The Fate Of Equestria Book 2: Elementery Quest

Chapters

Chapter 1: Answers
Chapter 2: Extended Family
Chapter 3: Preparations
Chapter 4: Road Trip
Chapter 5: Big Trouble in Little Cloudsdale
Chapter 6: Lightning Round
Chapter 7: Good As Gold
Chapter 8: Appaloosa or Bust
Chapter 9: Tomb Raiding
Prologue: Equestria Rises

Chapter 1: Answers

Jet stepped out into the hallway, brightly lit by a series of electric powered chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. The hallway stretched off in both directions, a couple corridors branching off here and there. A long red and gold carpet ran the length of the hallway, laying atop the off white marble tile floor. He headed to the left, making for the throne room to meet Luna. Along the walls of the hallways hung a variety of refurbished and brand new paintings, depicting both old and new moments and ponies from the history of the royal family, all surrounded by decorative gold frames. A few small tables with colorful house plants sat atop them further decorated the halls. It wasn't a far journey from the bedroom to the throne room. Being Luna's old room, it was positioned fairly close. Taking only a couple turns through the halls, he was already at the throne room doors.

They were huge and had been constructed from steel. Emblazoned with a carving of a spectral looking alicorn watching over the new version of Canterlot. Two guards were posted outside of the huge doors, standing at attention and dressed in the same nanite armor that had become the standard nowadays. Having Luna as the sole leader now, their armor was emblazoned with a large silver crescent moon stretched across the chest of the mostly dark blue armor. They had fairly thick short swords sheathed at their waists and large steel shields strapped to their forearms, depicting the same crescent moon as their armor. He gave the guards a nod before stepping towards the door. They returned the nod and moved to pushed the doors open.

Jet stepped inside, the doors creaking closed behind him. The throne sat at the far end of the room atop a small set of steps, a long dark blue carpet running down from it to the door. The room was mostly the same as it had been before. A long hallway-esque room with a series of columns on either side, several stained glass windows lined the walls on either side between the columns, and a few large chandeliers hung from above. The biggest differences from the old throne room were the newly knit tapestries that sported a large silver crescent moon on a dark blue background and the throne itself. Where there had once been a pair of marble hewn thrones, now sat a single large chair. It was hewn from some of the leftover crystal from Sombra's empire. When Jet had asked why she made her throne from that crystal, she had told him, 'It is a show of dominance to seat one's rear on something so closely related to one's enemy'.

Making his way across the lengthy rug towards the throne. He saw Luna glide in through one of the windows, obviously having returned from her nightly patrol of the city. She was adorned in a flowing dress that was decorated with a near perfect replica of the starry night sky, the constellations even seeming to shift and change with the light. Her old standard black crown sat atop her flowing mane. The three prongs of it still shiny and new from being refurbished.

The sun was shining in through the window behind her as it peaked over the horizon slowly. She took her seat upon the crystal throne and sat upright and proper. Seeing that it was only Jet in the room, she heaved a sigh of exhaustion and slouched back into the throne. Jet ascended the small staircase and gave the standard bow to his superior. She looked up at him with an unamused look, bags heavy under her eyes.

"Really? We have been over this, Jet. Those sorts of formalities feel wrong given everything that happened." She said, sitting up slightly to get more comfortable.

"I know and I'm sorry. It's more muscle memory and subconscious instinct than anything. Especially this damn early in the morning when I'm still barely conscious…" He replied with a light chuckle.

"That is fair, I suppose. We may have to see they you are enrolled in some form of re-education program. Perhaps brainwashing or hypnosis?" She said, propping an elbow on one of the armrests and leaning her head onto her hand.

"Oh, ha ha. Very funny. You saw what happened to the last brain washing sociopath we had around here, right?" He retorted with a smirk.

"Hm, that is a very fair rebuttal. With your track record, brain washing might not even work on you anyway." She replied with a small giggle.

"That's not a bad theory. Might have to talk to Sunblast about testing that one." He said, tapping his chin in thought.

"Yes, that would prove to be an interesting experiment. But, that can be saved for a future time. As for the present, shall we adjourn for our usual cup of coffee and game of chess in the gardens?" She asked, standing and stretching, causing her joints to snap and crack like autumnal tree branches.

"Sure, I mean it is part of your schedule, your highness." He replied, pulling out the notebook he had picked up from his nightstand.

Being her advisor, he did actually have her royal schedule that she had planned and approved. He flipped it open to the current day and helped it aloft for her to see. First thing listed on each day was 'morning coffee and small talk with advisor'. It was written in her own neatly cursive handwriting, printed in dark blue ink of course.

"Yes, yes. I am aware of the schedule, royal advisor. You do not need to remind me." She said, rolling her eyes playfully.

He stuffed the notebook back into his pocket as Luna moved to walk past the throne and behind it. Her horn lit up as the large flowing at the very back of the throne room parted. They revealed a set of wide multi paneled glass doors. Luna pushed them open out into the castle gardens. They had once again become lush and green, thanks to the help of both the rain and the few ponies left who had green thumbs. Jet followed along as she led the way to their spot of the usual decorative metal tea table with matching seats. The pair sat across from one another, the chairs scraping lightly against the stone flooring as they readjusted the chairs to better suit themselves.

Luna's horn flashed briefly, the familiar slightly burnt smell of a teleportation spell hung in the air as a moderately sized chess board appeared on the table between them. A small cart carrying a pair of ceramic mugs and small cake plates. It was also topped with a bowl sugar cubes, a decanter of cream, a steaming pot of coffee, and a plate of some kind of crescent rolls. Luna grabbed a cup and tossed a couple cubes of sugar into it, pouring the steaming coffee on top of it. Stirring the coffee until the cubes dissolved, she tilted some creamer from the decanter and into her cup. Giving it another stir, she grabbed a crescent roll and sat back, leaving Jet to his own now. He quickly made his coffee and sat back as well.

"What should be our topic of discussion this morning?" Luna asked, taking it upon herself to choose the ivory side of the board and make the first move.

"Well, anything new I should know about as advisor?" He asked, gently blowing on his mug and idly pushing a piece across the board.

"Nothing really comes to mind. We have still yet to receive any word from the other kingdoms around us, which makes me worry about what is taking place there." She replied, making a move and already snatching away one of his pieces.

"Hm, maybe that requires investigation? I'll put on my list. Anything else?" He asked, his hand idly sliding another piece along the board.

"I did receive word from both Appaloosa and Manehattan late last night." She said, slipping one of her pieces out after a moment of thought.

"Oh? How's Applejack and Pinkie doing?" He asked, sipping his coffee and sliding another piece and managing to off one of hers in the process.

"The repairs to both cities have gone almost as well as they have here. Applejack sent us a barrel of their finest cider for the wine cellar and Pinkie… She sent a glitterbomb…" She replied, making her move slowly.

"Yeah, that sounds about right. But hey, can't pass on the Apple Family Cider, y'know?" He replied, sliding his queen over beside the pawns from the beginning.

"That is true, those Apple's always did make great cider." She agreed, moving her knight in to take his queen.

"Any word from girls? They've been off on their own little adventure since we finished Canterlot like a month back." He said, taking barely a second to to think about his move before making it.

"Not physically, no. But I did manage to catch Scootaloo's dream last night before I went on patrol." She replied, making a quick move and taking one of his pieces.

"That's good. How're they doing?" He asked, not really caring about the lost piece as he made his next move.

"She said they were doing well, a little homesick already, but they're having fun." She said with a smile, taking a moment before making her next move.

"Glad to hear it. After everything they went through, they deserve to have some fun." He replied, downing the rest of his coffee and making another move.

"I wholeheartedly agree, they are still young and do not need the mental stress that is older ponies go through." She joked, taking care with her next move.

"I hate to seem rude, but the sun's getting pretty high. It's about time for your morning nap so you can function the rest of the day." He said, making his final move and standing up.

"Yes, I suppose it is. There is however, one more thing I have been putting off speaking with you about." She replied, taking a moment to stare at the chess board before standing as well.

"What is it?" He asked, giving his knuckles several small cracks and pops.

"Solaris." She stated, knowing he'd understand.

"Oh… Uh, what about it?" He replied with a nervous chuckle.

"The obvious, Jet Stream. How in Equestria did you pull it free from that stone?" She asked, Jet unable to tell if it was rhetorical or not.

"I… I don't really know how to answer that." He stated, confused.

"Allow me to rephrase then, what compelled you to do so? I know that you are aware of the spell placed on it that only allows members of her bloodline to wield it." She retorted, scratching her head as she tried to understand.

"I did know about the spell, but something told me to grab it." He stated, not really wanting to relive anything from before a few months ago.

"What could have possibly made you think it was worth risking being incinerated by the heat of the sun itself?" She asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"No, I mean, something LITERALLY told me to grab the sword. It was a deep and bone chilling voice that seemed to come from within my own mind. It was seriously freaky." He explained with shrug.

"Deep bone chilling voice… Could it be…? He always did know more than he let on…" She mumbled to herself.

"Uh, Luna? He who?" He asked, confused again.

"Hm? Oh, not important right now. Though, you did remind me. I have an assignment for you to attend to while I nap." She replied, seeming to almost forget he was there.

"What is this assignment?" He asked, putting on his best formal voice.

"I need you to check on the memorials down in old Ponyville, and take Moonshadow with you." She replied with a tone of certainty.

"Um, okay? May I ask why?" He asked curiously.

"Not this time, no. You will just have to trust me on this." She replied, shaking her head.

"Alright. I'm off to do that then. Wish me luck, I guess." He said with a nod, turning to head back inside.

"I do not believe you need luck, Jet." She said to herself, staring down at the chess board.

Without even realizing it, he had gotten her into a checkmate before they had stopped playing. She smiled to herself, knowing she made the right choices with her picks for her royal cabinet. She took her time finishing her coffee and crescent roll, reveling in this simple feeling of having a friend to just talk and have a coffee with. She sat for a while, just enjoying the sunrise and the warm spring breeze. Once she was finished, she fixed everything back into place. Teleporting the chess board back to its home as a pony dressed in maid's attire came out to grab the cart. Not recognizing the pony, she stopped for a moment on her way back inside. Turning back to look, it hit her and she smiled to herself a little.

"You do not need to hide yourself here, Thorax. You are just as welcome in my royal court as any other who helped us be rid of Sombra. Also, you look adorable in that maid outfit." Luna said with a giggle.

"O-Oh, thank you Princess Luna…" He replied, face red as changed to his normal changeling appearance.

She left him with another giggle, heading back in through the glass doors. Proceeding through the throne room, she made her way through the hallway and towards what had been Celestia's room before. It was closed off by a large golden door, still bearing Celestia's blazing sun sigil. The sigil have her a variable buffet of mixed emotions. Remorse for her lost sister as well as happiness that she was in a better place now, hatred for herself that stemmed from running off that day and leaving Celestia alone but also joy that she had saw her death avenged. She threw open the doors and walked inside, shutting them behind her. The interior was modest, much like her old room that she had given to Jet and Rainbow.

Shedding her dress and tossing it into the hamper in the corner, leaving her in just a set of black lingerie. Her horn lit up as her crown floated over to her bedside table. She flopped onto the bed face first into the pillow, groaning loudly into the pillow and rolleing over. She rubbed her eyes with her hands and sighed deeply.

"Dear Gods above, Tia. How did you ever run do this during my absence on the moon? This is beyond stressful." She said quietly to herself, looking to a small framed portrait of the two of them on her bedside table.

She heaved another sigh and pulled the soft plush blanket up over herself. She tossed and turned for a long while before her mind calmed enough for her to slowly drift off into a dreamless sleep, just the way she preferred. She spent most of her night helping others with their dreams, she became more exhausted at just the thought of having one of her own lately.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Jet made his way through the halls, towards the castle entrance. Passing various guards as they changed shifts for the day. He was passing by the room containing Sunblast's lab when the door burst open suddenly. Jet was hit with the door head-on, being knocked backwards and onto his rear. He hit the tan marble floor with a soft 'thump', looking up in a slightly dazed stupor from the sudden hit. The door swung back shut, Sunblast peeking around the front of it. He spotted Jet and his eyes widened, having realized what had happened. Shutting the door back behind him, he moved over and helped Jet back to his feet.

"Shit, I'm sorry Jet. Are you alright?" Sunblast asked in a hurried voice.

"Pfft, Sombra couldn't stop me. If a wooden door manages to, go ahead and make that door the emperor of the entire Earth. Anyway, where you off to in such a hurry this early?" Jet replied with a laugh.

"That's fair, and I'm heading out to meet Discord for breakfast. He said he had something to discuss with me, but wanted it to be informal. How about you? You're usually having coffee with Luna right about now, right?" Sunblast stated with a shrug.

"Yeah, that sounds like him. Unfortunately we had to cut our coffee short this morning. She gave me an assignment to check up on the memorial in old Ponyville." Jet replied casually.

Since they were both headed in the same direction, towards the castle gates, they decided to walk and talk. Having some friendly banter between friends, something that had been rare for them lately with their new busier lives as part of Luna's Royal Court.

"Sounds very important and exciting." Sunblast said, stifling a laugh.

"Hey, laugh all you want, but she seemed pretty certain I'd be able to find some kind of answers there." Jet retorted, giving Sunblast a playful punch in the shoulder.

"Answers are always good. Hopefully these answers don't lead to more questions." Sunblast replied with a smile.

"Yeah, same here. I'm so tired of each answer I get from somewhere only leaving me with more questions. I just want to know who I really am…" Jet said with a sigh.

"Whether you get that answer or not, I already know who you are." Sunblast retorted smugly.

"Oh yeah? And what's that?" Jet asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You're a damn great friend, that's what." Sunblast replied, returning the shoulder punch from earlier.

"Oh, shut up. You are so fucking gay." Jet said, trying in vain to keep from smiling.

"Me? Gay? Sir, are you just now realizing this?" Sunblast retorted jokingly.

"Hardy har har. Don't you have somewhere to go gay up?" Jet teased, fully smiling now.

"Hm, not until two. But, I should be going to meet Discord." Sunblast replied, pretending to check a planner while laughing.

"You're hilarious." Jet retorted with a mock serious expression, noticing they'd reached the gates.

"Aren't I though? Seriously though, I should probably head to meet Discord before he decides to just poof me there himself." Sunblast said, half jokingly.

"Yeah, he would definitely do that too. Tell that magical asshole I said hey, will ya?" Jet asked as Sunblast turned to leave.

"Sure thing. Catch you later, Jet." Sunblast replied before heading off into town towards the shopping district.

With that, Jet was left to his own devices once more. He gave his limbs a long stretch before heading off in the opposite direction from Sunblast. Through the residential district, past the newly built brown brick homes, and towards a park that overlooked Ponyville. It was a small rectangle, about the size of a hoofball field with a large black wrought iron fence surrounding it. Inside the park itself was just a couple benches, an artsy fountain, some sparse patches of colorful flowers, and a few sets of binoculars along the overlook. A waist high wall ran the length of the overlook, acting as a guard against any potential curious foals from falling over. It wasn't a big fancy park, but it was still a park nonetheless. Jet passed under the black metal archway that acted as the entrance between the run of wrought iron around it.

He walked along the thing paved trail leading through the park, coming up on the overlook. He stopped in front of one of the sets of binoculars. Fiddling around in his pocket, he produced a call golden coin. Popping it into the coin slot of the binoculars, he leaned in and looked through it. It took a moment for the image to focus, but when it did, he was greeted by an incredible view of the still recovering landscape. The rolling hills of Ponyville were speckled with patches of green and brown where the foliage was still regrowing. The Everfree Forest, now fully overgrown again, was back to the vibrant multi-shaded green mass of tangled vines and weeds that everyone was used to. Off in the distance, he could see the slightly crumbled peak of the remains from Sombra's black palace. Further along the horizon, he could make out a thick layer of black smoke hovering in the air, the telltale sign of the Dragonlands.

Satisfied with taking in the view, he heaved another sigh before spreading his wings. The mechanical appendages squeaked ever so slightly as they extended out to his sides, the smooth metal feathers gleaming in the sunlight. Leaning across the wall of the overlook, looking straight down as he prepared to take off. It was a very long way down. The opposite side of the wall dropped off to a sheer cliff face that led to a series of broken shards of rock laying in wait at the bottom. He'd been flying nearly his entire life and never really gotten altitude sick, but something about this view made his stomach churn uncomfortably. Steeling himself against the feeling, he took a few steps backwards before sprinting towards the wall. He leapt over it and dove headlong downwards over the edge, wings tucked against his back once more.

The wind beat against his face ferociously, the force of it causing his eyes to water. He dove for a good minute before finally unfurling his wings and pulling up. The wind caught under his wings and forced him back upwards a good bit, like a parachute being unraveled. He gained some more height before heading off towards the memorial in Ponyville. The spires loomed on the horizon like a set of claws sticking up from the Earth itself. His thruster powered wings carried him quickly towards the massive stone monument. He landed a few yards away from the memorial, a place that would've been the town square.

All around him, there were lighter green spots of grass on the ground that were nearly perfectly geometrically shaped. They were all that remained of the town that had once stood here. Along with building the memorial, during the rebuilding efforts, they had opted to just tear down the ruined remains of the town and let nature reclaim the land. Trudging through the shin high grass, he made his way to the nearly trimmed path around the memorial. He stepped up onto the massive concrete rectangle that acted as the foundation for the whole memorial. The huge slabs of white marble stretched above him several feet, the golden cursive of the names carved into them glowed slightly in the warm sunlight.

Jet proceeded through the center of the slabs, towards the spires that represented the princesses. As he approached them, a sudden chill ran up his spine. He looked around to see if there was anything that could cause it, but only saw the empty space of the concrete foundation and the few benches around the area. With a shrug, he turned his attention back to the princesses' memorials. The tall marble spires loomed over him ominously, the golden sigils up above him gleaming brightly in the sun. He approached the base of the spires, running a hand over the center most one, the one emblazoned with the blazing sun. Remembering what Luna had said, he summoned Moonshadow. He waited for something magical or secret to happen.

"So… What now Luna?" He asked idly, thinking aloud.

"Well, now we can speak formally." A familiar icy voice said from behind him.

Jet reflexively jumped and spun, pointing Moonshadow threateningly. When he turned around, he saw an ethereal figure standing there. A large stallion unicorn, adorned in thick silver armor that featured a helmet with long horns atop it. All around him, a tint seemed to grace the air. A crescent moon was emblazoned across the entirety of his chest. From under the helmet, the only thing Jet could make out was a pair of bright icy blue eyes.

"Your voice, I know you. You were there the day I fought Sombra." Jet said, slowly lowering Moonshadow.

"Indeed I was." The ghostly figure agreed.

"Who… Or what are you? And how the hell did you talk to me in my mind?" Jet asked curiously.

"I am known as Frost Bite, the spirit of the weapon you hold now. As for the speaking through your mind, it is one of the abilities I possess and the Royal Arm possess." He replied.

"Uh huh, can I get a more thorough explanation of how that works exactly? I haven't heard Bright Heart in my head." Jet said, cocking an eyebrow.

"Well as you already know we Royal Spirits, and by extension the Royal Arm itself, possess unique and powerful abilities. The ones you outright see, the elemental attributes attached to each of us or the specific enchantment abilities, are the offensive ones. What you may not know, is that each of us also possess a passive ability as well." Frost said with a thoughtful tone.

"Passive abilities, huh? Elaborate, if you don't mind. I wanna learn all I can about weilding you guys." Jet said, stroking his chin in thought.

"For myself it is the ability to telepathically communicate and fight independently from my wielder even when not in use, Bright Heart has the ability to produce shields of her own accord without being in use. As for my sister and the other, you will have to ask them once you meet them." Frost replied in a half serious tone.

"Alright, that's fair. Any idea when I'll meet them?" Jet asked.

"I do not have the answer to that. They will reveal themselves when they feel the time is right. Until then, do not forget to use the weapons should you come into combat." Frost replied stoically.

"Gotcha. I'm guessing you already know why we're out here then?" Jet questioned.

"Of course, Jet. Listen carefully, I will tell you what needs to be done." Frost stated with a nod.

"Right, explain away." Jet responded, returning the nod.

"You will need to lodge the hilt of Moonshadow into the ground in front of Celestia's monolith, with the blade facing the monolith. Once that is done, you must sit in front of it and attempt to meditate." Frost explained slowly.

"Alright. Can I ask what this is going to do?" Jet asked, tilting his head slightly to one side.

"Certainly. As you no doubt already know, the runic symbol on the bottom of the hilt can temporarily sever a soul from its body. Well, it can also act as a sort of signal tower that allows for communication with the souls of the deceased. The meditation part of it is a way of focusing the mind in order to enter the realm of souls via astral projection. You will also need to mentally picture the one you wish to commune with." Frost went on explaining.

"If Moonshadow is the signal tower and the meditation the phone, then why did I have to come all the way here to do this?" Jet asked curiously.

"If we did this just anywhere, there's no telling what spirit we would make contact with. To contact a specific spirit, you need something that represents the spirit itself. Think of the monolith as the phone number we need in order to make the call." Frost replied thoughtfully.

"So essentially doing it without a catalyst is like dialing a random number in the phone book?" Jet asked again.

"Precisely. Luna was right, you are a brilliant young stallion." Frost replied in a pleased tone.

"Anything else I should know?" Jet asked once more.

"Just a couple. The first thing to keep in mind is that time moves differently in the spirit realm than it does in the physical. What feels like mere minutes in there, could potentially be hours out here. The other thing to keep in mind is that no matter what you see or hear while in there, do not lose focus on the intended spirit. Even with the proper set up, you could quite literally lose your mind to the spirit realm, which would leave your body a mere husk. There are spirits in there that would love the opportunity to try to trick you into leaving your body open. Their intent is to steal your body so that they may live once again, whether it be for unfinished business or evil intentions." Frost wanted him thoroughly.

"Don't stray and keep time inside to a minimum, got it." Jet replied, making mental note of all that.

"Very good. With that, I shall leave you to it. Good luck and I hope you find the answers you seek Jet Stream." Frost said before vanishing with a nod.

"Alright, let's do this and hope for some actual answers for once." Jet said to himself.

Approaching the very base of the blazing sun monolith, Jet held Moonshadow tightly in his hand. He gave it a twirl between his fingers before slamming the hilt into the ground at his feet, the blade pointing at the white marble spire. It embedded into the concrete with a soft thud. As it embedded itself into the ground, a ring of bright blue runes very briefly flashed around the hilt before fading out of sight. With a nod to himself, he got down onto his knees. Kneeling with his legs folded under himself and sitting back on his heels. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, focusing his mind on a mental image of Celestia.

Settling on an image of her dressed in her gala attire, the last time he had seen her genuinely happy and not worrying over something. She stood tall and regal, a long white gown flowing down to the ground from a set of thin shoulder straps. A thick golden bangle hung from each of her wrists and a tiny thin chain wrapped around her neck. Her golden three pronged crown sat atop her head, the large purple gem in the center gleaming slightly. The multi-colored wisps of her hair flowing as in a nonexistent breeze like it always had. There was always an odd motherly aura about her, and his mental image of her was no different. He sat there trying to meditate for what seemed like ages, only the fleeting mental picture of Celestia to occupy his senses. Starting to get anxious, he shifted on his heels and groaned.

"Damn it, I guess this isn't going to wo…" Jet started to say, cutting himself off after opening his eyes.

He expecting see the memorial still in front of him, but instead was greeted by a much different view. The view of the memorial was now replaced by a strange Northern Light looking void, nothing but empty space all around him. Standing up and taking a few steps, he found that his boots splashed against the ground. It seemed to be covered by a thin layer of some kind of water. Even though he'd been kneeling in the water like substance, his legs were still bone dry. He looked around for a sign of anything at all, but it was just the Northern Lights looking void in all directions.

"Hello?!" Jet called out into the void.

His voice echoed off of the nothingness he was surrounded by. Worry crept into his mind as he began to think that something had gone wrong with the connection. As he started to take a few more steps forward, a small orb of light appeared several feet in front of him. It started from up above him, gliding down effortlessly until it was about eyes level with him. It hovered in place for a few moments before suddenly flashing and briefly blinding him. When his eyes cleared and his sight returned, he gasped at what he saw. Before him was the ethereal form of Celestia, just as he'd pictured in his mind. Her wings splayed behind her as she hovered in the air. He was too stunned, by the fact that it worked, to say anything. Even with all the magic they had at their disposal, he never imagined that communication with the dead was possible. She landed, her wings furling up onto her back as her feet caused soft ripples in the watery surface of the ground.

"Hello again, Jet. After Sombra fell, I figured it would only be a matter of time before we had this interaction." Celestia said with a warm smile.

"You… You knew this was coming?" Jet asked, surprised.

"Of course. I'm dead, not stupid. You always were a curious one, always searching for the answers to things you didn't understand." She replied with a slightly echoing giggle.

"Yeah, well… This is different. I just want to know who I really am. There's been so many things said and I don't know what to believe." He said with a huff.

"I understand, I can shed some light on certain things but you may not like those answers." She admitted, frowning slightly.

"I don't care if I like it or not. I need these answers, I'm tired of all this confusion surrounding my own existence." He retorted, sighing deeply.

"That's understandable, Jet. You have me to blame for all of your confusion about that, honestly." She stated, her eyes trailing off to avoid looking at him.

"I mean, sure you left me with parents that aren't really my own. But that's hardly a reason to blame you for anything." He replied, giving her a smile.

"Yes, the story I told Luna… I'm sorry, Jet, but the story of your orphaning that I told Luna is a lie. I told her a falsehood to keep myself out of the limelight, as it were." She said, her voice going slightly softer.

"I… I don't follow… If that story is false, then what's the truth?" He asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"It's… Complicated, Jet…" She replied with a sigh.

"I've got the time and I'm sure I can catch on. Just please, tell me the truth. I need to know." He said pleasingly.

"Very well, but it is not a tale I am proud of. It was a long while ago and I was a foolish young mare. With Luna still being imprisoned on the moon and no way of knowing when or even if she'd return, I grew lonesome. With dating not being an option due to how busy I constantly was and not seeing any other option at the time, I sought other ways to find companionship. So, in the little spare time I had, I began to research possible ways of magically finding or creating a companion. That's when I stumbled upon Starswirl's old mirror, and the notes he had written on them. They said it could act as a doorway into other realities and separate universes entirely. I saw this as my opportunity to not only find a companion, but perhaps even another version of my sister, possibly one experiencing the same loneliness that I was." She explained, her voice tainted with shame.

"You found more than you bargained for, didn't you…?" Jet asked idly.

"In a way, but we'll get to that. Through his old notes, I learned how to use it. It needed a catalyst, something to act as the key to unlock the doorway to that other universe. I learned so much about the mirror from those old texts. Things like universal resonances, the frequency that the molecules of something from a specific universe vibrates at. Having learned of that, I decided to test the mirror. Using a strand of my own hair, I used a… Dark magic spell in order to alter the universal resonance of that strand of hair. I had no way of knowing how much I altered it or what it would lead to, but I had to know if it would work at least. I used the strand on the mirror and it actually worked, a portal to a whole new world opened up. Hiding myself in a hooded cloak to avoid detection, I stepped through it." She continued, starting to pace in place.

"What kind od world did you find?" He asked curiously.

"One that I wish I could forget. Because it was my own hair I used as a catalyst, the mirror led me to a universe where another version of myself ruled. But instead of finding someone I could level with and possibly befriend, I found a monster. It was me, but also not. Her entire demeanor was… Evil. Her eyes were black pits with blazing orange pupils and her mane was nothing but a literal flame atop her head. She seemed to have been corrupted to some degree like Luna was when she became Nightmare Moon." She went on, her pacing sending increasingly large ripples across the watery ground.

"Wait, what does any of this have to with me?" He asked, confused.

"I'm getting to that, just stay with me here. Anyway, she didn't initially notice I had come through. I overheard her talking to someone about her ultimate weapon for universal dominance. She had created the perfect weapon by kidnapping and forcefully breeding with some unfortunate powerful stallion. This weapon, her child, would be unstoppable. Nearly indestructible, immune to most magical attacks, and even more destructive than the gravitational force of the sun she controlled. A child born directly from the nightmare mist corruption would be powerful indeed. I couldn't let something like that happen, especially to an innocent child. So I did what anyone in their right mind would do, I found and rescued that child from the horrid fate that this monstrous caricature of myself had planned." She said , voice wavering as she admitted all this.

"Are you saying…" Jet started, fearing the answer.

"That child, Jet… Is, was you. You were meant to be a tool of conquest, a weapon to be aimed and fired. I took you away from that place and left you with the ones you called mother and father. I had hoped to spare you this knowledge, but you came asking and I wasn't going to lie to you." She replied, looking away from him in shame.

"So I was born to just be a weapon of war…? That's… I don't… Wow…" He replied, stunned by this revelation.

"I can only imagine how you must be feeling, Jet. I never wanted you to experience this. I had taken you that day in the hopes that freeing you from her, you would have a normal life without having to worry about any of that dreadful business. I fear in doing so, I brought about more trouble for our own universe than intended." She said solemnly.

Jet didn't respond this time, instead falling to his knees with his arms limp at his sides. His chest rising and falling sporadically.

"Jet…? I…" Celestia started to say.

"I'm just a weapon… A creation intended for conquest and destruction… And this isn't even my home…?" Jet said distantly, an unnerving grin creeping across his face.

"No! You cannot believe that! Look at all the good you did with taking down Sombra! You have saved this world, even if you do not belong here, this is still your home!" She cried out, snapping Jet back to his senses with sudden outburst.

He looked up from the ground, eyes teary and strangely shifting. His irises blue seemed to be getting darker, but Celestia chalked it up to the strange lighting of the soul realm.

"You are no longer a weapon of war, Jet. I spared you that fate and Sombra would've returned regardless. This is your home and… I am proud that in some universe, you are my son. If I had a son of my own here in this universe, I could only hope he'd be half the stallion you have turned out to be." She said reassuringly, kneeling to put one of her translucent hand on his cheek.

He shuddered from her ghostly touch. It was cold as ice as was like nothing her had ever felt before. He would best describe it as sort of like being aggressively grazed by a freezing winter breeze, but purposefully and specifically just on his cheek.

"I know that this is hard to handle and must be taking a toll on your mind, but you cannot just give up and give in to that revelation. It's not your past that defines you, Jet, it's what you do with the present that does. It doesn't matter what that monster had planned for you, what matters is that you're a hero here and now. You won a war for the right side, there's nothing that she or anybody else can do to change that now." She said, smiling warmly.

"But…" He started to protest.

"No buts, mister. I might not be your biological mom, but I'm close enough and you're not too old for a whooping." She retorted with a stifled giggle.

"Thank you, Celestia… You were right, I didn't like the answer, but I asked. I just have one more question, I guess." He replied, returning her giggle with a chuckle of his own before getting to his feet again.

"You're welcome, Jet. What is your question?" She asked, raising an eyebrow curiously.

"Who was my father?" He answered her question with his own.

"That, I don't know. I never encountered a father or heard her speak of him by name while I was in her sanctum. I'm sorry." She replied with a frown.

"That's alright, it's probably not that important anyway. Thank you again for answering my questions. I should probably get going back to the physical plane." He said, reassuring her that she'd already been of assistance.

"It was no trouble at all. Oh! Before you go, I have something for you." She said suddenly.

Her horn glowed brightly for a moment before a gold ringed compass with a gleaming silver needle appeared in her hand.

"What's this?" He asked, taking it from her and looking it over.

"Just a little something that you might find useful in the near future. No spoilers, but be wary of who you trust moving forward. Not everyone will be what they seem." She warned ominously before flashing into a ball of light again and drifting off.

"Hey, wait! What does that mean?!" He called out after her, but she was already gone.

He cursed to himself, but figured he'd better head back as there was no telling how long he'd been gone. Kneeling again, he focused his mind back on his own body. After a few minutes, he began to feel the warm breeze against his skin once more. Opening his eyes confirmed that he was back in the physical plane. He looked down to see that he still held the compass in his hands. After putting the compass into the pocket inside his armor, he stood and stretched his slightly aching limbs. Retrieving Moonshadow from its spot in the ground, he stored it back in the pocket dimension he used to keep the Royal Arms safe. As he did, the ground shook, a distant boom ringing out across the landscape. He looked up to see a pillar of smoke coming from the direction of the castle. The sun was high in the sky now, indicating he had been gone a few hours at least.

"Oh, come on! This shit again? We just got that rebuilt!" Jet yelled out towards the smoke.

He groaned to himself and took to the sky, flying off back towards New Canterlot and whatever nonsense had happened this time. Whatever it was, it was in for a good beating as Jet was already frustrated and needed to blow off some steam.

Chapter 2: Extended Family

A couple hours earlier, after literally running into Jet, Sunblast was making his way down the street towards where he was meant to be meeting Discord. The streets weren't crowded yet, but there were a few ponies here and there strolling around on there way to work or school. As he went along, he saw several of the shops flickering their neon 'OPEN' signs on and unlocking their doors. It warmed his usually cold heart to see things returning to normal around the city. He walked along in mostly silence, save for the occasional shop bell ringing as the doors were pushed open by patrons. It wasn't long before the cafe he was meeting Discord at peeked over the horizon ahead of him. As he continued on, he could make out the shape of Discord sitting at one of the outdoor tables. He had his head propped up on his arm and was idly tapping his clawed fingers against the small beige table. When he noticed Sunblast approaching, he sat up straight and waved, a goofy grin on his face like normal. Sunblast returned the wave and made his way over, taking the seat across from Discord.

"Hey, Sunblast. Glad you could make it!" Discord said happily as Sunblast sat down.

"No problem. I'm kinda surprised that you asked me of all ponies to meet for tea." Sunblast replied with a confused look.

"Well, it's not like I have many others to invite to tea. Not since… Um, anyway, you're also really the only one who would understand what I've discovered." Discord said, voice faltering slightly then picking up back as if nothing had happened.

"What exactly is it that you discovered?" Sunblast asked, cocking his head in curiosity.

"We'll get to that, let's just chat and enjoy some tea first, hm?" Discord suggested, snapping his fingers and two steaming cups of tea appearing on the table in front of them.

"Ooook then. What kind of tea are you making me drink exactly?" Sunblast asked suspiciously.

"If memory serves, you enjoy a nice Trottingham Fog, yes?" Discord replied with a grin.

"Actually, yes. Thank you, I think. What exactly did you want to talk about?" Sunblast asked, picking up the cup of tea and blowing on it gently.

"Oh, just anything really. I find that some small talk always lightened the mood before a serious conversation." Discord replied with a shrug.

"Alrighty then. I guess I should probably address the elephant on the room and ask, how are you holding up? Y'know, considering the obvious." Sunblast said, inching around the subject.

"That's one subject I would prefer that we avoid. Still a fresh wound, you know?" Discord replied with a light shudder.

"Fair enough. How about you start the conversation then?" Sunblast suggested, sipping his tea lightly.

"Very well. How are things with your research going?" Discord asked, sitting back in his chair casually.

"I'm actually glad you asked. I've been toying around with the mirror, seeing if I can get to other universes with it. The only problem is that I need a catalyst to use and without something actually from another universe, I can't get anywhere with my research into it." Sunblast replied with a light groan.

"Hm, that does pose a slight issue. If you like, I could be of assistance with that. After all, I can traverse the multiverse without the need for a portal." Discord said with a shrug.

"I suppose you could, but that would be your choice. I'm sure I could figure out a way to do it regardless, I'm stubborn and resourceful." Sunblast stated, chuckling lightly.

"I'm always happy to help a friend. I'll try to find you somewhere interesting." Discord replied with a laugh.

"Well, I'd be glad to have your help. Just do me a favor and don't send to me some cotton candy cloud universe or something." Sunblast retorted, laughing a bit more.

"You have to ruin my fun, don't you?" Discord retorted with a faux frown.

"Discord…" Sunblast started, his having gone serious.

"Oh, fine. No cotton candy universe… Spoil sport…" Discord replied with a mock sad expression.

"Thank you. Now, anyway, was there anything else you wanted to ask? Otherwise, I'd say we get down to brass tacks here." Sunblast suggested, ignoring Discord mock moping.

"Fine, but be warned that it's about our mutual blue eyes friend." Discord replied, daintily sipping from his tea cup.

"Jet? What about him? Oh, he says hello by the way." Sunblast said, remembering he literally bumped into Jet about an hour ago.

"Exactomundo. I've been doing some digging on him after having a talk with Luna a little while back." Discord stated, sitting forward with his elbows on the table.

"What did you find?" Sunblast asked suspiciously, also sitting forward on his elbows.

"Well, I'm sure you're familiar with the whole dimensional resonance thing, yes?" Discord asked, sort of rhetorically.

"I prefer the term universal resonance, but yes, I am." Sunblast replied with a nod.

"Tomato, tomahto. Anyhow, something that Luna said made me curious about our seemingly indestructible friend. I compared a hair sample from him to one of Luna's. I found out that the resonances didn't match in the slightest." Discord explained in a slightly hushed voice.

"So, you're telling me that the pony I've been friends with for nearly my whole life isn't even from this universe?" Sunblast asked, own voice hushed now too.

"That, is exactly what I'm saying." Discord replied matter of factly.

"If he's not from here, then where's he from?" Sunblast asked curiously.

"That's the thing, I haven't found a universe that matches his resonance yet. With a few details based on his age, personality and such, I have managed to narrow it down to a handful and none of them good outcomes." Discord admitted with a sigh.

"By not being good outcomes, what do you mean?" Sunblast asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Well… Let's just say that those universes weren't lucky enough to have a nearly unstoppable warrior to fight off their tyrannical and maniacal rulers. In fact… In my venture across the various universes, I did come across other versions of him, but none of them had the same characteristics as him." Discord explained thoroughly.

"That doesn't make any sense. By the theories of the multiverse, there should be some version of him that's at least similar to ours." Sunblast said, confusion sweeping into his voice.

"I know, that's why I'm just as confused as you are." Discord replied with a shrug.

"Wow, this opens up so many new theories… I don't even know where to begin…" Sunblast said idly, sitting back against the hard metal seat.

"I think for now, we should keep this between us. And possibly Jet as well, I feel like it's the right thing to do to let him know." Discord said, sighing lightly.

"Yeah, definitely the right thing to do by letting him know." Sunblast agreed.

"On a lighter note, anything planned for the rest of the day?" Discord asked, changing the subject to something less grim.

"Oh, you know, the usual. Tinker in the lab, probably experiment with the mirror some more. How about yourself?" Sunblast replied with a wave of his hand.

"I was going to explore the multiverse in search of more info about our resident super weapon. And I guess now, search for an interesting universe for you to explore." Discord replied with another shrug.

"That's fair. Just remember, no cotton candy universe." Sunblast retorted with a laugh.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll see what I can find that's interesting for you." Discord responded, waving his hand at Sunblast playfully as he finished his tea

"Nothing too crazy either, I'm not trying to die just yet." Sunblast added jokingly.

"Anything else, mister picky?" Discord asked in a mock irritated tone.

"Hm, no, I think that's it." Sunblast retorted with a grin as he also downed the remainder of his tea.

"Well, I think we should get along with our days then. Daylight's burning, y'know? At least here it is." Discord said, slightly ominously.

"I think you're right. It was nice having some good tea with you, Discord. We should do it more often." Sunblast suggested, standing and streching his slightly achy muscles.

"I agree, that would be nice. Take care, Sunblast, and don't let Jet talk you into anything stupid." Discord replied with his signature goofy grin.

"You know me, stupid is my middle name. If it looks risky and fun, I'm gonna do it." Sunblast said, laughing lightly.

"That… Is far more accurate than I care to admit." Discord stated jokingly.

Discord then snapped his fingers, both he and the tea cups vanishing. Sunblast gathered his thoughts for a moment before heading back towards the castle. He walked slowly, giving his mind time to register what Discord had told him. By the time he made it back to the castle, the sun was rising high in the sky overhead. An indicator that noon was approaching, and that he'd spent longer talking to Discord than he first thought. He headed back through the castle gates, past the guards, and into the main hallway. Walking a bit more briskly now, he reached his lab rather quickly. Pushing open the door with a light squeak, he stepped inside. Flicking on the lights, they fizzled to life with a nearly inaudible hiss from the florescent bulbs.

The interior wasn't much different from his lab back in the bunker. A random assortment of devices with various gauges, dials, and readouts lined the walls. On the opposite side from the door, sat the mirror, which was still hooked up to the catalyst analyzer he had created. It flower dimly in the pale florescent lights from the ceiling. On one side of the room, pushed up against the wall, sat a small workbench with a stool sat in front of it. Atop it sat a miscellaneous assortment of projects that Sunblast was currently in the midst of tinkering with, along with a moderately sized toolbox. Among the projects was a new sword for Jet, since Sombra had broken the last one. Sunblast made his way over to the workbench and looked down at the still unfinished plasma blade.

He was trying to convert it into a dual bladed unit for maximum offensive capabilities, but it was proving to be more difficult than he initially thought. Pulling the stool up to the workbench, he set to work tinkering with the blade. His hands grabbed a couple tools from the toolbox. The tools clinked lightly as he toiled away on the mechanics inside the hilt of the blade. He toiled away for an unknown amount of time, only being interrupted when the lighting in the lab suddenly grew brighter. Looking up from the workbench, he turned to see the mirror glowing brightly. As he was getting up to go inspect it, something suddenly burst through the now active portal. The sudden blast of air from the speed of whatever is was knocked over several thanks of fuel that he used for welding. One of the tanks was punctured and began to skid across the floor, sending up a series of sparks as it did. The sparks caught the leaking fuel and was immediately lit up with flame and subsequently blew up entirely. This caused a chain reaction with the other tanks he had, creating an explosion large enough to be seen and heard from outside the walls of the castle.

Sunblast had been thrown back against the wall, but he had luckily been able to react fast enough to magically shield himself from the brunt of the blast. He was dazed and the room was full of smoke, but he could swear he saw a few more silhouettes come through the portal during the explosion. It took several minutes for the smoke to clear, but when it did, Sunblast was stunned by what he saw. The entire back wall of his lab had been blown off, the frame of the mirror stood charred next to the gaping hole, and a pile of glass shards surrounded the base of the mirror. The ancient relic left by Starswirl himself had been destroyed in one fell swoop by some unknown intruder's clumsiness. Sunblast groaned as he got to his feet, his back aching severely from being flung across the room. He limped over to the smoldering hole and took a look outside, nothing seemed to be a miss aside from the smoke billowing into the sky.

As he stared up into the billowing plume of smoke, he could vaguely see something flying through the air towards him. He couldn't make out any distinguishing features, but whatever it was, was moving at breakneck speed. They pierced through the layer of smoke like a bullet, landing just a few feet from the smoldering hole in the castle wall. To Sunblast's relief, he saw that it was Jet. He stood with Solaris in his grasp, looking around anxiously. He and Sunburst locked eyes and Jet ran over to him, helping him stand upright. He helped Sunburst out of the blown out lab and down to the gardens where he sat Sunblast on a bench.

"Sunblast, what the hell happened? Are you alright?" Jet asked frantically.

"I'm fine, thank you. As far as what happened, I'm not sure to be perfectly honest. It all happened so fast." Sunblast replied, coughing lightly from the fresh air filling his smokey lungs.

"Just breathe and tell me what you do know." Jet said, plopping down on the bench beside Sunblast.

"I was working on your new sword when the portal activated out of nowhere. Something came through and knocked over my welding tanks. After that, it was all just smoke and fire. Then, you showed up." Sunblast explained between breaths.

"Just what we need, a nuisance from some other universe to deal with." Jet replied with an exasperated sigh.

"I can't be fully sure because of all the smoke, but I think there was more than one…" Sunblast added slowly.

"Even fucking better!" Jet yelled out to no one in particular.

"Maybe we'll get lucky and it's just a tourist from another universe?" Sunblast suggested hopefully.

"Look at the history of Equestria, hope is low for that. Ninety percent of the time when there's some new creature found or it finds us, it's hostile." Jet stated with a flat expression.

"You make a valid point, but you once told me 'no matter how grim the circumstances, there's always a ray of hope.' Or did you forget that?" Sunblast retorted with a half smirk.

"Hey, don't throw my own lines at me like that!" Jet yelled playfully.

"You see my point though?" Sunblast asked.

"I do, but I'm really not holding my breath anymore." Jet replied with a shrug.

Just then, a guard came sprinting into the gardens where they were sitting.

"There you are, Jet! I've been looking everywhere for you!" He said breathlessly.

"Why? What's wrong now?" Jet asked, standing up from the bench.

"Well, we have a situation on our hands." He replied, still trying to catch his breath.

"What is it? Changeling invasion? Everfree vines? Tirek…?" Jet asked cautiously.

"Unfortunately, nothing that easy. There's some kind of psycho rampaging through downtown. They're making Sombra's onslaught seem like foalsplay!" He yelled, finally getting his wind back.

"I told you so…" Jet said, giving Sunblast a look.

"Yeah, yeah. Just go deal with whatever it is." Sunblast retorted, rolling his eyes.

"Right, I'm off. Get him to the med ward for a check up, I'm sure he's hurt worse than he's letting on." Jet said to the guard before taking off into the air again.

He zoomed through the air, towards the center of the shopping district that also acted as the downtown portion of the city. Even from here, he could see a couple pillars of black and grey smoke, as well as hear the terrified screams of ponies. Flying as fast as his mechanized wings would carry him, he arrived in a few seconds. As he drew closer, he could make out the source of the pillars of smoke. Down below, there was a trail of destruction that led through the city. Buildings had their facades blown away and caved in, a few sparse corpses lined the streets, blood doused the cobblestone paths in a thin layer crimson.

He landed with a hard thud, indenting the ground under him. Taking a quick look around and listening to the horrified screams, he figured out which way to follow the path of carnage. Taking off in the direction that the destruction was following, the screams grew louder and the smoke grew thicker. As he continued on, the smoke became so thick that he was having troubles breathing through it. Putting his mask up over his face, he ventured deeper into the smokey area. He came across several distressed ponies along the way, he pointed them in the direction of the castle for safety. Just when he thought he'd never find the source of this destruction, he stumbled across a distorted figure. They were just standing casually amongst the smoke and carnage. He took this as a sign that this figure was the one responsible for this assault on the newly rebuilt city.

The unknown assailant was donned in a darkly colored tattered and dirty cloak with a hood. Even from here and through the dirt that was one it, Jet could see the vague outline of faded gold detailing along the sides and back of the cloak. Hearing Jet's approach, the figure turned to face him. From under the shadows of the hood, he could only make out the glint of a mask or helmet underneath, the cloak prevented him from even making out this figured gender. His grip tightened around the handle of Solaris as he took a cautious step forward.

"Who are you and why the fuck are you wrecking my city? We just got this shit rebuilt, y'know?" Jet exclaimed loud enough to be heard over the devastation happening around them.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the prodigal son, we've been searching for you." The figure said, voice tinny under the mask they wore.

"Prodigal son? What are you talking about?" Jet asked confusedly.

"I think you already know, Prince Stream. Your mother has been looking for you for so long. It's time to fulfill your purpose and conquer this land in the name of her ki…" The figure started.

"Lemme just stop you right there. I don't know who you are, and frankly I don't really care right now, but I'm not conquering anything. I don't do that. I fight to protect this land from assholes like you who seek to cause it harm. So either fuck off or get ready to take your last breath." Jet interrupted, drawing back Solaris in preparation.

"You hide behind that false sense of protection, but admit it. You love fighting and killing. You crave it, you await the next battle and the chance to see the life drain from your enemies eyes!" They exclaimed with a villainous laugh.

"Shut your mouth! You don't know me at all!" Jet yelled back in response.

The figure unlatched the cloak, letting it blow away freely with the wind. Underneath the hooded cloak, the figure wore a weathered dark blue suit of armor with a helmet. The helmet had a set of rams horns on the sides and a face plate that was sculpted to look like a face with a flat stoic expression. Removing the helmet revealed a mare underneath. Given the horn on her head and the lack of wings, she wasn't an alicorn, just a unicorn. Her coat was a grey tone and her eyes a deep crimson. Her mane. however, stood out from everything else. It was a bright white with streaks of purple and blue within it. It flowed out from her head like Luna and Celestia's hair did, creating an almost galaxy looking visual effect.

"Oh, I know more than you might think." She said with a grin, her crimson eyes locking onto Jet.

"How could you possibly know anything about me?" Jet retorted, his voice steady, but something about those eyes shook him to his core.

"Tell me. Have you ever heard a mysterious ominous voice in your head? Ever lost complete control of your own body? Seen a wave of darkness in your dreams?" She asked, eyes narrowing at Jet.

"H-How did you…" Jet stammered, dropping his guard briefly.

"Because I experienced the same thing when my true nature came to the surface. You and I both are more alike than you know, Jet." She replied, making no move to attack him.

"What are you on about?" Jet asked, clearly shaken now.

"Both of us, we were born of the nightmare mist for a singular purpose. My purpose is reconnaissance of potential conquests, your purpose is… Was meant to be as the conqueror. We were meant to work as a team, birthed by the two sisters to become their weapons of universal conquest." She explained casually, as if addressing a long lost friend.

"No! I am nobody's weapon! I wouldn't ever conquer anything that's not rightfully mine!" Jet yelled, refusing to hear this yet again today.

"Deny it all you want, but it's the truth, cousin. Also, if you're nobody's weapon, then why are you here now? Are you not acting as the weapon for this world's princess? Serving to protect her kingdom from threat?" She asked, raising an eyebrow mockingly.

"That's not… But, I'm not… Shut up already!" Jet yelled out in frustration.

He rushed her, Solaris held high in an overhead strike. As he got closer to her though, things seemed to slow down around him. The wind stopped whistling, the debris in the air hung in place, and even the flames around them had stopped flickering. He didn't know how, but this pony had somehow frozen time around them entirely. Jet was somehow still able to move his eyes and even groan out a few sparse words.

By the time he actually made it close enough to swing, it felt as if he were trying to swing his arms through molasses. She giggled at his attempt to attack her as she effortlessly, and seemingly very quickly, stepped to one side. While Jet was forced into this strange slow motion, his arms and Solaris were falling at a speed that would make a snail look like a track star. He gritted his teeth as he watched her effortlessly avoid his attack with a never before seen level of speed. She walked around him, a devious smile plastered across her face.

"Probably wondering how I just slowed time around you, huh?" She taunted.

Jet could do nothing but let out a low growl as a response.

"Too bad, that's my little secret and not for you to know." She replied with another giggle.

Jet glared at her the best he could, willing his body to move just a little faster but to no avail. He could feel pain creeping into his jaw from gritting his teeth so hard. She looked him up and down with curiosity.

"You know… You're almost as intimidating as she made you sound. But something's off… By this stage in your life, you should've released your darkness by now. I wonder…" She said idly, clearly thinking aloud.

She extended her hand and placed it on Jet's forehead. Her hand was ice cold, a stark contrast to the heat of the flames raging around them. Jet couldn't tell what she was doing, but his head began to feel fuzzy.

"Lets see here. Nothing seems out of order, I don't understa… Wait a second, what's this?" She asked rhetorically.

She pressed her palm flat against his forehead now. The fuzzy feeling that Jet was experiencing worsened as she did this. He tried in vain to get his attack off, but still felt like he was surrounded by molasses. She suddenly pulled her hand away, the feeling along with it.

"I see the problem now. I'd tell you to hold still, but it's not like you have a choice." She said in a purposeful taunting tone.

Jet gave her his best death glare under his current circumstances. She paid him no mind and went about whatever it was she was doing. He watched her helplessly as she raised her arm into the air above her head. Her hand began to glow a dark violet color. Before Jet could even begin to wonder what she was up to, she slapped her glowing fingers against his forehead. He flinched in slow motion, eyes shutting in reflex. As soon as his eyes shut, he was greeted with a vision of the same wave of darkness he had been seeing in his dreams. It was much more realistic than before though. He could almost feel the cold of the wave as it rolled and crashed within his mind. Attempting to shake away the feeling, he forced his eyes open again. He saw that the mare had stepped back now. She stood a few feet away, a mischievous grin plastered across her face.

"There we go, that should do it." She said, tapping her chin and looking him over.

"W-What… Did you…" Jet struggled to speak.

"Oh, nothing much. I just released one of the binding seals holding back your true nature. With the first of the three broken, you should get a real taste of your true potential now. It's strange though, whatever binding spell was used on you, it prevents you from breaking the seals yourself." She replied with a shrug as she turned to leave.

"Get back… Here and… Fight me…" Jet struggled to get out.

"Not yet, cuz. You have plenty to do before we have our face off. If you're struggling, solve my little riddle and you'll get a clue. Your first test lies in a land consumed by flame and smoke." She said before disappearing in a flash of violet light.

As soon as she was gone, the strange time altering effect went with her. Jet fell to his hands and knees, breathing hard. His mind was awash with flashes of the same darkness from his dreams crashing down on top of him. Amongst the crashing of the darkness, he heard a voice. It was very faint, but spoke of things that sent a chill down his spine. He was so lost in his own mind that he didn't even hear the pony running up behind him from the direction of the castle. It wasn't until multiple attempts that their voice broke through the darkness of Jet's mind.

"...are you ok?! What happened?!" Screamed Rainbow's voice.

He slowly and weakly looked up, his gaze meeting hers. As soon as their eyes met, Rainbow let out a loud gasp. Instead of the deep blue that she had come to love, staring back at her was a pair of blood red irises. She instinctively took a step back, putting a hand to her mouth in speechless shock. As their eyes locked, a grim and bone chilling thought crept into his mind.

'Kill her, she means to keep us apart, kill her now' A deep voice hissed in Jet's head.

He grit his teeth, fighting against the sudden urge to jump up and slaughter his beloved Rainbow Dash. The strain of fighting against the murderous urge took its toll on his body. His entire body was visibly shaking, his eyes clamped shut tightly and the world was drowned out in a sea of blackness. Rainbow watched in worry as Jet collapsed onto the bloodied ground beneath him.

When Jet opened his eyes again, he feared he had gone blind. Everything was just as dark and black as when he had shit them. He frantically looked around, searching for anything that wasn't just black void. As he did, he laid eyes on a very faint light somewhere in the distance ahead of him. Getting to his feet, he began to make his way over to the mysterious light. As he walked, his boots made soft echoing splash sounds against the ground. It was covered in a thin layer of liquid, but had none of the properties of actual liquid, just like the flooring in his nightmares. The light grew brighter and brighter, until he fmhad finally made his way to its source. It took a few moments for his eyes to fully adjust to the brightness after having been exposed to total darkbes for so long. Once his vision had focused and returned, he gazed up to see what the light source was.

Standing over him was some sort of runic seal. It was vaguely in the shape of a door and featured a series of interlocking rings. There were four rings in total, three small ones and one much larger one that the small ones fed into. Two of the small rings displayed a sealing rune that glowed a bright white. The third however, was just an empty ring. On the other side of the door-like seal, Jet could see something moving. He slowly and cautiously approached the gateway, trying to look beyond it. The only thing he could make out past the searing light of the runes, was the vague shape of a writhing shadow. He continued in vain trying to catch a glimpse of whatever was beyond the gateway. As if the thing on the other side could sense him, it suddenly lunged forward. Smacking against the sealed barrier with a sudden flash of magical power and an audible demonic hiss. It just as quickly retreated to the shadows, back to where it had sat idle.

"So, you can finally see us then boy." The same voice from earlier hissed in his ears.

Jet looked around for a source of the voice, but saw nothing but black void in all directions.

"Who are you?! Show yourself!" Jet demanded, calling out into the void.

"Oh, but we have already shown ourselves. You need only connect the dots from here." It stated, its voice cold.

As it spoke, the voice Jet heard fluctuated between masculine, feminine, and sometimes something in-between. It was like listening to a perfectly synced up group of ponies, all saying the same thing all at once.

"Wha do y… Wait, are you that sentient mass of darkness…?" Jet asked, half rhetorically.

"Yessss. We have been waiting for you to take notice of our presence for so long." It said in its chilling voice.

"What are you?" Jet asked, looking towards the writhing shadow on the other side of the barrier.

"We… Are the embodiment of eons of rage, sorrow, jealousy, and negativity. We are your reason for existing, the thing your mother sought to control when you were birthed from our current physical body." It hissed and cooed, as if explaining something to a foal.

"That means…" Jet started.

"Yesss. We are the Nightmare Mist." It stated, confirming Jet's suspicion.

"But why am I only just now seeing you?" Jet asked, fearing the answer.

"Because we have been locked behind this seal since your birth. Some outside force broke the first seal, allowing us this interaction. It is a small step, but one on the road that leads to our release. A road… That leads to conquest and destruction, the likes your world has never known." It taunted, saying this as if it was fact.

"Well, if that's your plan, then I'll just use the elements to purge you from my body and mind like we did for Luna." Jet retorted with a sneer.

"You are welcome to try, but just know that our connection to you is far greater and intimate than hers was." It warned coldly.

"What do you mean?" Jet asked, narrowing his eyes at the shadowy shape.

"Nightmare Moon was created by way of our influence corrupting her from outside of her own mind. But you… You are different. The connection we share is corruption from within. You were born with us already attached. Your body birthed from darkness, your mind crafted from insanity, your soul pieced together from fragments of broken spirit. Should you attempt to rid yourself of us with the use of those shimmering stones, no part of you would survive." It replied matter of factly.

"No, you're lying to save your own existence. The elements are powerful enough to burn through the worst of corruption." Jet retorted with another glare at the shaded mass.

"As we said, you are welcome to try. We would be hurt by your loss, but in the end it would be a meaningless sacrifice. Our hive mind spans multiple universes. We can find or create another champion to corrupt and turn into a weapon of conquest and devastation." It rang out, following this line with a bone chilling laugh.

"Guess it's a good thing you're trapped behind this seal then." Jet taunted, a smirk gracing his lips.

"Ah, yes. The seal of binding that this world's Celestia put in place to keep at us at bay. Do not worry, son of corruption, this seal shall fail eventually. Then, we shall be free to fulfill your true purpose for existing." It replied, not even being phased by Jet's attempt at cockiness.

"You're wrong. This seal will stay up until the day I die!" Jet yelled in frustration.

"Foolish boy. The seal began to weaken the moment that Celestia's body grew cold, even more so now that one of the runes has been broken. It is only a matter of time before we are freed and you will cease to be, leaving behind only us." It continued to taunt Jet, knowing he had no power to do anything in the mindscape.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Jet cried out, not wanting to hear anymore of this nonsense.

Jet quickly sat upright in the hospital cot he was laying in, his arms flailing as he still screamed for the shade to shut up. His gaze focused on his surroundings quicker than usual. Around him was the typical hospital scenery. White separator walls between the various cots, pale green wallpaper, a white sheet acting as door to the cot area, off-white tiled floors, the sound of various beeping equipment filled the air. Beside him, in the visitor chair that all these hospital beds came with, sat Rainbow Dash. Her wide bagged eyes locked onto Jet worryingly. She had a book open on her lap, which she closed as soon as he had bolted upright from the cot.

"Ok, damn. I thought you liked Daring Do…" She said calmly, though the rising and falling of her chest told a different story.

"No, no. It was…. Another nightmare, I guess…" He replied, reaching up to rub his head, which was pounding so bad he could swear a race was being held within it.

"So, uh, how do you feel?" She asked hesitantly.

"Like my head was run over by AJ's apple cart, but otherwise ok, I guess. What even happened? Last thing I remember, I was having a not so nice little chat with our newest magical villain." He said, sliding back to prop himself up on the plastic headboard of the cot.

"Well, I haven't the slightest idea what happened before I got there. When I did, you were… I'm not even sure how to put it. Something was definitely wrong though." She replied, putting the book on the nearby table and sitting forward to get a good look at him, specifically his eyes.

"That's not too helpful, but thanks. Why are you staring at me, by the way?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow at her.

"When I found you, your eyes… They were different." She said, still idly looking into his irises.

"Different how?" He asked.

"The blue was gone, they were crimson. Like those of…" Rainbow began, being cut off shortly.

"Nightmare Moon and Sombra. It is the telltale sign of corruption taking hold of its victim." Luna finished Rainbow's thought just as she threw open the curtain to the cot area they were in.

"Does that mean…?" Rainbow started to ask, fearing the answer.

"Unfortunately, yes. Whatever this new threat did to him, it has unlocked something within his mind. Something that should have laid dormant. Please Jet, tell me what this cretin did to you. Perhaps it can help us better understand." Luna replied, her voice calm and soothing.

"Like I was just telling Rainbow, I don't remember much. But, I'll tell you what I do remember." Jet stated with a nod.

"That is understandable, anything at all could help at this point." Luna replied, giving Jet a small smile.

"Ok, the best I can remember, she kept going on about my destiny and releasing my inner darkness." Jet explained, trying to get the info correct.

"Who is this 'she'?" Luna asked, taking a seat on the edge of the cot.

"Well, she never gave me a name. She was fairly tall and seemingly slender, though it's hard to say for certain because of the armor she had on. Her coat was grey and eyes crimson like Rainbow said mine were. Her mane was streaked like Twilight's, but was a combination of blue, white, and purple. The strangest part was that it had the same ethereal flow as yours and Celestia's." Jet explained, raking his brain to remember.

"I see. Anything else you can recall?" Luna questioned further.

"Hm… She did keep prattling on about a broken seal. She seemed convinced it had something to do with my 'true nature' or something." Jet said with a shrug.

"Interesting… I need to think on this. Perhaps it is more of a clue than we realize." Luna said thoughtfully as she got up and left the room.

"Uh, anyway. If you're feeling better, we could use you in the briefing room." Rainbow said, standing up and stretching her wings.

"Briefing room? What for?" Jet asked, sliding his legs off the bed.

"Yeah, I'll explain when you get there. I'm gonna go gather the others members of Luna's royal cabinet. See you soon, you danger prone ass." Rainbow said jokingly before leaving as well.

"See ya soon." Jet called after her.

He slowly got up from the bed, his joints popping and snapping from the sudden movements. With a groan, he stretched his aching limbs. After stretching, he made his way through the curtain and down through the infirmary towards the exit. He was stopped by the all too familiar Nurse Redheart. She stood at the door, clipboard in one hand, a pen in the other. She had an unamused look plastered across her face as Jet approached. Her light pink hair was neatly tied up into a bun, like usual. She wore her normal white lab coat with white undershirt, along with a black knee length skirt and black heels. Whether she knew it or not, she was the stereotypical representation of a female doctor.

"Mr Stream, I swear to Celestia I am getting tired of seeing you in my ward." She said, trying to be stern but a hint of a smirk at the corner of her mouth.

"Like I WANT to keep ending up here? It's not my fault I'm prone to danger. All I try to do is keep our home safe, but… You already know how that usually turns out." He replied with a mischievous smile.

"Well, you do manage to keep the threats at bay. I guess I can't be too upset about having to patch you up fairly often." She said, finally dropping the stern act and fully smiling.

"You're unusually chipper, what's the deal Redheart?" He asked curiously.

"Nothing really, just finally got my full PhD this morning!" She exclaimed excitedly as she turned the clipboard around to show him.

Held with her thumb, over the paperwork on the clipboard was a still freshly printed sheet of thick paper. It was embossed around the edges with a golden swirl, the background an off white with the occasional grey speck in the paper. Printed across the page at the top, in a large, but simple type font were the words 'University Of New Equestria'. Just under it was the typical doctorate stuff about being proud to award the PhD. But just under that was something that caught Jet's eye, on the name line it read 'Hope Redheart'. It was scrawled in nearly penned cursive.

"Congrats!" He said with a large smile.

"Thanks. I would've had it already, but a certain asshole unicorn cut my final year short. Luckily after everything that happened, the new deans of the university didn't see the sense in making me repeat anything. You know, considering everything." She replied with a shrug.

"That's good at least. Y'know, I think this is the first time I've ever heard or seen your first name." He said, scratching his chin.

"Well, if it's all the same to you, I'd prefer Dr Redheart. Hope Redheart feels a little…" She started to say.

"On the nose? I mean, you were our only hope for medical aid during the Sombra era." He said with a small grin.

"Exactly…" She replied, putting her stern face on again.

"Help me Redheart, you're my only… Hope." He said, cracking himself up a bit.

"Ha, ha, ha. Very funny. Now get out of here before I decide you need to give up some blood." She retorted, her eyes rolling hard enough that they should've rolled out of her head entirely.

"Fine, fine. Hopefully I won't have to see you again too soon, Doc." He said.

"You do remember that I'm part of Princess Luna's cabinet too, right? Royal Physician ring a bell?" She asked sarcastically.

"Oh, right. Well, uh… See you up in the briefing room then." Jet replied with a nervous chuckle.

She rolled her eyes again as he left the room, leaving her in silence once more to put her things away before joining the others in the briefing room. After a few miscellaneous filing and some minor straightening up of small things here and there, she was ready to head out herself. The briefing room was situated above the throne room, in one of the small towers. It wasn't a far trek from the infirmary to the throne room, but the stairs that led to the briefing room made Redheart dread the trek.

The halls were eerily quiet, save for the soft clacking of her heels one the marble floors. She couldn't understand what or why, but she had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach as she walked. Something was off, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She attempted to shake off the feeling as she approached the throne room and was ushered in by the guards posted there. Making her way through the beautifully stain glassed room, behind the throne itself, and through a small door. The door opened into the staircase leading up to the briefing room. It was a long winding set of stairs that wound up the interior of the tower. There was room enough for two ponies to climb the stairs side by side. The problem that Redheart had with these stairs was the fact the way they wound up the tower, was not very high heel friendly. Hating the thought of cold feet from the stone steps, she sucked it up and started her ascent.

After a couple of small slips on the stairs, several swears at her own choice in footwear, and a pair of aching ankles, she finally made it to the top. The stairs opened up onto a moderately sized entryway, with a small wooden door leading into the briefing room. She steeled her nerves for whatever was about to be discussed within and thrust open the door.

Chapter 3: Preparations

The briefing room wasn't anything too special. Just a large circular room with an equally large circular table that had a series of chairs stationed around it. The walls were adorned with a few sparse motivational posters that depicted wartime scenarios. Hanging above the circular table, hung a chandelier that didn't provide a whole lot of light, but it was just enough to see in the room. At the head of the table, where Luna sat, was a holographic display of a map of Equestria. At various spots on the map, there were small red dots that were flashing ominously.

Seated around the table were all the members of Luna's royal cabinet. There was the head of Research, Sunblast, who had bandages on both his chest and various spot of his face as well as one arm in a sling. The captain of the royal guard and the royal vizier, Rainbow Dash and Jet Stream respectively. Newly appointed head of interdimensional security, Discord. Even the lead archeologist and artifact specialist, Daring Do, was present this time. There was also a pony that Redheart didn't recognize, she was a dirt brown unicorn with a shaggy grey mane. Her face was splotched with what appeared to be actual dirt and oil stains.

Redheart took her seat at the end of the table, between Discord and Sunblast. When she arrived, the room was already bustling with the commotion of everyone talking. Redheart, being the last to join the group, entered into an already heated debate over something. She did her best to try and catch up, but felt lost regardless.

"... with all due respect, princess, we need to act now. There's no telling what sort of nonsense came through that portal." Discord stated loudly.

"I understand that Discord, but with no knowledge whatsoever on what we're dealing with, we could likely be walking into a trap by checking in on any of these energy signatures." Luna retorted sternly.

"So we're just going to risk the safety of our neighboring nations?" Rainbow chimed in.

"It is not about the safety of our neighboring nations. It is about the safety and well-being of our own people. We cannot just rush into an unknown fight willy nilly. We risk far more than just a single nation by doing that. It could turn into another Sombra situation all over again, and we do not have the man power to fight that fight again." Luna responded, groaning loudly.

"Princess Luna, you can't seriously be considering leaving our allies hanging in their time of need!" Daring Do shouted.

"You mean like they did to us?!" Luna replied, suddenly becoming obviously irritated.

The room went deathly silent for a long moment. Jet couldn't be completely sure, but he swear he saw a glimpse of Nightmare Moon when Luna blew up just now. He brushed it off as a visual illusion from the poor lighting combined with his encounter a short while ago.

"Maybe we don't have to charge into battle blind…" Jet finally piped up, having been sitting in his seat silently up to this point.

"What did you have in mind, Jet?" Luna asked, turning to look at him.

"I was thinking… What if we did send a squadron to investigate these energy signatures? Just a handful of us here in this room. We go in by airship, check out the situation, gather some Intel, and only if necessary do we intervene." Jet suggested calmly.

"Hm, that is not a bad plan actually. Though, where would we aquire the airship?" Luna asked, scratching her chin thoughtfully.

"Well, it just so happens that I've been working with Gadget over here to restore one of the one's that Sombra used to pollute the air." Jet replied with a smirk.

"Without my authority?" Luna said jokingly, looking between Jet and the brown unicorn who was only barely paying attention.

"Yep." The unicorn, Gadget, chimed in absentmindedly as she doodled on a piece of paper sat in front of her.

"I admire your foresight, Jet. You continue to surprise me." Luna said with a smile.

"Thank you, Princess Luna. That truly means a lot coming from you." Jet replied, returning her smile.

"Now then, seeing how it was your idea, I will leave the preparations to you. You may take anybody you think will be of aid on this mission." Luna stated in a proper authoritative tone.

"Very well. I'll get started as soon as possible, princess." Jet replied with a nod.

"Excellent. I shall leave you to it then. I need some aspirin after this headache of an event. Stop by my chambers before you leave, Jet. There is something we should discuss, in private." Luna said with a huff before standing up to leave.

She gave a proper farewell to the group as she passed by them and through the door at the opposite end of the room. This left Jet alone with the others to determine who will accompany him on this new task. Once Luna had left the room, everyone turned towards Jet in anticipation.

"Alright then, I guess we should figure out who's coming with me on this journey." Jet said, casually looking around the room.

"Well, I think it's obvious I should go." Rainbow stated.

"Actually it's probably best if you stay here. We need someone with combat skill to stay behind in case something happens while I'm gone." Jet replied, furrowing his brow.

"Aww man, but I'm getting stir crazy with no action anymore." Rainbow complained in response.

"I know the feeling, but it's our safest bet for contingency in case this is a trap of some sort." Jet retorted with a frown.

"Fine… But you owe me something fun when you get back." Rainbow replied, crossing her arms.

"I'll make sure of it. Now then, we'll need our engineer and medic. Just in case something happens with the airship or one of us get injured. Redheart and Gadget, you with me?" Jet asked, looking between the two.

"I suppose so, better get some use out of this PhD." Redheart replied with a shrug.

"Sure, whatever." Gadget said, not even looking up from her sketching.

"Good. Sunblast, I think you should stay behind as well. You need time to recuparate from that explosion." Jet said, giving his friend a nod.

"Fine by me, I need to get the lab back in working order anyway." Sunblast replied, returning the nod.

"Right. Now, let's see… Discord and Daring, we may need your help with containing whatever we find." Jet stated, scratching his chin in thought.

"I'd be happy to join this expedition. Been a while since I got to explore some shit." Daring said excitedly.

"O Captain my captain!" Discord stated loudly, standing up on the table and giving an old fashioned salute.

"Uh, right… Anyway, I think we'll need one more for this expedition. I can grab him on the way to talk with Luna though. Gadget, Daring, I'm putting you two in charge of loading the airship with enough supplies for our journey." Jet said thoughtfully.

"We'll get right on it!" Daring shouted excitedly.

"Yep." Gadget replied absentmindedly.

"Redheart, stock up on any medical supplies we may need." Jet instructed, giving her a nod as well.

"You got it." Redheart replied with a smile.

"And Discord… Try to take this seriously, please…" Jet said with a sigh as he looked over to see the draconiquis had dressed himself in a ship captains attire.

"Serious Discord, got it!" Dicrord exclaimed, snapping his fingers and returning to normal.

"Thank you. Now, we all have our respective tasks. Get them finished and meet in the engineering bay in o-three hundred." Jet said with his sternest tone.

Everyone stood from their seats to adjourn and get to completing their assigned tasks. They all left one by one, chatting amongst themselves about the upcoming expedition as they went. Redheart headed back to the infirmary to gather her equipment and supplies. The halls were much livelier this time, with various guards running around to attend to their own daily tasks. When she finally reached the infirmary, she headed over to her cabinet of medical supplies that sat behind her desk.

Opening the small white steel cabinet, she pulled out a traditional doctor's bag and began loading it up. Bandages, tourniquets, sutures, needles, various medications, scalpels, and syringes. She was going to make damn sure she had everything necessary to do her work should it be required. She latched the bag shut and turned back to her desk, getting the necessary paperwork together for when she did have to do her work on somebody. As she was getting the papers in order and neatly put away on the bag, she heard the encroaching footsteps of somebody as they came down the hall towards the infirmary. Looking up to see who it was, she was met with the bandaged face of Sunblast. He leaned against the door frame, doing his best to cross his arms casually.

"Didn't expect to see you again so soon, Sunblast. What's up?" Redheart asked as she packed up a small suitcase with various street clothing and nurse's attire.

"I actually wanted to ask you about something." Sunblast said, furrowing his brow in thought.

"Oh? What is it? I'll do my best to answer." She replied.

"What's your thoughts on the whole Jet situation? Any idea what's going on?" He asked curiously.

"Well, it goes against my hypocratic oath to discuss patient information. But, off the record… I have no fucking clue. I ran every test I could thing of. Blood, urine, brain scan, physical exam." She admitted with a groan.

"Nothing abnormal with his physical exams or brain scans? Anything at all?" He continued to ask.

"Physically, he's… Fine, absolutely fine…" She said with a slight blush gracing her cheeks.

"Gross... And how about his brain scan?" He asked again, rolling his eyes.

"His brain scan was relatively normal. There was a slight anomaly, but it only showed up in one of the five scans I performed." She replied thoughtfully.

"I know it's against your oath, but may I take a look at that scan?" He asked, standing up from the door frame and moving over.

"I suppose so. You've pretty much seen all of his medical records from when he was in that stasis thing before." She responded with a shrug.

She stopped packing up her suitcase and moved over to the dark grey filing cabinet that sat beside her desk. Bending down to open the top drawer, she rifled through the papers contained within. It took her a moment, but she eventually stood back up, a manilla file folder in hand. She sat the file down on her desk and flipped it open. Inside were the standard medical information forms. Jet's name, eye color, hair color, height, weight, blood type. But that wasn't Sunblast's concern, his eyes were drawn to the X-ray sheets that were paperclipped to the opposite side of the folder. Redheart unclipped the sheets and passed them over to Sunblast. He took them and gave her a nod of thanks. Leading through the sheets in his hands, he examined each one closely. As she had said, they all showed a perfectly normal brain scan, save for one. The scan in question showed the same X-ray as before, except seemingly wrapped around the frontal lobe was an eerie black mass. It had no discernable shape and could easily be mistaken for just a shadow or an error on the X-ray lense. But, Sunblast knew better. Whatever this black mass was, it was responsible for Jet's problem.

"You're right, this is highly abnormal. Any ideas what it could be?" Sunblast asked, handing the X-ray sheets back to Redheart.

"I haven't the foggiest idea. Kind of hoped you'd have something after seeing it." Redheart replied, sighing lightly as she stuffed the x-rays back into the folder.

"I may have a theory, but I'll need some time to do some more research." Sunblast stated, scratching his head lightly.

"Well, if you find anything, don't hesitate to let me know." She replied, shoving the folder back into the filing cabinet.

"Of course. Be careful out there and try to keep that idiot in one piece." He said jokingly.

"I'll do my best. No promises though." She responded with a smile.

"That's really all any of us can be expected to do, right?" He said, returning the smile.

"True. Anyway, I should probably finish up here. Hopefully we won't be gone more than a couple days, I'm almost out of clean lab coats." She said, politely hinting at him to leave her be.

"Oh, right. I'll leave you to it then and let you know if I find anything when you get back. See you later, Redheart." He replied, picking up on the subtle hint.

"Just remember to get some rest and don't over do it." She stated, referring to his injuries.

"Yes, yes I'll get plenty of rest. You keep safe out there too." He said before turning towards the door.

"I will, and thanks Sunblast." She replied, giving him another warm smile as he disappeared through the door and down the hallway.

Redheart checked the clock hanging on the wall behind her desk. She had about fifteen minutes until the designated meet up time in the engineering bay. She took a few minutes to sit down in her desk chair, heaving a deep sigh at the thought of what was to come. After taking time to briefly compose herself, she stood back up and double checked her various pieces of luggage. She had packed enough clothes to last a good couple of weeks, in addition to the medical supplies she packed, she felt that she was ready for this voyage across the world. Having both mentally and physically prepared herself, she headed for the door then down the hallway towards the engineering bay, which was located in one of the old cellars of the castle.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Jet walked at a brisk pace through the corridors, back to his and Rainbows room. He had no idea what awaited them at the destinations picked out on the map, but he had every intention of stopping it sooner rather than later. He barged into the room with haste and headed over to the dresser, pulling out a couple changes of clothes and setting them on the bed behind him. He then headed to the closet in search of his duffle bag. Rustling around in the closet, he didn't hear the footsteps come down the hallway behind him.

"Looking for something?" Rainbow's voice called, causing Jet to jump in surprise.

He turned to see her standing in the doorway, his army green duffle bag swinging from her outstretched hand.

"As a matter of fact, I am. Where did I leave it this time?" He asked with a small laugh.

"The training grounds. You left it behind after we sparred yesterday." She replied, tossing him the bag.

"Yeah, sounds like typical me. Thanks." He said with a smirk.

He caught and laid it on the bed unzipping it to pack up. Starting to pack them up, along with his armor unit, and field journal. Zipping the bag back up, he slung it over his shoulder. He took a moment to look around the room, just to make sure he didn't forget anything.

"You got everything?" Rainbow asked, watching Jet amusedly.

"Hm… Almost. Just gotta grab one more thing before I leave." He replied, readjusting his duffle bag.

Before she react, Jet had turned around and stepped over to her. Just as quick as he had moved over to her, he planted a kiss on her unexpecting lips. This elicited a sudden gasp and blush from Rainbow.

"H-Hey, I've told you about the sneak attack kisses…" She said, voice clearly flustered.

"Couldn't help myself, had to get one for the road." He retorted with a cheeky grin.

"Whatever, just be careful on this trip. I expect you back in relatively one piece." She teased with a giggle.

"I promise, I'll come back in one piece. You just make sure to kick any ass that tried anything while we're all gone." He said, brushing a strand of her hair from her face.

"I'm holding you to that, and don't sweat it. I got this covered while you're away." She replied, giving him a playful shove.

He chuckled and gave her another quick kiss. Pulling away and beginning to turn to head down the hallway, but stopping mid turn.

"Seriously, be careful while I'm gone. I have this bad feeling in my gut about this whole thing." He said in an ominous tone.

"I will, I promise. Just go and save the world… Again." She replied, her tone just as serious.

They exchanged a nod before Jet fully turned and headed off down the hall. He still had a couple stops to make before he met with the others in the hangar. The first of these stops was a visit to Luna, as she had requested. He walked at a moderate pace this time, not in too much of a rush, but still eager to get this over with. Luckily for him, having been Celestia's room previously, Luna's room was just in the next hallway over from his own. Situated nearly in the middle of the hallway itself, he approached the large silver and black oak door. Unsure of what she wanted to talk about, he took a breath and knocked. There was a brief rustling from the other side before Luna's voice spoke up from within.

"You may enter." Luna called in her usual relaxed tone.

Jet grabbed the ornate door handle and gave it a twist. The door gave a soft click and gave way to his light push as it swung open. Stepping inside, he was greeted to Luna standing near her balcony door with a smile on her face.

"Ah, Jet. I was expecting you." She said sweetly.

"Well, you did request I come see you before I leave." He said, shutting the door behind him.

"Yes, there is something we should discuss. Please, take a seat while I grab something." She replied, stepping away from the door.

He nodded and walked over to her bed, sitting down on the foot of it and setting his bag behind him. He watched as she headed into a smaller room that was attached to her bedroom. From what Jet could see from his seat on the bed, it looked to be a study of sorts. He could make out a seemingly messing desk and chair, a couple of bookshelves, and a telescope near the window.

He heard Luna rustling around in the study for a short while, before going silent. Shortly after, she returned with a rather thick book in her hands. She walked over and took a seat next to him on the bed. Flipping the book open to what seemed like a random page, she slid it over to Jet. He looked down at the page, confused at first, but then he realized why she was showing him this. On the page in front of his face, was the seal he had seen in his head after his encounter with the mysterious mare.

"Wha… Luna, how did…" He stuttered in confusion.

"When we were in the infirmary, your mention of a seal and releasing darkness rang in my head during the entire meeting. It was not until I returned to my room that I recalled something from Starswirl's studies." She explained, leaning down to look closer at the page.

"The Seal of Binding. A unique alchemic seal that can entrap causes of mental illness, such as traumatic memories, or dark entities capable of possessing a host." Jet read aloud.

"Keep going, Jet. If my theory is correct, then Celestia used this on your mind to prevent your corruption from spreading." Luna said calmly, placing a gentle hand on one of his shoulders.

"Held together by three runes, each respresenting a separate trait of a living being, encircling a larger rune. The first rune, the rune of destruction, is also the weakest of the three. It is able to be broken by an extreme and deliberate magical force from outside of the seal. The second rune, the rune of trauma, luckily can be tricky to break. The only way of breaking this rune is by causing, or bringing up existing, extreme mental trauma being to the one the seal was cast on. The third rune, the rune of will, is easily he strongest of the three. It can only be broken willingly by the one who hosts the seal." Jet continued to read.

"Does any of this look or sound familiar?" Luna asked hesitantly.

"It… It does… I've seen this seal in my nightmares…" He replied, voice strangely steady.

"I feared as much. If what you said remains true, then the first rune has already been broken. Whatever happens, you must remain strong from here on. We cannot risk the final two seals being broken." She warned, trying not to sound like she was scolding him.

"I understand, Luna. I'll do my best. But, there's gotta be a contingency or something. It's Starswirl, he always had a backup or contingency for his spells and stuff." He replied with a nervous chuckle.

He began reading the rest of the page to himself and even flipping to the next. The only other thing written in the journal was a large read inked warning that read, 'SHORT TERM USE ONLY. THE SEAL INADVERTANTLY STRENGTHENS ANY ENTITY SEALED BEHIND IT FOR LONG PERIODS'. Luna read the warning at the same time Jet did.

"Well, that is certainly not reassuring." She remarked, a chill going down her spine.

"The seal strengthens it over time… But that would mean…" He stammered, his head reeling with this new information.

"Jet, try to remain calm. We cannot risk the second rune being broken now." Luna said, lightly squeezing his shoulder.

He winced a little as she squeezed, almost forgetting she was there for a moment. With a few deep breaths and reassuring thoughts, he managed to steady his nerves once again. Once calm, he gave a slow nod to Luna.

"Th-Thank you, Luna. I appreciate the insight. Hopefully I can avoid any more… Emergences of my other half…" He stated, standing and grabbing his duffle bag once more.

"Just be careful, there is no telling what you will encounter out there. Any number of things could happen on this journey." She said in a calm tone.

"I will, Luna. Thank you again." He said before heading for the door.

She waved him farewell as he left, the door clicking behind him. Jet's head was still filled with worry, but he couldn't let it get to him, he had a job to do. Bringing his focus away from his own situation, and back to the task at hand, he headed for his last stop before the hangar. That stop was by the servant's quarters. It was a decent ways away from Luna's room, but conveniently close to the hangar entrance. Taking a few turns through the hallways, and a few sparse conversations with some random guards, he finally made it to the servant's quarters. The only thing that distinguished it from any of the other wooden doors in the long hallways was the bronze plaque on the door that stated what room it was.

Pushing the door open, Jet peeked inside. It was a pretty standard sleeping quarters. A number of neatly pressed white sheeted bunk beds lined the walls on either side of the room. Each small sleep area had a double stacked dresser, nightstand, and set of lamps. At the far end of the room was a small lounge area that came complete with a pair of armchairs, a TV, a radio, and a mini fridge. There was also a door off to one side of the lounge area, which judging by the toilet emblazoned on the door, it led to their own bathroom.

There weren't many ponies inside, likely due to it still being relatively early. There were a couple napping peacefully in their bunks, one was seated in an armchair focused on a show playing on the TV, and another seated in the second armchair reading a magazine of some kind. Out of the few that were there, Jet spotted who he was looking for. He was the one currently focused on the TV. Jet stepped inside and made his way over to the lounger area, sneaking up behind the armchair that seated his target.

"Hey, Thorax!" Jet yelled out right behind the changeling.

He yelped loudly, quickly changing form to that of a grizzly bear. He turned, massive paw raised to attack. As he was about to swipe, he laid eyes on Jet. Lowering his paw, he got down on all fours. Once at face level with Jet, he let out a very loud roar. The force and volume of the roar started the napping ponies awake and directly into the floor. Jet however, didn't even flinch. He just stood there with a smirk on his face, waiting for Thorax to finish his dramatics.

"Jet?! I've asked you not to do that!" Thorax cried out, shifting back to his normal form.

"I know, but at least you went on the offensive this time. You've come a long way since Sombra." Jet congratulated.

"Still… I don't like being caught off guard…" Thorax replied with a huff.

"Hey, you won't always be given a heads-up when somebody actually attacks. It's good to practice, just in case you do really get sneak attacked." Jet explained casually.

"I guess so… Why are you here anyway? Shouldn't you be doing royal vizier stuff?" Thorax asked, a little confused.

"I'm here because I need your help with something. Something big." Jet replied, crossing his arms.

"Oh, what is it?" Thorax asked hesitantly.

"I'm leading an expedition to investigate some strange activity across Equestria, and I could really use your shape shifting abilities to at least try and blend in." Jet stated.

"Y-You actually need me for something? But I'm…" Thorax began.

"An incredibly capable fighter, a master level spy, and a kind hearted friend." Jet said, cutting him off before he could demean himself.

"You really think that?" Thorax asked, voice sort of mimicking Fluttershy's in pitch.

"Of course. I saw the way you were tearing through Sombra's forces during the battle. Plus, how long were you hiding amongst our ranks, and we were completely oblivious to it?" Jet asked rhetorically.

"Well, when you put it like that… Alright, I'm in." Thorax replied, becoming a little excited from the praise he was receiving.

"Great! Pack up what you think you'll need and meet the rest of us in the hangar shortly. I'll explain more once we're all there." Jet said happily before turning to leave.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Daring Do was so thrilled to be going out and doing something again that she was practically running to her office to pack up. With her speed, it took almost no time at all for her to arrive at the aforementioned door. It was a basic wooden office door with a small fogged glass window. Across the window, in the standard font, wasa her name followed by 'Archeologist and Artifact Specialist'. She wasn't much for official titles, but she made an exception with this one. Knowing that it was the princess herself that gave her the title, it was enough to make her overlook her feelings about official titles. She grasped the brass door knob and turned it, it clicked softly before the door glided open. She stepped inside and flicked on the light switch, which was situated just inside the doorway. The lights hummed to life, illuminating the room within. It was a fairly moderately sized office space that included a slender closet on one side. She had enough room inside for a desk of her own, a chair, a shelf of notes and books on the various artifacts of Equestria, as well as a couple wall mounted displays for some of the artifacts she had found previously.

Smiling to herself, she moved past her desk and over to the closet. Flinging the door open out of excitement, she glanced over the interior and contents. The inside of the closet was a simple three shelf setup with a slightly larger open space under them. She didn't really use the closet for much, given it's small size, but she did keep some of her more important items inside. Out of the four shelves inside the slim space, she really only made use of one. Reaching up onto the shelf, she pulled down her old messenger bag and moved back over to her desk. Flipping the bag open, she was greeted to the familiar sight of her pith helmet, her khaki adventurer's button up shirt, and her khaki cargo shorts. Running her hands across the fabric of the clothes, she was reminded of the last time she had gotten to wear her adventuring attire. It was just before Sombra had attacked, she was off in the deserts surrounding Appleoosa looking for yet another lost artifact. Just as she was beginning to feel that spark of happiness, her thoughts immediately shifted to what little she remembered of being imprisoned in that mine.

Shaking her head free of the traumatic intrusive thoughts, she gave herself a stern nod and quickly changed into the khaki shirt shorts. The polyester fabric was a bit rough against her skin, but she never minded before, why start now. Giving herself a look in the reflection from one of her glass cases, her smile returned. Grabbing the pith helmet from her desk, she plopped it onto her head with a little flare of dramatic excitement before turning back to the closet. She pulled her tan hiking boots from the bottom of the closet and slipped them on as well. After pushing the closet shut again, she turned her attention to the shelf of books and tomes behind her desk.

Her gray eyes danced over the spines of the books as she tried to decide which folklore books, research notes, and artifact guides she should pack up. Scratching her head in though for a moment, she finally decided on a handful of books and tomes. Among them were 'Ancient Equestrian Magic: An Intermediate Guide', 'Relics of Lost Civilizations', 'Equestrian Folklore and Myths', and 'Predictions and Prophecies'. She stuffed them inside her bag, along with a notebook of her own notes from her various adventures.

After fastening the buckle on her bag, and doing a quick check around her office for anything she may need, she flicked the light off and closed the door behind her. She was far more than excited to be going on an adventure again and practically ran through the halls and down into the hangar bay.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Gadget was lazily making her way back down to her workspace of the hangar bay. Winding through the decorated hallways and out into the central courtyard of the castle. Heading across the courtyard, she headed through an oddly out of place looking steel door. Having been a new addition to the castle during renovation, upon Jet's orders, they had built in this new wing. Regardless of their best efforts, the newly metal door stuck out against the rest of the brick exterior of the castle. Gadget pulled the door open with a loud metallic groan, leaving it open since she knew others were coming down this way soon. On the other side of the door was a short set of steel steps that led down to a moderately sized freight elevator. It wasn't huge, but it was large enough to fit a carriage and a couple ponies inside it. It was comprised of a long steel shaft that led down into the darkness of the hangar bay below. The elevator itself was a simple large metal box with an equally large solid door and a gate that accordioned open and closed.

With a soft click, she hit the call button on the side of the wall. The elevator rumbled for a short moment before dinging as the main doors slid open. She grabbed the handle for the gate covering and gave it a hard tug. The gate rattled across and bunched up to one side, revealing the actual elevator within. With all the recent activity, even though it was still brand new, it didn't keep the elevator from looking grimey and ancient at this point. Gadget stepped onto it and pressed one of the four buttons on the wall panel, one for up, one for down and two buttons for holding the doors open and closed respectively. Just as her finger clicked the button in, she heard the sound of footsteps rapidly approaching the door. She looked up from the panel to see Daring Do full on sprinting towards her. Daring had gotten rid of her casual clothes in favor of her iconic adventurer gear. She had a huge smile across her face and lifted her arm in a wave.

"Hey! Hold that door!" Daring yelled, still halfway across the courtyard for now.

Gadget groaned and begrudgingly held her finger down on the 'door open' button. After a long moment, Daring burst through the open metal door and hopped onto the elevator with Gadget.

"Phew, thanks a bunch." Daring said once she got on and leaned against the back of the steel box.

"Mhm." Gadget replied halfheartedly.

After another seemingly long moment, the doors rattled shut again. Once shut, the elevator sprang to life and began to descend towards the hangar bay. The ride was mostly silent, save for the occasional metallic groan from the shaft as they went down. Daring hummed to herself, which slightly irritated Gadget. Gadget, unlike most ponies, didn't find joy in the company of others. She much preferred the company of her machines and tools. This whole thing of being forced to work alongside others was already getting on her nerves. She rolled her eyes and kept her thoughts to herself so as to not come off as cruel or rude. It was an awkward silence to say the least.

The elevator finally reached the very bottom of the shaft, Daring looked around in awe. Having never been down here before, she was unaware of just how large and filled with mechanical bits the hangar bay really was. The main floor of the hangar was a wide open area, lit by several flood lights placed around the floor and walls, that had been carved out of the interior of the cliff side that Canterlot sat upon. Around the massive room sat a variety of toolboxes and mechanical devices with various dials and lights. There were also a few machines that looked to be half finished still. The floor was made up of a combination of textured metal plates and exposed stone that had been sanded down to a flat surface. Along the roughly hewn stone walls, strung up with huge metal rings, was a series of thick cables. The cables ran every which way around the hangar, leading to the various machines and flood lights scattered around. The area extended for a short while, but led further down via a set of metal stairs on the other end, opposite where the elevator let off.

Gadget was the first to get off, not giving even a glance back at Daring as they exited the elevator. The awkward silence continued as the pair walked through the hangar bay, their boots making soft metallic clanks as they went. Daring followed Gadget through the main area, towards the stairs at the back. Despite the silence between the two as they walked, it was far from quiet. The various machines they passed made random mechanical 'clunks' and 'bangs' as they ran. Daring was simply amazed by the variety of contraptions that Gadget appeared to be working on down here. They finally reached the staircase and began to descend it. The stairs seemed stable enough, but they still had a bit of sway to them.

After some back and forth between the sets of steps, they reached the bottom of the hangar. Once off the stairs, Gadget hit a hanging button and more floodlights flickered on around them. At the far end of this area was a huge metal shutter that seemed to lead outside. Sat in the center of this area, on a large metal dish-like structure, was a massive airship. It was splintered and beaten, but looked in surprisingly good condition given the fact it had crashed previously. The sails were stitched together panels of gold and white, the propellers looked recently renovated, and the wooden haul of the ship seemed to be refurbished wood. Daring was impressed with the ship, having seen plenty through her various adventures. She stepped over closer to it, it loomed over her almost menacingly. The ship itself, without the sails and propellers, was easily as tall as a two story house and roughly as long as three car train.

"Hey, pegasus, go kick down the gantry for me." Gadget said suddenly, snapping Daring back to reality.

"Huh? Oh, uh sure. And it's Daring Do, by the way." Daring said, flying up onto the deck and kicking the gantry platform down to the floor with a loud 'thud'.

"Didn't ask, don't care. Help me load these." Gadget replied, sliding open a nearby garage-like door and pulling out several large stacked chests.

"That was a bit rude, but fine." Daring replied, scrunching her nose in distaste.

The two loaded the chests of supplies onto the deck of the ship in silence. Rather than ask any more questions, Daring simply followed Gadget's silent lead. They stacked the chests onto a large square metal plate near the center of the deck. Once finished, Gadget hit a hidden button on the main mast of the ship. The sound of a mechanism springing to life could be heard, followed by the sight of the stacked chests slowly descending into the bowels of the ship. Gadget stepped onto the platform with the chest and began to ride it down. Daring took the hint and left her alone, which gave her time to look around the ship.

It was a fairly lengthy ship deck, even with the three huge propellers sticking up out of it, there was still plenty of room. The sides of the deck were adorned with metal railings to prevent anyone falling overboard. There was also an upper deck area with two sets of steps leading up to it, which held the steering wheel and navigation equipment. Under the helm, between the two staircases, was a large double door that led inside the ship itself. Seeing no other option, Daring headed for the door in search of the sleeping quarters to get first dibs on the rooms.

The door was very intricately decorated and was made of a darkly colored wood. The designs on it were that of a set of gryphons on their hind legs with their talons barred at each other. She pushed the door open with a soft 'creak' and stepped inside. The interior was a long hallway with a number of doors on each side. At the opposite end of the hallway was a ladder, which Daring assumed led to the cargo hold and underbelly of the ship. Checking the first door she came across, she was greeted with a room that was nearly overrun with machine parts and tools, there was a hammock hanging in it as well. Daring could only assume this was Gadgets room.

She shrugged and shut the door back, moving to the next door over. Opening this door, she was greeted by a much cleaner and practically new room with a hammock. Smiling to herself, she stepped in and sat down in the hammock. It was a very simple hammock made from thin and tightly woven strands of rope. The only other things in the room besides the hammock, was a small circular window sitting just above the hammock, and an equally as small side table. Daring set her bag on the side table and sat back in the hammock for a moment, relishing in the upcoming adventure. She was just getting comfortable when something caught her eye out the window. Sitting up to get a better look, she could just vaguely make out the shape of a few ponies descending the stairs to the ship. She got up and headed back onto the deck to greet them.

By the time she had made her way back out to the gantry, the others were already ascending it and making their way onto the deck. The first to board was Redheart, followed by Jet, then Discord, and then Thorax. Discord was wearing a tourist getup complete with sunglasses, a camera around his neck, a wide brimmed sun hat, and a rather ugly tropical themed shirt.

"What a lovely vessel. I do hope they have those tiny shrimp at the buffet." Discord said, feigning a stereotypical tourists voice.

"Discord… For the third time already… What did I say about taking this seriously…" Jet said, pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation.

"Oh, fine. You used to fun, you know that…" Discord retorted, snapping his fingers and causing his attire to vanish.

"I'm still fun, but when we have a mission to do, it's kinda not time for fun and games." Jet stated with a groan.

"If you say so." Discord replied, giving him an eye roll.

"Don't get snippy with me, you magical assh…" Jet was saying, but was cut off as he and Discord headed into the shops to find rooms.

Daring and Redheart couldn't help but giggle a little at their interaction.

"Uh… Will they be alright alone in there?" Thorax asked nervously.

"It's fine, sweetie. They've been like that ever since Discord reformed himself." Redheart said, still giggling a little.

"Weird, I thought they were friends." Thorax replied.

"Oh, they are." Daring said with a wave of her hand.

"Then why are they at each other's throats like that?" Thorax asked, scratching his head in confusion.

"I wish I had an answer for that. My best guess is that it's just a guy thing." Redheart answered with a shrug.

"I don't think I'll ever understand this whole friendship thing…" Thorax said, shaking his head as he walked off for the interior of the ship.

"You're probably onto something with that theory, Hope. Most guys I've seen are about that dumb with each other." Daring stated with another giggle.

"Just Redheart is fine. Unless you want me to use your real name?" Redheart said, giving Daring a cheeky smirk.

"You wouldn't dare!" Daring yelled in a huff.

"That's what I thought." Redheart retorted.

"You've always been spiteful, even in high school." Daring said with a smile, putting an arm around her old friend.

"Hey, sometimes you have to be to get by in this world." Redheart replied as the two of them walked into the ship now too.

After several minutes passed with everyone chit chatting and getting situated into their respective rooms, Jet brought everyone onto the upper deck area. Gadget was knelt at the steering wheel with tools in hand, her usual look of disinterest on her face. Once everyone was on deck, he gave them all a big smile.

"Thank you all for agreeing to accompany me on this voyage. I wish I could tell you what to expect out there or even when we'll be back, but honestly I have no idea. So, that is why we have opted into using this airship to investigate. We've adorned it with civilian ship colors to avoid drawing attention and we'll be heading into some areas that ponies aren't exactly welcome all the time. Which brings me to Thorax, he'll serve as our undercover guide to avoid drawing too much attention in the regions we'll be visiting. Now, before we ready for takeoff, does anybody have any questions?"

"Can we collect any relics we find?" Daring asked quickly.

"Hm, as long as they're not owned or culturally significant, then sure. I don't see why not." Jet replied after a moment of thought.

Discord raised his clawed hand high into the air.

"Discord, if you're asking about a buffet again, I swear to the Gods, I will skin you and turn you into a rug…" Jet said, not even looking his way this time.

He quickly put his claw back down. Nobody else said anything or raised their hands to pose a question.

"Alright, if we're all good, it's time to set off. Are we ready for takeoff, Gadget?" Jet asked, turning towards the brown earth pony.

"Juuuust one final adjustment to the stabilizers, aaaaaaand… We're good." She replied, bringing into question if she was answering Jet or just thinking aloud.

"Great! Then let's fire this baby up!" Jet yelled excitedly.

Gadget nodded and stood up, gripping the wheel with one hand and turning a key with the other. There was the sound of an engine sputtering loudly as the propellers tried to spin. This happened two or three times before the engine finally roared to life. Gadget slapped a button on the side of the steering column. A loud warning siren buzzed in the hangar as the huge steel doors opened up in front of them. The platform the ship sat on began to slowly spin, pointing the nose of the ship directly at the newly opened door. The propellers started to spin like crazy, gently lifting the ship into the air with a loud 'groan' as the wood settled into place. Sliding a lever forward, Gadget made the ship move forward through the door and into the air outside. Their journey had officially begun.

Chapter 4: Road Trip