I opened my eyes slowly, having fallen asleep on the cot in Zecora’s house. Cadence, who had been under my arm when I passed out the previous night, was nowhere to be seen, and I was left alone in the small room. I got to my feet and stretched, noticing that whatever potion Zecora had given me the previous day had worked better than I thought, and yawned loudly.

“Jesus, babies don’t sleep that well,” I said, scratching my chin. I took a quick glance around the room, getting a good glance at my surroundings, and gasped when my eyes fell on my sword. It sat on the floor next to the cot, broken into three pieces.

It must have shattered when the cave collapsed, I thought, clenching my fist angrily. Doesn’t matter, though, I realized, pulling my crystal from my back pocket, ‘cause I’ve got this!

Something about it seemed wrong, though. As I gazed at the black gem, I remembered what I had become when I gained the title and powers of the Obsidian King. After everything I had been through, using it didn’t seem like the right thing to do.

“Not like I have much choice, though,” I muttered, slipping the gem back into my pocket. “I’ll need all the help I can get to fight Sanguis and save Allen.” I grabbed the broken sword and quickly exited the house, hoping to find Cadence and Zecora and plan my next move.

~-~-~-~-~

I walked down an open path leading away from the house for a couple of minutes, holding my broken weapon under one arm, until I found Cadence and Zecora sitting on a couple of tree stumps in a small clearing and talking. Cadence glanced over as I approached and smiled.

“Drayke!” she said happily, “Zecora and I were just thinking about checking on you. Are you feeling okay?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I am,” I said with a laugh. “I haven’t slept that good in years. What were you guys just talking about?”

Zecora cleared her throat. “We believe the sword you that possess may be a key item in your quest,” she explained in her usual mystical-rhymey way.
I nodded thoughtfully. “Perhaps,” I said slowly, “but it’s broken; it isn’t going to be a key item in anyone’s quest anymore.”

Cadence took a step forward. “There is something we could do that might fix it,” she said cautiously. “I don’t know if it will work, but it’s worth a shot.”
I shrugged. “What is it?” I asked nonchalantly. “With Sanguis in control of Allen’s power, we can use all the help we can get.”

The princess of love explained her plan. “When Allen was studying the ancient humans, he said something about how warriors would form a strong bond with their weapons, and link their own spirits to the blades. I think if we can use the energy from your crystal, we could temporarily restore the spirit of whoever wielded that sword during the war. He could help us fix it!” she exclaimed.
I grinned. “Yeah, that’s a great idea!” I said, placing the blade fragments on the ground and lining them together, and then placed my crystal on top of the center piece and waited.

“Nothing’s happening,” I said dejectedly.
Cadence narrowed her eyes. “Give it time,” she said slowly.

Just then, the sword became bathed in a reddish glow, like an ethereal flame, and exploded upwards into the air like a pillar. When the flames cleared, there was an figure on his knees, kneeling before the blade. He wore a suit of silver armor trimmed with gold, and his helmet looked like a metal eagle’s head.

The man slowly rose to his feet, and I saw he had long, smooth blonde hair. He snapped his eyes open, revealing his bright, violet irises. He looked at me and the others in confusion.

“How am I alive?” he asked, “why have you brought me here?”

I held up my hands calmingly. “Hold on, buddy,” I said slowly, “we just wanna talk. Is that cool?” I asked, smiling kindly.
The stranger stared at me for a moment before nodding slightly. “Yes,” he replied gruffly, “we can speak.”

I nodded. “Great. My name is Drayke Blackwood. This is Cadence,” I said, gesturing to the pink alicorn to my left, “and Zecora,” I added, pointing to the zebra on my right. “We want to know more about your sword.”

The man studied us for a few seconds. “Drayke, Cadence, and Zecora,” he repeated slowly, “my name is Argentum Vindex. You say you know of my sword? How is that possible? I ordered it to be sealed away,” he said, sounding upset.

I nodded. “It was, but I found it. It’s been broken, and we want to know if there is a way to fix it,” I said, directing his attention to the blade fragments at his feet. He looked down and gasped.
“The Sword of Harmony,” he said quietly, leaning down and gently stroking the blade, “I never thought I would see this blade again…”

I stared as the man petted the sword like it was a cat. “Uh… yeah,” I said slowly, “anyways, we need it fixed so we can use it to save Equestria. Can you show us how?” I asked, trying to distract the man from his blatantly obvious weapon fetish.
Argentum glanced up at me, smiling like I was a fool. “‘Use it’? My friend, you do not ‘use’ the Sword of Harmony, for it is not some weapon to be blindly swung by barbaric oafs. No, it is a tool,” he said, standing proudly, “a tool to be used by a hero that can show the way through the darkest of times. It is a symbol to rally soldiers to bravely fight battles they will most certainly lose. It is-”

“Yeah, yeah,” I sighed, waving my hand in a circular motion, “I get it: the sword is a big deal. Can you tell us how to fix it?”
Argentum glared at me. “I can,” he said slowly, “but before you are able to wield it, you must first prove to me you are worthy of its power. Face me in battle, and I will decide if you are deserving of it.” As he said this, he held his hand over the broken blade, and it rose in the air, the pieces orbiting each other. The broken ends sparked with energy that connected to the proper edges they corresponded with, and they came closer and closer together until the sword was whole once again.

I looked over at Cadence and Zecora questioningly, and they responded with slow nods. I turned back to Argentum. “I accept your challenge,” I said, pulling out my crystal as my armor and scythe formed, “but I’ve gotta warn you; I don’t fall easily.” I charged at him with my scythe held at my side, tearing it upwards as I approached, but stopped when the blade caught empty air.

“You’re a little slow,” Argentum commented, now standing to my left. Before I could react, he caught my head with a roundhouse kick that sent me spiraling into a nearby tree. I shook my head to clear my daze, and decided to take another approach as I twirled the scythe around in my hands like a baton, the blade blurring in front of me as I spun it faster and faster. When I decided I had built up enough speed, I charged at my opponent, the whirlwind of death directly in front of me.

When I got close enough, however, Argentum began to quickly dodge every sweep I took with ease; I may as well have been moving in slow motion. I tried to quicken my pace and fake him out a few times, but he would always dodge my scythe with inches to spare. Eventually, he quickly brought his sword up and caught my blade, grappling with me as we struggled to overcome one another.

“I’m… not giving up…” I growled, pushing back on the sword. Even though I was putting all of my strength into the fight, it still felt like he was just a little stronger.

“Why is that?” Argentum inquired, raising one eyebrow.

I bared my teeth, grinding the jagged toes of my boots into the ground for more leverage. “Because if I don’t get that sword, my friends will die!” I shouted, and I felt the pressure of my muscles lessen; I realized my armor had taken on strength of its own, and was bearing the weight of the fight. “I’m not letting that happen,” I added, my voice vibrating as the crystal’s energy flowed through me, causing my armor to glow bright red between its plates. A red aura surrounded my scythe, and I saw Argentum’s boots begin to scrape the dirt as I finally started to push him backward.

When I figured the time was right, I quickly took a step back and slammed Argentum with the pole of my scythe, knocking him off of his feet. Before he could react, I whirled my weapon around so the jagged top of the blade was pressed against his neck. The warrior stared at me for a few seconds, and slowly smiled.

“Drayke,” he began, “you have proven you are ready to wield the Sword of Harmony. But, before I give it to you, I want to ask: how do you think you earned it?”
I shrugged. “Because I beat you?” I asked.

Argentum shook his head. “No; you could have lost to me, and there is still a chance I would have willingly passed the sword onto you. You are worthy of the sword, not because of how hard you fought for it, but why you fought for it,” he explained. “Any hero who fights with his friends as his main goal deserves to wield this blade with no restrictions.” He held the sword by the blade and presented the handle to me, which I took carefully.

“Thank you,” I said gratefully, “but how do I use it?”

Argentum raised an eyebrow. “Have you not read the inscription?” he asked slowly.

I shrugged. “A friend read it, but I’m a little fuzzy,” I said with a nervous laugh.

Argentum cleared his throat. “The inscription reads, ‘Those who can master the Elements of Harmony shall be granted this blade’s true power’,” he said.
I nodded. “So, I’ve gotta find the Elements,” I said decisively. “Cadence, do you know where they are?”

Cadence thought about this for a moment. “They should still be embedded in the Tree of Harmony,” she said. “I don’t think it’s very far from here; we can get them right now!”

I heard low laughter, and turned to see Argentum smiling and shaking his head slowly. “Something you wanna tell us?” I asked the warrior slowly.

Argentum looked at me with his bright, purple eyes. “You are taking the inscription too literally, Drayke; you cannot master the gemstones that embody the Elements, for they are pure, unsurpassed magic. The inscription is a little more metaphorical than that.”
I threw my arms down hopelessly. “Great, a riddle!” I cried angrily. “Just what I need when I’m trying to defeat Sanguis: a fucking riddle!”

Argentum looked shocked by my words. “What did you say?” he said quietly, stepping closer, “you’re fighting Sanguis? Sanguis Cruciatus?”
I nodded slowly. “Yeah. He’s possessed a friend of mine, and kidnapped several others,” I explained. “Why, do you know him?”

Argentum lowered his head and clenched his fists. “I did more than know him,” he said sadly. “I trusted him... I would have died for him, and he betrayed me.”
I stared at him. “What did he do?” I asked gently.

Argentum looked up at me. “I believe it would be better if I showed you myself,” he said slowly, and suddenly gripped my shoulder. At that moment, everything around me faded into blinding whiteness before my vision slowly reformed, and I could hear faint voices that sounded miles away...