"Wh-what did you say?"

"Storm Breaker is in the bathroom." Twilight says as she pushes me towards the room.

"Bu-but I snapped his neck... he can't be alive..." Twilight pushes me to the door and runs back, hiding behind the bed as she watches me. I take a deep breath as I push the door open slowly. The floor is littered with broken glass. The window in the back has been smashed in, but there seems to be extra glass. The medicine cabinet has been opened, most of the contents spread across the floor. There, sitting in the corner, is Storm Breaker. He's in his original color, yellow body and blue mane, but... he's dirty. Whatever part of him that's not in the armor seems to be covered in dirt or scratch marks. His wings seems to be in disrepair, having feathers going out in different directions and some covered in dried blood. He's holding his head back as he downs a red potion. When he finishes it he tosses it against a wall, shattering it, and lets hit head roll to the side as he glares at me.

"Hello.... brother." He says in a rough raspy voice.

"Breaker." I say as I step all the way into the restroom, being sure to keep some distance between the two of us. "What are you doing here.... how are you alive?"

"Heh... good question. I...." He closes his eyes and takes a few breaths before he looks back to me with the most desperate look I could ever imagine him put on. "I need your help." He says as he starts to tear up.

"You need... my help. Why would I help you? You tried to kill me, THREE TIMES! You took Twilight and held her hostage, plotted with that asshole Steelwing.... why am I even talking to you?" I ask as I look away from him.

"*sniff*" I look back to him to see that he's crying.

"Are you... crying?"

"I'M SCARED BIG BROTHER!" He yells as he tries to latch onto me. I move back and let him fall onto the broken glass. He just lays there as he cries, his head falling to the side from a lack of support. "Please! I... I bucked up brother. I-I got in deep with the wrong ponies and now...now... now they're after me! They sent an assassin after me... I... I thought they would help me... I thought they were my family... please, you're all I have." He says through his tears. I take a step back as I watch him lose it. I... I don't know how to feel about this.

"Just, stop..."

"Please, big brother..."

"Don't call me that!" I yell, making him cower from me. "You don't ever call me that! Not after everything you've done."

"I....I'm sorry..."

"No. Not yet." I say as I leave the restroom. I pass Twilight as I head straight to the front room, going straight for the weapons chest. I pull out my sword and look it over before I head straight back to the restroom. Twilight watches me in complete horror as I march straight into the restroom.

"NO! PLEASE, I DON'T WANT TO DIE!" Breaker cries out as he tries to getaway from me, scurrying into the corner. I walk over and grab him by his mane and hold him up as I bring back my sword. "Please.... brother..." He says as he holds his eyes shut, tears still flowing out. I watch him for a second, sword shaking, as I try to commit to the swing.

"AAAAHHHH!"

*THUNK*

I slam my sword into the wall, sending a gust of wind through the room that clears it of the glass. I grit my teeth as I stare at his pathetic face. I want to kill him. I want to tear his wings off and toss him off of a cloud. But.... I can't. I don't know why but I couldn't do it... I couldn't kill him. I drop him as I stagger back and fall to my haunches, breathing deeply as I try to collect my thoughts.

"I'm... I'm sorry big brother..." He says as he sits up, his head rolling to the right as he continues to cry.

"Stop calling me that." I say as I bury my face in my hooves.

"I.... I know I don't deserve a second chance. I've done wrong by a lot of ponies..."

"A lot?" I say as I look back to him. "That wacko Steelwing was able to ponyknap Luna, Breaker. If he's capable of that imagine what else he's capable of. All thanks becuase you helped him!" I yell, making him cower from me some more.

"I...I know. But I..."

"What am I even talking to you?" I ask as I stand back up. "I should just get Miles or Celestia here, let them deal with you..."

"NO! Please! I... I can't g to jail! They'll find me! Kill me! I..."

"And what makes you think you deserve to live!" I yell at him as I get in his face. "Your selfish, you know that. All you care about is you. Your life. Have you even thought about anypony else in you entire life?"

"You." He says weakly. "I thought about you..."

"LIAR!" I yell as I push him against the wall. "Don't you bucking lie to me! I know you've never thought of me! Why would..."

"I'M NOT LYING!" He yells back as he finally looks me in the eyes. "Why do you think I was trying to be you! You... you were my big brother. I was jealous of you, so I tried to be you, but father saw right through my lies, disowned me. After that... I... lost my way. Once you came back I-I didn't know what to think, so I continued acting along with those bucking psychopaths. I screwed up Cloud... I really screwed up. With you, Mom, Dad, even with the Darkness I screwed up..."

"Who are the Darkness?" I ask, getting him to look away in shame.

"They... they're bad news. They want to kill everypony Cloud."

"What? That can't be their objective, what would they gain from that?"

"I don't know. I tried to figure it out, but they caught me, sent me to Ponyville to watch the cloud production.... but when you beat me... I found out they were actually going to kill me when they got what they wanted... please. Help me." He throws his forelegs around me as he cries into my shoulder, holding me as tightly as possible. He's weak. Even in the armor he's weak.

"Why do they want to kill you." I say as I sit there.

"*sniff* cause I know stuff. I know bout their leaders, that's cause enough..."

"Tirek? We already know about him..."

"No, he's not the leader." Breaker says as he lets go of me and looks me in the eyes. "Tirek is just... a... minor leader..."

"Hold on." I say as I look out the door. "I'm going to go get Miles..."

"NO!" He says as he latches back onto me. "Please! I...I'm scared of him. Don't bring him here I-I I'll do anything just... don't bring him here." He begs.

"He's my superior officer, I have to." I say as I pull his hooves off of me and grab my sword. I look back to him and stare at him for a second before I leave the room.

"Whats going on? Is he... dead?" Twilight asks from behind the bed.

"No... I couldn't do it. I need to go out and see if Miles..."

"WHAT!" Twilight yells as she flashes in front of me. "You can't leave me with him!"

"Twilight..."

"He's evil! He manipulative! He doesn't deserve to live..."

"Twilight!" I yell, getting her to stop. "He's weak, even in that armor and with a red potion in him, he's weak. He's terrified, alone and... I can't just leave him like that.... he's my little brother." She looks away from me when I say this, troubled with the idea. "Look, just... head over to somepony's place while I deal with this. Please." She nods as she continues to look away. I try to give her a hug but she backs away from me. With a sigh I turn around and head out to look for Miles.

I watch from the kitchen window as Storm takes off through the air. I'm sorry Storm... but I can't forgive him that easily. I walk back up the to the bedroom and go to the restroom. I stand in the doorway until Breaker looks up to me from the corner of the room.

"So... are you going to kill me?" I levitate out a knife I brought from the kitchen. "I see... OK, lets do this." He says as he falls forward and gets on his side. "How do you want to do this?" I walk over to him and set the blade against his throat, pressing it against him enough to dig in to his skin but not enough to cut him. We stare at each other for a few seconds before he closes his eyes and waits.

"WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS!" I yell as I pull the blade back and begin to pace back and forth. "We were happy! We had plans to make a family! Then you just had to come back and make everything complicated!"

"Family? You... you two are married?" He asks as, getting me to stop and glare at him. "Heh... heh.... that's good. You deserve somepony like Storm..."

"Shut up." I say as I go to the doorway and think about what I'm going to do.

"Listen, I know I wronged you. If anypony has a right to end my life, it should be you. If you want... I can do." I look back to him and look into his serious eyes. "Say the word and I'll end it. All I need to do is take this armor off, and I'm out of your life forever. Just say the word." I don't say anything. I just stare at him as I try to rack my brain around the idea. He just nods and begins taking off the armor.

"Stop!" I yell as I run over to him and hold his hooves back from undoing the armor. He is weak. He looks up to me and smiles as he starts to tear up. "I hate you. More then anypony alive.... but..*sigh* I'm better then you. I can't just kill you. Trial, jail, I don't care what it is, you're going to do it."

"Ok. If that's what you want, then I'll do it." He says as he goes limp and falls to his side.

"How many red potions have you taken?" I ask as I look him over a bit.

"Today? Like.... five."

"WHAT! You can't be doing that! You'll gain an addiction!"

"I don't have a choice Twilight. When they start to wear off I start to get light headed and dizzy... I think I'll die if I don't have it in my system." He says as he tries to get up, but is too weak to even budge. I watch him for a few seconds before pity gets the better of me.

"Stay here. I'll go down stairs and get you another potion."

"Thank you Twilight." He says in a sleepy, raspy voice. I sigh a bit before I turn and head towards the basement. I can't believe I'm seriously helping this jerk. But... Celestia taught me better. He deserves a trial.....

WHACK

THUD

.................................................................................................................................................................................................

After flying around for nearly ten minutes I still can't find Miles. He wasn't home. He wasn't at Sweet Apple Acres. He must still be at Topaz Falls. I turn around and shoot back for the library. I don't know what I'm going to do with Breaker. I guess the next one to call would be Celestia, but I know I would get it from Miles if I didn't inform him first. Well.... I am a lieutenant, I guess that gives some authority in the matter. I need to... why is the front door open? I pause in the air and stare at the open door before I shake my head and fly as fast as possible inside. I swear, if he tricked me again...

I land inside and have a quick look around. Everything looks normal. I stop by the chest and pull out my sword before continuing up the stairs. When I make it to the top I look around and find everything relatively normal. There's glass everywhere, but that was from the bathroom... the bathroom. I fly up to the door to find Breaker crying as he tries to crawl towards the door.

"Breaker..."

"YOU IDIOT!" He yells as he pulls himself forward. "GO GET TWILIGHT!" Without a second thought I turn around...

"Where is he?" An orc asks from below. He's almost nine feet tall with thick, scaly, green skin, pig faced, with a long alligator tail. He's covered in what looks like... black leather, and is holding an unconscious Twilight by the horn with a dagger to her throat. I raise my sword up and take a few steps closer.

"Put. Her. Down."

"Stupid pony. A single mate is captured and you put all of your lives at risk. This is simple. Give me..."

"I SAID PUT HER DOWN!" I yell as I take a few steps forward, only to get him to hold up Twilight up in front of him and press the dagger closer. I grit my teeth as I watch a sliver of blood fall from her neck, the pain slowly waking her as she tries to take in her surroundings.

"Storm..."

"Put down the sword, or she dies." The orc demands.

"ENOUGH!" I glance back to see Breaker crawling out of the restroom, gritting his teeth as he makes his way to the edge of the walkway. "Put your sword Storm."

"Are you kidding me? I'm..."

"STORM! Open your eyes! Unless you want Twilight to die, put down your sword." I look between the two of them, trying to figure out what to do. With no other option, I drop my sword and step back. Breaker.... you better know what your doing.

"Good... now Cheng, you're after me. Not her. Put her down and take me instead. She doesn't need to be hurt." Breaker tries to reason.

"WHAT!" I yell before the orc could answer. "That's your plan! Self sacrifice! I thought you didn't want to die."

"I'm only willing to die for her! Now what do you say Cheng? Me or her?" Cheng looks between the two of us before he finally drops Twilight. Once Twilight hits the ground she teleports to my side and latches onto me, crying lightly.

"Lets go...."

BOOSH

Before Cheng could finish, a wave of energy erupts from the stairway and sends him into the bookshelves.

"Dammit Storm, How many times do I have to tell you. Never drop your weapon." Miles says as he walks into the room, both hands in fire.

"Miles..."

"Human." The orc says as he gets up and glares at Miles. "You should not have interfered." He says as he closes his eyes and holds his dagger in front of himself. He seems to be trying to focus on the dagger, but I can't tell what he's planning on doing. Without saying anything, Miles runs forward tries to grab onto the orc. But at the last second he jump straight up and landed on the same floor as us. I quickly push Twilight aside and grab my sword.

"Go for his stomach and throat!" Breaker yells. "They're the weakest points of his scales!" I nod to him before I launch myself at Cheng, sending a wave of air at him that staggers him back. I land slice at him, cutting him across his lap and forcing him down with a powerful gust of wind. He tries to stab me with his dagger, but Miles had quickly dropped down in front of him and grabbed him, burning his arm off. He screams out in pain as he falls back and holds onto his stub of an arm, thrashing around wildly.

"YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT YOU ABOMINATION!" He yells as he tries to get back up. "LIFE IS ENDING! DARKNESS SHALL TAKE OVER!" He yells as he backs away from me and Miles.

"Stop him!" Breaker yells as he reaches forward. Before either of us could act, he swallows some white pills and starts to foam at the mouth.

"HAHA HAHAHAHAHA! DROWN THE LAND IN ETERNAL DARKNESS!" He yells as he falls to the ground and starts to convulse. Miles walks over to him and watches him, foam pouring from his mouth, tail thrashing back and forth, scratching up the floor. Once he finally comes to a stop he shakes his head and looks back to me.

"What happened?"

"Well..." I say as he starts to walk past me. "Uh, Miles?" I ask as I sheath my sword and follow after him.

"I wasn't asking you." He says as he walks up to Breaker and kneels beside him, making him cower away a bit. "You. You should be dead. What happened?"

"Well... I..." He mutters as he tries to hold himself together. Miles reaches forward and feels his neck, making him wince when he reaches a certain point.

"It would seem that with the strength boost, plus the energy boost from those red potions, has your heart racing. You must of powered through you neck being snapped. Healed up a bit, then some how made essential connections. How many red potions have you taken since? All together." As Miles asks Breaker this, I walk back over to Twilight and help her back up, apologizing for knocking her over.

"Well... I... don't know. I lost track." Breaker says as he tries to back away from Miles.

"He said he had five today." Twilight says as she sits down and holds her head.

"Five huh, well at least you haven't died of a heart attack." Miles says as he crosses his legs and sits down next to Breaker.

"Is... that good?" I ask.

"No." Miles says bluntly. "It means that he's becoming immune to them. Soon he won't be able to gain any of their benefits without drinking them by the gallons."

"So... he dying then." Twilight asks.

"Welcome to the club." Miles says as he stands up. "Storm. I need to have a word with you in private." I nod and follow after him to the kitchen, where he pace back and forth.

"What are we going to do about this?" I ask.

"You tell me." He says as eh stops pacing and looks to me. "He's your brother, what do you wish to do?"

"What?! Don't pin this on me! You're the captain, you should make the call!"

"My call is whatever you wish to make. In all honesty, he's dead no matter what. I can maybe fix some of the damage, but he will never be able to take the armor off. In addition to that, he will need daily dosages of red potions. What do you think?" I gawk at him for a second before I look away and try to think of an answer. What am I going to do....

With a heavy heart I finally make my way back up the stairs to Breaker. I can't believe I'm about to do this. I walk up to him as he finishes talking with Twilight. They seem to be working out some rough patches, but at least it seems to be going by well enough.

"... so, yeah. Sorry." Breaker finishes before they look back to me. "So, I have a sister apparently. I'm glad for you... whats going to happen now?"

"First you and me are going to have a talk about the Darkness, then Miles has your punishment downstairs. Are you ready?" He sighs before nodding, letting a tear roll down his face. I look to Twilight and wait for her to leave. She leans down to Breaker and gives him a light peck on the cheek before leaving us.

"You've got a very special wife Cloud. Please, take care of her."

"I will. Now, what really happened all those years ago between you and me?"

"*sigh* it... was stupid. Father wanted one us to go join the royal guard, but neither of us wanted to go. So he tested us to see who would go and... I loss. I challenged you to a fight in private and... yeah. It was a trap. I was asking for a sparring partner and when you weren't looking I hit you over the head with a mace. I'm so sorry Cloud. I... if I could go back..."

"Its alright, lets just keep going. Who are the darkness? What are their goals and ambitions? Why do they sound like wanna be Nightmare Moons?"

"Heh, that would really insult them. Their goals are completely different from Nightmare Moons. They don't want to get rid of the sun, or keep the moon out all of the time. They think of death as the greatest form of darkness, and they want to destroy all life. I don't know how they're going to do it, but I know that its their leaders greatest goal."

"And who are their leaders?"

"There are four of them. You know War, also know as Tirek. Then next in line is Famine. After him it's Pestilence. And then... there's Death. I've never met him. Heard him. Or even been in the same building as him, but I know he's bad news."

"How do you know he's bad news?"

"Well... his name is death. Come on, what more is there then that?" I give him a stern look, so he sighs and continues. "OK, there is a rumor that... he... uses souls to strengthen himself." I couldn't help but laugh a bit from how ridiculous it sounded, but Breaker just continued. "They say that he is the harbinger of death, sent here to escort the lost souls back to their final resting places. But one day, something happened. He changed, became obsessed with the ideology of eternal death. He believes that if you stay in the middle stage of death and life, there will be no more souls to roams the planet..."

"Breaker, that sounds crazy..."

"I know it does! But those are the rumors. And... then... there's... b-brother... that's all of it... there aren't anymore questions... are there."

"No, there aren't." I say as I stand up. He holds his mouth shut as he starts to tear up again.

"O-OK. I'll go. Please... maybe not today, but... do you think you could ever forgive me?" I walk over to him and lift him onto my back before walking towards the stairs.

"Maybe. There are a lot of things you have to atone for, but... someday brother." I hear him cry a bit, sounding a bit... happy. I make it the the stairs and start making my way down carefully.

"Brother... I haven't been called that in... a long time. I've missed it... heh. I remember the time you and me were little, I just entered flight school, and some bullies started picking on me, but you came to defend me, you always did. We were the know from then on as the Storm brothers, getting into trouble, fighting to protect one another, stealing from the cookie jar..." He pauses when we make it to the bottom and start to head towards the door. "... good memories." I walk out and set him down in front of Miles. He gulps as he kneels before him and holds his head up, looking him deep in the eyes.

"Storm Breaker. I condemn you..."

"There's one last thing I need to tell you." Breaker interrupts. "They know all about you Miles, the Darkness as well. I don't know how, but they know plenty about the lost Spartan."

"The... lost Spartan?"

"That's what your people called you when you never came back. Be careful when you deal with them, they know you." Miles nods as he sets a hand ablaze. Breaker just closes his eyes and waits for it.

I close my eyes and wait for my judgement. I don't want to die, but if brother feels this is best, then I will accept it. I feel an energy begin to enter and force its way through my body. Here it is, I'm so sorry brother.

"There, it's done." The human says as he lets go of me. I hold my eyes shut for a bit until I realize that I can hold my head up now. I open my eyes and....

"Hello... Breaker."

"M-mother..." Standing before me is... my mother. Behind her are some guards from the estate, guarding a balloon with our business logo on it. I stare at her as she begins to creep closer to me.

"Are you ready to come home?" She asks as she steps closer to me, tears welling up in her eyes. I look back to the human in confusion. I don't understand. Am I not dying?

"Your punishment will be house arrest and information gathering for the Spartan regiment. If we ever need any information on the Darkness, you'r our go to guy. And you will answer all of our questions. You are also going to be under the care and supervision of Rain Cloud. Do as she says and be sure to take your medication."

"Breaker, it's time to go home." Mother says to me as she steps closer to me. I completely lose it, I latch onto her and begin to cry my heart out into her mane. She begins to cry as well as she hugs me back, stroking my mane and she tries to comfort me.

"I'm so sorry Mother! Please forgive me!" I sob into her mane.

"I-its going to be alright son. Lets just get you home. This nightmare is over now."

"I still think you let him off too easy." Twilight says as we watch the group of guard pegasis pull Rain Clouds balloon away.

"He learned his lesson." I say as I fold my arms. "Death is the enemies goal, not mine. Now is the time to mend broken relations, not petty revenge. You two going to be alright?"

"We'll be fine." Storm says as he wraps a wing around Twilight. "It'll be rough at first, Breaker did a lot of damage, but we'll get through it." Twilight gives Storm a light peck on the cheek before leaning onto him.

"Great, becuase I need to get to Quartz Crest as soon as soon as possible."

Next Chapter: Chapter 106 Gems Estimated time remaining: 61 Hours, 47 Minutes