“I’m sorry everypony.” James said as there was a bright flash that blinded everypony in the room.

The light started to dim down and everypony could see. They blinked their eyes for a few seconds trying to get rid on the spots that they were seeing. When the spots died down and they could all see they were awestruck. Standing next to James were five elemental warriors. They were made of earth, fire, air, water, and lightning. As the ponies stared at the elements their attention was turned to James. When they looked at James their jaws dropped at what they saw. The human that was standing before them no longer looked like the James they remembered.

Tears were starting to form in their eyes as they took a closer look at James’ features. His right arm was covered in different colored and designed shields. What really got their attention though was the left side of his body. There was a black spiral that swirled up along his arm up to his neck and went halfway across his face. There were streaks of what looked like black flame across his face and they were all worried. They just stared in shock at what James looked like. As the princess’s looked more closely they knew where the designs came from.

“James where did you get those marks?” Celestia asked scared for she already knew the answer.

“Well the books that went missing in your archives was because of me. I know that I promised to learn all the defensive magic that I could but I needed more. I needed to learn more of my illusionary magic so I took one of the advanced books. The five are a showing that I learned stuff that I shouldn’t.” James answered not turning around for fear of what his mares looked like.

“Do you have any idea what you may have done to yourself?” Luna asked as she continued to look at the symbols on James. She couldn’t tell for certain but it seemed as though they were moving.

“I am very well aware that I may be putting my life on the line to do this. Though if it means stopping this demon once and for all then so be it. I lost my sanity a long time ago and I am doing what I know best. These five will lead you all to safety and as far away as possible.” James nodded to the five elementals and they moved around the mares encircling them.

The elementals start to glow as they channeled their magic. James walked over to his mares and looks at them all. Twilight, Vinyl, Octavia, Lightning Dust, and Rainbow Dash all slap James. Tears filled their eyes showing that they were hurt more with the lies than what he did. James pulled them all into a hug as they cried their hearts out. James never wanted to see his mares cry again but it just seemed unavoidable every chance he had. James broke the hug and started walking out. As he walked out somepony grabbed his hand. James turned around and looked at Spitfire who was fighting back her tears.

“James please lets us or even me stay and help. I don’t want to lose you and I don’t think anypony else hear does either.” James stared at Spitfire for a bit before he pulled her in and kissed her deeply.

“I need you and the others to stay safe. I know that you can all take care of yourselves but this is between me and Shadow. As long as all of you stay safe than there is nothing that can stop me. I can’t even live with the thought of losing any of you so that is why you must go.” James said as he pulled Spitfire back in for one last kiss.

Spitfire let the tears fall from her eyes as she stepped back to join everypony else. James turned around and pulled out his daggers. James stared down at Shadow with murder in his eyes. As long as his mares are as far away from this place then he will be happy. Shadow smiled as he could see the murderous intent in James’ eyes and loved the feeling of it. Shadow pulled out his dagger and let the shadows course around it as he thought of the best way to kill James. James was then startled as he heard Pinkie shout at him.

“James you kick his ass and return to us alive. When you do I will throw you a congratulation party for winning this fight.” James didn’t need to turn around to know that Pinkie was crying. James did the only thing that he could in this situation. He stuck out his hand and gave a thumbs up promising that he will return.

There was a flash of light as the elementals disappeared with everypony. Discord poofed out of existence along with Nightmare to chase after them. Shadow then teleported his mares away so that they could go after them too. James stood in the room and was joined by Braveheart and Lightning Bolt. Shadow saw this and laughed as his own two pets joined him. James could feel himself losing to the darkness of the illusionary magic but he fought through it for now. If he was going to die here then he was going to take Shadow with him at least. James walked over to some rubble and started digging through it. James found an i-pod player buried underneath and it was undamaged. James placed the player on the table and turned it on. Once the machine was powered he put in his i-pod and started up his music. James took in a big breath and when he released it he charged straight at Shadow.

Garden

Everypony was in the gardens that were outside of the castle. They took a few minutes to catch their breath and think things through. They all stared at the castle as they could hear the faint sounds of music. Celestia told Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy that they needed to get the elements of harmony if they were to defeat discord. The six mares nodded as they started running off to get the elements of harmony. They were stopped by the five elementals as they appeared in front of them.

“We cannot allow you to leave without one of us accompanying you.” The fire one said as it kneeled before them.

“Fine we will take the lightning one to go with us. By the way what are all your names?” Rainbow asked wanting to know who was going to be protecting her and her friends.

“I am known as Flame Shield.”

“I am known as Air Cutter.”

“I am known as Earth Giant.”

“I am known as Lightning Flash.”

“I am known as Water Gauntlet.”

“Is James the reason that all of you have gained a personality and your sentience?” Celestia asked to see how far James learned his illusionary magic.

“Yes master is the reason that we breathe and serve to protect.” Celestia rubbed her face as she tried to suppress a headache. Out of everything that James could do this was the worst that he has ever done.

“You doubt master’s power more than you should. He is quite powerful and he might be able to survive as long as his will burns strong.” Earth Giant said as he walked closer to Celestia.

Celestia knew that Earth Giant was right. She always doubted what James could do but if he was willing to go this far then he could survive. The six mares nodded as they ran out of the garden followed by Lightning Flash. Once they were gone Nightmare Moon appeared before the sisters and teleported them and the other element guardians away. Everypony else was now alone in the garden unsure of what to do. Thinking it was best to do what James asked they headed out of the gardens to get somewhere safe.

As they walked away a shield was erected in front of them blocking their path. Spike, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Applebloom, Soarin, and Big Mac were separated from the mares. The mares turned around and were staring down the fourteen mares that Shadow summoned. They were looking at each other trying to think of the best course of action. Pushing caution to the wind Spitfire charged at Misty Fly and taking her into the sky for a fight. After that action every mare went at each other determined to beat the other.

Old Ruins

Celestia, Luna, Earth Giant, Water Gauntlet, Flame Shield, and Air Cutter appeared in the old ruins and fell to the ground. They landed softly on the ground and looked around for their enemy. Luna could feel the power of Nightmare in the ruins and couldn’t help but shiver. The images of turning into Nightmare Moon still haunted her to no end. As they looked around Nightmare appeared on top of a tall stair case holding the crystal ball. Luna recognized the crystal ball and couldn’t help but shiver at the contents held inside.

Nightmare noticed the fear that grew in Luna’s eyes as she looked at the orb. Nightmare gave an evil grin as she crushed the orb in her hands releasing all the energy stored inside. The energy circled around her for a few seconds before being absorbed into her body. Celestia and Luna charged their magic in preparation for an attack. The elemental guardians could feel the power that radiated off of Nightmare and started glowing. Earth Giant stayed the same as Flame Shield went to his right hand and became a shield. Water Gauntlet flew to his left hand and froze herself over to become a sword. Air Cutter circled around him giving him a protection of air as armor. Earth Giant charged at Nightmare as she smirked at their foolishness.

Maze

Twilight and her friends reached the maze that was holding the elements of harmony. She cast a spell and a pedestal came out of the ground with a chest on it. Twilight was too busy focusing on getting the chest that she didn’t see Discord appear. Lightning Flash noticed though and stood between Discord and the mares. Discord laughed at the lightning elemental as it tried to block his path. Discord snapped his fingers and a huge rain cloud appeared overhead. With another snap of his fingers the cloud started pouring.

Lightning Flash fell to the ground in pain from the water. He wasn’t able to hold his form so he had to change into actual lightning. The energy crackled as he charged at Discord aiming for his heart. Discord grinned as he focused magic into his lion paw. With one fell swoop he brought his paw down on Lightning Flash and destroyed his very existence. The mares stared wide eyed at how Discord easily took out one of James’ elemental guardians. Discord looked at the mares and started to walk towards them.

Castle

James and Shadow were going at each other relentlessly. James lost one of his daggers when Shadow beat his right hand to make him drop it. Once the dagger dropped Shadow picked it up and shattered it. They were breathing heavily as they got down low trying to find an opening for another attack. Shadow made the first move and ran straight at James. James side stepped him and brought up his knee to his gut. Shadow grunted as he felt the air get knocked out of him. James brought his fist down to slam in Shadow’s face but Shadow moved out of the way. As Shadow moved out of the way he slashed James along his chest making him grunt. James fell to his knees and grabbed his chest in pain.

“What have you done to me you demon?”

“I am just giving you something to think over while I slowly kill you is all.”

James could see nothing but blackness at first. A few seconds later and a dream started up. James was staring down at David tears forming in his eyes. He didn’t have time to cry as Demarco pulled him away and threw a grenade at the wall. The grenade went off and made a good sized hole for them to escape through. Everyone started to run out but before James left he grabbed David’s dog tags. They were outside in the dark with only one particular direction to go. They ran as far as they could forward hoping to find a safe haven.

They were able to come across some trees as they took their seats beneath them. Jacob was staring at his dog tags and then looked off into the distance. It wouldn’t be long before the enemy caught up with them and they would be in another fight. Jacob ripped off is dog tags and gave them to James. James looked up at Jacob and could see that he was determined to hold them here. James wanted to protest him staying but couldn’t find the words to say no. Demarco, Blake, and Connor followed Jacob’s example and ripped off their own dog tags and giving them to James. James looked at all of them as they saluted him. James gave a salute back and got to his feet.

Demarco, Blake, and Connor followed James through the forest so they could get to a nearby village. As they ran they could hear the distinct firing of gunshots in the distant. It lasted for a minute before everything went silent. Tears flowed down James’ cheek as the kept on running making sure that he and his men could make it. They made it to a little farm and went inside the house. Demarco gave his gun to Connor and rid himself of everything else. He planted explosives all around the house and charged them. Demarco gave James a hand shake as he told him to keep moving. James said that what he was doing was very idiotic.

Demarco laughed at the comment as he reminded James that everything he did was idiotic. Demarco took them to the back door and told them to keep running. They all nodded and ran off into the night. As they ran they could hear Demarco laugh as bullets rang out around the house. After several seconds of laughter there was an explosion. They dared not look back for they knew what they would see. Not letting his sacrifice be in vain they kept on running to the town. They crossed a hill and could see the lights of the city. As they ran down the hill Blake was shot in the leg. He fell down the hill rolling until he hit a boulder.

James and Connor were next to him as he just laughed at his misfortune. They tried to help him up but he shoved them away. He told them that he would hold them off as long as he could as they made their escape. Connor looked at James and told him to go to the village on his own. He was faster out of the two and if he could make it to the village then he could take the next flight home. James was about to protest until Connor punched him in the gut. James was then pulled to look Connor at eye level. He could see there was no negotiating with them as they made up their minds. James gave his comrades and friends one final salute before running off. Blake and Connor looked at each other and nodded.

Blake pulled out two cigars that he was saving for when his service was done. He handed one to Connor and took the one for himself. Connor pulled out a lighter and lit both the cigars. They sat next to each other and exhaled the smoke as they enjoyed the cigars. The soldiers were coming over the hill and they opened fire. James could hear the firing in the distance as he ran. He looked at the dog tags of his comrades and held them tightly. James reached the town and went into one of the shops. He paid for regular clothing as he got out of his military uniform.

James was walking down one of the streets until he was pulled into a dark alley. The assailant came at James with a knife. James dodged the stab and put the attacker in a choke hold. The attacker struggled in his grasp until James twisted his neck until he heard the snap. The body drop to the floor and James pulled it into the light to see who was chasing him. James almost passed out from what he saw. He killed one of his own soldiers that was trying to kill him. James looked over his body and found a piece of paper. James unfolded the paper and fell to his knees. The paper was an executive kill order on him and his squad.

James dropped the paper and headed for the airport. He needed to get back home and hide out there. James arrived at the airport and went through all of the customs that he needed to. He was on the plane for several hours but was finally home. During his flight James took the time to change his records so he couldn’t be found. James arrived back home and headed for his house. James could feel the anger and sadness the filled him up. He looked at the dog tags as he promised himself that he wouldn’t ever let people know who he truly was.

“Why are you doing this to me?”

“The answer to that James is very simple. I want to make you suffer like you made me.”

“How did I make you suffer?”

“Well since you are going to die I guess I can show you my true form.” Shadow started to change his looks. He was no longer a demon of shadows anymore. He was a man that James remembered and it filled him with anger.

“Dante what the fuck are you doing here?” James asked with venom in his voice. Dante was a mercenary that tried to kill James and his squad a long time ago. He was about James’ build but the only difference was the eye patch that he wore. He wore the eye patch because last James heard there was a failed assassination attempt on a terrorist leader. Dante was shot in his left eye and left for dead.

“I must say James that if it wasn’t for you holding onto that hatred I might have never come back. So as thanks I will reward you with a slow and painful death.” Dante said as he laughed walking closer to James.

Old Ruins

Earth Giant charged at Nightmare prepared to strike her down. Nightmare just flicked her hand to the side and sent him flying into the wall. Celestia and Luna attacked with their own magic to which Nightmare just deflected it. Nightmare summoned her sword and charged at the princesses. Earth Giant jumped in front of her taking the attack of the sword. Air Cutter disappeared into a wisp of air as he was destroyed. Earth Giant, Flame Shield, and Water Gauntlet separated to keep the princesses safe.

“Is there anything that you can do to stop her?” Flame shield asked as he kept his eyes on Nightmare.

“There is but we need time to charge our powers to make it strong enough.” Luna said as she waited for another attack.

“How long do you need?” Water Gauntlet asked.

“We need thirty minutes to prepare it. If we miss though then it will be all over.” Celestia answered as she charged her magic.

“Then get to charging that attack. We will keep her busy and don’t hold back if we are in the way. Just fire that spell and finish her off. This is what we were meant to do.” Earth Giant said.

Celestia and Luna looked to each other worried for a bit but then nodded their heads. Their hands and horns glowed as they charged their magic. The elementals nodded to each other and charged at Nightmare. They didn’t hold back on their attacks so Nightmare couldn’t make a move. They kept attacking pushing her into a corner. Flame Shield thought that they had her cornered until she summoned a magical blast and shot him with it. Flame Shield was sent flying back and disappeared before hitting the ground. The elementals didn’t stop their attacks because if they did then his death would have meant nothing.

Nightmare kept dodging their attacks as she continued to smile at them. Water Gauntlet went in for an uppercut to which Nightmare dodged. As she dodged the attack she spun on heels and stabbed her sword into Water Gauntlet. He fell into a puddle as the life left his body. Earth Giant charged at Nightmare from behind filled with anger at losing his brothers. He grabbed Nightmare and held on tight. Nightmare struggled in his grip trying to break free of it. She shot magical bolts and tried to cut him with her sword but nothing was working.

As she struggled she stopped as there was a huge blinding light in the room. Nightmare looked at the princesses as they gathered their magic into a magical orb. Nightmare struggled harder to break free from his grasp but couldn’t move. She could hear Earth Giant chuckle as this was her last moments. The princesses fired off their magic and Nightmare screamed. The blast hit her and there was nothing but a bright light for a few seconds. When the light dimmed down Earth Giant and Nightmare Moon were both dead. The princesses nodded as they headed off to the bearers.

Maze

Discord was just messing with the mane six as he flew around summoning little magical soldiers. They were fighting with all their strength and to Discord it seemed pointless. They were just wasting their time as they fought the inevitable. Growing bored of the fight he poofed away the soldiers. The mares were tired as they were panting heavily. Discord walked towards them with a malicious grin on his face.

“How does it feel to lose in this fight?” Discord asked as he gave a slight chuckle.

“We won’t lose Discord. As long as James is still standing then we won’t stop fighting until you’re defeated.” Applejack said as she smirked at the chaos lord.

Discord gave a sigh at their stubbornness and turned around. He snapped his fingers as he walked away to let his soldiers finish up. There was a blinding flash of light as Discord turned around. The mares were floating in the air as the magic of the elements coursed through their body. Discord’s eyes grew wide as he knew what was about to happen. He yelled at his soldiers to stop them. They couldn’t do anything because as they got closer they would disappear. Then a huge rainbow beam came from the mares and hit Discord. Discord screamed as he was turned back to stone.

The princesses arrived at the mares settled back to the ground tired and out of breath. The mares noticed the princesses and got up. They all nodded their heads as they went to the next area.

Garden

All the mares were going at it like there was nothing else. Spitfire already took out Misty Fly and Flitter and Cloudchaser were out of the fight. The pegasi stayed off the ground so they could avoid the magic battle that was going on below. Trixie and Rarity were fighting back against Colgate and Silver Spanner. They were evenly matched until they Colgate and Silver Spanner were knocked to the ground by Berry Punch. The mares looked over to Cheerilee who was fighting Berry Punch. The teacher just smiled at them like she did nothing. Rarity and Trixie walked up to Colgate and Silver Spanner and knocked them out with a magic blast.

Aloe and Lotus were busy fighting Daisy and Lily. The fight between them was equal until Lily and Daisy started getting tired. Using this to their advantage Aloe and Lotus sent in one final punch making the mares go unconscious. Vinyl was stuck fighting Holly Dash and Amethyst Star. Why they both went for her she had no idea. Vinyl was struggling in her fight against the two unicorns. She feared that she was going to lose to the two of them. Then out of nowhere she had flashes of her and James spending time together. Getting back on her feet her eyes glowed dark red as she shot a huge magical blast as them.

The two mares fell unconscious from the impact of the magic. Vinyl fell to her knees panting heavily from exertion. Octavia was busy fighting Fiddlesticks and they were evenly matched. Fiddlesticks was stronger than she looked and the same could be said for Octavia. They were both panting heavily as they readied themselves for one final attack. They charged at each other and their fists connected to each other’s faces. They were sent flying back and hit the ground. Octavia got back up but Fiddlesticks was out of the fight.

Lyra and Rose fought against Junebug and Lemon Hearts. Lyra stood back as she attacked Lemon Hearts from long range while giving Rose some boosting magic. Rose was bleeding from the head but ignored it as she gave one final punch on Junebug rendering her unconscious. Lemon Hearts turned her attention to her fallen comrade and was hit by an unconscious Cloudkicker. Lightning Dust landed in the middle cleaning her hands off from the fight. The princesses and the mane six showed up and they all smiled at each other. The joy was short lived as they felt a strong magical energy come from the castle.

Castle

Dante wanted to enjoy his fight with James some more so he pulled him from his nightmare. James got up off the ground breathing very heavily. The dark spirals were moving across his body more and more as it ate away at his body. James coughed up some blood as he kept his eyes on Dante. Dante then said something that made James tick. Dante said that he would kill his mares first before he killed him that way he knew pain. James closed his eyes as the images of his mares being killed ran through his mind.

Not wanting to lose any more of his friends James did the only thing that he could. He set up a defense spell on his body so that the dark magic would slowly move instead of at the fast pace it would have gone. James released the shield and his body released all the magical energy that was being held back. His wounds healed quickly as a pair of wings made of light appeared on his back. Dante stepped back out of fear not knowing what was going on. James summoned two pillars out of the air that trapped Dante when they fell to the ground.

Dante struggled against the confines of his prison. James pulled the revolver from his leg and walked over to Dante. Dante could see that there was no life in James’ eyes as he neared him. He could beg for his life but it would mean nothing since he would be talking to a shell of a man. Dante continued to struggle but gave up when James was now face to face with him. James lifted his gun up to Dante’s head and pulled back on the hammer. Dante gave one final laugh before the gun went off. James fired off the last five shots in his revolver into Dante’s head.

With the gun spent James sent away the pillars as Dante’s body disappeared out of existence. The mares came running in but were stopped by the princesses when they saw what James was like. The princesses prepared for a fight if James became a threat. James looked at the mares that gathered and looked at their faces. As he looked them over he saw Spitfire and she was crying again. The memories that James had made with the mares ran through his mind.

Life returned to James’ eyes as he started falling to the ground. Spitfire flew towards him and caught him before he hit the ground. Spitfire let the tears fall down her face as she held James close. James wiped away her tears and gave her a kiss. He then pulled her head towards him and whispered into her ear.

“Make sure those mares get to the hospital first and are treated.” Spitfire looked at James as he gave her a smile.

James then went unconscious from his fight as Spitfire continued to hold him. Everypony went to grab the mares and take them to the hospital. Doing as James instructed they made sure they got treatment first. James was in his own separate room hooked up to machines to check his vitals. Celestia and Luna were surprised that he has lasted this long with using a powerful dark magic. The only thing that was left was to see if he would make it out of the coma that he was in. The mares made sure to visit him every chance they got and spend some time with him.

The doctors told them that they would keep an eye on him. Though there wasn’t much that they could do for him. If James was to make it out of this then it would be by his own will power. The mares nodded to what the doctor told them and just stared at James. They all huddled around James humming a tune that Spitfire taught them all. The tune was to commemorate somepony that has done good above their own personal safety. With the tune over the mares gave James a kiss on the cheek and left the hospital.

Author's Notes:

Thanks to ErikTheSoulReaper for the help on this chapter. Also keep an eye out as I am going to be posting a new story here soon.