Echo trotted along, her companion close by her side. The warm and gentle summer breeze graced itself through her fur, ruffling it slightly. Her longer hair breezed to the side with the gentle gusts of wind.

She looked to her companion. Strong, determined, powerful. She felt safe with him at her side, as though he'd protect her through anything and everything. That he, and he alone, could make the world stop, time itself slowed to nothing... just for her.

She stopped for a moment. Her friend took a few steps forward before stopping as well, his ear twitching and flapping slightly before he turned back to her, his eyes glinting slightly as he looked to her with a friendly smile, his toothy grin a nearly goddessly white.

“Something wrong?” he asked but she shook her head.

“No, nothing. Just wondering is all,” she responded and he perked a brow, taking a step closer.

“Wondering what?” he replied.

“What it is you do?” she asked, only making him chuckle.

“Well... ah-ha-ha, you know what I do,” he replied, his charismatic smile seemingly everlasting.

“Well, I know but... why?” she asked, making him close his eyes, his smile fading but still there in the faintest of forms as he exhaled.

“To make the world a better place. To help others... I suppose that's reason enough,” he replied. This time it was her that took a step towards him, closing the gap as she looked up into his deep, heart filled eyes. The stallion before her tilted his head slightly so that their faces were perfectly parallel.

“But, for what reason? What, or who, drives you, inspires you to follow this path?” she asked. He looked to her, a soft expression on his face as his eyes started to flutter shut and he began to lean forwards.

“I think I already found her,” he whispered. She felt her heart skip a beat but her body moved on its own, leaning towards him as her own eyes closed. She could feel his breath against her mouth. Just before their lips touched, her body was doused with a shuddering chill...

“GWAHHH!” Echo gasped, her hind hooves kicking slightly from the icy feel of cold air as she tucked her hindlegs back under the blanket.

She shuddered, shivering just ever so slightly before exhaling rather deeply. A large fume of vapor left her mouth, indicating it was quite cold outside. “Uhh... huh?” she asked out loud, still a little disoriented from the sudden awakening.

She didn't quite remember falling asleep, nor with a blanket. A rather strong musk, like body odor of some sort, reached her nostrils. She sniffed again and realized the source. Her blanket wasn't a blanket but rather a brown duster coat.

She quickly discarded the duster but nearly regretted it as her body was hit with a tidal wave of cold air, to which her teeth began to chatter slightly. Looking around, she took note that she was laying across the back bench seat of Derreck's car, of which the windows were all frosted over.

She shivered feverishly, almost wishing she hadn't tossed aside the warm duster coat. Irregardless, she knew she needed to get up at some point and that cold December days weren't going to get much warmer than it currently was. She looked to the front seat and took note that Derreck wasn't present.

“Where did you go?” she asked herself vocally before hopping up to the passenger side and attempting to exit the vehicle. With light piercing its way through the frost, she figured it was at least morning time.

She tried to open the door but found it would barely budge. “Ugh... hey!” she gasped as she gave the door another shove, but to no avail. Quickly rolling down the window, she took a look outside and gasped. The car had sank into the ground where they had parked the night before, the muddy soil beneath them starting to slowly swallow the vehicle, itself now sunk past the axles and just partly way up the door, which was the cause of difficulty for opening it.

“Darn... ugh... what am I going to do?!” she asked herself as she crawled out the window space. Hopping down to the ground, she realized it was now quite hard, unlike when they parked it and the soil was mucky and wet. In fact, there was even frost on the ground now, yet despite being December there was still a lack of snow.

It only took a few seconds for her to spot Derreck, but gasped when she finally saw him. He was knelt down, sitting on the back of his legs, facing the sun... butt naked. “Derreck!” she called out, rushing over to him. As she got close, she realized his body has shrunk in size, rather noticeably too.

“Derreck?” she called from behind him, not daring to step in front of the naked man. “Derreck, are you insane?! It's freezing out!” she told him but he answered with a calm voice that stunned her beyond belief.

“No... you just can't feel nature's warmth,” he answered, his voice and response throwing her into a world of confusion.

“Wha... hey... are you feeling alright?” she asked, leaning forwards just slightly to take a look at his face, only to be shocked when she saw he looked completely different. His scars were gone, his face was wrinkled just slightly, hair grayed on the sides and a more gentle look of compassion than what she remembered.

“I'm feeling just fine...” he replied in the softest of voices, one which she almost didn't hear but one that almost sounded saddened to his very heart and soul.

“Ugh... yeah well, you wanna get some clothes on, it's colder than the arctic right now,” she replied but the man just shook his head.

“No child... it's rather warm, you just don't understand,” he replied. She was about to object to his apparent insanity but he patted the ground beside himself. “Take off your clothes and have a seat beside me,” he told her but it sounded as though she had the option to decline.

“You're crazy!” she replied but he didn't answer. She bit her lip then figured there would be no real harm in trying. Removing her cloak she took a seat beside him, shivering even more and her breath producing great clouds of visible vapor.

“Relax... calm your body and mind... feel the sun and embrace it,” he told her. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on clearing her mind but in the end couldn't bear the freezing cold.

“GUH... You're crazy! It's freeze... what in Tartarus” she trailed off and as she looked at him, realized that despite breathing at a regular pace, he produced no fumes of vapor. Any other normal pony, or whatever he was for that matter, would at least produce some form of smoke from the cold, but he didn't. 'Maybe he is serious...' Echo thought to herself.

She blinked then decided perhaps it was worth another try, and if not then she'd just have to get her clothes back on. She resumed her previous posture, facing the sun much like he was. She closed her eyes and began to focus but the man's voice shot through her head, though not vocally... he wasn't actually speaking with his mouth. He was speaking to her through her mind.

'No... no focusing, no thinking. Just nothing. Clear your mind. Become one with nature. Feel the grass without touching it. Be the trees that sway in the wind. The wolf that howls to the moon. The hummingbird that sucks nectar from the plants... the sun that gives life to the world... feel it all and embrace it.'

She tried again but he scolded her, not aggressively or harshly but none the less scolded her. 'No, try not. Do. In trying there is effort and thought. Just release your body, let the world take you, and become one with it.'

She held her eyes closed, letting her mind become numb, senseless...

Suddenly a bead of sweat was rolling off her brow, bringing her back to consciousness. She gasped, jumping up to all fours in complete shock of how hot she felt. “Woah! It's boiling out,” she gasped, just before a cold bluster of wind made her realize differently. Even so, her body had reached a temperature at which the cold air outside wasn't much bother for the time being, so long as she put her clothes back on.

Before she went to speak with Derreck, she noticed the sun was much higher than it was before. “Yes... we have been sitting together for more than a few hours,” he told her as he rose.

She put a hoof over her eyes. “Put some clothes on would yah?” she told him then remembered the coat she had slept with. “Your coat's in the back seat,” she informed him and he nodded.

“I know. You were shivering last night, so I covered you with it. Sorry about the smell,” he replied. She lifted her hoof slightly to take a brief look at him.

“Thanks, I-” she cut herself off as she realized he looked nothing like Derreck other than he stood on two legs and shared the same skin complexity. “Y-you're... you're not Derreck,” she replied and he nodded.

She took note of the black diamond ring he wore around one of his fingers, the holy necklace around his neck and his-

“YOU'RE EYE!” she gasped, looking to his uncovered eye which was fogged a deep white, damaged beyond repair. He nodded.

“My name is Evan. He is Derreck,” he replied, pointing to his side where there stood nothing. She cocked her head and rose a brow. Just before she could speak however, his body began to shift, several burning flashes slicing down his face and returning his body to the way she remembered him before.

His hulking mass stood before her, also naked but looking much younger, much stronger, and much more intimidating and terrifying. “Evan and I are one in the same. The Ying and the Yang. The light and the darkness. Without one there cannot be the other... I can show you,” he told her, confusing her slightly.

“Show me what?” she asked.

“See what I see. Feel what I feel. Everything,” he told her. She sighed and just nodded her head, figuring she might as well, considering the weird sun trick she had just learned.

“Okay, yeah sure, lay it on me. Show me,” she replied. Without much warning however, he grabbed her by the shoulders, heaving her up and pressing his lips to hers. She gasped in fright, pulling back and yanking herself away, shaking her head before looking to him.

Her eyes flashed a bright aura of colors before simmering and returning to her regular tint. “WHAT THE HAY DO YOU THINK YOU'RE... woah! There's two of you,” she stated, the man nodding as she stared upon both of them. Both men looked so different yet so the same. She was taken into complete shock as she looked at them before finally realizing something.

“Ugh... put some clothes on already!” She gasped, realizing she was staring at two nude males. Evan dressed himself in a white set of robes, finely woven together. Not too tight but not loose fitting.

Derreck on the other hand slipped into a jet black set of fatigues. They looked tight, but not uncomfortably so. The suit hugged his curves but it was obvious that the fabric was rather thick, perhaps an inch all the way around, and stretchy as well. The thick weave gave the suit a muscly appearance and covered every inch of his body below his neck.

It gave him an even more terrifying appearance. Echo stepped forwards, interested in his new suit but didn't get a very good look as he slipped on a black duster coat over top. Both men took out an eye patch and slipped it over their damaged eye in almost identical fashion. She looked to them both. One was dressed in a dark shade while the other was a brighter hue. The light... and the darkness.

“OH NO!” Echo gasped as she realized the original reason she had began to look for him this morning. “The car is sunk!” she told them and Evan gasped as he rushed over, kneeling down and looking at the car in distress. He at first tried pushing it and heaving it but his attempts were futile.

Derreck walked over rather calmly as Echo rushed to Evan's side to try and help. “No worries, she's a unicorn,” Derreck mentioned and Echo looked to him, as though he was stupid.

“Yeah, so? What's that supposed to mean?” she asked, as though he was implying something, which he truly was.

“Use your magic. Levitate it out of the ground,” he replied as though it was a rather simple, almost subconscious, task.

“I can't. Are you crazy, it's huge and heavy,” she told him but he merely chuckled.

“Size should mean nothing to you. Whether it be a leaf, or the tree it fell from. A rock or a mountain. A drop of water or the lake. Only in your mind, does size matter. Dig deeply. Find your greatest emotion, your anger, your hatred... your vengeance. Let it drive you, let it guide you... and with that vengeance let it empower you,” he told her, making her rather confused.

He set his hand on her shoulder, covered in the leathery fiber weave that the rest of his suit was constructed of. “I can feel it... sense it deep within you. Unleash it... and let it rise the vehicle up,” he told her.

He waved his hand towards the car. “Hate is considered a powerful word, because it has powerful meaning. And with great power...” Echo faced the car and lowered her horn, glowing with a powerful aura.

She clenched her eyes shut and focused all her power around the vehicle then dug deep. In the back of her mind she heard shouting... screaming... crying... then nothing. She flinched, her lower section twitching in pain just moments before a deep burning anger started to arise within herself.

Her teeth gritted together as her eyes clenched harder, a lone tear trickling down her cheek. Grunting she began to force herself, force the magic, to try and lift the vehicle. Derreck crossed his arms as Evan exhaled and the duo watched the mare struggle.

The car budged and shifted slightly but only just before Echo gasped and collapsed. “I can't... it's too heavy... I'm just a unicorn.”

“Then that is why you fail.” Derreck's hand shot out, palm facing downwards and hand open, fingers all pointing towards the car. His arm was loose, relaxed, as was the rest of his body. He gently closed his eyes as a plain expression went across his face.

Turning his hand, his palm faced upwards and with it the car started to creak and groan, then slowly and most effortlessly it rose up from the ground, clearing the surface by a good few feet and was levitated over to more solid soil.

Echo watched in absolute shock as she witnessed the event. As the big man set down the vehicle, the trio walked over, Echo baffled. “H-how... you don't even have a... a horn,” she stated and Derreck just shook his head.

“You needn't a horn, to perform miracles,” he told her and she looked to Evan.

“Can he do these kinds of things too?” she asked but Derreck shook his head.

“Evan has chosen his own path. He loves... her cherishes... he cares. His love does however, conflict him in many ways. But even so, he has learned all he possibly can but...” he trailed off and looked to the distance. “Love is not, and never will be, as strong as anger... hatred... and vengeance. For hate is a truly powerful semblance,” he told her.

She was taken away in confusion but then asked her mind. “Can you show me?” she asked and a smile crept across his face.

“You are still young. You haven't learned to harness your power and fuel it with emotion. I can teach you, but you must give me your word you will do as I do, learn what I teach, see what I see, feel what I feel... and with it, you can become more powerful than you could ever imagine,” he told her and she nodded.

“Yes. Teach me,” she told him and he nodded, opening the passenger door.

“It's a long way to Sunset Hollows.” She stepped into the vehicle as did Derreck who attempted to start the vehicle but it refused to spark to life.

“Dammit!” he cursed and she turned to him. “Engine's too cold. Doesn't wanna turn over,” he told her.

“Well... can't you just do something? Hate it or whatever?” she asked, figuring he could use this great power of hatred he kept talking about to make it start. He was about to answer but Evan leaned forwards from the back seat.

“Wait...” he trailed off, making Echo wonder how the man got in the backseat without her knowledge. There was only two doors to the vehicle, and she and Derreck were the first ones inside.

Evan leaned forwards, kissing the tips of his right index and middle finger before pressing them to the steering wheel. Around his fingers started to warm up, and the heat merely spread from there, the loving warmth soon defrosting the windows and making the car drip with condensation as though the vehicle had been sitting in a sauna.

“That's... that's impossible...” Echo gasped, Evan murmuring to her as he leaned back into his seat.

“Hatred may not be as powerful as you think...”

Twilight walked along, rather solemnly and feeling lonely, as she had the past few months. Gloomy beyond belief. Despite he friend's support, she felt a great emptiness inside herself that she refused to address.

Rarity walked alongside her, speaking of how she was in the process of creating a wonderful coat that would keep the wearer warm yet wasn't cumbersome and also, most importantly, it had style.

Twilight sighed, Rarity's speech stopped mid stride. “Darling, what ever is the matter?” she asked, Spike, whom stood on her other side, also speaking up.

“Yeah Twilight, you seem really down. What's up?” he asked, trying to comfort her.

“Nothing. It's just... nothing,” she sighed, Rarity exhaling deeply.

“Darling, you must forget about that lumbering oaf. Either that or reconcile with him. Being gloomy all the time is not going to solve anything.” A tear ran down Twilight's cheek, dripping off and turning to an icy droplet before shattering against the hard ground.

“I just... I can't... but I can't forgive him for what he did either,” she replied, this time it was Spike who interjected.

“Yeah but Twilight, he wasn't that bad. Yeah he did bad things but it was always for the better. He didn't just kill those ponies because he felt like it. He did it to-” Twilight rushed off, not wanting to hear another word about the man. Spike sighed, knowing that talking about him never helped and always resulted in Twilight rushing off in tears. “Great... guess I sound like Dash now...” he muttered to himself, remembering all the times Dash had tried to remedy the situation.

Rarity stepped up beside the dragon, flicking the plush scarf around her neck to the side. “Yes darling, but she needs to understand. She can't live her entire life conflicted about it. She has to chose... and I just hope when she does, it isn't too late-” she was cut off as a stallion pushed his way between the two, making the mare stumble a bit, in which her hoof got tangled and she tripped on it. Spike rushed to her aid and helped her back up. Rarity spat out in irritation.

“Hey! Watch where you're going!” she shouted and the stallion turned, snickering to himself.

“You got in my way. Why don't you watch where you're standing? Or better yet, dress in something other than those hideous rags,” he shot back, rather rudely and quite snidely. Spike stood between the two, facing the stallion.

“Apologize for that!” he snapped and the stallion just scoffed.

“Or what? Are you gonna tell mommy? OooOOOoooh, I'm so scared. Word of the wise kid, bug off before I hurt you,” he snapped, going to poke Spike in the chest with his hoof but the young dragon quickly swatted it aside.

The stallion was at first shocked by the dragon's quick and almost instinctive reflexes. He chuckled and went to jab harder but Spike merely sidestepped him, grabbing his hoof and yanking him past his own body while also sticking his foot out and tripping the rude stallion to the ground.

The stallion grunted furiously as he stood back up. “Why you little... okay kid, I'm gonna beat the snot outta yah!” he yelled as he wildly charged forwards. This time Spike grabbed at the stallion as he got close, using a combination of foot movement along with his tail, to flip the stallion onto his back, crashing him down rather hard to the unforgiving ground.

The stallion wheezed as he was winded, Spike stepping back as Rarity spoke up. “That's what you get for trying to pick on poor Spikey Wikey. Maybe you should learn some manners you little brat,” Rarity snapped at him. Spike breathed heavily but gasped as the stallion arose yet again.

“Alright you little shit... I'm gonna kill yah fer that!” he growled vulgarly, wiping his chin before letting out a roar of anger and charging forwards with brutal intent. Spike moved like lightning, delivering a quick, non-lethal, chop to the side of stallion's neck.

The brute gasped, a spew of saliva leaving his mouth as his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed to the ground, twitching wildly yet still unconscious.

Rarity blinked in utter shock. “Spikey! Darling, are you alright?” she gasped, rushing up to him and grabbing him affectionately.

“Uhh... uhm... yeah, are you?” he asked back, a little blush coming across his cheeks from the embrace.

“But of course darling. Thank you for standing up for me like that. It was the most gentle-coltly thing anypony has ever done for me,” she said before planting a kiss on his cheek, making him blush even deeper. “Why... where did you ever learn to do that?” she asked and Spike rubbed the back of his head.

“Uhm... well... heh-heh... Evan taught me that...”

Author's Notes:

I don't have much to say, yeah it takes me forever these days to write a chapter, this one was small and seems... I dunno. It just doesn't seem very good. I dunno... I'm sorry I guess (Must be the mood setting?). Oh, but I got a new gun...

PS: Yes I know, me and my guns... terrible habbit