Abyss The Hedgehog here again, hi there, fellow bronies and pegasisters. So, since it seems to be a trend that FiM fanfics receive a number of sequels, prequels, midquels and spinoffs, I decided to join the fray with my sequel for „Good Old Times". Now, I know that Hasbro has released an official map of Equestria and that I omitted a number of things in the previous work, mostly because of my lack of Season 2 knowledge. I'm sticking to my map of Equestria though, to not add up to the confusion. Anyways, enjoy. :)

---

He lost track of time in this void.

Was it a week? A month? Year? Ten of them? He didn't really know. All that he remembered was the face of his Beloved Mistress who decided that he's better off dead.

She could save him from that... But something was off about her. He wasn't certain what. Did humans have that much of a power to charm, no, hypnotize her? Or did she just betray him?

Well, not that it mattered anyway. His body was buried in its human form in top secret on Canterlot graveyard and now forgotten. He could see it. The threat was over. There will be no war. No mad pony who will start it. That's how he was mentioned, if he was mentioned at all.

Not that it matters anyway.

Flintlock Knight sighed, watching over his grave from this unnameable place behind worlds. He was here alone, sitting there and observing. The one pony who even bothered to come here was the gravedigger. Gravedigger himself, named Grim Thorn, was quite an affable fellow, despite his name and profession. He even talked to the dead. Of course, not to dead themselves, but rather to their graves. Most of those were simple monologues about life, what happened in his today and the likes, but sometimes Thorn was complaining about the world. Flintlock could see that this old stallion is lonely in this cruel world, divorced with his wife and separated from his children.

Ex-agent of Princess Celestia would like to help him somehow. To be honest, he would like to do anything to attract his attention. Anything to escape this place. This... abyss.

"Anything, Mr. Knight?" The unknown voice snapped him out of thoughts. "Are you certain you can do anything?"

"In reasonable borders." He responded, not showing the surprise.

"And you're the one to said that? It seems death can change a pony." The voice, apart from being obviously masculine, was... cold. Calm and calculating. It couldn't belong to a pony or even a human.

It was... otherworldy.

"Cut to the chase, whoever you are." Flintlock said, turning around. Of course, there was no one to notice in this darkness.

"I must admit, you're a special pony, Mr. Knight. Most souls dissolve into nothingness in a span of several weeks, maybe months. You exist for four years already and it doesn't seem like you're going to give up soon."

"So, it was four years already... Amazing, how fast this time can travel."

"Indeed, but I'm going offtopic." The voice cleared its throat. "What would you say if I revived you?"

"You... what?" Flintlock blinked. Was this creature toying with him?

"Oh no, I'm not toying with you. I can read minds, just as a quick notice. But, going back, I can indeed revive you."

"Why would you do that?"

"Because you can prove useful for me and my plans, Mr. Knight. The fact that you survived so long in this place speaks volumes about the strength of your soul."

"So I'm going to be your puppet." Stallion's eyes shrank.

"Puppet? No, I will give you freedom in your deeds, of course, so long as you won't try to betray me. Besides, I'm pretty sure you'd like to live again."

"Who doesn't want to have a second chance?" Flintlock retorted.

"Exactly, that's my point." The voice chuckled darkly. "You have some unfinished business in Ponyville, correct?"

"I wouldn't call it "unfinished business", especially now, when it doesn't matter. Even if I could get rid of tainted Elements, Beloved Mistress is still against me, allied with those... humans."

"Don't you feel betrayed, Mr. Knight? Don't you want to get even? On everyone and everypony?"

"Perhaps a little."

"Great. After all, because of the man known as Hieronimus Remington, you're here... So, how about we make a deal: You will receive your life back and get another elements of it after fulfilling respective parts of your task."

"Another elements of it?"

"Oh, I cannot let you run around happily in pony form. You will stay as a walking dead for now. A human skeleton. Then, after you're done, we can talk about... other rewards."

"Before I agree... What is your goal, creature?"

"Call me Abyss, Mr. Knight. As for my goal... I wish to let it stay secret for the time being. Once you're done, you will see."

"I understand. Since sitting in this place was starting to get boring... I suppose I can work with being a skeleton for now."

"This means yes?"

"Yes." Abyss' chuckle echoed through the dimension and this was the last Flintlock Knight has heard before some unknown force pulled him straight back to his remains.

The skull's eye holes lighted up with a toxic green glow, as the bony hand plowed right through the coffin and the gravestone, with its fist tightly clenched. Grim Thorn was looking at the miraculous event terrified. Was dead rising from their graves?! No... Only this one. Old gravedigger started thinking. "Who was buried in this certain grave?", he thought, observing the whole skeletal figure rising up from now devastated grave. It seemed to be a skeleton of a human, but its eye holes were glowing with an ominous green light.

"Greetings..." The creature greeted Grim Thorn with a slight bow. "Forgive me such an unexpected entrance. Believe me, I'm surprised too."

"What are you...?" The old stallion asked, trying his best to cover up his fear.

"Flintlock Knight. A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Thorn."

"A-and how do you know my name?!" Now gravedigger was visibly trembling.

"I have an invisible friend that reads minds, you know?" The skeleton who introduced himself as Flintlock Knight chuckled slightly. "But don't worry, I won't hurt you. In fact, I think I may need your help."

"H-help? In what?"

"Would you happen to know the way to Canterlot Royal Palace?"

---

Meanwhile, in Ponyville...

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!" Twilight was squealing enthusiastically, jumping around the room with a big glee on her face.

"Huh... Perhaps I will regret it, but... What's going on?" Hieronimus asked, looking at lavender pony from above the book.

"I'll be an aunt in three months!" Brown stallion blinked.

"You what?"

"Oh right, I never told you, did I?" Twilight asked, giving a slight smile. "I'm in royal family."

"Wha? As in, Celestia's and Luna's?" Lavender unicorn nodded enthusiastically.

"We got related through my brother some time ago. His name is Shining Armor and he's a Captain of Princess' Guard of Canterlot. I suppose you've noticed this spherical barrier that keeps surrounding the city."

"Yeah."

"My brother's duty is to keep it intact. This way he protects the castle from attacks."

"Okay, but that doesn't explain how the hay you've managed to be in royal family. Surely your brother didn't marry any of the Princesses?"

"Oh no, of course not." Twilight laughed heartily. "Niece of Princesses is his wife, her name's Cadance. She was also my foalsitter when I was still living in Canterlot."

"Oh."

"She and Shining are to rule Crystal Empire. Not sure where exactly this country is though... Somewhere in mountains, I think."

"Sounds like it... I suppose she's a nice pony."

"Of course she is. She was my foalsitter after all. And they will have a little foal as well! Oh gosh, I'm so excited! And she will visit Canterlot tomorrow as well!"

"Wait, she travels without your brother?"

"Yeah, Shining still has his duties as a shieldkeeper. He's training somepony on his place though, so they will be able to finally be together."

"Good to hear."

"Oh, Hier, how's it going with Radiant?" Remington frowned. His son was sick for some time. Nurse Redheart said that it's only a simple cold, but, as every average parent, he was quite nervous this entire time, concerned about Radiant Hope's well-being.

"Well, he still has a cold..." Stallion responded, closing his eyes for a while. "Fluttershy's freaking out, but it doesn't really seem like something serious. At least that's what Nurse Redheart says, but there's no reason to not believe her."

"I hope he'll be okay. He's pretty sickly, if you ask me..."

"Yeah, that's concerning..." Hier nodded. "But he will grow out of it, I'm sure of that."

---

The lone centaur-like silhouette was wandering through Ponyzona, trotting steadily.

He was on his way for a long time. Some entity of a great power called him in here. The message was simple and clear: The war is about to raze this land and leave a mark one couldn't erase. The war to end all wars... And this land by proxy.

He was enthusiastic. War was his job, his profession. Should he have a Cutie Mark, his barbed lance would be it. But he couldn't just start a war. He needed to wait for an existing one. According to this entity, it was on its way and was about to hit the road very, very soon.

Of course, there were rules he always kept: The Shadow of War needed to announce that the onslaught is coming to the ruler of this land in person. He still had a way to go, but he was in no rush.

The being known to some as Hecarim resumed his journey to Canterlot.

---

To be honest, I've no real idea for a prologue. And yes, it will be a minor MLP/LoL crossover, although the fic itself will still be in normal fics. Anyway, here you go for starters. Read, enjoy and review. :)

So here I am, and here it's the next chapter. Let's go on further into this story, shall we?

---

This land had experienced conflict before. Hecarim could feel the very essence of this conflict. A war of two different races... Or no. Not a war, but a slaughter: This would be an appropriate term. Ponykind and mankind clashed with each other, intent to erase their opponent from this land, once and for all. This war that had ended recently ended was an interesting case. Kept almost top secret from the entire ponykind and it resembled more of a hunt than anything else.

The Shadow of War loved wars of all kinds and this one wasn't any different. Still, would he be in charge of the winning side, he'd rather let go the losers in hopes of them becoming stronger, so he can confront them again. Of course, there was a reason he never had a chance to orchestrate a war on his own. As a Shadow of War he could only join the existing fray. Those were eternal rules.

But soon... Soon he will have a conflict to join to.

The town known as Ponyville loomed on the horizon. According to his knowledge it was a place where crown-important authorities were residing. He just couldn't waltz straight to the Canterlot Royal Palace, although he'd love to. In this land... Rules were different.

A giant spectral centaur slowly made his way to the settlement. At this pace he'll reach it today evening.

He just couldn't wait.

---

The city of New Hope was a surprisingly quiet place.

Adeon still couldn't believe it. Despite it being currently the biggest humans' settlement in Equestria, the crime rate and the noise were insignificant. Perhaps the fact that Ponyville was just nearby had something to do with it. Such a neighbor helps big time.

His job was pretty boring: Most of it was boiling down to paperwork, something he was already fed up with in Camp Oppenheimer. Still, work is work. Besides, he could at least listen to music.

Now that the history started to clear out, technology also jumped a considerable bit. It still was pretty rare and expensive, but he alongside John were working on that to change it as fast as possible.

He was now listening to Pink Floyd. Some looter found several discs in near-perfect state on his trip around Trottingham. Falcontet was pleased. If even a measly CD was able to survive so long, bigger pieces of technology are still somewhere. Cars, microwaves... Luxury.

Red-haired man frowned. It seemed there was another murder in poorer part of the city. It's only natural that poverty pushes people to numerous things, up to and including crimes of various sorts. He could only hope law enforcers will get the bastard and have their way with him.

There was a knocking to his door. Adeon sighed. Great, the only thing he now needed were unexpected visitors. His secretary peeked out from behind the door frame.

"Um, Mr. Falcontet..." She said nervously. "There's a visitor to you."

"Who is it this time?" He responded, not bothering to look at her.

"Um.. Miss Pinkie Pie." Adeon groaned. Oh great, this is going to be a long visit.

"...Let her in." Secretary just opened the door slightly more and the moment she did it, one pink-colored pony bounced into the room, carrying something which looked like a pie of some sorts.

"Happy birthday!" She exclaimed, smiling widely. Falcontet blinked. Wait, what? Someone... Or somepony actually remembered his birthdate?

"Wow... I mean, thanks." Man's expression lightened up a bit. "Very kind of you."

"Not a problem, Redhead." Pinkie Pie just loved giving her friends nicknames and Adeon was no exception. "So, how old are you now?"

"Fifty five. I'm cool." He shrugged in answer. His age had never really bothered him, as he always made sure to keep fit in one way or another. Now that the war has ended for good, he had more time to exercise which was pleasing him greatly.

"Oh... You're quite old."

"I prefer term "middle-aged", but I can see the point." Adeon's smile went down a bit. "So, you're here just to best me the best of wishes or...?"

"Oh, I came to talk as well. Plus, I got you that extra cake. Ms. Cake sends best regards, by the way."

"Tell her the same. I'd love to chat, but as you can see, I'm a bit busy..."

"Oh, a murder case?" How could she just guess everything without even looking at the thing was both amazing and terrifying Adeon. He could swear she didn't even glanced at the papers. "Well, that must suck big time."

"...I wouldn't put it better." He wouldn't exactly said that triple murder was something that "sucked big time", but in all chatters with Pinkie he needed to switch the sane part of his mind and let the insane one do the work. "So, if you'll excuse me..."

"Right, sorry. Guess I got here in a wrong time."

"Don't feel offended. I'll send you a letter once I'm done with that."

He could only hope this letter will get to her, at the best of luck, next Tuesday.

Pinkie nodded and happily trotted out of Adeon's room, letting the flow of thoughts invade her vision.

"Hm..." She muttered to herself. Whoever did this was a potent magic user, which almost certainly excluded human's doing. Actually...

Pink-colored pony nodded slightly, making her way back to Ponyville. She. But why did she stoop so low? Pinkie knew the answer, but allowing readers to know it that fast would be something she would never allow herself to do.

The fun has to continue.

---

Radiant Hope sighed.

Of course, he just had to fall sick again. He just had to make Mum anxious and nervous. All of that is his fault.

He inherited the mane and eyes after his father while the coat and wings were after his mother. Everything seemed pretty okay for him, apart from fact that he was incredibly sickly, and yet something was off.

For some reason, other fillies in school were keeping away from him. Radiant wasn't really sure, why. He wasn't smelly. He wasn't rude. He wasn't stupid. He wasn't intimidating. And yet... One day he asked his dad is there any reason they don't like him. It was the first time his father didn't have any answer. Then, he asked mum. And again, all he heard was nervous silence.

There were some ponies that liked him though and Miss Scootaloo was one of them. She was older than him, several years or so, and yet, like he, she didn't have her Cutie Mark for some reason. Despite that, purple-maned pegasus remained cheerful all the time. Radiant Hope liked being near her, even if he didn't want to admit it out loud. It would seem like he thinks that she's...

Brown-maned pegasus sighed. He needed to erase the thought out of his head. She would never agree... But he should give it a try. After all, another Hearts and Hooves Day will be next year. He had only a week to prepare.

He heard the creaking sound of the front door. Seemed that mum had returned.

"Darling?" He heard her voice as she made her way upstairs. "How are you feeling?" And there she was, in his room.

"I'm fine, Mum." Radiant responded, sighing. "Can I go out? I'm bored... And I'm sure I'm not sick anymore."

"Oh no, I'm sorry, sweetie. Nurse Redheart clearly said that you need to rest for at least two days more."

"But Mum..."

"I'm really sorry." Fluttershy smiled apologetically. "How was your day?"

"Well, I've been here the entire time." He didn't mean to be snarky. He copied it from his father some time ago. It seemed fun at first, but now, he thought it was a little too rude.

"O-oh... Right, I see." Pink-maned pegasus' smile lessened a bit. "How silly of me. Sorry."

"Um... I'm sorry too. It was rude."

"Oh no, it's alright. I shouldn't even ask..."

"Mum, you're a doormat again." Radiant pointed out, worried. He knew that she had some assertiveness trainings, but they really didn't seem to work now.

"Am I? Oh, I'm sor-I mean, okay." She nodded and for a short while Radiant Hope could see steel behind the silk. Little colt smiled slightly and so did Fluttershy, seeing as her son all in all is in a good mood. "So, what would you like to eat today?" She asked. Radiant pondered for a while.

"Oh. Fruit salad!" He said, smiling. Fluttershy smiled as well.

---

Luna still hadn't got used to ruling Equestria.

It's been four years since she and Celestia swapped places and despite the large, one would say, gap, Princess of Night still couldn't get used to it. At all. Say what you can, but four years compared to well over a thousand is a considerable difference. But even that wasn't that bad. She'd be able to cope with that and work this out much better if she had at least half of her sister's presence and charisma. She couldn't hide the fact that she just couldn't get all personal like Celestia could. She lacked that certain aura her elder sister had.

Well, she couldn't just give up. Her reign wasn't met with any opposition and ponies actually liked her, even if most of those were out of fear than anything else. She needed to change that so they will actually like her rather than just being afraid of her.

There was also the matter of humans. She considered it quite ironic that mankind actually adored her more than their actual leaders. Luna the Savior. Luna the Great. Luna the Righteous. Those were just few of many glorifying nicknames she got in those four years. She was considered by many as a victor over her sister's tyrannical leadership, especially taking into consideration her pro-human attitude. Luna wanted both races to unite and so far, the dream was slowly coming true. Of course, there were still some irks between mankind and ponykind, both nothing that couldn't be solved through diplomacy. In fact, everything was going quite smoothly...

Until that evening.

The door to the throne room where she currently resided rapidly opened. Both guards guarding this side rapidly lunged to the offender... and stood there, struck with terror.

The creature didn't pay attention to guards and made its way to Luna's throne. Princess of Night's eyes shrank. She knew such monsters. Known as "Undead", those creatures were made out of bodies of dead beings. The race didn't matter, as Undead could be made basically out of everything or even arranged into hodgepodge of various beings. An "art" of raising dead as Undead – necromancy – while not prohibited, was still frowned upon and generally considered "evil", as most necromancers were either insane or obviously evil.

As a nocturnal being, Luna knew much about Undead, whether from respective books or her own experience. The one before her was but a mere skeleton of a human and yet... she saw a soul in those toxic green lights of eyes.

"I'm sorry for intruding, Princess." The creature spoke up, giving a gracious bow. "I suppose it is too late for me, but-"

"YOU." Luna responded almost immediately after recognizing the voice she hoped she would never again hear.

The voice of Flintlock Knight.

"Ah yes, we're not on best terms..." The skeleton of Flintlock started, but it again, he didn't get to finish the sentence as Luna tackled him, pinning the Undead to the ground.

"You have ten seconds to explain how the hell you're here before you experience second death." She growled, not letting him go. She could swear the skull smiled slightly.

"There's no need for violence, Princess. I stayed loyal to your sister, even in death."

"Explanation, now." Luna's horn glowed.

"Very well. I got revived. I do not know by who. Are you satisfied, Princess?"

"You will not get another chance to commit your atrocities. I still think your death was a mercy."

"Mercy? I suppose you had never met my Angels."

"Your so-called "angels" are the cause of Phillydelphia Massacre!" Alicorn's horn started emitting sparks, ready to attack.

"You cannot kill me, Princess. You cannot kill something which is already dead."

"Wanna bet?"

"The one who revived me gave me complete immunity to all expelling magic you could possibly use against me."

"So how about I just smash you into tiny bits and keep the skull on cupboard?"

"I suppose it is enough of this." Sudden burst of power smacked Luna off Flintlock, letting him stand up and dust himself off. Guards were utterly confused. "I'm not here to fight. As I said, I'm your loyal subject."

"What do you want then?" Princess of Night growled, still ready for another attack. The fact that he was able to just bowl her over with such ease was alarming. Whoever raised him as an Undead... It wasn't a mere necromancer.

"I only wish to speak with my Beloved Mistress. I'd like to... explain a few details I couldn't earlier."

"And you're going to poison her mind with your misleads and deceives yet again?"

"...I only wish to speak with her, Princess. I've been serving her since my graduation from Academy. I suppose I deserve at least that."

"You deserve nothing, you monster. Absolutely no-"

"Luna." The voice of Princess Celestia herself surprised younger alicorn. Former ruler of Equestria had appeared in the room just a moment ago, attracted by both voices. At first she couldn't believe she hears Flintlock. He was dead and she was about to just dump it at the door of stress, but hearing an enraged voice of her sister make her decide that she needs to check it out. As it turns out, her loyal agent was back.

Back. No. She lost him that day. Now it was but a shadow of himself. A mere projection, a specter. And yet...

"Leave us alone, please."

---

Meanwhile, in Ponyville...

Spike yawned. It was a bedtime already and he'd love to just go and hit the sack if not for that one job Twilight asked him to. He was looking for that book everywhere.

It was a good – or bad, depending on the interpretation – thing that he was still awake though.

He had heard knocking. At first he thought he had just misheard, but then it repeated.

"Who the hay would be here so late...?" He muttered, going to open the door. The unexpected visitor was... unusual.

The figure standing in front of Spike was as big as Princess Celestia, if not slightly bigger. Its lower half appeared to be of a giant pony while the upper half resembled Spike of a human with its head. However, the whole body of this strange creature was made of some unknown substance – because it most definitely wasn't flesh – while the numerous holes in its body were filled up with a spectral teal light which seemed to keep the creature together. In its hand it held a pole-arm.

Spike blinked. Whoa... That wasn't a costume. Nightmare Night was only several months later...

"Uh... Good evening?" He asked. The creature crossed glares with a young dragon and just a second later Spike could feel the thing before him is something horrific, out of the worst nightmare possible.

"I DEMAND TO SEE THE ONE THEY KNOW AS TWILIGHT SPARKLE, THE ELEMENT OF MAGIC." It said with a booming, distorted voice, scaring Spike even further. Oh ponyfeathers, what to do?

"Uh... Yeah, well, you see, Twilight's sleeping already and, uh, it's kinda late... So, maybe, uh, you can come la-" Before he could finish the sentence, tip of the pole-arm was already touching his neck.

"NOW."

---

There you go, another chapter is out. Read, review and enjoy. :)

Time for a third chapter. I hope you'll enjoy. :)

---

This evening would last in Twilight's memory for some time.

Spike busted into her bedroom, all sweaty, as if he was sprinting for his life.

"...Ike, it's... night already..." She mumbled, turning to the other side. That didn't help. Actually, it worsened things by an order of magnitude: Teenage dragon quite literally jumped on her bed and started shaking her.

"Twilight, come on, wake up, Twilight!" He was nervous... No, terrified. What could scare him so much was the first question that crept into unicorn's mind. He surely wasn't afraid of the dark... "There's that bigflank guy in there, and he wants to speak with you and..."

"Spike... W-what? Have you eaten too much, fell asleep and got a nightmare?"

"I'm serious, Twilight! Come on, hurry up!"

"...I swear, if this is one of your and Rainbow's pranks..."

"Come on already!" Lavender unicorn groaned as she slowly made her way downstairs. That's when she saw him... it? She had never encountered something like that, neither in books nor in real life. It seemed like a cross between a pony and a human, but its spectral appearance... The menacing aura around it...

"I ASSUME YOU ARE THE ONE THEY CALL TWILIGHT SPARKLE, THE ELEMENT OF MAGIC?" The creature asked with a booming, distorted voice, further cementing Twilight's thought that this isn't just a prank. Spike stood by her side, unnerved by the monster as well.

"Y-yes... That would be me."

"I CAME HERE AS YOU ARE THE DIRECT LINK TO THE RULER OF THIS LAND, THE ONE KNOWN AS LUNA." Lavender unicorn totally didn't like where this conversation was going.

"Well... I'm in family, but..."

"I DEMAND YOU TO SHOW ME THE WAY TO CANTERLOT. THERE IS AN IMPORTANT MATTER I NEED TO ANNOUNCE TO YOUR RULER."

"Announcement? Of what kind...?" Despite looking vaguely pony-ish, the creature standing before mare wasn't from Equestria... Or this world. She could feel it.

"WAR." Twilight noticed that the monster said this one world with absolute piety, as if it was something most dear and beloved to him, which unnerved her even more. "THE WAR IS ABOUT TO ARRIVE TO THIS LAND. SHE WILL APPEAR ON WINGS OF CHAOS AND MISUNDERSTANDING, HARVESTING THE CROPS AND PLANTING HER OWN SEEDS OF VIOLENCE AND CONFLICT, NEVER CEASING TO EXIST. SHE WILL CONTINUE TO HAUNT THIS LAND UNTIL EVERY GRAIN OF SOIL TURNS RED FROM THE BLOOD OF HER VICTIMS." The spectral figure trotted steadily in place. "IT'S A COMPLETE VERSION OF MY MESSAGE."

"I... W-what?" They had a war before. It was only four years since the end of that one... And from what she had heard now, the one before them was worse. Much worse. "Who are you? Why are you...?"

"I AM THE SHADOW OF WAR. I HAVE MANY NAMES. HECARIM IS THE ONE I USE FREQUENTLY." Mysterious creature put its weapon, barbed lance, on its shoulder. "I AM NOT THE ONE TO START THE WAR, MIND YOU. I CAME HERE, HEARING PROMISES OF THE ONE WHO HAS NO NAME. THE ONE WHO SUMMONED ME TO THIS LAND."

"...Give me a second. Spike, you ready to write?"

"Don't tell me you're going to..."

"He's serious. Something is in the air." Twilight closed her eyes for a second in deep thought. "Mr. Hecarim, I suppose you don't mind waiting a few quarters?"

"AS LONG AS I WILL GET A CHANCE TO DELIVER THIS MESSAGE TO THE RULER OF THIS LAND, NO." Spectral figure nodded slightly. In the meantime Spike got a feather and paper to write. He nodded to Twilight, ready to rewrite her words.

"Dear Princess Celestia..." Lavender mare hesitated for a moment. "Forgive me such a late letter, but it is a case of the greatest importance. This evening I've been visited by the unusual guest who introduced himself as Hecarim, The Shadow of War. According to his claims, yet another war is about to raze Equestria. He also demands to see Princess Luna so he can deliver the message personally. I await your response. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle."

"-dent, Twilight Sparkle. Got it." Spike nodded, sealing the letter and breathing at it with his magical fire. The message burned almost immediately into thin dust and went through the window.

"This may take a while. Um... I'm afraid you'll need to wait..."

"I DO NOT WORRY, TWILIGHT SPARKLE, THE ELEMENT OF MAGIC." Hecarim responded, nodding again. "HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE?"

"Given that the letter has been written so late, I suppose up to an hour... Spike, go for girls... Get Hier too. Tell them it's an important matter."

"Yeah... Anything to just get away from that guy." He whispered in response, bolting out of library and leaving Twilight alone with the spectral centaur.

"So... Um, do you drink any tea?"

---

Meanwhile, in Canterlot Royal Palace...

"I want an explanation, Flintlock." Celestia said firmly, looking at the human skeleton which somehow was moving and thinking, like a living creature. "Who brought you back?"

"I'm not gonna hide the fact that I do not know, Beloved Mistress." Flintlock responded. "The being that raised me from dead introduced itself as Abyss, but didn't tell me more about itself."

"So it wasn't done by pony's hoof." Former ruler of Equestria placed her hoof on lips, thinking intensively. "Is there a chance that it was Discord who raised you?"

"Spirit of Chaos? Isn't he sealed in Royal Garden?" Undead asked, surprised.

"He is... His conscience, however, is still free. While he doesn't have an access to full array of his powers, raising dead shouldn't be much of a problem for him."

"Oh dear Celestia, you're too kind." Third voice echoed in minds of both alicorn and skeleton, chuckling mockingly. "Don't you know undead are passe?"

"Mr. Discord...? I suppose I should say "charmed" or "pleasure to meet you" at this point." Flintlock responded quietly.

"What do you want this time, Discord?" Celestia asked again, her eyes shrank.

"Thought I may come by and enjoy the conversation. And Mr. Knight, don't call me per "Mr.". Makes me feel older." Spirit of Chaos' voice chuckled.

"Cut to the chase."

"Like I said, I'm here to enjoy the conversation. Abyss has been silent for a long time, so anything she may come up with is worth attention. And before you ask, I didn't do it."

"Continuing... It didn't say what is its... her? I'm pretty sure I've heard a masculine voice. Never mind that, going on. Ahem..." A short pause. "According to this... Abyss, I can prove useful for its plans. It didn't specified them though."

"And it allowed you to tell it just like that?"

"Well, yes. Despite its name, it didn't really seem malevolent. Perhaps it's just fooling me." Flintlock allowed himself a small chuckle. "It said that it will give me another tasks to fulfill and after completing them, it would give me back my body, portion after portion.

"Discord. You know this Abyss."

"Not telling, Celly." The voice chuckled. "It won't be fun if we spoil the beans that fast."

"This is not a child's play, Discord! Not even your chaos! This is serious!" Flintlock had never recalled seeing Beloved Mistress that angry. Then again, he had never seen her angry. Out of nowhere, a sealed scroll flew through the window. Undead knew those scrolls: Those were the ones Twilight Sparkle was sending to His Mistress from Ponyville.

"Huh? That late?" Celestia raised an eyebrow, unsealing the scroll and starting reading it. The more she read, the wider her eyes became which was noticed by Flintlock.

"Is... Is something the matter?" He asked. Alicorn nodded slowly.

"We will talk later. Make yourself comfortable here, Flintlock. I will be back soon." With those words former sole ruler of Equestria left her royal apartment, heading to the throne room and bumping into Luna on her way.

"How the talk went, Tia?" Princess of Night asked almost immediately after composing herself.

"It's not important right now. We have an emergency."

---

Hier had never was a fan of sudden wake-ups in the middle of a night, especially when it came with some grievous message. Words Spike told to him and Flutters were... even worse than he expected. At first he thought it's but a bad prank, but seeing how agitated and nervous Twilight's assistant was, both he and Fluttershy agreed to go to the library. Everypony was already there... Everypony and something else. Remington's eyes shrank when he saw the creature standing before him. A centaur, a spectral centaur with barbed lance.

"Twilight, can you please explain what in Equestria is going on?" Rarity repeated her question.

"I'm a bit confused as well, Rarity... I'm still awaiting the response from Princess."

"War? Another one?" Rainbow Dash groaned. "I've had enough of conflicts already."

"IT IS AN UNAVOIDABLE CHAIN OF EVENTS." Hecarim responded with his distorted voice, trotting in place. "I AM BUT A MESSENGER AND LATER ON, ALSO A CONTESTANT." Fluttershy whimpered quietly and shifted behind Hier who gave her a comforting look. "ARE YOU CERTAIN THIS MESSAGE WILL ACTUALLY MAKE ITS WAY TO THE RULER OF THIS LAND?" He asked impatiently, giving a sour look to Twilight.

"Like I've said, it's night already. Besides, such a message usually needs to be thought over a bit. After all, we had one conflict in Equestria not so long ago."

"And it wasn't pretty, ah'm telling ya." Applejack added, nodding.

"I SUPPOSE WE HAVE DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO WAR, BUT I CAN UNDERSTAND THAT. CIVILIANS USUALLY DO NOT APPRECIATE THE GLORY OF MY WIFE."

"...Wait, what?" Spike asked, confused.

"A METAPHORE. IT MEANS I REALLY ENJOY IT." There was a brief moment of silence in the room. Remington thought that being a "Shadow of War" kind of strips you out of street smarts.

"Pardon me my question, Sir Hecarim, but how can you enjoy such a thing? War brings nothing but suffering." Rarity said.

"IT IS MY PROFESSION. ONE COULD SAY I AM A SOLDIER OR A MERCENARY."

"Mercenary? What's that?" Twilight asked.

"A soldier of fortune, hired by those who pay the most." Hier responded in centaur's place, slightly frowning. "Such a job is rarely seen in Equestria, or at least in pony communities."

"They're not loyal to their ruler? Or commander?" Rainbow seemed bewildered. "What kind of soldiers are they?"

"That's the point. A mercenary is a shady individual. There are some who just enjoy a good fighting, but some of those want to kill, crush and destroy and enjoy every second of it." Remington sighed and turned his stare back to Hecarim.

"TRAMPLING THE BONES OF MY ENEMIES IS SATYSFING, BUT I AM SATIATED WITH A GOOD CHALLENGE." He replied almost immediately, making Fluttershy whimper even more.

"So, who's that meanie who summoned you here?" Pinkie asked out of nowhere.

"IT IS BY THE WORK OF AN ENTITY WITHOUT A NAME THAT I AM HERE."

"Oh... And did she mention how will this whole war start?" Hier took notice of how pink Earth Pony used a feminine pronoun. While this constantly cheerful mare was cuckoo at best and completely insane at worst... She had brief moments of serenity which never escaped Remington. For those four years, he'd realized that despite her words may come up as mangled and meaningless, there was still a secret meaning behind all of that... Or he was just too paranoid.

"SHE? I DO NOT KNOW ABOUT ENTITY'S GENDER, NOR DO I KNOW HOW WILL IT START A WAR."

"So you're here because something promised to you there will be war?" Twilight asked, unamused.

"I WOULD NOT BE HERE IF THE ENTITY IN QUESTION HAD NOT HAVE A POWER TO EXECUTE ITS CLAIMS." Hecarim responded slowly. "IT IS A POWERFUL BEING."

"...Could it be... Discord?" Fluttershy suggested timidly.

"No, I don't think so." Lavender unicorn responded, stroking her chin in deep thought. "War isn't chaos, or at least, not that kind of chaos he'd appreciate."

"Then... Who?"

"That is the question I ask myself." The voice of Princess Luna surprised all ponies in the library and Spike. Only Shadow of War stoically turned to look at slightly smaller Princess Of Night.

"I SUPPOSE YOU ARE THE ONE WHO RULES THIS LAND, CORRECT?"

---

Meanwhile, in town known as Stalliongrad...

Copper Hoof puffed a cloud of smoke from her cigar and coughed a little. She still hadn't got used to those, but currently tobacco was the only thing capable of calming her down. For a smoker with four years of experience she was quite a weak one.

After Flintlock's demise, everything went downhill for this promising agent of Princess Celestia. At first she thought that there's a chance that despite her loyalty to this... now dead stallion, she will be understood and at least partially redeemed. No, she wasn't. In fact, everything that happened in a span of a next week since his death was a never-ending streak of misfortune and misery for young mare. The organization of Secret Agents has been dissolved by Princess Luna and all of its members frowned upon. She got hit with it the most as the direct underling of Flintlock Knight. She'd been stripped off her achievements and left to be forgotten. Her own parents turned her backs on her, leaving Copper Hoof completely broken and bitter.

Ever since she came up to this busy, dark city, she had wondered what went wrong. Why being loyal ended up as a bad thing? She didn't have much choice: She could obey or be killed. She still didn't keep her loyalty vow and spilled the beans which saved Hieronimus' life. And despite that, she was still kicked into trash can alongside other agents for being so much as the agent in question.

Stalliongrad wasn't a safe place. Being so close to militaristic Griffin Kingdom, it employed its own personal army, a sight uncommon for most places in Equestria. The town was also hiring numerous mercenaries of various races, varying from ponies through griffins, minotaurs to humans and even few changelings.

Cream-coated unicorn never was the one to brag, but she belonged to the best company in this region, Mortiferum. As a local shape-shifting specialist, she was usually tasked to do jobs such as a distraction or espionage. That being said, Agent's training did involve numerous kinds of weaponry to train with and physical exercises, so she was no slouch when it was coming down to getting her hooves dirty. Being versatile was important. Of course, some members of Mortiferum were better at certain activities and were striving to achieve near-perfection in those.

Copper's close friend, a griffon named Gilda, for example, was an expert with heavy weaponry. When merc team was in need of a heavy support, she would always come up as the first suggestion. True, she was brash, aggressive, had a twisted sense of humor and was as bitter as unicorn herself, if not even more. Having two prehensile limbs was a great thing.

Young mare puffed another cloud of smoke, this time managing to stop herself from coughing.

"Why all of it even happened?" She murmured to herself, looking at the family photo. Those were times when she was but a filly and her brother was still alive. Those four smiles seemed to her like a big fat lie now, but she couldn't just throw it all away like that. It was a strange, almost masochistic sentiment, but she liked to look at the photo from time to time, when she was feeling down in the dumps even more than usually.

She checked the watch on the wall. Soon she will be back from her mission in New Hope. She was hired by someone who wished to remain anonymous. Her only task was to cause as much chaos and death in this city near Ponyville... For reasons unknown.

Mortiferum received news fast. Triple murder, all of those were humans. All of them were killed in exactly same way: With their throats sliced and hands cut off. She surely delighted in senseless violence. Even Gilda herself – the toughest merc in company – was unnerved by her.

Well, she did have those immense magical abilities acquired through years of hellish training, unmatched in this region. Copper actually believed she could take on even Twilight Sparkle and emerge victorious, but that would be against Mortiferum's interests. Besides, it was the only reason that kept her in the company: Chairman said that he can arrange the duel of those two, but only under certain circumstances. Her obedience to Mortiferum was one of them.

Chairman was a strange pony who never showed himself to no one else, but Copper herself and her. According to him, both of them had connections with royalty, one way or another, and that they were vital in his future plans. For someone who looked so refined and so... girly, he surely was one ruthless bastard.

Copper Hoof finished her cigar and sighed. Time to get to work.

---

"Bethrezeen. Bethreezen has spoken to Zodd."

"Nonsense. He is locked in his prison."

"Listen to Zodd, stupid demon! He told Zodd that we can free him. We need to go to the land named Equestria."

"How would that benefit us? Those are but visions in your head."

"No. There's certain... insight in his words. He speaks the truth, even if it sounds farfetched and insane.

"Exactly. Ashkael smart for trusting Zodd."

"So... What do we do then, Capital's Guardian?"

"We would need to access this Equestria. I suppose it's somewhere far away."

"Yes, yes! Zodd has been told that it's an entirely different world!"

"If that's the case, we would need to open the portal and lead Legions through it. Zodd, Kazgah, you are responsible for preparations of Legions. Take Saemiel with you, he will prove useful."

"Bethrezeen is my Lord and God. It will be done."

---

And with this oh-so-mysterious twist, another chapter is done. What do you think? Review and point out everything. :)

Well, let's go with a next chapter.

---

Princess Cadence – or Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, if you feel like nitpicking – had a good journey. The fact that she will see her beloved Shining Armor, Twilight and the others was giving her further strength to carry on.

She decided that she may make a small surprise to both of her aunts and will arrive slightly earlier. Nopony would expect her to show up at dawn rather than later in the morning.

"M'Lady, we are about to reach Canterlot." Kaiser, personally chosen by her aunts as her bodyguard during this travel, spoke up. He was very big and very intimidating, what's with his red eyes and almost snow-white coat and mane. He wasn't a very talkative stallion though, so he couldn't really entertain Cadence with a small chat on their way(not that Princess minded).

"Great." She said in response, smiling. "I can't wait to see Shining Armor."

"Captain of the Royal Guard? From what I've heard, he's a stallion of honor. We don't get to talk much though... Our professions are somewhat different."

"Funny thing, Mr. Kaiser... I never knew Equestria has its own military."

"Equestrian Army isn't usually needed." Albino stallion for a second lowered his eyes, thinking about times when it was needed, something which didn't go unnoticed by Cadence.

"Is something wrong?" She asked, concerned.

"Nothing to worry about, M'Lady. I... I just got lost in one thought."

"Well, if you say so..." Alicorn wasn't convinced, but didn't want to push the topic further and make Kaiser uncomfortable with something.

The capital of Equestria loomed over horizon. Something seemed off though. Cadence wasn't sure what was it, but that giant storm cloud thundering over the castle didn't seem like a good sign.

---

It was a fairly normal day in Ponyville.

Radiant felt better. He still couldn't go out, but he felt that his cold is actually weakening. The weather was great as well, what's with all that sun. While there were big stormy clouds all over Canterlot, here, at least for the time being, it was sunny.

Pegasus colt looked through the window where he saw his mum chatting with one of her friends, this fancy unicorn from Carousel Boutique. However, this time something was different. Usually their talks were fairly relaxed and lighthearted, but today... They seemed nervous. Radiant didn't want to open the window, it would look like as if he was eavesdropping, so he was unable to hear what is the talk about.

"I hope they don't talk about me..." He murmured to himself, keeping his eye on both mares. It was then when the third one, younger than her mum and her friend joined the conversation. Radiant recognized her immediately: Scootaloo!

"Hey! Hey, Scootaloo!" Young colt peeked out of a window, calling the name of purple-maned pegasus. She came here for him? She surely did, he was certain! That's when he realized that he was just caught going out of bed with a cold. The moment of horror crept across his face when he saw his mother turning her stare at him. Radiant closed the window as soon as he opened it. He didn't get to see or hear Scootaloo's chuckle.

"It's alright, Fluttershy." She said to yellow-coated pegasus. "Don't punish him."

"Oh no, I wasn't going to... It's just that he seems so... agitated when he can see you. I guess he really likes you." She said, smiling awkwardly. Orange-coated smiled as well.

"Well, he's cute. May I come in? I'll see how is he doing, because judging from what we've heard, that cold of his is certainly weakening."

"Feel free." Pink-maned mare smiled again, nodding. Scootaloo herself nodded as well and went inside, leaving Fluttershy and Rarity alone.

"Now, back to the topic of that... thing." White unicorn resumed the conversation they had before they got interrupted. "Have you heard that he's going to stay in Canterlot for the time being?"

"Oh... Is that so?"

"Yes. From what I've gathered from Twilight, he's going to be "an ambassador" of whatever nation is going to attack us."

"Um... Did he say whose side will he choose?"

"Not really. He mentioned that "his power will be lent to those who are truly worthy of it" or something like that. I have a weird feeling he may end up as a third party, fighting only for the sake of it."

"That sounds terrible."

"For you, me or pretty much everypony around, indeed... But this thing... He's from a different world, Fluttershy. Somewhere completely different."

---

Meanwhile, in Canterlot Royal Palace...

Of course, everything just had to pile up. Everything was going now very, very inconvenient for everypony. Luna was a bundle of nerves. She needed not only to take care of Hecarim and Flintlock, but also remember about Cadence's visit.

"She just couldn't find a worse moment, could she?" Princess of Night murmured to herself, sorting the papers. Since she and Celestia swapped roles, she needed to become a being of daily nature which was quite hard for her, especially after such a long period of being almost completely nocturnal. Thankfully, Adeon was kind enough to provide her with that wonderful potion humans called "coffee" which was able to keep her awaken through the day. Falcontet warned her that this drink is highly addictive though which did not stop Luna from finding actual pleasure in drinking it.

"I don't want to sound scolding, Lulu, but this coffee doesn't help you." Celestia said, watching concernedly as Princess of Night downed another cup and slightly twitched.

"No, of course not." Younger alicorn replied almost immediately, pouring herself another portion. "How did the conversation with Flintlock go?"

"Well, we both agreed that he needs to be locked somewhere. We had chosen royal prison as a place to do so. It's almost empty anyway, so it's no loss for anypony."

"I still don't get it, Tia..." Luna pouted. "Why did he even bother to announce he was revived by some ancient entity? Why did he even bother to come here if he's an essential part of this entity's plan?"

"I'd love to say that he regained at least a small part of his own will, but... I doubt that. I'm as confused as you are."

"Eh. Where is Hecarim?"

"I showed him the way to his apartment where he will stay... for now... What do you think? Can he join our side in case conflict does break up?"

"I would prefer so. He's... He's a powerful creature, perhaps even able to win the hypothetical fight against you or me. He's born for war and it is his profession." Quite suddenly, sharp, high-pitched scream snapped both Princesses from their thoughts.

"...Cadence." Luna said, bolting to the exit. The first thing she'd noticed was her niece, backing away from Hecarim. Centaur in question had his pole-arm on his shoulder and she could bet he was frowning now.

"WILL I RECEIVE AN EXPLANATION FOR THAT?" The Shadow of War asked. There was a... contempt in his voice. Normally when he was speaking, his voice was intimidating, but with a touch of cold affability. Now... Now it seemed like he'd been utterly repulsed by Cadence's presence before him. That's when it hit Luna. He, as a Shadow of War, surely couldn't stand love, which was her niece's power.

"Well... I suppose both of you deserve an explanation." Princess of Night said, sighing. This day was going to be even longer than the last one.

---

"Are you certain this is what you wished for?" Flintlock asked with a clear skepticism in his voice.

"I can understand your doubts, Mr. Knight." Abyss responded with another dark chuckle. This time, "her" voice was definitely feminine, even if low-pitched. "But worry not. Everything is going according to my plan."

"I'm glad to hear that, but... how can I fulfill respective parts of this plan if I'm locked here?"

"Oh, a rescue party is on their way."

"A rescue party?" Flintlock would raise an eyebrow if he had any.

"Of course. Since you're my strongest asset for the time being, you are in need of your personal army."

"...Personal army? May I ask, who are you talking about?"

"I've managed to... let's say, convince... a certain group from other world to come here. I presented you to them as a prophet of their god. Whatever you say, they will obey almost all of your orders."

"...Wow. I feel flattened, Miss Abyss."

"Call me just "Abyss"."

"If you say so... But don't you think it's a bit too much?"

"Oh no. Not only you're their "prophet", you're also my champion. You will need a lot of strong arguments to carry out the plan."

"I see... And that plan is...?"

"Like I said, everything will be revealed later on. You will like it." Flintlock didn't respond. Since his thoughts could be read with ease by Abyss, he couldn't even formulate a response on his own, apart from agreeing with her.

There was that feeling which stroked him that those moments in cell may be his last moments of relative lucidity.

---

"We have the portal ready!"

"About time. Took you surprisingly short."

"I'm surprised as well, Capital's Guardian. I suppose the reason for that is we have encountered no opposition on the other side."

"No opposition? As in, absolutely none? Not even a slightest resistance?"

"Nothing. The land we are about to reach is... strange."

"Elaborate."

"Very simple, Capital's Guardian. It seems to lack eternal conflict so characteristic for this land. While it had a small war some time ago, it was still kept in secret."

"Kept in secret? Interesting. Looks like we're about to visit truly an uncommon location. Make sure all units are ready."

"Bethrezeen is my Lord and God. It will be done."

"As for you two... Zodd, any other news?"

"Of course. Zodd has been listening. There's a prophet. There's a prophet we need to find and follow him. He will show us the way to Bethrezeen."

"A prophet? I can only hope it won't end as it did with Uther."

"Zodd thinks so too, Ashkael. No, Zodd is certain! This is the prophet! The one we need!"

"What we need is our god back. If this prophet can give it to us, I can follow him."

---

Adeon frowned. He had just received a letter from Luna. Its message was simple: We have a problem. You are needed.

Red-headed man sighed. As if he hadn't got enough problems already.

---

I know it may seem a little short and badly-written, sorry for that. I hope the others will be better in that regard. :) Anyway, review and enjoy.