Author's Note

There's a bit more dark content in this chapter - just a small warning.

Also, getting motivated is hard. I'm doing this for you guys, since you've been great thus far. 👍

The Resistance Begins

The three friends slept very well that night with a renewed fiery confidence in their chests. When they had awoken the next morning, they were all shamelessly cheery as they began to hide their traces.

"It really helps that we know where Minos is," Joey said happily as he spread the charcoals from the fire over the ground. "I mean, I know we can't apparate there, but didn't someone say that Minos was on an island directly south of Kludgetown?"

Jo-Ann put down her rucksack in thought, rattling the Horcruxes inside. "I think so - yeah! Remember, Naiose? It was that huge pink dude we overheard on, like, the second day we were in Kludgetown!"

Joey nodded. "We also know that Kludgetown is friendly with the Minotaurs - so they'll probably have a trade going. And instead of using trucks to deliver stuff to other cities, Kludgetown companies use -"

"Airships," Naiose said, finishing his friend's sentence. "Are you saying that we should just go back to Kludgetown and hijack and airship?"

"Yes and no," Joey replied. "What I was thinking was that we should sneak onto an airship that's bound for Minos, then travel there. No hijacking."

"Yeah... that sounds like a much better plan," Jo-Ann laughed. "Sneaking onto an airship shouldn't be too hard - if we use Disillusionment Charms, we could pass undetected in broad daylight there."

"Exactly," Joey replied. "However, since the citizens of Kludgetown are dumb in many ways, they might be expecting us to come back - we still need to exercise caution."

They finished their packing in silence.

"So... when are we going?" Naiose asked, heaving his rucksack over his shoulder.

"Now?" Joey suggested. "I mean, the sooner the better - what if they decide to execute someone else back at Canterlot?"

"That is true," Naiose replied. "I'm down for leaving - Jo-Ann?"

"Let's do this," Jo-Ann said determinedly. She looked Joey in the eye and smiled. "Let's go get that Horcrux."

"We'll discuss a plan once we get a view on the city," Joey replied. "From what I gathered from my vision, the Minotaurs heavily guard the scepter, so we shouldn't have a hard time finding it. Now, let's go - who wants to apparate this time? It seems like I've been doing it a lot recently."

"I can do it," Jo-Ann offered.

"Good," Joey replied with a smile.

CANTERLOT

Cadance still could not believe that Twilight - her very own sister and law - was dead. Not only that, but it had all happened so quickly - three days. Three days! Was this another sign of cruelty from the Dark Lord?

What was the last thing she heard from her sister in law, anyway? She racked her brains, but could come up with nothing.

She came to her senses and quickly realized that she had been standing in her quarters, staring at nothing in particular. She shook her head violently to clear it and walked to her balcony. From this point she had a marvelous view of the side of the mountain as well as the entrance to the Crystal Caves.

The Crystal Caves... that was where she had met adult Twilight for the first time. It had been a rough start, since Twilight thought she was the Changeling Queen, Chrysalis, in disguise. She had then performed their little dance, and instantly Twilight knew who she was.

Ah... the memories - the prospect of not being able to make any more memories with her favorite sister-in-law was something more terrible than she had ever faced. She inhaled deeply to prevent the flow of tears, then stared at the gloomy sky above. Here and there was the occasional reaper, so far off that it looked like a dot. Her thoughts drifted to the Dark Lord.

Why did this all happen? Why was he so determined to wipe out the Order that he would cross dimensions just to follow them? That horrible Mauler, Bergemann (her stomach gave a spiteful lurch at the very thought of the name), had killed the Order's most powerful wizard - Rod Steffen. Joey's dad.

And now they were after Joey. Cadance was fully aware of the prophecy and what it meant, but things were getting crazy concerning her adoptive son. From the snippets she heard Scallius drop, it seemed like the Dark Lord spoke of almost nothing else. Did killing her Joey really mean that much to him?

A soft knock came on the door, and judging from the volume and intensity of it Cadance could tell that it was friendly.

"Come in," she said hoarsely.

The door opened softly, and in walked a miserable and disheveled Celestia. Once inside, she closed Cadance's door with a soft click. The solar princess then turned to Cadance and studied her face with a concerned expression.

"You haven't been out of your room for days," Celestia said after a long, awkward moment. "I know you're suffering - please, just talk to me. Or Luna, even. I know the death of the Elements, especially Twilight has - has p-put you off..." Her voice shook a little before trailing off into silence.

Cadance walked briskly over to her aunt and hugged her tightly. A couple of tears began to fall.

"It's - it's just so horrible -" she sobbed, and Celestia began to stroke her back with a wing.

"I know," Celestia said in a deadened tone. "The fact that you had such little time with her before she left... the fact that I have - oh, Cadance..."

The two just stood there in each other's grip for what felt like hours. There were moments when one of them would randomly burst into tears, but after awhile finally they released each other.

"Th-Thank you," Cadance said softly in a grateful tone. "Thanks for seeing me."

Celestia studied her niece for a second with an inquiring gaze. Finally, she replied "Twilight can't be the only thing on your mind right now. I know that look."

Cadance looked away, feeling hot in the face. Why did her aunt always have to know?

"It's about Joey, isn't it?" Celestia asked quietly. Cadance nodded. Celestia walked over to her niece and sat down on her haunches next to her. She gestured for Cadance to join her, which she instantly did.

Putting a wing over Cadance's shoulders, Celestia said softly, "I've been thinking a lot about him recently, too. As a matter of fact... I've been having regrets, too."

Cadance looked around at her aunt. "Regrets?"

"Yes," Celestia replied, looking apologetic. "Regrets... remember when I gave him up to that horrible drug dealer, what's-his-name?"

"Sporco?" replied Cadance, keeping a slight edge out of her voice. Even though her aunt was genuinely sorry for doing that, Cadance couldn't help but feel disgruntled by the injustice.

"Yes, him," Celestia continued. "I just - what if that's all he thinks about me? I am family to him now, am I not? What if he dies, and all he saw me as was a princess that doesn't care about him and just wanted to get the job done."

"To tell you the truth, Auntie, I'm not sure," Cadance said truthfully. "He is a really hard pony - I mean, human - to read. I don't know what to tell you, but what I do know is that he doesn't hate you."

Celestia looked up hopefully. "He - he doesn't?"

Cadance shook her head. "No. I can't say what he thinks of you specifically, but I do know that he cares about you as a friend. However, if we do get through this... just have a talk with him. I'm sure he'll be understanding."

Celestia smiled at her niece and sniffled. She then got to her feet with a faint smile on her face.

"I'm sorry for dropping this load on you, Cadance... the princess duties Scallius has been placing upon Luna and I has become way too strenuous."

"I understand, he's been doing the same with me," Cadance said with an irritated look. "He's been such a wet blanket lately."

Celestia hugged Cadance. "No matter," her aunt said with an attempt at a cheery voice. "At least Joey is alive; we'd know if he was killed. While he still lives, we have hope."

Cadance smiled a teary smile. She missed that kid so much.

MINOS

Everything had gone according to plan so far perfectly - so perfectly, as a matter of fact, that it made Joey uneasy.

The airship's security had been minimal - Joey would of thought that it would of been a lot more tight under Lord Valkaris's regime. That was not the case, however - apparently the Dark Lord had struck up some sort of alliance with the Minotaurs, for their guards seemed to be cheerier in a cruel way - or were they always like that?

No - their armor bore a new symbol upon their breastplate - an adder entwining a skeletal fist. The mark of the new dark regime. They looked as if they were proud to wear it, too.

The city of Minos was, despite the common patriotic mood for the dark regime, was a nice city. It reminded Joey of Los Angeles from back home - the ratio of shabby buildings to nice ones seemed balanced. The streets were paved with old cobblestone, which was cracked or crumbling in many areas. A hazy smog hung in the air due to the number of forges in the city that polluted the air with their smoke.

Even though the Minotaurs had a slightly brutish style to their everyday actions, their city was well organized and easy to navigate. They even had street signs; if the three friends ever got lost as they snuck around, they'd head back to a major landmark in the city and start over. Fortunately for them, they found what they were looking for a mere hour after they entered the city.

The location of the vault was not hard to find. It was the third largest building in the entire city. It was a large triangular shape that reached for the sky - it must of been around a hundred feet tall. It sloped down into the ground in the back, meaning that the chamber inside probably went underground. The large triangular gates were flanked by six guards on each side, each of them on full alert.

They clearly wanted no one to get inside.

At the moment, Joey, Naiose, and Jo-Ann were crouched under the shadow of a very large barrel, just having taken off their Disillusionment Charms (well - except for Jo-Ann, who was paranoid). They had been careful to come this far without touching anyone by managing to avoid large crowds of street-goers. They did this mainly by staying as far away from the center as they could, for it tended to be the busiest area. They very rarely spoke for obvious reasons, but occasionally one of them would trip on their own robe or nudge a vendor's stand.

"What. The. Hell," Naiose murmured as he peered around the barrel. Retracting his head, he gave Joey the most disgruntled look he had ever seen. "There's too many of them."

"Well, what do you expect?" Joey replied. "It's their most treasured artifact - of course they'd guard it like no tomorrow. Haven't you seen how stuck up these guys are?"

"Well - yeah," Naiose replied morosely, chancing another glance at the guards. "How in the world are we going to get past them, though? Security's really tight here, and it's not like these guards were born yesterday."

"True..." Joey replied, then looked back to Jo-Ann. He couldn't see her because of the Disillusionment Charm, but he could feel her small hand on his shoulder.

"You never told us - did you hear anything when you were over by the guards?" Joey asked. "Anything about security?"

"Mostly just boasting," Jo-Ann replied, sounding bored. "You know, 'there's no way in and no way out, just the door' and stuff like that. Although they did occasionally complain to one another about having to stand outside in the heat while the other guards got to protect the inner doors leading up to the chamber. Also, they mentioned booby traps."

"Wonderful," Joey grunted, but Naiose sat up next to him.

"Guards on the inside?" he asked, interested.

"Why are you asking as if it's a good thing?" Joey asked, raising an eyebrow at his friend. "It's a very bad thing."

The other two ignored him. "Yeah," Jo-Ann replied. "Why?"

"Well - if the only way out is the door, that would be their only source of fresh air," Naiose explained calmly. "And like Joey said, the Minotaurs weren't born yesterday - they would have planned for something like that."

"What does this have to do with - OH!" Joey gasped in realization. He then got a well deserved jab in the ribs from Jo-Ann and Naiose to quiet him. "We're going to use an alternative route!"

"Yep," Naiose replied. "I'm willing to bet one of my fingers that there's a vent or two somewhere. They would have to be big, too, so they cold get more air down to the guards below."

"All we need to do is find one," Jo-Ann chirped. "Good thinking, Naiose!"

Naiose beamed, then looked around the barrel again. "What do you say we start now?"

"Alright - just stay down," Joey replied, placing another Disillusionment Charm upon himself. Naiose mirrored this action, then the three friends quickly departed their hiding place with magically muffled footsteps.

"Let's check the area behind the vault's entrance first," Joey whispered as they approached the gate. The other two nodded, and they slunk around the side of the building. One of the guards reached back and scratched his rear, but took no notice of the sudden breeze that was made from Joey, Jo-Ann, and Naiose sneaking by.

Behind the building was just a filthy alleyway. No one was there except an intoxicated Minotaur, who dozed away wearing an aluminum garbage can lid as a hat.

"Guys - if you see anything that looks like a large vent, tell the rest of us immediately," Joey said, beginning his search. He looked over at the drunk Minotaur uncertainly. "Should we do something about him? You know, to be safe?"

Jo-Ann bit her lip apprehensively. "I - sure, I guess... just don't do anything that would give us away."

"Well, yeah," Joey said, recognizing the obvious. He pointed his wand at the drunk Minotaur and muttered, "Stupefy." The Minotaur crumpled to the ground, toppling over the garbage can lid. It clattered to the ground with a horrifying CLANG.

Joey's insides froze in fear as he stood frozen to the spot. There was a shout of shock from one of the guards, and heavy footsteps came pelting around the side of the building. Joey couldn't see his friends due to the Disillusionment Charms, and hoped dearly that the charms would hold.

Turning very slowly on the spot so he wouldn't make any further noise, Joey saw two of the Minotaur guards peering around the alleyway with eager expressions. They fell quickly, however, when they only saw the collapsed drunk slumped against a wall.

One of the guards gave a surly huff and grunted, "Drunks. Always the drunks."

The two guards shuffled out of the alleyway morosely, clearly suffering from a severe disappointment. Once they were out of earshot, Jo-Ann hissed, "Are you insane? You nearly gave us up!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know!" Joey hissed back. "I'm trying!"

The three friends did not exchange another word as they began their search again.

"Do you smell that?" Naiose asked after a long moment of intense searching. They had been all over the alleyway three times, and were just about ready to move on. As they were, however, a strange odor filled the alleyway - one that smelled familiar...

"Yeah..." Jo-Ann agreed, sniffing the air.

"It smells kind of - kind of..." Joey began, but a sense of extreme excitement stole over him. "Kind of like a cave!"

The other two paled, and Naiose groaned. "Y-Yeah, it does..."

"I don't think the Minotaurs would have a vault in a cave," Jo-Ann murmured. "Especially if there's a chance that those - things are there."

Joey shuddered - he did not want to think about those horrifying spiders back in Griffonstone - those still appeared in his nightmares. He grit his teeth and said, "I agree with Jo. Those spider thingies would probably kill the guards as soon as they got the chance. Plus, there's a good chance that the spiders only reside in Griffonstone."

"Well..." Naiose replied, but Jo-Ann cut him off.

"Where's the smell coming from?" she asked to no one in particular.

"It seems like it's in this general vicinity," Joey replied, gesturing at a wall to his right that was lined with dusty aluminum garbage cans. "It could very well be trash we're smelling, just keep in mind."

"I really hope the fuck NOT," Naiose said firmly. "I would commit scooter-ankle right here on the spot."

"Scooter-ankle?" Joey chuckled. "Haven't heard that one in a while... what about toaster bath? That's a classic."

"Nah," Jo-Ann intervened. "Too cliche."

"What about speed bump?" Naiose suggested.

"Ahh, yes," Joey said in mock nostalgia. "As a child, it was my dream ambition to become a speed bump."

Jo-Ann slugged him in the shoulder. "Stop it," she said firmly.

"What? My parents could just make another one of me - OW! Okay, okay, I'll stop."

"Thank you."

While Joey and his girlfriend shared this small exchange, Naiose began to check the garbage cans, where the smell was stronger. He looked around them, under them, over them, and in between them. Finally, he had no other place to look. So he therefore began, to his dismay, to check the last place he could - in them.

Lifting the lid of the first one, a putrid smell that was a combination of rotten fish and eggs met his senses. He wretched and replaced the lid to its original spot quickly, blinking tears of disgust out of his eyes.

"Naiose - are you checking the trash cans? Where are you?" Joey asked, making his way over to the row of cans. He promptly bumped into Naiose.

"Oh. There you are."

"Can it," Naiose said, walking up to the next garbage can. "This is the last possible place we can look in this area - I can't believe we forgot to check inside them."

"I can," Jo-Ann replied. "They look disgusting. Joey, what's so funny?"

"Can it. Can it, get it? Because we're looking in garbage cans? And he told me to can it...?"

"Joey, shut the fuck up and help me look," Naiose said, shaking his head. "You and your puns, I swear."

"It's been forever since I've made one!" Joey protested. "You're just jealous."

"Guys, focus," Jo-Ann said firmly, cutting across the unnecessary dialogue. "Let's... let's just get this over with."

There were only five other trash cans, since the first one had already been checked. Naiose and Jo-Ann stepped up to their respective cans and took a peek. Ignoring their retching sounds, Joey selected the can second from the right. He braced himself for the terrible smell before he hoisted the lid up. Holding his breath, he pulled it off.

There was no smell. He looked down, smiled slightly, and said, "First try."

"What?" Jo-Ann asked, walking over. Her arms were extended so as to not run into anyone, and they found her boyfriend's arm.

"Found the vent," Joey announced proudly. "See?"

Naiose joined them and inhaled. "Yep, that's definitely the cave smell."

"What d'you think?" Joey asked his friends. "Just go for the gusto?"

"Got a better plan?" Naiose asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Not really - thought I'd ask," Joey replied. "Alrighty, then! Tally ho!" He vaulted into the can and felt himself plunge into pitch darkness.

The wind whipped by his face as he felt the passage slowly curve into a horizontal position. The stone was incredibly smooth and damp, so he glided right over it. When the passage became completely horizontal, Joey pointed his wand at his rear and said loudly, "Arresto Momentum!"

The surface below Joey slowly began to get more of a grip on him, and friction played its part as he came to a complete stop. Fortunate for him, too, because there was a vertical drop inches from the spot where he came to a stop. The vent bent downward at a ninety degree angle.

He tried to sit up, but felt a sharp pain in his forehead as his head collided with the top of the vent. Blinking tears of pain out of his eyes, he rolled over onto all fours and pointed his wand back up the chute.

"Expecto Patronum," he whispered, and a silver burst of light emanated from his wand. In one fluid movement, it morphed into a brilliant phoenix, which perched itself in front of him. It blinked at him peacefully, awaiting orders.

"Relay this message to my friends," Joey murmured softly to the luminescent bird. "I'm okay - the vent is safe. Once the passage goes completely flat, use a Braking Charm."

The phoenix flew up the passage with a burst of silver light. Once it was gone, Joey returned his attention to the drop. Something at the bottom was filling up the drop with a dim golden glow. Peeking over the edge, Joey saw a grille barrier below. Below that was another room.

I really hope this is the right one, Joey thought to himself as he heard a sliding noise coming from further down the passage.

Jo-Ann came to a sliding halt next to him and said breathlessly, "Naiose is coming soon - only a moment."

Another sliding noise came from the darkness, and the two were joined by Naiose, who looked windswept. He paused to catch his breath for a moment, then grinned up at Joey.

"Awesome," he muttered. "Now what?"

"The end of the vent is here," Joey replied quietly, looking back down at the grille. "I just hope we're in the right place."

"One way to find out," Jo-Ann said, giving Joey a playful nudge towards the drop. Joey gave a start and grabbed hold of her arm.

"Not funny," he grunted as the other two giggled silently. "C'mon, let's get this over with."

He grabbed the edge of the drop firmly and slid himself over so that he was hanging by his hands. It was in that position that he faced a new problem - the grille was still a good five feet below him. He grit his teeth and gripped his wand even tighter, as he was still holding it. He then let go of the edge and dropped, preparing to squat down as soon as his feet connected with the grille so he wouldn't make a lot of noise.

Unfortunately for him, the time never came. The moment he put his weight upon the grille, it broke off and fell into the room below, taking him with it. He had no time to react before the grille made contact with something.

CLANG!

Joey landed on top of the grille painfully and rolled off onto the ground. Groaning, he got to his feet and held out his wand, preparing to fight the guards that were surely in this room. The bad news was that there were indeed guards in that room.

The good news was that there were only two of them, and the grille had fallen on top of the both of them, knocking them unconscious. Joey let out a sigh of relief. Now this was really lucky.

A loud banging noise sounded in front of him, making him jump. Looking up and beyond the collapsed grille and guards, there was a large set of doors, identical to the ones that were on the outside. How many layers did this place have?

There was another banging noise coming from the door, this time louder, as if someone was trying to knock down the door.

"Mitrus! Covialus!" bellowed an angry Minotaur's voice. "What's going on in there??"

"This git was goofing around, then knocked the vent cover off!" Joey roared back in a passable Minotaur voice.

"Which one are you??" the Minotaur from the other side demanded.

"Er - Mitrus!! How are you unable to recognize my tone!?" Joey bellowed back. To his surprise, the Minotaur on the other side of the door chuckled.

"To be fair, comrade, we all sound the same here," the Minotaur said in a slightly kinder voice. "Might wanna get that voice checked out, though!"

"Yeah, fine!" Joey growled back, trying to put a surly edge in his voice.

The sound of clanking armor grew fainter as the Minotaur on the other side of the door left. Joey let out a relieved sigh and looked up at the vent. "Guys! We're clear!"

Jo-Ann and Naiose silently jumped down from the vent, the latter taking care to tread on the face of one of the unconscious guards. Once they were safely on the ground, Naiose looked around the room. "So - are we going there next?"

"Going where next?" Joey asked, looking around wildly.

"Over there, retard," Naiose deadpanned, pointing to a small door in the wall opposite of the large double doors. "The door that's literally right in front of us."

"Okay, okay, I see it," Joey retorted. "Leave me and my three brain cells alone."

"Joey, you do not have three brain cells," Jo-Ann said with a grin, "And Naiose, stop calling him names."

"Yes ma'am," Naiose said in an oily voice with a bow. Joey aimed a kick at his friend's shins.

"Don't mock my girlfriend, you thot," Joey said in mock anger.

"Heh... well, shall we get going?" Jo-Ann said as Joey and Naiose gave each other a fist bump and began following her. "Boys," she muttered as the three friends stepped up to the door.

Joey grabbed the fine, curved silver handle of the door and tested it. It was not locked, so it swung open freely, revealing a long, roughly hewn rock passage behind it. Naiose let out a groan.

"It's fine - we only have to deal with booby traps or something," Joey said consolingly. "I'm positive there are no spiders. If there are, then... well, use fire, I guess. You know? The ignition spell?"

"We'll have it ready," Jo-Ann replied calmly. Joey smiled appreciatively at his girlfriend, who returned the look.

Joey entered the corridor first. The air immediately became damp and cold, as it naturally would feel in an underground cave. A light condensation covered the walls, making them glisten as Joey lit up his wand.

"Okay... Lux."

The passage seemed to go on for a lifetime, occasionally turning to the left or right. It even sloped down every now and then, leading them into colder and damper air. It was only after Joey stepped on a pressure plate when something interesting happened.

He felt a hand sharply pull him out of the way as a massive iron spike shot up from the place he was standing a split second before, tearing a hole on a small part of his robe.

"Dude!" Naiose yelped, while Jo-Ann pulled Joey to his feet. The three of them stared transfixed at the iron spike as it slowly slid back into the ground. When it had disappeared, they all exchanged nervous looks.

"Hoo boy," Joey said weakly."What did I tell you? Booby traps."

"How are we getting across?" Naiose asked.

"Trial and error, I guess," Jo-Ann replied, looking the corridor up and down. "We can trigger the traps with our wands - then all we'd have to do is memorize the way across."

"Sounds like a plan," Joey said smartly. "Why don't we start triggering instead of yakking?"

The three friends each in turn shot a simple Stinging Jinx at the tiles in the floor. They immediately stepped on the tiles that were proven to be safe. Progress was slow, but they managed to get to the other side without a single scratch.

"Ugh, that took forever!" Joey groaned impatiently as soon as they reached the other side. "Let's get going; the sooner we get out of here, the better."

Unfortunately, they had gone through three more challenges before getting anywhere interesting. The first consisted of a large pit in which they had to lasso massive stalactites with rope and pull them down to make a bridge. The second was a very confusing riddle that consisted of choosing between a vial with a key at the bottom, poison, and vinegar. The only reason they had passed that one was because Naiose accidentally smashed the vials with poison and vinegar.

The third challenge was the most interesting as well as dangerous; they had to duel a huge basilisk to the death. Something about stalactites seemed to be catching on, for they managed to cause one to embed itself in the basilisk's skull.

Finally, they had reached a large set of impressive, golden doors. Before Jo-Ann or Naiose could walk up to it, Joey threw himself in front.

"Wait a minute," he said dully. He peered suspiciously at the golden doors for a second, then turned right and pushed up against the wall. The confused looks of Jo-Ann and Naiose quickly turned to surprise as they realized it was a door. Joey, however, seemed completely unfazed by this, and continued on impatiently.

A couple of turns later, and their goal was in sight - the Scepter of Argegrabus sat on a pedestal in the middle of a huge circular chamber. It was completely unguarded, and -

Once Joey looked again, his heart sank. Not another challenge, surely!

A cloaked figure was all that stood between the three friends and the Scepter. It held itself in a familiar way, but Joey couldn't pin down who he knew that had that posture. It was much smaller than a Minotaur - human sized, actually. It seemed to sense their presence immediately, for it turned to face them.

"Okay, I don't know who you are, but could you please make it quick?" Joey asked wearily.

The cloaked figure drew a wand.

"Oh - THAT'S NOT GOOD!" Joey yelped, whipping out his wand in just enough time to deflect the figure's attack. He sent a retaliating spell back, forcing the figure to dodge with surprising agility to one side. In the process, however, its hood slipped off, revealing a face Joey never expected to see again.

"D-DAD!?" he cried, nearly dropping his wand in shock.

Roderick Steffen took advantage of the moment and knocked Joey off of his feet with a spell.

"STOP!!" cried Jo-Ann. "He's your SON, you can't - AUGH!"

She was sent sprawling across the floor by Rod's merciless aggression. Joey couldn't believe what he was seeing. No, it couldn't be true, he was dead, he saw him killed -

Then Joey saw his father's face up close - or what was his father, anyway. His eyes were so black they seemed to draw light from the air. The skin on his face was sagging, and he looked as if he had just woken up from a fifty year nap.

No - this wasn't his dad... something was wrong.

"Why do you not fight me, boy?" Rod said in a deep, evil voice that was not his. It was as if someone had taken Lord Valkaris's voice down eight octaves. "I'm sure you miss your father very much."

Zombie-Rod spoke in a gloating tone as he retrained his wand on Joey. He wore a leer that would have never shown on his father's face. He shot another curse at Joey, who deflected it into the ceiling. The ceiling began to quake and collapsed in the area that it had been hit.

"Joey, I think it's a reanimated corpse!" Jo-Ann cried in horror. "Don't listen to it! That's not your dad - just his body!"

No - she was wrong - the deep voice had to be a trick of the mind! His dad was right there, perfectly alive and intact. He couldn't hurt his own father! He could bring him back - this was his chance!"

"You aren't dead!" Joey cried as Rod attempted to curse him again. "You're my dad!! We can make you better!"

"Joey, NO!!" Naiose bellowed, throwing himself in between Joey and the corpse. "It's not your father, Joey - it's a dead body bewitched into doing the caster's bidding!"

"YOU'RE WRONG!!" Joey bellowed, and attempted to shove Naiose out of the way. There was a flash of light, and Naiose began to scream louder and more terribly than Joey could of ever imagined.

His 'father' had used the Torturing Curse on his best friend.

His 'father' had been trying to kill him and his friends.

Tears of realization welled up in Joey's eyes as he watched his friend writhe on the floor in agony. Rod hit him with another curse, sending Naiose into another hysterical frenzy.

"NO!!" Jo-Ann screamed, sending a spell at Rod, who deflected it and prepared to curse her in retaliation.

"Excruciate!!" Rod bellowed, but he looked down at his hand and realized that his wand was gone. It clattered across the floor away from him to the other wall.

Joey, having just disarmed his zombie-father of its only weapon, kept his wand trained on the very last thing he wanted to kill. He was no suffering from second guessing himself yet again; his dad was right there, half-dead, but alive. How could he be a reanimated corpse?

A vivid image of his father's dead body getting sucked into Tartarus at the Gateway, right after he had been murdered by his own brother. Then two words slipped into his mind - half dead.

This was not his father. His father was dead - forever. No but-wait-there's-mores.

"Are you going to kill me, then?" zombie-Rod sneered, sensing weakness. "I challenge you, then, to finish it. Prove you have the guts to do what it takes."

Joey grit his teeth and ignored the flood of tears running down his face. This was going to take more guts than he could possibly imagine. He hated what he was about to do - every cell in his body screamed for him not to. Regardless, he tightened his grip stubbornly on his wand.

"Mordo," he half-sobbed.

A flash of pale green light, and it was over. The reanimated corpse of Roderick Steffen, instead of collapsing, dissolved into pitch black smoke, sending a shockwave through the chamber. A soft, creepy scream that sounded like Lord Valkaris echoed through the chamber shortly afterward.

Naiose and Jo-Ann stood rooted to the spot in a stunned silence. It was over just as quick as it started - but it was such a twisted battle. The fact that they had just witnessed their dearest friend dispose of a horrible evil that resided in his own father's dead body made them feel more sorry for him then they had ever felt in their lives.

Joey collapsed to his knees and let his wand clatter to the ground. He looked down at his shaking hands, which were both palms up, and tried to ignore the thoughts screaming at him.

Coward!

Sicko!

You are such a disgrace - you killed your own FATHER!!

Truly despicable... how could you be the one to save the world?

"No... stop it..." Joey grunted, grabbing fistfuls of his hair. He felt weak, exposed, and defeated; he went from impatient to insane in less than ten minutes, who else would do that? He couldn't do this, he just murdered his own father, he couldn't do it -

He felt a warm hand grip his shoulder, and Jo-Ann's face came into view. She looked terrified.

"Joey... please tell me you're going to be alright," she said meekly.

Joey grunted and wiped the tears off of his face. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

"I worry about you every day," his girlfriend replied, and hugged him extremely tightly. His chest tightened painfully with bad emotions.

"Let's discuss this later," Joey said firmly, getting to his feet. He did so unsteadily, but Jo-Ann assisted him, and he was inwardly grateful for that. He sniffed loudly as he stooped over to pick up his wand from the floor.

He had just collected his wand when a magical siren began to wail, echoing painfully off of the walls. There were deep, gruff shouts coming from the passage they had entered through.

The Minotaurs were now aware of the intruders.

"Joey!" cried Jo-Ann, but her voice was quickly muffled by something. Joey whipped around to see the hem of a cloak whip out of sight into a new tunnel that was definitely not there before. His two friends were nowhere to be seen.

Without a second thought, he pelted towards the tunnel and plunged into darkness. His body collided with something soft and alive, which gave a loud "OOF!" as they both tumbled to the ground.

"Lux!!" Joey cried, and the tip of his wand lit up to reveal a familiar African American man on the ground, who was groaning and panting heavily.

It was Martin Quigby - a member of the old Order of Illisair.

"Jeez, kid, you could have given me a warning that you were coming!" Martin said indignantly, getting to his feet with help from Joey. "Now, first thing's first..."

He pointed his wand at the opening of the tunnel, and it instantly sealed itself magically with rock. Anyone from the outside would have never known there was another way out.

"Wha -? Martin? How?" Joey sputtered, but Martin smiled slightly at him. "Have you been hiding here the entire time?"

"You mean in this here tunnel? No," Martin replied carelessly. "We've been hiding here."

Joey's mouth fell open as they stepped into a large, brightly-lit cavern. There were small little tunnels leading off to another room here and there, separated from the main room by large curtains. There was mismatched furniture in a circle in the center of the room - mostly armchairs, but there was an occasional loveseat. Standing there, in the center of the room, was the remainder of the old Order - Gage, Glynn, and Karen. Karen and Jo-Ann were in the middle of a tight embrace.

Glynn strode up to Joey and clapped him on the back. "Welcome! I take it - by the look of you - the trip wasn't easy?"

"You have no idea," Joey said in a voice that did not sound like his own. Everything was happening quicker than he could process once again - he had gone from trying to steal the Scepter to killing an evil version of his father, and then was now in the middle of the remaining members of the Order. It had been, what, twenty minutes? The luck they had received was incredible.

"Oh! Joey!!" Karen exclaimed, and bolted over to him. She wrapped him up in a massive bear hug, squeezing the air out of him.

"But - but -" Joey sputtered as Karen released him. "How did you know where we were?"

"Utter luck, mate," Glynn replied, shaking Joey's hand firmly. "We knew the guardian was activated, so we sent Martin to scout out who it was. You know, just in case it was someone who was willing to help us."

"Help you what?" Joey asked cautiously. "What are you planning to do?"

"Start a massive revolt," Glynn said airily. "It's our best chance."

"No, it isn't," Joey replied. "It would ruin everything."

Glynn looked as if he had been struck in the head with a club. "Oh... right... your mission. Forgive me, but... would a revolution really damage the chances of success with your mission?"

"Yes," Joey said emphatically. "There will be a time, and it may come soon... I just have to figure out where the last one is..."

"The last what?" Karen asked, looking from Joey to Jo-Ann, then to Naiose. "What are you talking about?"

"Nothing," he said hurriedly, but Karen squinted at him.

"Right... and I suppose you've been looking for these 'nothings' for a long time now?" she asked shrewdly.

Joey felt ice fill his lungs. "Y-You know?"

"Of course I don't," Karen replied impatiently, and Joey instantly relaxed. "But the fact that you said 'I have to figure out where the last one is' is a dead giveaway."

"Ah. Well, my dad told me not to tell anyone..." Joey replied nervously, feeling every single eye in the room on him. "I think I made myself clear before I left."

"Joey, listen," said Jo-Ann from behind him. She put a hand on his shoulder. "I know what your dad said, but to be fair, you did tell the kirin about our mission."

The kirin... he had completely forgotten about the kirin. Were they all right? Did they escape? Were they getting enslaved or killed?

"Joey - Joey!" Jo-Ann said irritably, shaking him out of his thoughts. "Well?"

"W-Well, the kirin didn't have a lot of contacts with the outside world," he reasoned. "If word of what we're doing happened to get out and reach the Dark Lord, we'd be in serious trouble - not to mention the fact that it would jeopardize our mission."

"We can trust them though, Joey!" Naiose intervened exasperatedly. "They're the freaking Order!! Even if they wanted to tell others about the you-know-whats, they'd get murdered on the spot by Maulers!"

Joey looked from Naiose to Jo-Ann, feeling ganged up on. "You guys aren't being serious..."

"We are," they said simultaneously.

Joey huffed. "Forget it," he said gruffly. "We're too close to the end to do this now."

"Actually, it's better that way," Jo-Ann reasoned. "They could help - we only have the Journal to get now."

"She's right," Naiose added. "There isn't a lot of stuff left to do. All we have to do is find out the location of the journal, then retrieve it."

"So you just want me to tell them?" Joey asked pleadingly.

"Duh," Naiose snarked.

Joey sighed, then turned to face the other members of the Order, who had been waiting through the argument patiently.

"Do any of you know what a Horcrux is?" Joey asked.

Martin frowned. Most of the other Order members looked confused, but Glynn's face went completely pale. "So that's what you were looking for," he said quietly. "Is the Dark Lord using them?"

"Not consciously," Joey replied, "But there are a lot of them. He apparently did a large emotional release of magic and scattered them across the world... then they latched onto the most powerful artifacts that exist."

Glynn nodded, then turned to face the group that had no clue what a Horcrux was. "For those of you who don't know, a Horcrux is an isolated chunk of soul," he explained. "That chunk is separated from the rest of the soul so as to preserve it - it gives the owner extra lives, if you will."

Everyone else looked much less confused now.

"So - that's what the Dark Lord has been using to stay alive for so long?" Karen asked.

"Yep," Joey replied darkly.

"So... are you just trying to use them as leverage against the Dark Lord, or are you trying to destroy them somehow?" Martin asked.

"Destroy them," Joey said quietly, "But we don't know how."

"I do," Glynn said immediately.

Jo-Ann gasped excitedly, and Joey turned towards Glynn slowly. "You do??"

Glynn nodded. "I do... but in order to do it, you need all of the Horcruxes in the same place at once. It's very complicated."

There was a long silence during which Jo-Ann, Joey and Naiose ecstatic looks. They could destroy the Horcruxes.

"So what's the plan?" Glynn asked.

Joey gave a start and looked at the man incredulously. "What!?"

"Well, it's your mission," Glynn explained. "You should have a plan, yes?"

"Well..." Joey murmured sheepishly.

"... We've kinda been winging it," Jo-Ann said, finishing her boyfriend's sentence for him. He gave her a grateful look.

"No plan!?" Karen said in a high pitched voice. "Nothing to go off of? Do you know how dangerous that can be??"

"We've scarcely noticed," Naiose replied tonelessly. Karen seemed to realize what he meant almost immediately and didn't press the matter.

"Um - so have you guys been hiding out here the entire time?" Joey asked, looking for a quick change of subject.

"Yeah," replied Gage, catching everyone by surprise with his sudden statement. "It's been incredibly boring."

"Amen to that," Martin muttered.

Glynn shot Martin a nasty look, then returned his gaze to Joey. "Everyone's been restless for a while now... I've managed to keep them going with the prospect of a revolt. It hasn't been easy..."

"What do you mean, 'keep us going'!?" Martin burst out indignantly. "It sounds to me like you lied to us."

"Stop it, Martin!!" Karen scolded. "Don't you start! Glynn has been doing his best for us and you know it!"

Martin huffed and retreated into a sulky silence.

"Why did you choose the vault for your base location?" Jo-Ann asked Glynn.

"It would be the last place they'd expect," Glynn replied. "Right next to the vault - who would see it coming? Not only this, but our base here is protected by the traps and guards the Minotaurs have stationed to protect the vault."

"What was wrong with Joey's dad?" asked Naiose. As soon as he had asked it, he knew it was the wrong thing to say, for everyone in the room cringed and cast anxious looks at Joey, whose expression had become stony.

"The thing is... I haven't told anyone else this... but he was a Horcrux, not the Scepter," Glynn replied. "Don't ask me how, because I have no clue."

"Wha - no, that's not - that's not true... that's impossible!" Joey spat. "How could you possibly know that!"

"Ever since Horcrux-Rod was stationed in the vault, I began to watch it," Glynn explained, taking a seat in one of the armchairs. "The first time I recognized it because of Rod's face, I was beside myself. I even almost approached it... then I saw the eyes. That told me that something wasn't right. So I waited.

"He began to show signs of dark magic with his everyday activities - stuff that the true Rod would never dream about. He was acting weird - bloodthirsty, even. He was always muttering to himself, and it was by this that I realized he was connected to the Dark Lord. He was muttering stuff that was coming directly from the Dark Lord's mind. Then I knew that it was more than a simple reanimated corpse. It had to be connected to a part of his soul."

At that moment, Joey felt his chest give a painful heave. "So... I just took care of one off the Horcruxes without knowing it?"

"Yep," answered Glynn bluntly. "The only way you can destroy a Horcrux when it isn't in the presence of its fellows is when it's either isolated or if it's in something that can move and think for itself."

"Ah," Joey said. "I guess that makes sense."

"Before you go asking any more questions, let me ask you something," Glynn said before Joey could speak again. "It pertains to your mission - do you know what the last Horcrux is?"

"Yeah, actually," Joey replied, looking back at his two friends. "A journal of some sort."

"He means Starswirl the Bearded's Journal," Jo-Ann corrected.

"Of course," Glynn groaned. "Of all powerful artifacts, it had to be that one."

"Why?" Joey asked. "Is it dangerous?"

"Dangerous?" Glynn chuckled. "Heh, no. As a matter of fact, I happen to know where it is."

"YOU DO!?" Joey, Jo-Ann, and Naiose cried at the same time.

"Yeah," Glynn said bitterly, "Except the problem is, it's kept in the most guarded place in the entire world."

Joey felt his heart come crashing down. "You don't mean -"

"Yeah, I do," Glynn said with a weak smile. "Canterlot."

The atmosphere in the room became so tense Joey could of sworn you could slice a hole in it with a knife. Everyone stared at Glynn apprehensively, then exchanged nervous glances with one another.

"We need to do it as soon as possible," Joey said, cutting through the silence.

"W-What!?" everyone else yelped except Glynn, who massaged his temples, then looked up at Joey.

"Are you sure?" he asked. "With such little preparation?"

"We don't need preparation," Joey replied. "We need a diversion."

"B-but surely you realize the Dark Lord himself will know where you are?" Karen sputtered.

Joey felt fear and apprehension boil up in him like acid, but he had made this decision. "I don't care. The prophecy says we need to meet anyway, and if I can destroy all of the Horcruxes before we do, we're even."

"What about that Soul-Switching Spell?" Glynn asked hurriedly. "Your souls are still bound together; you have to break the connection first!"

The fear grew tenfold. Joey had not forgotten, but the fact that things were much more complicated did not do anything to soothe him.

"I'll figure that out later - we have a Horcrux to snatch."

Evening came in chilly fashion the next day, as a freezing cold gust woke him from his nap. Jo-Ann, Naiose, and himself had been napping in a cave very close to Canterlot - just on the other side of a small hill directly below. Here it was very cold, and the skies over the city were incredibly dark, much darker than the areas surrounding them.

The three friends had left the Order's safe refuge in Minos to come all the way out to their current location to prepare to make a break for the castle when they had the go ahead.

The plan was very simple; Karen was in charge of the diversion, which would occur just after dark. She was currently in Ponyville, where they had helped her drive out the reapers and lone Mauler (who was now hanging unconscious by his underpants from the town hall flagpole). Glynn, Martin, and Gage were to come into the city from above (via the mountain) and rid the place of reapers. There would be an explosion of some sort, and that would be the signal.

After they do that, Joey, Naiose, and Jo-Ann were to make a beeline for the castle using their new skill - smoke-travelling. Just as the Maulers could travel quickly via tendrils of pitch black smoke, the three friends could now travel in tendrils of smoke that seemed to be made of pure light.

Now all they had to do was await the signal...

Karen stood on a little rise just off the path to the main gates of Canterlot. Behind her was the population of Ponyville in its entirety, looking very anxious. The moment she had asked the village to assist her in a diversion, the movement to accepting the task wholeheartedly was outstanding. The entire village, excluding the children, had rose to the occasion magnificently. They had instantly accepted once they had been told it was to help Joey get into Canterlot.

Now, they all stood out in the open, facing the city. All they had to do was charge at the gates... but how many of them would return home to their families?

She did, of course, tell them that the chances of dying were formidable. They would not be deterred, though, even when they were told that they might not return to their children. This failed to change their minds, too, to Karen's uncomfortable surprise. Apparently they valued the freedom of the world over their own families. This was honorable as well as depressing at the same time.

She turned to the crowd and swallowed the lump that had risen in her throat. "Are you all sure you want to do this?" she asked loudly.

There was a murmur of determined assent.

"Okay, then," Karen said heavily. "Follow my lead."