"What was that?" Celestia asks as she looks around.

"Luna's been taken! What happened? Who took her?!" I demand as I approach Celestia.

"Canterlot was attacked and she just disappeared. We received a message from one of the dogs that they had her, and will kill her if we don't bring you to them..."

"Then what are we waiting for?! Lets get going!" I say as I start to climb out of the room. I swear, if they touch even one hair... before I can finish my train of thought I suddenly appear back in the concert hall with the others.

"Miles! We need you to heal Storm RIGHT NOW!" Twilight says as she grabs my hand and drags me to the stairs.

"Wait, what’s going on?" I ask as she drags me up to... oh sweet Barbra. Why is she taking me to the private rooms? She drags me into the first room, where we find Storm laying on the edge of the bed. His wing is hanging limply off the side and I can see he's trying to hide the pain. I walk up to him and kneel beside him. "Hey there brother, how’s the pain?" I ask as I take a look at his wing.

"Well... not as bad as some of the stuff you put me through," he says with a small chuckle. I remove his armor and prepare to heal him, thinking back to all of the medical stuff Twilight went over last time. I start to heal him, getting him to close his eyes and grab the sheets as I pump the energy through his body. After a few minutes of tedious concentration I finish healing him and step back.

"Alright, you should be good now, but I want you to give the new muscles a rest. So no flying for a week."

"No flying! Aw... fine. A week of being grounded beats never flying again," he says as he gets off the bed and stretches his wings out. I run out of the room and head straight for Celestia, who's talking to everyone by the DJ booth.

"Celestia! Lets get going," I say as I approach them.

"Yes, let’s..."

"I thought we had to hide here because… uh... what?" Pinkie starts to say as everyone glares at her.

"What exactly are you hiding from?" Celestia asks.

"The bots," I say as the idea comes to me. "We came here to explore the city. When the bots started attacking, we went into hiding." She looks to everyone with a skeptical look before she shakes her head.

"Fine. It’s not important right now," she says as she flares her horn. We all suddenly appear by the bulkhead, so I run over to the control box and begin to open the door.

"We're leaving? What’s going on?" Rarity asks from behind.

"Luna's been ponynapped," Celestia says bluntly, getting gasps from everyone. "The ones responsible want to trade her for Miles..."

"That's why we're leaving now," I say as the door begins to slide open. Before anyone can say anything, I walk through the door and wait for the rest of them to follow after. "Alright, the rest of you take the Mico platform and head home. Celestia and I will teleport to Canterlot and get Luna back."

"Don't you want some back up?" Storm asks as the rest head down the tunnel.

"I won't need any, lets get going," I say to Celestia, getting a nod from her as we teleport away.

When I can see again I find myself by the castle. I look around to see two lines of of dogs facing two lines of pony guards, with us in the middle, giving us almost a meter between them. The dogs hold their spears up as the ponies hold their swords; both side waiting for the other to strike.

"RRAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWW!" I look back to see a massive dragon hanging onto the side of one of the towers of the castle. It's all white with a dark blue undertone, with some kind of large wooden platform attached to its back. It lets out a large column of blue fire before letting go of the tower and gliding down behind the ranks of dogs. With a loud thud it crashes and lays down, glaring at me as smoke fumes out of its nostrils. A figure launches off of its back and lands before me. It’s a griffin, but not the one I was expecting. He's all black, with light grey undertone and a scar on his face that goes from his forehead to his left cheek, going over his eye and forcing it shut. He's wearing tight chain mail armor over his chest and has a thinner griffin sword under his right wing.

"So... you came," he says as he approaches us.

"Where is my sister?" Celestia demands.

"You will get her soon enough. First Miles must meet my masters," he says as he stares at Celestia. She is about to charge at him but stops when I hold my arm out.

"Who are you?" I ask.

"I am Olaf Quickclaw."

"And I am Miles Eremita. Take me to your so-called masters so I may put their names to the test." A large smile grows on his face as he turns to the dogs and motions to them with his head. Two of the dogs run to the other side of the dragon as Olaf returns his gaze to me.

"First rule, no weapons and no armor." I nod to him and begin to drop all of my weapons and armor.

"Miles," Celestia whispers to me, keeping her gaze on Olaf. "Are you sure you'll be able to go without your weapons?"

"I won't need them," I say as I drop my chest armor and begin to remove my bracers. When I finish, I turn back and wait for the next ruling.

"All of your armor." I blink a few times before I pull my shirt off and drop my pants down.

"The underwear stays," I say as I kick my clothes away.

"Fine by me. Next rule, only Miles may come..."

"WHAT?!" Celestia yells as she tries to charge forward, only stopping because I hold her back.

"If any others appear near our fortress, we will slit her throat and feed her corpse to the buzzards..."

"YOU WILL DO NO SUCH THING..."

"CELESTIA!" I yell as I jump in front of her. "Trust me on this one. I will get her back, safe. But I need you to stay here and keep Canterlot and Ponyville safe."

"What!? Do you really think they would try another attack?"

"Maybe, but its better to be safe than sorry. Send a letter to Storm and Big Mac. Tell them I said to keep watch over Ponyville until I return. Got it?" She looks back to Olaf before looking back to me.

"Very well... but, please... bring my sister back." I nod to her and step towards Olaf.

"I believe I said to remove all of your armor," he says as he points to my arm.

"These are power restraints, I don't think you want me removing them." He thinks about it for a second before he nods and looks back to see the two dogs running up with a large black pot. The pot is filled with a black sludge that gives off a pungent odor that reminds me of tar.

"Alright, next rule. No magic. Dip your hands and feet into the cauldron." I nod and do as he says. Having the black substance on me feels odd. I feel as if there's a part of me missing... or just distant. "Alright, follow me to Rex and we'll get going," he says as he turns and starts to walk towards the dragon. I turn around to Celestia and take a few breaths before talking.

"Alright. I'll try my best to make this go quickly, but I can't give an exact time."

"Thank you Miles. This means a lot to me," she says as she looks away. I think she still dislikes me, but after this I wish to at least have her respect. I turn and walk to the large wooden construction on the dragon, it has two rows of... seats? They're not really seats - there's a ledge sticking straight out of the floorboard, going out about half a meter. A rope is tied into the center of the ledge and goes up two meters before it goes back into the wood. There are six of these ledges, three on each side. The front and back two have been taken by dogs while the one to the left has been taken by Olaf. I climb a rope ladder and take my spot next to him.

"REX! LETS FLY!" Olaf yells getting a roar in response. With a mighty leap the dragon takes off into the air, flapping its wings as we fly higher into the air. I hold onto the rope as I place a foot against the ledge. "Alright!" Olaf yells over the wind. "This is going to be a two day flight, so get comfortable." I continue to stare forward as I begin to mentally prepare for what I'm about to endure.

I spent the entire trip in silence, meditating for the inevitable. We went over vast expanses of water, over mountains and through two storms, but I stayed vigilant, waiting for our destination. Once a day they would apply more of the black sludge to my hands and feet, and every time I would just nod and stare forwards, waiting for our destination. We finally begin to make our descent towards a mountain. Most of the plant life on this mountain seems to be dry, making the mountain appear a light tan color. The top of the mountain has been leveled to make room for a giant, dark grey castle. It's square in shape and has four tall towers at each of the corners. The main entrance is a large wooden door that stands two stories tall. A large trench has been dug around the compound and is filled with water. We land in front of the massive door and stretch of water.

"Here we are, Dragonsfell," Olaf says as he flies off of the saddle. I jump off and begin to walk towards the main gate, pausing when hundreds of people show up on top of the walls with bows and arrows pointing towards us. I could see dogs, ponies, griffons, humanoid scaly people, and young dragons all on the wall.

"Halt! Who goes there?" yells one of the scaly people.

"I am Miles Eremita, Captain of the Spartan regiment," I yell back as I continue to walk towards the gate.

"What do shadows long for?" I pause and look up to him, not knowing what he means.

"Eternal darkness," Olaf yells as he walks up beside me. All of the archers lower their bows as the gate slams down."If you really want to die, then go ahead and walk off without me again," he says as he begins to cross the bridge. I follow after him, glancing around at all of the creatures within. The compound is one central building with high walls going around it, giving several meters between the two. In the open area people are going about their typical business, moving weapons, training, stacking boxes.

"What are they?" I ask as I stare at one of the scaly men.

"They are orcs. A cruel twist of reptiles from the Pit. Do yourself a favor, don't stare at them." Though he said not to, I can't help but stare. They're almost three meters tall, with scaly green skin, long thick tails, and with faces only a mother could tolerate. It seriously looks like one of the pig faces from Applejack's farm squished down to fit a human head. I stop staring long enough to enter the center building. We enter a long hallway of grey stone and black flags hanging on the walls. We continue down the hall, passing door after door. We finally make it to the end of the hall and face the last door. "Alright, my master awaits," Olaf says as he opens the door and ushers me in.

The inside is a large open room, with tall windows filling the walls that are lined with guards. They all wear chain mail and have black helmets. The far end of the room is blocked off by a long black curtain. Olaf walks me to the center of the room and walks towards the curtain, stopping halfway and bowing before it.

"Master, I bring you Miles Eremita."

"Good. Good. Welcome, Miles Eremita, I have a proposition for you," says a deep voice from behind the curtain. I stay silent and allow him to continue. "It has come to my understanding that you are dying. I wish to help. Swear loyalty to me, give in to the Darkness and I shall save you from your inevitable fate..."

"Where's Luna?" I demand.

"Ah yes, the blue one," he says as a portion of the curtain moves aside to reveal Luna... no, that's not Luna. This one seems somewhat happy, giving a light spring to her step as she trots over to me.

"Hello Miles, I'm glad..."

"Is this a joke? Cause I'm not laughing. I want Luna. The real Luna. You won't get my answer until I see her. And if you take longer than a minute to get her here, then it's a no." The room falls silent. I start counting the seconds, getting to fifty four before a loud snap rings in the room. A column of black smoke swirls around before me and dissipates, revealing the real Luna. She's laying on the ground before me, looking away from me. She seems to have been beaten, having bruises all over her body... why won't she look at me? "Luna," I call out, only to get her to close her eyes as she looks farther to her left. "Luna, please look at me." I see a tear roll down her face as she slowly looks up at me. On the right side of her face is a crusty white stain covering a large, dark bruise.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I scream out as I flare the portal on my back, sending the lines over my entire body. When the lines make it to the black sludge it begins to burn it off, eventually getting to my hands and heels, igniting them. I throw my left arm out, making a bright light that stuns everyone in the room. I bring my left hand in front of me and prepare to attack. My hand has become imbued with the Laminas Lucis - an energy trench knife that has a single-edged blade that goes out for about half a meter, and has long spikes that come out from my knuckles. The spikes are twenty centimeters long and point straight out. The entire blade is a conglomerate of different colors swirling around, surrounded by a white light.

"KILL HIM!" yells the voice, making every guard charge at me. I run at Olaf and punch him in the chest before he can draw his sword. Laminis Lux seems to negate armor, going straight into his body without any resistance. I begin to pull the spike upwards, moving through his body with very little fight. I begin to pull a white wisp from his body, making his face become emotionless. With a hard yank I tear out the wisp, making it disappear. His body falls limply to the side. He's still alive... though the same could not be said for his soul.

ANINMA VESTRA MORTE ET SCIENT

"ANINMA VESTRA MORTE ET SCIENT!"

ANINMA VESTRA MORTE ET SCIENT

I scream as I dodge an orcs blade. I swing my Laminas Lucis across his chest, pulling out a chunk of a green wisp. He staggers back and holds onto his chest as more and more guards charge at me. I duck, dodge, dive and roll away from the frenzy of blades trying to stab and slash at me, punching a few of them along the way. An orc tackles me and charges forward, slamming me into a wall. I take my right hand and slam it onto his armor, melting it and making him scream in agony. I push him away from me with my legs and take control of the molten metal with my right hand, turning it into a long whip. I swing my right hand and send the fiery whip around a griffins neck, yanking him back as I slice my left hand at a pony next to me, sending a brown wisp into the air. I charge forward and begin attacking anything in sight, cutting souls, burning bodies, it all becomes a blur of my wrath as I spin my whip from person to person, stabbing and punching at those who get too close. When I start to get overwhelmed I spin my arms around, breaking all of the glass windows and sending the shards around in a vortex.

"ENOUGH!" yells an orc from behind, making me drop all of the glass. I turn around slowly to see him holding a terrified Luna against himself as he holds a knife against her throat. "Now you lose..." Before he can finish I punch forwards with my Laminas Lucis, sending a white blast through the orc, killing his soul. He drops the blade and Luna as he falls back. With his death, the only remaining enemy is the one behind the curtain, so I slash my whip at the curtain, burning it and revealing him. He looks... odd. His bottom half seems to be that of a very large pony, while the top half seems to be that of a human. His chest and neck seem to be all black fur, where his arms and face are blood red. His ears go out to the side for a bit, twitching to every sound in the room. A thin necklace hangs around his neck, ending in a small brown bag. He carries one of those spear swords in his left hand, this one being embellished with silver etchings. He stands about as tall as one of the orcs.

"Suffering... is magic," he says as he reaches up with his right hand and opens the bag. A column of darkness shoots out from it and slams straight into my chest, sending me into the wall behind. I fall to my feet and charge at him, sending my whip at him. He covers his weapon in the cloudy darkness and catches the whip with it as he charges at me. I punch forward as he slices at me, causing a massive explosion that sends us both flying back. I stagger back to my feet and stare at him as he does the same.

"What is it you want? What are you... who are you?" I ask as I approach him.

"MUAHAHAHa, you mean you don't know? HA! I am Tirek. A centaur from the purge, sent here by the rainbow of light. I am here to take my rightful place as ruler of darkness. Now... as for what I want, that's simple, in fact I'll make a deal with you. Tell me how you make the archaic circles, and I'll let you and your little pony go."

"Why do you want to know that?"

"DO NOT TEST ME BOY! TELL ME OR FACE THE WRATH OF THE RAINBOW OF DARKNESS!" he yells as he takes his stance. I glance over to see Luna looking between the two of us. I don't think I've ever seen her this scared before.

"No."

"THEN DIE!" He yells as he shoots the dark rainbow at me. I bring up Laminas Lucis and create a white shield before me, blocking the attack with total ease. The room suddenly fills with the black smoke, so I take a readied stance and prepare for anything. When the smoke clears I look around for him, but he's gone. I return Laminas Lucis to its gem state, making me drop my magic. I run over to Luna and catch her as she collapses.

"Hey, hey, hey, you’re alright. I've got you," I say as I hold onto her.

"Miles... you came for me..." she says weakly.

"We have to get out of here, can you use your magic?"

"No... they... put this sludge..." she starts to say but stops as she starts to cry.

"Shhh, shhh, it’s alright. It’s over now," I say as I hold her against myself. "I'm going to get you out of here, just hold on." I pull her onto my back, getting her to put her forehooves over my shoulders as I carry her out of the castle. I keep an eye out for any enemies, but as we exit the building I can see them evacuating the compound. I continue to carry Luna out, making it past the gate and down the path a bit before I stop and set her down.

"Miles... what are you doing?" Luna asks as I face the castle. I bring up my magic, feeling it going straight to max for some reason, and push both of my palms at the building. A gigantic white beam shoots out from my hands, crashing into the building and causing a massive explosion that shakes the ground. When the smoke clears, all that is left is a pile of rubble and a massive fire.

I slam open the door to my study and pace about, angry beyond belief. That damned fool! I'll end him. If it’s the last thing I do I swear that I'll...

"So, things didn't work out," Steelwing says from the side as he slices a piece of apple into his mouth.

"KNOW YOUR PLACE!" I bark at him as I continue to pace around.

"Well, what did you expect him to do when you ordered me to do what I did? We need to move on," he says as he tosses the apple aside.

"Move on? Move on... yes. Our plans can still come to fruition. We just need to be patient. We move on. Go to your contact and have them move on to stage four. We will come back to stage three when the time is right."

"Very well. What do you plan on doing for the time being, then?"

"For now, we go into exile. We must lull them into a sense of false security before we strike... patience. I must call the other masters forth - they will need to be utilized after all."

"To the Pit?"

"Yes."

Shout out to halfdemonspartan for picking the color scheme for the dragon. Thanks for reading, if you know where this villain comes from, then Brony to you! Brony on!