The mares and Velvet stayed in stunned silence, the elements of harmony giving the stallion a confused look.

"Uhh, Velvet, do you know this creep?" Rainbow dash whispered to the terrified stallion.

"Run." Velvet whispered out. Rainbow dash was about to ask why, but Velvet shot up to his hooves with his horn glowing brightly. "YOU NEED TO GET AWAY!" He yelled, looking back at the even more confused mares.

The bright stallion giggled. "What's the matter, Velvet? I always find a performance to be more enjoyable with an audience." He said ominously.

"He's one of the higher five; you all are no match for him!" Velvet shot off a magic bolt directed towards...nothing. Suddenly, Velvet was kicked in the stomach by an unseen force and sent flying back into the wreckage.

Twilight could only watch the scene unfold in silence as her mind was puzzled. 'I didn't feel any magic cast from that stallion. So how could that pony teleport without magic?' Twilight questioned in her head.

She felt herself get tackled to the ground; a strong gust of wind passed over her. Looking up, Rainbow was on top of her with an un-Rainbow dash-like grimace. To the side, Twilight was shocked to see the colorful stallion in a striking stance, facing away from her.

The stallion began to laugh as he turned around, a mix of annoyance and pure amusement on his face, staring at Rainbow dash.

"I'll give you kudos, for a gross insult to color itself, you managed to barely out-pace my attack." The stallion got into a fighting stance once again, weapon in magic. "Your friend would have been dead if you weren't quick enough. You have gained your gods' attention."

The stallion disappeared again. Rainbow dash was about to fly Twilight away when a blade was about to cut her. Luckily, a powerful blast of dark purple magic hit the stallion's side, causing him to become disoriented. It didn't look like the attack did much to affect him, but a frightened Rarity managed to spot some wrinkles on the colorful stallion's face.

"Death's...symphony."

Velvet climbed out of the wreckage in a not-so-favorable condition. Pieces of wood and metal protruded from his backside, half of his skull fractured, and a lacerated chest accompanied by multiple cuts and gash spewing blood.

"Velvet, you need to -" Twilight shouted but abruptly stopped when she and her friend were all surrounded by a dark purple aura and disappeared with a flash of light.

"Awe, I always heard you were no fun, but I had doubts." The colorful stallion slouched as he sighed. "That's what I get for keeping my hopes up.

"Enough games Blacklight. There is no need to get violent." Velvet tried to reason, which only got him a scoff in response.

"It's your type I hate the most; All about saving the dying instead of rejoicing their internal peace." Blacklight held out a hoof with a sly grin. " You can still join us, Velvet. I can see you have potential. That aging spell you used is taxing on your already drained magic reserves, yet it's still effective in slowing my movements even with my immortality."

'I need to think of something fast.' Velvet got into a low fighting stance. 'I don't know if I should use THAT. I barely have enough magic for basic bolts, but I have no choice. I got to hold him off until she gets here.' Velvet's horn glowed brightly; a small crack appeared going from tip to base.

Blacklight madly smiled as he dashed forward with a burst of speed. A blade swung on a chain as he rabidly approached, and when he reached Velvet, it went in for a horizontal slash.

The blade was less than an inch away from Velvet's face when a flash of light blinded the colorful necromancer, his weapon hitting nothing but thin air. Blacklight was stunned for a moment before looking around his surroundings.

He was in a lavish circular ballroom with the most elegant design he'd ever witnessed. The walls were decorated and adorned with pieces of beautiful art surrounded by black and gold stone carvings. The most surprising part for Blacklight was the stallions and mares in suits and dresses surrounding him.

All of the stallions and mares looked exactly alike. Stallions wore a simple black suit with a black bow tie, their faces covered by a mask with an expression of total anguish. The mares weren't as different as they wore white dresses, which were dirty at the bottom, and they too wore a mask, except they depicted an expression of anger.

"Illusion magic, huh? You're one cocky stallion; I'll give you that." Blacklight got into a defensive stance as he looked around the crowded ballroom. The masked poines were practically rubbing shoulders with how packed they were, so moving past them would be too much trouble.

"MASQUERADE OF THE GRIEFING SON!" Velvet's voice echoed off the walls as the masked poines started to spin in place, then they all circled Blacklight.

Blacklight continued to look around, perking his ears to find any sign of an incoming attack. Then, a faint whistling reached his ears as he spun around and nearly dodged a flash of purple. It quickly disappeared into the crowd again as Blacklight returned into a defensive position.

He laughed in amusement. "I see what he's doing, trying to distract me with the mask poines while using his speed to attack from the crowd, very clever Velvet," Blacklight smirked as the whistling came from his left. Instead of blocking, he turned and recoiled his leg and kicked, hitting Velvet in the stomach, a cracking sound emanating from his ribcage. "But not good enough."

The kick sent Velvet flying back, the illusion fading back into the train car wreckage like before. He landed in a pile of broken rubble with his head smacking a bent metal plate. Velvet's mind was in a daze, the edges of his vision darkening as Blacklight trotted towards him, sighing in disappointment.

"It's a shame. Such a great mind like you, reduced to nothing more than common trash." Blacklight raised a blade into the air, the sunlight making the weapon glowing in the light. "I changed my mind. You can die like common trash." The sword swung down at Velvet as Blacklight grinned wildly.

Fortunately, a magical, golden bolt impacted Blacklight's blade, launching it from the stallion's magic grip. Blacklight's eye's widened in surprise. He looked to where the attack came from; the sight filled him with fear and anger.

Celestia was flying straight to their position. Behind her was a small platoon of solar guards, some even pulling chariots. All Blacklight could do was scoff in annoyance as he glared at the now unconscious Velvet night.

"You got lucky, trash." He spat out. Turning around, he noticed the group of mares in the distance rapidly approaching as well, so he wasted no time gripping his blades in his magic and teleporting away.

For Velvet, everything was shutting down. His eye had dark spots in his vision, his beaten body felt broken and weak, and the feeling of something warm ran down his face from his forehead. He didn't even hear the cries of the elements of harmony or Celestia as they reached him, their voice only coming out as muffles as he eventually blacked out.

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hey, bro." Astral specter called out; Velvet turned his gaze to his brother, who was sitting at the same dining table, eating a bowl of fresh salad. He had a look of subdued confusion as he stared at his meal.

"Was it Astral?" Velvet asked innocently.

Astral looked at Velvet, a small smile on his face. "You study that medical stuff, right?" Velvet nodded. "Well, I want to know what you think happens after death."

The question had caught the young colt off guard as he looked at his brother with a bewildered expression. "What kind of question is that?! You don't just ask somepony that out of the blue!" Velvet berated.

"Quiet, you're going to wake him up!" Astral yelled in a hushed tone, pointing a hoof in a seemingly random direction. Although, the sudden call out made Velvet go quiet as he sat back into his seat. "Just answer the question."

Velvet sat silently with a far-off look as Astral finally took a bite from his salad. Eventually, Velvet perked up as he gave his older brother a confident smile.

"I believe after we die, we all go into the clouds and be able to reunite with our loved ones." He said with a puffed-out chest; the scene gave Astral a sad smile.

"That's what you think, huh?" Astral asked, poking his almost finished salad with his fork.

Velvet's confident visage turned to concerned confusion. "Big brother, is there something wrong?" He asked, getting out of his chair and approaching Astral.

"Nah, it's just..." Astral went quiet as he finished poking at his food. "Don't worry about it." He replied before getting out of his seat and walking away.

Velvet held out a hoof with a strange sense of desperation; it felt like if he couldn't catch his brother, he would disappear. The young colt tried to call out for his older brother, but nothing came from his throat as his vision turned black.

'That's right; you can't diverge from a memory.' Velvet thought.

His body felt light and weightless, any direction he tried to move in wouldn't work, and it was an arduous task even to think without falling asleep.

'I think back on that day sometimes. Back then, I didn't know what he'd meant, so I just told him what my father gave me about the afterlife. Looking back now, I think I knew why he asked. At least it's peaceful here, I don't have to worry, and I don't need revenge.'

'I can finally rest knowing I'm here with you, Astral.'

Suddenly, a bright light shined onto Velvet with a warm glow. But instead of feeling relieved, the feeling of despair filled the stallion's heart as he tried anything to get away from the light.

'No, please! I finally have peace! Why do you keep on torturing me like this?!' Velvet angrily thought as the feeling of being pulled came from his chest, the light becoming brighter and brighter.

"JUST LET ME DIE!"

Velvet shot up in a hospital bed, wires and tubes hooked up to his foreleg and the sound of the heart monitor rapidly going off filled the room. He soon regretted his actions as a nauseating feeling came to him and, finding a trash can, quickly grabbed it with his hooves and threw up.

There was a tight pressure in his head, his stomach felt like yak shit, and the light and sudden change in his environment made him confused and dizzy. Thought that didn't matter to the stallion as he flopped back down into his bed and covered his eyes with a foreleg as tears poured down his face.

"Why won't you let me die?" He whimpered to himself, crying silently to himself as two nurses entered his room.

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had been a while since Minty visited Manehatten; the busy streets always gave the grounded pegasus chills just thinking about it. Right now, he'd just left his sister's hospital room after their monthly visit.

Minty's sister came down with an illness not too long ago: the kind that bedridden you until you're better. So far, she was making good progress late and would be able to start physical therapy soon. Good thing that she had some f-you money in her pockets.

Turning the corner, Minty saw that a door that had slightly left opened with light emanating from the room behind it. Minty thought it was a nurse tending to some patient or a custodian to clean the room, but he went to look out of curiosity; besides, he was going in that direction anyway.

Minty reached the door in no time and poked his pink and blue head through the door, only to be shocked. On the bed was Velvet night with most of his body and horn wrapped in bandages and Iv tubes attached to his forelegs.

"Velvet!" Minty shouted in surprise. Velvet jolted and winced in pain as he grabbed the side of his head with a hoof. "Sorry." Minty apologized meekly.

Velvet looked too minty with wide eyes. "Minty, dear, what are you doing here?" He asked with a bit of tiredness in his voice.

"I should be asking you that." Minty trotted into the room and took a seat by Velvet's bed. "You look like you were in an accident." He said with concern in his voice.

Velvet chuckled darkly. "I kind of was." Minty's eyes widen in shock. "I was on the train with the elements, I fell asleep and don't know what happened, but the train got derailed by a Necromancer." Velvet had to lean back a bit as Minty leaned toward him.

"Wait, a Necromancer derailed a train?!" Minty shouted in disbelief but covered his mouth quickly. "I'm sorry, but that's hard to believe." Minty giggled as he rubbed the back of his head.

"I don't exactly believe that they did it themselves." Velvet agreed but noticed the lack of a wing on Minty's right side. "You got rid of it?" He asked with a frown.

It took Minty a second to realize, but when he looked down, he noticed what he was pointing out.

"Oh, yeah. The doctors couldn't save it." Minty smiled and shrugged a little. "It's not like I flew a lot, so I don't feel bad about it."

Minty was surprised and caught off guard when Velvet sat up and wrapped his forelegs around Minty's body and pulled him into a hug. The ex-pegasus blushed with embarrassment and naturally tried to wiggle out of the necromancer grip.

"I wish I was more like you." Velvet whispered but loud enough for Minty to hear. Minty stopped trying to get out and sat looking at Velvet with concern.

"What do you mean?" Minty asked, hugging Velvet in return.

Velvet hugged Minty a little tighter as his eyes went glossy. "I wish I could be as optimistic as you, to have a smile on my face, no matter the situation. Except, I'm just some hate-filled stallion who can't let the past go." Velvet sniffled as his body began to shake. "I'm just so tired."

The room was silent, the only noises being the heart monitor and Velvets sniffles and occasional whimpers. Then, as gently as he could, Minty pulled Velvet away and looked at him with a determined look.

"That's not true." Minty started. "About you and me. Sure, I can be happy and encouraging when I need to be, but sometimes even I can be sad. And with you, I and any other pony can see you aren't some 'hate-filled' stallion. You're a kind-hearted and gentle soul who got the short end of the stick." Minty looked into Velvet's eyes with a smile on his muzzle. "You don't have to bottle these emotions up: it's alright to be angry or sad. Just because you feel that way doesn't mean you're bad; you need a shoulder to cry on when you feel down."

The room was once silent again as Velvet stared at Minty with widened eyes. Suddenly, Velvet shot forward and pressed his lips against Minty's, which made the pegasus make a double take. Velvet, thankfully, didn't let it last as he leaned back into his bed, a faint blush and smile on his face.

"Thanks." He said with a small smile.

Minty didn't respond as his face turned bright red; Velvet could swear that smoke came out of Minty's ears, as his eyes rolled back as he passed out and fell onto the floor.

Velvet giggled. "Maybe there is a reason to stick around a little longer." He said to himself, pressing a red button with a white exclamation mark on the side of his bed.

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blacklight was hit and sent flying back, slamming into the wall with a large crack forming behind him as he fell to the floor.

"USELESS GARBAGE!" The gruff voice roared. An organic tentacle of bone and muscle retreated under his dark robe. "I told you to kill Velvet and the elements of harmony. It was such a simple task, yet you failed me!" The gruff voice's owner approached Blacklight, who was now getting up.

"My apologies, master, but Celestia arrived before I had the chance to finish him off." Blacklight stood back up but was knocked to the ground by the gruff voice's owner.

"I don't care if that whore interrupted you. Your job is to fight to the end, no matter what." The gruff voice pressed a hoof into Blacklight's back and leaned down. "I thought the great Blacklight conquered his fear of death, so why retreat like a coward?" He sneered.

Blacklight scowled as his back ached from his master's hoof, but the pressure released from his back as his master walked away.

"I'm feeling generous today. So don't disappoint me again." His master sat on his throne with a deep scowl. "Dismissed."

Blacklight got back up and bowed deeply before disappearing in a flash and reappearing on a large, open balcony overlooking an expansive forest.

Blacklight shook with anger and, with a roar, took out his blades and started to swing them wildly at the stone floor. Gashes and cuts decorated the floor as chunks of rock flew in every direction. Then his blades turned a deep red as he jumped into the air with his weapons pointed to the ground.

"FINAL SUNRISE!" He yelled as the blades of his weapons impacted the ground. The result was a giant explosion that shook the entire castle below it. Smoke and dust covered the area but slowly dissipated to reveal a pissed of Blacklight trembling with anger.

"I swear when I get my hooves on you, Velvet, I'm going to make you know true pain."

Author's Note

Hey everyone!

I hope you are enjoying my story and continue to read it. Also, thanks for support, I really appreciate it.

On another note, my upload schedule might not be as consistent (not like it was in the first place) mainly because school is starting up again. But I will try my best in order to write as much as I can in my spare time.

Hope you have a good day and to keep reading.