"Wait..." Zula's voice echoed. "So you aren't here to harm us?"

"Thor'lok no like being bad. Thor'lok promised friends for doing good, by keeping friends inside this room." Thor'lok replied.

"I have a name, you know! IT'S RUBY!" Ruby shouted.

Zula said, "You have to listen to our story."

"King Goldheart... was someone else supposed to assist me in assassinating the upper halves of the tower?!" Justin asked through his headpiece.

"I assure you, I'm not your threat." Zero replied.

"You aren't here for my daughter and I, are you?" Justin asked.

"Not in the way you might think..." Zero said in response.

"Zure odol traizio duzu, anaia." "You have betrayed your own blood, brother." Stonefist whispered to Thor'lok, before impaling him with a scimitar.

Justin spat a small puddle of blood out, and looked up with a glare.

"Today... I'M KILLING THAT ASSHOLE TODAY!" Justin's voice echoed.

As soon as the explosions went off, large swarms of black and red-armored Diamond Dogs, Gryphons, and Minotaurs all ran towards the opened front gate. From the distance, they saw a large number of rebels headed their way; one striking fear in the Elites of the group; the king of Diamond Peak. Without hesitation, he turned to leave; the others around him running to battle.

Justin drew his bow and shot a Ghost Arrow towards the top of the tower that he and Zero recently left. As the arrow flew in the air, he took the hands of Pinkie Pie, Gilda, Stealth, and Zero. Then, in the matter of seconds, the five of them flew into a gust of wind, before re-appearing in the proper spot.

Quickly the five of them ran over the gates; slightly crouched to avoid detection, while in the room below them, Topaz and his group rushed through the hallways; slicing through the enemies that swarmed them.

Topaz looked to his right and sliced the midsection of a Minotaur, while a pair of "Black Wings" Diamond Dogs leaped up to stab him in the back while he was crouched. Before they could reach him, though, the two of them were blasted away by a Diamond Dog with two pistols, who was about to be stabbed in the back by a Minotaur with a spear. Topaz used that time to break the spear with his sword while the Diamond Dog turned both pistols towards him and fired towards his skull.

From a short distance behind them, the Slithian and female Minotaur both held their rifles and fired at the crowd of Diamond Dogs that started scaling the walls. As a few were standing up, the Slithian fired at the claws of the ropes they used to climb; sending several down. The Minotaur fired at them as they made it over the boundaries, before kicking the claws down. In the matter of seconds, though, they were outnumbered, as many more Black Wings soon started to swarm them.

The Slithian looked at the Minotaur and said, "Up!"

The Minotaur nodded her head and aimed her rifle towards the ceiling. Then, as soon as she fired the rifle, a ghost bullet flew out; sending her towards the ceiling while the Slithian stretched her tail out and spun in a quick circular motion; sending most of the Black Wings towards the edges, and out of the room; a fall to their deaths on the other side.

When she landed back on the ground, the Minotaur aimed her rifle at one of the five who managed to dodge the Slithian's "tail whip", and fired at him, while the Slithian shot another one with hers. Then, once their rifles were recharged, they fired at the other two, as the fifth one rushed towards them; a Minotaur carrying a claymore over his shoulders; dangerously close to the two ladies who felt a sudden sense of panic. The next thing they knew, the Minotaur with the claymore flew into the wall; a red flaming arrow attached to his skull through the left temple.

The Slithian and Minotaur looked towards the direction the arrow came from and bowed their heads respectfully, as they continued through the hallway.

From across the area and one floor above, Justin nodded his head in response to the ladies who bowed their heads respectfully. Then, as he lifted his bow, he, Pinkie, Gilda, Zero, and Stealth continued down the hallway, inching closer to the leader's chambers; Justin firing his bow with fire arrows, Pinkie remaining a safe distance, but bucking the closest Black Wings with one of her hooves, Gilda slicing them with a pair of scimitars, Zero slicing through them with his Ninjato Sword, and Stealth firing at the Black Wings with two pistols.

Once they made it to the room, Justin turned towards the group and said, "Y'all cover me! I need to make sure Ruby's okay!"

The group nodded their heads in acknowledgement, and stood in defensive positions around the entrance.

With a kick, the door to the bedroom swung open as Justin ran inside, scanning the entirety of the room from left to right. "Ruby? Are you in... here?" He stopped in place at the sight of the massive hole in the wall on the other side. Carefully, he looked around the room and found the plate of food on the floor, and the mirror on the wall in the right hand of the fireplace.

He groaned in annoyance and walked closer to the carpet in front of the fireplace. Then he stopped in place, and gasped. Not too far from the fire was a few small drops of blood. The sight caused his face to form a glare. "That... better not be what I think it is..." Then he looked around a little more, and found another sight that caused his anger to build up; a few long strands of red hair not too far from the blood.

Lifting the strands up, his hands started to shake. "Don't worry, Ruby... I will not let them harm you anymore!" He then stood up and looked at the entrance. "On me, everybody! She isn't in here!"

At his command, the others nodded their heads and ran into the room; taking in the sight first, before following Justin past the hole in the wall.

From inside the dining hall, Stonefist looked at the soldiers who ran inside; the ones who interrupted him from delivering the final blow to the Zebra. "So... the Human has finally figured it out, huh? Very well, then... give him my regards... and make it as quick as your hooves and paws can move!"

The soldiers nodded their heads and punched their chests, then turned towards the entrance to the dining room, only to be stopped by the sound of an angry male shouting. "STONEFIST!"

In unison, the soldiers turned their heads towards the group headed their way. Stonefist hummed to himself before pointing at the door. "Close it... and lock it with Magic!"

The soldiers nodded their heads and ran to the door; a large group of them leaving the room to fight the group on the other side. Altogether, four of them stayed inside, while twelve ran outside.

Before the doors shut, however, a ghost arrow made its way inside the room. Despite the doors shutting and the Magic locks sealing it shut, Justin appeared inside the room, and glared at the Minotaur who stood over his daughter's unconscious body, his injured friend, and the other Minotaur that looked like he was barely breathing.

Without saying a single word, Justin drew his staff and aimed it at the four guards at the door who began running his way. Before they could even take two steps towards him, however, they all combusted into flames; and in a split second after their combustion, their ashes flew into the wall; covering it in a red and black-colored pile of sand-like coal.

Then Justin slowly turned towards Stonefist, who didn't seem to even react to the loss of his guards, or the death glare that Justin was giving him. In fact, he merely smiled and slowly clapped his hands, as he slowly walked towards the enraged Human.

"Well done, Human! I see you haven't lost your touch, since that scrap you had with Iron-Hoof. Tell me... how does it feel? Knowing that you are a failure of a parent, who couldn't even keep his daughter safe for a measly five minutes?" Justin's grip on his staff strengthened to the point his knuckles gave out a cracking noise.

"Or better yet... how does it feel to learn that you just made the most foolish mistake of your life in merely passing that door? Don't you realize that it's sealed with a spell that only I can dispel?"

Justin didn't reply with words. Instead he lifted his staff up; aiming the tip at Stonefist's face, ready to fire.

"I wouldn't do that, if I were you... you wouldn't want anything to happen to your daughter now, would you?" As he asked that, he quickly levitated Ruby in-between the two of them, grinning slyly.

The sight of Ruby levitating caused Justin's eyes to widen. "Ruby?!" Then he glared at Stonefist again; his staff shaking from his clenched hands. After pondering the situation, he sighed and shook his head. "You're a sick bastard, Stonefist... I hope you're ready for what lies ahead..."

Stonefist chuckled again, before replying, "On the contrary, Justin..." Justin's eyes widened at the mentioning of his name. Before his eyes were even fully opened, however, Stonefist appeared next to his left ear, and whispered, "...I'm not the one who should be getting ready."

Zula, who was lying next to Thor'lok on her stomach, slowly leaned up, faced Justin, and shouted, "LOOK OUT!"

At that sudden statement, Justin noticed the location of Thor'lok's wound, and decided he was about to jab towards his right kidney. With that in mind, Justin quickly jumped to the left, lifted his staff in a defensive position, and bashed Stonefist's scimitar into the air, only for it to fly back into his hands, and allow him a chance to chop downwards. Instinctively, Justin held his staff horizontally, and managed to block the attack.

"Ah... a Shimmerwood Staff! Those are quite valuable and rare... I'll be sure to take it from your corpse, once I'm done with you... could make a nice trophy!" In a puff of black smoke, Stonefist quickly materialized an identical scimitar in his left hand and lowered it for a stab.

Anticipating the attack, Justin quickly twirled his staff counter-clockwise; causing Stonefist's arms to cross, and giving Justin a chance to roll behind him and kick his lower back with his left boot. The results caused Stonefist to fly three meters forward, and roll on the ground, before standing back up, and landing on his hooves with a menacing smile. "Oh, I don't think so!"

Quickly, Stonefist crossed both of his scimitars overhead and slid them together. As they slid, they made the usual grinding noise of blades, before the blades of both swords expanded in size; forming massive claymore-sized scimitars; seemingly capable of slicing entire groups of targets in half in one swing.

"Let's see you block this!" Stonefist shouted, as he leaped into the air and prepared for a downward chop with both blades in unison.

Not wanting to take any chances, Justin quickly placed the staff on his back, drew his bow, and shot a ghost arrow out of range for the attack. Then, once he appeared on the other side, he gasped when he saw Stonefist disappear before even landing.

Nervously, Justin turned around; an arrow still drawn, and ready to fire. Then, in the matter of seconds, Stonefist appeared behind him, and whispered, "Bego, Giza." "Rest in peace, Human."

A split second after he whispered that statement, Justin vanished in a cloud of smoke the exact same second that Stonefist lunged his right sword left.

He hummed in confusion, before looking around. Just a mere second of searching later, he ended up getting the wind kicked from his lungs, as a pair of fur-covered boots bashed his back extra strongly; sending him flying across the room, and into a circular table.

Grunting in pain, he slowly stood up, before smirking. "Well... looks like the Human isn't as flawless as he thought... is he?" As he asked that, he raised his right scimitar in the air; revealing a small string of blood on it.

Justin glared intensely at him, as he held the left side of his stomach with his right hand; a small hint of blood covering his hand in the process. "I'd hate to break it to you... but I wouldn't get too comfortable, if I were you."

Stonefist tilted his head in confusion. "Oh? And how is that, exactly?"

With a sly grin, Justin replied, "Why don't you look down, and find out?"

The second he finished that sentence, Stonefist's eyes widened, as the sound of a high-pitched beeping sounded off. Looking down, he gasped when he saw that his rings and necklaces were removed, his scimitars were no longer in the area, and there was a bomb between his legs on the floor. "W-WHAT?! HOW?!" He yelled, as Justin lifted a small handheld device in his right hand; armed with nothing more than a red button.

"Simple... I disarmed you while you weren't looking... the beauties of ghost arrows, how you can choose what goes with you while you're in 'Spectral Form'." Justin replied casually, before aiming his bow towards Ruby, Zula, and Thor'lok. Then, after releasing the arrow, he appeared behind his two friends and acquaintance. Then he looked at Zula and asked, "Is he on our side?"

She nodded her head, which made Justin nod his head. "Alright, then... hold onto him and Ruby, please."

Zula did as requested, while Justin pressed the button on the device, and shot an arrow towards the opposite wall; a ghost arrow that went through the wall which, in the long run, was on a course for "The Snowflake"; the ship that he and his friends rode up to Fort Shivercrest. As the arrow flew in the air, Justin quickly picked Ruby up and took Zula's hand. "Everyone should be heading towards our ride, now. Be sure to take care of Ruby for me, as I check and make sure everyone's out, before this bomb goes off."

Then he pointed his emerald ring towards Stonefist, and created a large amount of vines from the walls, the ceiling, and the floor; each of which firmly gripped him by the wrists, hooves, and neck. He fiercely shook his arms and legs; attempting to break free. Regardless of his strength, though, he quickly found that there was no escaping his fate.

A few moments later, Justin grinned mischievously, before using nature magic to create another vine from the ground that lifted the bomb onto the wall... right in-between Stonefist's thighs; causing his eyes to widen. Before he could scream out of fear, though, a pile of leaves flew into his mouth, while a group of bugs from within the cracks of the walls climbed from the vines into his mouth; muffling his voice entirely.

Then, once the arrow finally landed, Justin, Ruby, Zula, and Thor'lok disappeared into a white smoke, which flew through the walls, and towards the massive ship.

From the other side of the dining hall, the group of heroes stood in a circle; staring around the piles of corpses of the guards that tried to attack them. Gilda then ran up to the doors and tried to kick it open; only for an unknown force to push her back, and into the arms of Pinkie, who caught her without even noticing. "Gilda! Are you alright?!" She asked concernedly, before looking at the door.

Gilda groaned in pain, before nodding her head. "Yeah... damn place is under magical lock-down, now! Who in the name of Tartarus even put that in this dump?!"

Stealth shrugged his shoulders, before commenting, "Well, mate... any other ideas?"

As if on cue, Justin appeared from a puff of smoke, and said, "We don't have much time... Stonefist is unaware of me being here, but I need to let you guys know what I'm planning!"

Pinkie ran up to him and was about to hug him, only for him to raise his left hand to stop her. "No, Pinkie... he got me, I can feel it."

She raised an eyebrow out of confusion, only to lower her gaze at the side of his stomach that he was holding, and gasp. "Oh, no! You're hurt!"

"It's alright, Pinkie... I've lived through worse. Now, I need you all to get out of here... I left a bomb where I warped from, and he didn't seem to notice it... but right now, he's on the other side of the door. And besides... this isn't really me talking to you all, so you'll just go through me. I'm just an illusion created from a ghost arrow... a new trick I learned on the boat ride up here. Anyways, listen up! By the time I press the button, there will be a two minute timer for the bomb to go off, and it should be enough to destroy this whole place... so I need you all to gather up as much survivors as you can, and meet me on The Snowflake to take care of Ruby, Zula, and anyone else that's injured, and on the ship. Okay?"

Pinkie nodded her head, before replying, "W-well... okay, but what about you, though?!"

Justin smiled and nodded his head. "I'll be there, too. I'll just have to do a quick sweep around the area, and make sure there's no survivors left behind."

Pinkie shook her head, and then replied, "No! You need someone to take care of your wounds!"

"Ruby is the top priority for me, Pinkie... if she dies, then I will... but if I die, then she shouldn't... and besides that, I'd rather put my own life on the line, than anyone else's. Okay?"

With a long sigh, Pinkie nodded her head. "Okay, then... but be careful, Justin!"

Justin weakly smirked, before replying, "Hate to break it to you, Pinkie Pie... but I ain't really known to be the 'careful' type." With that, he disappeared into a cloud of white smoke, as the alert devices in everyone's pockets began to vibrate.

Gilda looked at hers, and then said, "Looks like the timer started... we need to go!"

Zero nodded his head, and then replied, "Alright, then... let's get back to the ship, and-"

"You're not going anywhere!" A gruff-sounding voice said from the far-right corner of the hallway.

In unison, the group assumed a defensive position, as one-by-one, more Black Wings started appearing from the hallways. "You think we'll just let you go like that? Sorry to burst your bubble, but... we aren't gonna go down without a fight! We'll take you all to Tartarus with us!"

"What if I sent you all there, first?" A low-pitched voice spoke from the far-right corner; catching the attention of the large wave of soldiers. Then, in the matter of seconds, the entire crowd was flung into the air by none other than King Goldheart himself; wielding his massive sword in both hands. Beside him, Boulder charged into the crowd with a tower shield; acting as the blunt force of the blow.

Gilda chuckled at him, before saying, "Took your sweet time, huh?"

Goldheart shrugged his shoulders, before replying, "Well, when there's just two verses hundreds, you should expect a small delay, at least!"

Then he motioned his head towards the direction he and Boulder came from. "There's no more survivors left in here. They've all been freed, thankfully. They're already on their ways home though the other ships. All that we need is your friends, you, Boulder, and I."

Deciding to take the king's advice, the group followed him out of Fort Shivercrest, and into The Snowflake.

As soon as the fort exploded, the ship was already sailing through the snow, and towards Port Greenhold again. In the medical room, Ruby was awake again, and worriedly looking at her dad, who was lying in bed, now unconscious due to blood loss.

"Please, Daddy... please be okay..." She said through tears, as she lowered her head on her dad's chest; sobbing heavily.

Pinkie looked concernedly at the little filly, before walking up to her, and wrapping her right arm around Ruby's shoulders. "It's okay... he's gonna be fine! I may not know him as good as you, but as far as I can tell, he's probably too hardheaded to let a wound keep him down!"

Ruby chuckled slightly at Pinkie's comment, before looking up at her. "That... does sound like him... doesn't it?"

Suddenly, an unexpected realization hit Pinkie Pie, once she got a good look at Ruby's appearance. "Wait a minute... are you an... Alicorn?!"

Ruby sighed, before shrugging her shoulders. "I don't even know, anymore... I mean, everyone else says that I am, but... I wasn't always an Alicorn, to be honest. I wasn't even from this world... and neither was Daddy, here."

Pinkie's surprised expression turned into a concerned one again. "Oh... yeah, your Daddy told me that you both weren't from around here... but he did let me know how much you mean to him... and that he would even carry you to the other end of the world, if that's what it would take to get you home safely."

"... And back, if necessary..." a groggy voice grumbled from the bed.

With wide eyes, both Pinkie and Ruby looked at Justin, who had one eye opened, and a weak smile plastered on his face... along with a few plasters.

Disregarding the obvious injuries, Ruby quickly squeezed Justin's neck firmly, and then cheered, "DADDY! YOU'RE OKAY!"

Justin groaned in pain the second Ruby made contact, but weakly chuckled shortly after, as she released her grip and looked away; her cheeks turning red, and her expression; a sheepish smile.

"It'll take more than a sick-minded Minotaur to put me six feet under..." The two ponies stared at him with confusion. "...to kill me." Then they nodded their heads in understanding.

Ruby weakly smiled at him, and then said, "I knew you would save me, Daddy... because I love you!"

Justin shook his head, and then replied, "You could've hated me, and I still would've saved you... because you're my daughter... and for that, it's because I love you... not the other way around."

The group chuckled lightly, as the others smiled at the reunited family. And for the first time in what felt like an eternity... the father and daughter were reunited.

One week has passed since the events at Fort Shivercrest. Justin, Ruby, Pinkie Pie, Gilda, Gilded Blade, Stealth Paws, Swift Justice, Zero Gravity, Zula, Thor'lok, and even King Goldheart were on a ship that was due to take them to Drakensonia.

As they boarded, however, Justin noticed that they were circling the the island; headed slightly off from the directions that they were supposed to take. "Um... King Goldheart, isn't Drakensonia supposed to be that way?"

King Goldheart nodded his head, and then looked over the railings of the ship. At this time, everyone was looking on in confusion, as well. "I know... but if I am to leave my kingdom for the time being, I must ensure the safety of all of them... and to do that, I feel like we should check the other side, first... make sure no other outposts were set up in my absence."

Justin nodded his head. "True... good call. Y'know... you're a good king... but now, I think you're a great friend." With a smile, Justin held his right hand out, which caused King Goldheart to chuckle heartily, before shaking his head in response.

"Can't say you're the first to claim me a friend... but you surely are the first to give the proper handshake!" Then he walked towards the dining area of the ship, with Justin following him shortly after.

Inside the Dining area, Justin noticed Gilded Blade and Zero talking to each other about something in the backgrounds, while Swift Justice sat between them; trying to flirt with Zula, who rolled her eyes occasionally. On another side, Thor'lok and Ruby were... playing "patty cake" with each other. Justin would've objected that kind of behavior, had it not been made clear that Thor'lok was apparently raised lacking knowledge on romance... and as such, he was more of an overgrown child, which Justin felt Ruby should be able to socialize with... with proper supervision, of course.

Then King Goldheart filled a pair of mugs with, what appeared to be, a red juice of some sort. "Don't worry, Justin... it isn't a salted beverage, so it's safe for kids, too." Giving the counter a few hard knocks, he managed to get the attention of the entire room. "First off, I know this may seem sudden, but... I would like to give a toast to our valiant success one week ago, in the rescue of my kingdom!" Then he raised his mug in the air, while everyone else raised their mugs on the tables that were set out for them. They, of course, were told not to drink any of it until given instructions.

"Now, I know some of us might not be thirsty at this time, but I insist... we all must need some refreshments, after such a hard week of recovery, eh?"

Justin chuckled lightly, before shrugging his shoulders. "Well... it smells like Grape Juice, so... sure, why not?" Then he raised his mug in the air, and said, "For victory!"

"Victory!" The others said in unison, before they all took a sip of their drinks.

At first, things seemed normal. Then, after a few moments of silence, the group started falling on the tables, one-by-one. Justin's vision started to blur, as he looked around in confusion, before noticing King Goldheart standing there; his drink untouched.

"W-what... what's going..." Justin began, before falling onto the counter; grasping onto it with his left hand. He then let out a gasp as he heard Goldheart let out a light chuckle.

"Please do understand, friend... it is for the good of my kingdom." Then he snapped his right finger, as the doors to the dining area opened up.

From outside, a large group of figures dressed in Black Wing uniforms walked into the room; picking up the adventurers, and carrying them out, as Justin's blurred vision focused from Ruby to King Goldheart. "Y-you... you... traitor!" He mumbled, before his vision completely darkened.

Author's Notes:

Uh-oh! I bet NOBODY expected that one, huh? Honestly, when I said that Season 2 will be longer, I meant it! We didn't even scratch the surface of what The Highlands has to offer!

Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and expect another one eventually! Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but eventually! (And hopefully soon, too!)