The Tales of Oathbound, The Mountain Hermit

Chapters

Prologue: The Pony From The Mountain Part 2
Tones Of Home
Love Is Like A Flower
A Ponyville Wedding
Reminiscing
The Breaking of the Oath
The Cutie Mark Crusade
Friendship Is Healing
[Mature - Sex] Love Her Tender, Love Her True
Of Light and Dark
[Mature - Gore] Epilogue: The Ultimate Sacrifice
[ALTERNATE ENDING] The Dawn of A New Day
Prologue: The Pony From The Mountain Part 1

Prologue: The Pony From The Mountain Part 2

While Twilight and Spike were on their way to meet the princess, Fluttershy was helping out a couple of squirrels move to their new home on the edge of the Everfree Forest. She wasn't really convinced of their security when they originally informed her of their plans, so she tried to help out in making it easy for them to hide in case there were any emergencies. No matter how she tried to convince them to go somewhere more hospitable than the edge of the most dangerous forest in Ponyville, they wouldn't budge.

"Here we are, Mr. & Mrs. Squirreliee. I hope you like it..."

And with that, the pair of squirrels moved forward a bit, eyeing their new home. One of them noticed a big pile of nuts on the base of one of the trees, which it dove into with wild abandon.

"Oh yes, I thought you would need those. I'm glad you like them."

A blush appeared on Fluttershy's face as the squirrel's climbed up to her shoulders and gave her a hug.

"I know, I'll miss you too. But don't worry, I'll try to come and see you as much as I can!"

As she started to go back towards her cottage near the edge of Ponyville, she eyed the skies with a hint of a smile on her face. Soon enough it faded as she noticed a black spot in the sky. A small cloud was slowly coming into view, a crack of thunder burning its image into her retina. Wasn't Rainbow Dash supposed to keep those kinds of clouds away? It was not the time for a storm, not for a long while! Fluttershy decided that she should seek out Rainbow and ask her to move that cloud away. She took to flight, eyeing around the village for any traces of the rainbow-maned pony. Soon enough she was distracted by the sound of multiple instruments being sounded at the same time. Investigating the source of the sound, she was scared by the sudden appearance of Pinkie Pie, who was hobbling around with a bunch of instruments strapped on to her. The pink pony looked at Fluttershy, who was hiding behind a barrel.

"Oh hey Fluttershy! Glad you could come and hear my musical! How'd you like it?" A little melody soon came out from the harmonica in Pinkie Pie's mouth.

"It was... beautiful." Fluttershy said, a bit scared to voice her opinion for the fear of upsetting Pinkie.

"YES! I knew my musical would go off the charts! You should come to the party I'm holding tonight! I think you would rock the dance floor!"

A bashful smile drew its way across Fluttershy's face, before she quickly told the pink musician that she likely won't be there, before quickly disappearing under the excuse of being late. Which was true enough after all, she still had to find Rainbow Dash.

While Fluttershy was still looking for Rainbow, Spike and Twilight got to the castle grounds where Shining Armor was doing a patrol. The stallion looked at the rapidly approaching purple unicorn and gave her a wave. As Twilight approached, she was not considering that she might bump into her brother, only that they had to reach the throne room with upmost haste. As Shining Armor asked what brings the pair to Canterlot, they crashed into him as the stallion did not try to move out of their way.

"Oww... Hey, Twilie, what gives?"

"Sorry, brother, no time to talk! Come on Spike!"

As the pair disappeared into the interior of the castle, Shining Armor scratched his head.

"What is so important that she can't even stop and say hello?"

Reaching the throne room, Twilight saw the princess on her throne, waiting for them to arrive. As they came before Princess Celestia, they bowed and voiced their greetings. Soon enough Twilight and Spike were told to stand up and tell all about what happened in Ponyville. When Twilight finished, the princess looked out of the window with a mix of worry and anticipation. As the princess stared out of the window, the pair thought that she must be thinking about how to best combat this threat. What the princess was about to say would surprise them harder than anything the day had brought, which was already quite something.

"I know this pony that you speak of. He was one of my top lieutenants. However, unfortunate circumstances made him go to live a life of self-imposed exile, though I pleaded him to stay. He felt what happened was his fault. But before he left, he told me that when the throne is in danger and I would need help, he would come and free Equestria from whatever great evil it was that would threaten the balance."

Descending from the throne, she motioned for Twilight and Spike to follow her.

"You are correct, he is very powerful. Many tried to cause havoc in the past to upset the balance of power in Equestria, but he dealt with them all. Indeed, he was also the captain of the guard before his exile - the predecessor of Shining Armor. And... He was also my friend."

Celestia used the word "was" a bit weakly. Twilight could understand that. Even after all this time she was sure that the sight of the princess would stir memories of good times in her friend's head. The thought of having to fight an old friend is a scary thought.

Reaching the balcony where the royal carriage was waiting, the princess motioned for the baby dragon and the unicorn to enter.

"We will reach Ponyville sooner this way. My sister will deal with things here in Canterlot while we deal with this. Won't you, Luna?" The princess said, looking at the deep blue alicorn who appeared so quietly as if to have been there all the time.

"I will, sister. Please be safe."

And with that, the carriage took off, rapidly receding into the distance in the direction of Ponyville. It was time for Luna to raise the moon as well. The darkness slowly outpaced the carriage.

"Princess, if I may..." Twilight said, looking at her teacher.

"Who is he?"

Looking at Twilight, Celestia said: "He calls himself Oathbound. When I first met him, he was a fearful earth pony who was completely lost in the world. I took pity on him and took him under my wing, before you."

Back in Ponyville, Rainbow Dash was going through the clouds, trying to top her last record. She had arranged the clouds in such a manner that trying to fly through them would require extreme flexibility to fly through at such high speeds. The timer on her neck was swaying in the wind as she completed each part of her home-made course with precision and speed.

The timer rang as she came to the end. She had beaten her record by less than a second!

"Alright, enough stretching. Time to get serious!"

Zooming across the sky, she completed each part of her course so fast that she reckoned herself to be faster than lightning.

On the last part of her obstacle course however, she flew straight into Fluttershy.

As the two ponies finally cleared away the stars flying around their heads, Rainbow Dash looked at Fluttershy.

"What the hay, Fluttershy? That could have gotten my wing broken!"

"I'm sorry Rainbow Dash, please forgive me. I was looking for you and I didn't see you since you were so fast and-"

"Heh, yea I know I'm fast. Anyway, why were you looking for me?"

Pointing at the black cloud in the distance, Rainbow Dash had to squint to see it.

"Oh. Seems like I missed a cloud while I was sweeping them away. I'll get right to it!" And with that, the rainbow-maned pony disappeared in a streak of colors, heading towards the cloud.

A few minutes later she came back.

"Fluttershy, I saw the royal carriage! Princess Celestia is coming to Ponyville!"

"Oh my!"

"I know right!? Come on, we gotta get prepared!"

By the time the carriage reached the centre of town, everypony was assembled. As Twilight explained the situation to the townsfolk, they began preparations. Soon enough the town was like a fortress, pegasi keeping an eye on the sky while unicorn magic was used to illuminate the area and Twilight also created an invisible forcefield that only ponies of her choise could pass.

Hours went by as the town waited quietly, as if frozen in place by some mysterious circumstances. After the fourth hour, even Princess Celestia was asking for patrols to slow down a bit as to not wear them down.

Eventually the princess gave a dissatisfied sigh and started towards her carriage.

"Perhaps you can take care of things while I am gone, Twilight. The ponies of Canterlot would not want the sun to be raised without me around."

Suddenly, out of the sky, a startled Derpy Hooves appeared, coming towards the princess at top speed.

"Princess, wait!" Even as those words left the pegasus' lips, she came crashing down, hitting the royal carriage and a huge billow of smoke to arise. As it cleared, the carriage was wrecked into so many parts it would have been hard to see that it was once a royal carriage meant for the transportation of the Princess.

In the centre of it all was Derpy, who looked at the princess with a bad poker face, her eyes being ever part of her signature look.

"Eheh... Sorry, Princess."

"It's okay, Derpy. Now, you had something to tell me?"

With that, the pony sobered up instantly and lifted off to a height a couple of feet above the ground.

"Oh yea! I saw a stranger coming this way! He looked at me as soon as I came close to him..."

"Was there anything odd about this pony?"

"Well, nothing about HIM in particular... But he was flanked by 2 blue... things..."

Twilight raised an eyebrow at that. Blue things was not really a great clue to make any plans on.

"I didn't get close enough to see what they were. Once he looked at me, I flew straight over here. It was like he was staring into my soul..." Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes at the flying part. More like crashed, she thought in her head.

With that, the Princess looked at the nearby hills, a mix of worry and anticipation on her regal features. Everypony's gaze followed.

More waiting.

Then, one of the magical lights created by the unicorns of the town flashed.

"I see him!" Rarity said, a distasteful look on her face. "And I sure wish I hadn't! Those clothes! Gold isn't in season!"

The stallion came into view. A gray pony with a mane of golden yellow mingling with crimson red. His tail was tied up in a rope-ish manner. A cloak of gold covered most of his features, but an amulet could be clearly seen, a big sapphire in the center of the jewelry. It seemed to glow with a light of its own. It took Twilight a moment to realize that it allowed the pony to use magic, despite not being a unicorn!

The 2 blue things soon proved to be far more dangerous than Derpy had made everypony think. They were axes, formed from magical energy, coruscating with barely contained power. The pony fixed his steel gaze on the residents, all whom flinched under his stare. All except the Mane 6 and the Princess. As they stepped forward, Oathbound raised his voice, seemingly reaching out clearly into everypony's ear, despite the distance.

"Creatures of darkness, stand back. I will not show you any mercy otherwise."

Twilight stepped forward a bit more and answered: "Lay down your weapons! We do not wish to fight! Surely there must be a way for a peaceful solution!"

"And what do you think for a servant of Princess Celestia to answer to that, demon!? I will not take orders from one of your kind!"

"An' who do you think you are, callin' Twilight a demon?" Applejack said, hefting a rock and bucking it in Oathbound's direction. The rock flied straight and true towards the newcomer, seeming to be so fast as to not give him any chance to react. But at the last second one of his axes levitated forward and slashed. The rock got split in two, the pieces missing the stallion by inches.

"Yea, what makes you think you can come to OUR town and insult MY friends?" Rainbow Dash said, flying up to her friends side, unimpressed by the feat the stallion just managed.

One at a time the members of the Mane 6 stepped up, each ready for a fight. Well, all except Fluttershy, who had to be encouraged to step up.

"This is the last line of defence? Then so shall it be!" Oathbound said, starting forward. He would soon be in for a surprise. The forcefield could hold a horde of rampaging buffalos at bay for hours. At the edge of the forcefield, Oathbound stopped.

"No forcefield like this shall stop my progress." With that, the axes were lifted above his head before coming down in a cross-pattern, causing the field to collapse. The townsfolk gasped.

It was at this time the Princess stepped forward.

"Stop this violent rampage right now, Oathbound. You came here to fulfill your promise, that you have done. Now lay down your arms!"

Oathbound looked at the alicorn. At first his face welled with happiness, then a stab of guilt. Finally hatred.

"A phantasm to remind me of my failure. A monument to my sins. A lie to make me flinch. It WILL NOT STOP ME!" And with that, he charged towards the alicorn, faster than anypony thought. Rainbow Dash tried to close the distance, but the amulet-wielding pony shouldered her aside. Withing a second he was within striking distance. A slash that should have cleaved the princess in two went out, but it did not connect. A shield of pure golden light appeared around the alicorn, spreading light around.

"If it is proof you need, then proof you shall have!" The princess bellowed in her Royal Canterlot voice before she mustered her magic, everypony looking at her horn which lit up with it's golden glow. What was the princess doing?

Eventually a distant light could be seen, rising from the horizon. The sun was being raised.

All looked upon the princess and the sun, awe in their faces. But none were more surprised than Oathbound, who looked at the princess mouth completely agape.

As the sun settled itself above Ponyville, the princess ceased using her magic as she lowered herself back to the ground. As she did so, the axes Oathbound used began to dissipate, quickly leaving behind nothing more than little wisps of magic, their source of power cut off. Soon even these faded into nothingness.

Oathbound lowered his head and kneeled before the princess, guilt visible on his face.

"My lady. I should have known..."

"It has been far too long, old friend." The alicorn said as she raised his chin so his eyes would meet hers.

"...Far too long." The sarcasm was so clear it was a surprise the princess paid no attention to the response.

A good hour went on as the princess and Twilight explained what happened here on their side. Eventually Oathbound nodded and looked in the direction of Canterlot.

"So it was a mistake..." Quickly turning his gaze away, he looked once more at the princess.

"My lady, I must ask for your forgiveness. I had no idea. I thought that by the time I would get here the darkness that comes from the Everfree Forest would have already taken the town."

"You know that I already have forgiven you, Oathbound." The princess answered simply.

Turning away from the townsfolk who had grouped up behind the princess, Oathbound went forward a few steps before speaking to the whole town.

"I apologize for the worry and fear I have caused. I shall trouble you no more. Farewell, Ponyvilleans."

As he started to walk forward, he was suddenly stopped by the princess' command.

"Wait, Oathbound.' Looking back at the princess, the stallion raised an eyebrow.

"There is a task for you that I would hope for you to complete. One that requires your expertise."

"Princess, I am not worthy of serving you, not after what happened all those years ago."

"Will you disobey my direct order then? Will you once again leave me when I am to give you a task of great importance?" Looking at the ground for a few seconds, Oathbound turned around and came back to stand in front of the princess. The Mane 6 also looked, interest in their faces.

"You have lived your self-imposed exile for far too long, Oathbound. It is time you returned to your own kind. You have much power and you still feel like you're responsible for what happened in the past. You might not think it to be so, but your face shows that you want to serve me once more. So I ask of you, my former Captain of the Guard, this: Will you keep these ponies safe for me?"

Many ponies looked at each other, confused at what they heard. It was as if the princess was asking Oathbound to protect them.

"My lady? I cannot do such a thing! If it were not for your intervention, these ponies would be dead!"

"Yet you know how much these ponies mean to me. This is why I ask this from you: Will you serve your princess once again as the Protector of Ponyville?"

A gasp went throughout the crowd. The princess was going to make this pony responsible of their safety!

"Princess, what the hay ar' ya thinkin!? Ah ain't lettin him protect a straw of hay, least of all the whole town!" Even as those words left Applejack's lips, Oathbound looked at the princess, thinking. He had no wish to abandon the princess once again. He knew, however, that he would never be able to do this duty in a satisfactory manner. But... he had to try.

"It is with a heavy heart that I accept your task, Princess Celestia. I just hope I can prove myself worthy..."

With that, the princess looked at Twilight Sparkle.

"Twilight, I need to go back to Canterlot, make Oathbound feel himself at home. And remember, he is not your enemy."

And so the princess took off, her bodyguard following her on swift wings.

The Mane 6 all looked at the gray stallion. He watched the princess leave before turning his gaze towards the townfolk.

"I do not like this as much as anypony. But the princess gave me this task and I shall not disrespect her wishes. I understand that none of you can trust me. But at least allow me to do my duty." Looking at Twilight, Oathbound added:

"I hope that we can start over, from a clean slate this time..."

WIth that, Oathbound walked in the direction of the Everfree Forest. None had the guts to say where he was going. They either reckoned that he knew where he was headed, or they thought that he didn't care.

Eventually, Fluttershy decided to separate from her friends. She had to make sure that Oathbound did not accidentally destroy Mr. & Mrs. Squirreliee's new home.

In the forest, trudging through the foliage far off the beaten path, Oathbound eventually came to sit down on a rotten log.

Tears started to fall down his eyes as he looked at his hooves.

What was the princess thinking, he thought.

"I failed her, yet she still wants me to be around? Why does she still think me worthy?"

Looking at his surroundings, the silence settled in, as if the forest would have realized who had just entered.

Several animals appeared and stared at the pony, while a pegasus snuck in silently so the earth pony wouldn't spot her.

Oathbound's voice began to spew words of it's own accord.

["Oh Princess Celestia, you know I failed you long ago,

And yet still you wish for me to stay.

Oh Princess Celestia, I wasn't there in your time of need,

And yet still you tell me that it's all okay.

Please tell me, Celestia, what justifies my actions then?

The past, it still keeps haunting me.

I failed her,

Yet serve her,

It's confusing to me right now, my reeling mind still forces me to see!

My failure!

Forever!

I'll always be to blame.

I can't blame,

None other,

Than me who should be chained!

The silent night! The darkened hall!

But it's my fault he got do his deed at all!

I tried my best! Was not the one!

You wished me to stay with you but I was long gone!

Forgive me, Celestia! For I cannot forgive myself, lest your trust in me falter to the core!

Give me one more chance and I won't fail - no, nevermore! Or else may my failure be my downfall."

Oath's axe appeared by his side and floated in front of him. He looked upon himself from the reflection, his red and gold mane contrasting his gray coat. He could see the past failures laughing in contempt at him, like dark images of himself. His face turned into a sneer as he kept staring at it before he dismissed the axe.

"My failure.

Forever.

I shall learn from my past.

If I fail,

My soul will,

To Tartarus be cast!

May the sun grant me strength...

To serve the princess again...

Or make sure my soul goes to TARTARUUUUUUUUS!"](http://youtu.be/scq5vCyxbdE?t=33s)

The stallion let the silence settle in once more as his singing had scattered the animals.

Oathbound gave a sigh and stood up, seeking to go back to town. The other pony showed herself, a yellow-skinned pegasus with a pink mane.

"Umm... I'm sorry if we treated you a bit roughly."

Looking at the pony, who was a bit startled by the attention the stallion showed towards her, he answered with defeat in his tone of voice:

"You really think that treatment was something I shouldn't have recieved? I deserve no less."

"I think you are being a bit too harsh on yourself. Let your past stay in the past." The mare looked back in the direction of the town. "It's something my friends taught me."

The stallion closed his eyes in thought. "She truly is sorry... And she's correct. But I can't forgive myself. Still, might as well just try."

"You have some great friends then. Something that I do not deserve myself." But then Oathbound looked at Fluttershy, realization in his eyes.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself in the midst of this melodrama. I apologize. My name is Oathbound, servant to the throne of Canterlot." He did a courtly bow as he introduced himself. Fluttershy did her best to imitate it, but it was not as easy as she thought.

"My name is Fluttershy." She smiled at Oathbound while adding: "Nice too meet you."

"Same to you. Well... I reckon I have wallowed in my own self-pity for long enough. I think it is time for me to go and repair some of the mental damage I have caused." Starting towards the town, Oathbound looked at Fluttershy, a bit expressionlessly. "Thank you. You have shown me that the princess was indeed correct."

"What... do you mean?" Smiling, Oathbound looked at the mare, who felt a bit more relaxed knowing that there was a kind pony beneath the rough exterior.

"That the power of kindness will never lose it's grip in the hearts of those seeking it."

Reaching the town, Twilight and her friends came to greet Fluttershy, Oathbound following behind.

"Oh Fluttershy, thank Celestia you are alright!" Applejack eyed Oathbound while the others talked to Fluttershy, suspicion in her face clear as the sun in the sky. Noticing this, Oathbound fixed his eyes on her.

"I am not here to harm anypony. Princess Celestia saw to that. And... Miss Fluttershy also helped in that regard."

"Well, somethin's changed 'bout ya, fer Fluttershy to trust ya. Just keep yer hooves clean and we'll all be Mister Tinker, a'ight?"

"I will do my best, miss...?"

"Name's Applejack. Pleasure to meet ya!" She said, shaking hooves with Oathbound.

"Pleasure?" The stallion said, confused.

"Ah trust mah friends and they ain't the kind to hang around the wrong kinds of friends, if ya know what ah mean. If yer fine with them, yer fine with me." Applejack replied.

Introductions went by quickly enough, with the seven ponies deciding to call Oathbound simply by the name Oath.

Soon enough life went to normal. Showing his compassion and dedication to doing his job right while keeping everypony safe, he quickly earned their respect. The princess soon recieved news of his successful adjusting to town life.

Tones Of Home

Oathbound was doing his regular daily patrol along the town's perimeter, enjoying the local chatter and the occasional conversation with passing ponies. However, many had questioned his decision to stay outside during the night instead of seeking shelter.

In fact, he had wondered the same himself, but he could not bring himself to ask anypony to help him get a permanent residence. He was not sure why. Perhaps it had something to do with his pride. Perhaps he was not sure if any of them could help, which he found ridiculous as there were plenty of ponies who could be of much, much help. Perhaps he was just scared of change. Up until now he had always taken to sleeping beneath trees during the night, and sometimes not even sleeping.

This day, however, he felt that something had to be done. How could he protect the town and its inhabitants if he was sleepy, bedridden and sick with a cold?

Applejack was the most dependable pony in town and Oath had learned from her friends about her skills when it came to doing hard work. She would be his first port of call.

At the Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack was hauling a bunch of crates with her to prepare for the Applebucking Season. She had a daunting task ahead of her, many many acres to be bucked and not much time to do it in. Gladly she had her family helping out, with the exception of Granny Smith. Still, she could use a few extra hooves.

"What'choo think, should we ask somepony fer 'elp, Big Mac?"

"Eeyup."

"Well shucks, nopony Ah know could come today. Twilight is in Canterlot fer a meetin' with the princess, Pinkie Pie is in Manehattan on her musical tour, Rarity is at the spa with Fluttershy and Ah can't find Rainbow Dash anywhere..."

Oathbound heard the conversation and came over to the pair as they looked at the task ahead of them.

"Perhaps I could help?"

"Oh, howdy there Oath. We sure could use the 'elp."

"Well, give me some trees to buck and I will go buck then. I may not be an expert when it comes to kicking trees but if you need help then help you shall have."

Using his magic Oath grabbed a few containers for him to buck the apples into and nodded at the pair while grinning slightly at his bad joke. Applejack gave a smile. Looks like they could do it after all.

After a couple of hours the trio decided to take a break. Apple Bloom had to leave after the first hour because she remembered her meeting with the Cutie Mark Crusaders. That did not stop the rest from working that much harder though.

"You make some very good apple cider here, Applejack." Oathbound said, taking a swig from the jug she had given him. "I have never had cider this good! All this hard work has to be worth it."

"Eeyup."

"Ah ain't doing it on mah own. Ah got you to help me out here, don't Ah? And my big brother's here too."

Finishing their break, the ponies decided to up the pace. Whoever collected the most apples in 1 hour wins a jug of cider.

Applejack won by a couple of apples, Oathbound and Big Macintosh coming close to eachother, but Oath losing by just an apple. Greedily gulping down the cider, AJ gave a smirk to the two who watched as the golden liquid left the jug and fell through the air into her mouth.

"Looks like Ah win!" She started laughing, to which the stallions both joined in eventually.

"Anyway, looks like we're done for today. Thanks for the 'elp, Oath. Couldn't have done it without ya!"

"Actually, there was a reason I came here apart from helping out."

Explaining his dilemma, Applejack listened interestingly.

"A house? Well Ah'll be, finally laying down, eh? 'Course Ah'll 'elp!"

Smiling to himself, Oath was thinking that perhaps settling down won't be so bad after all.

"But where 'r you gonna have it built?"

"I have a location in mind. It's on the west side of Ponyville, a short walk from Fluttershy's cottage."

"Well just say the word and we'll be there! Right, Big Mac?"

"Eeyup."

"I still need to get the building materials..." Oath rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Dont'cha worry 'bout that! We got plenty of stuff here!"

"Heh, guess that settles it then."

A big smile was visible on Oathbounds face as he left the farm, knowing that he was coming along at a good pace. Perhaps he could ask for Fluttershy and her animal friends to help out as well. Applejack said that she was at the spa with Rarity, didn't she?

Meanwhile, at the spa, Aloe and Lotus Blossom were catering to their regular customers, Fluttershy and Rarity. As usual, Rarity had taken every possible treatment the spa had to offer, her face masked and eyes covered by two cucumber slices.

Fluttershy, conversely, had minimal services, a few green specks on her cheeks to at least make their hosts feel somewhat useful. They enjoyed the chatter while they underwent the service, talking about whatever popped up on their minds, with Rarity usually starting the conversations.

When they emerged from the spa and entered the reception area, they found Oathbound reading a magazine.

"My oh my! What a surprise to see you in here, Oath!" Rarity said.

"Oh, hello Rarity. Fluttershy." Oath said, nodding to each of the two before rising.

"I was actually waiting for you two. Wouldn't do to interrupt you in the middle of your appointed "meeting", now would it?"

"Oh. Well in that case, how can we help?"

"I have decided to finally settle in properly and have a house built. I was wondering if your animal friends could help me and Applejack, Fluttershy."

"It's not up to me, you would have to ask them."

"Now hold on a minute! A house? And who will you ask for decorations? Who will you get the window curtains from? I do not want to see a fashion nightmare in the town! You simply MUST let me help you!" Rarity said, to which Oath rolled his eyes.

"Well, if you insist. I guess it would not hurt to have the house look good."

"Good!? I will make it so fabulous you do not want to leave that house EVER AGAIN!" Fluttershy was a bit startled by the manner in which Rarity had replied to Oathbound. Then again, she was not that surprised. Rarity did take fashion very VERY seriously.

"I do not think you need to go that far. But I will not stop you from trying. But now I have other things to take care of."

"Are you going to go see the animals? If you are, then you shouldn't right now. Even I can't get anything more out of them right now other than that they want to be left in peace. They said they would let me know by tomorrow... I hope it is not something dangerous..." Surprised by this, Oath raised an eyebrow as Fluttershy finished her sentence before looking at the door.

"In that case I have some time to spend. Only, I have not had any thought as to what I could do for the rest of the day.'

'I believe I have a solution to that. In half an hour I am boarding the train to Canterlot to see Sapphire Shores' new collection on her tour. I have an extra ticket."

"You sure you want to give away your extra ticket? I thought you were bringing Opal along." Fluttershy said.

"Oh Opal will be fine. Spike can take care of her, he'll do anything for me. Such a gentledrake, he is."

"Well, if you are alright with it..."

Reaching Canterlot, Rarity and Oathbound parted ways as they each went to do what they wanted. It had truly been a long time since Oath had last come to Canterlot. In fact, last time he was here was when...

A stab of guilt passed through his body as the memory of the past came forward. Quickly pushing it aside, Oath decided to take his mind off things by taking a tour. Many things had changed since his last time here. Grabbing his bags, some of them were loaned from Rarity, Oath started towards the city. He had not really wanted to have extra baggage, but Rarity was horrified by the mere single bag that contained his packed lunch. Oath did try to convince the purple-maned mare that he needed no more than what he had, but she was as uncaring about his opinion as a stone wall. Well, at least he will be able to let her mind be at ease.

Arriving at the main square, he looked at the buildings. Most of the stonework was still the same, some new buildings here and there but otherwise it was the same old Canterlot he had protected back then. Strangely there were not that many ponies around. Usually the main square was so full of ponies even the Princess would have had a hard time getting around.

However, he heard some of the locals chatter to themselves, something about an important pony being up to the western side of the city. Deciding to take a look, Oath immediately regretted his decision as he saw a big parade of ponies all surrounding the Princess who was walking alongside Twilight Sparkle. It seems like the unicorn's scheduled meeting with the princess was not so private anymore. But Twilight was the last thing on Oathbound's mind. There was no way of knowing how the princess would react to the arrival of the Protector of Ponyville in her city. Fearing that the princess would think him neglecting his duty, Oath quickly entered a small unassuming shop with a sign of a trombone and a drum, both crossed by drumsticks. A music store.

Quickly closing the door behind him, Oath took a deep breath before taking looking around the shop. It was old, that much was certain. A green unicorn was lifting instruments onto the shelves. After lifting a guitar to it's stand, the shopkeep turned around and showed how old he actually was. He was one of the oldest ponies Oath had ever seen.

"Can Ah help ye?" The old one said, a clear resemblance to Applejack's accent.

"Just browsing. I'll let you know if I find anything interesting."

Nodding, the unicorn returned to his instruments. A great drum stood out from the rest of the big pile of musical devices, which he tried to lift with his magic. It was clear, even though he was facing away from Oath, that he was struggling. Deciding to not let the pony overextend himself, Oath lifted the drum with his own magic, his amulet glowing in a light blue color as his magic enveloped the drum, raising the instrument to the highest shelf.

"Well Ah'll be... Mighty kind of ya to 'elp out an old unicorn like me. Ah'm in your debt, young 'un."

"It's alright. I like helping out those that have troubles."

"Tell ya what. Pick anythin' here in mah store, ya can have it fer free!"

"I couldn't really. You need the bits, don't you?"

"Ah insist! Come on now, pick somethin'. Anythin'!"

"Well, if you wish..."

Deciding not to hurt the old one's feelings by not picking anything, Oath started looking through the instruments in the shop. There were plenty of guitars that appealed to him. He was not that good when it came to music but he reckoned that with time and practice he could improve. One of the guitars stood out. Unlike the rest of the guitars, this one was painted all over, the maple covered by silver and yellow. Something about the guitar made Oath feel at ease. It was like he could have calmed a raging storm with a single pluck of this guitar's strings.

Picking it up and bringing it for the unicorn to look at, the shopkeep smiled.

"A fine 'tar ya picked there. 'nfact, Ah got it from this one peddler who paid a visit to mah shop once. A fine young 'un, not too much unlike yourself, actually. Anyway, he gave me that old thin' and told me 'bout it's history. That filly called it a "unitar". Don't ask me, he gave it to me. Said somethin' 'bout magic and powerful emotions. Ah never really believed that hogwash, it sounds the same like all the others. Go on now, Ah told ya can pick anythin' ya want."

"I am still prepared to pay a good sum of bits for this. I wouldn't want to drive you out of business."

"Ah won't take yer money for this thin' and that's final." The unicorn said, a bit upset. He was not used to ponies disagreeing with him, Oath supposed.

"Alright then. I apologize if I offended you. Farewell."

Leaving the store with the mysterious "unitar" in one of the bags that Rarity borrowed, Oath looked around to see that the princess and her admirers were long gone.

"Far too much excitement for one day." A chuckle came out from Oath's mouth. Compared to what he had experienced in the past, this should have been a breeze. Guess it comes with the territory.

Looking at the clock tower, he was horrified.

"Oh no, I'm gonna miss the train!"

Rarity was in the train, waiting for the engines to start so she could get back to Ponyville and start working on some new clothes inspired by Sapphire Shores' newest attire. The music was not that good, but Rarity never really understood music enough to understand by some ponies went so far as to look absolutely hideous in an effort to get more ponies to listen to their music. But the Pony of Pop looked absolutely bedazzling, an exception that proves the rule. Looking outside the window, Rarity saw a bunch of ponies all waiting in line to get their tickets verified before they could get on board. She was surprised to see Oath in the distance, running towards the conductor who was busy with the last few ponies. Chuckling at the thought of what could happen, Rarity suddenly sobered up as she remembered her insisted request that Oathbound should loan some of her bags. If he would miss the train, those bags could stay in Canterlot for a long time. Thankfully Oath reached the train on time, entering the same cabin Rarity had taken.

"Goodness, you really should have managed your time more carefully, Oath."

Panting as he tried to catch his breath, Oath just nodded before sitting down opposite of Rarity.

"My... heart... feels like... it's gonna... explode..."

"Deep breaths, darling. Deep breaths."

Following the unicorn's advice, he forced himself to breathe normally. Eventually his heart beat at a more normal rate. He had run across half the city to get to the train on time. Laying his head back, Oath just wanted to get out of Canterlot.

"I assume you had an exciting trip, Oath? I would see no reason for you to be so out of breath otherwise."

"Far more exciting than I anticipated."

They both started laughing, but they suddenly stopped as they were jerked by the sudden motion of the train. Their laughter had made sure they did not hear the whistle of the train's departure.

"Ahem... Anywho, I hope you took full advantage of the bags I loaned?"

"Not really. I found a guitar in one of the stores I visited, but other than that, I did not really get much."

Rolling her eyes, Rarity used her magic to see which bags were empty and then hovered them over to her side, placing them below her seat.

"Sorry for that."

"It's quite alright, I shouldn't have given you so many anyways. I need to come back here soon so I'll need these bags."

The rest of the trip was done in awkward silence. For all her gossiping in the spa with Fluttershy, Rarity was not prepared for any lengthy conversation with Oath, even though she was helping him out with the decorations for his house.

By the time they reached Ponyville, it was late in the evening. Wishing Rarity a good night before parting ways with her, Oath went towards a familiar place he had taken a liking to. The place where was planning to build his house. A small plain with a plain dirt road leading towards the town, close to the edge of the forest that had gained such a fell reputation. A great oak was dotting a spot on the area, which Oath had slept under many times. Laying down and looking at the stars, he eventually eyed his unitar. It did not seem that special now. But now he did not really care if it was a special instrument or not. Right now, he needed some shut-eye.

Morning came and it took Oath a bit to adjust to the light when he got out from under the oak. Stretching a bit, he let out a huge yawn. The clear morning air was refreshing. One of the good sides of sleeping outside.

That was about to change today, however. Today he would ask for Fluttershy's animal friends to help out with the house construction. He did not have any grandiose plans, a simple cottage would do. First off, however, he had a duty to perform. Taking a deep breath, he started towards the town to start his patrol.

In the town a bunch of ponies had cluttered up, talking to eachother in whispers. When they saw Oath, they started whistling and looked up at the sky.

"Strange..." Oath thought. Usually ponies either ignored him altogether or came over to speak with him. Perhaps Twilight could shed some light on this. Apparently she had come back to Ponyville via the same train as Oath and Rarity did.

Knocking on the door, he waited for the door to open. Nothing. Perhaps Twilight was still asleep? Knocking again, Oath waited. Still nothing. Must still be asleep.

Deciding not to disturb her any longer, he left the library's premises. While going through the town, his stomach started rumbling. Laughing to himself, he went towards Sugarcube Corner. A cupcake could help him stave off the hunger until he got some proper grub. He was scared half-dead by the surprise Pinkie Pie threw.

"Pinkie Pie! You might want to give me a headsup before you scare me to death!"

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you! I just thought I would throw a party for you since you are gonna finally settle down! WOHOO!"

"Wait what? You know about it?"

"Of course I do, silly! All the town knows!"

With that, he looked back into the town through the door, only to find the whole population of Ponyville there.

A facehoof was in order.

"Well, I suppose it would not hurt for everypony to know where I live now."

"Everypony wanted to help out so they wanted me to tell you that if you need help, just say the word!"

Looking back at the townsfolk, Oath was surprised. He never expected the town to care this much about him.

"Really? You would do that for me?"

The crowd cheered. A single tear found its way on to Oath's face.

"Thank you everypony. I am forever in your debt."

Applejack appeared from the right side of the crowd and spoke:

"We're just glad to 'elp out a friend! So what say, y'all? Shall we give Oathbound here the best house ever!?"

The crowd cheered once more, far more enthusiatically than before.

"Then let's get to it, everypony! Oath, if you would show where the house is gonna be built..."

And so the building started. Despite the inexperience of most of the ponies, the first wall was raised in under 3 hours. Second and third were up faster than anypony thought possible. A house done in a single day would be a great achievement indeed.

Sadly it was not to be. The roof proved to be a lot harder than the walls themselves. By the time it was dark, most of the ponies decided to retire for the night. Oath was glad for the help, the next day he might even have a proper house. Certain ponies, however had decided to camp out in front of the house for the night. Oath liked the idea. Infact, it gave him a chance to try his unitar. A couple of random notes were struck out.

Knowing how inexperienced he was, he still tried to put on as good music as he could. Quickly the patience of Applejack, Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and the Cutie Mark Crusaders melted away. It wasn't for the lack of trying, just that they could not listen to his bad music for a second longer.

"Not to insult yer skills with that 'tar o' yours, Oath, but Ah think Ah could do better."

"Of course you can. You have much more experience than I have, I have none! I am a bit surprised how I'm actually able to play a guitar, I hear these things were supposed to be for griffons and the like." Oath said, which the collection of ponies guffawed at.

A beautiful melody soon issued forth from the unitar as Applejack struck the notes of a song she had learned long ago.

It made everypony sing along. The song continued long into the night before finally fading. The campfire was burning low as everypony decided to hit the hay. Only Oath remained, eyeing the sky with content in his heart.

"Truly this is the life." He thought.

The next day Applejack looked at the unfinished house and grinned. She had made plans and was gonna make sure that her friend would not sleep under the moon again. A whistle issued forth from her as the noise carried itself across the valley. Soon enough there was a distant rumbling that grew louder. Eventually the source of the noise became clear. The Apple Family had come over to help out with Oathbound's house! The sheer amount of ponies was staggering. All part of the same family. All so different, yet so similar.

Soon enough the working started, but this time it was not the sound of wood being nailed to wood or saws cutting strips of lumber to proper size. Instead violins and guitars made everypony work in rhythm, country-style music filling the construction site.

Eventually the house was complete, decorations and furniture all carried in. Oath was happy with what Applejack had done, but there was a room he wanted to be left empty. He had plans for it.

Bidding farewell to the rest of the Apple Family, Oathbound thanked everypony for the help. Applejack went towards her farm with Big Macintosh right behind her. Oath asked Twilight to stay, however. Asking her to join him, the pair entered the empty room. The room was completely barren with the exception of a few round stone slabs piled on top of eachother.

He revealed his plan for the room. He wanted to infuse it with magic so he could train his mind here. Knowing just the spell for that purpose, Twilight nodded and they both started casting powerful magic. Streams of energy poured out of Twilight's horn and Oath's amulet, each pouring enormous effort into the spell. It was as if the magic would destroy the newly-created house before he would have a chance to use it. Pouring even more power in to the spell, Oath and Twilight got the spell back under control. Eventually the spell was complete. The room, though not changing in appearance, changed drastically in the eyes of those that could perceive magic. Thanking Twilight for the help, Oath made some final adjustments to the spell before leaving. Looking at the cottage, he was pleased with the results. It was not bad considering it was done in two days. The house was shaped in an almost half moon-ish shape. Smoke came out from the chimney at the top. Some of the curtains Rarity had made with the help of others fluttered in the wind. Once more entering the house, he knew he had come home. Grabbing his unitar, he started playing. He knew he was a novice, but practice makes perfect. He had all the time in the world.

And he would not have traded this experience for anything.

Love Is Like A Flower

It was inconspicuous at first. Small gifts and gestures. A walk together. A discussion about their favourite hobbies, places they have seen...

Eventually it was more than that. Fluttershy did not want to admit it, but she had taken a liking to Oathbound. And he was not making it any easier, for he felt the same way. They were seeing eachother a lot more than they wanted to admit. Their feelings grew slowly, like a flower next to a pond. Nourishment, care and affection made it grow. Soon it would be in bloom.

Fluttershy's friends were quite aware of what was going on, but did not want to hurt her feelings by joking about it around her. Oath, however, was quite fair game. Unfortunately for them he made no motion to correct them, no need to right something if nothing is wrong. It was annoying, yes, but the rest of the ponies wanted to have fun. Why deny them the little humor in the situation?

One evening, at Fluttershy's cottage, Oath was invited to come over and watch a meteor shower visible on the night sky.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"Indeed. But... there is something more beautiful in this place."

Turning towards the gray stallion, genuinely confused, Fluttershy asked:

"What? I have not seen much that is more wondrous than-"

"You know who I am talking about, Fluttershy."

Silence ensued as Fluttershy blushed.

"Perhaps I should not have said that... I'm sorry, Fluttershy."

"Don't be... It's quite okay."

As they stared at the sky, a gentle hug from Fluttershy earned a quick laugh from Oathbound. They enjoyed eachother's company. Everypony knew that by now, but the gossip did not do much to dissuade the pair.

The next day Oath was doing his daily patrol, a little light-headed, but focused. He knew what was happening. He knew that he should stop, that there was no way they could be together. Yet something kept him feeling so warm towards Fluttershy. A feeling, long lost inside his heart, was crawling back up. A feeling that he had not felt for many years. In fact, he did not remember a time when he last felt it. It took him a few moments to realize what he was feeling.

He was in love.

Fluttershy was on the outskirts of town, on her way towards the edge of the Everfree Forest. Mr. & Mrs. Squirreliee had settled in on their new home and Fluttershy wanted to go and see how they were doing. She did not expect to see 3 more squirrels. Baby squirrels scuttled forth from the tree that their parents took when Fluttershy had helped them make this their home. They were so cute. She just wanted to hug them until she could not hug anything ever again.

Inside, however, she knew that this feeling was just a reflection of her own feelings towards Oathbound. She knew that it was love. He was so affectionate, so caring, and yet so serious when it came to doing something that mattered.

She had never thought about it, but she wondered if he felt the same way as she did towards him?

Or were her feelings going to go unanswered?

On her way back, Oath came across, walking alongside Zecora who had come over to shop for some ingredients.

"Ah Fluttershy, what a nice surprise!"

"Indeed it is, my friend. As is you having a hoof to lend."

"Don't mention it, Zecora. I'm always ready to help out."

"I'll take my leave then. Have a good day and may we meet again."

As the zebra disappeared into the forest, Oath asked:

"Does she live in the Everfree Forest? I thought nopony was living in there."

"She said that she enjoyed the solitude. I couldn't bring myself to living in that horrible forest."

"Why? You are such a good friend to animals, you would do just fine there if you ask me."

"It's not that. It's my friends..."

"Oh."

A moment of silence passed as they looked at the forest before turning back and heading towards the town.

"Fluttershy, can I ask you something?'

"Hmm?'

"I was wondering if it would be alright if I could come and stay at your place tonight."

Startled at the step the stallion had taken, Fluttershy took a minute to collect herself.

"A.. Are you sure? I don't even have the guest room prepared. Besides, don't you have your own house?"

"Look, if you can't have me over, then just say it. I won't mind. As to my house, well... It gets a little dull, even with all the decorations you and Rarity worked so hard to make. It's just that those decorations do not match the company you provide, Fluttershy."

A sigh echoed across the plains.

"Fluttershy, I-"

Realizing what he was about to say, Oath zipped his mouth before starting to run towards the village.

Fluttershy looked at the stallion as he receded into the distance, blushing harder than she thought possible.

Reaching Oathbounds house, Fluttershy knocked on the door. No answer. She knocked again. Still nothing. He must have gone someplace else.

As the mare was leaving, a voice called out from a window.

"Is that you, Fluttershy?"

Turning back, Fluttershy saw Oath looking down from the window.

"I just wanted to ask you if you were okay..."

"I'm fine." Oath knew how pathetic he must have been at that moment, his own voice betraying him. He was not fine. He felt miserable for almost blurting out his secret.

"If you want to talk, then come to my cottage tonight. We can talk then, okay?" Smiling, Fluttershy looked at Oath, who was taken aback by the mare's sudden courage.

"...Very well. I do not think you need to prepare your guest room though."

"It's okay."

As the mare left, Oathbound entered the meditation room he had specifically constructed for himself. Magical power rampaged across it, a reflection of the many emotions in his mind at the moment.

But the most powerful was a pink lightning that stayed near Oath. It was so powerful that Oath feared it's possible release. If the magic in that lightning would be released, then who knows what would happen to Ponyville. Emptying his mind, he calmed the roaring power in the room, but the pink lightning still remained. Trying to snuff it out was like trying to light a candle at the base of a waterfall. He knew that it reflected his feelings toward Fluttershy. The mere mention of her caused the lightning to spaz and pick up the pace. He tried his best to suppress it. No good.

Eventually he decided that there must be another way for him to vent all this, so he could concentrate on the coming evening. He used his magic to grab a guitar that he had acquired during one of his visits to Canterlot. These guitars were not like the guitars most ponies knew. An assortment of instruments was situated on the far side of the room, everything from brass horns to drum kits. He had known little about music until he visited that shop. He got to pick a single guitar for his help with one of the drums the old unicorn had tried to raise to the shelf. He took a liking to the instrument though, eventually getting the rest of the set. The original guitar was sitting in the middle. The shopkeep had told him the story of how he got hold of it. Apparently it had something to do with magic and powerful emotions. It was apparently called a "unitar". Oath did not believe the story at the time, but now... Right now, he wanted to believe.

Hoisting the guitar on to him and taking a comfortable position, he began to strum the guitar. Unlike what the shopkeeper claimed, the guitar made the very same sound that he had heard other guitars make. A bit disappointed but not stopping, Oath decided to keep on playing. Random notes sounded out across the building as he played, no purpose whatsoever behind any note. Eventually he started crafting melodies. But they were not good enough. A bit angry at himself for getting himself in the situation that he was in with Fluttershy without making it awkward, he mustered his magic. He wanted to give in to self-pity. He needed to vent that anger. An electric voice issued forth from the guitar. Wonder in his face, he used his magic again, all previous feelings cast aside. Another voice came forth, this time just a regular guitar string pluck. Realizing that the shopkeeper was not lying, he started using his magic to create more melodies. This is surely where musicians get their inspiration, Oath thought. His raging storm of emotions came out in the form of music, his guitar bringing weight to his words. And so he kept on playing the guitar, in whatever fashion he liked for the passing whims he had. He was better than he was before. When his house was being built, there was this one time when he tried to entertain his friends by giving them a song. Needless to say Applejack borrowed it soon after and gave some true music to listen to. Knowing how pathetic he was with the guitar, he laughed to himself, giving him some more incentive to play. Eventually he noticed that the sun was getting low. He would have to learn more about the guitar later. Now, he had a friend to visit.

Reaching Fluttershy's cottage, he knocked on the door. To his surprise, the door was open. Stepping inside, he was confronted by Angel, Fluttershy's pet rabbit. If looks could kill, Oath would have left the cottage in a coffin.

But Fluttershy grabbed the bunny in her hooves and placed him aside.

"I'm sorry about Angel, he is a bit protective of me..."

"I don't blame him. I probably would feel the same way too."

"I was just preparing us some tea before we talk, but would you like to talk about what's bothering you before we have some?"

"My issue has been around for this long, I reckon it can wait a little more."

With that, the tea pan started a high whistle. Fluttershy prepared the tea as Oath sat down on the table.

As Fluttershy brought cups of tea to the table, she smiled at Oath while saying:

"It's my special recipe. Hope you like it!"

Sipping a bit of the brew, Oath was surprised. It tasted absolutely wonderful! Granted, he had not drank tea for many years while living in exile, but that did not change the fact that this was the best tea he had ever had. A hint of lemon, some lime and something else that seemed to have absorbed the sharpness of the two sitrus fruit, leaving just a pleasant, refreshing taste.

"This tea is really good! I have not had such good tea in a long time!"

"Hehe, glad you like it."

Finishing off his tea greedily, with Fluttershy sipping her tea. When he finished, Oath looked at Fluttershy, face serious this time.

"Fluttershy, what I said earlier this day, it has been bothering me. I hope I do not look like a fool to you now."

"What you said was sweet. And you don't need to apologize. But there was this sentence you did not finish."

Blushing, Fluttershy looked into Oathbounds eyes.

"Were you saying that you... Loved me?"

Startled, Oath tried to clear his throat, but it just caused him a bit of pain.

"Did I say that, because if that is what you think then... Yes."

"I... I love you too, Oath."

Their eyes fixed on eachother, they just stared at their partner. Eventually Fluttershy started giggling, which soon evolved into laughter, which Oath joined, the low tone of Oath complimenting Fluttershy's voice perfectly.

When the laughter faded they were both in tears from all the strain on their facial muscles.

"We should have told eachother sooner about how we felt, heh." Oath said, panting slightly from the lack of air.

"I think so too."

"Looking back, it was actually a bit stupid of me to keep these feelings concealed."

"It was not your fault, I should have invited you earlier, this tea of mine is special because it makes it easier for ponies to talk about things that they'd not otherwise let other ponies be privy to. Zecora is a really good brewer."

Hugging eachother, the pair enjoyed eachothers warmth as the evening went on. Deciding against going back to his house, Oath voiced his earlier request, which Fluttershy accepted. But with no guest room prepared, Oath had to tuck in the same bed Fluttershy used. It was cramped, but they did not care. Sleep came quickly as the pair just looked eachother in the eyes.

"Morning, Oath!"

"Zzzzz-who-wha?"

"I said good morning! Come on sleepyhead, it's time to get up. If it's alright with you." She added, almost as an afterthought.

Realizing where he was, Oath quickly jumped off the bed. His mane was all messed up.

"Oh, uhh... Good morning Fluttershy!" He said, a bit too quickly.

Giggling, Fluttershy motioned for Oath to get downstairs.

"I made us some tea that will help get the sleepiness out. You'll need the energy for your day, don't you?"

Scratching his mane, a bad poker face showing on his muzzle, Oath let out a nervous laugh before following Fluttershy's direction.

The tea was quickly dealt with, this time tasting even better than the last.

When Oath went for the front door, Fluttershy wished him a good patrol. Both knew that they had officially gone beyond friendship.

"Her friends were more correct than they could ever be." Oathbound thought, letting out a laugh.

His guitar playing also started to get better. Now he was making songs of his own. Granted, most of them were made just so he could vent any excess feelings. But their message was clear as the notes that Oath played. He was sure that if he focused on it, he could learn far more than what he knew now. He would have to borrow a book regarding music from Twilight Sparkle one day. But right now, all he cared about was Fluttershy.

Seeing eachother even more than they had done previously, Fluttershy and Oath quickly became one of the most well-known couples in Ponyville.

In his apartment, Oath was writing a letter to the princess later that day.

"M'lady Celestia.

As you know, I have lived here in Ponyville for a while, gaining many friends and realizing that this was the best thing to happen in my life.

But there is a question I have for you: After you have lived for so long in self-imposed exile and tormenting yourself for many years, is it normal for a pony to feel love? At all?

You may have a different answer than I do, but I say that it is normal! I shan't tell just yet who I am talking about, but I love this pony very much. I can only hope that the future will brighten up for me and her...

Your Servant And Guardian Of Ponyville, Oathbound"

With the letter written, Oath went to Twilight's library, which was all nice and clean, very much unlike what it was when Oath had first seen it. The mess of books was horrendous, and the stairway to the chamber where he had originally hid the horn was visible then and the horn was gone. Now the library practically shined in the daylight, not a single speck of dust around.

"Twilight, have you seen Spike?" Oath said, looking at the purple unicorn who was browsing through the books.

"I think he is around here somewhere... SPIIIIKE!"

A purple baby dragon with green head scales soon appeared from behind one of the bookshelves.

"Yes Twilight?"

"Oath has something to tell you."

Raising an eyebrow at that, Oath presented him with his letter.

"I would like for you to send this to the princess."

"What is it?"

"My... report to the princess."

Without questioning the gray stallion any longer, Spike belched a green flame which engulfed the letter before it went out of the window.

"Also, Twilight, I was wondering if you would have a music-related book here."

"Oh, I think you can find it you look for it. Spike, can you help him out?"

"Sure."

Eventually finding the book and quickly looking at the pages he knew that this was the book he was looking for.

"Got it. I'll return it once I have what I need."

"Take your time Oath."

As Oath left the library and started towards his house again, Twilight looked at Spike. a sly smile on her face.

"You know what this means, Spike?"

Confused, the purple dragon looked at Twilight, who's face was excited.

"No? What?"

"First Oath is spending a long time with Fluttershy and now he is into music? He's gonna marry her soon!"

"What? Nah, he ain't gonna marry her. Sure, they are as thick as thieves nowadays but that don't make em a couple. 'Sides, how can you come to that conclusion just because he likes music?" Spike said, shrugging.

"Come on Spike, don't be so naivé. Fluttershy goes to his place almost every week to hear him play his guitar!"

"Oath has a guitar? How does one even play a guitar without claws?" The drake said, scratching the scales lining his head.

"Lyra does it with her harp."

As the two spent a long time arguing, Oath dug into the book while going to his home. It contained much information. All these different instruments. All these different kinds of sounds. He would have to try them all out.

As time went on Fluttershy learned of Oath's new hobby and started listening to him while he played. It was pleasant to hear that her loved one was so dedicated that he would make music just for her.

Oath told Fluttershy to not tell anypony about it, not just yet. The others knew of his guitar, just not that he is going to be actively using it. He wanted to make sure that when they heard him play again, he could show his feelings in a way that nopony could deny.

They were happy. That was all that mattered.

Slowly, above their heads, two lights appeared. One of them took the form of a glowing Element of Kindness. The second, on top of Oath, took the shape of a heart. The pair did not notice them. Just as slowly as they appeared, they disappeared.

Stepping outside, they looked out into a nearby meadow. Full of different kinds of flowers, each kind of color mingling with themselves. They were all in bloom.

A Ponyville Wedding

The campsite was all prepared. The scene was perfect. All preparations were made. The princess gave Oathbound and Fluttershy permission to camp in the royal garden for the night.

Fluttershy couldn't still believe it. After her birthday party in Ponyville, Oath came by and told her of what he had arranged. She couldn't refuse such an offer. It still rang in her head.

"Fluttershy. I got a birthday gift for you."

"Oh Oath, you shouldn't have! I got so many presents already, I don't think I can fit any more stuff inside the house - the animals would get nervous!" She remembered her slightly shocked expression. Oath just waved his hoof at her and chuckled.

"It isn't something that you can simply buy in a shop. You need to see it for yourself."

"Umm... Why?"

"Because a wonderful mare like you deserves it."

The idea of being here, with Oathbound, to witness the raising of the sun in the great city of Canterlot almost brought tears to her eyes. She liked it and Oath knew how much she loved animals so he asked the princess if they could camp out in the garden where the animals lived. A humming bird flied past her and on towards the horizon. Truly she wouldn't have missed this for the world.

Oath appeared behind the mare, his warmness revealing him more than the noise he made on the grass. The dark blue tent he had erected looked magnificent.

"What do you think?"

"It looks great."

"Only the best for the birthday heroine.' Oath kissed Fluttershy's brow, which made the mare blush a bit.

"Remember when we first met?"

Confused, Fluttershy raised an eyebrow and looked into Oath's eyes.

"Yes. Why?"

"I was thinking about that evening. If it were not for you, I likely would have gone back to the mountain. Even if it meant breaking my promise."

Silence echoed across the garden before Oath continued his speech, walking next to Fluttershy.

"You showed me that the world of Equestia is a world full of friendship. Understanding." Looking at the mare who wasn't sure where he was going with this, Oath finished his statement.

"Love."

The word made her flinch.

Kneeling down before Fluttershy, Oath presented a hoof-ring emblazoned with turquoises. They were small but there were many of them, not to mention how they drew attention to her eyes. The sight of it made Fluttershy's cheeks go red and she placed a hoof on her mouth. She was totally shocked.

"Fluttershy, I know that it is your birthday and this is not really the time, but this was a chance I could not throw away. This is my only chance to convey my true feelings for you."

Seriousness clear in his face, Oath looked at her eyes.

"Fluttershy, will you marry me!?" He almost shouted. The words echoed across the garden as all animals drew their attention towards the pair. The campfire crackled near them as Fluttershy just stared at Oath.

After a long moment of silence, Oath gave a sigh before rising up and looking at the sky.

"Well, now you know how I feel. About your beautiful smile, the adorable squees you make from time to time, your personality..." The humming bird from earlier flew next to Oath, who extended a hoof for the bird to land on. "Perhaps I was too ha-" He didn't have time to finish his sentence before he was almost tackled to the ground by Fluttershy, her eyes closed and tears falling down her cheeks.

"YES! YES!" Her eyes opened and more tears fell, her wide open smile contagiously affecting Oath as well.

They embraced eachother, both of them crying tears of joy, as the sun was starting to be raised. They both looked at it, not letting go of the other. The sun's golden rays engulfed the horizon before enveloping the land in it's warm glow.

"Happy birthday, Fluttershy."

The news traveled fast. By the time the pair had come back to Ponyville, there was a huge welcoming committee.

"CONGRATULATIONS!" Pinkie Pie yelled, before starting to play her instruments in an imitation to wedding music.

Oath and Fluttershy looked at eachother before giving the crowd a sheepish smile. Oath eventually spoke up, however.

"We are not married quite yet. The ceremony is still not held, has it? It is all up to Fluttershy if she wants to have one."

Oath looked at his bride, who was blushing very hard.

"I... I have not thought of when to hold it..."

Applejack appeared from the back of the crowd.

"Well Ah got a solution fer that! The barn at mah farm can fit many ponies! Ah'll have it ready by tomorrow!"

The crowd gave a cheer as the arrivals from Canterlot blushed before disappearing into the chaos of the crowd.

Fluttershy was feeling anxious. Stressed. Like something was wrong. She had Twilight make a list of what she would need to do in preparation for the wedding but then she realized it. One, she did not have a wedding dress. Second, she didn't have any bridesmares. She was woken from her thinking as Rarity came over to congratulate her.

"You couldn't have picked a better pony, darling! I'm so happy for you!"

Blushing once more, Fluttershy thanked Rarity before she told the purple-maned pony of her problem.

"Whaaaaaaaaat!? But the wedding is tomorrow! Where are you gonna find a wedding dress at such sho- Aaha!"

Grabbing Fluttershy, Rarity stormed out of the house and dragged her in the direction of the Carousel Boutique.

Quickly taking measurements, Rarity grabbed a pair of scissors with her magic and started cutting, Fluttershy just watching, completely confused. Pieces of fabric flew in the air and made the room look more like a rag-tag carpet rather than the fabled room where the fashion Rarity was known for is born.

"Umm... Rarity, what are you-"

"I'm helping you out, dear! I will make you look absolutely fabulous by tomorrow, trust me! Now, I must ask you to step aside, I will pour ALL my creativity into this dress, I assure you."

Knowing there was no way to make Rarity change her mind, Fluttershy made her way out of the Carousel Boutique, only to be confronted by a crowd of ponies all willing to congratulate her getting married. She did not like the attention too much, it reminded her of that one time when Rarity was denied her chance of greatness when Photo Finish chose Fluttershy instead of Rarity. She wanted to get out of there quickly, preferably without having any attention drawn to herself. Her barely audible requests for letting her pass through them were not heard. Infact, the ponies just came on even more forcefully than before.

Fortunately, her husband-to-be saw the distress she was in. Stepping in between the crowd and Fluttershy, Oath spoke to the ponies that had, even if unwillingly, upset his love.

"I understand that you all wish to congratulate us for our wedding but Fluttershy has much to go through in preparation for tomorrow. If you could, please let her leave, she won't get anything done if there is a huge crowd following her. If you wish to congratulate us, then please be kind and direct them to me."

Motioning for Fluttershy to make her move, Oath kept on keeping the townsfolk distracted while she fled the scene. Thankful for what he did to save her from that situation, Fluttershy went towards Twilight's library with haste.

"But of course I'll be your bridesmare! I wouldn't miss your wedding for the world!"

A big smile appeared on Twilight's face as she hugged Fluttershy. But Twilight put on a quizzical face as she asked:

"But who will be there to declare you mare and colt? There are no ponies with those privileges in Ponyville, at least none that I know of."

Knowing that Twilight was right, an idea soon sprang up in Fluttershy's mind.

"Umm... What about Princess Celestia?"

Twilight started jumping about excitedly.

"YES, YES THAT'S PERFECT! She's surely gonna come! Spike! Get me some paper and ink!"

Soon enough the library was filled with the sound of writing as Twilight made a message to the princess. Even if it was as soon as tomorrow, surely the princess wasn't going to miss the wedding of her old friend. With the letter finished, Spike took a deep breath before sending the letter to the princess.

A bit surprisingly a few minutes later as Fluttershy was leaving to speak to Rainbow Dash about her being at the wedding as Fluttershy's bridesmare, a return letter from the princess came.

"Greetings, my dear student.

I would be honored to be there to witness the union of Fluttershy and Oathbound!

True love cannot be denied. I am honored to serve as the priestess for the ceremony.

I shall see you all tomorrow. Please give my regards to Fluttershy."

It almost seemed like Fluttershy would have shut down as she just stood there listening to Spike as he told the two what was in the return letter. Eventually she was waken from her trance by Twilight.

"Fluttershy?"

"Oh. Sorry."

"It's okay. You better get going now, you still have a lot to do before the day is over!"

"Mhm. I'll see you tomorrow, alright?"

"You bet!"

As Fluttershy took to flight Twilight looked at Spike with a smug grin on her face.

"Looks like I was correct."

"About what?"

A facehoof was the only way Twilight could respond to that question.

"About Oath getting married with Fluttershy?"

"Ooooooh..."

Oath was looking around for Rarity around her store, the Carousel Boutique, but the shop itself was closed and he didn't want to break in. He still lacked a suit to wear. He was not really that particular when it came to looking the part at the wedding, but he wanted to look his best, for Fluttershy's sake.

Rainbow Dash soared over to him, a grin on her face.

"Hey there hotshot! Fluttershy's gonna be one happy mare when tomorrow is over."

"Oh, Rainbow Dash. Truth be told, I did not expect everypony to find out so soon."

"Are you kidding? You two have been the most famous couple of Ponyville for so long now, I was wondering when you'd propose to her! Took you long enough." Rainbow joked with a laugh.

"I thought the time was right. And it seemed to suit her too. I am just happy that she said yes." Oath said, kinda ruining the rainbow-maned pegasus' jest.

"Hehe, yeah! I was a bit surprised too. But I got some stuff to do, catch ya at the wedding!" And with that, she disappeared into the distance, a streak of rainbow colors following her.

"She sure manages to put the blunt approach on everything, doesn't she?" Oath said, unaware of the pony behind her.

"Indeed she does. Sometimes I wonder if she does it intentionally."

Looking behind, Oath saw Rarity, a box lifted on her side by her magic.

"Oh! Rarity, I was looking for you!"

"Sorry darling, but I can't stay and chat right now, Fluttershy needs this dress."

"Well... Alright. Could you find me once you are done bringing her the dress?"

"But of course! I'll be back faster than you know it!"

An hour and a half later, Oath was wondering what was taking her so long. Could something have happened?

He didn't have much time to think of the possibilities as Rarity came back, smiling to herself.

"And I am back! Told you I wouldn't be long."

Rolling his eyes, Oath asked Rarity if she could make him a suit for the wedding.

"Oh my, there certainly seems to be much need for fashion nowadays! Ah well, I certainly wouldn't want our charming stallion to go his own wedding while not looking his best! Come on in, we'll get you looking bedazzling in no time!"

The rest of the day went on in a strangely ominous silence, considering the circumstances. Fluttershy managed to convince Rainbow Dash to be her bridesmare at the wedding, on the condition that Rainbow gets to do a sonic rainboom. Rarity gave Oath a treatment unlike anything he had anticipated. Trying out the suit was hard enough as it is, but the last-minute adjustments were almost choking him.

"Uhh, Rarity? I think this is good enough..."

"Oh come now Oath, which one of us here is the fashionista, you or me?"

Unable to come up with anything, Oath just decided to try and endure until it was over. As a side-note, he also realized that he wouldn't have become a good model if he wouldn't have become the Protector of Ponyville. The adjusting continued on and on 'till the night arrived, after which Rarity gave her approval to the suit. Finally able to breathe, Oath took in as much of the sweet night air as he could. He was almost completely blue from the lack of air. The suit, for all the trouble it was when it came to putting on, was taken off with contemptous ease.

Back in his mind, Oath regretted asking Rarity to make the suit.

The next day was filled with happiness on all fronts. Applejack's farm was close to bursting with ponies all coming to attend the wedding. Princess Celestia was in front of the barn, waiting for the ceremony to begin. Pinkie Pie was over by the edge of the orchard, guarding the wedding cake with a steely gaze. Anypony that came too close was quickly repelled by her as she explained how the cake must be cut by the newly-weds first. Eventually Applejack told everypony to get inside the barn and take their seats, the ceremony was about to begin.

While everypony waited inside, Oathbound and Fluttershy arrived, causing a great wow to be heard throughout the barn as the wedding music started.

Fluttershy looked absolutely beautiful. Her white dress flowed across the barn's floor, random straws of hay dragging along as she made the building visibly light up. Her tiara, a piece of absolutely spectacular craftsmanship, had a huge turquoise, surrounded by 5 other colored gems. Spike was salivating at the sight of them. The dress was completely seamless, as if the mare wearing it would have been born wearing it. Oath was walking alongside her, his suit a complete contradiction to Fluttershy's white dress. Unlike her mildly see-through dress, Oath's suit was not transparent in any sense. A black color scheme was clearly the prime theme of the suit, with some white around his neck, from which Oath's sapphire amulet hanged, the blackness seeming to part away from around it. A red rose was stuck through the right flank of the suit.

As the pair reached the altar, the princess looked at each of them before speaking.

"We are gathered here today to witness the union of these two ponies who's love has been clear for all to see. If there are any who would be against the marriage of these two, speak now or remain silent forevermore."

Silence ensued as the crowd was looking around, as if expecting somepony to raise their voice.

"If there are no nay-sayers, let us move on."

Motioning for Spike to step forward, the princess gave room for the baby dragon as he presented the two hoof-rings, one of them sporting sapphires while the other had turquoises. The biggest jewels of each were shaped in the form of a heart. The pair put the rings on their hooves, their hold gentle, but tight.

"Will you, Oathbound, Protector of Ponyville, take Fluttershy as your wife and promise to be with her forever, to stand by her side in times of good and ill?"

Still staring into Fluttershy's eyes, Oath said sincerely:

"I do."

"Will you, Fluttershy, take Oathbound as your husband and promise to be with him forever, to stand by his side in times of good and ill?"

Tears started to emerge from Fluttershy's eyes as she wanted to say it, but afraid to do it. Her hesitation was clear on her face. Oath knew that there was only one way to ease her mind. Using his magic, he telepathically spoke to her:

"It's alright. You can do it."

Taking courage from the words, Fluttershy finally spoke up.

"Yes, I do."

Turning her gaze away from the pegasus and towards the crowd, Celestia smiled.

"Then it is my honor to declare these two mare and colt."

As the pair hugged eachother, the crowd cheered. Rainbow Dash stood at the edge of the altar, trying to fight back the tears.

"I promised myself I wouldn't cry... I won't cry..." Tears fell as the rainbow-maned pony burst into tears, Applejack almost following suite. Twilight and Pinkie Pie just smiled - the fact that Pinkie wasn't all over the place was a miracle in and of itself. Rarity was absolutely stunned by her perfomance, the dress and the suit went completely hoof in hoof. Her eyes shone and sparkled, but nopony was sure if it was because of the dress or just Rarity being Rarity.

As the newly-weds started down the altar, rice was being thrown, ponies whistling at the two as they ignored the crowd. When they got outside and a fair distance away from the barn, they turned and faced everypony who had followed them out, Oath speaking to them.

"Alright everypony. I reckon enough tears of joy have been wept now. Time for laughter, fun and happiness! Time for A PARTY!"

Taking that as her que, Vinyl Scratch began her music-playing. Loud music filled the farm as everypony danced. Pinkie Pie had Fluttershy and Oath cut the first piece of the cake together, but they got caught completely off-guard as a cake-a-pult threw tons of frosting on their faces. The laughter was almost deafening. In the midst of all the laughter, Pinkie Pie managed to say a few words before bursting into laughter once again:

"It was a lie! Ahahhahahhaa! The cake was a lie!"

The party continued for so long it was amazing that anypony had the strength to make their way back home, for Pinkie Pie cut no slack for any of the guests, nor Fluttershy and Oath, for that matter.

The love of these two ponies, from different origins, of different personalities, of different relations was the unifying element that showed everypony how love conquers all.

Reminiscing

"Say, Oath." Pinkie Pie chirped.

"Hmm?" Oath said, taking a bite of his muffin. He had gotten to Sugarcube Corner earlier that day. Little did he know that the others would also show up. Not that he didn't mind. He liked the company.

Pinkie looked over to him with a curious look on her face.

"You haven't really let us know where you come from or why you have such reservations about the princess. She's not done anything to you, has she?" Pinkie was surprisingly serious. Oath was flabbergasted by the blunt approach. It was something he expected of Rainbow Dash or Applejack. But least of all Pinkie.

The others were pretty interested in the two's conversation as well, as their ears perked up and they tried to be as inconspicuous about it as possible, but Oath shot them a glance and took that as their cue to leave the room.

"I... Don't want to talk about it. It's not a pleasant memory." He said, shaking his head grimly.

Pinkie wasn't swayed.

"But I wanna hear it! Pleeease? Pretty please with cherry on top?" She said, looking at his eyes with the adorableness of a pleading puppy.

"Damn her smile." Oath thought. He sighed in defeat.

"Fine. But only when the others are around as well. They all deserve to know it all. And you must Pinkie Promise me to not let anything about what I tell you be spread around. What my past is about stays between me, my friends and the princess."

Hours later, as Pinkie told the others to meet up with Oath and her at his place, they were huddled around in his meditation room. Oath had taken the liberty of getting chairs into the room. He even went as far as to conjure a cloud for Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy to sit in.

"So. You know why Pinkie called you here?" Oath said, casting a glance at each of the assembled ponies. They shook their heads. Oath looked over at Pinkie, who smiled back.

"They were pretty busy and there was a lot of commotion so I only told them to meet up here. I couldn't break my promise, could I?"

Fluttershy gasped a bit, while the others eyes widened. What was so important that Oath had made her Pinkie Promise to let only his friends know?

"Right. Thanks for that." Oath concluded, nodding at her in an apologetic manner.

"At Pinkie's request, I am now here to tell you about my past, something I never shared with anypony. And I warn you, it is not something I want to share lightly. Sometimes I wonder if I have been hiding from it, only to find it smacking me in the face." He said, looking at the ground. He lifted his gaze and walked to the center of the room, on top of the round stone pyramid. His amulet glowed in the colors of the rainbow and they slipped out of it, creating magical lightning bolts that glowed, each with a different color.

"Ooh! Floating streamers!" Pinkie excitedly said, causing Oath to roll his eyes. He was alarmed when she made a motion to touch one of them.

"Pinkie, don't!"

She ignored him as she touched it. Oath was about to fling her across the room in panic before he noticed that she was fine.

Infact, she was laughing.

"Ahahah, that tickles!"

Figures. Only Pinkie can touch a lightning bolt and say it tickles.

With a simple gesture, he gathered all the bolts into a single orb of magical power, which expanded before an image could be seen in it.

"Now that we're all here, might as well get this over with." Oath said before he began his story, the image in the orb giving an almost cinematic effect to it.

"I do not remember much about my early life. Infact, I never knew my parents. The very first thing I remember is waking up in a cave surrounded by waterfalls and mountains. It was a bleak, desolate place. A whole lot of nothing. As I walked the land, my hunger was starting to drain my strength away. Eventually, after days without food, I collapsed from exhaustion and hunger. The last thing I remember before passing out was the hoofsteps of a guard. I woke up later to find myself in the field camp of Princess Celestia's guard. I was quickly nursed back to health and I was advised to head to Canterlot. The north was no place for a pony like me to be in. Thankfully I could travel with the guards, though they were reluctant to have me repay their hospitality.

Nevertheless, it was an uneventful trip, not counting the dangers the roads contained." Oath said, shivering a bit at that.

"Once I came to the city's walls, it was clear that I was in a place where royalty lived. For whatever reason that meant I woke up without any memories from prior, it also meant that I had no idea of how to function in society. Combine that with the troubles of an adult blank-flank and you can guess how it turned out."

The others stared at him with blank faces.

"...Or you can't. Well? Long story short? I was thrown into the dungeons for stealing an apple. I regretted it as I later came to know why it wasn't acceptable to just take something from somepony without giving anything in return. The guards had shown me otherwise when they found me."

Applejack was a bit confused about what he said. She could never see Oath stealing an apple or a pie, anything! Then again she could understand how it would have come to pass.

"One fateful evening I woke from a nightmare, still in the dungeons. When I came to my senses and rose from the makeshift bed, I saw Princess Celestia standing in front of me. Fear gripped me as I was afraid of what she might do.

But instead of doing anything, she just smiled and opened the cell door.

She took me under her wing, taught me everything about how to not get into trouble, even gave me a few bits from the royal treasury to help me get started."

Twilight smiled.

"Sounds like the princess alright."

Oath continued: "But even after all the help she gave me and all the things she taught me, she asked for nothing in return. I couldn't stand to see such kindness go unrewarded. I swore to her that day that I would repay my debt to her even if it took me all my life. So I joined the Royal Guard. The first few weeks went quickly as my comrades didn't manage to keep up. My dedication and conviction made me rise through the ranks quickly. Only thing that stopped me in the end was the fact that I wasn't a unicorn. As Captain of the Guard, I would have been responsible for maintaining any and all magical safeguards and forcefields. With no magic I couldn't do the simplest of things that the Captain had to deal with daily. But months later, the previous captain had died. He was old and his magic-usage didn't really help him in that regard." Oath said, closing his eyes as he remembered the previous captain, Proud Knight, praising him after he beat his opponent in a sparring contest. An image also showed for the others to see:

"Well done, Oathbound! I'd say, if you were a unicorn, you'd probably take my place quicker than an Ursa Major could stomp a butterfly!"

"Permission to speak freely, sir?"

"Go ahead, son."

"It's great to serve under such a great leader like yourself."

Twilight nodded at that.

"I knew Proud Knight. He was like a grandfather to me, really. I didn't see him that much, but he always had these wonderful stories that I would listen to for hours and hours on end. Shining Armor was also quite enthusiastic about those." She added, giggling.

Oath smiled.

"He will be remembered like a great person like him deserves to be. Regardless, that same day I was invited to Princess Celestia's quarters. I put my best face on as I wanted to honor the invitation as best I could. Perhaps it was just a part of me that was still scared of the princess somewhat. Anyway, when I entered the chambers, I was given an amulet that she placed on my neck." He said, toying his his sapphire-encrusted neckpiece that glowed at his touch.

Rarity was exstatic. Even though she already knew that Princess Celestia had given Oath the amulet, it was still such a thrill to know that her friend owned an amulet that was technically priceless. And it was enchanted too!

"When it came to rest on me, I felt power coursing through me. Not only that, but I gained the basic knowledge of how to work magic. Once the stream of power and knowledge receded and became nothing more than a steady trickling flow, I thanked the princess. She asked me if I wished to become captain of the guard. If this is how she wanted me to repay her, then that was how it would be. It was also at that moment that I gained my cutie mark." Oath added, the orb above his head showing an image of his cutie mark, a golden shield criss-crossed by two light-blue axes.

"At first the younger guards were not really thrilled about an earth pony taking the role of captain - tradition had always dictated that the captain must be a unicorn, but they wouldn't disobey Princess Celestia. It took me some time, but I gained their respect. One day, while I was patrolling with a fellow guard on the ramparts of the castle, I saw a huge expanding rainbow, coming from Cloudsdale. At the same time, there was also a purple light coming from the room in the palace where they test unicorns for enrollment in Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. Moments after that I saw a full-grown dragon burst from the roof!" Oath said, showing an image of it in the orb. The others gasped.

"A rainbow? Expanding!? Oath, I think you saw the same rainbow that we did! A sonic rainboom!" Pinkie said, gasping again.

"I was the one who made that!" Dash said, puffing her chest.

"The purple light that came from the testing room was me! And the dragon that burst from the roof was Spike!" Twilight said, really getting into the spirit of the story. Oath looked over at her for a moment before he nodded.

"Yes, the princess told me about that later on, though I am a bit surprised. I never expected it to be the same Spike I see today. I saw you later that day, you were quite exstatic now that you had your cutie mark." Oath said, grinning.

A squee came from somewhere as Twilight smiled awkwardly.

"That day was quite something indeed. But... The joy of that day was not going to last. A week later... A week later somepony attempted to take the princess' life." Oath said, burying his face in his hooves.

"WHAT!?" The rest of them said in unison.

"I was out in the ramparts. It was late in the night and I was about to turn in. One of the guards burst into my room and told me that Celestia had been attacked. When I found her I was horrified. She had scrapes and bruises here and there and her mane was flowing erratically. She was breathing heavily and she had a cut on her cheek. Fortunately she survived."

"B-but who would do that!?" Twilight was semi-panicking.

Oath shrugged.

"I don't know. But I failed her that night. I couldn't bear the pain of failing to do my duty, of seeing the one who taught me so much be hurt like this even though I pledged to protect her. I ran from Canterlot, crying all the way until I reached Ponyville. Taking residence in the library for a day, I used my magic to create a hidden room from which I could be roused if I was needed. After it was done, I sent a letter to the princess details on how to open the room. After that, I left for the Badlands. I became a hermit who refused food and drink and any attempts at consolation if they knew who I was. The dragons mostly left me alone since I made no move to harm them. Years passed as I simply meditated in there, trying to find justification in my actions, only to fail. But... It was not to last. For one day a magical stream of power found me and I identified it as the call from the horn I made and enchanted."

The others understood.

"That's when you came to Ponyville, right?"

"Yes. I was under the delusion that only Canterlot was capable of defending itself in a crisis and so I assumed that Ponyville had been wiped off the map by the time I got there. My clouded mind thought that what I saw when I first arrived was a cruel trick. How it warms me to know that I was wrong."

The others giggled.

"You know, that was not a bad story, points for originality." Rainbow Dash said, stepping off the cloud as Oath made the memory-revealing orb disappear.

"Gee, thanks." Oath said, smirking at her. He turned to the others.

"Alright everypony, thanks for letting me get this off my chest. For that, we're gonna eat out tonight! All on me!"

"Oh! Oh! I want cupcakes with sprinkles!" Pinkie said as she bounced around.

"Ah'll go with sum' simple grub." AJ said as she started walking toward the door.

"I'll just have a strawberry smoothie... If that's okay with you I mean." Fluttershy said, hiding her face behind her mane.

"All I need is a good book to read while eating and I'm good!" Twilight said matter-of-factly

"A simple salad would be lovely, I am a bit famished." Rarity said, throwing back a bit of her mane that was blocking her view.

"One big ice-cream scoop for the fastest flyer in Equestria!" Dash said as she accidentally kicked the cloud, making it evaporate and almost causing Fluttershy to drop to the floor. Thankfully the married pegasus managed to stay afloat. The rainbow-maned speedster gave a sheepish smile at her friends who were looking condescendingly at her.

"Ehe... Sorry."

And so the rest of the evening was spent with happiness in their minds and hearts.

"Perhaps I should have let them know of this earlier..." Oath thought to himself before he dozed off.

The Breaking of the Oath

While visiting Fluttershy's cottage one day, Oathbound was a bit perplexed by a few things.

Lately, some of his belongings were under the habit of disappearing when he was not looking, only to reappear some time later from the most unexpected locations. Twilight Sparkle merely dismissed it as Oath being forgetful.

But Oath knew that something was wrong. Somepony, or something was playing tricks on him.

Sighing to himself, Oath blew the thought away from his mind. Fluttershy needed some help with some of the new critters that had taken residence in her backyard. She needed a carpenter, Oath came over. He didn't really have a cutie mark for carpenting, but he knew enough about it. Some ponies had taken to calling him the Colt-of-all-Trades, which always made him chuckle.

Knocking on the door, Oath waited for Fluttershy to open it. Soon enough she came, thankful for the help.

"It's really nice of you to help me out in this, Oath. I'll make it up to you somehow, I promise!"

"Don't fret about it, Fluttershy. Anything for your friends."

With that, he passed through the house and exited from the back, seeing a couple of creatures looking at the gray stallion with the blue pack that contained a hammer, some nails, bits of wood and the like.

"Now, which one of you needed a house?"

Angel hopped on over and showed a small family of bunnies that were looking at a hole on the base of an oak. It had collapsed under the weight of the growing tree.

"I see. I think I can figure something out."

Reaching for one of the bits of wood, Oath was surprised to see that the hammer was missing. Disregarding it for the moment, he returned to dig with the piece of wood so the hole could be fixed. The bunny family helped, but the hole was still very small before they all were exhausted.

"Seems like it is not so easy as I thought... This is going to take a while."

Eventually the job was finished. By the time the hole was fixed for the bunny family however, most of Oath's tools had disappeared. Scratching his head as he wondered what could have happened to them, Fluttershy came out from the back door, a hammer and some wood carried in her mouth. She put them on a nearby table before she spoke.

"I found these while I was cleaning inside. You really should be more careful with these."

"Seems so. However, I didn't even leave them inside. Something has been moving them." Oath said in a slightly annoyed tone. He had originally suspected Angel of being the culprit, but the rabbit was there with him the whole time.

Putting a hoof on her mouth as her pupils shrunk, Oath could have sworn Fluttershy muttered something before she disappeared in a flash.

"What did I say?" He said, looking at the back door. The bunny family voiced their confusion in response.

As time went on, the disappearings stopped. Knowing that something was definitely wrong, Oath thought that he could probably look around in Fluttershy's house when she was not around.

Slapping himself on the face, Oath sobered up.

"What are you thinking, Oath!? She is your wife! There's no way she would keep any secrets from you! It's gotta be something else." Taking comfort from the fact that she wouldn't keep anything from him, Oath decided to take a patrol around the town, more to clear his mind than actually being worried about the townsfolk.

However, as he was nearing the end of his patrol route, a thought formed in his head. It was strange, something he wouldn't have ever thought, as if it would have been introduced to his mind by some foreign presence.

"But... What if there are some things even she can't tell me?" No matter how hard he tried to get that thought out of his head, he couldn't. It lingered in his mind, as if forgetting it would cause disaster. Deciding that perhaps it was best to just be sure, Oath redirected himself towards Fluttershy's cottage once more.

The house looked as tranquil as ever. The door was open though, suggesting that Fluttershy was in a hurry to the town for some reason. Stepping inside, Oath looked around. From the corner of his eye, Oath saw a flicker of movement, up the staircase. Galloping up, Oath was to see something he was never prepared to see. Not in her house.

A goat's horn jutted out from its head alongside an antler. A lion's paw. A hawk's talon.

It was Discord. In Fluttershy's house. Immediately his axes flickered to life as Oath steeled himself.

"Discord!"

Unfazed by the magical power the axes emanated, Discord just gave a sigh.

"You know, you really could have just stayed unaware of my presence. It was so much fun playing those tricks on you, at least admit that." Starting to laugh, Discord almost bent double as he continued:

"You- you should have seen your face as you looked for that hammer! Ahahahhaa!"

"So it was you who was causing all my stuff to disappear." Oath snorted.

"Me indeed, old chap, glad to see you are still the good old detective like you were back in the old days." The draconeequs said, a puff of magic heralding the appearance of a magnifying glass which Discord used to look at Oath.

A voice echoed from downstairs as the door closed.

"I'm home!"

"Hmm, looks like things are about to get a little more interesting. Ahah!"

"Too bad you won't live long enough to see it!"

Charging at the draconeequs, Oath was surprised when his strike did not connect. Instead he hit thin air as Discord disappeared elsewhere.

"You really should be more careful with those. You could hurt somepony."

Disregarding the statement, Oath charged once again. Once more his axe missed it's target. Fluttershy appeared from the staircase and gasped so loudly that Oath looked at her.

"Stand back Fluttershy! I'll deal with Discord!"

Charging once again, Oath stopped as he heard his wife cry out.

"STOP! BOTH OF YOU, STOP!"

A confused look on his face, Oath came to a screeching halt as he looked at Fluttershy, who was looking at the ground.

"I... I have some explaining to do."

"You WHAT!?" Oath said, banging his hoof on the table in the backyard.

"It's true. Princess Celestia wanted me reformed, so Fluttershy was given the task. I would say that having a friend truly is a way of making even a master of chaos change his ways. It's not exactly something that I would call ideal, but even I can make compromises."

"I didn't want you to find out like this, Oath... Please forgive me. I wasn't sure about how you'd react to him after he told me of what happened between you two."

Fluttershy was regretting that she had kept Discord's presence a secret, Oath could see that. He calmed down somewhat. The thought of Discord being there, however, did not do much to ease the situation. Reformed or not, Oath had clashed many times with Discord's minions, sometimes even with the draconeequs himself.

"I know what you are thinking about, Oath. I have changed my ways since then. But you gotta admit, it was fun, wasn't it? All these little bits of chaos that I caused, too bad that you had to end them all though." The lion's paw of the draconequus stroked the beard that was attached to the head of the master of chaos.

"Chaos was not something the princess wanted. I had my task." Oath said through gritted teeth.

"Oh sure, but can't you at least admit that some part of you wanted to see what would happen if you let this one piece of farmland have chocolate rain for a day or two? What's a field of corn turning into poison joke, hmm?"

Oath's face was slowly turning red as his anger rose.

"But really, you DID do something that allowed this one bit of chaos to survive to this day. You would know, you ARE living proof of it."

Confusion reigned across the two ponies as they looked at Discord, who covered his mouth as if he would have broken a Pinkie Promise.

"Oops."

"What do you mean, Discord? Tell me." Oath demanded.

Sighing once more, the draconeequs rose from the chair and looked over the fence overlooking the meadow flanked by forest trees.

"Since you are so willing. Remember how you were always protecting the princess back when you were still Captain of the Guard? Let's just say that... I wanted to try some extreme measures, so I had my minions try and assassinate Celestia. You running out of the castle and towards the Badlands was hilarious to watch though."

Pupils shrinking to their absolute minimum, Oath watched the draconeequs as Discord winked at him. The taboo that was his past came crashing down on to him, every excruciating detail of that night remembered as if it would have happened moments ago.

A dark, unassuming night sky left the stars out of sight in the clouds as Oath walked on the battlements of Canterlot Castle, his armor contrasting his gray skin. Just one more patrol before his shift would be over. The shadow of a pony went behind and past him, Oath not being aware of its presence. As he reached the guard tower where his personal belongings where stashed, he took off his armor and prepared to go to bed when suddenly the door was thrown open as a guard came in, urging Oath to come to the royal bedchambers. The words still hung in his mind:

"Captain, you must come quickly! Her Highness, Princess Celestia, has been attacked!"

Knowing that they didn't have time, Oath threw the pieces of his armor away as he dashed through the door and jumped down from the battlements. The guard stood there aghast looking at Oath as he broke his fall with his magic and galloped towards the bedchambers. As the captain of the guard reached Celestia's side, the princess wasn't looking her best. Her mane flowed like it always did, but it was in distorted waves. Her hooves were roughed up and her right cheek had a cut. A small trickle of blood flowed from it, but a napkin sweeped it away. The local apothecary was summoned and he was treating the princess' injuries. But Oath was more concerned with the assassin, who was nowhere in sight.

"M'lady, are you all right!?"

"I am fine, Oathbound. The assassin tried, but I can take care of myself. But he escaped."

Slamming both his hooves on the floor as he lowered himself down on to his knees, Oath cursed.

"I should have been here!"

"There was nothing you could have done except your best, Oath. I do not blame you for what happened."

"My best was not good enough..."

Rising up and looking at the princess, his face twisted in anger, Oath stormed out of the bedroom as he went to his chambers in the guard tower. His armor was quickly donned as he went to redo his shift, working that much harder to keep any more troubles at bay while he ordered a city-wide search. The night slowly turned to day as Oath still kept on going back and forth on the battlements.

Eventually, he looked at the morning sun, which burned its image on to his retina as he stared at it, unflinching. After a moment, he looked away in a flash of pain and held his hooves on his eyes, as if it would help with the pain. It only made it worse. Eventually he could see again and he went to get rid of his armor. He donned his cloak that was handcrafted by the royal tanners, golden leaves forming an image of his cutie mark, a shield crossed by two axes. He went to the throne room, where the princess was getting ready for the first audiences of the day.

Stepping up to the princess, Oath kneeled before the alicorn, who was confused.

"Lady Celestia. I have come to say my goodbye to you and all the ponies that I have befriended in your fine city. I served you for a long time as your lieutenant and captain of the guard, but last night showed that my time has passed."

He presented his badge that the Captain of the Guard usually wears on his shirt - the armor has an emblem on it to depict it but in public it was necessary to wear it so ponies would know who he was.

"I leave this honorable duty to one that can do it better than I have. I was not capable of protecting you, Princess. I broke the promise I made when I joined the guard. I promised I would let no harm to come to the royal family, no matter what. I broke that trust. I deserve not the honor of basking in the sun's warm glow."

The alicorn was startled and walked towards the amulet-wearing pony, who stepped back.

"Please, Oathbound! Think what you are doing! I am not blaming you for what happened. We all make mistakes. I want you to stay!"

Staring into the earth pony's eyes, a hint of red clear in them, the princess' pleas were left unheard as Oath responded:

"I shouldn't have made a mistake."

With that, Oath turned and ran, straight out the castle and out of Canterlot, tears falling down his cheeks as the city receded into the distance and he ran towards the south. A pegasus was laughing maniacally on top of one of the clouds that littered the sky before the draconeequs relinquished control over his minion.

Discord. It was Discord that drove him into exile. It was him who ruined his life. It was because of him that he failed his duty. It was because of him that...

All the pent up emotion of years long past came barreling down on him, crushing all resistance as Oath snapped. A vile beast had been awoken. And it was out for blood.

A great roar issued forth from Oath's throat as he looked high into the heavens for a long moment before he shot a look at Fluttershy. His eyes, silvery under normal circumstances, took on a reddish hue as his mane was slowly turning into an evil parody of his original colours in a subtle manner, of a purple mane and an ebony-black coat. His amulet was turning black, fading into his skin as a horn started to poke from his forehead before breaking the skin, coming to a proper horn's length. It crackled with red lightning.

"You. You kept this a secret from me, when I had thought that nothing was to be hidden. I trusted you, Fluttershy. Seems like I was wrong all the time. The princess was wrong. All this harmonious living has been nothing more than a lie."

The draconeequs stepped in between Fluttershy and Oath, the stallion raising his eyes to meet Discord's gaze.

"And you. You destroyed my resolve as easily as you could have crushed me in single combat. You tried to kill the princess. You made me fail. You drove me into exile. YOU. SHALL. PAY!!!"

With that, Oath charged, his axes flickering to life, more powerful than before. Instead of the blue color however, the axes had turned blood red. If it were not for Discord's magic, Oath would have cleaved through both the draconeequs and Fluttershy. The yellow-skinned pony and the master of chaos appeared near the former's house in a poof of confetti and butterflies while Oath was left to the back yard, his rage seeming to consume his sanity, taking it out on nearby furniture.

"Oh my, that pony sure needs anger-management classes."

"W...w..what's wrong with him?" Fluttershy said, shivering.

"Everything, I'm afraid. His negative emotions seem to have possessed him." The draconeequs said it so casually that it was hard to believe that Oath had just tried to cut them down.

"I... I need to speak to him. He'll listen to me." Fluttershy said, managing to put a hoof in front of the other before Discord stopped her.

"Nononono, Fluttershy, this is not so simple. Infact, if I were to hazard a guess, he is beyond saving."

"I am not leaving him alone like this!" The mare said, her face steeled in determination. Her face quickly softened as she realized what she had just done.

"I mean, if that's okay with you."

Facepalming, Discord pointed a finger at the town.

"If you think you can help him, then you need the Elements. Go on, I'll keep him... occupied, while you are gone."

"Please don't hurt him, Discord."

"Pff! I am the master of CHAOS, not doom, death and misery! Now go on, chop chop."

With that, Discord disappeared in a flash that left behind photographs of him singing in an opera, of holding a huge meatball on top of a mountain and of swimming through the sea in a suit made of porcupine needles.

Looking at her house with a worried face, Fluttershy eventually gathered her courage and galloped towards the town, towards Twilight's library. Fortunately the others were already there. Twilight was the first to notice her as she came running towards them.

"Oh hey Fluttershy! You came just in time, hopefully it won't be too much to ask you if you could help me with these books."

The unicorn loaded some books on to her hooves and the pile kept on rising and rising as Fluttershy tried to get her to listen. Eventually the weight was too much and she stumbled to the ground, the books lying around in a haphazard manner.

"You could just tell me if there were too many..."

Soon enough the situation was explained to the others as they looked at Fluttershy disbelievingly.

"I don't think Oath would do such a thing, Fluttershy. Even if Discord was his old enemy, he knows now that he is reformed, doesn't he?"

"I don't think he believes me..." A tear came up from her eyes as she looked at the ground.

It was like a forbidden line was crossed and Twilight recoiled as the tear fell down to the ground. Soon enough she told her that they would help and the Mane 6 donned the Elements of Harmony. The party was assembled and they headed towards the cottage. An evil aura hung about the perimeter of the house as sounds of battle could be heard, with the occasional giggle, oddly enough. A demonic voice cracked the giggles with the fury of a raging tempest.

As they hurried to the back yard, they found Discord fighting Oath. One of the stallions axes flew towards the draconeequs, almost touching Discord before they were turned into a bouquet of roses, which he grabbed and sniffed.

"You have to admit that these flowers are very fragrant, especially during this time of year." Each one of the flowers turned into floral imitations of Discord's face as they all laughed.

Oath's voice was crackling, almost demonic: "Those flowers will wither like your power is waning. You have gotten soft, Discord."

"Wanes, waxes, who knows the difference nowadays."

As the stallion prepared to strike again, Fluttershy cried out.

"OATH! STOP!"

Turning his gaze towards the collection of ponies that looked at him with wonder and worry, Oath snorted.

"The betrayer returns. You may hide behind your friends, but you shall die next. But for now, stand back. Your turn will come soon enough..."

Rarity stepped up.

"Come on now, Oath. If you are going let evil take control, at least make yourself look good while you are at it! You're looking absolutely horrendous!"

Ever the diplomat, Twilight thought as she stepped up.

"Oath, we know that you are angry at what has happened, but won't you please give Discord a chance? He's not evil anymore!"

A laugh came forth from the pony that had attacked Fluttershy and Discord.

"A chance?" An axe flickered to life.

"You don't deserve a chance."

Sighing, Twilight looked at her friends, each nodding before the power of the Element's began to work. A rainbow-coloured beam shot towards Oath, who threw his axes in front of it and held on. Eventually the beam died out and Oath still stood.

The Mane 6 were horrified by what they saw. Not to mention Discord.

"Surprised? Don't be, I am as much in harmony with myself as you are with eachother. Before the weakling feelings of love, compassion and joy were thrown away, I was not sure what I was meant to do. I may have tried to fool myself, but deep down inside I knew there was something wrong." An evil laugh came forth as Oath looked over at Discord.

"Infact, I should thank you, Discord. Your actions have shown me what I really am. I am bound by the weak constraints of good no longer!"

He pulsed with red energy as he shouted out to the world:

"I! AM! OATHBREAKER!"

Axes began to appear from thin air and flew in random directions, cleaving trees, embedding themselves in the ground, the walls of Fluttershy's house and almost hitting the ponies and draconequus but their combined powers meant that they came to no harm. Oath's cry of rage kept the storm of magical power flowing for a long while, seemingly unable to run out of breath, but eventually he had to stop.

Oathbound couldn't see anything other than the red background which surrounded him, with spots of inkish black moving around and about.

He could hear whispers, in a voice which he recognized as his own.

"I'm a failure."

"I should have not left the princess' side!"

"I didn't deserve to be released from that dungeon."

"Much could have been changed and the past would not have come to pass."

"I ruined my chances. I deserve no less."

"I don't deserve to live."

"NO! What's done is done! It is my duty to make it right! For I swore so! Even if I must ignore my own needs and wants, I shall redeem myself!"

The voices became silent. Instead, he could hear another voice.

His wife. She was sad.

The redness began to crack. He could see the backyard of the animal caretaker, scorched and cleave marks all over. He realized what he had done.

He had to fix this.

A moment of silence passed before a murmur could be heard, nopony unsure of the source. The volume rose, until the pony behind it looked at Oath, tears falling down her cheeks. Fluttershy spoke to Oath, who raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry, Oath. I'm so sorry. I should have told you. Please. Please forgive me."

The eyebrow lowered as she continued.

"I was afraid of what you would do if I told you. I didn't know how to say it, I didn't want to hurt your feelings."

Oath's face was changing visibly, a crack forming in the red iris that had taken over his eyes, a silver colour breaking forth from the crack.

"Fluttershy... I..."

Suddenly his axes disappeared as he put his hooves on his head, as if it would explode from the inside. He yelled in pain and his voice was indecisive, the demonic voice seeming to disappear only to appear once again before disappearing once more. Eventually Oath looked at Fluttershy, his eyes shuffling color between blue, green, red and silver while he spoke, struggling to say the words.

"Fl-Ghhhrrr-Fluttershy! Use... The Ele-GRAAAGH...E..lements! Quickly! I can't con-AAARGH!!! ...control myself much longer!"

Knowing this was the pony that they knew, the six mustered their power once again. Once more a rainbow-coloured light streaked towards Oath. This time it hit it's mark.

He writhed in pain as the evil essence came out of his mouth and flew away into the sky in a black smoke cloud, leaving only Oath suspended in the air by the beam of harmonial force as his horn retracted painfully, his amulet reappearing. He now looked like he was happy, hanging in the air as he was. In his mind, Oath could feel all the sadness, dark thoughts and everything negative he ever experienced fade away. As the beam died out, Oath fell to the ground, unconcious. Fluttershy rushed to him, her face red from all the tears she had shed that day. Rainbow Dash was looking suspiciously at the dark cloud as it flew away. She considered going after it, but decided against it.

"Oath! Oath, please wake up! ...If that's okay with you, I mean."

Discord stepped next to her and put his talon on her shoulder.

"He is fine, he just needs to rest."

As soon as he said that, Oath began to stir.

"...Or not." The draconeequs said, rolling his eyes.

As he raised his head, holding a hoof on it as if he was having a headache, he looked around. A smile formed on his lips as he saw Fluttershy's face.

"Fluttershy."

"Oath..."

Tears began to fall once more as she embraced his husband, who was taken aback by all that sudden emotion.

"Whoa. Why the tears?" Twilight raised an eyebrow at that.

"What are you talking about, Oath? We just saved you!"

As Oath looked in Twilight's direction, he was surprised to see the Mane 6 all wearing the Elements of Harmony.

"What? But I don't..." Pressure in his head began to cause pain.

"I... don't remember... It's all a red blur. Like a horrible nightmare. Of death, destruction, chaos."

As soon as he said that, he realized they were not alone. He saw Discord next to Fluttershy.

"I... remember fighting Discord in your house, Fluttershy. Then you told us to stop and we came here to the back yard... I didn't believe you when you said that you had been reformed, Discord."

"Yes, you did make quite a ruckus about it."

"But... Now. Now it makes sense. Why would the princess let you roam free otherwise? I... Believe you."

Oath rose up and stepped in front of Discord. Swallowing his pride, he stuck his hoof towards him.

"I apologize. For any and all insults towards you. I hope we can... start over."

'I have all the time in the world, I can start over as many times as I want.'

As the stallion and draconeequs shook hands and hooves, Fluttershy smiled.

A lesson was learned that day: The power of friendship can overcome even the most ancient grudges.

But the dark pony who had caused this pain and misery was not done with his rampage yet.

A nearby hill overlooking the cottage that the creamy-yellow mare called home had a black cloud descend on it, slowly taking the shape of a pony. Upon the completion of his transformation into a pony, he gasped. He was leaking black liquid from multiple places which fizzled when it hit the ground, causing the grass around it to die, though the wounds were rapidly healing. He looked at the group down below, his eyes flaring.

"I'm not done with you, Oathbound. You can be sure of that. Like it or not, I will make you suffer. If I can't make you do it to yourself, I'll just take you out another way. One way or another, you will die by my hooves." The demonic voice that came from the pony said.

"Just like you wish it to be. You will die by your own hooves. For we. Are one."

With that, the dark stallion smirked and slowly began to back away.

Equestria has not yet heard the last of Oathbreaker.

The Cutie Mark Crusade

"Oh I know! How about scuba diving?"

Apple Bloom shook her head at Scootaloo's suggestion. They were busy trying to think of what they were good at. Something that would get them their cutie marks.

"Nah, we tried that already. Besides, we couldn't try it again even if we wanted to, nopony wants to borrow us their gear anymore, not after we broke miss Cheerilee's."

Scratching her head as she thought, Scootaloo tried to come up with something. Eventually she just let her lack of ideas be known with a gruntled sigh.

Sweetie Belle was busy scratching the wall to mark that another one of Scoot's idea's being rejected. A fair tally had already marked the walls. She let out a frustrated groan.

"We're never gonna get our cutie marks if we just sit around like this!"

"Well, what do ya suggest we do? Nopony wants us to help, everything's been fine around here since Oathbound showed up."

The trio looked at eachother in realization, each one of the fillies knowing what the other two were thinking.

"That's it! Maybe Oath can help us out!" They said in unison.

Reaching the cottage that the Cutie Mark Crusaders helped build, they began to look around. The chimney was sending out black smoke to the sky, suggesting that there was indeed somepony inside. Stepping up to the door, Sweetie Belle knocked. No answer. Knocking once again, she listened for any noises coming from inside, pressing her ear against the door. The door swung open as she did so, causing her to fall into the mattress that had the word "Welcome" in yellow in it. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom did their best to hold back their laughs while Sweetie Belle looked back at them, eyes half-closed.

They sneaked around the building, looking for any clues as to where Oath could be. They didn't really want to sneak around in other ponies property, but there was no way of knowing what Oath would say if he found out that there were three fillies in his house. Slowly they reached the door to the meditation room, which Oath had specifically asked to be left as plain as possible during the construction of the house. The three never knew the reason behind it but they didn't question Oath's judgment.

Optional Background Music

The trio were surprised to hear some muffled noises coming from the room. Some sort of electric noise was carrying its way past the door. Slowly opening the door, they scuttled inside. The gray stallion that owned the house was in the middle of the room, atop a pyramid-ish collection of round stones, surrounded by differently colored streams of magic. Green and yellow, red and blue, pink and purple. All different colors, all moving to the same tune. A tune was coming from the guitar that Oath was playing. But not like any guitar the three had seen before. This one had been painted red over a black undercoat. The noises that came forth from it were also different, more electric. Like lightning captured in the strings. But that was not the strangest thing. The strange thing was the guitar-looking instrument with 4 strings that made low sounds which reverberated across the whole room. Then there was the drum-set which was sitting at the back of the room, with two sticks hovering in the air and striking the drums like they were going to break them. All the instruments were bathed in the cool blue glow that had become Oath's magical trademark. Oath noticed the three as soon as they entered, but he paid them no mind as he continued to play. Eventually the song reached its climax as Oath started playing to the extreme, his hooves moving back and forth across the guitar as noises of all kinds came forth. When the song ended, Oath looked upon the three, who recoiled as he did so. A chuckle came forth from Oath's throat.

"No need for you to be scared."

The three continued to watch Oath in silence before he spoke again, lifting his instruments to their spots on the wall, leaving only the drum-set where it was.

"True, I did not expect my hobby to be found about quite yet, but sometimes things just happen. Anyway, come with me, I still have some apple juice left from my last visit to Applejack's. You like apple juice, don't you? I'm not exactly confident that you three are of drinking age yet, so no cider for you."

The three bobbed their heads as they licked their lips, as if their memories of the last few minutes would have been wiped away.

Gulping sounds came from the three filled the kitchen as they dove into their drinks with wild abandon, Oath just looking at them as they finished their juice. The three had drank so much of it that Oath was not sure if they could hold much more without bursting.

Eventually Scootaloo spoke up: "What was that music you did in there? That was awesome!"

Surprised at the last word the pegafilly said, Oath responded with a smile: "Oh that. It's just something that I do to pass the time nowadays. Nothing special really."

"Nuffin' special? Hogwash, Oath! That 'tar o' yours is special indeed!"

A sheepish smile replacing his original smile, Oath scratched his mane.

"And the way you used the other instruments while playing that guitar in such a special way! I ain't seen anypony play like that!"

As an afterthought, Sweetie Belle added: "Then again, those instruments are all foreign to me. Where did you get them?"

Scootaloo rose up from her chair as she jumped up and down.

"Yea! Tell us, Oath!"

Another chuckle came forth as Oath took a comfortable position in his chair.

"Very well."

The story of how Oath came to be the owner of the red and black guitar was covered quickly enough. But the story of how he realized it was no old guitar, but a 'unitar' really captivated the three as he told them of how he was crafting music during that day. He couldn't forget it for that was the day when he told Fluttershy of how he felt towards her. Scootaloo grimaced a bit as the stallion recounted the whole day, all the romantic details included.

Eventually he told of how he had taken it upon himself to get the rest of the set and learning each instrument thoroughly. The story went on and on until Oath was so exhausted from speaking he had to drink a bit of the apple juice himself to moisturize his throat.

"And thus we are here."

As the three absorbed the information, Oath looked outside the window, wondering how long he had spoken to the Crusaders. The sun was about to go low, the moon would be raised any minute.

"Oath..."

Turning his head towards the fillies once again, he was surprised to see that they were looking at him with pleading eyes.

"Could you teach us to play like you do?" The three said in unison.

"What?"

"You heard us! We wanna learn to play like you do! We wanna see if we can earn our cutie marks as musicians!"

Oath was surprised, yet he should have expected it. The Cutie Mark Crusaders would do anything if they earned their cutie marks that way. If Oath would have told them that jumping down a well would have given them their cutie marks, they would have done it twice already.

"...If you wish."

The three were about to scream out in joy but Oath stopped their celebration short.

"BUT! There is a condition."

"Huh?"

"To truly learn how to play these instruments you must devote yourself to it. To know each note from the heart. To know what to do even if you were blindfolded. It is only through constant and devoted practice that one can get to this kind of level of expertise. Even though I may not have a cutie mark for music-making, I am not afraid to say that I could give a pony with a music-related cutie mark a run for their bits."

"But how can you beat a pony who's special talent is music?"

Thinking about the question for a moment, Oath finally answered, a serious look on his face.

"Do you three know everything there is to be known about cutie marks?"

"A cutie mark represents the special talent a pony is born with! Once they realize what they are good at, they get a mark on their flank to show it to everypony! That way they can use their talents for the good of all society."

"A good answer. However, have you heard of the "Cutie Mark Preference" theory?"

Confusion was the prime aspect of the three fillies faces as they looked at Oath.

"A theory presented by a pony who's name has unfortunately been forgotten by the ages. This theory states that if a pony devotes himself to an activity before they attain their cutie mark, even if it is not their special talent, then the cutie mark will prove to be one related to that certain activity. In short, the more you do a certain thing and the more you learn about it before you get your cutie mark, the more likely you are to get a cutie mark for that thing that you do, regardless of what your actual talent would have been."

The three just looked at Oath, each of their expressions showing how confused they were.

Sweetie Belle eventually broke the silence:

"But if you get a cutie mark in something you do instead of what you are good at, doesn't it mean that it is actually the cutie mark you were supposed to get in the first place?"

Oath let out a laugh as the confusion continued on the fillies minds.

"A good question, Sweetie Belle. But I won't discuss philosophy with you, not today anyway. I am prepared to teach, I just want to know if you are ready to do what it takes."

Immediately Scootaloo jumped up and landed in front of the three, on top of the table.

"I'm ready!"

Encouraged by Scoot's initiative, Apple Bloom put her hoof on the table.

"Me too!"

Looking over at Sweetie Belle, Oath waited for her response. She was thinking this thoroughly. Eventually she put her hoof on the table as well.

"Count me in!"

A smile was the reward for the three as Oath stepped down from his chair, motioning for the three to follow him once more.

"Then I shall teach you. But not today."

"Huh?"

"Look outside."

The sun was very low, the moon was about to be raised any minute.

"You might want to get home before you are missed."

With a zoom, the three were out of the house, almost taking the door out of its place as they did so. As he closed the door and turned himself towards the apple juice barrel which was open and pretty much empty, Oath sighed.

"What have I just gotten myself into?" Chuckling to himself once again, he answered his own question:

"Guess I need more juice."

The next day the three went to Oath's place as soon as they could, much to the chagrin of their caretakers. Applejack was not happy with Apple Bloom spending so much time with the gray stallion. She was mad enough when Apple Bloom didn't come home at the agreed-upon time. And now she needed her help with the making of some apple cider, but the filly just wouldn't have the time to help her sister.

"What's so darn important 'bout Oath's place anyway that she can't even lend her own sis a hoof?"

Big Macintosh just shrugged his shoulders.

Rarity was not that stressed about Sweetie Belle's new "hobby", even if she lacked the help that she needed with some of the new clothes she needed to complete. Spike would always be ready and within earshot.

As the trio reached the house, Oath was waiting for them, anticipation on the three's faces as they stepped up and lined up like soldiers ready and waiting for their drilling sergeant to bark orders.

"You three are ready?"

"Yes sir!"

"Then follow me."

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS MUSICIANS, YAY!' They yelled in unison, which made Oath stare at them for a second before he shrugged and continued.

They went inside the house and to the meditation chamber, which was blank in colours unlike last time. As Oath stepped up on to the pyramid of stones, his amulet started glowing in the colors of the rainbow. Next the colours all slipped out of the amulet and filled the air, all the different colours bringing different feelings to be seen by all.

Immediately, Oath stepped down. This caused the colors to dissipate. He levitated the same three instruments he used last time to the pyramid, letting them hang in there as he motioned for the three to step forward. As the three looked at the instruments, they slowly began taking deliberate steps in the direction of the instrument that appealed to them the most.

Apple Bloom placed her hoofs on the bass. Her words always carried meaning and when her friends had failed to bring up their points in conversations, she was always there to make the other ponies understand.

Sweetie Belle used her magic on the red and black guitar, Oath's magic letting go of it as she strapped it on herself. She was known for her singing capabilities, but she also liked being the centre of attention, not too much unlike Rainbow Dash.

Scootaloo sat on the stool that was at the back of the drums, picking up the drumsticks. She always liked making sure that she was remembered. She made the others dance to her tune. She wanted to make sure that whatever she did, she did it with a bang.

Satisfied with their choises, the three looked at Oath, who nodded. Their training began, each filly getting taught on every part of the instrument in question, both in book-form and practical demonstrations. Soon enough the three had songs thought up in their heads, a bit early, but better early than late.

The training continued for weeks, each session increasing their skills further and further. The three were frustrated however. Their cutie marks just would not show. Oath was seeing how it was affecting their perfomance and he eventually presented them with a plan.

"Girls, there's something that I think will make you convinced of you having made the right choice."

One could have painted question marks on their flanks at that precise minute as Oath chuckled.

"I think you are ready to do something that I was never ready to do. I think you are ready to make a band!"

They looked at eachother, a bit intrested but also slightly disintrested. They did not really want to do anything before they knew that this was what they were meant to do.

"You sure, Oath?" Apple Bloom said, a bit skeptic.

"I think you are ready. But it is not up to me. Your cutie marks will come to you eventually. But are you willing to make them come to you?"

The trio huddled up, whispering to eachother as they considered their teacher's words.

"He has a point... If this "cutie mark preference" or whatever is true, then it could be what we have been looking for." Sweetie Belle said, to which the other two nodded.

"But what if we're not ready?" Apple Bloom said.

"Of course we are ready! We are the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" Scootaloo said, grinning while she said it. The three eventually nodded in unison, before they stepped in front of Oath and said that they are ready.

"Then you only need to come up with the name of the band."

A moment of silence ensued as they looked at eachother, then their flanks. Then Sweetie Belle's face brightened up.

"We are the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" She repeated the orange pegasus' sentence.

Oath laughed as he listened to the unicorn filly's answer. 'Then it shall be so. Now, to reveal my plan.'

Oath took a map of Equestria, which had marks on it in the major cities and settlements. Manehattan, Phillydelphia, Canterlot, Trottingham...

"The plan is this. We go on a tour. Make your music known to all."

Stage fright visible on their faces as the three listened, Oath reassured them.

"No need for fear, girls. Just give it your best and you can walk away proudly."

Comforted by the words, the Cutie Mark Crusaders said in one voice:

"When do we go!?"

The Cutie Mark Crusader's tour went places that nopony had thought possible in such a short timespan. The three quickly gained a huge following of fans and ponies came from all over Equestria to hear their music. Their singles like Blank Flank, The Mark for Me, Crusade For Eternity and Crystal Cuties quickly became firm favourites, despite being released in such a short amount of time. Less than 2 months had passed since the three had first departed, but in this time they became Equestria's most known band. But for all their hard work, they did not get their cutie marks. The frustration was so clear that it was amazing that the three managed to put on their good looks for the crowd. Oath eventually decided that they should do something special.

"Good job girls! You really rocked the show!"

"Yea..." They said, a bit disappointed.

"We have one more place that we need to tour on and we will have been all over Equestria. I think you will like where we are going."

Yet again the three were confused. For all the complimenting and praising that Oath gave them, he was always somewhat cryptic.

Showing the map once more, Oath pointed at Ponyville. The three's faces all turned into wide smiles as they started screaming in joy. "Ah get to see my big sister!" Apple Bloom said, jumping up and down as she did so.

"And I get to see mine!" Sweetie Belle said, her smile wide as her horn was long.

"I get to see Rainbow Dash! I can't wait to tell her how much we've done!" Scootaloo said, flapping her wings like a humming bird but not really flying.

"Heh, that's what I like to see! About time you three took those sad faces off!"

But the three eyed their teacher for a minute, which caused Oath to get confused for a change. Eventually Sweetie Belle requested something.

"Oath? We'd like you to be our guitarist this time. You've made sure that we got this far. We want you to be there with us when we do our final stop before this tour is over."

Oath was not prepared for that. The three were so good that he wondered if they were joking. They were much better than he was. And all this management did not do much to improve his skills.

"Are you three sure? I am not as good as I was 2 months ago..."

"We are! We, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, officially invite you to become our fourth member!"

"Girls... I..." A smile came forth.

"Okay. But just this one time."

"WOHOOOO!!!"

As the day came and the four came to Ponyville, they all hurried to their families and friends to greet them after such long absence. Soon enough the craze of the CMC band engulfed the town as tourists came from every place, filling the town faster than one could think. In fact, Twilight probably could have calculated the true value of pi before all the guests to the show were accounted for. Other bands and perfomances also attended, like the Seagull Stunt Seminar, the Manehattan Party Mayhem and Derpy's "Guess What Went Wrong, Cuz I Sure Don't!" show. As Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were getting ready for the show, they were feeling honored, exhilirated and terrified at the same time. It was another thing to play for strangers, but to their friends and family it was a different thing entirely. Knowing that they could only give their best however, the three got their instruments all tuned up and ready to go. Before they could get out on to the stage, they were stopped by Oath and a few certain ponies.

"Hold up, girls. I think there's some ponies that wanted to speak to you." Oath said as the Mane Six stepped up.

"Sweetie Belle, you know that I do not think that highly of music but I just wanted to let you know that you three have made me convinced that you can indeed look fabulous while singing fabulously." Rarity said, a hint of a guilty blush on her cheeks.

"Scoot, I think you are more cool than I am right now, at least in your own way. I hate to admit it, but I could never find myself in your hooves. Show them what you are made of!" Rainbow Dash said, holding her hoof in front of her as Scootaloo brohoofed her before they hugged.

'Apple Bloom, Ah know how much ya loved workin' at the farm an' all, but Ah think you've found yer true callin'. Ah can look back and hold mah head up proudly today as Ah see ya play t'day.' Applejack said, holding her hat on her chest.

Big Mac stepped up and spoke, a rare event under most circumstances.

"Hold yer ideals close to yer heart and ya will always be doing what's right, Apple Bloom."

Twilight also spoke up, but to the whole band: "Alright, we've kept you long enough. Time for you to show us what the Cutie Mark Crusaders can do!"

Grinning, the trio stepped unto the stage and got met by a loud cheer from the collection of ponies, the amount of which was staggering.

But back stage Oath took a final look at Fluttershy before speaking up as he slowly increased the distance between them.

"Oh, and be prepared for a surprise, Fluttershy. You may have heard these three play before, but it's different this time." With that, the gray stallion joined the Crusaders on the stage.

Sweetie Belle hovered the mic over with her magic and spoke to the crowd:

"Hello everypony! Tonight we got a good show for you all! But first, I'd like all of you to know that tonight we will have a special guest. Meet Oathbound!"

A cheer went up as Oath stepped forward, his red and black guitar strapped on and ready to go.

"It's because of him that we have come this far. He was our teacher, our pillar of support and our manager. Tonight we want to show our gratitude so we asked him to join us in the final part of our tour as we play one of his songs in tribute to his wonderful wife, Fluttershy! Now let's wrap up this Crusade!"

[Unlike the other songs that the Crusaders had made, this one started with just Oath playing his guitar, another one floating by his side as it provided more melodic power to the strums. Soon the drums came into play, along with Sweetie's voice.

"So close, no matter how far.

Couldn't much more from the heart.

Forever trust in who you are.

And nothing else matters...

Never opened myself up this way.

Life is ours, we live it our way.

All these words I don't just say.

And nothing else matters...

Trust I seek and I find in you.

Everyday for something ne~w!

Open my eye for a different view.

And nothing else matters!"

With those words, the chorus began.

"Never cared for what they do!

Never cared for what they know!

But I know~"

And like that, the chorus was over, but the song was far from over.

"So close, no matter how far.

Couldn't be much more from the heart.

Forever trusting who we are.

And nothing else matters~

Never cared for what they do!

Never cared for what they kno~whoa!

But I know~"

As a solo came to play, Oath shook his head to the melody, making the crowd sway their heads in tune, making the song ring bells in their hears. But Oath took the initiative by taking the mic from Sweetie, who was slightly surprised but rolled with it.

"I never opened myself this way~

Life is ours, we live it our way~heyyy!

All these words I don't just say~eyy!

And nothing else matters!

Trust I seek, and I find in you!

Everyday for something new-hew!

Open my eye for a different view

And nothing else matter~herrs!

Never cared for what they say!

Never cared for games they play!

Never cared for what they do!

Never cared for what they know~whoa!

And I know~

YEA YEAH!"

Another solo entirely came as Oath's guitar began making the electric sounds the three had heard before when they first came to know of Oath's guitar skills. They could never learn to play like he did. It was like a rag was swept from under their hooves as the three just kept on playing. The crowd however was loving it, stomping the ground in approval.

All to soon it came to an end, however. The noise began to die down as the background guitar's sound became audible once again.

"So close, no matter how far.

Couldn't be much more from the heart.

Forever trust in who you are.

And nothing else matters..."

Sweetie Belle was absolutely stunned by Oath's perfomance. She could literally feel the emotion in the stallion's voice and came to the conclusion that she must do the same if she wants the crowd to react like that.

And the outro began to play, slowly dying down as the guitar grew more silent with each played note.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJJ_qnoF_yI)

The crowd stomped the ground in complete approval as the song came to an end. But the crowd was not prepared to see small lights emerging on the flanks of the three fillies as they finished. Scootaloo had two drumsticks and a drum. Sweetie Belle had a mic with some of it's wire winding around it. Apple Bloom had a bass with a couple of notes next to it. They were super excited, screaming like the little fillies they were. Oath smiled.

'Looks like this was the way it was meant to be after all.' He thought happily.

After the show was over and everypony had gathered their things before retiring for the day, the Mane 6 and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were at Oath's place, celebrating the three's discovery of their talent.

"Congratulations, girls! You really showed that you deserve those cutie marks!" Pinkie Pie said.

"Yea! You three really are something!" Rainbow Dash said, earning a quick smirk from Scootaloo.

"The music was bedazzling! I couldn't have been more proud of you, Sweetie Belle." Rarity said, a hint of a tear in her eye.

"Ah was always one for country-style music but ya three showed me that all this fancy-pants music can be nice too." Applejack said, a bit shamefully.

"But we couldn't have done it without you, Oath!" The trio said, to which the others nodded.

"Nonsense. The only one who can make you discover your talent is you. I just showed you the way."

"Stop being so modest! It's irritating..." Scootaloo grimaced, to which Oath replied with a chuckle. The others just laughed, the party continuing long into the night.

That day a truly valuable lesson was learned:

When doubt settles in and you do not believe there is anything special about yourself, you just need a nudge to set off the avalance that shows your true potential. A little help in making somepony understand that everypony is special can be the driving force that shows the others how much you can help if you believe in yourself.

Friendship Is Healing

Angel was getting nervous. He had waited a long time for his owner to prepare all the stuff for the picnic she promised. He wasn't happy when he heard that her husband, Oathbound was coming too. He wanted to have some time with her. Alone.

A knock on the door. Speak of the devil. With a sigh, Angel just hopped on to a corner to stomp his feet on the ground while waiting for Fluttershy to get downstairs so they can go.

The door opened with a miniscule creak as Oath entered. Fluttershy was at the top of the stairs, arranging the food for the picnic so that they are all nice and tidy in the basket. When she was done, she laid the picnic matress on top before descending the stairs. Oath smiled as Angel stuck his tongue out in his direction.

"No need to be so grumpy, Angel. I'll try and give you some leeway. I know that ever since the wedding Fluttershy has been a little focused on me."

The rabbits disposition didn't even budge. Oath expected that. Ignoring the bunny, he looked over at Fluttershy, who had just gotten over to the pair.

"Ready to go?"

A smile and a nod was all that the two needed. Stepping outside, the three started walking in the direction of a nearby hill that Angel had picked as their picnicing spot. The ponies that passed by gave them a wave, some of them stopping them for a minute to talk, but the three would eventually move on when Angel would get tired of waiting. Eventually the trio reached a small hill ending with a cliff overlooking the town. Oath gave Angel a wink as he told Fluttershy he would let them get things prepared while he would take in the scenery. Climbing to the top of the hill and getting to the edge of the cliff, he took a mouthful of the air that flowed from behind his back and towards the town. Such a lovely sight. Every little detail from the town could be picked out, ponies could be seen talking to eachother, the general noises of town life barely carrying itself to the top of the cliff. The cliff itself was quite steep. A long drop. Oath paid the drop no mind as he cleared his thoughts and breathed slower and slower until time itself seemed to slow down. His state of nirvana was broken by the sudden caw of a crow, that started pecking him.

"Hey! Stop it! What did I ever do to you?"

The crow kept on pecking, causing minor bleeding from some of the pecked spots as Oath tried to shoo the bird away. A step in the wrong direction was all it took. Oath fell backwards, almost down the cliff but he managed to grab on to the visible thick roots of a plant with his hooves. straining them to the limit as they twisted themselves to that painful position. The bird kept on pecking as he tried to think of something. His grasp was starting to fail him as he began to panic. He yelled out:

"HELP ME! I'M GOING TO FALL!"

In the distance, Fluttershy startled when she heard somepony yell for help. Angel facepalmed as the mare took to flight and towards the sound's source. Fluttershy was not sure where the voice came from, but it was urgent.

"Where are you? I can't see you..." She said, her voice not carrying far.

A hoof lost it's grasp, it's strength gone from holding on to the last strand of floral roots as dirt fell off the cliff. Oath was going to fall. The crow tried pecking at his sapphire-encrusted neckpiece. Oath realized that the bird was after his amulet!

That was his last thought before vertigo took its course. He fell from the cliff, his left hind hoof firing up a flare of pain as he kept on falling. His screaming went unanswered as he hit a rock with his flank. Crashing, tumbling through the air, his amulet swaying and hitting his neck with great force. One last time his nerves burned with excruciating pain before all turned to black.

Voices could be heard, audible, but seeming to come from miles away. Oath felt comfortable. This is what heaven must be like, he thought as he started to move his muscles before a jolt of pain quickly reminded him of what had just happened to him. The voices sharpened, now a lot closer.

"Doctor, I think he is waking up!"

Doctor? And was that Twilight Sparkle's voice? Eventually Oath gathered enough strength to open his eyes to see his friends all smiling at him.

"Howdy there, sugarcube! Ya took a mighty few hits there." Applejack said.

He tried to speak, but no words would come out.

"It's okay, Oath. The doctor is gonna make you feel all better, trust me." Twilight said, to which Pinkie and Applejack nodded.

"W... What happened? All I remember is falling and pain. Then it all went to black..."

"Well, ya fell of this cliff and like Ah said, ya took some hits. The doc said he would fix ya up in a jiffy, though!"

Feeling that something was off, Oath tried to rise up, but Twilight's magic held him in place.

"Don't try to move, you have some broken bones. You need to rest until they are all healed."

The doctor showed himself, the white jacket and his stethoscope filling all the classic signs of a good doctor.

"Your friend is correct, Oathbound. You were lucky to have been found so quickly. Fluttershy came as soon as she found you. You might want to be more careful when standing around cliffs that steep."

"I did not really want to jump off the cliff on purpose." Oath said, a bit dryly.

"I would have been surprised if you did." The doctor said, hovering his glasses in front of his face to clean them with a piece of cloth. Oath eyed daggers at the doctor, a bit undiplomatically. The glasses were mounted once again on the doctor's face before he continued.

"Don't worry, you won't be here for too long. A week or so and we can let you leave, though even then you will need to wear a crutch for a while."

Thinking about it for a while while looking at his injuries, Oath noticed that his amulet was missing. His alarmed expression and sudden movement earned another jolt of pain before he was forced back to his previous position.

"My amulet! Where's my amulet!?"

Confusion filled the room as Oath waited for an answer. Fluttershy eventually spoke up.

"I... I didn't see it when I found you. I was worried about you so I went to get help..."

Draining this information, Oath considered his options. He had no intention of breaking out of here, not while he was wounded the way he was. But if he didn't do something, the amulet could well be lost forever. He was not sure why he wanted to get it back. Perhaps it was because of the comforting feeling of the amulet's magic. Perhaps he was just used to being able to use magic. Perhaps he was just getting fired up for nothing.

"You can go and search for this trinket of yours as soon as you get out of here, just try not to get yourself back here too quickly."

A smirk on his face was the only thing heralding Oath's response: "No promises, Doctor."

He turned his gaze towards his friends: "Thank you, everypony. I just don't know how I coulda gone this far without you. I hope I can repay this some day."

"Don't sweat it, pal! Just gimme a holler if you want your favourite nurse, Pinkie Pie to make you have a good time here!" Pinkie said, donning a pink nurse's hat with a yellow cross.

A laugh was the only way he could respond to the pink pony's offer. "I'll keep that in mind, Pinkie."

The doctor gave a small cough and as the ponies looked at him, the hoof of the doctor pointed towards the clock, which showed that the time was getting late. It was almost 11 PM. Oath looked at the clock, confused. How long was he out?

"It would be best if you would let Oathbound here recover in peace."

"Of course, doctor. We'll come by to see you tomorrow, Oath!" Twilight said, before disappearing out the door, her friends following suite. The doctor eyed the gray stallion before wishing him a good night.

Soon enough sleep took over.

The week went over without much trouble, but the doctor was worried over the cough that he had developed over his stay. As promised, however, Oath was shown out the door with the crutch giving him a standing position so he could move about. As he hobbled to his house he found a bunch of 'Get Well' cards inside, from all his friends. A gentle smile and a tear were the only way he could respond to them, even if there was nopony around to see it. But he had other things to do. As Oath searched around his house, he found a book depicting illnesses of a magical nature - something which he had borrowed from the library some time ago. It was not what he was looking for, but he was interested.

Even though he couldn't find out anything about the amulet, Oath found a clue to what was causing this cough. A disease known as "Manavoid Syndrome". There are certain artifacts that allow earth ponies to perform magical feats, but usually for a limited time, and of limited power. He knew of these kinds of artifacts, as he created one himself - the horn that called him so long ago to Ponyville. These artifacts have sometimes been known to cause a kind of 'addiction'. The body craves for magic, and it consumes itself to sustain any magical energy left within it. It's the same as a unicorn using too much power, but unlike a unicorn, the magical power does not come back with rest. Only the constant use of an artifact of tremendous power could hold the disease back. That gave him reason to worry. If there was a chance the amulet was still near the place where he fell, Oath would find it, otherwise he could be in mortal danger. As he laid out the map of the town, he looked at the spot where he had gone with his wife and her pet. He was not sure about the surrounding area, but the crow must have a nest nearby. Perhaps Fluttershy could help him find the bird.

"A crow? I don't think there are any crows around here. They all nest a bit higher up in the mountain over there." Fluttershy said, pointing towards the spire of stone in the distance that extended so high as if to pierce the clouds.

"Well a crow made me fall off that cliff... If it nests in there, then I shall take back what is mine."

"Oath..."

"Hmm?"

"Why is that amulet so important to you? ..If it's okay for me to ask, that is." A violent cough came forth from the stallion as an answer, before actual words came out.

"I... I don't know. It almost feels like a physical need. Only thing I feel in my gut is that for some reason my life depends on it." A frown formed upon Oath's face, he didn't want Fluttershy to get worried in case this Manavoid Syndrome was not what was wrong with him. Fluttershy wanted to help, but she was not sure if she could help him at all. Eventually she just decided to keep her muzzle shut.

"I won't probably be back for a day or two, so you might want to make the others know."

"Umm... Okay..."

With that, Oath started walking away and towards his house where he would get his things. Well, walking as much as he was capable of with the crutch. On his way there, through the town, he kept on coughing. It just would not stop. Eventually a very worried Bon Bon came to offer a helping hoof, but Oath refused. He had to conquer this illness on his own.

It was a battle he was losing. Eventually, as other ponies looked at him in concern, he decided to trek it towards the hospital instead. The doctor was not that surprised to see him once more.

"Well well, looks like I was right about you, Oathbound."

With no strength to produce any counter-argument, Oath simply hobbled in to the building, eager to lay down. As the doctor looked him over, doing every possible test and scan he could, Oath just wanted for the pain in his chest to leave. It was like his lungs were going to burst. Another violent cough just increased the pain. His voice was becoming hoarse. It probably would not be long before he started coughing blood. The doctor eyed the test results in a disbelieving manner, being very unlike what he had originally thought.

"Well this is unexpected. You seem to be under a far worse condition than a simple cough. Your inner magical levels are dangerously low."

"If the pain from this cough is classified as simple, I would not dare think of the more complex options." Oath rasped.

"Have you undergone any surgical treatment before, Oathbound?"

A confused look was the only answer Oath had to that question.

"I assume that means no." A sigh came out from the doctor, as if to tell Oath that he was about to die. It was something that the gray pony would have wanted at that point.

The continued sentence was far worse than that.

"Your internal organs seem to be aging at a faster rate than normal. Your body's age is 10 years past your actual age."

"What? But how is that possible?"

A shrug. "Who knows. If I had to guess, I'd say it had something to do with your low levels of magic in your system. All we can do is slow the process down, but unless we don't find a solution to this you will be spending the rest of your life here on this bed. And that won't last long."

A neutral expression indicated that Oath was in deep contemplation of his situation. He wanted his friends here. They deserve to know the truth before it is too late - maybe they could even find the amulet before he died. They needed to know that he was capable of being cured.

"Could you call my friends over? There's something I need to tell them."

A nod from the doctor was all that Oath needed. As the doctor left the room, Oath was left alone with his coughing. He felt unnaturally warm as well. But he had to keep himself awake.

As his friends came over, they were shocked to find him in such a pitiful state. His skin didn't have it's almost glistening sheen anymore, instead small wrinkles started appearing. It was as if he was slowly decomposing while he was alive.

"My friends. Fluttershy. I am afraid to ask this from you, for it can be a dangerous task."

"Oath, what happened to you? You were just fine when you hobbled around with that crutch, but this!? If you asked me, I would have said that you had gone wrestling with dragons!" Twilight said. Funnily enough, Twilight could imagine Oath wrestling with a full-grown dragon. But not in this condition.

"Please. Listen to me. My amulet-"

"Oh for Celestia's sake, Oath! Stop talking about that amulet and look at yourself! You need to get better and worrying about some dusty old trinket is not going to help you!" Rarity said, disgusted.

"But-" Oath tried to say, yet he didn't get much of a choice.

"No buts, dear! You just lay there and let the doctor do whatever is needed to be done."

Oath looked over at Fluttershy, who was looking back, a tear threatening to drop.

"Listen to me. The crow that stole my amulet, you need to get it back!"

A facehoof from Rainbow Dash and Rarity was a reply Oath could only get before being barraged with more questions.

"Why the buck is that amulet so important to you anyway, Oath? Ya too worried about yer trinket gettin' dirty? Cuz even if yer ill like this, Ah'm not going to leave you like this until ya are up an' healthy!" Applejack said, crossing her hooves in an indication of her intentions not changing no matter what.

"Yea, what's so darn great about it? It's just giving you magical powers, surely you can learn to live without them, right? You're an Earth Pony!" Rainbow said, shrugging while at it. Oath looked at the pair in an intimidating manner for a second before he sighed. That second of gazing at the two made them shut their muzzles quickly.

"If you truly care about my health, then the amulet must be returned. If you wish to know what ails me, then heed my words, for I fear I may not have time to repeat them." A cough was like the seal on a letter, as nopony raised their voice afterwards.

"I... am not sure if I am correct in this, but I believe that I have been stricken with Manavoid Syndrome."

"Mana-what now?" Pinkie said, her head twisting until it was upside down. Twilight gasped.

"Manavoid Syndrome. It's a magical disease that is caused by magical "trinkets" like mine. The amulet was enchanted by Princess Celestia and gifted to me for my long years of service as Captain of the Guard. It gives me magical powers but unfortunately some individuals cannot live without the magical influence of such trinkets. Their body craves for magic but finds no source, so it eats away at itself. My body was satisfied with the amulet's power, but that crow..." Oath let the unfinished sentence hang in the air, allowing the others to take in the information.

"But... Is there anything we can do?" Twilight asked, realizing that Oath was in grave danger and getting closer to death's door with every second wasted.

"If the amulet is returned, then... I don't know what will happen. I believe it should stop this deterioration. But you need to travel to the mountain, where these crows supposedly nest."

Applejack stepped up and placed her hoof on Oath's chest, causing him to wince a little.

"Cheer up, Oath! We'll bring yer amulet back here lickety split!" It was a big change considering what the farmer had said moments before.

"Let it never be known that I, the mighty Rainbow Dash would not aid a friend on his death bed." Rainbow Dash said, which earned a mean look from the others. She just looked back. "What? He certainly isn't looking like he's ready for Wonderbolt training."

"True friends look out for eachother, Oath. We will do our best. And don't worry, I got a spell that can track magical artefacts! Your amulet isn't going anywhere anytime soon." Twilight said, her voice bringing comfort to Oath, his breaths coming a bit more easily.

"I can't wait to tell you how much fun you've missed once we bring that amulet back! All this laying down in bed isn't bringing you much good! Besides, you need a 'Good'N'Healthy Oathie' party once you're all better!" Pinkie said, hopping about.

"And I certainly won't watch a friend die while there is anything I can do. And don't even get me started on how funeral suits are out of style this season." Rarity said, shuddering when she finished her second sentence.

Fluttershy tugged a bit at Oath's mane, which caused the stallion to divert his gaze towards her.

"Oath... I... I want to stay here. With you. If.. If that's okay with you. I don't want to leave you like this. Dying... alone."

A tear came up from her eyes as she started crying. Oath gave her a shoulder to lean on, even though the weight of her head caused his bones to grind together with each heartbeat. Despite the effort required, Oath extended his other hoof over in an attempt to hug her. It was enough for her as she calmed down somewhat, yet the crying was not stopping. Oath understood how she felt.

"Shh... It's okay Fluttershy. I'll be fine. Your.. Our friends won't let us down." Oath corrected, brushing her mane with his extended hoof.

Looking over to the others, Oath nodded. Responding in the same way, the others silently left the room as the couple were left in there with the doctor. Soon enough they were flying in the air balloon towards the mountain, which was not actually that far from Ponyville. A sinister black smoke was billowing forth from the cave at the top, with occasional flashes of blue magic appearing for a fraction of a second before leaving no indication of ever being there other than the marks left in the Mane 5's retinae. Twilight's tracking spell also pointed towards the cave. Deciding that this was where the amulet must be, the five ponies ascended with the balloon, Rainbow Dash scouting ahead. As they reached the top and dismounted the balloon - Applejack anchoring the thing to a nearby rock - Rainbow appeared from the mouth of the cave. She was sneaking for some reason.

"There's somepony inside there. And this bird Oath spoke is there as well! The amulet must have been stolen!" Rainbow said, clamping her hooves together like a detective who'd just figured out the mystery at a crime scene.

"No need to jump to conclusions, Rainbow Dash, perhaps it was just the bird getting adventurous." Twilight said, though she was not that confident of those words herself.

Stepping inside the cave, the five ponies were not quite surprised to see the stranger inside. It was the thing besides him which looked peculiar. It looked like a cauldron. Green smoke rose out from the big container, which turned to black as it rose ever higher towards the ceiling. A flash of blue almost blinded the five as their eardrums were assaulted by a loud thunder-like sound. As they cleared away the residue noise they confronted the strange pony, who almost seemed to be deliberately inhaling the fumes.

"Hey, what the hay do you think you're doing? Why do you have our friend's amulet?"

The crow which was resting on a small rock let out a caw as it flied towards them. The stranger stopped the creature's effort in it's tracks. A green and purple lightning shot out from his horn, encasing the bird in energy as it let out more caws in its panicked state. The creature writhed in agony as the little cage of energy became smaller and smaller, leaving eventually nothing more than a small pin-prick of energy as the crow's cries for help were left unanswered as the five ponies were just standing there, aghast at the cruelty which the stranger had just expressed.

"Don't feel sorry for that miserable bird. It's usefullness was at an end. As is yours. You won't interfere with my plans anymore."

The pony turned towards the intruders to his cave, revealing his face. It was similar to Oath's, but jet-black skin with a purple mane, with hues of green cast over it by the bubbling cauldron's fumes. His eyes red were red, with a small dot of white on the center and they shone as if with a light of their own. A crackling lightning circled his horn, leftovers from the spell he'd just cast. His cutie mark was a broken bronze shield with a single red axe in front of it. Oath's amulet hovered next to the stranger, causing the others to look at it.

"You're looking for this? Too bad. I won't follow your instructions. He will die knowing his weakness was never to be cured. And he will know that I was the one that deserved to live in his place. Forcibly evicting me from my rightful place as the owner of my body will not aid you here, especially without the traitorous pegasus, Elements of Harmony."

As the others looked at the pony and listened to his words, Rainbow Dash gasped.

"It's you! You're the evil pony that possessed Oath!" She said, pointing a hoof at him.

An evil laugh came forth from the pony. Until now, the Mane Five had not taken notice of how demonic his voice was.

"Fastest in all of Equestria, eh whelp? Took you long enough. And you forget, my name is Oathbreaker and I didn't possess anypony! I merely took my what was mine!" The ebony stallion fumed at the speedster.

"Return the amulet to us now and nopony has to get hurt!" Twilight said, stepping forward. The others nodded at that.

A red axe appeared on the opposite side of Oathbreaker.

"It's infuriating how you think you can command me! Once this amulet is melted down and it's enchantment broken, you will die knowing the pain that I went through all those years ago!" With that, the axe spurred into motion, coming towards the others at lightning speed. Fortunately Twilight was able to cast a forcefield to block the axe as it closed in. The hateful energies dissipated as the axe came into contact with the unicorns magic, leaving no indication of ever being there. The pony in charge of the axe seemed to swell with rage.

"WHY WON'T YOU DIE!?" More axes struck the forcefield, Oath's amulet falling to the ground as Oathbreaker concentrated all his efforts on the magical barrier's downfall. Rainbow Dash sneaked around the ruckus and grabbed the amulet. But she couldn't get back undetected as the evil Oath looked at her, those eyeballs seething with hatred.

"Give the amulet back!" Once again axes came forward to strike, but Dash just danced around them, taunting him all the while.

"If ya want it so bad, then go on! Fetch!" She said, throwing it near the entrance. All his concentration was broken as he saw his goal. Rushing forward, he took only a few steps before a rock hit him in the head, dazing him before Dash bucked him straight in the jaw.

"Yeehaw! That's what yer gettin' fer hurtin' mah friends!" Applejack said, juggling a rock with a single hoof as she smirked in the black pony's direction, giving Dash a high-hoof as she passed by.

Twilight broke their celebrations short, however.

"Come on, we still need to bring the amulet to Oath!"

Nodding at her, the others merely ran straight out of the cave, Rarity grabbing the amulet with her magic while Twilight undid the knot that was holding the air balloon in place. As the mountain resceded, a black shape appeared at the cavern mouth, a voice carrying out to them.

"Your efforts are in vain. Even now he is drawing his last breath. But don't think I'm done with you." A final laugh from him was the last thing they heard before they turned their full attention to getting back to the town as soon as possible.

While this all was happening, the hospital was not doing so well. Oath was feeling sick in more ways than one. It was like his body was trying to tear itself apart. His heart wanted to burst out of his chest. He grasped at his chest as he bent his back in an effort keep the organ inside, Fluttershy just watching there, telling him to hold on. The doctor asked for nurses to come in and help keep him stable.

"Oathbound, we need to administer a sedative so we can help you. You'll feel sleepy after a minute."

A nod was the only response from Oath before he coughed once more. It was really hard for him to breathe now.

As the medicine entered his body and did it's job, he felt his vision blurrying. He looked at Fluttershy, who was trying very hard to fight back the need to cry.

"I'm not gonna make it..." He said, which caused protest in his wife's eyes. She wanted to say something, but there were no words for how she felt. Oath shed tears of his own as he coughed, this time with specks of crimson red.

"At least... *cough* At least I got to see your face before before I leave this world..."

Fluttershy shaked her head as her mane fell on top of his chest. Oath took it in his hooves and stroked it, before gently touching her face.

"Goodbye, Fluttershy. I love y-"

He almost rose into a sitting position as his body convulsed and spasmed before he laid still in the bed. The doctor and nurses hurried over with a strange looking device.

"Oathbound's heart has stopped, we need to give him CPR, stand back!" The doctor said, shoving Fluttershy back. She didn't want to leave him but he had told her to trust the doctor. Soon enough magic flowed through the machine, causing it to make a whirring sound which rose in volume before the doctor said: "Clear!"

The magical power flowed into Oath, seeming to reverse the effects of his disease somewhat, but the effect was negligible. Powering the machine again, the doctor was determined to not lose his patient. This continued for 10 or so minutes, but to no avail.

Eventually, as the doctor told them to stop, Fluttershy went next to her husband, his limp form making no motion at all. She asked: "I... Is he..."

The doctor looked at her, guilt the most prominent feature as he started to write on to a clipboard with his magic.

"I'm sorry, your husband is dead."

She broke into tears as she laid her face on the bed which muffled her crying as the doctor recited what he was writing on to the paper.

Twilight and her friends got to the hospital, hurrying as quickly as they could. As they entered his room, they were silent when they heard the doctor's voice, stopping in their tracks.

"-me of death: 2.54 PM. Cause of death is organ decomposition followed by cardiac arrest. CPR was given, but it did not help."

They gasped as they saw Fluttershy crying, her voice muffled by the bed. Tears came into their eyes as they realized they were too late.

"No way... We're too late!?" Rainbow Dash said, looking at the doctor, who gave a sad nod.

"Darn it!" Applejack said, almost looking like she would have grabbed the doctor and given him a piece of her mind.

"What an awful way to go..." Rarity said, looking at Oath's body, which was even more decomposed than it was before. He was looking like a gray-skinned version of Granny Smith.

"I'm sorry, Fluttershy. I truly am." Twilight said, putting a hoof on the mare's shoulder. She didn't pay any attention to it, too focused in her mourning.

Pinkie Pie was looking at the amulet which she was carrying, then at Oath, then at the amulet again, before crying so hard she caused waterfalls. Rarity was completely soaked before she realized it and moved out of the way.

Twilight looked at Oath, and her eyes found it hard to look upon his body. She wanted to look away, but she couldn't.

Looking at the amulet, she eventually grabbed it with her magic and hovered it to him, clicking it shut as it came to rest on the dead pony's neck.

"At.. at least we can make sure he gets the respectful burial he deserves." The tear that was dwelling in her eye dropped down her cheek and onto the sapphire, leaving itself there as if a part of the jewel.

"I'm sorry, Oath."

A flash of blue magic came from the amulet, blinding everypony as it enveloped Oath's form. Soon enough everypony could open their eyes to see what was going on. Oath's body rose to the air, encased in blue energy as the amulet was doing... Something. The various machines attached to Oath were gently taken off of him by the magical power of the amulet. Passing flashes of Oath could be seen, but they were not like what he was a moment ago. They were getting younger and younger with each little glimpse. Soon enough he was surrounded entirely by the magical force and as quickly as the magic had started doing its job, it stopped, flowing back into the amulet, leaving everypony stunned as Oath lowered back onto the bed. He looked like he was completely cured... But he wasn't moving.

A motion from his chest was the first sign, which everypony missed even though all their eyes were on him. The next was not to be passed as Oath's eyes opened wide, catching his breath as if he would have been underwater for hours. The others faces lightened up as they saw what was happening. Soon enough Oath felt like he was suffocating once more as he was hugged by 6 ponies at once, a grip tighter than he thought was possible. Alligators and their jaws had nothing on these ponies.

"Gah... Girls.. I can't.. breathe!" He said, struggling with each syllable due to the lack of air. They paid no heed as they kept him in their embrace. He eventually was let go and as he caught his breath, he looked upon each of them. They were all on the edge of bursting into tears once again, Fluttershy being chief amongst them.

"Everypony... Thank you. I don't know how you managed to do it, but you have my eternal thanks. I am forever in your debt." He bowed as much as it was possible for him to in his laying position.

"I said true friends look out for eachother, Oath." Twilight said, winking.

"And one thing the princess taught me is that friendship is one of the most powerful forces in the world. As we can see, it even defies death!" She said, before hugging Oath again.

After a moment of just laying there, taking in all the info that he could, Oath was curious as the five adventuring ponies told him of what happened in the cave.

"Who... who could be so cruel? What does he want with me?"

"Who cares what that bully wants!? He tried to kill you, Oath! And he succeeded in it once! We ain't letting that happen again!" Rainbow Dash said, semi-punching Oath on his ribs, though he didn't feel anything - the sedative still coursed through his veins.

He pondered on the coming days that he was sure would be revealing. This stallion was out for blood. His blood.

"Oathbreaker..."

A voice was inside his head. It whispered the black stallion's name in response.

[Mature - Sex] Love Her Tender, Love Her True

Love was in the air, it didn't take a love doctor to figure that out. Ponies everywhere were going around in pairs, gifts and kisses being chief amongst their favourite means of communication. Ponyville was feeling like

Hearts and Hooves Day. Oathbound was not exactly one for all that romantic stuff, but when Fluttershy had asked that they eat out that day, Oath couldn't refuse. He even went so far as to actually having a necklace made for her, something that she was wearing when they were going to the new restaurant that they had reserved a table at. The restaurant was packed, but Hearts and Hooves day has a way of making ponies kind enough to find room for compromise. Seeing the pair approach, the other ponies politely moved out of their way as they made towards their table. As Oath sat down, he saw some mares going towards the back alleys with their respective partners.

"Guess that's one way to spend Hearts and Hooves Day." Oath mused to himself, not voicing his thoughts in fear of upsetting his wife. She chuckled, startling him a bit before he realized she was petting a dog. On closer inspection, Oath noticed that Big Macintosh and Applejack were in there as well - something he didn't expect from the two farmers. The dog suddenly came in front of Oath and licked his face, quickly revealing it's identity. Winona gave a woof before Oath laughed and scratched it below the chin, which made Fluttershy smile, though Oath couldn't see that past the dog's cute little tricks, it was just that focused on getting a bit of time in the spotlight.

"Hey there! Nice to meet you too, Winona!"

Soon enough Oath brought Winona back to it's owner, who gratefully took the leash.

"Ah think Winona likes you, Oath!" Applejack said, looking at her pet, who barked in response.

"Eeyup." Big Mac said. Short on words but never wrong when he speaks was the only way Oath could describe the red-skinned stallion.

"So, what brings you three out here? I figured you wouldn't be one for these kinds of restaurants, Applejack." Oath said, slightly surprised.

"Well, the farm's signed a new contract, ya know. We're now supplyin' apples for the owner here - a distant cousin of ours who goes by the name Apple Marenque! So we decided that since it's Hearts 'n Hooves day, we'd come an' try the goods! I heard that she'd hit gold back in Manehattan with her new recipes! And surprisingly she wasn't around the last Apple family reunion. I guess she just wanted to prepare for her new establisment here." AJ said, proudly puffing her chest as the groups plates arrived: hot apple pie on AJ's plate with some vanilla icecream, haysteak on Big Mac's plate with apple sauce on it, Fluttershy's plate holding a simple but hearty apple salad with dressing while Oath's was (not so) surprisingly apple fries with some spicy sauce and some minty sauce as well as a lime soda. AJ had taken the initiative and brought some of Winona's favourite treats with her so the bordercollie didn't go hungry either.

As the five finished their meals and set out into the evening festival that was arranged for the year, they talked about all sorts of things. But mainly how they wanted to spend the day. AJ was planning on helping the crusaders remodel their club house since they were technically no longer the Cutie Mark Crusaders since they got their cutie marks. Big Mac was silent until asked directly about his plans, which resulted in a slight blush when he said that he was going to see Cheerilee. Eventually the night was beginning to settle in and the four split, wishing eachother good night. On their way to their houses - which were conveniently close by compared to the town center's location, as it happened, Oath could see that Fluttershy was a bit hesitant. He wasn't sure what it was about, but he couldn't ask her. It seemed like a deeply personal matter. Eventually though, Fluttershy voiced her thoughts.

"Oath... Umm, sorry for being so silent, I just wanted to know - if that is okay I mean - could you come and stay at my cottage tonight?"

He didn't have to think about it. He was sure that since she asked him over, she could gather the courage to tell him what was wrong eventually. As he answered her with a nod, Oath could see the faint blush on her cheeks. He thought he smelled something musky in the air as well, but he paid it no mind, dismissing it as just a figment of his imagination.

As they reached her cottage, Oath was wondering why she was sticking to him. She was nuzzling him a lot - something which he tried to return. He was not that bright when it came to this particular situation, which was quite surprising to him considering how knowledgeable he thought he was on these matters. All he could think of was that she was in heat, which he dismissed. She was not the kind of pony to give in to her base desires that easily. She was far too kind to simply present herself to a stallion in an effort to sate a burning ache between her legs. Getting inside, Fluttershy started preparing some tea, something which she always has done when Oath has come over. Strangely enough, the house seemed abandoned. Usually Angel was around here somewhere to give him a reminder of what he meant to the bunny, but now there was nothing. Not even a teeny bit of sound to give the bunny's location away. With a whistle of the tea pan, Oath was woken from his thoughts as Fluttershy poured the hot water into cups and presented Oath some herbs, which he poured inside the cup with his magic. Before he sipped the brew, however, he had to ask.

"Where's Angel? Usually that little fella is around here."

"Oh. I forgot to tell you about that. Sorry. Angel's being taken care of by the ponies I met a couple of days ago, they run a pet-care center." A bashful smile was the sealing deal of the sentence, so Oath decided to drop the subject. A squee came from somewhere as she finished her sentence. It was chamomile tea, something that Oath didn't drink that much but hey, if his wife is offering, who is he to deny her? As they finished their beverages, they started to get sleepy as the chamomile tea was starting to run it's course. Oath started up the stairs as he said he would be in the guest's bedroom. Wishing her a good night, Oath quickly disappeared from her sight and into the room. The window was open, letting the cool night breeze in, giving the room a peaceful atmosphere under the moonlight. Diving on to the bed, Oath wrapped himself in the sheets as his mind started to wander. Sleep came and he was as silent as that of an owl standing guard on top of a tree.

His slumber was to be disturbed however, for the was slammed shut by somepony before the noise began to go away for a while before staying in place. He could hear teeth rattling and silent whimpering. Opening his eyes, he couldn't locate the source at first. But as he turned his gaze to the left, he was surprised. Fluttershy was crying in the corner, her teeth rattling as the rate of her breathing was just that severe. She looked like she had just seen a ghost. Quickly moving to her side, Oath spoke.

"Fluttershy, what's wrong?"

She turned to look at her husband, before bursting into more tears and hugging him as hard as she could. Oath could slowly start to understand what happened. Eventually she started to speak.

"I... I..."

"It's okay, Fluttershy. Take your time. I'm here." Oath said with the most comforting tone he could muster.

"I... I had... A nightmare. A horrifying nightmare!" With that, she started crying again. Oath could feel the liquids of her eyes on his forelegs and chest. "I was taking care of my friends when I fell into this hole and... and... and I couldn't see anything. It was so horrible. Then I saw Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, everypony leaving me-"

Oath placed his hoof on her lips which made her stop talking before he took her on his hooves. He moved awkwardly on his hind legs on to the bed and laid her there.

"Fluttershy, it was just a dream. Have no fear, you're alright. We won't leave you. Ever. If it would make you feel better by sleeping here with me, then it's okay. Now come on, lets get you tuckered up." With that, Oath's magic enveloped the bed sheets, laying them on top of her as she just laid there in silence. Oath pulled up a chair and sat.

"If you want, I can sing you a lullaby. It could help you get back to sleep."

The mare nodded. Oath began to hum to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star before he actually sang anything.

["Sleep now, sleep now, Fluttershy. Dreams can't hurt you, they can't try.

By the time that you will wake, everything will be okay.

Sleep now, sleep now, Fluttershy, I shall guard your sleep tonight.

You will find that come the shining dawn, all your worries, they'll be all away and gone.

Fear no nightmares, my wife please you hear? Your friends shall never ever disappear.

Sleep now, sleep now, Fluttershy my dear, you can sleep in peace tonight by my side right here."

He continued humming as if the song would never end, but he stopped at a point.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZuA3bDwGrs)

As Oath finished his lullaby, he noticed that Fluttershy was blushing very hard. Before he could say anything, she rose, revealing her erect wings. He looked confusedly at them as their owner blushed harder, looking away. It must have been painful to try and keep them hidden the way she was wrapped in the bedsheets. The same musky smell he thought he smelled earlier in town came back, a lot stronger than before.

"I'm so sorry Oath. I shouldn't have been here. I just can't stop thinking about you and hearing your voice like that..."

So that was it. She WAS in heat. It was the only explanation to her being aroused at such a small thing as a lullaby. Come to think of it, he could smell a faint odour coming from a certain mare in front of him all day. And it wasn't her natural smell. Smiling to himself, Oath laid his hoof on her right wing, which caused her to gasp in pleasure. Moving his hoof down the wing and moving himself closer, Oath kissed his wife, who opened her eyes in surprise before eventually closing them as their kiss deepened. Her tongue gave way to the stallion's, who explored it in every possible way, from every possible angle, causing her to silently moan as he went about his business. Eventually their mouths parted ways, leaving a slim line of saliva hanging between them as Oath massaged her flank. They stared at eachother for a minute, both of them seeminly looking at something beyond their partner's eyes, as if looking directly into the other's soul. Eventually, as if he would have been given an unspoken command, Oath laid his hooves upon her wings, picking up where he started, his tongue licking the base of the wing before continuing upwards, towards the tip. Her scent reached his nostrils which made him feel his member beginning to stir. It felt like liquid pleasure was placed upon her wings where his tongue touched, leaving her feeling like she was being massaged even as Oath moved on to her other wing, her feathers shaking slightly along with her wings. They were on fire, so hard Oath thought that she could crack concrete with them. Fluttershy moaned and gasped with every flick of his tongue and gentle squeeze of his hooves as her marehood's juices slowly dripped on to the bed. It was so good. And only from being touched on her wings! Oath paid it no mind as he continued to pleasure her. She wanted to say something, but she was too busy either moaning or catching her breath. Oath stopped with her wings and moved down, her nipples at attention. She was not the owner of particularly big breasts. Compared to her friends, her's were small. Oath didn't care. It felt so much better around her chest compared to what her wings felt. He was so gentle, it almost felt like it was just warm air making her feel good like this. She felt a shiver move up her spine as his tongue flicked her nipple before he sucked it lightly. As he did so, his hooves rubbed her other breast, increasing the pleasure the mare recieved. As he moved further and further down at an agonizingly slow pace, the bed was getting soaked more and more. As Oath reached the bottom, he turned her so she was sideways on the bed, spreading her legs. She resisted it a little but soon gave way. He was greeted by her dripping vagina, pulsing as if housing a heart inside. It's scent was so arousing Oath found it hard to look away from it as Fluttershy blushed in total embarassment, which caused him to smile - which in turn only maked her blush harder. As he licked around and about her marehood, she felt like she was about to cum any second, Oath not being too harsh about his ministrations but not fooling around either. Oath noticed her throbbing clit. It was like an apple ripe for the picking. His tongue slowly swirled around it before he took it in his mouth, suckling on it which made Fluttershy gasp his name before squeezing her legs together in an attempt to keep him in there. He reckoned he had teased her long enough, she was practically begging for release. Diving into his prize, Oath drove his tongue as deep as he could, earning a cry of pleasure from his partner as she reached her limit, twitching as her liquid love flowed forth, coating Oath's face in it. She panted as Oath laid himself on her side, his breaths and the wind coming from the open window providing much needed cooling as she tried to catch her breath. The afterglow of her orgasm made her almost faint on the spot. When she spoke, she looked at Oath's stallionhood, which was at full attention.

"I... I need to... repay you, don't I?" Oath shook his head at that.

"It was my decision to relieve you like this, Fluttershy. It's you who's in heat, not me. If you want to continue, then it's up to you."

As she looked at her husband's face, she could feel his member pulsing on her hind leg, sending waves of warmth through her hoof. She nodded, causing Oath to rise.

"It... Well, it's my first time with a mare, Fluttershy, so..." Oath said, blushing a bit. Fluttershy placed a hoof on her mouth as she blushed in return.

"I... It's my first time too..." She managed to say, barely a whisper in volume. Oath opened his eyes to the full at that, before looking at her face.

"...Are you sure?"

"Yes. If that's okay with you."

As his member hovered in the air between her legs, Oath felt a bit ashamed. He felt like he was taking advantage of her, even though she wanted this even as he prodded at her entrance. He looked at her, earning a nod. Her face said it all. They've come too far to quit now.

"Just tell me if it hurts, okay?" He said, slightly panting.

"Okay..."

As he eased his way in, Oath's legs shaked, the pleasure of her hole against his stallionhood almost too powerful to hold back. It took all his willpower to keep himself standing. He could feel her hymen at his very tip, twitching as if with a life of its own. Slowly he applied more and more pressure, causing her to grit her teeth as she prepared for the worst. With a pop Oath groaned as he went inside her in one unintended thrust as Fluttershy's virginity gave way.

"AH! It hurts! It hurts!" She screamed in the way only Fluttershy could, grabbing hold of his hooves that laid there by her side as her eyes begged him to stop.

Quickly he pulled out, leaving her quivering as droplets of red appeared down around her freshly-penetrated vagina's outer lips. Oath's length was also coated in the red stuff, which he cleaned away with a tissue as he gave another one to Fluttershy. As she cleaned herself, Oath sat down on to the stool, watching silently at the window. Eventually she came over to his side, laying her hoof on his shoulder.

'Do you... want to try again? It doesn't hurt anymore...' She said, a nervous smile only accentuating her features in the moonlight.

Once more he eased his way in, once more he was almost overwhelmed by the pleasuring sensation between his legs. This time, however, there was nothing to hold him back. As he pushed deeper and deeper inside her, she moaned and tried to control her breathing. Oath put a stop to that as he took her on his hooves, letting her sit on top of him as they kissed, both of them moaning into eachother's mouths as Oath bottomed out, almost a needle tip's away from hitting her cervix. He began playing with her teats, squeezing her nipples together with his forehooves which made her squeal in response. Her hips started to move of their own accord, the overwhelming feeling of euphoria clouding their minds as everything else was cast out, the two of them the only ponies in Equestria. They had no reason to switch positions - what they were doing was perfect to them. Slowly they both began to move faster as their pleasured bodies craved for more. The wet sounds that came from her hips hitting his made the stallion squeal in his mind. Oath could feel his limit approaching fast.

"Fluttershy.. I'm gonna.."

"Ahn... Me too!"

As he looked into her eyes, Oath could see nothing but approval on his partner. He began to move faster, causing the both of them to gasp as their nigh-uncontrollable movement accelerated. The noises became louder and more frequent. He was sure that anypony outside the window could hear what they were doing. Her critters most certainly were. Soon enough they both reached their absolute limit, Fluttershy's walls pressing against Oath's member in her orgasm, coaxing his own out of him - his hot seed flowed inside of her, wave after powerful wave. Their cries of bliss were unified and no single voice could be picked out. That moment they knew they became truly one. With the force of a volcano she erupted, her juices mixing with Oath's as they stained the bed. It seemed like an eternity as they closed in to kiss once more as their afterglows began to set in. As Oath came to his senses after such a mind-clouding experience, he saw that Fluttershy had fallen asleep next to him, peaceful and content while still slightly panting. Smiling to himself, he wrapped the bed sheets around them as they began to slumber, Oath still inside her.

Months passed as their understanding and love grew. Yet despite what the others thought, they hadn't had sex since that night. Oddly enough, Fluttershy had started gaining weight and she had the occasional headache, but Oath's magic was able to help with that even when her pain-addled mind had her question his commitment to her, even though she was 'looking hideous'. Oath did not care, he loved her for what she was, not what she looked like. He was there for her when she needed comfort. She was all that mattered to him.

But that was going to change soon. One day while he was on his way to Sugarcube Corner, Oath heard some murmuring among the nurses of the town's hospital. That the most unexpected mare in town was pregnant. He gave it some thought, and the more he thought of it, the more it made sense. Yet she had not made any attempts to convey this information to him...

Maybe she didn't want a foal?

As Oath went inside the store, Pinkie Pie was behind the counter, eyeing the delicious muffins that she was going to deliver to Derpy Hooves who'd ordered them a while ago. "Surely Derpy won't miss one of these beauties..." As she was about to chomp one of them, her mouth open impossibly wide and the muffin falling through the air, Oath made a diplomatic cough, which caused the pink pony to look at him, freezing the muffin in place as Pinkie looked at him, then at the muffin and then again at Oath, before she grabbed the muffin that was still hanging in the air. Her ability to defy physics was so unbelievable that Oath believed it had gotten contagious.

"That was not nice of you, Mister Muffintop! I know that you want to be enjoyed right away, but I must ensure that the correct pony gets to enjoy your delicious muffiny goodness!" With that, she put the muffin into the package on the floor behind the counter. As she put it there, she put on a moustache, took a white piece of cloth, a clipboard and a pen as she assumed her most french-sounding accent.

"Greetings, sir. How may we serve you here at our muffin-licious store? Would you like a taste of le Pinkie's Party Pastry?" She picked up a pink-decorated pastry which threw in her mouth. As she swallowed it, she opened her mouth and Oath could see bits and pieces of the pastry's remains dancing to techno-music which was coming from her throat.

"Not today, Pinkie. Sorry. I just came here to ask if you knew where Fluttershy is."

"Oh. She went to Twilight's when she came over earlier. She was a bit worried about something hospital-related, but she wouldn't tell me."

"I'm sure she'll let you know eventually. And very soon if I'm guessing correctly..." He said before turning towards the door.

As Oath neared the exit to the shop, Pinkie appeared as if out of nowhere, making no sound as she closed in and nudged him with her shoulder while whispering: "She needs to lose some weight. You might want to stop giving her so many chocolate treats. But hey, I don't mind! She looks just great even if her tummy is sticking out a bit." Oath rolled his eyes at that. He wasn't one to give such presents. Only presents he has given have been ones that can't be simply consumed, like a new dress for Rarity (Which she grudgingly accepted. Oath's sense of fashion was not exactly his most defining quality but it was the thought that counted. Later on she gave it away to a beggar on one of her trips to Canterlot.), a ribbon for Sweetie Belle that matched Apple Bloom's, he even helped Spike fashion a small dragon sculpture out of stone. But he was getting sidetracked. He wanted to hear Fluttershy's own opinion on her little 'growth spurt'. Perhaps Twilight could shed some light on the situation behind it, assuming that his wife was gone by the time he made it to the Golden Oaks Library. Hopefully whatever was troubling Fluttershy was something the librarian could tell without breaking a Pinkie Promise.

As Oath came towards the great tree library, he heard some ponies talking inside. One of them sounded like Fluttershy. Creeping closer but not stepping inside, he listened through the open door.

"-ure? He should be told about this. It's your foal after all! And he's the father! No sense in keeping such a great thing like this a secret!" A voice said, undoubtedly Twilight Sparkle.

"But I... I'm not sure if he wants to have it..." The other voice was so weak it would have fooled somepony who didn't know Fluttershy. But Oath knew it was her.

"Then in that case we must ask him! You're due in two weeks!"

"What? No-no-no-no! You can't tell him yet, Twilight, I'm... not ready to face him yet. Oh, I was so stupid to let my heat get the better of me!"

Oath couldn't believe it. She... was pregnant. With his foal...

Spike appeared from behind a corner and noticed Oath's expression, unaware of what the stallion had just heard.

"Oh hey, Oath! What's wrong?" He said, far too loudly for the stallion's taste considering his situation.

Oath gasped as he saw the baby dragon, who was looking at him with a tilted head. He looked at the door, confident that the two inside just heard what Spike said. He galloped towards his house as Fluttershy and Twilight emerged out of the door, just in time to see him disappear into the town. As Spike asked them what was going on, they both went after him. The dragon looked as the pair followed the stallion, Fluttershy's stomach a lot bigger than it was a few months back.

Twilight and Fluttershy arrived at his house, finding him standing near the window. He noticed the pair but paid them no mind as he stared into the sky.

"Oath... You heard what we were talking about in my house, didn't you?"

A nod answered her question rather quickly.

"I... I wanted to tell you earlier, Oath, but I-"

"I know, Fluttershy. It can be intimidating to realize what is happening after there is no coming back. I understand your situation better than you think." Oath said, not being extremely confident of his final sentence's merit.

"Then... Then what should we do?" Fluttershy said, moving close to her husband.

"It's all up to you. Whatever happens, I will support you in any and all situations. And... To be honest..." He smiled, before looking into her eyes, laying a hoof on her stomach.

"I'd like to be a father." He said, wrapping his forehooves around her as they kissed.

Twilight fought the urge to shed a tear before speaking up.

"Then it's decided! You should decide on a name while you still have time!" The unicorn said, smiling at the pair before they all began to laugh.

It was the day of his life. Oath's daughter had been born. A healthy baby pegasus. Her few strands of light blue hair were almost invisible against her head. Her skin was a perfect imitation of her mother's. The little nobs of flesh that would be destined to become her wings were tucked neatly in her wrappings. It reminded Fluttershy of when Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake had been born. She was too tired after her task to shed any tears, but the pain she had felt during the procedure was so intense she was surprised that she had not completely drained her eyes of moisture. And Cup Cake had to endure it with her own two foals. Only joy and happiness showed in her features as the two held their little filly daughter in their hooves.

"She's so beautiful." Oath said, as the result of the pair's love started sucking her hoof. Fluttershy could only nod at that.

She eventually asked what they should call her. They hadn't given much thought to it, really. Their friends were too busy arranging baby parties for them that they didn't have the time, not to mention the trouble they had to go through when arranging the guest room to fill the role of a nursery. But for now the two were alone for a while so the others could talk to themselves about the coming weeks. Pinkie Pie was already close to bursting with plans for the baby pegasus, mainly taking her with Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake outside in their carriages, Rainbow Dash couldn't stop musing about how she would show their kid how to fly like a proper athlete, Twilight couldn't think of anything other than helping Cherilee at her school if it meant she could teach Fluttershy's and Oath's child learn what it means to have friends. In the future perhaps such things could be considered, but as it stands it was still far too early.

For the moment Oath was more focused on their foal's name. To think that this all happened on a fateful night after such a simple thing as a lullaby...

Then it hit him! He knew what to call their daughter.

"How about 'Twinkle Star'?"

"Heh, it sounds perfect." Fluttershy said as Oath kissed her brow.

"Happy birthday, Twinkle Star." He said eventually.

The baby pegasus gave a yawn before she drifted to sleep.

"Omigoshomigoshomigoshomigosh!" Pinkie said, frantically moving about.

"Calm down Pinkie, you wouldn't want to scare the baby, don't you?" Twilight said to the party pony.

"OMIGOSHOMIGOSHOMIGOSH FLUTTERSHY AND OATH HAVE A BABY!!!' She half-screamed before she zipped her mouth and looked at the ground ashamedly when the others gave her a mean look before they all giggled lightly.

The door opened, giving way to Fluttershy and Oath, their new arrival floating via Oath's magic.

"Meet our daughter, Twinkle Star." Oath said, bringing her closer to the others to see.

"Awwwww!" Their noise was unified in their approval of the new filly that was welcomed to the world. The pegafilly looked so cute, so vulnerable, it was waking each pony's motherly instincts slowly. Twinkle Star was brought to Fluttershy, who took her eagerly as she looked at the others.

As Oath looked upon his wife and his daughter's face, he knew that this was worth fighting for.

Worth dying for.

Of Light and Dark

Twinkle Star was crawling outside her mother's cottage, the numerous animals also scuttling around to play with the pegasus filly and eachother. She giggled as a squirrel came to nuzzle her, the furry creature tickling her. The sun was high up in the sky and there were no clouds in sight.

"Aww, he likes you, Twinkle!" Her mother Fluttershy said, picking her up.

"How about we go inside and I tell you all a little story before your naptime?"

The squirrel climbed on Fluttershy's side to nod as an answer, his tail flicking Twinkle's nose slightly, causing the filly to sneeze. She shook her head a bit before she yawned.

Fluttershy smiled at the spent little filly.

"I'll take that as a yes. Okay, in we go!"

As they were about to go inside, Derpy flew over, slightly startling the older mare, though Twinkle laughed a bit and held her hooves in the gray pegasus' direction.

"Hi there, Twinkie! Been a good filly, now have we?" The cross-eyed mare said, hoofing a letter to the cream-yellow mare, who quickly opened it and eyed through it. The mailmare picked the filly from her mother's grasp and blew a raspberry on her tummy. Fluttershy's eyes opened in surprise.

"Derpy, did Pinkie give this to you?" She asked, holding the open letter to Derpy.

"Sure did! Made me promise not to tell Oathbound anything either! Also told me to tell you that you need to do the same, otherwise it wouldn't be a surprise." The mailmare said, before turning to see Oath coming up the road.

"Hey! I'm home!" The stallion waved to the three.

"Oh! Hi Oathie!" Derpy called out, putting Twinkle down, who began to roll around in the grass before munching on a daisy.

"So how have things been while daddy's been out? You make some friends, sweetie?" Oath said as his magic picked Twinkle from the ground, who curled up into a ball and started sucking her own hoof.

Derpy looked at Fluttershy with a meaningful look, who nodded almost imperceptively.

"Oh, just wonderful! One of the beavers made a doll for Twinkle! Look at all the details!" The married mare said, holding out a wooden doll that she kept in her mane. Twinkle tried to get it, but couldn't quite reach it.

"Wow! You're one lucky filly, honey!" It was like a sculpture, depicting Princess Luna in her ceremonial gown.

With no energy left and no way to reach the doll, Twinkle dozed off, making her father chuckle quietly.

"It's her naptime anyway, she's catching on quite quickly."

"I got some mail to deliver, good luck keeping up with her - you'll need it! I should know, Dinky was a hoof-full and she's wasn't much older than little Twinkie is now. Bye!" Derpy whispered before flying off, the couple waving as she flew in the direction of the town.

Oath laid Twinkle to bed and began to hum to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star until he could hear the filly's calm breathing.

"Sweet dreams, Twinkle." He said as he kissed the foal's forehead.

As Oath came down the stairs from the nursery room, he saw Fluttershy looking at the letter she got earlier.

"So. What's in the letter?" He asked, startling Fluttershy who threw the letter into the hearth in panic.

"Oh no! Sorry Oath! I'll.. I'll try to-" She didn't finish her sentence as the letter had quickly burned away.

Oath just shrugged.

"No problem, you did just read it didn't you? So what was it about?"

However, to his surprise, Oath saw the mare stumble on her own words as she tried to come up with an excuse.

He smiled at her antics.

"Hey, if you can't tell me, then you don't have to. I'll just find out another way." He said playfully, nuzzling his mare, who cooed involuntarily in response.

"You know... I could just ask around town. Maybe find out that way." He said, turning towards the door.

Fluttershy didn't stop him physically but her voice made him stop at the door.

"I don't think you'll find answers from them. Only thing I can tell you is that we have a surprise for you today..." This earned a grin from Oath.

"We'll see, honey." With that, Oath was out the door and on his way towards town.

He was going to be disappointed.

With all the recent secrecy that the townsfolk had sported, Oath tried to find out what was going on from his friends.

Applejack was not one to lie, so she plain-up refused to tell him why everypony was being so discreet. She said she needed to get the southern orchard bucked up and clean of apples before it got dark. Oath had no doubt that the farmpony was correct, but she had plenty of time. Why not just spill the beans?

Pinkie was no good either, she would just change the subject to how Gummy had found a strange chocolate rabbit hopping around, which infact proved to be an ordinary rabbit who was just covered in mud and how it would be silly that chocolate rabbits would be hopping around without Discord's approval.

Rainbow Dash was quick to blast off under the excuse of being late for a weather team meeting, but it was obvious she was hiding something as well - her nervous smile told Oath more than enough about it.

Twilight was too dug into her books to be of any help, she just mumbled in agreement to whatever Oath asked her.

Fluttershy, however, was the most cryptic of the lot. She left off some hints about the day being 'special' and that Oath will know what's going on eventually.

Even Discord refused to tell.

"All will be revealed in time, old chap. For now, just enjoy the sunshine. Oh, and just to keep you from being down, take this." He produced a small floating ball of cotton candy that Oath promptly ate and immediately noticed that there was something odd about the thing.

"Why does this taste so-" Oath didn't finish his sentence as his voice had gone up a dozen or so octaves.

Discord was laughing hysterically.

Oath thought about it for a bit before he got it. 'Keep you from being down.'

"Seriously, Discord? That's just about the most literal bad joke I've heard in a long while."

The draconequus was unfazed.

"Oh lighten up, Oath! I just gave you a gift and you just mock me like this? You never change. Now, off you go."

With that, the path to Fluttershy's cottage turned into an automated road, taking Oath with it until he was well beyond the small bridge that led to it.

With no answers from the Mane Six or the spirit of chaos, the amulet-toting stallion had ventured to the hill that caused him serious injury a few years ago which led to his eventual death and magical resurrection.

"What in the name of Princess Celestia is going on down there? What needs to be such a big secret that even the Protector of Ponyville can't know about it?"

A stranger appeared and climbed up the hill, swathed in a hooded cloak. When he spoke, Oath was startled and turned to stare at the newcomer, who seemed strangely familiar for some reason.

"Simple. They don't trust you. You're but a failure in their eyes." His voice was demonic and slightly condescending. He kept his stare fixed on the town in the distance.

"What? They're my friends. I don't know who you are, stranger, but don't think that you can make declarations like this on their behalf." He stomped a hoof on the ground to emphasize his point.

The stranger shook slightly, chuckling silently before he shook off his cloak. An ebony-black unicorn with a mane of purple. Strangely he looked almost exactly like Oath, with the only difference being the horn and his color scheme.

"And yet here you are, wondering if you did something wrong to make them keep something from you. And what have I done? I only told you the truth, because that's what it is to you. I know it to be so." He turned his head to look at the gray stallion, who was confused at his words. His eyes were completely red, with no iris'. It made Oath flinch - no pony has eyes like that, not naturally.

"How do you know? Who are you? Why are you here?" He voiced the questions almost automatically.

A red axe appeared on the stranger's right side, identical in almost every way to Oath's except the color. It's at this time that Oath took note of his cutie mark - a red axe over a broken bronze shield. His own axe also appeared as he began to think that this conversation would take a turn for the bloody.

"You're saying you don't remember!?" The ebony stallion fumed, shaking slightly with anger. Oath was confused why he was getting angry at such simple questions.

"You're saying that the life we shared meant nothing to you? That I am nothing more than dead weight that you threw away!? DID THE GUARDING OF YOUR PRECIOUS PRINCESS TEACH YOU NOTHING!?" Oath summoned a forcefield as the axe shook before flying towards him, hitting the shield. It absorbed the energy of the axe, which was filled to the brim with hate, which made Oath shiver as the absorbed power flowed into him as the shield was cast aside.

"What in the name of Celestia are you talking about? Why did you attack me? Who are you!?" Oath said, slightly angry with all the answers that he had failed to get during the whole day. It only lasted for a second before he could feel a strange force pulling at his emotions, the anger literally draining out of him as the stranger smiled evilly.

"Hmph. A tasty morsel, this outburst of yours. But you still claim to not know me. I need to teach you a lesson then, you ignorant waste of life!"

He stomped the ground with both hooves which caused the sky to darken and pillars to rise from the ground in a circle pattern.

Lava began to pour from the cracks in the earth, giving the impromptu arena a hellish glow.

The unicorn's eyes had a smoke-like quality to them as he stared at the amulet-wielding stallion, who had his own axes now up and in position to strike.

An axe appeared and flew towards one of Oath's own, making a lightning-like noise as magic weapon met magic weapon.

"I am the dark stain in your head! I am the memory loss that you now disregard as inexistent! I am the dark catalyst that drove you to a pitiful existence as a slave to the one who raises the cursed hollow sun! I am the one that freed you from that fool's burden!" Oath's eyes opened completely as he felt his head fill with memories of dark emotion.

One of the skirmishes that he endured back when he was just a wanderer, before his days as the Captain of the Guard. He helped the guards fight off an ambush of timberwolves, led by a feral changeling masquerading as their alpha. He'd kicked one of the timberwolves so hard he sprained his ankle, though the kick did it's job as the wolf's head shattered to pieces, leaving nothing more than a body with nothing to control it.

The day when he left Princess Celestia and became a hermit. The tears he shed to pave the way to the Badlands in the south.

The fight that determined ownership of the cave that he inhabited for years. The young dragon's bones must have turned to dust by now, if not broken down for marrow by carrion.

The dark cloud that clouded his mind back when he first arrived in Ponyville. The fight with Discord that led to purification by the Elements of Harmony.

Soon the memories began to twist. The timberwolves turned to guards, but the events never changed. Oath shattered the guard's head, sending bits of brain and bone everywhere. He then looked upon the surviving guards, who were horrified. A background of blackness and the shrieking of guards and splattered blood on the black canvas.

The night when Celestia was injured by the assassin. Oath's arrival. But this time he looked at the princess in anger before his axe appeared and in a flash, the sun-raising alicorn lied limp on the ground, her head severed at the base of her neck.

The tears that littered the road turned into droplets of blood.

The fight with Discord. His first strike not harming the draconequus, but the pony behind him was cleaved in two. His cry of anger leading to a fight of catastrophic scale, Ponyville decimated, mountains leveled. Equestria on fire.

The intruding sense of satisfaction in each scene.

Oathbound had seen enough. He charged at the unicorn, desperation fuelling his legs as he gave a buck to the ebony stallion. He didn't even flinch.

"And now you see what I have to live with. I am the true emotion that you had your friends cast away! You are but a shadow of the being that you truly were, a shell of the one you truly are! You call yourself Oathbound, the Protector of Ponyville and Servant of Celestia. Well then, Oathbound of Ponyville! Meet your death! Meet the monster you have helped create! Meet the pain you direct at yourself! Meet Oathbreaker, the one that gave you everything and you threw away!

I! AM! YOU!" Oathbreaker yelled out to the heavens as numerous axes began to appear and circle around him like a red tornado of death.

"Oathbreaker! Even if what you say is true, why not just live a life of your own?" Oathbound asked the unicorn, who used his magic to silence Oath.

"Don't even bring that up! Our past is full of fools that you now call friends! The lying pegasus who cries out in fear when she sees her own shadow! The princess who looks upon you with pity and contempt! The farmer who cares more about her precious farm than her friends! The rainbow-maned idiot who nurtures a foal's dream! The librarian who's obsessed with pleasing her precious teacher! The party pony who always sticks her muzzle in other people's business! And to make matters worse, you're becoming like them when they've kept my existence from you, your true nature! I WON'T LET A FAILURE LIKE YOU LIVE ANY LONGER! I HATE YOU!!!"

It was at that time Oath realized that he was staring at the stallion responsible for his amulet's theft and who tried to hurt his friends years ago.

The storm of axes suddenly started to converge and was about to hit Oath when he heard a voice calling his name.

"Oath! Come on, you awake, darling?" Rarity said to Oath, nudging him slightly with her hoof.

Oath shot up, his axes up and ready to tear into flesh as he looked around, surprised that he saw nopony besides Rarity. The white unicorn understandably jumped back as she saw him move at that speed. Her mane didn't survive unscathed though.

"Rarity? But... where's.." He left his sentence unfinished as he realized that he had been dreaming.

"Okay, I don't know what kind of nightmare you saw, but please leave me out of it. And do warn me next time you're going to sit up that fast, one of your weapons almost took a piece out of my mane!" She said, pointing to the damaged piece of her manecut which had a few frazzled hairs now.

"Wha- Oh darn, I'm so sorry Rarity, it's just that-"

"Yes yes, I know you're sorry. And I accept your apology. But we've got more important things to do than just stand around here, everypony's waiting for us! Finding you was hard enough as it is."

"What? What's going on, Rarity?" Oath said, hoping that now he might get the answers he's been looking for all day.

"Ah ah ah! Not quite yet, darling! Just a bit more of secrecy before we show you what we have in store for you!" With that, the fashionista began to drag the stallion down the road and towards the town.

Oath looked back towards the hilltop only to stare at a shadow that he thought he saw. He could hear a voice in his head.

"Nowhere to hide~"

"Oathbreaker..." He thought. He was certain that he hadn't heard the last of his evil half.

Rarity quickly brought Oath back to town, the latter being glad of being away from that hill, especially after what happened.

"Come on, in we go!" The fashionista said as she pushed Oath inside Sugarcube Corner.

"I seriously don't get why everypony has been so silent, it's as if they would have been preparing a-" Oath had no time to finish his sentence as he was knocked down by a wall of cheerful noise.

"SURPRIIIISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY OATHBOUND!" The crowd inside cheered.

As he slowly regained his hearing, he raised his eyebrows in confusion.

"Wait what? Birthday? Since when?"

Twilight stepped up from the crowd, smiling.

"Well, we had no actual idea of when you were born so we decided that we'd treat the anniversary of your arrival in Ponyville as your birthday. At first I was a bit skeptical but Pinkie was adamant about this and you know how she is at times."

Oath nodded in understanding. Pinkie was random like that, but when she made up her mind she was going to finish it right then and right now. Unless she got distracted, which she usually did. Oath could only wonder how the party pony had managed to build her flying contraption.

"Umm, Oath?"

Oath shook his head a bit as he realized he was being talked to.

"Huh-wha?"

"What's wrong? You kinda froze up there." Rainbow Dash said, holding an icecream cone in her hoof as she flapped her wings to keep herself afloat.

Pinkie didn't miss the unintended pun.

"Hahaha*snort*ahaha! Good one, Dashie! Froze up! You know, cuz of the icecream!"

Eager to put the awkwardness behind him, Oath chuckled a bit before he strode past the mares while keeping the conversation alive.

"Yea, I think we got it Pinkie. How about we just go and mingle with the guests? I kinda kept you all waiting for a while, didn't I?"

With that, the group began to party for a long while as cake was had, tails were pinned on paper ponies, apples were bobbed and laughter was heard all over.

At a point Oath had even taken his daughter to the giant birthday cake and fed her some, though the whipped cream was so well whipped it had plenty of air in it which resulted in her father having to burp her, earning a few dawws from his friends.

And next came to dancing.

"You know, I might get used to having birthdays like this!" Oath said as he danced with Pinkie.

"Good to know, cuz we got a lot more partying to do! You've been missing out on so many birthday parties! Oh! I know, we could have..."

Oath gulped. He did NOT like where this was going...

And in the back of his mind he could still hear the message the ebony pony relayed to him.

"Nowhere to hide~"

[Mature - Gore] Epilogue: The Ultimate Sacrifice

This chapter marks the ending of this story and the beginning of a new one. In addition, despite the gore tag, there is not much violence in this chapter, but I won't break the rules of this website just because gore isn't the dominant theme in this chapter.

The day was slowly fading as the moon was raised, letting the darkness engulf the land as the ponies of Ponyville retired for the night. Sure as clockwork, everypony had gone to bed, the streets were all cleared and Oath wrapped up his patrol. All was perfectly smooth. Just how he liked it. Or so he thought.

"Ahh... Another day without any trouble."

As he went towards his house so he could get to sleep, Oath was missing all the trouble that he had to deal with back when he had first gotten to Ponyville. He was often in mortal danger, or one of his friends, but it made him feel... Alive. Like his duty had meaning. Sure, the Princess herself assigned him this task, but it still made him miss all that adrenaline-fuelled action.

Soon enough the silky sheets of his bed landed on top of Oath's figure as he relaxed his muscles. Sleep came quickly. He found that for some reason he always was a quick sleeper during the winter. The thick layers of snow and the cold breeze had not done much for his cold, but he didn't mind it. His amulet kept back the worst of the symptoms. A running muzzle and a slight headache was something he could easily deal with. And sleep would help. In his mind he longed for the day of the Winter Wrap Up. At least he could dream about it.

But the dream was not pleasant.

At first it was just a haze in his vision but soon the dream started to clear, revealing more than Oath would have ever wished.

A pony clad in the armor of a Canterlot guard was thrown aside by a strange black figure, a red axe floating by his side. The image circles around the black stranger, showing more guards who were all wounded, yet they were not whimpering or anything. They must have been dead. The earlier guard tried to rise to fight again, but with a swift strike he laid still, his blood flowing forth to coat the floor. Soon enough this figure's eyes come into view. Red eyes glow in the icy atmosphere, a cave formed from ice, before the image starts moving backwards. The icy land to the north of Equestria, it's evil hordes spilling forth to engulf the entirety of the land. Images of death, destruction, enslavement, misery...

Oath sees himself, kneeling down on the ground, Fluttershy on his hooves as Ponyville burns around them, creatures of darkness despoiling everything around them. Tears fall down on to the mare's unresponsive form. His friends try to hold back the darkness but without the Element of Kindness they are slowly driven back.

And the stranger is at the center of it all, despoiling the throne of Canterlot! Those eyes look straight at Oath, a wicked grin heralding the most evil laughter he had ever heard. A clash of red and blue are the only thing that he can make out before the scene of him holding his wife's lifeless body comes back. He sees himself look up. But it is not him. Blood red eyes stare at him. An evil smile forms on the impersonator's face.

"And it's all your fault..." The red-eyed stallion says, his form slowly turning black and his mane turning purple.

"Oathbreaker!"

Another scene appeared. A flowery field of roses, fluttering in the wind. But a pony's hoof stepped into view, causing the nearest plants to die and decay. A dark atmosphere descended on the field, as a hooded stallion came forwards, his magic dragging caskets with the cutie marks of the Elements of Harmony on them. The caskets were raised into the air before thrown forwards, into the only patch of healthy roses. A blast of red engulfed the patch, leaving nothing more than a blazing inferno as the stallion turned and walked away with a grin on his face.

"NO!" Oath cried out, holding his hoof out before he realized where he was.

His heart was racing. As he tried to calm himself down, he noticed how an axe had been created by his magic. He dismissed it and soon the axe dissipated, leaving only the gray stallion with his thoughts of what this could all mean. Soon enough the dawn arrived. He had not slept at all after that bad dream. Eventually he just dismissed it being meaningful in any way. It's just a bad dream isn't it? His friends did not seem to notice much difference about his demeanor, other than that he looked a bit sleepy.

He told them about the dream when he found them in Twilight's library. It took them off-guard.

"Whoa... That's some heavy stuff there, Oath." Rainbow Dash said, genuinely interested.

"You think it could have any meaning? Like a vision of some sort?" Oath said, a bit skeptical of his own words.

Twilight Sparkle tilted her head down and closed her eyes as she gave thought to that theory. All Oath had was this single dream, but what he apparently saw... It was a disturbing thing.

"I don't know. I would have to see it for myself before I make any conclusions. If you want, I know a spell that can let us see what you've seen."

Oath shuddered at the thought of witnessing the scene again. He knew of that spell, it takes the memory from you and lets everypony present to see it, clear as day. But he wanted to spare them from that. They didn't deserve to see that horror. Least of all Fluttershy. Twinkle Star was not there at the moment, as she was content to play with some of the other fillies outside in the snow. She didn't know how to fly yet, but then again, she was about the same age as Scootaloo during her filly years by now. Oath wondered how time could pass by so fast. It almost felt like yesterday since she was born.

His wife came with a blanket in her mouth as she laid it over Oath, warming his back comfortably, suggesting that the cloth had been heated earlier. He didn't really need it, but he was grateful. She was always making him feel at home, even when she was a guest at somepony's house. Twinkle Star couldn't have asked for a better mother.

"Thank you, Fluttershy. In this weather I sometimes find myself wondering how I manage to do this patrolling all the time."

She gave a wide smile as she started watching outside the window, where there was snowing, Twinkle hopping along the library's perimeter.

"Back to the topic. I'm sorry Twilight, but it... It's not something I wish you to see." Oath looked over at Fluttershy, who wasn't paying attention to anything else than the filly outside.

Twilight raised her hoof hurriedly into the air as she said:

"Oh! I just remembered!" Hurrying upstairs, she came down with a letter next to her, hovering via her magic. It had the royal seal, which was surprisingly not broken. Usually Twilight opened the Princess' letters faster than you could tell her that it was a letter from Princess Celestia. Everypony was looking confusedly at the purple unicorn as she came down.

"I got this letter, the mail pony gave it to me because of the seal, when it was actually directed to you, Oath."

An eyebrow raised, he used his own magic to bring it over, breaking the seal and opening the letter while it was still coming towards him. He eyed the letter and when he read it completely, he raised his other eyebrow and read it again, faster this time.

"Well this is unexpected!" Oath said, turning the letter around for everypony to look at it.

As the others looked at it, Oath looked outside the window, the filly gone from the window's view. The city of Canterlot could have been visible under other circumstances, but the falling snow made locating the city impossible.

"My dear friend Oathbound.

I would like to invite you as a royal guest to the Canterlot Guard Parade. As you know, this event sees the most promising of recruits take part in competitions that test their resolve in their efforts to join the Royal Guard. I want to see you there, Oathbound. It would give us a chance to talk. Perhaps you could even show Shining Armor a thing or two.

With warm greetings

Princess Celestia.

PS. I would be delighted if you could bring your daughter Twinkle Star here as well!"

When they finished reading the letter, they looked at Oath, who was not gazing back.

"Wow! That is a really great honor, Oath!" Twilight said, a bit stunned.

"Yea! You get to see the Wonderbolts in their guest appearance!" Rainbow Dash said, doing a quick spin in the air.

"Not to mention all the important ponies of Canterlot!" Rarity said, her eyes sparkling.

Oath, however, was not so enthusiastic. "Perhaps so..."

The door to the library opened as Twinkle Star stepped inside, shaking herself to get rid of the snow. After she was done, she went to talk to her mother about the animals she saw outside. She shared a passion for animals with her mother, which Oath didn't find surprising. But she didn't really share a connection to them in the same way Fluttershy did, so she couldn't communicate with them as easily.

Applejack walked over to him, only to see his face being neutral like he would have just been challenged to a fight to the death.

"Oath, what's wrong? Yer bein' invited to an event by the Princess herself and yer just being glum like this? Ah thought ya would be interested in this since ya was a guard an' all-"

Oath looked back at apple farmer, who couldn't respond to that in any other way than shutting up.

"That's the point. I was. My time has long gone. I reckon there is nothing for me to teach them. Besides, Shining Armor is the current Captain of the Guard, he would be far more useful in that aspect."

Twilight just shook her head.

"You're wrong, Oath. If there is anypony that can give Shining Armor a run for his bits, and I don't say this lightly, it's got to be you!"

"And unlike anypony there, you know how to party!" Pinkie Pie said, doing a little breakdance.

Oath closed his eyes as he listened to the two. They were believing their own words, that much he could believe. A smile formed on his face as he remembered the words of Fluttershy back when Oath had first arrived in town. A ghastly voice could be heard in his head as those words came.

"I think you're being a bit too harsh on yourself."

He looked at the others, who noticed his smile.

"Perhaps.. Perhaps you are right. After all, I couldn't refuse an invitation from the Princess, now can I? Might as well give it my best shot! Besides, I haven't taken you to Canterlot once, haven't I, Twinkle?"

"Really!? Are we going to Canterlot!?" Twinkle said in her usual high tone, beginning to hop about in a Pinkie Pie-ish manner, her wings making sounds similar to a humming bird.

"That's the spirit!" Applejack said.

Soon enough Oath was accompanied to the train station by his friends. Twinkle Star by his side, barely able to contain her excitement. Fluttershy could only smile with her eyes closed at her antics.

"Show 'em what you're made of, hotshot!" Dash said.

"I know you'll make us proud!" Twilight said, a satisfied smile on her face.

"Please be careful, Oath." Fluttershy said as she stroked a bit of snow off his mane, before doing the same to Twinkle.

Oath caught her hoof before it was back on the ground however, as he hugged Fluttershy, who was a bit startled and blushed as a response. "I will. Besides, I got Twinkle with me. My little princess can surely get me out of trouble." Twinkle had to hold back a laugh. Her father was a bit expectant of her, but usually he was just joking.

With that, Oath broke his embrace as he boarded the train. Waving to his friends as their forms receded into the distance, he eventually closed the window as other passengers were complaining about him letting the cold in. A sheepish smile formed on his face as he voiced his apologies. He began to talk to Twinkle about all the things he wanted to show her while they had time during the Guard Parade. He started thinking if the old unicorn was still in the music store. He never asked his name, even though he had helped the old one lift some heavy things to shelves when the unicorn's magic was not good enough.

As the two reached Canterlot they were greeted by Shining Armor and Princess Cadance, who were surrounded by ponies from the city in addition to the passengers from the train and their assigned guards.

"Greetings Oathbound! I assume the trip was enjoyable?" The white unicorn said, stepping forward to offer a hoof.

"It was. I had great company." Oath said looking at his daughter, who was a bit scared of meeting a princess. She hid behind her father's hind hoof. Cadance chuckled as she went past Oath and kneeled before the little filly, who was not looking at her.

"Hey there. I am Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, but you can just call me Cadance. What's your name?" She said, offering her hoof to the scared pegafilly. It calmed her a bit, as she looked at her and said:

"T..Twinkle Star."

"Nice to meet you, Twinkle Star! Did you know that I was the foalsitter for one of your father's friends?"

"Really?" She said, taking her hoof.

With that, the four started walking toward the castle, talking about whatever suited them. Shining Armor was looking very regal in his parade armor, which was enchanted to ignore the winter cold. When they reached the throne room they were greeted by Princess Celestia and Luna. As they came before the throne itself Oath kneeled, greeting them in the only matter he knew how.

"I am glad you accepted my invitation, Oathbound. Not to mention bringing your daughter along. It's your first time here, isn't it Twinkle Star?" Celestia said, stepping down from the throne.

"How did you know my name?" The filly said, startled. Celestia smiled at her as a response.

"Your father has told me a lot about you. I'm not sure if you remember, but I was in Ponyville a few times when you were still just a newborn foal. You look just as beautiful as you did back then." Twinkle grimaced a bit at that. She didn't like it when ponies told her how cute she was when she was a baby. She's grown past that.

Oath raised his voice as a way of taking away the attention from her.

"M'lady Celestia, I was wondering. Are there any special plans for this year's parade?"

With that, the alicorn nodded before speaking.

"Indeed there is, Oath. This year there are quite a lot of hopeful recruits who want to prove their mettle. So many infact that there were some fights out in the camps. As a way to settle things down, Shining Armor decided that the best of the best in the Three Trials would gain a chance to prove their worth to both of you in person."

Oath's mouth opened at that.

"You mean one on one combat?"

"Indeed. In addition, once they have proven their mettle, Shining Armor-"

The white stallion interrupted the princess by continuing her sentence.

"Will fight with you. Apparently Celestia thinks that this way you could show me some new tricks. Personally I wouldn't want it to be like this - I do not want to hurt a friend, especially one of Twily's friends - but if you are alright with it..."

As Oath pondered it, he decided that he was missing all the fighting from his early days. This could probably give him a chance to rekindle old feelings.

"I see no reason to disagree with the necessity. Twilight said that I could give you a run for your bits. I won't let her down."

With that, they shaked hooves like knights before fighting in a jousting ring.

As Twinkle Star was shown around town by Cadance, Oath was practicing in a room specifically prepared for him by Celestia herself. Eventually one of the recruits who were being shown around the castle stumbled into his quarters. His yellow skin and green mane contradicted his blue eyes, making him look more like a walking painting than a pony. The newcomer watched in awe as Oath ignored him and practiced with his axes, cleaving through targets that appeared out of nowhere. As Oath finished, he looked upon the pony who had broken into his quarters and smiled.

"Greetings. Here for the parade, I presume?"

With that the colt nodded before kneeling down as he realized how important the pony with the sapphire-encrusted amulet must be to have a room specifically made for training in Canterlot Castle. Oath chuckled at that as he stepped up to the colt.

"Relax, we are all equals here. I am Oathbound, ex-Captain of the Guard, at your service." He said, offering his hoof.

The colt looked at him and was surprised to see him smile. As he took the hoof, he rose up and began to shake it.

"If you say so, Oathbound. I am Rye Bowl. And yes, I am here for the parade. Being a part of the guard has always been my dream." He even had a cutie mark to show for it, a Royal Guard helmet.

Oath looked at it and then gave the colt praise for making this kind of life his choise.

"If you'll excuse me, I have some things to do before the parade begins. I hope I get to see you prove your worth in the arena." He said before passing by the colt, who nodded at that.

"It will be an honor!" Rye said.

As the day for the parade arrived, everypony was assembled in the castle yard, which was overlooked by a balcony meant for royal family members to announce their speeches. Everypony was surprised to see an amulet-wearing pony in there amongst Princess Celestia's guard.

"My dear ponies of Canterlot, it is my great pleasure to announce that the annual Royal Guard Parade has now begun! As you all know, this event sees the most promising recruits and hopefuls complete three different trials to prove their worth of joining the Royal Guard. This year however, a good friend of mine, Oathbound, who has been known to be the fourth member of a certain band, has come to tell you all of what the three different trials are about."

Celestia stepped to the side, giving Oath some space which he was thankful for but also ashamed somewhat. He was used to giving the princess space, not the other way around!

"Greetings, citizens of Canterlot! It is indeed a great honor to be here to inform you all of how this event will work for our hopeful recruits. The three trials will test your resolve, virtue and strength."

With that, his amulet started glowing as three differently-colored rings appeared around the balcony, causing the crowd to emit a wow as they watched in awe. The blue ring at the top began to close in before an image could be seen.

"The Trial of Virtue will test your will to protect others, even if it would bring harm to yourself. Selfishness will result in failure. A guard must be willing to throw aside everything if he can protect what matters." The image had a pony kneeling down before Princess Celestia, before fighting changelings that were trying to assault her. The pony was then given the choice of joining the changelings or perish. He refused and beat every single changeling that came. The image faded and the green ring to the right began to imitate the blue one, making an image of its own.

"The Trial of Resolve will test your endurance and will to protect your loved ones despite the obstacles in your way. A guard must be willing to cross any obstacle if it means he will fulfill his duty." The image had a pony walking forward in a snowstorm, the image receding to reveal a huge snow-encrusted mountain. Once more the image faded and the yellow ring to the left began to make an image of its own.

"The Trial of Strength will prove that you can protect the royal family from the greatest of threats. But brute strength alone will not make you pass this trial. Strength of will is also going to matter in this. A guard must surpass even himself if need be." An image of a pony appeared, fighting a changeling army who all took the pony's form before the original one dived into the fray. He emerged victorious. With that, the rings disappeared.

"I wish everypony good luck. The best of the best will be given the chance of being personally appraised by the Captain of the Guard, Shining Armor and myself." Oath said, before stepping back, allowing the princess to step forward to explain how non-participants can enjoy the day.

The recruits proved to be very promising indeed. The Trial of Resolve had a treadmill with a giant fan making great winds blow out. Ponies had to walk on the angled treadmill while being ravaged by the storm-like winds, some of the falling snow also serving to emulate the image seen earlier.

The Trial of Virtue had ponies be questioned about many many things, some of them going so deep as to sound insulting. Those that stood up for themselves failed. Those that knew that anything they did was for the princess passed with flying colors.

The Trial of Strength had a strength test machine that was rigged to the maximum. It took many ponies out for the count as they tried to get it out with a single blow. What they didn't realize is that it became easier and easier the more they tried. Few managed to do it, but they could do it because they summoned whatever strength they had left and so they passed. Rye Bowl was amongst them.

As the arena was slowly filling with recruits, they were all tested by Shining Armor and Oathbound, many of them failing to meet their harsh standards. Twinkle Star cheered for her father while sitting next to Princess Cadance and Celestia. Rye Bowl, however, managed to hold on long enough with his home-made halberd to get Oath to finally call it quits. All in all, 10 participants met the pair's approval. Eventually however, Celestia was given a letter by a guard who came in and whispered something to her ear. She nodded before opening the letter.

"Twinkle Star, Cadance, go get Oathbound. I have urgent news for him." She said, looking at the pair who looked back at her before they went to do her bidding.

"You wanted to see me, m'lady?" Oath said, stepping up to the princess. The throne room had no ponies except Cadance, Celestia, Oath and Twinkle.

"Oathbound, I'm afraid I have news which you might not find pleasant. It's about Fluttershy."

Oath raised his eyebrow at that.

"Take a look at this." Celestia said, giving the letter she recieved earlier to Oath.

"Dear Princess Celestia.

I am afraid I have some bad news. When Oath left with Twinkle Star towards Canterlot, we began making preparations for a parade of our own, something Pinkie Pie came up with. As we were preparing the town hall however, we were wondering where Fluttershy was. She was supposed to be helping Rarity with the decorations, but she was nowhere to be seen. When we came to her house, we heard screaming and saw that she was being foalnapped! A black-skinned stallion with a purple mane had her in a bubble of magical energy as he ran towards the mountain near Ponyville! We chased them but a forcefield stopped us. We need Oath here right away!

Anxiously waiting for an answer, your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle."

Oath's pupils narrowed down as he read the letter. Twinkle Star saw his expression and was startled a bit.

"Dad, what's wrong? Is mommy okay?"

Oath had to put on a fake smile. He didn't want to worry her.

"Everything's okay, dear. There are just some things that I need to do. You stay here in Canterlot until Princess Celestia sends you home, okay?"

"But dad-"

"Just trust me in this, okay Twinkle?" He said, looking into her eyes. She couldn't meet his gaze without flinching.

"...Okay."

Oath nodded and then turned to the princess.

"Send her home when Twilight sends a letter to you. I'll be going on the next train to Ponyville."

Celestia showed Oath towards the royal carriage, which confused him somewhat.

"No, Oath. Take my carriage, you will reach Ponyville sooner this way. I wish you good luck."

Oath kneeled before the princess.

"M'lady... In case I do not survive from this... It has been an honor to be your friend."

Celestia had to fight back a tear.

"Likewise, Oath. Farewell."

With that, he boarded the carriage and it took to flight, the pegasi effortlessly pulling the golden carriage.

Soon enough Oath was in Ponyville, getting off the carriage and telling the pegasi that they should go back, he wouldn't be needing the ride.

Once they were gone, Oath ran towards Twilight's library, finding all his friends there. With the exception of Fluttershy.

"Well what do you suggest we do? We can't get past that forcefield!" Rarity said.

"I say we crack it!" Rainbow Dash said, clapping her hooves together.

"With what? Nopony here could break it, Rainbow." Pinkie said, a bit sullen which was a very contrasting demeanor considering how happy she was under most circumstances.

Oath walked in, which caused Twilight to look at him and tell him what happened.

"A forcefield?" He said, contemplating a bit. His face steeled itself as he looked at the others.

"I think we can break it. But I doubt it's the only obstacle we will face. We have to be careful."

With that, they began to walk towards the mountain. They could have taken the hot air balloon, but Oath doubted that it would be strong enough to handle the strong winds that likely would be at the tip of the mountain. As they reached the forcefield, he stepped forward, summoning his axes.

He brought them down in a cross-pattern in the same way he had broken Twilight's forcefield when he first arrived to Ponyville. The others were amazed. Oath's power was quite something. But he ignored them as he started to gallop towards the mountain.

"I'm coming, Fluttershy. Just hold on!"

As the 6 reached a small clearing, they were met by two ponies.

One of them was a purple earth pony with a mane of red, his eyes pure black with no iris'. His cutie mark was a face with a wicked smile.

"Took you long enough, didn't it?"

The other one, a black unicorn with no mane, giggled at that before muttering something in a confirming tone.

"Who are you?" Oath said, stepping up.

The red-maned pony looked at him with a blank gaze.

"I believe you and I know eachother, Oathbound. Albeit, you are always consciously unaware of my presence. But when I am there and you notice it, even if unconsciously, boy do you notice it."

Oath was confused by this before he clutched his head as it was assaulted by a feeling he had not felt for a long time. It caused pain in his head. He immediately recognized it.

"Cruelty.."

"Bingo. I prefer the name Knife Twist, though."

The mane-less pony burst into laughter while rolling around like a wheel.

"Insanity..."

"Not insanity, None Sense." The unicorn muttered as he continued rolling.

An axe came to life as Oath steeled himself. His cruel side just chuckled.

'You believe that we are here to fight? Not likely.' With that, the pony waved a bit and Oath's axe spazzed before disappearing. He gasped.

"We are here to tell you of what Oathbreaker is proposing. You want your wife back, no?"

"What has he done to her!?" He yelled, feeling angry for a moment before he felt like it was being forced out of him. He forced himself to calm down as he realized he was only feeding his negative emotions.

"Nothing."

The insane creature, truly not a pony, stopped rolling about and muttered something yet again, this time in a contradictory tone.

Applejack and the others looked at Oath as he looked at the ground. Eventually he said:

"What does he want?"

"If you want to know, come with us. Alone."

Twilight was stepping forward but Oath looked at her.

"No, Twilight. I must do this. I'll bring her back safely. Go."

"Oath..."

"I swear to you that she will be safe, Twilight. Just go."

With that, he began to walk with the pair who somehow seemed to fuse into one. The others stayed there, not knowing whether they should follow him despite the danger or whether they should wait for Fluttershy here. After hesitating for nearly a dozen minutes, they decided against doing as Oath told them to.

As the amulet-wielding stallion and the evil pony reached the top, they entered the cavern inside. Oath was alarmed as he saw Fluttershy hanging from a cage. The evil pony stepped in front of Oathbreaker, who seemed to swell with rage before a red axe sweeped at the combined form of Oath's insanity and cruelty, causing it to dissolve into a black mist which flowed into the stranger's horn, which seemed to rejuvenate him. With that, Oath stared at the evil version of himself. He was a perfect mirror to Oath in physical terms, every muscle that he had pulsed with each heartbeat Oath had. His cutie mark was a broken bronze shield with a single red axe in front of it, like a twisted mockery of Oath's own. The evil Oath stared back, his cold gaze meeting the good Oath's resolve. There was no doubt in his mind that he was going to have to do something which nopony wants to do, despite the circumstances. He would have to fight himself. As neither's gaze flinched, Oathbreaker began to speak, his demonic voice rumbling across the cavern.

"So you came."

Oath knew that this was the pony from his dream, the evil pony who would be the doom of the entire land. The same pony he had seen years ago on a hill before his birthday party.

It seems like Oathbreaker had read his thoughts.

"And you think I would do that? No, but it did bring me to you."

Oath looked at his evil side, then at Fluttershy, then back. The mare was too terrified to say or do anything, so she just watched the pair in silence. Apart from her barely audible whimpering.

"You mean that dream was just a trap!?"

The pony summoned two axes that began sharpening themselves against eachother.

"What else? But, now that I think about it, why not make it happen?"

With that, Oathbreaker mustered his magic as Oath steeled himself. But the target of the spell was not him. Oath gasped as the two axes began to fly towards Fluttershy, who screamed in panic. It was all he could do to block the axes with a forcefield.

"Let my wife go now! This is between you and me."

As he said that, Oath heard Twilight and the others as they entered the cavern.

"Oath! We came to help you!"

Oathbreaker raised his hoof and brought it down, his magic causing a forcefield to appear which blocked Twilight and her friends from reaching Oath or Fluttershy.

The two stared at eachother for a few moments before Oath summoned his axes and moved to strike his foe. His axes levitated by his side as he closed the distance before they dashed forward and the sound of magical blade on magical blade reverberated across the cave. They quickly separated before clashing again, a whirling melee from which only passing images of the participants could be seen amidst the sea of blue and red. But it didn't last long. As they stood watching eachother, the evil pony smirked.

"Why do you insist on fighting?"

"...What do you suggest?" Oath said, eager to resolve this conflict without bloodshed.

"I have something you want and you have something I want."

Oath looked at the pony who met his gaze again.

"What do you want?"

Oathbreaker pointed a hoof at him.

"I want to have a body to call my own again. We will hold a contest of wills over ownership of the body you inhabit, the loser dies. Then we shall see which one of us truly deserves to dictate what the being known as Oathbound does!"

The others gasped. Surely Oath wouldn't let him take control again! Oath hesitated for a bit as his weapons disappeared. But he knew that he would pay any price if it meant his friends could walk free.

"Let Fluttershy go and you can take my body, just let my friends leave in peace!" He said, throwing his hooves to the sides. The ebony-skinned unicorn chuckled at that before Fluttershy's cage disappeared, sending her hurtling towards the ground before her wings stopped her descent. The forcefield was laid low as she flied fast towards her friends.

As he saw Fluttershy reach the safety of her friends, he felt a sharp pain in his chest, a black and purple beam of evil emotions flowing into him. He was slowly encased into a dark egg-like shape of energy as he could feel the evil of the pony behind the beam pour into him. Slowly the beam withered out, the pony who fired it nowhere to be seen. Once it died, the casing which had him trapped disappeared. He was lowered to the ground as he knew he was now beyond redemption.

The joining was complete. Oath was one with his evil side again. And it was taking control of him fast. His head flooded with emotions that he had left behind long ago, anger, cruelty, vanity, selfishness, all coming back with one goal in mind. Dominance.

He didn't have much time before it was too late. Tears began to emerge from his eyes as he gritted his teeth, before turning his head towards his friends. Fluttershy was at their side, confused and worried over what had just happened. She knew what was happening yet she didn't.

"My friends. I'm afraid I won't be coming with you. He is going to take control and I cannot allow him to touch you. Go. Run."

Twilight stepped up.

"No. We won't leave a friend behind. We'll find a way to be rid of him forever, Oath! Just come with us!"

"He is going to push me away and kill you all. I cannot allow that to happen!"

Oath shook his head, which caused some of his tears to fall to the sides. "There is no other way." With that, his amulet started glowing. At first nothing happened. Soon the others started feeling vibrations beneath their feet. Rocks were moving around. An earthquake! A stalactite fell down near the corner of the cave, creating a smoke cloud as it crashed into the floor.

"Run! I cannot allow him to live a moment longer! This whole cave is going to be brought down and you with it if you do not go!" Oath said, urgently pointing at them and the exit behind them.

"Oath! Please! Don't do this!" Fluttershy yelled, tears threatening to fall down her cheeks as she realized what he was doing.

The stallion came towards them a couple of steps and Fluttershy ran to him, their hug being the bittersweetest thing in their lives.

Oath's amulet glowed ever stronger as the vibrations became stronger, causing pieces of the roof to fall. His words echoed across the cave as Fluttershy still hugged him.

"I'm sorry."

Before they could do anything, they disappeared in a flash of blue as the cave was falling apart.

"I'm truly sorry." It was the only thing he could say before a massive boulder fell on him, crushing his spine and killing him instantly.

Near the outskirts of Ponyville, on a snow-filled plain, a flash of blue signalled the appearance of 6 ponies. They wondered where they were, before realizing where they had come from. Their turned their heads towards the mountain, which had its tip crumbling. It came down in a controlled wave, leaving a round tip on the top as the cave they were walking on moments ago was crushed along with anything still inside. The snow on top of the mountain came down in an avalanche. Fluttershy was the first to have her voice heard, her cries of sadness echoing across the plains. The others couldn't hold the tears back either. He was gone. Oathbound was gone. And they couldn't do anything about it.

When they finally got home, they were greeted by everypony. They assembled in preparation for their return. Their smiles faded when they saw their faces. Twinkle Star didn't see her father with them which, combined with their sad faces, could only mean that the worst had come to pass. She looked at the ground, ridden with sadness as she joined the 6 ponies in their march. Silently the crowd parted to give the Mane 6 a path towards the library, where they went to mourn. As they closed the door behind them, they began to reminisce the good things that Oath had done to the town. To them.

"He was a true friend."

"He was caring."

"He was modest."

"He took other ponies opinions into account."

"He was there when he was needed the most."

"He was there to turn our frowns upside down."

With that, they hugged eachother, knowing that he was in a better place now.

But the appearance of blue caught their attention as a blue thread of magic appeared out of nowhere, almost mist-like in appearance. It took the form of a pony. It eventually began to speak.

"My friends. I am sorry for what came to pass. I wish there could have been another way. But take heart! I shall never truly be gone. You have already shown that the power of friendship conquers anything, even death. Even though my body may be gone, my soul and my spirit will live on inside your hearts."

Fluttershy and Twinkle Star rushed to the spectral Oath, but passed through him as they hit a wall. When Fluttershy realized what happened, she began to cry.

"Fluttershy. Don't shed these tears of ill-founded sadness."

"But I... I want you to be here with me! I want-"

"You need only know that I will always be with you. That is my final promise. Hold me close to your heart and I shall be here, always. I want you to be happy. Mourning for me like this won't help. Besides, you have Twinkle." With that, his magic wiped away her tears. She smiled. The spectre hugged the mare, who could feel his warmth once more on her skin. Their daughter joined in the hug as well as the others watched in bittersweet tears.

"Goodbye, my friends. May we meet again." As he said so, he rose to the air, seeming to pass through an invisible portal as he did so.

Twinkle watched the spectacle in silence as she was under extreme mental distress. She wanted to cry but she wanted to show her father that she'd become strong.

Twilight looked at the ground before speaking.

"He's right. Mourning for him won't fix anything."

Applejack nodded, speaking to the others in response.

"Yup. We should move on with our lives. He deserves that much."

Rainbow Dash looked at the ground sullenly while speaking.

"I'm going to miss that hotshot."

Fluttershy hugged her, which surprised the blue-skinned pegasus.

"We all will."

As they hugged, Twinkle Star had the same blue light appear above her head, which caused a note and a box to drop down to her side. As she took the note, she recognized her father's writing!

"Twinkle Star.

I know that I was not the perfect father that you could have asked for. I was sometimes harsh on you, too much sometimes.

But I did it only because I wanted you to live a happy life, so you could live without the mistakes I lived with.

Thus I leave you my most precious jewelry. May it always show you the path when you are in doubt.

Love, Oathbound."

With that, the box opened itself, the magical lock on the metal box opening to reveal Oath's amulet! It floated to her neck, clicking shut before it came to rest there. She looked at it before shedding tears.

"Daddy..." She said, turning her gaze from the amulet to the ceiling.

A gravestone was erected in front of Oath's house. On the slab of stone it read:

"Here lies Oathbound, a friend who was honest, caring, modest and most of all, a loving husband and father."

As life went slowly back to normal, his house was left abandoned. Fluttershy visited it from time to time, but nopony knew why. All they knew was that there were some weird noises coming from the meditation room...

Back at the mountain, a small black smoke cloud cleared its way out of the wreckage of the collapsed mountaintop. It took the shape of a pony, one who was looking at death's door. His voice was hoarse. He giggled. The giggling evolved to laughter, the laughter evolved to maniacal laughter.

"You failed, Oathbound. You failed for the last time. And now your land shall pay the price. Despite your best efforts, the monster lives!"

[ALTERNATE ENDING] The Dawn of A New Day

This chapter starts after Oathbound reaches the cave and rescues Fluttershy.

Note that this is just an alternate ending, the original ending is still "canon" in my eyes. I just had this idea for the original ending, yet my actual one came to be written by me before this did. Might as well empty my thoughts into this chapter.

The joining was complete. Oathbound was once more one with his negative self. He could feel all the different emotions begin to surface. As he lied on the ground after the barrier of evil had dissipated and left him on the ground, he felt that he was going to have to kill himself. He wasn't sure if that suicidal thought was partly because of what had just happened to him or if it was the only way he could protect his friends.

"Oath, are you okay!?" Twilight half-yelled, quickly moving over to Oath, everypony following suite

"I... I can't..." He said, clutching his head before curling up as he yelled out in pain.

"Applejack! Now!" Twilight said, looking at the earth pony who reached into the knapsack she carried with them. A box was taken out, which opened to reveal the Elements of Harmony. Quickly donning the jewelry, they gathered their power.

"Twilight, what ar-"

Oath didn't have time to finish his sentence before a harmonial beam of energy struck him, once again a sharp pain stabbing his chest as he could feel the emotions being drained from him. This time he didn't pass out from the pain, though his vision was growing blurry. The black smoke that rose from his throat quickly moved towards the end of the cavern before taking pony form, revealing Oathbreaker once again.

"How dare you..." His demonic voice carried out, each syllable in his sentence filled to the brim with hate.

"Stop being so mean to others!" Pinkie Pie said, pointing a hoof at him.

"SILENCE!" He snapped, before stepping back and slowly turning into mist.

"Since you won't let him honour his part of the bargain, your nation shall pay the price. Equestria shall burn!" He said, yelling the second sentence before his horn made a blast of red energy, heralding his teleportation out of the cave. It knocked everypony down to the ground, Oath being knocked out cold. It took the others a while to get back up.

"Oww... That meanie!" Pinkie said, hopping back to her feet before rubbing a bump on her head that was starting to form on her forehead.

"Wait... Where's Oath!?" Twilight said, looking around when she realized that the stallion wasn't lying where he was a moment ago.

He was gone.

"Uhh, girls? Ah think we should git out o' here!" Applejack said as the earth started to shake. The blast must have triggered an earthquake!

"Don't worry! I got just the spell for this!" Twilight announced before her horn started glowing and they disappeared in a flash of purple.

The same flash heralded their arrival on a snow-filled plain, giving them the perfect view of the mountaintop as it was starting to crumble in an uncontrolled tide, leaving only destruction behind. Fluttershy held her hoof out as she yelled at the mountain for Oath, before Twilight comforted her.

"Don't worry, Fluttershy. I didn't sense him in there before I brought us here, I'd never leave a friend to die if there's anything I can do." She said before looking at the mountain's crumbling tip in silence.

"Uhhhh..." Oath muttered, slowly opening his eyes. The scene he had in his dream, of ponies slaughtered around a black stranger inside an icy cave came to rest on his field of vision.

"I must still be dreaming..." He thought to himself before he felt a flash on pain on his cheek as the black pony slapped him on the cheek.

"Quit day-dreaming, fool. I want you to witness your precious land suffer." Oathbreaker said, fixing his gaze on him.

"There will be no more suffering if I have anything to say about it!" Oathbound said, immediately sober as he tried to summon his weapons, but strangely they didn't appear. He glanced at his neck and gasped. The amulet was gone!

"Looking for this?" Oathbreaker snickered, floating the amulet next to him. Oath grunted.

"You won't be needing it any longer." The amulet was then thrown into a chasm, which Oath almost jumped into in pursuit. He could feel his strength slowly draining from him as his disease started to take it's course.

"Oh no you don't. You're not getting off that easy, weakling!" It was the last thing he heard before he felt dark magic coursing through him, sustaining him but slowly eating away at his willpower.

"N...No..." He struggled to force the syllable out of his mouth as he could feel his conciousness slip away as a sleeping spell was taking hold.

"Yes..." Oath's evil side began laughing before he split into 7 parts, each of those parts taking the form of different ponies. They dispersed and began taking control of wild animals and changelings that went feral after the defeat of Queen Chrysalis.

A whole week passed by as everypony searched the entirety of Equestria for Oath, the Princess' pleas being the only thing that kept them going. All except Twilight and her friends, who were in her library thinking about where he could be.

"Manehattan? No wait, we searched there already. No glimpse or even a rumour of him there." Rainbow Dash said, tapping her head with a hoof.

"And the Everfree Forest is as clean as it could ever be, strangely 'nuff. No big creatures that wanna split you in half as soon as look at you. Heck, even the timberwolves are gone!" Applejack said, throwing her fore-hooves to the sides.

"Maybe they went to a party!" Pinkie said, looking at the others with a smile. When they didn't smile back, she got back to thinking.

"I... I think I have an idea, if it's okay for me to tell you.." Fluttershy said, a bit hesitantly.

"It's better than what we had a week ago, Fluttershy, go ahead." Twilight said, putting aside her book, one that covered the subject of tracking magical artefacts.

"I... Uhhh... Didn't Oath say he had this dream? A vision?" The cream-colored mare said, tilting her head a bit, causing her mane to reveal her other eye completely.

"Yes?" Rarity said, stroking her mane a bit.

"Didn't he say he saw an icy cave? That would mean that he is trapped in-"

"In the north!" The others suddenly said at the same time, causing Fluttershy to blush and lower her head a bit.

"Of course! Why didn't I think of that sooner? You're a genius, Fluttershy!" Twilight said, clapping her hooves together before her face fell upon realization.

"But... That means all of Equestria..!" The purple unicorn jumped up and started up the stairs, causing the others to wonder what she was doing up there. As Rainbow Dash went to investigate, she looked at Twilight and recoiled a bit as she saw her writing a letter.

"A letter? I doubt that Oath would be able to answer you, Twilight."

"It's not just about Oath anymore, Dash! The princess needs to ready her armies! We are going to have to fight the horde that Oath's vision told us about!"

The others heard the commotion upstairs and heard her last sentence as they all came up.

"Oh dear, looks like somepony is in need of a little jolt!" The pony gave Oath a lightning bolt which he could only try to endure, the lightning dissipating into magical energy which his body swallowed up to sustain him. Oath could only cry out in pain as the magical bolt coursed through his body. A cruel act, only accentuated by the pony in charge. The evil side of Oath that had split into 7 had left the cruel side to keep him under constant surveillance and "entertainment". His purple fur was clear against the icy background of the cave, his red mane in an almost mohawk-like style. His iris' were not there, leaving only two orbs of blackness for Oath to stare at. His horn glowed red as he launched a second bolt out of spite, laughing at his helpless victim. Unlike his hatred, Oath's cruel side had a normal-sounding voice. But it did little to dissipate the fact that this pony was nothing more than evil taken pony form.

"Enough." A voice said, bringing a cowed pony to the scene. Oath recognized the newcomer as his envy.

"Took your sweet time getting here, Cancerous." Knife Twist said, looking at the shrouded pony.

"You've had your fun, now for mine, Knife Twist. Move aside!" His envious side said, before a purple beam teleported the cruel side of Oath out of the cave.

"Time for you to see what your friends are doing..." Throwing back the cowl, Oath saw the most hideous face he ever saw. Buboes and boils everywhere, covered by bandages that were filthy with dirt and leaking pus. It was as if seeing the pony with the obvious disease cast some sort of spell, for Oath felt like he was gonna pass out. Soon enough he could see a frozen hill, overlooking a mountain, covered in a blanket of white and he felt like he was being assailed by thousands of icy spikes as he closed in on the hill. Upon closer inspection Oath could see cages. Magical cages housing his-

"My friends! No!"

"Ohoho, but it is indeed! Infact, take a closer look." The blighted pony said before stepping back, cackling maniacally all the while.

His view closed in on the cages, revealing more than Oath would have ever wished to see. He was heartbroken to find his friends brutally murdered, great gashes of blood flowing from everypony as the crimson liquid coated the cages floating in the air, the excess dripping to freeze in the snow.

Oath fell to his knees. His tears began flowing of their own accord. He was completely in the throes of despair.

The rest of the 7 evil ponies appeared and merged into one as Oath still wept tears from the scene he saw. Little did he know he was dreaming.

"Fool, falling for a simple illusion."

"Twilight, are you sure about this?" Princess Celestia asked, disturbed by the news she recieved.

"Yes, Princess. The royal family must gather their forces and prepare for war. The frozen north is going to spill it's hordes soon. And Oath is at the center of it all. At least... At least his evil side, Oathbreaker."

Luna was in the midst of doing her duty as the princess of the night, keeping an eye on everypony's dreams. As she listened to the news, she found a strange dream. A nightmare of great magnitude.

Taking a look, she was horrified to see Oathbound.

"I have found him. He is trapped in a nightmare, magically induced no doubt. I will try to rouse him. In the meantime, gather the troops and prepare for battle. It seems like we are going to have to fight if Twilight is correct."

Glancing at the others, Luna gave them a nod before she closed her eyes to dive back into the dream, her voice carrying over to Oath.

"Oathbound, listen to me."

"P..Princess Luna? No, don't... Don't look at me!" He said before he collapsed into a weeping fit, holding the "corpse" of Fluttershy.

"Oath, you are completely fine. This is nothing more than a dream. A nightmare. Fluttershy is safe. As are all your friends." She said in a comforting tone.

"W-wha?"

Oath looked at her and then back at the corpse, recoiling as he sees a changeling instead. The illusion was swiftly thrown aside, Oath's face steeling itself as he kicked the changelings when they attacked. The battle didn't last long.

When they were defeated, Luna spoke.

"Oathbound, my sister and your wife both wish for you to return at upmost haste."

Oath looked at the alicorn as she trotted closer.

"But... Without my amulet I have no chance." He said, lowering his face.

She frowned a bit before she raised his head to meet her gaze.

"You're more powerful than you think, Oath. Look deep inside your heart and you will find what you seek."

Oath looked at the ground for a minute before raising his hoof to stop Luna from severing the connection to his dream.

"Princess Luna. Before you go, can you relay this message to Fluttershy? Tell her... Tell her to return to Ponyville and carry on with her life. Tell her to not wait for me there, because.. I will be there soon enough."

With that the dream started to dissipate, Luna's form twisting as she lost her connection to Oath's dream, nodding at the stallion as she did.

"Hrmm, the fool is no longer whimpering. Must be ready for my plan. Good..." Oathbreaker said, grinning to himself. He lifted the dreamer's body into the air and lowered it into the crevice where he had tossed the said dreamer's amulet into.

"But before that, I have a task to do." He said, stepping outside the icy cave to meet his minions, to give them the order to prepare for war.

He basked in the praise that the changelings and wild animals gave to him as they cheered. Yes. Equestria shall burn. As is meant to be.

Oathbound's eyes slowly opened, his purpose clear and his determination would only be matched by his will. He would stop his negative emotions plans to destroy Equestria or die in the attempt. He had found purpose in his family, his friends and his life. He was a protector. He was a guardian. It was all up to him now.

He remembered seeing that the cave was left unguarded, save for a few changelings. His hatred must have come to the assumption that he wouldn't dare to escape after "witnessing" the death of his friends. He rose up, careful to not alert the guards to his presence as he took in his surroundings. He had been moved from where he woke up from. He was in a crescent-shaped crevice, with no way of getting out by normal means, the wall was completely smooth with no clear cracks or appendages for him to grab onto. But as he looked to the ground, he noticed a faint blue glow from one of the ice piles in the distance. As he located the source, he was exstatic to find his amulet! Quickly donning it on, he felt alive for the first time in years. He levitated himself up with the magic from the amulet, feeling his evil emotion's hold fading in his mind as he was once more in complete control. As he reached the top, he saw his evil side grinning at him.

"So you finally realized how futile your life was. Now join me and we shall forge the world anew!"

Oath's axes came to life, making his hatred raise his eyebrow for half a second before he snarled and summoned his own.

"Still you resist!? There is nothing worthy in your life anymore, nothing to fight for and you know it!"

Oath shook his head. "I saw past your illusion. There is no more darkness in my heart and I will not let it return to me! I will defeat you! By the power vested in me by her royal highness Princess Celestia, I sentence you, Oathbreaker, to death!"

Oathbreaker shook visibly as he was barely containing his anger. Before Oathbound could say anything, he brought his axe to a blocking position as their blades clashed, quickly descending into a whirling melee of blue and red.

"I...

Hate...

You..

That's an understatement.

I...

Hate...

You...

FOR WHO YOU ARE!

I hate you!

And all you stand for!

I don't care.

Anymore!

I gave you

100 chances!

You gave me

**A hundred ways to hate!"

The black-skinned pony was gathering his rage, his form slowly getting surrounded by a red aura before he charged again, his axes crackling with the sound of thunderbolts, his battlecry deafening.

"Hate your face!

Hate your lies!

And the blank look in your eyes!

Hate your needs!

Hate your wants!

Hate the way you love to taunt!

Hate your voice!

Makes me cringe

Everytime I hear you speak!

It's uncomfortable to know you share the same air as me!

Hate your lack of common sense!

And I'm tired of compromising!

Take a good look in the end

'cause it's just on the horizon!

I've been wrong about a lot of shit!

This I know is true!

There's a 100 fucking things that I hate about you!

I...

Hate...

You..

That's an understatement.

I...

Hate...

You...

FOR WHO YOU ARE!

I hate you!

And all you stand for!

I don't care.

Anymore!

I gave you

100 chances!

You gave me

A hundred ways to hate!"

Oath tried to sweep him from his feet with magic, his telekinetic power trying get his evil side to buckle by hitting him behind the knee. It was like Rainbow Dash would have tried to perform a Sonic Rainboom while flying through 5 meters of solid brick. Shrugging aside the feeble attempt to make him kneel, Oathbreaker lifted him with his own magic, throwing him across the icy ground, his axes opening wounds in the stallion's flesh as he was helpless to do anything about it. Impossibly Oath rose up to fight again, as if the blood flowing forth from his hind leg and cheek gave him power. He closed the distance while dodging the incoming axes and bucked his nemesis hard in the face, breaking his muzzle. He grunted as his magic healed it, painful sounds of bone reknitting itself giving away the pain that the black stallion felt. He charged once again.

I hate you!

100 ways!

I don't care.

A hundred ways to hate!

I gave you

A million chances!

You gave me

A hundred ways to hate!

A hundred ways!

A hundred ways to hate!"

Oath's axe was swiped aside as he summoned another one to block the inevitable following strike. Quickly grasping control of his situation, he riposted and sent his axe towards his evil side who was eager to get close and personal.

Oath could not hold his eyes on his negative side as the black-skinned unicorn felt his horn shatter on contact with the magic-driven axe. The evil pony burst into a flaming wreck, his cries of agony falling upon deaf ears. His form was fading, as the flames died out.

When the last traces of him were gone, Oath gave a sigh of relief before he fell asleep, tired after his ordeal. When he woke up, he knew that he had to return home. Through a horde of frenzied changelings and wild animals.

Fluttershy was worried. Ever since she had returned to Ponyville, she had gone to the hill where Twilight teleported herself and the girls to escape from the crumbling mountaintop everyday to see if Oath had come back. Two days after her first trip she was losing hope.

This time, however, she could swear she saw a pony walking towards her. A stallion. Bruised and bleeding. An amulet rested on his neck.

Oath.

Oath had come home!

She took to full speed, coming towards Oath at a speed unlike any she had achieved before. If she were given more distance, she likely would have done a sonic rainboom.

The impact took them a mighty distance, throwing snow everywhere. When they finally came to a stop, their lips met and they embraced eachother.

"I love you Oathbound." She finally said.

"I love you too, Fluttershy. It's good to be home. And I swear that I will never leave your side again."

Prologue: The Pony From The Mountain Part 1

Twilight Sparkle was busily sweeping away the dust from the bookshelves inside her house in Ponyville, having gotten the books out of the way before she would rearrange them. Spike was busy getting the other side of the library cleaned, not having gotten all the books out of the way yet. The sound of the dragon moving up the stepladder filled the room but Twilight paid him no mind.

'I really should have done this sooner,' she thought in her head, 'The princess would be mad if she found out about this mess!' She smiled at herself, knowing that the Princess wouldn't give a second thought to the mess that the library was in, but she needed something to keep herself motivated. She kept on going through the bookshelves, dust flying all over the place until she had to cover her mouth so she wouldn't breathe it in. The day was not so windy as she expected it to be so she had neglected opening the windows, as much for the impracticality of the matter, the embarrassment of the idea of any ponies passing by and seeing the mess the library had become and as much as the fear that some of the more delicate books would not survive any surprise gusts of wind intact.

Spike, on the other hand, was carefully taking every book from their places before placing them on the floor. The last time one of Twilight's books got burned by his dragon breath, there was so much mayhem that Spike was not sure if he would live long enough to see another time. So, to ensure his continued existence, he had Rarity make him a protective mask so he could not use his fire breath while wearing it. The green scales of his head mixed in with the colours of the mask but not so much as to make him look like some sort of monster. He was still recognizable as the Spike everypony had come to know. But as he went through the last books, there was one that would not come out. He scratched his head before trying to pull it out with all his might, but he instead lost his grip and fell off the stepladder, causing a huge mess of books everywhere.

Twilight walked up and looked at the baby dragon with an annoyed look on her face.

'Don't look at me, that book is to blame,' Spike said, pointing towards the tome with a dragon made from golden leaves hugging the back of the book.

With a sigh, Twilight tried to move the book but was surprised when it wouldn't budge. She tried harder and harder until she had to catch her breath - full of the dust she was busily sweeping moments ago. The coughing went on for almost a minute. Spike was wondering whether he should offer his mask for Twilight, but by the time he had come to a conclusion, all the dust was gone along with the coughing. In the back of her mind Twilight thought that perhaps the windows should have been opened anyway. She looked at the book with anticipation clearly showing in her tone of voice.

'Oh this book is going to get it!'

Mustering all her power, she tried pulling the book out of the shelf. It was next to impossible, as if the book was one with the bookshelf. Spike looked on with a worried demeanor, wondering if Twilight would pull the whole house into the air in an effort to get at the book.

Before the worst could happen, she stopped and looked at the book with a mix of exhaustion and confusion.

She stepped on the ladder to get a closer look at it. The backside of the book was green, with golden lines of text on it that read: "The Dragon's Fire"

The front of the book was not simple to get a look at due to the awkward position of the stepladder, but Twilight could clearly see a dragon breathing a flame that formed the same letters as the ones on the back of the book. The backside of the book was a lot more cryptic.

'Dragons are known to possess mysterious powers. Many see them as a symbol of destruction and see only that which was removed by flame. Many are aware of the dragons flame breath and its destructive power, but it is a far less known fact as to how the great flying lizards use their power to blaze a trail forward in their long lives. Those who seek to learn, may find that a dragons flame can be as revealing as a key to a lock.

But for those who have not the strength will find themselves consumed by the fire that they try to control.'

Twilight started thinking... Obviously the book was related to dragons, of that there was no doubt. But if they were to be read by dragons only, why didn't Spike manage to get it out? That book was no ordinary book. But why would anypony make something like this? She thought for a second that perhaps some pony wanted to jest the previous occupant of the great tree house, but dismissed it immediately as being just far too unlikely. But it did not still answer her question. Was it to keep unwanted ponies out? Or to keep something in?

Clearing her mind she came to the conclusion that thinking about the purpose behind the book was getting her nowhere. If the book is about dragons, then it must take something that only a dragon can do to get to the heart of this matter.

Then she realized it! Blazing a trail forward! Key to a lock! It all makes sense!

'Spike, can you torch that book with your flame breath?' Twilight said, looking at the dragon as he cleared himself an area he could stand on. The dragon looked at her with alarm within his eyes.

'Wh-wha? Seriously? You always go on about me having to be careful aroun-'

'I mean it, Spike! Just do it! I'll douse it out in case I am wrong.'

The dragon looks at the book for a moment before he sighs.

'Just don't hold me responsible if the house gets burned down...'

A green flame soon emits from the baby dragon's mouth and it envelops the book. The dragon on the cover seems to move along the flames licking the books surface, as if bathing in it.

Suddenly a flash of magical light envelops the book- no, the whole bookcase! Twilight looks at the bookcase with a scared look on her face, but she wants to get to the heart of this mystery.

As suddenly as the magical light appeared, it was gone, as was the bookcase! In it's stead stood a small and short staircase leading to a room with a horn mounted on a bronze dragon sculpture's mouth. Twilight went inside with Spike walking by her side, both being unsure of what will happen.

A note stood on a small marble pedestal. The magic that kept this room concealed also seemed to have stopped the aging process of the paper, as it smelled of fresh ink! It was as if the note would have been written moments ago! Intrigued by the magic used to conceal the room and to make sure this message reached the one who could figure out the puzzle, she unwrapped the paper and began to read it:

'Behold the Horn of the Mountain, dear holder of this note. Know that should the land be under threat that even the dragon-kind cannot beat, the horn shall be your salvation. Blow it and look towards the mountains. I shall come and free you from the evil that you fight against.

Yours truly, The Exiled Hermit'

'Well that's cryptic... What do you think, Spike?'

'I say we leave it alone, this place gives me the creeps. Besides, who knows what would happen!'

It was clear that the dragon was startled, and not only by the uneasy aura about the room. It was clear that the horn was magically infused, Twilight thought. The magical energy swirled around it in a senseless manner, as if it would have been waiting to be released for ages. She took one last look at the horn before turning back.

She told Spike to get upstairs with her, with the dragon knowing exactly what was going to happen. The Princess needed to know about this horn and she needed to know about it fast. If the horn's purpose could be discovered, then perhaps they could risk blowing it. Until then, the ornamented horn was like a ticking time bomb.

Once the pair had reached upstairs, they got into writing the letter with as much care as possible to detail the happenings in the library.

But the door was opened by an unexpected visitor. A pony appeared, a book in her mouth as she looked at the library, surprised at the mess. The pink pony dropped the book on a table hurriedly and looked at all the other books.

'Twilight has been kidnapped! She wouldn't leave her library in a mess like this!' Pinkie Pie thought, donning a detective hat and taking a magnifying glass in one of her hooves. She looked at the library through it, making mental notes of all the things she found awry about the place, which was to say, everything. Pinkie soon saw the dragon sculpture with the horn in its mouth. She was really drawn towards it, for it reminded her of the flugelhorn she discovered in the Crystal Empire, though this one was more of a tuba. The golden decorations looked amazing. She took it from the pedestal, unfettered by the weight of the massive instrument which the statue had easily borne in its mouth.

'I wonder if I still got it...' Pinkie Pie said, lifting the mouthpiece to her lips. With a deep breath, she blew the horn, causing a massively loud boom to come out of the instrument, shaking the room and the pony to the very core. Magic soon appeared out of the horn, out of the room and out of the door at a surprising speed. Soon enough Twilight and Spike both came downstairs and looked at Pinkie, mouths wide open.

'Pinkie!' Twilight said, an angry look on her face.

'Oh hi Twilight! Don't worry, I wasn't gonna borrow it or anything, just gave it a testdrive! But didn't you get kidnapped?'

Confusion and annoyance were driven into conflict in Twilight's head for a few moments before Spike voiced her worst fears.

'Pinkie just blew the horn! The Princess needs to know!'

Meanwhile, inside a lone cave located on one of the many mountaintops that litter the Dragon Mountains, a stream of magic, many-hued in its appearance, found a pony laying down on the ground in what seemed to be prayer or meditation. It was as if the pony was contemplating the concept of contemplation. The magical power that circled the room made a strange noise as it moved, the only companion to the barely audible heartbeat of the pony in the middle. If the pony had any knowledge of the magical anomaly, he gave no sign. As silent as ever, the pony ignored the magical stream as it circled around him, causing his mane to swirl in the unnatural wind. With a swift movement it lunged at the amulet resting on the pony's neck, causing light to emerge from it. And with it, the pony's eyes opened, as if suddenly reanimated by the flash of magical power that the amulet radiated.

As if taking this as a signal, the pony roused himself, standing and exiting the cave. He looked in the direction the disruptor of his meditation had come from, a worried look on his face. As suddenly as the magic had entered the amulet, the pony's face steeled itself in determination as the stallion prepared for the long and arduous descent from the mountainside.

Twilight criss-crossed around her study room impatiently, writing a letter by using her magic while she did so. Spike kept an eye on Pinkie Pie while he informed her of what happened within the library. Pinkie just stared at the dragon like a little filly about to recieve a piece of candy.

'Dear Princess Celestia,

Moments ago Spike and I discovered a room with a strange horn and a note inside. The note was apparently written by an "exiled hermit" who wanted to make sure that the horn was not discovered unless it was needed. Unfortunately Pinkie Pie came in and blew the horn while we were not watching. According to her, it sent a stream of magical energy straight out of the horn and out of the door. The note mentions dragons and mountains, so my guess is that the magical power surged towards the Badlands in the south.

I am not sure whether this chain of events that have been triggered is going to be good for Ponyville or not, but for some reason I get the feeling that this hermit has enough power to cause much devastation. Spike and I are on the way to Canterlot by the time you recieve this letter so please make any required arrangements so we can talk as soon as we arrive.

I fear that if you do not help, then Ponyville's end will come across faster than we can imagine...

Your Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle'

As Twilight finished the letter, she presented it to Spike, who had just finished telling Pinkie what happened.

A gout of flame soon appeared from Spike's mouth which engulfed the letter. The paper disappeared in a puff of smoke that went through the window in the direction of Canterlot. The baby dragon stared forward into nothingness, catching his breath like it would be his last. The story took a lot more out of him than he thought.

'Okay, it's on it's way... Pinkie, listen to me for a sec. Spike and I are going to Canterlot so I'm leaving things in your hooves while we are gone. Promise me not to tell anypony about anything that happened here until we return, ok?'

'I promise! You can count on me!' Pinkie said enthusiatically, zipping her mouth with her hoof.

'Pinkie Promise?'

The pink pony started the Pinkie Promise Exclamation with her mouth still being zipped shut. By the time she finished her sentence, Twilight and Spike were both gone. She looked at the door to the library, unzipping her mouth as she did so. Spike was riding on Twilight's back as the pair receded into the distance. The dragon also had a small bag attached to a stick with him. Then she looked at the tuba she blew a few minutes ago, which seemed to have lost some of its appeal, likely due to the magical power inside the horn being spent.

'Well, at least I know that I can play a tuba... Oh I know! I'll hold a musical while those two are away! And after that, A PARTY!' And with that, the pink pony hopped out of the library with the tuba on her back, the instrument seeming to weigh nothing as the pony just hopped along towards Sugarcube Corner, where Pinkie had stored the rest of her instruments.

Half an hour later, on the train bound for Canterlot, Twilight looked out of the window in the cabin they got when they boarded the train, wondering what this all could mean. Is she over-reacting? It could just be a call-out to a pony who might have died of old age long ago. It could have been an elaborate prank. It could all be just a bad dream which she could wake from by pinching herself. She tried it. No good.

She looked at Spike, who was just minding his own business. He was not looking that worried now that they were on their way to meet the princess. Compared to him, Twilight bore the world on her back at that moment. She looked out once again and sighed, thinking that it was her fault. She shouldn't have told Spike to torch the book. She should have just given up and let the baby dragon sweep the dust despite the book being in the way.

'I wonder if we are gonna be there in time,' Twilight thought. What if the Princess could not move any of her meetings? What if she had not recieved the letter at all?

No, dwelling on the possible bad ends is not going to help at all. The princess surely knows the severeness of the situation. As a team, Twilight and her friends are unstoppable. She knew that by now, yet thinking about it calmed her a little. Looking once more at Spike, she let out a small smile. Perhaps she should eat too. Can't save Ponyville on an empty stomach.

The rest of the train trip was done in silence. Well, as silent as the pair could be while munching on their impromptu dinner.

Eventually the conductor of the train came to the cabin and told the pair to get their things, they would arrive soon.