Time seemed to fly and five years had passed since the birth of Toya. He was such a good kid. Even if he did seem to be obsessed with fighting and training. Well, he is his mother's son after all. Things with my three mares were great too. Luna showed no signs of becoming Nightmare Moon and Morning seemed to adjust well to the gene splicing Jason had given her. Everything was perfect, except for one small detail. In all that time, I still hadn't managed to impregnate any of my mares. And it wasn't for a lack of trying. It was getting to the point where I was starting to worry. I knew I wasn't infertile; Toya was proof enough of that. Maybe I just wasn't compatible with ponies? Of course, I never let those worries show. I had put on my best smile after each failed attempt and told them there was always next time.

I was walking through the halls of the castle, looking for Toya. He had wandered off somewhere After his morning lessons with Starswirl and Clover. It was a common occurrence, much to our chagrin. Lucky for all of us, Toya had aged normally. Though his powers seemed to be developing fairly quickly. You think raising a kid is hard? Try having one that causes a miniature, indoor blizzard during a tantrum. As far as appearance went, Toya’s hair was the same dark color as his mother’s and it grew out in a spiked-up way that sorta resembled a certain orange jumpsuit wearing ninja. His eyes were the same shade of cerulean as mine and his facial features were a blend of mine and Jason’s.

I figured the training yard was the best place to look for him. He was always watching the guards train and tried to copy their fighting moves on his own since Morning told him he was too young to do the same exercises the guards were. When I got there, I heard what sounded like grunts coming from the yard. I took a step behind one of the pillars between the castle and the yard and watched what was going on.

There, at the end of the yard was Toya, conjuring up spikes of ice and tossing them at one of the training dummies. Just from his body language I could tell he had been at it for a while. I then spotted a piece of parchment that had been hastily attached to the dummy. I squinted my eyes and made out the word, “Mom” on it. I frowned at the sight, piecing together what he was doing. He tried to throw another spike, only for a puff of frost to come out.

He growled in frustration and ran up to the dummy, using what strength he had left to punch and kick the dummy. “Why?! Why have I never met you?!” he boomed, still punching and kicking while he demanded answers from the inanimate object. “Don’t you love me?! Don’t you love Dad?!” He grunted, the lack of an answer frustrating him. “I hate you! You’re the worst mom ever!”

I had to hold back tears of my own, silently stepping out from behind the pillar. After that outburst, one of his punches went wide and he lost balance, falling to his knees. Tears started falling from his eyes. “Mom,” he muttered. He then shot up, turning when he felt my arms wrap around him. He looked up, a mortified expression on his face. “D-Dad, h-how long were you watching?”

“Long enough,” I answered, pulling his head to my chest and stroking the back of his head. “I think you and I need to have a talk.”

He looked like he was about to say something in protest but quickly buttoned his lip and nodded. I gave him the warmest smile I could and led him to a sitting room. I sat on a red colored couch and pulled Toya onto my lap.

I let him get settled before I spoke again. “So, how long have you been doing this?”

He shifted for a moment before looking down at his lap. “I dunno, a while I guess.”

“You know I’m going to tell you that you have to stop doing that, right?” He didn’t meet my gaze and just nodded. I let out a sigh, “Toya, I know how you feel. My own mother and I never got along all that much. There were even times I told her that I hated her.”

Toya looked up at me with wide eyes. “You really did that?”

I nodded and stared at a point in the room as I gathered my thoughts. After a few moments I spoke again, “Yeah, I wasn’t always a good kid. I was raised Roman Catholic by my parents.”

“Catholic?” Toya repeated, tilting his head at me. “Isn’t that the name of that religion you mentioned during those history lessons?”

“Exactly,” I told him, flashing him a smile. “Anyway, I never really felt comfortable in church. None of it really clicked with me and most of the nuns hated me because of the questions I asked during Sunday School. This was a big source of contention between your grandmother and I since she was a devout member of the church.”

I hung my head as I recalled the next part of the story. “Your grandfather was a police officer. They’re a lot like the guards that patrol towns. One day, something went wrong and he-“I stopped, tears welling up in my eyes.

The day I was told the news started to replay in my mind. I was twelve and had just gotten home from school. When I opened the door, I saw my father’s partner’s head hung down and my mother breaking down into hysterical sobs. Everything seemed to slow down as my father’s partner explained what happened.

“He passed away,” I managed to get out. Toya frowned at seeing how distressed I was and hugged me. I smiled a little and returned the gesture. I took a deep breath, wiping the tears away as I collected myself. “That was a pretty big blow to my family and we all grieved in different ways. My mother and little brother threw themselves into religion, while I threw myself into my studies. I also may or may not have went through a punk phase that looked ridiculous on me. Everything came to a head when I found out a secret about my little brother.”

“How did you find out your brother’s secret?” Toya questioned, tilting his head up at me.

I smiled and patted his head. “Because it’s the job of a big brother to know how to help their little brother. Figured you’d know that by now with the pups. Anyway, I decided to do something for my brother and gave him the result of that the day I was leaving for college. Someone told my mother about what I was doing and I claimed that my brother’s secret was mine. Now, this secret was a big no-no for someone to be while practicing the religion. Needless to say, my mother didn’t react well and I stormed out of the house.”

I closed my eyes and let the event play out in my head. “That was the last time I saw those two. I said some things I’ll always regret that day. Take it from me, Toya, you don’t want to go through life with that kind of anger towards your family. I know for a fact that your mother loves you very much, and it would hurt her to think you feel that way. I’m not saying you can’t feel upset.” I stroked the top of his head. “Just please don’t say you hate her. Can you do that for me?”

Toya looked down for a few moments before speaking, “I guess I can do that.”

I smiled at him and pulled him into a hug. “I’m glad to hear it. Now, how about I make you a snack. That sound good?”

He smiled softly and nodded. “Yeah! Food sounds good.”

I stood up and took him with me, placing him on my shoulders. “Then let’s go to the kitchen, I’ll make you our family’s special spaghetti.” I started to walk out of the room and he gripped my head. “This recipe’s been in the family since our ancestors were in Italia.”

Toya seemed to perk up a bit as I led him through the halls. I didn’t say anything, simply humming a soft tune until we reached our destination. I slowly opened the door to the kitchen, peeking around it to scan the room.

“Good, no one’s here,” I whispered. “I don’t think we’ll be dodging flying cutlery today.”

I shuddered at the memory of previous trips to the kitchen ending with us running from an angry head chef. I set him down and pulled off my gloves to wash my hand. I put a cover on my metal hand and went about gathering ingredients. Part of the beauty of living in a castle is that the pantry is always stocked with ingredients for just about any kind of food that pops into your head. Like a sandwich tower straight out of a Scooby Doo episode. The fact that I didn’t puke after that amazes me to this day. Anyway, once I had all my ingredients I started to cook. After a half an hour or so I had two full plates of spaghetti prepared. I set it down in front of him and started to tuck into my own. Toya attacked the pasta, sauce flying around the dining hall. I had to hold back a chuckle, the scene very reminiscent of how his mother ate.

A thought occurred to me and I slipped a hand into my pocket. “Hey, Toya?” He turned his head to me, slurping up a noodle. “There’s something else I need to tell you about your mother.” He moved to say something but I stopped him. “Don’t worry, no more lectures. There’s a reason she’s never around. Your mother is the ruler of a faraway land and protects the world. The reason that she decided to have you stay with me was twofold.”

“One, there’s a time difference between our lands, and two, she thought she’d have more opportunities to see you than I would. She was under the impression that she’d live longer than me because her lifespan is millions of years and mine is undetermined.”

Toya’s eyes bugged out. “Whoa, that’s a huge number.”

I ruffled his hair. “Yup. Don’t worry, Toya, you’ll see her someday.” I fished around in my pocket and found a familiar black cylinder. “In fact-”

“Excuse me,” a voice called out. Toya and I turned to see a maid step into the dining hall and bow. “Pardon the interruption, but thou art needed by the princesses, Vash.”

I did my best not to show my irritation and flashed her a smile. I looked to Toya as I stood up. “Let’s hope I’m not in hot water again.” I winked at him, eliciting a snicker from him and I turned to follow the maid.

I had found myself called to the meeting room for some sort of important meeting. I had briefly considered skipping out on said meeting, but considering I was in a relationship with the three most powerful mares on the planet who were holding it, I thought better of it. I greeted my mares with a bright smile and a peck on the lips before taking a seat.

“So, what’s with the miniature on the table?” I asked, poking the projection on the table and distorting it. Morning then shot me a glare and slapped my hand away.

“This is a recreation of the Crystal Empire and it is ruled by a stallion named King Sombra,” Luna explained, ignoring my antics.

’Sombra? Why does that sound so familiar?’ I thought, scratching my chin for a moment before another thought sprang to mind.

“Wait a minute, Crystal Empire?” I asked, looking over the model. “But this is just a city. I hate to break it to Sombra’s ego but empires are usually a bit bigger than just one city.”

“Vash… there was nothing in that rambling thought that was the least bit helpful at this current juncture.” Morning frowned at me. “So please, let us get on with the point of this meeting and save your chatter until after we have discussed the matters at hand.”

“Alright, I’ll just keep my jokes and silly comments to myself,” I replied, throwing my hands up. For some reason, Morning had been cranky for the past few days.

'I’ll have to pull up Google and show this Sombra what a real empire is like. He’ll probably flip from Rome alone.'

“Thank you,” Celestia nodded looking over the projection. “Now, Luna and I have been called to the Empire to improve relations with them and their king.”

“But that’s not all,” Luna continued. “Lately we have been hearing strange rumors that somepony in the Crystal Empire has been using dark magic. If that is the case, then we must investigate this. Dark magic is very dangerous and is very easily abused.”

“We art lucky that the signs of dark magic use are easy to discover,” Starswirl added. “If somepony has been using such foul spells, then we should be able to discover them without much difficulty.”

“Maybe not,” I interjected. “I’ve been studying magic and something just occurred to me. There are ways to hide traces of magical energy if the caster of the spells is skilled enough. And it becomes even easier if the caster has access to a powerful artifact.” Everyone in the room exchanged a worried look for a moment before turning back to me.

“Vash, there is such an artifact in the Crystal Empire,” Starswirl informed me. “At the center of the Empire there is the Crystal Heart. It is fueled by the emotions of the ponies that live there. It is what protects them from the harsh snow and wind outside its borders. In fact, the effects of the heart may even have influence on Equestria and other nations. Though this has never been truly confirmed.”

“The Crystal Heart?” I repeated, scratching my chin. “I seem to recall that our own Tree of Harmony is made of crystal. Maybe the two of them are related?”

“I had thought the same thing,” Starswirl nodded and stroked his beard. “Though we may not have a chance to investigate. Sombra is known for keeping a close eye on the Heart to ensure no harm may come to it.”

“Makes sense, it is what keeps him and all his subjects alive,” I nodded. “There’s something else we may need to worry about though.”

“And what would that be?” Morning asked with a tilt of her head.

“If we’re going to a tundra environment then we may have to worry about you. Your bottom half is a snake, and snakes are cold-blooded. Traveling to the Empire could be dangerous if we don’t take the proper precautions.”

“And what proper precautions would you recommend?” She asked.

“Well, keeping our carriage warmed as soon as we hit the general area for one thing. Other than that, it’s best that you wear a lot of clothes to keep your body heat up.”

“Hmm, this is the first time you’ve ever suggested one of us to wear more clothes.” Luna smirked.

“A novel situation indeed.” Celestia chuckled.

“Well, I’m not gonna suggest it again. In fact, I’m going to personally advocate the wearing of far less clothing when we make a beach trip sometime soon,” I grinned, my mind drifting off to visions of the three in bathing suits on a sandy shore.

'A beach trip might not be a bad idea,’ I thought, my smile twitching but ultimately staying on my face. 'It might be a good chance to try and find Mezza and Fortissima again. Find out if Toya has a couple more siblings… Nah, if I haven’t been able to get my three mares pregnant in all this time there’s no way I knocked them up after one try. Oh well, guess they found some other schmuck to give them the children they wanted. Toya is all the kid I need right now… Wow, that sounded way worse than I intended. Good thing it was just in my head,’ I finished, my eyes glancing to a corner of the room for an instant.

“So, when are we going to be making the trip?” I asked.

“As soon as we have collected all our things and the carriage is prepared,” Morning answered.

“Alright, then I’ll get started then,” I nodded and got up from my chair, walking over to the corner I glanced at earlier.

I peered behind one of the supporting pillars and found Toya trying to hide and listen in on our discussions. The look on his face at this particular moment was exactly what you’d expect of a kid who knows he’s been caught somewhere he shouldn’t be. I silently stared down at him for a few moments until he spoke up first.

“Uhh… hey Dad, what’s up?” he asked with a nervous chuckle.

“Oh, I’m just fine, Toya. So, what are you up to?” I questioned back in an even tone.

“Me? I was just uh...” Toya paused, desperate for an excuse. “Looking for my practice sword!” He beamed and held up the wooden sword that was always by his side. “Yup just looking for this. Heh, you know how I’m always just leaving things around,” he told me with a grin, seeming pleased with himself.

“Really, is that all? Because it looked like you were trying to listen in on our meeting to me.”

“Whaaat? Come on Dad, you know me better than that.”

“Uh huh, and you know I’m buying a word of this, don’t you?” I asked him, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Yeah,” he slumped over with a dramatic sigh, “but it was worth a shot.” Toya then shot up with a big grin on his face. “So, can I come with you on your trip to the Crystal Empire?”

“No Toya, you can’t come,” I told him, kneeling down to look him in the eye. “There might be a dark magic user lurking in the empire and we’ll have to deal with them.”

“Come on, Dad!” Toya pleaded. “I can help you beat this bad guy! Well, I could if I had a real sword.”

“Toya, I’m not giving you a sword. Well, not yet anyway. And the sword I plan on giving you is better than anything I’ve ever made in my years outfitting the Royal Guard,” I told him with a smirk.

“Aww, now you gotta show me this sword! Just one little look!” He beamed, bouncing in place slightly.

“Nope, you’ll get to see it the day I give it to you. And not a day sooner.”

“I can still help,” Toya pressed. “You said that this Crystal Empire place has a lot of ice and snow around it. I bet my powers would be crazy strong there.” I had to let out a long sigh at that.

“Toya, you have no idea how proud of you I am right now hearing how much you want to help us.” I told him with a smile. And I’m sure your mother would be proud of how brave you sound right now,” I added and tousled his hair. “But you can’t come to the Crystal Empire with us and that’s final.”

“Oh come on!”

“Instead, why don’t you stay with Rex, Tiberius and Dot during our trip?” I suggested, hoping to make him feel a little better at the least.

“I guess that could be fun.” He sighed.

“Glad to hear it.” I smiled down at him. “And hey when we get back, how would you feel about a trip to the beach?”

“The beach?” He repeated, seeming to perk up at that. “I’ve never been to the beach before.”

“If you’re anything like me, you’re gonna love it. And if you’re lucky, I might have a special surprise for you while we’re there.”

“A surprise, what is it?!”

“You’ll find out when we get there.” I chuckled and tousled his hair again as I stood back up. “Now, come and help your old man pack his things for the trip to the empire.”

“Okay.” he nodded and started to rush out of the room.

The packing didn’t take very long and we piled into the carriage and stopped by the field that Jason and I had been to, to visit the diamond dog village all those years ago. Toya and I got out and walked out into the empty field and down a tunnel. It took us about a few minutes to reach the village and we walked up to where the Alpha was. Said Alpha was still female and had seemed to like her new body. Well, I’d never heard her complain about the change in the time I’d known her. She noticed the two of us approaching and smiled down from her makeshift throne.

“Vash, it’s been a little while.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. Things have been a little busy lately.”

“So what brings you and Toya here today?” She questioned, leaning forward.

“Well, my mares and I are going on a potentially dangerous excursion.”

“So you want me to look after Toya for you while you’re gone?” She inquired, cutting me off before I could ask myself.

“Am I really that transparent?” I asked with a chuckle.

“Of course, you are, it’s what makes it so easy to get along with. And I’d be happy to watch over Toya for you. Oh, children!” the Alpha called out, looking back toward her home.

In a matter of moments, three young diamond dog pups came bounding out of the home and stopped in front of their mother, their tails wagging in a blur of motion. The three of them had the same coloring as their mother. Except the girl of the litter, she had a brown spot around her right eye. Their clothing was very plain, basically just a grey shawl that covered them. Their smiles grew when they saw Toya.They tackled him and started licking his face.

“Big brother!” Dot, the only girl of the trio cheered, still licking his face.

As it turns out, Jotun and Diamond Dog DNA can intermingle rather well and results in adorable pups. Then again, Jay does have a canine in the family so I guess that was obvious.

“Hey sis,” Toya replied with a chuckle, trying and failing to protect his face. “It’s good seeing you three again.”

“How are things in the castle?” Tiberius, the runt of the litter asked.

“I may or may not have caused some of the new guard recruits to slip on some ice while they were running laps,” Toya told him with a mischievous grin, holding up a finger and letting frost dance along it.

“Do you ever get tired of messing with them?” Rex, the largest of the three asked.

“I’ll let you know as soon it happens.” Toya smirked. His siblings giggled and got off of him to let him stand up.

I knelt down and put a hand on Toya’s shoulder. I reached out to his mind. ’Goodbye, son. I’ll see you soon.’

’Bye, Dad.’

Lucky for me, I had learned how to control my telepathy in the years since Toya’s birth. It certainly came in whenever I thought I was about to get in trouble with the girls. I gave him a hug. We stayed like that for a few moments before I reluctantly ended it and stood up. I turned on a heel, waving goodbye over my shoulder as I headed for the surface.

The carriage continued to bounce around, the constant bumping and jostling created from the terrain keeping me from getting a comfortable rest. I had to keep from groaning out of boredom. The ride had gone on for days at that point and I had exhausted all forms of entertainment my phone could bring.

This then led me to thinking of my research on integrating magic as an energy source in tech. It was obvious that magic could be easily altered into other forms of energy. Unicorns and alicorns did it every day with their spells. The problem would be to do that mechanically. My current course of action was studying Biology in order to do research on unicorns and alicorns to figure out the process.

Then there was the problem of moving the energy through the system. After a few primitive experiments with the equipment I could jury rig, I’d learned that copper and other typical conductors were inefficient. Crystals were able to store magical energy very well, but using them in a similar way to wire would be tricky.

“Vash.” I was pulled out of my thoughts and looked over to see Morning staring at me. She had a makeshift sweater covering her tail. I say sweater but really it looked more like a giant sock. “I have been attempting to get thy attention for minutes.”

I rubbed the back of my head. “Sorry, I was fending off the boredom by trying to think through the snags my research is hitting.”

“Dost thou think of anything other than thy research and carnal matters?” Celestia teased with a small smile.

I put on an exaggerated hurt expression. “I never. You know full well I also think about how best to raise Toya.” The girls all rolled their eyes but smiled. “So, why’d you wanna get my attention?”

“The driver hast informed us that we art outside of the Crystal Empire,” Luna chimed in, yawning. She was still adjusting to being up during the day and was currently drinking her third cup of coffee for the day.

“Thank god, it’ll be good to finally be able to stretch my legs again,” I said.

The carriage continued to pull forward for a few minutes more before slowly coming to a stop. The driver opened the door and we all stepped or slithered out. We were greeted by a line of ponies that looked like they were made of living crystal wearing silver armor.

The map didn’t do the place justice. There was a pale blue barrier surrounding the city and protecting it from the biting blizzard outside it. Within the barrier, there were rolling fields of green and large swatches of flowers all around. Everything else seemed to be made of crystal. The buildings, the streets and as I previously mentioned, the ponies. The streets were evenly laid out and followed a pattern towards the center.

“Seems like the perfect city for people with OCD,” I muttered, watching one of the guards step forward and bow.

He was a purple stallion with lighter purple eyes and a silver mane. “Your Majesties, t’is an honor to be in thy presence.”

“Thank thee,” Celestia replied. She looked among the assembled guards with a neutral expression. “Where is thy king. We would think he would be here to greet us.”

“King Sombra is awaiting thee at the palace,” the guard informed. “He is ensuring that everything is perfect for thy stay.”

“Then please, lead the way,” Luna said, motioning with her arm towards the streets.

The guards bowed again and took up positions around us as they marched towards the center of the city. We all followed with Celestia and Luna at the front with Morning at their side, Clover and Starswirl at the center and me at the back.

I put my glasses on and subtly examined the streets. There were crystal ponies of all colors and kinds milling around. A lot of them stopped and whispered amongst themselves as we passed. Most of them were focused on Celestia and Luna, but I was getting a few stares of my own. I was used to it at that point.

The purpose of my staring was to get a feel for the place. If the rumor of a dark magic user had reached our ears, then it had to be in every corner of the empire. Judging by the body language I was seeing, I was right about that. It was like they all knew something was wrong but were insistent on pretending everything was fine. It definitely warranted looking into later.

After a while, we finally made it to the crystal palace. The base of it reminded me of the Eiffel Tower and was raised above the city’s center. At the center I spotted a sort of pedestal for what I assumed was the Crystal Heart. Said heart was made of light blue crystal that matched the pedestal and the palace.

The other thing that caught my attention were the pair of guards that were circling the heart. It was safe to assume that the heart was guarded at all times. If that was the case, then how was the dark magic user masking their activities with it? As we were led into the palace’s entrance, a few possibilities were running through my mind.

Once we were in the large throne room we were greeted by the king himself. He was about six feet tall with light grey fur. He was wearing a white silk shirt with a red cape draped over his shoulders trimmed with white fur. A simple silver crown with a silver circle flanked by two red jewels rested on his head. His mane was black and windswept. His ruby eyes locked onto us as we walked into the room and he rose from his throne to meet us.

“Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, t’is wonderful to see thee,” he greeted in a deep, smooth voice, bowing his head and kissing Celestia and Luna’s hands.

“We only wish that our visit were under better circumstances,” Celestia replied.

“Ah yes, the rumor of the dark magic user,” Sombra looked back at his throne. “We art unsure how he has eluded our search thus far.”

“I had an idea about that,” I chimed in.

Sombra turned back and regarded me with a hard to read expression. “Thou must be the lover to the princesses we hath heard of.”

“The one and only,” I replied, giving him a theatrical bow.

“Thou said that thou hast an idea,” Sombra started, cutting me off just as I was about to share said idea, “but what could thou possibly know of this? Thou art no unicorn. Thou can use magic as effectively as our tea kettle.” He nodded his head and quickly added, “We mean no offense.”

“One does not need wings to understand aerodynamics.” I flashed him a smile. “My belief is that our mystery magic user is using a magical artifact to mask what they’re doing. And of course, the Crystal Heart is the most powerful artifact in this city. If this person is actually using it, then they’d have to be someone that the guards around it wouldn’t suspect them getting close to it.”

“Art thou suggesting that somepony within the palace is using the heart for nefarious purposes?” Sombra glared at me.

I shrugged. “It’s the best explanation I can give you based on what little I know.” I grinned and gave him a thumbs up. “Don’t worry, we’ll find out what’s going on.”

Sombra turned his attention towards Starswirl. “What art thy thoughts on the matter?”

Starswirl stroked his beard. “My opinion matches that of Vash’s. Our search will begin within the palace.”

Sombra nodded. “Very well, thou art free to question the servants and guards. But for now, let us make way to the dining hall.” He started to walk away, a pair of crystal guards flanking him as he motioned for us to follow.

A minute later and we were in a large dining hall. The table stretched out for about half the room. There were arrangements of multicolored crystals shaped to look like flower bouquets all along the table and there was a fancy lace cloth stretched along it. Sombra sat at the head of the table with Celestia and Luna by his sides. I was sitting next to Clover, watching as maids and servers flitted about the room to finish setting the table.

I pocketed my glasses and thanked the maid, a pink crystal unicorn with a white, glittery mane pulled back into a bun as she poured me a glass of water. Her uniform seemed to cover more of her than the maids in our castle and she had a lacy choker covered most of her neck. Actually, I took a moment to examine the other maids. They were all dressed that way.

“So, have you noticed anything strange around the palace lately?” I questioned, watching her closely as I sipped my water.

She flinched for a split second. It was subtle, but thanks to my eagle-like eyes I spotted it. “No, everything is well within the palace.”

“Are you sure? Even a small detail that seems out of place can be very helpful.” I reached out to her mind to see if there was anything she was hiding.

“Sorry, there is nothing that comes to mind.” She shook her head and gave me an apologetic look.

’Say nothing!' her mind screamed. ’I cannot incur the wrath of… him.’

Suddenly, an image was seared into my head. It was a pair of eyes but they looked so unnatural. They had green scleras with red irises and wisps of purple smoke coming out of the corners. I clutched at the side of my head, searing pain shooting through it.

“Vash, art thou okay?” Clover asked.

I shook my head to clear out the image before nodding at her. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just had a headache for a second there. Don’t mind me.”

Clover nodded and returned to her meal. I sat in silence as I thought over what I had just seen. It was obvious she had direct contact with the dark magic user. The only problem was that she wouldn’t tell me directly or through her thoughts. I examined her again through the corner of my eye, watching as she poured Sombra a glass of wine. I took note of her uniform again along with the other maids in the room. A thought crossed my mind and I had to hold back a frown.

Once the meal was over, we were led to our rooms. I laid out our belongings on the bed and started to unpack. My thoughts continued to drift back to that maid and her behavior. Once I was done putting our things away, I turned and started to walk out the door.

Celestia perked up as I opened the door. “Vash, what art thou doing? Shouldn’t thou get some rest?”

“I’ll be fine,” I assured her with a thumbs up. “I want to start this investigation as soon as possible.”

“Very well,” Morning chimed in with a nod, “let us know if thou finds anything.”

“Can do.” I waved and closed the door behind me.

I started to carefully walk down the halls, keeping an eye out for the maid I had questioned earlier. I stuck to the walls and made a mental note of every turn that I made so I could quickly return to the room. After about half an hour of wandering, I spotted her cleaning the floors. I stayed out of sight the best I could, crouching down behind a suit of armor and watching her carefully.

She continued to clean for a while, making the floors shimmer and sparkle. When she was done she started to walk further down the hall. I followed at a distance, sticking to whatever nook or cranny I could find to avoid being seen. Eventually, she stopped in front of a door and knocked. A moment later, it seemed to open on its own and she stepped inside.

I checked both sides of the hallway to make sure no one was approaching before walking up to it myself. I crouched down and put my eye to the keyhole. I couldn’t really make anything out. The only light was coming from a candle or lantern outside the narrow view of the keyhole. I looked around as best I could and found the maid shrugging off her clothes with her back turned to the door. My eyes widened as bruises and cuts were slowly revealed.

I clenched my fist and grit my teeth. This was exactly what I was afraid of. Then, the eyes from when I had looked into her mind lit up in the darkness and the maid started convulsing. It took all of my willpower to not shoot the lock off and charge into the room. In a fight against a powerful magic user, I’d lose before I could even draw my gun. The most important thing was identifying the one abusing the maid and confronting them with the girls and Starswirl.

I forced myself away from the door and returned to my previous hiding place. From what little I had seen, there was no other way out of that room aside from the door I was watching. Which meant that if I kept an eye on it long enough, the mystery magic-user would eventually walk out.

I waited the rest of the night, forcing myself to stay awake. After a few close calls, the only one to leave the room was the maid. Even after she left, I waited for what seemed like hours.

I decided to take a chance and approached the door again. I looked through the keyhole and only saw no one inside. I drew my gun and threw open the door. I did a quick sweep only to be greeted by a couple couches, chairs, a small table and a candle holder fixed to the wall with fresh wax stuck to it. I kept my gun drawn and looked over every nook and cranny of the room.

I didn’t find anything and decided to report back to the girls. I quickly retraced my steps and made it back to our temporary bedroom just as they were starting to stir. Luna regarded me blankly for a moment as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

“Vash, why didst thou not return last night?” She sat up in bed, letting the covers slip off of and pool around her waist.

“I’ve got a big lead in the investigation,” I replied. “I followed the maid I had questioned last night at dinner and it turns out she’s being tormented by the dark magic user.”

“What?!” Morning slithered out of the bathroom and gave me a harsh look. “Why didst thou not come to us immediately after learning this?”

“I couldn’t risk them getting away. If this person is ballsy enough to be doing this right in the palace then they’ve probably got measures to detect if someone’s getting close to them. If I had brought any one of you three with me, a measure like that would pick you up with no trouble at all. Like Sombra said, I'm about as magical as a tea kettle so I'm immune to that kinda thing.”

“Then dost thou know the identity of the dark magic user?” Celestia questioned, turning from her seat in front of the dresser.

“No, they managed to slip out of the room they were in without me noticing.” I frowned, thinking back on it. “Which is odd, I didn’t see a flash of light come from under the doorframe to indicate they teleported.” I turned on my heel, an idea popping into my head. “I think I need to give that room another look.”

“I will come with thee,” Morning offered. “Thou may encounter the dark magic user and we cannot let thee do that alone.”

I nodded. “Fine by me.” I turned to Celestia and Luna. “Tell Sombra that we’ll be late for breakfast.”

Morning slithered to my side once she had donned her armor and weapons and we made our way to the sitting room. I had to suppress a yawn as my lack of sleep threatened to catch up with me. My determination managed to keep me going and we entered the sitting room. I smirked and walked over to the candlestick, pulling down on it. As expected, it acted as a lever and a portion of the wall next to it swung open to reveal a spiral staircase.

“Aha, so this is how he escaped my notice.” I walked up to the stairs and took a look. They wound up further than I could see and was lined by unlit torches.

“It would seem the pony we art looking for is knowledgeable of the palace,” Morning noted, coming up to my side.

Her horn lit up and she sent a spark out to the nearest torch. In a matter of moments, it was burning brightly and fending off the shadows with a warm glow. I grabbed the torch off its sconce and held it out in front of me.

“That would rule out any of the newer staff.” I knelt down, taking a look at the hinges on the hidden door. I let out a hum as I leaned in closer and tapped on them. “That’s odd.”

“What is it?” Morning inquired, leaning over my shoulder.

“From what I can tell, these hinges are new.” I pointed at them to display how clean they were. “By my estimate, they’re about a year old.”

“Which would mean that this was a renovation made by Sombra himself and not any of his predecessors,” Morning added, a stern look on her face.

“Things are certainly starting to come together,” I said, standing up straight. “Think we should see where these go?” I used my free hand to indicate the steps.

“That would be the wisest course of action.” She started to slither up the stairs. “We still lack the evidence to accuse anypony.”

I gave a nod and walked up to her side. We remained silent during our climb, the only sound being my footsteps echoing through the corridor. After a few minutes, we reached the top of the staircase and found a lever on the right-hand side of the passage. Morning gave it a pull and the wall swung open, revealing a rather large bedroom on the other side.

We stepped into the room, examining our surroundings. Everything was lavish, from the red carpet on the floor to the crystal furniture. There was even a large bookshelf next to the proper door to the room that was stuffed to the brim with tomes.

Morning slithered over to a large dresser, opened it and pulled out a familiar looking red cape. “It would seem the identity of the dark magic user hath been found,” she stated, a dark look on her face.

I rubbed the side of my head, going over to the bookcase. “Yeah, I had a bad feeling that it’d turn out like this.” I started running my fingers along the spines of the books. “Let’s keep searching this place, we’ve gotta be sure to confiscate whatever materials he’s been using to study this shit. Or else we risk someone else starting this all over again.”

She nodded and started to look through the dresser. I focused on the bookshelf searching it top to bottom. None of them were incriminating. I expected as much, it’s not like I expected them to be left out in the open. I pulled the books off the shelf, a messy pile forming on the floor behind me. Once the shelves were bare, I started to feel around. A smirk graced my face as a false panel slid back on the second to last shelf to reveal a cubby. I reached into it and pulled out two books, one a jet black spellbook with a strange sigil engraved on the front, and the other a journal of sorts.

I grinned and displayed the books to Morning. “I believe this is everything we need to accuse the dear king of a crime.”

Morning turned from the dresser with a glittering blue object in her hand. “Sombra also has a fake Crystal Heart.” She came over and took the books from me, leafing through the spellbook. “There are all manner of cruel spells contained within this tome. If he hath been using these on the maid thou described, then we must make haste.”

“You’re right,” we headed for the door, “but I don’t think it’s just the one maid. All of them were covering up like she was.”

“All the more reason to be quick,” Morning stated.

We hurried through the halls of the palace, guards pressing themselves to the wall or else be bowled over by the charging naga. Eventually, we burst into the dining room with weapons trained on Sombra. This resulted in several spears being pointed at us.

“What is the meaning of this madness?” Sombra questioned, rising from his seat.

“King Sombra, you have committed heinous crimes,” I said, keeping my gun pointed at his horn. “Not only have you been practicing dark magic, but you’ve been using it to torture your own subjects.”

“This is preposterous! Dost thou have any proof of this?!”

“We have your spellbook right here.” I indicated the books in Morning’s arms. “Now, are you going to come along quietly, or are you going to raise your hand against us?”

Sombra clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. He glared at me, his form seeming to shift as his eyes changed to the ones I had seen through the keyhole. Before I could even react, a purplish-black bolt of magic struck me in the chest and I collapsed in a heap. I groaned, my eyes widening as I felt something claw at my mind as I lost consciousness.

When I came to I was home. And I don’t mean the castle. Somehow I was back in my bedroom at my childhood home. It was just like I remembered it, with Trigun, Cowboy Bebop and Big O posters hanging on the walls, along with ones for bands like The Ramones and Bad Religion. Shoved into the back-left corner of the room was my work desk. Its surface was dominated by metalworking tools and bits of scrap metal with schoolwork taking up a small corner. Hanging from the ceiling by fishing wire were homemade models of space shuttles and space ships.

I tried to move, only to remain firmly planted in my bed. I kept trying to move, only to be met with the same result. Then, as if in answer to my prayers, I got up. Except, I wasn’t in control. My body continued to move, opening the closet door and pulling out a few rollable suitcases.

My body walked down the hall a bit, opening the door to another bedroom. It was much plainer than my own with a spartan sense of furniture and decoration. The only real thing of note was the wooden crucifix hanging above the bed.

If I was in control my eyes would’ve widened from what I was seeing. It was my brother, except he looked just like he did when he was a teenager. His dark hair was cut short and didn’t have any real style to it and his eyes were a dark brown that always reminded me of coffee.

“Knock knock,” I said, getting his attention.

He turned to me and rolled his eyes but there was a ghost of a smile on his face. “That’s not what I meant by knock if you want to come into my room and you know it, Peter.”

I shrugged and took a seat on his bed. “As if I’d walk in on you doing anything. Unlike me, you follow the rules in this thing.” I leaned over and rapped my knuckles on the bible he kept on his nightstand.

He frowned a little. “I really wish you’d show God and his book some more respect.”

I chuckled. “I’ll take my chances, Johnny boy. But, that’s not why I’m here.” I grinned. “I’m here to say goodbye before I go off to college.” I got up, walked over to his desk and put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m gonna miss you.”

He gave me a small smile. “It’s not like you’re leaving forever. You’ll be home for Thanksgiving.”

“Very true, which reminds me.” I reached into my pocket, pulled out a piece of paper and held it out to him.

He took and and his eyes scanned over it for a moment. In an instant, a blush burst across his cheeks and he looked up at me with a panicked look. “Wh-why would you give me this?”

I patted his shoulder and shot him a sly grin. “You don’t have to worry, I know your little secret. And unlike Mom, I’m totally cool with it.”

He turned his head from me, remaining silent for a few moments. I could tell he was debating something with himself and he would occasionally glance at me through the corner of his eye. Eventually, he sighed and tilted his head up at me. “How did you figure it out? I’ve only ever said anything about this during confession.”

“You give your big brother too little credit. I’ve been picking up some subtle signs from you for a while now. Your eyes lingering on certain parts of guys during our last trip to the beach for instance,” I pointed out.

His blush deepened and he avoided making eye contact again. “I-I didn’t even realize I was doing that. B-but why would you give me this list? How did you even come up with a list like this?”

“Easy, I talked to some people from school who I know are gay and asked them about what sites they use for their, “alone time”,” I explained. “I gotta tell you, it was pretty hard to ask for this stuff without making it seem like I wanted it for myself.” I chuckled and grinned.

He sighed again. “Peter, I appreciate the effort you went through to give this to me, but I won’t be needing this.” A weak smile spread on his lips. “I’m going to be a priest, and priests are supposed to lead a life of celibacy. I don’t ever have to act on these sinful urges.”

I had to fight off a groan and frown as soon as he said that. Hearing him describe that part of him like that, it just felt wrong. In the end, I put on the best smile I could and gave his shoulder a squeeze. “Humor me. I know the bible says pleasuring yourself is a sin, but certain priests and church figures have been caught up in abuse or sex scandals. I don’t want you to be one of them because you wouldn’t allow yourself any release.”

John didn’t respond for a while as he looked down at his lap. Then, he put the piece of paper in his pocket and looked up at me. “Fine, I’ll take it. If only to keep you from pestering me about it.”

I laughed and pulled him into a hug. “True, I wouldn’t stop until you took it.” We stayed like that for a few moments before pulling away. “Now, I’ve gotta get going. I can’t let my old clunker rust away while we have a moment.”

I waved goodbye and grabbed my luggage. I walked out of the room and took a right down the hall to head for the front door. I made it to the living room where my mother was sitting in a chair and reading a book. On a table behind her was an urn containing my father’s ashes.

“Goodbye, Mom,” I called out, stopping at the door. “I’ve gotta get going.”

Mom closed her book and looked up at me. “Not so fast, Peter, there’s something we need to discuss.”

The look on her face said it all, there was no way I was avoiding whatever this was about. Actually, the look was the same as when she found out I had accidentally burned down that barn.

I moved away from the door and took a seat on the couch across from her. “So, what is it that you wanna talk about?”

“From what I understand, you were asking around about filthy materials.” Her look hardened further, reaching uncharted territories of restrained maternal rage and disappointment.

I had to fight the urge to go rigid as soon as she said that. It took all of my willpower, but I managed to put on my best poker face. “Oh, and who did you hear that from?”

“Our neighbor, Richard,” she answered.

I gritted my teeth for a moment at the mention of that name. To put it simply, Richie was the kid you’d hang out with because your mom forced you to.

“And to make matters worse is the nature of what you asked for,” Mom continued. “Peter, I can’t let you out into the world with such sinful desires.”

There was that term again. Cracks formed in my poker face and irritation shined through. I only needed a split second of thought over what I’d say and do next.

“Oh, and how exactly do you plan on keeping me from leaving?” I stood up and glared at her. “That hunk of junk car out there is something I earned by busting my ass. Just like I did for the acceptance letter. I’m not giving that up.”

“Don’t raise your voice at me, Peter,” she warned, her look turning icy.

“And don’t try to control who I’m attracted to!” I boomed, my fists clenched at my side. “Contrary to the bullshit lines they feed you on the pulpit, this isn’t something people choose. You’re not putting me in some sort of brainwashing program to make me hate myself.”

“Don’t you dare speak to me that way!” She shot up from her chair and stomped over to me.

“Oh excuse the fuck out of me for raising my voice and cursing when you’re trying to change me!” I stood up and matched her look. “I’m not going to let you do that!” I turned away from her and made my way to the door.

“Don’t walk away from me!” she screeched. “We’re not done talking!”

“Funny because I’m done listening to you,” I shot back, grabbing my luggage and opening the door. “I’m leaving, for good if I have to. If you want me to come home for Thanksgiving, all you have to do is tell me you can accept me as I am.”

She didn’t say anything, simply seething as she tried to contain her anger. I looked away from her, threw my belongings into my car and dropped into the driver’s seat.

As soon as I started driving off, the world started to melt away. It was like watching water colors run off of a canvas. When nothing was left but inky darkness, color slowly started to return. My stomach churned once the world came into shape.

All around me was rubble and crystal shards. I whipped my head around, barely aware of the fact that I was in control of my actions again. The rubble went on as far as I could see with various fires dotting the ruined landscape.

Suddenly, I noticed how heavy my right arm felt. I looked at it to find the Angel Arm staring back at me. The entire thing was a light grey in color. The back end of it looked like a series of wings bundled together. The center parted to reveal a core that looked like an orb of yellow light. The front end of the cannon looked like the torso of a woman with her arms folded to her chest. It also had several feminine faces around it and a golden, halo-like ring around the barrel.

It only took a moment to realize what was happening and I fell to my knees. A haze overtook my vision as I continued to look over the rubble.I barely even noticed a faint sound I thought was in the distance. After who knows how long the sound started to grow. At first I had trouble making it out, but eventually I recognized it as a familiar voice.

“Vash! Vash!” Morning called out but I couldn’t see her.

I tried to look around but I didn’t see any sign of her. Her voice only grew louder and the feeling from when I was first struck by Sombra’s magic bolt returned in full force. I cried out in agony and gripped the side of my head with my free hand.

“So this is thy darkest fear,” Sombra’s voice cut in, seeming to be coming from every direction. “How interesting, we did not expect such an unimpressive specimen to be capable of such destruction. Show us this power whelp.”

I grit my teeth, trying to fight through the pain and find Morning. I searched as much as I could but there was no sign of her. The strangest thing was that her voice sounded like it was right next to me. Through my pain-addled mind a single thought came through, what I was seeing wasn’t real.

“Vash! Thy arm!” Morning cried.

That was the last thing I wanted to hear when I was just coming to. My eyes slowly came into focus and I made out a few things. One, Morning standing in front of me with a worried look on her face and a shield spell around us. Two, Celestia Luna, Clover and Starswirl taking potshots with their magic at a smoky, shadowy version of Sombra with all of them passing through him. Finally and this was the worst one, my Angel Arm charging up with my inhibitor bracelet at my feet.

“Shit,” I cursed, struggling to move the cannon upward. “Celestia, Luna!” I called out.

They turned to me, looks of horror spreading across their faces when they saw my arm.

“I need you to teleport me out of the city!” I cried, feeling the energy building in the cannon. “Get me as far away as you possibly can! Otherwise the Empire will be destroyed!”

“But if we do that thou shalt surely freeze to death!” Celestia countered, dodging to the side as Sombra swooped down at her.

I grit my teeth, sweating bullets as the sound of the cannon charging grew louder. The noise became deafening, drowning out the sounds of the battle in front of me. At that moment, I felt there was only one option available to me. My remaining glove burst apart as I shifted my metal arm to reveal the gun barrel within it. I then pressed the barrel to my temple.

“We don’t have time to argue about this!” I boomed. “Now, either you teleport me out of the city or I put a stop to the Angel Arm myself.”

Tears formed in Celestia and Luna’s eyes and they didn’t say or do anything for a few moments. Then their horns lit up and they mouthed “goodbye” as a flash of light surrounded me.

When the light died down wind and snow buffeted into my face. I paid that no mind and did my best to take in my surroundings. Visibility was low, but I could tell I was right next to a glacier. I pressed the barrel of the cannon into the glacier.

Time seemed to slow down to a crawl as the cannon’s energy buildup reached its peak and my thoughts were sent racing.

’Guess this is it for me. I was kinda hoping for more time.’ Tears welled up in my eyes as my life played out in my head.

“Toya, be a good boy,” I muttered to myself. “I’m sorry I won’t get to see you become a man, but I know you’ll be a better one than I was. And I’m sorry we won’t be having that beach trip. Take care of the girls for me. Girls, I’m sorry I never proposed to you. I’m kicking myself over that. I hope you move on. Maybe find someone that’ll give you foals.”

The tears started to fall from my eyes and I started to shake, whether from the cold or from the sobbing I couldn’t tell. “You three will be great moms.”

My thoughts then drifted towards my mother and brother. “Mom, I’m even sorry to you. Sorry that I lied to you and that I didn’t try talking things out with you. And John, I’m sorry I didn’t try harder to make you comfortable with who you are.” The cannon fired, ice from the glacier falling all around me as the beam tore through it. “Goodbye.”

Darkness creeped into my vision as my consciousness faded.