Nick opened his eyes. The last thing he remembered was the Pony of Shadows and a bright light as he made contact. Everything was still white, although he could see. Maybe everything he went through had been a dream and he’d been admitted into the psyche ward. Looking down at his “hand” dispelled any of these thoughts, he saw that he was still a wolf.

What was different however, was that he actually felt something, the ground he was laying on. Previously while it felt like nothing but air, currently it felt like he was standing on a cloud, the ground soft and slightly bouncy. Slowly he got up and a pain in his side caused him to flinch. He remembered his narrow dodges during the fight with the Pony of Shadows. Looking around, his eyes narrowed as he saw its form a few feet away, slumped on the ground. Not picking up on any movement, it led him to question: had he managed to injure it? In either case, unsure of his current injuries or power reserves, he lay low, slowly approaching it.

As he got closer he could see it, breathing. He froze, knowing that it was still alive. Whatever spell had been placed on him also seemed to have been cast on his adversary, and it was only a matter of time before it awoke.

“I have to say, I was not quite expecting you to put up such a fight in your weakened state. But then again, you did manage to kill my brother.”

It was a feminine voice, not quite like the Tree of Harmony’s but definitely very distinct. He looked around: fear, anger and confusion flooding into him as he thought the voice would wake up the Pony of Shadows along with a completely new sensation. However hearing the phrase ‘kill my brother’, he quickly deduced Phobetor, considering the otherworldly powers he was dealing with yet again.

“Heh, don’t worry Nick. It’s currently subdued, for now. And there are no hard feelings about Phobetor. He really was an asshole, had it coming to him honestly. I have a proposition for you. Hear me out and then I’ll let you get back to it.”

“Every time I talk to a ‘higher being’,” Nick slowly walked in a circle, trying to detect where the voice was coming from. “I always end up getting screwed over. Why should I listen to you when I killed your brother? What do you want?”

“Oh, well for you to do exactly what the Tree of Harmony is going to ask you to do, except, destroy it afterwards.”

The idea caused Nick to shake his head, as if he misheard. First he was to kill a god, then it was join the god he was trying to kill. Now he was supposed to destroy the thing that sent him on the entire quest that led up to his death. If he was like any sane person, as sane as he could be given everything that transpired, he’d see this as a great revenge plan. However, he felt some loyalty to the Tree of Harmony. It was straight forward with him, and along the way he got to meet two mares that were worth dying for. He wasn’t sure what to believe anymore with all the false promises, but what the Tree told him did come to pass. Also, what did this voice know that the tree didn’t?

“I can sense your conflict,” Astris continued, deciding to up the stakes. “And you have full right to question my motives. However, if I told you there was an actual way that you could have avoided death and still defeated my brother, would that be incentive enough?”

“If that were the case, why didn’t you just come to me before then?”

“Well, as you know, there have been hundreds in your place. A different human or creature brought here to try and save this world. I was simply waiting for the right one, the one that could succeed, and that one was you, Nick. You have tales of mortals defying the gods on earth. Now you can say you’re one of them.”

“That’s a useless title considering I died doing it. Are you trying to convince me not to kill you? If so, you’re not very good at hiding your intentions.”

“Since there are none to hide. While yes, if you should return back to Equestria, you can build back your strength to defeat me, but if I was sure you would, I’d simply just kill you now. But I’m not, as we both have what each other needs. I cannot defeat the Tree of Harmony now due to the power you provided it by killing my brother, but should you be revived, you’d take enough power that it can be defeated. And unlike it, I can promise you that you won’t die if you kill it. If you were to kill me, the same thing would happen like it did with Phobetor.”

The words rang out through Nick. This “goddess” had some semblance of a strong argument despite any actual proof despite somehow keeping the Pony of Shadows at bay.

“So you’re asking me to use the Tree’s help and then betray it once I gain enough power?”

“Well, I’d say more revenge than betrayal. After all, it was that tree who selfishly betrayed you? Sending you on a martyr’s mission for what? Just to die and be a thankless hero. For me, I just want to end its rule over Equestria. Look what happened when the Storm King invaded. How come it didn’t send you to help? Why did it do nothing while your marefriend and her friends suffered through so many obstacles and were almost defeated?”

At the mention of the invasion, what appeared to be a video popped up in front of Nick, showing that Twilight had been captured by this “Tempest”, looking completely defeated. It tugged at his heart seeing he wasn’t there to protect her, that he was here because of what he was told. He slashed a claw through the image, closing his eyes.

“They did manage to defeat him,” Astris smiled to herself, knowing she was getting through to him. “However, if I knew the type of hero you were, I’d made it so you could have continued to protect her.”

“So why didn’t you?!?” Nick growled, looking up in the sky. “Why did you let me suffer like this?!? All alone with no hope?!?”

“I didn’t let you suffer Nick. Your Tree of Harmony did. She labelled you her ‘Element of Hope’ but you just stated it clearly. Where is the hope? I can’t force you to do as I ask, neither can she, but think about it. Good luck.”

Nick was about to respond when the ground began to shake, the spell fading and the Pony of Shadows coming to life. He looked at the wolf and bellowed.

“Whatever spell you used wolf, seemed to only delay your demise!! Prepare to submit!!”

Nick growled back and started charging at the creature, trying his magic once more. A slight spark sounded off, indicating his spell firing up. Maybe it was this new goddess’ doing or not, but he was going to take advantage of it. He dodged an oncoming tendril before launching a small flame, impacting against the Pony of Shadows but not really enough to do anything.

“So you’ve regained your magic!! I shall use your body to the fullest!!” it growled, launching more tendrils at him. Nick wasn’t fast enough to dodge them and several grabbed his limbs and body, slowly stretching him. “Now. You’re. Mine,” the fiend grinned.

“Heed not the dark one’s words Warrior of Hope.”

Nick couldn’t believe what he was hearing as the Tree’s voice rang out above them. Well he partially didn’t believe it, but considering his conversation with the goddess, maybe she knew more than he assumed.

“Take my blessing so that you may vanquish this foe once and for all.”

With that Nick began to feel his body warming up, looking down he noticed that it was glowing. The heat was too much for the Pony of Shadows and it shrieked in agony, releasing him from it’s grip. As the light began to fade from his body, Nick noticed a few new features had been added. Firstly, his chest and stomach were no longer the uniform black his fur had been. Now they were pristine white. He could feel new energy flowing through him, and his magic seemed to return. He summoned a fireball and lobbed it at the still staggered enemy. It shrieked even louder as the heat burned into it.

“Wh-why?”

“You’re needed back on Equestria. I have no time to explain further, but the path will be clear.”

Nick couldn’t ask what she meant as the Pony of Shadows had recovered and launched another tendril attack at him. Nick sent out a wave of fire at the oncoming appendages, catching them on fire and feeling triumphant as they shriveled and fell to the ground.

“H-how?!?” the creature roared in confusion, seeing as now it was losing at a rapid rate.

Grinning, Nick tried his levitation magic, grateful that he had gained that ability back as well and floated at eye level with the Pony of Shadows. “I told you, I’m the Element of Hope.” He smirked, releasing another fireball at it. He led an unrelenting assault on the creature, as it tried to flee. He closed the distance and adopted a close combat barrage, each punch and bite injuring the foe even more. As it was on its last breath, he used both of his paws to summon a giant globe of fire to finish it.

“This time, you die for good,” he grinned, his eyes narrowing as he released his magic. The creature could only look up in horror as it was enveloped by the flame, letting out a loud roar of pain before an explosion erupted, sending a shockwave that knocked Nick back to the ground. He landed unscathed and the resulting flare up had no harm done to him.

There was no sign of the Pony of Shadows, save for something shining from some light source. Upon closer inspection, Nick found it had been the necklace he had worn holding the gem he was gifted by Celestia at the start of his journey. A socket for said gem was attached to it, divided into three pieces, empty. Picking it up he placed it around his neck.

He could feel another surge of energy flowing through him and his paws appeared even whiter. While he wasn’t sure what exactly was going on, why he was approached by the goddess or why the Tree of Harmony was now finally helping him, he knew one thing. He was going back home.

Author's Note

Hi guys,

Sorry about the long hiatus, just a lot of personal stuff that has been going on and is still kinda prevalent. However, working on this story again has started to help with some of the issues I've been facing. I know that the series is officially over, but I don't feel it's right for you, the readers to not have a completed story. So while this is going to be a complete novel similar to the prequel to this story this will probably be my last contribution to this site (subject to change at any given time). So hope that you guys enjoy what I have in store to you.