"Let's get down from here, Shadow." Artemis said,"Let's show her the south."

"Wait wait wait wait wait, how do you two know each other?" He asked.

"Well, I was born in Equestria not here. I met Star when were in school. We've been friends since."

"Until you said you were moving. You came here but, my grandfather didn't let me come here until I was older or until he was dead."

"Star Swirl is dead?" Asked Shadow.

"Sadly yes. I'll tell you more later. Artemis any routes we can use to avoid attention?"

"Let's teleport to those tall tree over there by the pond. A trail there can lead us straight south. Shadow, wings around me." Once they were at the trees they began walking."Why are you here, Star? Any particular reason why?"

"To see you." She laughed,"My real reason is this was the last place my grandfather wanted to go before he died, I want to see what's so special about this island. The princesses didn't let him though. They thought his journey here would kill him. Honestly, I think staying in the castle killed him.There was something here he said he found, I want to know what it was" she let out a long sigh,"I swear, sometimes I just want to smack the princesses. Their decisions just make me mad."

"I'm sure they had good intentions." Artemis replied,"Will they be coming here as well?"

"I don't think they have a reason to. So Shadow, what's your story?" He was looking at the leaves above him,"Hello?"

"Oh, sorry." He came down from the clouds,"Umm, well I'm guessing whenever Artemis moved here I became friends with her. What was it two, three years ago?"

"Four, dimwit." Artemis chuckled.

"Sorry, I don't remember the non-important parts of my life."

Artemis gave him a dirty look,"Meeting me must've been the best part of your life so screw you."

"I'm kidding." He laughed,"I was 16 and didn't know a good thing when I saw it."

Artemis blushed,"Thanks, we have been friends since. His parents helped build our home by his."

"Not to mention you still wear the same jacket from four years ago. Only you tailored it."

"Where are they now, Shadow? Your parents I mean?" Asked Starflare.

"They're both dead."

"I'm sorry for asking."

"Don't worry about it. He sighed,"A year after Artemis arrived they died, on my birthday, from a strange disease. I am an only child so, I have the house to myself. Artemis is always there when I need them. Right?"

"Right. Shadow comes over often to eat my food. Much of a freeloader but, I don't care. My parents are on their way back to Equestria. They should be at the halfway point by now."

"So shadow, you're only twenty. Looks like I have a couple more years on you." Starflare said. She stopped,"Artemis, can you come with me?" They went behind a nearby tree."You two are very close. Have you told him about yourself yet?"

"The world isn't ready for another-"

"So no then. That's all I needed to know. Are you going to tell him, do the princesses even know?"

"No, my family is good at keeping secrets. For 24 years no pony ever found out. Only you and a few others know now, since Star Swirl is dead."

"Let's get back to him. He's waiting." When they reappeared from the trees Barrier was there with Shadow.

"Hey, Artemis!" Barrier shouted,"Starflare is with you?"

"How does he know her?" Shadow exclaimed."Am I the only one who didn't know Starflare until today?"

"Yeah, pretty much. Except Dew. She's behind those bushes." He looked to his right,"Come out."

"Shut up you." Came from the bushes,"I'm examining her."

"Examining me?"

"You are the only one she here hasn't met yet. So, yeah. She's examining you. Kinda weird, she has the talent of knowing somepony's personality by staring at them for five minutes." Barrier said with a smile.

"Ummm,"Starflare was uncomfortable,"what kind of talent is that?"

"No idea. I think she's almost done. Dew, you done creeping her out?"

Dew came out from the bushes,"I'm not creepy. Starflare, I think I know a portion of your personality."

"Yeah? Let's hear it." Starflare replied.

"Okay." Dew took a deep breath,"You are caring, kind, honest, loyal, humorous, and smart. Am I right?"

"Yeah." Star was surprised."That was a fun experience. Can we move along now, Artemis? I don't want any of my 'fans' swarming me."

"Right. Barrier, Shadow lead the way. We will follow behind."

"Shadow let's go! I'm sure Starflare is exhausted from her journey." Shadow flew to him."Ready?"

Shadow replied confidently,"Yup."

As they were walking Barrier and Shadow noticed they were too far ahead of the mares, Barrier took this chance to engage in conversation,"So, Shadow. Any opinions on Starflare?"

He took his time answering,"She's.......she is nice, I guess." Shadow was trying not to make eye contact with one of his best friends. He sped up his pace.

"Hey!" Barrier shouted. He used his magic to lift Shadow back to him, then he set him back down."You guess?"

"Yeah, I guess. I guess she's nice and gorgeous."

"She is pretty, I agree. So are Artemis and Dew. Out of those three, which one would you rather....you know?" He nudged Shadow.

"You're disgusting. I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that and walk thataway." He resumed trotting and shook his head. Barrier again used his magic to lift Shadow back to him, this time Barrier put him upside down and left his in his hold."I hate you sometimes. Can you put me down so I can kick your ass?"

"Nope, not unless you answer." Barrier saw the mares coming closer."Fine."

"Thank you." When he got his hooves back on the dirt trail he trotted away.

"Argh." Barrier was annoyed. He teleported himself in front of Shadow and got up in his face,"Well?"

Shadow used his wings to push his face out of the way,"I don't know." And shoved him to the side.

"You have to have an answer. We have three perfect mares behind us probably having the same conversation." He teleported next to Shadow,"I won't tell them."

"I know but that doesn't mean I have to tell you."

"Come on. I will tell you my choice. It's Dew."

"Really, why her? She's weird. If anything I would guess you would choose Artemis." He chuckled.

"Nah, she wears that same jacket. I mean, she's nice and all but, what does she have to hide. You know what I mean? She's not my type anyways."

"She takes it off but not in front of anypony. Well, I'm not sure of my choice. Artemis. Dew is weird and I guess you liking her makes you weird too."

In the rear, the girls were having a conversation of their own. They were about two minutes away from Barrier and Shadow. "Star, I wish you could stay longer." Artemis sighed."You should."

"Like I said. I will see how everything here is first. Honestly, I didn't want to go to the north part of the island. I just wanted to see you and your friends but, I dragged myself too much attention from the normal folk. Tonight we have to go to their festival. I hate being treated like a princess, it gets so boring." She chuckled,"I wonder if Luna and Celestia feel the same way."

Dew laughed quietly,"The difference between you and them is they are actually princesses. What do you expect from being the granddaughter of Star Swirl. Of course you'll be praised."

Artemis said,"There's nothing you can do about your status, its not you that makes you popular, its your magic mainly."

"Art, is that supposed to make me feel better?" Star replied with a small grin. Starflare looked into Artemis' eyes and laughed.

Artemis didn't know why she was laughing at first but then she found out why,"I hate drawing. I thought I told you not to call me that." She laughed along with her.

Dew felt left out, she wanted to join on the humor so she asked why the name "Art" bothered Artemis,"How can you hate 'Art' that's a cute nickname for you Artemis?"

Artemis calmed down and replied,"It's a long story. I'm not sure you want to hear it."

Star disagreed,"No, its not. Even if it was we have time to tell it." She cleared her throat and began her the story,"Years ago when I- I mean when we were young," Star emphasized the word 'we'. Dew noticed but thought nothing of it,"Artemis and myself would have a competition in who can be the better artist. I would win most of the time and tease Artemis when I did."

Artemis mocked Starflare by raising the pitch a her voice to mimic a filly,"Hey Artemis! How come you suck at drawing when the word 'art' is in your name? Hahaha!" She returned to her normal voice,"You were annoying back then."

"I was only teasing." Starflare looked around, at the trees and vegetation. She listened to the different calls of animals. Felt the breeze on her face,"This place is nice." She sounded relaxed.

Dew said,"It is. But it does have its drawbacks. Fallen Star has native plants and flowers, some toxic. A rare flower is found only here, what is it. Umm,,,,ah! The Swollen Petals."

"Odd name isn't it?" Star replied.

"Its called Swollen Petals because the petals are broad and kind of thick, thicker than most petals. Its a mud colored flower. Its toxic when it enters the body. The petals are sprinkled in a thin layer of liquid, that liquid makes it toxic. A neurotoxin but, the effects of the toxin can be remedied by the same sap if inhaled as a gas. I don't know of anything that pollinates it. That's probably why its so rare."

"Are the effects of the neurotoxin fatal?"

"Most of the time, even though you can make it into a gas right then and there. The toxin effects the body quick. Paralyzing the body, shutting down organs."

"Don't forget the blurred vision." Artemis added,"Star if you saw this plant can you promise not to touch it?"

"Of course."

"Good. Your vision, when effected by Swollen Petals, gets blurry and your eyes feel heavy so you have no choice but to keep them closed. I don't have a clue what kind of world this flower came from and I don't want to know."

"Starflare was curious,"How do you two know this? Certainly if you aren't exaggerating and it is rare, then do you know this?"

"There is a little something called experience for a reason." Artemis chuckled. She looked straight ahead,"Star, look we're here." Starflare ran over to the rise and saw the ocean. In the foreground was a house that was white. And had blue curtains getting blown out the window by the wind. She was looking at the house's right side from the rise. Behind the house was a backyard. In the front was a field. Both sides had green grass. A bit further was a smaller house; not painted, frail looking, brown wooden house.

From the girls position they were looking south. The south was nearly as occupied as compared to the north. But sometimes alone and quiet beats accompanied and loud. "Say Artemis, who livees in the small one?"

"Ah, Shadow does Starflare. He lives alone. He might be happy that we are all here together."

Dew added,"We never had a get-together like this. It could be good for all of us. Enjoy each others company."

Later that night. After a day of having a pleasant time in each others company, Starflare had to keep her promise to the northern ponies of Fallen Star. She attended the festival along with Artemis and her newly found friends: Shadow, Dew, Barrier. Starflare was having a good time besides the fact she was being asked questions every 2 minutes.

Artemis excused herself all of the sudden from the festival. She went a ways from the party and found herself a private area in a dark alley. She needed to be away from everypony far a bit, she never had so much contact with so many different ponies in one day before. She needed to collect herself. "After this I should return back to them."

Artemis looked up to the moon and to the stars. She left the alley and found herself a field to lay down on her back. She gazed upon the clear night sky. In the white of the moon she saw a shape. It was a shape of a dragon. Artemis said surprised,"Wow. I never actually think a creature such as a dragon will look so beautiful." She examined the shape of the dragon more closely,"Wait a minute that is....." she squinted,"That's Dragaitas. Where has he been all this time?" She noticed the shape of the dragon was growing larger,"He's coming."

When the great dragon of Gravity landed in front of her she simply said,"My old friend, how have you been?" She trotted over to hug as much of him as she can.

He replied with a soft voice,"Hello, Artemis. The granddaughter of Star Swirl is here. How is she?"

Artemis stepped back and smiled,"She is well. How'd you know anyways?"

"It's my responsibility to know who is on my island and who ventures in its waters."

"So you followed her ship?"

He laughed. For a dragon Dragaitas was really comfortable with showing emotion,"I think I gave her quite a scare one night."

"Tell me about it. Want to lie down? You must be exhausted from flying."

"Not to worry but I will lie down so you can lean on me." Dragaitas lied in the field and Artemis used his large claws as a pillow.

"You know your claws are smooth? They feel nice."

"The smoother they are the swifter the kill."

"So tell me about her fright."

"She was at the top of the mast of the boat she arrived in. She was daydreaming, in this case nightdreaming. I used the darkness as cover and got inches away from her. I approached her from behind and when she turned I think her heart stopped beating for a few seconds. When she uttered 'hello' I flew away."

"Speaking of which. Where were you? I was worried sick about you. You just disappear for nine months without telling me." She sounded truly worried about him. Him being a dragon Artemis would think he could take care of himself.

"I did not know my leaving will hurt you. I am sorry."

She hugged his claw,"Just don't do it again. Okay?" He nodded,"Now that that has passed, did you see any other ships on there way too Equestria? My parents were on their way back to Equestria."

Dragaitas was hesitant and sighed,"Seeing you was not the only thing that made me come back but" he brought the end of his tail around to her. It was wrapped in a white fabric.

"What is it?" she questioned.

Dragaitas flung the fabric off of his tail, he flattened the fabric out."This piecxe of fabric was once part of a sail for a ship. I am sorry, this was part of your father's ship."

She frowned,"Are you sure? Did you check?"

"I didn't believe it at first either. But before I left Equestria I sensed a storm. I stayed the night at Equestria. And got in the air in the morning. I saw debris from a ship, no bodies. And I saw this piece. Then I saw the piece of wood you had engraved the name 'Neptune'. I could have saved them if I hadn't-"

"Its.....okay." She stood over the last piece of the sail she stared at it for a moment and started to burst into tears. One by one her tears hit the sail. She went over to Dragaitas' claw and dug her face in it to cry even more. Dragaitas nudged her with his snout. He cheered her up just by being there for her when she needed it. She fell asleep.

Artemis woke up to a voice calling her name. She opened her eyes and got up. Dragaitas wasn't there. She looked to the floor and saw the sail. She wiped the dried up tears from her face and shouted back,"I'm here!" It was late night. She saw Shadow flying to her.

"Why'd you leave?" he asked.

"I went to get that," She pointed her hoof to the sail,"for a bonfire back south. I kinda got tired and asleep. How long was I away?"

"About two to three hours. Hold on a second." Shadow flew high and saw an image in the grass."Whoa." He descended,"Did you happen to be with a dragon of some sort? An impression of a dragon's body is in the grass."

"Uhh...No. Maybe its just a coincidence. Where are the others?"

"Out looking for you. Let's get back."

"Right, help me carry this. I want to burn it as quickly as possible. It's freezing."

Once they folded up the sail, they headed back to the town. They met up with the others and went back south. They made a pit for the bonfire at the southern beach and set flames to the sail. They all fell asleep and when they awoke in the morning, the sail was nothing but a fle of ash.

It was in the middle of the day. Artemis and Dew were with Shadow running errands up north. Starflare was in Artemis' library scrolling through books. Barrier came inside the library to take a nap. He noticed her and said,"Oh hey there. What are you doing?" He trotted over to her."Need help with anything?"

"No. Thanks for the offer though. I'm just browsing through these old books. They aren't dusty either, I'm surprised she reads all of these."

"Oh most of the books here I have read. She reads too but she reads some weird tales. She read one about 6 flowers, the majority of it is metaphors. I read it myself and found it confusing.

"6 flowers? That doesn't sound so interesting." Starflare said.

"It's not really. I was going to take a nap but don't you want to explore this part of the island a little? I'm sure you haven't seen much yet."

"Yeah, let's go." Starflare and Barrier trotted out of Artemis' house and made their way to the ocean. When they got there Starflare noticed a cliff, she went to it and looked over the edge."I didn't realize how high we were."

"It's kinda of a good thing. The waves can't reach Shadow's or Artemis' house. The southern part is risen more than the north. I heard tales and legends that tell why it's like that. The star that had fallen from the sky to form this island landed on its face-the north part. Because it landed on its face the north is deeper in the ocean." Barrier laughed,"I believed that for a long time."

"Fallen Star? That sounds like a negative name for an island."

"No pony knows who or what named the island, the name can't mean anything."

"Oh, I have to disagree. Names always mean something maybe 'Fallen Star' is an expression, a metaphor."

"Maybe, but I really don't care. There's a hill and a small field around here. Shall we?"

"Lead the way."

In the north Shadow, Artemis, and Dew were on their way back south. They were carrying bags full of groceries. Artemis didn't like the idea of using her magic when she could just do something on her own.

"Artemis, I've been meaning to ask you why you keep that jacket on. It's hot right now,why don't you just take it off." Dew said.

"I'm comfortable with it on. You guys aren't lucky enough to see it off of me. Not yet at least."

"What?!" Shadow shouted,"But we've known each other for so long. We aged together."

Artemis scoffed,"Yeah, 'aged'."

"What you don't age, Artemis?" Dew asked.

"You guys aged horribly I mean." She grinned,"I age like wine. The older, the better."

"Are you sure?" Shadow replied,"I see wrinkles on your muzzle."

Artemis cried,"That's not funny." Dew and Shadow were laughing,"You....you two are mean." She stopped and stomp her hooves.

Dew and Shadow kept galloping along,"Leave her, she's just being a drama queen." Dew said.

"Yeah, she'll follow soon."

"I hate them, then again I love them." Artemis shouted,"Wait up!" She ran to catch up to her friends. She wedged herself between Dew and Shadow,"Want to know something about Starflare's Changelings?"

"Sure." Dew said.

"They are hybrids."

Shadow questioned, he never heard of a hybrid Changelings,"Hybrids? With what?"

"Ponies, you dolt. You know how the Changelings have holes in their hooves, etc?"

The two answered in unison,"Yes."

"Well, these Changelings have completed bodies. They have no holes in the bodies except for their mouths, ears, nostrils, and their.........you get my point right?"

"Sure, I do. How did that happen? Does Starflare have a history with Changelings?" Shadow asked.

"I don't know why but hybrid Changelings are loyal to her and her family. You should ask her yourself."

Later that night, the hybrid Changelings visited Dawn. They came to the front door of Artemis' house. Everypony except for Artemis went to the front to greet them.

"Dawn, we haven't seen you in long time." One hybrid with white eyes said. It was as Artemis said. Their bodies were completed. They looked like Changelings but were the same size as ponies. Their eyes were Changeling eyes but, the hybrids' eyes varied in color. Shadow saw green eyes on one, yellow on another, and white on another. Their wings were the same size as a pegasus'. They also had no mark on their flanks and no fangs.

"Friends I'd like to you to meet the hybrid Changelings. There are few of them, their loyalty lies within my family. The one with yellow eyes is Hex, she is the one my best friend besides Artemis."

"Let me introduce the others. The one with green eyes is Polar. The white eyed one is Fog." Polar and Fog didn't respond. "Sorry, they don't like meeting strangers."

"My name is Barrier, nice to meet you."

"I'm Shadow."

Hex said,"What is she doing?" Hex was staring at Dew.

"Geez, umm. She is examining your personality. In a few moments she will be done." Artemis emerged from the other room and Starflare added,"This is the owner of the house, Artemis."

"You're welcome to come inside." Artemis said happily."The more the merrier."

The three hybrids walked in and followed Starflare to the living room where there was a fire lit in the fireplace. There were lamps that lit up the rest of the room. For a unicorn that lives mainly alone, Artemis keeps a lot of furniture in the living room. The others followed the hybrids in.

"Say, you three look very young. How old are you?" Dew was finally done with her examination and said,"What's your secret?"

Polar replied,"Hybrid Changelings age slower, very slowly. Fog and I look like we are fillies but actually we are old enough to be around our late 30's. Hex looks like a new adult but is in the early 50's."

Fog added,"Our bodies agree with our looks so we'll be around for a very long time."

"Wow, you three are old." Artemis chuckled."Can you still change appearances?"

Hex answered confidently,"We wouldn't be 'hybrid Changelings' then would we." Hex turned into Artemis. She now had long hair that curled at the very tips.

"Ooh, I look good." Artemis said happily.

"Any friend of Starflare looks good." Hex laughed,"Since we are half pony our transformation is only temporary and we can't transform again until another two minutes."

"How long can you stay in Artemis' appearance?" Shadow questioned.

Polar answered,"About ten minutes." she sighed,"Like mules, we can't reproduce." She forced herself to lift a smile.

Fog scolded,"What's the damn point in living so long if we can't create life?"

Barrier said,"That doesn't mean you can't have love."

One Week Later

"Starflare, are you certain you want to stay here?" Fog asked politely.

"I'm sure, I hope you three the best."

"Don't worry about us, you are the only one left of your family now. Who do we follow when we are home?" Polar asked.

"That's for you to decide. Don't worry about the crew that brought me here, I'm sending word to them to leave me here. Remember you're mine so you can't die without my permission."

"I'll keep that in mind." Polar said, she hugged Starflare,"Hope you enjoy yourself here." Polar turned her back to Starflare and flew off to her ship.

Artemis came up behind Starflare,"I hope you don't regret this. You could leave if you want."

"I regret nothing Art." She turned around to meet Art's eyes,"I hope you have enough room for another body."

"If I didn't we could just share beds."

"No, you'll be on the floor." she laughed,"How are the others feeling about my stay?"

"How do you think? They love it! They've never met a friend of mine before and now that they have, they won't let you go."

"That's sweet."

"It is. Winter is coming. Usually Shadow and the others stay at my place during winter."

They started to walk to the center of the island without knowing it,"Don't they have families of their own?"

"Shadow's parents died and he's the only child. Barrier never met his parents. And Dew's parents moved to Equestria."

"Your parents should be in Equestria now."

"I don't think so." she frowned,"My friend informed me that the ship they were on sunk on the way."

"Oh my gosh." They both stopped,"When did you find out?"

"The night you arrived."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"It's was nothing of importance."

Starflare hit Artemis across the face with her hoof,"How can you say that?" she yelled. Artemis' lavender face turned red after being slapped. Starflare hugged her,"I know they weren't your real parents, but I know you loved them."

Artemis cried,"I can't believe I'm crying about this again." she sobbed softly.

"You don't talk about that's why Art. You never do. You think you can get over the situation like that quickly and it just comes back to hit you harder."

"I know, I know." she sniffled.

Star pulled herself from Artemis and said,"Let's walk, come on. We can talk about it too."

"Alright. Thank you."

Star let her relax before speaking about it, she waited until she saw a bird. Moments later she saw one,"How did your friend describe the ship?"

"He said that it might've got caught in the of a horrible storm. After he set out back to come here."

"There was a storm when we reached the halfway point, but it had to be between the halfway point and Equestria. There was no storm heading to Fallen Star. We didn't see any other ship on the way from here."

"He said it was in pieces, he went to search for the bodies but found nothing . The sharks probably got them."

"If anything, of they did survive, they would eventually be carried to shore by the currents." Starflare looked up and finally asked,"Where the heck are we going?"

"I want you to meet my friend that saw the ship. I hope he's around here somewhere." Before their eyes was a single mountain."We have to get to the base of that to see him." They made their way to the mountain as fast as they could, they began to run at one point. When they reached the base of the mountain Artemis led the way to her friend. Starflare didn't know what to expect.

Suddenly they felt a great amount a pressure pushing them down.

"Art," she was panting,"what's going on? I can't move!" Starflare was scared.

"Don't worry it'll pass, he doesn't know who else I'm with."

"Who's 'he'?"

"My friend, he doesn't take in new visitors lightly now."

A minute passed and the pressure was relieved. Starflare got up and looked around, she panicked a little,"Umm...I want to leave, Art."

"Nope, he let us back up so, we will be fine. Trust me."

"Fine. He better not change his mind about us, or rather me."

Artemis grinned and became the trailblazer. Around ten minutes they reached a cave."Starflare, come closer. Stop hiding behind that tree."

Star saw a pair of light blue eyes emerge from the dark caves,"Is that him?"

Artemis scolded,"No! Stay back!" Artemis looked into the eyes and shouted,"Who are you? Come out!" Slowly a small light-gray dragon came out.

Star wormed out from the trees and went behind Artemis,"Is that what I think it is?"

"A dragon, but that's not the one I am looking for. Where is Dragaitas?" The dragon didn't answer,"You haven't learned to speak yet then." A strong vibration shook their hooves. With each shake it grew more violent.

"Please don't tell me that's the one you're looking for." Star whined. She was trembling with fear.

"Oh that's him alright. Stop hiding behind me, he'll want to see your face." Artemis pushed Star in front of her."Don't worry just look straight ahead. He doesn't kill ponies.......often." Artemis teleported away.

"Wait! Come back," Star was too frightened to react, she froze. When the rumbling stopped she gazed into the caves. A pair of white eyes stared back at her.

"Who you might be, mark bearer?" The small dragon disappeared into the dark caves.

Star tried to play herself out,"No pony, I am no pony. Nice to meet you, but I am busy. Bye bye." As she turned around it replied.

"You are the granddaughter of Star Swirl."

Starflare stopped and turned back around to again meet the white eyes of this powerful creature,"Are you the dragon that my grandfather used to talk about, Dragaitas?"

"Come closer, young one." Starflare didn't want to disrespect a potential killer so she moved forward bit by bit. She was close enough to where she had to look up to the white eyes. The eyes came closer to her, she saw the face of the dragon,"Artemis! Come here for a moment." The dragon said. Artemis appeared on top of the dragons head,"Yes?" She replied.

"I expected this much from her. Starflare, is that your name?"

She stuttered,"Y-yes."

"You remember me. Don't you?"

"Am I supposed to.........." she thought for a moment,"You're the one who scared me out of my skin."

"You remember your fear of dragons."

"Yes."

"Say Dragaitas. Who's the small one?" Artemis asked relaxed.

"My son, Excaelum. He refuses to speak." Dragaitas' tone changed. "Artemis I need to speak to you alone. Send your friend away."

"I'm sorry Starflare, this sounds important. You have to leave. What about your son?"

"Excaelum, leave us."

"I'll be just over there." Star said.

When the two left and it was just Dragaitas and Artemis, Dragaitas said,"He has returned!"

2 Years Later

Artemis and Shadow were at the cliff, by Shadow's house, they were just talking. Dew, Barrier, and Starflare were at Artemis' house cooking something for supper. The five attached to each other a lot.

"You've grown fond of her haven't you, Shadow?"

"Excuse me?"

"I've seen the way you look at her. Starflare."

He scoffed,"What? No."

"Don't kid yourself. At first you weren't sure, these past couple years with her have given you a sureness."

"When did you notice?" There was no point in him hiding his feelings anymore.

"Last year. Dew and Barrier like each other as well. They don't know it yet."

"Looks like the ones we are going to spend the rest of our lives with are just under our noses."

"When you two do fall in love, make sure you take care of each other. The time I spent with Barrier, teaching him defensive magic should be enough for when he falls in love with Dew. On the other hoof you need to find another pegasus to teach you aerial combat."

"I will. Artemis, do you ever love somepony?" Shadow was scared to ask that question.

"The question should be 'have I ever?' He died long ago."

"Who?"

"No pony important."

One Week Later

Artemis decided to stay home one night while the others went north to celebrate the coming of the new year. Starflare turned back while her friends went on ahead because, she wanted to convince Artemis to come with. Artemis was alone. Or so she thought. She was trotting around her house, looking for something to look at. She found a mirror in the hall. She looked at it for a while. She heard a noise behind her and jolted up. She looked behind her and saw nothing. She looked back at the mirror and saw another unicorn in the reflection behind. The unicorn pushed Artemis against the wall and threw her to the ground.

This unicorn was dressed like her, he also had a jacket around his sides. His coat was gray and his was charcoal colored. His mane and tail were both short and rough. He kept on throwing Artemis around her house. Breaking furniture and china with her body. Artemis didn't fight back. She didn't want to. There was no point in fighting a foe she couldn't defeat. She was bleeding. She was hurt. She was yelling in agony. She was crying.

"Artemis," the unicorn said,"Get up! I want a challenge in killing you."

"Please," she coughed up blood,"Just kill me already."

"Where's the fun in that?" He used his magic to lift her up and choke her,"Now that my seal has broken you don't have any courage. Pathetic." He threw her out the front door and onto the front yard. He kicked her in the stomach and she coughed more blood. Her body wasn't firm, she was a rag-doll to him. She lied on the ground bleeding.

"*cough* I loved you. Why are you doing this to me?"

He placed a hoof on her neck and pressed down,"You betrayed me. It's time I repaid the favor." He went into the house and came back out with a lantern. He set fire to her tail and watched her burn. She screamed at the top of her lungs. He stepped back and laughed maniacally."Don't worry I won't let you die just yet. Not until after I kill your friend in front of you."

The flames were put out by a strong wind, the unicorn looked up and saw Dragaitas. Dragaitas put Artemis in his claws,"Is this how you treat the one you loved? BY SETTING HER ABLAZE?!!" His nostrils flared with fire.

Artemis said weakly,"Don't hurt him. Please, just kill me."

"How adorable. She's begging me not to kill you." The unicorn shot a spell at Dragaitas. His body went limp but he was still conscious, he couldn't speak. He watched the unicorn drag her away, he wanted to do something but his body just shut down."My paralyzation spell. You can't fight it. Although a dragon you still can't handle my magic." He smiled an evil smile,"How should I kill you, my love?" He picked her up with his magic,"Should I burn you again, or bleed you out? Tear you apart like Dragaitas did to Mastron? Poison you like I did to Jeda? Or maybe I can use myself to seal us away together like Verla did to me?!" He slammed her I to the ground. "I hate it. I can only kill you once. How should I fucking do it?!"

"Stop." Artemis panted. She couldn't get up."Insi. I beg of-"

He kicked her,"Don't say my name! You lost that right when you betrayed me! I loved you, then when I needed you the most you left me alone."

"You killed innocents. *cough*What was I supposed to do? Watch.......watch them die?" she gasped for air.

"They killed my family. For no damn reason!"

"They were afraid!" Artemis was gaining the strength back to speak clearly and loudly.

"Afraid of what? There was nothing to be frightened of until they started to slaughter my family! The name of my power, Love, it's just a title to hide its capability. Death, Hate, Life, Mercy, Merciless all titles. Verla she was Death, but she was so kind. She wouldn't harm a thing. That's my proof that they're just titles. For centuries I have held the title Love. For centuries I have waited, and waited. Longing for the day that I can kill you. My patience will reward me because, tonight is the night I can end your poor excuse for a life."

"Go die." Artemis scolded.

"I already did!" He threw her to her house. Artemis hit her head on one of the pillars of her porch. She didn't wake up.

"Artemis!" A shout came from the woods. Insi saw another unicorn.

"Who might this be?" Starflare's eyes and horn lit up. A beam shot out from her horn and up into the night sky. The beam lasted 3 seconds. "Ah, you must be Love also. Let's see if she can fight like I can." The beam stopped and Starflare teleported right behind Insi and tried to tackle him. He teleported to Artemis and stood above her,"Do you know this pathetic bitch here?" Starflare's eyes were glowing."You're going to have to kill me if you want her back." Insi shot a paralyzation spell at Starflare and got her. The glowing from her eyes dimmed and she fell on her side."Artemis, if you can hear me, watch me as I kill her. The after-effect of the power will have put her to sleep combined with my spell, she will be defenseless." He went to Starflare and kicked her around like he did to Artemis.

Artemis saw him doing this to her friend and got up. She shouted,"Stop! You can do that to me, not her or anyone else!"

"Is that so?" He teleported to her and pushed Artemis down to the ground. He got another lantern and threw it on Artemis."Until we meet again, my loved."

12 minutes later the house was completely on fire with Artemis inside. Dragaitas and Starflare were still paralyzed and Insi disappeared. A white pegasus came to the scene and saw the two lying on the ground. He never seen a dragon,"Who are you?" he asked Dragaitas.

"Inside."

"What?"

"Get her, inside." Dragaitas could barely speak. The spell was still in effect.

The white pegasus caught his message and rushed to the burning house. The fire was so hot. He jumped in the front door and called ,"Is anyone there?!" There was no response. He went to the left, the living room, and saw nothing. He went to the right of the living and looked right, into the hallway. He saw broken glass by the door that led to the back. He went to it and saw blood. Wooden beams fell and almost crushed him so, he exited the house through the back. He shouted,"Hello?!" Still no response. He flew over the house and went back to the front. The dragon was gone. He went to Starflare,"We need to get you out of here. I'll lift you up." The pegasus shoveled her onto his back. He looked around and saw an old wooden house by the cliffs. He went to it and laid Starflare onto a bed.

It was dark so he lit a single lantern to illuminate the dark place. Shadow and the others arrived and saw Artemis' house. They kept on shouting her name and Starflare's. Barrier noticed that there was light coming from Shadow's house. Hep intend it out to him and Shadow said he left the lanterns in his house doused. Dew ran to it and barged in. She saw Starflare passed out on the bed.

"Thank goodness, she's safe." she cried and went to her side.

"She is but where is Artemis?" Barrier asked worriedly.

"She maybe left to get some water." Shadow said.

They waited and waited until midnight. The house's fires died out. They heard hoof-steps outside. Dew got excited and ran out,"Artem-" she saw the white pegasus,"Who are you?" He was an older pony with golden hair.

Shadow and Barrier came out,"What happened?" Shadow said firmly.

"There was a fire and I found her." he answered.

"Did you see another unicorn? Lavender coat." Barrier said.

"No, she was the only I found. She was out in the front. Lying on the ground."

"Did you start the fire?" Dew asked.

"No. Something else might've started it. Where I found the mare, there was also a dragon."

"A dragon? A dragon did it?" Shadow sounded angry.

"No, no, no. The dragon sounded worried and told me to get her. I didn't know what he meant, he was probably talking about the lavender unicorn you were asking about."

Dew sighed,"You don't seem like a liar to me. What's your name?"

"Garren."

2 Years Later

Shadow, Starflare, and Garren were sitting under a tree. After the fire, Shadow and the others found their love for each

"I still prefer the name I suggested." Garren said.

"Nah, I like 'Dawn'. It's short and pretty." Starflare replied.

"And don't forget generic." Shadow laughed.

"Hey! Don't talk about your daughter like that." Staflare shouted. She was snuggling with a baby, her baby. "Besides, three syllables is too long for me."

"Too long for you Star. The other name is more pretty in my opinion." Shadow replied smiling.

"I like the name for Dew's child." Garren said.

"Lacoden is pretty." Starflare agreed.

"But it has three syllables! You like her three syllable name but not the one for our daughter?"

"Shut up." Star was playing with the little amount of hair her daughter had."I'm complicated."

"No kidding." chuckled Shadow.

"You're not supposed to agree with me, you ass."

"What? If I disagreed I'll be a liar."

Garren laughed,"I just realized my son is 3, Lacoden is 2 and Dawn is 1. The perfect trio."