Fluttershy is now running through the thick forest, continuing her search for Relv. As the clouds above the tops of the trees darken, so does the entirety of the forest. However, the young mare doesn’t slow down and continues dashing between the trees and over bushes. Soon, she stops upon reaching a small stream of water and slowly follows it upstream. With a moist breeze flowing across her fur and the small blades of grass brushing her hooves, Fluttershy finds her enjoying the sensations as the smooth flowing of water sounds in her small ears. Eventually however, she comes across a small waterfall with a familiar red pony sitting at the rocky edge of the steep, staring aimlessly downstream with his casually stoic face.

“I’d figure you’d be here,” Fluttershy calmly proclaims before flying up and sitting next to him at the cliff’s edge. “I usually come here as well to calm down and escape whatever’s stressing me.”

“I see,” Relv sternly replies, “However, right now, I suggest you stay away from me.”

“But I need your help.”

“No, I am no longer your slave. And besides, I am not in the mood to do anything right now.”

“Relv-”

“Go away now, before I inadvertently hurt you again.”

“Relv, please, listen to me! You made a mistake-”

“What mistake? My technique was perfect, I intended to kill Celestia and stop anypony who was in my way, and I nearly succeeded. The only thing that stopped it from being perfect was you. However, my self-restraints are lowering and if you don’t get out of here now, I will kill you.”

“No, not your fighting, but your emotions Relv. You-”

“I said go…”

“Relv, I-”

“I said-”

“Relv?” An older mare’s voice interrupts him from behind. Fluttershy looks behind to see Princess Luna standing there.

“Luna…”

“What happened to you?” Before she finishes her response, Luna quietly sits down next to Relv, opposite of Fluttershy. “You used to be this very self-controlled pony, never snapping even when my parents yelled at you. Now, you can’t even talk to somepony without going on a murderous rampage. Why?”

“I don’t know…”

“Even before you turned, when you were Celestia’s and my bodyguard, you were always so calm.”

“If I recall correctly, yes,”

“And Fluttershy,”

“Wait,” Fluttershy asks, “what are you doing here? How’d you even find us?”

”I came here to help calm Relv down in case your efforts wouldn’t end well, you may be onto something if Relv’s capable of taking down the Timberwolf.”

“Thanks, you came just in time,”

“And how I found you? Celestia, Relv, and I also came here long ago to escape our woes as well.”

“You did? That’s how you were able to find me and Relv?”

“Yeah, you can see why. It’s so peaceful out here.”

“I guess. Wow, even the royal sisters visited this place? I thought only I really knew of this waterfall. Wait, Celestia and me… We both have a lot in common to Relv, like I remind him of her way back then. She was also the one who gave him those powers, and was partially responsible alongside him for everything that happened after that… What if, looking at me, Relv’s reminded of all the bad things that happened?”

“Relv, any idea why you’re like this?”

“No,” he stiffly responds.

“Wait,” Fluttershy protests, “I think I know what’s going on. Relv,”

“…”

“Relv, the reason you’re becoming this uncontrolled pony is because of me.”

“What?”

“Looking at me, you remind yourself of Celestia, all those centuries ago. Both the good and the bad times, those memories still linger in your head. When you’re reminded of the bad times, you get angry at yourself. You want to forget those times you messed up, both unleashing your forty-second power and your recent attack on Celestia. So your mind subconsciously wants to destroy me and Celestia to get rid of this anger. You’re angry Relv, you’ve said it yourself.”

“Perhaps I am… I’m angry at myself for failing my mission, for letting myself succumb to Tia’s spell. After thousands of years preparing myself to set Equestria’s future, a simple spell manages to get me. Perhaps I never was, and never will be the Black Paladin like I wished this entire time.”

“No Relv. You can be the unsung hero you want to be. You’re still a pony though, and every pony experiences anger. You may not like those bad memories, but they do teach you valuable lessons. Remember the techniques you perfected to escape prison? How many captures, how many failures, how many memories of you not achieving your goal were made during your times there?”

“Tens of thousands,”

“Did you ever get angry?”

“Once… Just once…”

“Why did you get angry that one time?”

“I was an idiot ran into a hidden spike trap when I was so close to escaping, when hope quickly returned and sparked inside me.”

“Did you ever fall for that trap again?”

“No,”

“You see? Those bad memories, the ones that can make you angry, can still help you. You just need to not release your anger.”

“How then do you propose?”

“Think about the good things that came from those times. You didn’t fall for that spike trap ever again and escaped right?”

“Correct…”

“Now how about Celestia and me? Think about the good times we had together.”

“…I guess there was the dancing that I enjoyed…”

“See? You don’t need to be angry at those memories and the ponies in them.”

“There is something I still don’t understand though…”

“What is it?”

“Why? Why are you and Luna doing this to me? I killed six hundred and seventy-two guards, hospitalized five hundred and one more, and almost killed your princess, your friends, and you. Why do you come to me now with sympathy and wanting to help me?”

“Because we’re friends, and friends help each other through their issues.”

“Dependence…”

“Well, yes, there is that, but in the end, what would you rather want? Do you want to forever be mad at yourself and end up hurting thousands of innocent lives, or have a friend help you prevent it?”

“But what if I end up creating an emotional connection with you, and it ends up costing the lives of many?”

“You already have. Me, Luna, Celestia, Twilight, Dash, Applejack, Pinkie, Rarity, Spike, and so many others, you’ve created some form of emotional connect. It’s unavoidable for you to connect with the ponies you’ve interact with, whether it be things you like, things you don’t like, or knowing their relationships with others.”

“It would interfere with my code then if that’s the case.”

“If it is, then it is. You can’t escape it, just like your memories and your anger. What you can do though, is that you can use these connections you make to be happy. Seeing the lives you help make better, wouldn’t it be nice to smile with them?”

“But what if my interactions appear negative to them? What about my necessary evil?”

“You could find happiness in yourself, knowing that the ponies affected by those actions will be safe in the future.”

“Perhaps, maybe I can still be the evil Equestria deserves.”

“So Relv, are we friends?” Gently, Fluttershy outstretches her hoof across to Relv.

“I've got to hoof it to you, you've played by all the same rules that I follow. I’ll take your advice,” Promptly, the stallion reaches out his hoof and shakes hers. “And be your friend.”

“Thanks. I’m so glad that you’re back.”

“I am as well, to be honest.”

“What about me?” Luna asks, “Are we friends?”

“It appears to be.” Relv then turns to face Luna, only to notice a large bleeding cut slightly above her wing. “What caused that?”

Luna then quickly remembers the threat at hoof and immediately gasps, “The Hades Timberwolf! I nearly forgot about him! Relv, we need your help. Some monster is approaching Ponyville and we can’t stop it!”

“Is this why you truly came for me? Just to get me to take care of some beast for you?”

“No Relv,” Fluttershy quickly responds, “we came for you because I believe in you. This is a threat that we can’t handle yet. If there’s anypony with the ability to take on challenges far beyond their time, it’s you friend.” A booming roar soon echoes from Ponyville far off in the distance and behind the wall of trees to where they’re at.

“1,500 metres tall, canine, incendiary breathe with stone-like properties, ghost-like in living stature, and very hungry. This is something way beyond this time. I’ll take care of this monster, let’s go.”

“Thank you.”

“No, thank you for helping me recover, you truly are a good pony.”

“You’re… welcome…” Quickly, the trio leaps from their seats, with Fluttershy and Princess Luna opening their wings and flying back to Ponyville, and Relv landing on all four hooves and running along beneath them. “Wait, Relv, can you unleash your second power?”

“I can do much better. Grab me.”

“Luna, grab onto Relv!” Frantically, the two mares swoop down and wrap their hooves around the outermost sheathes of Relv’s swords as the Earth pony prepares to unleash a power.

“Unleashing Power #38: Atomic Altercation!” Relv makes an immediate left turn and charges forward, phasing both him and the two mares through the many trees of the forest, beelining towards Ponyville. “Unleashing Power #2: Speed!”

“Good luck Relv…”