A New Adventure

"He should be struck down where he stands!" Luna roared as Fury lay on the castle floor, her eyes burning with revenge.

"Luna, he deserves a fair trial, you know that," Celestia said in return as she placed herself between her sister and Fury.

"Would he have shown us such mercy?" Luna asked in a sneer as she lit her horn with a magical blast.

"Would someone please listen to me!?!" Diamond shouted as she jumped in front of Celestia, desperation in her voice.

Celestia nearly jumped herself as she had forgotten the other pony with them. Luna herself calmed her magic back and looked to the other pony.

"And how may we assist you… miss?" Luna said, her blood still boiling.

"Diamond, Diamond Radiance Sparkle your majesty," Diamond said as she curtsied to the princess. "And I brought him here… its the only other place I could think of… since" she started, but cut herself off with a scared sigh.

"Since when?" Celestia asked from behind her, worry growing in her face.

"My husband… King Sombra… he's started a war.. He tried to kill him," she said as she pointed to the very weak Fury.

"And why would Sombra attack him? He very nearly thinks him a god," Luna said with disgust in her voice.

"My husband wasn't entirely himself… he had an amulet.. He cared for it more than me… more than his own mother.." Diamond explained slowly in tears.

Celestia turned her head to Luna, a look of worry growing upon her face, and upon seeing it mirrored on her sister, turned her attention solely to Diamond.

"What did this amulet look like?" Celestia said as she sat down beside the crystal pony.

"It was gray… and looked like a.. An alicorn… with glowing yellow eyes…" Diamond squeaked.

Luna sighed slowly as she looked to Diamond, fear growing in her voice, "of all of the magical artifacts in Equestria… why did it have to be the Alicorn amulet.."

"W-what do you mean by that?" Diamond asked as she whimpered slightly.

"The Alicorn amulet is a powerful relic of ancient Equestria… one said to hold a piece of the soul of a once great Alicorn.." Celestia said as she used her magic to heal Fury to a degree.

The magic coursed through Fury's horn, leading into his body, some of his strength retuning to him. His eyes wearily opened, looking to his savior. Upon seeing Celestia, he let out a sigh and let his head fall back to the stone floor.

"Are you… going to take me… to the lower levels.. now.." Fury breathed slowly as he opened his eye back to his sister.

"As much as I want to Fury, as much as I want to destroy you for everything you've done recently… I fear that I cannot now…" Celestia said softly as she aided him to his hooves.

He looked to his other sister, who looked as if she was still contemplating attacking him, and then to the pony who saved his life, a brown Alicorn who was still recovering from her teleportation spell. He weakly left his sister's side, hobbling towards the throne where Luna scowled.

"My sister… my great sister.. I have wronged you… greatly… please, allow me.. this repentance… I ask for your forgiveness, my head was spiraling into darkness… I was losing myself," Fury said as he stopped before Luna, dropping down to a half bow, half begging position. "I ask that you forgive me… or make my death quick…"

Luna stared down at Fury, her piercing eyes showing more than just a whim of taking her brother's life, but as she looked up to her elder sister and seen the fear in her eyes, she shrugged off the impulse and placed her hoof upon Fury's head. "My brother… the hatred I had for you is gone, and I forgive you, on the terms that you surrender. I wish not to fight you again.."

Fury looked up to her, his eyes blurry with tears as he answered, "My sister, I concede my life, I surrender all…"

Celestia walked across the cobble to where her siblings were making up and placed a wing around them both. "Brother, my dear brother, Equestria calls for it's hero again, Luna and myself do not hold the wisdom of battle and strategy like you have become renowned for, and thus I call upon you Fury, if Sombra means to start a war, then I will have you lead our armies to meet his. Do this… and I will consider your past sins against us… resolved."

Fury looked down, the memory still fresh in his head of facing his newest rival, his oldest foe… his once greatest friend. His eyes filled with a new round of tears, the fear in his heart growing in the fact that he would have to fight the one pony in this time that he called his friend.

"I will do this sister… but I am afraid it is not Sombra we are up against.." he said as he looked at Celestia.

"Who is it then that we are to face brother?" Celestia asked with a small tint of fear in her voice.

"A great shadow has returned to the land… at first I was skeptical, it being nothing more than a whisper in the darkness.." he said as he stood, looking to Luna. "Then the night I leapt from the cliff, it came to me in my mind, as a powerful shadow that meant to take me. After my mind was split, I found that he was growing inside of me. After my attack, I was taken to the great cave of the Guardian, where I was shown that my mind had been poisoned.."

"What does this have to do with my husband?" Came Diamond's voice as she trotted to the three siblings.

"I'm afraid… that Sombra has been taken by the spirit of my greatest foe… Kaorn has returned to the world, and seeks to rebuild what he once had.." Fury said as he walked away from the group, looking to the stairs that lead to the chambers of the siblings.

Diamond shrank back, the name hitting her with a great pain as she had read the name and all the butchery that had followed with him. She herself was one of the few Alicorn families that had survived the great war, being very young at the end of it, her memories of it were scattered and scarce.

"You're saying that the monster that killed all those Alicorns so long ago, the one you locked away with the elements of harmony… he's returned, and taken my lovely husband's body…"

"More so that he's taken his soul… to hit me where it hurt, as I am the only one here who still holds the power to stop him.." Fury said as he looked down, his voice trailing off.

"What can we do against him?" Came Luna's voice as she stepped off from the stairs and trailed her brother.

"Indeed… What can we do?" Fury repeated as he turned back to the ponies. "The armies of ponies that once were are now but dust against the plains… their memory being all that remain of their once great might…"

"We will build a new army, one that can stand to the tyranny of Kaorn's savagery, and keep the Crystal Empire safe," Celestia added as she consoled Diamond.

"And what, dear sister, would that army consist of? There hasn't been great unicorn mages in decades, the earth ponies squabble over their land and as for the pegasi… they dream of nothing but a new home," Fury said slowly.

"But we have something that you didn't have before.." Luna said as she cut in.

"And what, pray tell is that?"

"We have the great Guardian, and the sisters, wielding the power of the elements of harmony… and a world free from Kaorn's will, a free Equestria that will unite if he strikes," Luna answered, her eyes beaming.

"Kaorn is not so foolish as to attack the whole of Equestria… he learned that lesson the last time, and will not tolerate the ponies uniting against him again," Fury said as he stopped. "As for the power of the guardian… I'm afraid that after I cast the shadow from me on the moon… it hasn't returned to full strength yet…"

"But brother, if you cannot stand to Kaorn, what can we do?" Celestia said as she looked to him with grief.

"I didn't say that dear sister…" Fury said as he smiled at her for the first time. "Kaorn does not have his full strength either, and right now is beatable, if we time our strategy right.."

"But where will he strike first?" came Diamond's voice as she looked to the ground.

"After he gathers his forces in the empire, he will lead a strike on the town of Spearsound, I'm nearly certain of it," Fury said as he took a deep breath.

"Why there? It's not a capital city, or even a strategic ground to hold for a campaign," Celestia asked as she looked to her brother with confusion.

"Yes dear sister… but it is there that he was defeated so long ago, and there that a stone tablet rests with the seal of his defeat and the way for his physical return… and so there he will strike with all his might," Fury answered.

"But wouldn't that only unify the ponies against him?" Luna interrupted.

"Not if he is successful, Spearsound is a town of Proud and prideful ponies, and he is able to take the town, it will demoralize the rest of Equestria, and send a message to the world of his new might.."

Diamond took a shuddering breath, seeing the glowing eyes that had taken the place of her husband, her mind reeling from the memory. She took a step back, not realizing the yellow pony walking in as she backed into her.

"Eep!" Came the voice of Dalila as she bumped into Diamond.

"I'm dreadfully sorry!" Diamond squeaked out as she flew around to see her victim.

The interruption had caught the attention of Fury, who looked at the newest pony with mixed emotions. His eyes had caught Dalila's, who had in turn caught his own, and he had felt the years he had been gone in her eyes, drowned in the tears that formed.

"Y..you stayed… after all this time…" he said slowly.

"She has brother," Celestia said softly as she stood beside him. "And the ponies of Spearsound have forgiven her, because of your actions," Celestia continued. "Her love for you has made her a great ambassador, and a better friend.."

"I had hoped that you would return… but I began to lose hope. The princesses helped me stay true to my promise.. that I would always be here for you," Dalila said softly, her eyes now full of stars.

Fury looked to his sister, then back to Dalila, the love in his heart growing enough that the shadow inside him was no longer able to hold a place, and with a sharp breath, fury felt the shadow slip away and fade into nothingness. He took a deep breath as he could feel the tingling sensation of his guardian magic beginning to return to him, the powerful magic filling him with confidence.

"I will travel to Spearsound, and do my best to ready the town for Kaorn's strike, I need you and Luna to bring in the unicorn from the guard, and any willing from the lands surrounding, and begin training them for this war… shield magic and stunning spells should be sufficient," Fury said to Celestia as he walked towards Dalila. "I would be much appreciated if you would accompany me on this trip my dear," he said to Dalila as he gave her a small hug.

"Where does that leave me?" Diamond asked concerned.

"With me, we may need all the magic we can muster for this," Fury said confidently as he walked for the end of the foyer, Dalila striding beside him.

"There is another… brother, a great unicorn that I believe could aide you greatly… if you can sway his mind.." Celestia said slowly. "He has a magical ability that far surpasses many of the others.."

"And who might this great unicorn be?" Fury said as he turned, nearly at the end of the hall. "But when you go there brother, know that he has taken a life of pacifism… he refuses to harm others.."

"Understood…" he answered as he turned back to his path, leading out of the castle down the path of the forest, where it would lead to the unicorn, Starswirl and the first battle of this shadow war.

"His name is Starswirl, he lives in the village of Treesap, in the western edge, in a small hut…"