I opened my eyes to find myself lying in a recliner, an open book resting on my chest. I looked around sleepily to find myself still in the Golden Oaks Library, where I had fallen asleep the previous night. Something seemed off, though, but I couldn’t quite place it.

“Looking for someone?” I heard a voice say behind me. I rolled over in the chair and peeked over the back to see a pink alicorn approaching me, smiling warmly as she did.

I stared in confusion. “Why do I keep seeing you?” I asked desperately. “Even on Earth, everywhere I look I would see you, or just around the corner I would hear your voice, or,” I broke off suddenly. “Look, I don’t know what you want from me, but you’re driving me insane. Please, leave me alone,” I asked kindly.

Cadence closed her eyes and shook her head slightly. “You will discover in due time why I haven’t left your thoughts,” she said quietly. “There is only one thing you have to do.”
I narrowed my eyes. “And what is that?” I asked suspiciously.

Cadence giggled lightly. “It’s time to wake up, Drayke,” she replied in a low voice.

I snapped my eyes open once again, finding myself still lying in the recliner I had fallen asleep in. “Drayke, it’s time to wake up!” Twilight called cheerfully. I looked behind me to see Twilight standing where Cadence had been moments before.

A dream? I wondered silently, staring at the purple pony in confusion.
Twilight laughed nervously under my gaze. “You okay in there?” she asked gently.
I blinked and shook my head. “Yeah, I’m fine,” I lied. “I just had a really weird dream.”
Twilight nodded. “Yeah, I heard! You were moaning and whimpering in your sleep. Sounded like you were saying ‘Gwen’,” she explained. “What's a 'Gwen'?”

I looked ahead sadly. “She’s nobody important,” I said quietly. “Come on; let’s get this over with so I can go home.” I stood up and headed for the door, with Twilight following close behind.

“Rarity, I told you to not make me look like a fruit,” I growled as we walked through the forest, stepping over fallen logs . The unicorn had made me some kind of black longcoat, with red and gold trimming. On my hands I wore a pair of red-trimmed fingerless gloves, and I also wore a pair of fur-lined buckled boots.

I looked ridiculous.

Rarity scoffed. “Nonsense, darling, you look absolutely heroic!” she exclaimed. “Just give it a little while to sink in.”
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever, at least the sword looks nice enough,” I growled, staring at the blade I held in my hands. It had an ornately crafted, golden handle with a ruby in the hilt, and the sword shined a brilliant silver. “Where exactly are we heading?” I asked no one in particular.

Twilight spoke up. “Before he disappeared, Allen would regularly come out here to do some research on the ancient humans. He said there was a stronghold from the days of the war that still had some information he wanted to decipher,” she explained. “Maybe we can use the notes in Starswirl the Bearded’s journal to investigate a little.”

I nodded. “Ah, yes, the stronghold. My little home for a whole year while I was hunted by crystal statues,” I said with false fondness. “Good times. Let’s check it out,” I said, leading the ponies forward, and after about an hour of what felt like aimless wandering, we eventually reached the stone structure I used to call home. The stronghold looked a lot like a medieval castle, but it was about the size of a standard single-story house, and most the ceiling had caved in long before I first arrived there. I carefully investigated the rooms as my equine companions followed close behind, and after a while I sighed defeatedly.

“I don’t know what to tell you,” I said apologetically as we stood in what I had assumed was some sort of meeting room, “but there’s nothing here. Trust me, I lived here for a while, and it doesn’t look like much is out of place since I left.”
Twilight shook her head, smiling. “Drayke, you really don’t pay attention, do you?” she asked condescendingly.

I glared at the purple alicorn. “What is that supposed to mean?” I asked sharply.
Twilight motioned towards a far wall, where a large rune was carved into the rock. It looked a lot like an alchemy circle, with smaller symbols surrounding it.

“Yeah, so?” I asked with a confused shrug. “I’ve seen that thing a million times, and not once has there been anything remotely special about it.”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “It may not have any meaning to a human, but this is an ancient Equestrian rune. It means ‘secret’,” she explained.

This caught my attention. “Secret? What’s it hiding?” I asked excitedly. I knew ruins like this were famous for hiding one thing: treasure.
The alicorn sighed hopelessly. “Do you not understand what this means?” she cried angrily, “there is a rune only a pony could know inside of a human stronghold. Which would mean…?” she asked hopefully.

I stared blankly.

Pinkie Pie bounced around excitedly, and I winced as she yelled in her high-pitched voice. “Oh! Maybe some of the humans were friends with the ponies?” she asked eagerly.
Twilight nodded. “Exactly. There must have been some sort of human-pony alliance during the war that was kept under wraps. Maybe whatever is behind this wall can give us a clue as to where Allen went!” she cried excitedly.

I nodded. “Uh-huh,” I said slowly, “and how exactly are we supposed to get past it? It’s a solid stone wall.”
Twilight turned to the rune and focused her magic on it. “These ancient runes have spells that correspond with them,” she explained. “If you use the right spell on a surface with a rune, it will open up like a door!”

I watched as the rune took on a bright violet glow, and a large split formed in the center of the wall. Slowly, the two halves shifted to the side, and a secret chamber was revealed beyond.
I whistled appreciatively. “Okay, that’s impressive,” I admitted, and slowly stepped forward into the newly-revealed room.

The wall was covered in ancient banners, displaying old writings and plans, and the floor was as smooth as marble. In the center there was a circular platform topped with a small pedestal, and stabbed into the pedestal was a sword. It had a golden handle with a black grip, and the blade was a shiny white.

Fluttershy squeaked when she saw what was draped over the sword. “A SKELETON!” she wailed, and hid behind Applejack, who rolled her eyes and smiled.
“It’s nothing to be sacred of, Sugarcube,” she said reassuringly. “It’s not going anywhere.”

Just then, the skeleton clattered to the floor in front of them, causing both mares to jump back and scream. I laughed mischievously as I stood behind the sword, and wrapped both hands around it.

“Let’s just hope this isn’t one of those swords that requires someone pure of heart, or this thing isn’t going anywhere,” I muttered, and tugged at the handle. After a few moments, I felt the blade give, and I tumbled backward and fell to the floor. The six ponies laughed as I stood and brushed myself off, blushing angrily.

"Hey, what's this?" I asked suddenly, spotting a tattered map on the far wall. It seemed to display all of Equestria, with some of the major cities and kingdoms marked.
Twilight stepped up to it and looked it over with narrowed eyes. "It's a map of ancient Equestria, not very long after it was first founded," she explained, sounding surprised. "I didn't know there were any of these left!"
I nodded, glancing at some of the capitol cities, when something caught my eye: a spot on the map circled in black ink, with no other markings around it. "What's that?" I asked curiously.

Twilight stared at it, just as confused as I was. "I don't know," she said slowly, "but it can't be a city. Could it be where Allen is going?" she suggested.
I shrugged. "That would be my guess," I said, comparing the circle to the other markings on the map; while the cities were labeled with bright red ink and smooth letters, the circle was sloppy and looked like it had dripped a little bit.

Just then, a shadow filled the doorway, and the mares turned around. Standing there was a slender pony dressed entirely in a lightly-plated suit of armor that masked it’s identity. It stared at us through a black visor, and spoke in a distorted tone.
“Do not seek the crystal prince,” it warned. “He has fled for good reason, and only harm will come your way if you follow him.”
Rainbow Dash took a defiant step forward. “Yeah? And what are you going to do to stop us?” she challenged.

Almost as soon as the words had left her mouth, the secret entrance we had entered through slammed shut, and I glared at the cyan pegasus.

“That is what he can do!” I shouted angrily. “How are we going to get out of here?”
Twilight focused her magic on the door for a moment, but nothing happened. “That’s odd,” she murmured, “he must have re-sealed the door with another spell. I can’t get it open.”

I looked down at my newly aquired sword and thought about all of the adventure games I had played in the past. “Usually when you get stuck in a dungeon,” I said slowly, “the secret treasure you find within is essential for getting further!”

With that, I ran at the door and slashed it with the white blade, and a loud clang echoed throughout the room. After a few moments of awkward silence, the wall suddenly reopened, and we were free to leave.
“Holy shit, it worked!” I cried, and rushed out into the main chamber of the stronghold. “Where the hell is that asshole?” I wondered aloud, and rushed off into the forest.

I sprinted through the endless miles of trees in what I assumed was the direction of my foe, tightly gripping a sword in either hand. My pursuit was interrupted, however, when my feet were knocked from beneath me, and I fell to the ground with a thud. I stood up, groaning, and saw the strange pony standing before me.

“Who are you?” I demanded. “Why are you doing this?”

He stared at me through that black visor. “My name is Black Heart,” he replied coldly. “Allen Greathouse has asked me to ensure that he is not sought after. I must admit, however, that I was not expecting you to be looking for him, Drayke.”

I narrowed my eyes. “How do you know my name?” I asked angrily.
Black Heart took a step back and hurled a bolt of magic from his horn to the ground, and disappeared in a flash of light. I stared at the spot he had been standing in until the sound of hoofsteps caught my attention. I turned to see my six companions rushing to meet me.

“Drayke, why’d you go after him like that?” Applejack demanded worriedly.
I glanced back at the spot. “I… don’t know,” I said slowly. “I wanted answers, I guess.”
Twilight nodded quickly. “Well, where do we go now?” she inquired.

"Well, that circle on the map was at the southernmost point in Equestria," I suggested, "so that's our only lead."
Applejack nodded. "Then it's settled; we go south!"

Black Heart stared into the distance defeatedly as he sat in a tree later that night, long after Drayke and the others had left the stronghold.
Why did Celestia and Luna have to send for him? he thought angrily as he reflected the encounter with Drayke. If he’s helping Twilight and her friends search for Allen, then there isn’t much else I can do to stop him.

Black Heart remembered Allen’s behavior when they met the previous month. He seemed so… worried. Panicked, even, like he knew something bad was on the horizon. But how could turning back into a human be a bad thing? Nearly everypony in Equestria knew who he really was, after all.

“I’m just over-thinking this,” he said aloud through the voice filter. “Allen must have had a perfectly good reason for leaving, and an even better one for wanting me to keep his whereabouts hidden.” Something still tugged at the back of Black Heart’s mind, though. “But what could that reason be? And why, out of all the places to hide, would he choose The Fissure?”

He sighed tiredly. “I’ll catch up with them in the morning,” he decided. “I may not be able to stop them, but I can still make sure they stay safe.”