=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]