The Infernal Tyrant King

Chapters

Evasion and Harsh Words
Mourning Memories
Prologue: Memories and a Bloodied Freedom
Nightmarish Confrontation & Blistering Hate

Evasion and Harsh Words

=Flashback: 953 years ago=

Walking. I've been walking for the last 6 hours or so in hopes of finding something-anything! Yet grassy hills sprawled out before me with the odd flower to break up the monotanous view. Yet despite their beauty in the sunlight, I could only cling to the desparate hope in me that I'll find some form of civilisation. Feeling an itch along my back, I readjusted my red hair that not only was more red as opposed to ginger orange, but had grown to reach down to my knees!

And all of this, because of this damned helmet!

Glaring down at the golden helmet held between me hands with all my loathing, I contemplated how I got in this situation. I went from a very happy man simply acting on his wishes and expressing his love for a thing, only to wind up knocked unconcious in a very painful fashion and waking up in the middle of an ever-spanning Grass Lands.

But still, I pressed onwards with the vain hope that I'll find anyone that could help me get home.

So with helmet in hand, bare feet treading the lush grass beneath me and a deshivled soul wracked with panic, I continued in my journey.

I recall the days after being the near breaking point for myself, consumed with lonliness and fear. I can't bare to imagine how the world would've turned out had I ended myself during those days...

=Present time=

Escaping Canterlot proved to be easier than anticipated, yet I didn't know whether to attribute my successful escape to the Ponies' mere incompitance or the grand distraction that is Discord's brand of fun. Regardless of this, I situated myself as comfortably as possible in the cargo carriage of the train that left Canterlot in order to get as far as possible from Celestia.

Upon thinking of that horrid mare, a scowl crossed my face beneath my helmet whilst my hands clenched, a dark part of me imagining myself atop Celestia, hands wrapped around her porcelain neck whilst she tries to break free of the hold. But it would be for naught as with a sickening *crunch*, her hands would drop to her sides limply whilst her head rolled lifelessly in my grasp. All while I looked down at her corpse with immense satisfaction.

Eventually that'll happen...

Bringing myself out of my muderous daydream, I looked through one of the holes lining the carriage to take a peak as to where I am. Judging from my limited viewpoint, I was coming up on the town of Ponyville-a decently sized location known for its lustrious apple farm and a very hyperactive resident if I recall correctly. But I didn't care for that, only focusing on getting off of the train, sneaking through the town much like Canterlot and escaping into the Everfree Forrest.

Now, you might think that my main home was in the said forrest, but you'd be wrong on the grounds of that being too cliche for my tastes. No, I intend to use the Everfree as a shortcut to get to my home as quickly as possible so as to prepare for my assault on Celestia once more. But that in of itself will take a generous amount of time to acclomplish since I'll need to apply some key factors into my strategy.

That alone will have me researching what's changed over the last 900 years, and that could take who knows how long to achieve.

Sighing in my hunched over position, I lamented on the work that would be better spent on attempting to rid Equestria of Celestia's dishusting existence, but I knew that the best plans came with time, patience and above all, knowledge. Thankfully, I was brought out of my annoyed musings by the horn of the train, signalling the arrival at Ponyville. Standing up, I popped my joints with sighs of relief emanating from me at the feeling of my limbs loosening up. Waiting for the train to start slowing down, I quickly opened the carriage door and jumped out and landed in a tuck and roll formation. Without wasting time, I dashed behind a tree to observe my surroundings and see if I've been noticed in any capacity.

Judging from what I'm seeing, with a lack of Ponies coming my way to check out any strange happenings, it seems I'm in the clear for my escape. Although, it may be due to the interesting event currently occuring in the town: simply put, reality has given up and all the laws of Physics have officially retired, tipping their hat and checking out of the building. Houses floating in midair, pink clouds raining a brown liquid (I was trepid as to what that substance was) and all manner of things that shouldn't exist now do.

Say what you would about Discord, but he certainly doesn't waste any time to give the Universe an aneurysm.

Shurgging that off on the account of it not being my business to interfere with, I began to make my way to the Everfree forrest, which for my unfortunate luck, was on the complete opposite of Ponyville. Head angled downward, I let out a sigh of annoyance but proceeded anyway, skirting along the edge of town and hopefully keeping out of view. Whilst I went about my trek, I mentally began to think of some songs from Earth that I enjoyed that I began to hum to (the joys of a near perfect memory).

One such example is Beat It by Michael Jackson.

It was during times like these that I found myself escaping my cursed reality and simply have fun thinking back on my previous life. Obviously this came with its fair share of depression and lamenting on what could've been, but thankfully I was able to avoid that side of remembrance and simply enjoy the mental recollection of music I loved. And I'll say this: it definetly worked its charm because, surprisingly, in my humming and enjoyment of Beat It, I had begun to dance. They were just small little moves, with some neat leg work and clicking of fingers (that didn't go so well due to the armor, but I digress), but I'm pretty sure I had managed to do the Moon Walk flawlessly.

I will never be able to attempt such a thing again without mistakes.

As my humming and dancing came to an end with the song, I noticed that I had overshot myself past the main pathway into the Everfree Forrest and instead came upon a small cottage built upon a small hill, resembling a short yet girthy tree with a small bridge branching over a small river. Looking at the cottage, I felt a sense of piece wash over me that I haven't felt in a long time, my life having been a near constant battle either competeively or to-the-death, with only small breaks of peace to break them up. However, this peace was soon shattered by a soft yet no less rude voice.

"Aren't you overcompensating with that armor?"

Turning around, I came face-to-muzzle with a Pegasus mare that barely came up to my chest (expected, since I was at perfect eye level with Celestia herself), crossing her arms underneath her rather large and gifted bust that was clad in a oversized sweater that could only emphasize them as opposed to hide them away. From her waist and below, she wore bagger sweat pants and soft looking shoes that only added to her beauty. Her mane, soft and silky looking, branched off to her right side whilst a portion down the bottom of the mane went towards her left. However, there was a problem with the mare in front of me:

She had no color whatsoever.

This wasn't a case of being naturally born grey and proceeding to wear grey clothes, this looked as if someone took a syringe and went ahead with sucking out all the color from the mare and leaving her as this bland looking figure that easily stood out in this vibrant world. Regardless of how concerning this could be to others, I could not care less at the moment for this mare.

"Come again?" I asked the mare, an eyebrow raised beneath my armor. Not only was this mare void of all color, but she was quite rude with her 'Overcompensation' quip.

I watched as she rolled her eyes, "You heard me. Aren't you overcompensating a bit with that needlessly bright armor of yours? What's wrong, got a small dick you're ashamed of?" She wore a mocking smile at the end, her eyes conveying that she believed she had hit the nail on the end with her assumption about my, *ahem*, genitalia size.

"No, I am not "overcompensating" as you so put it with my armor. As for your assumption about my genitals, that is none of your concern." I was beginning to become anonyed with this mare, her words (despite not affecting as much as she would like them to) were no less annoying and grating on my ears.

"Aww, what's wrong big boy?" she proceeded to feign concern, placing a hand on her cheek while the other arm supported the elbow, "Too ashamed of your small dick? Its okay, I'm sure there's a mare that will appreciate such a pitiful tool." She then reached out to cup my armored crotch, probably to gauge as to how big my sex organ was. I was in no mood for her games, grabbing her wrist and beginning to squeeze in a discouraging manner.

"I am in no mood for such games, mare," I growled, the Pegasus showing amount of self-concern in her eyes before it was replaced with a challenging glint in her eyes. With a mean grin crossing her muzzle she attempted to lean closer but our height difference made that difficult.

"And what would get you in the mood, hmm? Maybe me kneeling on the floor, naked, sucking your pathetic cock. Or maybe dressing in a frilly Cat-Mare costume and calling you 'Master'?" On and on she went, trying to rile me up into responding to her scornful words. Mentally rolling my eyes, I decided on playing her game but to destroy this pitiful mare's self worth.

That'll teach her to pick her fights more wisely.

"And what would you do, when anyone who fornicates with you is only after your body?" She clearly wasn't expecting that sort of response, drawing back with a shocked expression and a gaping mouth. "You should face facts: anyone who dares to engage in coitous with you as only doing so because your body is much more genetically gifted than other mares around you. No love, no sort of emotional connection, just an easy and all pleasing lay before leaving you in your sheets as an absolute mess."

She couldn't formulate any response to my harsh claims, the most she could get out was stuttering "I"'s, her brain no doubt short circuitting after my verbal assault. Not paying any mind to this vile-mouthed Pegasus no longer, I brushed past her to make my way through the Everfree Forrest when I caught one last formulated response from the mare-no more than a mere whisper on the whisper.

"But everypony likes me..."

Looking back to her over my shoulder, I caught her looking down whilst wrapping herself in her arms tightly in a comforting hold, "Truly? I fail to see how anyone could ever like-let alone appreciate a mare such as yourself who goes out of her way to attack a person's self-esteem and body image. When going back to my points about you being an easy lay, any stallion who gets with you will be doing to, what's the phrase? 'Put the bitch in her place'?" With those final words, I vanished into the tree line unknowing on what I've done.

In another timeline, a certain lavender Unicorn would've used a Remembrance Spell to help the Pegasus re-understand their friendship. But here, in this timeline? Well, my words had more profound effect than I would've anticipated.

=[3rd POV]; with Fluttershy=

Words and images swam through the mare's mind, the Pegasus slowly stepping into her cottage and sitting on the couch with a distant expression. Around her, various animals watched from their homes as their caretaker, once a vibrant butterscotch yellow with a beautiful pink mane, now sat as a dull grey mare searching through her mind. Despite all the words and images swimming through her mind, of all the evidence to suggest that she wasn't a useless mare that was only good for looking after animals and being a good lay in the bedsheets with any stallion, Fluttershy could only remember him and his words.

That stare-a long blue vertical visor in a regal golden helmet that was only emphasized by the admittedly beautiful and well tamed red-mane that scaled his back, piercing her eyes and her mind with his gaze as he spoke those words. Words, which helped take down any modicum of self-worth that she had grown with aid from the Pony's she called friends.

Friends...

What would they see, when they next meet? A mare barely clinging to any self-worth, who deemed herself unfit for this world as she believed herself useless? Or perhaps a rude and uncouth Pegasus, only likable when she was barely coherrent as she was driven to a mind-melting orgasm from any stallion who found her suitable for a decent fuck?

Gradually, her colors returned to her from the feet-upwards, showing she wore sky-blue sweatpants and a green sweater, but this came at a cost. Tears leaking from her aqua colored eyes, she rushed upstairs and locked her bedroom door, the only sound emanating from it were the sobs of a broken mare who's self-worth was torn down all because she attempted to destroy his own.

All she could remember was his words and his stoic stare-his stare that pierced into her, finding her insecurities and turning them on her.

It would be a long time before she was the same again...

=[POV Returned]=

Walking along the treacherous soils of the Everfree Forrest, I mauled upon my words that used against that Pegasus and felt dirty. I had no regrets when using them at the moment, but I quickly wished I had used different ones that would help her look on her choices.

Its odd to think that despite my hatred for Celestia and her hatred for me, there were moments where we could agree on certain things. One such topic was the Caribou-a race of deer-like individuals that ran off of a heavily Patriarchal dominated society, with the women of the Caribou being no more than mindless toys for the males to use for relieving sexual stress. At one point, they had attempted to condition myself into following their ways through honeyed words and mental manipulative magic, stating that they'd overthrow Celestia and make her into the, quote-unquote, "whore she is destined to be".

They're all dead now. I made sure of that.

Regardless, my words towards that Pegasus mare had me flashing back towards the Caribou and their treatment of women, and it made me have this dirty feeling that crawled across my skin. But what's done is done, and there's nothing to do about it besides move on and proceed to my home. Yet, I couldn't help get this feeling...

As if I've left something important that would hinder me.
...
...
..."Hmm." I shrugged off the feeling for now, mind focused on reaching my destination with the belief that I would handle the issue, whatever it may be, later on.

Now if only those Timberwolves would stop hiding already. I'm getting quite itchy for a good feral fight to relieve some aggression.

*Grrr*

I smirked behind my helmet, drawing my sword as the bushes to my sides rustled. Come on then...

They lunged, and I swung.

=[3rd POV]; Canterlot Castle=

Princess Luna wandered the Canterlot Staute Gardens in search of Twilight Sparkle and her compatriots in hopes of providing the six mares her aid against the Reality-warping Deity that is discord. However, judging by the oddities that are occuring, such as the Sun & Moon switching back and forth in the sky at a rapid pace, she knew she was too late and could only hope that the Element Bearers could rise above this challenge.

"Oh hello Lulu~." A voice tauntingly introduced itself, her expression set to stone as she turned around and came muzzle-to-muzzle with the Chaotic Draconnequus himself. Two beings of Divinity, one stone-faced and ready to fight as best she could, the other smiling a cheshire grin as he knew a fight between them both would be in his favor-as it always was before the Elements of Harmony were brought into play.

"Discord." she greeted curtly, hands twitching at her sides in nervousness. She watched as the being before her looped through the air in his ever-overextravagent ways that always spoke of his pride and confidence. After all, he is one of the strongest beings to grace all of Equus.

"And a wonderful day to you as well dear Lulu. Or is it Night? No, day-no Night-no Day." On and on he went, correcting himself in accordance to the pendulum that was the Sun & Moon, which began to grate on her ears. Horn glowing, Luna summoned in a flash of light a lustrious midnight-blue Halberd that she soon had pointed at Discord's neck in a threatening manner.

"Enough of thy games Discord, ye shall tell me what thy have done to the Element Bearers..." She trailed off, her dark blue eyes widening in shock and horror. With a raised eyebrow at her odd behaviour, Discord turned his head around, only to make a similar expression.

Not that far from them laid something that would've best fit in the olden Gladitorial Pits in the Griffon Kingdom in ages past. With blood and internal organs sprawled across the once beautiful green grass, the bodies of some of the Canterlot Guard laid motionless with their lives long gone. Paying no mind to the shocked Draconnequus, Luna brushed past him as she investigated the stallion's causes of death.

Two of them were bisected in their torsos, one was ran through by a large bladed weapon while another as decapitated at the neck. Off to the side laid two sets of partially melted armor with small flecks of dust to inform Luna as to the fate of those two guards. The only intact body that wasn't violently dismembered in a bloody shower was that of Captain Shining Armor-a stallion that Luna could tell took his role as Captain of the Castle Guard very seriously from when she was introduced to the Unicorn by her sister. Their meeting together was tense, but eventaully Shining Armor loosened up when he saw Luna regretted her acts as Nightmare Moon and was professional and cordial with her.

The Princess of the Night barely caught Discord's mutter of "I didn't know this would happen...", her mind too focused on how best to inform her sister of the catastrophe that has unfolded on their grounds. But worse than that...

'How best to inform dearest Cadenza about her Special Somepony's fate?...'

Author's Note

Sooo yeah, I may have escalated things about in this chapter with the destruction of Fluttershy's self-image...

I don't have anything against the poor mare (I don't think anyone does truth be told), but I felt that the segment between herself and Yharim showcases how not only as a good physical fighter, he isn't exactly lacking in verbal fights either. Though I do feel I could've done a fair bit better than what I've done, but I couldn't think of anything that would strike her as hard when she's 'greyed'.

Nevertheless, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter everyone.

Until next time, Redsummer out.

(P.S. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!)

Mourning Memories

=Flashback: 953 years ago=

I've long since stopped tracking my time here-I believe it was after my third month after having been stranded.

The first few days after my stranding, I was consumed with fear and panic with a clinging hope of finding civilization. A couple of weeks after that, despair and a soul crushing loneliness threatened to consume me. But I thankfully pulled through from that darkness, my mind no longer shrouded in that dark fog. And now, months later?

I only had thoughts of surviving. And it was then that I made a discovery.

Earlier in my life, I had opportunities to go on various camping trips to see what it's like to survive in the wilderness, but I never took them. Yet despite that clear inexperience, I found myself harvesting and foraging almost clearly instinctively, with my thoughts drifting towards future plans whilst body collected food and materials on autopilot.

Understandably, I found myself panicking at the sudden instinctive knowledge that I've been blessed with, but I began to think of it exactly like that-a blessing. After all, without that sudden knowledge, I would've never had made it as far as I have.

And so it was here, in this beautiful lush green forest that I luckily stumbled upon that I worked my way up through the progressive game that is Life; from a small rushed together campsite, to a small wooden tent with small little plantations for crops until now, where I stand here admiring my decently put together wooden home, complete with a stone foundation and little wood blinds for windows. Off to the side, I've set up three square-shaped plantations for my food.

With my hands on my hips, I smiled at what I've achieved since being stranded. However, my brows furrowing and smile drooping, I looked through one of my open windows and spotted just the smallest tint of gold-the helmet which got me into this mess having been kept as a reminder for what I'm striving to get back to.

It was that cabin in the woods, having been built thanks to cumulative effort of all things I accomplished beforehand that the stories surrounding the fabled Jungle Tyrant would be born...

=Present time; with Twilight Sparkle=

Twilight Sparkle was a mare of logic and science, as many could attest to. To all who knew her, from her mentor Princess Celestia, her family and her friends in Ponyville, Twilight has always had these qualities and applied them to even the most smallest aspects of her Life and sometimes others (for example: see the incident where she attempted to understand and apply logic to Pinkie Pie's fabled 'Pinkie Sense'). Obviously, this can be irritating at times when she goes overboard, but for the majority of the time those closest to her hung around her, these qualities made her endearing.

So it should be no surprise that this whole debacle involving Discord's reality warping has almost made her brain short circuit. But I digress.

At the moment, after having broken whatever spell Discord placed upon the mind of her friend Applejack, Twilight eagerly made her way to the cottage of her timid friend Fluttershy with Applejack in tow. When she did arrive, she near turned the door into splinters with how fast she opened it. Behind her, Applejack followed inside with some rope in case Fluttershy attempted to struggle, only for it to turn out unneeded.

Populating Fluttershy's Livingroom was the butterscotch Pegasus' assortment of animals, but they all bore heavily concerned expressions. Getting concerned themselves, both Twilight and Applejack took tentative steps into their friend's home.

"Fluttershy?" the lavender Unicorn called out, receiving nothing in response. Looking over to her blonde-maned friend, Twilight was about to call out once more before hearing a *squeak* beneath her. Looking down, the two mares gazed down at the resident rabbit Angel, the pristine white bunny flailing about whilst squeaking at rapid pace. Eventually, he could see his rapid efforts were in vain and simply pointed up the stairs. Finally getting the message, the two mares rushed up the stairs and towards Fluttershy's room, muscles tensed in the need of them restraining the now-cruel mare. However, as they approached, they heard something that made them slow down in rapidly building concern.

Crying. Silent and muffled, but crying nonetheless.

Throwing each other a concerned glance, Twilight slowly gripped the door knob and opened the door into Fluttershy's bedroom whilst letting out a small call of "Fluttershy?" into the room, her voice low so as to not startle the skittish Pegasus. What answered back was only more sobbing, leading to Twilight believing that the butterscotch mare didn't hear her.

Moving to the side so as to let Applejack in, the lavender Unicorn watched as the farm working Earth Pony took off her hat while staring forward. Upon the bed, clad in a mound of blankets and leaving nothing exposed was no doubt Fluttershy, the animal caretaker secluding herself in the darkness of her bed sheets. Together, the two bearers for the Elements of Harmony approached the bearer of Kindness, almost sisterly concern building up in their hearts for their shy friend.

"Fluttershy? Ya alright hun?" Applejack asked, the sobs finally quieting down to the occasional sniffle as a small portion of the sheets was lifted, allowing for Fluttershy's aqua colored eyes to poke through.

"Go away, please." And just as quickly, those eyes once again vanished back into the sheets. Twilight herself was both concerned and curious, since she expected Fluttershy to still be warped into being cruel thanks to Discord's machinations, but this was anything but. Instead of any of the harsh behavior exhibited from earlier, it seems Fluttershy managed to break free from the mental manipulation.

The hopeful part of Twilight believed that the butterscotch mare's inherent kindness was simply that strong.

She'd later learn otherwise.

But for now, both Unicorn and Earth Pony now had to see about consoling their sobbing friend and seeing about helping the remaining three of their friends.

And maybe see about what this feeling in her heart is-this cold grip, threatening to consume her in grief.

=[POV Returned]=

*Grrr...RAA-* *BAM*

Pulling my fist from the soil and the splintered remains of the last of my foes, I surveyed the carnage I raught in my battle with the Everfree's Timberwolves. Many of the forest's trees were uprooted, having been used by myself as makeshift clubs to bat the wolves aside. Additionally, many of the once lush green patches of grass that populated the forest floor in the surrounding area was subsequently turned to ash and dust, a result of my Brimstone Flames when I had them consume a good portion of the Timberwolf pack. Looking down, I recalled how the final member of the pack, perhaps the youngest of the batch, was severely wounded from the many encounters we had, with many of its limbs resembling that of no more than toothpicks.

Yet despite those greivous wounds, the wooden mutt still growled in defiance and attempted to lung at my, my armor-clad fist putting a swift stop to that effort. So now, here I stand, wondering about the philosophical conundrum that is the fine line between bravery and stupidity, and which side of the spectrum the wolf would've fit best.

"Hmm, ultimately none of my concern." I mused to myself, proceeding onwards and hopefully soon enough, out of the Everfree entirely. Don't mince my words, I can enjoy the serenity of the Everfree's atmosphere since its one of the few places on the entire planet that reminds me of home, with its natural weather cycles and the animals doing what they can to survive.

Although, I suppose my definition of what my 'home' is is currently skewered since I've long since expected my situation. Disregarding that, I pressed forth with my footsteps echoing in the silence of the forest, my armored form no doubt more intimidating and threatening to whatever manner of beast witnessed me lay waste to a pack of one of the Everfree's most famous threats.

Cracking my neck to loosen the joints, I brushed off whatever splinters and dirt caked the upper parts of my armored body. Looking up through the gaps of the leaves and into the skies above, I considered taking my helm off to properly enjoy the breaths of fresh air and freedom, but decided against. After all, despite having retreated into the Everfree forest, there would no doubt be the somewhat mentally inane Ponies that would dare these treacherous woods.

The quicker I can get from any sort of Pony civilization, the more I lessen the chances of Celestia finding me.

*BOOM*

No matter the distance, I could definitely hear a loud explosion go off behind me.

Whirling around, I watched as a bright flash of light consumed the town of Ponyville before rapidly expanding across the surrounding area, including the Everfree. As it washed over me, I suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of Peace wash over my soul, so much so that I felt my hatred for Celestia almost dwindle down to nothing, the shock of it all making me drop down to a knee as I heaved ragged breaths due to the emotional feedback. As I reclaimed my breath, I heard a melodic-and quite clearly female-voice in my head.

I see you, Red-Maned Warrior. I've seen you since you took up arms against the Sun and I found myself curious about you. I do hope you entertain me, hehe~

And like that, I felt the voice's presence leave my mind as I reeled from that one-sided interaction. Whirling my head back in the direction that magical energy originated from, I quickly stood up and high tailed the rest of my way through in a mad sprint, my body on autopilot as my mind analyzed my situation in its entirety.

1) A burst of intense yet harmless magical energy collected then expanded outwards from the town of Ponyville and into the surrounding area-the Everfree forest included. Hypothesis: the source of this magical energy was no doubt used in an attempt to stop Discord and his chaotic machinations. This supposed source and whether it worked on the Chimeric being will need to be investigated and studied in detail.

2) Despite how harmless the magic was, it could no doubt be used as a weapon by either Celestia or anyone she holds dominion over thanks to its property of providing a serene yet unexpected sense of Peace to the one effected (like myself). Means of which to either combat against this magical source or, at the very least, nullify its effects must be drafted and tested ASAP.

3) It is possible, due to the sudden mental intrusion of a female voice at the same time the magic washed over me, that this source of magic has either recently developed or has possessed sentience to the point of holding conversation (whether it could hold conversation for a certain or indefinite amount of time yet remains a question unanswered). Hypothesis: this magical source could potentially house a sentient being along the lines of an Artificial Intelligence or, worse yet, a budding Divine being.

Conclusion? Proceed to my home as quickly as possible so that testing for means to combat this magic can begin post-haste, and perhaps a pet project of mine along the sidelines.

Mental plans made, I finally breached the borders of the Everfree and soon gazed out over what has come to be known as the Badlands. Spanning for as far as my eyes can see, this desolate landscape is regarded as one of-if not the most dangerous location on the entire planet. With numerous ravines that drop into seemingly endless drops, jagged cliff edges that are more akin to spears to be used by Giants and all manner of beast dwelling beneath the dusty ground, the Badlands was a treacherous journey for even the most hardened of adventurers.

And here I am, about to use it as a shortcut to get home.

However, I've yet to start my journey as I stared out at the dusty wasteland, remembering a time when all of this was once fertile and lush green country side. Before... before me and Celestia clashed, that is, with our respective armies behind our backs as me and a Celestia in her prime went head to head. It was during that fight-the fight that would then lead to my petrification by her hands and magic-that many soldiers on both our sides would lay down their lives for us both, my men clad in polished steal grey armor whilst her own wore the same golden Spartan-Hoplite armor that would continue to be used to this day.

I've made many mistakes in my campaign against Celestia, some done in fits of immature rage, but that day would forever haunt me with the imagery of the bloodstained grass. Shaking that off, I tensed my joints and soon plunged off of my surveying cliffside and began my trek through one of Equus' most hazardous environments.

However, during my reminiscence on past events, I never noticed the grief stricken and broken yell that emanated from Ponyville.

[POV 3rd: 10 minutes ago = with Twilight & friends]

This was a nightmare. That was the only logical conclusion she could come up with.

At some point during her quest to stop Discord, she must've been knocked out and she was having a nightmare. I mean, it would make sense, it was only in her dreams that something as horrible as this would happen. And so, to wake herself up, she pinched herself.

"Mmph!"

She felt it, the pinch. But-but that doesn't happen in dreams, you don't feel pain in dreams! But what else could this be other than a nightmare of her making?! She clenched at her hair, only to feel more stinging sensations which only worsened her desperate grasps, her mind almost breaking as the seems.

It makes sense.

WHAT MAKES SENSE?! There's no way that her Shining-her BBBFF!-could be dead of all things! Equestria hasn't seen a murder in hundreds of YEARS!

Yet look at Discord. When we reunited everyone, we all thought he would gloat his victory over us, only to turn out otherwise.

Twilight, eyes wide and ignoring all the ponies trying to get her attention, from her friends to Princesses Celestia and Luna. Instead, her eyes gazed past them and towards the petrified form of Discord-the stone frozen Draconequus now forever locked in a hunched over position, his expression locked in remorse laced with guilt and regret. She could recall, after both herself and Applejack finally calmed down a bawling Fluttershy and went about aiding their friends, when the dubbed 'Mane Six' confronted the God of Chaos, Twilight and her friends expected the Chimeric being to be gloating over his victory and subsequent conquest of their home. Yet what they had confronted was the being draping himself horizontally over his throne and the arm-rests, his head upside down but she could still make out the haunted expression in his eyes.

Her confusion at the time only increased when he professed that he was "sorry", as he said. He went on a ramble on how he "didn't mean for it to happen" and "why did I help him?", but due to his chaotic nature, his ramblings only threw the studious mare into deeper confusion. Despite all of that, all of the bad feelings that were brewing in her gut and telling her that she should enquire as to what he meant, Twilight and the others pushed all of that aside and used the Elements of Harmony to return to his stone prison.

When they did use the Elements, Twilight swore she heard a voice mention something about 'red manes' or some such, but she didn't pay attention.

After the six mares undid the reality-warping Chaos, the collected group celebrated amongst themselves before the Princesses themselves arrived in the Royal Carriage with a contigent of guards. At first, the six mares all believed that the two royals were there to offer congratulations and celebrate alongside them for the well done effort of stopping another threat to their nation, but then they saw their grim expressions. When Twilight asked what was wrong, all she recieved at first were sorrowful and sympathetic expressions-two things that made this cursed feeling in her gut get worse.

Then they dropped the news, and her whole world just stopped.

"There's been murders in Canterlot. A total of seven guards had met unfortunate fates, chief among them was the unfortunate loss of Captain Shining Armor."

Which led to now, with Twilight Sparkle on the verge of a breakdown and everypony around her attempting to pull the mare from the ever enroaching darkness that's threatening to consume her. Eventually, the knowledge that her beloved brother is no longer among the living finally burst forth in the form of a shirll yell that emanated for an unidentifiable distance and a waterfall of tears, Twilight's body rocked with the sobs of a grief-stricken sibling. Soon, she was brought into the embrace of Princess Celestia, with the much larger alabaster mare wishing to provide comfort similar to that of a mother.

Unfortunately, no one would notice the unnerving twinkle in her purple eyes.

Off to the side, Princess Luna had taken the rest of the Mane Six away from the bawling librarian and the Sun Matriarch. "We shall make this quick, Mine Little Ponies. Ms Sparkle's life will now have this inescapable void due to the loss of her brother, and I can only beseech thee to be good source's of support for the young mare." Princess Luna asked of the five mares with all of them nodding, Pinkie Pie (despite her mane having 'deflated' in response to the depressive atmosphere) even going so far as to nod so fast that her head was a blur.

Taking their responses with a small smile, Luna just as quickly lost that smile when she looked up towards Canterlot, the Moon Princess' thoughts drifting towards that of dearest Cadenza...

=In Canterlot=

In one of the many wings of Canterlot Castle, a guard walked the winding hallways with trepidation. Every now and then, he would pass a fellow guard that merely gave him a nod in greeting. Returning those nods, he continued his journey until he began closing in on his destination-made evident by grief filled tears that could no doubt be heard from the opposite end of the castle.

Eventually, the guard finally reached his destination: the room of one Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, or simply Cadanceas she preferred. Knocking on the door, the guard let out a small "Ma'am?" and waited, the door eventually opening up a crack and allowing the light-purple eyes of Princess Cadance poke through.

"Yes?" she let out hoarsely, throat burning due to all the crying she has let out with no doubt more to come. Swallowing to himself, the guard reached into a pouch and pulled out a small cube box and an envelope before handing them to the Princess of Love.

"These were found in Captain Armor's quarters after the news of his death was proclaimed. I was tasked with giving them to you." looking at the guard, Cadance tentatively reached a hand through the doorward and grabbed the box and envelope. Giving the guard a small "thank you", she closed the door and retreated into her room with the guard letting out a breath and went to carry on with the rest of his duties.

Back inside her room, Cadance messily sat herself at her dresser and put the box to the side. Holding up the envelope, she couldn't see any address markings and so assumed that this was a letter found in Shining's room. Although, this had her confused as to why this was delievered to her after it was found. After tearing open the top part of the envelope, Cadance pulled out the letter and began to read.

Dear Cady,
Wow, I'm writing a letter and already I'm getting nervous about this. Regardless, I wanted to write this out for some time now so as to get myself all confident for what I'm about to do. Although, I don't even know why I'm taking such care writing this since I'll be asking you in person.

Throughout our time hanging out together, whether it be when looking after Twily or when you'd introduce me to those little ice cream parlors with the absolutely delicious strawberry ice cream flavors, I'd find myself just looking at and your absolutely gourgeous three-tone mane, getting lost in those eyes that reminded me of amethyst jewels. And when you asked me to be your Coltfriend, I felt like the happiest Stallion alive.

And ever since, I found myself falling deeper in love with you and your beautiful personality. It took me along time and a LOT of extra guard shifts to save up enough bits for this beauty, but I felt that I couldn't get you anything less than what you deserve for all the good you've brought me in just wanting to be with me in that way.

What I'm trying to say is, without feeling so damned nervous, will you marry me? To take my hand in marriage, to be lawfully wedded Stallion and Mare 'til Death do us part?

Sincerely, Shining Armor; your hopefully future husband

Throughout reading the letter, Cadance could only imagine Shining talking to himself while he wrote it out, a small giggle escaping her lips at the mental imagery. However, by the end of it, Cadance was left in shock by the written proposal and shakily put the letter down. Looking over at the small box that came with it, deep down, she knew what she'd find inside but just had to be absolutely sure of it. Picking it up, she hesitatingly opened only to nearl drop it of shock alone.

Inside was one of the most beautiful rings she'd ever seen: with the ring itself comprising of a golden band that had five diamonds encrusted onto the portion that would be facing upwards, the centre being the biggest and the remaing four separated into two on either side that got smaller the further away from the biggest diamond. Branching out from the diamonds were two strings golden wires that twisted and turned along the ring like vines, interluping during their journey along the ring to create a double-helix effect. Turning it in her fingers, Cadance soon spotted some writing etched onto the bottom side of the diamond portion of the ring.

Princess Cadance & Shining Armor
Together joined, now and forever

Putting it gently in the box while trying to not drop it with how much she was shaking, Cadance choked back a sob but ultimately failed, placing her arms on the dresser and her head on them, her cries began anew with greater intensity...

Author's Note

Well, this took a fair bit to write, but I'm glad to have finished it.

Before I do bugger off to get started on the next chapter, I wanted to say that for those who haven't noticed, I put out a blog post asking if you wanted Yharim to have a present day love interest. So far, I've recieved "yes" almost constantly, but thus far only one person has suggested for the L.I. to be Princess Luna. I'm not complaing about the suggestion itself, its just that I would like for people to submit their suggestions when they do reply "yes", otherwise I'm at an impasse.

You can put your suggestions either on the blog post or in the comments, whatever works for you. I'll announce who the L.I. will be in a follow up blog sometime soon.

Until next time, Redsummer out.

[Editor note: noticed a mistake when reading a comment, fixed it up]

Prologue: Memories and a Bloodied Freedom

=Flashback: 953 years ago=

I hummed softly to myself, relaxing on my living room couch as I awaited for a package I ordered last week. Despite me being a grown man, I still had those childish moments that I adored. Bobbing my head to my humming tune, I eventually zoned myself out of reality and into my own little fantasy, only...

*Ding Dong*

Doorbell! Almost jumping up from my couch, I opened my door and went through the standard process of taking my package, giving my signature for proof of delivery and bidding the delivery guy a nice day. Shutting my door with my right foot, I placed box on my coffee table and opened this sucker up so that I may claim my prize.

Though, I should probably introduce myself, shouldn't I? Well the name's Jake, and I am a 24 year old man with pale skin and long ginger hair (long enough that my friends often compared it to a lion's mane, which I took as a compliment), as well as having a surprisingly deep voice that my friend Alice often said was "very pleasing to listen to". I was in pretty decent shape, often going for runs to burn off calories but didn't necessarily workout to bulk up. When standing tall, I measured at a pretty good height of 6ft, 2 inches-which placed me first in my friend's group in tallness. Right now, I was clad in a black tank-top and grey sweatpants for comfort and relaxation.

Going back to my little package, I should let you know in on something about me: I fucking love playing Terraria, more specifically the Calamity mod (with some little additions of course, just to spruce things up some more). I've always found the bosses and all the items you could obtain to be the mods strengths, but I did see what kind of lore the creators put in place. Long story short, I may have spent an embarrassing amount of time looking into what Calamity lore there was whilst making my own little headcanons.

But, as is what happens when someone gets addicted to a franchise, they attempt to bring their love for it into reality, which leads me to my package: in my hands was a custom made replication of the Auric Tesla helmet that the antagonist Yharim wears; a nice regal-if not divine-gold helmet that comprised of a somewhat flat facial structure that led to a pointed design at the back of the head with two points coming up halfway to the back to resemble horns. On the front of the helm, a long vertical stripe of a blue film that almost looked like it was glowing like a neon sign was running along the center facial portion of the helmet. At the back of the helmet, the gold metal ended off with a black inside covering poking out thanks to a hole that allowed for one's hair to slip through.

This little sucker wasn't cheap, I'll tell you that, but the fact that I have it made it so that I didn't care at all. See, the whole design of the helmet was a custom online order I submitted to an apparently up-and-coming freelance merchandise producer that catered to cosplayers or simple franchise-trinket collectors, which I found odd since the craftsmanship was almost godlike on the finished product but I chalked that up to having done some metal-working study at a University or some such. Funnily enough, the dude used the Merchant from Resident Evil 4 as a profile picture, which I found amusing.

Regardless, I went to my room to put this on a mannequin head I had bought specifically for this, when I had a thought. Sure, I mainly wanted this for decoration, but wouldn't it be a shame if I didn't at least try it on once? Thinking to myself about this, I eventually shrugged and began to slip it onto my head (ignoring the strange feeling in my gut that told my this was a bad move).

The moment I got the helmet completely on, with my hair nicely threaded through slit in the back of the helm, I was immediately overcome with immense pain and soon blacked out.

I would later look back on this memory, lamenting on the loss of my youthful ignorance after everything that would follow...

=Present time=

I was brought out of my trip down memory lane by a commotion, the noise sounding like a gang of children with one adult voice reprimanding them. Of course, with my situation, this wasn't exactly uncommon to experience in the middle of the day. As the noise got closer to my position, I watched as a group of school children and their teacher approached-the aforementioned teacher pointing to all the other statues and explaining their history and significance; the mare herself a nice maroon coated with a pink mane that had a near bleached white stripe down the middle-same for her tail.

If you've figured out exactly what makes this woman different than all others, than congratulations, you contain basic intelligence. Of course (for those unaware), this means that the woman and the school children are in fact ponies-the anthropomorphic kind at that. From what I make note of, the teacher had a white blouse and flower patterned skirt that left her equally marron legs on display, leading down to brown dress shoes. Before I could begin to describe the appearances of all the fillies and foals following behind her, they came to a stop before my pedestal.

"Now, can anypony tell me what this statue represents?" A bit of a redundant question in honesty, since there's a plaque on the pedestal's base telling anyone who'd take the time to read it what I stood for (or at least, what I'm historically painted to stand for anyway). Interestingly enough, three fillies in the back began to bicker between themselves in hopes of getting the answer, with the whole situation so oddly competitive that it made almost no sense to me.

"Strength?" "Brutahlity?" "Awesomeness?" Flattering, really, since I doubt anyone else would've came to that last conclusion when gazing upon my statue and its pose. The pose in question was my armor clad feet flat on the ground (pedestal in this case) with my arms held high with my sword pointed to the sky (my sword being a thick blade that had a red lining that ended with a semi-circle. The handle had a gold ornate piece on the bottom with more gold intricate designs along the guard, with some gold higher up the blade towards the tip almost like an insignia), ready to swing down for maximum bloodied separation of body parts. This pose I was locked in was during the last clash between myself and her, the horrid mare I planned to kill having caught me by surprise with that spell of hers.

Petrification truly is an uncomfortable imprisonment.

Nevertheless, on and on they went with answers tossed between the three fillies, myself noting that each of seemed to have a bit of a theme: one looked like she was from a family with ties to High Society thanks to her fancy white blouse and lavender skirt, another resembled a stereotypical Country Girl due to her yellow shirt-denim overalls combo, while the third and final one looked like a Skater Girl with a black hoody and torn grey track pants.

"Actually, you've quite close with your answers, much like before." Wait, before? Why does that implication make me mentally tense up? "This statue represents 'Dominion': control over magic, strength, or even a Nation and its citizens."

Not completely wrong, when regarding one such as myself, but also not completely right. After all, when the events of History are recorded by her, there will always be important facts missing. Nevertheless, I listened as the mare continued regaling tales of myself to her students.

"This statue depicts a stallion known simply as the 'Jungle Tyrant', with his name lost to History but his exploits known to all. Its often stated that when he became the tyrannical lord over what is known as the A-mare-zon Jungle or Rainforest, he faced down many opponents that were often times much bigger than himself. Despite that difference between himself and his foes, he has always emerged victorious thanks to a combination of his physical strength and knowledge over fighting techniques and his magic, marking him as a versatile and dangerous foe." The children looked up at me, faces locked in awed expressions as they developed a new appreciation of my feats.

I myself was reliving some of those battles, some with actual hostility and others no more than friendly spars. I mentally smiled as I recalled my spar with Tauros the Minotaur King-a very large individual with many claiming that his muscles had muscles themselves (something that always made both Tauros and myself chuckle during our drinking games).

"Now, let's move along everypony." Off they went, escaping my sight while I relived better days in my prison, though I couldn't help but recall that mare's words from earlier. She said that those three bickering fillies were closer in there guesses of my representation than "before"-a harmless statement, all things considered. But something about it had me off put for some reason or another.

"Oh hello~. What do we have here?" A flamboyant and somewhat annoying voice enquired, mismatched eyes of red and yellow coming into rather close view (especially since they were now the only things I could see). Despite my view of the rest of his body being unviewable, I could easily recall the voice.

...*Sigh* Hello Discord.

"Gasp!" He mocked gasped-literally, he just said the word 'gasp' instead of making the sound, "So you're the one who's been my roommate for nearly a millennia? Oh splendid, I can finally see your ever so handsome face! Although..." Discord trailed off, scrutinizing my appearance as he rubbed his chin with his lion paw.

Let me guess: my helmet?

"Oh what a shame." He draped his mismatched serpentine body over my petrified one, leaning back dramatically in a sort of "woe is me" vibe. "Here I am, wishing to gaze upon the face of the one who's kept me company for so long, yet I cannot. Oh Life, why are you so cruel?" He continued like this for a good minute, situating himself in a myriad of poses atop me.

If you're quite done.

"Oh fine." At last he stood in front of me in full view, the jigsaw puzzle that was his body standing a bit hunched over with lion paw and eagle talons resting on his hips, "Tell you what, my good lad. Since you've kept me company for so long, I'll do you that favor of removing that pesky rock from you and call it even. Sound fair?"

No catch?

"None whatsoever, Draconneques' honor." He stated, standing straight with his talon and paw pressed together whilst an Angel's halo glowed above his head and circling his horns.

Hmm... It would be idiotic to pass up such an opportunity.

"Splendid!" With a *snap* of his fingers, a small crack soon emerged on the chest portion of my prison, "You'll be out about in a minutes time my good chap! Until then, I'm off to spread some chaos. Ciao!" Before I could say anything in response, he vanished in a flash of light as I awaited my eventual freedom. A minute later and true to his word, my stone prison began to crumble into bits and dust and even some chocolate.

Bringing down my arms, I sheathed my sword behind my regal blue cape which left the handle exposed. Jumping down from the pedestal, my armor clad form landed with a *thump* as I rolled my joints, relishing in my freedom for the first time in nearly 1000 years. Sunlight reflecting off of my golden armor, I began to make my way through the garden and, hopefully, out of the city proper. Of course, with all the armor I was clad in, it was to be expected that the loud *thumps* of my footsteps would attract the wrong attention, and Fate didn't disappoint.

"HALT!"

Turning to the voice, I spotted a squad of guards (7 total) holding golden spears in the golden armor reminiscent of the Spartan Hoplite armor. One stallion, a unicorn, seemed to be of higher rank since his armor also featured more intricate details and seemed to have the gold aesthetics for lining with the main coloration being a lavender purple. Additionally, he also lacked a helmet which allowed his mop of a cobalt-blue mane to remain exposed which contrasted rather nicely against his marble white coat, if I'm honest.

Unfortunately, I didn't bother with any pleasantries as I wanted to leave immediately, and they were in my way.

"Move." I commanded of them, my baritone voice full of authority and clear to hear despite my helmet which made some of the lesser guard lose confidence, but the lead figure remained unintimidated. That, or was remarkably good at hiding nervousness, which I respected.

"I can't do that. I am Captain Shining Armor and you're being taken in for questioning." The now known Shining Armor stated, horn glowing purple in preparation for any signs of combat. Tilting my head to the right almost tauntingly, I responded with a question of my own.

"Tell me Captain, on what charges am I being questioned for?"

"The charges of which you're an armored unknown individual found in the castle grounds. For security purposes, we have to take you in as to make sure you're not a threat to the Princesses."

I raised an eyebrow under my helm, "'Princesses'? Wasn't there only one?" I recall something from my earliest days in this world about a conflict between her and a supposed sister, but I figured that clash ended with the other one being struck down. Either that ended in banishment of some kind, or there is a new princess lurking around.

As if troubles with one was enough.

"Th-there's three, actually." One of the other guards nervously replied, my stoic visage looking to him whilst Captain Armor looked at him with a disappointed expression, as if conveying the idea that perhaps that was information best left unsaid in front a highly potential enemy.

"To think," I said, my voice catching their attention again, "Despite all the gossipers that often lurk these gardens, there are key pieces of knowledge that I lack after nearly a millennia as a garden decoration. It seems I've a lot to catch up on in absence."

Shining Armor stepped forward, horn glowing as a transparent lavender shield conjured on his raised right arm, "Sadly for you, that'll have to wait. Take him." He commanded two of the guards, both of them nodding as they raised their spears to chest height as they approached with slow and measured steps. Before they could reach me however, I grabbed the handle and drew my sword with the blades tip pointed to the ground, the massive blade making them tense up in fear.

You see, I now viewed these guards as trees-remain to the side of my path, and I'll leave you be. But get in my way, then I'll cut you down.

"I say this again, move." A part of me hoped they'd listen and let me continue on, but the larger part of my conscious thoughts knew they wouldn't back down despite my intimidation display. Knowing this, I steeled myself for what is to come as I watched the two stallions approach me-one a Unicorn, the other an Earth Pony.

And when they were naught but 3 feet from me, I struck.

Quicker that what most could be able to see, I had raised my sword into the air one handed and swung downwards diagonally, bisecting the Unicorn into two from his left-shoulder to his right-hip with one last gasp of air being taken before the life left his eyes. As the other guard stared at the horrifying image of his comrade's internal organs spill out onto the ground below, I swung right and separated the stallion into two at the hip-his death being slower than the one before but no less quick.

"GET HIM!"

Looking over to Captain Armor and the 4 remaining guards, I began to advance on them with calm and measured steps. When two guards broke formation and rushed forward with spears raised to skewer me through my armor, I simply held up my trusty sword and let the spears break against it almost instantaneously. With shocked faces, these two poor souls could do nothing but watch as my weapon descended upon them in a bloody shower. The stallion on my left was ran through in the torso by my sword, only to be raised up and then slammed onto the ground with a *thump*, myself not wasting a beat and pulling my weapon from the corpse and fluidly separated the others head from his shoulders in a shower of blood.

Not paying mind to the collapsing body and head, I decided to pull a trick out of my metaphorical hat and conjured a fireball in my raised left hand to the shock of the three remaining guards. Saving Shining Armor for last, I thrust my arm forward and let loose a stream of hateful red flames that proceeded to consume the two unfortunate souls. The Captain, in a vain attempt to save whoever he could, tried to cast what I could assume to be a spell that extinguishes fire, only for it to fail to his horror as the two guards soon burned to ash that blew in the wind-their armor scorched with some pats melted crashing to ground.

Anyone with decent magic control can put out fire, but it takes a powerful and talented magician to extinguish the Brimstone Flames of Hell itself.

"Tell me, Captain," my voice drew his attention, his once cautious but brave eyes now filled with an instinctual fear and horror, "Was this what you anticipated what being a guard would be? Losing friends and comrades alike to a superior and dangerous foe, or perhaps something more akin to a fairy tale-being the ever strong and loyal knight that would soon claim a princesses' hand in marriage?"

As I spoke, I advanced on the pony with slow yet no less intimidating steps with the stallion too consumed with fear to begin making an attempt to escape. Now directly in front of him, I bent down and grasped him by the neck and hoisted up into the air-his armor clad feet swinging and kicking at the air whilst his arms attempted to pry my grip from his neck to at the very least breathe.

"Just know, Captain Armor, that I never wished to do harm by you and your comrades. You simply got in my way." With those words spoked, I snapped his neck with a sickening *crunch* and dropped his limp corpse by the remains of the other guards. Flicking whatever dust and blood caked my armor off as best I could, I continued my march to escape Canterlot proper.

Hopefully before she realizes I've escaped my entrapment.

"Know this, Celestia," I spoke to myself, "You will not catch me off guard a second time. And when we next fight..."

"...I will enjoy ending your oh so benevolent existence."

Author's Note

Greetings everyone, Red here!

Its been sometime, hasn't it huh? Well, no doubt you've got questions and that, but know this. Whilst I'm not continuing my others right now, I will simply put them on Hiatus instead of cancelling them.

For now though, I sincerely hope you've enjoyed this introductory chapter.

Until next time, Redsummer out.

(P.S: The armor [with cape and no cape] and sword as depicted)

Nightmarish Confrontation & Blistering Hate

=Flashback; 952 years ago=

Before I knew it, a year since my subsequent stranding in these lands had passed by.

In that timeframe, progress had escalated beyond what I thought. For starters, I'm actually able to craft the storage units and interfaces from the Magic Storage mod for Terraria-something that really shocked me when I discovered it by complete freaking accident.

To think, I believed I'd have to rely on chests all my life.

Regardless, this obviously proved to be an absolute blessing since now, thanks to the crafting interface, I was able to expand and improve on my little home by leaps and bounds-starting with one of the best ways to obtain resources like ores.

A Hellevator-complete with stone slab block and wall encasement for added fanciness, rope for me to go up and down (obviously) and torches so I can actually see what I'm doing.

Through my attempts to reach China (ah, old jokes are funny), I've dug up a fair helping of materials and metals that's only allowed me to advance even more. Due to those expeditions, I've obtained enough Iron to make a neat but defensive fence-line around my little homestead, you could call it. Within that boundary is my crop plots, some trees for me to harvest and replant as time goes by, and my home itself.

Life was good so far.

"HELP!"

Perhaps not so much for others.

Debating with myself internally, I eventually caved in and decided to play the Hero in this situation. Despite the possibility of this whole debacle getting me involved with some hypothetical gang shit (curse my imagination some times), some idealistic part of me wanted to be a savior for someone in need.

Why do I have a bad feeling about that?

As I had jumped over the fence, I never imagined I'd meet perhaps the biggest catalyst for the events that would transpire...

=Present time; Canterlot=

Night time coated Equestria, with the stars and Moon glowing bright in the sky. Yet despite how gorgeous and serene such a view would be, all was not well in Ponyville and Canterlot.

One such individual, one who'd been in the midst of the most recent and horrifying tragedy seen in the last 789 years of Equestria's history was Princess Luna herself. Currently, the Lunar Matriarch let out a tired sigh from her bedroom balcony, her eyes trailing to the room of her niece Cadance before landing on Ponyville in the distance, where one Twilight Sparkle no doubt still cries for her Brother's unfortunate end.

"Who would do such horrors, I wonder," Luna muttered to herself, the mental list of potential subjects that could've caused such pain almost none in total. At first, she suspected King Sombra, but if he had returned then so would've the Crystal Empire, which then ruled out that possibility. Tirek? No, he would've drained them of their magic as opposed to blatantly killing some ponies-and especially not in such a close vicinity to both Alicorns. All Luna could suspect was that this was a new threat to Equestria, which meant she would have to tread carefully out of not knowing their capabilities.

Running her hands down her muzzle, Luna built up magic around her horn before finally, the lands of Equestria faded into the starry void of the Dream Realm, with lines of doors to signify a Ponies
dream. Wings spread, Luna soared through the Dream Realm to carry out her sacred duties of being the guardian of dreams, and terror to nightmares. Whilst almost mindless in execution, it allowed for Luna to feel some sort of repentance for her actions as Nightmare Moon.

Soon, having just quelled a young colt's nightmares, Luna soon found herself at the Dream Door of the sweet-hearted Pegasus herself, Fluttershy. Looking at the mahogany door, branded with the three butterflies of her Cutie Mark, Luna frowned at the wisps of smoke that emanated from the bottom and sides, signifying this as a very horrible nightmare.

Opening the door, Luna was soon standing in a decrepit hallway of cracked and moss-ridden stone, drips of water falling to the floor from the ceiling only cementing the fear in this dark place. Trying to illuminate the hallway, Luna found that she couldn't and that the only light granted to her emanated from her own body strangely enough. Frowning, she stared into the abyss before her.

'A nightmare that blocks my own influence, even by a small margin, is of no laughing matter. Whatever must be plaguing young Fluttershy's must truly be a horrid visage.' She thought to herself, walking through the decrepit hallways in search of the Element of Kindness, wishing to provide the skittish mare her well earned night's rest. Unfortunately for navy blue coated mare, she found her own annoyance increasing after not finding her in these ever looping hallways.

Thankfully, it seemed this nightmare has grown bored of toying with her and has seemed to placed her close to her intended target, with faint but no less audible sobs and whimpers soon coming from Luna's right. Head whirling to that direction, the Alicorn broke off into a sprint in order to reach Fluttershy as quickly as possible. Eventually, her efforts placed her in a very large circular room, with the ceiling reaching heights comparable with an Ursa Major on all fours. Looking at this gargantuan space, with its walls lined with supporting columns, Luna couldn't help but equate it to the old fighting pits in the Griffin Kingdom of Thundros.

'But why this architecture specifically?' Luna was almost positive that the butterscotch Pegasus has never visited the said home of the Griffins, yet her dream contained an area that proved to resemble one of their most famous past times. However, that was a line of thought the Lunar Matriarch would have to put off, for in the center of the revealed arena was Fluttershy herself, including the source of her nightmare.

Laying on the ground, surrounding the poor mare, was the motionless forms of her friends in various stages of being severely beaten and downright physically mauled. From what she could from a distance, young Rainbow Dash had her right wing ripped off at the joint (something which had Luna's own wings clench up instinctively), as if whatever dealt her such pain knew of her love of flying. Face set in a stony expression, Luna's stride soon placed her next to Fluttershy, the mare herself on her knees with her head buried in the palms of her hands in no doubt to escape this horrid visage. Kneeling herself, Luna put a comforting hand on her shoulders while whispering "It will soon be alright, young Fluttershy".

Breath hitching, the Pegasus took her head out of her hands to look over her shoulder and met Luna's gaze with her own surprised one. "Pr-Princess Luna?" she stuttered out, wiping away her tears. Eyes softening, Luna helped brush those tears away.

"Now, young one, what ails thee so?"

At hearing Luna's question, Fluttershy looked around at the crumpled and beaten forms of her friends with the tears beginning anew. "I-I-I co-couldn't help th-them." sobs wracked her throat, the animal caretaker not being able to withstand the visage of those closest to her in such states. Before Luna could remind the mare this was but a nightmare, a distorted yet menacing voice cut through the air.

"And now you see, Pegasus, what your weakness can entail."

Head whirling to the direction of the voice, Luna looked up at a shadowy being comfortably sitting in a throne looking down upon them, head resting lazily on one of its armored clenched fists. From what Luna could tell due to the dark wisps of smoke emanating from it, the figure appeared to be armored to a point where it offered almost perfect coverage whilst being comfortable to where, with the only notable color being its piercing blue visor. Seeing its current posture, Luna couldn't help but think that the figure-nay, Nightmare-looked almost bored with their presence.

Standing up, she spread her wings in an intimidation display before proclaiming to the apparition "And what of thee, foul creature? Art thee so weak to simply observe thine enemies' defeat?" she attempted to taunt the Nightmare, its head raising from its supporting fist before pushing itself out of the throne. Absentmindedly, Luna realized she may have misjudged the being when she recalled a key fact about the Griffin's culture regarding their arenas.

Should a combatant in those arenas prove their worth, they are gifted with a position of what is perhaps the most nobility in their culture: a position simply referred to as the 'Warrior King'. And the key fact of identifying the Warrior King?

They would be seated upon a throne to oversee the fights, anticipating the day for their next challenger.

Luna then watched as the figure simply walked off the balcony's ledge, landing with a mighty crash that kicked up a cloud of dust. Behind her, Luna heard Fluttershy's squeak of fear, but for one discernible fact. This Nightmare, tis blue piercing gaze, was going right past Luna and staring straight into Fluttershy's own eyes.

"Look around you Pegasus, this is your reward for your weakness. Too weak to help in a fight, and too weak to control your own cruelty. Use your eyes, and see how you hurt those closest to you by being too weak to do anything meaningful." The apparition narrated, arms spread to motion to downed mares around them. Looking over her shoulder, Luna watched as Fluttershy broke down once more at the sight of her friends beaten painfully. Not taking this torment of one of the mare's whom saved her from her own twisted ambitions, Luna stood protectively between her subject and the Nightmare before her.

Out of the corner of her eye, Luna noticed how the downed forms of Fluttershy's constructs of her friends faded into sparkling dust, leaving only the two mares and the armored apparition before them to stand in the wide expansive arena.

Regardless, she pushed past that to focus on the approaching conflict, "Thine fight is with me now, creature. And I should warn you, I am not so easy to defeat." she watched as it stood motionless for a minute, before finally conjuring a massive sword from the shadows around it. However, she was taken by surprise when it all conjured a Halberd before throwing it on to the ground in front of her. Picking it up, she still kept her sight on the Nightmare for any signs of attack, only to see how it waited for her to prepare herself.

"You would not be the first Divine entity I've battled, Alicorn. Luna shivered at the spite lacing the word 'Alicorn', but she was given no opportunity to think on that before the Nightmare charged at her with surprising speeds with only the most minimal of time to raise her own weapon to block it. As their blades clashed, Luna was immensely surprised that this being, who's strength was mirrored-if by a portion-by the Nightmare, managed to drive her back a foot with a single strike.

With a grunt, she pushed his sword to the side before swinging her Halberd at his torso. Without wasting time, the warrior jumped back to avoid the swipe, a mirthful laugh escaping its mouth. "If this is what's expected of an Alicorn by today's standards, then my crusade should come to a very boring end." It taunted, the personality for its form bleeding through.

With narrowed eyes, Luna stared into visor of the figure's helmet. "And what crusade would that perhaps be, foul apparition?" she questioned it, the figure planting the tip of his sword into the ground.

"I found myself, long ago, extremely disappointed with how those who perceived themselves as Gods acted with their subjects. A Goddess of Life, who shows no care for the life she governs over; An Elemental of Fire, who's fiery rage scorched those who worshipped her. But perhaps the worst culprit of this lack of empathy for those that worship them, glorify them, is that absolutely deplorable mare that everyone believes is a benevolent force!" He spat, venom dripping from his voice. left hand clenching in anger. "Of all the so called 'Divine' beings I've interacted, did battle with and struck down, she is by far the most disgusting creature to have ever existed!"

Luna and Fluttershy felt cold dread envelop their hearts at the apparitions voice, so full of hate at whoever the Nightmare is referring to. A part of them both dreaded what kind of individual could've elicited that kind of opinion.

"Tell me, foul Nightmare," Luna's voice snapped the Nightmare out if it's hate, it's line of sight focused on the Moon Princess, "Who is this individual that is so deserving of your ire?"

It angled it's head, as if her response was confusing to the shadowy being. "Hmm, it seems some secrets, no matter how twisted into whatever warped and desired tale, are still kept from her-especially with her own sister."

Eyes wide, Luna felt coldness encase her upon that word: sister

'No, that doesn't make sense...' Luna tried to defend mentally.

Yet she was the one who asked, and between both herself and dear Fluttershy, she was the only one with a sister (at least, to the Lunar Matriarch's knowledge) in this realm.

Her sister, a monster?

Celestia, a monster?

"You lie." Luna growled with rage brewing in her at the baseless accusations against her sibling. Despite the venom dripping from her voice, the Nightmare only chuckled by mockingly circling both of the mares.

"Am I lying? Do you hear any sort of deceit in my voice? I have no reason to lie in my beliefs on Celestia, for I know the true face of the vile being that resides beneath that lie. But I suppose, lying about one's past actions-especially in any sort of powerful position is the game that must be played to get public support." It put its sword on its shoulder, sighing wistfully in a mocking way.

"I-I mean," Fluttershy started speaking meekly, harnessing what small courage she could to speak to the overwhelming presence before her, "Princess Celestia has never acted mean before. She's always so calm and kind to everypony."

"...HeheheheHAHAHAHAHAHA!" It began to bellow a laugh that despite how hearty it may sound, it by no means carried any sort of positivity. It soon got to the point that it doubled over laughing, bent over 90 degrees and supported up by it's hands on their knees. Luna, mouth bared with gritted teeth, rushed forward and delivered a viscous kick that sent it tumbling over like a rogue barrel. Yet despite that, the Nightmare continued to let out chuckles while it picked itself off the ground. "Ah yes, a good ol' underhanded surprise attack. Yes, you two truly are sisters hehe." Standing, it made for its sword that was thrown away during the tumble only for the apparition to receive another kick that would've otherwise shattered the spine of any normal Stallion, keeping it from it's trusted weapon.

Bringing her leg down, Luna gazed at the armored figure with contempt, "I will NOT take any slight's against my sister lightly, foul creature. You wish to do battle with an Alicorn? Fine!" Focusing what magic she could, Luna conjured three spectral mirrors with two floating to her sides while the third one resided above her head. These mirrors, designed to resemble eyes, were constructs Luna had designed long before her decent into her jealousy-fulled madness to aid her in battle by shooting their own magic projectiles-from simple blasts to the one above her harnessing enough of her own magic to sprout forth a devastating laser that would eviscerate her enemies.

But the Nightmare, having got up once more, only chuckled at her aids, "Now those, hehe, they give me a sense of nostalgia. Must be something from my old life perhaps?" It mused to itself. But she no longer cared for it's words-it's lies, now she cared only for it's destruction by her might so that Fluttershy may finally experience peaceful slumber. Wings spread, she launched herself at the apparition with a might cry for battle.

Now on her lonesome, once more a spectator between two great fighters, Fluttershy could only observe wide-eyed at the ferocity that the Moon Princess is currently putting on display. No doubt fulled by the anger at how her sister was badmouthed by it, Luna was now attacking with extreme tenacity while leaving no room for the armored warrior to counter. However, her years as an animal caretaker has made her observant on some of the most littlest of details (sometimes useless, sometimes important), so she could see that despite how numerous and dangerous her attacks, Luna's efforts were currently amounting to nothing substantial-this is made evident by how the figure only laughed at the efforts.

" Is THIS truly all the Princess of the Moon has to offer as a fighter?! To think you are Celestia's kin-you are pathetic in comparison!" It mocked Luna, the response in return only being a more enraged yell at the insult. Watching this, Fluttershy wished there was anything she could do to help Luna in her battle against her own mental demons.

'Please, just let me help her. Even something as simple as making it's armor weaker, please!'

A brief lesson on Dreams quickly: In a world like Equus, where Magic is so numerous that it's inhabitants can harness it, the dreams of individuals are quite more chaotic than the dreams of creatures that have no Magic-or at least, can't use it. However, despite this, lucid dreamers are still a phenomena that is documented to occur even without the Lunar Matriarch's influence, allowing for those individuals to alter and mess around with their dreams at their quite literal will.

So when Fluttershy, currently under the effects of a Magically-induced lucid dream thanks to Luna's efforts, willed herself to provide any sort of aid, like say weakening an individual's armor per-say, to Princess Luna, well...

As is the old adage: Ask, and you shall receive

A dull white glow soon spread over the Nightmare's armor, the being underneath letting out a noise of surprise at the sudden usage of magic, the distraction allowing for Luna to rush forward and plant three devastating punches to the stomach that robbed it of breath. Heaving gasping breaths, it crumpled to a knee with a hand held to its hurting stomach.

"Ngh, what is this?" How did those-" Without wasting time, Luna had her mirrors launch three magic blasts into it's chest to further the pain before, in a moment of wrathful acts, hefted the Halberd up high before bringing it down and ruthlessly removed it's right arm. "Aargh! Fuck, you may not have the combat experience as Celestia, but you certainly share her ruthless acts!" It spat out to her, small grunts to signify the pain it was currently experiencing.

"It's over now, foul creature." Luna spat at the armored figure, it's blue glowing gaze looking up at her before turning to Fluttershy, the eeriness making the Pegasus lock up in fear. Above it, Luna raised her Halberd ready to bring it down once more.

"It'll be fun to see how you, a weak and cowardly mare go up against me, the feared Jungle Tyrant." Were it's last words as Luna, a cold expression on her visage, brought the Halberd down and bisected the shadowy figure in two vertically down to the waist. Thankfully for Fluttershy's mental stability, there was no sudden sprouting of blood or internal organs, but rather a rapid deterioration of the figure's form that gradually dissolved into fading smoke. Additionally, the Halberd in Luna's hands fizzled into sparkling lights whilst the arena around them gradually vanished and was soon replaced by the starry plane of the Dream Realm-Fluttershy's section of it anyway.

"What's happening?" Fluttershy asked meekly, Luna walking over to her and then collapsing down on to her knees in front of the Pegasus in exhaustion.

"With the Nightmare vanquished, you will soon awake due to how extensive my involvement was. Hopefully, should thee return to slumber, thy shall receive proper rest without issue." Luna explained, her vocabulary unconsciously slipping into Olden Equestrian for a more professional tone. While listening to the explanation, Fluttershy took the time to observe the world of all Dreams, the starry expense making her speechless at the beauty of it all.

"Wow..." Fluttershy let out in amazement, "It's so pretty..."

Luna smiled, "Indeed it is. In times past, I found myself retreating into this realm to simply exist in serenity and peace. Though, perhaps the nature of this plane is what allowed the Nightmare to infest me..." Luna mused to herself before shaking that thought, "Regardless, there is something I must ask thee, young Fluttershy."

"What is it, Princess?"

"Have thee come across any strange beings or individuals, lately? Especially of the likes of the Nightmare we battled with?"

Fluttershy slightly locked up at remembering her interaction with the armored figure from earlier that day. However, due to them both still being in Fluttershy's subset of the Dream Realm, that same interaction began to play out in front of them in what resembled a fuzzy cloud of fog. Walking closer, Luna narrowed her eyes at the figure that served as the basis for the Nightmare of Fluttershy's dreams.

Pristine golden armor that struck an intimidating figure that was shockingly taller than her own sister, coupled with a long bright red flowing mane that reminded Luna of a majestic flame. Factors that Luna easily identified was the figure's sword currently on it's back and it's eerie blue visor that emanated an unnerving stoic gaze. Observing it's posture, Luna saw how, in the memory, the warrior looked down at the greyed-out Fluttershy with a completely relaxed visage, with only the light clenching of it-rather, his fingers to show any form of irritation.

'He shows no signs of recognizing her as an Element Bearer, let alone as any sort of threat. This probably speaks of ignorance on his part. In fact, I believe he would've ignored Fluttershy in general had this version of her not irritated him.' Luna analyzed mentally, focusing more on the figure as she watched the scene where the warrior tore into Fluttershy's self-esteem and restored the Element of Kindness back to herself with his own cruelty. Turning her body, her eyes softened at the realization that she had witnessed the progenitor for Fluttershy's lack of self-worth.

"Do not let these words get to thee, young Fluttershy," Luna said, drawing Fluttershy's eyes to her, "You may not feel, or perhaps it's been stripped from you with these cruel words, but you have more worth than you yourself feel you have. After all, was it not you who aided in my reformation and allowed me to reunite with my sister?"

Listening to her words, the Pegasus soon nodded and had a small smile cross her muzzle. Smiling herself, Luna bent down to Fluttershy to give her a comforting hug.

"Do not focus on the opinions of those you not know, but rather those closest to you. I do not wish to see you fall as I had in years past," Luna pulled from the hug, "Alas, I must return to my dream walking duties. May you awake refreshed and comforted and return to a peaceful slumber."

"I will, and thank you Princess."

With one last smile exchanged between the both of them, Luna turned back and committed the unknown individuals appearance and voice to memory. If they were somehow connected, or perhaps wholly responsible for the deaths of Captain Armor and several other guards, then Luna needed to be utmost prepared.

Eventually, Fluttershy soon faded completely, signifying her awakening in her bed. Left alone in her realm, the doors of all dreams returned back to view and allowed to further aid her and her sister's little ponies. Upon thinking of her sister though, Luna's muzzle dropped into a frown when remembering that Nightmare's words.

"I have no reason to lie in my beliefs on Celestia, for I know the true face of the vile being that resides beneath that lie"

'What sort of lies could you be referring too, so-called Jungle Tyrant? I may have denounced them as lies earlier, but Fluttershy's Nightmare would never have conjured such beliefs unless it was influenced by something else. But that would entail a Magic Imprint.'

Magical Imprints in anyone's dreams were phenomena that individuals would have when they've recently encountered beings that contained massive wells of Magic within them. Regardless of whether they be Dreams or Nightmares, the Magical Imprint would allow for aspects of the massively Magically-gifted's life to seep into the imagery.

'It makes sense, after looking back on the environment: the Gladiator Pits of Thundross, the entity's form and how despite being a figurative and now literal shadow of the original, it was able to battle me to a stand still. Only due to the combination of it's own arrogance the weakening of it's armor thanks to the Bearer of Kindness was it dealt with effectively.' Unfortunately, the idea of a being much more powerful than the one she dueled casually roaming Equestria had her heart racing in fear and worry. 'It matters not for now. Come my sister's morning, I shall research into this Jungle Tyrant. I can only hope it causes no harm for now.'

So Luna departed further into the Realm of Dreams, unaware of the darkness in her own sister's heart...

[POV = Celestia's Dream]
The world around her burned with Hate and Rage.

Buildings long since melted to sludge and plants reduced to ash that blew with the wind, nothing was spared her wrath.

All but one thing-the thing that stood in front of her, taunting her.

Hands clenched, teeth grinding, her rainbow hair long since becoming a bellowing flame and eyes filled with divine loathing, she could naught but stare into the visor of her long most hated enemy.

"Yharim!" she spat with utter contempt, a small taunting chuckle escaping the false imagery to only vex her more.

She knew he was out there, knew that he would someday be back to finish the battle they'd fought in so long ago, only this time she had a feeling that when they next fought on the battle field, she would die. Truth be told, she completely understood this dread as when the two Godly beings last dueled, Celestia had sacrificed much of her power in order to simply incase him in a stone prison much like Discord.

It may have been her victory back then, but she knew it was a fruitless one since she's long since become a shell of her former self in terms of power.

Turning away from the specter, Celestia pondered the current situation to herself. "He's escaped his entrapment, no doubt thanks to that disgusting misshapen Chaos God, and escaped Canterlot after having no odubt killed some of my guards with Shining Armor among them." She perked up, an idea coming to her mind.

She didn't have access to the Elements back when during their last bout, but that was then and this is now.

And it just so happened, Yharim had killed the sibling to arguably the important Bearer of them all.

A wicked smile crossed her muzzle, with a chuckle then full bellow of laughter escaping her. Where once in the public, her laughter was filled with joy and happiness, the current laughter was filled with only deviousness and a desire to see her long hated nemesis fall.

Author's Note

Not gonna lie, this chapter felt iffy to me on the account of me not being able to write fights worth for crap.

Never the less, I do hope this chapter was enjoyable to you all and is keeping you excited for future installments. I look forward to seeing what feedback you lot have.

Until next time, Redsummer out.