." Luna repeated.

Drew sighed and nodded, and Celestia placed a hoof under his chin to make him look up at her. "You're always welcome to return at any time you wish Drew, so please, do not feel like we are sending you away because we do not want you around. ll I ask is that you be safe!"

Drew gave another nod and a soft smile, hugging Celestia gently. Celestia blushed for a moment, having not expected the hug. She giggled and hugged him back, and Luna gave a slight laugh.

A knock was heard and one of the unicorn guards came in. "Princess Celestia, Twilight and the others are here. What would you have me tell them?"

Celestia giggled again and waved a hoof. "Let them in." She said and the guard nodded, exiting. A moment later, Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie came in. Drew gave a wave to each, and walked over, hugging them which ended with a group hug. Drew chuckled some as Celestia informed them of Drew's journey. Applejack seemed to be saddened by this news, and Rarity too!

Fluttershy seemed worried for him, and Pinkie Pie insisted she throw him a going away party, but Drew politely declined. Twilight gave a look of jealousy, having wanted to travel for the past five years now, but never had the chance.

Drew looked off to the side, remembering Rainbow Dash wasn't here still, and sighed to himself. Pinkie Pie saw this and gave him a hug, seeing that he needed one. He gasped at first and smiled, returning in. "Thank you Pinkie." He said and wiped the welling tears. He still wasn't over Rainbow's death.

Celestia stepped up to speak now. "So, Drew, where will you be going first?" She inquired, but Drew shrugged. "I don't know Celestia, maybe East, or South." He said simply. Celestia nodded and gave a kind smile. "Just remember to pack lightly, and don't overexert yourself, ok Drew?" She asked of him, concerned as the East was a bit dangerous, and the South was a desert.

Drew simply nodded, and looked to a guard, nodding who began to gather the supplies necessary for either direction in two separate bags, and set them down by the gates for him. Drew requested a meal, well, more of a feast for his departure. Celestia nodded and looked to a guard, who nods and teleported into the kitchen to get things prepared.

Drew headed up to his room to check his room, and make sure everything was set for his absence. He brushed a hoof over the glass dome that now covered the last thing Rainbow Dash gave him, her Primary Feather. A spell had been cast upon it to keep it preserved for all time, and an alarm spell had been cast on the glass dome, alerting both himself and Celestia that some pony had tampered with his most precious possession. After a very nostalgic pause in his room, he turned to leave it for the last time for quite a while.

Reuniting with the others in the diner hall, he sat down, and appeared to be a bit sad. Pinkie and Fluttershy picked up on this quickly, and offered smiles in his direction. He hadn't noticed this, and Twilight decided to pull him aside when she caught that Drew hadn't noticed Pinkie and Fluttershy's smiles.

"Drew, what's wrong?" Twilight asked after the two were alone. Drew simply sighed. "I don't think I WANT to go, but Celestia is right, I do believe I HAVE to go...." He explained and Twilight simply hugged him softly. "Well, you're always welcome in my castle whenever your journey begins to be too much for you." She said and gave him a caring nuzzle. Drew blushed as a result and returned it. He had gotten more fond of the others since that fateful day ten years ago, and relaxed a bit more. The two returned, and Drew cracked a smile at the others, and Pinkie beamed.

The group ate their dinner, shared some laughs and enjoyed Drew's company for one last meal for quite some time, and he began to head out shortly before the evening.

(To be continued)

Chapter Two: A Journey Begun

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter Three: Haunting Memories

Drew found himself in a field, with a smoking town nearby. He blinked and ran towards it to see if he could help. He was cut off by a green flash and a jolt of pain, skidding to a stop and saw a black blur race past him. His horn lit up defensively as he growled. He began to recognize the surroundings, and moved much slower now. "This again?" He asked himself

He heard a laughter and another flash, followed by a blue-ish puff of smoke, and a tall black pony-shaped figure was before him. He snarled now. "Chrysalis!" He said with gritted teeth, and she laughed loudly.

"Look around my little pony prey!" Chrysalis said, and Drew glanced around, seeing piles of pony bodies all over. "Your allies have fallen! This fight is over!" Chrysalis told him, and he sighed.

"This isn't how it played out..." He said to himself, recalling the event to himself. Chrysalis blasted him with a green beam of magic, sending Drew flying backwards and into a pile of the pony bodies. He got back up with groan as he smoked a bit from the blast. Drew growled and fired off a few basic balls of energy towards Chrysalis, who countered and teleported behind him.

He tried to give a buck, but found himself stuck, and turned his head as he met Chrysalis's eyes, and couldn't move. Her eyes widened and her mouth opened. He screamed out as he felt himself being drained of his love, and couldn't fight back. The memories he had of Rainbow Dash began to fade, and suddenly her Primary Feather appeared, and began to dull in color. He growled in pain, and tensed up. "N....noo....." He began to cry now, and repeated himself a few times before he snarled in a pure rage. "SPIRIT BREAK!!!" He screamed out, wings shooting from his back as his Element appeared on his head once more.

This threw Chrysalis back, and through two smoking buildings. "YOU WILL NOT TAKE MY MEMORIES OF HER WAY CHRYSALIS!!!"

He shouted at her, and rushed her at high speed, slamming into her and taking her through three more burnt buildings. Right before his eyes, Chrysalis turned into a blue puff of smoke, and an Alicorn shaped figure appeared, hoofing the ground angrily. Drew growled, returning the aggressive gesture, and the two began to charge one another, only to be cut off by a bright flash of light half way between the two. "ENOUGH OF THIS!!" Was heard in The Royal Canterlot Voice.

Drew blinked as the blue smoky figure seemed to panic at hearing this, and the Princess Of The Night appeared. "We shall take you back Tantabus!" Luna said with a growl, and Drew blinked. "Wait....this is a dream?!" Drew questioned. Luna didn't reply as she charged the Tantabus, and made contact, and a blue lace of magic lashed into the Tantabus, chaining it to Luna.

Drew growled and galloped over to Luna. "I asked you a question Luna!" He said bluntly, who nodded. "Yes Drew, it is, and our creation has escaped our dream, we were forced to pursue it into your dream. we sincerely apologize Drew!" Luna explained. Drew nodded some as he looked to the struggling Tantabus. "I should have known when it brought me here. This was one of the biggest battle in the war, yet by some miracle, we didn't lose a single soldier on our side." Drew explained, and Luna nodded. "We must be on our way now, please sleep peacefully now drew."

With that, Luna vanished, and along with her, the Tantabus, which left Drew in the field he remembered. The field was soon replaced with Ponyville, and once again, laughter. This laughter left a creeping chill going up his spine. He looked to where he had heard it, and there he saw it. Nightmare Stampede.

Drew's attitude sunk, and his ears flattened to his skull. "No......not this again......" He said with a scared tone. Nightmare Stampede was laughing, standing on Rainbow Dashes head, who was already dead with the hole in her chest. "Yes Drew, you were too weak to save her, and now you have to live with it!" Nightmare Stampede said.

Drew curled back a little, tears flowing freely now. "No......go away...." He said with a shaky tone. "Just leave me alone......" He said, and Nightmare Stampede walked over to Drew. He made Drew look up at him, and his body was instantly decayed a bit, the stab mark in his throat and chest vividly standing out, and the hole in his eye socket where Drew stabbed him before. "And you were so useless that you couldn't even save your own little brother from me! You're a failure Drew, a Royal Disgrace!!!" Nightmare Stampede said, and Drew recoiled, trying to run away, but Nightmare Stampede kept up with ease.

"You can't save any pony! you couldn't even save those two ponies back at the banks! You're pathetic!" Nightmare Stampede said, and Drew stopped, teleporting far away from Ponyville. He found himself in Canterlot now. He panted, still crying. He had forgotten this was but a dream, and raced to Celestia's castle, to report this to her. Once there, he was let into her chambers, finding Celestia pacing angrily.

"Celestia!! He's back! Nightmare Stampede has returned! I just saw him!" Drew said frantically. Celestia groaned and turned her head, giving a stern look. "And YOU failed to stop him! You don't deserve those wings, nor that Element!" She said and used her magic to snatch his Element away, which faded to stone immediately, and this evaporated his wings. "W....what?" He asked with a confused tone. "Even then Celestia, we HAVE to do something before he strikes again!" Drew said, and Celestia huffed. "Get out of my castle you worthless stallion, infact, GET OUT OF EQUESTRIA!" She ordered in The Royal Canterlot Voice, and before Drew could react, he snapped awake, panting and sweating hard. He found himself in the desert at dawn now, and sighed to himself. He then began to carry on with his travels. "Damn nightmare's.....they've been getting worse...."

(To be continued.)

Chapter Four: Consequences

Two days into his journey through the desert, he ran out of water, and half of his food was gone. He was told that he'd have enough to get through the desert, but clearly not. He wasn't even half way through yet. He trecked for a few more miles before collapsing from exhaustion. The next thing Drew knew, he woke up on hat felt like a sand-sled, being pulled by a dark blue coated and light green maned Earth Pony.

"Wh...what? What happened?" He asked as he moved around a little bit, and most of his body was covered with a thin pure white sheet to protect him from the sun.

"Rest easy. You'll be alright, unless you over-do it now." The mare said to him bluntly but with a worried tone. The mare pulled him to what appeared to be a tent, maybe her camp?

He was dragged inside of the large tent, and sighed in relief as it was so much cooler in here than outside. The mare offered some water to him, and gave a kind smile. "Rest, take your time to move around." She told him softly. Drew drank from the bowl she offered him, and began to recover. "I found you passed out about two miles from my base camp, what were you thinking coming out here to this cursed land?" She asked gently. Drew took his time to think of his reply.

"I'm on a journey, and figured traveling through a hostile environment first would be best. I was told my supplies would last, but they clearly didn't..." He explained "What's your name?" The mare asked, and he thought for a moment, deciding to use his new name. "Bane Blade." He simply said.

The mare nodded "My name is Tender Step." She said and cracked a gentle smile at him, seeing him slowly recover.

Bane nodded and gave a wave of his hoof. "Thanks for helping me. Not sure how much longer I could go out there." He smiled back at Tender Step, and went to carefully sit up.

"So, what is your journey for Bane?" Tender asked him. "Personal Growth under advisement of Princess Celestia herself." He replied, and Tender nodded with a smile. "Got a location in mind?" Asked Tender. Bane shook his head. "No, not particularly, just wander around and learn." He said with a nod. His stomach growled and he went into his bag to get some carrots, offering one to Tender, who politely declined it. "No thank you, I have my own food. You'll need your own food to get out of this desert. You have another sixty miles to go."

Bane nodded as he sighed a bit. He couldn't get Rainbow Dash off his mind, even now. Tender Step caught the look of loss on Bane's face, and gave a hug. "I can see you've suffered some heavy loss in your time. Would you like to talk while you rest?" Tender asked. Bane had hugged back until she spoke, and just sat there letting her hug him while he stared blankly.

"You don't have to if you don't want to Bane." Tender said softly in to his ear. Bane sobbed quietly, and Tender tubbed his back, trying to comfort him.

"I loved her so much.....but my own brother killed her....and I was forced to kill him....." He explained, and Tender pulled back in shock. "Oh my.......that's just terrible...." She said, tearing up a bit, and looked away some, hurt by just imagining the hurt that Bane has gone through. "My own brother rejected me, after I worked my whole life to get him back when our parents died....I joined the Equestrian Armed Forces to support myself so I can give my brother stability, rather than leaving him at the orphanage our uncle sent him to........." A long pause. "A few years after that, I ended The Changeling War, and retired as a War Hero, and earned two favors from Prince Shining Armor, a buddy of mine from my time during the war. However, my little brother went through tartarus and back....and that made him bitter towards me. I failed him, and that lead to the event of me failing Rainbow Dash when he killed her.....I was too weak to stop it..." Bane said and started to cry. "This lead to my suicide...." He explained and Tender seemed hurt and confused by this. "Then how are you still alive?"

Bane took a calming breath. "Twilight Sparkle sacrificed her immortality to revive me, this lead to her no longer being an Alicorn..." He said, and looked down. "I'm ashamed....I not only failed my little brother, and my lover, but a Princess...." He sighed and went quiet again, and Tender Step gave him another hug. "You didn't fail, you just had a bad streak of luck. Things have surely gotten better, have they not?"

Bane sighed and shook his head. "No, they haven't....on my way to this very desert, I passed through Appleoosa, where I encountered a bank robbery in progress. When I came in, I was too late to save two ponies already, I had broken a vow I made.....I can't save any pony...." He said as he began to cry again. "I'm such a failure...." He said to himself and Tender Step put a hoof under his chin, and gave him a smile. "You can't live your life beating yourself up over what you can't control doll. All you can do, is what you CAN do, and that is all you need! I may not know you, but I can see a deep strength in you, a strength that is very rare to have. I know you'll do fine if you just stop trying to over-achieve!" She told him and went to nuzzle him softly. He nodded and nuzzled back gently, feeling much better. "I guess I should be on my way then." He said.

Tender Step nodded and gave him some more water, definitely enough to get through the desert. As he began to leave, he looked back and gave one last wave of thanks to her before disappearing.

(To be continued.)

Chapter Five: An Unexpected Friendship

Author's Note

This will be a longer chapter than normal, due to me including one of my original roleplay characters.

Chapter Five: An Unexpected Friendship

Bane traveled for a whole day and a half, finally on the last leg of his travels through this damned desert, and he stumbled upon a man on the ground. Flashbacks of Tender Step finding him raced through his mind, and he nodded, knowing he HAD to help. He lifted the man with his magic, and placed him onto his back, and carried on, using a barrier spell to shield them from the harsh heat. A few hours into the walk, the man woke up, and fell off of Bane's back. He seemed panicked.

Bane stood calmly, but ready for a fight if the man wanted to get aggressive. Bane had never seen any humanoid creatures before, and the man grumbled. "What the hell am I seeing right now?" He asked, but Bane did not understand him. Bane walked very calmly up to the man, and his horn lit up. The man reached for his weapon on his back, and Bane stopped, smiling in a friendly manner. This seemed to calm the humanoid being down, and Bane continued. He tapped the horn to the mans head, and spoke. "Can you understand me?" He asked, and the man nodded, speaking as well. "Yes, but how can a horse talk?"

Bane huffed and couldn't understand him, so he adjusted the spell and tried again. "Try again? I couldn't understand you." He said and the man repeated himself.

"Ah, good, the spell worked. Now we can understand each other! My name is Bane Blade, I found you passed out in the desert back there. Not too long ago I was in your horseshoes myself."

The man blinked a few times. "Uhhh, ok? My name is Durunga..." He introduced himself, and Bane nodded. "Nice to meet you Durunga. I've never met a creature like yourself before. What race are you? I'm a Unicorn!" He said with a smile. The man blinked in confusion and sighed. "I'm a Shadow Walker. Not likely a race you've ever heard of before." He explained and Bane nodded. "Yea, never heard of one of those before."

Durunga laughed some, and noticed the red magic field covering them, and keeping them in shade. "A magic user huh? Interesting. " Durunga said and Bane chuckled. "Yes, all Unicorns can use magic, all ponies in my land have their own way of using magic infact, but Unicorns can use magic much more freely." Bane said and sat down. "So, why are you out here?" He asked, and Durunga sighed. "I goofed up a Shadow Jump, and ended up here, in a place where the only shadow around is the ONE shadow I CAN'T use to Shadow Jump...."

Bane blinked at the term. "Shadow Jump?" He asked with curiosity.

Durunga nodded. "Yes, my kind can use any shadow except our own to essentially teleport from one place to anywhere we want to go, no matter the distance. We can even use shadows to teleport into a different dimension. The realm I'm from, is called The Shadow Realm. It's the polar opposite of this Realm, which is called The Light Realm." Durunga explained.

Drew blinked in shock at hearing that there are more worlds than just this one. "Hold on....there are more worlds than this?!" He asked. "Celestia needs to know of this!" He exclaimed, and nods. "I have to go back! Can you come with me!?" He asked of the stranger. Durunga blinked.

"Why should I?! What's in it for me?" Durunga asked.

"How about being the one to help ponies make groundbreaking discoveries? You'd be famous here! We can even pay you if your information checks out!" Bane said, gambling on that promise.

Durunga perked up at the offer of payment, and thinks, nodding. He looked around for a moment. "Where are we going, and how are we getting there? I need a stable shadow to Shadow Jump, and I can't use yours if you're coming with me."

Bane nods and looked further South. "There's a town a few more miles from here. There's other shadows there." Bane said as Durunga nodded.

Bane started walking again as he was deep in thought about what to do next. Whike walking, he started to write a letter to Celestia to advise her that he was going to soon arrive with a strange new visitor.

After the letter was finished, he lit it ablaze with a green flame from his horn and it turned to smoke and headed North. He watched it fly away as he smiled to himself with hope.

Durunga blinked. "What the hell was that about?" Durunga asked curiously.

"Sent a letter to Celestia to give her a heads up about your arrival. Now she'll make ateps to prepare, rather than having you randomly show up with me" Bane explained as Durunga shrugs.

"Eh, whatever I guess..." Durunga said nonchalantly.

Bane nods as they walked along. They went a while without speaking as they arrived at the town. It looked like like a ghost town,void of all signs of recent life.

Durunga was first to notice this abnormality. "Strange, isn't a town supposed to have people living in it?" He asked as Bane shrugs.

"Maybe they're shy, or cautious of strangers?"

Bane sighed some, and Durunga stopped him. "Something isn't right here! The magic here is incredibly dark..." Durunga said with a serious tone.

Bane blinked and his horn lit up, sensing the local energy and his fur stood on end. "You're right, something really really bad happened here recently....I can sense the fear and horror..."

Durunga looked around a bit,drawing two swords from his back that didn't appear to be there at first glance. They were soecial blades, one created to deal massive and directed physical damage, red in color woth a black edge and slightly curved half way to the tip. The other was more broadsword-like, black on color with a red edge, and double sided. The black edged blade pulsed, indicating a presence of Black Magic.

"There's a Black Mage around here, I can sebse it and so can Armageddon." He stated as Bane looked around, carefully seeking out details about what happened here but couldn't spot anything out of place. He glanced to his left just in time to see a black orb flying at them.

Bane pushed Durunga aside with his levitation magic and used a barrier soell to deflect tge orb. His horn lit up as he'd hear a maniacal laughter. "Hahahahahahaaaaa, foolish intruders, you should have never came to this damned village. Their souls are mine now, and so will yours be!" The voice said, but Durunga couldn't hear it.

Durunga blinks as he watched Bane growl while looking around and saw the attack, turning to face that direction.

A black and blue bolt of lightning went for Bane right after the barrier went down, tined for tge cooldown for the spell as Durunga rushed between it and Bane. He used Armageddon to block the magic, and watched the blade feed off of the Black Magic.

Durungs grins to himself as he held Apocalypse out, the red esged blade. He pointed it to where the black lightning came from. "Come out coward!!" Durunga exclaimed as he watched a. Blue coated and very dark yellow maned stallion walk out of the darkness between buildings.

(To Be Continued)

Chapter Six: Nightmare Battle

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter Seven: A Hell Of A Fight

While Bane struggled in The Nightmare Realm, Durunga was awake, facing Moral Void alone.

With Bane down, Moral Void launched a series of black balls of energy at Durunga at high speed. Durunga deflected them with ease as he rushed at Moral avoid.

Moral Void lept to the right, and his horn lit up. "VOID IMPLOSION!" Moral Void exclaimed. A black blanket of energy wrapped Durunga up, and began to constrict him.

Durunga remained calm and begun to become more transparent, shifting into a mere shadow just before the pressure could crush him down.

Durunga then slipped free, melting into the shadow of the surrounding buildings and suddenly his presence could be felt from every single shadow in the town.

Moral Voids coat stood on end at this new feeling, tensing up as he began to blast the buildings one by one to reduce the amount of shadows nearby.

Durunga watched safely from the shadows, and moved under Moral Void. Durunga stabbed upwards from Moral Void's shadow and Moral Void sensed the attack too late to get away unscathed. Apocalypse ripped into the inside of Moral Void's hind right leg while he jumped.

Durunga rose from the ground, pursuing his target ruthlessly. He swiped Armageddon at the airborn Black Mage, landing his mark at Moral Void's abdomin, but missed the targeted organ, that being the stomach.

Still rising, Durunga flipped himself over Moral Void, kicking the now gasping unicorn mage in the jaw hard enough to pulverize granite. This lead to Moral Void spiking for the ground head first hard, and Durunga decended with Apocalypse in a downward thrust. Moral Void landed hard but managed to roll out of the way and buck Durunga with one hoof landing on his chin, and the other landing on his chest for a heart-check.

Durunga was sent flying straight back, his feet stumbling as he cane to a skidding atop and grins. "Not a bad impact for a Black Magic User!" Durunga said, wiping his chin to see that he was bleeding.

Moral Void panted, growling in rage as he began to change tactics on Durunga now. Moral Void's blood became solid after his horn lit up with a black and dark blue aura. The blood now became a whip with a blade at the end, dark red in color and more than fifteen feet long in length. Moral Void began to swing and lash at Durunga with it.

Durunga dodged and blocked, but one lash wrapped around Apocalypse and the sword was snatched out of Durunga's hand. Durunga switched to two handed wielding as he rushed Moral Void wrecklessly. Moral Void lashed Durunga a few times as Durunga ignored the blows and swung savagely at Moral Void and landed a few of the slashes. Moral Void screamed out as Armageddon tore flesh. This however, was only part of the damage dealt, and Durunga spun, slicing Moral Voids horn in half.

Moral Void screamed in agony as Durunga went to spin once more to thrust gis blade into Moral Voids chest, but his magic wasn't like a typical unicorns magic.

Moral Void summoned a Ghoul to take the stab for him as two pony ghouls latched to Durunga's arms and pulled him down. Durunga went to flip himself free just as Moral Void launched a burst of white hot flames into Durunga's back mid-flip. This burnt Durunga's back as he grunted and rolled to the side, swiping one of the pony ghouls heads off, and he turned inti a shadow to phase through the second one.

Returning to a solid state, Durunga went straight for Apocalypse, but was interrupted by a wave of those same white hot flames, forcing him to stop.

Durunga growled as he spun to face Moral Void, who looked royally pissed.

Moral Void rushed at Durunga while lashing at him again as Durunga pulled bearby shadows to him. The shadows only blocked the blood whips lashes as Durunga shoulder-checked Moral Void, only to have a surprise attack from a pool of blood behind Durunga, and got a serated blade made of blood to his lower left chest.

Durunga screamed out in rage and pain as he snatched Moral Void up by the throat and began to choke him. Moral Void summoned four pony ghouls and the minions tackled Durunga, forcing him to let Moral Void go.

Coughing Moral Void tried to focus his arcane energy to stab Durunga again, but failed. Durunga backed up after worming his way free from the ghouls as he pulled more shadows.

The ahadows formed a dome over Moral Void as he began to shrink it and turn the shadow dome into a solid shadow that was stronger than titanium.

"Crushing Shadow!!" Durunga called out and slowly began to make his hand close into a fist, and Durunga lifted his hand up, the dome becoming a sphere. "Sphere Of Despair!!" Durunga said as the sphere lifted inti the air. "COLLAPSE!!" He yelled out as he began to rapidky shrink the sphere. Soon a screan of both pain and fear was heard, and shortly after that the sound of bones crunching was heard followed by silence.

Durunga released the now backetball sized sphere and dropped the crunched up body, shortly after Bane woke up in a tear-stained gasp.

Bane got up and looked at the blood soaked battlefield, wondering what the fuck he missed and asked Durunga.

"What the hell did I miss?!?!" Bane yelled as he looked around.

Durunga sighed, holding his chest. "He put up a better fight than most Black Magic Users." He said bluntly as the whole town grew brighter.

"Thank you strong souls. We may now rest in peace at long last." A series of mysterious voices said simultaneously.

Bane looked around and could swear he saw transparent ponies huddled around them, each smiling warmly at them and Durunga fell over, passed out from exhaustion.

Bane nodded and smiled back. "Anytime ponies, may you have a peaceful eternity." Bane said and the spirits used their last moments in this world to heal Durungas more severe wounds before vanishing.

(To be continued)

Chapter Eight: A farewell and a welcome reunion.

Author's Note

This will likely be the shortest chapter in the story.

Chapter Eight: A farewell and a welcome reunion.

After Bane stuck by Durunga's side until he awoke, then smiled at him. "I'm glad to see you awake."

Durunga groaned and sat up. He noticed he was healed. "Fuck all this....I'm out of here. I didn't sign up for any of this bullshit. I almost died!" He snapped as Bane flinched, not expecting this suddenly. While thinking of what to say to try and keep this stranger around, Bane found himself alone suddenly as Durunga melted into the shadows and vanished.

Bane sighs to himself and looked disappointed, but got up and decided to keep going now.

Bane left the town, and found himself in a forest now and heard a familiar voice calling out.

Bane rushes to the source, only to see the mare that saved him some time ago stuck in some vines that were trying to envelop her entirely.

Bane growled, and teleported to them, using his teeth and daggers to pull and cut the vines away without harming the traped mare. "Bane? Is that you?!" The mare asked and found herself blinded by the vines as they wrapped around her face.

"Yes Tender Step, it's me! Hold on, I'll get you put of those vines!!" Bane said with determination.

As Bane cut and pulled at the vines, he was relieved to see them finally retreating back into the ground and forest after cutting them enough. Tender Step gasped, falling forward from the place she was held and found herself caught by Bane. "Whoa, easy there! Are you hurt?"

Tender Step nodded some, an arrow in her right flank, and sighs. "Yea, I got shot with an arrow when I stumbled upon a bandit camp..." She said as she tried to stand again, blushing some because she realized Bane was still holding her up.

Bane let her stand on her own now. "What brings you here?" He asked, worried about her wound as he waited for her reply before making an offer.

"I sensed a disturbance in nature here. I wanted to investigate the problem, but after being chased by some timberwolves I got lost, and stumbled on that camp I mentioned. After I lost them, those vines grabbed me, theb you showed up." Tender Step explained and Bane nodded.

"I'm glad I showed up when I did then!" Bane said with a smile.

Tender Step nodded in agreement with a shy smile, seeing Bane in a new light now. "I am too! If you hadn't shown up to rescue me, who knows what could've happened to me. I appreciate it Bane!"

Tender Step now gave Bane a hug, causing Bane to blush a little bit. "Nah, I didn't do anything special really. I saw you needed help, and acted." He said and hugs her back lightly.

Tender Step felt her heart race at his hug and pulled back gently, hoping Bane hadn't noticed.

Bane looked around now as the wind stops and thunder was heard in the distance. "Seems it's gonna storm soon. We shouls find shelter before we get caught in it."

Tender Step nods in agreement again and began to look around, seeking materials to make a shelter for them.

(To Be Continued.)

Chapter Nine: Separated In The Forest Of Loss

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter Ten: The Absence

Bane began to fly but the gusts of wind from the storm was making this task very difficult for him to maintain his course.

Bane panted some and another wave of powerful wind slams him into the cliffs, causing him to gasp in pain as he began to fall. Bane gritted his teeth hard, and forced himself to regain his position and try again.

Tender ran fast, weaving between the trees as the Timberwolves nipped at her from behind. She was lucky to be so agile, but it appeared the Timberwolves were just as agile as her, and kept up with her.

Tender looked back, and bucked one of them in the jaw, only to have the timberwolf catch her leg after impact, and rips into her flesh. This caused Tender to scream out again, but the rain and distance made the location of her scream extremely difficult to pinpoint.

Bane finally made it to the top of the cliff where he fell, and flew higher into the sky, trying to see if he could maybe spot her from above. This proved to be fruitless as the trees and rain limited his sight. He began to attempt to follow her sounds, but after a short while, the screams stopped.

This made Bane worry greatly, causing him to call out for her now. "TENDER, WHERE ARE YOU!? I'M COMING FOR YOU BUT I CAN'T FIND YOU UNLESS YOU MAKE SOME NOISE!"

He called out through the rain and thunder, but to no reply.

Tender managed to barely get away after another kick to the Timberwolves head, making it fall apart, and hid in a nearby hollowed out tree, shivering and bleeding. She hadn't been able to hear Bane's attempt to call out to her as the storm raged on.

(A few hours later.)

Bane had long since passed her over, and the storm calmed. He was now miles away from her and still searching for her. He had hoped his tenacity would pay off, but so far it has only served to backfire on him.

Tender had fallen asleep in the hollowed out tree, and awoke to the storms disappearance. She then began to limp out and began to search for materials to make a tourniquet with.

She finds a few herbs, one large leaf, and about two yards of strong vines. She then began to tie the herbs and leaf to her injured leg, and went to carry on, crying quietly as she couldn't get the scene of Bane falling to his assumed death out of her mind. It was eating her alive on the inside, and she felt guilty.

Tender wiped her tears away, doing her best to survive now, and limped on.

Bane flew frantically, trying desperately to find Tender Step, but to no avail. Bane began to lose hope that she was still alive, tears welling up in his eyes which obscured his vision. He sniffles and kept telling himself that he will find her if he just doesn't give up.

Tender fell against a tree, unable to continue on anymore, her leg was too badly wounded. She cried out, telling herself Bane will come for her repeatedly, and refused to believe otherwise.

Bane began to circle a bit, feeling exhausted now as he looked for a safe place to land and rest. Just as he found a decent looking spot, a pink coated and dark blue moaned pegasus mare flew towards him at high speed.

"Hey, are you alright?" The mare asked, hovering near him as Bane blinks.

Before Bane could reply, his energy burnt up and he reverted to his normal state, and began to plummet. The mare dove after him, catching him inches above the treeline.

"Whoa there, what happened to you?!" The mare asked, setting him down as he panted hard.

"I reverted to my normal state. Have you seen a mare Earth Pony anywhere?!" He asked the pegasus, who shook her head.

"My name's Razor Feather, what's your's?"

"Bane Blade, I got separated from the mare I mentioned. I can't find her.."

Razor blinked and nods, thinking. "Come with me to my village, maybe we can help find her before it's too late!" She said with a soft smile.

Bane nodded and followed Razors lead, watching where he was going.

Razor Feather leads Bane to the village, and gathered the residents of tge small village with ease. "Our guest got separated from a mare Earth Pony in the woods, it's urgent we find her before the timberwolves do!"

Bane spoke up next. "Her name is Tender Step, we stumbled upon a den of Timberwolves when we got separated, she may be hurt."

The pegasi that made up the village gasped and nod to one another. Razor Feather now spoke up aswell. "Then let's do this, we have no time to lose!! Nopony lands unless you spot her! If you spot her, fly up high and holler out to get somepony to notice you. Let's fly!"

With Razor Feather's pep talk over, the pegasi took to the sky. Babe may have been exhausted, but ge was no quitter. He darted into the woods too, panting hard as he pushed himself hard.

Tender Step panted too, struggling to remain conscious due to the blood loss. She hadn't been able to see it, but tge Timberwolves had found and surrounded her.

Tender Step was in no condition to fight or flee anymore.

Razor Feather was the fastest flyer in her village, and flew the furthest. Razor Feather found Tender Step first, but there was nopony else around.

Razor Feather noticed Tender Step was surrounded and swooped down to intercept the Timberwolves, kicking tge closest two only to get tackled to the mud by a third. Razor Feather grunted in pain as she kicked it off of her, only to find a fourth Timberwolf biting into her left wing, and get pulled around. She screamed out just as Tender Step blacked out, and Razor Feather kicked and headbutted her way free. She began to circle Tender Step, no longer able to fly away now. She was in a very bad spot now.

Razor Feather began to scream out for help, but nopony had caught up to her yet, nopony except Bane.

Bane heard Razor Feather's cry for help and ran faster, hovering his daggers in front of him.

Just as Bane arrived, a Timberwolf had grabbed Razor by the throat and gave her a few vicious thrashes. "NOOOO!!!"

Bane screamed in rage, rushing forward as he stabbed that Timberwolf in the eye and chest to make it jump back. Bane stood over Razor Feather as she bled out and snarled defensively.

(To be continued)

Chapter Eleven: Fading Hope

With Tender Step unconscious, and Razor Feather soon to die, Bane was left to fight multiple Timberwolves alone and exhausted. Hope was looking bleak as the Timberwolves began to close in on him.

He puts up a barrier around the wounded mares and leaps at the nearest Timberwolf. Bane growled a bit as he got headbutted in the ribs from the side by one of the circling Timberwolves, and rolled to get back to his hooves. This was done just in time to meet with a tackle, followed by a bite to his head. Bane screamed out as he thrashed to get free when another Timberwolf grabbed him by his right rear hoof and started pulling.

Just as Bane was about to collapse from exhaustion before he could get free, a laughter was heard, and this confused the Timberwolves.

"Oh my, what a precarious predicament you've gotten yourself into. Why not just blast them off of you?" The mysterious voice asked.

"Would if I could....I've exhausted all my magic trying to find HER!" Bane said and looked to Tender Step just as the Timberwolves let him go.

"All of this trouble over a gypsy?" The voice asked and Bane scoffed.

Bane tries to get back up, only to collapse to the dirt and gritted his teeth. He had no strength left.

"Does the high and mighty prince need a helping claw?" The voice asked just as the timberwolves were leaping at him again. With no strength left, his magic exhausted and in a really bad situation, Bane called out for help.

A simple snap was heard as the leaping timberwolves were levitated into the air and one was turned into a plant. A second was turned into a lizard, another was turned into a chicken, then another turned into a lit candle, while the last one was turned into a cart.

Another snap was heard as Discord appeared, yawning boredly. "T...thanks.." Bane said.

Bane looked up at him and sighed, barely able to even move anymore. Just as Bane passes out, Discord groaned and snapped his claw again, teleporting himself, Bane and Tender Step to Razor Feather's village. He then teleported away and seconds later, the pegasi villagers swarmed to the injured ponies.

(Three days later)

Bane was first to wake, and was told that Tender Step doesn't have a very good chance of pulling through her injuries. Bane begged the healer of tge village to do everything she could, but the healer simply shook her head at him. "I'm sorry, but not only is she severely wounded, but she managed to contract a rare disease called Hiporia, also known as The Gasping Death. There's nothing more I can do for her."

Refusing to accept another loss, Bane asked if there was a cure, only to find out that there was one, however the ingredients have gone barren. Bane asked what the ingredients were and what they looked like.

Upon being told, he takes off to search the area. Not willing to give up or rest, he frantically searches.

(A few hours later)

Having found five of the six ingredients, he returned to the village and asked where he may find the final ingredient, a Phoenix feather.

The village healer did not know where to find it, and so Bane began to cry.

He began to think hard, trying to think of where a Phoenix might nest and remembered seeing a volcano North of tge village. Instantly he got up and began galloping North. This left the healer confused.

(Two hours later)

Bane arrived at the mountain, looking in the trees. "Ugh...if only Fluttershy was here...I'm sure she'd be able to help me out here.."

It took him a while but he found a phoenix nest. He calls out to see if the parents are there.

Two heads pop up over the nest and Bane smiled.

"Hello there, may I have a feather to cure somepony close to me of a disease?" Bane asked politely.

The larger phoenix nodded and plucked a feather from it's wing and let it float down to Bane. He smiled happily and caught it with his magic and gave a thankful bow.

He used his magic to teleport back to the healers hut. Once there, he smiled with hope at the healer. "I found it!! Can you make the medicine now?!"

The healer snatched the feather and began mixing the several ingredients together. Once it was blended, the healer then began to add water and placed a straw into it. Holding it up to Tender Steps lips, the healer began to urge the mare to drink it all.

It took a few minutes, but the mare did end up drinking it all up. "It is done, now only time will tell if she will recover, or succumb to her illness." The healer explained.

Bane nodded and smiled warmly. "Great! How long before we can tell if she'll be ok?"

The healer thinks for a long moment. "Two or three days at least, a week at most."

Bane sighed in mild disappointment but smiled with hope glinting in his eyes. He went to lay down next to Tender Step, worry apparent in his expression.

(Three days later)

Bane came back into the healers hut from helping clean up the village after a serious storm the previous day. He sat by Tender Step again as he strokes her mane worriedly. He hasn't been able to eat much since the separation.

A few hours pass and Tender Step began to groan herself awake. Bane was the first pony she saw upon waking up.

"B...Bane? Is t..that you?" Tender Step asked with a weak voice.

Bane perked up immediately and leaned in close to her, stroking her mane again, just as he has been each day. "Yes dear, it's me. Take it easy sweetie, you've been sick for the past few days now. The healer said you should be ok in a few more days."

(To be continued)