Aspects were forged by dragons, Aspects would say born, but dragons would correct them. The dragons say forged because Aspects were weapons. Half spirit half dragon, combining the powers of the two forms for a single purpose. To defeat the alicorns.

Dragons missed the days when the sun stayed still. They thrived in its heat and the molten parts of the world it made. The alicorns were strong though. Despite the dragon's natural near imperviousness to magic the alicorns could will their way through. Tougher opponents the dragons had never faced, and their backs to a figurative wall they dredged up ancient draconic magic. Spells in the dragon tongue that were now forbidden by the treaty with ponies. Lost arts to all but a few. With these spells they made physical apparitions, completely immune to magic, immortal, unkillable.

However the pony leaders of the time were fierce and cruel. They attacked clutches, breaking eggs before the dragons inside could gain any resistances. Some were taken, the dragons flew to the ponies domain, furious, but the leader of the ponies was prepared. He stood atop a mountain on a cliff, and as the dragons approached they felt a wave pass over them. A potent magic unknown to them. And the pony smiled.

“How many of your number have come?” he called to them, his voice booming as a dragon's would.

“All of us, pony! We seek justice.”

“Then you may have it, but it has cost you your future.”

The dragons looked at him, angry and confused.

“As you flew in I released a spell. It has rendered each and every one of you impotent. And my sister holds the last of your eggs, safe from my spell. Unless you make peace with me here, now, your race shall be doomed.”

“We will not rest until every pony has been burned!”

“Then make peace. See that your race survives as well as ours.”

They had no choice. The Aspects were to be banished, as only draconic spells had the power, and the dragons were to divide their lands as all the other races were. Years later historians, of both races, would admit the deal was surprisingly fair considering the leverage the ponies held, but that did not help most dragons who grew to despise ponies and their culture. Not that they could do anything about it without bringing the full wrath of the pony leaders down on their race again.

The Aspects that were banished however were not banished completely, not all of them. Few still roamed, intangible, invisible except to a few. To those they could take energy from. Ghosts that needed to haunt individuals for the power to survive. Once bound to their host they became whole again, a need met deep in their empty souls. They would be forced to obey, subjugated by their host, but whole.

Pete learned this story during his second year as an Aspect from his new half. He had come to learn and appreciate the irony of what he was now. Aspects were enemies of the alicorns, weapons built to destroy them, and his deal had made him one. A deal made to save an alicorn. It had taken him almost a year to realize this, mostly because he had spent the better half of that year killing as many shadows as possible. Eight months in a nearly blind rage, never sleeping, never eating, only killing. If his title as the “Dread Captain” was not enough his new form had spread even faster. Rumors began to spread that he was a secret soldier made from dragons and Equestrians in case something were to go wrong. They weren't entirely wrong either.

Once he had calmed down Pete had thought about what he was doing, what his goal was any more. In that process he remembered why he made his deal, the irony of it all, and finally made it to the lake near the griffon's capital. Without a second thought he dove into the water, sinking to the bottom. He didn't need to breathe, he didn't need anything. He was a creature of wants now, not needs.

The impact of that statement struck him at the same time as his senses returned. Months spent without sleep or food. His anger sustained the Aspect inside of him, and in turn the Aspect kept him alive no matter what. No food, no sleep, not even air was needed any more. He could eat, he could sleep, he could breathe, but only if he wanted to. He could live a life of pure indulgence. Revenge was all he wanted, and it was all he needed. Dark thoughts, hatred, anger, revenge, selfish and destructive desires fueled his new form. The very things he feared sinking into were now his power; and he liked it.

At the bottom of the lake was a building, small, unassuming, easily hidden by the murky water. It was a single cube more than a building, with a single door that lacked a handle or any other device to open it. Pete held out his claw and channeled magic, his new form being made from dragon scales could withstand any spell and the Aspect within explained that dragons of old did it the same way. Bring the energy down to the tips of their claws or their palms, depending on the needs of size and accuracy, and then release. It was much easier than using his sword and he felt much more powerful doing magic with his own body. Or as close to it as he could be. The door did not budge no matter what he tried.

It's made from magic resistant materials. Strong stuff. Old as Tartarus itself.

'So what do we do?' he thought back to his other half.

Get real close, listen to it.

Confused, Pete stepped forward and put his ear on the door. A light clicking noise came to his attention, difficult to hear through the water, but present. His enhanced senses were even more useful than he thought.

'What does that mean?'

I think we just have to wait and see what happens when that clicking stops.

Pete growled and jumped, rocketing to the surface of the lake in a single bound. He didn't know how he knew, but he could feel the necessary power for each action he performed. How hard he needed to jump, punch, flap, run, stomp. Like a section of his mind was dedicated to calculating the perfect force needed to do anything. In a way it was disturbing, but more often than not it was useful.

'So, as long as I feed you, I get to keep these powers?' Pete sat on the shore of the lake, looking down at the building. Even with his enhanced eyesight it was impossible to see. That was why no one had found it before. Diving equipment didn't exist for griffons, and ponies were busy using magic to look at the bottom of their own lakes. Since he had the time and the frame of mind, he figured talking with his new mind companion would be a good way to pass the time.

Yes and no. You'll keep them as long as you feed me, yes, but you won't just lose them if you stop. Decide to become a moral little boy again and I'll have to fight you for control. You held me back this time, and the large number of shadows was a blessing. They were the source of your rage, so the more we fought them the more I got fed.

'What happens if I fail to hold you back?' Pete knew he wouldn't like the answer, but he had to ask anyway.

I don't have any problem killing living things, kid. I've seen the world almost burn under dragon fire. As long as I survive I don't care what I make you do, and I don't care what you do.

Pete stopped and raised an eyebrow, 'Does that mean if I were to, say, go back to fighting criminals...'

As long as you hunt them down with the burning anger you feel now, go nuts. See, the alicorns don't like my kind because we have to feed off of the magical energy released by emotions, much like changelings, but we're worse because we thrive off of the bad ones. So we're always pushing for bad things. Or we were, when we were around.

He sighed, a strange noise with his new voice. It was like having a devil on your shoulder to constantly antagonize you into doing the wrong thing. Pete couldn't help but recall his months of rampaging. It was like watching a movie, he had done it but it didn't feel like himself. That loss of control could be devastating in his new form.

Just stay angry, kid. Any time you get mad, any time you hate, any time you want to rip the still beating heart from some dumb motherfucker's chest and watch him cry in agony as you smash it in front of his face, I get a meal. When I get a meal, you move further back from that line of losing control.

It wasn't that easy and Pete knew it. Constantly being that angry would make anyone sound insane. There wouldn't be any way to hide that over time. Like walking around with an anger management problem. Eventually someone would say the wrong thing at the wrong time and he would snap. The difference was it would be himself snapping instead of losing himself to some dark beast that now resided inside of him.

We are one now. I don't just reside in you, I am you. And you're me.

“We're a happy family,” Pete muttered sardonically. He looked at his reflection on the surface of the lake. Everything about him was different with scales. His hair was the only thing that remained the same and looked out of place among his more draconic features. It was impossible to not see the dragon influences in his features even though he still had many things that made up a human face. A snout had not grown on his face, he still had a nose and mouth, but like everything else they were covered in scales as strong as any metal. His eyes were now an ethereal yellow and featured the typical slit pupil. In fact, he was sure that without the hair no one would know who he was at all. Which made him decide to keep it all the more. While losing it would have fit in more with his now scaly hide, keeping it reminded him of his true self. He was human, under the scales and anger, and as a human he had a promise to keep.

Pete had to fight the urge back, his pupils contracted again, a feeling he was becoming all too familiar with. It was the first sign of his rage taking over his usual thoughts. In six months the lake had done nothing. Every day he'd jumped in to check on the door, and it had done nothing. At one point he even sat on the bottom of the lake to watch the door of the the entire day. Nothing. He was sick of being stalled by a cube of a building, barely a shed, that had been built before most cities. Gryphos, the capital of the griffon's land, also called Gryphos, sat on the horizon and Pete knew with objective certainty that he could conquer the entire city in a day. Unfortunately thinking about that just made him angrier, and the city began to look like a good place to blow off steam. The way it gleamed in the darkness of the night. They wouldn't even see him coming in his new shape. Black as the night sky itself.

A gurgling sound caught his attention, his eyes returned to normal and he looked at the lake. Bubbles were pouring up from the middle, from the building. Without hesitation he jumped into the lake again, hooking his claws on the bottom to stop from being pulled in by the suction. There was no telling where the water was going, but it was going into the building. The door was opening, about half way down now, and the water from the lake was draining into it.

That's a deep hole

'Thank you, Scales.' Pete thought back with a roll of his eyes.

Wha- Scales?! I'm not one of your girlfriends. I do not need some kind of pathetic nickname.

'What is your name?'

I am an Aspect, we don't have names. We are beings of power that-

'Well, you said we are one and the same, but clearly you think on your own. I have to call you something and if you have no name, I will just give you one. Scales.'

Scales continued to rage inside of Pete's mind about his new name, but the man was focused on other matters. The lake was nearly drained, and the door to the building was completely open. There was a ramp inside the water was flowing down and over. It went down, very far down. What Pete couldn't figure out was how the water would get back up. There weren't any pumps or pipes near the surface of the lake, none that were visible as the water finally drained to his knees. So it wasn't pumped back to the surface. Magic could explain it. His own knowledge in that area was lacking to say the least. More than a dozen spells could be designed for exactly this situation and he wouldn't know one.

And just what kind of “name” is Scales? That's like naming one of those horses you fawn over “Fluffy.” I'm not a damn pet, kid!

“Then why do you keep calling me kid?” Pete mumbled aloud, taking steps towards the now opened door. “My name is Pete, and you know it. You've literally used it before.”

When you get as old as I am, everyone is a child. Except for those alicorns.

Pete looked down the slope, cautious. It wasn't a hard enough angle it would cause him to slide, but it was certainly steep. With his goal finally in sight though, he couldn't back down even if it was a straight chute to the bottom. He had to go in.

The slope was made of stone, and lacked any railing that would be present even on modern Equestrian structures. It went down, very far down. He could still hear water rushing and colliding with walls and itself. Like a waterfall in the distance. The bottom of the area wasn't visible even with his eyes. A long drop would be an understatement.

“How are the alicorns as old as you? Aren't you some being from ancient times?” Pete's voice echoed around him. The hole was definitely cavernous.

You'll see when you look at them, kid. They aren't the thousand or so year old alicorns you think they are.

“So they're gods, like Eclipse thought.” He continued talking to Scales as he walked down, the conversation welcome after months of silence from the beast. Not to mention the calming effect it had on his nerves. So close he could taste it, but not if he made a mistake now. He was in Eclipse's domain. Traps were certain.

Absolutely. We were designed to live forever so we could fight forever. As long as the gods were trapped in a cycle of dying and rematerializing they wouldn't have the time to move the sun or lead anyone.

Pete stopped for just a beat before continuing down the slope, which turned suddenly and continued down. Of course he hadn't missed that, he just didn't know how to address it. Fighting the alicorns, fine, of course. Aspects were living weapons, he'd learned that. Designed to live forever, that was sticking in him.

Yes, that means you too, human. We are one now. You are an Aspect. Spirits mixed with dragons to form the originals, and now we must parasitize others to become whole again. Without you and your acceptance I would have followed you until your dying days, and then found another to follow. Always bound, always preying, always waiting.

He swallowed hard. Having several hundred years ahead of him seemed awful before. This, immortality as it were, sounded like a nightmare. A never ending one at that.

It is possible you'll go crazy. But who knows, maybe those alicorns of yours will treat you to a little petrification. You can decorate their garden like that god of Chaos did.

Pete shuddered to think about that too. Being blasted by the Elements of Harmony, petrified for thousands of years. Was Discord awake during his petrification? Was he aware? Would he be aware? At least if he was free he could find ways to occupy the time of millions of years. Maybe he could be a piece of living history, telling historians about things that happened long before their time. He didn't want to think about it any more. The more he thought about it the closer he came to insanity, and he wasn't even thirty years old yet.

He refocused on the task at hand. The slope having finally reached a bottom, or rather an end point of some kind. Over the side the water was still not visible, so clearly it wasn't the bottom, but there was a room suspended over the nothing before him. That was progress, more progress than he'd made in his entire three year journey. At one point he thought he would be home in a few weeks, back with Rainbow Dash and Stellar Glow. Now he was trekking on, alone, years later. Eclipse owed him a lot. Even his death might not be payment enough for everything he'd lost over the years.

Inside, the new room was strangely familiar. He had seen Twilight's lab once before and the room was a primitive version. Calculations were written on the walls, subjects and specimens were in tubes. Several chunks of the meteorite that hit were soaking in various chemicals with different outcomes. Eclipse's lab, where the artifact to increase his magical power was conceptually designed, and possibly even created. There was a certain magic that clung to the walls. The kind of magic that stuck to things when massive events happened. Discord's original outburst had left a large swath of discorded lands in Equestria, and whatever had happened in this room had left the walls faintly glowing. Walls that were supposedly made to resist magic.

That's real power, kid. Ancient power.

Pete could do nothing but agree. It wasn't a taint just a mark where something incredible had happened. A thumbprint as it were. A mark on history. Despite his obvious egotism, Eclipse did have skills to back it up. Of course he did. He'd taken Equestria from a pair of literal gods.

Beyond the room was another slope and Pete became tired of walking. Spreading his wings out he flew along the side of the slope. Like the one before it there was a turn that led deeper, the slopes almost layering each other like a stairwell. This time the slope evened out flatly. Pete landed on it and the ground shifted. It was floating on top of the lake water. Looking back the sloped parts were held up by something, perhaps magic, but this piece was floating. Even if a unicorn, or someone without wings, had gotten to the bottom of the lake, and inside, without the water the final piece wouldn't be here. It would look, for all intents and purposes, like a bottomless pit.

Not trusting the shaking piece of stone Pete took back to the air, understanding now why Rainbow preferred to float or fly everywhere. At the end of the path there was a large room dug out of the rock. Its ceiling was high and lit by magic, it glowed faintly golden from a single point in the middle of the roof. In the middle of the room, atop several stone steps, was the artifact. A cube made of stone, covered in runes, with a single hole in one side. The theory was that by channeling a blast of magic into the cube the runes would power up and redirect the power back into the caster, bolstering their natural abilities. Eclipse had left it here, for some reason.

Pete stopped and looked around, his presence causing several symbols to glow on the walls. Some of them he was familiar with, others he had no clue, but the ones that he knew were the problem. They were trap runes. Designed to keep things out. It would take him time to disable them, more time spent waiting around, making slow progress, and who knew when the water would vanish, the door close. Trapping him inside for another month, or longer. A growl escaped his throat. He was tired of waiting.

Then don't, kid. Those runes would probably kill a normal person, but you aren't normal.

That was right. He didn't need to stop the security, disable whatever field Eclipse had set up. He had never encountered an Aspect. Something that was magically impervious. In fact, a dragon could probably have walked through the runes. Eclipse had prepared for a pony, another unicorn, or the alicorns.

Letting his anger flow, thinking about the sweet revenge in his grasp, Pete walked forward. The runes on the walls began to shine and their spells activated. Lightning and fire spewed forth in waves, and he didn't even feel them. Bolts of energy slammed into his stomach, where a pony's head would have been, but he didn't flinch. Grinning he continued up the steps, each and every spell bouncing off of his black hide until finally he wrapped his claw around the cube. The markings stopped glowing, and the light overhead faded. Pete laughed in triumph.

A roar broke his celebration. The water outside suddenly began reversing mysteriously, flowing upwards back into the lake. Smarter than most, Pete focused his magic and teleported to the shore of the lake to watch the water return. It was dawn, the light was weak, but enough to see. The water rushed out of the door it had gone down hours before, the lake refilling almost to the drop as the door shut behind the water. Magic had, of course, been the answer. Eclipse had been a unicorn after all. He loved to show off his power. Draining and refilling a lake? That was the kind of thing he would get a kick out of. Somehow Pete knew this. Years on the hunt had given him a rather keen look into the bastard's mind. And now it was about to be over.

He looked at the artifact. It fit in the palm of his over sized hand, perhaps bigger than a Rubik's cube. The question remained of what to do with it now that he'd obtained it. Bolstering his own magic could work, but he didn't know if he was strong enough to fight Eclipse himself. True, it had given the unicorn the ability to fight alicorns, but how strong was he before that, did he stack up to Pete's own skills? It was too much of an unknown, if would even work on his new body. The device itself was simple enough, Pete understood it at a glance with Scales' own magic knowledge being siphoned into his mind. The two really were one and the same and it helped Pete more than he cared to admit.

There was something he could do then. Something simple in fact. Like rewiring a piece of technology. He extended a claw to one of the symbols and channeled his magic, like a torch of arcane power. Slightly, every so slowly, he altered the symbol, changing its meaning and power. He hoped it worked, as he slipped the cube into his pants pocket which had thankfully been spared destruction in his change of shape. All that was left, was Eclipse.

“Well done,” the sound of clapping accompanied the voice, causing Pete to turn and flex his claws. Behind him stood a man, a human in all black, smiling and clapping. “Well done, Pete Powell. I knew you'd get here eventually. With enough help.”

“Who are you?” Pete growled, his teeth clenched.

“My name is Kayn, and I come bearing a gift. Another gift, aside from that Aspect you merged with.”

“The Aspect... how did you-?”

“Because he's not from this world. He's from one very, very similar, but not this one. In fact, the only difference between the two, aside from this Eclipse business, is that all of the Aspects here were wiped out.”

Wiped out? Bullshit. Come on, kid, waste this guy.

“Oh it's not bullshit, 'Scales,'” the man's grin widened.

“How did you hear that? Are you reading my mind?”

“Mind reading is easy when you're in my position.” The man flipped a coin towards Pete, who caught it without breaking eye contact.

A surge of magic passed over him, and he couldn't help but look at the coin. It was gold, and engraved with the face of a woman he'd never seen on both sides. The magic it held was impossibly potent, more impossible was the fact it held magic at all. Only organic material could hold a charge.

“Unless you're a god of some kind.” Kayn laughed and turned around, walking off towards a portal of darkness that appeared. “You'll know what to do with that coin when the time comes. I believe in you, my precious little pawn.”

With that, he was gone. Pete shook his head and looked at the coin again. He could feel the magic coming from it. So powerful he could even identify what kind.

Chronomancy, Scales rumbled, Incredibly potent. Kid, you're lucky to be alive. That guy could have killed us if he can do that to a coin.

Pete blinked and looked up at where the man had stood. Something told him Scales was right. Whoever that was he was powerful, even more so than the Princesses. Several things clicked into place about his life. About his death, his sword, Scales. All of it had been planned. He was a pawn. The anger sustained him as he flew towards the dark dome. He would use it to bring an end to the conflict. And maybe even set things right.

The inside of the dome was like night without the stars. If not for his new eyes Pete wouldn't have seen anything. But there was one light. Barely visible in the distance. It wasn't the outside, but rather a bubble within the dome. A familiar feeling emanated from it, calling to him. He flew past Canterlot, a pulsing magic from the castle told him exactly where Eclipse was. The dark castle would be the location of his final battle. For better or worse it would be the end. At the moment he flew past, towards the bright bubble in the darkness. A beacon of hope in despair. Ponyville was safe.

Luna braced herself for the dark looking beast that flew into town. She thought her barrier was impenetrable by the invading shades. The last several years she had been the only thing to keep them out, keep the last of the ponies safe. Sun and moon still set and rose within her sphere of Equestria, a bubble surrounding Ponyville. With their safety at risk however she was ready to do anything to keep it. Closer and closer the winged monster came, and as it came closer it slowed down. Finally it stopped and landed only a few feet away.

The princess lit her horn and sized up her foe. He was bipedal and well over six feet tall, covered in dark scales with piercing yellow eyes, sharp claws, and large bat wings. It was like a twisted version of something she would create. She was as intrigued by it as she was worried. It looked formidable to say the least. Maybe Eclipse was stepping up his game, building stronger foes. Its eyes gazed at her and she felt something from the beast. With a word it disarmed her.

“Luna,” it rumbled in a deep but familiar tone.

“Pete?” She could barely contain her emotions. “What has happened to you?”

The monstrous Pete gazed at a claw. “I became one with an Aspect. My sword was destroyed, I was surrounded. I didn't have any other options.”

Luna stepped forward and placed a hoof on the amalgamated human's chest. He was cool to the touch now. She knew, of course, what an Aspect was. He didn't need to explain. It was worrisome, but there were bigger problems now. She knew that too. She knew that Pete had sacrificed himself entirely to try and help them.

“It was worth it,” Pete placed his claw over Luna's hoof and looked her in the eyes. “I found it. The artifact.”

Realization crept onto her face. “You found it?”

Pete nodded and held up the cube he had found in the ruins. “I modified it. Hopefully it works. Either it works, or...”

They couldn't think about that. It had been three long, arduous years of death and darkness. A problem that yet threatened to plunge the world into apocalypse. If the artifact did not work then it didn't matter. There was nothing else they could do anyway.

“Tell me, Luna,” he asked softly, “The Elements, Stellar Glow?”

She removed her hoof from his chest and shook her head. He didn't need to know the details. He needed the anger. Knowing what Eclipse had done would help bring about his undoing. Pete swore to himself, and to his Aspect side, that he would let nature take over when the time came. Eclipse would die by his hands, or he would die to Eclipse. There was no redemption or imprisonment for this one.

“I'm going to settle this.”

“Wait,” Luna turned towards the town, “I shall rally what is left of our forces. We will-”

Pete held up a claw to stop her. “No, I'm going alone. This form is powerful, Luna. Much stronger than anything I could have imagined. It scares me, the things I could do like this. But it's the means to an end. I'm not afraid any more. I can do this, Princess.”

Luna tried to object but she couldn't find the words. Pete knew what he was doing. He had an air of confidence he lacked before. If he survived everything would be fine but if he failed, and they both knew that was possible, he would rather she keep as many safe as she could.

“Be careful,” was all she could muster.

Pete nodded and spread his wings, taking off into the oppressive darkness beyond Luna's influence. Out into the unknown. The last of her humans once again beyond her help. If he failed, she would do what she had been unable to bring herself to do for all those years. She turned back towards Ponyville, to the library she now made her own home. Inside she kept her armor, specially made for such a purpose. Eclipse, she knew, had bonded to Celestia's being. Destroying him without separating the two would kill her sister, but it had come to that. Pete was her last hope of things becoming even slightly normal again. The Elements dead, but her sister alive. She stopped at the door and looked out at the dark dome beyond her power and wondered if she shouldn't have stopped him sooner.

Pete landed in the blackened Canterlot with a thud. Shadowy creatures poured from every corner of every street. Twisted citizens of a twisted land. Even the buildings were cracked and ruined. He smiled, and Scales laughed. Taking a sadistic joy in fighting, that was a dark thought, a dark act, and the Aspect loved it. Pete felt a jolt of pleasure as he conjured up lighting to his claw tips and loosed it on the crowd. He joined Scales in a laugh as it shredded the creatures before him. It felt good to let go. To leap forward and physically pound one of the shades into smoke, adding to the cracked ground around them. Destruction, the shadow's pained final howls echoing into the void around them, it was pure ecstasy.

Moving up the street, spell by spell, attack by attack, crushing shadow after shadow. There was no end to them, but there was no end to his power either. Each one he brutalized he could feel himself becoming stronger. Letting go of himself had never felt so good, so right, so dangerous. It was a grim reminder in the back of his thoughts of what he could be once the world was set right. A monster no better than any other.

Eventually the horde broke. There were no more shadows or shades of any kind. It was silent on the steps up to the castle. Pete stopped and took a deep breath. He wanted to, it felt right to do. Stabilize his thoughts before proceeding. He had to be calm, to surprise Eclipse with his plan. It was a gambit that relied on everything working the way he thought it did. If he was wrong there would be a fight. One he might not walk away from. Once he was settled, he walked up the stairs and into the opened castle.

Pete walked into the darkened corrupted throne room of Canterlot castle. The black and starless blanket hung thick over the city, thicker than any where else in Equestria. Of course it would, its source stood on top of a pair of crumbled thrones. The room around them reflected the state of the thrones as well, cracked, broken glass and shattered columns. A black alicorn with nothing adorning his flank and piercing yellow eyes. Too familiar a scheme for Pete to not recognize. The human stopped as the sound of metal underfoot echoed. Beneath his feet were the Elements of Harmony, the physical items, rusted and shattered, their bearers no where in sight. Rage welled up within him, but he held it tight. There would be time for that later. He would not fail.

“I see,” the black alicorn stepped forward off the dais, “You were the other one she sent. I knew there was someone else but I thought perhaps you'd perished out there alone.”

Pete stepped forward, standing between the alicorn and the broken Elements. “Not quite,” he withdrew the journal Celestia had given him and tossed it between himself and the alicorn, “thanks to that.”

“Ah yes, I was wondering what she had done with that. Not that it matters any more.”

“Tell me something, how did you managed to capture a god?”

The alicorn grinned, “So you figured it out as well? Yes, Celestia and Luna are far more than your average pony, or even alicorns. Timeless beings changing face and shape but never soul. There is the weakness.”

Pete raised an eyebrow, “Their soul? How is that a weakness?”

“It's not, their forms are their weakness. You see, magic comes from the soul. A soul touched by great magic can wield great magic. Such as that fragment of Nightmare Moon which touched yours. Your own power, human, came from me.”

“You had something to do with Nightmare Moon?” The human shook his head in disbelief, “Is there anything you weren't attached to? You drove Discord insane, more insane I guess, corrupted Luna to Nightmare Moon, freed Sombra. Did you invent cancer too?”

“No, but I am the source of a great many ills in this world,” he grinned at that. “Nightmare Moon was an experiment, to see if this would work.” His horn shined briefly and another sickening dark pony arose from the shadows. “You see, as long as the goddesses are trapped in a physical form they can be used much like a battery. If Celestia were capable right now she could free herself, godlike body control and all that. Stopping her own heart would be nothing, and once the soul was released from its form there would be nothing to stop her from destroying me and returning. By taking complete control over her body however, by preventing her from escaping, I gain access to all of her power.”

Pete exhaled slowly, steadying himself. “So Nightmare Moon was a test, to see if your powers could control the princesses. Then it was just a matter of time before you found one of them unawares.”

“Not just one, Celestia. The only one that could fight my darkness effectively. Luna can hold her little corner of the world bright for now, but I've already been inside of Celestia's body for so long there's no way to tear us apart. We are almost completely one and the same, except for her soul of course.”

“You'll die one day, she'd get free some how.”

“Ah, that is where you're wrong again. Alicorn magic is powerful, goddess magic especially. I'll live forever like this, human.” Those last words were spoken with a twisted grin that nearly pushed Pete over the edge.

“So, you killed the Elements of Harmony, preventing the one other source of power that could have removed you from Celestia, and now you've hidden away, biding your time.”

“Knowing full well that Luna couldn't separate me from her sister either. And whatever you've found thanks to my old journal is inconsequential. I have total control over this body and unfettered access to all the power of a god!”

“So what was it, about three years ago? You, standing on the dais as the Elements of Harmony burst in, and then blam, gone?”

The alicorn grinned again, “Yes, almost to the date. Your beloved saviors looking so afraid as their lives were ripped from their bodies. They never expected a twisted Celestia to be their demise.”

That was all Pete needed to know. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the gold coin he'd been handed by the mysterious human. It surged with chronomancy, powerful time magic, god level magic. He focused on that day three years ago and he flipped the coin. The sun and moon reversed course, days passing in seconds, backwards through time. Far away Luna stood in shock as the ponies around her reversed and were she a lesser being she would have too. She also wasn't a fool and she set out for Canterlot at once. How he was doing it she didn't know, but Pete was making a gamble. He was resetting everything, dragging time back to where this all began. The day Rainbow Dash arrived and took her Element. When they were all confronted with the twisted form of her sister. She had to be there.

Pete watched the dark alicorn forced backwards in time, his days spent pacing and lounging, summoning dark creatures to terrorize the last inhabitants of Equestria. He may have held Celestia's body, but it wasn't her body that would be immune to the magic and her soul would always be hers. Pete frowned as he realized what that meant for himself. He was immune to the spell as well. It was moving things globally but he remained in place. Pete also watched, a revulsion in his stomach, as the bodies of the Elements of Harmony reconstituted beside him, their bones returning from ash turning into corpses, cold and lifeless, and then breathing their last. Finally the coin fell to the floor, bouncing once, and he watched the blast that killed the Elements flow backwards to the alicorn as the Mane Six stood up. The alicorn looked like Celestia, but something was clearly wrong. Her cutie mark was dark, and there was a sickly blackness surrounding her mouth and eyes. Pete knew the path of the blast now and he stepped in front of it at the ready.

Time resumed and the blast flew again, but this time he was there. The artifact in hand, he held it up and caught the blast. Twilight and the other Elements gasped collectively and stepped back, to them it was as if the draconic being simply materialized before them. Eclipse, barely in control of Celestia now, recoiled as well at the sight of his artifact. Pete roared in victory, his wings spreading behind him as he channeled with the cube. The blast fired by Eclipse returned to its caster, as intended, and with the change of rune it ripped away from him every ounce of magic he possessed. Suddenly torn from Celestia and thrown backwards, cracking the Princess' throne as he landed. Celestia herself staggered and moved away, looking at the once more solid unicorn.

The cube hadn't simply increased his power, it had made him his power. He had become ethereal darkness. Shadows that Celestia had seen moving had in fact been him, waiting for her to let her guard down in private, to take control. Now he was just another stallion, any other unicorn. Tossing the cube aside, Pete leaped into the air, almost touching the ceiling, and landed on top of the stunned unicorn.

Claws clenched into fists he began to mercilessly pummel the barely cognizant stallion. Teeth flew off the dais in spouts of blood, his legs jerked and kicked uselessly against the giant on top of him. Pete roared and brought a fist firmly down on one of Eclipse's forelegs, which he had raised to block, and shattered the bone causing the pony to scream in agony. His beating was relentless, his eyes contracted again, the anger was taking over, and he was going to let it. The bastard under him deserved it far more than anyone ever had before. There was no stopping him. Vaguely, Eclipse realized this and lit his horn to try and escape. As soon as he did Pete's claw wrapped around it and he snapped the appendage off, causing every other pony in the room to recoil in pain and getting another scream from the stallion. Even through his rage Pete could see Eclipse's face, and for the first time perhaps in thousands of years he was afraid.

Pete smiled at the fear. He loved it. This was what a villain deserved. Luna had been right all along. Sometimes drastic measures needed to be taken. He raised the horn in his claw, pointing it down at the stallion. His own horn would be his demise, driven into his chest by the man who most wanted revenge. For the three years that had now been undone, for all the horror he had seen, all the deaths, all the loss, all the sorrow, all of the pain.

“Pete, stop!” Luna shouted, galloping into the throne room.

Rainbow Dash looked around, “Pete? Where?”

“Upon the dais, Rainbow Dash,” Luna said, stepping forward. “He is different now but it is him. It is you, Pete.”

Pete paused, arm raised with horn in hand ready to finish the job.

Dash stepped forward, her voice shaking, “Pete?”

He groaned and looked back, Eclipse was pinned, with no magic he couldn't escape even if Pete didn't look at him. “Hey, Rainbow.”

She took a deep breath and a half step back. His voice was different, everything about him was different, but she could feel it. There was a tone in his voice she knew.

“What happened? What happened to you in a day?” Rainbow Dash couldn't believe what she was seeing.

“It's been a lot longer than that.”

“That is not the point now, Pete,” Luna slowly walked towards him again, trying not to destabilize him further. “You spent months agonizing over how you treated criminals. Stellar Glow talked you into quitting the Night Guard because you had a problem with your anger. You didn't want it to consume you, to become what you have become now. It isn't too late. You can still stop.”

“You know, Luna,” he looked at her with a smile, “It's cute how you start using contractions when you're flustered.”

The princess blinked and shook her head. “What are you saying?”

“Stuff like 'I am' becoming I'm, you are becoming you're. You don't normally use them, but when you get flustered you do.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

Pete looked back down at Eclipse and dropped the horn in his claw, the stallion letting out a breath he had been holding for minutes.

“It means I realize that maybe there are some things we only do,” a sickeningly wet noise filled the throne room and Eclipse screamed, “sometimes.” Pete's claw was now wrist deep in the stallion's chest. He wriggled it around and found the pony's heart, and with a simple squeeze, it stopped.

Eclipse gasped and shook, almost like he was having a seizure, and then he stopped. Pete sat on top of him, pulling his left claw out, glistening with blood in the sunlight of the room, and watched until the last bit of life faded from the stallion's eyes.

He stood, wiping as much of the blood as he could off on Eclipse's coat, and turned towards the shocked ponies, alicorns included. Fluttershy had fainted, and the rest looked like they were going to be sick, except for Luna who only looked surprised. Pete started to walk down the dais and began to speak.

“I thought maybe I could ignore this. Ignore how much I wanted to do something about all the bad things I had learned. That maybe I could go live a normal life like I used to. Then I went on this journey, this adventure through Equestria and Gryphos. All the time I spent fighting for my life, and I realized that sometimes you have to do something bad to get good things to happen.”

He glanced back at Eclipse and then down at his claw, still covered with blood. “It's not easy,” he continued, “but when I stood there, facing him, I noticed something. He wasn't afraid of the Elements of Harmony. He wasn't afraid of Celestia or you. Because they were good. The only time he felt afraid was when I jumped on top of him, when I was going to kill him.” Pete closed his eyes and let out a long breath. “Bad guys don't believe in the power of good. If they did, they would be good guys. Monsters like them don't fear the good, because they don't believe in its power. They're only afraid of bigger monsters, meaner bad guys.” Pete looked at Luna alone, “And if I have to be that monster, then so be it.”

Rainbow Dash started towards him, but stopped, her eyes locking onto his blood soaked arm.

What a touching speech. I've gotten my fill, so I'll tell you what. Wake me when it's dinner time. Scales' words echoed in Pete's mind, and he felt something change within him.

Smiling Pete turned to Rainbow Dash. “That doesn't mean I have to be a monster all of the time. In fact, I'll need to come back from that. I don't want to fall off the edge into the abyss, but staring into it has to be done. When the abyss starts staring back it becomes time to fill yourself up with something else. It's a give and take. I have something for that.”

Pete sighed and relaxed his whole body. He had never noticed how tense he felt with scales. As he did the transformation reversed. Dark scales receded from his body, his claws became hands, his feet returned to normal, he shrunk in size. Back to his normal self. Even the blood from his hand was gone with the form. The group gasped collectively, and Pete stepped over to Rainbow, kneeling in front of her. Slowly he reached his left arm out and ran his hand down her soft blue fur. He leaned forward and hugged her tightly, tears pouring out of his eyes. Silently he cried into her shoulder, and the mare couldn't help but start to cry too. Her wings wrapped around him fiercely. She didn't know what had happened to him but she could feel the change. Several she could even see. Scars lined his body, his hair was longer, and he was much more muscular than when she'd last seen him. How he had changed so much she didn't know, but he had, and now he needed something to bring him back.

“I love you,” he whispered, eyes shut, tears streaking onto the mare's back.

“I love you too.” It didn't feel like enough to her, but it was all she had.

Luna told the Elements and Pete to return to Ponyville. Their job was finished thanks to Pete's timely arrival. She then turned to Celestia and led her sister to a more private room. Where she would begin to detail the three years of darkness only she and Pete remembered. Celestia would come to the realization that she intentionally allowed the spell to affect her, even though she could no longer remember doing so because of its effects. They wondered together about where Pete could have obtained such a powerful artifact. The coin itself, collected by Luna, was depleted of all magic it held. Only trace amounts remained within as a reminder of what it was. Even the golden luster of the coin had faded.

Pete and Rainbow Dash went to their home, the others being promised to get most of the story once Pete was better. He appreciated things he hadn't felt in years. The soft touch of Rainbow's hooves on his side, the Spring breeze, and the warmth of the sun overhead. Stellar Glow was more than happy to see him, bounding up into his arms as soon as he walked in the door and bombarding the two with questions. Rainbow had stopped by to get her Element of Loyalty and said nothing about the man's location.

He sat them both down and began to recount his somber tale. Neither of them liked much of what he said, but they listened. The herd link between them made sure of one thing, they knew he wasn't lying. Pete told them of the Element's failure, of Eclipse's dark dome, the shadowy pony monsters, his trip up and down and all over Gryphos. The loss of his sword, and the arrival of the Aspect. He watched Stellar closely as he told her about what the Aspect meant, what he had become. She cried and hugged him tightly, and promised that she wouldn't let him become a monster.

“I know you have to, but... I won't let you go too far, I'll make sure of it!” She promised, a determined look undermined by her freely flowing tears.

He thanked her and held the small mare close. Scales fed on anger and dark emotions, Pete had to feed on these happy ones. He would find a balance that was beneficial to them both. It would be hard, but he promised once to live his life to its fullest. That meant he wouldn't hide from struggles, he wouldn't blame others for his actions. He was strong now, so he had to be strong emotionally too. Yin and yang coexisted, the balance of light and dark, good and evil. He would simply have to embody this ideology. Balance his hate and anger with love and kindness. He was sure there were other ways he could feed the Aspect's desire for primal emotions too.

At the time though he was tired. His story finished, Pete yawned loudly and leaned back against a wall, eyes shut. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and pushed him to get up and go to bed. It didn't take much convincing. Soon the three were all snuggled together on the extra large bed. Stella would have to get up in a few hours to do her patrol of Ponyville, but that didn't matter to her for a time. What mattered was that her herdmates were home, and they were safe. For the most part.

“Peeeeeeteeee!” The hissing voice broke his concentration. He couldn't cast a spell. Try as hard as he might his claws couldn't kill the shade of a pony. No matter how angry he got he wasn't strong enough. Another voice called his name behind him and he turned. There were two now. Three. Four. Five. Six. He shuddered as they all screamed his name. He roared and attack them but his claws did nothing, his magic refused to heed his summons. Once again he was weak, helpless. He fell over and stared in horror at the beasts.

A bright light pierced the sky and suddenly everything was gone. Not just the shadows but everything. Pete was floating in what looked like space. He swallowed and looked around. There were lights all around him, some closer than others, but other than that there was nothing.

“Ahem,” Luna cleared her throat, catching Pete's attention. “I am nothing, am I?”

“Luna? Where are we?” Pete looked around again, confused. “Last thing I remember was going to bed with Rainbow Dash and Stella.”

The Princess chuckled and smiled, “It was a dream.”

“Damn, that's... well, thanks for save. I guess nightmares are to be expected now and then.”

“Pete, that was much more than a simple nightmare.”

“How do you-. Never mind, princess of dreams and stuff. Got it.” Pete looked down at himself. He was in his Aspect form, which troubled him slightly.

“It seems you have truly adapted to that body,” Luna floated around him, “Even Cadance sometimes dreams she is a pegasus again.”

Pete rubbed his arm awkwardly. “Maybe I will too, in time.”

Luna nodded and sat on the nothing next to Pete. “I wanted to speak with you. In a place where we can have as much time as we want.”

“Okay. What's up?”

“My sister and I have discussed what it means for you to be what you are. Aspects are enemies of the alicorns after all.”

He nodded in agreement. Facts were fact. “I did save pretty much everyone though.”

She grinned, “Of course. And we did our research. There is no way for us to return you to normal.” She paused for a long time, watching the lights in the distance. “I am sorry, Pete.”

“Do I get to say good bye?”

“Whatever for?”

Pete looked at the princess sharply, “Because you're about to say you have to petrify me like Discord to make sure I don't destroy the world?”

“Why in Tartarus would we do that? The Aspects hated us because they were forged to hate us. My sister and I decided to let you continue living in Ponyville, and keep you under watch. Stellar Glow is going to be sending me reports, keeping an eye on you, as Twilight will be to my sister.” Luna shook her head. “We did what we had to to Discord, as my sister did to me. If either of us had been reasonable or in control she wouldn't have.”

“So I get to stay like this? Live free?” Pete was more than stunned. He was obviously waiting for a catch.

“Well,” he nodded as Luna began, “You are a free citizen, but you will be expected to respond to the same threats as the Elements. Criminals, other insanely powerful foes, we expect you to arrive to help out.”

“That's it?” Luna nodded in response. “I was going to do that anyway. This thing inside of me needs fed after all. That means I have to get violent some times.”

“Well, hopefully not too violent.”

Pete smiled reassuringly which he was sure looked odd in his scaly form.

“There is one other thing,” Luna added, looking once more into the distance. “You and I are the only ones that remember what happened.”

“Yeah, I noticed. What does that mean?”

“That spell was incredibly powerful, something even my sister and I would struggle with in our current forms.”

“In your physical forms,” Pete corrected, knowing their secret.

Luna looked at him with surprise, “Yes. I suppose I should not be surprised you know. Having merged with an Aspect. No,” she corrected herself this time, “having become one.”

“You're gods, there is no ancient ancestory line, it's just you two reincarnating over and over again. Different forms and relationships, same ponies in the end.”

“In spite of both of those facts, those three years were rough on us both, Pete.”

“No kidding. I can't imagine what you went through.”

Masking a blush she looked at him, “Perhaps I should tell you. And you can tell me what all happened to you.”

“Sounds like those would be two very long stories.”

Luna giggled, “Well, then maybe you should go first. You are the writer after all.”

Pete sighed and looked up, seeing nothing but more star like lights. “What's the point though? It happened but it didn't. It's all over.”

“Perhaps it would be best to think of it as,” Luna paused as the space around them changed into a living room Pete was very familiar with. His old apartment. “Counseling. What I saved you from was a night terror, and my own rest is equally plagued. Bad things leave scars on minds as well as flesh, Pete. Like the wounds that harm flesh, ignoring the damage to the mind can cause it to heal wrong.”

Pete thought about it for a while. Luna had a point. What they had been through was traumatic, and now that they were the only ones that remembered it. Even sympathy from their loved ones wouldn't be the same. They could understand superficially, but they hadn't been there. Time was on a different course. They would live to be happy and flourish without ever realizing the horrors of what had almost come to pass. With that in mind, Pete began his story. All the way back to when he first met the Aspect, and embarked with Rainbow Dash to the northern border. A story that was sure to take many nights to tell.

Author's Note

One