For a Thousand Years... (CableZ) (Finished)

[Xelliea]

Lux's heart skipped and he almost celebrated his relief verbally when Aero agreed to help them. He was still saddened and slightly warped by the death of Valiant, but, somehow, knowing that he had a friend just as strong in Aero made everything slightly brighter. There was one last thing that lingered in the back of his mind, almost a promise he felt he had to make to himself. If they stopped Utopia, and the throne returned to Caelum or Stygian, there was one thing he knew without a doubt he would request. That the sanctuary, that place of evil, would be burnt and destroyed until it was nothing but ash and dirt. But, on the subject of requests, there was a second one, one perhaps more important to him than the first... but he would wait until they'd stopped Utopia first, he didn't want to count his eggs before they hatched. Stopping Utopia was all that was important.

Hyperion found herself lost in her thoughts as the ponies talked. She could perceive friendship, but to see such a strong bond between Lux and Aero almost made her dizzy. It was so strong, but there was something stronger in her mind, something she felt when she thought about Lux. It was like nothing she could find in her memories, it was as alien to her as magic to an Earth-pony. It was strong, but it was gentle and nice at the same time. Was this the 'love' she'd heard about, although she had no idea where she'd heard about it from. Perhaps it was Hasta's memories, her thoughts while the two were the same pony. Perhaps she too felt love. Did she love Lux? Or did she just like him as a friend? Either way, there was one thing that kept her confusion flowing. Utopia. If they couldn't stop her, then she may never be able to settle her thoughts. Stopping Utopia was all that was important.

At the same time, Hasta was similarly deep in thought. Her thoughts rested too on love, her love for Dread. But to her, all she could think about is if Dread loved her, or even if he understood love. The heartbreak that would follow if he didn't even care about her... Hasta had no idea what she'd do. Maybe she would have to be the one to teach him about love, about her love for him. The words "I love you" had been on her lips a few times before, but they'd always been interrupted. She would have given anything to be able to tell him now, but it wasn't the time. Maybe, once all was done and the land was safe, she'd be able to tell him how she felt, but while the dark form of Utopia leaned over them all, she couldn't find the courage. Stopping Utopia was all that was important.

The four ponies galloped on towards Canterlot, each having their own reason to want to fight the battle that was looming ever nearer. To stop Utopia and her madness. To restore the true heirs to the throne. With vigour and reason in their hearts, their morale was boasted sky high. None were willing to accept failure as an option.

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Within a few hours, the ponies arrived at the gates of Canterlot. The sky that hung over them was so dark it might as well have been night time. The shadow from the castle seemed to be continuing to snake out across the sky, progression further and further, every second covering more of Equestria in darkness. There were no guards at the gate. Although this seemed at first glance to be a signal of bad news, all guards in the city were likely in the progress of helping to protect the citizens against whatever Utopia was up to. Two of Aero's pegasi flew up over the gate, and soon enough they had opened it, letting the other ponies inside.

Nopony really had any idea what to expect. Utopia could have done anything while they were absent, and the fact that she held the blessing and its power, a power who's limits even Lux wasn't able to discover through his studies, only made things worse. They all had to be ready for anything, but they all knew that this was the moment that it all came down to. This was it, the fate of Equestria was in their hooves.

[CableZ]

As they arrived at the gates the Canterlot, Aero and his squad had to breath for a moment. It was easy running for the 3 earth ponies and the 1 unicorn, but it was the pegasi that had to break the air in front of them and it was tiring work. He looked up at the gates to the mighty capital and immediately noticed the lack of guards. He hoped that they were helping the civilians and that something insidious hadn't happened to them. Aero gave the signal for 2 of his squad to open the gate and with no fear or hesitation they did so, the gate was a heavy set one of wood and metal so its opening was a task to be sure, it ground along the floor with the noise giving away its weight. When it was open, Aero signaled for the 4 other pegasi by his side to take point and investigate ahead of them, they immediately shot forward out of sight, they were very good at stealth it would seem. Aero's first concern was the protection of Lux's friends, he knew Lux could look after himself but for all he knew his cohorts were simply civilians.
Aero flexed his wings slightly, stretched them out. His feathers were larger than the average pegasi, the armor that he wore stemmed from a metal plate that covered the bone of his wings. This plate was razor sharp and allowed his and his soldiers to do aerial maneuvers, not having to stop for combat. He was ready for anything.

Back in the group of our intrepid heroes ( ) Dread looked up to the sky, the darkness reminded him of the night but without the beauty of the moon or stars. He gave him cause to sigh, this wasn't how the sky should look. Still who was he to say how things should look, maybe some pony liked it this way. He could think of one who did at least, the one they were trying to stop. While ponies that knew more than him went ahead to investigate, and others readied themselves on what to do, Dread just thought on things. Dread had always thought that getting out and doing things would be enough to teach him how to be normal, how to get along with other ponies. But he felt no different from when he started the journey. He wasn't even sure if these ponies thought of him as a friend, he wasn't sure what was important to him. Stopping Utopia...was that all that was important?

[Xelliea]

After Aero's pegasi opened the gate and secured the area, Lux lead the three Earth-ponies into the city of Canterlot. Every street was void of ponies, apparently only darkness clung to the city's roads and streets now. Either everypony was indoors, they'd all collect somewhere else, or the guards had evacuated the area. All the possibilities were equally likely, but the fact that nopony else walked the streets made Hasta uneasy. It brought to mind the ghost stories she was told when she was little. She knew none of them were true, but what she was viewing at that point, that was real. Jumpy as she was, she was sure she could see movement around every corner. Almost subconsciously, she stuck close to Dread.

In contrast, Hyperion's childlike curiosity was in full swing. The sight of a huge city like Canterlot, despite its current atmosphere, was completely new to her. The tall structures, the rows of houses, the cleanliness of it all, it was almost magical. She only wished it wasn't so dark. As she walked, once she'd overcome the awe of the city, she found her eyes looking between Lux and Aero. She was sure she liked Lux, but Aero was so handsome, and that amour was stunning. As she walked, she wondered if other ponies had to think about things like this. She was about to ask Hasta, the pony who's council she trusted above any other's, but was interrupted when she saw a dark figure move between houses.

In the pseudo-night, she couldn't make out what it was, but it moved like a cloak dancing behind a creeping pony. It didn't really have a pony shape, and she was sure for a second she saw it shed a few drops of liquid. Um... I think somepony's still outside. The Earth-pony's voice began to show hints of nerve as she pointed towards the dark figure. Seemingly in response to being pointed out, the dark figure swept past a roof top and came to rest in front of the group of ponies. That's no pony. Being much closer than when it was first spotted, the figure could be made out as a featureless glob of shadow, standing in roughly the same shape as a pony.

Slowly, the shade took a form more like a pony. It shifted until in resembled an Alicorn, with a pair of all too familiar cyan eyes looking out from its dark form. So the prodigal sons and daughters return. It spoke with a toothless mouth, spitting droplets of shadow as it did. Your presence here has come to an end. It charged into the group of ponies, coming within inches of Lux before the Unicorn sent the shade recoiling with a burst of energy.

The shade lay still for a moment, before becoming a pseudo-liquid once more and slithering away. We really should move... right now... Within moments, the surroundings were littered with dark figures, sweeping over roofs and creeping around corners, each of them gathering in a circle around the ponies. Like the first shade, they all began to take the form of a pony, all poor imitations of Utopia.

So... what do we do now? Some of the shades' 'horns' glowed with energy, while others prepared to charge the ponies before them. We fight, or we run. Hasta seemed unsure as to which choice she was behind. Lux was void of said dilemma. Fight. They're just shadows and there's enough of us to take them. Aero, up for getting your hooves a little dirty?

[CableZ]

Aero kept his cool on the street, darkness was nothing new to him. Alicorn's did not care where they sent their troops to fight or in what conditions, meaning that he had been in worse situations than this. Despite the fact the his pegasi troops were nowhere to be seen, he knew exactly where they were. They had trained together for years to be the ultimate team, they all knew which positions were the best and which each would chose. Aero would be able to tell you which pony was where without even seeing which way they went. One of them emerged from a alley to the side of them and whispered a report to Aero, to which he nodded and the Pegasi soon shot off to another unseen location.

"The citizens were evacuated before the darkness appeared it seemed, whoever's doing this wants Canterlot to themselves." Aero said with a serious tone, he continued walking with no falter in his pace or hesitation in his step.

Dread walked the street with little focus on what they were doing or what was going on, once again he seemed lost in deep thought. The city was so quiet, the peace was unnatural. There were no birds nor wind to break the silence, it was wrong. Dread actually liked it though, absolute peace. Maybe thats what Valiant's last thought was, the silence. That's what Dread's last thought would be, he could find solace in that. Death was something that Dread had never feared, fearing the inevitable seemed odd to Dread. Besides his life wouldn't changed once he had passed, there would be no pony to remember or forget him. That thought was interesting, did he feel sad about that? Not really, he didn't know what it was like to make an impact in some pony's life to that point that he would know what being remembered felt like. He would have continued on this thought pattern if he had not been distracted by the tedious events that were taking place outside of his mind.

As the shadow creature fell, Dread sighed. Conflict conflict conflict, was that all this journey was resigned to now? Dread missed the puzzles of the sanctuary, at least those he was good at. Meanwhile Aero let out a sharp whistle. Almost immediately the 6 of his remaining troops landed with next to him with a slam of metal and muscle hitting the ground. They looked around getting a read on the situation, then each smiled.

"Aero, up for getting your hooves a little dirty?"

Aero just smiled.

"Well...are we?" He asked his squad who simply looked at their leader before shooting off into the sky with their wings out stretched. Almost immediately the shadow creatures of Utopia that occupied the roof's were relieved of various parts of their pseudo bodies. Aero remained on the ground for a moment as his squad took to the sky. He brought his wings out and armor made the sound a sword makes when pulled from its sheathe, Aero then shot into the skies as well, he was like a blur. While not the over all fastest flier, Aero's ability came in his agility and maneuverability. His control over his body at speed was impossible to most, he could change direction in less than a blink.

Meanwhile on the ground, the shadow creatures began to rush toward the group, Aero's squad had started the battle it seemed. A group of 4 headed straight for Lux from the front , while more headed from the sides to attack Hasta and Hyperion. Dread turned to see that 2 were coming from behind and were ready to attack him. Before he could react, one took a swing at him and knocked him back slightly. However he recovered almost immediately. It seemed while they could make physically contact, there was no pain. Just movement. The shadow creature looked quite shocked, something was meant to happen it seemed.

"I am a creature of shadow! You are meant to be weeping, uncontrollable fear and sadness is all a pony knows once pure shadow touches them" The mimic of Utopia shouted in anger.

Dread simply looked at the creature before shrugging, hard to be overwhelmed by things you don't know or understand it seemed. Dread turned to his side and picked up a large broken piece of wood in his mouth, it was probably broken during the panic of the evacuation. Dread turned back and swung it straight into the face of the shadow being, at which point it was knocked back by the force and soon dissolved. Dread got a little smirk on his face at he went about working out some stress on these damned shadow things!

Meanwhile above them, Aero and his squad were making short work of the Shadow creatures that occupied the roofs, in fact Aero returned to the ground after a few minutes. Using his momentum he slid along the ground on his hooves, wings outstretched and cutting all in their path. As he reached the end of his slide, he flipped forward and twisted in mid air, cutting yet more of the weird pseudo Utopia's. He landed next to Hasta and Hyperion and began helping them with the shadow things that were attacking them.

[Xelliea]

Hyperion looked up into the eyes of the shade before her. She had seen these creatures before, maybe not her, but she was sure the experience of these creatures was featured somewhere in her memories. Looking at them caused a slight, sharp pain behind her left eye, causing her to squint and blink a few times. As she did so, however, the creature pounced at her, one of its pseudo-hooves catching her directly in the right shoulder. Hyperion had flinched, but it seemed there was no reason to, the attack hadn't even caused the slightest amount of pain, although she did start to feel extremely woozy, the attack causing strange feelings throughout her mind.

The touch of such creatures were not designed to cause that much harm. Shades could, if need be, use a handful of forceful magic if need be, but that wasn't their primary choice of action. Shades, being creatures of pure shadow and ill emotion, only summonable by those with similar dark souls, had the natural ability to channel despair and fear into those they touched, therefore making their targets either run in fear or effectively paralysed with despair. It was not a chosen ability that the shades had adopted, rather a natural side effect of them being what they were, a side effect they used to their advantage.

Hyperion's mind was that of ignorance and knowledge, both in the same body. That also meant ignorance of emotion. She she'd experienced sadness, and regret, that much she had the ability to feel, but fear and despair? A large amount of her emotional memories came from Electrum, rather than Hasta, and an Alicorn had little place for such emotions. It was why shades were very rarely used in battles against Alicorns, they rarely had any effect. Hyperion was not an Alicorn, however, and neither was she a natural pony to speak of. Her mind and emotions were wired in a way completely alien to that of a natural born pony. When she was hit with such a strong emotional pulse, warning lights went off everywhere.

Within seconds, Hyperion burst out laughing, rolling around on the floor and pointing at the shade. The creature, who had been smirking until this point, now held a look of utter confusion. Hyperion continued giggling at the creature, seemingly unable to stop. The shade, taking this laughter as an insult, once again came down upon the Earth-pony, this time landing a blow on her cheek.

Hyperion stopped laughing at this, and only looked up at the shade. In fact, it was the shade's horn her eyes were fixed on. In a flash, she curled a hoof around the shade's neck, pulling herself up onto the creature's back. How come you get a horn and I don't? Her voice wasn't malicious, it seemed like a serious question. Hyperion began poking the creature's pseudo-horn with her hoof. You know I'd really like a... Before she could finish, the thoroughly confused shade pulled her off its back, throwing her to the floor. Her look of curiosity and jealousy faded, her smile disappeared and her movement stopped.

Shouting, Hyperion jumped at the shade, breaking it into a thousand droplets of shadow with her bare hooves. Shame you've got no bones to break... still... She jumped to another shade, assaulting it as she did the first. Her rage seemed to dwarf that of even the greatest Alicorn, she didn't even seem to stop to breathe as she tore her way through her shadowy targets. Hasta, having been near to Hyperion as all this went on, found herself watching in complete awe. She had been preparing to fight a shade that was no more than half a metre from her, before Hyperion whisked the creature away, actually showering Hasta in a fine mist of shadow.

Hasta trotted back to Lux, who had just finished another shade with a spell. What in Equestria is she doing? He pointed at Hyperion, but his question was only met with a confused shrug from the nearby Earth-pony. Maybe she really needed to let off some steam? Between Hyperion's rage and Aero's ruthless efficiency, the shade's numbers steadily began falling, making what felt like overwhelming odds into a winning battle.

[CableZ]

In the heat of battle, Aero rarely didn't notice things. He was always aware of all that was going on around him, it payed to be attentive in such situations after all. So when he heard laughter erupting from Hyperion, it caused him to stop for a moment and look at her in dis belief. However this didn't last long as he had to quickly dodge an incoming swipe by another one of the shadow creatures, which knocked Aero back into battle mode and he leapt into the fray once again. He didn't need to stay in battle for long however, as a few strikes later and all the shadow beasts seemed to have fallen. Hyperion had done probably the most substantial damage, however Aero and his squad were ruthlessly efficient, being suited to take down living ponies made taking down fake ones that much easier it seemed.

Aero looked around as he caught his breath, there was nothing around to see. The shadow creatures had all but faded into the nothingness from which they had spawned. It was like they were never there to begin with. Howver Hyperion was jumping up and down on the spot where her last shadowy victim had previously been, she didn't seem to notice they they were all gone. She jumped up and down with her eyes crushed together in anger, her teeth gritted slightly. Aero made his way over to the angry mare and watched her for a moment, his eyes following her movement up and down. He took a step closer to her and wrapped his wing around her to calm her down and stop her jumping, the underside of his wings were not plated in armor like the top side, so his touch would be soft and warm to the mare.

"Woah woah woah girl, I think you got em all" he smiled at her, once she had calmed down he moved onward without giving her time to respond. "Come on we better get moving before anything else jumps us"

Aero began hastily trotting down the road toward the castle, they didn't have time to spare.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It seemed once one shadow creature learned that they could not affect Dread, they stopped trying to attack him, meaning he was more of an observer during the battle than a participant. He watched in wonderment and confusion as the ponies in his company went about fighting in their different ways. Hyperion's method seemed to be destroy all she could see, while Aero was a lot more precise. Hasta seemed fairly efficient in self defense and Lux also showed aptitude in the art. Once it was all over, Dread said nothing, there was nothing to say. Dread was not a fighter, nor was he a pacifist. No it seemed that conflict was something that eluded Dread's understanding, and some conflict he knew he wanted to avoid regardless of understanding.

One the group had reached the gate, Aero once again ordered his squad to fly over and open the monolithic gate, which was larger and more imposing than the last. However after a few minutes, nothing happened. Aero called out to them but all he heard was his echo in the silence. In the dark corners around them however, the darkness seemed to grow. The cracks and crevices seemed to expand in their shadows and soon they left their source all together. The liquid darkness that they had seen the peavious creatures break up into was now pooling in front of them. It moved with its own mind toward a meeting point a few meters ahead of the group. However with it came pieces of metal and scrap. The liquid them began to form a shape, carrying the metal up with it. Before their very eyes, a monstrous form took shape. It was yet another Alicorn, larger than any of the ponies had ever seen. It dwarfed them with easy, easily bigger than Noctis or Electrum. The metal that the liquid had brought with it formed armor plating along the body of the black shadow creature. Its horn and hooves were sharpened to a razor point, the beast let out a roar and made itself into a readied stance.

"Well this is gonna be a bit more tricky"[/color] Aero gulped to himself.

[Xelliea]

Hyperion's expression changed from one of extreme anger to a smile, even a blush when Aero wrapped his wing around her. The pegasus was so handsome, and his speed and skill were unmatched. Hyperion's mind seemed to be running even faster than it was during her rage. Did she like Aero? But she thought she like Lux more. None of it made sense. From what she knew, a pony was meant to love only one other pony, and just that pony, but here she was with equal feelings for both ponies. What if there was something wrong with her, what if she was going to fall in love with every stallion she laid eyes on. She wanted to ask Hasta, maybe she would know what was going on, but Hyperion never felt the moment was right to ask her.

After the gargantuan shadow golem had formed once the ponies has made it to the gates, it seemed that it didn't require any sort of touch to inspire fear and despair into those before it. Even Lux, who hadn't even felt true fear back in the sanctuary, was about ready to run. He had sent a blast of energy at the giant, but the magic had only splattered against what was some sort of force-shield around the creature. Roaring with a shadow flowing from its mouth, the creature took a long swipe at Aero. It didn't take much for the pegasus to dodge to slow attack, but it came down upon the bridge below, breaking a huge chunk of rock from the surface.

Although the creature was slow and lumbering, it easily weathered the combined assault of Lux's magic and Aero's manoeuvres. Hyperion did little this time, it seemed that her previous bout of rage left her extremely fatigued and exhausted. As the battle went on, it seemed more and more one sided. Its attacks were bound to hit at least once and it it had to do is keep swinging. Eventually, it happened. While he was flying nearby for another attack, Aero was caught off guard by a reasonably fast attack, colliding with him and the remaining fliers, sending them plummeting to the ground and knocking most of them out cold. After that, the creature easily backed the group into a corner, trapping them between its hulking form and an imposing wall.

Impressive. I never thought I'd be congratulating a shade. The dark form of Utopia appeared over the shade's left shoulder. Although it was from a distance, it was rather clear that it was no more than a projection of the Alicorn, rather than Utopia herself. Leave the light blue one. As for the rest, cast them down upon the mountain side. Oh and do use your head and relieve the flies of their wings first. The group's nerves increased more than ten fold at this command. Most of them saw what happened to Valiant, and so there was little doubt that this command was genuine.

For a moment, a faint aura of cyan light swirled around Hyperion as she stumbled back from the great beast. Before long, she could feel herself being pulled and warped, similar to how she had felt during Lux's teleportation. In panic, she jumped at Hasta, who was the nearest to her, can caught her foreleg with her own. In the next second, both ponies were gone. Lux turned his head, about to shout something concerning the two pony's disappearance when he, and the other ponies present were swept up by the great shade that was bearing down upon them. Trapped in the golem's leg, the ponies were slowly ferried across from the castle gate to the edge of Canterlot Castle, where only a sharp drop awaited them.

Then, an idea swept into Lux's mind. Now that he was inside the golem's force-shield, he fired a few bolts of energy at the nearby scrap and rock, causing them to crack and free the trapped ponies. The golem, unaware of this, began picking at its leg, trying to grab at the ponies it thought were there to throw them from the cliff. Aero! Knock the thing down. Smash it on the rocks. The two friends nodded at each other, then gave one final assault on the creature's hind legs. With the shade being distracted and unbalanced, this was enough to cause it to stumble, then trip over the edge of the crevice, falling down and shattering to nothing but debris on the mountain side. It reached up one last time, before collapsing completely. The golem was no more.

_____________________________________

Hyperion and Hasta popped back into existence in what they both quickly recognised as the throne room. Utopia sat on what she had claimed as her throne, surrounded by shifting shadows and pacing shades. What surprised the duo most was that the blessing was nowhere to be seen. Maybe the Alicorn had locked it away somewhere else in the castle. Was she just playing it safe, or did she feel she didn't need it... or was she scared of it. Two of you? Urgh these shades are useless at following orders. Still, given your connection with each other, and to Miss Electrum, I believe you both could be of use. She paused. Now, Hyperion... do tell the truth. I know you couldn't care less about stopping me and saving Equestria... you desire the throne even more than I do.

Hasta looked across at her twin, who now was staring at the ground without a single look of any describable emotion on her face. It was almost like she was lock in time, she hardly even blinked. Hasta's heart sank. Did Hyperion really just care about taking the throne for herself. She thought she knew Hyperion, she even thought of her as a sister in some ways. Hyperion wasn't like that, she wanted to stop Utopia just as much as everypony else... but was it for the right reasons? Hyperion moved again, just slightly, like a pony that was frozen slowly being melted free. A look of uncertainty covered Hyperion's face as Hasta watched her twin with panicked eyes.

[CableZ]

As Aero and his fliers were knocked to the ground, he struggled to stay conscious. Looking up in pain at the shadow beast, Aero began to start losing hope. The odds were usually not in his favor when it game to battle, but there so few odds in his favor this time that it was hard to see how they were doing to make it out of this. As Their enemy revealed her face, Aero tried to get back up on his hooves. Cracking and pain were what followed, his bones strained themselves and his muscles ached as he moved. He fell back to the ground as her heard something that made him turn pale, he looked to his unconscious squad, he feared for them and himself. As they were swept to the place of their falling demise, Aero was going to make sure that this would not be the end, he was going to fight!

Luckily Lux gave him the opening and with all his anger, Aero shot toward the beast. He slammed into the rear legs of the creature with his entire body. Thankfully it would enough to knock the beast from its stance, and as it fell down the cliff that was meant for Aero and his friends to met their demise. Aero fell back to the ground with a thud, he was too weak to maintain flight. He groaned in pain as he got back to his feet, his squad were begining to wake up aswell.

"Ugh Lux...when did you start having such fun adventures?" Aero laughed, although the laugh was short lived as the pain intensified with his laughter.
"Come on let's go get your friend's, I have a pretty good idea on where they are" Aero said as he started slowly walking toward the castle gates.

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There was little reaction to read on Dread during the events that transpired, inside however thoughts were spiraling. This entire thing was getting on his nerves, he wanted to go home. This had nothing to do with him, just like everything in the world had nothing to do with him. This entire journey had been a reminder that he really doesn't belong, and he wanted move on and forget this entire thing.

The group moved forward, their destination was pretty clear. Where would any raving lunatic with dreams of ruling place themselves? The castle was surprisingly void of the shade creatures they had fought earlier, Utopia must have a low tolerance for their presence. Soon the 3 stallions and the 6 pegasi found themselves at the door to the throne room. Aero looked at Lux with a stern look through his helmet.

"You ready?"

[Xelliea]

Hyperion stood motionless for a while, both Utopia and Hasta had their eyes fixed on the confused mare. Slowly, she looked up to Utopia, and, her gaze resting on the Alicorn, she nodded. You're right, of course, about me. There was something strange about her, the way she walked, the tone of her voice, it was almost like something inside her had changed, that she wasn't herself. She walked up to stand next to the black and cyan maned Alicorn. The throne is yours, and I will be sure that you keep it, but I want one thing in return. The blessing. Her expression changed for a second, for a moment she changed back to the childlike but visibly scared mare she was before.

Hastie... You have to destroy it, its the only way I can be free. Her expression changed once again, back to her darker self, at this point. She groaned at her own previous comment, before turning back to Utopia. Do we have a deal, Queen Utopia? Utopia only looked on, her eyes fixed on nothing in particular. Very well, you may have the blessing when all is said and done. Hasta, her unblinking eyes close to tears, broke from her stunned state with a shout. Utopia, what did you do to her? Utopia's face showed an expression of simple amusement as she observed Hasta's anger.

Me? I did nothing. I only gave Miss Hyperion I choice, and she chose the more prudent option. Everything she has done had been her choice. Hasta could do nothing but splutter segments of words, she had no idea what was going on. She did know one thing. This may have not been Utopia's doing, but Hypie sure wasn't herself. She recalled what Hypie had said, the real Hypie, no more than a minute ago. Whatever was happening to her must have had something to do with the blessing, and destroying it would be the only way to make her the pony she used to be once more.

_____________________-

Hasta was about the run from the throne room when the door burst open. Her heart actually felt some hope when she saw her friends standing on the other side. Lux was the first to enter, followed by his Pegasus friend and the others. Hasta, oh thank the spirits that I found you. Wait, what's Hyperion doing? Hasta galloped over to her Unicorn friend's side, looked defiantly at Utopia. There's something wrong with her, we have to destroy the bless... She was cut off as shades of all shapes and sizes began to awaken all around the throne room. Hyperion whispered something to the Alicorn, who raised a hoof for a moment, causing the shades to stop their advance.

My partner has requested that I spare your lives, some sort of debt she feels she owes you. Perhaps you should thank her, but at the moment, you have an express invitation to the dungeons. The floor around the ponies began to shift to a liquid shadow like substance. The substance felt like quicksand, and as the ponies within it tried to move, they found they were stuck fast. The more they tried to move, the faster they sunk. Utopia and Hyperion both looked at the sinking ponies, neither even fazed by what was happening. Within a minute, all the ponies had sunken through the floor.

They were falling. Through shadows and nothingness, the ponies fell. Lux tried to cast a spell to slow their descent, but his magic seemed inactive. It didn't matter how many times and with how much force any Pegasus flapped their wings, they still fell at the same rate. One could be excused for thinking that at the rate they were falling, they wouldn't survive the landing. Still, despite this, when the fall finally stopped, they hit the ground like they had only fell an inch.

It didn't take long for them to realise where they were. It was the dungeons under Canterlot. Hasta doubted they saw much use in Celestia's reign, and even now they were almost empty. Liquid shadow hung to walls like spider's webs and dripped unceasingly from the bars of the cell. Looking around, Lux spotted somepony familiar in the next cell as the group were in. Prince Caelum! Her ran over to the bars between the cells, trying to get the prince's attention. Lux? Oh to see a familiar face down here. He trotted over to his knight, a smile on his face after such a length of sadness. Although that means you're trapped down here too, and that's far from good. I hope you're not looking for a magical escape, magic just fizzles out down here.

Anti-magic? It must be connected with these shadows, I'm sure this place wasn't like that before. Her turned back to his friends, then trotted over to stand with Aero. Then we need another plan to escape. Hearing this, Hasta raised her hoof uncertainly. I can pick locks, but I don't have any equipment. Without the right picks, it would take Hasta hours to improvise and disable the lock, time they really didn't have. Hasta, try and find something you can use, but I'd rather have that as a fail-safe plan. Aero, as for you, do you think you and your Pegasi could cut through these bars? They look pretty solid, but then again, you do have razors on your wings. He spoke with a slight humour in his voice, refreshingly lightening the atmosphere.

[CableZ]

As they entered the throne room, Dread was the last to make it through the imposing door way. Ah the fresh stench of betrayal was in the air, and low and behold there was some taking place. Dread didn't know why, but somehow he expected this to happen, Hyperion was so difficult to get a read on. She seemed to change personalities randomly, making it almost impossible for an already confused Dread Lock to understand her at all. However it seemed she was making deals with the enemy, Dread sighed. This was all so...predictable, somehow. Dread had never been in any situation like this but it was almost easy to see it coming, fiction was based in more fact that he gave it credit for. Still this was not fiction, and it wasn't necessarily going to play out as such, it was at that moment that Dread got a determined look on his face, predictability be damned, he wasn't going to let it play out any other way.

Aero walked in at the head of the team along with Lux, he spaced his legs out to get ready for a fight as soon as he saw the scene in front of him. He was not usually the one for talking before a fight, Aero was always the first to strike with no warning, doing anything else seemed like a waste of time. But he let Lux speak, he was the one leading this mission, that much was obvious. Just as he was ready to strike however, Aero became aware that the floor was moving upward. He and his squad struggled immensely as they sank, meaning that they were the first to be fully enveloped by the shadow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

While Aero and his team mates tried in vain to stop their descent, Dread just let the fall take its course. At this point the darkness and shadow were nothing new to him, it was how he had arrived in this crazy time period to begin with. Dread's relaxed state when falling meant that when they landed, there was no pain or distress in his landing. However Aero had moved quite a bit during his descent and so landed on his back, it didn't hurt due to the nature of their fall, but he was still off his hooves. Some of the other members of his squad were in the state, but others landed perfectly fine. Shaking himself off, Aero hopped back up onto his hooves with a little flap of his wings. A quick survey of their surroundings gave a clear impression on where they were. His attention was drawn when Lux ran over the to wall to look into the adjacent cell, and saw that there stood prince Caelum. Almost by instinct he and his squad formed a line and raised a hoof in salute to the prince, it was what they were trained to do.
"Aero, as for you, do you think you and your Pegasi could cut through these bars? They look pretty solid, but then again, you do have razors on your wings."


Aero just smiled, then nodded to 2 of his squad, who went about using their wings in unison to make a make shift saw, looking closely would reveal that the armor that these particular pegasi wore was toothed, meaning that the cutting processes wouldn't take all too long.
"That'll take a good 20 minutes at best, so we just have to wait for a while I'm afraid."


At mention of this news, Dread decided to sit down and take a rest. They hadn't had a chance to catch their breath in awhile, so he thought it best to take this opportunity. Aero nodded to the rest of his squad signalling that they could do the same. Some leaned against the wall. others sat down and took their helmets off. The 2 female's in the squad sat down nearby Dread, they seemed to be fascinated by his looks, especially his mane. Dread simply sighed and watched as the 2 pegasi furiously cut away at the shadow coated metal.

[Xelliea]

Hasta, after deciding it was best to wait for the Pegasi rather than improvise in picking a lock she'd never seen in her life, made her way over to the corner of the cell, taking a seat on the spot. For the first time since her arrival in this time, in a time where she knew nopony, she actually felt truly... alone. Hyperion, a pony who she felt she could trust above anypony, had betrayed her and now stood with the enemy. As she looked to Dread, she only felt doubt. Doubt that he loved her at all. There was as much to assure her that he loved her than any other pony. The two ponies that held her deepest care... were so far away.

She frowned to herself for a moment. Who was she? She was a pony with something to fight for. She was a pony with a future to save. She was a pony with love in her heart. Above all, she was a Night Guard... she was a warrior. And warriors didn't spend their time worrying about the past or sobbing over mistakes. They looked to the field in front of them. They fought for the now. If she had learnt anything from this adventure, it was that those who flood themselves in the past, those like Noctis, will always miss the future. But those who looked to the future, like Utopia, will always repeat the mistakes of the past.

A pony needed to live in the now. To look at the future and the past as sights to see, not follow them like guides. The past has happened, the future is long away. Sure there's magic to return to the past and visit the future, but... even then... that just becomes the new present. If Hasta didn't stop Utopia, if she didn't fight for the now... then there might not be a future to go back to.

Hasta sprung from her seat, striding across the cell like a speeding arrow. She leant in close to Dread, pushing the others away. And, in full consciousness, she pressed her mouth to his. She didn't know what she was thinking the last time... but this time... this time... she knew it clear as day. I love you, Dread. She pulled away, wiping her mouth slightly, then standing tall.

Listen... listen all of you. Brothers and sisters. You are all... each of you... the strongest and greatest ponies to have ever walked the land, be it past, present or future. I am but a humble pony when compared to you, like Alicorns and stars each of you. I know you all feel fear in your hearts, so do I, but know that the future, my future, is a one of green and plenty. And it is because of what we do this day, because of our actions against a tyrant of darkness that it is so. In the stories, they will remember what is done here. They will sing songs of us. We will stand alongside the heroes of a hundred thousand years. The kings of the first generations and the old saviours will be but ants under the burning sun of OUR actions. Every one of you is a hero this day, each one of you is a saviour, and each one of you is my friend.

Lux nodded at her with a smile. He got to his hooves and walked to her side. At this action, every Pegasus that wasn't cutting away at the bars did the same. It didn't take long after that for Aero to finish his destruction of the dark metallic constraints. The ponies each made their way through, out into the freedom of an open space once more. Hasta, just before leaving, turned to Dread, who had (rather unsurprisingly) remained seated after the other ponies arose. I know... you don't care for the battles of kings and knights. I know you feel lost, feel a pawn in the grand event going on. But you're more than that. You may not swing a sword or wear armour or sit on a throne... but, whatever you understand, know this: this is your fight, and you're the greatest warrior in it.

[CableZ]

Dread didn't have time to think before Hasta pressed her lips to his, he felt her saliva on his he went wide eyed and his pupils constricted into tiny little dots. When she had moved away from him he wiped his mouth quite quickly, his eyes were still wide and his pupils still tiny. Then came those 3 little words that make Dread's mind break. The emotion he hoped he would never have to understand, comprehend or even acknowledge. Love was a word Dread had seen many times, he had read extensively on the subject of love. He could recite the definition....at least from the dictionary.

'An intense feeling of deep affection'

That was about as helpful as a map for a different planet, Dread understood none of it. He'd seen ponies in love and not understood it, he'd read about ponies in love and not understood it. Nothing about love made sense to him, it was something that's very concept was something that he could not comprehend. It made his head hurt to ever think about it, but also his heart. whenever he tried understanding love, he got a very sharp pain in his chest and he had to stop. thinking about love was the only thing that made him hurt in such a manner, he didn't even understand that. It infuriated Dread that an emotion that seemed basic was beyond comprehension, at least the other emotions could be dissected and understood. Love was just impenetrable. His heart started hurting again, he had to stop thinking about this.

By the time that Dread was out of his thinking bubble, Hasta was done with her speech. He wondered why everypony was suddenly on their hooves. He stood up to face Hasta as she turned back to him, was she going to kiss him again? His heart started hurting again. Once she was done talking, Dread just laughed. It was probably longer than it should have been, with his cold tone and attitude it sounded downright maniacal. He composed himself and his expression turned very serious.

"Hasta...You've got me all wrong, I don't feel lost. I don't feel like a pawn. I know exactly where I am, and why I'm here...I just couldn't care less. All this is best left for those ponies you just called heroes, the knights and princes...I'm no warrior, I'm..." He walked past out of the cell "I'm nothing" He said, not looking back as he continued quietly walking into the darkness of the dungeon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aero smiled, that speech was just what his squad needed. Morale was an important thing when it came to military life, probably the most important thing. When you made it personnel it became less about a job and more about a duty. They all needed that, more now than ever. Once the bars were cut he and his squad tok point and rushed ahead. They would make sure the way was safe and clear for the rest of the ponies. leaving Lux Dread and Hasta more of less alone in the dungeon, as Prince Caelum opted to stay near the pegasi and their lethal wings for protection.

[Xelliea]

They will not follow willingly. Hyperion sat beside the throne, her expression and tone were questioning, while Utopia's expression remained completely neutral. The ponies will follow. Or did you think my only talents were ones of violence? I am an Alicorn, miss Hyperion. She turned to the pony next to her after speaking her name, waiting for a moment, then turning back and rising from her seat. Despair and fear aren't tools that will win you this land. The Alicorn looked over to Hyperion as she spoke, and her expression even cause the Earth-pony to feel disturbed.

I hold the combined memories of Noctis, Halcyon and Electrum... As she spoke, she projected three ghostly forms of Alicorns around her with her magic, the projections coloured black, gold and azure respectively. ... each one had contact with the blessing, you see. Do you really know what you seek? What the blessing actually is. Hyperion looked at her hooves, the question rang through her multi-chambered mind. Its a relic, and one of immense power.

Utopia laughed, slamming her hoof on the ground a few times, and as she did, so did the ghostly holograms around her. Hyperion frowned at looked at the would-be queen. Oh my dear, you are so misguided. I know the burning desire you have for it, just like my desire for the throne... Hyperion found it hard to understand what Utopia was alluding to, what all this meant.

We are both connected, but you knew this. Maybe what you didn't know was that we're connected by more than just method of creation. Let me tell you exactly what the blessing is...

___________________________________

We may have escaped, but unless we have a plan, we'll just end up down here again. Once Lux had, with the others, made it out of the darkness under the castle, he stopped for a moment. Signalling to Aero to join him, he looked to the floor, marking out various tiles with his hoof. Utopia is in the throne room, we know that much. He tapped one of the tiles. But we don't know where she's hidden that disaster of a blessing. He ran his hoof over all of the tiles, his expression full of thought.

A short way back, Hasta was walking steadily beside Dread. I know you don't care about... all of this. She gestured to everything around her, swiping her hoof through the air. But you're here, and all of this is a part of you. Make of that what you will. She sucked in a deep breath, not sure she was ready for what she was going to say next. I must ask one thing. Do... do you love me?

If we have the blessing, we can use it to banish Utopia. Caelum's knowledge may have been extensive on the topic of the blessing, but even he was unsure as to if what he said was correct. No no, we need to destroy it... sir. Last time, it spawned Utopia. This time, if we start using it, we have no idea what it will do. Caelum thought for a moment on this suggestion, and nodded. If we destroy it, the bulk of her power will be sapped. I think... though I really have no idea, but I think I could banish her afterwards.

Then we destroy it. But... we have no idea where it is. Caelum got to his hooves, shaking his head. No, we do. Given Alicorn nature, we can feel magical radiation much greater than lesser races. I can feel its energy like a thousand pin pricks. Caelum closed his eyes, trying to tell exactly where the radiation was originating from. The library.

[CableZ]

Dread walked quietly along with Hasta by his side, she seemed adamant to make him part of all this, best to let her have her own thoughts rather than try and convince her otherwise, something he wouldn't even know how to so. Then however he received a question that he didn't want to get, nor did he have the answer to. He stopped walking for a moment, Hasta stopped to look at him with worried eyes. He looked down at the ground in thought, his heart started getting sharp pain in his heart. He winced slightly, but shook it off to look at Hasta with his blank emotionless eyes.

"Um...Hasta..I don't know what, love...is" He said in a slightly confused tone. "And I don't think I feel it even if i don't know what it is, every other emotion I feel in some way, even if I don't know what it really is...I just feel nothing in my heart that fits the definition of...whatever love is." He said with a shrug. Not thinking there was any more to say, he continued walking, his hoof steps still making no sound as he placed them on the tiled floor beneath them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aero flew back and landed next to Lux, the rest of his squad continued flying ahead and taking point. Aero trotted at a brisk pace, his legs moved a little faster than Lux's

"We're clear, Utopia seems to think we have no means of escaping, that or she is just really bad at the whole security thing" Aero chuckled.

"We should be nearing the stairs that lead to the west side hallway, if we're heading to the library we need to be on the east side, so we have quite a bit of ground to cover" Aero said sternly "If you want, I can have 2 of my squad get you civilian friends out of here Lux..this really isn't the place for them...We could get you out as well your majesty" Aero bowed his head slightly to Prince Caelum "Its your call Lux, you're in charge here."

[Xelliea]

Utopia stopped her pacing for a moment, her eyes meeting with those of Hyperion. A small smile crept onto the void-black Alicorn's face. It's a prison. Hyperion raised an eyebrow, confused by Utopia's comment. How could it be a prison? What sort of prison took that form. A prison? For whom? Hyperion arose and began pacing herself, then turning to face a stationary Utopia to listen to her reply. Noctis had a theory. He was the only one to find its true nature. He believed the blessing was used to banish and contain an Alicorn, the most powerful Alicorn of all time, as it was able to escape the void whenever it was banished there.

I must say I find your theory interesting, but where's your proof? Except the thesis of a quasi-insane pony. Utopia took the demand and slight insult with no sign of anger, only laughing once more as she had before. Noctis was the only one who actually used the blessing enough to discover all this, you see. I'm afraid if you want proof, you best get down there and work it out first hand. The Alicorn walked back up to 'her' throne, sitting down on the most coveted seat in Equestria.

The Alicorn, the one inside I mean, actually spoke to him. Just the once, on the darkest night in the long span of his rule. What it told him is even hidden from me, I know only one thing that it said. It's name: Vowz. Hyperion flinched at the use of this name, a shot of pain arcing through her mind, worse than it had been before. She had no idea why she was getting the headaches, but she knew that, whatever Utopia thought, she needed to hold the blessing. Of course, if it's a prison, those mules are shifting around my castle trying to break it open. I'd rather keep somepony that powerful under lock and key. She sprang to her feet, rushing over to Hyperion's side. Come on, we need to get down there.

Utopia felt a very alien chill come over her. Fear.

_________________________________

-5 minutes earlier-

Hasta reached a hoof out, placing it on Dread's chest, close to his heart. Just... just let this guide you. Your head might never understand love, but I think it's been locked in your heart all along. Maybe you do love me... maybe you don't. But if you don't find out it will haunt me... and I think you for an eternity. Just listen to your heart. Anyway, we really should catch up with the others. Hasta began to pick up a little speed in her stride, but at the same time still making sure she was at Dread's side.

Your offer is noble, Aero, but I assure you, I will remain with you. I want to be the one to destroy that damned thing. Caelum seemed adamant on his choice of action. Lux's expression perked up as he spotted the two Earth-ponies joining the group once more. Hey Hasta, Dread. Aero's been talking about getting you two out of here, worried this isn't the fight for civies. Hasta looked at the Unicorn with a look of mock confusion at this comment, shaking her head. I'd hardly call myself a civie. For what it's worth, I'm a lieutenant in the Night Guard in my time. Plus, even if I was something like a shoemaker, this is my fight, this is everypony's fight. Nopony's turning back.

Lux nodded, happy that his friends were at his side. Then we do this together. It didn't take long for everypony to be on their hooves and moving once more once everything had been sorted. The door to the library, that towering oak door, soon came into sight. Utopia could have anything on the other side, perhaps even stronger defence than her throne room. Everypony nodded to each other, shortly before Caelum blasted the door open with a powerful spell.

It was empty. No shades, no traps, nothing. At the other end of the room, hovering an inch in the air over a stone altar, rested the orb, the blessing. This isn't right, Utopia's up to something. She wouldn't leave her most powerful asset undefended. Caelum took a few steps forward, his horn glowing and sending out a few waves of energy that seemed to scan over the room. Nothing is hiding here, it really is as bare as it seems.

Then let's get over there and destroy that thing once and for all. Given the fact Caelum had expressed his wish to destroy the blessing personally, Lux and Aero kept close to him as he made his way over to the altar. Some of the other ponies did the same, while some looked around the empty library, probably checking that Caelum was correct in his assessment. Hasta however, kept her gaze fixed on Dread, and away from the blessing. Just looking at that thing makes me feel ill, I really wish we never collected it from that sanctuary to begin with.

Caelum had the blessing in his hooves before the room was filled with a flash, Utopia and Hyperion both being teleported into the library, close to the prince. Put the blessing down, Caelum, you have no idea what will happen if you break it. The worried expression on the Alicorn's face made even Caelum pause his actions for a moment, this being the first time she had shown such an emotion. I know exactly what will happen, I'll stop you and save my Equestria.

His horn began glowing with magical auras as he raised his head, ready to smash the glassy orb to dust. However, just as he was about to send out a barrage of magic at the relic, Utopia dashed over to him, slamming the prince back and snatching the blessing away. Almost immediately after, Lux leapt between the two Alicorns, his horn glowing. He didn't care how powerful Utopia was, she had just attacked a royal. She was going to pay, and that orb was going to be shattered.