Hopefully I can get better at writing this as I progress. Enjoy.

We ventured through the Temple of Time to seek the door that had rjust appeared. Upon our arrival, we were greeted by the Time Goddess, Rhinne. She gave us these special amulets that would protect us from any forces that could transform us or render our abilities useless. Only moments after receiving these amulets, we were ambushed by the Black Wings. How they managed to elude both us and the Goddess is still beyond me. We fought back to the best of our abilities. All was going well; for a while, it looked like we could hold our own. Then, Von Leon showed up.

King Von Leon, a being so blinded by hatred  of the Alliance for wronging him  sold his soul to the Black Mage. He attacked us in the main chamber while we were distracted. Once very weak, somehow he had become stronger, too strong for us to handle. We all came to the conclusion that one’s skills could become quite rusty when encased in ice for over a century.

“So, this is the door that the kid with the dragon went through.”

Phantom took a moment to pause in the middle of his story to ponder Von's words. He was certain that Evan entered through the door only recently. The thief let out a soft sigh before continuing.

Just then, Black Wing troops surrounded all of us. Our fight felt like it lasted for hours, but it only lasted for mere minutes. The beginning of the fight wasn't too tough for us, but it's when Von Leon transformed, that the fight started to take a turn for the worst. The dreaded king of Lion Heart called forth more monsters to aid him in battle, and we were clearly outnumbered.

This battle dragged on for several more minutes before we started to suffer injuries. We then decided to rush passed Von Leon in an effort to escape him. However, it wasn't going to be an easy feat, until a mob of explorers rushed the main chambers of the temple.

“Hey, we heard a new door recently appeared in the Temple of Time! Ain't no way we're lettin’ a bunch of good for nothin’ servants of the Black Mage go through there first!” Shouted an explorer.

“Yea. Especially when this dagger of mine just can't wait to rid this world of these scum!” Said another.

The explorers were a godsend, and were just the right people we needed to keep Von Leon busy. Our injuries weren't so severe that we needed to seek medical attention. What happened next are the events that took place just a few hours ago.

Phantom finished his story and took a moment to breathe, which allowed him to relax after a long eventful day. The heroes, Empress Cygnus and her knights; the mane six and Princess Celestia were inside the town library where Twilight currently resided.

“So, are you sure you won't be needing to go to the hospital after what happened? I mean, you guys look really busted,” Rainbow Dash commented.

“They'll be fine, they've been through much worse,” Neinheart interjected as he rolled his eyes. “Now, if we may, please get to the the matter of diplomacy. We would like to discuss whether or not you want to join the Alliance.”

Celestia thought deeply for a moment. “What is the catch of joining this...Alliance?”

Neinheart adjusted his monocle as he answered, “There isn't really a catch, just that you vow to resist the Black Wings and their master at all costs. Taking action is the most viable option in this case.”

“What prevents you from making peace with them?”

Neinheart glanced over to Cygnus, before looking over to Phantom, who happened to be cringing at the very mention of diplomacy with the Black Wings.

“That option would have been open long ago, but it no longer is.” He said turning back to Celestia.

“What do you mean? Did something happen?”

“They had the aunt of our current empress assassinated. The late Empress Aria was murdered the night an envoy of the Black Mage was visiting.”

Phantom tightened his fists at the memory of that horrible event. The ponies held looks of shock and disbelief on their faces. Who in their right mind would even do such a thing? Surely, Princess Celestia wouldn't stand for such a cause. With this in mind, Celestia announced her final decision.

“We will join your alliance, and fight back against these Black Wings,” She began, “If talking with them isn't going to do much good like you say, then by all means, we will help you.”

Neinheart nodded, “Then it is settled. We will discuss any information regarding the Black Wings, and will disclose any other important information. Do you by any chance have a Castle anywhere? Considering that you're a princess and all.”

“Yes I do. We shall head for Canterlot immediately and discuss matters there.”

Empress Cygnus was relieved by all of this. The equines were going to be a part of the Alliance to help bring down the Black Wings and their master. All the Empress could do was smile. “Shall we get going then?” She said happily.

Luminous, who had been sitting on the sofa, decided to speak up for once, “Shall we come with or remain here, Your Highness?”

Cygnus shook her head, “That won't be necessary. My knights and my loyal adviser will come with me. We need the four of you to stay here in town, just in case anything else happens involving that door.”

“Very well, I could use this time to relax after an encounter with Von Leon.” Luminous was about to lay on the sofa when he realized Spike was still sitting on it as well. He rolled his eyes, and decided that he would take a walk around the town instead.

Celestia, Cygnus, Neinheart, and the Cygnus Knights exited the library to leave town for Canterlot. The rest of the mane six and heroes decided to go about their daily business, leaving Twilight, Spike, and Phantom inside.

The purple unicorn trotted over to the thief that sat on the stairs leading to her bedroom, and stared at him intently. Interest happened to be showing in her countenance even though the rest of her expression didn't show it. Phantom noticed this as he looked back at her.

“You're wanting me to tell you more stories aren't you?” Said Phantom with a grin.

Twilight nodded, “I just want to know...this Empress Aria-”

“Please...do not mention her around me,” he interrupted, turning his head away.

The unicorn approached the situation with care, seeing as it appeared to be a very touchy subject to Phantom. “Well, there was writing on the door in the middle of the town. I think the same Aria wrote a small letter on the door on our side.”

Phantom perked his head up after hearing this. How could she have done that? Aria is dead and something told the thief that this had to be some kind of cruel joke. Phantom looked back at Twilight. She was looking at him worryingly. The man let out a sigh, and smiled a little. So, even from beyond the grave, you manage to keep watch over your people Aria.

“If you want to know more about my past and where I'm from, you don't need to pry. I'll tell you as much as I am able to.” Phantom said with a light chuckle.

Twilight immediately grabbed a quill, ink, and paper to take notes.

Quite the curious one.

Phantom began his story while Twilight started to jot down every detail.

*****

Somewhere in Ponyville, Evan had returned to town to check out the market place. Mir was still with him, but the dragon was flying so high over-head that none of the locals noticed. Mir never really felt comfortable leaving his master alone, as he did tend to get into trouble at times. During his trotting through the town, Evan noticed he was getting stares from some of the equines. The ponies were starting to recognize him as the “Dragon-riding Colt.” This was a bit distracting to the young lad, seeing as his attention was drawn to the voices of the many ponies murmuring to each other as he passed. Before he could face forward, he bumped into somepony, or somebody.

“Oh, my bad! I'm so sor-” Evan stopped as he looked at whom he bumped into. “M-Mercedes?!” He stuttered.

The Elf Sovereign herself landed on her rear, but recovered quickly. She moved her dandylion shaded hair from her face, and looked down at the pony before her with a confused expression. “You sound strangely familiar.”

“Can't you tell who I am by my voice?” Evan replied.

It took Mercedes a while, but after what seemed like an eternity, realization finally hit her, “EVAN?!”

“Yeah, it's me. Kind of embarrassing to be seen like this.” He glanced down at the earth, pawing it with a light blush.

The elf shook her head, “I should be saying that. I got kind of messed up after an encounter with Von Leon not too long ago.”

Evan looked back up at her and observed her appearance carefully. She still wore her regular white gown and skirt, but she was bandaged up around her right arm, left leg, and around the top of her head. “That snob did this to you!?”

“I think the term 'snob' is putting it lightly.” Mercedes answered back through clenched teeth. She wasn’t angry that she got injured, but the fact that she and her group got ambushed by Black Wing troops at all. The Elf Sovereign herself always knew what to expect when she was tasked with a mission, but she never expected that anyone would get the drop on her.

“Master!”

Evan immediately snapped his head upward after hearing Mir’s thoughts. “Huh? What is it, Mir?”

“Someone just came through the gateway. I think he maybe in need of assistance.”

“Evan? Is something troubling you?” Mercedes asked.

Evan lowered his head to meet the Elf’s eyes. “Mir says someone else just came through the door, and that they need help.” With that he took off in full gallop towards Town Hall, and Mercedes took off after him.

“That kid.” She said to herself.

*****

In the center of town, another human from Maple World rests on the doors, trying to catch their breath. The person happened to be wearing the same amulet that was given to the others that went through the gateway. The human was male, pretty young, but not a child either.

“Damn. Damn it. Damn it all.” He cursed to himself.

He gripped his wand tightly with his right hand, and a cross tightly in his left. The wand had a twisted, dark, grey base, and a skull placed on top.

The man started to breath faster, as he tried to forget what he had witnessed, tightening his grip around both items as the thoughts race through his mind. Right there in front of him, inside the temple, his friends fell victim to such wicked sorceries casted by a man with white hair, clad in a black coat. Those dark lavender eyes. That cold voice. He dreaded it all.

The mage slowly picked his head up to observe his surroundings. Colorful horses. No, ponies. The creatures were simply too small to be a horse. He observed his surroundings more thoroughly. Houses with thatched roofs, and a cobblestone road. At least I made it out of there. He thought as a breath of relief escaped his lungs. The mage looked around again, and took notice of the stares he was getting. He chose to ignore them as he couldn’t really get up at the moment due to his injuries.

“Is that him?!”

The mage’s head snapped in the direction the voice came from. After a few shifts of his eyes, he found the source. Running to him was a pony, and an elf.

“Looks like it!”

The two came to a halt in front of the injured magician.

“Is he okay?”

“I don’t know, Evan.”

Evan observed the mage’s appearance thoroughly. He was wearing a black robe with a white collar, sporting few rubies in the neck area. The smaller areas of the robe were red. The young dragon master quickly took notice of his dimon wand as his eyes scanned passed the cloth covered arms. Evan was very perplexed by this. What is a high class mage doing with just a dimon wand?

The injured mage dropped his wand and reached out to them both. “Everyone. Dead. L-Lotus.” The mage’s vision faded, and his arm fell to the ground.

Both pairs of eyes went wide. “LOTUS?!” Evan and Mercedes yelled in unison.

“We’ve got to help him!” Evan declared. He glanced over at Mercedes, who was shaking.

The elf sovereign herself heard of Lotus’s powers, and they were something to be feared. She collapsed to her knees, and her body started to give way under the shock of hearing who had done the amount of damage he did to this poor soul.

Evan was busy checking for a heartbeat as he pressed an ear up to his chest. It was very, very faint. There was hardly a pulse to read. “Lotus must have went all out if this amount of damage was done.”

After a few moments, Mercedes finally broke free from fear, and spoke, “And the big shocker is that this man is a bishop.”

This surprised the young dragon master. “Wait. What?!”

“There’s no doubt. This mage right before us is indeed a Bishop. A high class Cleric. Very high rank judging by the amount of magical power that is currently flowing through his body.”

“But it feels so weak due to his injuries. You wouldn’t be able to tell if he was a Bishop to begin with.”

Mercedes shook her head, “As much as I would like to discuss mages, we need to get him to a hospital. Does he have a pulse?”

“Yes, but it’s very faint. If we don’t get him some medical attention, he will die.” The duo scrambled to pick up the body of the unconscious mage and his items, and carry him to a hospital. That’s if they can find one at all in this town.

After a few minutes of walking, Evan began to think. “I don’t understand why he didn’t just heal himself. I mean, Bishops can have such powerful healing magic.”

“Maybe because he’s too drained to use any magic. That’s the best I can come up with.” Mercedes pondered her first statement. “Now that I think about it, it is likely he used a lot of his power during his encounter with Lotus.”

“That would explain it.”

The two continued their trek through town in search of a medical center. This was a bit strenuous on Mercedes as she had to endure her own injuries. Many ponies were watching Evan and the elf wander through town. They didn’t seem to know where they were going, so a particular mint colored unicorn mare decided to guide to where they were going.

“Uhm, do you need help with something?” Said the pony.

Evan gave a quick nod. “Please, we would like to get him to a hospital before he passes from his injuries. He has a very weak pulse.”

“Alright, just follow me, and we’ll be at the hospital in no time.” The mare.

Mercedes was relieved to see at least one of the ponies help them out. The others were either too scared, or just scowled at them because of how different they were. “May we get the name of the one who is helping us?”

“Lyra Heartstrings.” The mare answered happily.

The two heroes were happy that Lyra went out of her way to help them. With the help from the unicorn, they were able to find the hospital in the nick of time. The sooner he recovered from his injuries, the sooner they can gather information on what happened to him, and the explorers in the temple. What Lotus did to them couldn’t have been pleasant.

*****

It has been few hours since diplomacy had been discussed between Cygnus and the princesses. After the meetings were adjourned, Hawk Eye the Thunder Breaker, decided to go on a rampage against the Royal Guard as a “training exercise.” The pirate had knocked out a few hundred of the Celestia’s finest guards. She and Luna were quite shocked at how strong the Cygnus Knights were.

“Okay, Hawk Eye, knock it off!” Mihile exclaimed.

A brown skinned man wearing pirate attire shrugged as a bit of yellow lightning jumped in hands, “Awe come on. Just because they can’t handle a little shock ain’t my fault.”

Mihile facepalmed with a reply, “That is NOT a little shock.” He pointed at the unconscious guards. “That and you left none for us to train.” Mihile finished, clenching his teeth in annoyance.

“Hey, I already trained them.” Hawk retorted.

“They’re all unconscious! How is that training them?” Irena interjected.

Hawk Eye observed the damage he had done. “Okay, I may have gotten a  little carried away.”

“A LITTLE?!” Irena and Mihile roared.

Oz gave an annoyed sigh. Hawk Eye always had a problem of going overboard when it came to training guards, or training new recruits. Eckhart however, who currently stood next to the Blaze Wizard, said and did nothing. He always sat there in silence, and whenever he got involved in something like this, everyone normally shut up and ran from him. Well, at least the recruits would. The Night Walker always had taught his  that “stealth is key” and to “always remain in shadows.” Also, he’d always keep his mask on to emphasize the importance of staying out of sight, and silent.

“It’s too noisy here.” The Thief of Darkness proclaimed. “I’m going outside where it’s peaceful.” There was a pause as he turned to head towards the exit of the training hall. “And quiet.” he finished.

Celestia and Luna turned their attention to Eckhart, who had just exited the castle. “Are your knights always like this?” Luna said as she now turned her attention to Cygnus.

“I have faith in my knights.” The young Empress answered sternly. “Especially Mihile.”

Neinheart cleared his throat, preparing an explanation for the Knights’ behaviors. “The knights have different ways of approaching battle, which is why our Empress picked them in the first place. Eckhart is more focused on using stealth to take out his enemies. Oz, focuses on the more magical prowess of the body and mind. Which is why she controls the element of fire, but in a much more sophisticated fashion. Hawk Eye, the pirate, focuses on brute force as well as tactical combat to effectively take down enemies. Call him a tank if you will, but a dangerous one.”

Neinheart took a small pause before continuing. “Now, as for Irena, she is quite unique in her ability to manipulate the wind. This allows her to swiftly remove her targets with ease, and precision. Her approach to battle has to do with quickly removing targets using the least amount of energy as possible.” The advisor adjusted his monocle. “Now Mihile is whole other something. Power, strength, swiftness, and intelligence all come into play with him. I was very skeptical about him at first due to the fact that may have not been able to live up to his father’s legacy. He proved me otherwise. His ability to be tactical shows that he uses his wits outsmart enemies. The power to take them down, and the agility to maneuver around, and to avoid attacks with no compromise.”

“So each of the Knights have something unique to their way of fighting?” Asked Celestia.

Neinheart gave a nod. “The combination of these five is not a force to be trifled with.”

“Has there ever been a time where their power wavered at all?” Luna questioned.

The advisor let out a sigh. “I do not know of such instances. All I know is that the Black Mage created some sort of nightmare dimension in the Time Temple.”

Luna raised a brow at this, “What kind of nightmare?”

Cygnus shook with fright at the memory of when she heard of such a horrible dimension being created.

“One that foretold that the Empress would lose faith in her Knighthood, and go in search of a greater power so she could fight back against the Black Mage.” Neinheart answered.

“What happened in this dimension?”

“The Empress and her knights became corrupt through the power of the Black Mage himself. After that, all of Maple World was left in ruin, death, and chaos. This was literally the foretelling of the Black Mage’s eventual rise to power.”

Luna and Celestia looked at each other as worry replaced the expressions on their faces. There was now even more of a reason to stand by The Maple Alliance. Pony and human would fight side-by-side against the forces of the dark sorcerer. The end of the Black Mage’s terror will soon come to an end.

*****

“Master, it appears The Maple Alliance has found new allies.” Echoed a ghastly voice. “Shall we end them as quickly as possible?”

“Let us not overestimate their power as well as underestimate it.” A dark, looming voice answered. “We wait until the proper time to strike.”

“When will that be, M’lord?”

“When they least expect it.”

“That tall, blue, winged-unicorn one looks like she has emotions tucked away in the deepest pits of her mind.”

“Yes, I can sense it; and she will prove to be a most useful asset to our ranks. I do sense a great power just DYING to be released from that cage of a body.”

The ghastly voice chuckled, “I shall then escape this realm with her then.”

“Do bring her to me. That body is not but a prison to be broken free from. All I require is the spirit of such malice be released from it, and join our ‘benevolent’ cause.”

“As you wish, M’lord.”

“Soon, heroes, our long awaited dance to the death will soon be at hand.”