Unleashed Power

The Six Heroes were running past the many guards that were placed inside the castle. Though they initially gained looks of suspicion from them, Vargas managed to rest their suspicions aside for now and they continued forward. As they reached the entrance of the castle, they noticed the shield above was slowly showing signs of cracks, “The situation is getting worse. I know I hate to state the obvious but if we don’t find her in time…”

The fire hero was cut off by Eze as he spoke, “We know Vargas! Right now, I’d say we do less chatting and more finding the real Princess Cadance pronto!” The thunder hero turned his attention towards the light hero ho gazed at the shield first then elsewhere, “Hey, you got any luck finding where the supposed cave is Atro because right now, the clock is ticking away!”

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Atro looked and pointed to the direction of where it is, “At that direction is the Canterlot Gardens and there is where we will find the entrance to the crystal cave. Hopefully, she is there and not moved elsewhere. If not, then the imposter may have moved her elsewhere.”

“If she is moved elsewhere, then the task of rescuing her will have become much more difficult.” As much as everyone knows about that possibility, Selena couldn’t help but bring it up just in case. She looked to the city of Canterlot and for a few seconds, admired the grandeur of the city, “The sight of all of this is… breath-taking to behold.”

All of them turned to see the city and despite the situation, couldn’t help but awe at the city. A sigh escaped from the light hero as they look at the citizens who were excited for the wedding today yet did not know what terrible things were going to happen, “I know that we go through dangerous situation but to have one on Princess Cadance’s special day… it is devastating to think about.”

Everybody nodded as they turned their attention elsewhere. Magress spoke as he readied his lance and shield, “We will have time to worry about this later my friends. Right now, we must do what we must for the ponies here. Someone will have to get the real one while we split up.”

Vargas looked towards the Gardens with a determined expression, “I will get Princess Cadance out of the caves. Hopefully you five can do what you got to do?” They all nodded and quickly scattered trying to find locations worth protecting and to even out the horde that will soon come surging as soon as the shield dispelled. Vargas was running through the labyrinth of the garden hoping to find the entry to the caves. The sounds of cracks were reaching his ears and soon, the shield will break. He hastens himself trying to locate the entry before it begun.

Ahead, he noticed an opening and a single crystal edging out of the entry. Sounds of galloping ponies reached his ears and a smile soon emerged seeing that he was in the right location. The same sounds of galloping stopped immediately just as he entered prompting him to speed up once more and try to find them quickly. Voices echoed through the caves causing a sense of panic within him. Suddenly, a bouquet of flowers flew past him and with it, ponies with glowing green eyes chasing after it. That raised an eyebrow from the fire hero, “What in God’s name?”

He turned to the direction of where the flowers were thrown to find not one but, two ponies. To his surprise, the other was Twilight. Both of them saw him but while the real Cadance was surprised to see another human, Twilight was ecstatic seeing them as she ran and hugged him, “Vargas! You’re here! Oh my Celestia, I never thought to see you again!” She looked again to notice that only Vargas was here causing some confusion, “Wait, where are the other five?”

“They’re scattered across different points of Canterlot in case the shield breaks. I volunteered to enter and rescue originally the real Princess Cadance.” Vargas looked towards her and was a bit surprised to see her looking, for lack of a better word, worse than he expected, “You look like you’ve gone through hell and back just to be with your groom Your Highness.”

The princess in question was not too surprised to see that they were able to deduce her as the real one though it was also not surprising considering how terrible she looked. She let a small chuckle escape as she looked at them, “I guess you could say that.”

Before all of them could chuckle though, Vargas stopped momentarily realizing that they do not have a lot of time left for chit-chat, “Damn it, I’m sorry but we do not have the time to chit-chat now. Let’s get out of here and save your wedding Your Highnesss.” A smiling Twilight and Cadance nodded their heads and followed him out of the crystal caves. Cadance looked towards the fire hero a bit caught off guard to see another human here. It soon clicked to her that this was one of the humans Ark sent here. If she was correct, then as Twilight said, the others aren’t far as well. A glance towards her and she noticed that she too was wearing a look of concern. Both glanced at each other while they were running and knew that they will have to tell them soon enough. They wanted to debate about this but their priority was elsewhere as they continued their run.

Sunlight bathed all three of them as they stepped out of the caves. Cadance felt relieved to see the Sun once again. A momentary pause came as she closed her eyes and embraced the Sun’s warmth. As soon as she opened her eyes, she and Twilight were following Vargas to the castle. A sound of cracking glass met all their ears causing both Cadance and Twilight to look upwards. They saw the shield looking close to breaking causing them to pick up the pace. Cadance, however, collapsed from the sheer effort it took from her running. Twilight stopped and came back to help her out, “Come on Cadance! We’re almost there, just a little bit longer!”

Soon after, Vargas joined and decided to carry the princess of love on his back. Twilight silently thanked him for the assistance while Cadance voiced it, “Thank you Vargas… I hope after this, me and my soon-to-be husband can introduce myself properly to you and your friends.”

A smile formed as he managed to get her situated well on his back, “We would be glad to introduce ourselves as well after all of this.” The two of them sprinted once more as they entered the castle. The fire hero took note that the guards were not around the castle perimeter prompting him to be alert.

Just as he noticed it though, a few guards appeared in front of them blocking their way. Twilight stepped forward at first curious as to why they were stopping them, “Guards, why are you stopping us? My friend has Princess Cadance on his back and she needs to arrive at the wedding.” Seeing them not responding caused her to shift from concern to annoyance, “Hello! Equestria to guards! Are you guys even listening to me?!” Twilight waved at their stoic faces wondering what was going on. She tried to step pass them but they moved and blocked her way again, “What in Equestria?! What are you guards doing?! Let me through!”

Within a split second of her asking that question, the fire hero noticed that their eyes glowed green just like that of the fake princess. That prompted him to stand in front of Twilight, his hand on his sword in case of a surprise attack. This caused both Cadance and Twilight to be concerned about what was going on. Vargas lowered the alicorn gently while keeping an eye on the guards that were blocking their way. Suddenly, his sword was set ablaze prompting the guards to back up with wide eyes. Before Twilight and Cadance could rebuke him however, he spoke, “Try though you can, you cannot hide what you are…” He unsheathed his blade and entered a fighting stance as his hair was set aflame, “So reveal yourselves imposters!”

Twilight and Cadance were confused as to what was going but what happened here changed that. The guards begun to hiss much to their surprise and suddenly, they were surrounded by green flames revealing who they really are. Instead of the looks of every guard, they now looked like scaly bugs causing both to back away in recoil, “What in Celestia’s name are they?!”

The bugs in questions charged at the two of them. Vargas stepped in front of them and slashed away causing them to back away and hiss at him. While his focus was on them, he spoke to the two behind him, “You two! Continue on ahead, you have to stop this wedding at all costs! I’ll hold them off!”

Cadance was about to argue but Twilight stopped her from arguing back as she pulled her away from the ensuing fight, “He’s right Cadance, we got to get to the throne room now! Don’t worry, he can handle them well, that’s a Pinkie Promise!” She did the gesture while running on three legs to further prove her point.

Cadance turned around once while running, a look of worry etched on her face as the fire hero was further away from them. She looked away from Vargas and at Twilight, “I hope you’re right Twilight, I really hope so.” They both look ahead and continued to run to the main hall.

The sounds of their gallop quieted down. A smile formed on the swordsman as he looked at his adversaries. He knew more of them were to come as soon as the shield breaks. A chuckle escaped from him causing the changelings in front of him to be confused for a moment, “Huh, Eze seemed to have made one of his jokes come true. Oh boy, I wonder what his reaction will be like.” The changelings blinked once before deciding to charge at him. Vargas looked ahead and readied himself for their attack.

Meanwhile, the two continued to run past the many hallways until they reached the final doors where the wedding was being held. The words from Celestia spoke loudly at the part where anyone was willing to object to their marriage, “If there is anypony that wishes to object to these two lovers being married, speak your objections.”

Twilight proceeded to open the doors with her magic just as she slowed her sprinting sternly looking at the imposter, “I object to this!” Everybody gathered, including her friends, were shocked to find her objecting to this moment. Celestia on the other hoof was somewhat elated to see her student alive and well despite the circumstances to this objection.

The fake Cadance was rather miffed that she appeared and was not amused about it, “Ugh, why couldn’t you stay put and let me have my wedding here?” Celestia looked at her, a look of surprise etched on her face from her words. Remembering the lone knight’s words, she wondered if they were now becoming true.

Her questions got answer by the same voice except not from the Cadance next to her but rather next to Twilight, “No, because it’s my wedding!” Her look of surprise widened seeing her niece looking frail and terrible in her condition. Everybody else shared in her surprise seeing two Cadances.

Looking at the fake next to her, a sense of anger was beginning to well up in her and she silently cursed herself for doubting the lone knight’s words in this. The fake however, only mockingly laughed as she stepped forward with a look of malicious intent, “Well, it looks like I’ve been found out …” Suddenly, she was surrounded in green fire as the disguise faded and she was revealed, “Hmm… I’ve been waiting to get out of that disguise for awhile, playing it disgusted me.”

Celestia’s anger was reaching a boiling point as she watched her adversary as she went on about her plan in total. Learning the name and her plan was enough as she stood there watching. Hearing the apologies from Twilight’s friends made her smile as she apologized as well but the cruel words from Chrysalis broke her reverie. Having had enough of this, she stepped forward sternly looking at the imposter, “Chrysalis, you may have fooled me and everyone here, but now that you revealed yourself to the public, I am not very pleased with what you did. But messing with my niece and impersonating her while she suffered… That is something I will not tolerate.” They stared at each other while their horns made contact. The stare ended as she ascended and fired a beam at Chrysalis. She fired as well and their beams collided with each other.

Time felt like it slowed down as Celestia’s magic was beginning to overpower the bug queen’s at first as she struggled to maintain a foothold in power. However, soon she was being overpowered as her magic was being pushed back. She opened her eyes and noticed it coming close. She did not have the time to brace herself as the magic neared her. She felt no collision with her magic however and instead felt searing heat. She opened her eyes to see Chrysalis looking shocked as she was looking at the entry. She looked as well and a smile begun to form as she saw the fire hero. In front of her, she saw a path of ash from where the beams connected to where Vargas stood. Celestia can be certain that a wave of fire was formed but was surprised at the proficiency and utilization of fire that this being was capable of. She was snapped out of her reverie as she heard the voice of the fire hero in concern, “I hope I was not too late in the rescue Your Highness.”

She still wore her smile as she nodded to the swordsman, “Thank you Vargas for the save, I had thought myself doomed as soon as I felt my magic being overpowered.” She turned her attention towards Chrysalis who was still shocked at what she had witnessed.

Twilight for the first time, was wearing a grin \as she looked at Cadance, “What’d I tell you Cadance? I knew he could handle them with ease…” Suddenly, that detail escaped her mind as she now looked at the fire hero. Though he showed no signs of any injuries, she noticed some green goop on him making her curious, “Um, Vargas… What’s the green goop that’s on your body?”

The fire hero noticed as well and felt a frown forming, “I don’t know, but it’s sticky and it came from whatever these bug things are. Disgusting…” His frown was soon replaced with a smile as he addressed his compatriots, “I hope all of you are okay?” They all nodded making him relax a bit. His focus however changed as he looked at the bug queen with a burning anger. His sword was pointed at her, its fire burning a bright red orange, “You... I was not around when you did your long-winded introduction but I don’t need to know to tell that you don’t deserve any mercy from me.”

Despite Chrysalis’s shock over seeing this being who she just met before having the ability to wield fire elemental magic, she still wore her smug grin as she eyed her adversary, “It is no matter, soon the shield will break and my horde will come. If you want me, come and get me!” She ascended into the air and flew out of the windows to meet her army of changelings.

Vargas chased after her but ended up almost falling off as she was out of his range. He was not pleased as he watched her fly away, his agitation clear as day, “This is where I wished I had my fire wings in the first place! Damn it, I hate flying enemies!” Despite it being a bad time to rant, it was reasonable enough to warrant saying it considering how helpful it would have been to have them. The mention of fiery wings however caught the attention of Twilight who was about to ask him about it but he knew where this was going, “Twilight, I’ll tell you later but now’s not the perfect time to get distracted.”

Twilight let a weak chuckle escape while she was wearing a sheepish grin. Celestia was about to give chase her down but before that, she left a message to Twilight and her friends quickly before she was out of sight, “Go and find the Elements! We will need them before we get overwhelmed by the swarm of changelings!” She flew away and gave chase to the bug queen in haste.

The bearers all looked at each other and nodded in agreement. Then they turned their attention to Vargas who all but smiled with them as he followed them out of the castle. Just as they stepped out of the castle gates though, a horde of changelings was in front of them blocking their way. The fire hero stepped in front of the bearers with his sword drawn and wrapped in flames as he eyed the multiple bugs that stood in their way. He couldn’t but smile as the bearers joined at his side and looked to be itching for a fight even Fluttershy (thought she still looked terrified), “Just like old times except with new friends at my side.”

Despite it being a bad time to reminisce memories, they couldn’t help but chuckle a bit, “Is your life always like this back in your world Vargas? Facing a big horde of whatever was in front of you?” Rainbow couldn’t but be awed at the prospect of their lives being almost always like this. No breaks, just enemies coming one after another.

A smile formed as the memories surfaced, “Yes, a lot of times it has happened Rainbow. The others can agree with me as well considering our history.” Something within his heart felt right at home despite the precarious situation they were in. His eyes opened and a new fire within him ignited. His body was beginning to emit a fiery aura powerful enough to warm those around him prompting the bearers to back away and watch him in awe as he was undergoing a transformation. His cape, once a dark red, now changed its color to reflect upon the warm Sun as it was now an orange color. The argument where he wished he had wings was partially granted as his back sprouted his right wing in flames. All of the ponies were watching in awe though the changelings did not attack for they were confused as to what was going on.

Having had enough waiting, they all immediately charged at them. The fire hero could only smirk as he went into a stance and waited for them to come nearby. The bearers recognized it quickly and backed away a bit as the changelings drew closer. Though they hesitated, they still continued with their attack on the bearers. Just as they neared him, a glint of steel was in front of them as he shouted the newest version of his signature move, “Infinity Nova!” A pillar of flames erupted in front of them searing them with powerful flames before more gathered in the center of the pillar. As the flames managed to clump themselves together, miniature explosions covered the battlefield soundly defeating many changelings that stood in their way, “Charge everyone!” His words reached their ears and the bearers charged just as the explosions ended. Vargas joined in the charge as well as he jumped and flapped his one wing gaining some altitude before descending on the horde. It was at this time that some thoughts came to his mind. A smile begun to develop as he landed on them, “Lava, I hope you’re seeing this. It looks like our rivalry will have to wait. And father, I hope I made you proud.”

Celestia was giving chase when he heard Vargas scream out the words. Looking below her, he saw him and was surprised to see a new development from him. His cape now matched the colors of the Sun and he now had one wing made of fire. A smile formed seeing that he awakened new powers yet she knew that this was just the start of their potential. A beam fired passed her and she looked up to see Chrysalis firing at her. Her smile disappeared and was now a fierce glare as she charged.

Lightning roared around the thunder hero as he was fighting against, to his utter surprise, bug ponies that can suck the love out of their enemies, “I was joking about all of that! I really should be careful with my words from now on…” He dodged an attack from behind him and hit the changeling with a kick to the chest. There was enough force in the kick that the bug was sent flying and collided with ten of it behind him. A smile occurred as he raised his sword high into the air, “First strike!”

A changeling hissed behind and was about to pounce on him until a cello struck it down. Eze turned around to see a light grey earth pony with a black mane behind him holding the cello like it was a two-handed weapon, “You really should watch your back more often…”

Another pony appeared except she was a unicorn with a white coat and an electric blue mane wearing a pair of shades that somehow managed to stay on her. She lifted them and he saw magenta eyes as she was talking with the grey pony in question, “Aw come on, give the guy some slack, have you seen what he and his friends did when he was in Ponyville? Oh man, that was awesome!”

The thunder hero smiled seeing that he got someone to help and know him a bit though the timing was odd, “Thanks and um… who are you two per chance?” Just as he asked that, a changeling was focusing on the both of them. He moved the ponies out of the way and hit a changeling with the face of his blade. The sound resonated loudly and the bug crashed onto a wall with a resounding thud. He couldn’t help but let a smug grin form from the satisfying sound.

Both ponies picked themselves up and introduced each other starting with the grey pony just as she was dodging a few strikes from a few changelings, “Octavia Melody at your service and well…” She dodged another and promptly hit it with her cello sending it flying, “I was having a normal day in Canterlot until all this happened.” She sidestepped a pouncing changeling and hit it squarely on the chest with her bow causing it to collapse from the attack, “And it was such a good day too what with the wedding and all.”

“You’re telling me Octy… And here I was hoping to enjoy rocking out hard for the bride and groom, not having to deal with this craziness… The name’s Vinyl Scratch by the way.” She smiled as she dodged another attack and whacked it hard with her cassette player.

Eze couldn’t help but let a chuckle escape hearing and having this conversation during battle and from two good ponies that can fight no less, “So you two were here for the wedding originally? That’s rather interesting to hear.”

A sound of a hard whack from a cello reached his ears. Eze couldn’t help but wonder how does an earth pony like her manages to carry and swing an instrument that big with ease. He chalked it up to genetics which he didn’t need to know right now or just plain magic, “Yes, though we also came here to relax a bit right Vinyl?”

“You said it Octy…” She jumped over a changeling and whacked it with her boombox, “Its fine if things were a little crazy to make life interesting, but I wonder if anypony ever gets a day of no craziness?” She whacked another with a disk this time. How the things were not broken from any hard impacts like that, the thunder hero may never know. Still, whacking the enemies with instruments amused him. He wondered if maybe there were a few people back at his world that would whack Gods with instruments of any kind. The idea was amusing yet he couldn’t help but think it true.

Suddenly, he remembered a certain General’s words brought about by Vargas alongside how they fought with each other on the battlefield despite their differences. Looking at the both of them, he saw they clearly had their differences towards each other. Yet despite that, they were still friends. He suddenly imagined Octavia as Emilia and Vinyl as himself as they fought side to side as comrades in arms. The sight made him distracted from the battles going on around him.

Many changelings used this opportunity and charged at the thunder hero. As another whack from the cello was made, Octavia turned her attention towards Eze and noticed that he was watching them and not what was happening around him. A swarm of changelings were coming for him. She dodged a blow from one of them as she warned him quickly, “You idiot, to your side!”

The words from the illusion Emilia managed to break him out of his trance as he shook his head and turned towards his left. The changelings were already nearing him and he didn’t have the quick reflexes to block in time. He braced himself for their attack only for a sound of something hitting its target to reach his ears. He looked to see the illusion Emilia taking care of the swarm. She looked at him once with a stern glare before letting a little smile form and leaving his side to attack the rest.

The illusion faded and now Octavia took her place. The illusion though managed to get Eze to think as he looked towards his sword, Batootha. He saw his reflection once and his allies next to him, each one of them wearing a smile. He smiled with the reflections as he looked towards Octavia and Vinyl who were now fighting side to side, “Emilia, you watching over me? I better hope you are because once I feel like my life isn’t so crazy, maybe we could meet each other and be real friends someday?” The thought left a good impression on the thunder hero as he jumped over both ponies. In that moment, a new power awakened within him as his sword, Batootha, drastically changed its form into a new look and he now had an arch behind him with white storm clouds forming behind it. This quick transformation made him smirk as he raised his sword into the air, “Hey, bug freaks! Try this on for size! Heavenly Thunder!” Once he made contact with the ground and the first enemy, a surge of electricity escaped from the sword. It shrouded through the whole battlefield shocking enemies from left to right.

Both Octavia and Vinyl were surprised by this development but smiled regardless of it. They charged into the stream of lightning and proceeded to handle those that survived the initial attack. Eze watched as they beat those that still stood. For some odd reason, when one of them managed to synchronize their hits with the surging electricity, a green word with an exclamation point that said spark appeared. He blinked twice just in case he saw that right but it wasn’t there anymore. He shrugged and let it slide for now as he joined them in their attack just as the surging thunder ended.

Selena just dodged a beam from five changelings with a grace of a dancer. Admittedly, she’s not so well versed into ceremonial sword dancing compared to her friend Lucina, but she learned enough to get the basic understanding of the movements. She counters the attack in return as she delivers an upward slash with Lexida, causing ice pillars to form in front of her. The pillars then divide themselves into five knocking out the changelings that attacked her. The ice hero hears hissing from behind and turns around to see three of them charging towards her. She ducks quickly and retaliates with a barrage of ice shards striking at their abdomen.The hits sent them away from her and into those hovering causing a few to fall down. Seeing them fall and crashing onto the ground forces made Selena feel sorry for them.

Recovering from the evasion and the attack, she stood back up and braced herself for the onslaught of changelings. Ice crystals begun to form behind her as she readies her blade. As the charging changelings near her, she readies her sword and waits. Unbeknownst to her, her sword Lexida, was beginning to shine an ocean blue. By the time the changelings were near enough for her, she had already delivered a horizontal slash that left ice crystals alongside its path.

The sword illuminated at its brightest blinding both the horde and her. While Selena covered her eyes in time, the horde recoiled from the light. The ice hero lowered her left arm slowly and checked out her surroundings. To her surprise, she noticed two things during this predicament. One, she noticed that her ancestral sword was not within her grasp and instead, was now floating in front of her causing the ice hero to question what was going on. Second was that she was not in Canterlot anymore but a white void. She looks around wondering why she was here. A thought occurred to her and she had a hard time voicing it, “Perhaps… have I ascended into heaven?”

Her question echoed through the seamlessly endless void. Having seen enough of this area, she looked towards where the sword originally was afloat. She backed one step away in shock to find that Lexida was not there but another in the form of her childhood friend. The sight of seeing her for the first time since her demise at the hands of her supposed killer left her silent. Her friend, Lucina, decided to break the silence for her, “Selena? Is something bothering you?”

The ice hero felt her tears beginning to develop as a smile begun to develop. A heartfelt chuckle escaped before she ran and embraced her friend, “Lucina! I’m sorry that I was not able to save you from my assassin’s attack! I truly am!” She hugged her friend tight as her tears streaked down her face.

She felt her friend’s arms wrapped around her. She looked at Lucina’s eyes to see that they still reflected the same emotion when she came to protect her from the assassin. Lucina put her hands on Selena’s shoulders and put the both of them in arms distance. A smile formed on her friend’s face as well as her own, “It’s all right Selena. You know me well enough that I’d do anything to protect my first friend. You do remember that right?”

A chuckle escapes from the ice hero as she reminisces during the time when they were still youthful children, “Haha, yes Lucina I still remember. You would always try to protect me whenever I was in trouble even though we both knew that I was trained well enough to handle myself right?” Both let a small laugh escape. Selena felt better knowing that she was watching over her, “It’s good to see you again Lucina, I miss you and our people.”

Lucina pats her right shoulder once before leaving her and returning back, “I miss you too, I’m sorry that I can’t stay for long but know that the Savat people are with you in your heart. Maybe someday, I can be with you again and do our journeys like we promised a long time ago.”

Selena put her hand on her friend’s while still wearing her smile, “I hope that can be achieved someday Lucina… I would like to adventure with you on this new world.” Both smiled and for some time within the dimension, enjoyed each other’s presence. It was not long after that she saw her childhood friend’s body beginning to be transparent. She knew what was going to happen yet subconsciously, she did not wish for her to leave her side. She extended one arm hoping to reach her, “Wait Lucina!”

The only thing she saw was her smile as she faded from the void and words spoken from her, “Thank you Selena, for being my first friend. Continue to live for me and for the Savat clan.” The ice hero stood still, her arm still reaching out for where her childhood friend once stood.

Selena withdrew back her arm and placed it over her heart. A few tears fell before her smile formed as she took her friend’s words to heart, “I thank you for the same Lucina… I promise to continue to strive for you and for my people.” Just as she said that, the ancestral sword revealed itself urging her to take upon it again. Without hesitation, she grips the hilt of the sword and closes her eyes. The white void that surrounded her now begun to disappear and was now gone. She was back in Canterlot on the original spot where the sword shone brightly. The swordswoman opens her eyes to see the changelings still recovering from the blinding light.

Her eyes twinkled like that of crystals as she raises Lexida high. Four arcs made out of water developed behind her and the sword’s current form evolved. She stabbed the ground with the sword and looked down causing arctic winds to bellow behind her. Some who manage to recover looked at her, their eyes fueled with fury. They charged at her only to be blown by the cold winds. She looked forward with a stern glare as the winds continued to bellow, “You have done enough damage to this city! This ends now!” She pulled the sword out of the ground causing the floor to be coated in ice. Raising Lexida up into the air, a sphere with a flower sigil in front of it was formed. They all tried to run away but they were too late as Selena unleashed her power, “Cocytus Zero!” She stabs the sphere causing the pent-up arctic air sealed within to be released. Those caught within the bellowing winds were trapped in frozen ice as crystals begun to form. The crystal continued to grow in size until it stopped just as the winds do so. Seeing most of the changelings encased in the ice, Selena lowered her sword and with a smile, raised her left arm and snapped her fingers. That action causes the crystal to shatter, hurting many of the changelings caught inside.

Many who were not caught decided to utilize different tactics on her so as to not be reckless and to avoid more downed changelings. The ice hero took upon a battle stance as they eyed her. The horde looked to be never-ending but she knew that sooner or later, it was going to thin out. She just has to keep the fight going for as long as she can.

A wave of natural energy was formed by Drevas as Lance hurls it towards the airborne enemies knocking out a few of them. He can tell that they were irked that he alone was handling them well, countering anything they threw at him for the moment. What they didn’t know, much to Lance’s joy, was that his weapon was a sentient being giving him warnings of any incoming attacks, Three changelings charging from behind Lance!

The nature hero responded by creating a barrier made from Drevas’s own material, specifically the enchanted wood, behind him. The sounds of three thuds reached Lance’s ears causing a momentary smile to form. Looking in front of him, many changelings were firing a green goop of sorts. He creates another barrier blocking the goop. Some manage to splatter on his face causing him to recoil as he touches it, Ugh, sticky and slimy. Worst combination ever… nasty.

I can feel some of it on myself Lance and I can concur, that is disgusting… A smile formed as he removes the slime from his face and lowers the barrier temporarily. Hearing the sounds of charging changelings and the now familiar sounds of magic being fired from their horns caused Lance to form a smirk to replace his smile. He points Drevas towards the ground and stabs the ground. That action caused roots to sprout below the charging bugs and in front of those that begun to fire their ghastly magic. Suddenly, Lance felt something crawling up his right arm causing him to look during the retaliation. Roots begun to develop and were covering a part of his arm. This causes a momentary pause from the nature hero as he hears an apology from the spirit, I am sorry Lance but the curse is still in effect. You already know but I shall repeat it. The more you use my power, the faster the curse consumes you. I wish I could stop this but I cannot…

This only prompted a smile from Lance as he looked towards the changelings, Hey, remember what I said when I found about this? As long as I continue doing what’s right, let the curse continue to grow. So long as I protect the citizens from anything, it’s all I care for. Lance raised Drevas in front of him and felt the roots begun to develop. The roots now became branches as they extended off of his weapon and hung behind him. His eyes once green now begun to glow a lighter shade of his original color with the energy from his lance.

Gripping Drevas tightly, he began to charge towards the changelings. Seeing this action prompted them to charge as well not realizing that Lance’s weapon was dimly glowing. The nature hero pulled back his weapon waiting for the right time to unleash his attack. As they were just right in front of him, a smirk emerged as he thrust his pike forward, “Eternal Zephyr!” As he was going through the enemy lines, a sudden gust of winds surged behind him making a tornado made out of sharp leaves. Those he rammed into during his charge were sent flying and were caught in the tornado. At the end of his charge, he skidded to a halt and turned around to see almost all those that charged at him were now inside the tornado taking hefty damage. Gathering energy into the pike, he takes one last look at the changelings trapped inside the tornado, “Eat this!” He fires a wave of energy at the tornado. As soon as the energy made contact with the tornado, the leaves scattered cutting the changelings caught inside.

Thankfully, only minor cuts were made on the changelings but to Lance’s surprise, they seemed to be suffering from a plethora of ailments. The nature hero can tell which one afflicted them but the most common spread amongst them were a temporary paralysis and a terrible sickness. Those ailments were rather common back in his home world. He looked towards his pike and asked the spirit lingering inside it, Did you inflict them with what I’m seeing?

A snicker escaped from the spirit as he enjoyed the sight of the changelings struggling, Only the paralysis and sickness, the injury and weakness effects were an added bonus. No curses or poison though, I didn’t want to be that cruel on them. The only one who deserves all of that would be the queen herself. The nature hero nodded in agreement as he departed those afflicted and went to handle the next horde. The spirit went silent for awhile causing Lance to momentarily pause with the prolonged silence. Dravas noticed it as well but decided to speak his thoughts out of concern for not only himself but his friend as well, Lance… Do you… do you think that here, we could undo the curse upon not only you but myself as well?

A smile formed as the nature hero found the next horde, Didn’t I promise you that I would undo your curse? I’m still keeping the promise in mind! Who knows, maybe here, they may have a way to undo what was afflicted upon you. Don’t get your hopes down Drevas, I’ll find a way for you to return back to your original form. That’s a promise. The spirit felt elated to hear his words and tone speaking true and thanked him in silence as they entered the fray again. Lance smiled and tapped the pike once before looking ahead and assaulting the oncoming horde.

Atro was utilizing everything from the La Veda fighting style he learned from his master skillfully dodging the attacks while incorporating his own style into it. Each teleport he made from dodging their attacks made the changelings furious causing them to be rash in their strikes. The light hero recently bashed one of them with the butt of his sword, Urias. The swordsman couldn’t help but chuckle at that. A hiss from above alerted him prompting him to teleport out of the way. He reappeared on a ceiling getting a good view of his section of the city above. From afar, he noticed his friends’ more powerful variants of their signature moves were being utilized. The only one he didn’t see was Magress.

Focusing his attention, he looked towards the changelings that were charging at him. Atro wondered if they even utilize any tactics instead of just charging recklessly. His question was somewhat answered as others fired beams at him. Again, he teleported out of harm’s way causing the beams to hit those that were charging. He begun to sigh and shake his head at the sight, “Sometimes, I wonder how would the ponies here fare in a war…” Thankfully, he did notice ponies fight back before so he knows that they can handle some things fine. A smile formed upon an idea, “Perhaps… I could train them?”

The thought was amusing but at the same time he couldn’t help but like the idea, “How funny, I was just a knight in training by my master and suddenly, I’m thinking about being what people would describe as a saint spreading their teachings. He would be proud of me if he were still alive.” He still wore his smile as he reacted towards the changelings’ hissing.

He jumped away from one of them and landed on top of it causing it to tumble during its flight and fall thanks to the extra weight. Ahead, he noticed some changelings switching targets now though who was it concerned him. Time felt like it slowed around him as he saw who was being targeted, a mare holding a young filly in question was being targeted by the horde. The sight made him forget some of his thoughts as his smile faded and anger begun to form. The two begun to run away from the swarm just as Atro jumped off the one he was riding on.

Atro could only blink as far as he could go so he had to rely mostly on his feet to give chase. He was light and fast on his feet as he neared them. Changelings saw an opportunity and blocked his way as they rushed at him only for the knight to teleport behind them and continue the chase. Atro saw the mare make a sharp right turn and slide under a charging changeling heading into a building. Whoever this pony was, she was quick on her feet and her reactions. The pursuers blocked off her way down the spiral ramp but instead of standing there, she jumped off and landed safely and continued her run away from them. Atro witnessed it and teleported on the ceilings and continued his chase though his pursuers were not only catching up to him but to the two as well.

The knight saw the mare turn right from above. Looking ahead, he noticed that she turned straight into a dead end. Atro hastened himself hoping that he would not see an unlikely demise with those two especially the young filly. As he almost reaches the corridor, he noticed a gray blur that was charging towards the corridor he was heading to. It wasn’t long before he saw it ram into the changeling that just landed. He immediately stopped and saw the pony in question was a pegasus and what surprised him the most was that it was Derpy he was seeing.

Atro stopped just above the corridor where he saw the mailmare looking towards the two with her usual cheery smile with her signature eyes before fixing her sights upon the changelings, her eyes lacking any signs of strabismus she showed to the two and now pinpricks signifying her anger. Atro smiled as he jumped down and landed behind the gray pegasus. All three turned towards his direction and all of them were smiling seeing him. He returned the smile as he grabbed the two, “I shall teleport them afar from this place… I hope to see you back in Ponyville safe and sound Derpy?”

She could only smile as she returned her attention towards the changelings. Understanding what was done, Atro did as promised and teleported them to the outskirts of Ponyville. It was a fair enough of a distance as he removed his hands from the two passengers. Before he could return though, the filly poked for his attention prompting him to stop for a second. He looked at the youthful filly wondering what she was going to ask, “Yes? What is it young one?”

She pointed towards the city of Canterlot and her voice not only had traces of concern but of worry as well, “My mom, will she be okay?”

Atro let a smile form as he patted her head, “I am sure that your mother is a capable guardian but I will be sure to see her safe. I promise you that.” The filly smiled once before she and the other guardian return back to their home and wait out the attack. Atro can already assume that Derpy was the alleged mother which put his thoughts towards the future ahead. A smile formed as he turned his attention towards Canterlot, “For the ponies here, training them may as well be worth it.” Just as he begun to teleport back to the battle, the halo behind him took on a new form now forming half of the crest and the holy sword Urias, took on a new look as well. Appearing above the swarm and just noticing the new changes made the knight smile as he descended upon the horde, his sword faced forward, “Messiah Hazzard!”

He pierced through the swarm causing explosions of light amongst the horde. As he landed, the explosions stopped and the sounds of falling changelings reached his ears. No sounds of any crashes were heard though leaving him to presume that others caught them. Standing up from the landing, he saw hundreds of them looking upon him very agitated. He raised his sword and entered a battle stance as they all begun to charge at him. Only a small smile formed as he charged at them all hoping to see the end of this seemingly endless battle.

Unlike the other five who had changelings charge at them from every angle and every second, Magress was a unique case. The changelings were reluctant to charge at him for they begun to actually fear the lancer himself. Those unlucky to charge at him without a second thought met a fate worse than their likely demise. For while those who recklessly attacked him survived, they gained injuries that the ponies would admit would make most of them lose their lunch. The lack of emotion or at least unseen emotion thanks to his helmet, in being able to deliver these grave injuries made them worried for their own safety now.

Magress just finished harming another while saving a pony in return. The pony in question looked upon the dark hero and felt the same fear the changelings had causing it to react opposite of what Magress had in mind. However, the fear almost subsided as he hears the lancer speak, “Do not fear, for I am on your side, regardless of my foreboding appearance.” The pony looked at the dark hero again only for it to see Magress moving out of the way and clearing a way for him to escape. The dark hero spoke once again snapping the stallion out of his trance, “Go… you must flee from this place.”

The pony only happily agreed as he was close to sprinting out but not before thanking Magress, “Thank you sir! You… kind of remind me of Princess Luna. Dark and has that scary feeling but a good heart for the ponies here. Again, thanks!” Magress didn’t even get the name of the pony in question but what he said has him suddenly thinking. He was relatively surprised that he was connected to the Princess of the Night in all aspects yet it also made him smile that in this world, there was someone who was almost like him.

He stood up and looked towards the quivering swarm. Pulling his lance from the ground, he moved slowly like he was a ghost sluggishly walking towards its next victim. The changelings who participated in fighting against him now were slowly backing away from the dark hero. Behind the helmet, a smile formed upon his face as he sees the fear clearly etched on their faces. He turned around and somewhat lament the fact that the ponies are not accustomed to something common as death in his world which he has a history of doing to the God Army. So as a result, he had to do only grievous injuries on his enemies. He has to admit that the friendship loving ponies were beginning to rub off on him.

He noticed that many ponies used this opportunity to evacuate from the area. With the changelings more focused on the dark hero instead of the citizens, they were able to leave the vicinity quickly without becoming targets. Though he still wore his smile, this time it was of relief that they escaped with no harm upon them. He turned his attention back towards the changelings who were still frozen in fear regardless of the fact that they saw the ponies leave. Seeing them like so is while welcoming, was rather tiring for Magress. He tapped his shield with his lance two times snapping them out of their fear-addled state while taunting them, “If any of you are still brave enough to face me…” He pointed his lance, Leomurg, towards them tempting them to attack him, “Then come and fight me!”

Those words managed to send their blood boiling as they all charged at him regardless of their fears or of their own safety. A lack of any anger from Magress surprised him though as he noted, it was probably the peace-loving ponies rubbing off on him. The idea of him being peaceful and all made him chuckle considering his bloody history yet he couldn’t help but see it as a possibility. Doubtful as he was since he can’t forget the path of blood he carved during his time back in Grand Gaia, he wondered if it was possible to forgive someone who walked down that road before. He blocked one of the changelings attacks as he was murmuring, “The road I took can never be forgotten yet… if these ponies are willing to be my friend and forgive the road I took upon…” He pushed away the changeling away and felt a grin forming, “Perhaps there is some hope for this tainted soul after all…”

Just as he said that, a bright light illuminated from him prompting many changelings to cover their eyes quickly. The light disappeared as it quickly appeared showing Magress in a new form. A dark aura permeated from the dark hero as everything from him changed. His lance, his shield, and even his armor changed. But the most drastic change was to his helmet where he now has glowing red eyes revealing from within the helmet.

The changelings again felt fear upon seeing this new form. Magress on the other hand was very pleased as he takes upon this, “A bright light causes my new form? Perhaps what I’ve said may end up becoming true after all.” He saw the changelings beginning to back away once again only this time; he was not allowing them to escape. Raising his lance to the air, he uttered two words as his lance begins to coat itself in dark energy, “Vermillion Tower!” The changelings begun to flee but were too late as they were caught in the attack. Many were sent flying from the move and crashed onto the walls. As Magress finishes the move, he had only a few words to say about this current development, “I hope I don’t end up becoming too use to the non-lethal tactics…”