Against Time

by GoldenChozo

Rating: teen
Tags: Sad, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Adventure
Length: 18941

Sometimes you don't realize the risks until the worst has already fallen.

Guilty for his actions, Ace Doughty leaves his friends behind to fix his mistakes. He puts his life, as well as the lives of his new friends and even his love on the line. Should they fail, they'll be labeled enemies of Equestria, and the moon will be without a ruler. Friendships are tested and unexpected allies are brought to light.

Direct sequel to The Epochust. If you don't read that first, then many of the characters and scenarios will not make sense.

Published 2012-09-03 08:44:01 UTC
Last updated 2012-11-11 16:44:12 UTC

Prologue

"Ego ipse ut tributum ad Epochust."

The pillar crashed down with a sickening crunch. Ace didn't have to watch to know what had just occurred. Pepper had just given her life to complete the final trial. The Temple of the Epochust was now opened. Ace had to push on. He couldn't fail now, not after his friends died for this. It was his choice to come here, and he was responsible for their deaths. He didn't want them to be in vain.

Ace opened his eyes. A creature flying towards him caught his attention, and he drew his sword. A midnight blue alicorn landed a few feet in front of Ace. The alicorn's wings disappeared in a burst of blue magic when she landed.

"Prinshesh!" he exclaimed, sheathing his sword. "How did you get away?"

"Luna's back in Canterlot," the unicorn said. "She decided to check on things through me. She lent me her magic to get out of that hive."

"Good to have you back," Ace said. "Now let's get to the temple."

The two reached the entrance within a minute, as it was right near the final pillar. The large door had three what appeared to be locks in a triangular pattern. The lower left one had a pattern appear on it. It was a light purple star surrounded by a crescent moon of the same color.

"Isn't that...?"

"Crescent's cutie mark," Ace finished for Stella. The lock extracted itself from the door and floated in front of it. The lower right was next. The pattern on it was that of a yin-yang. "And Nighthawk's," Ace added. The second lock followed along with the first. The lock at the top was the last one. A pattern of a blue peppermint with water droplets around it appeared.

"And Peppermint's," Stella said. Ace looked away and closed his eyes as she said Pepper's name. He regained his strength and watched as the final lock pulled itself out. The three locks rotated around each other before coming together in a central point. They exploded upon contact, the shockwave nearly knocking the two ponies off their hooves.

The door slowly sank into the ground. The inner walls of the temple were lined with statues. The statues appeared to depict random ponies, each one in a state of perpetual horror. There was a large spiral walkway leading up to the top of the temple, which also had statues along it. They stopped before reaching the upper levels of the walkway.

Ace and Stella began to climb the spiral walkway, passing statue after statue along the way. The second floor was mostly bare, save one large statue in the middle. The statue was that of an alicorn. It looked similar to the Princesses, except much larger and more masculine. There was a stone in front of it with an inscription, which read:

"Vos qui completur in iudiciis, accipere title Temporis Custos. Redire ad vitam, quorum sacrificium institutus es hic tua cotidianam vitam resumere. Tibi revelare tuum recenti abilities, vitae est forisfaciet Epochust."

"We did it, Ace," Stella said. The horn on the statue began to glow white. A wisp of white magic came out and floated between the two. It split into two separate wisps, which went into both of them. They both started to glow white, the powers of the Epochust being granted to them.

The glowing subsided. They both understood what they could do and how to do it thanks to the magic from the statue.

"The reason we even went on this journey was because I joked to Crescent about speeding up time to see the perihelion," Ace said. "I think we should go back to that morning. That way I make sure not to mention it to Crescent, and nopony has to know about the Epochust."

"Good idea," Stella responded. "I'll teleport us to Ponyville. Just remember that we can't tell anypony about this." She used their new ability to stop time entirely, followed by her using her own magic to teleport the two to Ponyville. The bustle of Ponyville sped by in reverse as Ace threw back time. The bustle died down as the sun set on the eastern horizon. The moon crossed the sky in a matter of seconds before setting to the east as well.

Ace watched the sun move backwards along the sky as he recounted what they did on that day. He looked back as they traveled from Canterlot to Whinniesburg, and the sun again set in the east. Various booths and activities were reconstructed as the perihelion rose in the west. The moon visibly crept towards the eastern sky. It stopped before it made it to the horizon, however. A flash of light blue and the pair found themselves on Princess Luna's balcony, time resuming as normal.

"Welcome back," Luna said.

"What? Why did we stop here?" Ace asked, looking to Stella.

Stella put a hoof to her face. "We can't go further back than the perihelion," she said.

"Why not?" Ace asked.

"The moon and it's ruler have power over the Epochust," Luna answered. "The perihelion, which is when I'm at my strongest, automatically stops all who try to return to a time before that."

"And you didn't mention this before we left?"

"I apologize. I'm surprised you didn't bring it up along the way," she said to Stella.

"To be fair, I was under your command for three days until you shed me," Stella countered. "I was preoccupied with fighting changelings in the first trial, at which point I was captured. I wasn't able to escape until after Ace had already finished the other trials."

"I was joking," Luna said. "Now get your friends and go to Ponyville. I'll call a Lunar Guard to escort you."

Ace and Stella bid Luna farewell and went down the hall to the guestroom. Stella rounded a corner and bumped into a mint green pegasus.

"Pepper!" Stella exclaimed.

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" The pegasus replied. Ace came up behind Stella before she could respond.

"I see you've met Stella," he said.

Pepper smiled upon seeing Ace. "Is this why you stayed back?" She asked. "To get a souvenir and talk to some mare you've never met before?"

"You could say that," Ace replied. "Actually, there's something I need to say to everypony. Can we head back to the guest room?"

"Sure."

"Great. You go on ahead and let them know. There's something I need to tell Princess here in private." Pepper started back towards the room as Ace pulled Stella back a few steps. "What was that?" he whispered furiously.

"What do you mean?" Stella replied.

"This is the night before we left. We never even saw you until tomorrow."

"That may have slipped my mind," Stella replied slowly. "Sorry."

"I'm pretty sure she thinks I told you about her, so we don't have to worry about that. Let's get to the guest room and be on our way."

***

"You have served in the Royal and Lunar Guard well. On behalf of my sister and all of Equestria, thank you. Farewell, Chrysoberyl, Blaze, Nighthawk. May you find success in your future."

The retired guards stood up and made their way into town, away from the Lunar Princess. Nighthawk, however, was tackled down by Crescent. "Nighthawk!" she yelled.

"I didn't expect to see you here, Crescent," the dark pegasus replied.

"I take it you two know each other?" Luna asked.

"We were best friends when we were younger," Nighthawk said, standing upright. "We were neighbors in Canterlot before I joined the Royal Guard. I heard Crescent had moved away, but I had no idea that it was the same town that we're being released in."

"Well I'm glad I could bring you back together," Luna continued, smiling. "Now, there is something I must speak to Ace and Stella about. So if you two could come with me." The two did as they were told as Luna walked away. When there was nopony around but the three of them, Luna spoke up.

"Have you not told them about the Epochust?" she asked.

"We're not supposed to tell anypony, or we die," Stella answered.

"But I know of what transpired, yet here you stand," the Princess said. "Perhaps if they figure it out on their own, everything will be fine."

"That makes sense," Stella replied. "Let's split up and try it out."

"I wish I could join you, but I must speak with the mayor. I wish you luck." Luna walked away, towards the town hall.

"I'll go find Pepper," Ace said. "You hunt down Crescent and Nighthawk. I don't think we really need Cherry to know, since she didn't want to be involved anyway."

The two went their separate ways to find the others. Stella managed to find Pepper. While Pepper had tried forgetting the past week, Stella was still able to direct her. She managed to figure out what happened, or rather what would have happened. Ace managed to find Crescent, who was with Nighthawk.

"Pepper, are you alright?" Stella asked as Pepper had trouble keeping her balance. This attracted Ace's attention, and he flew quickly to where he heard it.

"Pepper!" he yelled upon seeing her struggling to stand. There was blood between her and Stella. "Princess, what's happening to her?"

"Luna was wrong," was Stella's response. Pepper finally fell victim to gravity and collapsed, unconscious.

"Pep!" Crescent exclaimed, running up to the scene as well. Nighthawk was right behind her. He went up and knelt beside her. He put his ear to her mouth first, then put a hoof on her chest.

"She's still alive," he said, standing up. "But we should get her to the hospital as soon as possible."

"I can teleport us there," Stella said. A flash of blue and the group was in front of the Ponyville hospital. Nighthawk lifted Pepper's unconscious body onto his back and carried her in. Two nurses carried her into a room where they examined her. The others sat in the waiting room. There was another stallion in there, a white pegasus with a black and red mane.

Thunder, who had seen Pepper collapsed, joined them in the waiting room. Stella explained to him what happened, making sure to leave out details pertaining to the Epochust.

After what felt like forever, a nurse came out. "I'm sorry to say that Peppermint isn't going to make it," she said. Ace stood up and walked out the door, unable to take Pepper dying again by his own ultimate choice. Stella got up and followed him out. Time stopped everywhere except for those two.

"I'm sorry, Ace, I didn't think this would happen," Stella said consolingly.

"It doesn't matter now," he replied, his expression somber. "Let's go back to the perihelion."

"Ace..."

"I don't want Pepper to die like this!" Ace snapped. "If the price for revealing the truth is death, I'd rather die myself than watch her die."

"Ace, no. Let's go back to when Luna spoke to us earlier and tell her it wouldn't work."

"I don't want to keep lying to everypony," Ace replied. "I want them to know the truth."

"Fine," Stella said, defeated. "But I'm going to help explain it as well."

"You don't need to get yourself killed like that."

"It won't be much of a life without you." This caught Ace off guard. He hadn't really thought about it, but he had become closer to Stella than he had been with Pepper over the past week.

"Alright, we'll tell them." Ace unfolded his wing, allowing Stella to slide in under it. "Together." They sat down, Ace's wing still draped around Stella.

Time began to reverse itself. The two ponies watched Pepper go by on a stretcher to the front desk. From there, she was transferred onto Nighthawk's back. Nighthawk and Crescent then went out of view around the corner. The reversed time sped up, making a backwards week feel like a few minutes. A flash of blue bid them stop as the two again found themselves on Luna's balcony.

"Thank you for giving me time to leave a copy of myself in that other time," Luna said.

"Wait," Stella started, "do you remember the events of the next week?"

"When I stopped you last time, there was a brief period where I was transcending time with you," the Lunar Princess said. "I think that allowed me to move freely while you alter time. By the way, try not to do that too much, as every time you go back, you create a parallel universe."

"Noted," Stella said. "Anyways, we came back because you were wrong. Pepper figured it out on her own, and lost her life because of it."

"I see. But why did you come back this far?" Luna asked. "Surely it would have been better to resume before you hinted it to her."

"I did it because I can't keep lying to everypony," Ace said. "I want them to know the truth, even if it kills me."

"That is a very noble decision, Ace," the Princess said. "You should probably be on your way now. They may come looking for you if you linger here too long. I don't think Pepper would be too keen on seeing this." Ace stood up and folded his wing. Stella stood up as well. "And Ace; farewell."

"Farewell, Princess Luna." The two made their way down the hall, where they encountered Pepper.

"Ace, what's wrong?" she asked.

"Ace, are you sure you want to do this?" Stella asked one final time.

"Yes, Princess," Ace replied. "Let's get back to the guest room, Pepper. I'll explain everything there." He led the way back to the guest room.

1: Preperations

Preparations

Stella was exhausted, having used the teleportation spell so much in such a short time. She didn't have time to rest, though. She had to find the guards. She knew Nighthawk was currently on duty, so she decided to start there. She wandered the castle in search of him.

"Hey, you! What are you doing wandering the castle this late at night?" A guard said upon finding Stella.

"Nighthawk, thank the stars. I was just looking for you," Stella replied, her voice more majestic than usual. She turned around to look at him.

"Princess Luna?" Nighthawk asked. He bowed down in front of her.

"Rise," she said. "Take the night off, Nighthawk. I'd like for you to meet me at the northern gate by sunrise."

"Yes, Your Highness," he replied, standing and preparing to make for the barracks.

"And could you inform Chrysoberyl and Blaze to do the same?" Stella added.

"Of course, Princess."

Once Nighthawk was out of sight, Stella dropped her disguise. She returned to the guest room and lay on the couch, her mission complete. Holding the appearance of the Princess drained away the magic she had left. She slowed time around her to allow herself enough time to recover her strength. She quickly drifted off to sleep.

***

Ace flew around Ponyville, looking for two specific ponies. He knew they were around somewhere, as he had experienced that night before. Twice, actually.

A blue pegasus caught Ace's attention. He dove down, hoping it was the one he was looking for. He landed next to the pony in question.

"Ace? When did you get back?" Thunder asked.

"Just now, actually," Ace answered. "But that's not important. Do you know where Zephyr is?"

"No, I haven't seen her at all tonight."

"Anyway," Ace continued, "there's something important that I need both of your help with."

"What is it?"

Ace looked around, making sure no unwanted listeners were around. "Princess Luna's been abducted."

"What!?" Thunder exclaimed. "Why are you coming to me with this? Why don't you alert the Royal Guard?"

"It's my fault she's gone," Ace said quietly, looking down. "If the Guards find out, I'll most likely be imprisoned for life or even killed, and they'll never be able to rescue the Princess."

"Why do you need me for this?"

"I thought you would be able to help," Ace replied, turning to fly away. "But if you don't want to, that's fine."

"Wait!" Ace had already jumped, but he fell back to the ground. "I'll do it."

"Great, meet me at the western outskirts of town before sunrise." Ace took off, looking for his next target. Thunder went home, preparing to wake much earlier than previously intended the next morning.

Probably should have told him to pass the message on to Zephyr if he saw her, Ace thought to himself. Whatever, it shouldn't be too hard to find her.

A pink coat and contrasting blue mane really stands out in a crowd, and Ace had little trouble finding Zephyr. "Ace, you're back!" she exclaimed upon seeing him. "What about the others?"

"They're somewhere in Sweet Apple Acres, I believe," Ace said.

"What are they doing there?"

"Never trust a tired unicorn to teleport you to a different town," Ace joked. "Especially if you can't fly."

"Why did you teleport?" Zephyr asked. "Shouldn't the Royal Guards have escorted you?"

"Normally, that would be the case, but I'm preparing to go on a secret adventure, and I need your help with it."

"What is it?" Zephyr asked eagerly.

"You can't tell anypony except Thunder, since he's coming too." Ace looked around to make sure nopony was listening to them. "Princess Luna's been taken," he whispered.

"What!? Why didn't you bring this to the Royal Guards?"

"It's best if they don't get involved."

"But the Princess mmph--" Ace cut her off by putting a hoof to her mouth.

"What part of not telling anypony do you not understand?" Ace whispered angrily. "It's my fault she was taken, and I intend to get her back without the aid of the Royal Guard." He retracted his hoof.

"So why can't the Royal Guard be involved?" Zephyr asked.

"It would involve me telling them what happened, which I can't."

"And why not?"

"That's what got us in this mess in the first place."

"You're crazy, you know that?"

"That can be debated," Ace replied. "Now are you in or not?"

Zephyr thought for a moment. "What do you need me for?" she asked.

"Your skills. I know you're an excellent flier, and that it a useful asset to have where we're going. And although you don't know it, you actually saved my life in the exact same situation, even if it did result in some hearing loss." Hearing this confused Zephyr.

"Save your life? How did I save your life?" she asked.

"Again, that would involve telling the truth, which I can't do."

"Then why bring it up? Why would you mention it if you can't tell the truth about it? That just seems stupid!"

"I can tell you if we complete the mission, but not before," Ace said. "It's something that you need to experience in order to know the truth of it. That's why Luna was taken. I told a few ponies the truth, and she sacrificed herself in our stead."

"She's dead!?" Zephyr screamed, drawing the attention of many nearby ponies. Ace flew away without answering. "Get back here!" Zephyr yelled, quickly in pursuit. She chased him down to the same location that Stella's teleportation spell landed him, where she grabbed him and dragged him to the ground, pinning him. "You're not getting away from me without explaining this!"

"It's not you I was trying to get away from, it was the crowd you attracted," Ace said, not even trying to escape. "And no, Luna's not dead. She's immortal. She's being kept somewhere, and we need to go save her."

"How do you know where they're keeping her?"

"I've been there."

Zephyr loosened her grip on Ace as a thought struck her. "You're the one who got her imprisoned, aren't you?" she asked.

"Ultimately, yes. But I regret doing so, and I need your help to get her back."

"How do I know this isn't some trick to get me captured too?"

"If it were, you wouldn't be on top right now." To prove his point, Ace rolled over and pinned Zephyr down. She struggled unsuccessfully.

"Hey! No fair! I wasn't ready!" she screamed.

"I have no reason to hurt you, Zephyr. But if you don't want to help in recovering the Princess, that's your choice." Ace dusted himself off and spread his wings. "If you do decide to come along, meet me at the western outskirts of town before sunrise." He took off, leaving a very confused Zephyr laying on her back in the apple orchard.

***

Stella woke well before sunrise, her time adjustment working just as she had planned. She opted to walk rather than teleport to the rendezvous point. She exited the castle and made her way to the northern gate. She sped time up to lessen the wait. After a few minutes, the moon reached the horizon, and three ponies were quickly heading towards the gate. She returned time to normal speed.

"I thought you said we would be meeting the Princess," the orange unicorn said.

"She told me she would be meeting us here, Blaze," Nighthawk said.

"That unicorn over there does kinda look like the Princess," the white earth pony said. "You sure it was the Princess and not her?"

"It was definitely the Princess, Chrys."

"That actually was me, Nighthawk," Stella said when they reached the gate. "I'm sorry for tricking you."

"What were you doing looking like the Princess?" Nighthawk asked.

"The Princess has been abducted." Stella paused as there was a collective gasp from her audience. "I impersonated the Princess so that I could get you three here and discuss this without raising the alarm."

"We need to let the Captain know right away!"

"No, we don't need--"

"What's going to happen when Princess Celestia returns?"

"There's no need to--"

"Sound the alarm, we need to find the one who took her!"

"Silence!" Stella yelled, utilizing her magic to amplify her voice. The guards all stopped and looked at her. "We'll get nowhere if we raise an alarm. It will just cause a needless uproar and the Princess will never be found. I summoned you three here because I know you can help get her back.

"I've got an accomplice currently heading this way from Ponyville. He'll have some mercenaries who can also help. They should be here at sunrise. Once they get here, we're moving out."

"Where are we going?" Chrys asked.

"If we follow this road all the way to the border of Equestria, we should find a temple. That's where we're going."

"How long will it take?" Nighthawk asked.

"It should take two days to get there, and maybe a few hours to clear the temple."

The sun started to climb over the horizon. Three oblong shadows along the ground bid Stella and the Guards to look up. Casting the shadows were three pegasi flying in from Ponyville.

"This is it?" Stella asked Ace when they landed.

"Expecting more?" Ace returned. "Yes, this is it."

"By the way, I managed to grab this before we went back." A flash of blue turned into Ace's sword, which he left in the previous time.

"How did you manage to get it?" Ace let Stella magically put the belt around his torso, under his wings. "I was with you the entire time."

"Magic," Stella said, a blue spark emanating from her horn.

"Where did you get it?" Nighthawk asked.

"I can't answer that now," Ace replied. "The truth is what got us into this mess in the first place. Once we've got the Princess back, we should be safe to tell you all the whole truth."

"We should probably be heading out now," Stella said. "That way, we can reach Whinniesburg by nightfall."

They set out, going down the path and following it's curve around the mountain. It finally leveled out and fed into an expansive plain, one so large that it was nearly impossible to see any trees. The horizon was a clear line; above was deep blue, and below was bright green.

2: The Road to Whinniesburg

The mountain provided excellent shade to the group as they traveled westward. For a while, at least. Once they had gone far enough, the sun peeked over the mountain, casting it's light over the travelers. To help pass time, they all held their own conversations.

"Isn't that your katana that pegasus has on his back?" Chrys asked Nighthawk.

"It definitely looks like it, but I've still got both of mine," Nighthawk replied, lifting his wings to reveal two more swords.

"I thought yours were the only two in existence, though."

He folded his wings again. "They were hoof-made by my grandfather. He gave them both to me before he passed."

"Maybe he made another, and you just never knew about it," Blaze said.

"If that were the case, it would have a white hilt, unless we're currently walking to our death."

"What do you mean?" Blaze asked.

"These swords are special, imbued with a magic spell that makes them change color depending on the wielder's choices. White represents purity, while black represents corruption."

"But yours are black. What does that mean about you?" Chrys asked.

"That's not something I'm willing to talk about," Nighthawk answered, looking down. He ignored further inquiries about his swords as they continued onward. He felt a hoof push his wing up as Blaze attempted to get a look at his cutie mark.

"Wait... A yin-yang?" he said, releasing the wing. "There's another, darker side to you, isn't there?"

"I've had troubles with it in the past..." Nighthawk said quietly, still looking at the ground. Tears began to form in his eyes as he closed them. "I really don't want to talk about it." He opened his eyes when he felt a pair of hooves on his back. Both Chrys and Blaze had a hoof on his back.

"If it pains you this much, then you don't have to talk about it," Blaze said, hoping to comfort Nighthawk.

"Just don't go dark on us while we're doing this," Chrys added.

Nighthawk smiled. "Don't worry, I only go dark now if my best friends are about to be killed." The three shared a laugh.

***

"So what do you think happened, Thunder?" Zephyr asked.

"What do you mean?" Thunder returned.

"Ace said it was his fault that the Princess was taken."

Thunder thought for a moment. "I have no idea," he finally responded. "He said the truth is what got us into this mess when we reached Canterlot. What do you suppose he meant by that?"

"I don't know, but he said the same thing to me last night." Zephyr brought up something else on her mind. "You don't suppose Ace is bad, do you?"

"I never actually thought of that. But if he was, then why would he be trying to rescue the Princess?"

"It could be a trap. He might be trying to get the ones he knows could resist him out of the way."

"But the Princess has been captured. He could just use her as a bargaining chip if he wanted, so why go to the trouble to get rid of us?" Zephyr ran out of ideas. "We've known Ace for years, and he's never led us wrong. Why shouldn't we trust him now?"

"You're probably right," Zephyr said after a moment in thought. "But still, what do you think happened?"

"I have no idea. What about you, any ideas?"

"Ace told me the Princess sacrificed herself to save him."

"But if she's dead, then where are we going?" Thunder asked.

"She's immortal. Since she can't die, she's being held somewhere."

"That makes sense, but that doesn't answer the question of what happened. I'm sure we'll figure it out by the time we go home. If not, then we can press Ace to try and find out."

"Already tried that, didn't work too well," Zephyr said. "Somehow, it ended up with me going against my better judgement and coming along."

"Then we'll have to work together next time. He may be able to outsmart you, but it'll be near impossible to outsmart both of us at once."

They continued on in relative silence, unsure of what else to talk about until Thunder spoke up.

"Any idea who the unicorn is?" he said.

"No, but she looks a lot like the Princess..." Zephyr trailed off. "You don't think that's the Princess, do you?"

"What do you mean?"

"The Princess was captured, Ace knows she's being kept somewhere. There's this strange unicorn that looks an awful lot like the Princess, who only turned up after the Princess was taken. Maybe that's her prison."

"I see what you mean. But why wouldn't Ace tell us this?"

"Maybe because he can't," Zephyr said.

"Right..." Thunder thought for a moment. "What if she's just Princess Luna's envoy?"

"Her what?"

"What if she sent the unicorn to tell somepony she was taken?"

"But why Ace? Why wouldn't she go to the Guards?"

"There are Guards behind us," Thunder pointed out.

"Right. I just find it hard to trust Ace after he said it was his fault."

They left it at that. They continued on with little more conversation between them. Hardly anypony spoke when they stepped off the path and under a large tree for lunch. They moved on after fifteen minutes, once they had all eaten their share.

***

"During that conversation with the strange alicorn, was there anything that may have indicated why Luna gave herself up like that?" Ace asked.

"Actually, the alicorn was her father," Stella replied.

"Her father?" Ace asked. "Pepper mentioned that I should try and find out what happened to him at the temple. Why didn't you recognize him?"

"I only have Luna's memories as far back as after she was saved by the Elements of Harmony."

"But you can understand that ancient language, which hasn't been used in millennia."

"Wisdom and memory are two different things," Stella responded. "Luna passed a lot of her wisdom to me when I was born. Unfortunately, most of that wisdom is pretty much useless in the modern day."

"Such as that language?"

"Exactly," Stella said, smiling.

"What other useless knowledge do you have?" Ace asked.

"Mostly regarding royal duties and expectations from a millennium ago. Apparently, they've changed quite a bit since then."

"Do you think Luna wanted you to take her place?"

Stella didn't know how to respond. "Certainly not," she said hesitantly. "She was prepared to fight to keep us alive. Besides, I'm just a unicorn. I would only be able to rule for a short time before I die."

"Princess Celestia might be able to do something about that."

"I've seen their royal duties, and they're not very interesting," Stella joked. "I'd much rather live a normal life. As close to one as I can, that is."

"I can understand that," Ace responded. "I don't know too much about that kind of stuff, but I don't think I would want to get into it."

"I could teach you about it sometime if you want. My understanding of it is very outdated, though."

"I just said I don't want to get into it, whether it's modern or ancient."

"Alright, suit yourself," Stella mused.

The sun was starting to go down. This brought Ace to realize something. "Isn't Celestia out of the country?" he asked.

"Yes," Stella answered. "Why?"

"Who's controlling the sun, moon, and stars, then?"

"Celestia's niece, Cadance. She's in charge while both Celestia and Luna are out of the country. That includes the skies." Stella looked up. "Now that you mention it, she's got the stars completely wrong..." She trailed off, both her and Ace silently laughing at the comment.

***

"Welcome to Whinniesburg!" was written on a sign beside the road. The sun and moon were equally along the horizon when they reached it. Instinctively, Ace and Stella led the rest to the Whinniesburg Inn, where they were greeted by two enthusiastic ponies.

"Hello and welcome to Whinniesburg Inn! My name's Summer, and this is my brother, Silver," one of the attendants said.

"Would you like to stay a night?" The stallion named Silver asked.

"Yes, please," Stella said.

"Okay, if you two would follow me," Summer motioned to Stella and Zephyr to follow her as she went down the hall and into a room on the left.

"And if the rest of you would follow me," Silver said. He came out of the counter before adding, "I'm sorry, sir, but we do not allow weapons beyond the desk. Could you place it on the counter?" Ace did as instructed, and Silver led them to a room across the hall from the mares.

***

"So what's your name?" Zephyr asked after immediately jumping to one of the seven beds laid against the wall.

"Stella," she replied, taking the same bed she was in the last time she was here. "And you?"

"Zephyr Lane."

"Nice to formally meet you, Zephyr Lane."

"Where are you from?" Zephyr asked.

"I was born here, in this very inn, but I've spent most of my life in Canterlot."

"Do you know what's up with Ace?"

"I do, actually. In a way, it's my own fault we're even doing this."

"His fault, your fault, whose fault is it really?" Zephyr pressed angrily.

"Really, it was both of ours. But I try not to blame him, as he wouldn't have done anything without my influence."

"Then you're really to blame for Princess Luna's abduction?"

"That directly is both of ours, but Ace blames himself more since it was his idea."

"What was his idea?" Zephyr sat up in her bed, anger replaced by intrigue.

"Remember back at Canterlot how Ace said the truth is what got us into this mess?" Zephyr nodded. "Well, Ace and I have a secret. We told the rest of the ponies who went to Canterlot with Ace. We knew the price was our lives, but we didn't expect the others to be dragged into that equation. Luna stepped in to try and defend us, and that's when she was taken."

"What kind of secret is it?" Zephyr asked eagerly.

"You ask a lot of questions, you know that?" Stella joked. "I'm not sure I can answer that one. Last time I tried to clue somepony in to figure it out on their own, it literally killed them. I don't want you to meet that same fate."

"Can't you give me a hint?"

"You'll be told soon, just give it some time," Stella laid down on the bed, prepared to ignore any further questions. The emphasis on time was overlooked by Zephyr. She seemed to know she wouldn't get anything more out of Stella, so she laid back down as well. They each made themselves comfortable and fell asleep.

3: Pushing Forward to the Edge of Equestria

Ace woke up to Nighthawk shaking him. As he looked around, he saw that he was the last to wake.

"We should probably get moving soon if we're going to save Princess Luna," Nighthawk said, backing away.

"You're right," Ace replied, getting out of bed. "Let's go out to the lobby and wait for Stella and Zephyr." He led the way out the door. They met a violet earth pony as they entered the lobby.

"Well, hey there," the mare greeted. "You look like some strong stallions. Would you mind helping me move stuff at the greenhouse down the street?"

"I'm sorry, but we don't have time for that, Lila. We..." Ace stopped as he realized she never introduced herself. She gave him a suspicious look. Stella and Zephyr came out in time to hear Ace. Stella stopped when she saw her.

"I don't recall seeing you before," Lila said. "How do you know my name?"

"I... uh..." Ace stammered, unable to think of an excuse.

"Summer told us about you," Stella said, walking up beside Ace. "She said you come here often, hoping some travelers will help you at your greenhouse." Lila's gaze softened. She nervously smiled and looked down.

"Wow, I didn't realize I'd made a name for myself here," she said.

"I don't--" Zephyr started, but she was stopped when Stella magically closed her mouth.

"Won't you please help me?" Lila asked again, trying her best to charm Ace.

"I'm sorry, but we really must be going," Ace said, going around Lila to leave. The others followed.

"You're going to the temple, aren't you?" Lila asked, her normal sweet voice sounding very chilling. Ace and Stella stopped immediately, causing Nighthawk and Zephyr to bump into them. They both turned around.

"What temple?" Stella asked.

"Don't play dumb with me. I saw your reactions, I know that's what you're going for."

"I didn't even know there was a temple around here," Ace said unconvincingly.

"You've been there already, haven't you?" Lila asked.

Ace sighed and said, "Yes. We've been there, but now we need to go back."

"Why would you want to go back to that hellhole?" Ace looked around to his motionless companions. He took a step towards Lila.

"Ace, what are you doing?" Stella asked.

"She figured it out on her own, Princess," Ace responded. "It must have just been a coincidence that Pepper died, since nothing has happened to Lila, or even Luna initially." He touched a hoof to Lila, which brought her to life in the timeless room. She yelped and jumped back a little.

"It's not a matter of going back by choice," Ace said. "We aren't supposed to tell anypony about it unless they figure it out. I couldn't lie to my friends, so I told them. We would all be dead if it weren't for Princess Luna stepping in. She gave her life to save us, and now we need to get her back."

"By the way, how did you know about the temple?" Stella added.

"Everypony in Whinniesburg knows about it, since it's so close by," Lila replied. "Are these the friends you tried to tell?"

"No, I made them stay back in Ponyville," Ace said.

"So why are you withholding the truth from them?" Lila asked, indicating the group behind Ace. Ace stepped back to where he was before stopping time.

"They have to figure it out on their own. They don't know the legend, so we can't help them."

"I could tell them," Lila offered.

"That'd be suicide," Ace said before returning time to normal.

"I'm coming with you," Lila said.

"Did I miss something?" Zephyr asked. "You just called it a hellhole, didn't you?"

"You're not coming," Ace said sternly. "I don't want anypony else to get hurt because of my mistakes."

"What about them? Or don't you care for their safety?"

"I know they can handle what's ahead. You, however, can't."

"What makes you so sure?"

"The fact that you need help moving stuff in your greenhouse!" Ace hadn't intended to yell, but his temper had been pushed to it's limit. Regretting doing so, he turned to leave. He walked out, leaving the rest behind at the inn.

"It's probably best if you stay here, Lila," Stella added. "Ace has had a short temper since the... incident at the temple." She walked halfway out the door. "The rest of you, let's go." They did as they were told, leaving Lila alone. Zephyr sped ahead of the rest, determined to get something out of Ace.

***

Ace, who had made it to the edge of Whinniesburg, sat down on the side of the road to wait for the others. He never expected to be tackled to the ground again.

"Ace!" Zephyr demanded, once again pinning him to the ground. "You've got a lot of explaining to do!"

"I promise, once this is all over with, I'll explain everything," Ace replied, trying hard in vain to remain calm.

"No, now!" She commanded.

"I told you, I can't!" At the last word, Ace bucked Zephyr off of him. She landed flat on her back across the road. He stood up and yelled, "If you're just going to question me nonstop, then you can just go home!"

"Not without some idea of what's going on!" Zephyr snapped back, picking herself up.

"Believe me, if I could, I would have by now."

"And why should I believe you? You haven't even told us what's going on!"

"Fine, you want to know what's going on? I'll tell you what's going on. The temple we're going to? It gives whoever gets there the ability to--" Ace cut off, as his mouth was forcibly sealed shut by blue magic.

"Ace, you know that's taboo!" Stella said. "I don't care how angry you are, but it's not worth it to get yourself and Zephyr killed!" She ran up to them, Thunder and the Guards right behind her. "Lila was risky enough, but Zephyr is definite suicide." Ace wanted to apologize, but his mouth was shut so forcefully that he couldn't open it, even after Stella removed her spell.

"As for you," she said, turning attention to Zephyr. "I don't know if you're capable of handling this. I'm not sure what Ace was thinking bringing you along, but it's time for you to go."

"All I want is for somepony to tell me what is even going on!" Zephyr exclaimed.

"I'm sorry, but that's not going to happen." Her horn began to glow.

"Well, we're, like, a million miles away from Ponyville. How do you--" Before she could finish the sentence, she flashed and disappeared.

"You sure it was a good idea teleporting her that far?" Ace said, finally able to open his mouth, albeit with a very sore jaw. "You didn't do so well from Canterlot."

"That was just exhaustion. You know how much magic I used just moments before then."

"Fair enough." Ace moved to address the rest of the group. "Alright, we're almost at our destination, so let's move out!"

***

"--expect me to..." Zephyr trailed off as she suddenly found herself surrounded by a crowd. Not just any crowd, though. It was comprised of ponies from Ponyville. "With magic. Of freakin' course. It's like they're all out to get me or something." She continued to mumble to herself as she made her way home.

Her hooves guided themselves upon a familiar path as Zephyr put the rest of her focus on trying to come up with a logical explanation for everything. She had walked completely past Crescent without thinking about it until afterward, when an idea struck her. "Hey, Crescent!" she called.

Crescent turned around to greet Zephyr. "Oh, hi Zephyr! What's up?"

"You went with Ace to Canterlot, right?"

"You could say I was the reason we even went," Crescent replied. "Why?"

"Can you tell me what happened that night?" Zephyr asked eagerly. "The night of the perihelion?"

"Well, when Luna raised the moon, it was much larger than normal."

"I mean at Canterlot. What made Ace change?"

"Oh," Crescent looked around at anything but Zephyr. "I don't think I can talk about that."

"Why not?" Zephyr demanded. "The Princess was kidnapped! Don't you think you should be telling the Royal Guard or something?" She had said it a little too loud, causing passerby to stop and listen.

"What are you talking about?" Crescent asked. "The Princess wasn't kidnapped, silly."

"But, Ace said she was."

"Princess Celestia's abroad. So if Luna was kidnapped, then who's the one controlling the sun and moon?" Zephyr opened her mouth to respond, but couldn't think of any valid response.

"Then why did he leave to go save her?" Zephyr said finally.

"He didn't, he just went back to Canterlot the morning after the perihelion. And he brought Thunder with him."

"So who's Stella?" Zephyr's question caught Crescent off guard, but she didn't flinch.

"Who?" Crescent asked, doing very well to maintain her facade.

"Stella. The unicorn that Ace happened to meet once Princess Luna was taken."

"I think you should go home, get some rest," Crescent said. "Maybe tomorrow, you'll realize that nothing suspicious is going on." She smiled nervously, expecting to be caught right there. To her relief, Zephyr was too confused and tired to even notice. She flew home, where she took Crescent's advice and went to bed.

***

The path between Whinniesburg and the temple was short. The cliff was visible from the western gate. From the sky a ways out, Ace could make out the shape of the temple in the distant fog. "I can see it from here," he called out upon landing again. "Not much farther now."

"What are we gonna find there?" Thunder asked.

"Hopefully, Luna," Ace replied bluntly. "Also, and I should have probably mentioned this earlier, but there's going to be a lot of danger." He looked down, slightly ashamed. "I almost guarantee that we won't all make it out alive."

"Sounds like a challenge!" Chrys boasted. "Leave it to us, we'll have it cleared in no time."

"It's not that simple," Ace added. He would have continued, but he stopped when the three guards were in a battle-ready position. He turned to see what had got them so worked up.

"It's... just a bush," Stella pointed out. "Nothing special about it except it's the last one we'll see."

"No, there's a pony there," Blaze said. "I can sense it." The bush began glowing with the same orange aura as his horn. He pulled it apart, revealing a violet face, eyes closed, and appeared to be trembling. Stella grabbed the pony with her own magic and dragged her out.

"Lila?" She opened her eyes for a moment when Stella called her name. She closed them again and turned her head away when she saw everypony staring at her. "What are you...?"

"I thought I told you to stay back!" Ace yelled. "Why did you follow us?" She didn't answer. Ace stepped closer. "Answer me!" When she didn't react at all, he turned to Stella. "Send her back."

"No."

"What? Why not? She did exactly what I told her not to!"

"That's no reason to send her home," Stella replied. "If anything, it shows that she's willing to defy anyone to come here."

"But still..."

"I know. She may be dead weight, and none of us want to see her hurt," Stella finished for Ace. "But remember we're a pony down, and we're not likely to find any better replacement this far out. It was your idea to tell her where we're going and show her what we can do. Now get back to where you were and apologize to her." He backed up, ready for Stella to return time to normal.

Lila half-opened her eyes, her head still off to the side. "You did, and I'm sorry for following. I'll be going home now."

"Wait," Ace stopped her. "I was a little harsh on you back there, and I apologize for that." She looked up at him. He sighed before adding, "If you want to come along with us, I won't stop you."

"Really? Thank you!" She was about to grab Ace, but he flew out of the way.

"Just try not to slow us down," he added, landing beside Stella. "If something happens to her, it's on you, Princess," he whispered to her.

"Just stop worrying about it. I'm sure she'll be fine."

"I hope you're right." Ace started back towards the cliff. "Okay, let's get going. Our destination is just over the cliff, so let's go!" He led the way to the cliff overlooking the temple. The others followed him down the cliff side walkway leading up to the temple. They stopped in front of an arch with inscribed text that only Stella could read. Ace turned to face the rest of the party.

"Once we go through here, there's no turning back," he said. "I'm sorry to have to put you all through what's ahead, but it's crucial that we get Luna back. If you want to leave now, then speak up." For a moment, it appeared as if they all wanted to keep going. Then, Thunder stepped forward.

"I'd like to go home," he said. Ace nodded and looked to Stella.

"I'll teleport you back," she said. "Remember, you can't tell anypony about what has happened." Her horn began to glow. "And make sure Zephyr doesn't say anything, either." Thunder disappeared into the blue flash that was Stella's teleportation spell.

"Anyone else?" Ace asked. When none of the remaining responded, he continued. "Then let's go." He walked under the arch, followed by Stella, Lila, and the guards. A flaming wall cut them off from behind, marking the start of the first trial.

4: Trial of Combat Revisited

No turning back. Four of the six looked back when they heard flames roar to life behind them. Ace and Stella, however, were already mentally preparing for what was about to come. "Get ready! It's about to begin!" Ace yelled back before drawing his sword. Any second now, there should be a hole appearing at the center of the arena.

Two figures appeared to be crawling towards the group; one a mint green and one a pale blue. They had a faint blue glow around them. They looked like normal ponies, one being a pegasus and one being an earth pony. The green pegasus even had what appeared to be a burnt wing.

A black pegasus was on the ground behind the two others. It was also glowing faintly, and also appeared to be severely injured if not dead. It had blood and gashes from the neck down. Some of the gashes had what appeared to be metal sticking out of them.

"Wait a second... Ace, aren't those...?" Before Stella could finish her sentence, the figures had gotten close enough to recognize.

"Ace? Stella?" one of them called.

Ace had put away his sword and ran up to them. "Pepper, Crescent, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be in Ponyville!"

"Did you make it?" Pepper asked. "To the Epochust?"

Ace hesitated a moment. "What's the last thing you remember?" he asked.

"I read another funny message, and then I was in the middle of the first trial," Crescent said. "But the hole was gone and Pep and Nighthawk were there too." She stopped and had a sad expression.

"Nighthawk died before you got here, though," Pepper continued. "The last thing I remember was going into the pillar so you could finish what we started."

"You mean that's me out there?" Nighthawk asked. "How is that possible?" Both Pepper and Crescent looked between the two Nighthawks, the living one and the dead one.

"I'm not sure it's safe to tell you yet," Ace said. He stopped time and brought Pepper and Crescent into it. "Yes, we did make it to the Epochust. I thought you all died, though, so we went back to the perihelion. After about a week of not being able to tell you, Luna came to us and brought up a method to let you know. It backfired when we tried it, though, and you ended up dying again.

"Finally, we went back and decided to tell you directly. Of course, we both knew that we would die from it, but I couldn't just lie to you for the rest of my life. It turned out that you would die, too. Luna stepped in and gave herself up so that we could all continue living. That's why we came back. To bring Luna back."

Peppermint walked up and hugged Ace. Something trickling down the back of his neck caught his attention, and he pushed her away. He noticed the rings of blood around her hoof where her bracelets would normally be. Shards of it appeared to be implanted into the wound.

"What happened to you?" Stella asked, coming in after seeing the blood going down Ace's neck.

"Same thing that happened to Nighthawk," Pepper replied. "Any metal is crushed into the skin of whoever's wearing it."

"Is this really Nighthawk?" Crescent asked. She had been so unnaturally quiet, Ace had forgotten he pulled her out of time.

"Yeah, that's really Nighthawk. But he doesn't remember anything that you do after the perihelion," Ace said. "Now go back to where you were so I can resume time safely." They all did as instructed, and time returned to normal.

"When will it be safe to tell me?" Nighthawk asked angrily.

"We have three trials ahead of us," Ace said calmly. "Once we've finished all three and rescued Luna, then it's safe to tell you."

"Don't worry about it, Night," Crescent said. "It'll all be over soon enough."

Nighthawk was about to respond when the ground started to shake violently. "Sounds like the first one's starting!" Ace yelled. The shaking lasted for a minute, and then ended just as suddenly. But something was different. There was no hole in the center. Instead, the dead body of Nighthawk lay there. Ace cautiously went closer.

Stella, Blaze, and the living Nighthawk came closer as well, but they kept a safe distance. Lila and Chrys stayed a little farther back. Ace stepped closer and closer until the corpse was within reach.

Before Ace could even react, the body sprang up and kicked Ace hard in the jaw. Ace was sent flying, and he hit the ground unconscious a few yards away. That's when all hell broke loose.

Crescent pounced on Lila. She struggled to break free, but it was no use. Crescent easily pinned Lila on the ground and let loose a barrage of attacks. She would have continued if Chrys hadn't intervened, sending Crescent flying with a well-aimed kick to the side.

Pepper flew a loop and dove straight towards Stella. The strike winded her, and she found herself on the ground gasping for air. Pepper flew high into the air, ready to drive Stella right into the ground. Stella attempted to put up a barrier, but she couldn't. Pepper was mere feet above Stella when she bounced off an orange field. Seeing Blaze had it handled, Stella went over to check on Lila.

Nighthawk pulled out his remaining sword, ready to kill. He started towards Ace, but was stopped by Nighthawk. He sent a strike, but it was blocked by Nighthawk's sword. Strike after strike was deflected on both sides as the two Nighthawks were locked in battle.

Chrys stepped towards Crescent, who was motionless. Another step, and Crescent was engulfed by a bizarre effect. Momentarily, she was nothing but tiny squares that were various shades of gray. She was like that for less than a second, and then she was standing upright. She had a smug look on her face, taunting Chrys.

The force of hitting the barrier face first knocked Pepper away. She regained control and flew full speed towards Blaze, who retaliated by shooting orange bolts of magic at her. She dodged most of them effortlessly. One appeared to hit her, but it passed right through her wing. Her wing seemed to be split where the bolt hit, but it was reformed by the same gray squares. Pepper hit Blaze full force, landing him right beside Lila and Stella.

Nighthawk managed to knock the sword away from his clone. The clone easily dodged all of Nighthawk's attacks. Finally, the clone decided to go on the offensive. After a nimble dodge, he flew straight at Nighthawk. He put the tip of his sword directly at the clone just in time, causing the clone to take a self-inflicted stab to the face. As he pulled his sword out, the clone fell to the ground.

Chrys tried multiple times to charge Crescent, but she would always disappear and reappear behind him. Finally, he decided to try another approach. He charged her, but when she warped behind him, he stopped and kicked hard. A direct hit to the face which sent Crescent back quite far. She got up, only to be struck dead by Nighthawk.

Stella was trying hard to fight off Pepper, making sure she wasn't able to attack Lila or Blaze. Every spell she used seemed to have no effect. Bolts passed right through, immobilization spells did nothing. Pepper slowly came closer, even walking right through Stella's last resort barrier like it was nothing. Stella, close to magical exhaustion, put up no resistance when Pepper knocked her aside. She almost reached her target when a sword stuck through her neck.

Ace released the sword as he flew over, allowing it to stay lodged in Pepper's neck as she joined her corrupt comrades in death. All three exploded into tiny gray squares, which all converged at the center before disappearing entirely. "Everyone alright?" Ace called to his teammates.

"I'm fine," Nighthawk said, putting away his swords.

"Doin' swell!" Chrys called back. "But Blaze seems to be out cold. Kinda ironic, huh?"

"What about you, Lila? You alright?" Ace asked.

"Yeah. Just regretting following you is all," Lila replied.

"Don't worry, it gets easier from here on," Stella said. "Chrys, can you carry Blaze for a while? We need to move on as soon as possible."

"Sure thing," Chrys said as he followed instructions.

"Shouldn't we wait for him to wake up?" Nighthawk asked. "That way, we're more likely to pass the next trial."

"No, the next one's flight based," Ace replied. "It's just you and me, Nighthawk. Blaze has the whole trial to recover if necessary. It's the third one we'll really need him."

The group made their way to a hollowed out pillar. The pillar had an inscription on the inside. Lila stepped up for a closer look. "Ego ipse ut tributum ad Epochust...?" she said.

"Lila, no!" But it was too late. The center of the pillar crashed down, killing Lila on the spot. Stopping time was evidently useless, as the pillar still collapsed. Ace closed his eyes, turned around, and laid against the pillar. "This is why I didn't want you to come..." he finished weakly.

"Ace, you knew this would happen," Stella said, sitting next to Ace.

"Yeah, but I figured once we got Luna back, we would be able to turn time back to before this and keep everyone alive."

"We still can, though."

"I'm not so sure, now." Ace opened his eyes and looked at the pillar. "The pillar came down even though I'd stopped time. I don't think we can bring Lila back."

Stella was speechless. She thought Ace was simply overreacting. She didn't realize the full severity of the situation. "Then that means..."

"Two more of us have to die still," Ace finished. "And there's no going back."

"What just happened?" Nighthawk asked once time returned to normal. Stella and Ace hadn't bothered to move from their place before the pillar.

"Lila's gone," Ace said, standing up.

"That's terrible," Chrys said. "She seemed so nice."

"There's no time to dwell on it," Ace added. "We need to finish the other trials."

"Do these other trials end in one of us dying?" Nighthawk asked.

"Unfortunately, that is the case. I'm sure there are ways around it, but we can figure them out at the next one." Nighthawk said nothing more as Ace led the way through the arch to the next trial.

5: Trial of Flight Revisited

It looked like just a normal plain. Once the five had passed under the arch, the plain came to life. The pillar traveled farther and farther away as a giant fissure split the land between them. Rising up from the fissure were large chunks of dirt and rocks. "Just like I remember it," Ace said.

"Isn't that a bad thing?" Stella asked. "You know, since you couldn't complete it on your own last time?"

"That's beside-- wait, how would you know?" Ace replied. "You were still in the Changeling's hive until we finished the last trial."

"Luna told me before I rejoined you."

"Alright, then." Ace turned to get a better view of Chrys and Nighthawk. "There is one change from last time," Ace yelled over the monstrous hurricane-force winds coming from the fissure. "There are no substitutes. Since flying is the only option through it, Nighthawk and I will do this trial alone. Once we complete it, the hole should close and you can rejoin us."

"How do we end this trial?" Nighthawk asked.

"We'll figure that out once we get there. Let's go." Ace took off. Nighthawk followed him. They disappeared from sight completely before a few seconds had passed.

In a way, neither of them knew what to expect. Ace was knocked out halfway during his first time through. He had been rescued by Zephyr, but he had permanent hearing damage caused by her sonic boom. Although Nighthawk was there when it happened, it was in a different time, one which never occurred for him.

There was another difference from last time. The wind seemed to converge in on Ace. He didn't think much of it until he noticed that whenever he neared debris, that converging wind caught it and brought it all to him. He generally managed to get away from it, but there were a few pieces that he couldn't shake.

Nighthawk had the same problem. Despite that, he still managed to overtake Ace. He had much more flying experience than Ace did, thanks to the fact that he was a Lunar Guard. The trial was a lot like parts of his training, except the course was out to kill him.

As they flew, the ground shook so hard that they could feel it. Ace looked down to find out why. What he saw sent him into panic for the first time on his journey. The magma that rested at the very bottom shouldn't be visible, yet it was. Not only that, but it appeared to be rising.

The pressure was on to complete the trial before the magma surfaced. It wasn't just a matter of not being able to complete it, but the three non-pegasi were still at the gate. If the magma came out, nothing would be able to save them. They would all die if Ace and Nighthawk didn't hurry.

***

"What's that sound?" Chrys asked. Before Stella could answer, the ground started shaking. The temperature around them started to rise. The fissure was giving off light, as well as steam. There was magma coming up, and they were in the path.

"If we don't do something, we'll die. Any ideas?" Chrys said. Stella looked around for some kind of idea, but couldn't find anything. "Can't you use magic or something?"

"It's not that simple," Stella said. "I could only levitate you and Blaze out of the way. When that magma gets to me, you'll both fall in too."

"What if you held us and Blaze held you?" Chrys offered.

"That might work, save the fact he's unconscious!" Stella snapped.

"Okay, what about teleportation? Can't you teleport us all over there?"

"Two things against that. One, I can't even see the end of the trial. I have no idea how far I'd have to teleport us. Two, this trial is supposed to test your abilities to fly. Magic would make it too simple, and the trial would surely disapprove of that method."

Chrys looked around. "You say you can't lift yourself, but can you lift something you're standing on?"

"Conceivably, yes," Stella said after a moment of thought. "Though I've never really tried."

"That's our best option, then. Think you can grab a rock from out there?" Chrys pointed to the maelstrom occurring before them.

Stella stepped as close as she dared to the edge and braced herself. She looked for a sizable stone that could hold them all. She closed her eyes and her horn began to glow. A decent chunk of stone also began glowing, but it broke apart instantly. Stella fell back has her concentration was shattered. "I don't think fishing for a rock will work," she said, standing. "But I do have another idea. Stand back."

Stella moved to a location a bit farther from the edge. Her horn was glowing and her eyes were closed. She lifted her front hooves off the ground and stomped hard. A large crack encircled her, her own blue aura emanating from it. She lifted it off the ground slightly before cutting her magic, letting it drop back down.

Chrys tried pushing Blaze onto the platform. He got him halfway there before he finally woke up. "What's going on?" he asked, looking around. "Where's Nighthawk? And Ace and Lila?"

"You were knocked out," Chrys explained. "Lila's dead, and Ace and Nighthawk are going through the second trial. There's magma coming up out of that giant hole, and Stella's gonna try and lift us up out of the way."

"You can do that?" Blaze asked Stella, standing and getting on the platform. "Lift us all?"

"It's very hard, but yes," Stella replied. "Now get over here, it's about to hit us!" Chrys did as he was instructed.

Stella tried lifting the platform, but the added weight made it impossible. Blaze tried to help, but he couldn't do much. The ground started to shake again, causing both to lose their concentration. The magma had started to recede back into the crevice. After a moment of it draining, the crevice appeared to be closing.

***

Nighthawk landed at the end of the trial. He started towards the pillar when Ace landed behind him. The ground shook, and the magma stopped rising. It actually started going down. Nighthawk stepped in the pillar.

"Nighthawk, what are you doing?" Ace asked.

"I'm not sure if you know this, but I had plans to leave the Lunar Guard in a few days," Nighthawk said.

"I did know that, actually. That's why I brought you, as well as the other guards," Ace replied.

"I left as an act of courtesy," Nighthawk continued. "Once I was on my own, I had every intention to die."

"What? Why?"

"If you truly knew me, you would know why. Inside, I'm a monster. A cold-blooded killer. My katanas have tasted more innocent blood than you can even imagine. I don't want it to continue, and death is the only way to escape it."

"That's not entirely true. There are plenty of ways to escape it. I've seen that monster in action. We fought alongside each other in the first trial. It never even crossed your mind to kill any of us until King Metamorphus sent an attack to Crescent."

"That means nothing to me. Crescent's dead now and it's my fault. I killed her." Nighthawk closed his eyes, holding back tears.

"No, that was just the trial," Ace said. "The real Crescent is alive and well right now. I know you love her, so do you really want to leave her behind?"

"What would we do? Get married? Start a family? That wouldn't change the fact that I've killed so many, and will probably continue doing so until I kill myself. I don't want her to see me like that."

"Nighthawk, it doesn't have to be like this," Ace tried. "We can find some way to end the trial without this, surely."

"Thank you for the adventure, Ace. And when you see Crescent again, tell her this; I'm sorry for bringing myself out of her life, but it was for her own safety."

"Nighthawk..."

"Ego ipse ut tributum ad Epochust."

The pillar came down and Nighthawk was dead. "Goodbye, friend..." Ace whispered to the pillar. "Don't worry, I'll tell her."

The crevice closed up completely, returning the land to the calm plain it once was. Stella, Blaze, and Chrys came up to the pillar. Stella put a hoof around Ace. "I don't know how much more of this I can take, Princess," he said.

"Not poor Nighthawk, too," Chrys said. "So close to having his life the way he wanted it."

"The way he told me, that is how he wanted it," Ace said. "But we need to keep moving. We're one step closer to getting Luna back."

"Will one of us have to die in the last trial?" Blaze asked. Ace looked away, too ashamed to answer.

"I'm afraid so," Stella answered. "But it's crucial that we get Luna back. If we don't..." She trailed off. "I don't even want to think about it."

The four said nothing more of it as they made their way to the arch.

6: Ex-King of Equestria

"Wait," Stella said. "Can you feel that?"

"Yeah, I can," Blaze replied. "There's a lot of magic around here."

"I don't feel anything!" Chrys added loudly.

"Probably because they're unicorns and we're not," Ace said. "They understand magic."

Stella closed her eyes. Between her and her fellow unicorn, she was the strongest when it came to magic. With her eyes closed, she's able to visualize the magic. There's something distinctly familiar about it to her. It almost seems to be her own. "Luna..." she mumbled quietly to herself. The magic responded by surrounding Stella, gently lifting her.

"What's going on, Princess?" Ace asked. She didn't respond. "Princess?" He flew to her, intending on breaking her out of her magic prison. Instead, the raw magic deflected him. The change in the magic's flow caught Stella's attention, though. She opened her eyes and saw Ace lying on his side, a light blue aura around him visible to even Chrys.

Stella was placed gently back on her hooves. The magic around Ace dissipated. There was a change in the magic, Stella could feel it. It was no longer Luna's, but instead an ancient and much stronger magical entity. A ring of fire spread around the field, marking it as a battlefield. A mist rolled in, but the unicorns could sense that there was something off about this mist...

Slowly, the mist began to swirl. It focused in on one central point. At that point, the form of a pony was appearing. It was a very majestic looking white alicorn. Various shawls trailed off of him, held aloft by an invisible wind. His mane and tail looked to be of pure white magic. Right away Ace noticed something; this was the same alicorn that abducted Luna. This was Luna's father.

"Adeo ut bene feceris," the alicorn said, his deep voice echoing around. "Natam me gratias debeo uniendi. Adeo ut fortes estis, et praecipue iterum. Paene placet ut sint vobis finalis impedimentum."

"Transeamus certe potes, licet," Stella said.

"Utinam esset," the alicorn replied. "Donec a Luna Epochust iam non sum in potestate."

"Hey, I can't understand you guys. What are you talking about?" Chrys asked.

"We have to fight the Lord of the Moon for the last trial," Stella answered.

"Fight him? Aw yeah, let's go!" Without warning, Chrys charged the alicorn. Within a second, he was vaporized by the Lord's powerful magic.

"Non habebo inquietudinibus," he said. "Iustus mihi et filio meo filiam."

Stella was mortified. She was just challenged to a one on one with the old King of Equestria himself. Not only that, she just witnessed him kill a pony without any effort. She was barely able to say "Stay back, you two."

"You can't be serious!" Ace said. "You'd have to be crazy if you thought we were going to let you fight him alone!"

"It's his choice," she responded. "He want's to fight just me."

"That's suicide! You saw what he just did to Chrys!" To stop Ace from trying anything, she teleported him and Blaze to the final pillar and erected a barrier to stop them from interrupting.

"Accipere virtutem nimium puella," the Lord of the Moon said. "Autem nos pugnare."

Stella took the first strike. She shot multiple bolts, all of which were stopped inches from the Lord's horn. Once he'd collected them all, he sent them all back at once. Stella was knocked off her hooves. Before she could even stand back up, she was knocked further back by the Lord's own bolts.

She slowly lifted herself, wary to keep an eye on her opponent. A white serpent was on it's way to her at an alarming speed. Without thinking, she sent a spark through it. This caused it to burst into blue flames, which left a mark on the tip of the Lord's horn.

He sent more bolts to wear down Stella. These bolts were a very light blue, as they were partly imbued with Stella's own magic. Because of this, she effortlessly sent them back. The Lord combined them into one shot, sending that to Stella. For a while, the two were in deadlock, a magic bolt gaining power with each return in a game of Deadmans Volley.

Finally, a change. The Lord slipped up, and the bolt hit him. The immense power that built up managed to lock him in place, overpowering even his own magic. Stella took the opportunity to draw magic to her horn. The resulting bolt was powerful enough to knock the Lord onto his side. It also took away the last of Stella's magic. Both were on the ground, but only one was victorious.

The Lord of the Moon stood up and walked towards the unconscious Stella. He lifted her with his magic. "Eratis dignus adversarium," he said. "Heu perdidimus." He closed his eyes, preparing to use his magic on Stella one last time. Stella came to consciousness. "Nisi forte natam possis." He gently set her back down.

He turned to the pillar. He made his way towards it, Stella following right behind him. He stepped into the pillar. "What's he doing?" Ace asked.

"I think he's letting all three of us go to the temple," Stella replied. "Instead of one of us dying so the other two can go."

"Epochust postquam fuit, tantum mihi fuit," The Lord said. "Nunc restitutus sum, me nihil reliqui mundi. Adepto meus filia domum securius, et destruere templum."

"Quomodo id facere putaretur?" Stella asked.

"Videbis. Ego ipse ut tributum ad Epochust. Vale, mi filiis." And with that, the pillar came down. From the crack at the bottom, wisps of white magic could be seen floating around aimlessly.

"Princess?" Ace spoke up. "You said it was impossible for an alicorn to actually die. So does that mean he's still alive?"

"In a way," Stella replied. "Before he did that, he transferred some of his magic into me so that I may keep going. That magic is all that's left of him. I don't know how or if I can return it, though. I will certainly keep some, just in case I can find a way."

"We can worry about that later. Right now, Luna's more important. We're one step closer, and one step away."

***

"Thunder! Tell me I'm not crazy! You were there with me!"

"I'm sorry, Zephyr. I have no idea what you're talking about."

"What?" Zephyr seemed furious. "Come on! I know you were there!"

"I was where, though?" Thunder asked, well aware of what she was talking about yet unable to discuss it with her.

"With Ace! And Stella! And those guards!"

"Who's Stella? And what guards?"

"Ugh, just, nevermind! I'm done with this!" She flew away angrily. Thunder thought he might have taken it a bit too far, but decided it would be best to leave her to her own business.

"Thunder!" He turned around to see Peppermint flying towards him. She landed neatly next to him. "Where are the others?"

"I don't actually know. They're probably still going through the trials at the temple," Thunder said.

"Weren't you with them?" Pepper asked.

"Up until about an hour ago," Thunder admit. "I came home right when we got to the temple's outskirts."

"So you don't know how they're doing?"

"No, sorry."

Pepper was silent for a moment before saying, "You should probably talk to Zephyr. She's been so confused since she came back, and I think you could help her."

"Except I think she's angry with me now," Thunder said. "I was told that I can't talk about the Epochust with her.

"Who told you that? Ace?"

"Crescent, actually. She said it would completely go against what she told Zephyr."

"Why would Cres try to lead Zephyr wrong?" Pepper asked.

"No idea. She tried the to do the same to me, but she didn't succeed. My guess is that Ace or Stella told her to."

"Why would they do that?"

"So that neither of us would tell somepony, I guess," Thunder shrugged.

"Tell somepony what?" Crescent said, coming up right behind Thunder, and scaring him in the process.

"From what you told me and Zephyr, nothing," Thunder replied.

"The Epochust, then?" Crescent asked.

"Yeah. What are you trying to do to Zephyr, confusing her like that?" Pepper asked.

"She appeared out of nowhere from right in front of me, and it looked like Stella's magic. I remember them saying that nopony can know about the Epochust, so I tried to get her to forget about it or think she imagined it," Crescent explained.

"A good idea up until the fact that she and half of Ponyville thinks she's going crazy, as well as that she now hates me and that same half of Ponyville." Thunder said. "You didn't think this through, did you?"

"Now that you mention it... no." Crescent gave a nervous smile as Thunder sighed.

"Come on," he said, starting to walk away.

"Where are we going?"

"To find Zephyr and fix this."

"Do we have to?"

"The alternative is to let her drive herself into insanity. I don't think any of us want that."

"Okay..." Crescent reluctantly did as she was told. She lagged behind Thunder a little ways, and attempted to slip into an alley to get away. It would have worked had Pepper not landed in front of her, blocking her path.

"You lost your chance to get out of this when you lied to Zephyr," she said. "Talk to her."

"I know, but I'm kinda scared," Crescent said. "I know she can be violent when she's angry, and I'm pretty sure she's angry with me."

"That's why I'm coming along," Thunder said. "To make sure she doesn't hurt anyone."

"Well... fine." Defeated, Crescent lowered her head and followed Thunder.

They finally arrived at Zephyr's house. Thunder knocked on the door. No response. He tried again, with the same result.

"Well, looks like she's not home. I'll just have to come back later, then!" Crescent said, about to leave.

"Hold it," Thunder stopped her. The door was unlocked, so he pushed it open and, almost literally, dragged Crescent in behind him. A quick inspection proved that she was indeed not home. A note on the table was left by Zephyr. Thunder picked it up and read it aloud.

"'I'm going to prove that I'm not crazy. I'll do whatever it takes. I'm not coming back until I can prove it. Zephyr.' Not good." Thunder threw the note back on the table. "Not good, not good!" He was pacing now. "Look what you did, Crescent! Zephyr's gone to prove she's not crazy! She only thought she was crazy because of you!" Thunder stopped momentarily to point at Crescent. "I've gotta stop her," he said before taking off full speed, out the door and in the general direction of Whinniesburg.

7: The Waxing Crescent

The sun was nearing the horizon. In a couple hours, Princess Luna was supposed to resume her duties. There wasn't time to waste.

The temple entrance was locked by three large bolts. On one, a lilac blossom pattern appeared. The bolt then came out and floated in front of it. A yin-yang appeared on another bolt, and it did the same. The final one had a gray circle with a white crescent moon embedded into it appear before it too came out. The three bolts frantically circled one another until they came together in a central point. The result was another bolt with a regular crescent moon, which pushed itself back into the door. Slowly, the door split apart. After a moment it pushed inward.

The inside was as Ace remembered it. Lining the walls were statues of various ponies. Along a large spiral staircase were more statues. As the three climbed, Ace noted one difference. The statue of the alicorn that stood in the center of the upper floor had been moved to the top of the walkway. In it's place was a stone statue of none other than Luna herself.

"She's here, I can feel it," Stella said. Luna's magic swirled about the room, emanating from one central point; her statue. Stella approached the statue. "Right here."

"Just what I was afraid of," Ace said. "She's a statue."

"What are we gonna do?" Blaze asked. "If the Princess is a statue, then we can't really bring her back. Not like that, at least."

"There has to be some way to bring her back," Stella said. "I've said it before. Alicorns are immortal. Plus, I can feel her magic. It's faint, but it's there."

"What if we break the statue?" Blaze suggested. "If she's in there, surely we can break her out."

"I would advise otherwise," Stella said. "She's not trapped in the statue, she is the statue. Break the statue and you break the only chance of saving Luna."

"What can we do, then?" Ace asked.

"I might be able to reverse it," Stella answered. "Though I don't know if I have enough magic at the moment."

"Try your best, Princess."

"Alright." She closed her eyes and touched her horn to the statue. Slowly, a blue aura completely enveloped both Stella and the statue of Luna. A mysterious wind swirled around the temple, encircling the unicorn. The magic around Stella began fading to white as her body itself began to glow. Cracks beginning at the point Stella's horn made contact worked their way around the stone, illuminating with the same white light. Once the cracks met on the other side, a bright flash forced Ace and Blaze to look away.

***

The first place Zephyr decided to go was Canterlot. Initially, she planned on following the same route they took at the beginning. She changed her mind once she saw the castle. She landed outside the gate where two guards were doing their duties. Before she passed through, one of them stopped her.

"Do you have business in the castle?" the guard asked.

"I'm here to see Princess Luna," Zephyr replied.

"She's not currently accepting visitors," the other guard said. "I'm sorry, but you'll have to go home now. Maybe you can try again tomorrow."

"But this is important!" Zephyr near yelled. "She may have been taken!" The two guards looked at each other. One of them nodded, and the other went into the castle.

"We're searching the castle for Her Highness right now," the remaining guard said. "May I ask how you obtained this information?"

"Someone I know came to Canterlot for a few days, during the perihelion," Zephyr explained. "When he came back, he said she was abducted, and that it was his fault."

"What was this pony's name?"

"Ace Doughty."

The second guard ran back out and whispered something to the first, who whispered something in return. The second guard nodded and ran off again into the castle. "What does this 'Ace' look like?" the guard asked Zephyr.

"Brown pegasus, red hair, golden lion cutie mark," Zephyr stated.

"Thank you," the guard said. "Now, if you could follow me." He started towards the castle. Zephyr followed him. The gate closed behind her. "As it turns out, you were correct. The Princess is indeed missing. Because of this, the castle will be going into lockdown. And since you seem to be the only one who knows about what happened, you're being brought into the castle for witness protection. Any objections?"

"Are you kidding?" Zephyr exclaimed. "Not at all!"

***

The light of intense magic subsided. A very uneasy Luna was standing on the pedestal where the statue was moments before. Ace and Blaze rushed up to her. She collapsed, but Ace caught her.

"...Ace?" Luna said slowly.

"That's right, Luna," Ace said. "We'll get you out of here, don't you worry."

"Why did you come back, Ace?" Luna asked.

"I don't want anypony to sacrifice themselves for me. Especially not you."

"I shouldn't have brought you to the temple," Luna lamented. "None of this would have happened."

"But you didn't," Ace said. "At least, not in this or the previous times."

"Strange... I remember coming with you on your first journey."

"We'll figure that out later. Right now, we need to get out of here. Stella, can you... Stella?" Ace trailed off when he realized Stella wasn't anywhere nearby.

"Stella...? But I thought..." Luna said slowly. "I thought I was Stella?"

Ace set Luna down and sat beside her. He slowly pieced together what had happened. "You were," he said after a moment. "Then you gave her her own life. And just now, she gave that life back to you."

Luna was silent for a moment. "I'm sorry, Ace," she said.

"Don't worry about it. Rest now, we'll get you out of here. Blaze, can you teleport us?"

"I'm not good with teleportation," Blaze replied. "Sorry."

"Alright." Ace slid his sword under his wing and lifted Luna onto his back. "We'll just have to walk, then."

***

"Do you know where Ace is now?" A Lunar Guard asked.

"Yeah, he went west," Zephyr replied. "Last I saw him, he was in Whinniesburg."

"Thank you," The guard said. "You stay here while we go take care of this."

"Commander Darkfire, sir!" Another guard came up to the first and saluted him. "All are accounted for except Nighthawk."

"We'll have to leave without him, then," Darkfire said.

"Nighthawk? He was with Ace," Zephyr said. "So were Blaze and Chryso-something."

"Those traitors!" Darkfire yelled. "Prepare to move out." The second guard nodded and left the room. Darkfire followed without another word. Zephyr was left alone in one of the castle's few guest rooms. Little did she know, it was the very same room that Ace, Pepper, Crescent, and Cherry stayed in the night before the perihelion. There was a guard outside the door, but after seeing Darkfire's display, Zephyr thought it best not to try her luck.

Instead, Zephyr just went out onto the balcony and sat down. She hadn't planned ahead, and now she was stuck doing nothing while the whole Lunar Guard hunted down Ace. She felt it was the right thing to do, but she couldn't help but feel sorry for Ace. She wondered what they would do once they found him. Would they kill him on the spot? Lock him up for life? Hang him for all of Equestria to watch? There wasn't any chance they would be merciful to him.

And what of the others? Darkfire was clearly enraged by the defected guards. Surely they'd be locked up as traitors at best. And what would become of Stella? She just seemed to come out of nowhere. Maybe she would just disappear the same way before she can be apprehended. Although she did seem pretty powerful. Along with the defected guards and Ace, could they take an entire squadron of Lunar Guards? Nighthawk was a part of that squad, so he could probably give away their weaknesses.

"Zephyr!" Her thoughts were interrupted as a familiar blue pegasus landed on the balcony in front of her.

"Thunder? What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Looking for you," Thunder said. "What are you doing here?"

"I told the Royal Guards everything," Zephyr replied.

"What do you mean by 'everything?'" Thunder asked.

"I told them about Ace and Princess Luna."

"You what?" Thunder exclaimed. "Why would you tell them about that?"

"Ace said it himself that he took her away," Zephyr defended. "Since he wasn't going to tell the guards, somepony had to."

"Ace left to rescue the Princess!" Thunder said. "And now he's going to be killed by the guards of the very pony he's trying to help!"

"If it weren't for him, the Princess would still be here, and the guards wouldn't have anything to worry about!" Zephyr shot back.

"You're never going to understand, are you?" Thunder snapped. "Ace didn't take the Princess away! Something he did is what took her away! That's why he left, so he could bring her back! He didn't want the guards to know because they'd be walking to a certain death! He knows what he's doing, and here you are just making sure he can't get back the Princess and leading the entire Lunar Guard to get themselves killed at the same time!"

Zephyr didn't respond right away. She let Thunder's words sink in. "I never really thought about it like that before," she said finally. The full magnitude of what she just did hit her. She just sentenced five innocent ponies to a certain death they didn't deserve.

"And now, if somehow Ace is still alive when he's brought back, he's never going to forgive you for this."

"We need to do something!" Zephyr said suddenly.

"Alright, let me know when you find some way to stop a squad of pissed Lunar Guards," Thunder said.

"No, not that. We need to warn Ace!"

"How are we going to do that when he's currently outside the country?"

"We just need to get to them before the guards do. Come on!" Zephyr took off full speed, flying straight in the direction of Whinniesburg. Thunder flew right behind. How far the guards had made it or how fast they were going was anyone's guess. But the duo felt sure they could reach Ace before the guards. At least, they hoped so.

8: Fullmoon

The sun was now at the horizon. It appeared the moon wasn't going to make an appearance tonight. Tonight's when the guards would know for sure that the Princess was missing. Whinniesburg slowly became visible in the dusk horizon.

"Wait!" Ace said suddenly, careful not to disturb Luna.

"What is it?" Blaze asked.

"We can't just go through Whinniesburg with the princess unconscious on my back," Ace said.

"What do you suppose we do, then?" Blaze asked.

"Are you any good at transfiguration?" Ace asked.

"Don't think that's possible on a pony, mate."

"Then we'll just have to go around. It looks like a small town, so it shouldn't be that hard." They veered to the side and started around the town.

***

"I don't know where they went from here," Zephyr said. They reached Whinniesburg relatively quickly, compared to how long it took the first time. Naturally, they tried the Inn first, but Summer confirmed they weren't there.

"I do," Thunder said. "Follow me. The temple they were going for is this way." He flew up and towards the setting sun. Zephyr followed closely behind. So sure that they were about to find Ace in the temple, they didn't even look to the ground, where Ace, Blaze, and Luna were changing their course to avoid Whinniesburg.

Towards the sunset they flew, finally reaching the point Thunder turned back. Something was off, though. The two landed just beyond the perimeter of the temple. The archway that marks the beginning of the first trial stood before them. Behind that, the temple was visible.

What's left of the temple, that is.

The place looked as if time had caught up to it. No longer did it stand as if it were freshly built. Instead, it lay in ruins. The stone it was carved from had eroded. Two of the three pillars were missing; only dried blood indicated where they were. The third pillar was only a few yards high, with the remainder gone with time.

The central part itself appeared to have split in half. One half fell inward, which pushed the other outward. Gravity teamed up with erosion to bring the upper story to the ground. From there, erosion split it further while gravity did it's bidding with various pieces of the temple. Broken statues of various ponies littered the area around it.

"What would anyone want in a place like this?" Zephyr asked.

"This can't be right, I just saw this place a few hours ago! It was in perfect condition!" Thunder exclaimed. "They must've got the Princess back, 'cause why else would the place have collapsed?"

"So we just missed them?" Zephyr asked.

"Must have," Thunder said. "Where'd you tell the Lunar Guards they were?"

"West of Whinniesburg. They should come here first, too. If we can't find them here, then surely they won't."

"Except for one thing. See that?" Thunder pointed at the ground. "Hoofprints. Clearly they've gone back already, and they left an easy trail. Let's go!"

"Wait!" Thunder had jumped already and was about to take off. "Why are there only two sets?"

Thunder examined the prints, then said, "Ace said the trials were hard. There must have been one survivor who got away with Luna."

"Probably Ace," Zephyr suggested. "He said he'd been here before right?"

"Right, so we should probably warn him about the Lunar Guards." Thunder took off again, and Zephyr followed behind without hesitation.

***

"This seems very ineffective," Blaze said. "I mean, it's a bloody field! Not a tree or hill in sight. I can even see the town from here! Surely they can see us, too!"

"Think of it this way," Ace replied. "Out here, they only see three ponies. None of them know who we are. None of them know what we're doing. If we go through town, they'll recognize us. They'll see that I'm carrying Luna on my back. They'll want to know what we're doing. They'll try to stop us. We can't have that."

"Alright, fair point. Still, what are we going to do once we get to Canterlot? We can't exactly get into the castle while you're carrying Luna."

"Well, I doubt we'll actually get back tonight," Ace began. "Surely somepony will notice that there's no moon. I think we should set up camp, out of view from the town, and rest up until morning. By then, hopefully Luna will be awake, and she can bring us home."

"That's probably our best option," Blaze agreed. Suddenly, he stood straight up. He looked around cautiously, like something was about to happen. One by one, the group found themselves surrounded by pony after pony. They seemed to come from nowhere like ninjas. Each of them wore armor bearing the symbol of the Lunar Guard.

"Ace Doughty," a blue pegasus in the group stepped towards Ace. "I've heard quite a bit about you. Get the Princess!" Three guards came forward. One grabbed onto Blaze. Another held Ace down as the third grabbed Luna. "I know you've got acquaintances somewhere. Where are they?"

Ace didn't respond. He didn't have time to deal with this. He knew he could get out of it, though he would have to leave Equestria if he did. Blaze would also have to be taken care of. Ace hoped the guards didn't know about Thunder and Zephyr, otherwise he'd have to worry about them, too. All his friends back home would be left to worry, and possibly be taken by the Guards for questions they couldn't answer.

"Where are they?" Darkfire said, more commanding than before. Ace froze; he thought he already stopped time. He tried again and again, but time kept going. He had no choice.

"Dead," Ace replied flatly.

"Shame," Darkfire said, a condescending tone slowly taking over. "I know Nighthawk was definitely looking forward to retirement."

"What should we do, commander?" The guard holding Blaze asked.

"Bring them in," Darkfire replied, walking back to his place among the circle. Ace's hooves were all secured together, and he was fastened to the back of the guard that was holding him. Blaze, however, decided to fight back. He knocked out his captor, using magic to keep the others at bay.

"Blaze!" Ace yelled. "Stop fighting." When Blaze gave Ace a confused look, he added, "Just trust me on this one." The magic subsided, and Blaze found himself covered in at least three guards. He was tied up in much the same way as Ace.

"Knock them out!" Darkfire called.

***

Ace woke up in a strange room. There were cots lining the walls. Based on the blue sky visible from the window at the end, it was around midday. Slowly, the events of the previous night came back to Ace. Then he realized something; shouldn't he be in the dungeons at Canterlot rather than this place?

The door opened. Ace expected Darkfire or some other Lunar Guard to walk in and take him to that cell. To his surprise, it was Princess Luna who walked in. She walked up to Ace's cot and stood beside it.

"Luna?" Ace said tentatively.

"Oh, good. You're awake," Luna responded.

"Where are we?" Ace asked.

"The infirmary at the Castle," Luna answered.

"What are we doing here?" Ace asked as he sat up slowly.

"You were unconscious when we got back, so I took the liberty of bringing you here to rest up."

"But, your guards...?"

"Don't worry about them," Luna said dismissively. "I've taken care of that."

Ace was about to say something, but then Luna cut him short. "I know you must have a lot of questions about what happened. I'll try to explain as best I can." She sat down and continued. "I don't know exactly what happened, but I was awakened in the middle of a field by Darkfire. He told me that I was safe, and that he had taken care of my captors. He was of course speaking of you and Blaze. When we got back to the castle, he ordered you be taken to the dungeon. I managed to convince him otherwise. That's why you're here now."

"What about Blaze?" Ace asked. "Is he alright?"

"He woke up a couple days ago," Luna answered.

"Days? How long have I been out?"

"About a week. I've been checking in on you daily, as has Zephyr."

"Zephyr?" Ace said. "Why's she concerned about me? We sent her home after she attacked me at Whinniesburg."

"She's the one who told my guards about my disappearance," Luna said. "She led them to believe you took me, though she had a change of heart afterward. She even went to try and warn you about the guards."

It was silent between the two for a minute, until something else came to Ace's mind. "When the guards attacked, I tried to stop time, but it wouldn't work."

"That might be because there wasn't anyone to replace me at the temple," Luna said. "No guardian to maintain it. Zephyr told me that it had collapsed. I don't think there will be anymore trouble caused by the Epochust."

"What about the tributes? What happened to them?"

Luna sighed before answering. "As far as I know, they're still gone. And since you can't use the powers of the Epochust any longer, I don't think they're ever coming back." Ace closed his eyes at the news. He felt terrible dragging them into this, only for them to die without a proper explanation. Another thought came to mind.

"What about Stella?" he asked quietly.

"She's gone, too," Luna said. "I'm sorry, Ace. When she used her magic on the statue to bring me back, she didn't quite have enough. She converted herself into the magic needed to bring me back entirely." Ace hung his head, eyes still closed. "I know you two were very close. If I could bring her back, you should know that I won't hesitate."

"Thank you, Luna." Ace said quietly.

"Thank you, Ace, for saving me." Luna stood up. She walked to the door and turned to face Ace again, adding, "You're free to return home whenever you feel like it." She walked out and closed the door, leaving Ace alone once again.

Epilogue

"Ace!"

He was expecting it, but he had hoped he would go a little longer without it. Crescent was running up to him full speed, likely ready to pounce him. Ace had been gone for over a week, so it's only natural that Crescent would do that. When she was close enough to pull it off, Ace jumped in the air to avoid it. He landed behind her and continued walking.

"Ace, what's wrong?" she asked, following right beside him.

"I'm not ready to talk about it," he said. "I need some time alone right now."

"Okay." Crescent started to walk away. "When you get a chance, you should go see Pep. She's been in the hospital for a few days now."

"Maybe later." Ace continued walking, leaving Crescent to stand there and watch him.

"Ace, you're back!" He had almost made it home. He was actually right outside his house before he was interrupted again.

"Not now, Cherry," Ace said. He opened his door.

"Have you seen Peppermint yet?" Cherry asked.

"Not yet. I just got back, and I wanted some time alone first," Ace said before closing the door and locking it. He laid down on the couch and closed his eyes. While he had nothing better to do, he thought about what happened.

Nighthawk must have been destined to die, as he witnessed it happen twice, both times being eerily similar to one another. What about the time he lived? He died because he thought Crescent was dead. What about the time he didn't know if she was still alive at all?

And then Lila. Ace felt absolutely terrible for allowing Lila on the team. Especially since she was the first to die. It all went downhill after he accidentally called her by her name. If he could have just held his tongue, she would probably still be alive, awaiting that shipment of seeds she ordered that was due that evening. Something else about her stuck out to Ace. Why did she want to go? The first time, she only went to find foreign flora. She even turned back at the edge, instead going abroad with Darkfire. What was different this time? Unfortunately, he would never know.

Then there was Chrysoberyl. He was close to retirement. If he hadn't tried to attack the Lord of the Moon, then he would have definitely been able to leave alive. Ace didn't know him well enough to know what he would have gone back to. That only made it worse. He could have a family that will never know what happened to him. A son waiting for his dad to return, but he never will.

Ace opened his eyes and sat up. He decided that he might as well go see Pepper now.

***

The nurse opened the door and let Ace in. She closed the door behind him. Pepper was asleep on the bed, the lone occupant of the room. Ace sat down beside the bed.

"I don't understand," Ace said quietly to her. "Last time you were hospitalized, it was because of the Epochust. But that's gone now. It shouldn't be affecting you anymore." He looked at the ground.

Pepper slowly woke up. She saw Ace sitting there. "Ace?" she called.

Ace looked up. "Glad to see you're awake, at least," he said.

"Ace!" Pepper reached out and grabbed Ace, pulling him over the bed. They sat there a moment, simply embracing. "I thought I wouldn't see you again," Pepper continued, letting Ace go. "Did you get the Princess back?"

"Yeah, we made it," Ace said.

"What's wrong?" Pepper had caught the sadness in his voice.

"We went in with six, but we came back with three, including Luna," Ace said. "Four ponies died there that day, and it's all because I told you about the Epochust."

"Don't blame yourself for it," Pepper said. "There isn't anyone to blame. Nopony could have known what would happen."

"I know, but still. If I hadn't told Crescent to see Twilight Sparkle, then none of this would have happened.

"Stop blaming yourself, Ace. You wanted an adventure, and you got one. No adventure can have a perfect ending." When Ace didn't respond, Pepper continued. "Why are you so sad about the ones that died, anyway? Can't you just go back in time and get them?"

"I haven't had any control over time since we got Luna back," Ace said.

"What about Stella? Can't she control time, too?"

Ace closed his eyes. "She was one of the four," he said.

"Oh... I'm sorry, Ace. I didn't know."

"Don't worry about it." Ace stood up and started towards the door. "You have your own problems to deal with. I'm sorry I bothered you with mine."

"Ace, wait!" But he had already closed the door behind him.

***

Ace walked through the door. He closed it behind him. Something caught his attention. There was a scroll with the Royal Canterlot seal on it and a bright red feather sitting on the table. He opened the scroll and read it.

"Dear Ace,

Remember what I said at the castle infirmary? Well, there's something that I would like for you to witness. If I haven't given it away yet, then I will keep it a surprise. I will be visiting you tonight, at which time I will reveal the surprise to you. I hope you won't mind such a sudden intrusion, but I feel you would rather wish to see this happen as soon as you can. I eagerly await tonight's meeting, and you should too.

Yours truly,
Princess Luna"

Ace read the letter several times. He unrolled it further, but that was all that was written. Such a large bit of parchment for such a short letter, but Ace put that thought aside. What could this surprise be? He tried to think back to his conversation with Luna, but nothing really stuck out. She could have been more specific as to what she meant. He would find out soon enough, though, as it was currently dusk.

Sure enough, not even ten minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Ace opened it, expecting to see Luna. Instead, a dark blue pegasus walked in. "Uh... who are you?" Ace asked the mysterious mare.

"Take a guess," the pegasus replied, following a short giggle, in a familiar majestic voice.

"Luna?"

"That's right," she said. She became enveloped in a bright blue light, where her shape changed. The light faded, and there stood Luna in her full glory, minus the breastplate, shoes and tiara. "Good guess."

"So what's this surprise you mentioned?" Ace asked.

"Quick to cut to the chase, aren't you?" Luna asked playfully. "Very well, then."

For a second time, Luna's body was glowing bright blue and her shape changed. The light faded, and where Luna once stood was Stella, but with one minor difference. Her eyes were teal instead of the light blue they should be. Her horn was still glowing.

"Stella?" Ace said slowly.

"Not yet," she said, "but almost."

Again, her body was glowing blue. Her backside split apart, wings coming out of the gaping hole. They pushed against the shell, pushing it farther apart. Soon, her body was split in half down the middle, the two halves apart with Luna's figure in between. She backed up and stopped glowing. The shell came back together perfectly, the glow fading into Stella.

"She should wake up soon," Luna said. "She may not be exactly as you remember her, but I tried my best. I couldn't give her the abilities the Epochust gave her, but I don't think that's possible anymore, since the temple's destroyed."

"Does she remember me?" Ace asked.

"When she gave her life to me, she gave everything to me. I kept her mind and mine separated as best I could, so it should be as if she simply fell asleep and will awaken in a moment. Of course, there may have been some intertwining between our minds, which is why I can't guarantee she's exactly the same."

"What about the others? Lila, Nighthawk, and Chrys?"

"Unfortunately, I don't know if I'll be able to do the same for them. Stella was my creation from the beginning. I had nothing to do with the birth of the others."

"Ace? Luna?" They both looked at the now awake Stella. "Quid de illo?"

"Ah, whoops! Let me just fix that." Luna touched her horn to Stella's and both began to glow. She backed away and said, "Try now, Stella."

"What happened?" she said.

"Ace will explain it to you later," Luna said. Then she turned to Ace. "Let me know if there's anything else wrong with her." She glowed blue one last time, turning into the pegasus from before. Ace opened the door to let her out. She stopped in the doorway and added, "And if you ever want to stop by the castle, feel free. I could always use some extra company."

"I'll keep that in mind," Ace said. "Bye, Luna."

"Farewell, Ace." And with that, she flew away.

"So what did happen?" Stella asked again.

"Well..." Ace began.

***

Ace hadn't expected to see a flaming bird appear right in front of him. He also didn't expect it to drop a sword and scroll, then disappear into a burst of flames. The feather it left behind was exactly like the one when Luna sent her last letter, so he figured it was from her. The scroll only had a simple note on it.

"I forgot to bring this with me when I visited the other day. And while I'm at it, there might be something you're forgetting as well. If you really don't remember, just think of who first gave this blade to you."

Ace hadn't forgot, he was simply putting it off. He knew what she was referring to. It was Nighthawk's dying wish, to pass his final message on to Crescent. He'd kept her oblivious intentionally, as he knew they were close in the past. But he couldn't just ignore it. He put the sword under his wing and set off to find her.

As fate would have it, she was literally right around the corner. "Ooh, cool sword!" she said. "Where'd you get it?"

"About that..." Ace started. "It was Nighthawk's."

"Nighthawk? Do you mean...?"

"Yes, I do. He gave it to me before he died."

"He's... dead?" Crescent sat down.

"Yeah, and he wanted you to know something." Ace sat down beside Crescent. "He wanted you to know he's sorry. He's sorry for leaving your life. He saw himself as a monster, and he wanted to keep you safe by being as far away from you as he could."

Crescent couldn't hold it. In an instant, Ace found his neck to be the resting place of her head. He put a comforting hoof around her. After a few seconds, he transferred the sword to her back. She looked up, confused.

"I'm sure you'd be better suited to have this than me," Ace said. He stood up.

"Thanks, Ace," Crescent said.

"Don't mention it," he said, taking flight.

***

A few days had passed since Ace's return, and since then, he'd become accustomed to the normal life he had before. In all his time back, though, there was one thing that was bothering him. He wasn't sure what, but he felt one last thing needed to be done before life could truly go back to normal. He finally realized when he randomly passed by the problem on the street.

"Pepper!" He called to her. "They released you?"

"Yeah, I've been good to go since yesterday," she said.

"So what happened that put you in there, anyway?" Ace asked.

"It's a mystery. None of the doctors there could explain it. I just started coughing blood and I passed out. Thankfully Thunder found me and got help."

"You say you coughed blood and passed out?"

"Yeah, why?"

"That happened last time," Ace said.

"What do you mean?"

"You remember what happened at Canterlot the night of the perihelion, right? Well, when I told you what happened, I left one thing out. And that was that this is actually the third time. We went back immediately from the temple only to find that the perihelion was the earliest possible point in time we could go. From then, we went about a week trying to resume life as normal. Stella tried explaining the Epochust to you in a way that you would figure it out on your own, since we weren't supposed to directly tell you. That same thing happened, and you died from it."

"What? But how?" Pepper asked.

"I don't know. We assumed it was from the Epochust, just working backwards."

"There was another Peppermint that passed away the day I went in," Pepper said.

"Another..." Ace trailed off. "That would explain something. Then it was all just coincidence."

"Well, anyway, I was just on my way to see Cres. Wanna come?"

"Not this time," Ace said. "I need to find Stella now."

"Okay, I'll see you around then." At that, Pepper walked away. Ace thought about what she had just told him. One more mystery that would never be solved. Still, he just had to talk to Stella about it, see what she thought, before letting it go. He set off to find her.

The End